A Crowd of Willing Fools
Ed-an dripped with sweat as he accepted the letter. Tae-hyun patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm counting on you, Ed-an."
"B-but... surely there are others far more reliable than me..."
"Who else could sneak into a place like that, drop off a letter, and slip away unnoticed? It has to be you. You're a Great Thief, aren't you?"
"To be honest, I don't really have much talent. My arms were even cut off..."
"But they grew back."
"Those are mechanical prosthetics..."
"Quiet. Just go."
"...Yes, sir."
"Adventurers who wish to fight, gather here!"
"Me! Me!"
"I want to fight!"
"Let me see Kim Tae-hyun!"
A centurion leading the soldiers shouted to the crowd of players. Even at a glance, the sheer number of players gathered was extraordinary. It was a force even Tae-hyun hadn't anticipated: the players themselves.
Tae-hyun had initially thought this quest at Anong Castle wasn't particularly appealing, especially compared to the quest in the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. For the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, King Damiano II himself had put up rewards, and there had been a massive support force ranging from the royal army to the holy knights of various orders. In other words, players could fight with a massive power backing them up.
In contrast, the support force for the Anong Castle quest was relatively pathetic. Nobles with other territories had no intention of stepping up first, and only Count Anong was currently showing any will to fight. On top of that, their opponent, Marquis Marden, was a formidable foe, making this highly likely to be an uphill battle.
'I doubt many people will participate in this quest.'
Tae-hyun had assumed other players wouldn't bother joining. From his perspective, a quest like this offered no real profit, so it was only natural to skip it.
Yet the reality was the exact opposite! Tae-hyun stared in sheer disbelief at the players swarming the inner castle gates like a massive cloud.
"Did Count Anong offer some extra reward? Why are they all here?"
"Maybe they came because they heard you were doing the quest, Tae-hyun?"
Park Seong-chan hit the nail right on the head. Of course, to Tae-hyun, such a reason was utterly foolish and incomprehensible.
Overhearing this from behind, Cain muttered, "Talk about a bunch of absolute suckers..."
To Cain, the players gathered below were nothing but gullible fools practically begging to be scammed!
"What did you say?"
"O-oh, nothing!"
Cain immediately backed down the moment Tae-hyun questioned him.
Tae-hyun clapped his hands lightly and nodded. "Well, whatever the reason, it's good for me."
The more fighters, the better. Tae-hyun gestured to the blacksmiths.
"You guys, follow me. We have somewhere to go."
"What is it? Can I come too?"
"Absolutely not."
When Evangeline spoke up, Tae-hyun rejected her flatly without a second thought.
"...Why?"
"Because I'm going to be using my blacksmithing skills from here on out."
Naturally, Anong Castle was equipped with NPC blacksmiths and high-quality furnaces. Normally, players would have to pay gold or spend contribution points to use these facilities, but since it was Tae-hyun who wanted to use them, no one dared to stop him.
"Ah, I almost forgot. You guys, where are all the miscellaneous items we gathered from Marden Castle?"
"We have them here, but..."
"Take them all out."
"...?"
The blacksmiths tilted their heads in confusion but pulled out the junk. These were items dropped while hunting undead monsters. They weren't completely worthless, but they certainly weren't materials that could be used to craft anything with blacksmithing skills.
What on earth did Tae-hyun plan to do with them?
'Is it a skill we don't know about?'
'They look useless, but maybe Tae-hyun knows some secret trick...'
However, Tae-hyun didn't even touch the junk. Instead, he called over an attendant.
"Take these and show them to the Count."
"Yes, Count."
"?!"
The blacksmiths gasped in shock.
"Why are you showing them to Count Anong?"
"Hmm? Oh, to rack up contribution points."
"..."
Since Count Anong was the one who had issued the subjugation quest, turning in spoils obtained from around Marden Castle would grant contribution points.
Due to high intimacy with Count Anong, an additional effect is applied.
You will receive bonus contribution points when submitting spoils of war.
"I mean, you already hold the title of Count! Why are you being so incredibly petty about every little thing?!"
It felt exactly like watching a multi-billionaire lick the foil lid of a yogurt cup!
"What are you talking about? Do you think contribution points just grow on trees? We only managed to borrow an army this time because Count Marcel was here to help, but normally, you can't even borrow a single soldier without these points."
While Tae-hyun could easily persuade Count Anong and mobilize troops using his personal connections and noble title, it was normally impossible for other players. It was always best to hoard contribution points whenever the opportunity arose. To players, contribution points were like a highly convenient currency that could be cashed in at any time!
"And here I thought..."
"I thought he was about to craft something amazing..."
The blacksmiths grumbled as they swung their hammers. Currently, they were repairing the weapons used by the knights of Anong Castle to prepare for the upcoming battle. The weapons used by ordinary soldiers were numerous but relatively low-level, yielding very little experience. Still, the sheer volume of knightly gear was staggering. Looking at the towering piles of swords, spears, and various other weapons was overwhelming. Of course, Tae-hyun was happily and rapidly repairing them...
You have perfectly repaired an Anong Knight's Longsword.
Your Blacksmithing Skill has increased.
"Is the volume too much? Should we call in some other players?"
Tae-hyun asked casually. Normally, he would have insisted on doing everything himself, but they didn't have much time. Having sent a provocative letter to Marquis Marden, they needed to prepare as quickly as possible. Besides, looking outside, there were plenty of players eager to help. He could put them to work without paying them a single cent.
"No, it's fine!"
"We can handle this ourselves!"
the blacksmiths replied in a panic. They were already anxious about the influx of new players trying to muscle in on their territory. There was no need to invite more competitors.
