The Art of the Explosion

"No way! How can trash items like that be trending?!" Cain reacted violently. Having suffered so much because of them, he held a deep grudge against bombs.

"Do you want to die?"

"A-Ah, no. I wasn't insulting you..."

Meanwhile, Choi Sang-yun nodded to himself in understanding. "Actually, it makes sense that bombs would become trendy."

"Yes. You can tell just by watching a few videos. Even taking the risks into account, they're highly practical," Lee Da-bi agreed.

The reason bomb items weren't commonly used was their inherent instability. Misfires were the least of it; if luck wasn't on your side, they could easily blow up the user. That was their signature ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instability! Spending a fortune in gold to stock up, only to blow yourself up inside a dungeon due to a single mistake—there was no one to complain to. There was a reason mechanical engineering blacksmiths were so widely detested.

However, the dungeon attack tournament was a different story. It was a competition where speed was everything! Furthermore, dying inside the tournament dungeons carried no death penalty for the character. It only reduced the remaining time limit. On top of that, players could attempt the qualifiers as many times as they wanted.

When these factors aligned, the disadvantages of bomb items vanished, leaving only their strengths. They allowed players to save their wide-area skills when clearing trash mobs, and they did an excellent job of dealing massive damage against sub-bosses and bosses. An incredibly versatile, go-to item for any situation! That was exactly where bombs stood in this tournament.

"Looking at the videos now, it seems everyone is practicing how to use bomb items efficiently to clear the dungeons. They're figuring out which sections to herd the mobs into before detonating them..."

The video Lee Da-bi played showed various parties utilizing bombs in different ways. Even Tae-hyun found himself thinking, Oh, they're using bombs like that? on a few of them.

"These guys are attaching them to arrows and shooting them. Ugh. It blew up. That's gotta hurt."

Boom!

Choi Sang-yun grimaced as he watched one of the archers pull out a bomb, try to attach it to an arrow, and accidentally blow himself to pieces. It hit a little too close to home!

"As you can see, they seem to blow up in their faces about once every three tries."

"Even if they bought those bombs specifically for dungeon clearing, they shouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be cheap trash. Is the failure rate really that high?"

"Mechanical engineering items are always more dangerous when used by people with low Engineering skills."

"Ah. Wait a minute," Lee Da-bi said, as if a sudden realization had struck her. "Now that I think about it, aren't all these bomb-type mechanical engineering items sold in Tae-hyun's territory?"

"..."

"Oh, right?"

Come to think of it, she was right. Of course, Pan-On was vast and had countless players, so there were bound to be others outside of Tae-hyun's territory leveling up their Engineering skill. However, they certainly wouldn't be as skilled as the blacksmiths in Tae-hyun's territory. That was a given. Tae-hyun was absolutely confident of this.

There's no way people doing other things on the side can make better bombs than guys who do nothing but eat, sleep, and craft bombs all day.

If so, the only bombs high-level players entering the tournament would bother buying had to be the ones crafted by the blacksmiths in Tae-hyun's territory.

"Can't we just ban the sales?!" Cain shouted excitedly. He saw an opportunity to win without lifting a finger.

However, everyone else stared at him with expressions that clearly said, What nonsense is he talking about?

"Dude... it's too late for that. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is already using them."

"They've probably already bought enough to last them the entire tournament, haven't they?"

"With the sheer volume already in circulation, I don't think banning sales now would do much good."

"...I get it, but you don't all have to gang up on me..."

Leaving the sulking Cain aside, Tae-hyun spoke up again.

"We don't need to resort to such measures anyway. If bombs are the trend, we're the ones who benefit the most."

Tae-hyun pulled up a few other videos.

Indeed, with so many people gathered, all sorts of interesting ideas were popping up. However, from Tae-hyun's perspective, none of these methods solved the fundamental problem.

As expected, I don't see any teams that have solved the fundamental problem. I bet it's the same for the pro teams.

After reviewing all the videos, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. Indeed, no one was better suited to handle bombs without any burden than Tae-hyun, who possessed an insane Luck stat and high Engineering skills. Of course, with so many players in Pan-On, someone might come up with a novel way to use bombs that Tae-hyun hadn't thought of.

Well, it's not like there will be more than ten teams like that.

Cain, standing beside him, shouted in relief at Tae-hyun's words. "Y-Yeah! If everyone is using bombs, we have the biggest advantage!"

"Exactly. And we have you, too."

"Ha, haha. There's no need to praise me that much..." Cain scratched the back of his head sheepishly. To think he would receive such praise.

"I'm counting on you, Cain."

"Aw, stop it, you're making me blush! Hahaha!"

Tae-hyun patted Cain on the shoulder and walked ahead.

Choi Sang-yun placed a hand on Cain's shoulder.

"Hey..."

"?"

"Doesn't that mean he's going to use you as a bomb if things go south?"

"...!!!"

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

There were a total of 18 qualifier dungeons. One would be chosen at random, and a random dungeon modifier would be applied.

I'm sick of random things...

Tae-hyun, who already had too many random-based skills, smacked his lips.

There was a wide variety of dungeon modifiers. Some increased the sheer number of regular monsters, some made other monsters stronger every time one died, some interfered with healers when they cast heals, and some made the boss monster incredibly powerful. If categorized, they fell into easy modifiers that players welcomed, and difficult modifiers they dreaded.

And among those classified as difficult modifiers...

"There's a plague modifier?!"

