Crossing the Mountains of Fate
The older players fell silent, but they kept bombarding him with whispers.
—Hey, that giant beast is pretty useful. Would it be okay if I rode one around?
—Last time we went to the Guild Alliance's territory to do some plundering, I snagged some items. Is there a way to sell these for a higher price? When I tried selling them normally, it felt like those Guild Alliance bastards were interfering.
“You guys are whispering right now, aren't you?” Kim Tae-san said sharply.
The older players flinched.
“A-ah, no, we're not.”
“What do you mean, ‘no,’ you rascals! You were totally whispering!”
“Father. If you look at this, your anger will melt away.”
“Th-this is...!”
Tae-hyun pulled out the Orc Ancestors' Skull Necklace.
◈ Passed down through generations of Great Chieftains, this skull necklace symbolizes the absolute authority of the Great Chieftain.
This was the essential item required to complete the legendary class quest Kim Tae-san was currently undertaking: the Great Chieftain of Uruk quest!
“I knew you had it! You little rascal!”
Actually, I've had it for a while...
Kim Tae-san let out a groan and sat back down.
“What do you want? Gold? It's gold, right? Let's settle this with gold.”
“Aw, that would be way too advantageous for you, Father.”
“How is paying you in cash advantageous to me?! Do you look down on money, boy?!”
Seeing this, the older players muttered among themselves.
“Tae-hyun is doing so well lately...”
“With commercials, broadcasts, and tournaments, how much is he making? At this rate, isn't he going to slap his old man's cheek later?”
“Nah, surely not...”
They spoke softly, but it sounded exceptionally loud to Kim Tae-san's ears.
Kim Tae-san trembled.
“What are your terms?”
“An Elven expedition has arrived at a port city in the northern part of the Auston Kingdom.”
“Hmm. So we just need to wipe them out.”
Kim Tae-san nodded. It was difficult, but not a bad deal. Fighting Elves was part of his Great Chieftain quest anyway.
“Are we fighting Elves?”
“Ohhh... that's...!”
“A fight? Count me in!”
The older players nearby pricked up their ears at those words. At an age where they were close to retirement and had nothing to do but eat at home, fighting in Pan-On was their absolute favorite hobby!
“No. You shouldn't fight them. You just need to appear in the distance and then vanish.”
“...”
The older players instantly deflated.
“Why...? Can't we just fight them?”
“The Guild Alliance guys are coming, so you can't.”
“Ugh...”
“Wait a minute!” One of the older players raised his hand. “We can just hit the Guild Alliance! Isn't that allowed?”
“That...” Tae-hyun thought about it. Attacking the Guild Alliance that was coming to attack the port city?
“Actually, that sounds great.”
“Wow! We can just smash the Guild Alliance!”
“It's a shame we can't hit the Elves, but this is still awesome!”
“But Tae-hyun. To get to Bektel City from here, we have to cross this mountain range. It might be fine if it were just players, but if we're going to fight, we need to bring a bunch of Orc warriors too...”
Between Bektel City and the Uruk region lay a high, steep mountain range. Flying would be easy, but they couldn't fly such a massive crowd.
“We'll just have to cross the mountain range, then.”
“?!”
An expedition mobilizing giants and Orc warriors to climb the steep mountain range! Tae-hyun led from the very front.
“Over there. Smash it!”
—Understood. Understood.
The giant tribes settled in the Uruk region faithfully obeyed Tae-hyun's orders. When it came to raw physical labor, they displayed terrifying power!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Throwing bombs! Clear out!”
Smashing with the giants' brute strength, and if that didn't work, blowing it up with bombs. And if the path still wouldn't clear...
“Step aside. I'll handle this.”
The Ancient Hammer, specialized for this exact kind of work! Tae-hyun even activated his Great Luck skill.
Fortunately, brute force worked in one go.
When his massive Luck stat was converted into Strength, and the damage of the Ancient Hammer was added to it...
CRASH!
A sound several times louder than a clap of thunder reverberated through the mountains.
The giants marvel at your strength!
Tae-hyun's group kept moving. Meanwhile, the few remaining broadcasting staff members said:
“Ah, I need to start getting ready for work soon...”
“It was fun! Next time, please call us ag—”
Grab.
Tae-hyun grabbed their hands.
“???”
“We've come all this way! Let's go together!”
Words that would normally sound heartwarming sounded incredibly terrifying coming from Tae-hyun. To their ears, it translated directly to: You can't escape.
“N-no. I really have to prepare...”
“Take a day off!”
“I-I have a shoot to prepare for...”
“Do it later!”
Tae-hyun was not about to let his three human bombs go. He would hold onto them by any means necessary!
“Th-then, just a little longer...”
“That's the spirit!”
Does he really have to play a game like his life depends on it?! The three of them stared at Tae-hyun with pale faces. They had already had plenty of fun and just wanted to log out...
“Everyone, isn't this fun?”
“Ah. Yes.”
“You're not answering very enthusiastically. You aren't planning to suddenly log out, are you?”
Flinch! One of the players jerked. That was exactly what they had been planning.
“If you suddenly log out, I might get worried and come look for you in real life.”
“...”
If Choi Sang-yun had been here, he would have said, That bastard is revving his engine again. Once Tae-hyun started a quest, his personality demanded that he drag everyone who started it with him to the bitter end!
“Everyone. Aren't you happy?”
“We... we are happy.”
“If you're happy, let's do this with more smiles.”
“Haha, hahaha...”
Forcing a laugh, the PD suddenly realized something.
—Guys, why aren't you smiling? Meetings go much better when we smile!
Ugh... guys. I'm so sorry! The PD suddenly felt a deep wave of remorse toward his subordinates!
