Who Knows the Ruins Best?

Who would know the information about ruins and dungeons best? Naturally, it was the very people guarding them. Since they had compiled all the information they had accumulated over a long period and practically spoon-fed it to him, a player like Tae-hyun could hear one thing and understand ten.

'I see. This dungeon has five basement floors, and the monsters that appear are statue-types. High physical defense, low magic defense. The magic they use is curse-type, and the items are priest gear...'

Why did so many players flock to the Erangs Kingdom and start their journeys there? It was because it had the most information and strategy guides. That was how crucial information was! Currently, almost nothing was known about the Asvian Empire, so even Lee Se-yeon was running here and there to gather as much information as possible. Meanwhile, Tae-hyun was getting it all for free.

"Can we have a quick meeting among ourselves? Gather round. Which of these should we raid... I mean, protect first?"

"Ohhh...!"

"This is...!"

The entire party gasped in admiration. A detailed list of delicious spots—no, ruins. No one else could possibly possess something like this. Even the Emperor or the resurrected nobles didn't know about these ruins and dungeons. After all, while their empire lay in ruins, the Draken Secret Society had steadily maintained itself!

"Looks like tank items drop here. Let's go here first!" Cain exclaimed.

"It says mage equipment drops here. I think this place is good," Jeong Su-hyeok suggested politely.

"Th-there's a bow here, so maybe here first..."

What a heartwarming sight of everyone looking out for themselves first! Tae-hyun smiled warmly. 'These guys... when did they grow up to be like this...'

'It's good to be eager to grow your own character. Why yield to others?'

"Well, no need to fight. We can just raid them all quickly."

"What a brilliant, genius idea!" Cain shouted dramatically.

"Cain. I don't think that's a genius idea..." Jeong Su-hyeok muttered.

Jeong Su-hyeok was flustered. Wasn't that an idea blinded by sheer greed, not genius?

"It'll be tight, but it's definitely possible."

"But senior. Those secret society members are staring right at us... Can we really raid the ruins in this state?"

"We just distract them and raid it secretly. It's not like we haven't done this a few times."

"Uh... I've never done that before."

"I've never done it either."

"Me neither..."

"Same here."

"!?" Tae-hyun was shocked.

"You guys have never secretly raided a dungeon behind other people's backs? I mean, usually when a guild or party claims a dungeon, you can't fight them every single time, so you sneak in, grab what you need, and sneak out, right?"

"...Normally, if someone claims it, you just can't go in..."

Common sense completely different from ordinary people! Tae-hyun spoke as if he couldn't understand.

"If someone else claimed it, that's all the more reason to go in and steal—no. Never mind. I'll show you how it's done this time. Watch closely and learn. It'll be very useful later."

"......"

"......"

The party had complicated expressions.

"But we definitely need a proper excuse. Let's leak a few of the maps. If we post them anonymously, people probably won't believe it..."

Ironically, because so many people played Pan-On and posted so much information, very little of it was actually trustworthy. There was even a tip circulating among beginners:

Someone might have set a trap, lied for their own gain, or just did it out of boredom. Since countless players had come to the Asvian Empire, they wouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hesitate to post fake information to keep each other in check.

"Should we post it using the Power Warrior account?"

"That sounds good. Post this, this, and this."

His plan was to lure other players there, and then when the ruins were looted, shift the blame: "These guys did it!"

"A new empire! As an explorer, I absolutely cannot miss this!"

Homa, a somewhat famous explorer player, excitedly led his party and arrived in the empire. An explorer was a class that grew by exploring new areas and finding undiscovered monsters and dungeons. To Homa, the Asvian Empire was a newly opened land of opportunity.

"Exactly, Homa. That bastard Jekas, who sided with the Guild Alliance, doesn't deserve to be a ranked explorer."

"He's a real cheap bastard!"

His party members cheered him on. Even though Homa made frequent mistakes and was a bit clumsy, it was a fact that he was an excellent explorer. Hadn't Homa resolved the Curse of Frozeland that had covered the continent last time!

"For now, our goal is twenty. We'll gather clues around here, solve quests, and find dungeon information."

Dungeons were the flower of Pan-On. No matter where they were, all players wanted dungeons.

"Hey, I heard Jekas is here too."

"What? Damn it..."

"Don't worry. We can do this!"

"I heard he brought some of those Guild Alliance bastards with him..."

"...We can still do this!"

"Y-yeah."

'Will we be okay?' Explorer players weren't used to PvP. Usually, explorers minimized fighting as much as possible, and if a fight broke out, they avoided it or ran away! However, the one who took the first step in dungeon information was neither Homa nor Jekas. It was Power Warrior.

"H-how did they do it so fast!?"

"No way!"

