Count Marcel's Misunderstanding

"There was that way..."

"You're impressed now? Seriously?"

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe they hadn't even thought of such a simple, basic method.

Then again, the two of them had plenty they could say in their own defense.

They weren't Rogues or any other adventuring class. They were Blacksmiths!

The weird one here was Tae-hyun, who'd gone around beating rankers to death and having all sorts of adventures as a Blacksmith.

Normally, a Blacksmith wasn't the sort of class that went on adventures like this. It was a job for working in cities.

And it was definitely a class far removed from tricks like these.

"Hurry up and go talk to them."

"Ah, yes."

As soon as Tae-hyun shoved them forward, the two of them stumbled ahead in a flustered rush.

"U-um... excuse me..."

"What?"

The pirates, who looked rough enough at a glance, frowned the moment the two Blacksmiths approached.

The pair immediately got scared and looked at each other.

What do we do?

What do you mean, what do we do? We do what he told us!

Tae-hyun had already explained everything to them. There was no backing out now.

"W-we're the new Blacksmiths."

"So?"

"W-we thought we'd take a look at your equipment too..."

"Whaaaat?"

"Eek! If you don't want to, that's totally fine!"

When the pirate's voice rose, Park Seong-chan hurriedly blurted out.

Dying here was not on his list of preferred outcomes.

"Well, would you look at these considerate little bastards!"

"...Huh?"

"You've got a bit of promise in you!"

"Yeah. If you're Blacksmiths, you've gotta come over in person and ask like this. That's the proper spirit! The guys locked up in there don't have that at all."

Strictly speaking, what the pirate said made absolutely no sense.

Why would Blacksmiths dragged in from outside by force work hard?

But the two of them weren't thinking about that.

The only words they had really heard were locked up in there.

"L-locked up?"

"Huh? Haven't you seen those bastards over there? We brought 'em in from outside, but they're useless as hell. They call themselves Blacksmiths, but they barely know how to handle weapons!"

"H-ha ha. I see..."

"Do a good job, got it? If not, we'll throw you in there too!"

"!!"

The two couldn't tell whether the pirate was joking or dead serious.

Dripping sweat, they nodded frantically.

"W-well then, we'd need you to hand over your weapons first..."

While the two of them kept talking, Tae-hyun quickly used Stealth.

Then he carefully opened the door.

Slide.

If any other Rogue players had seen it, they would've clicked their tongues in admiration.

It was the kind of smoothness that didn't come from trying it once or twice.

Fantasy Online 2 was a virtual reality game, and even if your skill level was high, the player still had to know how to do it to some extent in real life.

Why had Ji-soo struggled so badly against wolves?

Because she had no natural close-combat sense.

The two Blacksmiths looked at Tae-hyun and thought:

He's a Rogue, right?

Yeah. He totally looks like a Rogue.

Everything about what he was doing screamed high-level Rogue.

Tae-hyun had, before he knew it, begun to arouse suspicion as a Rogue.

The underground prison in the middle of the pirate fortress had a vicious atmosphere.

Once he opened the door and went down the stairs, damp, heavy darkness greeted him.

It was hard to see properly ahead.

Tae-hyun frowned and walked slowly.

If this place was being used as a prison, then first he needed to look around and find some way to go further down.

Though I guess these pirates don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know the secret here.

If they knew the power of the Avatar was hidden beneath this place, there was no way they'd be using it as a prison.

Greedy pirates like these would've found some way to exploit it already.

Then does that mean even the entrance below is something the pirates don't know about?

Thinking that, Tae-hyun kept walking.

"Aigoo, aigoo..."

"Sob, sob. Let me out!"

"Shut up, you bastards! Get back to work! If you don't finish today's quota, you don't eat!"

At the prison warden's roar, the Blacksmiths locked inside let out cries of despair.

Dragged in from all over the place, they had been imprisoned for refusing to work properly.

That was one of the headaches plaguing the pirates.

A fortress needed all kinds of people to keep running.

But if the people you captured just dug in their heels, refused to work, or wailed that they missed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their families, then dragging them here was pointless.

That was also part of why they'd accepted the proposal from the McCraney Merchant Group.

For a pirate fortress that was always stumbling from lack of manpower, a large batch of people like that was like rain after a drought.

Tae-hyun passed them by and headed further inside.

He had no business with the warden or the imprisoned Blacksmiths.

He needed to find a way further down.

...!

When he reached the second basement level, the atmosphere changed completely.

Tae-hyun looked around in surprise.

What the hell?

The first basement prison above had been dark, damp, and everything you'd expect from a typical underground jail.

There was a reason the imprisoned Blacksmiths had been whining.

But down here, it was bright and warm.

The ceiling of the hallway was lined with magical lamps, and the rooms on both sides looked nothing like prison cells.

