The Proxy Outpost Strategy
"If I go over there, I'll definitely get dragged into it!"
His instincts were screaming at him. Cain quickly scanned the room, found an empty seat at a nearby table, and plopped down.
"..."
"..."
Only then did Cain realize who was sitting at the table.
It was Do Dong-su.
"..."
It was the most awkward silence in the world! Neither of them could look each other in the eye.
"Ahem, cough... S-so, how have you been?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Cain regretted them. What kind of line was that? They sounded like ex-lovers meeting again!
Do Dong-su also looked utterly dumbfounded. But he answered anyway, unable to bear the suffocating silence.
"I've... I've been fine."
"I-I see."
And silence descended once more. They simply had nothing to say to each other.
What is there to talk about? Should I bring up Pan-On? No, if I talk about Pan-On, Kim Tae-hyun will inevitably come up, and that's definitely not a good idea...
Why did this bastard sit here? Isn't he on Kim Tae-hyun's team? Talk about shameless. Ugh, I want to tell him to get lost, but I'm too self-conscious to make a scene...
Do Dong-su smacked his lips.
The lecture he had received earlier from the Chairman—whom he had met for the first time today—telling him to "live his life right!" had been quite a shock.
Aside from the massive blunder he committed while playing on the same team as Tae-hyun, Do Dong-su believed he had lived a relatively decent life.
Moreover, the Chairman hadn't lectured him because of his feud with Tae-hyun, but for an entirely different reason. That made him feel even more self-conscious.
If he told Cain to get lost and caused a scene, the Chairman might see them and say, "It hasn't even been an hour since I told you to live a good life... I am truly disappointed!"
He absolutely did not want that! If it were anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but this was the Chairman of the Yuseong Group.
"Ah, by the way, did any gaming team contact you?"
"...They did."
"What? Really?!"
Cain asked back, genuinely shocked. There was only one reason for Cain's surprise. He hadn't received any offers himself (which was actually a misunderstanding), yet Do Dong-su had! It was pure, unadulterated shock.
However, to Do Dong-su's ears, it sounded completely different.
Did some team actually invite a troll who threw a tournament match like you?
"Why? Am I not allowed to get invited by a gaming team?"
"Ah, no. I was just surprised..."
"I got an offer from a Chinese team."
"Ah. So that's how it is."
Cain slapped his knee. Tae-hyun wasn't very popular in China. To be precise, he was practically a villain there. Thus, it would have been much easier for Do Dong-su to find a spot there.
While other teams passed on him, thinking, 'No matter how much of a grudge he had, a player who pulls a stunt like that in a tournament is a bit much...' the Chinese teams thought, 'Well, his friction was with Kim Tae-hyun anyway, so we don't need to worry too much about public opinion. If we can get a skilled player on the cheap, it's a win.'
And Do Dong-su knew this. He knew that without such cost-effective reasoning, it would have been difficult for him to get invited.
Even though he resolved to work hard and raise his value in the future, the humiliation was hard to swallow.
"Don't act so smug. Hmph!"
"??"
Do Dong-su's pride was wounded even further. He was sure Cain knew everything but was just playing dumb.
"You're probably laughing at me because you got offers from teams like ST Five, KT Wizard, and the New York Lions!"
"Huh? What? What are you talking about?"
"I told you to stop playing dumb! Argh! Who are you trying to mock by pretending you got such amazing offers that you rejected them all?!"
Unable to contain his anger, Do Dong-su finally stood up. He felt as though Cain was deliberately making a stupid face just to mock him.
"Hmph! I'll eat somewhere else!"
"...Young man, I believe I told you earlier to treat others with kindness..."
"Gasp! Chairman! It's not what it looks like...! It's not...!"
Of all the places to throw a tantrum, Chairman Yoo just happened to be passing by. Chairman Yoo cast an even colder gaze at him.
He was definitely blacklisted now!
Do Dong-su glared at Cain with eyes full of resentment.
You bastard. You planned this, didn't you!
What is his problem?
Meanwhile, Jeong Su-hyeok was currently at the Magic Tower. Tae-hyun had asked him for a favor.
- "Su-hyeok, since I abandoned the dark mages, there might be an uproar within the Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower. Can you check on things for me? I doubt they'll come to attack me, but you can never be too sure."
The moment Tae-hyun left Chese-do and the dark mages behind, he had resigned himself to losing all his contribution points with the Magic Tower. It was a painful loss, and if other players knew, they would have screamed, "Why would you do that?!" but he had no choice.
If he had tried to save them, there was a 100% chance he would have been dragged down with them.
However, Tae-hyun did have one concern. It wasn't just about his contribution points dropping to zero; what if the Dark Magic faction went, 'How dare Count Kim Tae-hyun take our dark mages and abandon them? Unforgivable!' and his reputation dropped into the negatives?
If he was unlucky, they could become his enemies. Of course, he thought the probability was low, but Tae-hyun was a man who always prepared for the worst.
I already have enough enemies as it is. I need to be as careful as possible...
