A Primal Fear

Alcott was avoiding Tae-hyun's gaze like a mouse cornered by a cat. Seeing this, his guild member shouted urgently, "Alcott! Now! This is your chance!"

"..."

"Strike him now!"

The guild member, completely oblivious to Alcott's terror, was simply reacting to how close they were. To be fair, it was indeed a perfect opportunity for a surprise attack if Alcott had the will. The Orcs had stepped back during the conversation, and Tae-hyun was standing right there. As an assassin, a single successful burst of high damage could turn the tide. But...

Alcott couldn't move. The horrific memories of his encounters with Tae-hyun back in Pan-On 1 paralyzed him.

At first, he had looked down on Tae-hyun. Then, he had been consumed by rage and resentment over his defeats. But as the losses piled up, Alcott's mindset gradually shifted.

If I see him, I'll kill him!

If I see him, this time I'll definitely kill him!

...If I see him, I'll just avoid him. He's too filthy to deal with.

...If I see him, I have to run! If I die again, I'm seriously screwed!

No, why the hell does that crazy bastard attack me first when I didn't even do anything, goddammit!

From Alcott's perspective, it was deeply unfair. Even though he had no intention of attacking anymore, Tae-hyun would unleash a barrage of attacks the moment he laid eyes on him. Of course, from Tae-hyun's perspective, he had no way of knowing what Alcott was thinking, so he simply struck first whenever he spotted someone who looked like an enemy... But as a result, Alcott had developed a deep-seated phobia of Tae-hyun.

I-I can't possibly fight him...!

Even with Tae-hyun standing right in front of him, the thought of attacking never crossed his mind. He felt like no matter what he did, he would just end up dancing in the palm of Tae-hyun's hand. The trauma of repeatedly falling into Tae-hyun's horrific traps was simply too deep.

"Alcott!!!" the guild member cried out in desperation.

"What is that idiot doing?" Tae-hyun asked, looking utterly dumbfounded. If you're going to tell someone to launch a surprise attack, you should whisper it. Shouting it out loud just because you're in a hurry...

"So, are you going to fight?"

"N-No."

"Alcott?!"

—Shut up, damn it!

—?!

Alcott fumed at his clueless guild member.

"Huh? Wait, have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Y-You must be imagining things."

"Really?" Tae-hyun tilted his head. He felt like he had definitely seen that face somewhere in the past. "Strange. If it was the past, it would have been Pan-On 1..."

"Ah! The Guild Alliance called me in to hunt you down recently! I went with the other rankers back then, so you probably saw me then!"

Alcott desperately tried to deny his past. If Tae-hyun remembered what happened in Pan-On 1, he would probably force-logout Alcott on the spot, skipping any conversation entirely.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, yes!"

"But doesn't that mean you were one of the guys who came to hunt me down last time too? Why are you saying that so proudly?"

"Ah!"

Alcott froze in panic. This was dangerous in a completely different way.

"N-No, that was only because the higher-ups ordered me to! I just showed my face because I had no choice... Think about it. Did I ever actually attack you directly back then?"

"To be honest, I don't really remember the rankers who gathered there... I tend to forget people who aren't worth remembering."

"..."

Though it was humiliating, Alcott saw a ray of hope.

"Right? I've always been a pacifist."

Is he insane? The guild member listening from a distance was appalled, but he shut his mouth when Alcott glared at him with murderous intensity.

"Then what was that attempt to ambush me just now?"

"T-That... My guild members were so hot-tempered that I couldn't stop them. You have no idea how awful their personalities are. I was just too scared..."

"Aren't you a higher level than them? I thought you were a ranker."

"Just because you're a high level doesn't mean you're good at managing people!"

They say that when people are cornered, they develop abilities they never knew they had. That was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly what was happening to Alcott. Driven by his terror of Tae-hyun and his desperate desire to avoid being logged out, a new talent awakened within him: the art of absolute, shameless groveling!

"Please, spare me! I'll do whatever it takes to help you with your quest! I'm not the bad guy here! The real villain is the Guild Alliance for forcing someone like me to fight! And those guild members who just got logged out, they're the ones to blame!"

A desperate shift of responsibility! Alcott took full advantage of the fact that most of his guild members had already been logged out to pin all the blame ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on them. Tae-hyun pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Well, I guess that's fine."

"Really?!"

"What's with the surprise?"

"N-No, nothing! I'm just so happy!"

Alcott gasped in disbelief at Tae-hyun's easy acceptance. If this were Pan-On 1, he would've just slaughtered me without a second thought...?

"Alcott..."

"Shut up."

"But still, this situation..."

"I said shut up."

Alcott wore an expression that clearly said, Ask me one more question and I'll kill you. The guild member was bewildered but didn't dare press further. What on earth had just happened? Am I dreaming?

Currently, Alcott and his guild member were leading the way through the underground tunnel. Behind them followed the snorting Orcs and Tae-hyun!

"Um, Alcott..."

