Someone Else's Gear

"Su-hyeok, how could you say such a thing? That's someone else's gear."

"Sniff... I'm sorry." Jeong Su-hyeok bowed his head deeply.

Kane stared at Tae-hyun with a look that clearly said, What is this bastard plotting now to act so nice? Whenever Tae-hyun did something out of character, it meant he was up to no good!

Lee Da-bi and Yu Ji-su watched Jeinen with a hint of wariness. They were already bothered by the fact that she had shown up claiming to be Tae-hyun's fan. What if his kindness actually made her fall for him? Sure, he said it was just an act, but you could never predict the human heart.

Of course, there was absolutely no way Jeinen would fall for Tae-hyun.

What on earth does this crazy bastard want from me?!

The kinder Tae-hyun acted, the more her terror amplified! She had experienced far too much firsthand since the days of Pan-On 1 to ever fall for him. And that wasn't even counting all the horror stories she had heard and seen from others.

No... This is bad. I have to ask the others for help...

Jeinen looked around. Naturally, there was no one in sight who looked remotely willing to help. Even Yu Ji-su and Lee Da-bi, who usually seemed like the nice ones, were currently glaring daggers at her!

I didn't even do anything that bad! I had no idea Kim Tae-hyun was here! If I'd known you guys were here, I wouldn't have even come near this place!

She screamed inwardly, but her silent cries reached no one.

Yu Ji-su glared at Jeinen and muttered in a low voice, "Her heart looks like it's pounding right now..."

It was pounding, all right. Out of sheer terror! Jeinen unconsciously nodded.

"I knew it! I knew she was swooning!"

"W-wait, no. As long as you're human, how can your heart not pound when you're standing in front of Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Well, that's true... but I still can't forgive her!"

Are they having two completely different conversations? Lee Da-bi tilted her head. No matter how she looked at it, Jeinen's face was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pale with fright.

It was Tae-hyun who broke up the exchange. "I'll let you go. But in exchange, do me one favor."

"Sob... Just kill me quickly. Make it painless..."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere instantly turned incredibly awkward.

"...I just want you to go back and keep me updated on their progress and things like that."

"Ah... I see. Wait. Isn't that just being a spy?"

"Calling it a 'spy' sounds a bit harsh. Let's just say you're returning the favor for my kindness." Tae-hyun tried to soothe Jeinen. When recruiting a spy, the most important thing was to coax them! Surely this much is fine!

But there was absolutely no need for coaxing. Jeinen replied instantly. "Who cares if it's a spy or whatever? As long as I survive, that's all that matters."

"Excellent."

"Wait. Have you already planted other spies in our guild like this? You seem way too experienced at this." The thought suddenly occurred to Jeinen, and she asked. Tae-hyun was momentarily taken aback, but his expression didn't waver for a second as he replied.

"Of course. Half of your executives are already my spies."

"Hahaha! You're quite the joker. There's no way that's true, right?"

Alcott prepared to welcome Crawford, a high-ranking mage who had come to visit.

"Behold! This is the Lord's chamber!"

"Oh... Not bad." Crawford was impressed. This was one of the exclusive privileges granted only to a Lord—a private, dedicated space. So this is what power feels like! Although Alcott wasn't the Lord of a massive territory, his fief was sturdy and well-established.

"But doesn't the Guild Alliance say anything about this? You becoming a Lord in the Erance Kingdom instead of the Auston Kingdom."

"Hey, I'm the very first player Lord in the Erance Kingdom. Why would they complain? If anything, the Guild Alliance is backing me even more. They told me to keep expanding our influence here."

"Really? That's surprising." Crawford looked genuinely intrigued. Alcott, however, felt a bit slighted by his reaction.

"Why? What's so surprising about it?"

"Well, it's just that you didn't really have many close allies over there, did you? You're a foreigner to them, and all the guild executives you were close with got purged during that internal feud last time..." Crawford pointed out each fact, one by one.

"If you weren't a high-ranking ranker, wouldn't you have been kicked out ages ago?"

"..."

Hitting me with the cold, hard truth... how cowardly, Alcott thought to himself.

"Besides, you're close with Kim Tae-hyun."

"W-who's close with Kim Tae-hyun?!"

