A Pretty Pair of Dice
"Tae-hyun! Tae-hyun! I have great news!"
"Oh! What is it?"
Tae-hyun felt a spark of anticipation at Lee Da-bi's lively voice. Just how good could this news be?
"The statue in your fief has been completed!"
"Oh... I see..."
Tae-hyun instantly became dejected.
"Huh? You're not happy?"
"I didn't even ask them to build that statue in the first place..."
"Still, aren't you glad it's finished?"
"I suppose it's better than nothing. Ah, now they can finally build other things. Is the construction of my arena underway?"
"Huh? No."
Da-bi answered "no" so naturally. Tae-hyun asked in bewilderment,
"Why?"
"Everyone is going crazy trying to craft items they couldn't make before, thanks to Archisus's blessing."
"...That damn Archisus is never helpful in life..."
"Oh, and I have something to ask. The farmers are currently farming like crazy to hit the jackpot. What should we do with the agricultural products they're offering and the ones currently stockpiled? Keep storing them?"
"Hmm... No. Let's just sell them."
"Really? Is that okay?"
"Yeah. Sell every single one as soon as they come in. I'm satisfied with this much."
Chairman Yoo was holding out, refusing to log in to see what was happening, but Tae-hyun had no intention of doing that. Sell them quickly and convert them to gold! Fief management was costing a fortune anyway.
"Okay. I'll let them know."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Pant, pant..."
"We made it back alive! We didn't die!"
The players who arrived at the exit of the Magic Tower Dungeon hugged each other in joy. When Baha had dragged them in, they had prepared themselves to be logged out.
It's all thanks to Kim Tae-hyun.
Yeah. If not for Tae-hyun...
From now on, if Uncle Baha calls us, let's just ignore him. I never want to go to a dungeon again.
"*Ahem. Ahem.* Tae-hyun."
"?"
Baha cleared his throat as he approached, making Tae-hyun look at him in confusion. Why was this middle-aged man acting like this?
"Well, um, you see... I was wondering what you plan to do with the items you obtained..."
"You're not asking me to share them, are you?"
"Of course not! Who do you take me for?!"
Baha was incredibly easy to deal with. Touch his pride, and he'd react immediately.
"It's just... you know. If you're going to put them on the Auction House, I'd like to buy one from you beforehand..."
Ah. So that's it.
Tae-hyun realized Baha's motive. One of the items Tae-hyun obtained was clearly something Baha desperately wanted.
Come to think of it, that uncle was acting a bit strange in the third boss room.
"Gasp! Cough! Urgh! Ack! Cough!"
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, it's nothing. S-s-should we r-r-roll the dice?"
"...?"
An item had dropped back then, but Baha couldn't bring himself to speak up because of his pride! Of course, Tae-hyun had ruthlessly snatched it away with a dice roll of 100.
But what dropped back then?
There were many items that mages would covet, fitting for the Magic Tower Dungeon. Tae-hyun had planned to put them all on the Auction House, of course.
"Which item? The amulet?"
"No."
"The ring?"
"No..."
"Then what item do you want?"
When Tae-hyun asked, growing annoyed, Baha hesitated before replying.
"The dice..."
"...?"
Tae-hyun checked his inventory.
◈ Effect: Allows the user to choose their desired number once during a dice roll.
This guy...
Sensing Tae-hyun's pitying gaze, Baha quickly made an excuse.
"N-no! It's not because I want to use it for rolling! It's just that the dice look pretty! I wanted them because they're pretty!"
"Ah, yes. I'm sure that's it."
How obsessed with rolling dice did someone have to be to enter the Magic Tower Dungeon just to get this one item? Tae-hyun shook his head. To Tae-hyun, who always rolled a 100 thanks to his Luck stat, this was a completely unrelatable struggle.
But in reality, for other players, this was an incredibly good item. It practically guaranteed you could claim a desired item at least once during a party hunt!
"So, how much should I pay you?"
"Hmm."
"?"
"I'm not sure how much to charge either. I actually quite like this item myself..."
"W-wait. What would you even use that for, Tae-hyun?"
"Well, I also think these dice are pretty."
"..."
Baha realized. Tae-hyun was driving up the price of the item!
This petty... He looked so cool on the broadcast, but he's nothing like that!
On the broadcast, he had the image of a cool, unstoppable hero, but in reality, he possessed the calculating heart of a merchant who would never take a loss.
"...So, how much do you want..."
"Ah, I'm still thinking. Why are you rushing me?"
"..."
Before heading out the exit, Tae-hyun called over one of the players. It was the player who had thoughtlessly posted on the forums that they were hunting in the Magic Tower Dungeon with Tae-hyun.
"Hey. Come here for a second."
"Yes?"
"Before we go out, raise your right arm like this. Good. Here, I'll give you this mask item, so put it on."
"Thank you?"
"Yeah, you're doing great."
The player raised his right arm as if waving and wore the mask!
"??"
"Go out like this."
"?????"
The player didn't understand, but since Tae-hyun told him to do it, he complied.
Flash!
As they stepped out of the Magic Tower Dungeon, the mages waiting outside gasped in surprise.
"They're out!"
"That's them, right? The party that challenged the Magic Tower Dungeon with Kim Tae-hyun!"
