Crashing the Practice Session

Dozens of players flooded into the dungeon. Around that time, the professional players inside received an urgent message.

The players stared at each other in sheer disbelief. No matter how passionate the fans were, actually engaging in PvP just to force their way into a dungeon was insane!

"What do we do?"

"What do you mean, 'what do we do'? We kick them out."

"But they're our fans..."

"So what, are we just going to keep waiting? We need to practice this dungeon."

"But isn't it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bit much to attack them?"

"Yeah. I think it'd be better to just talk it out."

"You guys go ahead and talk it out. I'll solve this with my weapon. Talk about a defeatist attitude, fitting for someone who lost to a certain someone."

"You bastard... You want to go right now?"

Do Dong-su gritted his teeth and drew his weapon. Chang's provocations were rapidly crossing the line of what he could tolerate. Chang was only terrifying if he was someone like Kim Tae-hyun; to Do Dong-su, who had spent his life dealing with Tae-hyun, Chang was just a joke.

"Hmph. All bark and no bite. A guy like you isn't even worth my time."

"Let's go, you punk!"

"Shut up, loser. Go play with someone on your own level. Like Kim Tae-hyun."

Tae-hyun forged a path ahead like a gale-force wind. Though Tae-hyun's group didn't know it, their clear time was several minutes faster than the professional players who had cleared this zone earlier. It was a feat that would have left the coaches and staff utterly flabbergasted had they known!

The dungeon had seven underground floors, and it was currently cleared up to the fourth floor. The pro players were on the second underground floor. Tae-hyun and his rabid fans were on the first underground floor! If they pushed through quickly and went down just one more floor, they would run right into the players.

"Are you sure the players are on B2?"

"Yes! Absolutely!"

Tae-hyun double-checked the players' location with the fans. They were watching the live stream on the official promotional account, which allowed them to track the pros' exact coordinates in real-time!

If we wipe them out all at once, the dungeon will be empty. If we just block the entrance, we can monopolize it for ourselves.

Tae-hyun quickly formulated a plan. When it came to stealing dungeons occupied by others, there was no greater expert than Tae-hyun. The number of dungeons he had hijacked easily surpassed three digits!

In the days of Pan-On 1, no player who had the audacity to claim "our guild got here first, so it's our dungeon" in front of Tae-hyun ever survived to tell the tale.

"Let's go!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Wow! So this is what the dungeon looks like!"

"This is the B1 Axe Room!"

The fans began to scatter in small groups, but Tae-hyun didn't care. As long as they took out the pro players, the dungeon would be theirs!

Thanks to Tae-hyun's overwhelming performance, the group easily broke through B1 and immediately entered B2.

"!"

The moment they stepped onto B2, they saw the pro players standing on the opposite side of the corridor! It seemed they had rushed over after hearing the news.

Perfect.

"Whoa!!! I'm a huge fan!"

"Chang! Please give me an autograph!"

Upon spotting the pros, the fans rushed forward in a massive wave. Seeing this, Chang scowled in irritation.

"I'm pretty sure we said you aren't allowed in here."

"We'll leave if you give us an autograph!"

"Yeah! Just an autograph!"

"Just die."

"?!"

With those words, Chang began swinging his weapon. The fans, who were low-level and had absolutely no intention of fighting, began getting logged out in single hits.

"Hey! Take it easy!"

"Exactly! I told you we should just talk to them and get them to leave!"

"It's a waste of time to talk to trash like this. Out of my way."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Chang swung his weapon like a scythe harvesting wheat, carving a path through the crowd.

But how did these guys even get in here?

Thinking about it, players of this level shouldn't have been able to break through the entrance guards.

"Isn't that Do Dong-su?"

"Huh? It really is!"

"Oh, crap. Someone cover my face. It's going to be so awkward if we make eye contact."

Cain hid behind Choi Sang-yun. He felt it would be incredibly embarrassing to lock eyes with Do Dong-su, considering he had played a major role in taking Do Dong-su down during the Arena Tournament!

Slap!

"Stop it, you bastard!"

"Let go. Where do you think you're putting your hands?"

Chang violently shook off Do Dong-su's hand. He didn't even spare a glance at Tae-hyun's group standing right in front of him! His attitude oozed confidence that he could dispose of them whenever he pleased, just like the other fans.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? Go play with Kim Tae-hyun, someone who's actually on your level."

Tae-hyun's eyebrow twitched slightly.

Who is he comparing to whom?

Choi Sang-yun muttered under his breath, "He's practically begging to be killed."

Even if he hadn't said that, they were going to wipe them out anyway, but the guy was practically begging for a beating!

"Should we attack?"

"No. This is getting interesting. Let's listen a bit more. By the way, who is that guy?"

"I have no idea."

Tae-hyun and Choi Sang-yun turned their heads to look at Lee Da-bi.

"I don't know literally everything, you know."

"Ah. Is that so?"

"But that's the player Chang."

So you do know him...

She was practically a walking encyclopedia of Pan-On!

While Tae-hyun's group was whispering, the conflict among the pro players was escalating.

"Hey. Bring it on."

"Did you shove wax in your ears? I said I don't want to associate with a guy like you."

"I'm letting you have the first strike. Take the chance while you have it. Otherwise, I'm hitting first."

"Ha, this bastard..."

As Do Dong-su leveled his weapon, Chang drew his own with an irritated scowl. The atmosphere was incredibly tense, as if a fight could break out at any second!

Gulp.

The other players took a step back. At that moment, a call came in from their coach.

The players reflexively turned their heads to stare at Tae-hyun.

"Kim... Tae-hyun?"

"Ah. I guess the word got out."

Tae-hyun deactivated his mask, revealing his original face. Seeing this, the rest of his group threw off the cloaks obscuring their faces as well.

