A Heavy Burden and a Secret Plot

The alternative method was none other than a siege weapon crafted through engineering! It would yield a far more devastating effect than simply strapping bombs to arrows or throwing them by hand.

In truth, other parties could obtain these siege weapons as well. Though blacksmith players who leveled up their Engineering skill were rare, the kingdom's capital and major cities were teeming with various NPCs. One could simply walk up and buy them with gold. However, it was extremely rare for a party to mobilize siege weapons when clearing a dungeon.

"How are we supposed to carry this thing?"

"Just hauling it around is a chore, and setting it up is an even bigger hassle. Even if you do set it up, using it on normal monsters is a complete waste. At best, you can only use it on the boss. You expect us to lug it around until then?"

"And think of the cost! Do you have any idea how rare magic rune stones are? You can't even get them with gold half the time."

"If I'm going to spend that much gold, I'd rather buy spell scrolls. Scrolls are actually easy to use and way more versatile. Siege weapons are meant for sieges! It's literally in the name!"

On very rare occasions, some eccentric parties would drag an entire siege weapon into a dungeon, but most players viewed the idea with deep skepticism. Besides, they couldn't even use them in this tournament anyway. While players were allowed to start with items that fit inside their inventory bags, anything else was strictly prohibited.

Necromancers had to summon their undead after entering the dungeon. Players who usually hired mercenary NPCs had to leave them outside. Blacksmiths couldn't bring their entire workshops with them either; they had to set up inside... Actually, blacksmiths didn't even participate in tournaments like this in the first place. They were crafting classes, after all.

But Tae-hyun was different.

"I can just bring the raw materials inside and craft it on the spot!"

He was a combat class participating in a dungeon tournament, yet he possessed a wide array of crafting skills! Of course, even Tae-hyun was a bit fuzzy on whether the Avatar of Archisus truly qualified as a combat class... Regardless, this was a method unique to him, one that no other party could replicate. And Tae-hyun intended to exploit this advantage to the absolute fullest.

"Here. Try lifting it."

"...It's still heavy."

"Doesn't it feel a bit lighter?"

"Not at all..."

"Hmm. Guess I need to modify it a bit more."

Shoot. Tae-hyun smacked his lips. It was a waste of perfectly good materials. To think he would fail despite his high skill levels and absurd Luck stat. He had gotten too greedy.

Well, I still have plenty of materials. Let's try again. Tae-hyun pulled out more equipment and tossed them back into the furnace. With a sharp whoosh, Sadik's Flame flared to life, melting and dismantling the gear.

Wait, wasn't that armor just worn by one of those Guild Alliance guys...? Choi Sang-yun thought to himself. It looks incredibly similar...

'Sturdy' and 'Heavy' were both prefixes that granted additional effects to an item. 'Sturdy' increased durability, while 'Heavy' dealt bonus damage.

"It got... even heavier...!"

And both prefixes also increased the item's weight. Cain groaned as he hoisted the siege weapon onto his back. He had thought Tae-hyun was modifying it to make it lighter, but the man had actually made it heavier.

"Hey! I can't fight like this!" No matter how high Cain's Strength and Endurance stats were, there was no way he could dodge attacks while carrying a monstrosity like this. His already sluggish movement speed would crawl to an absolute snail's pace!

"It's fine. You can just take the hits. It doesn't matter if normal monsters hit you."

If Cain got attacked while they were moving through the dungeon, the others could easily clean up the mobs.

"Even so, if I can't block and just take hits from trash mobs, my HP will plummet—"

"You have the necklace."

"!"

A look of sudden realization washed over Cain's face. Wait, did he give me that necklace just so I could act as a meat shield?!

This bastard... and here I was, actually feeling touched...!

"Let's call it a day for the launcher."

Having finished the basic modifications on the launcher, Tae-hyun began crafting the massive steel spears to load into it. Naturally, every time he finished a spear, Cain had to carry it.

"Ack... Urgh... Gasp..."

I don't want it! Cain screamed internally.

"Seriously, can't someone else share the load?!"

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

"Sorry. You're the only Strength-based character here," Choi Sang-yun said with an apologetic shrug. Sang-yun was a speed-oriented damage dealer who wore light armor, similar to Tae-hyun's playstyle. Jeong Su-hyeok was a Mage...

"What about Lee Da-bi?!"

"Oh. Right."

"Huh. Why didn't we think of that?"

As a Merchant class, there was literally no one better suited for carrying heavy loads than her! Tae-hyun, Choi Sang-yun, and even Lee Da-bi herself looked surprised.

"Cain looked so natural carrying the luggage that it completely slipped my mind," Tae-hyun admitted.

"Same here."

"Me too," Su-hyeok chimed in.

"..." Cain stared at them, speechless.

True to her Merchant class, Lee Da-bi possessed an exceptional capacity for carrying cargo. She successfully bundled the spear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠launcher along with twelve massive spears and hoisted them up! Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her, Cain only had to carry six spears. It was still heavy, of course, but compared to before, it was heaven. Cain let out a goofy grin of pure relief.

Watching him, Choi Sang-yun asked, "Do you know the idiom ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'morning three, evening four'?"

"Morning three, evening four? What's that?"

"Never mind. Forget I asked."

A player with a masked face suddenly appeared. The tournament participants looked at him in confusion.

"Who's that?"

"Is he your friend?"

"No. I've never seen him before."

"My identity doesn't matter. What matters is that you need help right now."

