The Burden of Misunderstandings

Cain stared up at the sky. Not a single cloud — just endless, clear blue.

A thought crept in uninvited.

How badly must I have sinned for the world to treat me like this?

Then, a sudden epiphany. What was a game, really? Just ones and zeros — and yet he'd spent years tormenting people inside it. Maybe this was karma. Maybe meeting someone like Tae-hyun, and then getting tangled up with these idiots under him, was simply the universe settling its accounts.

Cain spoke with great patience. He'd noticed, recently, that his patience had grown considerably.

"I'm saying — listen up, you little — "

Griiind. The sound of teeth scraping together was perfectly audible.

"I don't exactly want to go around with that Kim Tae-san guy, so the two of you can just go together on your own, okay? So there's really no need for you to worry about including me or — "

Mid-sentence, voices drifted over from somewhere nearby.

"Don't you feel like you've seen that guy before?"

"Really? Never seen gear like that."

"Not the gear — the skills. I feel like I've seen those skills somewhere."

"…!"

Cain froze.

Right now he was wearing the armor the blacksmiths had newly crafted for him, visor down, face completely hidden. Under normal circumstances, no one should be able to recognize him at a glance. But his skills — those he couldn't hide. Apparently one of the nearby party members had caught a glimpse and something had clicked.

Not that they'd jumped straight to Cain, of course.

Come on. The guild leader of Red Zone wouldn't be out here brawling in the field with his guildmates in some discount armor. That's way too ridiculous.

But from Cain's perspective, cold sweat was already running down his back. He couldn't afford to linger.

He went quiet. Kim Ji-sahn noticed immediately.

"Why'd you stop mid-sentence?"

Cain had frozen right at "there's really no need for you to worry about including me." He swallowed something bitter and forced the words out.

"…I meant there is a need."

"I knew it!"

"Called it!"

"Let's be friends from here on out — actual friends!"

Tears welling up somewhere inside him, Cain threw an arm around the blacksmiths' shoulders and let himself be dragged toward the Kingdom Army camp where Tae-hyun was waiting.

"Good. Finally some quiet."

Completely unaware that Cain was outside forging the bonds of brotherhood with three blacksmiths, Tae-hyun was getting down to business.

Time to claim his next Authority of Archisus.

Yes.

…?

A warning. The second Authority had come with one.

The first had said: Your name becomes known in each temple. The second said: It is carved there once more. You would be wise to watch yourself.

Tae-hyun was beginning to feel genuinely uneasy. What kind of quest was this building toward…?

The message window wasn't finished.

…!

Every time he claimed an Authority, the levels on his other class skills went up — that alone was cause for celebration. And Summon Divine Beast especially. Yong-yong had eaten so much of his Luck stat that the dragon was currently curled up somewhere, wheezing and purring, completely useless in a fight. The faster that recovery could happen, the better.

But right now — the Blessing of Archisus. What kind of skill is this?

Heart thumping with anticipation, Tae-hyun pulled up the skill description.

…!

Tae-hyun's expression shifted into something like awe.

He already knew that every Authority of Archisus was powerful — but each one somehow managed to exceed what he'd imagined. The Blessing of Archisus was no different. Nothing like Summon Divine Beast, but powerful in its own completely distinct way.

This isn't a solo skill. This is something you use when you have people around you.

The idea was simple enough: share his Luck with whatever subordinates or party members he happened to be traveling with. For most players, a skill like that would be nearly worthless — a party buff built around a stat most builds ignored entirely. But Tae-hyun's Luck was a four-digit number. The moment he shared it, the effect would be staggering.

Blessing of Archisus.

…!

Tae-hyun blinked. Not because of the effect.

Nearly half my MP — gone?

The skill announced its own power through sheer cost. The Avatar of Archisus was not a class that spent its MP lightly.

And the duration — brutally short.

Going to need to think carefully about how I use this one.

Tae-hyun cancelled the skill and got to his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feet. It wasn't as convenient as he'd hoped, but that was fine. More than fine, actually. A demanding skill rewarded the player who knew how to use it — and that was exactly Tae-hyun's kind of game.

Let me grab some of the knights first and run a few tests—

A column of fire erupted from somewhere inside the Valley and tore straight into the sky.

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

The sound hit like a physical blow, like something was trying to rip the sky apart. And before the echo even finished rolling across the hills, a system window snapped open.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Did the Sadiq Order just deploy a secret weapon?!"

"I knew something was going on inside — that's why they were stalling us out here!"

"What do we do?"

"What do you think?! Move! We kill that thing, the Sadiq Order is finished!"

The players who had gathered outside began surging to life. Nobody seemed particularly concerned by the system's warning to run. That wasn't surprising. Everyone here had been grinding away at this massive quest for hours — fighting Sadiq paladins, battling through waves of magic beasts, cutting down priests one after another. There was no way they were retreating now. Not after everything they'd put in. You reap what you sow.

"Let's go! We get there first, we get the kill!"

A couple of bold, quick-footed parties sprinted ahead, and the rest of the crowd took that as their cue. The objective was clear: the Sadiq Order and the Fire Magic Beast they had summoned.

But here and there, a handful of sharper players slowed down, heads tilting with something like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unease.

"…Why does the Fire Magic Beast have 'Berserk' in front of its name?"

Of everyone currently present in or around this valley, which player had the clearest picture of what was actually happening?

