The Valley of Luck

"......?" Tae-hyun looked the player up and down. From a glance, he looked like a novice player who wasn't even level 50.

Usually, players who did this kind of crafting had their own pots. To a crafting class, items like pots, anvils, and hammers were equivalent to weapons! Naturally, they were the equipment that required the most investment. Yet, he was asking to borrow a pot.

Tsk, tsk. Completely broke.

There were often players like this. Players who threw everything they had into trying to craft items that didn't fit their level! Since the gold they had wasn't enough, they sold their items, sold their gear...

Tae-hyun looked at the other with pity. He was relatively kind to novices.

"Go ahead and use it."

"Thank you!"

The other player bowed deeply and began pouring ingredients into the pot.

"An alchemist?"

"Huh? Ah. I'm an alchemist. How did you know?"

"The ingredients you're putting in are alchemy ingredients..."

"But I haven't even put them in yet?!"

The alchemist player was startled to see Tae-hyun guess his class before he had even poured the ingredients into the pot. In his common sense, this was utterly incomprehensible!

However, among the rankers of Pan-On, there were quite a few who possessed abilities that defied the common sense of ordinary players. People who could guess RGB values just by looking at the color of a fabric, people who could guess how much time was left on a limit just by looking at cooking ingredients, people who hammered the exact same spot for three days straight...

Tae-hyun was one of them!

"Well, it's nothing special."

"I... I see."

Tae-hyun usually wore a mask to change his face when walking around his territory. It was partly because he had many enemies, but also because many players would fall into a state of frenzy if they saw him in the territory.

No matter how battle-hardened Tae-hyun was, the madness of players who had sunk their entire fortunes was honestly a bit terrifying.

Anyway, perhaps because he had changed his face, the other player didn't recognize Tae-hyun.

"What brings you here?"

"Huh? Ah. For crafting."

"You don't necessarily need to craft here..."

Tae-hyun tried to give some advice for the other's sake. In truth, the Valley of Despair and Sorrow was not a good place for novice players. It was strictly a place for people like Chairman Yoo, who had the ability to pour in gold to their heart's content until they pulled what they wanted! Novice players were better off going to big cities, clearing various quests, and growing their characters.

However, the other player was firm.

"No!"

"O-oh? Really?"

"Ah! You must not be a crafting class, so you don't know. For crafters, crafting in this valley is the standard. Everyone does it here these days."

"...What valley?"

Tae-hyun doubted his ears for a moment. Where did 'Despair and Sorrow' go?

"The Valley of Luck. How can you not even know the name of this territory? Haha!"

"Haha... ha?"

Looking at the laughing alchemist player, Tae-hyun felt like he was possessed by a ghost. A territory whose name had changed without even its lord, Tae-hyun, knowing!

"More than that, what do you mean by 'the standard'?"

"Crafting players share information. On the Pan-On forums or famous crafters' streams... look at this."

"...I-I see."

To think they were hyping it up among themselves and even renaming the territory. Tae-hyun was dumbfounded, but he didn't bother to point it out. Honestly, "Valley of Luck" was better than "Valley of Despair and Sorrow"!

"Besides, what I'm trying to make has a success rate of less than 1%..."

"Don't tell me you sold all your gear just to buy materials for an item with a sub-1% success rate?"

"Heck. How did you know?"

"..."

Tae-hyun's gaze turned into one looking at a pathetic fool. Good grief.

In the meantime, Chairman Yoo, who had logged in, spotted Tae-hyun and approached. He recognized Tae-hyun just from his back. He was already a proper Pan-On player.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just watching this guy craft."

"What is he making?"

"An Experience Potion."

"!!!"

"!!!!!!"

The eyes of Chairman Yoo and Tae-hyun instantly changed. What did he just say?

"An... Experience Potion? Does such a thing exist? I haven't seen it on the auction house."

Chairman Yoo was already reaching for his wallet.

"It's so hard to make, so it rarely appears on the auction house. Whenever it does, people buy it instantly."

"I-I see. How much do you want?"

"Huh?"

"I asked how much!"

"Sir, he hasn't even made it yet. And the success rate is under 1%."

After subduing the rampaging Chairman Yoo, Tae-hyun looked at the alchemist player with an intrigued gaze. Experience Potion. One of the best-selling items among an alchemist's potions.

The problem was...

The higher the experience bonus the potion gives, the harder it is to craft.

