A Grudge Best Left Unstirred

Lee Se-yeon was a Legendary Necromancer.

Quite some time had passed since Tae-hyun and Se-yeon had acquired their Legendary Classes, and a few more Legendary players had slowly begun to emerge. Yet, none of them were as peerless as Se-yeon. Ultimately, even with a Legendary Class, the player behind the avatar mattered most. Among those who obtained Legendary Classes later on, some were even outperformed by rankers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holding Epic or Rare Classes.

But Se-yeon was a ranker who was always counted among the absolute strongest in Pandemonium Online. On top of that, as a Legendary Necromancer, she was the idol of every Necromancer player in the game. It was only natural that giant guilds, which constantly sought to recruit top-tier mages, practically drooled over her.

"Just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠join us, and we'll hand over the Guild Master seat to you!"

"We promise full, unconditional support! Right now, we're in an alliance, so resources are split equally, but if you join us, Miss Se-yeon, we'll double your share..."

Naturally, Se-yeon rejected them all. She already had her own elite, tight-knit guild that she had led since the days of Pan-On 1. Besides, her personality was far more suited to becoming the absolute best on her own terms rather than leading a massive guild to conquer the game.

The sole exception had been Tae-hyun. Originally, Se-yeon's guild was formed strictly among real-life acquaintances, meaning they never invited outsiders, no matter how skilled they were. But Tae-hyun was someone she wanted so badly that she was willing to break her own rule! Of course, Tae-hyun had simply gone, "Yeah, no thanks~ I'm quitting anyway~" and promptly retired from Pan-On 1. Se-yeon, who had gone through the trouble of explaining the situation to her guildmates before extending the offer, was left utterly mortified. Though her guildmates never brought it up out of consideration for her feelings, that only made the humiliation sting worse for Se-yeon!

'Wow. Just thinking about it again brings back all that forgotten rage...!' It really felt as though Tae-hyun had been beaten to death by her in a past life, given how he seemed to exist solely to sabotage every single thing she did!

"Sissy? Sis?"

"Ah. Sorry. A sudden wave of forgotten rage just washed over me..."

"...Stop thinking about Kim Tae-hyun..."

"H-how did you know?!"

"..."

Kim Hyeon-ah stared at her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with an expression that clearly said, 'Why are you asking something so obvious?'

"Anyway, those Midas Guild kids are over there. Looks like they got into a fight, judging by the bickering."

"I don't care. Whether they tear each other apart or not..."

BOOM!

"!"

Se-yeon whipped her head around. One of the Midas Guild members who had been arguing had tried to open a door to go inside... only for the door to explode in his face.

"What the?!"

"It's a trap!"

The startled guild members scrambled back from the doorway.

"An explosive trap? Did they use a scroll?"

"Or maybe it was a dwarf or a goblin... Damn it. We'll have to check everything before we go in."

Se-yeon stared intently at the doorway.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

"That..."

Since she had already turned off her personal stream, Se-yeon had nothing holding her back. She marched straight toward the door.

"Wait! There might be more traps—"

Ignoring them, Se-yeon stepped inside. For some reason, she felt like there wouldn't be any more! It was just an instinct!

"None?"

"Wait, did they seriously only trap the door?"

"..."

Se-yeon's mind raced. There was only one person who used such petty, infuriating tactics to mess with people!

"Kim Tae-hyun! Stop hiding and get out here! Fight me fair and square!"

"!"

"?!"

"What the?"

Tae-hyun flinched at the voice echoing from below. How did she know?

"Alcott, you bastard..."

"Alcott, I trusted you!"

"Why are you blaming me first?!"

Alcott stumbled backward in a panic. He really hadn't spilled the beans!

"If anyone's suspicious, shouldn't it be Crawford? He's a mage ranker! He's probably way closer to the Midas Guild than I am!"

"Wow. You absolute piece of trash."

Crawford stared at Alcott, utterly dumbfounded. The man hadn't hesitated for even a single second before selling him out!

"Forget it. We've already secured everything we need, so we just have to break our way out."

"True..."

"There are a lot of people out there, so stay alert. And since Se-yeon is nearby, be extra careful."

"May I... take my leave now?"

"Haha. What nonsense are you talking about?"

Click!

"W-what is this?" the Demon Seneschal asked, panic-stricken.

