A Legendary Welcome

Rumble! "!" A deafening roar erupted before the party as they stepped inside, accompanied by a flurry of system messages.

"Whoa. It's a Legendary-grade dungeon?" Alcott gasped in shock as he read the system messages and verified the dungeon's details.

Of course, a Legendary-grade dungeon didn't automatically mean a guaranteed party wipe, and both Alcott and Crawford had successfully cleared them before... but that didn't stop their tension from mounting. The rarer and more elusive a dungeon was, the higher the likelihood of it being brutally difficult and gimmicky.

*Fortunately, I didn't bring the others,* Tae-hyun thought, feeling a wave of relief. If he had brought along the Archisus Artillery, the noble warriors, or the knight order just to have some extra backup, they probably would have dropped like flies.

"Hey, Kim Tae-hyun. You seem to have a massive army of subordinates. Can't you summon some of them to help us?"

A powerful legion forged from his Highest-grade Tactical Skill and subordinates—or rather, slaves—he had collected from all corners of the world! In all of Pan-On, it was nearly impossible to find another player who commanded as many powerful subordinates as Tae-hyun.

He commanded a larger force than even specialized classes like Tamers, who relied on monsters and pets, or Commanders, who led legions of NPC soldiers. Yet, Tae-hyun flatly refused.

"No."

Better safe than sorry. He had no intention of throwing away valuable NPCs in a dungeon whose mechanics were completely unknown. In the open world, they could at least make a quick escape, but inside a dungeon, a single stroke of bad luck could trap them with no way out. Tae-hyun himself was confident he could slip away from any dungeon or region in the game now, but the same couldn't be said for his NPCs.

*I have various Authorities and my Luck stat to carry me, but the artillery, the giants, the warriors, and the knights don't. They're far too valuable to waste.*

At Tae-hyun's immediate rejection, Alcott and Crawford began whispering to each other.

"Do you think that jerk brought us along just to use us as disposable meat shields?"

"It certainly feels that way... Cain, what do you think?"

"Huh? Is it already time for me to Self-Destruct?"

"..."

"..."

"Ah. Sorry. I was spacing out. What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"N-nothing. It's nothing."

The two rankers stared at Cain as if he were a complete lunatic. They had assumed that, unlike Tae-hyun, Cain was at least somewhat normal, but he turned out to be far more unhinged!

*Then again, there's no way anyone called Kim Tae-hyun's right-hand man would be sane...*

*Too true.* The two rankers nodded in silent agreement. Birds of a feather flocked together, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and weirdos naturally gravitated toward weirdos.

"Are you kidding me?"

"How annoying...!" the rankers grumbled. It was a veritable buffet of debuffs! HP drain, MP drain, physical and magic defense reduction, recovery rate reduction, movement speed reduction, and more. On top of that, the mana-infused water was heavy and pitch-black, draining them mentally as well. It was a dungeon designed to wear a person down, both inside and out.

But the players gathered here were all high-level rankers who had conquered countless dungeons. As grueling as it was, they weren't weak enough to back down from this. Alcott and Crawford immediately activated their counter-skills.

—Assassin's Eye! Vitality Nerve!

—Path of Fire! Full-Body Mana Shield!

Cain also activated his skills.

—Slave's Grit! Praiseworthy Slave!

"?"

"???"

The skill names sounded incredibly bizarre. Sensing their judgment, Cain snapped defensively.

"What? You got a problem? What are you looking at?"

"Ah, nothing. Nothing at all."

"We respect you, man."

"Hey, Kim Tae-hyun, don't you need any? Want me to cast a buff on you?" the two quickly deflected, changing the subject.

"No need."

"Did you already cast one? I didn't see you use any skills."

"Ah. That's because I didn't get debuffed in the first place."

Tae-hyun had simply evaded every single debuff, his screen flooded with 'Evaded successfully' notifications! Even now, he was continuously resisting the environmental effects.

*What a cheap bastard!*

*So infuriating!*

"You guys are looking at me funny."

