A Hammer Over a Key
"..." Sorrow washed over Tae-hyun's face. Of course. There's no way Archisus would just hand over an Authority so easily!
How do I open this?Clank, clank— He tried to force it open with raw strength, but it wouldn't budge.
"Was there no key?"
"We are terribly sorry. We could not find a key," the dwarfs replied apologetically. "We tried to open it ourselves, but it wouldn't budge, Your Majesty. Still, we brought it to present to you..."
These guys didn't just give me some random unopenable box and lie about it containing Archisus's Authority, did they?
Carbanog states that such a scam is exactly the kind of thing Archisus would pull, but the dwarfs would never do such a thing.
True, that makes sense. That really was a classic Archisus move!
"Hmm." Tae-hyun pondered for exactly one second before reaching a conclusion. Thud. He set the box down and pulled out his Ancient Hammer. Then, he took a full swing!
"T-Tae-hyun!"
"?" SMASH!
You have destroyed the box!
Your Strength stat has increased!
Your Infamy has...
...
"What is it?"
"...I was going to suggest using that Golden Key you received back at the Prika Arena..."
"...!!" Tae-hyun gasped at Lee Da-bi's words. Now that she mentioned it, he did have an item like that!
I should have waited a bit before acting...! Was this the price of acting instantly just to avoid overthinking Archisus's Authority?
Fortunately, smashing the box was also one of the correct solutions. Flash!
You have acquired the Authority of Archisus!
Your Reputation has increased significantly!
Your Holy stat has increased significantly!
The levels of all Archisus class skills have increased!
You have acquired the skill: Archisus's Dice.
Randomly selects one of your stats and permanently consumes a portion of it to roll Archisus's Dice. You will receive a buff corresponding to the number rolled!
* Note: The dice roll is not affected by your Luck stat.
"...?" Tae-hyun froze. It always took him some time to fully comprehend a newly acquired Authority skill.
So it's a skill that permanently consumes a stat to grant a buff... Tae-hyun reviewed his current stats. Which ones could he afford to lose?
Luck, Terror, Reputation, Infamy... probably those. My Holy stat is precious, but since I have plenty of it, losing a little bit won't hurt too much.
On the other hand, if stats like Strength, Agility, or Constitution got consumed, he would cry tears of blood!
Since it permanently consumes a stat, the buff's effect must be incredible... but even for the Avatar of Archisus, a completely randomized Authority like this is a bit tricky to use.
The consumed stat was random. The resulting effect was random!
Let's just try it once. It felt like a waste of stats, but it was best to test these things when he had some breathing room.
—Archisus's Dice!
Suddenly, a massive 20-sided die materialized above Tae-hyun and began to spin rapidly. Clack.
Your Luck stat has been consumed.
Rolled: 17!
The buff [Explosive Blessing] has been applied to the entire party!
A massive bonus has been applied to all explosion-related skills!
"!"
"!!!"
"!!!!!"
Tae-hyun's entire party gasped in shock.
Losing a point of Luck isn't too bad, but... is this how it works? He had no idea what the other nineteen outcomes were, but at least he now knew that rolling a 17 granted an explosion-related bonus.
Carbanog urges you to go blow something up immediately!
Like it's that easy. Still, he now had a general grasp of how the skill worked.
Tae-hyun pulled out the item he had kept from before: the Golden Key.
The most beautifully shining golden key. Its purpose remains a mystery, but doesn't just looking at it make you feel good?
Back then, he had been furious at Cain because this was what came out of the hard-earned golden chest...
"...But I already solved the problem without using this. What do I do now?"
"...I know, right?" Lee Da-bi also looked dumbfounded. The moment the box wouldn't open, she had suddenly remembered the key and shouted out... only for Tae-hyun to smash the box with his Ancient Hammer before she could even finish her sentence!
"Well, I'm sure I'll use it eventually, right?"
"Won't the game end before that happens?"
"...Da-bi..."
"Ah, no! I'm sure you'll find a use for it!"
"It's a bit late for that to sound convincing."
The Galkard dwarfs, who had been listening nearby, approached and gasped in amazement upon seeing Tae-hyun's key.
"Your Majesty. Is that... a key from the Ancient Empire?"
"Huh?"
"It is undoubtedly a key used in the Ancient Empire. May we take a look at it for a moment?"
The Galkard dwarf elders share information about the key.
Your knowledge regarding the key has increased!
A golden key commonly used in the Ancient Empire. It can unlock chests or storehouses containing precious items.
"...!"
"W-Wait, so it really could open chests?!" Lee Da-bi was shocked! She had just blurted it out, but to think it actually had that function!
"Tae-hyun, you don't mind if I keep the broken box, right?"
"Sure."
You have acquired the Broken Ancient Box...
...
Lee Da-bi clenched her fist as she stared at the item. This is perfect for a scam! If she glued it back together and sealed it up, people would line up to buy it with racing hearts!
Carbanog warns that the Merchant of Archisus is casting a highly suspicious look.
There's no way Da-bi would look like that. Stop talking nonsense.
Carbanog points out that the Merchant of Archisus's eyes are literally glowing with a golden light.
Ah. Da-bi was always like that.
[...???]You guys are weird! Ignoring Carbanog's exasperation, Tae-hyun slipped the key back into his bag. A key to the Ancient Empire!
It's definitely more useful than before. He had felt a twinge of regret when he smashed the box with his hammer, but this actually worked out better. He had essentially saved the key.
Should I go down and talk to the guys below again? He was planning to head down to the underground city anyway, and now that he had the key, there was no reason to hesitate. They would surely know something!
