The Path to the Pope's Steel
Auston Kingdom Civil War
The First and Second Princes of the Auston Kingdom are giants possessing outstanding abilities and talents. Since the passing of the late king, the two have led their respective factions in a fierce struggle for the throne. Though they did not lift a finger when bandits ran rampant or when Orcs invaded, they are still the ones who rule this kingdom. To them, the newly emerged religion in the Auston Kingdom is an object of unavoidable interest.
Go to the princes and join one of their factions. If you bring an end to this civil war, you will receive a massive reward.
📍 Location: Auston Kingdom
🎁 Reward: ?, ???
While other players were desperately trying to build connections with the princes from the very bottom, Tae-hyun's quest simply told him to go meet them. This was all thanks to his noble title and his position as the supreme authority of his church!
'I can't do this right now.'
Any other player would have been tempted to jump on it immediately, but Tae-hyun assessed the situation calmly. With an Orc army to deal with, he couldn't afford to add a princely civil war to his plate. Even if he were to do it, it would have to wait until after the great Orc offensive was over.
“Hello, I am Smith.”
“Nice to meet you!”
“Whoa, is that really Smith? Our guild leader has some crazy connections.”
“I think he looks even handsomer in person.”
At Kantan Fortress, the guild members were looking at Smith in awe. Most of them were high-level players but below ranker status, but Smith was on an entirely different level. To his fellow players, he was an object of pure admiration!
“But what did you call us here for? Is it because of the Orcs after all?”
“Ah, no. We can handle the Orcs on our own. A small fortress like this can easily be defended just by blocking the entrance. The reason we called you, Smith, is because of the underground dungeon.”
“An underground dungeon?”
“Yes. There is a dungeon beneath this fortress.”
Indeed. The guild hadn't called Smith to deal with the Orcs. They were perfectly capable of holding off the Orcs roaming the Auston Kingdom on their own. The reason they had summoned Smith was the dungeon beneath Kantan Fortress! In fact, the Black Rock Sect had come to the Auston Kingdom specifically for this dungeon. Normally, they wouldn't have even been able to enter the fortress, but the great Orc offensive had presented them with an unexpected opportunity. Capturing the fortress was merely a bonus. The Black Rock Sect was looking at this continental quest from a completely different perspective.
'We don't necessarily need to acquire a territory. Pushing ourselves too hard right now might backfire, and our guild isn't that large anyway. It's better to clear the quests we haven't been able to complete until now.'
The leader of the Black Rock Sect was a fairly wise man. Gu Sung-wook nodded as he thought of his guild leader.
'He really is impressive, even if he is our guild leader.'
There was only one reason the Black Rock Sect sounded familiar to Tae-hyun: it was the name of the guild Gu Sung-wook had mentioned when he tried to recruit Tae-hyun back in Tyrum City. Though Tae-hyun's standing back then was worlds apart from his standing now...
“But... will you be alright, Smith?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the Knight class usually has a hard time showing its full potential in tight, enclosed spaces.”
“Is that what you were worried about?”
Smith replied kindly with a noble, prince-like smile. “It is fine. I can fight well enough even in narrow spaces.”
And Smith's words were the absolute truth.
Rumble! Crash!
“Intruders are not permitted!”
“Turn back, intruders!”
The warriors of the Ancient Empire arise. Receiving the energy of the dungeon, their attack power increases.
The moment they entered the underground dungeon, heavily armored warriors clad in ancient plate mail charged at them with heavy steps. Standing behind Smith with his dual swords drawn, Gu Sung-wook tensed up. The monsters in this dungeon were truly no joke.
The members of the Black Rock Sect had formed parties and attempted to clear it several times, but they had always been blocked and forced to retreat. Each monster possessed formidable combat power, and if the players hesitated for even a second, more monsters would respawn and drag them down. They either had to tackle it with a massive raid party or sweep through it with overwhelming individual power.
The Black Rock Sect had chosen the latter. And Smith was that overwhelming power!
Power of the Sun
Smith used his skill as he strode forward.
Flash!
A blinding light erupted from Smith's entire body as he lunged forward. The warriors of the Ancient Empire raised their shields to block, but they were blasted away in a single strike.
Shower of Blades
A seamless skill combo. Blades of pure mana materialized behind him and shot forward. The ancient warriors, already reeling from the Power of the Sun, were instantly skewered by the barrage of blades.
“Aaaargh!”
“Such blinding power! We cannot withstand it!”
While other players would have been running around frantically to deal with the enemies, Smith simply walked forward with slow, deliberate steps. The dignity of a prince! Yet, he completely dominated his surroundings. The rapidly respawning monsters couldn't withstand Smith's onslaught and shattered into pieces.
'He's... he's incredible...!'
Gu Sung-wook marveled inwardly. He was a ranker himself and had seen his fair share of other rankers, but Smith was truly on another level. Absolute dominance!
Suddenly, Kim Tae-hyun came to Gu Sung-wook's mind. If Kim Tae-hyun was a stylish player who combined all sorts of diverse and unorthodox skills, Smith was a textbook powerhouse who delivered heavy, devastating blows with each skill. If they had one thing in common, it was that they were both peerless in their respective styles.
'Wait, why am I thinking about that guy?'
Gu Sung-wook shook his head. Granted, he had been strangely entangled with Kim Tae-hyun quite a bit. Who could have imagined that the shabby player standing next to a blacksmith in Tyrum City would turn out like this? No one could have known. But Sung-wook wanted nothing more to do with Kim Tae-hyun. Strangely, everything went sideways whenever he got involved with him. Especially when it came to the Cold Cry's Sword...
