A Blinding Flash

Flash!

A blinding light erupted from the shield in his hands, instantly engulfing Gonzalez. The players watching from the sidelines gasped in shock.

"Wh-what is that?!"

"Is that Smith's skill?!"

"I can't believe he had a skill like that! That bastard Smith...!"

"He's not a top-tier ranker for nothing!"

The crowd of onlookers buzzed with excitement, recording the spectacle. Real-time updates flooded the community boards!

"Aaargh!"

Gonzalez tumbled across the ground. His vision spun violently, making it impossible to grasp what had just happened.

What the hell did he do to me?!

Out of nowhere, his own shield had gone haywire and delivered a devastating blow. Gonzalez had no choice but to suspect Smith. He couldn't possibly imagine that a hidden option on the shield itself had backfired on him!

That bastard Smith! Was he really hiding a skill like this?! No way...!

While rankers were often imagined to be shrouded in absolute mystery, the reality was quite the opposite. Rankers were the most popular players in Pan-On. Every single move they made was uploaded, analyzed, and dissected in videos. On top of that, most rankers streamed.

Unless you were an anomaly like Tae-hyun, a ranker's class and skill set were usually thoroughly analyzed and public knowledge. Only a few paranoid, overly cautious rankers with too many enemies would go to the trouble of hiding a few key skills; most just used them openly. Pan-On was too brutal a game to survive while holding back everything.

Yet here was Smith, unleashing a completely unseen, incredibly rare skill. To detonate an opponent's shield!

The fallen Gonzalez glared up at Smith. Along with the bitter taste of defeat, he felt a genuine sense of respect. To think Smith had kept such a trump card hidden all this time!

"Smith... I admit my defeat."

"...?!"

Smith was utterly baffled. From his perspective, Gonzalez had suddenly tripped over his own feet, fallen backward, and dramatically declared, "Ugh! I admit my defeat!"

Is this a trap?

Smith hesitated. Spending so much time around Tae-hyun had made him deeply paranoid.

His companions urged him on through whisper messages.

Smith lunged forward and swung his sword to deliver the final blow to Gonzalez.

"G-Gonzalez lost!"

"How did he lose that?"

"I know Smith is strong, but didn't he go down way too easily?"

To earn the title of a 'good fight despite the loss,' shouldn't they have clashed for at least an hour? To the onlookers, it looked like Gonzalez had charged in, taken a few hits from Smith, and instantly collapsed. It was an absurdly anticlimactic end!

"Block the fortress gates!"

"Ah, right!"

Rumble—

As soon as Gonzalez fell, his guild members scrambled into action. His defeat was one thing, but they had absolutely no intention of retreating. Surrendering the fortress just because one man fell would be madness!

"We've requested reinforcements, they'll be here soon! Just hold out!"

"Pour everything we've got on them!"

A sky-blocking barrage of arrows and magic began to rain down. It was a desperate, reckless onslaught with no regard for the aftermath! The sheer ferocity of the attack forced even Smith and his companions to focus entirely on defense.

"Smith! If we can't break through this, we have to retreat! They definitely called for backup!"

"I know!"

But Smith couldn't think of a way out either. His class was incredibly powerful at holding ground and fighting head-on, but he lacked the utility skills to turn the tide in a chaotic siege like this.

The cooldown for my 'Eternal and Immortal Power of the Ancient Empire' skill is still active from the last fight...

"G-Guild Master."

"Call me Captain."

"Let's stop this now! This is insane!"

Teech and his guild members were stealthily scaling the back wall of the fortress.

Even if we're lucky enough to sneak in undetected, what then?!

They had no idea, but Smith was currently launching an assault at the front gates. Thanks to that, every single eye in the fortress was focused forward! It was an incredible stroke of luck, but because they were unaware, their hearts were in their throats.

"Look. We scale this wall, then climb to the top of that tower."

"And... what then?"

What were they going to do after climbing the tallest tower in the fortress?

"We fly straight to the central command building!"

Fortress ownership was secured by entering the central base and holding it for a set period. The central base ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of this fortress was the [Command Room] located right in the middle. If they could get inside and hold out, the fortress would temporarily be theirs. Whether they could actually defend it afterward was a different story!

"Once we capture the fortress, it doesn't matter if we lose it right back!"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quest only required them to capture the fortress once. They could flee immediately afterward.

"Captain, even so, how are we supposed to fly all the way over there?"

"The moment we use magic, we'll be detected."

As expected of a heavily fortified stronghold, dozens of magical barriers were active. The instant anyone cast a flight or levitation spell, alarms would blare like crazy.

"I've got it all figured out. Look at this!"

"?!"

Teech pulled out a [Rocket Mount]. It was an item crafted by Daniel, the mechanical engineering blacksmith in Tae-hyun's territory!

