A Favor from a Friend

Affinity is adjusted according to your Luck stat. It varies depending on the NPC’s disposition and current circumstances.

Is it because of this skill?

It was one of the passive skills he’d received when he changed classes into the Avatar of Archisus.

It was a good skill.

The problem was…

Kim Tae-hyun had absolutely no way to do anything about it right now!

If he went around killing the fortress soldiers, his affinity would probably drop, but if he did that, he wouldn’t just fail the quest—he’d end up wanted.

If it’s a Legendary Class, they should’ve given me something like an area-of-effect skill. Instead I get nothing but weird crap. Seriously.

Grumbling to himself, Tae-hyun gave up on the plan.

At this point, there was only one option left.

Choi Sang-yun was startled to get a whisper from Tae-hyun for the first time in a while.

And when Tae-hyun asked him for help, he was even more shocked.

Tae-hyun just wasn’t the sort of person who asked for help unless he absolutely had to.

If anything, back in Fantasy Online 1, Sang-yun had been the one getting help from him.

This wasn’t even a quest Tae-hyun was doing alone, and Ji-su was with him too.

Besides, this was no time for Tae-hyun to be posturing.

I need to get up there as fast as possible and set something up…

With his Legendary Class, leveling was already painfully difficult.

Help or no help, if he needed it, he had to take it.

To be precise, it wasn’t Aden Fortress itself, but what was happening a little ways away at Ogden Fortress.

Ogden Fortress belonged to the Auston Kingdom, but the kingdom was in the middle of a civil war and barely functioning.

Taking advantage of that chaos, the Red Zone Guild had occupied Ogden Fortress.

Even if it wasn’t a castle or a city, controlling a fortress still brought in huge profits.

To squeeze every last drop of value out of the place, the Red Zone Guild members had started charging tolls to passing players and taxing anyone who hunted nearby.

Players who needed to kill the Orcs around the fortress had no choice but to pay.

Fortunately, Tae-hyun and Ji-su had entered through Aden Fortress in the Salz Kingdom, so they hadn’t had to deal with any of that.

But players trying to clear quests through Ogden Fortress had no choice except to swallow their tears and obey the guild’s demands.

After all, just anyone couldn’t get into Aden Fortress in the Salz Kingdom.

If you’re not from the Salz Kingdom, they treat you like dirt there.

Tae-hyun understood the situation immediately.

“A friend?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of friend?”

“A friend who’s good at games. Childhood friend. Decent guy, reliable, works hard in-game… and he’s way higher level than me. He started earlier. He’s a ranker, or close ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to one.”

Ji-su’s eyes lit up at Tae-hyun’s description.

“Then why isn’t he here yet? He said he was almost here.”

In the distance, a beautiful woman with long straight hair appeared.

She had a slim face and vivid eyes.

She was beautiful enough that he felt like he’d seen her somewhere before.

While Tae-hyun was still frowning in confusion, the beauty walked up and said,

“Hey. I’m here.”

“...Who are you?”

“It’s me. Me. Choi Sang-yun.”

“????”

In Fantasy Online 2, you could alter your appearance, but not your sex.

And right now, no matter how he looked at this person, Sang-yun was a woman.

And not just any woman—a real beauty who’d make people do a double take.

“Am I losing my mind?”

“No. Listen. Here’s what happened…”

Unlike rough-looking Tae-hyun, Choi Sang-yun had always been popular for his flower-boy looks.

Back in school, if he cross-dressed, he was pretty enough to outshine most girls.

And Sang-yun knew perfectly well that he was handsome.

Then one day, a thought had struck him.

What if I cross-dress in the game too?

When he started Fantasy Online 2, he sculpted his face to be as beautiful as possible, leveled up enough to get a wig and fake-breast items…

It was only possible because he was a naturally gorgeous pretty boy to begin with.

And the disguise had been perfect.

Followers swarmed around him!

The game’s difficulty had plummeted in an instant.

“So you’ve just kept cross-dressing ever since?”

“Yeah. Ah, when other people are around, call me Sa-yu. Not Sang-yun.”

“...”

Tae-hyun stared at his friend as if he were hopeless.

“Seriously. Of all the stupid things to do…”

“Hey, you should try it too. It’s seriously convenient. And fun!”

“Wait. You weren’t on any of the ranker broadcasts. Don’t tell me the reason you weren’t on them is…”

“You were only looking for male rankers, weren’t you? That’s why you didn’t find me.”

A shocking truth.

While the two whispered, Ji-su looked like she’d just been hit in the face with a hammer.

“A-a-a…”

“A?”

“You… had a girlfriend…?”

The moment Ji-su blurted that out, Sang-yun grinned.

The situation was just too perfect to pass up.

“Yeah.”

Someone who knew him in real life, was his childhood friend, and was a breathtaking beauty.

Ji-su suddenly felt unbelievably small.

“Ah, shut up. You’re making her misunderstand. She’s not my girlfriend.”

“More than friends, less than lovers, right? I know the type. They do it all the time in dramas…”

Tae-hyun planted his fists against both sides of Ji-su’s head and twisted.

“Ow, ow, ow!”

“If you’ve got eyes, use them properly. He’s a guy.”

