The Art of Misunderstanding

Su Ning was deeply moved by his executive's incredible ability to understand his incoherent rambling perfectly.

"Drop dead, you bastard!"

"Guild Leader! You have to hold back! If someone records this and uploads it, we're done!"

"Krrgh...!"

It didn't matter back when they were just a ragtag group of players running around together, but now, the Guild Alliance was a massive business funded by corporate investments. If a video of Su Ning grabbing an executive by the collar and hurling abuse leaked, he would face instant public backlash, and investors would start asking if he had lost his mind.

Su Ning barely managed to control his rage.

"Change it! Did we spend a fortune hosting this tournament just to watch foreign bastards steal the spotlight? Do you have any idea what people are saying about me?!"

"Yes! I figured you'd be curious, so I looked into it. People are saying things like, 'Did they finally lose their minds?', 'Wow, is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Guild Alliance for real? My heart is swelling with pride...', and 'Did the Guild Alliance post the wrong announcement by mistake?'"

"...Who the hell promoted this bastard to executive?"

Su Ning was utterly flabbergasted. Come to think of it, the guy's face looked strangely unfamiliar. Granted, the Guild Alliance had an enormous player base, which naturally meant a massive number of executives. Because of this, personnel changes were surprisingly frequent, save for a few founding members. Even so, this guy was a complete stranger.

"Guild Leader Su Ning. That's Jiaxuan."

"Jiaxuan, Jiahuan, whatever! Why should I care?!"

"...He's the son of the chairman who invested in us recently. That's why we fast-tracked him to an executive position."

"......."

Only then did Su Ning's memory spark. When wealthy investors poured astronomical sums into the Guild Alliance, they would casually drop hints like, 'Haha, my boy is just so passionate about Pan-On. Could you find a spot for him in your guild?' or 'Since he's joining, surely you can give him an executive position, right?' Who in their right mind could say no to that?

—Of course! We in the Guild Alliance will take excellent care of him! Making him a ranker will be a breeze!

...That was exactly what they had promised.

"J-Jiaxuan. Calm down. Now that I think about it, your research is actually quite... useful."

"Oh! Really?! Thank you, Guild Leader!"

"Of course. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is the intent."

The other executives marveled at this unprecedented display of generosity from Su Ning. Money truly is the ultimate anger management tool!

"Thank you. Actually, I'm a huge fan of Kim Tae-hyun, so I know exactly what kind of offer would tempt him."

"......."

Is he about to draw his sword?

We have to stop him...

Somehow, Su Ning managed to hold back once more.

"*Grind... grind.* Right... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠*whew.* Just issue a correction immediately."

"...Uh, Guild Leader."

"What?"

"If we issue a correction now... wouldn't that be a bit risky? Besides, the message has probably already reached Kim Tae-hyun. He must think this is the official offer."

"...Aaaaaaargh!"

"!??"

"The Guild Leader is going berserk!"

"Get Jiaxuan out of here!"

Jiaxuan was dragged away by the other executives, looking completely bewildered.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He gets like this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sometimes, so just get used to it! Oh, and keep this a secret from your father, okay?"

Was I too arrogant?

For the first time in a long while, Tae-hyun felt a pang of regret.

Even if he beat the abysmal odds of the first stage and succeeded, he had to pass the second stage right after. Fortunately, thanks to his absurd Luck stat and high skill levels, failing the second stage rarely forced him to start all the way from scratch. Even so, the difficulty was undeniable.

Pass stage one, pass stage two, pass stage three...

And the most ridiculous part of it all was that Tae-hyun himself was the one who had cranked the difficulty up this high.

No, seriously. Sure, I let my guard down a bit, but succeeding so easily on the very first try was weird. Did Akisus pull some strings behind my back?

Honestly, who could have predicted things would turn out like this when he first started the job?

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"We could help you, you know?"

"No... it's fine."

The Garuda blacksmiths offered to help, but Tae-hyun sighed and turned them down. He had already learned his lesson the hard way.

The Garuda blacksmiths were incredible NPC craftsmen who possessed Advanced or even Master-grade Blacksmithing skills, but without a high Engineering skill, they were nothing but a hindrance when it came to crafting mechanical equipment.

"Then we'll cheer you on from the sidelines!"

"Great idea! Cheer! Cheer!"

Ugh. These winged orcs are seriously the worst.

At least regular Orcs had the excuse of looking savage. The Garuda warriors had perfectly normal, decent faces, which made their obnoxious behavior feel even more malicious.

...I'm going to have to start wearing a disguise!

In the end, Tae-hyun successfully cleared the quest. No matter how brutal the difficulty, it wasn't enough to stop him. This was the power of Blacksmithing forged through countless trials!

"What, you've finished already?!"

"I thought it would take much longer. We can definitely assign you more work next time."

"......."

"It was exhausting meeting you all in this forge, and I hope we never see each other again."

"Haha, yes. It was great meeting you too."

"Meeting a blacksmith like you was truly a joy for us fellow craftsmen."

His Eloquence skill and high affinity beautifully repackaged his harsh words into a heartwarming farewell! Tae-hyun almost blurted out, 'You guys are basically Orcs,' but held back. Even his Eloquence skill might not be able to spin that one.

