The Price of Fairness
Damiano II explained at once.
“Traditionally, only members of the royal family may enter the palace treasury. Regrettably, that means I cannot allow you inside. Ask for something else.”
Damn it...
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue inwardly.
Now that he thought about it, no matter how he phrased it, it didn’t seem like they were ever going to let him into the palace treasury.
Wait. But am I even sure it’s in the treasury to begin with?
The deepest part of the palace.
If someone said something was being kept there, the first thing that came to mind was naturally the royal treasury, where the palace treasures were stored—but that didn’t necessarily mean he was right.
When Tae-hyun hesitated, Damiano II spoke.
“If nothing comes to mind just yet, you may take some time to think it over. I am not a stingy man, after all. A place has been prepared for you, so enjoy yourself as you please.”
“Thank you.”
Tae-hyun bowed his head for now.
At the moment, he had no idea.
How do I pull this off?
“Tae-hyun-nim, could you maybe let me—”
“No.”
Tae-hyun shot him down without even listening.
Ed-an thumped his chest like he’d been grievously wronged.
“Tae-hyun-nim, you didn’t even hear me out!”
“Because I already know you’re about to suggest some insane stunt. No.”
“It’s fine as long as I don’t get caught. As long as I don’t get caught!”
“If I turn you into a corpse right now, wouldn’t that keep you from getting caught?”
At Tae-hyun’s words, Ed-an flinched.
Shaking his head, Tae-hyun said, “If you mess up and sneak into the treasury, it won’t end cleanly.”
“The treasury? I wasn’t planning to go into the treasury.”
“Why not?”
“Fufu, Tae-hyun-nim. Who do you take me for? I already checked the royal treasury once—the very night I first met you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Fufu, Tae-hyun-nim. Do you finally recognize my skill now? ...But why are you raising your fist?”
Wham!
“You little bastard! If you already went in there, you should’ve told me!”
“Urk—! I, I thought I had...!”
Ed-an had a real talent for driving up Tae-hyun’s blood pressure.
After thoroughly beating him up, Tae-hyun hauled Ed-an back to his feet.
“You went into the treasury?”
“Yes...”
“And it wasn’t in there?”
“At least... not anywhere that looked like it might contain an Authority.”
“Then where were you trying to get into?”
It was more than a little surprising that there was no Authority in the palace treasury.
Then where would it be?
“I was going to try entering the King’s chambers.”
“Ha. I see. Well, if it’s not the treasury, the King’s sleeping quarters are the deepest place in the palace. Right?”
“Fufu, exactly.”
Smack!
“Gah!”
“If you want to die, die by yourself.”
“The furnace is ready!”
“Good. Stoke the fire to the maximum. I’ll forge the ring myself.”
As Steven rolled up his sleeves and picked up his hammer, his guild members burst into cheers.
“Oooooh!”
“Steven-nim is doing it himself!”
“Who could possibly beat us now?”
“Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
The other blacksmiths looked on with undisguised irritation at the racket from Steven’s guild.
Of course, it wasn’t as if only the Punglimhwasan Guild moved in groups.
There were clumps of people here and there elsewhere too.
Guildmates naturally stuck together.
But compared to Punglimhwasan, they were hopelessly outmatched in scale.
The forceful spectacle of Punglimhwasan rapidly setting up even a temporary furnace so they could begin crafting on the spot was already intimidating the others.
“What a bunch of jerks. Seriously...”
“So what, money solves everything? Is headcount all that matters?”
“Hey, let’s work together too.”
Because of Punglimhwasan, even people who’d had zero intention of cooperating started banding together.
Even if they were only from small and mid-sized guilds, enough of them together made for a decent group.
But suddenly deciding to team up didn’t mean things would magically work out.
“So what are we making?”
“Our guild’s good at spears, so let’s make a spear.”
“What? We specialize in shields.”
“Why the hell should we adjust to you?”
“You’ve got fewer people than us anyway.”
