"Kim... Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Kim... Kim Tae-hyun?!" the player who recognized him first cried out in sheer shock.
Tae-hyun hadn't bothered with any disguise, making him incredibly easy to spot. His distinct, sharp features and signature gear gave him away instantly.
"What? Why would Kim Tae-hyun be here... Holy crap, it really is him!"
"W-what is Kim Tae-hyun doing here?"
He had been participating in the dungeon tournament until recently, and the Erangs Kingdom was hardly his usual stomping ground. Seeing him here of all places only amplified the players' shock.
"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun! I'm a huge fan!"
"Haha, is that so?"
"Tae-hyun Hyung! Can we party up with you?"
Tae-hyun smoothly ignored the last one. He already had more than enough annoying tagalongs to deal with.
"Are... are you really the pro player Kim Tae-hyun?"
"Yes, that's right."
As Tae-hyun stepped forward, the crowd of players parted like the Red Sea. The guild member guarding the entrance flinched at the sight.
Perfect.
Tae-hyun's plan was simple. If he marched up with absolute confidence and demanded to know why they were blocking people from entering, the crowd would undoubtedly rally behind him. Peer pressure and mob mentality were powerful forces! Normally, players would avoid picking a fight with a major guild for fear of being blacklisted, but give them a legendary figure to hide behind, and they would instantly grow a spine.
Once they get swept up in the heat of the moment, they'll spill everything.
If the crowd started clamoring and protesting alongside him, the guard would panic and start babbling information.
I'll listen to what he says and decide our next move.
Whether they should initiate PvP right here or wait a bit longer... Either way, his party was waiting just behind him. If he caused a big enough scene, slipping into the forest through an alternate route would be child's play. While the average party here insisted on using the main path due to the danger, Tae-hyun's group was strong enough to carve their own path right through the thick of the woods. They had survived countless absurd trials; a forest like this would be a walk in the park.
"Why are you blocking these people from entering?" Tae-hyun asked.
"Yeah! Exactly!"
"Even Kim Tae-hyun is saying so!"
Just as Tae-hyun had anticipated, the crowd's morale surged. Come on, panic. Panic...
"Well, if Kim Tae-hyun says so, I suppose we have no choice. Everyone, you may enter!"
"???"
Tae-hyun froze. Wait, what?
"Whoaaaa!"
"As expected of Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Thank you, Mr. Kim! We get to go in because of you!"
The moment the guard gave the green light, the players swarmed past the barricade. Tae-hyun stood there, utterly dumbfounded. How could a guild member abandon his post and duties so easily? It wasn't like he was a member of the chaotic Power Warrior Guild!
"Are you sure this is okay?" Tae-hyun asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's fine. If I tell the higher-ups that I ran into Kim Tae-hyun, they'll understand."
"..."
"I'm so touched that you're even worrying about me. Your character really is top-notch, Mr. Kim. Whenever people on the forums talk trash about getting scammed by you, I never believed a single word. I'm rooting for you! Fighting!"
"..."
Tae-hyun's face stiffened. Watching from a distance, his party members—completely unaware of his internal crisis—couldn't help but marvel.
"Wow, that's amazing. He barely said a word, and they just let everyone through."
"Tae-hyun is practically the God of Speech," Lee Da-bi remarked.
"How on earth did he pull that off?" Yu Ji-soo wondered.
"I'm not entirely sure, but he must have calculated everything perfectly the moment he stepped up. He's truly incredible."
Cain was filled with genuine admiration. To formulate and execute a plan like that in a matter of seconds seemed like the work of a genius. Of course, Tae-hyun's actual thoughts were vastly different.
What the hell is this...
Although he was flabbergasted by how his plan had gone off the rails, the situation wasn't entirely ruined. He decided to just ask directly.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course! Ask away."
He had originally planned to use some high-level psychological manipulation to coax the information out, but the guard was so incredibly cooperative that it took all the fun out of it.
"...What exactly were you doing here that required blocking off the forest? Is there a high-tier dungeon inside?"
"Ah... no, nothing like that. Our guild was actually the first to discover this region."
The Erangs Kingdom was vast, and many areas remained uncharted. Consequently, many guilds specialized in exploring these unknown territories. Discovering a lucrative dungeon could secure a guild's financial future indefinitely.
"We haven't found a dungeon yet, but the area inside is extremely dangerous. Our guild master told us to keep other players out so low-level players wouldn't wander in and get slaughtered."
"...?"
Tae-hyun sensed something off. Wait...
"So... you were guarding the entrance to stop people from dying?"
"Yes."
"But didn't you say earlier that they couldn't enter because your guild had claimed the area?"
"Ah, you heard that? Well, if we told them it was too dangerous, they wouldn't have listened anyway. They wouldn't have believed us."
The guild member spoke with an earnest, innocent expression. Tae-hyun couldn't argue with that logic. In Pan-On, telling players "It's dangerous, don't go in" was practically an invitation. Most would just scoff, say "I can handle myself!" and march right in. Claiming ownership of the area was actually a much more effective deterrent.
"Our guild has sent several parties to conquer this forest, but I don't think we've even cleared ten percent of it yet. Hahaha. It's incredibly vast and labyrinthine... and the monsters are no joke."
"..."
The more the guard spoke, the more Tae-hyun's guilt began to fester. In the midst of his silent self-reproach, a whisper arrived.
At Tae-hyun's signal, his party emerged from the brush. The guard gasped in shock.
"Oh my god! Cain! Lee Da-bi! Even Jeong Su-hyeok! Where is Choi Sang-yun?"
"He's busy with something else right now," Tae-hyun replied. "Anyway, is it really alright for us to go in?"
"Yes, of course! If Kim Tae-hyun can't go in, who can? Hahaha. Those players who went in first are incredibly lucky. Thanks to you, they get to tackle the forest alongside a legend."
