The Art of the Bait
"Anyone confident in their Strength stat, over here!"
"Those with Intermediate or higher Construction skills, this way!"
As the saying goes, experience breeds expertise, and this was especially true for massive construction quests. The Power Warrior Guild possessed immense know-how in this particular field—a unique brand of expertise that other guilds couldn't hope to match.
"Get these people in order!"
"We need to bring more meat. With this many people, this amount won't be nearly enough."
"Can't we just dilute it with water?"
"I'm already assuming we're diluting it! Bring more!"
Watching a chaotic crowd transform into a highly organized, massive construction site in the blink of an eye, Lee Se-yeon was honestly impressed. Only the Power Warrior Guild could manage players gathered from all corners of the globe so seamlessly. And the one who had summoned them here was none other than Tae-hyun! It was his reputation alone that had drawn such a crowd.
"We should hand out prizes to the participants on top of the Archisus Order Contribution Points."
"What kind of prizes?"
"Decent gear or items would be good, right?"
"Uh, we don't really have anything like that to spare..."
"Don't worry. I'm the one who called them here, so I should foot the bill."
Tae-hyun began pulling various items from his inventory. An incredibly diverse array of equipment suited for all kinds of classes poured out—and high-level gear at that! The members of the Power Warrior Guild stared at him in sheer bewilderment.
Where on earth did he get all this?
He's not even a Merchant class, is he...?
No, even actual Merchants don't carry around such a ridiculous variety of stock!
"Where did you get these?"
"Oh? Just spoils of war from my fights."
"..."
The truth was, they were spoils from quests and PKs! They knew Tae-hyun fought other players often, but they hadn't realized it was to this extreme. He had truly been beating down a vast and colorful array of players!
[Item registered to the quest.]
[Can be claimed upon reaching a certain amount of Contribution Points.]
[Item registered to the quest.]
[Can be claimed by the first to complete the tower's outer wall...]
...
...
"!"
"What the...?!"
The players, who had gathered purely because it was Tae-hyun's quest or simply to earn Archisus Order Contribution Points, stared at the notification windows in utter disbelief.
"Is it really okay to give away this much?"
"Isn't he being way too generous?"
The players actually began to worry about Tae-hyun. Could he possibly make any profit after giving away so much?
"...Are they all out of their minds?"
Lee Se-yeon was left speechless by their reaction. Normally, players had to be paid to do construction quests. They weren't even getting paid, so why on earth were they worrying about him?!
And yet, Kim Tae-hyun was playing right into it.
"Because I still have all of you."
"I knew it...!"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
As Tae-hyun walked around basking in the players' roaring cheers, he looked exactly like a cult leader. He was already a Pope inside the game, but it felt like he could easily start a religion in the real world too!
"Ah. Should I add some Mechanical Engineering gear to the quest rewards too?"
"I think people might get angry."
"...Fine. I won't do it then."
At Lee Da-bi's cold, realistic assessment, Tae-hyun pouted. Instead, he decided to craft some other, more ordinary engineering items.
"You're not making bombs, are you?"
"Lee Da-bi. Aren't you being a bit too distrustful of me lately?"
"N-no, that's not what I meant..."
Whenever Mechanical Engineering items were mentioned, players usually reacted with, "A bomb?"
— I bought a Mechanical Engineering item.
— A bomb?
— No, it's not a bomb. It's actually really effective.
— It's a bomb.
— I said it's not! It just malfunctions occasionally...
— So it's a bomb.
— Ah! I told you it's not!
That was just how synonymous engineering was with explosives. It didn't help that the few Mechanical Engineering blacksmiths in Pandemonium Online spent all their time frantically crafting bombs...
But as anyone could see from the Goblin NPCs, the Engineering skill was actually capable of crafting a wide variety of things, just like the Blacksmithing skill.
"I suppose the safest and most universally appealing option would be a mount, right?"
"Yes. I think people would absolutely love that."
"Well, maybe not 'absolutely.' There are so many great mounts out there already. But it shouldn't be too bad. It'll still be quite rare, after all."
A Mechanical Engineering mount was certainly a unique item. It wasn't something you could easily find anywhere. You either had to get it as a dungeon reward, visit a Goblin village, or have a player craft it...
However, players didn't necessarily have to obsess over engineering mounts. The newly discovered territories of Pandemonium Online were vast, and a steady stream of new mounts was constantly being introduced.
Starting from basic horses, wolves, tigers, and bulls, there were even rare monster mounts like wyverns, hippogriffs, and manticores.
Naturally, this sparked fierce competition among the rankers. A rare mount was a matter of pride!
— A ranker's mount speaks for them.
— Anyone here riding a phoenix? If you see a phoenix from now on, bow your head.
— Where can you get that death horse Lee Se-yeon rides?
— That's class-exclusive, so it's impossible for others. Personally, I'm more curious about that dragon-like mount Kim Tae-hyun rides. Where on earth did he get that?
— Isn't it a real dragon?
— Are you crazy? A real dragon? If that were true, how many dragons would Kim Tae-hyun even have? It's probably just a dragon-like monster, like a wyvern.
In any case, with so many diverse mounts available, there was no absolute need to fixate on engineering mounts.
— That motorcycle Kim Tae-hyun rides is so cool, where do they sell it?
— He made it himself.
— I heard engineering mounts aren't even that good. You have to feed them fuel, they don't heal when damaged, and you have to repair them manually.
— How do you know so well? Have you ridden one?
— No, but it sounds plausible.
— ...
— ...
— It's not wrong though. Honestly, engineering mounts are just overhyped because they're rare.
— True, true.
...Of course, a lot of this was just sour grapes from people who couldn't get one, desperately claiming, "That mount is definitely trash!"
— Kim Tae-hyun is giving away Mechanical Engineering mounts!
