To the Territory, Then to the Magic Tower

"To the territory. I'm planning to head to the Magic Tower."

"The Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower?"

"Yeah."

"Understood! I'll head over with Se-hyeong sunbae right away."

"Huh? You two are together?"

"Didn't you tell Se-hyeong sunbae to follow me around and learn from me?"

After seeing the martial artists getting beaten like dogs at Yang's Gym, Kim Se-hyeong had become as gentle as a lamb.

Even if I try to leave, he won't let me, right?

To that terrified Se-hyeong, Tae-hyun had casually remarked, "If you follow Jeong Su-hyeok around, you'll have a lot to learn."

Kim Se-hyeong had immediately agreed. In that situation, no sane person could have said anything other than "Yes" or "Understood!"

But since Tae-hyun had put it that way, Se-hyeong figured he might actually learn something from Su-hyeok. After all, Su-hyeok had performed remarkably well in the tournament. Even if he hadn't made it to the finals...

So, Se-hyeong had trotted after Su-hyeok to watch him play, eager to see his skills in action.

"I-I don't think there's much to learn from watching my play, though..."

"No, no! You did great in the tournament. That part where you blasted magic at yourself and deflected it was seriously insane."

"T-That was actually a mis—"

"Huh?"

"...pure skill."

"I knew it!"

Seeing Se-hyeong's sparkling, expectant eyes, Su-hyeok couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. Se-hyeong watched him with bated breath. Come on! Show me your legendary skills!

"U-Um, well then, I'll begin..."

Crackle!

Su-hyeok began casting magic at monsters in the distance. The spell he used was a simple Magic Arrow.

Seeing this, Se-hyeong was puzzled. Why was he using such a weak spell?

"??"

He had clearly cast Magic Arrow, but entirely different skills were triggering! Se-hyeong couldn't comprehend what was happening. What in the world is going on?

Su-hyeok kept casting. Occasionally, a spell would fly backward and hit Su-hyeok himself, making him scream in pain.

As the hunt dragged on, Se-hyeong slowly began to doubt his eyes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Is this guy just randomly spamming spells?

No matter how he looked at it, this hunting style was light-years away from "control" or "mechanics." Su-hyeok was just mindlessly, tirelessly pouring out magic. There was zero gaming sense to be found.

No matter how I look at it, it just looks like pure luck...

Of course, he was absolutely right.

"But how are you going to get into the Magic Tower? Do you know a noble?"

"There's one noble that comes to mind."

"Who?"

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

"Baron Terand..."

"Oh. Who's that? Did you clear a quest for that noble NPC? Do you have a lot of contribution points?"

"No. I kidnapped him once."

"?!"

Baron Terand. He was the noble Tae-hyun had kidnapped, tied up in a closet, and impersonated when he was messing with the chefs' quests in the Erangs Kingdom.

"You're going to ask that NPC for a favor?"

"That's the plan."

Has he finally lost his mind? Cain thought to himself, staring at Tae-hyun with a look of utter disbelief.

"I haven't lost my mind, you punk."

"?!"

"I can read you like an open book. Besides, I have this."

The items Tae-hyun had received after being recognized by the King of Erance were two: the title of Count and the King's Recommendation Letter.

Tae-hyun planned to take the second one and negotiate. With his Advanced Rhetoric skill, Infamy, and the King's Recommendation Letter, it would be plenty. He didn't strictly need to ask a noble nicely. He could just threaten them.

"So, let's go threaten him!"

"..."

Cain and Lee Da-bi followed him with faces that clearly said, Is this really okay?

Just as they were about to leave the territory, someone blocked their path.

"Tae-hyun-nim! I was looking for you!"

"Bring it on."

"Huh?"

"Ah. Sorry. I thought you were trying to PK me. Haha. So many people have been jumping me lately..."

Tae-hyun reflexively drew his weapon! But the other person wasn't there to fight.

"I wanted to give this to you last time, but you left so quickly...!"

"More importantly, who are you?"

"It's Kevin! Ah, my gear has changed a lot, so you probably didn't recognize me!"

"Uh..."

Tae-hyun just couldn't remember his face, but Kevin convinced himself otherwise before Tae-hyun could even speak.

Alchemist Kevin. He was the player who had come to the Valley of Despair and Sorrow to craft a rare item and poured his entire fortune into it. Tae-hyun had looked at him with pity and handed him a luck potion.

"Ah! That! The pathetic... mmpf."

Lee Da-bi quickly covered Tae-hyun's mouth. Fortunately, Kevin didn't seem to hear.

"Here, please take this!"

"What is this?"

"It's a 3x Experience Potion. I crafted it!"

"?!"

Tae-hyun was shocked. What did he just say?

"A 3x Experience Potion? How do you have this?"

"I made it."

"You did?"

"Yes, me! I drank the potion you gave me, Tae-hyun-nim, and succeeded in crafting it! Thank you so much! I succeeded with other things too! Though I sold all of those!"

Now Tae-hyun understood why Kevin's appearance had changed. Having made several times his initial investment back, he had completely upgraded his gear. Life is all about that one big hit!

Tae-hyun stared at the glass bottle Kevin held out. The experience potion sloshed inside. Seeing it, Tae-hyun realized: Indeed, live a good life, and blessings will follow.

