A Success No One Believed In

After some time had passed, Kim Tae-hyun and Choi Sang-yun finally recovered from the shock.

"Whatever. We'll just be more careful from now on."

"Yeah. You cra—... no, you reckless idiot. And seriously, from now on, before you do anything, look it up on the boards first... don't just trust Fantasy Online 1...."

When he thought about how a little worse luck could've shattered the +5 and +6 items on the spot, it made him dizzy just imagining it.

"Still, it worked, didn't it? My Enhancement skill even hit level 4."

Skill Level 4!

Among blacksmiths aiming for enhancements, that basically meant he was at the very front of the pack.

But Choi Sang-yun didn't really know much about the competition for Enhancement skill levels either.

He wasn't a blacksmith, after all.

"Skill level 4? Is that high? I have no idea. I don't know the other blacksmith skill levels either."

"Doesn't matter. I learned a lot, so that's good enough. Besides, somehow I got the Ancient Hammer to +7 too."

The world's first +7 item!

The blazing aura around it was dazzling.

But why didn't any of the options change?

That was what made it so surprising for a +7 enhancement.

Normally, it should've had so many extra effects stuck onto it that reading them all would be a chore.

But the Ancient Hammer hadn't changed at all.

"Are you done?"

Ji-su, who had been lying in the grass waiting, sprang to her feet.

"More or less."

"Hey. What about enhancing mine?!"

"Later. Later. We don't even have enhancement stones. Let's go hunt already. How long are we supposed to do nothing but enhance stuff?"

"We were enhancing because of you, you know?!"

Ignoring Choi Sang-yun completely, Tae-hyun started walking with Ji-su.

Since she'd been lying there while the two of them argued, Ji-su had no idea how the enhancement had gone.

"Did it go well?"

"Yeah. I'll enhance your gear later too."

"Uh, I think I'm okay for now. If I get better equipment later...."

"Then we'll just do it again then. It's fine. It's not that hard."

Tae-hyun said it because he planned to keep leveling his Enhancement skill.

But to Ji-su, it was more than enough to be moving.

Ugh.

Burdened by the look in her eyes, Tae-hyun turned his gaze away.

"Let's go! Hurry!"

The three of them roamed around, attacking every Orc they saw.

"Chwik! Human too strong!"

"Kyaaaagh! Run! Run away!"

Tae-hyun alone had already been strong enough to carve through Orcs, but with Choi Sang-yun added to the mix, it turned into a literal storm of slaughter.

As a result, Ji-su alone was leveling up like crazy.

"I leveled up!"

"Congrats."

"I leveled up again!"

"Already? Nice."

"I leveled up agai—"

"Quiet."

"Yes, sir...."

Tae-hyun was still only level 26.

His experience bar didn't look like it had moved at all.

The penalty for changing classes into the Avatar of Archisus!

The absurd amount of experience required to level up.

Watching him carefully, Ji-su asked,

"Are... are you mad?"

"No. I was joking."

Hearing the exchange, Choi Sang-yun cut in.

"Don't worry. He doesn't get sulky over stuff like that. Make fun of him all you want."

"Okay!"

"What's with the 'okay'? Don't listen to him."

After another round of hunting Orcs, Ji-su logged out.

Unlike Tae-hyun or Choi Sang-yun, she couldn't stay on for that long.

"Then let's call it here for today too."

"Yeah. Let's look for the Orc Chieftain next time we're on."

"You... didn't say anything weird to her, did you?"

"Nope. Nothing at all."

Aside from your home address and phone number.

A petty little revenge!

Choi Sang-yun laughed to himself.

You dense moron who can't even tell whether someone's a guy or a girl—serve you right.

"So where'd you even meet her?"

"In front of the village. She was so bad at the game I ended up helping her, and somehow we just kept playing together. She's so terrible, it kind of tugs at your heart."

There were a few things that made Tae-hyun soft.

Cute cats.

People with kind, hardworking personalities.

And people who were unbelievably earnest about games but just had no talent for them.

Because he himself was so naturally gifted at games, seeing someone who lacked that talent made him a little weak-hearted.

"But you don't really like party hunting, do you? Aren't you usually all solo play?"

"Usually, yeah... but when she asks to come along, it's weirdly hard to say no."

Those sparkling eyes!

She was ridiculously pretty too, and when Ji-su asked like that, it was hard to refuse.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Once we clear this Orc quest, we'll probably split up anyway. Our classes are different, so our quest lines won't match that well."

"Didn't anything about her strike you as odd?"

"Odd? Like how a guy can look that pretty?"

"Exactly! And what else?"

"The way he keeps calling me hyung and sticking close to me?"

"Right! What else?"

"He keeps asking for my number too. And the look in his eyes is kind of weird."

"My friend. Try putting all those things together. Doesn't anything occur to you?"

"You thought that too?"

Choi Sang-yun was slightly surprised.

He'd assumed Tae-hyun was hopelessly oblivious, but apparently the idiot did have some sense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after all.

Hand-fed like this, and he finally got the hint!

"You think Ji-su's probably into men, right?"

"......"

Choi Sang-yun stared at Tae-hyun like he was beyond pathetic.

"You should just... live alone."

Having grown up with Tae-hyun, Choi Sang-yun thought highly of him.

A real man and a real friend.

The kind of person whose true worth only became clearer the longer you knew him.

