Baha Walks Right Into the Trap

Kim Tae-hyun nodded in deep satisfaction. If only there were more people like this in the world, life would be so much easier to coast through!

"Ah, Tae-hyun. Would it be alright if I brought Baher and his friends along too?" Baha asked.

"Excuse me? Are you sure you want to be such a suck—cough, I mean, are you sure that's alright with you?"

Tae-hyun almost let his true thoughts slip, but quickly caught himself and asked again. No matter how he looked at it, how could such a wonderfully kind sucker—no, player—even exist?

"Baher absolutely adores you, Tae-hyun. If I tell him, he'll be over the moon."

From Tae-hyun's perspective, he was thinking, Why are these people so eager to play the fool? But from Baha's perspective, it was the exact opposite.

Among young players like Baher, getting to run a quest with Tae-hyun was an astronomical opportunity. Forget the rewards—just playing alongside him was a massive honor!

In fact, Baher was already jumping for joy upon hearing the news from his father.

"Ah, yes. Of course. Let's do that," Tae-hyun replied.

"Kim Tae-hyun, get out here right now!"

"?"

Tae-hyun turned his head in confusion. The Guild Alliance players had just raided the place, only to be thoroughly thrashed by the Magic Tower mages and forced to log out. Who could possibly be coming now?

Whoever it was, they either lacked fear or lacked a brain. One of those two was definitely missing.

"Hand over the ring!"

"Ah. It's you."

"'It's you'?! Is that all you have to say to the person who saved your life when you were about to die?!"

Evangeline approached, huffing and puffing with rage. Last time, after Tae-hyun had promised, "Help me out and I'll give you a ring~," Evangeline had personally stepped up to help him break through the encirclement. Because of that, she had been targeted and kept in check by various factions ever since.

She had been completely misunderstood as one of Tae-hyun's people! Naturally, from Evangeline's perspective, it was utterly absurd and unfair.

If I didn't have something to get from him, I would've joined those hundred players and beaten him up myself!

But public perception had already solidified, and there was no turning back. The only thing left for her to do was at least secure the ring.

Yet, Tae-hyun had been completely silent.

Evangeline clenched her fists.

This absolute motherf—...!

In the end, she had no choice but to track him down in person. Fortunately, Tae-hyun's location was revealed soon enough.

...I have absolutely no idea what kind of insane circumstances led him to attempt a quest like that, but let's just go!

And that was how she had ended up here.

"Hey, I told you, I forgot. You should have sent me a whisper."

"I did!"

"Ah. Really? My bad. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get so many whispers that I blocked most of them... Here. Here's your ring."

"..."

Even though she had received the item she wanted, she still felt incredibly wronged and uneasy! Evangeline closed her eyes to control her temper.

I am a master of anger management. I can control my temper perfectly. That bastard Kim Tae-hyun has always been like this...

"What are you doing with your eyes closed?"

"...By the way, what kind of quest are you even doing right now?"

Evangeline changed the subject to keep her rage in check. In truth, she was also curious. What kind of quest was he doing that suddenly had him clearing a Magic Tower mage quest?

"It's a long story..."

As she listened to his explanation, Evangeline's face twisted into a bizarre expression.

"So... you came here to help a player who took your cooking skill as an apprentice win a contest, but when you entered the Magic Tower to find what you needed, the Archmage NPCs fell in love with your talent and forced you to take a test?"

"Pretty much."

"...And you cleared all of it?"

"Yeah. I got what I wanted, so it's time to move on to the next place."

"Where are you going?"

"The Auston Kingdom."

"?!"

Evangeline gasped in shock. Going to the Auston Kingdom right now could only mean one thing.

Come and kill me if you can! Haha! It was the ultimate provocation!

Although the large guilds had formed an alliance, it was hard to find any high-level rankers among the players who actively attacked Tae-hyun. The 1-versus-100 incident was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exceptional case where Pan-On 1 players had spontaneously gathered in a fit of rage after the shock of Tae-hyun revealing his identity.

In fact, the players the Guild Alliance had sent after him since then were mostly specialized in PvP and assassination rather than actual rankers. Rankers were highly selfish and rarely moved unless they had a guaranteed opportunity.

But if he went to the Auston Kingdom? No matter how selfish those rankers were, they would all swarm him, thinking, This is our chance! The Guild Alliance would also throw everything they had at him.

"What are you planning to do?! If you get caught, you'll die instantly!"

"It's not that bad," Tae-hyun replied nonchalantly.

Aside from Tae-hyun, the Auston Kingdom was the only place where players held territories and ruled as lords. Because of this, the kingdom was currently divided in a highly complex manner.

About half of it still belonged to the original Auston Kingdom. One-third was controlled by the Guild Alliance. The remaining one-sixth was split among various other guilds that had sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

If I go toward the Guild Alliance's territory, players will swarm me like crazy, but if I use other routes, I can handle this pretty easily.

Most players believed that the Guild Alliance had already swallowed the Auston Kingdom. Even if they hadn't yet, it was only a matter of time!

Indeed, the Guild Alliance was continuously expanding its territory through attacks or absorbing rival guilds.

