A Gift of Heart and Soul

"I shall cure you, Pelmas," Galakpad said in a benevolent voice, looking at Pelmas who was clearly faking his illness.

Ah, the tight-knit bond of friendship that only those who shared a faith in Archisus could display!

"Galakpad...!"

"Pelmas...!"

"...Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Seize him!"

Their attitudes flipped in an instant.

At Galakpad's shout, the robed weirdos he usually dragged around rushed forward. They swiftly pinned Pelmas to the ground by his limbs.

"Let me go! Let me go, Galakpad! You bastard! How dare you pull this stunt in front of the great Lord Tae-hyun! Are you trying to start a rebellion?!"

"Silence. Shut your mouth."

Galakpad smacked Pelmas across the face with his staff.

Thwack!

A crisp, heavy sound echoed.

Tae-hyun watched in admiration. You couldn't make a sound like that unless you had years of experience beating people.

"Keu-heok!"

"Now, let me cure your illness!"

"Argh! Kaaah! Keu-heok!"

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Galakpad beat him mercilessly with his staff, not even bothering to use magic.

"Are you cured?!"

"I-I'm cured! I'm cured, I tell you!"

"It seems you are not yet fully healed!"

"No! I really am completely fine! Look! I'm practically bursting with energy!"

"No! You are not yet cured! I can feel it. There is still wickedness lingering in your heart!"

"What kind of bullshit is—cough! Argh! Stop hitting me! How are you this strong at your age?!"

Tae-hyun shook his head as he watched the spectacle. To think these were the high-ranking NPCs of the Archisus Church!

"Enough. Stop, Galakpad."

"Yes, Lord Tae-hyun."

"Now then, Pelmas. Do you feel like your illness has improved?"

"I am... completely cured...!"

"Good, good. Then you can come with us, right?"

If he only took Galakpad, Pelmas would surely run wild in his absence. If he was going to take one, he had to take both.

Is this some kind of riddle about crossing a river with a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage? Why do I have to stress over this?

"But Lord Tae-hyun! If I leave, who will manage the territory? Ah—no, I don't mean I don't want to go!"

Pelmas quickly made excuses as Galakpad glared at him with wide, threatening eyes.

"I'll leave it to the McCraney Merchant Group NPCs."

The McCraney Merchant Group of the Atali Kingdom was currently assisting the territory. While they might not be capable of making bold, sweeping decisions like Galakpad or Pelmas, they were exceptionally good at maintaining the status quo.

And that was exactly what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun wanted.

Please, just don't cause any disasters while I'm gone!!

Clang, clang, clang—

Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed as he swung his hammer. He was in a state of absolute, overwhelming focus to craft the Archisus artifact.

"Hey, aren't you going to take a break?"

"Go on ahead."

Normally, Tae-hyun was a man of strict routine: exercise, game, exercise, game.

You can't play games if you ruin your body!

But there were exceptions to every rule. One of them was crafting a potentially massive jackpot item. To create a true masterpiece, pulling all-nighters for days on end was practically a given.

Cain, who had logged out of his capsule and taken a nap, was horrified to see that Tae-hyun still hadn't emerged.

"Is he seriously not resting?!"

"Who, Tae-hyun? He's always like that. Just leave him be. He's got insane stamina, so he'll be fine even if he does this for a few days."

Choi Sang-yun was nonchalant, having witnessed Tae-hyun's obsessive streaks several times back in Pan-On 1.

Jeong Su-hyeok also stared at the capsule with a worried expression. Seeing both of them so concerned, Choi Sang-yun began to explain further.

"Hey, this is nothing. Back in Pan-On 1..."

"Hello!"

"Oh, hello. Come on in."

Everyone greeted Lee Da-bi warmly as she entered the room.

"Where is Lord Tae-hyun?"

"He's in the capsule."

"He logged in early today."

"No, he just hasn't logged out."

"..."

While Lee Da-bi stood there in shock, Choi Sang-yun continued his story.

"We got into a fight with this one guild once. Since they had us completely outnumbered, Tae-hyun retreated into a dungeon they controlled and started ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a siege. It was a massive dungeon that generated an astronomical amount of profit for them. The guild was desperate to clear him out so they could keep running it, but Tae-hyun just littered the entrance with traps and slaughtered them the moment they stepped inside."

Cain and Jeong Su-hyeok listened with sparkling eyes. Of course, Tae-hyun's exploits in Pan-On 1 were legendary, but hearing a vivid, firsthand account from someone who was actually there was on a whole different level.

"So, what happened next?"

"The guild was driven absolutely mad. A single guy was pulling a Proxy Outpost on them, and they couldn't break through. So, someone came up with an idea. They decided to send players in shifts to drag things out and exhaust him."

"...??"

"Since Tae-hyun was alone, they figured he'd eventually have to log out and sleep. Their plan was to slip into the dungeon while he was gone, and then surround him from both sides when he logged back in."

"Ah, that makes sense!"

"Of course, Tae-hyun shattered that plan effortlessly."

"How?"

"He just didn't sleep. He kept holding the line."

"..."

It was a brutally simple, brute-force method no one had anticipated.

"He'd ambush the guild members as they entered, hide for a bit to make them think, 'Wait, did he finally log out?' and then strike again. When they went, 'Alright, this isn't working, let's take a break,' he'd pop out, lob a bunch of bombs at them, and retreat back inside..."

The faces of his listeners grew increasingly pale.

"In the end, the guild literally paid him a mountain of gold and begged him to leave."

"Now I see why so many people hold a deep grudge against him."

