The Rabbit of the Crevices

Cain had no idea how massive the crowd gathered here was, nor did he realize how many of them would immediately upload his words to the internet. And he certainly didn't understand what kind of impact those words would have on the other teams!

The news was spreading in real-time. If Cain had seen it, his face would have turned completely pale.

"Hmm. But those two are definitely popular," Choi Sang-yun muttered from behind.

Most of the crowd flocked to Tae-hyun, with Cain coming in a close second. It was only natural, as the two of them had always stood at the forefront, leaving the strongest impressions on the public.

"Well, they've accomplished so much, so it can't be helped... Huh?" Sang-yun turned his head to look at Jeong Su-hyeok and Lee Da-bi, only to halt in surprise. A decent crowd had gathered in front of them as well.

"Jeong Su-hyeok! I'm a Mage, and I want to have control like yours! How should I practice?"

"Uh... I think you should start by joining the Archisus Church."

"Ah, I see! And after that?"

"You pray."

"?!"

The players crowding around Su-hyeok ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were mostly Mages. They were players who had fallen head over heels for his flashy magical control!

"Guild Master! Please spread our guild's name far and wide!"

"Power Warrior Guild Master! Show them that the Merchant class can be strong too!"

The ones surrounding Lee Da-bi were members of the Power Warrior Guild and Merchant players. The guild members were naturally thrilled that their revered Guild Master was competing, while the Merchant players cheered enthusiastically for Da-bi, who was practically the only Merchant player in the tournament.

In Pandemonium Online, crafting classes were certainly not looked down upon. However, it was undeniably difficult for them to shine in active combat or raids. It was an unavoidable limitation of the class.

That was precisely why everyone had gone wild in Pan-On 1 when Tae-hyun, playing as a blacksmith, went around crushing other top rankers. There was an unmatched thrill in watching a class usually dismissed as weak break through its limits and triumph!

"Guild Master! Guild Master! Guild Master!"

"Go, Guild Master! Go, Power Warrior Guild Master!"

Lee Da-bi subtly turned her head away, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the pressure.

"Guild Master?! You're not pretending you don't know us, are you?!"

"You have to wear the guild emblem on your back when you fight!"

Seeing both Su-hyeok and Da-bi enjoying such popularity made Choi Sang-yun feel a sudden pang of sorrow.

I... I have plenty of people who would recognize me if I just crossdressed!

Currently, Sang-yun was walking around in his normal male form. Since most people didn't know what his actual face looked like, it served as a perfect disguise, and it was much more comfortable when he had to show his face in the real world.

"Who's that guy?"

"Looks like a new teammate."

"I've never seen his face before. Did he get in through connections?"

Ugh!

Since he actually had gotten in through connections, he couldn't even argue! Sang-yun gritted his teeth and vowed to show them. He would prove his worth in the tournament!

"Hey. Stop fooling around and get in here."

"Keke, no one can stop me! Bring on whoever you want—"

Thwack!

"Hey. I said get in."

Tae-hyun hurled a spear straight at the back of Cain's head, sending him face-planting onto the ground.

The moment they entered, Tae-hyun set up a portable forge and began assembling the spear launcher.

About three minutes, huh. I need to make up for the lost time...

Three minutes. It was a short time, yet long in its own right. Of course, if any other blacksmith had witnessed this, they would have gasped in sheer horror.

How is he crafting at that speed?! Does he do nothing but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠craft all day?

The items a blacksmith crafted were heavily influenced by their character's level, class, and skills. But the speed of crafting? That was entirely dependent on the player's physical control.

Since it was a virtual reality game, everything came down to how quickly one could retrieve materials, activate skills, and swing the hammer.

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that regard, Tae-hyun's movements were the definition of absolute perfection.

There wasn't a single wasted motion. He retrieved materials, activated skills, and swung his hammer in one seamless, fluid sequence!

It was clean enough to be sold as a video guide titled The Textbook of Blacksmithing Skills.

Lee Da-bi watched in awe. As a Merchant, she frequently interacted with crafting classes like blacksmiths. Because of this, she could truly appreciate just how clean and refined Tae-hyun's movements were.

He really is amazing, no matter how many times I see it...

"Yaaawn. Is it done?"

Of course, there was someone completely oblivious to all of this. Cain, who had been yawning while waiting, stretched his arms as soon as he saw Tae-hyun finishing up.

"..."

"Huh? What?"

"It's nothing."

"Let's go. We move immediately."

Tae-hyun handed the launcher and the spears over to Cain and Lee Da-bi.

"Ugh."

An immediate groan escaped Cain's lips. He grunted under the weight as he struggled to keep up with Tae-hyun.

I wish I could secretly tie a few sandbags to Kim Tae-hyun's ankles...

Cain was the one carrying the heavy load, yet Tae-hyun showed absolutely no consideration for his pace.

"The dungeon's trait buffs other normal monsters whenever one dies... Clearing them carelessly is going to be a pain."

"But we can't just ignore them, can we?"

This dungeon couldn't be cleared simply by defeating the bosses. While the bosses were mandatory, they also had to defeat a certain number of normal monsters to reach a target score.

"We'll have to pull them all at once and clear them. We'll fill the score that way, then head straight to the boss room and finish it off."

Although it was his first time in this dungeon, strategies flowed effortlessly from Tae-hyun's mouth. The map he had memorized from the preview video was already perfectly mapped out in his mind. This rapid decision-making and calculation was one of Tae-hyun's greatest strengths.

"How are you going to pull them? Cain and Lee Da-bi have reduced movement speed right now. If we pull them wrong, they'll get caught from behind."

"Hmm..."

"Should I step up? I'm probably the fastest one here, so I can run ahead, pull the normal monsters, and lead them all the way to the boss room."