"It's a demon necklace. It's a very good necklace for a demon to wear."

"It looks suspiciously like a bomb..."

"Let's go!"

Tae-hyun grabbed the Demon Seneschal and began to sprint.

"Isn't that Lee Se-yeon?"

"What is she doing here?"

The players of the Midas Guild cast bewildered glances at Se-yeon, who had suddenly charged in and started screaming for Kim Tae-hyun to show himself. Of course, they didn't just stand there and watch.

"Why are you looking for Kim Tae-hyun here? Have you lost your mind?" Ehas, a female mage ranker, demanded, glaring at Se-yeon. But Se-yeon completely ignored her.

"Kim Tae-hyun! I know you're in there! You'd better crawl out before I blow this entire building sky-high!"

"...I guess getting all those recruitment offers has made you incredibly arrogant..." Ehas sneered.

Another ignore! Se-yeon began summoning golems and positioning them around the area. It was her anti-Tae-hyun interception formation!

"Hey! Are you ignoring me?!"

"Sis, calm down! Don't fall for Lee Se-yeon's bait!" Jehas, Ehas's older brother and fellow mage ranker, tried to hold her back. Regardless, Ehas shrieked at Se-yeon like a rapid-fire machine gun.

"Don't act so high and mighty just because you got runner-up in the tournament! Your days of strutting around as the world's best Necromancer are numbered!"

Naturally, Se-yeon ignored her yet again. When dealing with someone not worth her time, ignoring them was always the best answer! And Se-yeon was exceptionally good at this. If only she were this calm when dealing with Kim Tae-hyun! But while Se-yeon was a master of the cold shoulder, Kim Hyeon-ah was not.

"You looking to get killed?"

Hyeon-ah immediately drew her sword!

"You leftover trash who split from the Guild Alliance think you're hot stuff lately, but what are your actual achievements? Did you even make it to the tournament? Look at you, bragging after taking over some crappy land like the Auston Kingdom... Want me to summon an undead army to wipe you out? Huh?"

"W-what is wrong with her..."

THUD!

"?"

"???"

Ehas, who had been ranting, suddenly faceplanted onto the ground. CRASH! Tae-hyun's group had just landed right on top of her from the air.

"Oh? There was a person there."

"It's their fault for standing there."

"True, that makes sense. Alcott, you really get it."

"Wait. Those are the guys I was talking about earlier."

Crawford pointed at the two rankers with a flustered face. Ehas and Jehas—two notoriously ill-tempered mage rankers! And one of them was currently pinned under someone's boot.

"Whoa. It's Lee Se-yeon."

Tae-hyun flinched upon seeing her. He had wondered who was screaming his name.

"It's fine. You're in disguise, aren't you?"

"No, a disguise won't work on her..."

"KIM TAE-HYUN—!"

"See, I told you! Her intuition is insane, she always sniffs this stuff out!"

Even though the faces of the entire group were completely different, Se-yeon was absolutely certain through sheer instinct: 'That's Kim Tae-hyun's group!' Tae-hyun kicked Ehas aside. At the same time, he grabbed the nearby Jehas and shoved him forward. It was the evolved form of the Cain Shield—the Mage Shield!

"You bastard?!"

Mage rankers of their caliber always kept defensive spells pre-cast and ready. The moment they were kicked and shoved by Tae-hyun, their barrier spells instantly triggered. FLASH! Powerful defensive barriers flared to life around the two mages! That was exactly what Tae-hyun had aimed for. Golems that Se-yeon had summoned were waiting nearby. However, the golems weren't waiting to attack.

Se-yeon didn't stop what she had prepared and began her assault. Many strategies had been devised to deal with Tae-hyun, but none had truly succeeded. The most standard method was to stack countless curses and beat him down. It seemed plausible on paper. Since Tae-hyun was only human, his HP would inevitably drop if he was hit while suffering from dozens of debuffs.

But the Guild Alliance had proven with their own bodies that this method was incredibly difficult to execute.

'Kim Tae-hyun knows that strategy inside out!'

Tae-hyun was so well-aware of how his opponents would try to lock him down that he usually prepared counter-curse measures beforehand, avoided the curses entirely, and ran rampant through their formations. Of course, just because he knew it was coming didn't mean he could dodge everything...

