While Lee Se-yeon Agonizes

While Lee Se-yeon was agonizing, Tae-hyun and his party emerged from their capsules, celebrating their victory.

"Look, we're on! We're on TV!"

"I guess they edited out the part where Tae-hyun ignored them."

Cain grinned excitedly as notifications flooded his phone. Ever since he started playing as a professional gamer, his life had changed. Friends who had never contacted him before were suddenly reaching out, starting their messages with, "How've you been lately? I play Pan-On too~"

"Huh? I'm getting a call from an unknown number."

"Probably spam. I get those all the time."

"I keep getting calls from 'Team Leader Kim' telling me I'm pre-approved for a loan," Jeong Su-hyeok added.

Cain nodded. "Must be spam. I should block it."

"You have to block those early so they don't bother you later. They send them every single day."

"...?"

Lee Da-bi tilted her head. Wait, that number didn't look like spam...?

Isn't that the kind of number used for personal calls?

Meanwhile, Ha-yeon of Five Girls was growing increasingly flustered.

"I called to congratulate him... why isn't he picking up?"

She had called to congratulate Cain on his first dungeon match, but he wasn't answering. When she tried again ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and still got no response, she felt something was wrong.

"Maybe it's because he changed his number?" one of her groupmates suggested.

"No! There must be a problem. Did... did I do something wrong?"

"I really think he just changed his number..."

"Even if he did, he wouldn't just ignore me completely!"

"...Why don't you ask Se-yeon unni?"

"Why her?"

"She's close with Kim Tae-hyun. And Kim Tae-hyun is close with Cain... Oh, and when you ask her, could you also mention me to Kim Tae-hyun—"

But Ha-yeon wasn't listening. She immediately contacted Lee Se-yeon.

Hearing the whole story from Ha-yeon, Lee Se-yeon was utterly dumbfounded. She was currently agonizing over serious strategies, and these kids were...!

But what could she do? They were her juniors; she had to look out for them.

- "Fine... I'll ask Kim Tae-hyun..."

Lee Se-yeon immediately called Tae-hyun. But Tae-hyun didn't answer.

Lee Se-yeon clenched her fists. She marched over to her uncle, Lee Dong-pal, and borrowed his phone.

Their childish bickering continued until CEO Lee Dong-pal, standing next to her, asked, "What are you two doing?"

It was a completely meaningless battle with absolutely no winner!

- "But seriously, why did you call? If it wasn't for mind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠games..."

- "Ah. That..."

Hearing the explanation, Tae-hyun nodded. Then, he smacked Cain hard on the back.

"Do you have any idea how many people are suffering because of you?!"

"?!?!"

"How many minutes has it been?"

"Over an hour."

- "Of course! Yes! I'd love to! Yes!"

Cain had a grin stretching from ear to ear, talking on the phone for an hour. Tae-hyun, who had passed him the call, was starting to deeply regret it.

"If only that bastard worked as hard on the game as he does on his life."

"..."

Lee Da-bi felt something was off about that statement but chose not to point it out. After all, she was also someone who worked harder on the game than on her real life.

Click.

Cain finally hung up. Looking like he owned the entire world, Tae-hyun asked him:

"Good?"

"W-we're going on a date!"

"Oh..."

It was a sarcastic question, but the answer was surprisingly genuine. Tae-hyun asked in disbelief:

"You?"

"Yeah!"

Look at this bastard, he doesn't even realize I'm mocking him.

If they were inside Pan-On, pink effects would be bursting all around Cain. That was how happy he was.

"But where are you going?"

"Inside Pan-On."

"...?"

"...???"

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi tilted their heads. Was that... good?

"Inside Pan-On?"

"Yeah! She said other celebrities can come too."

"That's not a date..."

Lee Da-bi, who had realized something, was about to speak.

"Isn't that just carrying celebrities who are interested in Pan-On, not a date?"

"Shh. Just let him be."

Tae-hyun stopped her. Hey, it was something! For Cain, even that was enough to count as a date.

He's so happy, it feels bad to tease him.

"Oh, right. She asked if you were coming too, so I said yes."

"..."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaargh!"

Tae-hyun had gone to such lengths to avoid contacts, and Cain had just invited a whole bunch of beginners he was desperately trying to dodge!

"You're literally my worst enemy."

"I said I'm sorry..."

Logging into Pan-On, Tae-hyun continued to scold Cain.

Come to think of it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't the CEO ask me to train the trainees too? I feel like I'll get a call about that soon...

Tae-hyun thought an idol gaming team was madness, but seeing CEO Lee Dong-pal's confidence made him waver slightly. If a man who had rolled around in the entertainment industry for so long was that confident, there had to be something to it.

"Whatever. If they come, I'll just use them all as human bombs."

"Hey! What if bad rumors start spreading! Broadcast officials might come too!"

"Bad rumors? Then I just won't go on broadcasts. Let's get back to the quest."

The demon hunt quest proposed by the demon Dervene. The Archisus Church Authority quest. After contemplating, Tae-hyun finally made a decision.

"Let's do the demon hunt first. We need to deal with the sketchy ones first."

