A Price Tag on Contact
"Kim Tae-hyun, if you're ready, we'd like to set out again. The Admiral is waiting."
"Ah. Sorry. Let's go."
Tae-hyun finished checking his items and got to his feet.
He smacked his lips as he looked over the spot where the Red Zone guild members had died.
That'd be the perfect place to practice summoning undead...
He'd gone to all the trouble of learning magic, so he ought to use it as much as possible and raise the skill.
The problem was that all the soldiers were watching.
If he raised the undead in front of them, their affinity with him would obviously plummet.
No matter where you went, black mages were never treated well.
Sure, they could raise the dead and build terrifying armies—but they paid for it in other ways.
Can't be helped.
Tae-hyun gave up cleanly.
Greed had its place, but knowing the right time and place mattered more.
Meanwhile, the logged-out Cain was cursing Tae-hyun's name, screaming and spewing threats.
Cain was furious to the tips of his hair, but his guild members felt a little differently.
First of all, wasn't staying alive the priority?
With yet another death penalty hanging over them, going after Tae-hyun sounded insane.
It wasn't like Tae-hyun was an easy target, and even if they chased him, there was no guarantee they could catch him.
At Cain's words, the guild members simmered with silent resentment.
Is that really the problem? We have to be able to beat him first.
Can we really keep trusting this guy?
There was only one reason they were still following Cain even after the guild had fallen apart:
he had a real talent for preying on other people.
But right now, Cain looked like he'd lost his mind.
The cool, clever side he'd always shown when fleecing other players was gone, and all that remained was a man obsessed with hunting Tae-hyun down and killing him.
The guild members exchanged glances behind Cain's back.
The meaning was obvious.
"The city you can see in the distance is Mora City, the capital of the Atali Kingdom."
Tae-hyun stood on the mountaintop and looked down below.
In the middle of the plain, a massive wall encircled an entire city.
It was grand and imposing, the kind of sight you'd only expect in a movie.
At the gate beneath the wall, people moved in and out without pause.
Players.
"Something going on in the capital?"
"There is always something going on in the capital. It's rarer for nothing to be happening."
"I know that. I mean, there are a lot of people over there."
"Ah. Those are probably the people the royal palace summoned this time."
"Summoned? What kind of quest is that?"
What players wanted was always quests.
Big cities offered all kinds of them.
For production classes and artistic classes in particular, major cities were almost mandatory stops.
That was where the NPCs who taught skills were, where the shops that bought crafted items were, where the profession guilds were...
Everything was in big cities.
But to be summoned by the royal palace?
That had to be something far better than an ordinary quest.
Ah, right. I'm headed to the palace anyway, aren't I?
Tae-hyun stopped wondering what kind of quest it was.
He'd find out once he got there.
Nobles sometimes gather players with production classes and hold competitions, or so I heard. Maybe it's that?
Sometimes sudden pop-up quests appeared.
Nobles would summon players with music-related classes to their estates.
If you pleased the nobles gathered there, you could walk away with enormous rewards.
The very definition of a honey-sweet quest.
Everybody loved that kind of thing.
And if the one doing the summoning wasn't a noble but the king himself?
Then it was definitely a quest too good to ignore.
At Tae-hyun's question, the centurion leading the soldiers scratched his chin and replied,
"I heard they summoned cooks and musicians, most likely."
"What, is he throwing a banquet or something?"
"Ha ha, Kim Tae-hyun. You do joke well."
"...?"
"It's the banquet being held in your honor."
"...!"
Right.
For a moment, Tae-hyun had forgotten.
He was heading there to be rewarded for wiping out the Caterand Pirates.
Destroying the pirate band that had been a royal headache was a major achievement.
Of course there would be a celebratory banquet.
And because of that banquet, a sudden quest had popped up for artistic and production-class players around the area.
So that's how it all connects?
"This will be your room."
"Thanks."
Receiving the soldiers' meticulous courtesy, Tae-hyun and his party passed through the city gates and into the royal palace.
The palace was just as enormous as the city itself.
So vast, in fact, that it was hard to tell what was where at a glance.
"So when do I meet the king?"
"You will be formally invited to tomorrow's midday banquet. Until then, you may rest."
"Good. Got it."
There were so many NPCs in the palace that anyone walking the halls was impossible to identify at a glance.
Before leaving, Rufo spoke.
"Kim Tae-hyun, I will see you tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening."
"Yeah."
Before Pelmas left, he spoke as well.
