This Time Will Be Different

In the end, however, no one ran away. With so many people gathered, everyone was too busy keeping an eye on each other to back down. Besides, when a crowd of this size gathered, a peculiar atmosphere naturally formed.

It was the hope that this time would be different! Betting on that very hope, the players began to march inside.

The players quickly searched for information on the dungeon.

"This dungeon itself is low difficulty, but the one it connects to seems pretty tough. Apparently, people tried to clear it a few times and failed?"

"Hey, but why can't we see Kim Tae-hyun? Something's weird..."

"You did use the Stealth Detection Scroll, right? You didn't skip it to save money, did you?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I used it, you jerk!"

Since he wouldn't be riding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a motorcycle inside a dungeon, Tae-hyun, who had just entered, couldn't have gone very far. Yet, despite how fast they were moving, there was no sign of him.

"This is going nowhere."

"Should we step in?"

"Yeah, we should. If we just leave them be, this will never end."

One of the players whispering in the back stepped forward.

"Alright. From now on, I'm in charge!"

"What?"

"Who do you think you are... Wait, isn't that Jang Ssu-an?"

"Jang Ssu-an? The same Jang Ssu-an who got wrecked by Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Hey, keep your mouth shut! Why would you say that out loud? He's going to get pissed if he hears you."

A vein throbbed on Jang Ssu-an's forehead before fading.

"Shut up. That's exactly why you losers keep losing to Kim Tae-hyun. I watched you guys gather and shout all kinds of orders, but none of you actually know what you're doing..."

When the attack first began, the Rankers had been watching the situation from the back. Knowing Tae-hyun's absurd attack power, stepping forward first was nothing short of suicide. The best strategy was to let the other players throw themselves at Kim Tae-hyun to inflict as much damage as possible, and then strike!

"What is this guy even talking about? He got wrecked by Kim Tae-hyun just like the rest of us..."

Twitch—

Whoosh!

The moment the words left the player's mouth, Jang Ssu-an drew his sword and lunged.

"?!"

Never expecting that members of their own alliance would fight among themselves, the opponent took the first blow head-on.

"Urgh!"

Swish, slash, slice!

A flurry of consecutive attacks followed! The opposing player was a fairly high-level player in his own right, but he couldn't even manage a single counterattack before being forcefully logged out.

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold.

Unbothered, Jang Ssu-an spoke.

"Listen up. All you guys did since Pan-On 1 was run around looting and playing games. Kim Tae-hyun is on a completely different level from you. Don't make things difficult by acting on your own. Just follow my orders, and I'll make sure we catch Kim Tae-hyun."

"You're acting a bit too big for your boots, Jang Ssu-an. It's not just small-fry like them here, you know?"

"Kawahara. You're here too?"

The Battle Shaman, Kawahara. He was one of the Rankers. He had crossed paths with Tae-hyun back when the Guild Alliance brought in the Rankers. And even before that, they had met once. They had met and he had been crushed in Pan-On 1!

I should have crushed him back then...

Looking back now, he wondered how he could have been so blind.

"You know it too. We can't do this with just these guys. Especially since about half of our forces already split off."

"I know. Fine. I'll step up too, so let's join forces."

With famous Rankers taking charge, the other players shrank back.

"You all heard us, right? Do as we say. Otherwise, you're just going to get slaughtered by Kim Tae-hyun again."

But you guys lost to Kim Tae-hyun too... someone thought to themselves, but no one dared say it out loud.

"Kim Tae-hyun probably ran into the dungeon thinking he could avoid getting surrounded, but he made a mistake. We have no intention of backing down. Even if we have to throw every single person here into the meat grinder, we will catch him! This place will become his grave!"

"Good thinking. Besides, the more time passes, the worse it gets for Kim Tae-hyun. More players will keep pouring in."

The scattered players would eventually gather here over time. If Tae-hyun couldn't escape, he would inevitably be cornered.

"Just make sure Kim Tae-hyun can't run away."

"Don't worry. Look at how many people we have surrounding this place. Let's go!"

The players began to rapidly clear the dungeon. Unlike the dungeon crawling with rabbits, the outer dungeon was easy enough for even low-level players to clear. It was absolutely no match for an ambush party ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of this size, composed of at least high-level players.

"Is Kim Tae-hyun still not showing himself?"

"He went into the next dungeon."

They expected traps or some kind of ambush to appear by now, but there was absolutely nothing.

Kim Tae-hyun must have been in a real hurry. Did he run straight inside without even having time to set anything up?

Thank goodness we didn't give him time to gather materials.

With those thoughts, the players entered the rabbit dungeon.

"Ugh! It's the rabbits!"

"Their attack power is insane! Watch out!"

Seeing them, Jang Ssu-an grimaced as bitter memories flooded back.

"Jang Ssu-an. You've been here before. What do we need to watch out for here?"

