The Price of Infamy
In Pan-On, there were various tracking skills. Tracking skills categorized under Authority skills, like the one the archer ranker had just used, were difficult to obtain but incredibly powerful. After all, hadn't they located him within a certain range using nothing but Tae-hyun's name? What was even more fascinating was that his own skill had managed to deceive it. Before Tae-hyun could ponder further on the skill, Jang Ssu-an spoke up.
“You won't be able to run away like before. The moment you summon a mount, we'll destroy it.”
Although their numbers had dwindled, they were now a highly concentrated elite force, and their bloodlust was palpable. Furthermore, the distance between them wasn't as vast as it had been in the Prika Arena. They were within arm's reach—close enough to strike with a single swing of a weapon!
'Well, I suppose this is good enough.' Tae-hyun braced himself for battle. He had already managed to whittle down their numbers significantly. To ask for more at this point would be downright greedy!
“!” Tae-hyun sprang into action. With one hand, he unleashed a barrage of fire arrows using Sadiq's Flame, while with the other, he drew his musket and fired a shot. Finally, he lunged in yet another direction, weapon raised.
“He's coming!” The rankers tensed up the moment Tae-hyun moved. Tae-hyun was notorious for creating opportunities with all sorts of bizarre skills to unleash devastating burst damage. If they let their guard down for even a second, they would be done for!
“Haaah!”
Strike from Antiquity
A ranker wielding a greatsword rushed at Tae-hyun from behind. Tae-hyun cast a brief glance backward before turning his attention forward again. He didn't even bother to engage! The ranker bristled with rage at the blatant disregard.
Boom! Crash!
You have successfully evaded the attack.
You have successfully evaded the attack.
The greatsword struck with explosive force, shattering the ground beneath them, yet Tae-hyun took absolutely no damage.
“Half-hearted attacks won't work on him! Watch out!”
“I know!”
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun closed the distance to another target. The startled player unleashed a desperate flurry of attacks, but Tae-hyun deflected, dodged, and finally redirected the force back at his opponent with a counterattack.
“Urgh!”
'That's one.'
Absolute Barrier of Faith
Clang! “!” Tae-hyun's attack was blocked, allowing the player to safely retreat. It was a skill cast by the priest standing in the rear.
'How annoying...'
The enemies were well aware. If they allowed Tae-hyun to log them out one by one, they would quickly find themselves at a disadvantage. That was why they were supporting each other so meticulously.
Whoosh! Several rankers pulled out scrolls and tore them open. A brilliant light erupted, enveloping their bodies. Watching this, Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.
If they were buff scrolls rather than offensive ones...
'Could it be an accuracy-related buff?' Since Tae-hyun's strengths were already public knowledge, they had naturally prepared countermeasures. If they had tried to cast curses on him, he would have reflected them, but self-buffs were a different story...
'I don't think they did it on purpose, but what rotten luck.'
“Surround him and attack all at once! He's incredibly skilled at countering, so be careful. Watch out for bombs!”
“Those scrolls are hard to replace, so let's end this quickly!”
“Let's go!”
Knowing that attacking in staggered intervals would only allow Tae-hyun to defeat them individually, the rankers moved in perfect unison. They had simulated this battle in their minds dozens of times.
☠ Poisoned: Grazed by a Venomous Blade.
👁 Accuracy Decreased: Struck by the Whisper of the Shaking Soul.
🌀 Confusion Penalty: Trapped in the Labyrinth of Hell. Movement is impaired.
Boom! Crash! They were determined to take Tae-hyun down, even if it meant sacrificing one of their own to a counterattack. Under such relentless pressure, even Tae-hyun couldn't find an opening to strike back.
Royal Family's Protection
Tae-hyun immediately activated the skill. Despite only taking a few hits, his HP was plummeting rapidly.
Curse Reflection
“This bastard reflected the curse...!”
Shadow Dive
With the skill active, Tae-hyun pivoted instantly, targeting the archer ranker in the rear.
