The Double Death Steak

Sharing a reward like that with Tae-hyun's party was far too wasteful.

Subtle glances were exchanged among the guild members.

"Should we try to talk to them nicely?"

"As if they'd listen. They'd just insist on following us. Would you just walk away if you were in their shoes?"

"Besides, if they catch wind of it, it'll get annoying. What if those bastards spread rumors that there's a dungeon entrance here?"

"True. The only reason there's no one here right now is because this dungeon isn't very good."

"Then..."

"Let's take them out."

The guild members nodded. They weren't a PK-specialized guild, but they did it when necessary. After all, PK was one of the core elements of Pan-On.

Competing for a hunting ground? PK! Competing for a quest? PK! PK was the solution to almost any problem.

"Then, as soon as they get here, we'll immediately attack—"

Before the sentence could even finish, Tae-hyun's party appeared from down the corridor. They were happily carrying junk loot, looking completely oblivious!

"Ah! You're done hunting! We've gathered quite a bit of meat, so I'll whip up another meal for you!"

"..."

"...Should we eat that first before we attack?"

When one of the guild members suggested it, everyone else nodded in agreement.

Rejoining Jang Ssu-an's group, Tae-hyun sensed something strange.

What's this? Why do these bastards have the exact look people get when they're secretly preparing to PK someone?

It was glaringly obvious. If Jang Ssu-an and his guild members were players ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who PKed when necessary, Tae-hyun was a player who created reasons to PK. The sheer malice in their mindsets was on completely different levels!

Having clashed with countless players since Pan-On 1, he could tell something was off just by the way they breathed.

But Tae-hyun didn't let it show. He naturally called out, "Alright! Let's get cooking!"

Tae-hyun fell into thought. Why would Jang Ssu-an and his guild, who had been acting friendly just moments ago, suddenly plan to PK them?

...They found something. Is there something else in this dungeon?

Tae-hyun activated a skill. Instantly, a path revealed itself, leading toward where the guild members were standing. They were standing awkwardly, as if trying to block something from view.

Seeing how they're blocking it, there must be something there... An entrance? Did they find a new dungeon entrance?

Tae-hyun was puzzled. According to his skill, this corridor was supposed to be a bad path. They had already passed the good path! Yet there was a new entrance here.

...I'm getting a bad feeling about this. I should just deal with them quickly right here.

Since they were planning to attack anyway, there was no need to wait. Strike the moment they were ready!

Tae-hyun sent whispers to Cain and Lee Se-yeon, then began preparing the food.

What he was preparing was the Double Death Steak! Making it was simple. Grill the meat with utmost care, apply sauce and spices...

Then lightly brush on some God-Devouring Monster's Slime...

And throw in every toxic ingredient he had, chopping and mixing them in!

Once eaten, it would surely cause paralysis along with poison damage.

Sizzle— The delicious aroma spread as the meat cooked over the fire.

The guild members, planning to attack soon, felt a slight twinge of guilt. Eating their food and then PK'ing them?

But they had no idea: they had absolutely no reason to feel guilty when dealing with Tae-hyun!

The Power Warrior Guild members gulped. Tae-hyun was skilled enough to win in a head-on fight, but they weren't. If the food didn't work properly or if they took a bad hit, they could get wiped out in one shot.

Is that guy not even nervous?

He's acting more natural than breathing.

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun finished the dish.

"Is it done?!"

"Give me some! Give me some!"

The guild members, who had been acting polite earlier, didn't even try to hide it now. They scrambled to get a bite first!

But Tae-hyun shook his head.

"Mr. Jang Ssu-an!"

"?"

"Please, have a bite. I felt terrible about us eating earlier without you."

"N-No, it's fine."

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. Just have one bite. Only then can we eat in peace."

"Well... if you insist..."

Jang Ssu-an nodded with a stiff face. Seeing this, his guild members thought, Ah, we should have offered it to him first.

Man, we should have offered it to him. He looks so hurt that we ate without him.

"That's right, Guild Leader! We can't be the only ones eating!"

"Please, just have a bite!"

The guild members quickly changed their tune. They needed to make sure Jang Ssu-an didn't get sulky!

With everyone urging him, Jang Ssu-an reluctantly accepted the steak.

"The name of the dish is interesting."

"Haha. Thank you."

Jang Ssu-an had no idea that "Double Death" wasn't a metaphor, but a literal description.

"Well then, just a bite..."

Chomp! Jang Ssu-an took a big bite of the well-cooked meat and chewed happily. He tasted the rich, savory flavor of the perfectly cooked meat, the blend of spices, and then suddenly...

A burning sensation exploded in his mouth.

"?!"

As Jang Ssu-an froze, Tae-hyun quickly addressed the other guild members. "Everyone else, eat up before it gets cold."

"Shall we?"

As if waiting for this, the guild members rushed to grab the meat.

"W-Wait..."

"*Chomp chomp.* Guild Leader, what's wrong?"

Before Jang Ssu-an could stop them, the guild members stuffed the meat into their mouths!

"T-This is deadly..."

"You mean deadly delicious?"

