No Way, He's Not That Big of a Fool

"Aw, come on. No way. Cain isn't that big of a fool."

"Hmm..."

Vincent spoke with confidence, but Tae-hyun couldn't bring himself to agree. He might not be a complete idiot, but he definitely looks like the type to get scammed somewhere...

"Anyway, let's keep it at this level."

"I'll sift through them and bring back the best options. Ah, Kim Tae-hyun. Nikea is currently in talks with us regarding a sponsorship, and I think you'll need to attend this one. Actually, the entire team needs to be there."

Nikea, one of the world's top sports equipment companies! It was a massive corporation, incomparable in scale to Prosdas, which currently sponsored Tae-hyun.

"If it's something like that, we have no choice. Once the details are finalized, I'll bring the guys and attend."

"Understood. I'll arrange it."

"Why is your face like that?"

Tae-hyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stared at Cain with a puzzled look. Cain had an incredibly hurt expression on his face!

"Did you get dumped or something?"

"I did not get dumped! We still talk on the phone sometimes! And I even bought her a souvenir!"

"The junk you bought... No, let's be honest, it is junk. You're saying there was actually a gift in there?"

Tae-hyun started to lower his voice but decided to just speak normally.

"Look at this. It's a T-shirt with 'NEW YORK' written in huge letters."

"..."

"...???"

"Isn't this giant lettering so stylish?"

Tae-hyun was appalled. Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok were equally horrified. It was a fashion sense terrible enough to instantly freeze a century of burning love!

"Hey... wasn't the person you wanted to give a gift to an idol?"

Tae-hyun was flustered. Even though he didn't know much about romance, he could at least tell that a giant tourist T-shirt was not a proper vacation gift.

"Aren't you in the same agency? Why are you playing dumb?"

"No, I know... I just thought maybe your target changed."

"She's going to love it! Did you guys even prepare a gift like this?!"

Cain realized that the group was laughing at his gift. To be precise, they weren't laughing—they were pitying him!

"Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun."

Lee Da-bi nudged Tae-hyun in the ribs.

"What is it?"

"Could you come over here for a second?"

"?"

Tae-hyun followed Lee Da-bi. Cain followed right behind Tae-hyun.

"...Wait, why are you following them?!"

Lee Da-bi's younger sisters, standing nearby, cried out in sheer disbelief. Why on earth was he following them?!

Cain stammered in embarrassment.

"Ah, well, it's just a habit..."

A mindless habit of trailing behind Tae-hyun!

"Anyway, is it a crime to follow them? Why?"

"..."

"..."

Lee Da-bi's sisters facepalmed. He was a hopeless cause. Lee Da-bi also gave up and simply pulled out a gift.

"Here, this is a gift. I thought you might need a suit..."

"...!"

Tae-hyun was startled. He wasn't surprised that Lee Da-bi had bought him a gift. He was shocked that their ideas had overlapped!

"Wait, hold on."

"Do you not need it?"

"No, it's not that... I prepared the exact same thing for you..."

"!!"

So that's why.

Tae-hyun recalled the strange reactions of Vincent and Martin Kim. Come to think of it, they had acted that way because his gift overlapped with Lee Da-bi's.

"I know you work the hardest in Pan-On and for the gaming team. That's why I wanted to give you something."

Excluding Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi, the other players honestly played Pan-On without a care in the world. Tae-hyun handled everything from managing the gaming team to various other tasks, while Lee Da-bi ran Power Warrior, managed media play, pulled strings behind the scenes, and gathered information...

"Tae-hyun...!"

Lee Da-bi's eyes welled with tears. Seeing this, Choi Sang-yun nudged Cain in the ribs.

"Do you see the difference between your gift and hers now?"

"..."

Cain silently tucked the New York T-shirt away. I need to buy something else!

The American sports world didn't just consist of athletes. It also employed countless mathematicians and scientists. They systematically analyzed sports to generate theories and data. There was a clear reason why the United States was a sporting powerhouse.

And such talents were now flowing into esports as well.

"The era where players can win by just playing on instinct is over!"

Looking at the quarterfinalists of the current dungeon tournament, every single team except one had adopted the latest analytical technologies. The United States was particularly fast in this regard.

While prestigious Korean gaming teams remained drunk on their past glory and failed to adapt, American gaming teams had armed themselves with modern technology and moved swiftly! The results of this were showing right now.

The number ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Korean teams advancing had dwindled so much that the title of "esports powerhouse" felt hollow. If not for anomalies like Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon, they wouldn't have even been able to save face!

"Do we really need to recruit Kim Tae-hyun that badly?"

"Yes. If we're going to do it, now is the best time."

"But we already have Smith."

"Smith is a good player, but he's unstable. If we can recruit Kim Tae-hyun, we can guarantee our success for the next ten years."

The analysts of the New York Lions spoke in unison. What mattered to a player was divided into two categories: body and brain!

Of course, it wasn't a literal physical body, since they didn't bring their actual bodies into Pan-On. What they meant by "body" was reaction speed.

"Look at this footage. Kim Tae-hyun's reaction speed itself is vastly superior to other players. Here, even before the skill effect triggers, he's already moving and swinging his sword."

Having a fast reaction speed meant being able to see, dodge, and counter an opponent's attack. Ultimately, this translated to a difference in control!