"...The rabbits. And since Kim Tae-hyun knows this place well, we need to be careful of him too."

"Everyone knows that much."

"Well, that's all there is, so what do you want me to do?" Jang Ssu-an snapped irritably as he dodged an oncoming rabbit.

Noticing his irritation, Kawahara didn't press further. He had no desire to waste energy bickering here.

"Clear them all out! They're blocking the way inside."

"Where is Kim Tae-hyun hiding?!"

"Use your detection skills! Make sure he can't escape!"

The gathered players were constantly casting detection-type skills, even lavishly tearing through expensive scrolls ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without a second thought! Knowing that Tae-hyun was highly skilled in stealth and disguise, it was a natural precaution. Yet, Tae-hyun still didn't appear.

No traps, no ambushes... this is so unlike Kim Tae-hyun. What on earth is going on?

"Did this bastard run all the way to the boss room?"

"Since it's never been cleared before, is he trying to use that to his advantage?"

"Ha. If he thinks he can escape with such a shallow trick, he's sorely mistaken."

If he had fled to the final boss room, they would simply trample him along with the boss.

"Kim Tae-hyun! Show yourself! Let's fight!"

"Are you hiding because you're scared of us?!"

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun was sprinting away at full speed—in the form of a rabbit! Even Tae-hyun had never imagined he would use the skill he received from Carbanog in a place like this. The rabbit dungeon was naturally teeming with rabbits, and when he transformed into one and dashed past, the players barely spared him a glance. They were already in a perilous situation dealing with the high-attack-power horned rabbits; there was no need to invite more trouble.

Thanks to that, Tae-hyun slipped away effortlessly and made his way to the dungeon entrance. The countless detection skills being spammed in all directions couldn't pierce his disguise.

A god wasn't called a god for nothing! Thanks to his divine disguise, Tae-hyun successfully exited the dungeon, bounded across the grassy plains, and approached a nearby city.

"Huh? A rabbit."

"What are you talking about? This is the Central Continent. There are no rabbits around here."

"But I saw a rabbit over there."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Maybe it's someone's pet?"

"Who keeps a rabbit as a pet? Talk about having too much free time."

Even for pets, it was rare for anyone to carry around a monster as weak as a rabbit.

Cancel Transformation!

Tae-hyun returned to his human form. He immediately used his mask to change his face.

I should change my equipment too.

He needed some generic gear that wouldn't draw attention even if others looked at him.

Should I go to a decent blacksmith and buy some...?

Tae-hyun let out a hollow laugh. To think he would run into the same tiresome blacksmiths from his own territory all the way out here.

"Oh? Are you perhaps interested in this item?"

Seeing Tae-hyun stop and chuckle, the Engineering blacksmith quickly approached, sensing an opportunity.

"Let me tell you just how amazing this gear is..."

"Not buying."

"...Oh, okay..."

Of course, business was business, and personal connections were personal connections! Tae-hyun coldly rejected him and walked away.

And then, he sent a whisper to Cain.

If Tae-hyun was alone, it was incredibly difficult for the enemies to detect him. He had broken items and plenty of ways to evade detection skills. On the other hand, Cain...

Cain tried to play dumb, but Tae-hyun, who had already caught on, refused to back down.

Cain shut his mouth.

Click—

Tae-hyun cut off the whisper.

Now, where should I go...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

"?!"

Suddenly, players began teleporting all around Tae-hyun! Rather than panicking, Tae-hyun's hands moved first.

Shadow Leap! Near-Perfect Consecutive Strikes!

"Aaaaargh!"

One unlucky player who had teleported closest to Tae-hyun was instantly logged out. However, the other players all managed to arrive safely. There were about twenty of them. The problem was that half of them looked like Rankers.

Jang Ssu-an, looking absolutely furious, spat out, "Kim... Tae... hyun...! How dare you make a fool of me again?!"

"Who were you again...? Eh, not like it matters."

"..."

"More importantly, how did you know I was here?"

"You're not the only one with skills," one of the Rankers spoke up.

After Tae-hyun slipped away, the players remaining in the dungeon had charged all the way to the boss room. Yet, Tae-hyun was nowhere to be found. As they were getting thrashed by the boss monster as punishment for ignoring the rabbits, the players finally realized something was wrong.

In the midst of the chaos, an archer Ranker, who had fallen behind earlier while trying to block Evangeline's attack, arrived and activated a skill.

Eye of the Forest!

It was a powerful Authority skill capable of tracking Tae-hyun if he was within a certain range. Yet, even then, Tae-hyun wasn't caught.

They couldn't detect Tae-hyun while he was in his rabbit form, but once the transformation wore off, they were finally able to pinpoint his location.

Hearing the explanation, Tae-hyun thought to himself:

Wait, is this skill actually incredibly good?