The Path of the One-Shot Jackpot

"...?"

In short, it was a skill that allowed him to figure out the optimal bait to win over a monster. But did they really have to describe that as "knowing their heart"? It felt a bit off...

"Let me go! Untie me! Untie me right now, you bastards! Do you think you'll get away with this? I'll call my friends and have them trample you to dust!"

Pat. Cain placed a hand on Hav's shoulder and spoke with absolute gravity. "I highly recommend you don't."

"!?"

It was heartfelt advice meant for Hav's own good! Of course, there was no way such sincerity would reach him. Hav only grew more enraged, screaming, "What?! You son of a b*tch! I'm going to make sure you get trampled first!"

"Why, you ungrateful little... I'm looking out for you out of the goodness of my heart, and this is how you talk to me? Hey! I'm giving you advice born from raw, painful experience!"

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

Watching Cain, the older players began to whisper among themselves.

"He beat the guy to a pulp and now he's giving him life advice."

"He's a complete lunatic. Don't make eye contact."

"Young folks these days are terrifying..."

Cain would probably want to deny it, but his behavior had already become remarkably similar to Tae-hyun's.

Kieeeeeeek!

"They're here. Stop playing around and get ready," Tae-hyun said.

At his words, Cain, who had been bickering just a second ago, slammed Hav face-first into the dirt and drew his weapon.

The older players watched his rapid movements in awe.

He seems like a weirdo, but his skills are the real deal!

The way he instantly drew his weapon and readied his skills was far from ordinary.

"A blue-backed wyvern?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds weirdly nutritious."

While the party engaged in trivial banter, Cain's eyes sparkled as he spotted his target.

There it is!

A wyvern that was exceptionally large and ferocious-looking. That had to be the Alpha.

If I can just take that one down, I'll prove myself for sure...!

Catching the Guild Alliance spy was a good start, but it wasn't enough. I'll show everyone the true power they doubted during the tournament!

Now!

Cain's focus sharpened to a razor-thin point, unlocking a level of concentration far beyond his usual limits. They say that when a person reaches the absolute peak of focus, time itself seems to slow down. Cain was experiencing that very phenomenon right now!

—Slave's Chain!

Clang-clang-clang!

Impeccable timing, perfect aim—it was flawless. The moment the heavy iron chains wrapped around the Alpha Wyvern, Cain tasted victory.

I did it! I actually did it!

"Hey...!" Tae-hyun shouted from beside him, his voice laced with sudden panic.

"Huh? Why?"

"You absolute idiot..."

Even as he spoke, Tae-hyun grabbed the rest of the party and quickly backed away.

Only then did Cain realize what he had done. If you use a chain to yank down a massive beast flying directly overhead...

It falls straight on top of you!

BOOM!

"Aaaargh!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Save me! Help me!"

Fortunately, Cain had managed to channel the momentum of the falling wyvern into an attack, but he was still left completely immobilized. There was nothing more terrifying in a game than being unable to move.

"Good grief..."

Tae-hyun's party immediately launched their counterattack. They poured explosive damage into the fallen Alpha Wyvern to finish it off, while Yong-yong, Jeong Su-hyeok, and Yu Ji-soo brought down the remaining wyverns circling in the sky.

The flock of wyverns, which had looked so menacing just moments ago, was brought crashing down to the earth in an instant, systematically hunted.

The difference in raw power was overwhelming!

"C-Can we hunt some too?"

"Go ahead," Tae-hyun replied.

With so many wyverns, a few had naturally drifted toward the older players. Once they received permission, they eagerly set upon a single wyvern with sheer delight.

Thwack! Bam! Thud!

It didn't take long for the battlefield to be completely cleared.

Once his stun wore off, Cain sheepishly stood up, casting cautious glances at the others.

"I... I still did pretty well, right?"

"Oh, you did great. Just fantastic."

Tae-hyun's "great" carried a very distinct, sarcastic weight. Furthermore, because Cain had been screaming at the top of his lungs while pinned to the ground, the older players had clearly heard Tae-hyun's name.

