A Masterpiece and a Quest

"Anyway, I can handle this on my own, so why don't you guys go check out the city? You could even do some light training."

"Hmm. I actually did want to see the Garuda Kingdom..." Lee Se-yeon wavered slightly. Indeed, since other rankers had been visiting the Garuda Kingdom to do various things, she had been curious.

"But how can we just leave you behind?"

"Can't you just walk away?"

"...Right. That works!"

Se-yeon was deeply moved by Tae-hyun's eloquence, which instantly dissolved any lingering guilt. He really is incredibly considerate!

"Tae-hyun, call us if you need any help," Lee Da-bi said.

"I told you, I'm fine. I should take this opportunity to level up my blacksmithing skill."

Tae-hyun sent his companions ahead.

— Please follow me. I will guide you to the forge.

"You'll provide all the materials, right?"

— Of course.

Oh. I should pocket some of this.

As a new territory atop the Sky Island, the Garuda Kingdom yielded many rare materials. There was Sky Steel, which was several times lighter than regular steel of the same grade, and Whirlwind Stones, which were heavily infused with the wind attribute...

Stockpiling these materials would surely come in handy later. Besides, Sky Island materials had barely entered the market yet. If he swept up all the highest-grade materials in the Garuda Kingdom's warehouse...

— Are you really going to make weapons for us?

— Ohhh... Adventurer! We are truly touched!

Having heard the rumors, Garuda warriors began crowding into the kingdom's forge. Since he was doing this anyway, Tae-hyun resolved to extract the maximum possible profit.

"It is a blacksmith's honor to craft weapons for outstanding warriors like you."

— As expected...!

— He really knows his stuff!

Having defeated numerous boss monsters and possessing an incredibly high Reputation stat, Tae-hyun met every single condition to be adored by the Garuda warriors. The moment he offered to craft weapons for them, their intimacy levels exploded!

"!"

Beyond mere intimacy, the Garuda warriors were now showing interest in the Archisus Church! Tae-hyun beamed. My, they shouldn't have.

"Excellent. I shall teach you what Archisus is all about!"

— Does it take long?

— If it takes too long, then...

"..."

The Garuda warriors were brutally honest. If converting took too long, they simply wouldn't bother! However, Tae-hyun was a man who had always adapted his missionary work with extreme flexibility. If that was what they wanted, he would deliver!

"The Archisus Church is famous for being incredibly simple. All you have to do is believe. No complicated procedures are required."

— Ohhh...!

— But seriously, how can there be no procedures at all? Do we not even have to pray?

"Just pray in your head. Why make a fuss? If you absolutely must pray, just consider the act of swinging your spear as your prayer movement."

Sure, missionary work was great, but completely destroying the church's traditions and everything else... Ah, come to think of it, the Archisus Church didn't have any traditions to begin with, did it?

"Chieftain Galigoden. I would like to build a temple. Could you assist me?" Tae-hyun called out to Galigoden. One must squeeze out as much as possible when the other party is desperate! He intended to secure a promise for the temple's construction before even starting to craft.

— That is not difficult.

"Oh. Thank you."

— Just go into any of those buildings over there and use it.

"...?" Tae-hyun was taken aback. "Are those abandoned buildings?"

— They have owners.

"And you want me to just walk in and use one as a temple?"

— If you defeat the original owner, does it not become yours?

"..."

Both Tae-hyun and Carbanog fell silent. What kind of lawless land was this?! Kicking out the homeowner meant you could just take their house? What on earth...

"Well, if that is the local custom, I suppose I have no choice but to adapt."

Tae-hyun accepted and adapted within a single second! Come to think of it, since they were giving him permission to kick someone out and take their property, there was no reason for him to complain.

- Da-bi. Da-bi. If you see any building while walking around that would make a good temple, let me know, okay?

- Huh? Sure, I can do that. But why?

- Oh, to use as our temple ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠building, of course.