But before that, I should make use of this buff I just got. Tae-hyun turned his gaze to the dwarfs. Although the Galkard dwarfs focused primarily on blacksmithing and magic, they were still better than nothing. Just having high blacksmithing skills was more than enough!
"I accept your gift with gratitude."
"We are truly glad it pleases you!" The dwarfs had internally thought, Is he insane? when Tae-hyun swung his hammer to smash the box, but they kept those thoughts neatly folded and tucked away.
"But since you've come all this way, could you help me out a little more?"
"Ah, well... we were actually hoping to head back now..."
"Agh! The shoulder I injured while fighting those giants... it suddenly... urgh..." Tae-hyun clutched his perfectly fine shoulder and groaned. At this, Lee Da-bi gasped in surprise.
"Tae-hyun! Are you alright?"
"N-No, I'm fine. Ugh. I can't let myself be a burden to the dwarfs..."
"You can't do that!"
"..."
Your Supreme Eloquence skill has...
Your Contribution Points with the Galkard Dwarf Kingdom have...
Your Intimacy has...
...
"W-We will help you." The Galkard dwarf envoys were far too naive. No matter how much they disliked Pelmas, they should never have innocently wandered into a place where Tae-hyun was fighting! How many people had come to visit Tae-hyun only to be dragged into his battles by their noses? Now, the dwarfs were about to join that long list of victims.
"Ah! Thank you. My shoulder suddenly feels completely healed."
"..."
"Tae-hyun! What a relief!"
"Haha. It's all thanks to everyone's concern."
"..."
"..."
The dwarfs' expressions turned incredibly complex and subtle, but Tae-hyun paid them no mind and continued.
"Then let's start by building a fortress wall."
"Pardon? No, Your Majesty. In this freezing, barren wasteland?"
"But I have all of you."
You possess the Supreme Eloquence skill.
You have extremely high Intimacy...
However, the dwarfs are not moved in the slightest!
Tsk.
Carbanog asks if you have any conscience left.
Well, it always worked on Cain.
"No, Your Majesty. Even so, we cannot build a wall out of thin air..." Rumble, rumble, rumble— "...And what is that sound coming from the distance?"
At that, Duke Gellendel clapped his hands and spoke. "Haha! May I take a guess, honorable Orc Slayer?"
"Drop the 'Orc Slayer' part and guess."
"It must be Orcs!"
"...No. Right now, ancient beastmen tribes are pushing up from the opposite coast and fighting."
"Ancient beastmen tribes?!" "Those brutal monsters?!" "?" They both know about them? Tae-hyun was surprised to see both the Galkard dwarfs and Duke Gellendel recognize the name.
Carbanog explains that because they are long-lived races, their historical records and lore are well-preserved.
While the kingdoms of the Central Continent had collapsed and risen repeatedly, erasing much of the Ancient Empire's history, the distant dwarf and elf kingdoms were a different story. They still preserved many tales passed down from the ancient era.
"Oh, perfect. Do you know how they fight?"
"We have only heard legends of a dwarf tribe near the coast being completely wiped out by them."
"We have heard similar..."
"..." Not very helpful!
Yet Gellendel seemed to burn even hotter with passion.
"Your Majesty, this is our chance to avenge our ancestors! Is this not a glorious opportunity?!"
"If you love it so much, how about I send you back to your kingdom so you can fight them there?"
"Haha! You do tell the best jokes!" As expected, Gellendel was the type to completely filter out anything he didn't want to hear. He possessed the perfect personality to fit right into the Archisus Church!
With an ecstatic expression, Gellendel drew his sword and roared, "Hear me, fierce warriors of the Elves! We shall battle the ancient beastmen to avenge our ancestors' ancient grudges!"
The morale of the Elf warriors has plummeted!
The discontent of the Elf warriors has risen!
"..."
Both Tae-hyun and Carbanog were utterly dumbfounded. Normally, shouldn't morale go up in this kind of situation? Gellendel...! Just what kind of reputation did he have among his subordinates?!
But it wasn't that the fleet's elves didn't trust Gellendel. They simply possessed normal, rational minds! They were absolutely terrified of the prospect of fighting the ancient beastmen.
The Galkard dwarfs were whispering among themselves as well.
"Do we really have to fight, Elder?"
"We cannot refuse to help. Surely they are better than the ancient giants."
"But the records state just how brutal and vicious those beasts are."
"Still, if we fight alongside this force, it is not impossible. Look at His Majesty's mighty army... Wait, Your Majesty. Where did you leave your army?"
The Galkard dwarfs looked around in confusion. Where on earth was that massive army?
Without batting an eye, Tae-hyun replied, "They will be here soon."
"See? He says they will be here soon."
"Mmm... well, if he says so..."
The Galkard dwarfs reluctantly accepted the explanation. They owed Tae-hyun a debt, and since he spoke with such confidence, they decided to trust him.
"However, Your Majesty. A mere wall will not be enough to hold off those ferocious beasts."
"Mmh. That's why... I would like you all to learn a bit of Engineering."
"..."
"..."
The dwarfs wore expressions of genuine, deep-seated disgust. Tae-hyun felt slightly hurt.
"Since this is the entrance to the underground city, we can build a fortress wall wrapping around this area. It doesn't need to be too large."
"Do we absolutely have to learn Engineering?"
"Since dwarfs are building it, magic will be inscribed into the walls, making them several times stronger..."
"Do we really have to learn Engineering?"
"And wouldn't it be much better if we lined the walls with cannons?"
"Do we absolutely, really, truly have to learn Engineering?"
"Yes." Tae-hyun was resolute.