The Power of Ancient Art

"As expected of the Archisus faithful..." Cain muttered.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" one of the painters demanded, glaring at him.

"Oh, no. I meant it in a good way..." Cain stammered, waving his hands defensively.

"How is that a good thing?!"

"Well, is being an Archisus believer a bad thing, then?!" Cain blurted out.

"...!"

"!" Cain's eyes went wide. Wait, I actually won a verbal argument?

"Stop bickering over nothing," Tae-hyun interjected, stepping in. "It wouldn't hurt to go collect some money. Whatever the case, hone your skills. Try to lure in some players too."

"We shall show the adventurers the power of this mighty art!" the painters cheered, their eyes burning with newfound determination.

Wait. Did I say the wrong thing? Watching the painters burn with unnecessary passion, Tae-hyun flinched. He had a sneaking suspicion that he had opened a massive can of worms...

"First, we should go find them."

"A new opportunity has arrived!"

"Young painters, look this way!"

As the guild painter NPCs came out shouting at the top of their lungs, nearby players began to show interest.

"???"

"What's this? Is it a quest?"

"Wait. Those are the guild painters."

"Yikes. That was close. Don't make eye contact."

"Who are they?" a newer player asked.

"They're NPCs that newbies should absolutely avoid! If you get tangled up with them, you'll end up learning a trash skill!"

But their infamy was already widespread! Players were busy enough trying to learn good skills to level up; no one was going out of their way to learn a garbage skill.

Compared to their skill, even the bomb-making of Engineering was top-tier! Sure, bombs carried the risk of failure rates and dangerous penalties, but when they did detonate, their performance was guaranteed. On the other hand, what about Random Art? It was a skill whose purpose was completely incomprehensible! No one knew what it was trying to draw, or what it was aiming for...

Its only saving grace was that you didn't have to think much and could just scribble whatever.

"Today, our Random Art has achieved a new awakening and evolved! Straight into Ancient Art!"

"!"

"An... Ancient?"

It was human nature to find anything with "Ancient" attached to it impressive! There was no guarantee it would actually be better, but "Ancient" always sounded amazing.

"Behold! This is the power of Ancient Art!"

The NPCs grabbed a passing player and began to paint them by force. The player resisted, but the NPCs finished the painting before they even had a chance to escape. As always, if there was one thing this skill had going for it, it was speed!

Splat, splat, splat! They splashed some paint, made a few quick brushstrokes, and suddenly, a shape materialized. Unlike the abstract mess of Random Art, this painting had a clearly defined form, leaving the player utterly shocked. Wait, what is this?

"It is complete! This is the Erangs Kingdom Army!"

The painting depicted the player joining the Erangs Kingdom Army and receiving a massive reward! The player gasped.

"This is a prophecy?"

"Indeed! This is the true power of Ancient Art. Foresight!"

"I... I see. I'll join the Erangs Kingdom Army right away and start the quest!"

"Of course, the prophecy might be wrong!"

"What did you say?"

"Now! Next person!"

Riding the momentum, the painter NPCs began spamming their skill.

"Wait. You have to pay before you leave."

"...Wait, you forced this on me..."

The players grumbled but handed over their money. They knew all too well how relentlessly persistent these NPCs would be if they didn't pay. If I don't pay, they might paint a terrible picture and curse my future!

"Hey, if it's foresight, isn't that actually useful? I had no idea what that Random Art crap was good for..."

"Should I learn that instead of Fire Art?"

Once an obscure skill gets reevaluated, it immediately becomes a trend. The players stirred, starting to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠show genuine interest in the skill.

The Asbian Empire, a nation spanning vast deserts and desolate wastelands! The Idergo Cult had stretched its evil clutches even to the Asbian Empire. However, the Asbian Empire had a much easier time defending itself.

First of all, the majority of its citizens were undead! The plagues that the Idergo Cult prided themselves on were completely ineffective against the undead. Furthermore, because the territory was so vast, whenever the Idergo Cult gathered to plot something, prepared forces would launch counterattacks from all directions. On top of that, the main force of the Idergo Cult was currently focused on the Central Continent. The cultists poking around the Asbian Empire were nothing more than easy prey.

Although Lee Se-yeon didn't have a massive guild, she handled the situation cleverly. She invited friendly small-to-medium guilds to hunt within the empire and supported players who visited by offering various generous quests. On top of that, she personally led her undead legion to deal with both the Idergo Cult and the monsters.

