Unconventional Methods
Seeing Tae-hyun dismiss them so easily, Cain timidly raised one of his hands. "C-come on, there's no need to give up already, is there? We might actually win."
"Well, sure, you and Sang-yun might stand a chance, but..."
The format for the individual tournament hadn't even been announced yet. He had heard that the developers of Pan-On had officially decided to host the tournament and were planning to make significant changes to the team arena pro league format as well. In other words, no one knew exactly how the tournament would run!
Still, a few facts were certain.
"First of all, the individual tournament won't follow a pro league format like the team arena. They've already officially announced that."
Cain asked, looking thoroughly confused. "But why?"
"Because they spectacularly ruined it back in Pan-On 1, obviously."
There had been several tournaments during the era of Pan-On 1. Although Pan-On 1 hadn't been quite as massive as Pan-On 2, it had still enjoyed immense popularity, yet its competitive scene had failed to establish itself successfully.
"I suppose 1v1 matches only really appealed to hardcore fans, and after a while, the fights all started looking the same. Plus, there were balance issues..."
Tae-hyun nodded in agreement with Choi Sang-yun's explanation.
"That's probably why they're running the individual tournament as a single, bracket-style event. They won't change that. The real question is the format of this individual tournament, and I highly doubt they'll try to balance it the way they do with the team arena."
"...!"
At Tae-hyun's serious tone, the others perked up their ears. "Why is that?"
"You can get a feel for it if you read between the lines of their announcements. Phrases like 'not strictly bound to mechanical control' or 'wanting to introduce various variables'... To achieve that, they can't place restrictions on items, gear, or levels. Since the individual tournament is a bracket style rather than a league, they clearly want something flashy and unpredictable."
Tae-hyun continued his cold, analytical breakdown. The others looked on in awe. For someone who had previously acted as if tournaments were completely beneath him, he had analyzed the situation more deeply than anyone else.
"I'm here!"
"Huh? Already?"
"Focus, Cain."
"G-got it."
Tae-hyun gave Cain a sharp look before continuing his explanation.
"Anyway, if it's a completely unrestricted individual tournament, our chances of winning... decrease quite a bit."
There were simply too many variables for Lee Da-bi and Jeong Su-hyeok in a 1v1 scenario. If Su-hyeok messed up his spell sequence, he was highly likely to blow himself up, and Da-bi's class was a merchant...
"That's why I told you not to get your hopes up. Of course, we're not giving up. There is one possibility."
"What? What kind of possibility?"
"The individual tournament is still a match between teams, after all. Five players from each team face off in five separate 1v1 matches."
"Right."
"If the matchups for those five rounds are set in stone from the start, and the team with the most wins takes the match, we're at a massive disadvantage. But if the lineup isn't fixed and the winner gets to keep fighting, we actually have a shot."
"Huh? How?"
"You just have to carry those two on your back and win their matches for them."
"M-me?" Cain stammered. This wasn't the kind of trust he had been hoping for. The pressure was immense!
"I'm joking. You, me, and Sang-yun will have to split the burden. Anyway, that's the gist of the individual tournament. Since it's the last event on the schedule, we can worry about it later. Preparing for the team arena isn't an immediate emergency either, so we can practice our coordination down the line. Right now, our most pressing concern is the Dungeon Clear Tournament early next year..."
The Dungeon Clear Tournament. A competition where teams raced to see who could clear a specific dungeon the fastest! Dungeon clearing had always been highly popular content in Pan-On. In fact, whether on personal streams or official broadcasts, dungeon clears were consistently among the most-watched events.
Watching diverse player compositions tackle all sorts of unique dungeons was a thrill. The newer and more difficult the dungeon, the more the viewers' excitement multiplied. Recognizing this immense popularity, the developers of Pan-On had seized the opportunity to establish it as an official tournament.
"...The problem is that we are not a party that clears dungeons in any conventional way."
It was true. Tae-hyun's group was a far cry from the standard parties that cleared dungeons by the book. To begin with, their composition completely lacked the traditional damage-dealer, healer, and tank trinity!
"Is anyone here actually confident in clearing dungeons?"
No one raised a hand. Choi Sang-yun smacked his lips and spoke up. "I've mostly focused on solo play, so I've only ever cleared dungeons that can be done solo..."
Solo play had its limits. Tackling an already difficult dungeon alone was a monumental task. Usually, players gathered information and specifically targeted dungeons that were known to be soloable. Clearing a completely unmapped dungeon on one's own was practically out of the question!
Cain also spoke up, looking rather awkward. "B-before I started running around with you, I was, you know... mostly focused on PvP..."
"You mean extorting other players?"
"..."
Unlike Choi Sang-yun, Cain had lacked opportunities to clear dungeons for a completely different reason.
"What about you, Da-bi?"
"Well, our guild does clear dungeons in our own way, but..."
Lee Da-bi hesitated. The Power Warrior Guild did indeed have a deep history with dungeon clearing.
The Power Warrior Guild was also a far cry from a conventional raiding guild! They stole and sold strategy guides discovered by other guilds, or found and sold alternative entrance routes to dungeons monopolized by rival factions...
"Wow, that's impressive."
"Impressive in a completely different way, yes."
Tae-hyun and Choi Sang-yun marvelled. Uncovering a strategy guide monopolized by another guild and selling dungeon walkthroughs was no ordinary feat. It might sound simple, but it required an immense amount of specialized know-how.
