This Time for Sure!

"This is my moment!"

An arrow flew straight at Do Dong-su from the front. The opposing archer had anticipated his movement and aimed perfectly. However, Dong-su threw himself to the side, dodging the attack with flair. A thrilling rush of accomplishment washed over him.

Whoosh! The attacks kept coming. The arrows split into multiple shafts, curving through the air to alter their trajectories while bursting into flames. It was a trick only highly skilled archers could pull off! Combined with precise aiming, the pressure was suffocating. Yet, Dong-su managed to evade them all.

I dodged it! Dong-su pumped his fist in his mind. He had finally done it. If he could just close the distance with a skill, he could easily take down that archer. In close-quarters combat, archers were nothing but easy prey! Besides, Lee Se-yeon and Kim Chul-soo had completely tied down the enemy Priest and Mage. They were barely holding on.

Here I go! I'm turning this around! It was time to wash away the terrible reputation he had built up until now. The opposing archer's eyes widened in sheer shock.

Rumbleeee!

But at that exact moment, a massive explosion roared from behind him.

...Son of a bitch.

Dong-su didn't even need to look back to know what was happening. He had a sickeningly familiar feeling that Kim Tae-hyun was running wild in spectacular fashion once again.

The opposing archer's assault had ceased, but Evangeline and her spearman partner showed no signs of stopping. Watching Cain take a relentless beating, Tae-hyun realized he had underestimated Evangeline.

I planned to have Cain tie them down and stall, but...

Tae-hyun had assumed Cain could at least endure that much. However, he had overlooked a crucial detail: Evangeline's racial trait. As a Vampire, she could heal and grow stronger through Vampiric Drain! Stalling for time wasn't going to wear her down; it was only going to make her more formidable.

So you finally noticed! But it's too late! Evangeline smirked as she saw Tae-hyun rushing over to cover Cain. Many teams had tried to stall against her, and every single one of them had ended up defeated.

Now, what are you going to do? Is there any way out of this? Evangeline had absolute faith in her character. No matter how monstrous Tae-hyun was, there was no way he could pierce her defenses and burst her down in this situation!

"Ugh!" Cain's guard finally shattered, and his stance crumbled. Evangeline immediately unleashed another skill to seal the deal.

"Ancient Blood Curse!"

A crimson barrier materialized between Kim Chul-soo and Cain, temporarily severing the Priest's ability to buff or heal his teammate.

"Die!"

"!"

Tae-hyun lunged at Evangeline. Despite being caught off guard, she reacted instantly and raised her guard.

Come on, show me what you've got!

Clang!

Tae-hyun's fierce strike collided with her defense, but Evangeline successfully blocked it.

I stopped it!

But before she could even finish the thought, Tae-hyun hurled a handful of bombs he had crafted using Dismantle Equipment.

"Where did you get those—?!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A massive explosion engulfed all four of them. Evangeline was shocked, but her mind raced to find a way out.

The damage... I can take it! If I activate Vampiric Drain and Bloodlust, then consume my accumulated stacks, I can heal back up instantly—

But her skills failed. Between the paralysis effect of the explosion and the sudden skill failures, Evangeline was rendered completely helpless.

What did he do?!

Evangeline possessed a powerful passive skill that prevented her skills from failing—an absolute necessity for someone cursed with her level of abysmal luck. Yet, the system had bypassed that passive and forced a failure anyway.

It was actually the power of Archisus, but Evangeline had no way of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knowing that. She assumed Tae-hyun had somehow targeted her weakness—her terrible luck.

I've been had...!

Tae-hyun lunged at her, his eyes cold with the intent to finish the fight!

"Critical Explosion!"

His previous strike hadn't been at full power. No idiot would throw a full-force attack when their opponent was openly daring them to try. If someone was that confident in their defense, they undoubtedly had a way to block it. He had to create an opening first!

It was a shame he had to use his hidden bombs in the very first round, but he had no choice. If he hadn't, Cain would have collapsed right then and there.

Ah. This is bad...

Evangeline's eyes flashed a deep, violent red, and a crimson aura erupted around her. It screamed of a final, desperate struggle! And her target was...

Not Tae-hyun, but Cain.

"Why me?!"

Fortunately, Cain's scream was drowned out by the chaotic noise of the battlefield. If anyone had heard it, his image as a noble tank would have been shattered instantly! But it made sense. Cain had already taken massive damage and was a much easier target than Tae-hyun.

Crunch! Tear!

As Cain, pinned by Evangeline, watched his HP plummet below 10% and struggled desperately to break free...

"Huh? How did Tae-hyun use that?"

With the activation of Tae-hyun's skill, Cain was barely saved. Evangeline crumbled into light, dead! Tae-hyun immediately turned his sights on the spearman. Perhaps having lost all hope the moment Evangeline died, the opponent went down without much of a fight.

"Wow, that was insane. Seriously insane. Absolutely insane..." Cain muttered, looking completely shell-shocked.

If there was one major difference between traditional games and Pandemonium Online, it was that players actually experienced everything firsthand. Having to block a rampaging Evangeline head-on for the entire first match had left Cain mentally and physically exhausted.

"This is a problem," Tae-hyun muttered.

"Huh? Why?" Cain lifted his head, dazed. They had won, so why was it a problem?

"If we show all our cards in the very first match... Evangeline is stronger than I expected. And our team has more dead weight than I—mmph!"