There weren't even bars—just ordinary rooms, practically.

And unlike upstairs, there weren't any guards in sight.

The pirate sentries had been patrolling all over the first basement, but here...

"Is someone there?"

A door opened, and out stepped a plump middle-aged man, yawning.

He held a wine glass in one hand and was even dressed in flashy noble attire.

For a moment, Tae-hyun wondered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if the man had somehow teleported in from somewhere else.

The difference in atmosphere between the first and second basement floors was just that extreme.

"Did I hear wrong?"

Seeing no one after opening the door, the man tilted his head and moved to go back inside.

Tae-hyun darted in before the door could close.

Once it shut, only Tae-hyun and the man remained in the room.

"Now then, what should I drink... Hm. I'm out of liquor already? Do I have to ask for more?"

Rustle.

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

Tae-hyun released Stealth.

Then he immediately clamped a hand over the man's mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph?!"

"Shh. Quiet."

"?!"

"If you understood me properly, blink once. And if you make a loud noise, you can imagine for yourself what'll happen."

Blink.

"...?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head.

Kingdom Intimidator?

He couldn't switch classes now that he already had a Legendary Class, but the very fact that something like this had popped up said something about his current state.

Speech, persuasion, scams, threats...

The quest had appeared because he'd fulfilled the conditions.

But Tae-hyun paid it no mind.

What's it making a fuss over something like this for? Guess the requirements are easy.

When it came to shamelessness, he had complete confidence he wouldn't lose to anyone.

In the first place, if something like this was enough to prick his conscience, he never would've rampaged through Fantasy Online 1 the way he had.

If you lined up all the people who ground their teeth at Kim Tae-hyun, you could probably circle the entire country.

It was one of the top-ranked posts on Fantasy Online Mania.

The author was the player Philip, famous for acquiring the Backalley Intimidator class.

Even just landing a rare class like that was enough to draw people to a personal stream.

There were just so many classes in the game, and discovering them was half the fun.

Still, people who revealed the know-how for obtaining classes were extremely rare.

Sometimes the acquisition conditions changed, sure, but not many people were willing to hand out for free what they'd suffered to earn.

But Philip had made a bold decision.

He had chosen to reveal the method for becoming a Backalley Intimidator.

The class change itself had attracted people, but that kind of attention didn't last long.

If he wanted to secure his position, he needed to drive the nail all the way in.

So today as well, Philip was kindly taking questions.

He said it modestly, but Philip's face was full of pride.

Just as Blacksmiths worked hard to raise their Blacksmithing skills, and Painters worked hard to raise their art skills, he had diligently raised his Speech skill.

It was more minor than production classes or art classes, sure, but as far as Speech went...

Wouldn't I be one of the best around?

He had no idea.

Not the faintest clue that someone training an entirely different class had just casually triggered a higher-tier class quest than his.

After confirming that the man had blinked, Tae-hyun released his hand.

Trembling, the man asked, "W-why are you doing this to me? I did exactly what they told me! I wrote the letters, I didn't go outside... Ah! Is this because of the liquor? Fine, I understand. You don't have to bring me any more..."

"I'm not a pirate."

"...?"

"I'm someone from outside."

...!

The man jolted in shock.

"Are you from the kingdom?"

"I did come from the kingdom..."

"To rescue me?"

"Not exactly that... but I guess you could say it's something close."

Tae-hyun smoothly dodged the issue.

First, figuring out who this guy was took priority.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you tell me who you are first. And why are you here?"

"Who I am? I am Count Marcel. Don't tell me you don't know me?"

"Ah. I know of you. I just don't know your face."

"Well, if you're not a noble, I suppose it would make sense that you wouldn't know my face."

Count Marcel seemed to accept that explanation on his own.

"I was kidnapped by these uncivilized pirate vermin. Wait. Why am I the one explaining this? If you've come here, you should already know."

"I'm just verifying the facts. Keep talking."

"Though I may have been kidnapped, I am still a man of noble blood. Obviously I couldn't be kept in the same place as those wretches upstairs. So they assigned me quarters like this."

"..."

It had been barely a minute, and Tae-hyun already wanted to punch him.

Suppressing the urge, he nodded.

Now he finally understood what this place was for.

So this was a prison for the valuable ones.

Even pirates couldn't treat hostages worth a hefty ransom too roughly.

To them, such people were treasure chests that produced huge sums of money.

So they had probably built a comfortable facility like this on the second basement level to keep them here in relative luxury.

After all, to escape they'd still have to pass through the first basement, and aristocrats like these weren't the kind of people who had the ability to break out on their own.

"Now then, if you've come to rescue me, take me with you. Quickly. I was just getting tired of drinking wine in this place. The liquor these savages serve has no taste."