"Not a bad idea... but why are you unusually motivated today?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head in curiosity. Was Choi Sang-yun always this enthusiastic?

"I-it's a tournament. It's only natural to feel motivated."

"Is that so? Well, that's good. But I don't plan on letting you do it. I'll handle it."

"Why?"

"There's a reason it's a Legendary Dungeon. From what I saw in the video, the normal monsters are quite high-level. If you get caught, it'll turn into a mess."

While Choi Sang-yun was fast, his HP was relatively low—he was a glass cannon. If the monsters managed to snare him, Sang-yun would die, and Cain and Da-bi's path would be completely blocked.

And there was one more thing. Pulling monsters head-on like a simpleton seems too risky.

Pulling normal monsters from the entrance all the way to the boss room without fighting them was a common strategy. Although it would make the boss fight harder, it allowed the team to wipe out all the trash mobs at once with area-of-effect skills!

The problem was that while this worked well in normal dungeons, it rarely succeeded in high-difficulty ones.

Aside from the strength of the monsters, the very structure of the dungeon was different. The paths were labyrinthine, littered with crowd-control traps, and crawling with ambushing monsters. Trying to pull them mindlessly was a surefire way to get wiped.

As far as Tae-hyun was concerned, Legendary Dungeons would only be worse, not better.

If I try to pull them blindly from the front, the sheer number of monsters chasing us will grow too large and dangerous...

"For now, I'll pull the normal monsters and keep them occupied. Once we engage the boss, I'll bring them in, and we'll wipe them out all at once with our skills. If we kill them carelessly beforehand, the remaining normal monsters might end up as strong as the boss itself."

"Is that even possible? Even for you..."

Sang-yun was deeply worried. Tae-hyun was essentially saying he would run ahead alone, lure the monsters away, lose them, and then make his way back to the boss room... No matter how incredible Tae-hyun's control and evasion were, could he really survive? It was practically fighting with every possible disadvantage stacked against him.

"No, I have a great idea."

"?"

"?!?!"

Tae-hyun activated his Rabbit Transformation skill. The others gasped in shock at the completely unexpected move. Why use this here? However, their confusion was instantly resolved. Tae-hyun dashed forward and slipped right into a tiny crevice in the side wall.

"???!?!"

The passages were tiny gaps that no normal player could ever fit through. But Tae-hyun had kept his eye on these crevices ever since he watched the preview video.

Can I make use of those?

To clear a dungeon quickly, simply memorizing the map wasn't enough. One had to utilize the environment. And fortunately, Tae-hyun possessed a trash... no, a highly useful skill for just this occasion.

Pitter-patter—

"!"

Squeezing out of the narrow crevice, Tae-hyun quickly assessed his surroundings. Where on the map is this area? Then, he slipped into another narrow gap. He intended to move swiftly and map out all the tiny shortcuts in the vicinity.

"..."

Hopping around as a rabbit, Tae-hyun felt a strange, bittersweet sensation. Sure, it was a skill granted by Carbanog, so he should be grateful... but why did he feel so incredibly ridiculous?

Alright. That's enough.

Having mapped out where the shortcuts led and how they connected, Tae-hyun finally went into action.

Hop, hop—Thwack!

The rabbit hopped up with an air of supreme arrogance, leaped into the air, and delivered a spicy smack to a monster's face!

—Guh?

—We're under attack! Attack! Who is it?!

—A... a rabbit is attacking us!

The Sand Nest Warriors, mole-like creatures covered in hard, horned shells, were utterly bewildered. However, as expected of a Legendary Dungeon, they reacted with impressive speed.

—Catch it!

—If we catch it, we're roasting it!

Tae-hyun hopped and leaped, drawing the attention of every single warrior in the vicinity. Then, he began to retreat.

—I've cleared the path! Move!

The moment Tae-hyun sent the whisper, the waiting party members dashed forward in unison. It was a method of pulling monsters that no other team could ever hope to replicate.

Tae-hyun led the horde of warriors backward, and when the timing was just right, he slipped into a narrow crevice. Using the shortcuts, he made his way to the next destination.

He was truly flashing from east to west in the blink of an eye!

For Tae-hyun, who could transform into a rabbit and utilize every single shortcut in the dungeon, manipulating the monsters to his whim was child's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠play.

These guys to Sector 11, those guys to Sector 15...

Even while moving at breakneck speed, Tae-hyun never lost track of his meticulous calculations. Meanwhile, the rest of the party easily reached the first boss room.

"We've arrived!"

"Set up the launcher! I'll draw its attention!"

The first boss, the Poison-Shell Giant Scorpion, was a massive insectoid boss shaped like a scorpion. Choi Sang-yun quickly dashed forward to draw its aggro. Normally, this would be Cain's job, but Cain was currently busy assembling the launcher.

Scritch, scratch, screeech!

An irritating sound echoed through the room as Sang-yun's blade scraped against the scorpion's hard shell.

—Kieeeek!

Having successfully drawn its undivided attention, the scorpion's tail began firing poison needles with a rapid thwip-thwip-thwip sound.

"Ugh!"

Choi Sang-yun prepared to activate a skill to block the incoming attack. Can I block all of them? If I start the fight poisoned, it's going to be a nightmare...!

Just then, a cute sound echoed from behind him.

"Kyu-kyu!"

??"

—Ah, right. I forgot I was still in rabbit form. Cain, Slave's Chain!

"Ah!"

Understanding the command instantly, Cain activated his Slave's Chain skill on Choi Sang-yun, pulling him backward.

Flash!

The moment Sang-yun was pulled back, Tae-hyun canceled his transformation. There was no sign of the normal monsters that had been chasing him.

"Alright. Let's take it down!"