The Sucker of Tyrum Returns

"Pardon? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What is it?"

"Well, it's about..."

Bae Jang-wook began to explain quickly, clearly, and concisely, terrified that Tae-hyun might hang up on him. His silver-tongued ability to pitch risky programs to the higher-ups in the most convincing way possible was still fully intact.

"So you want me to do a live Q&A with the viewers?"

"Yes, exactly."

"That shouldn't be too difficult."

Bae Jang-wook was taken aback by how easily Tae-hyun agreed. He had fully expected the young man to be prickly and difficult to persuade at least a few times.

Thank goodness!

"But I'm a bit busy right now, so I can't really set aside separate time or set up a specific venue in-game. Can I just do the Q&A while I'm running my quest?"

"Pardon? Ah, are you already working on a new quest?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do that! We'll accommodate you as much as possible."

However, Bae Jang-wook did not know. Tae-hyun was a man who always exceeded expectations!

"*Pant, pant.* Lord Tae-hyun."

"Oh. You're back?"

Ed-an was covered in wounds. Blood was dripping from his forehead, and his left mechanical prosthetic was half-shattered!

"I have delivered the letter!"

"Right. Good job."

"...A bit more praise would be nice..."

"That wound on your forehead looks a bit suspicious. You didn't give that to yourself before coming back, did you?"

"...!"

"Well, whatever. Anyway, come closer. Since you look hurt..."

Tae-hyun spoke with surprising gentleness. Ed-an approached him, startled. He had thought he was caught red-handed faking the wound.

Clank!

"?!"

"Since this prosthetic is broken anyway, let me repair it. I'll throw in some modifications too."

"A-Ah, no. That is an incredibly delicate and precious item. If you handle it recklessly..."

"You don't trust my skills?"

"I don't tr—"

"Hmm?"

"...I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trust you."

Ed-an had no choice but to hand over the prosthetic arm, crying tears of blood on the inside.

Hmm... let's add a blade, make it shoot arrows, and maybe a self-destruct function?

Since it wasn't his own arm, Tae-hyun was going completely wild with the designs.

"How dare this insolent bastard!"

Marquis Marden was absolutely furious after receiving the letter that had been left secretly in front of his ancient castle.

"A mere nobody who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worships some pathetic god dares to send me such an insolent letter! I will never forgive this!"

"You speak the truth, My Lord!"

Numerous vampires knelt before Marquis Marden. They had gathered from all over upon hearing the news of his awakening. Behind them stood the undead soldiers that lingered around the ancient castle—soldiers Marquis Marden had raised with his own magic when he was still alive.

"To Anong Castle! We shall punish this pathetic fool! In the name of the Nobles of the Night!"

"Yes, Master!"

Thud, thud, thud—

Marquis Marden set out, leading his army. And behind them, a force that was clearly human followed. They were mercenaries hired separately by Marquis Marden—men who would go anywhere as long as they were paid.

An army composed of vampires, undead, and mercenaries began its march toward Anong Castle.

The greatest advantage of players was how quickly information was shared within the game. The players remaining around Marden Castle were shocked to see Marquis Marden marching out with his army, and they immediately spread the word. Information flooded the community boards in an instant!

Monitoring these updates, Tae-hyun was able to track Marquis Marden's departure in real-time.

"Excellent. Shall we get going then?"

Tae-hyun had crafted every single sinister engineering trap he could think of. Now was the time to test them!

"I need to deliver 50 sets of armor for the soldiers, anyone want to help? I don't have a specialized armor-crafting skill, so it's taking forever."

"Got a quest to patrol with the soldiers, anyone want to party up? Level 67 Warrior here! Rare Class!"

Inside Anong Castle, players were moving about busily. While Tae-hyun was meeting with Count Anong and progressing the main questline, the other players had been receiving and clearing their own local quests.

Tae-hyun looked around at the players and thought, Their levels are definitely on the lower side. Can't be helped, I suppose.

The giant guilds and high-level rankers who had too much to lose were currently just spectating this Marquis Marden quest from a distance.

Let's wait and see how it plays out before joining!

When the situation was highly unpredictable, that was indeed a smart strategy.

Of course, I plan to finish it before they even get the chance.

Tae-hyun had no intention of dragging this quest out. Once Marquis Marden attacked, he would launch a massive counterattack to deal devastating damage, and then immediately subjugate him!

"Anyone want to go subjugate Marquis Marden with me?" Tae-hyun shouted loudly, standing right in the middle of the players.

Instantly, every single head whipped in his direction.

"Who is that?"

"He looks familiar..."

"Wait, isn't that Kim Tae-hyun?!"

"What?!"

The reaction spread like wildfire! The players, who had been minding their own business, suddenly swarmed Tae-hyun with eyes glittering with excitement.

"Me! Me! I really want to go!"

"I watched all your broadcasts! I'm a huge fan! Pick me first!"

Normally, anyone would be flustered by such a sudden crowd, but Tae-hyun didn't even blink.

"Get in line."

"Pardon?"

"Form a single-file line."

"Ah... yes!"

"I'm getting in front!"

"Move!"

With just a single word from Tae-hyun, the players scrambled to line up. Swept up in the frantic atmosphere, no one noticed that his vibe was completely different from how he appeared on broadcasts.

Wasn't he supposed to be a bit friendlier?

While someone was harboring that fleeting thought, Tae-hyun quickly began the interviews.

"Class, level, highest stat."