At Tae-hyun’s words, Choi Sang-yun took off the wig and laughed.

Ji-su’s eyes went round.

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist teasing you.”

“This is why handsome bastards are the worst… Don’t turn out like him. He’s got a face like that and uses it in the weirdest way possible.”

At Tae-hyun’s words, Sang-yun tilted his head.

“Bastards?”

Ji-su was a little androgynously pretty, but Sang-yun had enough cross-dressing experience to spot it right away.

Ji-su was a girl.

Keeping his voice low so Tae-hyun wouldn’t hear, Sang-yun asked,

“You’re a girl, aren’t you?”

“...Yes.”

“And he thinks you’re a boy?”

“...Yes…”

Sang-yun made a little circle with his finger.

Situation grasped instantly.

She likes Tae-hyun… and that idiot is so dense he hasn’t noticed a thing.

What an entertaining situation.

“I’ll help you.”

“Pardon? With what? Hunting?”

“With anything!”

“??”

“Want me to start by giving you Tae-hyun’s address?”

“...!”

Ji-su immediately grabbed Sang-yun’s hand.

“Unni!”

“Sorry, but I’m a guy.”

“I see. What else?”

“He used to get into fights in high school. Once I got cornered by some punks who were shaking me down, and he came and saved me. Fought four against one and won.”

Ji-su’s eyes sparkled.

She loved hearing stories about Tae-hyun she didn’t know.

Walking ahead of them, Tae-hyun turned around.

“You two got close fast.”

“I was telling her stories about your high school days.”

“Why would you tell her that? Don’t.”

Tae-hyun waved his hands dismissively.

He wasn’t proud of the fact that he used to get into fights.

Ji-su carefully recorded the information Sang-yun gave her.

Tae-hyun’s address, number, university, even his real name!

“He’s really dense, isn’t he?”

“Yes! Seriously!”

The truth was, Ji-su had considered telling him right away that she was a girl.

But saying it herself somehow hurt her pride.

He’ll figure it out eventually!

But now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that she’d seen this… he really might never realize it to the bitter end.

“Tae-hyun. What exactly is the quest?”

“Kill an Orc chieftain and bring back its head.”

“???”

Sang-yun tilted his head.

“That’s a quest you got at your current level? What level are you, anyway?”

“26.”

“That’s slower than I expected.”

Of course it was. He’d spent all his time cramming up his Luck with Rabbit Foots.

“It just kind of happened.”

“A level 26 gets a quest to kill an Orc chieftain? Weird. If it’s an Orc chieftain target… let’s head to the tribe first and see if we can break through. If I can handle it alone, I will. If not, I’ll call people in.”

“People?”

“If I put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out the word, priests and holy knights will come running in formation, okay?”

Tae-hyun shook his head.

He keeps living like that, one day it’s going to blow up in his face.

“Ah. Before we go, hand over your gear.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll tune it up a little with my blacksmith skill.”

“No way!”

“You don’t trust me?”

“I trusted you in 1, but you’re level 26 right now! You probably haven’t even changed into a blacksmith class! Why would I hand over my gear to you?”

If other players had seen them, they would have definitely stepped in.

Rough-looking Tae-hyun was grabbing a beautiful woman and demanding she hand over her equipment.

“Come on, trust me. It’s not like I’ve ever lied about this kind of thing befo—… okay, I have, but not this time.”

“...Here.”

“This isn’t the sword you’re using right now.”

At his waist, Sang-yun wore a long curved blade.

It didn’t look flashy at first glance, but the presence coming from the scabbard was anything but ordinary.

A masterpiece at a glance.

“Did you really think I’d hand over the gear I’m actually using? You’ve scammed me too many times for that. Try this one first. If you do a good job, I might lend you the real one too.”

Friendship or not, trust had nothing to do with it.

Sang-yun knew Tae-hyun very well.

Once Tae-hyun decided he wanted to do something, friendship meant absolutely nothing to him. He would charge ahead anyway.

“Tch. Stingy bastard.”

“That item’s level requirement is over 75, you know? If I sold it for cash, we’d be starting in the hundreds.”

At that, Tae-hyun opened the item window.

As expected of someone called a ranker, the weapon Sang-yun had handed over was extraordinary.

Just imagining how much his blacksmith skills would rise from handling this made Tae-hyun excited already.

He rubbed his palms together.

Watching that, Sang-yun asked uneasily,

“You do have a blacksmith skill, right?”

“Ah, trust me, will you? You owed me a lot in 1.”

“In 1 you’d already changed into a blacksmith! In 2 you haven’t changed classes at all! Who told you not to?”

“I did change classes.”

“Huh? Really? Into what?”

“I’ll tell you after I work on this.”

“Is it a blacksmith-type class?”

Sang-yun’s voice carried genuine anticipation.

In Fantasy Online 1, Tae-hyun had been a blacksmith no one could compare to.

If he’d corrected that insane taste of his and actually changed into a blacksmith this time, then in 2 he would be incredible again.

Knowing one truly great blacksmith in Fantasy Online made life absurdly easy.

Repairs, enhancements, every kind of equipment problem—solved.

Instead of answering, Tae-hyun pulled out a hammer.