Even a 2x Experience Potion was extremely rare on the auction house. The moment one appeared, everyone from large guilds to rankers would try to bid on it. A player like Tae-hyun, who had lots of expenses and didn't pay-to-win, rarely saw them!

I wanted to level up alchemy too, but I just don't have the time...

As Tae-hyun was lost in thought, Chairman Yoo asked.

"I saw your friend Cain returned earlier."

"Yes. He's back."

"But where is Executive Director Kim?"

"...?!"

Tae-hyun was shocked. He had completely forgotten.

-Hey, Cain.

-Yeah?

-Where's that middle-aged guy who went with you?

-...We left him behind.

Cain had made excuses ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a very guilty voice. Yes, they had left him behind. They couldn't bring Executive Director Kim along. If they did, they would have had to travel with Galakpad. Plus, they might have been late for the Arena Tournament!

Tae-hyun let Cain's words slide out of his mind and spoke to Chairman Yoo.

"He says they left him behind."

"Really? Okay, I see."

"...?"

Even a stray dog disappearing from the neighborhood would get a better reaction than this.

"Well... Galakpad, a high-level NPC, is with him, so his life should be safe. They'll probably return together."

"I said I got it, didn't I?"

"...Aren't you worried?"

"Huh? Oh, Executive Director Kim? Ah, of course I'm worried! Very worried!"

Only then did Chairman Yoo catch Tae-hyun's drift and quickly pretended to be worried. He was so absorbed in his own affairs that he didn't care if Executive Director Kim froze to death somewhere.

"More importantly, when are we going to the Arena? Hmm?"

"...Sir, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you really seem like the type of person who wouldn't have any friends..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Chairman Yoo was incredibly excited for the tournament. He didn't tell Tae-hyun, but he had watched the MBS broadcast over and over. He didn't stop there; he had actually gone as far as subtly arranging a meeting with the president ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of MBS. No one would refuse a meeting with Chairman Yoo, one of their biggest advertisers. Of course, things didn't go as planned.

After that incident, Yoo couldn't bring it up to MBS at all. MBS kept apologizing, saying "We don't know what we did wrong, but we are sorry," which made his heart ache even more. Watching the broadcast from the special VIP seats or even the regular audience seats was impossible! If he was spotted by MBS while watching, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

Now, the only option left for Chairman Yoo was to watch the tournament from the VIP seats inside Pan-On.

"So, I ask, when are we leaving?"

"Seriously, why are you rushing so much? You're acting like Cain. We'll prepare a bit first. Once we go there, we'll have to stay nearby, so I want to raise my crafting skills a bit."

Tae-hyun planned to prepare meticulously. The thing he could do right away nearby was raise his crafting skills.

I should raise Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Cooking a bit more this time. At the same time, I'll try making another Archisus artifact. The cooldown should be up by the day the tournament starts...

Because he crafted a trash item like a potion last time, the cooldown wasn't that long. It was at a level where he could use it once more right when the tournament started!

"Um... are you going to watch this? It won't be very interesting."

The alchemist tilted his head, finding the two of them standing there strange. The most boring thing was watching a crafter craft! Unlike combat classes, crafting skills didn't have much visual flair.

"Well, we should get going. Take this and do your best."

"Oh? Thank you!"

Receiving the item Tae-hyun handed him, the alchemist bowed deeply. Any kindness was appreciated!

"I'm Kevin! If I make a good potion later, I'll give you some!"

"Ah. Sure."

Tae-hyun replied casually. He didn't expect much. Players who played like that usually ended up ruined.

As he walked away with Chairman Yoo, a strange scream echoed from behind.

"What's that about?"

"No doubt he failed. Tsk, tsk. When a novice tries to make something like that, they're bound to fail..."

"That doesn't sound like a failure scream, though?"

Chairman Yoo was puzzled. The scream from behind sounded like joy, bewilderment, surprise... that sort of scream.

"Some random guy isn't what's important right now. What's important is the tournament."

"Right! The tournament! The tournament!"

"...Sir, aren't you a bit too excited?"

"C-cough. Was I? No. It's just... never mind."

"Anyway, we'll head out right away, so make sure to pack whatever you need, sir. We can't just sit around and play there."

"I plan to fish in my spare time."

"Well... you can just pay-to-win whatever you lack, sir, so maybe you don't need other skills."

Anglers usually learned skills like Cooking or Alchemy to craft bait. But for Chairman Yoo, it was different. He could just buy it with money!