A Demonic Talent
Tae-hyun almost lost his temper and cursed on the spot, but he managed to hold it in. Right. It's not like I have to fight the master of this place just to use the dimensional gate. I can just talk my way through...
"But our master wouldn't open the gates for outsiders."
"Even if I'm a friend of Edaor?"
Tae-hyun insisted on his "friendship" with Edaor until the very end! If Edaor—who was currently holed up in his castle after losing his signature greatsword—ever found out about this, his blood would boil at such a shameless lie.
"Even if you're Edaor's friend, rules are rules. Besides, our master despises Edaor."
"They don't get along?"
"What a stupid question. It'd be weirder if demons ruling different floors actually got along."
The masters of each floor were demons who commanded their own factions. Naturally, they were on terrible terms with other demons. A relationship of hostile rivalry!
"Do you hate Edaor too?"
"Hate him? I've never even met him. I've only heard of his name. How could a low-ranking demon like me ever cross paths with someone like Edaor?"
A sense of awe and fear lingered in the demon warrior's voice. As expected of a high demon! He might have been weakened after being summoned to the continent and met a pathetic end due to Tae-hyun's instant-death attack, but Edaor himself was undoubtedly one of the strongest boss monsters to ever appear on the continent.
"Edaor is truly a magnificent demon. He possesses not just raw power, but also a cunning and profound intellect. His reputation precedes him among our kind. I heard he descended to the continent to execute a terrifyingly wicked plot. He must have painted the continent red with blood before returning."
"...?"
The rumors had spread in a bizarrely distorted way!
"I'm so jealous of the demons serving under him. They must have harvested a massive fortune in human souls."
There was absolutely nothing to be jealous of. They had fractured, fought among themselves, and some had ended up enslaved under Tae-hyun! On top of that, a few of them had been completely forgotten by Tae-hyun and were currently pretending to be decorative statues inside his castle. For a demon, it was the ultimate, most humiliating disgrace.
"Uh... did Edaor brag about his success on the continent? Like, how well he did?" Tae-hyun asked, feeling a slight pang of guilt. Tae-hyun had utterly ruined the grand plans that such a highly renowned demon had painstakingly built over a long period.
"No. I heard Edaor immediately shut himself inside his castle upon his return."
"..."
"He probably closed his gates so he could keep all the spoils for himself. Classic demon move..."
Tae-hyun could easily guess what had actually happened. Edaor had failed to harvest even a fraction of the human souls he was supposed to, got kicked off the continent after being battered by Tae-hyun, and even had his signature greatsword stolen. No demon could ever brag about such a disaster. In the Demon Realm, the weak were utterly despised! If the truth ever got out, hordes of ambitious demons would immediately challenge Edaor.
Edaor probably hasn't even recovered yet...
A demon's true body resided in the Demon Realm. Even if they were summoned to the continent and died in battle, they wouldn't truly perish. However, that didn't mean they escaped without consequences.
At least Edaor won't come chasing after me here. I need to slip away before that happens.
Demons summoned to the continent were significantly weaker than they were in the Demon Realm. Fighting them in their home territory meant risking one's life! He had to get out as quickly as possible. But first...
Tap.
"...?"
As Tae-hyun placed a hand on his shoulder, the demon warrior turned his head.
"What is it?"
"So, where is the shop in this village?"
Even if they were fleeing, they had to enjoy the local amenities first!
"Buying things made by d-demons is a bit..."
"Tsk, Priest Haron. Such narrow-minded thinking will prevent you from achieving great things. Think about it. If we leave these demon-made items here, other people in the world might get their hands on them. I'm simply buying them first to keep them out of harm's way."
Lee Da-bi quietly giggled, barely holding back her laughter. That logic sounded incredibly familiar! Watching the flustered Priest Haron, Tae-hyun was instantly reminded of Kim Tae-san.
—Son, alcohol is bad for your health. How can I just leave such a harmful substance lying around! I must drink it to destroy it!
—Gasp! Yoon-hee! N-No! I wasn't trying to drink it! Really!
Kim Tae-san was a master of coming up with absurd excuses just to sneak a drink. Of course, those excuses rarely ever worked on his wife... Regardless, it had served as an excellent education for Tae-hyun!
"Humans? Hurry up, look around, and get out. Don't touch the items on the top shelves. If you touch them, I'm throwing you out."
The shops in demon villages were incredibly crude and small compared to those in cities. Since it was a small village, it was only natural. On top of that, the demon shopkeeper was extremely hostile. Even though they had raised their reputation and intimacy within the village by completing quests, they were still humans and outsiders! It was a miracle they hadn't been kicked out on sight. Any ordinary player would have been attacked at the entrance.
"Da-bi."
"Yes."
"It's time to put your skills to use."
"Hehehe... are you finally acknowledging my worth?"
"Stop gloating and get to work."
"Yes, sir..."
Despite his blunt words, Tae-hyun had high expectations for Lee Da-bi. She was the one who could shine the brightest in a shop like this. After all, wasn't she a merchant class? A shop was a merchant's true stage!
Da-bi scanned the cramped shop with hawk-like eyes. Dusty items were scattered across shelves made of bone. Emitting from her eyes was the Golden Merchant's Appraisal Eye! Appraisal skills that fully revealed an item's stats were a merchant's bread and butter. While other players had to carry expensive identification scrolls or pay hefty gold to NPCs, merchant players could identify items with a smile.
And Da-bi went one step further. She possessed a skill that allowed her to gauge an item's value just by looking at it! The more expensive an item was, the brighter its golden outline glowed.
