"When I Say 'Hoo,' You Say 'Ha!'"

"When I say 'Hoo,' Your Majesty, you say 'Ha!'"

"Bekelf. Let's just go with 'one, two'..."

Bekelf's cheering was enough to drain whatever motivation Tae-hyun had left. There was definitely a reason the dwarf had been so notorious among his own kind.

Ugh... my MP is running low!

While his skill was a cheat skill when restricted to dungeons or quests, it was also highly useful during crafting. A skill that allowed him to perform beyond his own capabilities!

...But during a crafting process that took this long, his MP was bound to drain rapidly. Tae-hyun had no choice but to chug MP recovery potions, something he rarely did under normal circumstances.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Just because his blacksmithing skill level increased didn't mean crafting became any easier. If anything, the difficulty only went up.

The process of working with Adamantium consisted of three main stages:

Melting the Adamantium.

Shaping the melted Adamantium.

Refining the shaped armor.

And Adamantium required an astronomical amount of hammering at every single stage.

To melt it even a little, he had to strike it countless times. And since it wouldn't flow even when melted, he had to hammer it relentlessly just to shape it...

And every single time he missed a beat with his hammer, he was hit with a penalty!

Had I underestimated this because I've done it once before?

Tae-hyun had actually crafted Adamantium armor once in the past. Back then, he didn't have his current high-level skills, so he had made it much more simply... But trying to craft it properly now made him realize just how exhausting it was!

"Your Majesty! You mustn't stop!"

"You seem a little too excited about this."

"I am not!"

Bekelf hurriedly swung his hammer. Proving that his claim of having a higher skill level than Tae-hyun wasn't a lie, the metal rapidly took shape every time Bekelf struck it.

Once the work began, it was a grueling labor where one couldn't move an inch, forced to stare straight ahead and swing the hammer continuously. This was the most basic, yet most difficult aspect of the blacksmith class.

An outstanding blacksmith was someone who could silently endure such backbreaking labor!

Tae-hyun had been focusing solely on combat quests for a long time, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but diving into a proper crafting session after so long slowly brought back his old memories.

Right! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was originally a blacksmith!

With that realization, his work gained momentum. The penalties rapidly decreased, and his hammering grew faster and faster.

Eventually, the pace became so intense that Bekelf began to beg, "W-wait, please slow down a bit... Your Majesty, consider my age...!"

"The Zaion Mountains?"

"Do we really need to go there?"

"True, I was thinking the same thing."

While Tae-hyun was busy working, his companions huddled together, debating their next quest. What would be the best quest to tackle next?

The Zaion Mountains were among the highest-difficulty areas revealed in Pandemonium Online so far. Just like the Demon Realm, it was the absolute best place to explosively level up!

...But the party hated the Zaion Mountains. For the exact same reason they hated the Demon Realm.

"Ancient Giants are seriously..."

"Yeah, they were a bit much."

The ancient beastmen had been bad enough, but the Ancient Giants were even more horrific. They felt like they would get PTSD if they had to face anything with "Ancient" in its name from now on.

"But it's not like we can just go to the Demon Realm, right?"

"The Demon Realm... well... we do have to go eventually, but..."

Currently, high-level players had all visited the Demon Realm at least once. That was how vast and full of loot the Demon Realm was.

But they didn't want to go right now!

"Don't we have way too many enemies, now that I think about it?"

"Well, we did play a bit aggressively."

Tae-hyun's companions nodded in agreement. They were the most active party in all of Pandemonium Online! Who else would selectively pick only the most insane quests like they did?

"Ahem. Cough, cough."

"?"

Chatting on the second floor of the temple, the party looked down in confusion at a player clearing his throat in front of the building.

"Hasn't he been doing that for about thirty minutes now?"

"What is he? A spy?"

"Would a spy do something like that?"

"It looks like he's desperately trying to get noticed..." Cain muttered.

Choi Sang-yun looked at him, puzzled. "How did you recognize that?"

"Because I used to do that all the ti—no, I mean, it just felt like that."

"...I see."

"Since Cain said so, I'll believe it."

"I believe you too."

"Don't start believing me only at times like this, you bastards!"

What useless trust!

Perhaps the NPCs shared the same thoughts as the party, because the temple paladins marched out and apprehended the player.

"No! I'm not a suspicious person!"

"Every suspicious person says that. Come with us, adventurer! In the name of Lord Archisus, we shall not let you escape!"

"I-I'm a noble!"

"Impersonating nobility as well!"

"No, look at this! A barony title from the Erangs Kingdom!"

"A highly sophisticated forgery!"

"Oh, for crying out loud!"

"Huh? Isn't that Alcott?" Lee Da-bi asked, as if suddenly remembering.

A player holding a barony title in the Erangs Kingdom, exhibiting such subtly suspicious behavior...

"Should we bring him up?"

"Do we really have to? Can't we just leave him be?" Cain asked, clearly wanting to watch Alcott suffer.

"No, we should at least hear what he has to say. Let's call him in."

"Tsk."

