A Shameless Trade and a Clueless Encounter
"..." The spearman who had been trying to follow and support Evangeline stood there, his jaw hanging open. *Slide.* Tae-hyun slowly approached. The sheer pressure radiating from him required no words!
"A-A-A-Aaargh!" In half-despair, the spearman lunged forward. Of course, the world was a cold, harsh place.
Stepping out of their capsules, the two teams faced each other. It was time for the heartwarming post-match handshake! Of course, the losing team felt anything but warm inside, but the broadcasting station didn't care about that.
Evangeline smiled as she extended her hand to Tae-hyun. "You did so well. Just so well, didn't you? Huh? Are you happy? Are you?!" Her face wore a warm, friendly smile, but her words were the exact opposite! Naturally, the cameras, which only captured the video feed, couldn't pick up their conversation.
"It's wonderful to see them acknowledging each other after such an legendary match."
"This is the true friendship of pro gamers. I felt it a lot during my active days too. You fight like enemies during the match, but once it's over, the atmosphere changes completely."
Evangeline squeezed his hand with all her might, whispering murderously. Of course, Tae-hyun was not the type of person to succumb to such pressure.
"Die. Die twice. Die thrice." As Evangeline rapidly spat out curses in English, Cain whispered inquisitively.
"What is she saying?"
"Can't you even understand the word 'die'?"
"..." Cain backed away, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Perhaps feeling better after letting it all out, Evangeline let out a deep sigh and stopped cursing. "I wanted us to have a proper, head-to-head fight..."
"Why would we have a head-to-head fight when you're so strong? It's not like you would've accepted if I suggested we take turns hitting each other to decide the winner. Isn't that a bit cheap? Wanting to fight only when it's advantageous to you... that's completely shameless..."
"..." As if he has any right to talk about conscience! Evangeline desperately tried to squeeze his hand harder, but Tae-hyun didn't even flinch.
"Ugh! Urgh! Ngggh!"
"There's no point in doing that. My Strength stat is higher than yours."
"This is reality, you know?!"
"Not like reality changes much... Anyway, I have some news you might like."
"Are you quitting Pan-On?"
"Hmm. I actually crafted an item that blocks the bad luck penalty... but fine. I guess I'll just destroy it."
"W-Wait! Hold on!!" Evangeline blurted out in a panic. What did he just say? "You made an item that blocks the bad luck penalty?"
"Well, you fought the Sadiq Church for my sake, but all you got in return was a bad luck penalty. It weighed a bit on my conscience."
"...Oh, is that so?" She didn't believe him for a second, but Evangeline nodded anyway.
"You don't seem to believe me. Fine, then. The item..."
"No! I believe you! I do! I absolutely believe you!"
"After all, what is my order? It's the order of luck."
"And gambling..."
"Shut it. Anyway, after looking into various things, I succeeded in crafting an item that blocks the bad luck penalty."
"Ah...! Give it to me! Give it! Please!"
"Uh-uh. Who was it that just told me to quit the game?"
"You misheard!"
"Didn't you also tell me to die?"
"I meant die inside the arena! Anyone can say that during a match!"
"You've gotten quite shameless." Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. People really do grow! When they first met, Evangeline had been the ultimate loner. To think she had transformed like this from the girl who used to be incredibly awkward talking to others. And she had even acquired this level of shamelessness!
"I learned from the best while fighting a certain someone."
"I don't know who that is, but they sound like an excellent person. You should keep learning from them. Anyway... let's make a trade."
"Huh?"
"You didn't honestly think you were getting this for free, did you? No way, right? Seriously? Wow, where is your conscience?"
"..." I must never let this guy get leverage over me! Tae-hyun really squeezed every last drop out of people.
"...What do you want?"
"It's nothing major. To put it simply..." Tae-hyun then spent about three minutes listing his demands in detail.
"...Simply?"
"It is simple. Hand over the ring, and bring some Vampires along when we have our territory war."
"If it's a territory war, it's for your order. Is it really okay to bring Vampires there...?"
"Who cares? We already have Sadiq Church NPCs there anyway."
"You have Sadiq Church NPCs in your territory?!" Evangeline was shocked. Just what on earth had happened while she was away?!
"It's a long story. So, are you in or out?"
"I can agree to everything else you proposed. But..."
"?"
"That ring became untradeable because I bound it to a quest and upgraded it, so I can't give it to you anymore..."
"..." The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold. Tae-hyun quickly tried to let go of Evangeline's hand. Grab! But this time, Evangeline held onto his hand tightly. Tae-hyun spoke with a deadpan expression.
"What are you doing? Please let go of my hand, valued customer."
"Aren't we friends?"
"We're not friends. I don't have friends who try to freeload off me. Besides, since when did you become so friendly? I'd prefer it if you went back to being a loner."
Ignoring Tae-hyun's mental attack, Evangeline focused on her goal. She absolutely could not let that item slip through her fingers.
"Come on, don't be like this! I'll bring the Vampires to help you! They'll be useful for sure! They're seriously strong!"
"No, thank you. Not interested."
"Something else! Is there nothing else you want?!"
Poke, poke. Cain nudged Tae-hyun in the ribs.
"?"
"How long are you two going to keep holding hands?"