"I see it! I see it! I can see the lines!"
"Great. Good for you."
Letting Da-bi's excitement go in one ear and out the other, Tae-hyun began appraising items in his own way. He had his own methods, after all.
Pass.
Pass on this one too.
Just because it was a cramped shop didn't mean there were few items. It was exhausting to inspect them one by one. Moreover, the demon shopkeeper was glaring at them from the corner with flashing eyes! If they kept lingering and touching things, they might actually get kicked out. With low intimacy, that was a very real possibility.
A music box that unleashes a demon's sinister laughter when wound up. It is a toy crafted by a demon blacksmith.
◈ Passive Effect: Increases Infamy by 5 while in possession.
◈ Active Effect: Hearing its sound may inflict the Fear status effect.
What kind of garbage is this...
• You have observed an item of exceptional craftsmanship. Your Engineering skill has increased.
• You possess the Intermediate Engineering skill.
• Your Infamy is above 5,000.
• You have discovered the hidden mechanism of the Wind-up Music Box of Demonic Design.
The Blacksmith of the Abyss
You have discovered a peculiar wind-up music box. While an ordinary person would have overlooked it, your exceptional engineering skills and high Infamy have allowed you to uncover its hidden mechanism.
Inside the hidden compartment, the following message is inscribed:
"Only a worthy villain shall gaze upon these words. Seek me, Saruon, on the continent!"
If you track down this arrogant demon, you may be able to learn an Arcane Engineering skill.
🎁 Reward: ???, ???
Tae-hyun was astonished. A quest like this wasn't easy to come by. An Arcane skill quest! This was a monumental quest, easily on par with the divine Authority skills of the churches. Swordsmanship, Magic, Archery, Blacksmithing, Cooking... all of these basic skills had their own Arcane skills. They were like ultimate moves, hidden treasures! Acquiring them was of paramount importance.
There were surprisingly many players who only focused on their class-specific skills, leaving themselves vulnerable. Players who neglected their basic skills in favor of class skills! Back in Pan-On 1, those players were nothing but easy prey for Tae-hyun.
But why does it have to be a demon? That makes me uneasy.
The NPCs of Pan-On held crucial skills. A retired knight in some royal palace might hold the hidden Arcane skill for swordsmanship, or a sage secluded in the Magic Tower might possess one of the hidden Arcane magic skills... But the blacksmith was a demon hiding on the continent! It felt like dealing with him wouldn't lead to anything pleasant.
"Hey! Why are you just standing there? I told you to look quickly and get out! Are you going to buy that?"
"No?"
Tae-hyun quickly averted his eyes from the music box. Having read the inscription and received the quest, his stingy nature refused to waste precious Soul Stones to actually buy it! Not stopping there, Tae-hyun decided to use a skill.
Normally, the *Deconstruct* skill under *Engineering* was used to break down items to salvage materials, but he had a different motive right now.
I'm not taking it with me, but I can't let anyone else get their hands on it either. I'll deconstruct it and secretly pocket the most important part.
Lucky Stealth!
Divine Foresight!
A very thin, narrow red line appeared. Tae-hyun stood precariously right on top of it and began tampering with the item. Lee Da-bi, who was appraising other items nearby, stared at Tae-hyun and mouthed silently.
What are you doing?!
Distract him while I do this.
How?!
You figure it out.
Da-bi looked like she was about to cry, but she immediately marched over to the demon. The demon shopkeeper scowled the moment she approached.
• You have successfully maintained stealth in front of a powerful demon. Your Stealth skill has increased.
• Your Beginner Stealth skill has evolved into Intermediate Stealth.
His stealth skill had finally reached Intermediate. Tae-hyun's combat style was surprisingly similar to a rogue's. Approaching with swift, dazzling movements, then using skills to explosively multiply his damage... Add to that all sorts of miscellaneous utility skills, the unique skills of his class, and his absurd Luck stat, and you got Tae-hyun!
• You have successfully deconstructed the Wind-up Music Box of Demonic Design.
• Your Engineering skill has increased.
• You have successfully deceived a demon. Your Reputation has increased.
• A hidden message has appeared.
"Bwahahaha! Splendid. To think you would deconstruct the music box instead of trusting my written words. You possess a truly demonic talent!"
Tae-hyun being praised by a demon for being demonic! It was hard to tell if it was a compliment or an insult.
"Those with talent deserve a reward. Come to the shop alley in front of the Erance Royal Palace. A clue I left behind awaits you there!"
The difficulty of the quest instantly plummeted from extreme to moderate-low. Just knowing where to go was a massive advantage. Otherwise, he would have had to scour the entire continent, grabbing every single engineering blacksmith he could find to search for clues! It was an unexpected windfall. The only problem was...
"What is that noise? Huh?!"
The demon shopkeeper glared toward Tae-hyun, his eyes practically spitting fire! Because the voice message had played so loudly upon deconstructing the mechanism, there was absolutely no hiding it.
In that split second, Tae-hyun and Da-bi's eyes locked. When it came to committing misdeeds, the two were always in perfect, unspoken harmony!
What do we need right now?
A scapegoat!
And who is the perfect scapegoat?
Having concluded their silent conversation, they both opened their mouths at the exact same time.
"Cain! How could you do that?!"
"That's right, Cain! I told you to just stand there and watch quietly!"
"????"
As Da-bi and Tae-hyun scolded him in unison, Cain blinked his large, innocent, cow-like eyes at them.
"What... did I... even do..."
"Go wait outside!"