Spam Calls and Sacred Water

"Ah. It's probably spam. Don't you get those calls all the time?" Tae-hyun said nonchalantly, picking his ear.

Seeing this, Kim Tae-san felt his blood pressure rising once again. Don't lose your cool. Keep it together...

"What did they say?"

"What was it again...? They said they were ST Five and asked if I was Kim Tae-hyun..."

ST Five. That was the name of the professional gaming team run by ST Telecom.

"You idiot! What kind of spam caller advertises under a name like that?! If they wanted you to change your phone plan, they would've used a different company's name!"

"Oh, really? I just heard 'ST' and assumed it was spam..."

"This kid is trying to give his father a stroke. What about KG? The call from the KG side?" Kim Tae-san asked, slumping into his chair. After all, a call from KG actually could have been spam.

"Come to think of it, I think they said they were the KG Wizard."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"

Kim Tae-san grabbed Tae-hyun by the collar and shook him back and forth. KG Wizard. Just like ST Five, it was a professional gaming team run by KG. Anyone with half a brain could tell these were recruitment offers from pro teams! If Tae-hyun were just a dumb kid, Tae-san would have let it slide with an "Ah, I see." But his son, who was incredibly sharp in every other aspect of life, acting like this only made his blood boil. It felt like he was doing it on purpose just to tease him!

"Wait, so neither of them was spam?"

"Yes, you idiot! Call them back right now!"

"Hmm... but do I really have to?"

"...What?"

"I don't really need to join a pro team right now anyway."

Kim Tae-san paused. Come to think of it, his son was right. He had demanded Tae-hyun call them back in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fit of rage, but his son didn't lack anything right now. Full corporate backing and sponsorship? Tae-hyun could live a lavish life without any of that. He could just take his time, secure a great result in the tournament, and then negotiate from a position of absolute strength. That might actually be the smarter move.

"See?"

"See, my foot! Why are you looking so smug? Just unblock them at least!"

ST Five and the KG Wizard were long-standing rivals in the esports scene. The two teams had clashed since the games before Pan-On! Naturally, their rivalry was incredibly fierce.

—Even if you lose to other teams, do not lose to the KG Wizard!

—If you lose to ST Five, you'd better prepare yourselves!

Usually, this kind of competitive spirit was limited to the players and coaches, but in these two organizations, the rivalry extended to the front office and general staff. Naturally, the scouts were no exception.

"The Pan-On boom is coming. This tournament is just the beginning. A professional league will definitely be established. To avoid falling behind the others, we must gather players first."

"Only fools wait for the tournament results to make a move. The smart ones move before the games even start. Don't look at the game characters; look at the person behind them. That's where you find the answer!"

The scouts of both companies were burning with passion. Once the pro league officially launched, it wouldn't just be them; major players from all over the world would make their moves. Although they were conglomerates in Korea, the financial power of foreign giants, especially from China, was on a completely different level. To survive that kind of war, the ability to identify and secure talent early was absolutely essential!

"In that case, the players we must secure above all else right now are..."

"...Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun!"

Both organizations reached the exact same conclusion. However, Lee Se-yeon was cold and dismissive.

—I don't really have any thoughts about it until this tournament is over. I'll consider my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠options afterward.

Since Lee Se-yeon wanted for nothing, she had absolutely no reason to rush into joining a pro team. The scouts beat their chests in frustration, but there was nothing they could do. In that case, it had to be Kim Tae-hyun! They had to get Kim Tae-hyun at all costs!

"Hello! I am from ST Five's..."

"Ah, I'm not interested in changing my phone plan."

Click.

The call disconnected! For a second, the scout thought he had misheard. But when he tried calling back, the result was the same.

—The subscriber you have reached is currently unavailable...

For someone who had literally just picked up the phone to do this meant only one thing: he had blocked the number!

"We're not trying to sell you a phone...!"

The scouts could only cry out in sheer injustice.

"I cleared it! I cleared it!!! *Sob*! I actually cleared it!!"

As soon as Tae-hyun logged in, he was startled to see Cain running around, weeping tears of joy. The guy who had gone to Frozeland was already back in the territory!

"How did you get back?"

"I used a skill!"

Although he had to pay a steep price, Cain hadn't hesitated to use his skill. That was how desperately he wanted to escape from Galakpad. An NPC who was even more stubborn and rigid than Tae-hyun... Just thinking about him gave Cain the shivers.

"Does that mean you cleared the dungeon?"

"Of course! On top of that, I brought back an Authority!"

Cain proudly pulled out an item. Looking back, it had been an incredibly grueling dungeon raid. Enduring the constant nagging of Galakpad and his mysterious companions, he had pushed forward, forward, and forward! He had blocked all kinds of traps with his bare body and tanked the attacks of countless monsters. The durability of his equipped items had dropped to near zero... The only reason he hadn't died was thanks to his absurd defense, high Constitution, and the buffs being cast from behind.

