The Blue Trap
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's a motorcycle! You actually finished it!"
Before Tae-hyun could even finish his train of thought, Cain let out a roar of pure excitement. It was a rare sight to see Cain so genuinely, innocently thrilled. He had been pacing back and forth next to Tae-hyun the entire time he was crafting, waiting with bated breath.
"You like it that much?"
"I've wanted one of these since Pan-On 1!"
"Pan-On 1?"
"Ah, maybe you wouldn't know. Back in Pan-On 1, there was this guy named Kim Tae-hyun who rode a rocket and slammed himself right into his opponent..."
Cain smugly launched into an explanation. He was treating Tae-hyun like a complete newbie! Tae-hyun could only stare at him in utter disbelief.
Heh. I'm the one who actually did that, you know?
"So, are you planning to ride this and slam into someone too?"
"Are you crazy?! I'm going to treasure it! I'll feed it and oil it every single day!"
Lee Da-bi tilted her head as she watched Cain. "A motorcycle eats food?"
"In Pan-On, you can feed them. Don't ask me how that works mechanically. Anyway, we need to choose one each..."
Neither Lee Da-bi nor Cain could see the hidden options. It was an inevitable limitation of their low Engineering skills.
One had a low probability of triggering random teleportation.
One had a low probability of triggering Sadiq's Flame Dash.
One had a low probability of triggering Archisus's Divine Shield.
And among these, one was a blatant trap!
Who should I give the teleportation one to?
Normally, he would have handed it straight to Cain, but Tae-hyun hesitated. Cain had just admitted to dreaming of a mechanical mount ever since watching him in Pan-On 1. That level of dedication actually touched Tae-hyun a little. Besides, he had been giving Cain a lot of grief lately, so rewarding him with something decent didn't seem like a bad idea.
Right. And from a class synergy perspective, if Cain suddenly teleports away in the middle of a fight, it'll make things difficult for me when I'm trying to battle...
"Alright, Da-bi. You take this blue motorcycle, and—"
"No way!"
"??"
Tae-hyun turned his head at Cain's sudden outburst.
"Let me choose first!"
"Uh... you want the blue one?"
"Yes! You can at least give me priority on this much!" Cain cried out desperately.
"No, I mean... why do you want the blue one so badly?"
"..."
Cain shut his mouth. He had only one reason for wanting the blue one.
That bastard was definitely trying to give the best one to Lee Da-bi!
It was a reason far too embarrassing to say out loud.
"Are you seriously acting like this because you think I was trying to give Da-bi the good one?"
"N-no, I'm not!"
"You totally are. So, you want the blue motorcycle?"
"Yes! Just this once! I'll listen to whatever you say from now on!"
"Oh, really? Even if I tell you to self-destruct?"
"...I'll do it, you crazy bastard!" Cain screamed in sheer desperation.
Watching this, Tae-hyun shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, if you want it that badly, go ahead and take it."
"Seriously?! For real?! No takebacks?!"
"If you like it so much, why would I stop you? Take it."
Tae-hyun looked at Cain with a gaze full of pity. There were people who succeeded no matter what they did, and then there were people who failed no matter what. Cain was undeniably the latter. He was actively kicking away his own good fortune.
Lee Da-bi whispered from beside him. "The blue one is the worst, isn't it?"
"Why would you think that? The base stats are all the same."
"You have hidden options, don't you? The ones only visible to the creator."
"...How did you know?"
"Because whenever you're nice to Cain, there's always a catch!"
Lee Da-bi had already figured it out. The two of them stared at Cain with profound pity. Completely oblivious, Cain was happily stroking his new motorcycle with a massive grin on his face.
"Now, for the Orichalcum Arrows..."
Tae-hyun paused. Come to think of it, the arrows used for that crossbow weren't just ordinary arrows—they were Orichalcum Arrows. He clearly needed a crafting recipe for them.
Ugh... do I have to go to the Auston Kingdom?