"Ugh. Even with a disguise, not a single person recognized me. What is wrong with these guys..." Alcott grumbled, cursing the paladins.

"Why are you here?"

"Did you come to spy on us?"

"Man, you should've come a bit earlier. Then you could've been caught and hung up alongside the others."

"..."

A barrage of sharp remarks welcomed him the moment he arrived!

These guys are just like Kim Tae-hyun... Alcott grumbled inwardly.

As expected of the people who hung around Kim Tae-hyun, they spoke exactly like him.

"I came because I have a proposal."

"Of course he came with a proposal, but why is he acting so dramatic about it?"

"He's always been like that. Tsk, tsk."

"...Ah, forget it! I'm not talking to you guys! Where is Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

An annoyed Alcott demanded to see Tae-hyun. Talking to Kim Tae-hyun would be infinitely better than this!

"Hey, you're not pouting, are you? Sit down and talk to us."

"I'm not pouting!"

"You look like you're pouting. You're totally pouting."

"..."

Alcott glared at Cain. This bastard had learned nothing but bad habits from Kim Tae-hyun...!

"I came to make a proposal regarding the legendary quest."

"!"

"...!"

As the party's expressions shifted, Alcott finally nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes. Of course. I knew you guys would be greedy for this quest."

They were one of the most daring parties in Pandemonium Online, after all! There was no way they wouldn't be interested in the ongoing legendary quest.

"Huh? No, we're not really interested..."

"We don't care."

"?!?!?!"

Alcott was utterly dumbfounded.

"Why?! No, how?! Ah, I get it. You're pretending to be uninterested to gain leverage over me! You don't have to act like that, I have no intention of monopolizing the quest—"

"Hey, hey, it's not that. Look at this territory. We're making several times more profit because of this."

"..."

At those words, realization dawned on Alcott.

Ah...! These guys really have nothing to lose!

While everyone else was roasting to death, they were coasting along comfortably thanks to the Sky Castle's climate control, so it made sense they didn't want to clear the quest.

It was a reason he had never even considered!

"...Think about it carefully. Right now, the heat is still bearable, but it's constantly getting worse! It's not like you guys can stay in this territory forever. Later on, the whole place might turn into a sea of fire."

"Can't we just worry about that when the time comes?"

"Then it'll be too late! Who knows if this territory will heat up too!"

"Come on, it'll probably just get a bit warmer."

"If it gets hotter, won't the Guild Alliance bastards just get dragged back to work again?"

"...Ah, forget it! I'm not talking to you guys! Where is Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

The cycle repeated!

All that suffering was worth it!

He received a massive amount of experience, a direct increase of one skill level, and various titles to boot.

So [Creator of the Ultimate Armor] is a title that gets taken away if someone else crafts something even more amazing.

It was a title awarded to the player who had crafted the most magnificent armor in the game!

Right about now, the blacksmith who had just lost their title to Tae-hyun was probably staring in absolute, eye-popping shock.

"Who... just who the hell did this...!"

Phew. All that Adamantium was worth it.

Although it shared the same name as the Avatar's armor he had crafted previously, its overall stats had been massively upgraded across the board.

And Tae-hyun hadn't just crafted armor for himself. He had made gear for everyone: starting with Cain, who needed armor the most, to a lightweight chainmail for Choi Sang-yun, and customized armor for those who didn't wear heavy plate, like Yu Ji-su, Lee Da-bi, and Jeong Su-hyeok.

The benefits of wearing Adamantium Armor were so overwhelming that they easily outweighed any minor penalties.

And best of all, it used less Adamantium!

Cain, who required a heavy, solid set of plate armor, consumed the most materials. For the rest of the party, Tae-hyun had crafted lighter gear, processing the metal into chainmail to conserve resources.

It's been a while since I felt this exhausted.

But it was a pleasant exhaustion. The kind of fatigue that only came after immense concentration and clearing a massive quest!

"It's finally finished!"

Tae-hyun descended from the Sky Castle with a joyful expression. The others were surely waiting for him!

"I said I'm going to see Kim Tae-hyun! Ah, let go of me!"

"No, seriously, he's in the middle of an extremely important quest!"

"Stop lying! I know you guys are trying to scam me!"

"We only teased you a little bit, why are you acting like this! Just wait quietly!"

"..."

"Isn't that Team KL over there?"

"No way. Why would Team KL be fooling around here? They must be super busy right now."

Tae-hyun looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh. These idiots should be raising their skill levels instead of doing this...

I don't think that helps at all...

"Since you came all this way despite your busy schedule, I trust you've brought some truly incredible information, Alcott."

"I-it really is incredible information. Even you will change your mind once you hear it."

When Alcott had first set out, he had thought, With information this amazing, even Kim Tae-hyun will have to beg me for details. But now, those arrogant thoughts had completely vanished.

"It's about... the legendary quest!"

"Hmm..."

When Tae-hyun reacted with complete indifference, Alcott hurriedly added another piece of news.

"Ah! And I also brought info on the scheme the Guild Alliance is cooking up lately."

"Oh?"

Phew, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thank goodness I prepared a buy-one-get-one-free deal...!