A Name Too Dangerous to Speak
Tae-hyun swallowed his growing unease and asked, “What kind of interest...?”
“I guess you wouldn’t know since you didn’t play Fantasy Online 1, but he was an incredible player. There’s no way I wouldn’t be interested.”
“Still, you said you won...”
“That was luck.”
“Ah. Right. But when you say interest... what kind of interest? Like trying to recruit him into your guild?”
“In 2?”
“Well, 1 is over. I mean in 2.”
“It doesn’t seem like Kim Tae-hyun is playing Fantasy Online 2, but if he were... Ah. Wait. Guild recruitment? I already tried that in 1. He turned me down.”
“Haha. To reject an offer like that, he must’ve had some reason—”
“No. He rejected it for some ridiculous reason.”
As she said that, Lee Se-yeon lightly ground her teeth.
The sight sent a chill down Tae-hyun’s spine.
“If I see him in 2, I’ll attack first.”
“...!”
Lee Se-yeon didn’t say the rest out loud.
If she met Tae-hyun, her plan was to attack him first, keep him from escaping, and then say, Join my guild! You’re not leaving until you do!
It wasn’t that she resented him for refusing her over such a ridiculous reason. If anything, it only made her want him more.
Kim Tae-hyun had been a born player.
And Lee Se-yeon was the same.
People like that were bound to be drawn to each other.
She wanted him in her guild.
But she never imagined that what she had just said would make Tae-hyun decide he would never reveal his identity in front of her.
Damn it. Everybody hates me.
The result of his own karma!
Anybody else, maybe—but if he revealed himself to Lee Se-yeon, things were bound to get seriously complicated.
“But if he’s not playing 2, then I guess none of this really matters.”
“Haha! True! Looking at how that player Kim Tae-hyun was, he probably quit after losing to you in 1! He won’t be coming to 2!”
“Don’t say that about someone you don’t even know.”
If anyone gets to badmouth me, it’s me!
Lee Se-yeon was telling Tae-hyun not to insult Kim Tae-hyun.
It was a bizarre scene.
Even Tae-hyun, the one listening, felt strange about it.
“Ah. Right. Sorry.”
“He might come back. I’ve got a feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Someone who loves games that much can’t quit forever. Odds are high he’ll take a break and then come back.”
How did she know?
Tae-hyun was inwardly impressed.
She’d guessed exactly what he’d done.
“If he comes back, then this time I’ll definitely...”
“This time you’ll definitely what?”
Tae-hyun asked, suddenly anxious.
This time I’ll definitely what?
This time I’ll definitely kill him?
This time I’ll definitely break him?
This time I’ll definitely make him quit the game with my own hands?
“It’s nothing.”
What she’d meant was, This time I’ll definitely get him into my guild.
But Tae-hyun had no way of knowing that.
His anxiety climbed even higher.
“Then I should get going. Ah, and don’t worry too much—I already took care of all the wolves around here. And if you have time, check out my stream sometime. It’s fun. Just search Lee Se-yeon.”
“Ah. Okay.”
As Lee Se-yeon prepared to leave, she found herself mildly puzzled.
She could be kind, sure—but it was rare for her to talk this long with someone she’d just met.
There was something about the blacksmith in front of her that drew her attention.
What is it? Why does he keep bothering me like this?
A sharp instinct!
Lee Se-yeon’s instincts were almost as sharp as Tae-hyun’s.
“Wait. Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What is it?”
“Uh, well. Kim, Kim T...”
“Kim T?”
“Kim T... Kim Dae-hyun.”
Tae-hyun’s instincts were screaming at him.
If he said Kim Tae-hyun, she’d definitely notice something!
“Kim Dae-hyun? That’s a pretty similar name. If you watch my stream later, make sure to tell me.”
After saying goodbye, Lee Se-yeon gestured to her undead.
They rose lightly into the air, then vanished.
Only after watching them disappear did Tae-hyun let out a long sigh.
It felt like he’d just fought back-to-back boss monsters.
“Ha... I thought at least Lee Se-yeon didn’t hold a grudge against me.”
He’d have to hide his identity thoroughly—or else create a new one altogether.
As for the fame he’d gain as a blacksmith, he planned to sort that out by asking Choi Sang-yun for help, so that should be fine.
“Hey. Hey.”
“Huh?”
Right then, Choi Sang-yun sent him a whisper.
“You know that thing you asked me about?”
“Ah. Ji-su?”
If the Red Zone Guild tried to get revenge, Choi Sang-yun or Tae-hyun would be targeted first.
Those two had done everything, after all.
Honestly, Tae-hyun was even more likely to get targeted than Sang-yun.
Sang-yun was a ranker, and he had a lot of fans. Tae-hyun, on the other hand, had no guild and wasn’t known as a ranker.
And besides, wasn’t it Tae-hyun who had killed the guild master?
Still, Ji-su had been there too, and you never knew.
So Tae-hyun had asked Sang-yun for a favor.
Loners recognized each other.
Of course, if Ji-su had heard that, she would’ve pounded her chest in injustice.
She was absolutely not a loner.
She was such a pretty boy that just looking at her made you want to help.
Of course, Tae-hyun didn’t usually like people more handsome than himself, but Ji-su had a way of making people feel oddly anxious for her.
He still remembered her getting beaten to death by a rabbit.
Her close-combat sense was hopeless.
“Yeah. I found what you asked for. Ever heard of a guild called Pied Guild?”
“Nope. If I haven’t heard of them, they must be small.”
“...Yeah. Anyway, I know the guild master there, and she’s a really good noona. And everyone in that guild is female, so...”
“...?”
Tae-hyun tilted his head.
Guilds that screened members by gender weren’t exactly rare.
The issue was Ji-su.
“And you’re putting Ji-su in there?”