Critical Explosion
Having already cycled through his various skills, he detonated the critical stacks he had accumulated throughout the fight!
Thud-thud-thud-thud! “Urgh!” It was a strike so swift and devastating that the priest in the back didn't even have time to cast a defensive spell!
'To cut someone down in this situation!'
'He really is unbelievable.'
The rankers shook their heads in disbelief. This situation was overwhelmingly in their favor. Although they lacked the sheer numerical advantage of the previous hundred-man force, their current encirclement was far tighter and more formidable. The deadweight had been weeded out, leaving only true elites. Yet, even while enduring the brunt of their coordinated assault, Tae-hyun was still finding ways to strike back.
“Don't panic. He's the one at a disadvantage anyway.”
“Keep buying time and spamming curses. We'll hold the line.”
The tank-class rankers pinned Tae-hyun down, and whenever he threatened to burst someone down, the priest stepped in to shield them. Meanwhile, the mages kept him constantly debuffed with curses. The scroll-buffed rankers chipped away at his health whenever they saw an opening. It was a textbook strategy, but executed by high-level rankers, even Tae-hyun found it difficult to break through. Furthermore, there were still other players in the vicinity. As time passed, more would inevitably swarm the area.
'If I'm going to settle this, it has to be now.' He hadn't used his resurrection or time-reversal skills yet, but that was precisely why he needed to end this quickly. If he was forced to rely on those, things would get truly dangerous!
Tae-hyun's mind raced. Among his available options, the only thing that could turn the tide right now was...
One of Sadiq's Authority skills. A skill that consumed his Reputation stat to summon a demonic beast.
'I didn't expect to use this so soon, but...!'
Beast Summoning
Reputation stat has decreased.
Infamy stat has increased.
The skill summoned a beast by utilizing the difference between his Infamy and Reputation stats. Which meant...
• Your Infamy stat has overwhelmingly surpassed your Reputation stat. Entry to certain cities is now restricted.
• NPCs within cities may treat you with extreme hostility.
• Guards and soldiers may attempt to arrest you on sight.
Previously, Tae-hyun had kept his high Infamy suppressed by maintaining an even higher Reputation. But now, the scales had tipped in the opposite direction. While this would undoubtedly cause him endless headaches in the future, Tae-hyun decided to focus on the enemies right in front of him first.
“What the hell is this?!”
“Kim Tae-hyun is casting a skill! Interrupt him!”
“We can't! The skill can't be interrupted!”
Rumble! The sky instantly turned pitch-black, churning violently. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the players showered him with various curses to disrupt the cast, but Tae-hyun's skill remained unstoppable.
“- Bwahaha! Master, give the order!”
The booming voice echoed even before the entity fully materialized. Tae-hyun immediately barked his command.
“- Wipe out everyone in the vicinity!”
“- Understood!”
And then, the demonic beast descended from the heavens.
“...!!”
“That's...!”
“A dragon?!”
A massive black dragon with a pitch-black body!
Roaaar!
“It's Dragon Breath!”
“Why is there a dragon here?!”
The sudden appearance of an unexpected boss monster threw the rankers into utter panic. Some scrambled to prepare defenses, some turned to flee, and a stubborn few refused to give up, lunging at Tae-hyun instead. Naturally, such half-hearted attacks were useless against Tae-hyun. He had held his ground when they were fully coordinated; now that they were divided, they were easy pickings.
“Ugh! Argh!”
“Farewell.”
Tae-hyun didn't even bother to attack, quickly backing away to a safe distance. He had a very good idea of what was about to happen.
'Wait, I feel like something similar happened before...' It was remarkably similar to when he had summoned Akisus's divine beast. In fact, Beast Summoning shared almost the exact same mechanics as summoning a divine beast—from the heavy penalties incurred upon summoning to the restriction of not being able to summon another until the current one was dismissed.
Kaaaa-booooom! The black dragon's breath erupted.
