The Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild

"Aaaaah! Save me!"

"Run! Run!"

From the looks of it, the players currently fleeing were complete novices. Their beginner gear was mismatched and thrown together without any sense of cohesion, and their fighting style was incredibly clumsy.

Helping out players you happened to run into in the field was part of the fun of gaming!

Kim Tae-san spun his hammer in a circle and hurled it forward.

It was the skill Returning Hammer of Wrath!

The hammer erupted with a crimson aura, spinning furiously through the air before striking the chasing Orcs dead-on.

Boom!

"Nice shot, Guild Leader!"

As the Orc guild members behind him clapped, Kim Tae-san grimaced.

"Didn't I tell you guys to stop doing that? It's embarrassing!"

"Maybe it's because I'm getting up there in years, but my memory keeps slipping..." Yang Sung-gyu replied slyly.

Kim Tae-san shook his head. When it came to being shameless and slippery, Yang Sung-gyu was practically identical to Tae-hyun.

"Th-thank you so much!"

The fleeing players panted heavily as they stared up at Kim Tae-san and the other guild members.

They were intimidating, dignified Orc ahjussis!

They were armed with all kinds of high-tier equipment, but their appearance was far from majestic. Because they had equipped whatever items had the best stats regardless of aesthetics, the guild members looked like a band of barbarians from some remote borderland. And on top of that, their race was Orc...

"Eek!"

"...?"

When the players shrank back in fear, Kim Tae-san tilted his head in confusion.

"Why are they reacting like that?"

"Isn't it because we look too damn cool?"

"Is that so?"

"Well, we *are* pretty handsome. Back in my school days, the love letters I used to get..."

"Come on, hyung-nim. That story again? You went to an all-boys high school!"

"Hey! I got them from girls at other schools!"

"Other schools, my foot. Didn't you just threaten your juniors and force them to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠write them? That sounds way more plausible! And look at this belly. Look at all this fat!"

"Th-this is only because I chose an Orc! In real life, my stomach doesn't stick out this much!"

As the older men bickered back and forth, the three young players wore utterly bewildered expressions. It was a squabble that they, as young men, couldn't relate to in the slightest.

"Ahem. You don't need to pay attention to them."

"Ah. Thank you. By any chance, what is your username?"

"Kim Tae-san. And these are my guild members."

"Wow! What's the name of your guild?"

"Choi..."

"Choi?"

"Choi, Choigang..."

Suddenly trying to say it out loud made him feel strangely embarrassed. Kim Tae-san hesitated. Seeing this, one of the guild members beside him immediately chimed in.

"It's the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild."

"The... Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild...?"

"What do you think? Great name, right? Want to join us?"

"..."

The players were well aware that the Orcs standing before them were high-level experts. Joining such a guild was a rare opportunity. Being offered an invitation was incredibly lucky.

But... but...!

'The name is so tacky!'

It was a reason they couldn't possibly utter out loud. The sheer, unadulterated old-school vibe radiating from these middle-aged men was overwhelming!

"W-we're okay."

"Yes. We prefer to progress using our own strength."

The guild members had no intention of forcing them. When the players declined, they simply nodded and went back to chatting among themselves.

"Is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that so? Then it can't be helped. Work hard!"

"You guys remind me of my son. It's good to see."

"Does your son play games too, hyung-nim?"

"Are you crazy? He's in his senior year of high school. If I caught him playing, I'd immediately run over and break his... wait, no, it'd be better to just PK his character."

The conversation only grew more seasoned with age the longer they listened! The players bowed politely in gratitude and went on their way.

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

"But doesn't the name Kim Tae-san sound familiar?"

"Ah. That Kim Tae-hyun guy used to go around using the name Kim Tae-san."

"Right! That's it! Then that guy must be a fan of Kim Tae-hyun. He probably copied the name because he's a fan."

Twitch!

Kim Tae-san snapped his head around. The words of the departing players had struck a major nerve.

'What the hell are they talking about?'

Him, a fan of Tae-hyun? What a humiliating thing to say!

"What are those kids talking about?"

"I think they're saying you're Tae-hyun's fan, Guild Leader."

"What kind of bullshit is that?!"

Kim Tae-san yelled in frustration, but the other guild members remained completely indifferent.

"Well, strictly speaking, isn't it true?"

"We all know you're a doting father."

No one took Kim Tae-san's side. Frustrated, Tae-san beat his chest.

"No, you bastards! When did I ever do that?!"

"Guild Leader, let's be honest. We've known each other for years..."

"You've seen that kid in person! You know how shameless he is, and you can still say that?!"

"I think he learned all of that from you, hyung-nim..."

When Yang Sung-gyu said that, the other ahjussis nodded in agreement. It was an undeniable truth!

"Y-you bastards... that's not what's important right now! From now on, whenever I tell people my name, there are going to be others who misunderstand like that!"

"Just tell them you're not a fan."

"Do you think they'd believe me?"

"Then tell them he's your son."

"Should I just do that?"

As Kim Tae-san muttered and turned away, the guild members exchanged glances. In that moment, their minds aligned perfectly.

'Don't you think they'd believe the "son" thing even less?'

'Who cares? It's funny.'

The sight of the loving father and son was always heartwarming.