"No, that's not what I—"

A flood of system messages popped up! In an instant, they were hit with all kinds of status debuffs.

Jang Ssu-an tried to detoxify immediately, but Tae-hyun wasn't kind enough to wait.

"Small Lightning Bomb!"

A bomb made using lightning stone. It was used more for its stun effect than its damage.

Boom! Jang Ssu-an and his guild members were caught in the explosion.

"Lucky Strike! Lucky Strike! Lucky Strike...!"

At the same time, Tae-hyun drew his sword, multiplying his damage like crazy.

Jang Ssu-an staggered, completely disoriented by the debuffs.

"Farewell, Jang Ssu-an!"

*Slash!*

"Kegh!"

With explosive damage, Jang Ssu-an's HP dropped by more than half. Jang Ssu-an was horrified. How?

But Tae-hyun's attacks were far from over, and Jang Ssu-an and his guild members were still stunned.

Another slash!

Whoosh! Jang Ssu-an's graying body was enveloped in blue flames.

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He thought it would be easy, but as expected of a ranker, Jang Ssu-an had a hidden trump card.

"You're not even the protagonist. Why are you resurrecting in a crisis like this?"

"How dare this insignificant bastard...!"

Tae-hyun didn't bother replying. Instead, he moved to attack the other guild members.

Since they were all high-level players, they were surviving the poison and bomb combo well. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If left alone, they would heal. Once they healed, they would team up with Jang Ssu-an, so he must take them down first.

*Thud! Thwack!* "Gah!" "Y-You insignificant bastard!"

As Tae-hyun quickly turned to attack the other guild members, an enraged Jang Ssu-an charged at him.

"Shadow Leap!"

But Tae-hyun didn't engage directly; he slipped away. He dodged and weaved, throwing bombs and firing Sadiq's Flame Arrows. It was clear he was trying to buy time.

"Aaargh!"

In the meantime, another guild member was forced to log out. Seeing this, Jang Ssu-an snapped out of his panic as if doused in cold water.

If this keeps up, we're done for!

He had been caught off guard by the poisoned food, hit by bombs, and thrown into a panic by his sudden death and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resurrection... but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠situation was incredibly dire.

Where did the trap even begin? Did he realize I was planning to eliminate him and set a trap? If so, this trap is far too meticulous. Besides, his level is completely different from what he claimed.

Jang Ssu-an reached a conclusion: this was a trap from the very beginning! Otherwise, the opponent's skill level made no sense.

"You... who the hell are you?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you?"

"Hmph. As expected of an insignificant bastard, you can't even reveal your own name."

"If you think I'd fall for such a cheap provocation, you've got me all wrong. I am from the Suning Guild."

"What? That bastard Su Ning! How dare he...!"

Tae-hyun's lie was as natural as breathing. Jang Ssu-an almost fell for it.

After all, the Restaurant Guild was close with the Suning Guild, and Su Ning had plenty of reasons to hate Jang Ssu-an.

But Jang Ssu-an paused. It was strange for the opponent to just confess like this.

And while the Restaurant Guild was skilled with poisons, he had never heard of them having a ranker-level player like this. The same went for the Suning Guild.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered what Su Ning had told him.

"Kim Tae-hyun isn't just good at competitive play; he's incredibly good at creating variables. Got it?"

A realization struck his mind like lightning!

Jang Ssu-an pointed a trembling finger at Tae-hyun and screamed in horror:

"Y-You... You're Kim Tae-hyun!"

"!"

Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised.

"Since you hang out with Su Ning, I thought you'd be just as stupid. But you're surprisingly sharp, aren't you?"

"...You absolute insect!"

This provocation was far more effective than any other! As Jang Ssu-an swung his dual swords and tried to activate a skill, Tae-hyun quickly slipped behind another guild member, using him as a human shield.

*Thwack!* "Argh!" "M-My apologies!"

Jang Ssu-an halted his attack. In the meantime, three guild members who managed to break free from the paralysis and stun quickly moved toward Jang Ssu-an.

They could move, but because of the various debuffs, they were in terrible shape. If they clashed with Tae-hyun, they would surely die instantly.

Though Jang Ssu-an was treated like an eccentric weirdo because of his appearance and attitude, he was actually a player whose brain worked much faster than most. He wasn't a member of the invitation team and a ranker for nothing.

An ordinary person would have tried to break through the encirclement and head back toward the entrance they came from. But Jang Ssu-an thought differently.

If he set a trap of this caliber, there might be people waiting for us at the entrance we came from! We'll get ambushed if we go that way!

That left only one place: the new dungeon entrance that the enemy shouldn't know about yet.

Without hesitation, Jang Ssu-an smashed the wall and threw himself into the hidden dungeon entrance.

"……????"

Jang Ssu-an was completely bewildered, momentarily forgetting his dire situation. What kind of name was this for a dungeon?

But now was not the time to be confused. Another guild member had been taken down by Tae-hyun while trying to enter the dungeon.

Jang Ssu-an shouted to the remaining guild members who followed him inside: "Move! Focus on healing first!"