The Ultimate Cheese Strategy

The watching players were utterly dumbfounded. Proxying a small fort directly in the opponent's face was the ultimate cheese strategy. Because failing it put the player at a massive disadvantage, it was rarely ever used. In fact, among professionals, pulling off this kind of cheese was sometimes criticized as downright disrespectful. Unless you completely looked down on your opponent, you simply didn't do it!

Yet Kim Tae-hyun was doing it without a single shred of shame. And against his own father, no less!

'I'm pretty sure a pro player used that in a tournament once and they never reconciled.'

'I tried that on a friend once, and we ended up in a literal fistfight.'

'That Kim Tae-hyun... he's truly something else!'

He was "amazing" in more ways than one.

Kim Tae-san still hadn't noticed. Instead of building structures to produce combat units, he had expanded to his natural expansion and was focusing entirely on gathering resources. The watching players let out collective groans and closed their eyes. Ah, he was doomed!

"...?" Only then did Kim Tae-san feel a sudden chill run down his spine.

"!!" Units were rushing in from the distance! For a moment, Kim Tae-san doubted his own eyes. Even though he was looking right at them, he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Th-those were...

'Th-this little punk... using something like this in the finals?!'

Of course, Kim Tae-san himself wasn't above using cheese strategies, but he never imagined Tae-hyun would pull off such a dirty trick in the grand finals with everyone watching. Moreover, this proxy fort strategy was notorious for being the cheesiest of all cheese builds. To think he would actually use it!

Clack-clack-clack! Kim Tae-san frantically tried to defend. His workers swarmed out to keep Tae-hyun's units at bay, but Tae-hyun completely out-microed him. On top of that, the Human faction's workers were sturdier than those of the Bug faction.

While Kim Tae-san was still sputtering in disbelief, Tae-hyun rapidly finalized his strategy. The fort was completed, and the moment the archer units garrisoned inside, Kim Tae-san's units began to explode.

"..."

"It's not over yet! He just needs to give up his natural expansion! It's a huge loss, but if he falls back and expands elsewhere, he still has a chance..."

"?????" The players, who had been nodding along, gasped in surprise. They thought another pro player was speaking, but the voice actually belonged to Chairman Yoo.

'Wh-why is the Chairman saying that?'

'What's going on? What's going on?'

'Did he always like Fantasy Craft?'

Chairman Yoo cried out in sheer anguish. Kim Tae-san had given up and thrown in the towel.

"No...!"

One could see the muscles in Kim Tae-san's jaw clench tightly. He was gritting his teeth. What a humiliating defeat! It wasn't even a fair, hard-fought battle; he had been taken down by a cheese strategy barely five minutes into the match. Given his prideful nature, he couldn't help but be furious.

"Whew..." Kim Tae-san exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. It was only the first match. He just had to perform well in the remaining games. There was a high chance that provoking him like this was all part of Tae-hyun's strategy.

'I raised a tiger cub...'

How would Tae-hyun play in the second match? Surely he wouldn't use the exact same cheese strategy twice...

'In that case, let's go with a macro strategy again. I'll amass a massive army and...'

The watching players couldn't bear to look at the screen and turned their heads away. Since they could see both Kim Tae-san's and Tae-hyun's screens, they knew exactly what each of them was thinking.

'N-no...!'

'Mr. Kim Tae-san! He's doing it again...!'

Tae-hyun was rushing in with the exact same strategy from the first match! When Kim Tae-san finally realized what was happening, his face turned completely pale.

'Th-this... this little bastard is really...!!'

He had held onto a sliver of hope, but he never dreamed Tae-hyun would pull the exact same stunt in the second game!

'Is he even human?'

'I heard Kim Tae-hyun hasn't moved out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his parents' house yet. How is he going to look his dad in the eye when they go home?'

Ignoring the whispering players, Tae-hyun moved with cold, calm precision. It was an exact replica of the first match's defeat!

—Uh... well... you see... this is, uh...

