Help? Uh...
The priestess, Choi Ha-yeong, turned her head instinctively.
This wasn’t a decision she could make alone. She had party members with her.
“Shouldn’t the party leader decide?”
“If the party leader decides, I’ll follow.”
The party members, unexpectedly, didn’t object.
They had realized that getting into the fortress wasn’t free.
The leader of this party was Choi Ha-yeong. Since priests were rare and valuable, no one had complained about her taking the role.
Even so, it wasn’t something she could decide entirely on her own.
Looking at the man in heavy armor, Choi Ha-yeong asked,
“What do you think we should do?”
It was her younger brother, Choi Ha-jun.
“Can’t we just give them some gold or something? We’ve got a quest too. If we get dragged down helping for no reason, that’ll just screw us over.”
Hearing her brother’s words, Choi Ha-yeong nodded and called out,
“How about gold? We can pay you in gold.”
Of course, that was nowhere near enough for Tae-hyun.
“No, who said anything about gold? If you’re not going to help as a priest, then forget it.”
The ones who grew anxious when it looked like Tae-hyun and Ji-su were about to head inside the fortress immediately were them.
They had come all the way here after taking the Orc subjugation quest, but there wasn’t anywhere nearby to resupply. If they couldn’t get into this fortress, they’d have to keep wandering around, fighting Orcs that might or might not show up.
“N-no! We’ll help! Please let us into the fortress!”
“That’s more like it.”
Ji-su lightly poked Tae-hyun in the side and asked,
“Do we really have to get help?”
“Why? You don’t want help? If it were just me, maybe not, but if you want to clear your quest, we’re probably going to need some support.”
“No… it’s not that…”
Ji-su mumbled.
She had been having fun just playing with Tae-hyun, so the thought of moving around with new people made her a little uncomfortable.
In fact, when she first started, she’d been kicked out of a few parties for being too bad at fighting.
“Don’t worry. We’ll only ask them for help when we need it. It’s not like we’re going to keep traveling around with them. Our quest might not overlap with theirs at all.”
Ji-su nodded.
“Those people over there are with us. Could you let them in too?”
The soldier heard that and nodded.
You have succeeded in persuading the soldier.
Speech has increased.
The players outside gaped as the soldiers opened the gate at a single word from Tae-hyun.
“They opened it just because he said something?”
“What the hell even is this place?”
The stinginess of the Salz Kingdom was beyond anything they considered normal.
Still, they were inside the fortress now.
Choi Ha-yeong thanked Tae-hyun.
“Thank you. We got in thanks to you.”
“You agreed to help as a priest, so there’s no need to thank me separately.”
“About that… couldn’t we just settle it with gold?”
Choi Ha-jun cut into the conversation.
Seeing the heavy armor, Tae-hyun thought, A paladin?
“Now that you’re inside, you’re changing your tune?”
Choi Ha-jun’s face reddened slightly.
“That’s not what this is…”
“More importantly, neither of you looks all that high-level, so are you really that loaded with gold?”
One of the party members shrugged and said,
“Our party leader’s got some money.”
“Some money?”
“You know. Cash shop. Whale stuff.”
When Choi Ha-yeong frowned, Choi Ha-jun waved his hand and said,
“Don’t say pointless things.”
“Ah, so you spent real money. Then I guess you’ve got plenty of gold.”
“No. That was just a joke.”
But Tae-hyun didn’t let it go.
Curious, he asked,
“How rich are we talking?”
“Don’t be too shocked. I heard her family owns, like, two whole buildings.”
“I said stop it! It’s nothing special.”
When the party member kept talking, Choi Ha-jun snapped.
The other party member flinched and shut his mouth.
He said it was nothing special, but the pride on Choi Ha-jun’s face was obvious.
The pride of someone thinking, See how well off I am?
He’d said, “It’s nothing special,” but he didn’t really mean it.
It was just something people said out of politeness.
But Tae-hyun and Ji-su took it literally.
“That really wasn’t anything special.”
“I know, right?”
“????”
To them, it genuinely wasn’t a big deal.
Once inside the fortress, Tae-hyun was able to get some information from the party.
Apparently a quest had appeared within the Erangs Kingdom as well.
— Deal with the Orcs appearing near the border!
Players trying to raise their affinity with the kingdom, or secure some kind of position within it, would definitely be aiming for that quest.
More people are going to come swarming in as time passes.
It seemed best to clear things as quickly as possible.
That party had a priest, a paladin, a warrior, and a mage.
A well-balanced lineup.
“By the way, what classes are you two? An archer, and… uh, a warrior?”
Ji-su stared at Tae-hyun.
Should I say unemployed?
Are you insane? Of course not.
The moment that came out, traveling together would be over.
“Rogue-type class. And she’s archer-type.”
“Isn’t it hard traveling around with just two people?”
“She’s got a Heroic class.”
The look in their eyes changed in an instant.
Even Rare classes got decent treatment, but if it was a Heroic class, the way people looked at you was completely different.
“Then what about you? Do you have a Heroic class too?”
“I don’t have a Heroic class.”
“A Normal class?”
“Not a Normal class.”
“Ah, then I guess it’s a Rare class.”
Not Heroic, not Normal, not Legendary—so the only thing left was Rare.
In reality, he just still hadn’t changed classes yet.
So that’s why they were traveling as a pair—a Heroic class and a Rare class.
If that was the case, then their skill level was probably trustworthy.
“We’re sending scouts to investigate the Orc tribe! Any adventurers willing to come along?”
Inside the fortress, a Centurion shouted loudly.
It meant anyone who wanted to could join.
“Let’s go with them!”
It was a shortcut. Better to move with the soldiers than try to do it with just a party.
“Everyone here? Then move out!”
When the Centurion swung his sword, the soldiers began moving in an orderly line.
