A Proposition Too Good to Refuse

"No. I didn't come here to craft anything, and I don't have the time for it anyway," Tae-hyun refused gently. In truth, his sole purpose in visiting this place was to locate the descendant of the Archisus Holy Knights' commander, not to supply the Garuda warriors with mechanical engineering weapons.

"We refuse! We refuse! Make us weapons!"

"Booo! Human adventurer! Hand over the weapons! We won't budge!"

The Garuda warriors were indeed formidable combatants. They immediately threw themselves onto the ground, sprawling out to block his path.

"..."

Should I just cut them down?

Slaying a Garuda warrior within the borders of the Garuda Kingdom was tantamount to an open declaration of war. If he didn't want a massive bounty placed on his head, it was an action he had to avoid at all costs.

But just look at these guys.

The community boards were filled with posts hyping up the Garuda as a proud, winged race of mighty warriors, but to Tae-hyun, they were just winged Orcs. Their behavior was practically identical!

"Tae-hyun, you know you shouldn't draw your sword, right?" Lee Da-bi warned him.

Watching them, Ryu Da-young asked in confusion, "Surely Player Kim Tae-hyun wouldn't draw his sword in a place like this, right?"

"..."

Flinching at having his inner thoughts laid bare, Tae-hyun quickly recovered. "Whew. Right. I should just persuade them and move on. I'm quite busy right now..."

"See? Resolved peacefully, didn't I?"

"As expected of you, Tae-hyun," Lee Da-bi smiled.

"Booo! Human adventurer! Hand over the weapons! We won't budge!"

The moment one group dispersed, a brand-new crowd of Garuda warriors swarmed in to take their place!

"..."

"Tae-hyun! Hold back! Relax!"

"I have hunted Garedoff, the evil monster that threatens the skies!"

"That took way too long!"

"And your method was incredibly crude! Waiting in ambush and using stealth to kill it? Is that the way of a warrior? That's the way of a thief!"

"But my class is literally a Rogue..."

"What?! A thief?! Hah! To think a thief dared to set foot in the Garuda Kingdom!"

"..."

The player's face fell. Discriminating against someone based on their class was just too much! It was already sorrowful enough to be discriminated against in parties...!

Aside from Tae-hyun's party, a significant number of high-level players had already made their way to the Garuda Kingdom. While Sky Island was a scenic place to sightsee, the Garuda Kingdom was the ultimate hunting ground for leveling up. It was a place teeming with ferocious, undiscovered monsters and dungeons!

...However, the Garuda warriors were notoriously difficult to get along with. No matter what the players showed them, they would only scoff, "Mediocre," "Pathetic," or "And you call yourself a warrior?" It was enough to make anyone's blood pressure skyrocket.

"Ugh... I seriously want to kill them!"

"Hey, control yourself. Besides, if you fight them, you'll lose. The levels of the NPCs here are terrifying."

"..."

Hearing that, his anger was instantly managed!

"Huh? Seriously? Hey, we're in trouble!"

"??"

"I heard Kim Tae-hyun is here!"

"Really?! Kim Tae-hyun?! ...But why is that a bad thing?"

"Ah, it's just... a habit..."

Because so many crazy things happened whenever Tae-hyun appeared, players had developed a reflex to panic first!

"So Kim Tae-hyun has come to the Garuda Kingdom too... The competition is going to get fierce."

"Ugh..."

The rankers groaned. It reminded them of when the gates to the Demon Realm had first opened. Countless players and rankers had challenged it, but the one who achieved the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most spectacular results was Tae-hyun. Hadn't he literally seized a Demon Duke's castle for himself?

Latecomers had tried their best to expand their territories and discover new villages, but none of them had garnered even a fraction of the attention Tae-hyun did. If Tae-hyun swept in late this time as well and hogged all the spotlight, it would leave a very bitter taste in their mouths.

"Don't worry. Even Kim Tae-hyun will be at a disadvantage arriving this late. His past achievements only happened because he was the first to find things or did them alone. That's impossible here in the Garuda Kingdom."

"True, right? Let's go take a look at him anyway. Rumor has it he's traveling with the rest of the Korean national team."

Even the rankers were highly anticipating the World Cup. It was a tournament where hidden masters who had kept a low profile would emerge to bring glory to their nations! Normally, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high-level players were too proud and jealous of one another to openly show interest, but this time, their curiosity completely overrode their pride.

"Over there... wait, what?"

"??"

The players gasped in shock. Why on earth were all the Garuda warriors sprawled out on the side of the road?!

"Garuda warriors. Can you persuade those guys to move?" Tae-hyun asked.

"Hmph. Understood."

The Garuda warriors accompanying Tae-hyun shouted at their sprawled-out kin.

"Move out of the way!"

"No!"

"Tsk. It can't be helped. We have failed."

"..."

I was an idiot for expecting anything...

They were not a warm, cooperative race that would listen to each other just because they shared the same blood. They were the epitome of individualism!

"Out of the way! What do you think you are doing?!"

"Argh!"

"Ugh!"

"That loud, siren-like bastard...!"

