The Power Warrior Guild

On the Pandemonium Online forums, whenever the question Is XX Guild any good? pops up, this is the guild that sparks the fiercest debates!

Whether Power Warrior was one of the top guilds in Pandemonium Online was debatable, but no one could deny they were one of the most popular. That was an undeniable fact.

The advertisements they ran when they were small and weak had now become a massive meme that everyone and their mother used. Even non-guild members used their ad format, creating a bizarre phenomenon!

Foreign Power Warrior fans would jump into these debates whenever they were bored, shouting, Never again shall you look down on Power Warrior! and completely derailing the threads.

Even in-game, when Power Warrior members were hunting, random strangers would run up, yell, "Oh! I'm a huge fan!" and help them clear mobs before leaving. It was a level of support that left even the guild members utterly bewildered.

What was begging? Begging was a competition!

Setting up shop in the alleyways of city guild houses and pitting guilds against each other was their bread and butter.

They even had an adapted version for the Magic Tower area.

While begging was a common sight in Pandemonium Online, few had ever elevated it to such a systematic art form as Power Warrior.

In truth, they did have the Dagger Squad and the Sniper Squad. However, these were secret trump cards known only to the high-ranking executives of Power Warrior! They were hidden assets armed with some of the most extreme, specialized gear ever seen in the game.

The newly joined rankers slumped in depression. They had joined with such high hopes!

"The Power Warrior Guild is a good guild."

"Y-You're not about to say that even though they have fewer rankers, they are still great, are you?"

The Midas Guild member flinched in terror. He had seen that phrase so many times on the forums that it now triggered an instinctive fight-or-flight response.

"What are you talking about? I just meant they're a good guild."

"Ah, right... But what's so good about them?"

The Midas Guild member was genuinely curious. What was actually so good about the Power Warrior Guild? Searching them online only brought up bizarre memes, so he had no way of knowing the truth.

Najakse smirked.

"It's a secret."

The real reason it was a secret? Najakse didn't actually have anything to say. Honestly, even as a guild member, if someone asked him why he liked Power Warrior, he'd be hard-pressed to answer. It was just... just good! It had an inexplicable charm!

That smirk only confused the Midas Guild member more.

Is there really something special about the Power Warrior Guild?

The guy wasn't an idiot. If he had joined Power Warrior, there had to be a reason.

Come to think of it... Power Warrior is always surrounded by weird rumors. That's why the truth is never clear. Could it actually be an amazing guild?? Is there something hidden inside that we don't know about?

"What's with that look?"

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

"Ah, nothing."

"Anyway, the Power Warrior Guild is a truly wonderful guild."

"But how is it good...?"

"Sigh... It's really, really good. It's fantastic for players, but I just don't know how to put it into words... It's hard to explain directly... I'm off!"

"Wait! Hold on!!"

Najakse bolted. If he stayed any longer, his lack of actual reasons would be exposed.

Left alone, the Midas Guild member fell into deep thought.

The Midas Guild wasn't as great as he had expected.

Mage rankers uniting to lead the meta of Pandemonium Online!

It sounded grand, but in the end, it was just another guild. Since it was a coalition of various smaller guilds, everyone was busy fighting for their own share, and there was absolutely no sense of camaraderie or mutual support.

But the Power Warrior Guild was different.

From the outside, the Power Warrior members always stuck together like glue.

In reality, it was because they were weak...

But to the eyes of the lonely Midas Guild ranker, it looked like beautiful, deep friendship.

When people are struggling and lonely, they tend to see what they want to see!

Come to think of it, I heard Polle-nim has been hanging out with the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild lately...

"Bwahahaha!"

"Pwahaha!"

"Oh, my stomach!"

Tremble. Polle clenched his fists.

Praise me more.

Polle was a genius. An ice magic genius... well, yes, but that wasn't what mattered right now.

Polle was a genius of comedy!

It had all started when Polle, who had been silently enduring the middle-aged uncles' terrible dad jokes, finally fired back with a single witty remark.