Hoping against hope, one of them asked, "Are you perhaps... player Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Could it really be the Kim Tae-hyun?"

Realizing he had let the name slip, Cain turned pale.

"...N-No, he's not! He's not Kim Tae-hyun!"

"But you just yelled Kim Tae-hyun..."

"It's a common name! He's... Kim Dae-hyun! Kim Dae-hyun!"

Watching Cain desperately spin a lie that wouldn't fool a toddler, the older players suddenly had an epiphany.

"Wait! You're player Cain!!"

"That's right! It's Cain! That's definitely Cain!"

"..."

"..."

What on earth did they see that made them realize that?

"Player Cain, could you give me an autograph? My son is a huge fan of yours."

"I really enjoyed watching you in the tournament. Seeing you give it your absolute all... cough."

"Ahem. Yes, cough."

The praising players suddenly faltered. Come to think of it, being shot out of a cannon wasn't exactly something you praised someone for.

"Aha, I knew you fought too well to be a regular player. You're a pro!"

"To think we'd run into you here. Pan-On really is a small world, isn't it?"

The older players chatted amiably, completely ignoring the wyvern corpses scattered around them.

Meanwhile, Hav, who had been pinned right alongside Cain when the wyvern crashed, managed to crawl out from underneath the wreckage and screamed, "Kim Tae-hyun?! Is a pro player allowed to act like this?!"

"Of course we are. And where do you think you're playing dumb, you Guild Alliance spy?"

Cain grabbed Hav by the collar. Hav felt so unjustly accused he was on the verge of tears. Granted, he had spent his in-game life picking fights with anyone who looked weak. But he had never encountered someone who picked fights with such absolute, logic-defying shamelessness.

"I'm not a Guild Alliance spy!"

"Then prove it! If you can't, you're a spy!"

"H-How do I prove a negative?!"

"See? He's a spy! Kneel, you bastard!"

Cain bound Hav tightly and forced him to his knees. Having suffered more than his fair share of ambushes from the Guild Alliance, Cain's eyes were filled with deep-seated suspicion.

Regardless of the drama, Tae-hyun's party began skinning the fallen wyverns and gathering the loot.

"Let's clean this up."

"Indeed. Frugality is the key to a good life."

The older players quickly joined in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠butchering. When it came to gathering and skinning, these middle-aged players possessed incredibly high skill levels—honed through years of practical, real-world-like diligence.

"Huh? Why is the meat grade so high?"

Instead of the standard C-grade wyvern meat, they were pulling A++ grade cuts! It was of a quality that could easily rival premium Hanwoo beef.

"The leather too..."

"Heavens! There's a heart!"

"It's a Wyvern's Heart!"

To think such a rare item would drop!

The older players began bowing deeply to the heart, looking exactly like wild ginseng diggers who had just stumbled upon a legendary root.

Seeing this, Tae-hyun's party quietly began to back away.

His face flushed with embarrassment, Chairman Yoo spoke up.

"Excuse me..."

"Elder, come join us! You have to show respect to get the good drops!"

What kind of ridiculous superstition was this?!

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lot would probably love the Archisus Church."

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"

"In any case, that heart didn't drop because of your bowing. It's because of that young man, Kim Tae-hyun."

The older players perked up their ears, hanging on Chairman Yoo's every word.

"Because that fellow is the leader of the Archisus Church, his drop rates and luck-related stats are incredibly high."

"My goodness..."

"No way..."

"Such a powerful effect exists?!"

The older players immediately fell into deep contemplation.

"Should we join the church?"

"I was going to skip joining a religion because I'm too busy making money, but this actually looks worth it. If the drop rate is high enough to pull a heart like that..."

Chairman Yoo panicked. He had only explained it to stop them from bowing like lunatics, so how on earth had this turned into a recruitment drive for the Archisus Church?!

"N-No, listen to me, everyone. He is a professional player."