After wiping out all the monsters on the first basement floor, Smith swept back his bangs as they arrived at the entrance to the second floor.
“Ah. I ran into the player Kim Tae-hyun on my way here.”
“?!”
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, it's nothing.”
Gu Sung-wook was flustered. For a split second, he thought Smith had read his mind. But it was just a coincidence.
“Are you two close?”
“No. We just happened to cross paths on the way.”
'Is Kim Tae-hyun here too? Well, the Auston Kingdom is an attractive place... Wait, he already has his own territory, so why did he come here?'
The correct answer was 'to run a business using the Orc army,' but Gu Sung-wook, possessing a relatively decent conscience, could never have imagined such a thing.
“I don't know what the reward in this underground dungeon is, but could Kim Tae-hyun have come here for that as well?”
“Ah, that's unlikely. The item here is for Dark Mages. It wouldn't suit Kim Tae-hyun at all. Besides, it requires clearing several linked quests, so even Kim Tae-hyun wouldn't know about this.”
“Is that so?”
“More than that, I'm surprised you came all this way, Smith. Aren't you busy?”
“Haha. I am busy, but a promise must be kept. My grandfather always taught me to 'never forget a kindness.'”
True character! Gu Sung-wook felt as if a halo was shining behind Smith. A halo that shone even in this dark dungeon...
“That's a monster's spell!”
Gu Sung-wook quickly lunged forward and swung his dual swords.
Mana Bullet Deflection
It was a Dual Swordsman skill capable of blocking certain types of magic! Gu Sung-wook swung his swords in a flurry. The enemy mage hiding in the darkness panicked and tried to cast another spell, but Smith immediately launched a counterattack.
Boom!
“Thank you. I didn't expect one to be hiding there.”
“It... it was nothing. *Pant, pant*...”
Though he claimed it was nothing, Gu Sung-wook was panting heavily. Smith was an incredibly valuable guest. If Smith were to get hurt, Sung-wook wouldn't have the face to look at his guild leader.
“To think I would receive your help. If there is anything I can do to assist you, please let me know.”
“Huh? No, it's fine.”
How could he impose on someone who had come to help them? Gu Sung-wook waved his hands in refusal. But Smith was strangely persistent. He was a man who calculated favors and grudges as precisely as a calculator! Beneath his diligent, noble exterior lay this calculating nature.
“Please, speak. Anything is fine. Even the smallest thing...”
'What is wrong with this guy?' Gu Sung-wook was bewildered.
“Have you had any problems lately? None at all? Not even a little one?”
“Well, a problem... a problem...”
Gu Sung-wook racked his brain for any recent issues he had faced.
“Uh, there is one... but it's not something you can help with.”
“Tell me anyway.”
What intensity! Overwhelmed by Smith's sheer force of presence, Gu Sung-wook opened his mouth.
“Well, actually, I've been searching high and low for a class quest item...”
Gu Sung-wook quickly summarized his long, tearful saga regarding the Cold Cry's Sword into a five-minute pitch.
“And so, I finally got the blueprint. I gave it to our guild's blacksmith, but guess what it needs?”
“What is it?”
“All the other materials are rare enough, but it requires Pope's Blessed Steel! How on earth am I supposed to get that?!”
Indeed. Gu Sung-wook still hadn't obtained the Pope's Blessed Steel. He wanted to give up, but he had already invested far too much to back out now! To Gu Sung-wook, the Pope's Blessed Steel had become something he could absolutely never let go of.
“Pope's Blessed Steel... Is there really no way to obtain it? Has it not appeared on the auction house?”
“If it were on the auction house, I wouldn't be stressing like this. It's an item that has to be blessed directly by a Pope. Would anyone who accumulated enough contribution points to get that actually waste them on making steel? If it were me, I'd craft something else. In the end, I have to make it myself...”
Gu Sung-wook let out a deep sigh. Since other players weren't going to craft that item just to list it on the auction house, he had to accumulate contribution points in a church himself to meet a Pope. He had been looking into various churches and trying different things, but...
Countless players were already competing fiercely within the major churches. It was by no means an easy task.
“Why don't you join a church with less competition?”
“Huh? Is there such a church? The competition is fierce in all of them.”
“I believe the player Kim Tae-hyun recently established the Archisus Church.”
“......”
He never expected Kim Tae-hyun's name to pop up here. Gu Sung-wook looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
“Ah, no... but... that's...”
An instinctive rejection! His gut was screaming at him. Getting involved with Kim Tae-hyun would only lead to disaster!
But logically, Smith was right. There was no competition, and if he just played his cards right with Kim Tae-hyun, wouldn't he be able to get the item?
“Ggggrrr... uuuugghhh... mmmph...”
Gu Sung-wook groaned like a dying beast. Seeing this, Smith shot him a look as if he were looking at a crazy person. Realizing how he looked, Gu Sung-wook cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“......”
“A-anyway, thank you for the suggestion. I'll think about it.”
“Please do. When I met Kim Tae-hyun in person, he was very kind and polite. He was exactly the same as he is on his stream. If you ask him, I doubt he will refuse.”
“...?”
Gu Sung-wook tilted his head in confusion. Did this guy really meet the actual Kim Tae-hyun?
'Did he meet an impostor? Someone running around disguised as Kim Tae-hyun... Oh my god! That is highly possible!'
In the end, Gu Sung-wook resorted to outright denying reality.