"Ah. So you're just unilaterally terr—"

"I am not terrified of him!"

"...Whatever the case, on the surface, you guys look pretty close." If they had done a few quests together, they were basically buddies. At least, that was how Crawford saw it.

"Don't worry about that. I've managed to persuade him well."

"Oh, really?"

"And I've come to a realization."

"...?"

"There's no need to unconditionally fear a relationship with Kim Tae-hyun."

Yeah, you're definitely terrified... Crawford thought, but he kept his mouth shut. After all, Alcott was a Lord now. He didn't want to get kicked out of the territory using Lordly authority!

"You know how they say even poison can be medicine if used correctly? If you embrace the darkness properly, it can become your own strength."

"...And how exactly do you plan to use it?"

"Maybe to eliminate some of my rivals within the guild?"

"Wait... isn't that just being a spy?!"

"You're back, Jeinen!"

"You actually made it back, Jeinen!"

"You really shouldn't have come back!"

Welcome back, Jeinen!

"Hey, why did you say your inner thoughts out loud?"

"Oops."

The rankers offered her their most hypocritical welcomes! Seeing this, Jeinen smiled brightly. She hadn't felt any guilt to begin with, but these friends of hers were doing a wonderful job of relieving her of any potential guilt she might have had!

"How on earth did you survive and make it back?"

"I have my secret skills. More importantly, Hashida, what was that armor you're wearing right now?"

"It's my usual gear."

"Is its weakness physical defense or magic defense? What elemental weaknesses does it have?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"So I can buff you with the right skills next time we attack. Why?"

"Ah. Well, if that's the case..."

When Jeinen pressed them with sharp questions, everyone quickly backed down. After all, they had no excuse for abandoning her and running away.

What was your weakness again?

What defensive skills did you use? What are their respective cooldowns?

...Do you really need to know all that?

Like that, Jeinen thoroughly investigated everyone's individual weaknesses.

"I heard the news."

"McPhil!"

McPhil, who had just finished recovering, sneered at the returned rankers.

"What? You told me to stay out of it? Bwahaha! Hahaha!"

McPhil laughed uproariously, thoroughly enjoying himself. The rankers glared at him with icy eyes. No one liked having their failures laughed at, no matter who it was.

"Stop laughing."

"Why should I? Hahaha! I thoroughly enjoyed watching your pathetic display."

"!?!"

It was already uploaded?!

"W-was I in it too?"

"Of course you were."

"What about me?!"

"You're the most popular one!"

"..."

The rankers grimaced in unison. Sneering at their miserable expressions, McPhil spoke up robustly.

"Farewell, losers! I'm out of here!"

"What?!"

"McPhil, don't go! You need to stay and act as our shield... I mean, our tank!"

"Save your bullshit for someone else. I don't even know why I've been wasting my time here. Now that you guys are here, it works out perfectly. I'm out."

Watching the rankers' pathetic display in the number one video on the community boards, McPhil had done a lot of thinking. Could he really conquer this fortress with these clowns? The answer was a resounding 'no.'

I must have been out of my mind. At first, the hastily built fortress, manned by what seemed like a ragtag bunch, looked like an easy target. Since the Elven Count and his knights were nowhere to be seen, he had figured they could easily tear it down. But the more he looked at it, the sturdier the fortress seemed. If it was already this tough without the Count and his knights even stepping in...

It's a total white elephant. He had thought that if enough rankers gathered, they might stand a chance, but these guys were a net negative, not a positive. When put together, they spent all their time trying to sabotage and check each other, making them completely useless! It was better to cut his losses and leave early rather than linger out of lingering greed. Besides, with the other rankers arriving, he had a perfect excuse to give his guild.

Once McPhil left, the atmosphere grew strange. The remaining rankers actually knew it too. Even if the fortress looked vulnerable, conquering it wouldn't be easy. And yet...

But I want that Archisus gear!

If I back out, that bastard over there will get it...

Should I leave, or should I stay...?

"They're slowly clearing out."

Hearing the news that the rankers were slipping away one by one after assessing the situation, Tae-hyun felt deeply satisfied. At this rate, Bektel City would be completely secure. The Guild Alliance would undoubtedly try to raid this place first once they had some breathing room later on, and he would have to deal with that when the time came, but for now, they had successfully defended it!

