No Free Rides

Of course, there was no such thing. It was merely Tae-hyun's wishful thinking to get a free ride.

'Item Check.'

"Mmmgh!" Tae-hyun groaned in deep disappointment. It was the bitter sorrow of encountering a masterpiece after so long, only to find he couldn't wear it.

'Just looking at the raw stats, it's actually better than the armor I'm wearing right now.'

Tae-hyun's current armor was also a masterpiece among masterpieces, crafted by blending Adamantium with his own divine Authority skills. While there might be armor made by NPCs with higher Blacksmithing Skill levels or crafted from even superior materials, it was incredibly difficult to find anything that suited his class as the Avatar of Archisus as perfectly as his current gear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did.

Yet, this armor corrupted by the Hungry Chaos was highly tempting.

'Does just adding a chaos fragment make it this good?'

Carbanog grabbed Tae-hyun and shook him. Is this guy really going to sell his soul to the Hungry Chaos at this rate?!

'No, it's not like I'm actually going to make a contract with the Hungry Chaos. It's just that these chaos fragments are ridiculously overpowered.'

Tae-hyun had been a blacksmith since the days of Pan-On 1. It was only natural for his eyes to spin at the sight of rare materials. Adamantium was widely considered the ultimate material for defensive gear in Pan-On, but what if he could add an even more powerful effect on top of it?

'...I want to use it as a crafting ingredient!' Was there anywhere selling chaos fragments?

"I know that. I'm not stupid enough to wear something when I know it'll curse me."

'...I see exactly what you think of me. I have no intention of wearing it as is, but I do want to melt it down and try to extract the materials.'

It was far too wasteful to throw away, yet too sketchy to give to anyone else. Tae-hyun was determined to recycle it somehow. Once he returned to his territory, he would melt the armor down using the Sky Castle Blacksmith and the help of the dwarf blacksmith NPCs!

'The chaos fragments are one thing, but since this was originally the Erans Royal Armor, it should yield some excellent base materials.'

He was excited to see what other materials would come out of the armor besides the chaos fragments.

'And if I play my cards right, maybe I can find a way to use the chaos fragments myself without getting cursed?'

Just because you get hit gently by an arrow doesn't mean it won't hurt—was such a thing even possible? Although he possessed the Authority of Archisus, it was highly questionable whether he could neutralize the chaos fragments so easily. It would be great if it worked, but...

'By the way, this really highlights the difference between this and Idergo's Fragment. Does Idergo's Fragment not have anything like this?'

Minding his own business and suddenly getting roasted, Idergo's Fragment flared up. The fragment couldn't hold back and spoke up.

'I don't recall asking you to speak.'

[......]

Idergo's Fragment gnashed its teeth in fury. Once I merge with the other fragments and regain my power, I will absolutely crush these insolent bastards!

Idergo's Fragment was also an object containing divine power. If handled correctly, one could infuse Idergo's power into crafted items. It was just that Tae-hyun had zero interest in it! No matter how mighty the Hungry Chaos was, its power carried a high risk of cursing the user. Yet, Tae-hyun was eager to use that dangerous power while completely ignoring Idergo's, which filled the fragment with rage.

'Next item.'

'Now this is incredibly good!' Tae-hyun's face lit up. These were exactly the items he needed.

What players wanted most from accessories were special options—either powerful skills, or HP and MP recovery. And for Tae-hyun, who suffered from a severe leveling penalty, the most crucial stat of all was anything related to MP. While he could manage HP by simply not getting hit, MP was a resource he absolutely had to consume to cast his skills.

However, equipment with MP-related options was extremely rare, and even when found, they often fell short in other areas—either having low durability or weak secondary stats. Tae-hyun himself had been wearing items like his old rings and earrings for quite some time. Normally, he would have upgraded them long ago, but he had kept them solely because MP-related options were so hard to come by.

But the Erans Royal Sacred Arcane Ring, Erans Royal Sacred Arcane Earring, and Erans Royal Sacred Arcane Bracelet were different. Not only did they offer far higher MP-related options than his current gear, but their base stats were also outstanding!