In Pan-On, if a level 90 player with great control fought a level 100 player with terrible control, the level 90 would win. How much more so for high-level rankers where the stat gap was minimal?

"With equal stats, there is no player who can overwhelm Kim Tae-hyun in a basic attack battle rather than a skill clash. If they trade blows, the opponent is immediately pushed back."

"Furthermore, players who rely so heavily on instinct are often sloppy and fail to plan ahead, but Kim Tae-hyun is different. He calculates his next move with every single action. Look here—after landing a hit, he drives his opponent to the right instead of the left. This is a conscious move to block the opponent waiting to ambush him from the front-right. He's creating a wall."

Players were divided into two types: those who ran wild relying on instinct and senses, and those who fought calmly using their brains. The former usually played melee classes, while the latter mostly played mages or priests.

Yet Tae-hyun possessed both qualities. He was close to a perfect player!

"In a game like Pan-On, there's no reason for a player to suddenly decline or fall into a slump, so investing in him is a solid bet."

"We already invested a hundred million dollars to buy out the team, and you want us to invest even more? No matter how good he is, the shareholders will never agree to that."

"We have to persuade them. Besides, we aren't the only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones trying to buy him out, are we? I heard even the Chinese teams are talking about it."

"Well, that's a relief at least."

"?"

"Because Kim Tae-hyun will never sign with a Chinese team. They have a history of nothing but bad blood, don't they?"

"You shouldn't be so sure. Nothing is impossible in this world. The Chinese are famous for solving everything with money..."

"Even so, some things are just impossible. Whew. More importantly, I don't think money is the issue here. Why do you think Kim Tae-hyun is refusing?"

"It's probably because of his teammates. If he joins the New York Lions, unlike Kim Tae-hyun, his teammates won't be guaranteed a spot on the roster. They'll inevitably be benched."

From the perspective of the New York Lions' analysis team, Cain was also a somewhat disappointing player. A player who was heavily overhyped!

Analyzing him objectively, his actual skill wasn't anything special. It was Tae-hyun, who utilized him so effectively, who was truly amazing.

"Damn it. Korea always produces these strangely loyal players. Aren't pro gamers supposed to be all about the money?"

"Well, a count can die. Right?"

"Yeah. Who cares if he dies!"

"Haven't you guys become a bit too positive?!"

Choi Sang-yun was flustered. It seemed like Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi had become excessively optimistic.

I get that you two are in a great mood, but please look at the situation objectively!

The only reason Tae-hyun's party had managed to survive while clearing insane quests was because of Tae-hyun's cold, rational judgment. But seeing Tae-hyun act like this made him extremely anxious. Could it be...

"No, I'm perfectly rational. I've already drawn up a plan on who to shift the blame to."

Whose fault was it that Count Bolone died? It could be blamed on Tae-hyun, who had planted bombs on the castle gates, but if you shifted your perspective...

Wasn't it actually the Guild Alliance's fault?

"???"

How on earth did he shift his perspective?

"Think about it. The bastards from the Guild Alliance came to loot and assassinated Count Bolone. Because with a figure like Count Bolone around, they wouldn't be able to move as they pleased."

"But wasn't this whole mess caused by the territory's demons?"

"Ah, that works too. Perfect! We'll say the Guild Alliance lowlifes despicably joined hands with the demons."

"..."

"..."

"Send messengers to all the nobles! We must emphasize this incident as much as possible!"

Not only did King Auston unleash evil forces to plunder the border territories, but he also joined hands with demons to assassinate Count Bolone! The massive chaos that erupted in Bolone County was actually instigated by King Auston!

Tae-hyun quickly penned letters containing these claims and dispatched them to the nobles of each territory.

It worked!

Surprisingly, Tae-hyun's blame-shifting succeeded. Although many nobles disliked and ignored Tae-hyun as their king, it was an undeniable fact that Tae-hyun was a highly reputable hero who supposedly never lied.

Besides, it was an undeniable fact that King Auston had crossed the border to plunder! It was also a fact that demons had appeared and caused a massive uproar!

"Why did this message window suddenly pop up?"

"Maybe our plundering was discovered late?"

Unaware of the true situation, the members of the Guild Alliance tilted their heads in confusion.

"This way. Kehehe."

"Doesn't his laugh sound a bit weird for a merchant?"

"Hey, don't say things like that. What if he gets offended?"

One had to be extremely careful when talking to NPCs. A careless slip of the tongue could break off negotiations.

Furthermore, Jukenen was currently guiding them through the underground passage leading into Count Marchetti's castle! The Guild Alliance was entirely at his mercy.

"Let's go in!"

Of course, there was no way the Guild Alliance would be intimidated by such warning messages.

"Clear them out!"

Undead monsters that weren't even level 100 appeared in the underground passage. The Guild Alliance snorted and swept them away.

"Alright. Everyone knows the plan, right?"

"Yes!"

The Guild Alliance had changed their plan. They decided to sneak upstairs and join Count Marchetti's army. It would take a bit of time, but it would allow them to safely assess the situation.

They would identify prime spots to loot, and if possible, even take down the Count! Though their party size was small, it was entirely feasible if they all gathered in one place.

Creeeeak—

The underground passage ended, revealing the inner castle's basement kitchen. The guild members breathed a sigh of relief and took a step forw—

"Demons! The ones who contracted with the demons have appeared!"