The Meat Shield's Dilemma
Kim Se-hyeong wanted to ask someone. Where were they going? Why were they going there? So, Kim Se-hyeong looked around, searching for someone to ask.
Tae-hyun was... still terrifying. And Jeong Su-hyeok... If I ask him, he'll probably report it straight to Kim Tae-hyun! The fact that Su-hyeok had no malicious intent made it even scarier. Spending time with Jeong Su-hyeok had taught Kim Se-hyeong a few things about him. Guys like Jeong Su-hyeok were the absolute scariest!
Then there was Cain... Ah, it's Cain. Sh-should I ask him? We're not that close, so what if he gets mad at me for talking to him? No, but it's not like we're complete strangers... While he was agonizing over it, Cain walked right past him. Yeah, let's not ask. He looks like he's in a terrible mood anyway.
"...?" Just then, Kim Se-hyeong locked eyes with someone he didn't recognize. Huh? Who is that? I think I saw him at the tournament...
"What are you staring at?"
"Pardon?"
"Well, I suppose it's not every day you get to meet a ranker like me. Feel free to feast your eyes! I don't grant this privilege easily, so you'd best be grateful."
"What kind of crazy..." The words slipped out of Kim Se-hyeong's mouth reflexively. Jang Ssu-an scowled at the response.
"How dare you show such insolence when I have shown you such magnanimity?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? Besides, there are rankers right over there. I've seen plenty of them, okay?! Who are you calling a country bumpkin who's never seen a ranker before!"
As Jang Ssu-an and Kim Se-hyeong bickered, Tae-hyun, who was walking ahead, turned his head.
"Hey, Jang Ssu-an. Why are you picking a fight with my party member?"
"Picking a fight? This fellow simply doesn't know his place..."
"Whatever. You came to help with the quest, but if you're just going to be a distraction, go home! We don't need you anyway."
"..." Tae-hyun cut him off ruthlessly, scolding him without a second thought! Jang Ssu-an looked utterly shell-shocked. No one in his entire life had ever treated him like this.
"No, Kim Tae-hyun, let me explain the situation—"
"Ah, shut it. Are you going back or not?"
"Y-you must need my strength too, don't you? Isn't that why you called me?" Jang Ssu-an clung desperately to Tae-hyun's words, unable to let go of his pride.
"It's not that I particularly needed your strength... I just needed someone with a high level and a lot of HP who wouldn't be a waste if they got beaten up at the front. If you're not here, I can just make Cain do it, though it'd be a bit of a shame. If you're going to keep making a racket, just go home."
"...!"
"...!"
The hidden truth. This time, two people were struck with shock: Jang Ssu-an and Cain.
S-so that was it?!
Wait, that guy was the one who messed up, so why am I the one getting dragged into this?!
Jang Ssu-an staggered. To stagger in Pan-On without even being afflicted by a status condition—that was how massive the shock was.
"N-no, there's no way Kim Tae-hyun actually thinks that... This is definitely a bluff to gain the upper hand in negotiations with me."
"I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's really not... You'd better just finish the quest quietly and take your blueprint," Lee Da-bi said to Jang Ssu-an with a look of pity before walking ahead. Then, Cain approached and began to console Jang Ssu-an.
"Hey, hey. Come on, how could anyone compare you to some random guy? You're way more amazing."
"R-right? I am more amazing, aren't I?"
"Of course, of course! Is there any other ranker like Jang Ssu-an in our party? Kim Tae-hyun might act like that, but he was practically drooling over your abilities! He praised you so much during the tournament, wondering how on earth anyone was supposed to deal with you!"
"Heh, hehe... I knew it." Jang Ssu-an sprang back up. Seeing this, Cain let out a sigh of relief, and Kim Se-hyeong did the same.
I thought he was going to cry because of me.
Thank goodness. The guy who's going to be my meat shield instead of me isn't leaving.
Cain would have thrown a fit if he heard that, but he was slowly becoming more and more like Tae-hyun!
Lee Da-bi asked Tae-hyun, "That Jang Ssu-an guy is a bit of a letdown compared to his reputation. Is he really going to be okay?"