But Tae-hyun wasn't afraid. He had caused far greater chaos in even more desperate situations than this!

"Huh? Isn't that Evangeline over there?"

"It really is. What's going on?"

"Ex-Excuse me, could I get an autograph?!"

The surrounding players, noticing Evangeline and Tae-hyun talking, began to gather and whisper among themselves.

"Ah. Yes, of course."

"Me too! Me too!"

"Can we take a picture together, just once?!"

Watching the players swarm to form a line, Tae-hyun wore a look of utter disbelief.

"...What? What's with that look?"

"Why are they lining up?"

"Because I'm popular, obviously..."

"Wow. I can't believe you just said that with your own mouth."

"You're the one who asked!!" Evangeline snapped, her face flushing red.

How could he ask the question himself and then look at her like she was some kind of shameless narcissist!

"Besides, people swarm around you like this too. Why are you acting so surprised?"

"Ah. I usually wear a disguise."

"..."

Evangeline nodded, understanding. In truth, while Tae-hyun's habit of wearing disguises was part of it, the massive disparity in their public images played an even bigger role.

During the tournament, Evangeline had projected a wholesome, cooperative image as a leader who guided her teammates. Combined with her stunning looks, it was only natural that people adored her!

On the other hand, Tae-hyun...

He was incredibly popular, but there was something terrifying about approaching him! Since no one dared to take the first step, everyone else got swept up in the atmosphere and simply watched from a safe distance.

"But why did Evangeline show up here?"

"Seeing them talk like that, do you think Kim Tae-hyun called her?"

"If Kim Tae-hyun called her... gasp! Of course!"

"What? Why?"

"Why else would he call her? There's only one reason! He called her to fight against the Guild Alliance!"

"Oh my god...! That must be it!"

Evangeline snapped her head around. What on earth are they talking about?

One of the mages receiving an autograph bowed deeply and spoke.

"Thank you so much! I was working so hard during the raid earlier, and I was absolutely furious when it got disrupted...! To think you'd step up to help us like this!"

"Ah, no... I haven't actually..." Evangeline stammered.

She was completely flustered, but the other players interpreted her stuttering in a completely different light.

"Not yet?"

"What does she mean by 'not yet'?"

"She means 'I am still hungry'! In other words, her anger won't be appeased until she completely crushes the Guild Alliance for disrupting innocent players' raids!"

"Incredible...!"

"..."

"Evangeline! Evangeline! Evangeline!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

Most of the players near the Magic Tower right now were those who had excitedly participated in the demon raid. They were the very players whose first-ever chance at a demon raid had been ruined by the Guild Alliance!

Naturally, this kind of grudge lasted the longest. Yet, because their opponent was so terrifyingly powerful, they hadn't even dared to protest. But now, top-tier rankers were stepping up for them!

"You guys are our only hope!"

"That's right! The Guild Alliance only cares about themselves!"

"Long live Kim Tae-hyun! Long live Evangeline!"

"...You planned this, didn't you?!" Evangeline hissed fiercely at Tae-hyun.

Of course, from Tae-hyun's perspective, he was entirely innocent.

"No, I didn't. How could I possibly plan something like this?"

"If it's you, it's entirely possible!"

"Even for me, how could I plan... Well, actually, now that I think about it, I probably could have. But regardless, I didn't do it this time. Just tell them it's a misunderstanding and that you only came because I owed you something."

"..."

Evangeline looked around. The eyes of the players were filled with overwhelming expectation!

I... I can't reject them...!

Unlike Tae-hyun, who could easily say, "Ah, not my problem, so get lost," no matter what others thought, Evangeline still possessed a warm heart.

"I-I'll do my best...?"

"Waaaaaaaah!"

Evangeline hung her head low in defeat.

"I did it!"

The explorer player, Homa, threw his arms up in the air and rejoiced. He had finally succeeded in lifting the curse. And he had done it before Jekas!

"Everyone! Did you see that?! The freezing cold of the continent is finally over!"

Homa jumped up and down in sheer excitement. The viewers watching his stream celebrated along with him. Finally, this dreadful cold was over!

However, the farmer players were overlooking one crucial detail. One of the primary reasons their farming had failed in the first place was still very much alive!

And that was...

The rabbit hordes.

"??"

Tae-hyun tilted his head in confusion as he watched a massive, pure white wave swarming across the fields. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Upon closer inspection, it was a horde of rabbits.

"Why are there so many of them now?"

"I heard the winter curse on the continent was lifted. An explorer player named Homa cleared it."

"Good for them. What kind of jerk would cause such a nuisance..."

Tae-hyun spoke with utter shamelessness. Unaware of the underlying truth, the others simply nodded in agreement.

"But is that why the rabbits multiplied so much?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"Hmm..."

Tae-hyun pulled out an item.

Equip.

Flash!

The rabbits wandering around the area suddenly turned their heads toward Tae-hyun and began swarming toward him, their eyes brimming with deep affection!

Considering the title I have, this feels a bit awkward...

Tae-hyun stared down at the rabbits with a highly conflicted expression.