“It’s a difference of two people, dumbass! What level are you, huh?!”
And there it was—the timeless line that always showed up whenever people started flaming each other in a game.
“What level are you?!”
The moment that line came out, a mud-wrestling brawl was basically guaranteed.
“E-eighty... four!”
“Bullshit! If you were really that level, would you be standing around here doing this? If you’re 84, then I’m 94!”
“You’re the one lying!”
The very pinnacle of ugly fighting.
They were even lying about their levels to argue.
Watching this, Kim Ji-sahn said to Park Seong-chan,
“Isn’t it nice that we’ll never end up fighting like that?”
“Nice, sure... but shouldn’t the bigger concern be whether we can beat that guild?”
Park Seong-chan pointed at Punglimhwasan.
The guild members were moving in perfect coordination, melting down all kinds of ores and gemstones.
It was practically a textbook display of glamorous blacksmith gameplay.
But Kim Ji-sahn remained calm.
“I told you not to worry. If it’s Kim Tae-san, then our victory’s basically already decided.”
“I mean... I’m not so sure he’ll take our side that easily...”
While the two were talking, Tae-hyun appeared at the front of the courtyard with an attendant.
“Uh, that’s...”
“Who is that?”
Some people didn’t recognize him, but more did.
“Isn’t that Kim Tae-san?”
“That’s Kim Tae-san?”
“Looks like him. That mask, those savage-looking eyes...”
At the insults drifting in from somewhere, Tae-hyun’s eyebrow twitched.
The attendant standing beside him whispered,
“Adventurer, must you really keep wearing the mask?”
“I’m a bit shy.”
“...?”
The attendant tilted his head but didn’t press further.
It wasn’t as if wearing a mask anywhere but before the King was some kind of serious problem.
While the two spoke, the blacksmiths saw Tae-hyun standing at the front of the courtyard and began speculating.
“Why is Kim Tae-san here?”
“Wait, didn’t Kim Tae-san clear the Katerand Island quest?”
“No way. Don’t tell me he’s the one getting this instead of Brangsong?”
“A player’s the judge instead of an NPC? That makes no sense!”
As the courtyard grew noisy, the attendant raised a hand.
It was a signal for silence.
“Blacksmiths, the adventurer who will receive His Majesty’s commendation has come to observe your work. Do your utmost and show him your best.”
“...!”
“!!!”
They’d thought and thought, but no—apparently a player really was going to judge them.
Everyone looked stunned.
“Then what happens now?”
“If Brangsong isn’t judging and it’s Kim Tae-san instead...”
Murmurs swept through the courtyard.
Most of the blacksmiths had assumed, naturally, that Brangsong would be the judge.
And since Brangsong had a reputation for being an upright, fair NPC, they’d believed that if they forged a good item, it would be judged properly.
But if the judge was a player, that changed everything.
Sure, a good item still mattered—but in the end, it was a person making the decision.
To put it bluntly, even if someone failed to forge the best item, if Tae-hyun picked it, then that became the winning piece.
In an instant, the light in everyone’s eyes changed.
“Kim Tae-san-nim!”
“You know me, right? I was on Katerand Island too!”
The blacksmiths surged toward Tae-hyun in a wave.
The soldiers had to step in to block them.
“Talk to us for a minute!”
“What do you need? At least give us a hint!”
“How much? Just name your price!”
As the blacksmiths shouted over one another, the attendant cried out in alarm.
“Push them back!”
The soldiers rushed in and shoved the blacksmiths away.
The atmosphere settled, at least on the surface, but the blacksmiths’ attitude didn’t change.
Forget forging the best item—we need to get close to Tae-hyun first!
Who cares how hard the crafting is? A little silver-tongued talk could win this massive quest!
Every last one of them had gone wild-eyed.
But Tae-hyun answered coldly.
“What do you mean, ‘name your price’? You trying to bribe me?”
“...”
The blacksmith who had just shouted that lowered his head.