The demon Dervene waiting in the Capital, and the angel Yohas, who was slowly getting influenced while following Tae-hyun around. He had to deal with these two first.

I'm going to recruit Yohas, but what about Dervene? Can we raid him later? If we don't get caught, his support won't cut off, right?

Tae-hyun was already viewing Dervene as walking experience points.

Yohas approached Tae-hyun as he logged in and asked:

"Your Majesty. You have only permitted the worship of Archisus here..."

"I permitted Demer too."

He had permitted it. It was just that he had plastered the entire area around the Demer temple with (newly seized) Archisus temples!

"But since you were chosen by Lord Phytos, why is there no Phytos temple...?"

A sharp question! Tae-hyun answered without blinking an eye.

"Lord Phytos said the Phytos Church needs trials."

"...I-Is that true?"

"Are you implying that I am lying? Me, the honorable King of Atali, the Avatar of Archisus, and the chosen one of Phytos??"

"N-No. My apologies."

"This training ground will become a training ground for Lord Archisus."

"Do... Do we really have to build it? It's a waste of g-gold..."

"Shut that man's mouth!"

"Mmph! Mmph-mmph!"

Galakpad ordered his subordinates to gag Pelmas.

Right now, they were standing in front of the training ground buildings of other religious orders. Without the power and blessing of a denomination, a training ground building was just an empty shell! In fact, players couldn't even enter them right now.

Galakpad planned to clear them all out and turn them into training grounds for the Archisus Church. It would surely be a great place for new believers joining the order.

"But is it really okay to seize and use a training ground that belonged to another church?"

"Everything in this world belongs to Lord Archisus. Therefore, the belongings of other gods also belong to Lord Archisus. Clear it out and start building!"

The gathered players nodded. Whether Galakpad was a madman or not, what mattered to them was contribution points. A rise in status in this Capital! They had all seen what kind of rewards the players who excelled in the Capital siege received.

"Yes, sir!!"

"Is it Erangs Kingdom..."

"It's better than Auston Kingdom."

The demon's location was in the northeastern forest region of Erangs Kingdom. Going further northeast from here would lead to the Salz Kingdom, where the Tyrum Hunters resided, and going east would lead to the Auston Kingdom.

"Auston Kingdom is easier. No matter what I do there, I don't have to clean up my own mess."

"What a... what a brilliant idea! I'm impressed."

"Haha. No need to flatter me."

"..."

"..."

Listening to the insane conversation between Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi, the party followed behind.

"Since this is Erangs Kingdom, we're definitely seeing a lot of players. A diverse crowd, too."

"Indeed."

Although Atali Kingdom, Auston Kingdom, and a few others had been rising in popularity recently, the most popular kingdom in Pan-On was still Erangs Kingdom. The most stable and robust kingdom! They saw several parties passing by to hunt in nearby dungeons or fields.

"It's a relief that Sadiq's incomplete avatar was defeated. The quest was blocked for a while because of that."

"I heard Alcott was the one who got him?"

"!"

Hearing the passersby, Tae-hyun flinched. Did they finally defeat him?

A pity. Sadiq...

He wished Sadiq had put up more of a fight.

When the power of a massive guild like the Guild Alliance united, even a player like Tae-hyun would find it hard to withstand.

More importantly, Alcott got him?

An unexpected achievement! Tae-hyun prayed that Alcott would grow big and strong.

Chatter, chatter—

Arriving at the entrance of a dark, gloomy forest, they heard loud, clamorous voices.

"Our guild claimed this area first. No entry!"

"Hey, this isn't even a dungeon, and it's huge! How does it make sense to claim it first? Let us in!"

"Yeah!"

It looked like one party was blocking the entrance, and other parties were protesting.

"We'll let you use it after we're done. Just wait."

"Does that even make sense?!"

In popular kingdoms, these kinds of disputes were common. Tae-hyun watched and said:

"Tsk tsk. If this were near my territory, this kind of thing would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never happen."

"..."

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean? If they block the path, we clear them out and go in."

Since Pan-On 1, Tae-hyun had never once respected someone else's claim on a spot. The only response to "This is my spot" was "It's your grave"!

"But this is a bit strange."

"What is? The fact that those guys who are about to get logged out are making so much noise?"

Tae-hyun, drawing his weapon, looked at Lee Da-bi in confusion.

"...N-No. Not that. Like they said, this isn't a dungeon, so controlling access like this is a bit strange."

"True."

If it were a dungeon, controlling access made sense because multiple parties clashing would drastically reduce the loot. But this wasn't a dungeon; it was a vast open area. There was no reason to clash, and no reason to control access.

Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed. He smelled something. The familiar scent he had chased since Pan-On 1—the smell of others hiding a massive jackpot!

How should I dig into this?

Simply going up and initiating PvP was easy, but he wouldn't get any information that way. To get information, he needed a bit of finesse.

"Hmm..."

After contemplating, Tae-hyun gestured for his party to step back and stepped forward alone. Then, he shouted:

"Alright! I have arrived!"

"???"

Startled by the sudden appearance, everyone turned around. Who is it? Who just arrived?