Never Bet Against Archisus

"Hmph! Do you really think we'd care about something like that?!"

You look like you care a lot, though?

Contrary to their loud declarations, the attackers didn't even glance in the direction of Tae-hyun's party!

!

The quest was progressing in a completely unexpected direction!

Unlike Tae-hyun, who had connections to the Ancient ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Empire and possessed mechanical engineering skills, the other players couldn't even see the quest notifications. But Tae-hyun could see it clearly—the Sky Castle's life force filling up more and more with every clash!

At this rate, filling it up might be easier than I thought...

"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun. I can't see."

"Yes, dear. There's no need for you to watch that."

Tae-hyun kindly covered Su Ning's nephew's eyes. No need for a child to witness such an ugly brawl!

Rumble—

Tae-hyun opened the entrance to the hidden passage he had discovered earlier.

"Aaargh!"

"!"

"Die, you bastards!"

"How dare you crawl onto our Sky Island!"

Even as Tae-hyun's party leisurely slipped into the passage, neither the Guild Alliance nor the attackers paid them any mind. That was how fierce the battle was!

"We're heading in first, okay?"

Tae-hyun called out as a polite courtesy. Naturally, no one replied.

"Well, I gave them fair warning. Let's go."

"Since we know the location, we can come back whenever we want, right?"

"Exactly. As long as you have the Highest-grade Mechanical Engineering skill, you can reopen the passage door anytime."

"..."

"..."

Hearing the exchange between Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi, the rest of the party wore deeply dubious expressions.

Wait... doesn't that basically mean no one else can ever enter?

"How dare you shameless intruders...!"

"Wait! We are different from those intruders fighting outside!"

Tae-hyun's Speech skill, Reputation, titles, and completed achievements had reached a level bordering on demigod status. Even a sworn, mortal enemy would freeze and listen if Tae-hyun shouted, "Wait!"

And pausing even for a second against Tae-hyun was an act of extreme foolishness. In that brief window, Tae-hyun was a player capable of pulling off all kinds of absurd schemes.

"What nonsense is an intruder who broke into our Sky Castle babbling about?"

"Broke in? Good grief. I entered with legitimate authorization."

"Cut the crap! We know you are the king of that kingdom down below. But that means absolutely nothing to us! You are nothing but traitors who carved up and stole the Empire's lands!"

I know that even without you telling me.

He had heard it plenty of times. For starters, the residents of Sky Island (the descendants of the Ancient Empire) hated the mainlanders because they had driven out the lords and betrayed them. And the people of the Central Continent down below hated them too, because they had carved up the Ancient Empire for themselves.

In truth, nobody liked them! But Tae-hyun had a different excuse prepared.

"No. I did not come here as the King of the Atali Kingdom. I came here... because I was asked by the Ancient Empire Prisoners."

"!"

The Ancient Empire Prisoners! Following the fall of the Ancient Empire, they were practically the only survivors of the empire left in Pandemonium Online. The only problem was that they were a bit out of their minds...

Well, they aren't around here anyway, so I might as well drop their names.

Considering how much he had been tormented by those prisoners, using their names like this was the least they could do for him. Though, whether the prisoners themselves would agree was a different story...

Murmur, murmur—

As soon as Tae-hyun mentioned the Ancient Empire Prisoners, the Deserters began to whisper anxiously among themselves.

"Are there really survivors left? I thought it was impossible for anyone to have survived this long."

"If they turned themselves into Chimeras, it's entirely possible they survived."

"But weren't they prisoners?"

"Does their status as prisoners even matter at this point? What matters is that they are people of the Empire. Besides, there were many of noble birth among them."

"Ah! Come to think of it, wasn't the Imperial Prince there as well?"

"..."

Tae-hyun briefly considered telling them, The prisoners thought the exact same thing, but that prince is dead, but decided against it. Imagination was free, after all!

In Tae-hyun's estimation, the Ancient Empire Deserters and the Ancient Empire Prisoners probably wouldn't get along very well. If they ever met, they would likely scoff, How dare those pathetic bastards claim to be descendants of the Empire? and fight over who was superior.

It's definitely for the best that they never meet.

Ultimately, after much deliberation, the Deserters permitted Tae-hyun to enter. Considering their incredibly stubborn attitude, this was a monumental achievement!

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Tae-hyun, and he asked:

"By the way, do you know how to restore this Sky Castle?"

"Hmph. This Sky Castle died along with the fall of the Empire. Since the legitimate imperial bloodline has ended, how could the Sky Castle ever be restored?"

"This is why those mainlanders are..."

"..."

Tae-hyun stared at them as if they were speaking gibberish.

These guys don't have a single level in mechanical engineering!

Come to think of it, they were knights. There was no way knights would know anything about mechanical engineering or blacksmithing. That was why they had no idea how to repair the ruined Sky Castle despite living inside it!

"You really don't know there's a way to restore it?"

"We told you, that's nonsense..."

"What if I do restore it?"

"If you restore it, we will become your serv—"

"Wait. Something is off."

"What is it?"

"That man is the successor of Archisus. Have you forgotten the golden rule? Never make a bet with anyone from the Archisus Church!"

"Ah! That's right!"

The Ancient Empire Deserters remembered the ancient rule passed down since the old days perfectly: Never make a bet with the Archisus Church!