And on top of that, his family was so rich it wasn't even worth mentioning.

Sure, his face looked a little rough, but honestly, it suited his build.

Unlike Tae-hyun, Choi Sang-yun had been a flower boy, and because of that, he'd always been popular with women.

It baffled him that a guy like Tae-hyun could be alone, so he'd introduced him to girls a few times.

But none of those relationships had lasted.

Because of Tae-hyun's utterly unmatched density.

The guy could notice if a monster lost even one point of HP, but somehow remained that oblivious in real life. It was almost fascinating.

One time, the two of them had tried to go on a double date.

Choi Sang-yun had arrived at the station first with his girlfriend, and Tae-hyun was already there too.

Then the girl Tae-hyun had been introduced to the day before arrived late and called out to him.

At the sound of it, Tae-hyun turned his head and acknowledged her.

To a different girl.

......

Sure, they hadn't been dating long, but what kind of lunatic forgot the face of someone he'd met the day before?

Of course they broke up.

After things like that happened a few times, Tae-hyun started recoiling in disgust anytime Choi Sang-yun said he'd introduce him to a girl.

Ah, forget it. Worry about your own love life. You're always getting dumped....

Whenever Tae-hyun said stuff like that, Choi Sang-yun felt his blood boil.

Almost 99% of his breakups had been Tae-hyun's fault.

Two-thirds of the girls he'd broken up with had said things like this:

You like him more than me, don't you?

Oppa, you like Tae-hyun oppa more than you like me.

Just date each other, you jerk!

And the other third had said this:

Um... sorry. I think I ended up liking Tae-hyun more than you.

Oppa, I'm sorry. You can't control your heart, right?

Sure, it was partly Choi Sang-yun's own fault for bringing Tae-hyun along when he hung out with them—but still, every single breakup happening because of Tae-hyun, or because they fell for Tae-hyun, was just too much, wasn't it?

If people got to know Tae-hyun, he really was attractive.

Still, come on.

What made a person truly lose their mind was Tae-hyun's attitude about it.

Dumped again? You really suck at dating.

A provocation so infuriating it could make someone clutch the back of their neck and collapse.

And that wasn't even the end of it.

One of the girls who'd fallen for Tae-hyun had eventually worked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the courage to approach him herself.

Granted, she'd been Choi Sang-yun's ex-girlfriend.

But Sang-yun had been willing to endure it.

He hadn't truly liked her that much anyway, and Tae-hyun was his friend.

If the two of them got together because of that...

But the next time Tae-hyun showed up, he came alone.

...?Where'd you leave Ji-eun? Why're you by yourself?

What are you talking about?

Didn't Ji-eun confess to you?

Oh. That was a confession? She said she wanted to walk with me, so I told her I work out alone.

......

She should've said she liked me if she was confessing properly.

And if she had?

If she'd said it properly, I would've rejected her properly too.

He had never once said he would've accepted her.

You could've at least tried dating her.

I don't like her. It'd be a waste of time. Too bothersome.

After things like that kept happening, Choi Sang-yun started to worry.

At this rate, isn't this bastard going to die alone without ever dating anyone?

And then along came a cute girl like Ji-su, chasing after Tae-hyun with a fluttering heart.

He wanted to help.

Besides, wasn't she one of the rare people Tae-hyun actually kept around?

He'd probably taken pity on her because she seemed young and bad at the game.

Tae-hyun had always been weak to stuff like that.

Otherwise, there was no way he'd keep dragging around such a pretty boy—or what he thought was a pretty boy.

If they missed this chance, Tae-hyun might really live alone until the day he died.

I should push this as hard as I can!

She didn't seem like a bad kid, and with a face like that, there was no way her real one would be ugly either.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet Tae-hyun was over there spouting complete nonsense....

Tae-hyun was watching videos.

Game broadcast videos.

After hearing Choi Sang-yun out, Tae-hyun had to admit he was reflecting a little.

He'd relied too much on his experience from Fantasy Online 1 and looked down on 2.

He'd only gotten lucky. If things had gone a little differently, the Ancient Hammer might've shattered.

If he wanted to seriously aim for climbing the rankings from here on, it would be better to watch other people's videos and gather information.

"Right. Why study if you're not gonna use it?"

Tae-hyun started browsing to see what videos were up today.

The range of broadcasts was broad.

From entertainment to strategy guides.

Everyone was desperately trying to break into the rankings.

In the middle of all that, it looked like the ranker Smith had reached the final stretch of his Legendary class quest.

The quest he was streaming live right now was insanely popular.

Man. Is he seriously going to pull it off?

Seeing a handsome guy succeed for some reason pissed him off.

"Oh, what's this?"

Without thinking much of it, Tae-hyun clicked the broadcast.

A blacksmith named Lucas was on stream, explaining himself.

A +7 item!

This was the item Lucas had enhanced.

The description window sounded like it was mocking him, but the stats and options really were dazzling.

It had all kinds of skills slapped onto it, and its durability and defense had gone beyond even decent heavy armor.

On top of that, it had no level restriction and no stat restriction.

At this point, high-level Rogue-type players could put these on right now and use them just fine.

There was a reason Lucas was holding a clarification stream like this.

He'd said he'd successfully made a +7 item, but no title had appeared.

And after seeing that, the viewers had grown suspicious.

Didn't this guy just claim he got +7 and then run off with everything?