The guard seemed to believe Tae-hyun had some grand strategy in mind when he demanded the others be let in. Kim Tae-hyun must be confident he can clear the forest even while carrying those random players. That's why he told me to let them in.
Realizing this, Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He hadn't thought that far ahead at all...
"Aaaaaaaack!"
Suddenly, blood-curdling screams echoed from deep within the woods. A party came sprinting out in sheer terror—it was the very same group that had eagerly rushed in moments ago. They had entered with eight members, but only three returned.
"Aaaaah! Save me!"
"This forest is insane! Run!"
They bolted past without looking back. The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold.
"Ah... they really have no patience," the guard muttered, still placing absolute faith in Tae-hyun. "They should have just waited and gone in with you, Mr. Kim."
Lee Da-bi, who was the first to grasp the absurdity of the situation, shook her head in silent admiration. Wow, once someone puts on those rose-tinted glasses, they really never take them off.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Ji-soo asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Lee Da-bi quickly looked away. "Oh, it's nothing."
"Oh... my guild master is messaging me."
Meanwhile, the guard received a whisper.
"Ah, yes, Guild Master. Yes. Ah... why did I let them in? Well, brace yourself. Do you know who's here? It's Kim Tae-hyun. Yes, the real one! An impostor? Uh..."
The guard paused. Come to think of it, Tae-hyun was so famous that there were countless copycats running around.
"You... you really are the real Kim Tae-hyun, right? I mean, I'm sure you are, but..."
"Look at Cain over here," Tae-hyun said, gesturing to his companion. "Do you think any impostor would drag a guy like this around?"
"Ah! You're right!"
The guard was instantly convinced. In truth, purely in terms of visual impact, Cain was far more striking and memorable than Tae-hyun. While many tried to mimic Tae-hyun, almost no one attempted to copy Cain's unique Chimera appearance. It was simply too difficult to replicate!
"Our guild master says he'd love to meet you. Would that be alright?"
"Ah, sure..."
There was no point in refusing now. Tae-hyun decided to meet the guild master and squeeze as much information out of him as possible.
"Aaaargh! Help!"
Even now, the screams of the players who had rushed in first continued to echo from the depths of the forest.
"Um, what should we do about those people?" the guard asked.
"Well, I'm sure they'll figure something out," Tae-hyun replied casually.
"..."
Nicola, the guild master of the Mobesong Guild, was a fairly famous mage player. His specialty was lightning magic. He had advanced to the Epic class, Thunder Lord, and was known to be close friends with Dominic, a famous ranker mage who was rivals with Smith.
Furthermore, Dominic, who led a mage guild in the Erangs Kingdom, was a prominent anti-Guild Alliance figure!
"Since Nicola also dislikes the Guild Alliance, he probably has a favorable opinion of you, Tae-hyun," Lee Da-bi suggested.
"That sounds highly likely."
After all, nothing bonds people faster than a shared enemy! Tae-hyun was already starting to like this Nicola guy, even though they hadn't met yet.
Clop, clop, clop.
From the distance, a man with curly blonde hair appeared, riding a creature that looked remarkably like a unicorn.
Cain, utterly bewildered, sent a whisper to the group, but no one replied.
"Oh, hello!"
"?"
Tae-hyun wondered if the translation system was malfunctioning, but it was working perfectly fine. That was just how Nicola spoke!
"Kim Tae-hyun! I am a very big fan. I have wanted to meet you so much!"
"Ah, yes. Hello."
"Chinese players, very bad. The true king of the continent is France! Kim Tae-hyun, you punish China very much. I like it very much that you punish them!"
"..."
A torrent of words washed over him the moment they met. Tae-hyun was taken aback but quickly pulled himself together.
"Right, I see... Well, we came here to clear this forest. Do you happen to have any information on it?"
"Oh, I will give you the information right away! For Kim Tae-hyun, of course I will give it!"
Tae-hyun nodded. It had been a long time since he had encountered someone this greasy—not since CEO Lee Dong-pal. Actually, compared to Nicola, Lee Dong-pal was a mere amateur. This man was the real deal!
"Kim Tae-hyun, going in to rescue the players who entered first... so cool!"
"?"
"??"
Cain and Jeong Su-hyeok tilted their heads in confusion, but Lee Da-bi quickly jabbed them both in the ribs. There was no need to ruin the mood now!
This forest was a highly difficult region. Even the Mobesong Guild had to deploy high-level parties led by at least one ranker to explore it. Nicola handed over a map of the areas they had charted so far and began explaining the monsters they would encounter.
"Here is the map. And here is holy water that works very well. It is from the Phytos Church!"
"!"
Behind them, Yohas flinched. To hear the name of Lord Phytos here!
Yohas is pleased.
Nicola must not know that a high-tier demon is lurking here.
While the forest was mostly populated by corrupted or fallen beasts, the guild lacked the information to identify the actual boss monster.
"Here are silver arrows that work very well against werewolves. And here are magic scrolls that work very well against swarms of bats..."
Nicola was showering them with items like a doting grandmother welcoming her favorite grandchild back to the countryside.
"Are you sure you can just give us all this?" Tae-hyun asked.
"If Kim Tae-hyun clears this forest, it is good for us, and good for other players too!"
In short, if Tae-hyun cleared the forest, everyone would benefit. Even so, it was an incredibly generous gesture. From a guild's perspective, it was always more profitable to clear content themselves, even if it took longer. Handing over their hard-earned progress and resources like this proved just how deeply Nicola trusted Tae-hyun.
Man. It feels really weird having strangers treat me this nicely.
The contrast between this and his experiences in Pan-On 1 was night and day, leaving Tae-hyun with a strange, ticklish feeling. Was this what it felt like to be popular?