"Well, he's a ranker and competed in the tournament, so his skills are definitely the real deal."
"But the way he acts is just..."
"If we're talking about behavior, Cain is pretty out there too, isn't he? But he gets the job done."
Lee Da-bi glanced back. She saw Cain gently coaxing Jang Ssu-an by his side. What on earth is he doing? "...I suppose that's true!"
"There are always plenty of weirdos among rankers. If I told you about the bizarre rankers back in Pan-On 1, you'd be shocked. A guy like him is actually on the normal side. He's just drunk on his own success and full of himself."
In truth, if the rankers of Pan-On 1 had heard this, they would have protested, shouting, "Hey, the weirdest one of all was you, you crazy bastard!" But there were only the two of them here.
"When you put it that way, it does make sense."
"And it makes him much easier to exploit."
"True!" Hearing Tae-hyun's words, Lee Da-bi saw Jang Ssu-an's merits in a new light. A friend who lacked social skills but had plenty of uses!
"Just follow me, Senior."
"Oh? Is there a reason we're taking such a rugged path?" The party had dismissed all their mounts and was currently winding around a narrow, treacherous mountain trail.
"Yes! The Uruk Region is teeming with giant wild monsters, so even the skies aren't safe. It would be extremely dangerous if a pack of wild drakes or a flock of wyverns ambushed us. Especially since you have those dragons as mounts, Senior."
-To think such a good-natured mage existed! His score in the eyes of Sadiq is low, but he is a mage who knows a thing or two. Isn't that right, Master? For a Black Dragon, the master of magic, to engage in physical brawls with such trivial creatures...
-Master, if a situation arises where we must fly, it would be better to ride me, as I am sturdier.
Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong spoke at the same time. Yong-yong was indeed superior to Heuk-heuk in terms of physical defense. Knowing this, both of them had spoken up.
-Alright. If an emergency arises, I'll ride Heuk-heuk.
-...Pardon? Master? You got us mixed up, right?
-You're annoying.
-...
Tae-hyun silenced Heuk-heuk and focused back on Jeong Su-hyeok's words. Since Su-hyeok had arrived here first, his information was worth its weight in gold.
"I see. So even the skies are dangerous here..." It looked peaceful now, but the moment prey appeared in the sky, monsters would swarm in an instant. There were many such places in Pan-On. Tae-hyun caught on immediately.
"Which means this path must be safe."
"Yes, Senior. This is a secret path shown to me by a human tribe I befriended after accumulating contribution points. No monsters of note appear along this route. If we keep going, we'll reach a valley, and there's a village in that valley where we can rest safely."
"You did an excellent job, Su-hyeok."
"Senior!"
"..." Watching the senior and junior exchange passionate, respectful glances, Kim Se-hyeong and Cain shook their heads with sour expressions.
"...Should we just walk ahead?"
"Y-yeah, let's do that." Suddenly, Kim Se-hyeong felt a sense of camaraderie with Cain. A strange, unexplainable bond!
You have successfully traversed the bypass of the rugged Uruk Region.
Constitution has increased by 1.
Reputation has increased.
The bonus message window was a nice little extra.
Patter, patter— "Hey, Jang Ssu-an. Why are you rushing ahead like that? We should stick together."
"Since this path is safe, and the valley at the end of it is also safe, I have no desire to dawdle in a place like this. I shall take the lead." Jang Ssu-an brushed off the brush and mud from his boots with a look of distaste. As expected of a virtual reality game, the environment felt incredibly realistic.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine. They said it's safe."
The path was safe, Jang Ssu-an wasn't the type of player to do something completely idiotic, and above all, even if he got ambushed and died... Well, it's none of my business. Unaware of Tae-hyun's cold calculations, Jang Ssu-an forged ahead along the bypass.
"Chwiiiik!" "Hmm? Orcs." What greeted Jang Ssu-an were Orc warriors riding wolves. Jang Ssu-an shrugged and spoke.
"An Orc village, is it? It might smell a bit, but it can't be helped. Out of the way. I'm going in to get some rest..."
