Borrowing the Kingdom’s Knights
“Production classes like blacksmiths would have an easier time sticking with the kingdom army.”
Kim Tae-hyun spoke to the blacksmith who had just been turned away, Kim Ji-sahn. Looking utterly dejected, Kim Ji-sahn nodded.
“Isn’t it kind of cheap how they’re always desperate for blacksmiths, but the moment something like this happens, they treat us like dirt?”
“That’s just how the world works. People swallow you whole when you’re sweet and spit you out when you’re bitter, don’t they? Quit the pointless complaining and go over there to the kingdom army. Ask to move with them.”
The players from large guilds and the ones running major parties all wanted to move separately from the kingdom army. If they reached the destination first and made the biggest contribution, they could rack up that many more contribution points.
By comparison, moving together with the kingdom army inevitably put them at a disadvantage when it came to earning merit.
But for production classes like blacksmiths, moving with the kingdom army was by far the best option.
Large guilds took blacksmiths along too, of course, but those were guild-affiliated blacksmiths, and these three weren’t...
“What are you planning to do, Mr. Tae-san?”
“Me? I’m going with the kingdom army too.”
“Oh, really?!”
Kim Ji-sahn’s face brightened at once.
He already knew what Tae-hyun was capable of. Just hearing that someone like him would be doing the quest too was reassuring beyond words.
“Huh? Isn’t that Kim Tae-san?”
“I think it is.”
When someone recognized Tae-hyun and pointed, the others immediately started murmuring among themselves.
That distinctive coat and mask made him easy to spot.
And the Katerand Island quest had left one hell of an impression. Plenty of people had seen the video.
“He’s doing the Sadiq subjugation quest too?”
“Should we ask him to join our party?”
“Come on. You think he’d say yes?”
“So what? No harm in trying.”
Hearing the chatter around them, Kim Ji-sahn’s expression crumpled again.
Come to think of it, there was nothing strange about Tae-hyun joining some other party instead.
“Excuse me, would you like to join our party?”
One of the players approached Tae-hyun.
Kim Ji-sahn recognized her face.
That’s Lee Yeon-ah?
She was a famous game BJ. Popular enough that she appeared regularly even on broadcast network gaming programs.
Kim Ji-sahn wasn’t the only one who recognized her. Plenty of others seemed to as well.
“That’s Lee Yeon-ah, right?”
“She was here too?”
“Noona, I’m a fan!”
“Can I get a picture with you?”
People swarmed her in an instant.
But as a professional broadcaster, Lee Yeon-ah didn’t panic. Smiling, she smoothly organized the crowd.
“Just a moment, please. I’m inviting this person to my party right now. Once I finish this, I’ll answer everyone.”
It was textbook pro broadcaster behavior.
And with that, everyone’s gaze swung toward Tae-hyun.
Their eyes all screamed the same thing.
Who the hell are you to get an offer like that?
Lucky bastard.
I kinda want to punch you.
Jealousy, envy, resentment.
The whole atmosphere shifted in an instant.
It had become the sort of mood where if Tae-hyun said no, he’d look like a complete bastard.
Of course, that didn’t shake him in the slightest.
Kim Tae-hyun was the kind of man who could have hundreds of people glaring at him and still stare back without blinking and say, Come at me.
“No thanks. Your party doesn’t look that great.”
“...!”
They had half expected it, but for him to actually refuse?
Before the others could even react, Lee Yeon-ah spoke first.
“And why exactly does our party not look that great?”
“Those two. They’re your party members, right?”
Tae-hyun pointed at the two people standing behind Lee Yeon-ah.
The moment he did, both of them shot him murderous looks.
“They are...”
“That one looks like your main tanker, and that one’s probably the healer. They don’t look like they get along. You guys form this party recently? Either way, if you party up with people like that, someone else is the one who gets screwed. Forming a party is fine, but at least build one with people who can stand each other. Got it?”
Tae-hyun said it as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.
But Lee Yeon-ah was stunned.
Because he was exactly right.
The old healer had left the party, and the priest who had joined afterward had been on bad terms with the existing tank ever since.
It had started as simple friction, but by now they were practically at each other’s throats every time they opened their mouths.
The priest who had joined as healer had enough level and skill that Lee Yeon-ah had let it slide, but the party atmosphere had been getting worse by the day.
And yet Tae-hyun had noticed it without even joining the party.
“And even if your party members did get along, I still wasn’t going to join. I’ve got something to do.”
“Something to do?”
“With the kingdom army.”
“...!”
At those words, Lee Yeon-ah’s eyes lit up.
This felt like the scent of a hidden quest.
“What quest is it?”
“Haha. You thought I was actually going to explain it if you asked what quest it was? Get lost. Shoo, shoo.”
“...”
Lee Yeon-ah looked flustered as Tae-hyun waved his hand at her like he was brushing away a bug.
People normally didn’t treat her like that.
“Let’s go, you deadweights.”
While she was still standing there, Tae-hyun called the blacksmiths over.
“We are not deadweights!”
“If no other party will take you, that makes you deadweights. Deadweight One, Deadweight Two, Deadweight Three.”
Woo Jeong-sik snapped back instantly.
“Leave me out of it! I don’t want to get mixed up with those idiots!”
As Tae-hyun and the blacksmiths moved away, the people who had been waiting for their chance rushed back to Lee Yeon-ah.
“Can we take a picture together? Unni!”
“I’m a fan!”
“Ahaha. Thank you, everyone.”
Lee Yeon-ah kept her smile perfectly in place as she dealt with them all.
But inside, her thoughts were a mess.
What kind of quest is he trying to do?
That was what kept nagging at her.
