The Magic of the Tongue
While Tae-hyun was away, Count Anong had led his order of knights to defend Tae-hyun's fief. Of course, it hadn't been free. Tae-hyun had requested it by spending his hard-earned Contribution Points, which he had bled for while defeating Marquis Marden.
Naturally, to get his money's worth, Tae-hyun had tried his absolute best to avoid meeting Count Anong even after returning. However, there was a limit to such petty tricks. Count Anong cornered Tae-hyun just as he was about to slip away.
"You're saying the Order requested this?"
"I really don't want to do it, but since the Orders are begging me, I suppose I have no choice..."
"Not at all! How could a man as brave and righteous as you, Count Kim Tae-hyun, ever refuse such a request!"
"But while I am away, my fief will be..."
Tae-hyun stole a glance at Count Anong. Without Contribution Points, a request like this was impossible, no matter how high their intimacy or how good their relationship was. He was basically exploiting an entire order of knights; how could that ever be free?
But Tae-hyun had one new advantage: his Advanced Rhetoric skill. A magical tongue that could turn the impossible into the possible!
You possess the Advanced Rhetoric skill.
You can successfully pull off impossible persuasions.
Your Speech skill has increased.
"Count Kim Tae-hyun! I shall help you!"
"Oh! Count Anong!"
The naive Count Anong fell for it hook, line, and sinker, completely oblivious to Tae-hyun's true intentions. With this, the security of his fief was guaranteed for a while longer!
Genoma City of the Atali Kingdom. It was a city of fond memories for Tae-hyun. The memory of when he first arrived in the Atali Kingdom, coaxed naive players, dragged them to an island, and made a handsome profit off them!
And now, massive ships were anchored in the harbor of Genoma City. The flags of various religious orders fluttered atop their masts.
"What's going on?"
"Looks like there's a quest."
Players going about their business around the harbor began to whisper among themselves at the sudden appearance of the ships. It was only human nature to want to join in when a massive quest appeared!
Besides, Genoma City had a legend. The players who had been idling in the plaza and joined in when Tae-hyun called them! Of course, those memories weren't exactly happy or pleasant for the participants, but outsiders couldn't help but see it differently.
I want to do it too! There's no real difference between that guy and me. If I just get lucky...!
"Are you really close with Kim Tae-hyun, mister?"
"Ah, I'm telling you the truth! Why won't you believe me? Look at this video! That's me at the end of the video!"
Woo Jeong-sik flared up in anger and showed them the video. But the players remained skeptical.
"Isn't that photoshopped?"
"It's too small, I can't really see..."
"Good grief, you're driving me crazy! How on earth could I fake this!"
When Woo Jeong-sik got genuinely upset, looking incredibly wronged, the players reluctantly backtracked and said they believed him.
"But if you're so close with Kim Tae-hyun, why are you hanging around here?"
"Hey, what's my class? I'm a blacksmith. What's the point of a blacksmith tagging along with him all the time? I need to raise my own skills and level up too!"
Woo Jeong-sik wasn't lying. After parting ways with Tae-hyun alongside Kim Ji-sahn and Park Seong-chan, they had swallowed their regrets and returned to the city. They also had to clear class-specific quests and raise their reputation within the city!
Genoma City was packed with crafter players, and fierce competition broke out every single day. To win in such a competitive environment, differentiation was essential!
"The blacksmith who traveled with Kim Tae-hyun." That title alone was more than enough. It was guaranteed to draw everyone's attention instantly.
The only problem was that people rarely believed him!
"If you traveled with Kim Tae-hyun, do you know how to use Engineering?"
"No..."
"Ayy, then it must be a lie."
"Hey! Why would anyone learn Engineering? That trash skill!"
"Kim Tae-hyun uses it well, though."
"That's because he's a freak! Look at the blacksmiths right now! Is there a single sane person digging into Engineering?!"
Woo Jeong-sik stood up and pointed toward a corner of the plaza. A few blacksmiths were sitting there, looking like absolute beggars. In front of them was a sign that read: [Selling Engineering Items]. Yet, not a single soul approached them. At most, a few bored players with nothing better to do would occasionally buy harmless, safe items like [Fireworks].
Indeed. After Tae-hyun's spectacular exploits, there had been a brief boom in the Engineering skill. But it was nothing more than a passing fad. As time passed and the harsh reality of Engineering was exposed, players began to shun the skill.
It exploded at the slightest touch! It malfunctioned at every turn! No matter how unique and diverse the items crafted through Engineering were—things that standard Blacksmithing Skill could never replicate—few people were willing to buy items that might suddenly detonate while they were walking down the street.
Because of this, the blacksmiths who had started grinding Engineering solely because of Tae-hyun found themselves in a terrible bind. They needed to craft items, sell them to players, earn gold, and use that gold to craft more items to level up... but no one was buying!
Thanks to this, [Engineering] had basically become synonymous with [Landmine]. Just sitting there, those blacksmiths exuded an aura of profound gloom!
"Hmm... true..."
Hearing Woo Jeong-sik's words, the players nodded. They, too, were well aware of the notorious reputation of the Engineering skill. People were highly skeptical, thinking, 'Maybe it's not that the Engineering skill is good, but rather that Kim Tae-hyun is the only one who can actually make use of it?'
"Engineering really is kind of trash."
"Right? Only perverts learn Engineering anyway."
It was a statement that would make any Engineering player clutch their neck in sheer outrage! What was even sadder, however, was that it was incredibly hard to refute.
"Should we just get it done here then?"
"Yeah, since he knows Kim Tae-hyun, he should be decent."
The two players stopped doubting and handed their gear to Woo Jeong-sik. Woo Jeong-sik let out a sigh. It was a tough world when even getting a simple repair job was this exhausting.