“Ah.” Tae-hyun winced as he watched the blast obliterate several nearby city buildings.
Your Infamy has increased.
The city residents now fear you.
“...” His Infamy was already dangerously high, and now it was skyrocketing even further.
The rankers who had set out to hunt Tae-hyun were, of course, broadcasting the entire encounter live. Their goal was to show the entire world the spectacle of Tae-hyun's humiliating defeat! Countless viewers had gathered in the stream to watch the situation unfold.
However, things were heading in the exact opposite direction. Tae-hyun was not only withstanding the rankers' coordinated assault but was also launching devastating counterattacks. And to top it all off, he had summoned a black dragon! The viewers' reactions were explosive. Already, speculation posts regarding Tae-hyun's dragon-summoning skill were flooding the forums.
The stream's chat window was scrolling at a breakneck pace.
While the viewers were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, the rankers on the receiving end were living a nightmare.
“Ugh...!”
“Hold the line! That thing has to be weaker than a real dragon!”
Dragons in Pan-On were absolute monsters, easily exceeding level 500. To date, not a single player had succeeded in slaying one. If the dragon before them possessed that level of power, they would have been wiped out instantly!
'If it's a summon called by Kim Tae-hyun, it has to be weaker than the real deal!'
“- How dare these insects! I shall crush you!”
“- Hey, wait...”
“- Bwahaha! Insects! I shall trample you!”
“- If you use that much power...”
Sensing a deeply familiar, ominous pattern, Tae-hyun tried to rein the dragon in. However, the dragon took another deep breath and intensified the power of its breath even further.
Crack, crackle! Shields shattered, and defensive skills crumbled under the pressure.
“- Bwahaha! It is not over yet!”
Blood Poison of the Great Demonic Beast
The black dragon's curse skills slammed into the players. 'A skill-interruption curse!' The rankers realized their status and gasped in horror. It was a skill designed to pin them down and prevent escape! Seeing this, Tae-hyun shouted urgently.
“- Hey! I'll handle the rest, so save your strength! Save your strength!”
“- Bwahaha! Chaos! Destruction! Oblivion! I am God! I am Sadiq!”
Cough! Ack! Urgh!
“- ...Right. You certainly take after Sadiq.”
True to its origin as one of Sadiq's Authority skills, the summon went completely berserk and self-destructed, mirroring Sadiq's own chaotic nature perfectly.
“- Cough! Cough! Cough!”
Despite coughing up blood, the black dragon did not stop, continuing to unleash its turbulent breath. Eventually, the gathered rankers began to fall one by one.
HP has reached 0. You have died.
HP has reached 0. You have died.
“- To think you would still endure! Insects! Let's see you survive this!”
“- Hey! I told you to stop!”
When a few rankers managed to hold out until the end, the black dragon, its pride wounded, went completely wild. Crash! Smash!
“...” Even the nearby city buildings were caught in the crossfire and began to crumble.
• You have destroyed the marketplace building.
• Infamy increases!
• NPCs have been caught in the attack and killed.
• Infamy increases significantly!
• The city is engulfed in flames.
• Infamy increases exponentially!!
Tae-hyun sighed deeply at the sight. He couldn't help but reflect on his past actions. Ah, I've been treating Yong-yong far too harshly!
This was a level of destruction that forced him to self-reflect! It felt like he was paying the price for forcing Yong-yong to hunt mere rabbits.
Whoosh—thud! After wiping out the rankers and obliterating a city that absolutely did not need to be destroyed, the black dragon crashed to the ground. The massive beast collapsed with a deafening roar. Tae-hyun let out another long, heavy sigh.
“- M-Master. My strength is depleted. To restore my power, you must gather many people and burn them with Sadiq's Flame. Hurry, gather them and burn them.”
“...”
“- What are you doing? I told you to gather them and burn them quickly. Being so sluggish, you will never receive Sadiq's love.”
“Haha. Sure.”
“- ?”