"Uh, ah! My class is an Erangs Kingdom Shield Warrior, and my level is 7—"

"Pass."

"?!"

"Sorry, but I can't take slow classes. You'll just die if I bring you along."

At Tae-hyun's words, a third of the people in line stepped away with dejected expressions.

"I could have done well too..."

"Yeah, isn't that a bit much? Cutting us without even giving us a chance."

As complaints began to bubble up, the atmosphere among the disqualified players started to sour. But at that moment, someone spoke up.

"No, actually, that's the right way to do it. Taking us along is easy. But if he takes someone who doesn't fit the strategy and they die, it doesn't really affect Kim Tae-hyun anyway. He's actually being considerate of our safety."

"Is... is that so?"

"Now that I think about it, yeah."

The heavy, convincing voice instantly shifted the mood of the crowd once again.

"Whew..."

Gu Sung-wook clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming. Defending Tae-hyun just now hadn't been out of sincerity. It was to look good! To make Tae-hyun feel indebted to him! All to obtain Ure!

Please, please! Let's finish it this time!

Considering the sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears he had poured into trying to get Ure, he felt like he could have cleared a Legendary-grade quest by now.

"Excuse me, the line is moving. Please go ahead."

"Ah, yes. Sorry."

Gu Sung-wook, who had been lost in his own thoughts while clenching his fists, quickly stepped forward as the person behind him nudged him. After waiting and waiting, he finally arrived right in front of Tae-hyun!

"Class, level, highest stat?"

"Ahem."

"...?"

When the applicant cleared his throat instead of answering the question, Tae-hyun raised his head. Gu Sung-wook was standing there with a hand on his chin, coughing awkwardly with an embarrassed expression.

"Is your class name 'Ahem'? Disqualified."

"N-No! Don't you recognize me?"

Before actually meeting Tae-hyun, Gu Sung-wook had played out all sorts of scenarios in his head.

The moment I lay eyes on that damn blacksmith, I'm going to scream curses at him!

The moment I see him, I'll hit him with a flying dropkick and run him through with my sword!

His delusions had grown increasingly violent over time. But the moment he actually stood before Tae-hyun, those thoughts vanished into thin air. Tae-hyun had simply become far too successful in the meantime. And he looked genuinely strong!

Could I... even beat him?

Gu Sung-wook was barely at the level of a ranker who had just surpassed the expert tier. With that, he had absolutely no confidence in defeating Tae-hyun.

Tae-hyun furrowed his brows. He was a man who rarely paid attention to people he didn't need to care about. After a brief moment of contemplation, he reached a conclusion.

"Wow. To think someone would try this kind of voice-phishing scam even in Fantasy Online 2."

"?!"

"I'm sorry, but my own scamming skill is about to reach Intermediate. Don't waste your breath and go trick someone else. And if you're going to do the 'It's me, remember?' scam, you need to be a bit more proactive."

Gu Sung-wook had suddenly been branded a scammer! Though he felt incredibly wronged, he did not lose his composure. The trials and tribulations he had suffered were far too great for him to be shaken by something like this. The time he had spent searching for Tae-hyun had forged him into a heavy, unyielding rock!

No, wait, what does he mean his scamming skill is about to reach Intermediate? What on earth is this guy's actual class?

Confused as he was, Gu Sung-wook spoke up quickly. The glares from the players waiting behind him were starting to feel dangerously sharp.

"It's me! Me! We met in Tyrum!"

"Met in Tyrum... A Red Zone Guild member?"

"Why does it have to be the Red Zone?!"

Far away, Cain let out a small sneeze.

"Not the Red Zone! In the village! The blacksmith! Don't you remember?!"

"Ah... Ahhh. That sucker!"

"..."

"Haha. Slip of the tongue. The idiot who was trying to get close to the Tyrum Hunters... wait, I'm trying to speak kindly here, but I don't know how to phrase it. What do you call someone trying to get close to the Tyrum Hunters? No matter how I think about it, I can't put it nicely."

"..."

Gu Sung-wook felt a surge of anger, but he couldn't deny it. After his quest in Tyrum had ended, Tyrum had officially become his most hated city in the entire world. If a quest to slaughter the Tyrum Hunters ever appeared in the future, he would risk his life to participate!

"So, did you get what you wanted?"

"Huh? Did I tell you?"

"If someone who left Tyrum suddenly returns and tries to get close again, the reason is obvious. You wanted something, didn't you?"

Gu Sung-wook was genuinely impressed. Though he often forgot due to Tae-hyun's terrible personality and twisted mind, Tae-hyun was fundamentally a top-tier ranker. His ability to read a situation was incredibly sharp.

"Well, what I wanted was actually the item blueprint held by the blacksmith Gurendal..."

"Ah. He was a nice man."

To Tae-hyun, Gurendal was a fond memory. He had obtained Ure basically for free. A mentor's grace higher than the heavens!

But to Gu Sung-wook, just hearing that name made him want to flag up for PK immediately.

"That... *grit*, person... *grriiiit*, told me that since he taught it to you, I should learn it from you, Lord Tae-hyun..."

The sound of teeth grinding echoed clearly through the air.

"Haha. Is that so?"

Tae-hyun flashed a warm, friendly smile. Seeing that, Gu Sung-wook felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Ah, this tedious, nightmare of a quest is finally coming to an end!

However, if Cain had been standing next to him, he would have grabbed him by the shoulders and warned him:

You have to be most careful when that bastard smiles like that!