Sustainable Robbery

"Cain. Let's not say stupid things. We're going to get something we need for the coronation preparations."

"To the Auston Kingdom? But it's the coronation for the Atali Kingdom..."

"It's not an Auston royal item... I already have that anyway."

"Huh?"

"We're not going to get an Auston royal item. We're just going to get gold and items."

Only then did Cain understand what Tae-hyun was getting at.

"...You mean we're going to rob them?"

"Now you're catching on. Come on, put on your mask."

"Don't you not even need a mask?"

Tae-hyun possessed a cheat-like item for situations like this: a mask that allowed him to change his appearance!

"Cain, Cain. You've done your fair share of PK-ing and robbing, so why are you acting like this?"

"Compared to you, I've lived like a saint, you bastard!"

Cain knew it too now. He thought he had played the villain in his own right, but compared to Tae-hyun during Pan-On 1, he was a mere firefly before a full moon!

Hearing the tales of Tae-hyun's exploits in Pan-On 1, many of them were simply unbelievable. He was a true maestro of mugging, stripping players clean in every imaginable way!

It was so bad that bandit players had compiled Tae-hyun's anecdotes into a collection they called The Chronicles of Tae-hyun!

"Cain. If this were a one-time thing, it wouldn't matter. But for sustainable robbery, you need to put some thought into it."

"..."

"Sustainable robbery" was a phrase Cain had never heard in his life. He remained silent, waiting to see what kind of nonsense would come out of Tae-hyun's mouth next.

"Why do you think players who specialize in robbery in Pan-On never last long?"

"I... I don't know?"

Stealing from others was always easier than earning or crafting things yourself. That was why players specializing in robbery—like bandits and pirates—had existed since the early days of Pan-On.

Yet, very few of them survived long enough to become rankers.

"Because they always leave a trail."

Once you started robbing, various penalties would accumulate. The more you robbed, and the greater the damage, the harsher the penalties became.

Not only would you be banned from entering towns, fortresses, castles, and cities, but bounties would also be placed on your head, drawing NPCs and players who had accepted hunting quests right to you.

You would have to fight constantly, on high alert, without a single place to rest in the vast world of Pan-On.

Tae-hyun, of course, had an absurdly high Infamy stat, but because he also possessed titles, territories, and a mind-boggling Reputation stat, he had never struggled much. But other players didn't have that luxury.

Thus, players who engaged in robbery often banded together to form guilds. They had to stick together to survive.

And of course, the results were never good. As Cain's own past showed, such guilds inevitably ended up tearing themselves apart from the inside.

"The moment they catch your tail, things get annoying in so many ways. Do you get it, Cain? When you cause trouble, you have to divide it into two categories: trouble where it's fine if your identity is revealed, and trouble where your identity must remain hidden. Robberies like this usually fall into the latter."

"..."

Tae-hyun's voice carried the profound wisdom of an ancient sage. For a brief moment, Cain found himself listening intently before snapping back to reality.

Wait. Now that I think about it, why is this bastard talking about robbery with so much style? I only did a little bit of robbing and I still get trashed on the forums to this day...

Cain felt a sudden wave of injustice. He had only stolen a little and was still vilified, while Tae-hyun was treated like a hero!

"For now, I'm in a truce with the Guild Alliance. It would be a bit awkward if I got caught robbing them."

"So you actually care about things like that..."

"I care when I need to. Now, this is why we must wear masks. Because even if you hide your identity, it's bound to get exposed eventually."

There was a reason people said a long tail eventually gets stepped on. Even if you wore a mask, disguised yourself in various ways, and pretended otherwise, your tail would eventually be caught in Pan-On.

It wasn't even about magic or tracking skills. If a player who witnessed the robbery recorded a video and uploaded it, tens of thousands, even millions of players would watch it.

Then, tips would inevitably start rolling in.

"That's why we have to layer on as many deceptions as possible. If the Guild Alliance gets hit right now, I'm the very first person they'll suspect."

At least he's self-aware.

"We have to pretend to be entirely fictional characters, newcomers who just appeared out of nowhere, to deflect suspicion. Since I don't usually wear a mask, wearing one will cause confusion. And Cain, you can't use any of your usual skills either."

"What?!"

"If you use something like Slave's Chain, you're dead. Only use common skills. The kind that are widely available and any random player can use. Like Throwing, for example."

"Ugh..."

"And we need fake names. Hmm. We should sound like typical bandit players... Who are the famous bandit players these days?"

You, you jerk. You.

Cain swallowed his words and searched the community forums.

"The brothers Neure and Neupe are famous in the Guild Alliance."

The brothers Neure and Neupe. They were two bandit rankers who had joined the Guild Alliance after hitting a wall as solo bandits. Recently, they had run into Tae-hyun in the Arantis Kingdom, resulting in Neure being stripped of all his equipment.

"Was there someone like that?"

"You stripped him of everything! You even put it up on the auction house, did you already forget?!"

"I don't know. Why would I waste brainpower remembering every random guy like that?"

"..."

"Anyway, this works out perfectly. In that case, we'll go by... Negu and Nega."

"...Aren't those names incredibly lame?"

"Shut up. Our concept is 'a newly emerged bandit duo who idolizes the brothers Neure and Neupe.' Got it?"

Do we really have to put this much effort into a robbery?