"Chwik! Die, human!" Thwack!
You have been ambushed while completely defenseless! You have entered a state of confusion.
You have been afflicted with Osoka Poison.
Resistance check successful. Poison neutralized.
The Orcs' morale has increased...
Various message windows popped up. However, Jang Ssu-an had no time to pay attention to them. He was too busy tumbling backward and rolling on the ground. It was an utterly unexpected blow!
How dare these Orcs...! If anyone else had seen this, it would have been the ultimate humiliation. Fortunately, he had run ahead on his own...
"..." "..." "..." Standing back up, Jang Ssu-an felt eyes on him and turned around. The rest of the party, who had just caught up, was staring blankly at him.
"H-he just got smacked by an Orc and fell over, right? Am I seeing things?"
"Hey. Shh. Do you know how embarrassed Jang Ssu-an must be?"
"If you're trying to be considerate, shouldn't you lower your voice?"
"It's fine. Looking at him now, he probably took a few hits to the head, so his hearing is probably shot anyway."
"..." Jang Ssu-an clenched his fists. A burning rage welled up inside him. This was a far cry from his usual cool, stylish way of defeating enemies!
"Chwik! Chwik! That human is weak as water! Finish him off!"
"That human's companions are here! Let's take them all down, chwik!" Oblivious to Jang Ssu-an's inner turmoil, the Orcs continued to taunt him.
"Aaaaargh!" Enraged, Jang Ssu-an drew his sword and charged.
"Ch-chwik! This human's momentum is terrifying!"
"Chwik! Don't panic!"
"Whew, huff..." Jang Ssu-an was indeed a ranker. Despite being ambushed and knocked down once, he wiped out the Orcs single-handedly without receiving a shred of help.
"Did you see that? You saw it, right? Huh? You must have seen it!" Jang Ssu-an's eyes rolled wildly as he shouted to the people behind him. However, there was no "Wow! Amazing!" reaction to be found.
-Why does he sound like Cain all of a sudden? What happened to his cool, show-off tone?
-It's probably just your imagination. Cut him some slack. He must be dying of embarrassment.
The party whispered and chattered among themselves. Unable to salvage his pride, Jang Ssu-an bristled, pointing an accusing finger at Jeong Su-hyeok.
"It's all your fault in the first place! This happened because you brought back faulty information! You said there were no enemies on this path!"
"Why are you blaming Su-hyeok? He said monsters wouldn't appear, did he say Orcs wouldn't appear?"
"A-actually, Senior, I think it might be my fault—"
"Shh! You did nothing wrong!"
-Aren't Orcs monsters, though?
-Shh. Keep talking like that and he'll treat you like a mob too.
-But still, that's a bit much...
-I've experienced it firsthand.
-...!
"Besides, things in Pan-On change by the second, so you should have been prepared for that. In the first place, isn't the guy who waved his hand and walked right up to glaring Orcs the real idiot here? Is this your first day playing Pan-On?"
"W-what?!" Birds of a feather flock together, and Tae-hyun firmly took Jeong Su-hyeok's side. And honestly, his logic was sound. If a ranker of Jang Ssu-an's caliber—not some complete novice—said, "Haha, I thought the Orcs were friendly NPCs, so I got ambushed~" they would usually end up on the community boards. Under a title like "Funniest Pan-On Moments of the Week"!
"Grrr...!" Left utterly speechless, Jang Ssu-an shut his mouth with a resentful glare. I will absolutely make those bastards kneel before my skills! I'll make them beg and say, "Lord Ssu-an, you're amazing!" Somewhere along the way, Jang Ssu-an had completely forgotten his original goal.
"This... I think this will work!"
"What will work?" Tae-hyun asked, curious at Lee Da-bi's murmuring.
"The video I just recorded. I think if I submit it to 'Funniest Pan-On Moments,' it'll definitely get featured. They give out prize money for that."
"That's an excellent idea. Make sure to upload it." Tae-hyun warmly cheered Lee Da-bi on. After all, the exploits of one's party members deserved to be shared far and wide!