"...And how exactly do you plan to help us?" one of the players asked skeptically.

The masked player replied, "Dealing with Kim Tae-hyun is no easy task. I understand why your guilds refuse to help you. With major tournaments on the horizon, nobody wants to die and suffer the death penalty."

"What's your point?"

"I will help you take down Kim Tae-hyun."

"!"

The players stared at him with wide eyes. However, their expressions quickly shifted to skepticism.

"Come on. Even we can't do it..."

"How do you expect to do it alone? If you're trying to pick a fight with Kim Tae-hyun just to get some clout, save your breath. There are way too many clout-chasers like you, and it never works."

Occasionally, players seeking fame would try to make a name for themselves by challenging Tae-hyun. However, their calculations always fell flat. Tae-hyun had slaughtered far too many players for that to work anymore. Simply fighting him was no longer enough to gain notoriety.

Yet, the masked player remained entirely confident.

"Who said anything about fighting him alone?"

"?"

"Hundreds of players are already on standby. All for the sole purpose of taking down Kim Tae-hyun."

"...!!!"

The players were genuinely shocked. Hundreds of players waiting just to hunt down Kim Tae-hyun?

Suddenly, one of the players shouted in realization.

"You're Su Ning, aren't you?!"

"...My identity is not import—"

"Who else could pull off something like that besides Su Ning?!"

"Right? I heard Su Ning's been doing really well lately."

"I didn't expect the Guild Alliance to thrive like this. I thought they were going to disband."

"Su Ning, nice to meet you! By the way, can I join the Guild Alliance?"

"Hey, don't you live in Beijing? I live in Beijing too!"

"...Ah, shut up already!"

Su Ning snapped in frustration.

The players fell silent, but immediately began whispering among themselves.

"Why is he so mad?"

"I heard Su Ning is pretty sensitive."

"Still, we were just happy to see him. Isn't he overreacting? And why is he hiding his face anyway?"

"Maybe he's trying to look mysterious?"

"What kind of mystery is that? Everyone knows he's the only one who could do this."

"Maybe he's just terrified of Kim Tae-hyun recognizing his face?"

"Ooh, that actually makes sense."

"I'm leaving," Su Ning growled, pushing himself up.

The players quickly rushed over to hold him back.

"No, wait!"

"We're sorry, Su Ning! We were just excited to see you!"

"Yeah, it's just so great to see a fellow countryman doing so well in a place like this!"

"..."

Su Ning reluctantly turned back around, pretending to be swayed. After all, he was the one who desperately wanted to clash with Tae-hyun.

"But can you really take down Kim Tae-hyun? Numbers alone aren't going to cut it."

"If we make a half-hearted attempt, it might backfire on us."

"Don't worry. The people I've brought are thoroughly trained specifically to take down Kim Tae-hyun."

The Anti-Tae-hyun Unit!

If Tae-hyun had heard of this, he probably would have marveled, Wow, what a bunch of creeps. Do they really have to go that far?

It was a secret team raised by the Guild Alliance specifically to counter Tae-hyun. The Guild Alliance was no fool. They remembered all too well the devastating losses Tae-hyun had inflicted upon them.

"The next time we clash, we must take him down!"

Though they were currently in a state of truce, both sides knew it was only a matter of time before they fought again. From that moment on, Su Ning had begun cultivating this specialized force.

"Kim Tae-hyun has a wide variety of skills, making it seem like he has no weaknesses, but if you look closely, they definitely exist."

"First, everyone must equip gear with explosion resistance options. As long as you aren't instantly killed, you can recover with potions and skills."

"Weapons must be ranged, and even if the damage is low, they must have curse options! Getting close to Kim Tae-hyun is not only difficult, but it also interferes with our ranged attacks. Bows with a guaranteed hit option are incredibly rare on the auction house, but bows with minor curses are readily available. Even if it only deals 1 damage, keep hitting him!"

"Do not bunch up. Maintain your distance. If you cluster together, you'll be wiped out in a single blow. Always remember that Kim Tae-hyun can scale his damage output infinitely!"

"Do not fear death. Your job isn't to land the killing blow, but to buy time and wear him down."

Individually, each member was barely over level 100, but they were a unit meticulously prepared solely to hunt Tae-hyun.

Rankers are actually worse suited for dealing with Kim Tae-hyun.

Su Ning had realized a crucial truth. Rankers, who had too much to lose, overthought their moves when facing Tae-hyun. And Tae-hyun was an absolute master at exploiting that hesitation! It was far more effective to use players who had nothing to lose to take him down.

Su Ning had provided full financial backing to the Anti-Tae-hyun Unit. He compensated them for any losses, provided their gear from head to toe... With this level of preparation, even Kim Tae-hyun would have no choice but to fall!

And today, upon hearing the news of Tae-hyun's involvement, Su Ning slapped his knee in excitement. This was the perfect opportunity to test the Anti-Tae-hyun Unit in a real battle. At this moment, even if he deployed his players, he could easily claim they were just helpers brought along by the tournament participants. Even if they failed to kill him, they would gain invaluable combat experience. And if they actually managed to take him down... it would be an absolute jackpot.

However, the players listening to his explanation looked utterly appalled.

"You created an entire unit of players dedicated solely to hunting Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Su Ning... that's a bit much..."

"Obsession is a disease, Su Ning. Get some help."

Their eyes were filled with the kind of disgust reserved for looking at a total creep. Su Ning's blood boiled. I came all this way to help them, and they dare look at me like that?!