At Tae-hyun's request, Jeong Su-hyeok was nervously loitering around the Dark Magic faction's territory. It was about time for a reaction...
"Chese-do became a Lich?! What was Count Kim Tae-hyun doing?!"
Here it comes!
Jeong Su-hyeok gulped. Please let this end within reasonable bounds!
"If anyone was going to become a Lich, it should have been Count Kim Tae-hyun!"
Are they angry after all...?
"Well, if Chese-do became a Lich, that's not a bad result in its own right. Excellent! Let us celebrate!"
???
"He became a Lich thanks to Count Kim Tae-hyun, so Chese-do must be grateful. Let us congratulate him in the name of dark magic!"
"Should we send a letter to Lord Chese-do?"
"No need. Now that he's a Lich, he won't even recognize his own master soon anyway. He will do just fine on his own."
???????
Jeong Su-hyeok couldn't comprehend the conversation he had just overheard. Their disciple had turned into an undead monster, yet why was the atmosphere so warm and celebratory?
But the dark mages were shouting, "Good for you, Chese-do!" as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
...Well, I guess everything turned out fine?
Though he didn't understand it, Jeong Su-hyeok was relieved for now. At least they didn't seem to be in the mood to go hunt Tae-hyun down!
"Ah, these damn rabbits! Why are there so many of them! This makes no sense!"
The members of the Guild Alliance grumbled as they attacked the rabbits. For some reason, there were far too many rabbits near their territory.
"Well, the curse spread across the entire Central Continent, so what can you do?"
"No, I'm telling you, it's different! I visit the Erangs Kingdom often, and it's not this bad there. Did someone release rabbits here?"
"Wait... Kim Tae-hyun controls rabbits, doesn't he?"
"I knew it! He must have released them here! Wait, is the continent-wide rabbit curse also his fault?"
"...!!"
The rabbit curse spreading across the continent. And the swarm of rabbits Tae-hyun used when he attacked the Guild Alliance. It was incredibly easy to connect the two.
In an instant, rumors began to circulate.
Since everyone was suffering because of the rabbits, these rumors should have spread like wildfire and threatened Tae-hyun's reputation... But they couldn't.
Tae-hyun had the Power Warrior Guild on his side. Quickly grasping the situation, they stepped in to squash the rumors!
Seizing the opportunity, the Power Warrior Guild launched a swift counteroffensive. Shifting the blame to someone else!
Unaware of what was happening inside Pan-On, Tae-hyun was engaged in a blood-spattered verbal battle with Lee Se-yeon. Lee Da-bi, caught between them, looked utterly miserable.
Please just let me leave...!
"Player Kim Tae-hyun. It's time for you to come up."
"Ah, I'm coming."
At the staff member's words, Tae-hyun immediately stopped talking and stood up. It was so sudden that their fierce argument from a moment ago felt like a lie!
"Do well out there."
"Of course I will."
"...???"
Lee Da-bi stared at the two of them with a bewildered expression. W-weren't they just fighting?
"W-weren't you two just arguing?"
"Huh? That was that, and this is this."
I don't get them at all!
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun walked up onto the stage and took photos alongside Kim Tae-san.
"Of course! That punk still has a long way to go to catch up to me!"
"Incredible confidence! What about you, Player Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Well, since it's a game my father played a lot, it's only natural for him to be confident."
"Hmph, even if you say that, I won't go easy on you."
"No, I mean... I've watched my father play a lot, so I know... when he starts losing..."
"Haha! Let's start the match!"
Realizing what Tae-hyun was about to say, Kim Tae-san hurriedly cut him off. If that got broadcasted, it would be a total embarrassment!
Unlike the previous matches, the finals were a best-of-five series. A tense atmosphere filled the air, unbelievable for a charity tournament!
Others thought the tension was due to the prize pool, which was incredibly large for a charity event, but in truth, neither of them cared about the money. This was a battle of pride!
Tae-hyun chose the Human faction, while Kim Tae-san chose the Bug faction.
Kim Tae-san cracked his knuckles, loosening up his body. He was going to show everyone what he was truly made of today!
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun sat quietly, lost in thought. Watching him, Lee Se-yeon murmured.
"He's definitely planning to cause trouble again..."
Tae-hyun was always at his scariest when he was quiet. You could never tell what he was plotting in that head of his!
And so, the match began.
Kim Tae-san calmly followed a standard, textbook build. Just as he had done before, he planned to crush Tae-hyun with sheer numbers and momentum. Strength built on countless hours of experience! That was the source of Kim Tae-san's confidence.
And Tae-hyun...
"Huh? Wait."
"W-What is that..."
The players watching the match began to murmur.
Tae-hyun was rapidly producing archer units and rushing them, along with his worker units, straight toward Kim Tae-san's base.
That strategy was...!
"A-Al-bak-gi!"
"He's going to build a Proxy Outpost!"
Quickly constructing a small outpost right in front of Kim Tae-san's main base, and stuffing it with archer units to hold the line! That was Tae-hyun's plan.