A Reunion of Betrayal
"Master, someone is following us."
"What?" Tae-hyun paused.
In moments like this, Heuk-heuk showed an incredibly sharp intuition.
"But how did you manage to notice that?" Tae-hyun asked, genuinely curious.
Considering that neither Choi Sang-yun nor Tae-hyun himself had noticed anything—and even other high-level players hadn't—their pursuer had to be someone who had invested heavily in stealth skills. Yet Heuk-heuk had picked up on it all by himself!
"Well, I felt a wicked aura... No matter how well they hide, those with high Infamy can't conceal themselves from me."
"..."
So, if a player had a high Infamy stat, their stealth was completely useless in front of Heuk-heuk. Tae-hyun felt a wave of relief. If the Sadiq Church had possessed a demonic beast like Heuk-heuk back then, Tae-hyun would have been caught instantly.
"Hey. Someone's following us."
"What?! What kind of crazy bastard?! Are they out of their mind?!" Choi Sang-yun cried out in sheer terror.
Of all the people in the world to stalk, they chose to stalk Kim Tae-hyun!
"...Hey, is it really that weird for someone to target me?"
"Hehe. Master, see how outstanding I—"
"Shut up."
"...Yes, sir."
Just because someone was following them didn't necessarily mean they were targeting Tae-hyun. However, if they were targeting someone, it was safest to assume they were planning to attack him. That was always the most likely scenario!
"They must be after Tae-hyun, right?"
"They're definitely targeting Kim Tae-hyun."
"I also think they're after you, Tae-hyun..."
"Shut it."
"Ah! They're entering the dungeon! See! What did I tell you? I told you that just following Kim Tae-hyun around would be a goldmine!"
"What kind of dungeon is that? It doesn't look like anything special..."
"Wait. That's a public dungeon. It's right here on the map."
One of the raider players pulled out a map of the Uruk Region, which had been crafted and sold by a guild.
Marked clearly on the map was the dungeon Tae-hyun's party had just entered.
[Ruined Fortress of the Wandering Orc Tribe]
It was a fortress-type dungeon with a relatively low difficulty. Any party over level 100 could easily clear it.
It was far too low-level for a group of Kim Tae-hyun's caliber!
However, the leader of the raiders spoke with absolute conviction.
"You idiot. Do you really think Kim Tae-hyun would enter such a basic dungeon for no reason?"
"Then why?"
"There must be something hidden inside!"
"...!"
The others looked at him, their expressions saying, 'Oh? That actually makes sense.'
Even to them, it was highly suspicious for Kim Tae-hyun's party to waste their time on a worthless dungeon.
"C-could it be a hidden dungeon?!"
"Exactly! The entrance must be hidden inside!"
A hidden dungeon nested inside a regular dungeon! Such layouts were not uncommon in Pandemonium Online.
The raiders' eyes sparkled with anticipation.
If we just keep following them...
We can find the entrance to the hidden dungeon!
This is going to be huge!
"Let's go! Move, move!"
"They're still following us."
"As expected. They're definitely after Tae-hyun..."
"Yeah. Unless they're targeting Tae-hyun, there's no way they'd follow us all the way into a dungeon."
Everyone nodded in agreement. If they weren't after Tae-hyun, they wouldn't have dared to follow them inside.
Ignoring their chatter, Tae-hyun looked annoyed.
"We're just trying to practice our teamwork. Why do these weirdos keep clinging to us? We're already short on time."
"Well, that's because of all the things you've done—urk!"
With lightning speed, Tae-hyun thrust his weapon into Cain.
Thud!
Having practiced this countless times, Tae-hyun could now swap weapons and stab Cain even with his eyes closed.
Carbanog mocks the fallen Slave of Archisus.
"What the hell?!" Cain yelled, utterly dumbfounded by the bizarre system message.
What kind of item went out of its way to humiliate its owner's companion like this?
"K-Kim Tae-hyun is attacking Cain!"
"What? What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't they just messing around?"
"No! Cain literally collapsed!"
Among the raiders, a player who specialized in stealth was handling the scouting.
He had a high base level in stealth skills, could boost his stealth capabilities with specialized skills, and even the gear set he wore boosted his concealment.
The other players were keeping their distance to avoid detection, but the scout at the very front had just sent back a report.
Kim Tae-hyun was attacking Cain!
"If he collapsed, it doesn't look like a joke."
"Right. You don't just fall over unless you take a significant amount of damage. Why would they play around like that when it damages their gear durability?"
While they were whispering, Tae-hyun stabbed the rising Cain once more, sending him sprawling again.
"Heavens! I told you, he's really attacking him!"
"Why is Kim Tae-hyun attacking Cain?! I thought they were close!"
"M-maybe Cain made a mistake and is being punished? I heard Kim Tae-hyun has a terrible personality..."
"Didn't you say earlier that his personality had improved?"
"Even a nice guy can lose his temper if he gets pushed too far! Is that my fault?"
"Hey, save the bickering for later. What do we do? Do we keep following? What if we get caught and ended up like him?"
"This is definitely weird. Are they not normal players?"
While Cain was getting back up, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought.
Normally, seeing Cain collapse like that should have prompted an attack from their stalkers, as it would look like a perfect opening.
Yet, the pursuers didn't budge. They were being extremely cautious.
"Nothing we can do. Let's make the first move."
"Are you sure?"
"It's better than wasting time in a dungeon like this. And even if they've set a trap, I'm confident we can break through. Cain, lead the way!"
"...Why is it always me..."