“Short rest!”
The players who had been walking behind the soldiers stopped at the commander’s call.
“When are the Orcs showing up?”
“No idea. They’ll show up when they show up.”
“I hope not too many of them come.”
“Come on. They probably balanced the difficulty properly.”
While the party members chatted, Tae-hyun approached the soldiers.
“Excuse me…”
“...?”
“Would it be all right if I tuned up your armor and spears a little?”
He never let an opportunity pass him by.
If he got even the slightest chance to handle equipment, he grabbed it.
Choi Ha-yeong stared at Tae-hyun like he was absurd.
Hadn’t he clearly said he was a rogue-type class?
“You’re going to work on their armor and spears?”
The soldier is pleased.
The Centurion is pleased.
If the equipment is damaged, affinity may decrease.
Maybe because Tae-hyun had started in the Salz Kingdom, the soldiers didn’t doubt him at all. They were delighted.
“Here you are.”
“Please do mine too!”
“Mine as well!”
Work came pouring in.
Tae-hyun refused none of it and accepted every piece.
The corners of his mouth were already rising.
Jackpot.
At a glance, the fortress soldiers looked like they were all fairly high-level.
If he could get his hands on all this equipment, his skill growth was practically guaranteed.
Of course, it wasn’t something just anyone could do.
If he messed with their gear and ruined it, not only would affinity drop, he might get kicked out of here entirely.
Nothing in this world came for free.
But Tae-hyun was confident.
One way or another, he wasn’t going to botch it badly.
You have successfully sharpened the spear of a Salz Kingdom elite soldier. Affinity has increased further.
You have successfully removed the rust from the armor of a Salz Kingdom elite soldier. Affinity has increased further.
Blacksmithing has increased.
“Ohhh! Truly impressive!”
“Thank you!”
The soldiers’ faces brightened in an instant.
Seeing that, the others began murmuring.
“He’s a rogue-type class, and he can do that?”
“With equipment at that level, wouldn’t your skill level have to be pretty high just to touch it?”
Judging by the soldiers’ reactions, it was obvious Tae-hyun had worked on their gear successfully.
Which meant his Blacksmithing skill was fairly high.
But Tae-hyun had just said he was a rogue-type class.
“Um… didn’t you say you were a rogue-type class?” Choi Ha-yeong asked.
Tae-hyun nodded.
“I am a rogue-type class.”
“But you just used Blacksmithing.”
“It’s not like being a rogue-type class means I can’t use it, right?”
He insisted without the slightest change in expression.
Fantasy Online 2 had countless classes.
It wouldn’t be all that strange if there were a rogue-type class that also had Blacksmithing on the side.
Something like a “blacksmith rogue.”
Of course, Tae-hyun wasn’t one.
But if you said it boldly enough, people would fill in the rest on their own.
And that was exactly what happened.
“A rogue with Blacksmithing too?”
“What kind of class is that? Feels like some undiscovered Rare class.”
“That’s unusual. A mix of rogue and blacksmith? Sounds like a pretty good class.”
“And if you look at those soldiers’ reactions, his Blacksmithing skill level seems pretty high too.”
While they were talking, the Centurion shouted,
“We’ve found signs of the Orcs! Any volunteers to scout ahead?”
A sudden quest has been triggered.
“Me! We’ll do it!”
It was obviously a quest they had to take.
Choi Ha-jun stepped forward and raised his hand.
Small sudden quests like these always had to be done.
They helped with larger quests and gave separate rewards too—two birds with one stone.
“Brave, for Erangs Kingdom folk! Good. Then find the Orcs and bring back ten of their heads!”
Even while giving the order, the Centurion didn’t forget to insult another kingdom.
Still, the quest itself was simple.
The Centurion was looking for volunteers with decent skill.
If they took the assignment and succeeded, they’d earn rewards and a favorable reputation inside the fortress.
Orc Heads
📍 Objective: Orc Heads 0/10
🎁 Reward: Increased affinity with the fortress soldiers
Since Choi Ha-jun and the others were in the same party, the quest was accepted for all of them together.
Tae-hyun and Ji-su, on the other hand, had to apply separately.
So all we have to do is bring back ten Orc heads? Pretty standard quest.
“We’ll do it too.”
“Oh, you two as well?”
Luck has activated.
A Rare quest has been triggered.
“...?”
Before Tae-hyun could even react in confusion, the Centurion opened his mouth.
“There’s definitely an Orc tribe somewhere nearby. Find the tribe’s base, destroy their facilities, drive them out, and return with the chieftain’s head!”
The instructions came pouring out without pause.
And they were hardly easy.
The other party only had to kill a few Orcs, while Tae-hyun was apparently being told to fight an entire Orc tribe from top to bottom.
What kind of insane…?
Tae-hyun stared at the Centurion in disbelief.
What the hell was this?
But the Centurion’s expression was resolute.
“No, Centurion! This isn’t something two people can—!”
The Centurion, for reasons unknown, has come to trust in your abilities.
He believes you are capable of taking on an Orc tribe by yourself.
If you betray that trust, the people of the fortress will be greatly disappointed.
🎁 Reward: ???
The quest dropped before Tae-hyun even had a chance to refuse.
I’m screwed…!
A Rare quest.
There could only be one reason for it.
His high Luck had kicked in like this.
Sometimes quests had a certain chance to branch into hidden quests.
And most of the time, those hidden quests came with truly incredible rewards.
There were even people who specialized in hunting down the conditions and triggers for quests like these.
The Rare quest everyone else desperately wanted but couldn’t find—Tae-hyun had gotten it instantly, thanks to Luck.
“W-what is it?”
“...I think this just got a little complicated.”
If he refused here, dealing with people in the future was probably going to become extremely annoying.