"Tae-hyun-nim. Wouldn't it have been better to take a boat from Genoma City?"

"Do you really want to get on a boat after going through all that misery?"

"..."

The reason Tae-hyun chose to travel by land instead of taking a boat was because of the Caterand Pirates. Although they had been completely destroyed and dismantled, the pirates and monsters of the sea were still a threat.

Furthermore, Tae-hyun was a person who possessed a certain title and item!

'I have a bad feeling that if I go by sea, I'll get dragged into some forced quest.'

If he absolutely had to do a quest, he wanted to do it after being fully prepared. He had no desire to be dragged away while simply traveling.

The well-paved road was peaceful. In the surrounding fields, a few players ran around hunting monsters. No one paid any attention to Tae-hyun's party. Players of this level were a common sight on this road.

- Master. Why must I be subjected to this?

Yong-yong, shrunk down to a miniature size, was clinging to Tae-hyun's side.

"If you're in your giant form, you'll attract too much attention."

Tae-hyun answered casually and gripped his sword once more.

Tae-hyun was deliberately honing his skills under penalty conditions!

The blacksmiths following behind him looked utterly incredulous.

"Can't you just get off the horse and do it?"

"If I do it on the horse and off the horse, that's double the practice."

"..."

Having finished the repairs, Tae-hyun tossed the longsword to Rufo and spoke.

"I'm not even a blacksmith and I'm putting in this much effort. You guys are actual blacksmiths, yet you're slacking off like this?"

"Excuse me? When did we ever slack off...!"

"We worked incredibly hard!"

The blacksmiths looked at Tae-hyun with deeply wronged expressions. They had worked tirelessly, dealing with countless customers as blacksmiths in the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. They felt they had worked several times harder since meeting Tae-hyun than they ever had in their entire lives. To be called lazy was deeply unfair!

"If you're playing around while I'm working, that's slacking."

"..."

Tae-hyun was the absolute epitome of an exploitative boss.

"Instead of wasting time feeling self-satisfied about how diligent you are by your own standards, why don't you work on one more item? By the way, do you guys know his magic skill is Advanced?"

Tae-hyun pointed toward Jeong Su-hyeok.

At that, Woo Jeong-sik let out a chuckle.

"...?"

"Come on, making a joke like that. You don't have to lie to get us to raise our skills."

"..."

Tae-hyun stared blankly at Woo Jeong-sik. Woo Jeong-sik flinched. Tae-hyun staring like that usually meant something terrible was about to happen.

"You have many good... actually, no. You barely have any good points, but one of your biggest problems is that you always judge things by your own narrow standards."

Tae-hyun never said things he didn't mean.

Woo Jeong-sik, dumbfounded, asked, "What did I do that was so wrong..."

"Didn't you run your mouth on the forums after seeing an item post before, and end up having to bow your head and apologize?"

"Heh, how did you know that...?"

"And you still haven't apologized, have you? Even after going through that, you still talk like this? You really are stubborn."

"I didn't apologize! Besides, that person never showed up anyway!"

Tae-hyun shook his head. Woo Jeong-sik seemed to pride himself on being slightly smarter than Kim Ji-sahn or Park Seong-chan, but in Tae-hyun's eyes, all three were on the exact same level.

By now, shouldn't he have realized that the dagger's stats had something to do with Tae-hyun's Lucky Blacksmith's Technique?

'Well, it's their own lives.'

He had no intention of dragging along people who didn't want to grow and forcing them to. Tae-hyun was cold in this regard.

'Only those who follow will follow!'

Tae-hyun shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand to Rufo. Rufo pulled out another sword and handed it over.

Before departing, Tae-hyun had packed plenty of items from the merchant group to practice on. After all, he had three walking bags with high weight limits following him.

"Achoo!"

Kim Ji-sahn sneezed while walking.

"Is someone talking about me?"

"Who knows?"

Tae-hyun ignored them and held the sword, this time activating his Engineering skill.

The Additional Modification skill. It was a skill that allowed an engineer to modify and craft items however they pleased. While the ability to freely alter blueprints was highly attractive, Engineering always had one major drawback.

Side effects!

Because of those unstable, uncontrollable side effects, Engineering was highly unpopular.

The name alone sounded ominous!

The blacksmiths following behind had no idea Tae-hyun was fiddling with a bomb and trying to stuff it inside a longsword. If they knew, they would have recoiled in horror and scrambled away immediately!

"Tae-hyun-nim, but aren't you overreacting a bit?"

"About what?"

"This disguise."

"Do you have a problem with the disguise?"

"It's not that, but..."

Actually, they did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have a complaint.

'I want to show off!'

'I want to brag to people!'

Tae-hyun's broadcast airing, receiving an explosive response, and hitting number one in viewership ratings was no big deal to Tae-hyun. But to Kim Ji-sahn, Park Seong-chan, and Woo Jeong-sik, it was a massive deal!

Although the broadcast focused mostly on Tae-hyun and only showed them in occasional wide shots, even that was an incredible feat. Their friends were already asking, "Hey, I saw you on the broadcast?"

Of course, those friends didn't really know what role they played in the party. They just assumed, "Wow, you must be doing some cool blacksmithing work in there."

Though in reality, their role was...

Closer to being glorified errand boys and pack mules.