"Really? I thought you'd be happy."
While Tae-hyun looked at the mountain of weapons and saw them as 'massive chunks of skill experience!', the other blacksmiths saw them and thought, 'How on earth are we going to finish all of this?' That was the normal reaction.
"To call in others when you have personally entrusted this task to us would be a disgrace!"
"Exactly!"
"Since when did you guys become so diligent?"
Tae-hyun tilted his head but didn't press further. As long as the work got done, it didn't matter who did it. Working far faster than the three blacksmiths combined, Tae-hyun finished his share and moved on to his next preparation: Engineering!
Tae-hyun flexed his fingers. A massive, chaotic battle like this was precisely when Engineering truly shined.
"Hehehe..."
The blacksmiths looked utterly appalled as they watched Tae-hyun contemplate his next creations with a deeply sinister grin. Judging by his expression, the true villain of this story wasn't Marquis Marden, but Tae-hyun himself!
'I should prepare a full-course meal, starting with the classic traps!'
All the materials needed to use his skills were readily available for him to use at Anong Castle. While other blacksmiths had to start by gathering raw materials, Tae-hyun bypassed all of that through sheer networking. It was a minor but incredibly powerful privilege!
You have designed and successfully crafted a mechanical trap embedded with silver-plated spearheads.
You have designed and successfully crafted a trap connected to a Black Iron Bomb.
Due to your IntermediateBlacksmithing Skill and high Luck, you receive a bonus to engineering design and crafting.
A series of traps with terrifying names were rapidly produced by Tae-hyun's hands. As soon as they were completed, Tae-hyun immediately summoned the soldiers and ordered them to install them around Anong Castle.
"Lord Tae-hyun. It's not that I don't trust the soldiers of Anong Castle, but wouldn't it be better if you installed them yourself?"
Rufo deeply believed in Tae-hyun's abilities. Having Tae-hyun set them up personally would undoubtedly be far more effective than leaving it to the ordinary soldiers. After all, if there was anyone who excelled at tormenting others, it was Tae-hyun!
"Ah, these are just quick, simple traps anyway, so it's fine to let the soldiers handle them."
"Excuse me?"
Traps packed to the brim with razor-sharp blades and high-explosive bombs were considered 'quick and simple'? Then what on earth did a 'proper' trap look like?
Rufo stared at Tae-hyun with eyes full of sheer terror.
Ignoring him completely, Tae-hyun pulled an item from his breast pocket. To deal with a boss monster like Marquis Marden, he needed a special method.
An item containing the compressed breath exhaled by a fire demonic beast that received Sadiq's Authority during its lifetime.
⚠️ WARNING: The moment it is released, the surrounding area will be turned into a sea of fire.
This was one of the spoils he had obtained from hunting the fire demonic beast! Honestly, it felt like a waste to use it as a mere one-time consumable. Normally, if a crafting class utilized an item like this properly, they could create an incredibly powerful piece of gear. However, Tae-hyun's current blacksmithing skill was insufficient to craft an item using the Breath of the Fire Demonic Beast.
'If only I had officially changed my class to a Blacksmith, it would have been possible...'
The technique to imbue and engrave items like this into equipment was usually a separate skill. Skills like Imbuing or Engraving were the bread and butter of blacksmiths! Unless he cleared some special quest to obtain them, such blacksmith-exclusive skills were nothing but pie in the sky for Tae-hyun.
'If I can't craft with it, I might as well just use it.'
Tae-hyun made his decision without hesitation. Marquis Marden was a powerful opponent.
'His level is one thing... but what really bothers me is that he knows who I am.'
In Fantasy Online 2, the intelligence of powerful boss monsters was never to be underestimated. The Sadiq Church had been caught off guard because they didn't know of Tae-hyun's existence, but Marquis Marden was fully aware of him. He must have sensed Tae-hyun's Holy stat inside the ancient castle, and he likely knew about Tae-hyun's high evasion capabilities as well...
'I need to be careful.'
When they met next, the Marquis would undoubtedly bring a completely different strategy to the fight. Tae-hyun couldn't afford to be careless. Even if using the Breath of the Fire Demonic Beast felt like a waste, it was far better than dying! He intended to use every single trick up his sleeve.
"Huh?"
Emerging from his capsule to take a short break, Tae-hyun stared in confusion at the mountain of missed calls on his phone.
"Who could... Ah."
Of course, the caller was Bae Jang-wook.
"What's the occasion?"
"Ayy, Tae-hyun! How have you been? You watched the broadcast, right? What did you think of the special feature we put together?"
"Uh..."
Tae-hyun hesitated. Should he be honest?
"I only watched a bit of it before turning it off, so I don't really remember much..."
"..."
Bae Jang-wook nearly dropped his phone.
'How can someone be so completely indifferent to a broadcast featuring themselves?!'
"Ah, now that I think about it, I did catch a brief glimpse, and I found myself wondering if I actually said those things. I have absolutely no memory of it."
"Haha! We adjusted the flow of the broadcast slightly to help protect your public image."
Though it was far from 'slightly'!
"I don't really care about my image, though."
"...Still, isn't it always better to have a good reputation?!"
"Having a good image just seems incredibly suffocating. If someone with a terrible reputation does one good deed, everyone praises them. But if someone with a pristine image does one bad thing, they're instantly branded an absolute villain."
"Uh... are you planning on doing bad things in the future?"
"Probably quite a lot..."
"..."
Bae Jang-wook decided to pretend he hadn't heard that.
"Anyway, why did you call? If it's nothing important, I'm pretty busy, so I'd like to hang up."
"W-wait, hold on! This is extremely important!"