"I think so!"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Tae-hyun! I'm a fan!"
Players swarmed them. At that moment, Tae-hyun pushed the masked party member forward from behind.
It looked exactly like he was waving and greeting the crowd! Since he was wearing a mask, everyone assumed he was Tae-hyun and cheered.
"Kim Tae-hyun! Whoa! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Wait, what is..."
"Die, Kim Tae-hyun!"
Flash!
Suddenly, several mages threw off their robes and lunged forward. They were players wearing sleek assassin sets, attacking ferociously! The murderous intent in their eyes showed they were completely determined.
⟨ Red Spider's Binding ⟩
⟨ Absolute Kill Command ⟩
⟨ Soul Incineration ⟩
The player was subjected to a concentrated barrage of attacks simply because he wore a mask, raised his right arm, and was pushed forward!
Behind him, Tae-hyun watched in admiration.
Wow. Impressive.
Even Tae-hyun found the assassins' combo skills chilling. They sealed his evasion skills—Tae-hyun's greatest strength—and poured in burst damage to prevent any escape. If executed properly, Tae-hyun, who had low HP, could have been killed in a single blow.
In fact, one of the assassins was currently logging out without even being touched. It was a trump card skill that sacrificed one's own life to deal massive damage to another! It showed just how desperately they wanted to catch Tae-hyun.
"Arghhh! Why?!"
"We got Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Long live the Guild Alliance! Muhahaha! Now we are kings!"
"The era of Kim Tae-hyun is over!"
Screeech!
"How dare you commit murder in the sacred Magic Tower!"
"Don't let them escape!"
The mages of the Magic Tower shouted in rage. Hearing this, the assassin players moved quickly.
"Farewell! We got Kim Tae-hyun..."
Soul-Burning Flames
"Aaargh!"
"Run! Run!"
The Magic Tower NPCs were much faster than the assassins had anticipated. They swarmed in and poured magic, melting the low-defense assassins instantly.
"Leave me and run!"
An assassin player who was hit and bound cried out. Meanwhile, his comrades fled without looking back.
Those bastards... Would it kill them to say thank you?
There was nothing more irritating than comrades who didn't play along after you tried to act cool.
Phew. But we got Kim Tae-hyun... I have no regrets! Wait, did we get any items or EXP? I don't think I saw the notification window...
The assassin player checked with a half-resigned heart. Since he was doomed to die anyway, he might as well look!
But there was nothing.
Huh? What?
"!!!!"
The assassin player blinked. Among the party of mages, there was someone who looked exactly like Kim Tae-hyun.
"W-what... what is this?"
Before he could even verify, a notification popped up.
Your HP has reached 0. You have died.
"..."
The party members stared at Tae-hyun.
Tae-hyun spoke in a sad and indignant voice.
"What terrible people! To attack someone in the Magic Tower!"
"Wait, didn't you use Deception to disguise..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"Coincidentally, the guy who posted my location on the forums was the one who got hit. I'm not saying it's karma, but people with loose lips usually invite trouble. Don't you agree?"
"..."
A chill ran down the party members' spines. The smiling Tae-hyun felt truly terrifying!
"Everyone, let's disband for now and think about our next raid later."
"Uh, what about the items..."
Tae-hyun ignored Baha's words. The desperate one would come crawling back anyway!
"Then, I'll see you later..."
Tap.
"?"
The Magic Tower's mages—specifically, the Black Mages—grabbed Tae-hyun's shoulder.
"What is it?"
"Count Kim Tae-hyun. Lord Chesia is summoning you."
"...I wasn't planning on running away, though?"
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Let's go!"
Tae-hyun had felt a sudden pang of guilt, but seeing their reaction, he realized he hadn't been caught and felt relieved.
"W-wait! Tae-hyun!"
Baha called out desperately, but Tae-hyun departed with the Black Mages.
"Ah, you're here. Do you know why I summoned you?"
"I'm not quite sure."
"I heard you've been raiding the Magic Tower Dungeon. How can someone with such an important event ahead of them do something so dangerous?!"
"Ah! In that case, if you could lend me some Black Mage NPCs..."
Tae-hyun spoke with an expectant voice. If he could borrow the Black Mages, it would be an incredible boost to his forces. He could just steamroll the Magic Tower Dungeon with an undead army.
"No, that is out of the question."
Insufficient Contribution Points.
Persuasion failed.
Tsk. No free lunch, huh.
Tae-hyun decided to try again.
"But I need help to ensure my safety..."
"There is a much safer way."
"?"
"You can simply stay in the Magic Tower until then. Use this time to practice your magic."
"..."
Tae-hyun's face crumpled. He felt like things were getting increasingly tangled up!
"Actually, I have a lot of things to do..."
"Postpone them for a while."
"No, they're not things I can postpone..."
"Surely you aren't suggesting you have something more important than the sacred event of the Magic Tower?"
Of course he did. Escaping! But he couldn't say that in front of Chesia.
Damn it.
"Haha, of course not. Naturally, the Magic Tower's event comes first!"
"I'm glad you understand. Go flatten the noses of those other magic schools! Kuhahaha!"
"Kuhahaha..."
Tae-hyun laughed hollowly along with Chesia.