Even the commentators, who had managed to keep talking during the first match, were now utterly speechless. But it wasn't over yet. There was still the third match. And so, the third match began.

"..."

"..."

The hall fell dead silent. Only Tae-hyun stood up from his seat with a relaxed expression.

'What a ruthless bastard!'

'To use the exact same strategy in the third match too...!'

Yes, Tae-hyun had used the exact same strategy for the third consecutive game. By this point, Kim Tae-san did everything he could to defend, but Tae-hyun suppressed him with masterful micro-control and successfully proxied his fort. And the result was this!

—K-Kim Tae-hyun has defeated Kim Tae-san! A clean sweep of 3 to 0! Wow, that was incredible, wasn't it?

—I'm sure Kim Tae-san isn't too upset despite the loss. After all, the winner is his own son! Hahaha...

The commentators rambled as fast as they could, desperately trying to break the incredibly awkward tension.

Scrape! Kim Tae-san abruptly stood up from his seat.

"...?"

"???"

Seeing Kim Tae-san stand up, the audience wondered, 'Is he going over to shake hands or give him a hug?'

Thud, thud, thud. Kim Tae-san marched toward Tae-hyun. But unlike the others, Tae-hyun immediately read the room.

Whoosh! Tae-hyun spun around and bolted!

"You little punk, stop right there!!"

"?!?!!"

The crowd was utterly shocked. What on earth was happening?

With his eyes practically rolling back in rage, Kim Tae-san began chasing after Tae-hyun. However, Tae-hyun had already put plenty of distance between them.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

"Would you stop if you were in my shoes, Father?!"

In the blink of an eye, both of them vanished out of the hall!

"..."

"..."

A heavy silence hung over the remaining crowd. What did they just witness?

—Ha, haha... But the commentator was a professional. A pro among pros! Even in this freezing atmosphere, he did not falter.

—It seems the two of them prepared a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comedy skit for us!

—Yes, yes! What a hilarious performance!

'A comedy skit?'

'No, no matter how you look at it, he was dead serious...'

Although the audience found it hard to believe, they nodded along anyway. The show had to go on!

Clap, clap, clap, clap! Everyone began to applaud.

"Whew..." Chairman Yoo let out a deep sigh and hung his head. It was a sigh laced with pure despair.

"Chairman..."

"Forget it. Let's just pretend this never happened."

To think he had set up this entire stage and gained absolutely nothing! In the end, Tae-hyun was the only one who benefited from this tournament. He would take the prize money, gain the honorable reputation of donating it, and take his motorcycle right back home...

'These Kim father-and-son duos... seriously...'

Chairman Yoo resolved that if he ever hosted another tournament, he would simply never invite them again.

Tae-hyun stepped forward to shake Chairman Yoo's hand and receive the prize money. For some reason, he was drenched in sweat.

"Pant, pant..." The same went for Kim Tae-san. The two of them had run around with everything they had—one desperately trying to catch, and the other desperately trying to escape!

"You... you little brat... you could've at least let me catch you..."

"..." Cain and Lee Da-bi quietly backed away from Kim Tae-san. It was glaringly obvious that they would get caught in the crossfire if they stayed too close.

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun posed for photos. These were promotional pictures to publicize the Yuseong Group Charity Tournament in news articles.

"So, are you satisfied now? Huh?"

"Well, it's quite a relief that I don't have to build another motorcycle. It was going to be a hassle anyway."

"See if I ever invite you to another tournament of mine."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Since I entered the tournament, I had to give it my all."

Chairman Yoo and Tae-hyun bickered in hushed whispers, barely moving their lips.

"You would have done perfectly fine in any other tournament, yet you had to come and wreck the one I hosted..."

Hearing Chairman Yoo's grumbling, Tae-hyun felt a tiny pang of guilt.

"Hey, but the tournament was a massive hit. The atmosphere is great too. Just look around."

"Hmph."