A dungeon where every single monster was infected with a plague curse, meaning players would start the run afflicted with the plague the moment they stepped inside! Of course, it wasn't as potent as the plague curse that had once ravaged the continent, but it was highly troublesome because it was unavoidable and incurable. They would have to sweep through the regular monsters and defeat the boss while suffering under its effects.

We can just avoid it in the qualifiers, but it'll be a pain if we pull this in the main tournament.

In the qualifiers, they could challenge the dungeons as many times as they wanted until they got a good record. If they rolled a difficult dungeon or modifier, they could simply try again! But that wouldn't fly in the main tournament. No matter what dungeon they got, they had to face their opponents head-on.

"Alright. Shall we give it a shot?"

You never truly knew until you tried it yourself. Tae-hyun led his companions toward the entrance of the nearest dungeon.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Ugh. There really are a lot of people."

Even if they wouldn't run into anyone inside the dungeon, the area around the entrance was packed. Many had gathered out of sheer curiosity, even if they weren't seriously aiming for the main tournament!

"This is a hassle. Let's not waste time, cover your faces and go straight—"

"He's already signing autographs."

"..."

Tae-hyun sighed at Choi Sang-yun's words and looked at Cain.

Cain, who had been happily signing autographs, flinched when he felt the gaze from behind.

"W-What? This is the Atali Kingdom, so it's safe! There won't be any assassins!"

The moment Cain said those words, a figure leaped out from the crowd.

"Die, Cain! Enemy of the Guild Alliance!"

"Eek! The Guild Alliance!"

Stab, stab, stab!

Cain grabbed him, Tae-hyun stabbed him, and the player who had leaped out melted away in an instant. Fantastic teamwork!

The surrounding players erupted into cheers.

However, despite showing off such a cool play, Cain was completely deflated and cowering before Tae-hyun.

"...I-I mean, I really thought there wouldn't be any."

"Let's listen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to me and move together, okay?"

The atmosphere, already heated by Cain's appearance, grew even more intense after the swift neutralization of the assassin player.

"Kim Tae-hyun! I'm your fan! Please give me an autograph!"

"Please sign this!"

Choi Sang-yun expected Tae-hyun to ignore them and keep walking. That was exactly what he would have done back in Pan-On 1!

By the way, just like in Pan-On 1, why does he always seem to attract so many middle-aged male fans? Is it just my imagination?

However, instead of leaving, Tae-hyun actually began signing autographs for every single one of them.

Choi Sang-yun stared in utter shock.

"!!!"

"What?"

"N-No, I just thought you'd walk away. Didn't you always find this kind of stuff annoying?"

"That was back in Pan-On 1. Now that we've formed a professional team, this is the least I can do."

Tae-hyun said this and turned his head.

Choi Sang-yun was deeply moved by his attitude.

You rascal... you've really grown...!

Indeed, the position makes the man. Seeing Tae-hyun act so professionally filled Choi Sang-yun with emotion.

"What would you like me to write?"

"Please write, 'I raided the Guild Alliance yesterday. Tomorrow, I'll crush them!'"

"...Ah, sure."

"For me, please write, 'All other players are two tiers below me!'"

"..."

Tae-hyun felt a bit uncomfortable. Why was everyone so aggressive?

Actually, the reason was simple. As the Guild Alliance rapidly expanded its influence in the Auston Kingdom, its anti-fanbase grew just as quickly. With the vast majority of Chinese players joining the Guild Alliance or its subsidiary guilds, their scale was colossal. Under such circumstances, clashes between Guild Alliance members and other players were inevitable.

Even so, most players avoided fighting. There was nothing to gain from tangling with the Guild Alliance.

But Tae-hyun was different. Regardless of profit or loss, if anyone picked a fight with him, he drew his blade first—a truly cathartic approach!

There was a reason people cheered for him. Those who had recently suffered at the hands of the Guild Alliance looked at Tae-hyun with eyes full of anticipation.

Kim Tae-hyun will definitely show them!

"Where are you going to set fires and detonate bombs next? The Guild Alliance capital?"

"I hadn't really thought about it."

"I can also fight while holding a bomb like Cain! Just call me if you have any tasks..."

Tae-hyun slowly took a step back, feeling overwhelmed. The look in this fan's eyes was strangely familiar.

It's the exact same look Gabriel and the other blacksmiths have!

He felt a strong urge to stay as far away from them as possible.

But the fans gathered around Tae-hyun were mild compared to those crowding Cain.

"Cain! Cain! Cain!"

"Hahaha! Everyone, hahaha!"

Unlike the cool-headed Tae-hyun, Cain eagerly soaked up all the praise thrown his way.

"Cain! Do you plan on fighting the Guild Alliance again?"

"Of course! If they pick a fight, I'll fight back!"

"Uh, they have more than just a couple of rankers over there. Are you confident? And you didn't just fight the Guild Alliance; you also fought other factions. The other Chinese teams must be targeting you too."

"Did any of those rankers manage to take me down? No, they didn't!"

At Cain's words, the crowd cheered wildly.

"That's true!"

"Cain! Cain! Cain!"

"Does that mean you're confident you can beat them all...?"

"Naturally!"

"!"

"!!"

"Shouldn't we stop him?" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Choi Sang-yun asked, looking at Tae-hyun.

"Leave him be. It's his life."

Tae-hyun ignored it. Team KL was an esports team where everyone took responsibility for their own words!