'Yes. This is how it should be.' Tae-hyun felt a deep sense of satisfaction. A prince ought to carry around gear of this caliber! Tae-hyun had grown thoroughly sick of boss monsters dropping bizarre, niche items all the time. Normally, they should drop straightforwardly excellent items like these. Well, calling these "straightforwardly excellent" was an understatement—they were phenomenally good...

'It's a bit of a shame there's no necklace. But then again, I wouldn't be able to use it anyway.'

Tae-hyun's current necklace was the *Necklace of the Soul Warden*. It had 0 physical and magic defense, but it possessed a highly unusual option that allowed him to consume the souls of powerful enemies trapped inside to block attacks. The current charge was a whopping 14! Because he kept capturing souls without ever using them, it had stacked up 14 times.

'Mmm... but what if I use it now, and then I can't use it later when I actually need it?'

Even in Carbanog's eyes, Tae-hyun was being ridiculous. With his various defensive and evasion skills, not to mention his absurd survival abilities, he already boasted a cockroach-like level of vitality. It felt as though even if the Hungry Chaos were to invade the continent right this instant and sweep everything away, Tae-hyun would be the sole survivor! Yet, even in this situation, he was muttering, 'Ah, but it's such a waste...' which was utterly absurd. Just use it already! Are you planning to boil it into a soup?!

'Fine, fine. In the future...'

'...If I end up facing an enemy like a Demon Archduke... actually, make that two Demon Archdukes at once...'

Tae-hyun simply couldn't break the habit of hoarding, born from making so many enemies over his gaming career.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The final item was the King Slayer's Sword. A heinous demonic sword reminiscent of a cursed blade!

'What kind of sword is this?'

Yet, unlike other cursed swords that drained the user's HP like crazy the moment they held it, the King Slayer's Sword was actually quite straightforwardly good. Moreover, its name and performance matched perfectly. It wasn't like those joke weapons named by goblins just because they hated emperors; the King Slayer's Sword was truly specialized for fighting royalty. To think its performance would increase upon slaying royalty!

Furthermore, the skill Hungry Chaos's Penetration was absolutely terrifying. It pierced the opponent's armor to deal damage—true defense-penetrating damage that ignored the defense stats of their equipment! For a class like Tae-hyun's that relied on burst damage, this skill was a match made in heaven. He could land devastating critical hits on tanky opponents relying on their heavy gear.

'Ah, the Hungry Chaos really knows me too well.' How could it give such excellent weapons and equipment? Was it trying to seduce him?

You stole them, so what do you mean "giving" them to you...!

'Since this is just drawing its gaze rather than a direct curse, I should be able to use it if I'm careful, right?'

Normally, anyone would feel too uncomfortable to use an item that drew the gaze of the Hungry Chaos. It was highly dangerous since the Hungry Chaos might send its minions after them! But for Tae-hyun, that level of danger was just another Tuesday. After all, the line of entities trying to kill him already stretched from the Demon Realm all the way to the Central Continent. What difference would adding the Hungry Chaos to the list make...?

'...Right. I'll use it as sparingly as possible.' Come to think of it, he had indeed accumulated quite a bit of aggro with it.

Having finished checking his items, Tae-hyun turned his gaze. His guild members were hard at work reinforcing the bottom of the ship. It was time for them to learn the Blacksmithing Skill, something they had never touched in their entire lives!

"We're all done!"

- No. You are not done. Do it again.

"......"

The guild members glared at the ship. Today was the first time they realized a talking ship could be so incredibly annoying.

- Hurry! If you do not do it again, I will drop you!

"...I hope you sink..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hey. If it sinks, we die too."

No matter how much they grumbled, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one saving their lives right now was indeed this talking ship.

"By the way, is everyone promoting this?"

"Promoting what?"

"Promoting that we're here and need rescue, of course. Do you guys not have streaming accounts? Let me explain how to do it."

At Tae-hyun's words, the guild members felt a sudden surge of irritation.

'We use ours way more than you, who barely uploads anything after creating an account!'

It was utterly absurd hearing this from a guy who had barely uploaded ten videos in total.

'But that guy has dozens of times more subscribers than us...'

'......'