Thanks to his class, he had received additional bonus effects from the Archisus-related holy magic buffs cast from behind. Of course, he didn't feel even a shred of gratitude. Normally, in a party play, one would feel grateful to the healer, but not with them. They were just too incredibly exhausting!

"So we can go to the arena now, right? Let's go to the arena! Let's get some practice in!"

With only a few days left until their first match against Team Blue, Cain was desperate. After the promotional video aired, Cain had searched for and read every single comment on the broadcast and articles. And he had ended up utterly devastated.

Opinions were split down the middle, but one thing was absolutely certain.

If we lose, we're screwed...!

They had to win! But unlike the desperate Cain, Tae-hyun was perfectly relaxed.

"Hold on. Let me check the Authority skill first."

"You can check it at the arena...!"

"No. The territory is safer."

Ignoring Cain, who was practically bouncing up and down beside him, Tae-hyun inspected the skill scroll. A powerful energy radiated from the worn, tattered scroll.

"The result is completely randomized..."?

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

"?!?!"

He was thrilled to have finally obtained the Authority he wanted—Artifact Crafting—but that last line was highly suspicious. True to the God of Luck, Akisus just had to screw him over in a detail like this!

"What kind of... No, whatever. Let's just do it."

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded, but he decided to learn it anyway. It wasn't the first time something related to Archisus had been completely absurd.

Use!

......

......

"By the way, Cain, what is Galakpad planning to do?"

"He said he's coming to the territory."

"How? When?"

"I don't know. I ran away before listening to his answer..."

"..."

To be precise, the conversation had gone like this:

—Lord Galakpad, what are you going to do now?

—I intend to head to the territory and meet with Lord Tae-hyun. I must offer my humble advice on how to properly handle a slave. Indeed.

—IseeinthatcaseIwillheadonfirst!

And then, instant skill activation! Cain had spoken so fast he nearly choked, fleeing immediately after.

"That's a shame. I don't think I'll be able to meet him since we have to go to the arena."

"That's a good thing! You need to experience firsthand what that crazy bastard..."

Cain trailed off. For some reason, a deeply ominous feeling washed over him—the feeling that Galakpad and Tae-hyun would actually get along splendidly. What if the two of them teamed up to torment him?

"...L-Let's just get to the arena quickly!"

"Hmm. I want to test out this Authority skill first. More importantly, Cain. I forgot to ask... did you get any calls?"

"What calls? Ah, because of the broadcast? Yeah, some of my friends contacted me."

Cain said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"They said they enjoyed the broadcast. Even guys I barely talk to reached out."

"What did they say?"

"They told me to live happily ever after with you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Is that their way of telling us to win?"

Listening to their conversation, Lee Da-bi let out a quiet snort.

"But that's not the kind of contact I was talking about..."

"?"

"Did you happen to get any calls from ST or KG?"

"Uh... Oh. I think I got a spam call telling me to change my phone plan. I hung up. Why do you ask?"

Tae-hyun smiled.

"No reason. It's nothing."

"??"

Unlike other Authority skills, the Artifact Crafting skill required him to actually use it to find out what kind of item would be produced. The problem was that while the time spent and materials used did affect the outcome, the final result was still completely randomized. It was an incredibly elusive skill to grasp! Still, he could tell one thing for sure.

If I try to hit the jackpot with this, I'm going to bleed dry.

He could practically smell the backstab waiting to happen if he squandered his entire fortune trying to craft a legendary artifact.

Tae-hyun decided to give it a try first. What was the simplest, easiest item he could make right now that would show results quickly?

Is it a potion, after all?

An artifact potion. If anyone with a holy-related class heard this, they would have shrieked in horror, shouting, "How could such a thing even exist?!" Who in their right mind would turn a precious, invaluable artifact into a single-use consumable?!

But the Archisus Church was, as always, a cheap and bizarre cult. The massive advantage of this was that he could attempt such absurdities without having to worry about anyone else's judgment.

Tae-hyun walked over to the fountain, scooped up some water, poured it into a pot, and began to boil it. He didn't add a single ingredient; he planned to invest nothing but a few hours of his time.

—Artifact Crafting of Akisus!

It's not like I can make a mistake stirring a pot.

If it were any other complex item, it might be different, but there was no way Tae-hyun could mess up pouring plain water, boiling it, and bottling it.

Stir, stir. After a few hours had passed, Tae-hyun decided it was time to wrap things up and check the results.

—Complete!

"Hmm... Trash."

Tae-hyun shrugged and reached a conclusion. In his current state, consuming this would bring him almost no benefit.

I just wasted the cooldown. I should invest some proper materials next time. I wonder if I can find some time between matches...

It wasn't like he had only crafted once or twice, nor was it his first time seeing a disappointing result. Thus, he wasn't particularly let down. He had made it without much expectation in the first place, just to see how the skill worked.

Tae-hyun resolved to make something more proper next time.

If I can craft an artifact that dispels bad luck, I could probably squeeze a ring out of Evangeline...

Such wicked thoughts! While Tae-hyun was lost in his scheming, a player standing nearby spoke to him.

"Ex-Excuse me. Do you mind if I use that pot?"