The King of the Unemployed
“Haha. My dear friend Sang-yun! It seems there’s been some misunderstanding. There’s no way I would’ve cut off our whisper chat. Clearly, there was some kind of network err—”
“Cut the crap. Did you seriously pick the Salz Kingdom?”
“Yep.”
A sigh came through the whisper chat.
“Ah... seriously. I told you not to. The Salz Kingdom is far away too, so it’d be hard for me to come help.”
“I don’t need your help, you know?”
“Come on. How could I not help? More importantly, you know the Fantasy Online Mania site, right?”
It was the site where every kind of game-related content was gathered, from guides and information posts to videos.
There was no way Kim Tae-hyun wouldn’t know it.
Besides, he had once been something of a celebrity there.
After all, he’d gone around beating rankers to death with a blacksmith build...
“Of course I know it.”
“When Fantasy Online 2 came out, they just added a 2 to the front of the site name. Everything else stayed the same. You can access it in-game. It’ll probably be faster to search there than keep asking me stuff.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Just search Salz Kingdom once, and you’ll understand why I told you not to go there.”
At those words, Tae-hyun immediately pulled up the window and searched.
“...”
Tae-hyun grinned.
I’ve got a feeling this is hardcore difficulty.
“You’re smiling, aren’t you?”
“What kind of person do you take me for?”
“You seem like exactly the kind of freak who’d love this. But whatever. So what did you whisper me for? What’s so important?”
“Oh, I’ve got bonus stat points piling up, and I want to distribute them according to my class. What class do you think is best? Ah—and by ‘best,’ I mean which one is the most utterly doomed.”
“Yeah, I know, you little punk.”
“What about blacksmith? It sucked in 1.”
“Blacksmith? No. In 2, it’s super popular. If you get even a Rare blacksmith-type class, guilds will be falling over themselves trying to recruit you.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
Tae-hyun felt all the excitement drain out of him.
In Fantasy Online 1, blacksmith had been a class only complete losers bothered raising.
That had been the fun of it—taking a garbage class like that and beating flashy top-tier classes with it.
“Then blacksmith is out. Not doing it.”
“Hahahahaha. Now that I think about it, there’s one more reason you’d hate it.”
“...?”
“I’ve already run into three of them.”
“Three what?”
“People impersonating you.”
“...???”
Tae-hyun tilted his head, genuinely confused.
“What are you talking about?”
“You went around beating people up as a blacksmith in 1, remember? That left a pretty huge impression. So now there are guys copying you. They even made their names Kim Tae-hyun and are going down the blacksmith tech tree.”
“Come on... Kim Tae-hyun isn’t exactly a rare name. It’s probably just a coincidence.”
“Nope. Their appearances look a lot like how you looked in 1 too. They definitely did it on purpose. I’ve seen you often enough—there’s no way I wouldn’t know. Fantasy Online 2 lets you change your looks pretty drastically.”
Not your sex, but still.
And besides, in 1, Tae-hyun had always worn a helmet.
Making your outer appearance look vaguely similar wasn’t hard at all.
“There really are some weird bastards out there. Why would they copy me?”
“You don’t get to say that. Anyway, they’d probably be thrilled to see you. Or maybe they’d mistake you for another fake like them. Hahaha!”
“I decline both options. Anyway, if blacksmith is that overpowered, I’m not interested... Hey. Which stat is the most useless?”
“You’re still Jobless / Unemployed right now, aren’t you?”
“What? I’m not unemployed, I’m a college stu—”
“Idiot. In the game!”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.”
“Then the stats you can raise right now are probably Mana, Strength, Agility, Constitution, Wisdom, and Luck.”
As Sang-yun explained, once you got a class—and later cleared more quests—other stats would start appearing too.
“Stuff like Leadership, Magic Attack Power, and Magic Defense Power probably won’t even show up yet...”
“I asked for the useless stat. Not the useful ones.”
“The most useless stat? That one’s easy. Luck.”
“Luck? Isn’t that useful in its own way?”
“It gets used in plenty of places, but the efficiency is garbage. No matter how much you raise it, all it does is increase probabilities a tiny bit. Honestly, stat points are too valuable. Who the hell would waste them on Luck? Other than you. But shouldn’t you pick your class first? Even if you’re building a trash character, your stats should still fit the class concept.”
“I already decided on my class.”
“...?”
“What are you going with?”
“I’m not changing classes.”
“...What?”
“If I don’t advance, I stay Jobless / Unemployed, right? My starting state.”
“You insane bastard! Who the hell keeps playing as a beginner forever? You’re not gonna get class skills?”
“It’s perfect! The nickname will be great too. King of the Unemployed. Better than Crazy Blacksmith, don’t you think?”
Choi Sang-yun let out a helpless laugh.
In Fantasy Online 2, you had to advance out of the Jobless / Unemployed state—basically the beginner state—before you could start receiving proper class skills and quests.
Refusing to advance meant giving all of that up.
Naturally, it also meant your character would be ridiculously weak.
“No class change, and every single stat point into Luck. In Fantasy Online 1, I got screwed over because of Luck, so maybe this time I’ll finally profit from it.”
“For that to happen, at a minimum, you need to survive. If you raise your character like that, do you really think you’ll make it out of the Salz Kingdom?”
Sang-yun thought of the stagecoach.
It was one of the safer methods low-level players could use to travel.
But that stagecoach was driven by an NPC.
And that NPC was surprisingly picky.
If your level was too low, or you hadn’t advanced, they would flat-out ignore you.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. There’s always a way in games.”