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"N-No, it's not that... Shouldn't we report this? That Kim Tae-hyun is here."

"You do it."

"What?"

"I said you do it. I don't want to."

"...Ah! I see!"

"...?"

"If we report that we got beaten by Kim Tae-hyun, we'll lose face. Plus, other guild members who have nothing to do with this will swarm here, making things even more complicated! That's why you're keeping it a secret. The guild members who got logged out don't even know they were fighting Kim Tae-hyun, so it'll be easy to gloss over! We can just tell them we handled the mage ourselves and that we'll take care of the rest of the quest. That way, they won't bother coming back here after they respawn!"

"...Exactly."

Alcott was stunned. Was this guild member actually a genius? Of course, Alcott's actual reason had nothing to do with such complex, practical logistics—he was just terrified. It was a primal, irrational fear deeply embedded in his soul!

"Chwik. I don't understand why we have to keep those spies alive."

"Chwik. The mage's thoughts are incomprehensible."

The Orcs grumbled in dissatisfaction. Although Tae-hyun had persuaded them, Alcott's identity as a spy had already been exposed. If not for Tae-hyun's intervention, they would have attacked immediately!

"Yes...! Don't listen to that mage! He's just using you! Look, if you free me, I'll return to my master and speak highly of you!"

"Chwik, Mage. This demon is babbling again."

"Beat him."

"Chwik. Understood."

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

This was the great thing about Orcs. Their simplicity meant that if you told them to beat someone, they did it without questioning why! The demon had been trying to sweet-talk his way out of captivity for a while now, but escaping wasn't that easy.

"Ugh, I'm sorry! My mistake!"

"Chwik. He says he's sorry."

"Good to know he recognizes his mistake. Beat him more."

"Chwik. Understood!"

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!

"Alcott. I hear some weird noises behind us."

"Don't look back. Nothing good will come of it."

Alcott tried his best to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pretend he couldn't hear anything. He felt like if he turned around, he would make eye contact with Tae-hyun.

Click—

"...?"

An ear-splitting alarm began to echo through the tunnel. "W-What?! Nothing even popped up?!"

Alcott panicked. While the assassin class wasn't quite as adept as rogues, they still possessed skills to detect traps and stealth. A ranker like Alcott should have been able to spot almost any trap! Yet, he had completely missed this one.

—Intruders!

—Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!

The screeching voices of Goblins echoed from somewhere deep within the tunnel. And then...

Rumble!

"?!"

Objects suddenly began to protrude from the tunnel walls. They were cannons.

—You filthy Orcs dare invade our territory! Die!

"K-Kim Tae-hyun! What do we do?"

"Hmm. I should try to persuade them, but that's impossible right now. For now, block their attacks."

"...Wait, me?"

"You have the highest level here. Do your best. Orcs, shields up! Prepare for impact!"

"No, I'm a damage dealer!"

"Just do your best to hit the incoming cannonballs."

Having said his piece, Tae-hyun completely ignored Alcott and turned to command the Orcs. Though startled, the Orcs moved in perfect unison. It was all thanks to Tae-hyun's skills.

"To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the back right!"

"Chwik! Goblin cannons are scary!"

—You filthy Orcs! We don't know how you found our location, but this place will be your grave!

"H-Hey..."

Alcott flinched as he tried to retreat. He had made eye contact with Tae-hyun, whose gaze was ice-cold. That look clearly communicated one thing: Step back, and you die.

"...Hup!"

Alcott spun around and lunged forward. At that exact moment, the cannons fired.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Alcott unleashed every single skill at his disposal! Being able to chain these skills flawlessly in such a frantic situation proved that Alcott was indeed a highly skilled ranker. Of course, that wasn't the most important thing right now.

*Crash! Boom!*

"Argh! Cough! Urgh!"

Slicing down some cannonballs and tanking others with his body, Alcott hastily uncorked a potion and poured it down his throat. Thanks to Alcott drawing all the aggro at the front, the Orcs behind him were able to block the remaining attacks with relative ease.

*Thud! Thud!*

"Chwik, Mage. Can't you block the cannons with your magic?"

"Haha, I could, but then your shield skills wouldn't improve, would they? You only grow through experience."

"Chwik, that makes sense!"

Of course, the truth was that Tae-hyun simply couldn't block them, but the Orcs naively believed his words and nodded.

Swoosh—

The bombardment ceased, and a brief silence fell over the tunnel.

—Reload! Reload!

The high-pitched, screeching voices of the Goblins echoed again. Alcott cried out in panic, "Kim Tae-hyun! This is seriously dangerous! I'm not kidding! You actually have a plan, right?"

"Goblins! I have come to negotiate!"

"...Don't tell me *that's* your plan?"

Alcott's jaw dropped. There was no way the Goblins, who were currently hiding and firing cannons at them, would stop just because of those words...

Has Kim Tae-hyun finally lost his mind?

—...You're a human who reeks of gunpowder! What is it! What do you want to say to us!

...!!!!