— WHAT!??!?!
— WHERE!! WHERE!!!! WHERE!!!!!
— ...Didn't you guys just say engineering mounts are overhyped?
— *Cough.* Well, yes, they are overhyped, but we just want to see *how* overhyped they actually are.
— Exactly. I want to get one just to compare it to my current mount and see how garbage it is...
Despite their words, they desperately wanted one. Rarity itself was a massive selling point. On top of that, it came with the premium label of being crafted by Kim Tae-hyun! Riding one of those on a stream would guarantee a massive audience.
— They're giving them away as rewards for the Archisus Church tower construction quest right now?
— ...U-uh, wait... You want me to do manual labor at my level?
— Who said you had to? I was just letting you know.
— H-hmph. I have absolutely no intention of going.
— Yeah, me neither.
— Who would even go for that? My current mount is already more than enough.
This guy is definitely going.
I bet this bastard is already on his way...
Tae-hyun didn't put an extraordinary amount of effort into crafting the Mechanical Engineering mounts. He simply used ordinary materials to make ordinary things! Yet, because they were crafted by a master, their quality was guaranteed.
[You have crafted a Mechanical Engineering Mount!]
[You have crafted a Mechanical Engineering Mount!]
[You have crafted a Mechanical Engineering Mount!]
[You have crafted a Mechanical Engineering Mount!]
...
...
Because he crafted them with a relaxed mind, all sorts of experimental designs emerged. The most striking of them all was a mount that looked exactly like a bomb!
"...Doesn't this look incredibly ominous?"
"Hmm. I wanted to see how a spherical design would turn out, but it does look a bit threatening."
The concept was to straddle a giant, ball-shaped bomb and fly through the air, which was indeed a bit...
"But hey, the player count has definitely increased."
Once Tae-hyun put up the custom mounts as rewards, even players who had zero interest in the construction quest began flocking to the site to get their hands on the prizes.
"Out of the way, you bastards! That gear is mine!"
"What a ridiculous claim. Why on earth is it yours?"
"Because Kim Tae-hyun stole it from me!! It was originally mine!"
"..."
"..."
A sudden, solemn silence fell over the crowd!
It turned out that many players hadn't come just for the mounts, but to reclaim their own stolen equipment.
"Is Player Kim Tae-hyun here?"
"?"
Tae-hyun turned his head at the shout. A group of familiar-looking players stood before him. Judging by their high-end gear, they were clearly rankers...
"Oh, it's the Black Rock Sect."
Lee Se-yeon recognized them instantly. Like her own guild, they operated as a small, elite group. While they weren't as massively famous as the giant guilds, they were well-known for their solid skills.
"Who was the Black Rock Sect again?"
"The ones you helped with the Crying Sword quest, Tae-hyun."
"Who helped whom?!"
The members of the Black Rock Sect flared up. Anyone listening would think Tae-hyun had helped them out of the goodness of his heart. The Black Rock Sect had suffered immensely to complete Gu Sung-wook's class quest. While the rewards had been spectacular, they honestly never wanted to do a quest with Tae-hyun ever again. It was painful, exhausting, and utterly draining!
"What brings you here?"
"Well, you see..."
They were trying to craft the legendary sword, Ure. But to do that, they needed to forge the precursor sword, the Crying Sword, in a forge containing the Primeval Fire to complete the final step...
Phil, the blacksmith of the Black Rock Sect, had previously rushed to try it at the Valley's forge after seeing a system message, only to end up snapping the blade. Fortunately, luck had been on their side. When the Archisus Church's angel descended upon the Valley, triggering a wave of masterwork successes, Phil had managed to craft another Crying Sword. He absolutely could not afford to break this one!
— No matter how I think about it, Kim Tae-hyun definitely has a forge with the Primeval Fire.
— For sure. He's a lord and a king, so he must have secret facilities. Lord's privilege—he can use every facility in his territory! Even the secret ones players can't access!
No matter how they looked at it, Tae-hyun had to possess a forge with the Primeval Fire. Otherwise, there was no way those Primeval Fire-related buffs could have appeared.
— ...Who's going to go ask Kim Tae-hyun?
— Let's draw straws. The loser goes.
— Rock-paper-scissors. The loser...
They were a tight-knit guild, treating each other's business like their own family affairs, but this time was different. We hate Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun is terrifying!!
Gu Sung-wook had spoken up resolutely.
— I'll go by myself!
— Great. Do your best.
— Good luck, Sung-wook.
— ...U-uh, wait? Usually, this is where you guys say, 'I'll go with you!'...?
That was just how terrifying Tae-hyun was to them.
— ...How could we send Sung-wook alone? Let's go together. We're guildmates, after all.
— *Ugh*... I guess we have no choice...
— Let's not worry too much. It's not like we're guaranteed to get a hard quest. And look, they're doing a construction quest right now. We could probably just do that.
— We have to do a construction quest?
— Would you rather follow Kim Tae-hyun around on his active quests instead?
— Construction quests are amazing! Healthy sweat, healthy mind!
"You want to use the forge with the Primeval Fire?"
"Yes. We'll do anything. Should we go help build the tower?"
"No. I couldn't possibly make you do that."
At Tae-hyun's words, the faces of the Black Rock Sect members lit up.
"I'm actually about to head out for a raid. Would you mind helping me with that instead? I happened to need some extra hands."
"Well, if it's just that... But what kind of boss monster are we raiding?"
"Though, I'm not sure if the Black Rock Sect has the skills for this."
"What do you mean by that?! We know you're strong, Mr. Kim Tae-hyun, but we aren't weak either!"
The moment Tae-hyun subtly provoked them, the guild members took the bait hook, line, and sinker. They had absolutely no idea they had just stepped right into a quest to assassinate the 1st Prince of Erangs Kingdom.