"You're thinking, 'Do we really have to put this much effort into a robbery?' right now, aren't you?"

"?!?!"

"Cain. Nothing in this world comes easy. You have to put effort into everything. Robbery is no different! That's why you never made it big as a bandit!"

"...!"

Cain felt a mixture of shock and a strange, slight sense of being moved.

Wait, no. I almost got touched again. Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it.

It was bizarre how he always got swept up whenever he talked to Tae-hyun.

For Tae-hyun, who had handled Neure's gear once before, crafting similar equipment was child's play. He might not remember Neure, but he perfectly remembered the gear he had plundered and inspected!

"Hmm. Good, good."

The armor wasn't an exact replica, but it looked incredibly similar. Anyone seeing this would think, Huh? Their gear looks just like Neure and Neupe's. Are they copycats?

"Let's go, Cain!"

"..."

"Now that I think about it, there's a skill among the new ones I got that would suit you perfectly."

"What is it?"

Cain asked, his voice tinged with a hint of anticipation.

"It's called Salabian's Rampage."

"...The name alone sounds incredibly suspicious..."

It was an Authority skill Tae-hyun had acquired after defeating Dominic!

"No, it's a great skill."

"!"

"See? Great, right? Authority skills are generally amazing."

"It really is good. But why does the skill name have 'Rampage' in it?"

"...Haha. Probably just to make it sound cool."

Tae-hyun hid the very last line of the description.

Warning: The power of Salabian may cause your appearance to become hideous.

Tae-hyun checked his items as he walked alongside Cain. Because he had looted Dominic, the Salavian Church, and various nobles, he had obtained so many items that he hadn't even had the chance to inspect them all yet.

He was reviewing them on the move, starting with the most important ones.

The most important item: the crown. It was another highly specialized piece of gear. It offered zero physical defense, but its magic defense was the highest of any item he had ever seen.

Was this item made specifically to slaughter mages?

If he charged at mages while wearing this, they would weep tears of blood. Of course, Tae-hyun was perfectly confident in his ability to kill mages even without it!

Not only was the magic defense extreme, but the skill list was also overwhelming. It had the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most skills of any item he had ever acquired.

Most of the associated skills were variations of King's Command. Banishing, placing bounties, harassing, raising to nobility... They were divided into such meticulous categories that he couldn't even read through them all.

Hmm?

Scanning the skill list, Tae-hyun spotted something intriguing.

"...!"

For a second, he thought it was an incredibly broken skill, but on second thought, its restriction to the Atali Palace made it a bit awkward. How was he supposed to lure his enemies inside the palace?

Tae-hyun decided to simply be glad that Dominic had died without ever getting the chance to use this skill. That was enough.

If Ed-an hadn't stolen the crown beforehand, things could have gone horribly wrong...

"Tae-hyun... no, Negu! Negu!"

"?"

Cain called out to him.

"Aren't those guys from the Guild Alliance over there?"

"Oh."

Tae-hyun closed his item window and shifted his gaze.

At the bottom of the hill, several carriages were approaching, accompanied by players flying the Guild Alliance flag.

"What kind of items are they carrying... Let's see. Oho. Blacksmithing materials."

Seeing the carriages piled high with high-quality steel ingots, Tae-hyun smiled warmly.

On top of that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they were flying the Guild Alliance flag. Normally, it was meant as a warning: Touch this and the Guild Alliance will hunt you down and kill you! But to Tae-hyun, it looked like a flag that said: Please rob us!

"Let's go, Nega!"

"R-Right!"

Cain followed behind Tae-hyun, still feeling incredibly awkward about his new alias.

"Everyone, halt!"

"...???"

The Guild Alliance players escorting the carriages were startled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by the sudden appearance of the duo. But their surprise quickly turned to relief, and they began to laugh. After all, there were only two of them!

"...What the? Bwahaha! There's only two of them!"

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guys must be new to Pan-On. We're members of the Guild Alliance, you know? You picked the wrong target."

"Get down on your knees and beg for mercy, and maybe we'll let you off easy."

Tae-hyun muttered quietly under his breath.

"How kind of them."

"What... what am I supposed to say again?"

"You've done bandit roleplay before, haven't you?"

"It's been way too long!"

"Tsk, tsk... You're bringing shame to our names. I'll do it. I am Negu! And this is Nega! Leave your cargo behind, and we shall spare your lives!"

The guild members continued to sneer, twirling their fingers near their temples to mock them.

"Wait, Negu and Nega... Are they trying to copy the brothers Neure and Neupe?"

"Hey! Their gear looks similar too! They must be aspiring bandits! Ahahaha—gark!"

Tae-hyun hurled an axe straight at the speaking guild member.

"..."

"..."

Although his equipment had completely changed, his accumulated stats and passive skills remained. The throwing axe, heavily buffed by Lucky Strike, buried itself deep into the guild member, forcing an immediate logout.

"Uh... uh..."

"Do we look like a joke to you? Huh?!"

Cain belatedly chimed in.

"We are bandits destined to become far greater than the likes of Neure and Neupe! Don't you dare compare us to those cowards who got scared and crawled into a guild!"

"Exactly! Well said, Nega!"

"These... these crazy bastards! Do you want to be hunted down by the Guild Alli—urgh!"

"Wipe them out!"

With those words, Tae-hyun and Cain lunged at the guild members and unleashed their assault!