So, Se-yeon had changed her strategy.

'To catch Kim Tae-hyun, we have to bind his feet first.'

The key was sealing his mobility! No matter how outstanding his control was, if he was slowed down, he would hit his limit. Thus, Se-yeon had searched for the most powerful slow magic in existence—a curse that could instantly affect even someone like Tae-hyun! The result of her search was this. Siyba, the God of Slimes and Slowness! A golem imbued with Siyba's Authority could slow down any target, no questions asked. It was the ultimate counter against Kim Tae-hyun!

Everyone present suddenly felt their movements grind to a halt, throwing them into a panic.

"...?"

Tae-hyun stared at Se-yeon in confusion. 'What did she just do?'

Se-yeon stared back at Tae-hyun in equal bewilderment. 'What did YOU just do?'

"...Let's bolt!"

He had no idea what she had just tried to do, but it worked out perfectly for him!

"T-that...?!"

Se-yeon was utterly dumbfounded. Just how on earth had he blocked it? Was there some other god's Authority skill that could nullify it?

Se-yeon's confusion, combined with Siyba's Authority slowing down everyone else, actually ended up helping Tae-hyun's group escape. Gritting her teeth, Se-yeon prepared to unleash a barrage of spells, but Tae-hyun quickly shoved the Demon Seneschal in front of him like a shield.

"?"

"He's a quest NPC! If you shoot, he dies!"

"...You absolute scoundrel!"

"Wow. Lee Se-yeon actually brought out the Authority of Siyba? She is seriously relentless."

No matter how he thought about it, Se-yeon's class had absolutely no reason to be associated with Siyba. In other words, she had acquired that Authority solely to catch Tae-hyun!

"Grudges really are terrifying things. Ah, and here I was planning to talk to her about the Lalgrgal raid..."

"That's absolutely out of the question."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The moment she saw Tae-hyun's face, she immediately started slinging spells. How could they possibly cooperate under these conditions?

"Hey, demon. What is Lalgrgal's plan? What happens after he poisons the nobles and the King?"

Would he show himself directly after that? Much like Edaor, demons often hid in the shadows, weaving their schemes, only to step forward themselves once the fruit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of their labor was ripe.

"Th-that... from what I heard, he plans to give them just enough of the antidote to keep them barely alive, forcing them to submit to him..."

"What? There's an antidote?"

Tae-hyun was surprised. Everyone had already written them off as dead!

"Yes. That is what I heard..."

"Oh..."

Should they just bypass fighting Lalgrgal entirely and just grab the antidote? If they could sneak in and steal it...

"Is the antidote's effect guaranteed? Does it completely cure them?"

"Th-that much, I do not know..."

"Well, now that I think about it, it doesn't necessarily have to be a complete cure."

"Why?"

"As long as the King feels like he's been cured, isn't that enough?"

"..."

"..."

That was straight-up fraud!

RUMBLE—!

"What is that sound?"

"The dark clouds..."

"...?"

"What kind of crazy bastard would...?!"

Unleashing such large-scale magic right in the middle of a city in the Erangs Kingdom was sheer madness, something no one would dare do without being prepared for the consequences. They would have to brace themselves for a massive spike in Infamy and a hefty bounty on their heads!

"I told you! There's a complete psycho in the Midas Guild!"

"Hmm. Quite creative."

Even Tae-hyun was impressed. Making it rain over the entire city—now that was a fresh idea!

After letting Tae-hyun slip through her fingers, Se-yeon ground her teeth. She had been so sure she would catch him this time!

"Hmph. Strutting around as the world's best Necromancer, yet she couldn't even catch a single Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Die."

"!??!"

Without a single word of explanation, Se-yeon launched an attack on the Midas Guild. Normally, Se-yeon was a cool-headed person who would easily brush off such petty provocations, but...

Right now, she was absolutely furious! And anyone who poked a hornets' nest when someone was in a foul mood was bound to bleed.

"A-are you insane, Lee Se-yeon?!"

"Miss Se-yeon! We are inside the city right now—!"

"Just die!"

With those words, Se-yeon unleashed a devastating curse combo and summoned her undead. In an instant, her elite undead forces materialized all around, lunging at the Midas Guild members without mercy. To the guild members on the receiving end, it was nothing short of absolute horror!