"Just hand over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the rewards."

His tone immediately turned blunt, but the Garuda didn't mind in the slightest.

Wait, why is everything so ominous...?

There wasn't a single normal, useful building in sight—only bizarre facilities! But then, his eyes caught the last line.

Whew. Right. This is more like it.

Tae-hyun smiled with satisfaction. All that suffering had been worth it! Wasn't this exactly why he had endured all that hardship? To obtain the locations of these hidden dungeons?

I can run these dungeons to farm reputation, raise my standing, and sweep up the rewards.

Since these were unreleased dungeons on Sky Island, they were bound to be packed with never-before-seen equipment and treasures.

"Greetings, everyone."

"Oh! It's our kingdom's Myriarch!"

"He might be a Myriarch who couldn't even hunt down the flying beast, Kaozedacha, but a Myriarch is still a Myriarch!"

"Indeed! The chieftain appointed him, so even if it's pathetic and disgraceful, he's still our Myriarch!"

"...??"

The Garuda blacksmiths' sheer talent for provocation—which could easily drive even a priest of the Demer Church to violence—left Tae-hyun thoroughly bewildered. Just what kind of sin did this guy commit to deserve such a roasting?

"Ugh..."

Baudouin, who held the Epic Class [Myriarch], ground his teeth. As a member of the French national team, he was a famous rising ranker. Having entered the Garuda Kingdom ahead of everyone else and successfully cleared the Epic Class advancement quest, he had recently enjoyed an explosion of popularity.

But every star has their own hidden struggles. Playing in the Garuda Kingdom had been a source of immense, non-stop stress for Baudouin.

At first, he had thought, 'Well, I can handle a penalty of this level.' He had been dead wrong. Every single time he met an NPC, they would yell, *"Hey! It's the Myriarch who couldn't even catch a Kaozedacha!"* or *"Well, well! If it isn't the Myriarch who failed against the Kaozedacha!"* It was enough to drive anyone insane.

He wanted nothing more than to lose his mind and slaughter them all!

"Just... give me my weapon..."

"Right! You couldn't catch the Kaozedacha, but you still need a weapon. Of course."

"Having thick skin is a talent in itself. We're so lucky our Myriarch has such a thick face!"

I think I see tears welling up in his eyes...

"W-What are you looking at?!"

Baudouin barked in anger. He had assumed there were only NPCs inside the forge, but on closer inspection, there was another player. How on earth did he get in here?

"Uh... sorry about that. Did I just witness something embarrassing?"

"...Shut up! Keep your mouth shut!"

Normally, if someone spoke to Tae-hyun like that, his response would have been along the lines of, 'Sure, let me drive a sword through your throat to shut you up.' But today, Tae-hyun showed a rare moment of mercy. He could genuinely understand the guy's sheer embarrassment.

Many rankers were obsessively protective of their public image. Some would even calculate the perfect angle before casting a single skill! While it might look ridiculous to an outsider, it was a crucial part of professional self-management. In a highly competitive landscape teeming with rankers, thorough image-making and self-discipline were essential to stand out and maintain popularity.

Of course, Tae-hyun didn't forget to record the entire interaction. He would send it to Lee Da-bi as a little present!

Lee Da-bi is going to love this.

"How did you even get in here? This isn't a place just anyone can... K-Kim Tae-hyun?!"

Baudouin recognized Tae-hyun and gasped in shock.

Oh, impressive.

Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. In a mere tenth of a second, the guy's arrogant posture shifted into one of utmost politeness! His wide, cocky stance narrowed, and his puffed-up, arrogant shoulders slumped into a respectful bow.

"...I heard rumors that Kim Tae-hyun had returned, but to think you'd be in a forge like this..."

"Honestly, I didn't expect to end up here either."

"...Whew. Fine. If it's you, Kim Tae-hyun, it makes sense that you could enter. I acknowledge your ability."

"What is a Myriarch who couldn't even catch a Kaozedacha acknowledging?"

"Is our Myriarch's face made of Adamantium? How dare you act smug in front of the great Sky Blacksmith when you couldn't even hunt a Kaozedacha?"

"Just shut your mouth and take your weapon."

"......."

Baudouin's face flushed a deep, burning crimson. Tae-hyun clicked his tongue in pity.

"Just how badly did you fail your quest to get treated like this?"

"I only made one mistake, but I've never seen such a crazy race in my life...!"

"Why don't you just leave instead of stressing yourself out?"

"I can't. I have to receive my weapon. I'm restricted to using only Garuda weapons."

Baudouin had his own set of struggles. His class advancement came with heavy restrictions, one of which forced him to exclusively use weapons crafted by the Garuda race.

"Myriarch who couldn't catch the Kaozedacha. Here is a weapon far too good for you, so take it with gratitude."

"I absolutely hate giving such a weapon to someone who couldn't even defeat the Kaozedacha, but we have no choice. Take it."

I hope they all drop dead.

Baudouin thought viciously as he stepped forward... toward the pile of weapons Tae-hyun had just crafted!

"...Wait. I don't think you should take that..."

"What do you mean? Don't tell me someone of your stature is trying to keep me down?"