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal..." Lee Da-bi blushed, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
Seeing this, Cain protested in sheer disbelief. "Hey! What's the difference between me leading the Red Zone Guild to do PvP and her leading the Power Warrior Guild to do that?!"
"It's completely different."
"Isn't it obviously different?"
"Cain, even to me, those two things seem quite different."
"..." Cain quietly shrank back into his corner.
Ignoring Cain as he sulked in the corner, the rest of the group continued their amicable conversation.
"First, we plant a spy inside the target guild, or we bribe one of their members. The exact method depends on which guild we're dealing with..."
"Oho. Tell me more." Tae-hyun listened to Da-bi's trade secrets with an expression of pure, unadulterated fascination. Even Tae-hyun had much to learn from the Power Warrior Guild!
Watching them, Choi Sang-yun thought to himself, They really are two peas in a pod. A match made in scammer heaven!
"But wasn't Tae-hyun famous for clearing dungeons?"
"That's right. Didn't you clear several 'uncleared' dungeons back in Pan-On 1?"
Though his achievements had been somewhat overshadowed by his notorious reputation for hunting down high-ranking players as a non-combat Blacksmith, Tae-hyun was indeed famous for conquering several supposedly impossible dungeons. To make his Blacksmith character strong, he had needed top-tier equipment, and the lengths he had gone to obtain that gear transcended human imagination.
"Well... that's true, but that was back in Pan-On 1. Besides, I rarely ever cleared them using conventional methods..."
Gathering information, assembling a well-balanced party, and taking on the challenge... Tae-hyun had been a solo player with far too many enemies to ever attempt such a textbook approach.
"Wasn't there that one... labyrinth? The one no one could clear for three whole months. A pretty famous dungeon-crawling party tried to clear it, died three times in a row, and literally quit the game."
"Ah, that one. I just dug a hole through the ceiling of the dungeon and dropped in. I was a Blacksmith back then, and my pickaxe skill was around Highest Rank 9, if I recall."
"..."
"..."
Lee Da-bi and Choi Sang-yun stared at him, utterly dumbfounded by this unexpected revelation. They... they had never imagined this was the truth behind his legendary exploits.
"...T-then what about that other dungeon? The one where a mage who went in there with a 200% magic defense buff got instantly vaporized by a spell. Everyone said it was absolutely impossible for players to clear."
"Oh, that. That place was fantastic. Anyone I dragged in there died instantly. So whenever there was someone I wanted to kill, I lured them in by opening a new portal. But after about five or six entire parties got wiped out, the magic traps temporarily shut down. I went in out of curiosity, and it just cleared itself."
"..."
"..."
Neither of them asked any more questions. They felt as though any remaining illusions they held about his greatness would be shattered to pieces.
"Anyway, since I've never done it the normal way, we have a bit of a problem. We can't exactly use those kinds of methods in an official tournament."
"Exactly!"
They couldn't exactly bribe other guilds' players to use as live bait, nor could they dig their way through the dungeon ceiling during a live broadcast.
"In any case, we'll just have to run a few trials and see how our synergy holds up."
Kim Tae-hyun, Cain, Choi Sang-yun, Lee Da-bi, and Jeong Su-hyeok. A melee damage dealer, a tank, another melee damage dealer, a non-combat crafter, and a ranged damage dealer. A fiery, unhinged composition that completely lacked a healer!
"...Hey, where's the healer?"
"If we just don't get hit, we'll manage somehow, right?"
"Does that sound possible to you?!" Choi Sang-yun, the only sane person in the room, snapped in exasperation.
"The quest fell through, but I was lucky."
"..." The guild members fell silent at Alcott's words.
"Why are you all so quiet?!"
Alcott snapped, irritated by his guild members' silence. People like Alcott, who were accustomed to being cursed out by others, had developed a highly sensitive radar for these things. A sudden, heavy silence meant only one thing—they were whispering behind his back!
"O-oh, no! We were thinking the exact same thing."
"Yeah, we were just thinking, 'Wow, Alcott is totally going to murder that bastard Kim Tae-hyun!' But I'm sure you had your reasons. Definitely. Yes."
"..."
Even Alcott wasn't shameless enough to turn around and get angry in a situation like this. That level of absolute, thick-skinned audacity was a divine art unique to Kim Tae-hyun.
"You fools! This was all part of a grand, intricate plan..."
"..."
"Forget it. What's the point of explaining it to you lot?"
Alcott trailed off, trying to project an aura of mysterious, calculated depth. But his guild members weren't buying it anymore.
Anyway, I need to find that quest item... Don't tell me Karag has it?
Just the thought of it sent a shiver down his spine. After Tae-hyun's group had fled, a few fearless rankers had stepped up to take down Karag. They had been wiped out in a single blow. Literally, one hit!
No matter how powerful a boss monster was, and even with the complete lack of information, vaporizing high-level rankers in a single strike was absurd. He was absolutely not a monster players could defeat at their current level.
Ugh... but giving up on the Phytos Church quest is such a waste.
Alcott agonized over whether he should keep searching or just give up and move on to another quest. The quest he was currently pursuing wasn't a class-specific one. It was a quest from the Phytos Church, the order of the Holy Knights and the God of Hammer and Shield.
At first glance, it seemed bizarre for an Assassin-class player like Alcott to worship the God of Hammer and Shield, but in Pan-On, swearing allegiance to a deity outside of one's class archetype was surprisingly common. Every religious order offered unique traits and blessings, and Alcott had desperately wanted the specific attributes provided by the Phytos Church.