"Even Cain is here!"

"It really is Kim Tae-hyun?!"

"Did he come all the way here just because we talked trash about him?"

So they were talking trash about me.

Tae-hyun made a mental note of that. No wonder Do Dong-su was here; they must have been bonding over badmouthing him.

Chang, who had been about to fight Do Dong-su, suddenly grinned.

"Hmph, perfect. I've been wanting to teach you a lesson if we ever met..."

"Cain."

"On it."

At this point, they could read each other's minds with just a single word. Cain immediately activated his skill.

Clang!

"!"

Hit by Cain's chain, Chang was dragged forward instantly.

This is that skill from the tournament!

Terrified, Chang tried to raise his weapon to attack Cain. Even if he was being dragged, he figured he could escape the crisis if he attacked Cain first.

But that was only the beginning. Tae-hyun drew his weapon and swiftly stabbed Chang. Dragged forward without any way to dodge, Chang was incredibly easy prey.

"!"

Clatter!

The sound of equipment raining down echoed through the corridor. Where Chang had been standing just a second ago, a cute little rabbit now sat.

Lee Da-bi quickly used a skill to sweep up all the dropped equipment in the blink of an eye.

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

"I have no idea what it's saying, but it definitely sounds like it's cursing us!"

With those words, Cain swung his weapon and smacked the rabbit.

Chang was no Gardu. Unlike Gardu, who was a high-level boss monster on a completely different dimension from players, Chang was merely a player. On top of that, he hadn't even adapted to being turned into a rabbit yet.

Squeak!

With a pathetic shriek, Chang was sent flying into the wall.

Patter, patter!

Bouncing off the wall, Chang immediately began scurrying away to buy time and put some distance between them.

Tae-hyun didn't bother chasing him. Instead, he turned his gaze to the other pro players.

"So, my friends... you guys spent your time talking trash about me behind my back? Isn't that a bit harsh? Especially when you've been using my name in the media to get attention."

"Uh... well..."

"Actually, Do Dong-su was the one who did most of the badmouthing..."

Do Dong-su cursed both Chang and Tae-hyun in his mind. Seeing Chang get utterly humiliated without even being able to react was satisfying, though.

Idiot. Letting his guard down against Kim Tae-hyun!

If it had been him, he would have kept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his eyes glued to Tae-hyun and Cain's movements from the very moment they met. When dealing with Tae-hyun, letting your guard down for even a fraction of a second meant an instant logout.

However, Chang's defeat had made the battle significantly more disadvantageous for them.

"Kim Tae-hyun. It's not that we were badmouthing you... It's just that articles are always like that. You know, to get clicks..."

Another player spoke up. Normally, they would have attacked immediately in this situation. The only reason they were trying to talk their way out of it was simple:

Because their opponent was Kim Tae-hyun!

Though they didn't realize it themselves, they were acting out of subconscious terror.

"Right. And I came here to get a little attention myself."

"......"

"Still, don't you have any professional ethics? What kind of person crashes a practice session like this?"

"What professional ethics? Is Pan-On the same as reality? By that logic, why do you guys even do PvP?"

"You cowardly bastard! You cheap, underhanded piece of trash! How dare you launch a cowardly ambush like that!"

Returned to his naked, gearless human form, Chang's face was flushed bright red as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Of course, Tae-hyun simply ignored him with an expression that said, Is there a dog barking somewhere?

"The idiot who lets his guard down when meeting me is the fool. More importantly, you... what was your name again? Well, it doesn't matter. Do you know why I didn't kill you and only took your gear?"

Tae-hyun drew his sword as he spoke.

"You said you and I were on the same level, and you boasted about teaching me a lesson if we met. You seemed so full of confidence that I decided to just take your gear."

"W-What are you talking about?! If you want to see my real skills, you should fight me fairly and give me back my gear! Are you doing this because you're scared?! Is that it?!"

"Scared? Please. And you seem to be misunderstanding something. I didn't take your gear to have a fair fight and test your skills, you punk."

"......?"

"I took your gear so I could play with you after dealing with everyone else. I couldn't care less about your skills. Since you hang out with Do Dong-su, you're probably around his level anyway."

Fume!

With a single sentence, Tae-hyun successfully provoked both Do Dong-su and Chang at the same time.

"So, you can show off your skills on your own time later. For now, just die."

"I won't let you get away with this! I'll bring my guild members and hunt you down!"

Tae-hyun ignored Chang once again and turned his head. Chang's face turned purple with rage at the blatant disregard.

"He's out of the picture. Shall the rest of us get started?"

At Tae-hyun's words, the other players felt their hearts drop. Even with a PvP battle looming, he looked completely relaxed! That casual demeanor made them even more nervous.

"Kim Tae-hyun."

"Ah, Do Dong-su. Thanks for the info."

"???"

"????"

Feeling his teammates' suspicious gazes landing on him, Do Dong-su shrieked in panic.

"N-No! Don't listen to him! That bastard is lying!"

"Right, right. I was just joking. Why would I bother bribing Do Dong-su? He's not even worth the effort."

"...Kim Tae-hyun. Cheap provocations like that won't work on me. I've improved significantly since our last fight."

"Oh, really?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely puzzled. Where was that confidence coming from? Did he experience some explosive level-up in the meantime? That should be physically impossible.

"...Like this!"

Whoosh!

Do Dong-su's body vanished, only to reappear at the entrance leading from B2 back to B1.

Then, Do Dong-su quickly scrambled up to B1 and bolted. He had judged that he couldn't win and decided to run away.

He came for the dungeon, so he won't chase me!

"...Well, he certainly improved his running speed."

Tae-hyun muttered, mildly impressed.