"Oh, this is nothing. You'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lose your mind if you heard about his other stunts. There's one called the so-called [Redacted] incident—actually, it was never made public. The guild involved was so embarrassed they strictly controlled the footage and made sure no videos were uploaded. One of their rankers is actually a top ranker in Pan-On 2 now. Who was it again..."

An incident that sounded incredibly suspicious just from its name!

But Choi Sang-yun couldn't finish his sentence. The capsule hissed open, and Tae-hyun stepped out.

"...!"

Gulp, gulp, gulp—

Tae-hyun chugged a 1.5-liter bottle of water in one go. He gave the gathered crowd a brief wave and immediately prepared to climb back into the capsule.

"Hey! Hey!"

"Please get some rest!"

"I can't. I only came out because the ore is melting right now. I'm going back in."

"What on earth are you making that requires this much effort?! If it's for that gift you mentioned last time, you really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't have to go this far!"

"What are you talking about? If it's a gift, you have to put your heart and soul into it."

Well, he wasn't wrong. Lee Da-bi found herself speechless.

"B-but if you overexert yourself..."

"I'm not overexerting myself. I'm perfectly fine. Honestly, I could easily go for a few more days like this."

"The person receiving it might feel guilty..."

Even as she said it, Da-bi realized she wasn't being very persuasive.

However, Tae-hyun actually wavered slightly.

"Ah—no, they won't. Probably."

"Just who are you making it for?"

Ultimately, Da-bi asked the question gently. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but her curiosity won out.

Tae-hyun, however, looked uncomfortable and avoided her gaze.

"That's... a bit difficult to answer..."

"N-no way...!"

A sudden realization struck Da-bi. For Tae-hyun, who was usually brazenly honest about everything, to hesitate like this...

Could it be Cain?!

Come to think of it, the armor he was crafting looked incredibly rugged and bulky—the perfect fit for a tank.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me?" Cain asked, tilting his head in confusion.

No, wait. He said it was for a woman...

"...??"

Cain, completely oblivious to why she was staring, just blinked.

Da-bi tried to untangle her chaotic thoughts.

But really, who else could it be besides Cain?!

"D-did I do something wrong, Da-bi? When I trash-talked the guild last time, I didn't mean it! It's just that those guys keep using my nickname to..."

Seeing Da-bi fall silent, Cain began to babble excuses frantically.

A blinding pillar of light shot up into the heavens.

Since the previous artifacts didn't trigger this kind of alert, is it because the quality gap is just that massive? Tae-hyun thought.

"Ohhh... Lord Tae-hyun...! This is finally...! I, Galakpad, cannot hold back my tears! We must display this in the main temple of our order to show all the visiting believers..."

"No, I'm going to use it."

"Ah! If you are to wear it yourself, then there is nothing I can say. I, Galakpad..."

"No, I'm giving it as a gift."

"WHAT?!"

Ignoring Galakpad's anguished cry, Tae-hyun inspected the armor's performance. It had been entirely worth pouring in all his precious metals and gems.

After making the motorcycle, my own sword, and now this, the territory's warehouse must be practically empty. I'll have to restock it.

To be honest, he had wanted to use legendary metals like Orihalcon or Adamantium. The dream metals of every blacksmith! Even a tiny speck of Orihalcon or Adamantium mixed into the alloy would elevate the item's quality to a whole new level. Moreover, Tae-hyun still needed bolts for his Orihalcon crossbow. But such materials were incredibly hard to come by.

The raw stats are magnificent, and the options are incredibly powerful. It's a shame the set effects only trigger when I'm nearby, but even without them, it's an amazing piece of gear.

If those extra options were active even when Tae-hyun wasn't around, this item would be considered downright broken.

Now, as for the skills attached...

Archisus's Secret Protection was an active skill that, when used, cleansed all status ailments and boosted evasion. Archisus's Secret Blessing was also an active skill, offering a similar type of blessing buff.

Archisus's Divine Power was particularly excellent; it was a passive skill that absorbed a portion of damage taken as HP. And Archisus's Blessed Escape was exactly what it sounded like...

With all of this, the wearer would essentially become a walking fortress!

But what on earth is this 'triggers magic upon taking damage' option?

Archisus's Magic. Tae-hyun knew this skill all too well. Wasn't it the exact same random magic that Jeong Su-hyeok used? To think that very magic would trigger automatically every single time the wearer got hit.

Tae-hyun suddenly felt a wave of anxiety. Every other option was perfectly, normally good, so why did this one have to be so completely random?

Tae-hyun himself was confident in his ability to handle unpredictable, luck-based items, but recommending something like this to someone else felt a bit questionable.

"Did you finish it?"

"Oh. Perfect timing."

"...?"

As Lee Da-bi tilted her head in confusion, Tae-hyun proudly held out the armor.

"It's a gift."

"Pardon? No way, are you asking me to give this to Cain...?"

"...?? Why would Cain even come up?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. It wasn't him. Of course..."

"It's a gift for you."

"...For me?"

"Your birthday is the day after tomorrow."

"H-how did you... Ah! Those girls...!"

"Don't go scolding your sisters, though. It was sweet of them. I'm an only child, so I don't really know what it's like, but I think it's rare for siblings to look out for each other like that."

As Tae-hyun handed over the item, Da-bi felt a deep, overwhelming wave of emotion swell within her chest. She had watched from the sidelines, seeing exactly how much blood, sweat, and tears Tae-hyun had poured into crafting this item.

And yet, she had spent that entire time being petty and jealous.

I'm so embarrassed, I want to crawl into a hole and die...!

Da-bi felt her face burning up.

"I wasn't sure what kind of gift you'd like, but apparently, gifting in-game items in Pan-On is all the rage these days."

"I-is that so?"

Da-bi's voice trembled, racked with the agonizing guilt of her own conscience.