“...Yeah. Go enjoy your freakshow playstyle. If you need help, call me.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Once the whisper ended, Tae-hyun immediately spent his stat points.
All of it into Luck.
By the way... how did everyone else kill rabbits?
Tae-hyun knew perfectly well that his own control was better than most people’s.
And even he had barely managed to kill one.
That meant it had to be even harder for everyone else.
Tae-hyun opened the Fantasy Online 2 Mania site again.
“Salz, Salz...”
“Oh. There it is.”
The replies were kind enough.
“Hmm. I did it, though.”
Tae-hyun closed the window.
“Do I really need to party hunt?”
But when he looked around, everyone else was already gathering people and looking for parties.
There were fewer players here, which only made them stand out more.
He could already see groups of players moving around in packs.
Whether they did or not, Tae-hyun threw himself at the rabbits alone.
He still had a long way to go.
Beating strong characters with a weak one might look cool from the outside, but behind it lay endless grinding and suffering.
Name:Kim Tae-hyun
Level:10
Class:Jobless / Unemployed
HP (Constitution):190
MP (Mana):190
Strength:10
Agility:10
Constitution:10
Wisdom:10
Luck:55
Bonus Stats:0
Not bad. If nothing else, they seem pretty generous with experience.
Then again, if they filled the place with monsters that difficult and didn’t give decent experience, that would just be a scam.
Another player would have looked at that stat window like he was insane.
Tae-hyun, on the other hand, gazed at it with satisfaction.
Check items.
◈ Fresh, but dangerous if eaten without cooking.
Cooking had actually been a fairly important part of Fantasy Online 1.
Depending on the dish, you could get temporary buffs—or even permanent ones—so players tackling difficult raids always made sure to eat first.
Fantasy Online 2 was very different from 1, but Tae-hyun figured this part was probably similar.
Maybe I should at least light a fire and roast it. It probably won’t taste good, though.
“Well now. I’ve been watching, and you’re handling those rabbits quite skillfully.”
“...?”
Tae-hyun turned his head.
A bearded hunter who looked like a bandit was approaching him.
NPC?
“I am August, a hunter. But you seem to be a rookie adventurer. Why is it that you never came to see me?”
The beginner quest, Go Find Hunter August, has been changed.
Hunter August is curious why an adventurer who looks like nothing more than a green rookie never came to find him and is instead hunting alone. It would be wise to satisfy his curiosity.
Hmm...
Tae-hyun’s mind spun quickly.
The place he was in was Tyrum City, one of the cities of the Salz Kingdom.
The Salz Kingdom itself was a nation located in mountainous terrain, and Tyrum City was built right in the middle of the mountains.
There was a reason other players dismissed it as little more than a village.
It was that small, and that difficult.
And from that, Tae-hyun could read the city’s defining trait.
Hunters must be respected here.
In a country full of plains, knight orders held power.
In a country full of mountains, hunters did.
That had been true in Fantasy Online 1 too.
Right now, Tae-hyun had no fame at all and was just Jobless / Unemployed—no, just an adventurer.
The other party, meanwhile, was a hunter.
There was nothing to gain from getting on his bad side.
And judging by the quest description...
Kim Tae-hyun was the sort of man who could become as shamelessly humble as needed.
His head bowed immediately.
“My apologies, Sir August. I judged my own skills to be lacking, so I have been training myself until I could come before you in a manner worthy of your regard.”
“Hah! I thought all the adventurers coming through these days were empty-headed fools, but it seems at least one of them has some sense!”
August is very pleased.
“With that sort of mindset, you’re more than qualified. And judging from the way you handled those rabbits just now, your fundamentals are solid too. It’s been a long time since I felt like teaching someone. What do you say? Would you like to learn under me?”
Pass Hunter August’s Test
The Tyrum Hunters are an honorable profession even within the Salz Kingdom. This is not an opportunity one commonly receives.
🎁 Reward: Class change to Tyrum Hunter
Classes were divided into Normal, Rare, Heroic, and Legendary.
If it was Rare, most players would at least pause to think.
But Tae-hyun didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
“My apologies! I am still far too lacking!”
“That’s fine. Everyone starts out that way.”
Hunter August...
Ah, why is this guy so persistent?
Dismissing the pop-up that appeared again, Tae-hyun spoke with solemn seriousness.
“Even if you hold me in high regard, Sir August, I cannot yet hold myself in high regard. If a man cannot stand proudly before himself, then how can he call himself a man?”
Tae-hyun’s struggle to avoid changing classes was desperate.
If this doesn’t work, do I need to start insulting him? I’d get penalized in the city, but...
August is very pleased.
Damn it!!
“Yes. That is what it means to be a man, and that is the spirit of the Tyrum Hunter!”
August laughed and slapped Tae-hyun on the shoulder.
“I like you more and more. Still, if a man says he wishes to train himself first, then it would not do to force him. Very well—train yourself until you are satisfied. If you ever wish to learn as a Tyrum Hunter, you may come to me anytime.”
“Thank you very much!”
I need to stay the hell away from this guy from now on.
Without the faintest clue what Tae-hyun was actually thinking, August was pleased.
“Ah, right. A rookie like you will find preparation and handling the aftermath of a hunt troublesome in all sorts of ways. Come to me, and I’ll buy your goods at a good price.”
You may now use August’s shop at a reduced price.
“Thank you, Sir August!”
“Yes, yes. Have a good day.”
Tae-hyun grabbed August by the arm just as he was about to leave.
“Then I’d like to use it right now.”