"..." Looking around, everyone from the commentators to the audience in the stands was staring at them. The other players had already finished shaking hands, and the commentators had even wrapped up their post-match analysis, yet the two of them were still holding hands and bickering.
"Heheh, heheheh, ahahaha..." Cain chuckled foolishly as he logged into his capsule. Since starting Pan-On, Cain felt he could confidently call this his golden age. The Red Zone Guild? That wasn't even close to a golden age. It had just been an illusion! Looking at his current position, he realized he had been nothing more than a big fish in a tiny pond back then.
To think he had once been satisfied with extorting pocket change as a PK player and getting minor attention on his personal stream. Look at him now! He had been reborn, and he had even reached the finals of the Arena Tournament, which was drawing global attention. On top of that, the public reception was fantastic.
"..."
T-The best tank in the world? That's... Just reading those words made his heart flutter!
No, you idiots...! Cain's public image had somehow solidified as "a highly skilled but rude, bad-tempered attention seeker." While this had certainly earned him a dedicated fanbase of people who loved that kind of personality, Cain felt somewhat resentful. All of those things had actually been done by Kim Tae-hyun...!
Whew. No. I'm satisfied with where I am. I'm satisfied... Let's not get too greedy... or I'll end up like Do Dong-su. The only thing improving day by day was his ability to control his emotions. Cain successfully calmed his mind and let out a quiet breath. At the very least, the majority of the fans acknowledged his skill.
Now that he had reached the tournament finals, he could feel a stark difference in how the people around him treated him.
"Son, make sure to eat something while you play. Your mother is always rooting for you."
"Hello? Is this Deok-su? It's me, Dahye. Yeah, you remember me, right? Congratulations on making it to the tournament finals. By the way, I have this really great insurance policy..."
Thinking about it, some of them were a bit sketchy, but they were positive reactions nonetheless.
If there's one disappointing thing, it's that I haven't received any offers from professional gaming teams. Why is that? It seems like I should have gotten some by now... Cain found it puzzling. Rumors were already circulating among the players who made it to the main tournament. They said offers were flying around to join newly forming teams. Yet, Cain hadn't received a single one.
When he had asked Tae-hyun about this, Tae-hyun had simply patted him on the shoulder with a look of pity and walked away.
Hmm, maybe they're holding off on contacting me so they don't distract me before the finals? Yeah, that must be it. I should just wait! There's no way they won't reach out! Cain was completely unaware of the fact that he had been hanging up on recruiters, shouting, "Ah, I'm not changing my phone plan! I'm not buying whatever you're selling!"
"Alright. Time to practice today too!" Cain bumped his fists together and picked up his weapon. Lately, his routine upon logging in consisted of skill practice. He was being cautious about doing quests or going out into the fields because of the Arena Tournament. He was still dumbfounded by the time he had been ambushed by someone pretending to be a fan. There were far more people like Kim Tae-hyun in the world than he had thought.
"Hup! Hup! Hup!" He was aiming to raise his skill levels. Since Cain had changed classes to Aykisus's Slave midway through, his skill levels were at a bit of a disadvantage. Fortunately, despite its questionable name, the Aykisus's Slave class itself was actually quite good; otherwise, he would have had an incredibly difficult time.
Cain had originally prioritized leveling up over raising his skill levels. That was the standard approach, after all. But Tae-hyun's advice had been different: "Raise your skill levels, you idiot. Do you want to lose to someone at a lower level than you?" It was simple advice, but it hit home! In any case, Tae-hyun was far superior to Cain when it came to Pan-On, so Cain decided to meekly follow his words. That was why he was currently training his skills, even if it didn't look very cool...
"Yaaah! Swordsmanship skill! Go up, swordsmanship skill!" Passersby whispered as they watched him.
"Who is that?"
"Isn't that Cain? He looks like Cain."
"Why would Cain be doing that? It's probably just some newbie who came to check out the arena. He's dressed like Cain, though. Did he pay-to-win?"
Cain flinched every time he overheard their comments. But he didn't stop. Just as Evangeline had grown from a loner to a social butterfly, Cain's skin had grown incredibly thick from spending time with Tae-hyun. A little criticism like this was nothing to him now!
"Hey."
"?" Cain turned around. A woman he had never seen before was glaring at him.
"You know me, right?"
"No, I don't."
"...Ugh, seriously! You did this last time too, and you're still playing dumb! Even though I, your senior, went out of my way to talk to you first! What is seriously wrong with you?!" As the exasperated woman exploded in anger, Cain was left utterly bewildered. Why was a complete stranger acting like this? Studying her face closely, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
She looks a lot like Ha-yeon from Five Girls. Did she customize her avatar to look like her? The resemblance is uncanny. Of course, it actually was Ha-yeon from Five Girls, but Cain's imagination wasn't that wild. Moreover, he lacked the capacity to even begin to fathom why this situation was happening in the first place!
"I really don't know who you are." Cain remained cautious. For all he knew, she could be a fan or someone he knew in real life.
"Y-You jerk, seriously...!"
"No, seriously, who are you?!"
"Your senior! I'm your senior!!" As the woman raised her voice, Cain, feeling unjustly accused, raised his voice as well.
"What senior?! From where?! It's been ages since I graduated!!"
"Your senior at work!!!"
"I'm unemployed!!! I've never even had a job!!!!!"