The players weren't the only ones affected as the dungeon shifted to resemble the Demon Realm. The demons Tae-hyun had dragged along were also feeling the change.

"Keke... My power... my power is returning!"

"With this strength...!"

Just as even a stray dog barked louder in its own yard, the demons regained their original strength within the Demon Realm. The demons who had descended to the continent had originally lost a significant portion of their power.

"Hey, boys. I'm suddenly feeling the urge to detonate one of your explosive collars. Should I do it, or should I not?"

"You absolutely should not!"

"I must have temporarily lost my mind! I got carried away because my power returned!"

"You idiot! Why did you have to open your big mouth?! Take this! And this!"

Of course, regaining a bit of strength didn't mean they could rebel against Tae-hyun. The moment he pulled out the detonator for their explosive collars, they whimpered and tucked their tails. No matter how much power they recovered, there was absolutely nothing they could do!

Splash! Along with the sound of parting water, a few small fish emerged from the dark, murky ripples.

"Oh. It's just a blue carp." It was a small, cute fish commonly seen in the nearby rivers. Since even beginners could easily catch them, any aspiring angler or chef had likely handled one at least once.

"Did the rain wash them all the way down here—"

Chomp! Snap! Crunch!

"!!!"

Tae-hyun grabbed Alcott by the scruff of his neck and yanked him backward. A split second later, a fish's razor-sharp teeth snapped shut right where Alcott's face had been.

"What the?!"

"We're under attack! Demons, to the front!"

Tae-hyun kicked the demons forward, intending to use them as meat shields.

However, this was a water-logged dungeon, and the fish were insanely fast. They moved at a speed that even Alcott, one of the fastest rankers around, couldn't react to!

Thwack! Thud! Smack!

"Ah! Ow! Ouch!"

The corrupted little blue carp threw a left-right combo, swam in a loop underneath, and then delivered a body-slamming uppercut! Even though they were corrupted by demonic mana, they were fundamentally weak monsters, so the damage wasn't severe. That was the only saving grace.

But it didn't change the fact that they were getting relentlessly pummeled. Frankly, it was humiliating. No matter how specialized the underwater dungeon was, getting beaten up by fish was a new low.

"Urgh! You little...!" Unable to hit them because they were too small and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fast, Alcott tried to unleash an AoE skill. But the moment the fish sensed a skill being cast, they instantly darted away. Alcott was utterly flabbergasted.

*Their AI is on par with a dungeon boss!*

Their attack power was low, but every other stat made them incredibly dangerous! Watching Alcott get continuously slapped around, Cain shouted in frustration.

"What are you doing?! Catch them!"

"Why don't you try it yourself, you jerk!"

Alcott felt completely vindicated in his frustration. Fighting while swimming was bad enough, but the hell-corrupted water added even more penalties. Meanwhile, their piscine opponents were as fast as arrows and incredibly clever. If Cain stepped in, he'd probably get beaten up even worse.

"Even Kim Tae-hyun wouldn't be able to—huh?"

Alcott froze. There wasn't a single live fish near Tae-hyun. To be precise, several dead fish were currently floating belly-up around him.

"How did you catch them?!"

"Huh? By predicting their movements?"

Tae-hyun replied as if he had just been asked why water was wet. The fish were faster than him, yes. But that didn't mean they were impossible to catch. If you watched them move, a pattern would emerge, and you could bait them into a specific path!

Tae-hyun had simply swung his sword a few times to herd the fish to one side, then skewered them one by one as they rushed in.

*Hmm. This monster essence looks like it'll be useful. Better harvest it.* Tae-hyun gathered the fish. Unique monster essences like these were always handy to have.

And Cain watched him do this with a deeply depressed expression.

*What kind of bizarre dish is he going to cook with those this time...*

Couldn't he harvest something normal for once? While other rankers got to feast on premium A++ grade beef, Cain felt like he was constantly being fed dishes made of weird, toxic, or bizarre ingredients.