“Ah! I want to split some Orc skulls!” Gellendel muttered out of nowhere as he watched the fortress being built.
Fortunately, there were no players around. If there had been, Gellendel's image would have been completely shattered. To the public, Gellendel was still a cold, upright Elven Duke. The power of mystique was truly terrifying.
“Are the Orcs really com—Ah! Orcs! It's the Orcs!”
“Huff, huff. Your Grace.”
Just as the Orc warriors appeared on the distant mountain range, Tae-hyun returned, panting heavily.
“You've returned! Look, the Orcs have appeared! Let us go split their skulls!”
“Calm down, Your Grace. Those Orcs are extremely cunning, vile, and cheap bastards...”
Meanwhile, Kim Tae-san, who was leading the Orcs in the distance, tilted his head.
“What's wrong, Boss?”
“Nothing. My ears just suddenly started itching.”
In the meantime, Tae-hyun continued to persuade the Duke.
“They are definitely setting a trap and waiting for us. It's too dangerous to go first!”
“I do not care! Even if there is a trap, I can smash any petty Orc trap with my own strength. Let me split their skulls! I want to split their skulls!”
SLAM! SLAM! Gellendel swung his axe and split the table in front of him in half.
Tae-hyun realized once again that Gellendel was a complete lunatic.
“Do not worry. If Your Grace does not fall into their trap, those Orcs will eventually come down on their own. That's just the kind of creatures they are!”
“Is that so? I shall trust your words once more. You have never been wrong. You are like an angel sent by God so that I may split even more Orc skulls!”
Carbanog is appalled.
“Haha. You flatter me.”
However, before the Orcs led by Kim Tae-san could even descend, a massive expedition appeared in the distance. It was the expedition of the Guild Alliance.
The ranker Barbarian Warrior, McPhil, quickly marched up to Bektel with his guild members, mercenaries, and territory soldiers.
According to the community boards, the players participating in the Elven expedition had captured Bektel and were rapidly building a fortress. Once a fortress was built, sieging it would be several times harder. They had to attack before it was completed.
“That useless bastard Yuan! Running away without even defending! How did he even get the Lord's position? Did he get it because he's close to Su Ning?!”
His booming voice echoed. The Barbarian Warrior McPhil was a player whose class perfectly matched his real-life persona. A massive, heavily bearded man playing a Barbarian Warrior.
“I heard that if we recapture it, this city will be given to me. That's true, right?”
“Of course.” An executive who followed him nodded.
In the first place, Yuan had received this city due to his connections rather than his ability. Currently, the Guild Alliance was focusing on taking care of its rankers. If McPhil recaptured it, there was no reason not to give him the Lord's position.
“Bring them out.” At McPhil's command, several siege engines emerged from the rear. Along with high-level mages!
The siege engines were items crafted by the blacksmiths nurtured by the Guild Alliance. They were expensive, but they were worth the price. Although they cost money to build and the ammunition was expensive, they allowed for much more stable attacks than mages!
Even though McPhil was a Barbarian Warrior, this wasn't his first territory war. He knew the basics well. First, pour overwhelming firepower to weaken the enemies, then close in to finish them off! It was a textbook strategy.
Swoooooosh—
“?”
BOOM!
“Gaaah!”
◈ You have been hit by a Uruk Region Special Granite!
◈ You are blown back by an attack loaded with immense strength!
◈ Your equipment has been destroyed by this impact!
“Noooooooo!” McPhil shrieked.
As a Barbarian Warrior, a tank-type class with high HP, he didn't die instantly from a direct hit by a siege engine. However, unluckily, one of his pieces of equipment was destroyed by the damage. A sorrow as deep as if his own arm had been blown off!
“Th-these bastards dare...!” McPhil was furious. To think they would fire first!
“Fire back!”
“Ah, yes!” McPhil's blacksmiths also began to fire in response.
However, before long, an overwhelming difference began to show. McPhil was horrified by the disparity.
“W-what! This is impossible!”
There was a massive difference in both firing speed and accuracy. As the exchange continued, McPhil's siege engines began to get smashed one by one.
“This won't do. Prepare to charge!”
“Prepare to charge!”
Realizing that exchanging fire would change nothing, McPhil issued the command.
Led by McPhil, the high-level players of the Guild Alliance unleashed a terrifying aura.
◈ Skill used.
◈ Skill used...
◈ Skill used...
“Whoa, crazy. Isn't that McPhil?”
“Where? Where?”
Even the players watching from the top of the half-built fortress walls were astonished. Since McPhil was a fairly famous ranker, it was only natural.
Slink, slink— The players could be seen slowly backing away. In this kind of battle, the most dangerous place was the very front!
Of course, the contribution points would pile up much faster, but no one was willing to stand at the front just to grab those right now.
“Ji-su. Cain. You two need to step up.”
Ji-su nodded, placing the Tyrum Hunters she had brought along on the ship at the front. She looked ready to shoot at any moment!
Cain tilted his head. “Why me?”
“Block that guy.”
“...”
Although they were both tanks, Cain suddenly lost his confidence upon seeing McPhil.
“N-no. The size difference between us is too huge.”
“That's in real life. In Pan-On, there's barely any difference.”
“I mean, yeah, but...”
“Don't you want to show off your cool side?”
“I'm going!”
“Tsk, tsk...” Tae-hyun shook his head.
Jeong Su-hyeok watched and said pityingly, “I feel so bad for Cain.”
“Leave him be. He's happy. Everyone! You need to start getting ready for work soon, right?” Tae-hyun asked, looking at the three staff members.
Holding onto them when they wanted to go home had definitely paid off.
“Yes! Can we go now?!”
“Haha. Before you go, you should do one last, really, really fun thing.”