Tae-hyun.

The Sadiq Order outside the walls didn't truly understand it. The assembled players didn't understand it either. But Tae-hyun knew — because he was the reason.

So it broke out after all.

He'd considered the possibility that the Fire Magic Beast might force its way out. Apparently it had. Honestly, he'd gotten lucky. The explosion that had sent the creature into a frenzy had been entirely accidental.

"Tae-hyun-nim! The magic beast the Sadiq Order summoned just appeared!"

"We should charge now!"

His knights came flooding in, expressions bright and eager. The perfect opportunity to distinguish themselves!

"No. Hold."

"…?!"

But Tae-hyun made them wait.

Charging in right now would be monumentally stupid.

If they moved now, they'd have to deal with both the Sadiq Order and a berserk Fire Magic Beast at the same time. But if they waited just a few minutes, those two would handle each other. The players out there still hadn't figured it out, but that berserk beast wasn't on the Sadiq Order's side. It was a natural disaster with teeth — and it had just come from inside the Order's own walls. They'd be the first ones it hit.

There was no reason to take damage they didn't have to take.

"Give it time. They'll fight each other and wear themselves down."

Tae-hyun had clocked exactly how powerful the Fire Magic Beast was. This wasn't some mid-tier boss that a typical raiding party could sleepwalk through — this thing was on another level entirely. Running toward it while it was at full strength was the kind of decision that got your entire party wiped.

He'd just finished explaining this to his knights when the three blacksmiths came tumbling in.

"Tae-san-nim! Tae-san-nim! They're saying the Sadiq Order is leading a magic beast this way!"

"We should go too!"

"…You lot." Tae-hyun stared at them, genuinely baffled. "At least my knights can hold their own in a fight. What exactly are you planning to contribute?"

The gap between his knights and these three was roughly the distance between heaven and the ocean floor. And yet the blacksmiths were unfazed.

Kim Ji-sahn thumped his chest.

"We can't fight directly, but we can support from behind!"

"…Huh. That's actually not entirely useless."

Tae-hyun's mood shifted slightly. Whatever their skill level, he had a soft spot for people who pushed forward regardless.

"Yes! Just like always — pre-battle buffs, of course — but we're also planning to fight directly alongside Cain-nim on the front line!"

"…?"

For a moment Tae-hyun wondered if he'd heard that wrong. These three — fighting on the front line. Sure, Tae-hyun himself had done absolutely everything as a blacksmith back in Fantasy Online 1. But these three? These were the type who hid behind rocks the second combat started. The run-away-first-ask-questions-later type.

What happened?

Combat-oriented blacksmiths weren't unheard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of in Fantasy Online 2 — there were a few of them out there. In truth, Tae-hyun himself had pioneered the whole fighting-blacksmith archetype back in FO1, and some players had been inspired enough to follow in his footsteps — though that connection never occurred to him. Either way, these three had never been that kind of player.

"What did you say to them?" Tae-hyun turned and jabbed Cain on the shoulder.

Cain averted his eyes, expression thoroughly defeated. "It — it wasn't my fault."

"Looks like it was. What did you feed them that turned these cowards into volunteers? And what's this about them fighting alongside you, specifically?"

"So, what happened was — "

Cain began to explain, doing his utmost to look as pitiable as possible.

I was just wandering around the area, right, not doing anything, and I ran into those guys from that guild — you know, the ones who love PK-ing innocent people. I couldn't just walk away and let them go bother someone else, so I stepped in—

"In other words," Tae-hyun cut in, "you were out there hunting them down for revenge."

"…Yeah."

Cain admitted it without much of a fight. There was no point lying to Tae-hyun about something like this.

Tae-hyun tapped him lightly on the head, the look on his face saying everything.

"You idiot. Revenge? Really? You? After everything you did with that guild, you want to play the victim?"

"I — that's — ! I'm allowed to want revenge too! I'm a person! A person! Wouldn't you be furious?!"

"Sure, I'd go for revenge. But you? No. You ran with those people. You did the same things they did. You don't get to clutch your pearls now."

Cain opened his mouth. Then closed it. Six arms, ten mouths — it wouldn't have mattered. He had nothing.

"And if they'd recognized your face while you were out there playing hero, that would've been hilarious. You've died so many times at this point I'm starting to think death doesn't scare you anymore. At this rate, just tattoo 'Hi, I'm Cain, former guild leader of Red Zone' on your forehead and be done with it."

"I — I had my helmet on! I kept my identity hidden! Nobody recognized me!"

"Pray it stays that way. Because if someone comes looking for you and yelling 'Where's Cain!', I will hand you over without a second thought."

Not a shred of mercy in those words. Cain bristled.

"I never asked you to protect me!"

"Right. So those three saw whatever you were doing and completely misread the situation, and now they're emotionally inspired by you."

"…Seems like it."

"I kind of get Ji-sahn and Seong-chan," Tae-hyun said, "but Woo Jeong-sik? That guy acts like he's the smartest person in every room. How does someone like that have zero ability to read people?"

Every word was painfully, precisely accurate. Cain found himself nodding along against his will.

Thwack.

"Stop nodding when I'm talking about you. It's creepy."

"…"

Deep in what remained of his dignity, Cain made himself a quiet promise.

Someday. Someday I am getting away from this lunatic.