Lee Se-yeon quickly slapped her hand over Tae-hyun's mouth, realizing exactly what he was about to say. Cain had been pushed back, but Do Dong-su was also a massive liability. It was a miracle his solo stunt had succeeded this time; normally, charging in like that would have gotten him killed instantly! The opponents weren't idiots; they would definitely adapt in the next round. The real issue was whether Dong-su, riding the high of a single success, would actually stay put in the next match.

If I say anything now, he'll just throw an even bigger tantrum. Ugh, I seriously just want to forfeit.

Contrary to popular belief, Lee Se-yeon didn't actually have a saintly personality. She was only holding back her temper because she was the one who had assembled this team! The moment this tournament was over, she fully intended to scream, "It was miserable working with you all, and I hope I never see any of you again!"

"By the way, Tae-hyun," Kim Chul-soo asked, "how did you use that skill?"

"That's not what's important right now..." Tae-hyun smoothly deflected the question. Kim Chul-soo looked flustered but didn't press further. Such were the limits of a nice guy.

"We got greedy, but it paid off. Right?"

The Canadian representative players nodded in agreement. Though they had lost the first match, they had gained invaluable information.

"Do Dong-su is definitely going to try another solo stunt, don't you think? Let's set a trap for him right from the start."

"The moment he crosses over to our side, we cut him off from his Priest's support and burst him down."

"What about Kim Tae-hyun?"

"He has way too many hidden skills. Honestly, his character is just as broken as mine. And where on earth did those bombs come from?"

"I think he crafted them on the spot. There might be a skill like that in blacksmithing or Engineering."

"We'd have to actually fight him more to know for sure... He's incredibly bizarre."

Despite their loss, there was no gloom in the Canadian camp. They were confident they could win the next match.

"We'll trap Do Dong-su, pressure Cain head-on to break him, and bind Kim Tae-hyun as much as possible now that we know his skills. If Dong-su and Cain fall, we can easily overwhelm them with numbers. Even Tae-hyun won't be able to do anything once those two are gone."

The spearman nodded at Evangeline's words. "I'll stop Kim Tae-hyun, even if it costs me my life."

Tae-hyun was the source of every variable in the Korean team. If they could shut down his skills, they would eliminate all uncertainty!

"Is there some brilliant strategy we could use..."

Before the second match began, Tae-hyun fell deep into thought. Seeing this, Lee Se-yeon wanted to snap, "You should have done that thinking before the match started!" but she held her tongue. Even though they were close enough to speak casually, bringing down team morale right before a match was a bad idea.

I can't set a fire. And I can't collapse the bridge... Wait, hold on.

There was no rule saying he couldn't collapse the bridge. But if he did, how would he pull it off?

I can use Divine Foresight to find the structural weak points, hack at them like crazy with my greatsword... and finish it off with a bomb. But how do I buy enough time, and how do I lure the enemies onto it...?

Having formulated a plan, Tae-hyun stared intently at Lee Se-yeon.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked warily.

"Like what?"

"Like you're planning to exploit me for something you need."

"Come on, we're on the same team. Haha. Why would you say such a thing?"

Tae-hyun leaned in and lowered his voice so only Se-yeon could hear. "Can you summon some undead to buy me some time?"

"What? Doing that without corpses is incredibly inefficient. I need to conserve my MP."

Because her level had been scaled down to 100, Se-yeon had adjusted her tactics. Instead of her usual high-firepower playstyle of overwhelming enemies with powerful undead, she was focusing on efficient curse skills to keep the opponents in check.

"Just listen. Summon them at the start and push them forward aggressively. While they're distracted, I'll plant bombs on the bridge."

"...I already want to stop listening."

"And then, we send in Do Dong-su."

"..."

"Judging by the first match, Dong-su is a natural at solo operations. If he charges in alongside the undead, the enemy team won't suspect a thing."

"You're seriously going to get PK'd in real life one of these days."

Tae-hyun and Dong-su frequently ran into each other at the broadcasting station. Yet, Tae-hyun was still cooking up a scheme like this. It was a plan only Tae-hyun could devise—a man completely unbothered by the awkwardness of real-life social relations.

"Once Dong-su goes wild and starts to retreat, the enemy team will eagerly give chase. That's when we blow the bridge."

"You're not going to explain this plan to Do Dong-su, are you?"

"Of course not."

Tae-hyun's words sounded like the whisper of a devil. Se-yeon pinched the bridge of her nose, a fierce conflict raging in her mind.

Just do it. You know it's a good plan. It has a much higher success rate than dragging things out into a messy brawl.

No, you can't. Do Dong-su ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is still our teammate. He's only acting out because Tae-hyun keeps tormenting him. Think about what Tae-hyun did to him back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Pan-On 1. It's only natural he holds a grudge. Sure, he's currently ignoring orders, acting selfishly, and doing everything he shouldn't do, which is driving you crazy, but...

Listening to the voice of her conscience, Se-yeon made her decision in an instant.

"Fine. Let's do it!"

"That's the Lee Se-yeon I know!"

"Don't say it like that, it sounds insulting."

The second match kicked off with an undead rush. It was an aggressive opening move unlike anything Lee Se-yeon had shown before! The Canadian team was thrown into confusion as a horde of undead swarmed onto the bridge.

"What is this?"

"Did Lee Se-yeon throw the match? There's no way she has any MP left after summoning all of this!"

"Clear them out first! There might be a trap..."

At that moment, a shadow leaped out from beside a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Death Knight.

It was Do Dong-su.