"Where did you get that?"

"I got it from one of those random boxes."

"I heard the quality on those is pretty terrible..."

"No way. I tried it out, and it's actually decent."

Teech had luckily pulled one of the better items from the pool of duds! Though his guild members were anxious, they had no choice. It was better than magic!

"I'm going first!"

Whoosh!

"Huh? It actually works?"

"Is this actually decent?"

"Was the rumor about it being bad just fake news?"

The guild members stared in shock at the unexpected success. Was this thing actually good?

"????!"

"What?!"

"Go check it out right now!"

The defending guild members ran toward the command room in a panic. Who on earth had slipped inside?

"Pant, pant, pant."

"Hey! Block the door!"

"Barricade it with everything we've got! Who has the highest blacksmithing skill?!"

"Me! I'll do it!"

Realizing a head-on fight was impossible, Teech's guild members desperately tried to hold the line.

"The door is blocked!"

"Break it down!"

"If we catch you, you're dead!"

The guild members trembled at the roaring voices echoing from outside.

"Ugh, our Guild Master has completely lost his mind!"

"Wh-what? Is that any way to talk to your Captain?!"

"We're about to die, of course I'm going to talk like this! How long do you think this door will hold? They'll break through in thirty minutes!"

"You shouldn't have such negative thoughts!"

Crash!

"Aaargh! They actually broke through!"

"It was the Guild Master! The Guild Master made us do it! We're sorry!"

"Everyone. Let us fight together."

"...?"

The ones who burst through the door, having bypassed the enemies outside, were Smith and his companions.

"...?!"

"...Let's give up. This is impossible."

"I think it's impossible too..."

Cain and Jeong Su-hyeok said to Tae-hyun. The members of the Power Warrior Guild had swarmed the area to search for the Adamantium Slime. Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi had also searched with fire in their eyes, but... the Adamantium Slime was nowhere to be found.

"Sigh... Yeah. It can't be helped."

Tae-hyun gave up. He had too much on his plate right now anyway. He would leave the slime hunting to the Power Warrior Guild members!

"Just leave it to us, Tae-hyun!"

"Leave this place to us and head on ahead!"

The guild members' eyes sparkled with greed. To think such a paradise existed! A place where precious ores literally rained down just by killing a single slime. It was a dream come true for the Power Warrior Guild. They wished they could stay here forever!

"Alright, look at this chart."

"...?"

At Lee Da-bi's voice, the guild members turned their heads.

"Huh? What is this?"

"Is this a bonus for catching them? Wow, Guild Master, aren't you being way too generous?"

"No. It means you hand over all the minerals you harvest, and this is the compensation you get."

"..."

"Boo! Boo!"

"This is labor exploitation!"

"We are highly skilled professionals!"

The guild members immediately protested. This was too much!

Lee Da-bi spoke flatly.

"If you don't want to do it, should I call the other members?"

"But we absolutely love this kind of work!"

"Being exploited is actually my kink!"

"Woohoo! This is the best! Woohoo!"

A lightning-fast change of attitude! The guild members prostrated themselves and begged. Please don't take this job away from us! Even with this rate, the rewards were several times better than what they could make anywhere else.

"Tae-hyun. By the way, what is this used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for?"

"...?"

One of the guild members approached and held out a [Slime Essence].

"There was an item like this? I didn't get one."

"I got one after killing a bunch of them."

Does it only drop after killing a certain number?

Whatever the condition, having the essence couldn't hurt. Tae-hyun nodded.

"For now, gather as many as you can."

"Understood!"

"That despicable bastard Kim Tae-hyun! To use such a trick!"

"I can't believe he's using a double bluff!"

The executives of the Guild Alliance fumed with rage. To exploit their blind spot like this! Belatedly snapping back to their senses, they prepared to contact Hakkaras immediately. They had to burn Kim Tae-hyun to ashes before he could pull off whatever he was planning!

However, before the Guild Alliance could even make contact, Tae-hyun was already flying rapidly toward Hakkaras.

"It's so convenient to find him since he's flying around out in the open."

Hakkaras didn't bother hiding. True to his arrogant and foul-tempered nature as an ancient Black Dragon, he flaunted his massive size, leisurely soaring through the sky as if showing off. Thanks to this, players in the Auston Kingdom always knew exactly where Hakkaras was.

It was the [Auston Highway Radio], a must-listen broadcast for any player roleplaying as a bandit in the Auston Kingdom! The show was famously hosted by a group of middle-aged men with gruff, gravelly voices.

Tae-hyun stared blankly at Heuk-heuk.

With a potential life-or-death battle against Hakkaras looming, Heuk-heuk was worrying about the most bizarre things.