"Are they all gone?"

"No, apparently there are about two left. Let's just go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and take them out."

Defeating a couple of rankers didn't even seem like a challenge anymore. Kane suddenly realized he was thinking this way and was shocked. How on earth did my standards get so warped?!

"Hey, but didn't you say we should hide our identities?"

"Exactly. Go to the city square and shout, 'Whoa! Found an insane jackpot spot! 500% profit guaranteed! The party leader has lost his mind!' and come back."

"..."

Kane headed toward the square with a thoroughly unenthusiastic expression. Thirty minutes later, he returned—with a massive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crowd of bandit parties trailing behind him like a storm cloud! They were all staring at Tae-hyun with sparkling, expectant eyes.

"Is it really a jackpot?"

"If you're lying, we're going to rob you blind."

Looking at their Infamy stats, they were clearly greenhorns who had only recently started playing as bandits. Yet, they already possessed such an admirable attitude. Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction. The lawless atmosphere of this city was truly nurturing the right kind of talent.

"Haha. Come here."

"...?"

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Without warning, Tae-hyun grabbed the speaker and began pummeling him mercilessly!

"Aaaargh!"

Tae-hyun unleashed a flurry of attacks so blindingly fast that the bandit couldn't even process what was happening. Leaving him with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a mere 5% of his HP, Tae-hyun stopped his weapon right in front of the man's face and spoke.

"Say that again."

"N-no... nothing."

The entire square fell dead silent in an instant! Tae-hyun exuded the sheer, overwhelming majesty of a master bandit.

One of the players reflexively equipped a pair of [Glasses] that allowed them to check Infamy stats—glasses that glowed a deeper shade of crimson the higher the target's Infamy was. And then, he gasped in horror.

"Hey... what in the world is that guy's Infamy stat?!"

"What's wrong? ...Gasp!"

"I-is it even possible to play the game normally with an Infamy stat like that?"

"More importantly, what on earth did he do to rack up that much Infamy?"

The more they stared at Tae-hyun's Infamy stat, the more mind-boggling it became! Even if someone spent their entire life doing nothing but robbing people, reaching that level seemed practically impossible.

"Listen carefully. I only pull off big heists. I don't waste my time on petty pocket change! If any of you get in my way, I will blow you to pieces."

"..."

Gulp. One of the players swallowed hard in sheer tension.

"Do you want a jackpot?"

"W-we want it!"

"I asked if you want a jackpot!"

"We want it!!"

"Good. Follow me! Obey my commands, and the jackpot will be yours!"

"Uh, wait. This place is..."

"Attack!"

"No, wait a minute...?!"

Did this guy have a death wish?! Even if everyone in the vicinity was playing bandit, there was a massive difference between raiding a passing wagon and directly attacking the stronghold of the Guild Alliance rankers. The latter was practically begging to be slaughtered!

But Tae-hyun and his companions had already charged in, unleashing their attacks. The players who had followed them had no choice but to bite the bullet and charge in after them.

There he is.

The moment Tae-hyun spotted the ranker, he launched a preemptive strike. Seizing the initiative was always key. You had to strike before they could even process what was happening!

Pierced by the Spear of Karbanog, the ranker tried to move, only to collapse flat on his face.

"!!!"

His face was filled with utter disbelief! How could he have made such a ridiculous, amateur mistake?!

"He's down! Everyone, attack! Activate skills!"

Tae-hyun shouted as he activated a skill. To the onlookers, the visual effects of a completely different skill manifested.

"??!?!?!?"

It was one of the most famous, broken skills in Pandemonium Online, reducing all incoming damage to a mere 1% for a set duration! And this skill belonged to none other than the class of the top-tier ranker, Smith.

"W-what... what?!"

Needless to say, the ranker facing it was utterly dumbfounded.

"Stab him!"

"You bastards must have lost your minds because I was going easy on you!"

Furious, the ranker prepared to retaliate. From the looks of it, these bandits were mid-to-high level players at best. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't even dare to look him in the eye!

I'll just ignore them and wipe them out!

He would shrug off the damage from these weaklings with a skill and launch his own attack—

"Urgh!"

An unimaginably monstrous amount of damage was hidden amidst the flurry of attacks!