The Auston Kingdom left a bad taste in his mouth because of all the trouble he had caused there. Even if he hadn't been caught yet, there were still far too many enemies waiting for him in that region. After all, Su Ning was still alive and kicking, probably watching like a hawk.
Although the massive Guild Alliance wasn't making any major moves right now as they prepared for the Grand Prix tournament, things would be completely different if Tae-hyun showed up in person. It would basically be begging to be killed.
Well, I should be fine...
No matter who came after him, Tae-hyun was confident he could shake them off. Though, if Lee Se-yeon found out, she would probably nag him to death for doing something so reckless right before the tournament...
Who cares!
Tae-hyun didn't give a damn. Before setting off, he made a few more preparations.
500 Contribution Points have been consumed.
120 Contribution Points have been consumed.
He used his precious, hard-earned Contribution Points to restock his potions and bombs. A relentless bombardment of explosives made possible by Advanced Engineering!
Watching this, Lee Da-bi tilted her head.
"But you can't even use this kind of gear in the Grand Prix tournament, right?"
"I'm not planning to use them in the arena. I'm going to use them afterward."
"On whom?"
"Probably Lee Se-yeon?"
"..."
"Hey, I'm not saying I definitely will... but she might try to throw the first punch at me, you know?"
"Chairman, we have analyzed your level, class, stats, and skills to compile a list of the absolute best hunting grounds for you right now."
This was the sheer power of astronomical wealth! If Tae-hyun had known about this, he would have grumbled, Why are you wasting money on something so useless? But there was no one here to say such things.
"The Auston Kingdom?"
"Yes! Demons are currently spawning there, making it the hottest spot for leveling up right now."
Players had various ways of leveling up. Solo players like Tae-hyun often focused on quests, since they granted experience points during the process and offered additional rewards upon completion.
However, players who moved in parties or guilds rarely obsessed over quests. There was simply no need! It was incredibly difficult to constantly find suitable quests that a large group of people could all accept together. Instead, it was far more efficient to find high-quality hunting grounds or dungeons and continuously power-level through mob-sweeping.
In that sense, Chairman Yoo's party was definitely the latter. A tightly knit group bound by the motto, Our Beloved Chairman!
"The Auston Kingdom... If it's the Auston Kingdom, then..."
Chairman Yoo searched his memory. The Auston Kingdom was precisely where Kim Tae-san was currently active!
I can't wait to see how that fellow reacts when he sees this.
Chairman Yoo grinned as he looked around. It was a transformation so grand that even Kim Tae-san would never see it coming.
"We! Are! Strong!"
Jeong Su-hyeok and his friends shouted their slogan out of habit before starting.
"But... are we really strong?"
"W-well, who knows?"
They had made it this far, but they didn't feel strong in the slightest.
"Don't think like that! Just two more wins and we're in the main tournament! The main tournament!"
"It doesn't feel real..."
"Do you guys know that the kids from our university department are watching our matches?"
"What? Seriously?"
"Well, since we've made it this far in the tournament, it's only natural that rumors would spread."
"We really managed to drag ourselves all the way here..."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Honestly, looking at the caliber of the other participating players, it was a miracle they had survived this long. Of course, that didn't mean they were going to back down. Whether it was sheer luck or something else, an opportunity was an opportunity!
"Hey, send a whisper to our senior."
"Do we really have anything to say to him?"
Tae-hyun had already given them all the advice he could. In truth, their strategy boiled down to just one thing: gather as many enemies as possible in one place, and leave the rest to pure luck! Since they were completely outclassed in terms of raw skill, that was their only option. The remaining teams in the qualifiers were opponents they could never defeat through normal means.
"Just send one anyway!"
"Yeah, do it! Do it!"
Even though there was nothing left for Tae-hyun to advise them on, his friends wanted to send a whisper just to find some peace of mind. Left with no choice, Jeong Su-hyeok sent a whisper to Tae-hyun.
Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed by Jeong Su-hyeok's attitude. Despite facing an incredibly uphill battle, he had absolute faith in himself! Although there were many variables, with that level of confidence, Tae-hyun felt he could trust them. He was certain that he would see Jeong Su-hyeok in the main tournament!
However, Tae-hyun would never meet Jeong Su-hyeok in the main tournament. After exhausting all his strength to defeat two opponents, Jeong Su-hyeok suffered a catastrophic defeat in the very next battle due to the side effects of Archisus's magic, as if it were all a cruel joke.
Jeong Su-hyeok's team was eliminated!
"See? I told you I should have disguised myself and helped them!"
"No, that would have been crossing the line."
"Yeah, that's definitely a bit much."
At Tae-hyun's grumbling, both of them shook their heads. No matter how they looked at it, sneaking into the tournament in disguise was completely insane.
"By the way, Tae-hyun."
"Yeah?"
"You need to find a blacksmith from the Auston Royal Family, right?"
"Yeah. You know, one of those retired blacksmith NPCs. There are quite a few blacksmith players active in the Auston Kingdom, so shouldn't some information have leaked by now?"
"Yes, it has."
What Tae-hyun was looking for was a blacksmith who knew the recipe for crafting the arrows. To do that, he absolutely had to find a blacksmith associated with the Auston Royal Family. A blacksmith NPC of that caliber would undoubtedly be famous among blacksmith players, so his calculation was that the information would already be out there.
And his calculation was spot on. Lee Da-bi, who had mobilized the members of the Power Warrior Guild to investigate, had found the answer immediately.
"But..."
"What is it?"
"They say he's already been taken."
"By whom?"
"One of the large guilds... apparently, they brought him to their fortress."
"Why?! Why would they do that?" Tae-hyun asked, completely dumbfounded.
"Well, having a high-tier blacksmith NPC is always beneficial."
"But isn't that an excessive investment for guys who don't even own a city?" Tae-hyun grumbled.
He obviously knew why they had taken the blacksmith NPC. Not only would it allow for fortress repairs and crafting, but it would also unlock various quests, and blacksmith players flocking to the location was an added bonus. Especially for an outstanding NPC like a retired royal blacksmith, blacksmith players would do whatever it took to seek him out. Naturally, the fortress would grow on its own.
"It's not Su Ning, right? Please tell me it's not Su Ning."
"No, it's not Su Ning."
"Well, that's a relief."
If the Su Ning Guild had him, things would have been incredibly complicated.
"But, well... it is a guild allied with Su Ning."
Even if they weren't as bad as Su Ning, they certainly weren't a guild that would welcome Tae-hyun with open arms.
"This is driving me crazy. Do I have to sneak in wearing a disguise?"
"Getting into the fortress might be one thing, but actually meeting the blacksmith in disguise might be difficult, don't you think?"
"Is it really that bad? Bad enough that I'd get caught?" Tae-hyun asked in surprise. Did the enemy guild's fortress have players with such high-level Appraisal skills?
"No, it's not that... From what I've heard, that guild is using the blacksmith NPC to run a very lucrative business."
"In what way?"
"Guild recruitment. Since you can never have too many blacksmiths."
"Ugh..." Tae-hyun groaned.
It was a common tactic. Look at this amazing NPC we have! If you want to talk to him and learn from him, join our guild!
The problem was that if they did this, it would be impossible to contact the blacksmith NPC through normal means. If anyone could easily meet him inside the fortress, the recruitment tactic would lose its value. They were probably keeping him deep inside an area accessible only to guild members.
"Tsk. If they were NPCs, it would be easy, but they're all players, right?"
"Yes."
If they were NPCs, he was confident he could talk his way in using his Speech skill, but that wouldn't work on players.
"Well, let's head inside the fortress first. That part should be easy enough."
With so many players constantly traveling back and forth through the Auston Kingdom, getting inside the fortress itself would be a breeze.