"Kevin. I knew from the moment I saw you that you'd pull off something great!"

Though he had never actually thought that!

"Thank you!"

Tae-hyun pocketed the potion with a satisfied face.

Lee Da-bi asked curiously, "But I don't recall seeing any posts recently about someone crafting a 3x Experience Potion. Did you not say anything after making it?"

"Huh? Where should I post it? It's not like I'm putting it on the auction house..."

"Even so, it's good to brag about these things. That way, people learn your name. Once they know your name, even if you put a regular potion on the auction house, they'll buy it thinking, 'Ah, that's the potion made by that guy.'"

"I see...! I'll post it right away!"

Following Da-bi's advice, Kevin uploaded a post.

Just as Da-bi said, people quickly memorized Kevin's name. And it didn't stop there; offers started pouring in.

Kevin's hands trembled with emotion. This was the first time he had received this much attention since starting Pan-On!

Kevin resolved to keep making 3x Experience Potions and become an Artisan here!

But that never happened. Having poured all his energy into crafting that single 3x potion, Kevin, as if by some cruel joke, failed every single subsequent crafting attempt.

"I'm worried because my Infamy is so high."

"What?! You?!"

Tae-hyun ignored Cain's reaction. Although he had drawn a lot of resentment from players, most NPCs were friendly to him. It was thanks to his Advanced Rhetoric skill and his Archisus class skills. On top of that, he even held the title of Count...

But now, his Infamy had surpassed his Reputation. How would the NPCs react?

Well, I'll be moving around disguised with my mask anyway, so it doesn't really matter...

The skill [Deception] was incredibly useful. Every time he used it, he felt a sudden wave of gratitude toward Marquis Marden!

"Right. You should take off those nose and ear items now too."

"But the bonuses are so good..."

"We got caught because of you last time, you idiot. If you get us caught again, I'm leaving you behind."

"Fine, I'll take them off...!"

With tears in his eyes, Cain destroyed the equipment. He had endured the embarrassment all this time, so it felt a bit unfair. But since wearing them made it easy to get caught, he had no choice...

"By the way, it looks like the Erangs Kingdom is hosting another event."

"Big cities really have it good."

"Tae-hyun-nim, do you have any plans to host an event in our territory?"

"An event?"

At Da-bi's words, Tae-hyun imagined an event. What kind of event could they even host in their territory?

He could already hear the complaints: This is a scam!, Why does the coin only land on heads!

If they held an event like that, people associated with Archisus would have an overwhelming advantage. Right now, even if Tae-hyun just did a coin-tossing battle with someone, he was confident he would win consecutive victories.

"Uh... is there really... any event we can do?"

"It doesn't have to be as grand as the ones in the big cities. Even player-managed territories hold events. They reduce taxes on certain days, provide potion support, or give out free blessings."

"I don't have any taxes left to cut, there aren't that many players going out to hunt to justify potion support, and as for blessings? My priests' blessings aren't even that strong."

"Do you really need to do those? You have something much better."

"You can just cast [Archisus's Blessing] for the winners of the event."

"!"

Archisus's Blessing. A powerful buff skill that temporarily shared Tae-hyun's luck stat with others! For crafting classes, its effect was bound to be incredibly potent.

To think there was such a method...!

"As expected of the Power Warrior Guild Master. I think your skills at swindling others are even better than mine."

"I still have a long way to go compared to you, Tae-hyun-nim!"

The two praised each other. Cain stared at them with a look of utter horror.

"Ah, speaking of which..."

Tae-hyun recalled a memory. When he met Ju Hyeon-yeong, she had mentioned that the King of Erance's birthday was coming up soon. Chefs were running around frantically preparing for the birthday event.

I could probably take care of that before heading to the Magic Tower.

Ju Hyeon-yeong had definitely said, "I want to try doing this with my own skills!"

But wasn't borrowing someone else's strength also a form of one's own ability?

Perfect logic. Flawless!

If Ju Hyeon-yeong knew what he was thinking, she would have swung her frying pan at him.

First, I need to find Baron Terand.

Tae-hyun jogged his memory and headed toward the mansion he had visited in the past.

Stopping in front of the main gate, Lee Da-bi tilted her head.

"But don't nobles usually refuse to let just anyone in?"

"Yeah. That's why we're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sneaking in."

"Aren't these walls enchanted with magic to prevent people from climbing over?"

"Haha. I've prepared for all of that."

Tae-hyun smiled and pulled out his gear. The Ancient Hammer! It was the perfect tool for this kind of job.

He didn't stop there. He immediately activated [Threaten].

"You two just stand there at the entrance. Let me know if anyone comes."

"..."

Cain smacked his lips. Back when he had a bounty on his head after PK'ing a few times in the Erangs Kingdom, he had been proud, thinking, Not just anyone gets a bounty.

But looking at Tae-hyun now, he felt embarrassed. Tae-hyun did things that would get him a bounty as easily as breathing! It was as if he was born just to get a bounty.

Rumble!

The wall collapsed in an instant. Tae-hyun activated his stealth skill and quickly slipped inside.

"I think I heard a noise just now..."

"Nice to meet you, Baron."

Tae-hyun deactivated his stealth and removed his mask.

At that, Baron Terand shrieked in absolute terror.

"Aaargh! It's the murderous Count, Kim Tae-hyun!"

"..."