Though he grumbled, Cain stepped forward. As a tank, he understood his role perfectly.
However, seeing this, the raiders panicked.
"They're coming this way?!"
"H-hey! What do we do?"
"There's no guarantee they've spotted us yet! Stay calm!"
"Why would they suddenly turn around and walk right toward us if they didn't spot us?! They definitely know! Look! They're heading straight for us!"
"Should we run?"
"Running will only make us look more suspicious! Do what we planned earlier! Got it?"
"Got it! Let's go!"
Unaware of their frantic whispering, Cain approached with a tense expression.
If they ambush us, I'll counterattack immediately!
"Co—"
"...?!"
"Cordial greetings, Lord Cain!"
"...???"
The moment Cain drew near, the players scrambled out of hiding and threw themselves flat on the ground!
Normally, Cain would have laughed it off, thinking it was a misunderstanding. But Cain was no longer the naive fool he once was. He had been backstabbed far too many times.
"What kind of trick is this?! Don't move!"
"Huh?!"
"You're trying to lower my guard so you can ambush me, aren't you?! You wicked bastards!"
"N-no! It's not like that..."
As Cain shouted, Tae-hyun's party, who had been following slowly from behind, caught up.
"What's going on? What happened?"
"These bastards set a trap to catch me off guard! They threw themselves on the ground the moment they saw me!"
"...??"
Choi Sang-yun tilted his head. "Can you really call that... a trap?"
"Let's be understanding. Cain has been through a lot."
Suddenly accused of setting a trap, the raiders desperately began to make excuses. While they were indeed raiders, their intentions at this very moment were entirely pure.
"Lord Cain! Don't you recognize me?! It's Jubel! Jubel from the Red Zone Guild!"
"...?!"
Hearing his old guild's name for the first time in ages, Cain blinked. What?
"It's me! Me! Jubel!"
"Jubel?!"
"Yes! Lord Cain! It's me!"
Seeing Cain recognize him, the other raiders looked on with a mix of admiration and jealousy.
Wow, he really was in Cain's guild!
I thought he was lying.
I'm so jealous. Who knew being in such a trash guild would actually pay off like this?
If Cain had heard their thoughts, he would have grabbed them by the collars.
Regardless, Jubel and Cain clasped hands, seemingly overjoyed to reunite.
"Lord Cain! You have no idea how heartbroken I was when the guild collapsed back then! Sob! I should have followed you!"
"Sniff! Yes, those were the days! It was truly rough back then!"
"But seeing you doing so well now brings me so much joy! I've been cheering for you from afar!"
"You bastard! I'm actually touched!"
As Cain embraced Jubel with an emotional expression, Jubel thought, 'Yes! It worked!'
Looking at Cain's face, he had him hook, line, and sinker.
"When I heard that you had been hit by a [Strip Scroll] back then and lost all your gear, my heart bled...!"
"Huh?"
Cain froze. A sudden sense of dissonance washed over him.
"W-what's wrong?"
"How did you know I got hit by a [Strip Scroll] and lost my gear?"
After Tae-hyun had dismantled the guild, Cain had tried to seek revenge, only to be PKed by his remaining guild members and forced to flee. During that escape, he had been hit by a scroll that forced him to strip off all his equipment to run away.
While people knew Cain had been betrayed by his guild members, knowing the exact details of the scroll was highly suspicious.
"Huh? I-I just heard about it..."
"How could you have heard about it? The guild was already destroyed back then, and all the members had left."
"Ah, well, that's because... I heard those bastards bragging about it later..."
Jubel scrambled to make an excuse, but Cain's suspicion had already solidified into certainty.
"You bastard, you were in on it with them, weren't you?!"
"Ack! Cough! No! I wasn't!"
"Don't lie to me! Who do you think you're calling a sucker?! Why did you show up now, huh? Did you think you could squeeze some more out of me?"
"It's really not like that, Guild Master! I came to apologize!"
"What? Apologize? So you admit you did it!"
Oops. Jubel realized his mistake.
"N-no, that's not what I meant! I meant I wanted to apologize for not being able to help you as a guild member back then..."
"Cut the crap! There's no way you're that kind of person! Because...!"
Cain spoke with absolute conviction.
"There wasn't a single decent bastard in the Red Zone Guild!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Arriving late to the scene and hearing the explanation, Tae-hyun tilted his head.
"What? So they were following Cain? And here you were, claiming I was the one with too many enemies."
"I-I didn't know."
"More importantly, Red Zone Guild? Was that the name?"
"You're the one who destroyed it!"
"I've destroyed too many guilds to remember them all. Anyway, since they were following you, you deal with it."
"I can kill them, right?!"
"That is indeed an excellent way to solve most problems."
Hearing their warm, friendly conversation, Jubel shrieked in terror.
"Lord Cain! Lord Cain! No! Please forgive me! You're doing so much better now than you were back then anyway!"
"Shut up."
"We just followed you because we wanted to see how someone of your stature clears a dungeon! It was out of pure admiration!"
Whoosh, whoosh—
Instead of answering, Cain began to spin his weapon. He looked exactly like an executioner right before a decapitation!
"Do you have any idea how much I suffered back then?! I had to strip off all my gear, crawl to Kim Tae-hyun, and beg for my life... Do you know how humiliating that was?!"
"T-that's why I'm saying, since it all worked out well in the end, isn't it a good thing?"
"..."
"That's actually quite logical," Choi Sang-yun murmured from behind, thoroughly impressed.
It was an irrefutable piece of logic!
Of course, there was no way such logic would work on Cain.
"I'm going to kill you!!"