Regardless, the results were magnificent. Unlike the Central Continent, the Asbian Empire had successfully managed the damage. Thanks to this, a significant number of players flocked to the empire, allowing her to reap various windfall benefits.

"Finally, I can breathe a little," Lee Se-yeon let out a sigh of relief.

When she was trying to hunt the ancient giant, the empire had been her biggest headache.

These alerts had kept popping up, making it impossible for any sane person to ignore. It was a miracle she had managed to defeat the giant and return in time; otherwise, the empire would have been completely ruined.

Lee Se-yeon nodded at her guild members' reports. She would have been furious if anyone pointed it out to her face, but she was indeed using a strategy very similar to Tae-hyun's: prioritizing only the capital and a few key cities! Unless you were a massive guild, this was actually the correct answer. It was just that most people couldn't let go of their greed. The rest could be kept from rebelling with a bit of appeasement, and then resolved one by one over time.

Furthermore, becoming the master of the empire came with clear advantages. It made performing class quests within the empire incredibly easy. In truth, it was only the absurdly difficult classes that forced players to travel across the continent and into other dimensions to find divine authorities; many normal classes had their quests continuously spawn in a single location.

"????"

A quest window popped up, completely halting Lee Se-yeon's momentum just as she was sprinting toward level 400! It was a quest of insane difficulty, requiring her to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠persuade countless NPCs from across the continent and gather them in one place.

The Desert Fortress was the massive stronghold in the imperial desert that Tae-hyun had left behind during the previous Nevuchadnezzar raid. It possessed an immense holy power that swept away nearby undead, meaning Lee Se-yeon suffered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a penalty whenever she entered it. Normally, she would have simply ignored a quest like this, but...

Ah... why did it have to be Legendary...

A Legendary-grade quest was not something one could easily ignore. Moreover, if the threat was coming from the eastern desert, the Asbian Empire would be the first to take the hit! If she ignored it and let it be, she would be the one suffering the consequences.

"Ughhh... Ughhhhh...!"

"Unni, what's wrong?!"

"Thank you, everyone." Sabet was deeply moved by the warm welcome.

The players of professional teams were usually divided into factions, split between the first string, second string, and substitutes, making the atmosphere incredibly cutthroat. But Team KL was different. It had a heartwarming atmosphere that could only be found in small-scale teams!

Sabet pulled out the materials he had brought and said, "Today, I am here to offer advice on your skills, analysis, and combat methods."

"Ooh...!"

"Ah. But Coach, can we start in an hour?" Cain raised his hand and asked.

Sabet's expression stiffened at the question. It has begun!

Sabet had realized then, from Tae-hyun's words, that although Team KL looked perfectly fine on the surface, there was actually a problem player inside! And that player was undoubtedly Cain. Calming down such a player and creating perfect synergy is also the coach's role!

"Player Cain. Unless there is a special reason, we cannot delay the scheduled training."

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

"Ah. Really?"

"Why did you ask to delay it?"

"Because the Beijing Fighters' relegation match is about to start..."

"...!!" Sabet's eyes widened.

The relegation match! A blood-soaked guillotine match where the bottom-tier teams of the 1st Division clashed with the top-tier teams of the 2nd Division to earn the right to remain in the league! Not only the fans of Beijing Fighters but also the fans of all other teams were paying close attention to this match. Its popularity even surpassed that of the regular season!

The team that was strangely popular in Korea, the Toronto Maple Bears! Given the opponent, they were receiving all kinds of passionate support. Sabet wore a conflicted expression. To be honest, he really wanted to watch such a relegation match live. But... But...!

"...Why don't we just watch it?" Tae-hyun said, unable to watch Sabet agonize any longer. Why agonize so much over watching a single match...

"Ah, r-really? Is that okay?"

"Feel free. It's not like watching this is going to change anything."

In the end, their very first practice session turned into a viewing party for the fierce clash between the bottom-tier teams. Cain, wanting to get closer to the new coach, opened his mouth.

"Coach, you must feel great now that Beijing Fighters has completely gone down the drain, right?"

"Uh... No. It only saddens me to see the team I once managed end up like that."

"......"

Cain's face flushed with embarrassment. Ah, wait, if you say that, what does that make me...!

Beside him, Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun smacked Cain on the back.

What on earth are you saying!

Do you have absolutely no tact, you idiot!

A-Ah... no... I thought he'd be happy about it...!