"Of course."

"He's a pro and a high ranker, which is why he gets those kinds of results. Regular players who join the church won't see anything close to that. The bonus is extremely minor."

"Hmm..."

"Still, even a minor bonus is..."

"Exactly, exactly."

These older players were men who staked their lives on probabilities. If they could raise their chances by even 1%, they would do absolutely anything! They hadn't bowed to a wyvern's heart for nothing.

"I'm telling you, it's not like that! Do not stake your lives on such microscopic odds! Other churches are far better!"

"I-Is that so?"

"Well, if you say so, Elder..."

Seeing Chairman Yoo protest so vehemently, the older players began to waver.

"By the way, Elder, which church are you in?"

"Yeah, if there's a good one, please recommend it to us."

"...The Archisus Church."

"Pardon?"

"Did you just say the Archisus Church...?"

His face turning an even deeper shade of crimson, Chairman Yoo bellowed, "What! Am I not allowed to be in the Archisus Church?! I'm telling you, other places are genuinely better! It's too late for me to leave, but you all still have bright futures ahead of you!"

Chairman Yoo had simply gone too far down the rabbit hole to quit now.

"B-But why? What's the reason?"

"Does it cost a lot of gold?"

"...It's free..."

As long as you didn't lose your mind and blow all your gold on the church's various lotteries and gambling mechanics, there wasn't actually a membership fee.

"Are there areas where you get a penalty for believing in it?"

"No... not really."

"Do the church NPCs force mandatory quests on you?"

"No, they don't."

"...Then why on earth are you trying to stop us?"

"..."

Chairman Yoo found himself utterly at a loss for words. No, it really was a terrible church for a player's mental health, but there was simply no good way to put it into words!

"...It makes a person lazy. It makes you constantly look for a shortcut, hoping for a one-shot jackpot."

"...But Elder, that is exactly the kind of life we want!"

"A life of one-shot jackpots!"

"Sigh..."

Chairman Yoo hung his head. His karmic debt was deep indeed.

"My Lord, Vlad is..."

"Tell him to get lost."

The captured Count Scabio chased Vlad away with curses every single time the vampire tried to initiate a meeting.

"My Lord, Vlad is..."

"Tell him that if I see his face, I'll plunge a dagger straight into his throat."

Just because Count Scabio despised Vlad didn't mean Count Andalto held any affection for him either.

"What on earth did I even do to deserve such persecution from these bastards?!"

Vlad fumed with intense frustration. Even among vampires, it was customary to meet and at least listen to the words of the enemy who killed your parents. After all, you had to hear what they had to say to exploit them and spin your own schemes.

For vampires—a race defined by conspiracy and intrigue—this absolute refusal to communicate was an extreme anomaly.

I just want to tell them the truth...

He desperately wanted to clear up the misunderstanding! He wasn't actually a bad vampire!

Ignoring Vlad's desperate pleas ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from outside, Count Scabio conversed with his captured subordinates.

"Why do you think that wretch Vlad keeps trying to speak with us?"

"He is undoubtedly trying to frame you while the King of Atali is away, My Lord! You must remain vigilant!"

"To a lowly creature like him, a true vampire noble of your stature is nothing but an eyesore."

"Vlad... that wicked, despicable bastard!"

To try and frame a captured noble to have him executed—it was a level of depravity that no true vampire aristocrat would ever stoop to! Count Scabio clenched his fists tightly.

"In that case, I have a brilliant plan."

"...?"

"I shall formally swear fealty to the King of Atali. Once we are fellow vassals, no matter how cunningly Vlad wags his treacherous tongue, he will not be able to touch me so easily. In fact, it will put him at a severe disadvantage!"

If they were both vassals serving the same king, who would the King of Atali favor more?

The wicked, untrustworthy Vlad, whom even the King of Atali viewed with suspicion? Or Count Scabio, a true vampire noble of ancient and prestigious lineage?

Obviously, it would be the latter!