The Return of the Mad Bombers

The Woodstock Guild Leader and his guild members tried their best to persuade Tae-hyun nicely. Of course, this was only because they lacked the confidence to persuade him any other way.

"Hey, Kim Tae-hyun, listen..."

"No."

"I mean, is attacking this place right now really such a good idea?"

"Are you asking me to attack you instead?"

"Why do you always have to be so extreme?!"

Tae-hyun cut them off like a razor, no matter what they said! As the Woodstock Guild members continued to pester him, he finally felt the need to actually convince them.

What a pain in the ass.

Tae-hyun shrugged and said, "Listen carefully. All the strong bastards from the Guild Alliance are currently over at Odan Castle, right?"

"Probably not all of them..."

"Even if it's not all of them, the ones left behind are probably far away doing their own quests. How many high-level rankers do you think are in Arene City right now? At most, it's just crafters or players ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stopping by for a quick visit."

One of the Woodstock guild members spoke up urgently, but the Woodstock Guild Leader already looked swayed. Tae-hyun's words always sounded so incredibly plausible!

"B-but Arene City has guards... and there must be NPC soldiers hired by the Guild Alliance too."

"Who said anything about fighting all of them? Hey, do I look like an idiot? If we fight them all, we'll just waste time and get caught. We slip in, hit their most critical spots, and get out."

"How are we going to hit them? With our numbers..."

"What's my specialty?"

Answers erupted simultaneously at Tae-hyun's question.

"Screwing people over?"

"Backstabbing people?"

"Tormenting people?"

"..."

"Ah, bombs!"

"Exactly. Bombs. We go to their key locations, blow them sky-high, and run. Once we escape, how are they going to catch us?"

"But they'll chase us, won't they?"

"Even if they do, they'll chase me, not you. Don't you remember last time? I ran away as a decoy for your sakes, and the Guild Alliance bastards only chased after me."

Listening quietly, Lee Da-bi tilted her head. If her memory served her right, Tae-hyun had actually 'abandoned' the Woodstock Guild and the winged demons. It was just that the Guild Alliance players had chased only Tae-hyun because of his massive aggro.

"T-that's true!"

However, the Woodstock Guild Leader had long since distorted his own memories as a self-defense mechanism. I wasn't abandoned! Kim Tae-hyun sacrificed himself for us!

"Then... it really might be worth a shot..."

Some guild members feared the aftermath, but their voices were quickly drowned out by the others.

"Well? You in?"

"We're in! Of course!"

"Good. Good."

Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction. Many hands made light work. To strike quickly, accurately, and escape, they needed a decent headcount.

"When are we going in?"

"Hold on. I have some people coming..."

Clop, clop, clop—

Several players came riding out of Arene City on horseback. Judging by their gear, they weren't even level 50! The Woodstock guild members looked on in confusion. Who on earth were they?

"W-wait, hold on...!"

One of the guild members recognized a face and began to tremble.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"T-that's... Gabriel! That crazy mad bomber!"

"Isn't the mad bomber Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Shh! He's standing right next to Kim Tae-hyun."

Gabriel! If Tae-hyun had pioneered the meta of the Engineering blacksmith, it was Gabriel who had elevated its infamy to legendary heights. Gabriel had gathered all the mistreated Engineering blacksmiths and gone around committing all sorts of acts of terror! Because of these blacksmiths who didn't hesitate to self-destruct, even high-level players had to bow their heads to them for a while.

"Why is that guy here..."

"Lord Tae-hyun!"

Gabriel dismounted his horse with a bright, enthusiastic greeting. The moment Tae-hyun had summoned him, he had traveled to another city in the Atali Kingdom, taken a magic portal, and arrived at Arene City. There was no magic portal in Tae-hyun's territory.

Even if we had one, only bastards trying to attack us would use it.

"Wow, thanks. I'm sure you guys are all busy."

"Don't mention it! Whenever you call, Lord Tae-hyun, we will come running!"

"We brought the bombs!"

Each of the blacksmiths carried a massive backpack on their shoulders. The Woodstock guild members got goosebumps just looking at them.

Are those all bombs?!

Indeed. Tae-hyun had messaged Gabriel while heading toward Arene City.

"Now, where should we blow up to make a real name for ourselves..."

"..."

"..."

The Woodstock guild members kept their mouths shut, utterly dumbfounded, but the blacksmiths were a different story. Each of them raised their hands and began passionately pitching ideas.

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠highly recommend the Great Forge!"

"Why?"

"I've just always wanted to blow it up at least once!"

"..."

"I want to blow up the magic portal! Destroying it will cost them a fortune to restore!"

"I recommend the flying mount stables. Blowing that place up will cause them a massive headache!"

These were people who spent every waking moment discussing, "Hey, if we were to blow up a bomb, where would be the best spot?" Such were the blacksmith players residing in Tae-hyun's territory. Eventually, they even grabbed each other by the collars and started bickering!

"No, you idiot! Here is way better than there!"

"Is not! You wanna test whose bomb is stronger?!"

"Fine! Let's play Russian roulette!"

"Alright, everyone calm down."