“I don’t need money. If you want to win, then forge a proper item! Don’t even think about trying to talk your way to victory!”
“Exactly! That’s the right attitude!”
Steven, the guild master of Punglimhwasan, slapped his knee and shouted.
Playing as a Dwarf, he was thrilled by Tae-hyun’s words.
He’d been flustered when he thought Brangsong was judging only for it to suddenly change, but hearing Tae-hyun speak, he felt like there was nothing to worry about.
“Everyone, focus again! We’re making the ring!”
“Yes, sir!”
Tae-hyun looked from a distance at the ring Punglimhwasan was making.
Even at a glance, it looked incredible.
The stacks of ore ingots and gemstones beside them made it obvious how much effort they were pouring into winning the King’s approval in this quest.
This is nice.
The thought that ring would eventually end up in his hands filled him with delight.
Hoping it would roll with plenty of good options, Tae-hyun started walking.
“Tae-san-nim! Tae-san-nim!”
Turning around, he saw Woo Jeong-sik, Kim Ji-sahn, and Park Seong-chan running toward him.
Tae-hyun said to the soldiers, “Don’t let those people come over.”
“Yes, sir.”
The three blacksmiths ran toward Tae-hyun with faces full of hope.
But the soldiers blocked their path.
“You may not pass.”
“What? No, that’s not it. Please tell Kim Tae-san-nim we know each other!”
Thinking there had to be some misunderstanding, the three pleaded desperately.
But the soldier shook his head.
“He said not to let you approach.”
“?!”
When it came to matters tied to his own利益, Tae-hyun was pitilessly cold.
He didn’t even leave room for them to make a request—he blocked them off before they could try.
That was how thoroughly ruthless he was.
“What’s this place?”
“This is where the chefs are preparing the dishes for tonight’s banquet. You may look forward to the skill of these outstanding cooks.”
The attendant answered proudly.
And to be fair, he wasn’t wrong.
To receive this quest in the first place, they had to be at least somewhat leveled as chefs.
Nearly every cook gathered here was genuinely skilled.
But still...
“Then why are they doing that?”
“...?”
Tae-hyun pointed into the courtyard.
The chefs were huddled gloomily in the corner.
This was a moment when they should’ve been scrambling for time, yet instead of cooking, they were crouched there doing nothing.
The attendant looked flustered.
“Wh... why?”
“I’ll go find out.”
Tae-hyun hopped down and walked up to one of the chefs.
“Why are you sitting around instead of cooking?”
“Even if we want to cook right now... wait, who are you?”
Before Tae-hyun could answer, the attendant got angry.
“What irresponsible people! A distinguished guest, one who is to eat your dishes, has come here and you’re loafing around instead of cooking? If you don’t start immediately, I’ll have you thrown out!”
“...!”
At the attendant’s shout, even the chefs who had been sitting in the corner in a daze hurried to their feet.
“Wasn’t Admiral Brangsong the one who was supposed to eat them?”
“Admiral Brangsong will attend as well, but tonight’s dishes are for this adventurer! Will you not begin at once?!”
As the attendant fumed and stamped, the chefs at least moved in front of the cauldrons.
But that didn’t change the situation.
It wasn’t that they wouldn’t cook.
It was that they couldn’t.
“We don’t have ingredients!”
“That’s right! Those bastards bought up every fresh ingredient in the market!”
Once the attendant arrived, the chefs all started protesting at once.
Meanwhile, the guild members merely shrugged and kept focusing on their cooking.
They’d swept up every ingredient in sight, so they had more than enough supplies.
After hearing the chefs out, the attendant asked, “You don’t have ingredients?”
“That’s right!”
“Then either take ingredients from those people, or share some of the palace stores with us!”
“Yeah! Let us compete fairly!”
The chefs protested loudly, now full of hope.
Judging by the attendant’s manner, they thought something might actually be done.
But the attendant didn’t respond the way they expected.
“Why should I?”
“What?”