Alcott felt incredibly embarrassed.

"S-so that's how you catch them. Haha. It was so obvious that I didn't even think of it. Let me try again..."

Thwack! Thud! Smack!

"...Again..."

Smack-smack-smack-smack!

"Ah, seriously?!"

Driven to madness, Alcott swung his sword wildly and spammed his skills in every direction. Naturally, the fish easily dodged every single strike.

Crawford shook his head in pity. He'd definitely have to clip this and upload it to a funny video compilation later!

*Still, he really is incredible.*

Seeing it firsthand made Crawford realize all over again just how absurd Tae-hyun's mechanical skills were. As a Mage, Crawford rarely engaged in close-quarters combat, so he had never fully grasped the sheer scale of Tae-hyun's control. He had never understood why melee classes constantly whined that 'Kim Tae-hyun is utterly impossible to fight.'

But now, he got it. Tae-hyun made it look as effortless as child's play, while Alcott was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠struggling for his life...

"I-I got one!"

"That looked like a total fluke—"

"It wasn't!"

"Alright, alright."

"Cain! Did you see that?! I caught one!"

"Yeah. Amazing."

"...What's with the half-hearted reaction?! Why don't you try catching one then!"

Alcott was absolutely certain Cain wouldn't be able to catch a single one. Cain was significantly slower than him, after all.

Instead of chasing them, Cain pulled a bomb out from his armor.

"?"

BOOM!

Crunch! Squish! By detonating a bomb, Cain easily subjected the fish to a status ailment and began scooping them up one by one!

Of course, he took some self-inflicted damage in the process, but to a beefy tank like Cain, a blast of this scale barely left a scratch.

Alcott's jaw dropped.

*Incredible!*

Honestly, this was the first time he had ever felt a sense of defeat against Cain! Ever since Cain started hanging out with Kim Tae-hyun, he had somehow grown incredibly mature and resourceful...

"...What on earth are you guys doing?"

Tae-hyun, who had been quietly harvesting his fish, stared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at his party members in utter disbelief as the system warning popped up. The party members quickly avoided his gaze, muttering excuses under their breath.

Whoosh! The party cut through the water, venturing deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Terrified of causing another disaster, everyone kept their mouths shut and communicated strictly through party chat.

—By the way, Kim Tae-hyun. Do you actually know the layout of this place?

—Hmm? Of course.

Crawford's anxiety was entirely justified. A dungeon of this caliber—especially a Legendary one—was not something you could easily clear on your first blind run. They were notoriously labyrinthine and packed with traps. Entering without a map was a surefire recipe for a grueling ordeal.

Furthermore, Lalgrgal was currently lurking somewhere above. If they dragged their feet and ran into him prematurely...

But Tae-hyun possessed Advanced Tactics. It was a powerful skill that gave him the confidence to conquer any dungeon on his very first attempt, even without prior information!

—Grrr... You shall not pass.

"It's a demon!"

"It's not a fish!"

Cain and Alcott pumped their fists in pure joy. Now that they were deeper inside, actual demons were finally starting to appear instead of those godforsaken fish!

—W-what are you...?

"Let's go!"

Alcott charged forward, with Cain hot on his heels. They didn't care if the opponent was formidable. What mattered was that they finally had an enemy they could actually trade blows with!

"Too slow! You're way too slow!"

Giddy with excitement, Alcott unleashed his full arsenal of skills, relentlessly pummeling the demon. He swept its ankles to bring it down, landed a critical strike, spun around to its back, and executed a rapid Multi-hit combo...

As Crawford provided fire support with his magic, a sudden realization struck him.

*Wait a minute. Did Kim Tae-hyun even have time to acquire a map?*

After capturing those demons earlier, they had headed straight here without securing any map or layout details. And since those demons had likely never set foot in Lalgrgal's personal dungeon either, there was no way they could have provided one.

*...I'd better keep my mouth shut.*

If he brought it up now, everyone would undoubtedly panic. Crawford decided to keep this terrifying realization to himself.