"I'll do my absolute best to repair it. Trust me."
Woo Jeong-sik picked up his hammer. Repairing was the absolute most basic skill for a blacksmith. However, it was precisely these basic skills that truly revealed a blacksmith's true caliber!
A mediocre blacksmith would end up reducing the maximum durability of even a low-tier item during repairs, but an outstanding blacksmith could add bonus buff effects just by using the repair skill. And Woo Jeong-sik was a reasonably skilled blacksmith. The armor the two players had handed over wasn't even high-level gear.
Easy.
At this level, he could easily pull off a flawless repair. Woo Jeong-sik raised his hammer high.
Beginning repairs.
"Alright, here we..."
"KIM TAE-HYUN IS HERE!!!"
Slip— Clang!
The item's durability has decreased.
"Did I just hear a weird sound?"
The players who had entrusted their gear stared intently at Woo Jeong-sik. Woo Jeong-sik did his absolute best to maintain a straight face and replied:
"T-That's the sound it normally makes when repairing."
"I don't think so..."
"You can just check it when I'm done!"
The players kept their suspicious glares locked onto him. Woo Jeong-sik felt sweat breaking out on his back. Fortunately, the item's maximum durability hadn't dropped. He just had to repair the lost current durability properly now.
Clang, clang, clang—
The item's durability has increased.
The item's durability has increased.
But wait, Kim Tae-hyun is here? What's going on?
Now that he had some breathing room, Woo Jeong-sik wondered. The quests Tae-hyun undertook were so monumental that it was impossible for someone like him to participate anymore, but curiosity was only natural!
"It's Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Cain is there too! Look at how expressionless and solemn he is! Isn't he cool?"
"Who's that?"
"That's Lee Da-bi, the guild master of Power Warrior!"
"Boo! Power Warrior! Go to hell! Boo!"
"Hmph! You guys should join Power Warrior too! Join it twice!"
The gates of Genoma City were in utter chaos. Thanks to the players who spotted Tae-hyun's party approaching from a distance, the rumors had spread like wildfire.
"Aren't those priests of the Demer Order? They look like high-ranking priests with crazy high levels."
"Well, it's Kim Tae-hyun. It wouldn't be strange for him to do a quest with the Demer Order, even though he revived the Archisus Church."
"Wait... shouldn't they be on bad terms then?"
"Who are those guys next to them? I've never seen those faces before."
"That's the Black Rock Sect."
One of the spectating players with particularly sharp eyes chimed in.
"The Black Rock Sect?"
"A small, elite guild. They have a decent number of rankers and are pretty skilled."
"I see. So they're good enough to tag along with Kim Tae-hyun."
While the onlookers gossiped, Tae-hyun kept moving forward with the priests without stopping. As soon as they entered the city, paladins of the Demer Order came out to greet them! Gleaming armor and helmets, finely polished longswords. Just by looking at them, one could feel the sheer strength of these Demer paladins.
And right in the center of their escort was Tae-hyun! Just uploading a video of this scene alone would guarantee a massive flood of views.
"Tae-hyun!"
"...?"
To think someone would dare to shout Tae-hyun's name and run out in the middle of such an intimidating atmosphere. Every player present turned their heads toward the source of the voice.
Who the hell dares to act so cocky? Even I'm staying quiet!
They all thought in unison.
Tae-hyun instantly recognized the class of the player who had suddenly appeared. That distinctive attire belonged to a blacksmith. Furthermore, the gunpowder pouch strapped to his waist meant...
"Engineering?"
"Gasp! You recognized it! Yes, that's right! I'm a blacksmith who is also digging into Engineering!"
"But why are you blocking my path?"
"Well, you see... learning Engineering is just so incredibly difficult... I was wondering if you could give me some advice..."
The watching players snickered. There was absolutely no reason for a player of Kim Tae-hyun's stature to be kind to some novice who suddenly popped out of nowhere and demanded help. He probably encountered dozens of beginners every single day, and if he had to listen to every single one of their requests...
*Beckon, beckon—*
"?!"
"Come over here."
Tae-hyun gestured with his finger for the player to come closer, ensuring that others wouldn't be able to overhear them.
Tae-hyun had a soft spot for players who struggled at the game. He was especially weak to those who kept trying their hardest despite their lack of talent. He liked that this player wasn't begging for gold or items, but was simply asking for advice.
"Alright, so what's so hard about leveling up Engineering?"
"First of all, the malfunction rate when crafting Engineering items is just way too high... Because of that, absolutely no one wants to buy them. How did you solve the malfunction issue, Tae-hyun?"
The answer was Luck! His ridiculously, absurdly high Luck stat! The problem was that other players couldn't replicate this method.
"It'll get a bit better as you raise your Engineering skill, but until then, there's not much you can do. Instead, try changing your perspective."
"Huh? My perspective?"
"You don't necessarily have to craft and sell Engineering items to raise your skill. Go hunt with your Engineering items. That's also a viable method."
"But I'm a blacksmith, a crafting class..."
"Who says blacksmiths can't fight? Sure, blacksmiths don't have many offensive skills, but looking at our stats, we're actually surprisingly tanky. Go out there, take a few hits, and fight. And don't just stop there. Try to utilize it to the absolute limit."
"??"
"Engineering items are Unstable. But you don't need to obsess over the drawbacks. You have to exploit the advantages. What is the biggest strength of Engineering? Isn't it the diverse utility and raw firepower? What could be better than that when dealing with enemies?"
"Ah...!"
The player who had sought Tae-hyun's advice wore an expression of profound enlightenment. Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction.
Tae-hyun had absolutely no idea. He could never have guessed that this innocent, pure player would eventually become an Engineering villain who would strike absolute terror into the hearts of everyone in Fantasy Online.