And there was one more thing.
Are my party members really going to be okay like this?
She’d already been uneasy about how badly they got along.
She had ignored it until now, but because Tae-hyun had said it out loud, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
If they kept this up during the quest ahead...
It’ll probably be fine, right?
“I knew you wouldn’t abandon us!”
“You might look cold, but deep down you’ve got a warm heart...”
Listening to the chattering blacksmiths beside him, Tae-hyun turned his head.
He hadn’t said a word, but judging from their faces, it was obvious what his look meant.
Shut up.
The two blacksmiths instantly closed their mouths on their own.
Woo Jeong-sik asked cautiously,
“So... are you really planning to do the quest with the kingdom army?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to gather a separate party? Like on Katerand Island... if you called for people, Mr. Tae-san, I think a fair number would come.”
If Kim Ji-sahn, Park Seong-chan, or Woo Jeong-sik tried gathering people, no one would show up.
But Tae-hyun was different.
If he announced in front of everyone that he was forming a party, quite a few would come running.
The Katerand Island quest had left that strong of an impression.
“And what would I do with a bunch of useless people? Even if I gathered them, they wouldn’t listen properly anyway. Better to do it with people who can actually move in sync.”
“Th-that means...”
“We move in sync?”
Tae-hyun looked at the two of them as if they were absurd.
“You happy?”
“Yes!”
“Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
“Instead of wasting your time chanting loyalty at me, why don’t you raise your blacksmithing skill? That’d help a lot more.”
Tae-hyun shoved Kim Ji-sahn away as he tried to cling to him like an overeager puppy.
He understood perfectly well why they were acting like this.
Tae-hyun looked high-level, and on top of that, he looked like an outstanding blacksmith. Naturally, they wanted to learn something from him and gain something by sticking close.
Of course, Tae-hyun—who relied on no one—couldn’t understand that kind of behavior at all.
Wouldn’t it be way better to spend that time leveling your own skills and grinding on your own?
“We practice plenty!”
“Yeah! We keep using the Lucky Blacksmith skill too!”
Tae-hyun looked openly skeptical.
“Really? How much?”
“Uh...”
“Umm...”
“...Yeah, sure you do. Forget it. They’re your characters. You’ll raise them however you want.”
Pointing at all three blacksmiths, Tae-hyun asked,
“What matters right now is this quest. So. You planning to do it with me or not?”
“...!”
Kim Ji-sahn and Park Seong-chan both nodded eagerly, their faces lighting up.
Doing a quest with Tae-hyun—this was a chance.
If they simply followed the kingdom army, they’d get the same quest as everyone else.
But if they followed Tae-hyun?
Then maybe they’d get some incredible quest like the one on Katerand Island.
“Yes!”
“Of course!”
“Whatever I tell you to do, you follow immediately.”
“Naturally!”
“That’s what we’re best at!”
While the two of them excitedly swore their loyalty, Woo Jeong-sik was gripped by a vague, sinking unease.
This feels... bad.
He couldn’t quite explain it, but it was the distinct feeling of being conned by something he couldn’t yet see.
Tae-hyun smirked when he looked at Woo Jeong-sik.
“Looks like that one doesn’t want in. Leave him behind.”
The moment Tae-hyun said that, the other two blacksmiths responded instantly.
“Sounds good!”
“If you can’t seize opportunity, you get nothing!”
Not even the faintest trace of friendship.
Woo Jeong-sik cursed inwardly.
You shameless bastards...
“Who said I wasn’t doing it? I was waiting for you two to stop yapping first!”
In the end, Woo Jeong-sik raised his hand too.
Even if he felt uneasy, the quest Tae-hyun was leading was far too tempting to walk away from.
“You want me to lend you knights?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Hmmm...”
Damiano II stroked his beard as he looked at Tae-hyun.
At the moment, Tae-hyun was requesting troops from Damiano II.
Specifically so he could work the knights like dogs.
The other large guilds and parties had all left at once to attack the Sadiq Church directly, but Tae-hyun had different thoughts.
Those bastards are definitely not easy prey.
If that was the case, he needed solid support like the kingdom army.
But the kingdom army was slow, and too many players were attached to it. That would just get in the way of earning contribution points.
So what was the answer?
Ask the king directly for elite reinforcements.
It was a choice only Tae-hyun could make, after saving the king’s life and massively raising both his affinity and contribution points.
“Very well! If it is an adventurer like you, I can entrust this to you without worry. Bring me the heads of those wicked scoundrels!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Tae-hyun bowed deeply.
You may command the knights of the Atali Kingdom 2nd Knight Order as subordinates.
Knights cannot be commanded without sufficient Reputation.
Current Reputation: 3040. You may command up to 30 knights.
“...!”
Tae-hyun was startled.
He needed Reputation to command knights?
Of course, it wasn’t consumed when he used them, but the fact that he couldn’t command them at all without enough Reputation still came as a shock.
Mercenaries and soldiers only needed money, contribution points, or affinity. Are knights different?
Fortunately, Tae-hyun’s Reputation wasn’t low.
He had built up quite a lot of it through all sorts of quests.
Thirty was a little disappointing, but still a formidable force.
These were knights, after all.
Your Tactics skill is insufficient. You will suffer penalties while commanding knights.
You do not possess a knight-type class. You will suffer penalties while commanding knights.
The knights’ current morale is 95. If morale falls, their stats will decrease. You must manage morale carefully.
Message windows flooded up one after another.
For a moment, Tae-hyun seriously reconsidered things.
Maybe I should’ve just asked for a unit of soldiers instead.
He had a strong feeling that taking knights instead of soldiers was going to be a lot more troublesome than he’d expected.