"Y-You're too funny!"

"Huff, huff. I can't... I can't breathe..."

"Oh my! Mr. Choi! Don't die laughing!"

"!!!"

Now, among the middle-aged uncles of the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild, Polle was the ultimate master of humor!

Polle finally realized. Why had he felt so empty even after becoming a famous ranker?

He hadn't played Pandemonium Online to become a famous ranker.

He had played this game to make people laugh!

"Kim Tae-hyun."

"Yeah?"

"Can a mutation actually make you handsome?"

"......"

[......]

-.......

Tae-hyun, Carbanog, and Yong-yong fell into a simultaneous, heavy silence.

Cain said with a bitter face, "...I was just joking."

"R-Right? Whew."

-Master. Tell that human not to worry about his looks.

At Yong-yong's words, Cain nodded.

"Right? In the end, it's what's on the inside that counts..."

-What are you talking about? If both the inside and outside are good, that's obviously better.

"...Didn't you tell me not to worry about it?"

-I said that because it's already too late for you.

"......"

Cain's morale plummeted even further.

Towang-i was Level 1, but in situations like this, its effects were absolutely broken. It could block almost any curse or abnormal status effect. Lee Da-bi would have likely been perfectly fine too.

Well, yeah. But just in case.

Carbanog started to point out the blatant difference in treatment, but stopped. If they talked about it any longer, it would only get sadder!

It's not like I brought Cain because he's allowed to die.

Cain actually gets a bonus to mutations.

Cain was just as unique a character as Tae-hyun.

Class: Archisus's Slave (only one on the server). Race: Chimera (only one on the server). With all these bizarre elements combined, Cain actually received bonuses to mutations. His third eye, though it looked weird, actually had incredible stats.

[......]

Why is he complaining about that? What a spoiled brat.

[......]

Thud!

"It's Cain?!"

"What? Me?!"

At Tae-hyun's shout, Cain flinched in surprise. Why was he appearing? Had a doppelganger showed up?

But it wasn't a doppelganger.

What appeared before them was a grotesque mutant monster made of various fused races. It looked remarkably similar to Cain when he went berserk.

"Hey...!!!"

Ignoring Cain's rage, Tae-hyun charged forward. There was a universal rule that applied to all monsters.

The first strike wins!

Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike... Archisus Swordsmanship!

Compared to the early days when he had no sword skills and had to rely solely on Gataqua Swordsmanship, his current situation was magnificent. Archisus Swordsmanship was an extreme, high-difficulty style that made unlocking new skills incredibly hard, but it was by no means weak.

Besides, it wasn't like Tae-hyun couldn't kill a monster just because he was a few ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skills short!

Slash!

Landing a satisfying critical hit for the first time in a while felt incredibly refreshing, almost like he was playing solo again.

"...?!"

Tae-hyun blinked in surprise.

Any other player would have wailed, "My weapon! My weapon is contaminated!" but not Tae-hyun.

Why?

Because... Dae-man-bul-gang-geom was just a cheap, disposable weapon!

In fact, he was more than happy to have it contaminated!

Tae-hyun quickly swapped to another sword.

Screeeech!

The grotesque mutant tried to strike back, but Tae-hyun lightly stepped backward, dodging it with ease. Then, he drew his newly swapped sword and slashed.

"Oh... Ohhhhh!"

"You crazy bastard! What are you doing?!" Cain screamed.

Why was he playing around instead of killing the monster?!

"Cain! Look! It's a free buff!"

Tae-hyun tossed the contaminated Dae-man-bul-gang-geom to Cain.

Cain caught it.

"Gah!"

Cain shrieked and threw the sword away.

Tae-hyun, who was busy beating down the monster, glared at him.

"What are you doing?!"

"What are you doing?!"

No matter how good the damage was, who in their right mind would use a weapon like that?!

But because of his high Luck and Incarnation class, Tae-hyun was completely immune to such mutations.

Unaware of this, Cain stared at Tae-hyun as if he were looking at a monster.

That... that monster spawned by this game...!