- Ah. I see. ...Wait, what?

"Alright. Shall we get to crafting?"

— Surely a spear is the only true weapon for a warrior! Please make me a sturdy spear that won't break no matter how many times it explodes.

"Hmm. That's not too hard."

One of the recipes for his newly acquired skill, Blacksmithing, was the Explosive Spear. He could either refine this recipe further or just craft it as is.

— Adventurer. I would like it if it could be thrown as well.

"Not a problem."

Altering the purpose or adding effects was usually a daunting task, but with a skill level like Tae-hyun's, it wasn't particularly difficult. He immediately added the throwing effect!

— And I want it to return to me.

"...I'll give it a try."

Whoa. It actually worked? Tae-hyun was surprised by his own success. Honestly, if it failed, he was just going to tell them, "It failed, so it can't be done!"

— It would be cool if you added wings to it too...

— I'd like it if it could hold more bombs...

The Garuda warriors were the ultimate nightmare customers. They didn't even know how to craft, yet they kept buzzing in his ear, demanding this and that! What was even more surprising was that Tae-hyun was actually pulling it off every single time.

Wait. Is my luck just insanely good today? Tae-hyun had a high Luck stat, but it wasn't an all-powerful cheat key. If he made overly reckless attempts during crafting, they would still fail. He felt like he had made several highly risky attempts today, yet they were all succeeding effortlessly.

Wow. I'm really on a roll today. Tae-hyun finished up the first one with a sense of pride.

Tae-hyun froze. Wait... what?

"...No. It might just be that the forge's buff and the material buffs here are so good that it was easy to make. If I try again, it might not turn out as well..."

"..."

"Se-yeon, what kind of building do you think would make a good temple?"

"I still don't understand that question..." Lee Se-yeon tilted her head.

It wasn't "Let me know if there's a good spot for a temple" or "Let me know if there's a vacant building that would work as a temple." It was literally, "Let me know if there's a building that would make a good temple." What on earth did he mean by that?

Ryu Da-young spoke up cautiously. "I think... our leader wants to seize a building and use it."

"What kind of nonsense is that, Da-young?"

"No way, Player Ryu. You must not know Kim Tae-hyun very well yet. He wouldn't go that far."

"..."

Ryu Da-young looked slightly dejected. Since the others seemed much closer to him, they were probably right...

"That building over there looks big and spacious, perfect for crowds. What is it?"

"It's the arena."

"The arena... Shall we go check it out? We can get some practice in."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to run the arena until Kim Tae-hyun comes out."

The arena on Sky Island would surely offer a unique experience. The group stepped inside the arena. Meanwhile, Lee Da-bi made a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠note.

Hmm. This building looks perfect for a temple.

An audition tournament of massive proportions, sponsored by giant Chinese conglomerates and hosted by the Guild Alliance! As the promotions began, the Pan-On community forums erupted in excitement.

The forums buzzed at the unbelievable rumor. If Tae-hyun was appearing as a judge, did that mean... if you made a good impression, you could join Team KL?!

But the public's predictions were proven wrong once again.

Su Ning nodded in satisfaction at the passionate response on the forums. It had barely been any time since the promotions started, yet the tournament was already being discussed everywhere.

It was worth the effort of dragging that bastard Kim Tae-hyun into this!

As Su Ning read through the reactions, he suddenly tilted his head. "...Wait. Wasn't this audition supposed to be only for Chinese players? Why does it say players from all over the world can participate? Is this a typo?"

"Uh... Guild Leader, didn't you tell us to do it that way? That's what I heard."

"..."

Su Ning suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "Hey, who was the executive in charge of releasing this announcement? Bring him here."

A minute later.

The executive stood before Su Ning, trembling.

"...So you just put it in without thinking?"

"N-No... Guild Leader, you said so yourself. You told us to design the conditions to entice Kim Tae-hyun... and that if we only selected from China, it wouldn't be interesting, so we should recruit globally..."

"..."