Tae-hyun pacified the blacksmiths. Then, he looked at Gabriel.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Let's just blow up all the places they mentioned!"

"..."

"..."

Everyone present stared blankly at Gabriel.

He really is a lunatic!

I hope he doesn't act like this in real life...

I heard he's actually quite normal in reality...

Unlike the others, Tae-hyun took Gabriel's suggestion seriously.

"Don't we lack the manpower to blow up all of those places? Arene City is a major metropolis, so there are NPCs stationed everywhere. Once a single bomb goes off, the NPCs will mobilize, making things difficult."

"We just have to detonate them simultaneously."

"How do we do that simultaneously? If we split our forces, it'll be hard to even break through."

While Tae-hyun could easily bypass a guard or two, the others would likely get blocked if they split up.

"Why would we need to break through?"

"?"

"We can just carry the bombs in and self-destruct."

"..."

"..."

"Y-you're joking, right?"

The Woodstock Guild Leader asked, but the blacksmiths were dead serious.

"That's actually a great idea."

"Yeah, let's do that."

"It's not like we have any death penalties to worry about anyway..."

The blacksmiths were incredibly casual about it! Only the Woodstock Guild members stood there in sheer shock.

What the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hell is wrong with these guys?!

"Then I'll leave it to you guys. Good. Now, where should I go..."

"Lord Tae-hyun, how about over there?"

Gabriel pointed toward the distance. It was the clock tower in the central square of Arene City! It was one of the city's proudest landmarks. Although its interior wasn't as spacious as the Magic Tower, the towering clock tower was a masterpiece that builder players had poured their hearts and souls into. Just having such structures constructed granted buff effects to the entire territory.

The Woodstock Guild Leader looked at the clock tower and said, "I think only alliance guild members can enter that place."

"Well, we can just clear them out and walk in..."

Tae-hyun nodded. If nothing else, he loved the idea of blowing up such a magnificent building standing right in the central square. It had great symbolic value!

"As expected of Lord Tae-hyun. I knew you'd like it!"

"Excellent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠choice, Gabriel."

"That's why I brought a bomb that you'll definitely love."

"Haha, you really shouldn't have..."

"...Hey, Gabriel?"

"Yes?"

"You still had this?"

"Yes! It would be such a waste to throw it away!"

Gabriel shouted with a bright, innocent face! Tae-hyun sighed and said, "Well, this is nice and all, but do you have anything else?"

"W-why?!"

"Let's save this for later. It's too precious."

In truth, Tae-hyun was refusing to use it because everyone except him would get infected if it went off, but Gabriel took his words as gospel.

"Ah, indeed!"

Gabriel's obsession, having locked himself inside the Demon's Forge to craft nothing but bombs, was downright terrifying. This was Gabriel's plague bomb series, born from the many insights he had gained from the Boiling Ultimate Plague!

"How about these?"

"...T-they're great."

At this point, even Tae-hyun was stammering.

The other blacksmiths dispersed, each clutching an armful of bombs as they headed to their favorite targets. Meanwhile, the remaining group—Tae-hyun, Lee Da-bi, Gabriel, and the Woodstock Guild members—stood before the clock tower.

"No entry for non-guild members. Ah, seriously, how many times do I have to say this? Whether you want to sightsee, get the buff, or whatever, you have to join the guild first—urgh!"

Thud, stab, slash!

Tae-hyun instantly forced the guard to log out, then kicked open the clock tower door.

"We're under attack!! We're under attack!!!"

"An attack—gack!"

"Shut up, you bastards!"

The Woodstock Guild Leader roared as he charged forward. As his outer cloak fluttered away, his demonic appearance was fully revealed.

"Kim Tae-hyun! We'll clear the path!"

The Woodstock Guild Leader shouted heroically. There were quite a few Guild Alliance members stationed on the first floor of the clock tower. He figured now was the perfect time to score some points with Tae-hyun!

"Huh?"

But Tae-hyun had already laid all the other guild members flat on the ground. He had triggered Lucky Strike to explosively boost his damage, unleashing a rapid succession of devastating blows on the nearby enemies. It was a flawless, dazzling combo! This left the Woodstock Guild Leader standing there in awkward silence.

"..."

"Shall we... head up?"

"Y-yeah."

As they followed Tae-hyun, Gabriel tried to persuade him again, clearly not having given up yet.

"Lord Tae-hyun. Can't we just detonate the Modified Boiling Ultimate Plague Bomb too?"

"I said no."

"It's really fine! We're all prepared to get infected. We can just cure ourselves once we get back to the territory..."

"That's because you might die before you even get there. You guys might not care about dying, but in Lee Da-bi's case, she could get continuously PK'd before she ever reaches our territory."

"Ah, I see..."

Gabriel slumped in disappointment, while Lee Da-bi wore a faint, pleased smile. Meanwhile, a Guild Alliance member who had been hiding in the corner of the first-floor counter gasped in absolute horror. The Woodstock Guild had completely overlooked him.

What... they're going to detonate a bomb?!

Tae-hyun had said they weren't going to detonate it, but because the hiding player was listening from a distance, he completely misheard.