Even though he was the highest-ranking NPC in the city, the players' reaction to him was overwhelmingly negative. For one, his status was so high that he was incredibly difficult to approach... and most importantly, he had a habit of unleashing an area-of-effect vocalization skill every single time he appeared. While it was common for high-level NPCs to project an aura of terror or intimidation when they showed up, none of them actually dealt raw damage like this guy did. A low-level player could literally die right inside the safe zone!

"As expected of our Chieftain! Behold that thunderous voice!"

"Of course he's a bird..."

"Doesn't it sound kind of like a rooster crowing?"

"More importantly, why are they crowding around Kim Tae-hyun like that? Don't tell me..."

An ominous feeling washed over the watching players. No way... It can't be, right?

Kim Tae-hyun! Play fair!

You always hog all the good stuff, making it impossible for us to record any decent content!

The viewers aren't coming to my stream anymore; they're all going to watch Power Warrior!

Despite the silent screams of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the players, the welcoming committee of Garuda warriors swarmed toward Tae-hyun.

"Oh, great warrior! The rumors of your magnificent deeds have echoed even across these skies!"

Tae-hyun felt a wave of relief at their friendly attitude. All that effort dragging those Garuda warriors along to clear quests was actually worth it!

"It was nothing. Surely anyone else could have completed such hunts," Tae-hyun replied humbly.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"?"

"??"

Tae-hyun and Galigoden tilted their heads in mutual confusion.

"Great warrior. What I was referring to was the weapons you crafted."

"..."

Are you kidding me...?

He had gone through all that trouble hunting monsters, only for them to ignore his hunting achievements entirely and focus on his blacksmithing. It was utterly absurd.

"We have highly skilled blacksmiths in our kingdom as well, but none of them can craft weapons like yours."

"I came here to defeat powerful foes, not to forge weapons," Tae-hyun said, his expression turning serious as he sensed the conversation heading in a dangerous direction. He wanted to leave immediately. His affinity with them was already high enough, and he had absolutely nothing to lose by declining such a request. He just wanted to find the descendant of the Archisus Holy Knights' commander and get this over with!

"Could you not forge just a few for us before you go?"

"No. I am a warrior, not a blacksmith," Tae-hyun lied smoothly without batting an eye. Technically, looking at his skills, he could easily be classified as a master blacksmith, but...

"Is there truly no way?"

"Surely you wouldn't use force to threaten a warrior who has fought so diligently for the Garuda Kingdom?"

Tae-hyun immediately readied his skills. If they tried to detain him, he would break out instantly! No matter how strong the Garuda warriors were, he had that much confidence. Especially considering who his party members were...

"If you craft those weapons for the city guards here, I will grant you not only contribution points but also the status of Vice-Chieftain, allowing you full access to every facility in the city. On top of that, I will give you a map detailing the locations of ancient dungeons that any adventurer would covet, along with the support of the Garuda warriors. And that is not all..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun and his companions fell silent at the same time. Even those who had been thinking there's no way we can accept this just a moment ago shut their mouths.

...The offer was simply too magnificent to refuse! Just getting that map of undiscovered dungeons would make their entire trip to the Garuda Kingdom more than worth it. Right now, other players were desperately digging around just to find a single dungeon...

"...I will do my absolute best!"

"...Tae-hyun...!"

"I couldn't help it, Da-bi. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, but... can you really do this all by yourself?"

Lee Da-bi looked worried. There was no one here to help Tae-hyun. If they were back in the Valley, there would be plenty of cra—no, blacksmiths they could mobilize. But here, Tae-hyun had to craft everything entirely on his own. A crafting quest of this scale was not something to be taken lightly.

However, her concern only served to ignite Tae-hyun's pride.

"Whew. Da-bi, who do you take me for...? Do you not know what they used to call me back in Pan-On 1?"

"A madman?"

"The crazy blacksmith?"

"You are all completely wrong!" Ryu Tae-su chimed in, sounding deeply offended on Tae-hyun's behalf. "To think you've traveled with Player Kim Tae-hyun for so long and still don't know his proper title! You should all be ashamed! His very first nickname was the 'Insane Blacksmith.' Over time, that morphed into 'Crazy Blacksmith' or just 'Madman'..."

At Ryu Tae-su's passionate explanation, everyone nodded in realization. "Ah..."

Tae-hyun said with a sour expression, "I was going to say 'Pan-On's Greatest Blacksmith'..."

"Ah. There was that one too."

"Now that I think about it, I believe you did have that title as well!"

Lee Se-yeon and Ryu Tae-su nodded. Come to think of it, he did have a grand title like that.

Ryu Da-young asked, looking puzzled, "But I thought blacksmithing was a profession determined by crafting, unlike PvP... Is it actually possible to determine who is the 'greatest'?"

"Well... it was true that he was the strongest among all the blacksmiths..."

"..."

The grand title of 'Pan-On's Greatest Blacksmith' was earned not just through his crafting skills, but because of his overwhelming PvP prowess. He possessed a combat ability that no other blacksmith could ever hope to match!

Don't worry, Carbanog. How much work could they possibly give me?