Ah, crap.
Choi Sang-yun had forgotten.
Tae-hyun still didn’t know.
Of course, Sang-yun had already spoken to the Pied Guild master beforehand.
Naturally, he’d explained Ji-su’s gender properly too.
The Pied Guild master had readily agreed, but he had to phrase it differently for Tae-hyun.
“I begged and begged. She finally agreed, I guess.”
“Really? Sounds like a nice person.”
“...Right?! ”
Whew. That was close.
They were friends, but Tae-hyun could be shockingly dense about things like this.
Choi Sang-yun let out a sigh of relief.
“Think Ji-su will be popular there?”
“Uh, well... probably?”
“Got it. Thanks for doing that.”
“By the way, where are you right now?”
“Still on my way to the Atali Kingdom. Oh, and I ran into Lee Se-yeon on the way.”
“What?!”
Choi Sang-yun nearly jumped out of his skin.
He’d run into Lee Se-yeon!?
“Seriously? Are you still alive?”
“Do you think I’m insane? Why would I tell her who I am?”
“Ah. Right.”
“It’s not like Lee Se-yeon is enough of a trainwreck to attack someone just standing there. She was surprisingly nice.”
“That’s a relief.”
“So I felt her out a little, and... yeah. I definitely can’t reveal my identity.”
“...”
After a brief silence, Choi Sang-yun spoke again.
“Well, it’s not like there are only one or two people who hold grudges against you.”
“Thanks a lot, you bastard. That’s not comforting at all.”
That was his friend for you.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll have to keep hiding my identity for a while. Didn’t expect it to come to this.”
“Who told you to go around butchering rankers?”
“Shut it. Anyway, if I’m going to sell items as a blacksmith, I’ll probably need your help. You okay with that?”
“Doesn’t bother me. I’d actually love it. Did you see my stream ratings jump?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because of your fight with the Red Zone guild master, obviously. And because of you. People kept coming in asking who you were.”
“Pretend you don’t know.”
“Obviously. I’ve got this.”
The two of them knew each other far too well.
“All right. I’ll head to the Atali Kingdom, clear some quests... and later, if I’ve got items to sell, I’ll contact you.”
“Okay. Have fun in the Atali Kingdom.”
“That was a delightful journey, Tae-hyun-nim!”
“Maybe for you.”
Tae-hyun sighed as he climbed down from the carriage.
Thanks to Lee Se-yeon sweeping the entire area clean before leaving, the two of them had made it safely.
Of course, that didn’t mean Pelmas had suddenly become any better at driving a carriage.
The fact that it hadn’t broken apart felt like a miracle.
“That’s the Genoma City I was telling you about!”
“Wow. Compared to Tyrum City, this is on a completely different level.”
If the Tyrum Hunters had heard that, they would’ve clutched the backs of their necks and exploded in outrage.
But the difference really was enormous.
Tyrum City was located in one of the roughest areas even within the mountainous Salz Kingdom.
Its facilities were almost entirely for hunters. There was no Magic Tower, and hardly any art or production guilds either.
No wonder beginners started there and immediately cursed the place out.
Genoma City, on the other hand, sat on flat land.
It faced the sea, so it even had a port, and the broad city looked dazzling at a glance.
Huge walls. Lavish buildings rising inside them. Towers stretching high overhead.
“Genoma City is one of the wealthiest places in all the Atali Kingdom.”
“Why are you the one sounding proud? Come on, let’s go in.”
The two headed toward the gate.
“Cloth armor for sale! Made by a tailor with a Rare Class! Fifty silver!”
“Anyone want to form a party and clear a Baking Guild quest? Need at least Intermediate Cooking 3!”
“Cheap sculptures by a sculptor! Keep one on you and you get a stat bonus!”
“A blacksmith with a Rare Class will work on your gear! Better get your buffs before heading into the field!”
Voices rang out from every direction.
Players with all kinds of classes were loudly advertising their services.
Players with production classes couldn’t afford to sit still. They had to keep moving, making things, selling things.
And to do that, they had to let people know they were there.
“Yeah. This is what a city should look like.”
Not beginners getting beaten to death by rabbits—but bustling players actively advertising their goods and skills.
This was a real city.
Tyrum was the weird one.
“This way, Tae-hyun-nim.”
Pelmas led him through the gate, down an alley, and stopped in front of an opulent mansion.
“...?”
The mansion was enormous.
Its decorations were extravagant, and the exterior gleamed with magical effects. People were coming and going through the front gate, and every one of them looked like somebody important.
By now, Tae-hyun felt like he had a pretty good read on Pelmas.
“You want me to go in there?”
“Hm? No. Not here—over here beside it...”
Tae-hyun turned his head.
In the alley next to it stood a single decrepit building.
Cracked walls. No lights.
“Yeah. This feels right.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Let’s go in.”
Tae-hyun was getting used to Pelmas.
If Pelmas told him he knew royalty, then that royal was probably either an exiled royal, a fake royal, or someone else it would never be good news to meet.
When Pelmas said something, the right response was always to lower expectations first.
“Why is nobody here?”
“Haha. We don’t all gather here every day, Tae-hyun-nim. We have our own lives to live.”
“From what little I’ve heard, there’s a retired royal guard knight, some old thief with his arms cut off, and a copyist who used to transcribe spellbooks under a mage. Those people have their own lives? I mean... sure, I guess that’s possible...”
Tae-hyun sat down.
The chair creaked under him.
“So what is this? You said you gathered believers. What am I supposed to do now? What do you want from me?”
“You are Archisus itself, Tae-hyun-nim. His Avatar. Naturally, you must establish an order on this continent and gather more believers!”
“Yeah. Not exactly the kind of thing you say in a room that’s falling apart, though.”
Tae-hyun pointed at the cracked ceiling overhead.