The explorer parties who had arrived in the Asvian Empire were shocked. They had just started talking to the NPCs around here, gathering books, and tracking clues... No matter how fast they were, they couldn't possibly be faster than this.

"Isn't it fake info?"

"Yeah, Power Warrior is a bit..."

"Yeah, a bit..."

Although the Power Warrior Guild had now grown into a respectable large guild in Pan-On, players who had been around since the early days of Pan-On weren't fooled by their image rehabilitation.

Deep-rooted suspicion! But not everyone was just doubting. Players who had nothing to lose, and highly curious players, rushed over as soon as the information was posted. And the first to arrive hit the jackpot.

'J-jackpot!' In their sheer joy, they didn't even notice why the first-entry bonus was popping up even though the Power Warrior Guild members had posted the information. This week, the hottest topic and center of attention on the community boards was Power Warrior!

Countless players flocked to chatter! The Power Warrior Guild members screamed with joy. On the other hand, the explorer parties were flustered. They should have been getting the most attention at a time like this, but they were completely deserted.

"My viewer count is cut in half...!"

"Power Warrior swept everything! Those bastards! Do they have no business ethics?! At least leave some for the rest of us!"

"How did those guys actually find them?"

"Should we tail them?"

"We have our pride! How could we tail a Power Warrior Guild member...!"

However, there were explorer players who had no pride. Jekas, and the Guild Alliance members who came to help him!

"Jekas. If you don't produce results, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the executives will be furious."

"I know, so shut the hell up."

Jekas snapped. It was annoying to have guys who didn't even know what exploring was meddling from the sidelines. Once, he had teamed up with Su Ning and run around to screw Tae-hyun over, but all their preparations had failed. All that was left was a hollow feeling! He couldn't keep clinging to a hopeless revenge. Jekas had to do his own character quests too.

"Find a Power Warrior Guild member. We're tailing them."

"Isn't that a bit too petty..."

"......"

"We'll find one."

"We'll find one, alright?"

As Jekas glared, the guild members grumbled and moved. As they walked away, he could hear them saying, "For a ranked explorer, he's so petty," and "Is he really a ranked explorer?"

'Should I just shoot them...'

"Ah. Doesn't that guild member look suspicious?"

"Oh. Let's follow him."

Finding a Power Warrior Guild member wasn't very difficult. Usually, they walked around conspicuously shouting, "Join the Power Warrior Guild!" or "The pinnacle of Engineering! Random boxes! Buy one, get one free! Don't miss this opportunity!"

"Hehe. He's moving along, completely clueless that we're tailing him."

"What an idiot."

The guild members excitedly followed the Power Warrior.

"...So..."

"!" The guild members' eyes sparkled. They could hear what sounded like a meeting coming from beyond the alley.

"Use Stealth! Go listen!"

The guild members immediately used Stealth and approached.

"Can't we trick the Guild Alliance members into taking a boat ride again under the guise of a tour? The profit from that was so good."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"They're not idiots. Why would they fall for a tour again?"

"How about we lie and say there's an area with lots of dungeons if they take a boat further up?"

"Oh. I think that'll work."

A wicked plan that made the listening Guild Alliance members' blood boil! In fact, one of the guild members here was someone who had already been scammed on his way over.

"These... these bastards?!"

"Gasp! Someone's there!"

"Everyone, run!"

"I'll kill you—"

"Stop! We're inside the city!"

Unlike in the Auston Kingdom, they couldn't just engage in PK inside a city right after arriving in the Asvian Empire. Committing a crime with no contribution points, intimacy, or reputation would make the aftermath impossible to handle!

"What? Those insect-like adventurers dare to appear around our sacred ruins?!"

"No! How could they!"

Tae-hyun shouted in indignation. A hammer was held in his hand. Currently, Tae-hyun was pounding away with his hammer in the forge of the Draken Secret Society.

Still, there were plenty of useful materials in the Draken Secret Society. Various rare gems and metals! The rumors that the land of the Asvian Empire was blessed weren't for nothing.

Tae-hyun pocketed them one by one while pretending to craft items. It was an extraordinary technique that would have been caught if he hadn't used his skills to evade the secret society members' eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and his Blacksmithing Skill to inflate the volume of materials.

'It's fine as long as I don't get caught.' Tae-hyun stopped hammering and stood up.

"I cannot just stand by! I shall go capture those insolent intruders!"

"Oh...! As expected of the dragon's friend!"

"Incredible!"

"Follow him and help!"

"!" The secret society members scrambled to follow and help Tae-hyun! Tae-hyun waved his hands dismissively and said:

"No. I can do this alone."

"No, please let us help you, even if it's just with chores!"

"I said I can do it alone!"