"Kim Tae-hyun, if Ed-an gets caught, we are pretending we don't know him."
"...Right."
Not a shred of friendship in that cold calculation.
After everyone left, Tae-hyun looked around the room.
Even at a glance, the room was decorated with expensive paintings and sculptures.
And this was just a guest room.
That was the royal palace for you.
If I took this stuff, would I get caught?
Tae-hyun's first instinct was naturally, Can I steal it?
At this point it was nearly reflex.
Yeah, I'd probably get caught.
Clicking his tongue in regret, Tae-hyun ran a hand over the artworks.
Just one or two of these on the auction house would surely fetch—
Come to think of it, how did the auction turn out?
42 million won.
That was the sale price.
Tae-hyun let out a surprised whistle.
He'd known it was the kind of item that would sell for a lot, but not that much.
Must've started a bidding war.
When people got caught up in an auction and started competing, prices often shot far beyond an item's original value.
Either way, it was good news for Tae-hyun.
I could make a living just crafting daggers and selling them.
Of course, in reality, that wouldn't work.
For one thing, a Very Light and High-Quality Dagger wasn't the sort of item you could simply produce on demand.
If he chained himself to making only those, then while everyone else kept growing stronger, Tae-hyun would be stuck in place.
And if he made too many and sold them, the price would drop.
The longer time passed, the more items would flood the market.
The number of people playing Fantasy Online 2 was only increasing, so naturally more items would enter circulation.
In the end, the best option was still growing his character.
So how much did the silver go for?
Tae-hyun had guessed about 15 million won, maybe 20 million if it sold especially well.
That had seemed reasonable, considering the bidding had already started at 10 million.
But the actual result stunned him again.
Sold for 89 million won.
"?!?!"
For a second, Tae-hyun thought he'd read it wrong.
"What the hell is this?"
This wasn't 10 million or 20 million.
It had blown straight past 80 million.
Tae-hyun checked it over again and again.
The number didn't change.
How fierce did the bidding get?
He pulled up the bidding history and tilted his head.
Two people of unknown identity had fought an absolutely savage battle over the silver.
From 10 million to 80 million.
Just what kind of item was this supposed to be?
Wait... is this really some kind of quest item? Damn. Maybe I shouldn't have sold it.
Nothing in the world was free.
If something sold for that much, there had to be a reason.
And Tae-hyun soon found out what that reason was.
You have received a message.
"Open."
Tae-hyun checked the note that had arrived after the auction.
In the end, the sibling rivalry had gone to Bae Jang-wook.
It had cost him dearly, but he had gritted his teeth and held on until he won the auction.
Without sheer stubbornness, it would've been impossible.
Who the hell is this bastard and why won't he back down?!
That was what Bae Jang-wook had been thinking the entire time as he kept raising the price.
Only after finally winning had he been able to send a message to the mysterious seller.
Tae-hyun frowned after reading the note through.
The name Bae Jang-wook sounded familiar.
Where have I heard that before?
More than that, the note practically dripped desperation.
And Tae-hyun understood why.
Bae Jang-wook hadn't paid over 80 million because he wanted the dagger itself.
He bought it to contact me.
On the auction site, the only way to contact a seller was to buy the item.
But because another bidder had gotten involved, Bae Jang-wook had obviously been forced to keep raising the price.
He said Tae-hyun shouldn't feel pressured, but he'd clearly invested a lot.
If Tae-hyun truly took him at his word and ignored him, the man might just cry blood.
Not that I'd care either way.
Tae-hyun was, as always, extremely confident in the thickness of his own shamelessness.
He searched his memory for where he'd heard the name Bae Jang-wook.
I've definitely heard it somewhere... ah!
Only then did he remember.
Bae Jang-wook.
Back in Fantasy Online 1, he'd been one of the people constantly sending Tae-hyun enthusiastic messages.
The first message.
Tae-hyun had, of course, ignored it.
And then he'd gone back to hunting rankers.
A while later, another message arrived.
The wording had changed slightly.
Tae-hyun ignored that one too.
And went back to hunting rankers.
The day after he'd killed the rank 7 player, yet another message arrived.
The messages had only grown more desperate with time.
Of course, Tae-hyun had ignored that one too.
Back then, he hadn't cared about broadcasting in the slightest.
But now things were different.
Maybe I should appear.
He'd already promised he'd show something in Fantasy Online 2.
Broadcasting might be a good way to do it.
After all, the people who had made a name for themselves in Fantasy Online 2 were appearing on broadcasts now.
In a sense, they were pro gamers.