Chairman Yoo snorted and turned his head away, but he couldn't deny Tae-hyun's words. The tournament had indeed been a massive success. According to his staff, the viewers' reactions were incredibly enthusiastic. It was rare for a charity tournament to garner this much attention. From the perspective of a charity event, it was an undeniable success. It was just that Chairman Yoo hadn't gotten what he wanted!

Tae-hyun was certain after observing Chairman Yoo's attitude. 'He really wanted that motorcycle...'

Someone as sharp as Tae-hyun couldn't possibly miss it. At first, he had thought, 'There's no way a corporate chairman would go to such lengths just for that, right?' but now he was absolutely sure. Besides, he had seen plenty of wealthy people waste fortunes on completely trivial things. Mostly in the form of his own father!

'Well, a tournament of this scale is probably pocket change to an elder like him anyway...'

Honestly, although it was a bit of a chore, he could easily build another motorcycle. If Chairman Yoo wanted it that badly, it wasn't a big deal. However, Tae-hyun had no intention of just giving it away for free.

'Either way, I can use this to my advantage!'

Chairman Yoo was no longer just a newbie in Pan-On; he was a player with immense wealth and connections. Tae-hyun could extort... ahem, borrow his help whenever he needed.

At this moment, Tae-hyun had no idea. That somewhere else, another sucker was waiting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for him.

"Gurendal, I have hunted the rabbits. Now, speak!"

"Your tone is highly unpleasant, but a promise is a promise, so I shall tell you."

Gurendal, the master blacksmith of Tyrum City, glared at Jang Ssu-an with an irritated expression. The artificial intelligence of the NPCs was highly sophisticated. If a player acted politely, they received bonuses, but if they were arrogant, they suffered penalties. Of course, Jang Ssu-an knew this, but he still refused to swallow his pride. Having to travel all the way to a dump like Tyrum City for a quest was already annoying enough.

'To think someone of my stature has to come to a place like this!'

Furthermore, when he first approached Gurendal, the blacksmith had rejected him, saying, "If you want to ask me a question, go get recognized by the hunters outside first." When he went to the hunters, they told him, "If you want our recognition, go hunt some rabbits." It was a classic runaround quest! Though infuriated, Jang Ssu-an had endured it and completed the tasks. Now, it was finally time for answers!

"Very well. What is it you wish to ask?"

"I want the blueprint for Ure!"

"Hehe... Ure. Did you come looking for that sword...?"

"!" Seeing Gurendal's knowing reaction, Jang Ssu-an rejoiced inwardly. At least that bastard from the Black Rock Sect hadn't lied to him!

"However, you are a step too late."

"...What?"

"I have already handed that blueprint over to my outstanding disciple. Hehe. Do you have any idea how incredible my disciple is? He has saved the continent from crisis multiple times..."

"...Is there a blacksmith NPC like that?"

"He is no mere blacksmith. He is Count Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun."

"...What?!"

Jang Ssu-an doubted his own ears. Did he mishear?

"Do you not know of Count Kim Tae-hyun? Tsk, tsk. Not only is your attitude arrogant, but your intellect is lacking as well..."

"Shut up, you smelly old man! Of course I know Kim Tae-hyun! Why on earth would that guy be your disciple?!"

"He learned from me, so he is my disciple."

"Th-that guy has the blueprint?"

"Indeed."

"..." Jang Ssu-an felt as if he had been struck on the back of the head with a sledgehammer. To think he had come all this way only for it to end like this! He absolutely could not accept this!

"Do you not remember the blueprint, or is there no copy left?" Jang Ssu-an's voice cracked in panic. However, Gurendal coldly shook his head.

"Remember it! I said, remember it!" Overwhelmed by anger, Jang Ssu-an reached for his sword.

However, threatening wasn't a skill just anyone could pull off. Jang Ssu-an's character build was as far from the Speech skill as one could get.

"How dare this insolent brat... do you know where you are?!"

"!" Gurendal swiftly grabbed a horn hanging nearby and blew into it. Bwooooooo—!