Tsk. What a shame.

"How did it go?"

"...I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. It can't be helped."

Lee Se-yeon nodded. Standing before her was the high-ranking blacksmith, Hammerman. She had summoned him for one reason.

"I've gathered some Adamantium. Would you be interested in crafting armor with it?"

It was to craft Adamantium Armor!

For a blacksmith, this was an opportunity where they would gladly shout, "I'll do it!" even without being paid a single gold coin. Crafting Adamantium gear was an incredibly prestigious opportunity, offering massive skill experience, rewards, and achievements!

That was why Hammerman had spoken with absolute confidence.

"Who else but me could craft it? If Kim Tae-hyun did it, I can do it too. I only failed before because I didn't have the Adamantium, but just leave it to me!"

But the result was a failure. Well, the Adamantium Armor was indeed crafted, and its stats were certainly decent. However...

Lacking the Primeval Fire forge and dwarf artisan NPCs to assist him, Hammerman was bound to suffer heavy penalties, no matter how much higher his Blacksmithing Skill was compared to Tae-hyun's. On top of that, even though Tae-hyun's blacksmithing skill was lower, he possessed absurdly high Luck and the divine authority of Archisus...

In the end, the crafted Adamantium Armor was merely "decently good." It wasn't significantly better than armor made by mixing other ores. At this rate, there was no point in even trying!

Once Hammerman left, the guild members began sharing their thoughts.

"As expected, our current forge won't cut it. We need to build a better one."

"There are several Dwarf Kingdoms beneath the Zaion Mountains. Since we've already defeated the ancient giants, we should try to gain entry there."

"Can we actually persuade the dwarves?"

"They are extremely wary of outsiders, but we've been making steady progress. If we raise our affinity just a bit more, we should be able to enter."

"What about switching to a different blacksmith ranker?"

"Steven and Kunt both failed. It's unlikely any other blacksmith would fare better."

"Should we call GeneralGodTaehyun?"

"Isn't that blacksmith's name a bit too ominous?"

"Who cares about the name? As long as he can craft it well, that's all that matters."

"He feels like the type who might run off with the Adamantium for some reason, so let's keep him as a last resort. Either way, it's clear we need two things: a legendary forge and the help of the dwarves."

It wasn't just Lee Se-yeon. Other major gaming organizations were facing similar struggles.

"We gathered all this Adamantium but we can't even craft anything with it?! Are you kidding me?!"

"W-We are terribly sorry..."

They were spending astronomical amounts of money trying to get new gear crafted! Yet, no one had been able to overcome this wall. It only served to make them marvel at Kim Tae-hyun's abilities all over again.

How on earth does a guy with a combat class handle Adamantium so flawlessly?

"If this Sky Castle is restored, we will reward you handsomely."

"Tsk."

"Did you just tsk at us...?"

"No, I didn't."

Tae-hyun nodded. Honestly, this was still a fantastic opportunity. After all, Tae-hyun barely had to lift a finger during the restoration process! He could just wait around while everyone else fought, essentially getting a free reward.

By the way, this place is incredibly bleak compared to the village on Sky Island.

Perhaps due to its factory-like interior structure, even the few existing facilities felt cold and desolate.

Ohhh. Tae-hyun was impressed. Unlike the village, this place actually had some decent perks!

The construction cost... oh my...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The construction cost was impressive in a completely different way.

These crazy bastards! No wonder their empire collapsed when they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were building things this ridiculously expensive!

"The gear here has a pretty high level requirement, so I think it's best we buy it all up."

"True. It's not like anyone else is coming here anytime soon. Perfect for a monopoly."

Lee Da-bi swept up every piece of equipment the Ancient Empire Deserters were selling. Rare gear like this could be resold later at a massive premium. Besides, getting into a Sky Castle like this was no easy feat...

"Aaargh!"

"Pant, pant... Never underestimate the Guild Alliance again!"

"How... how frustrating...!"

The Guild Alliance managed to withstand the fierce onslaught and wiped out the enemy. As expected of the Guild Alliance!

The rankers lifted their heads with proud expressions. Su Ning also looked up, bursting with pride. Then, he opened his mouth.

"...Where did my nephew go?"

"..."

Everyone's face turned pale.

"Kim Tae-hyun kidnapped him to get us killed!!"

"Kim Tae-hyun, you bastard! This is a crime! A crime, I say!"

The rankers wailed in sheer panic. No matter how much he hated them, how could he commit such a despicable act?!

"What on earth are you babbling about?"

Right on cue, Tae-hyun's party emerged from the passage. Su Ning gasped in surprise as they suddenly popped out of the wall.

"W-What were you doing in there?"

"Your nephew might have gotten hurt, so we were hiding him safely."

"No, wait, that's..."

Su Ning had been about to demand why Tae-hyun hadn't joined the fight, but hearing those words left him completely speechless.

Tae-hyun looked around and said, "You defended well. Do you plan on fighting more?"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

They had barely survived the last wave, and he was asking them to fight more?

"No, I didn't mean you have to fight right this second. I meant if new enemies appear..."

Boom!

"Die, you Guild Alliance scum!"

"...I was referring to exactly this kind of situation. Don't misunderstand, though. I didn't call them."

At the sight of the newly arrived attackers, the members of the Guild Alliance gnashed their teeth.

Is this really not a trap?!