Begging to Be Taught by Blacksmiths Like These
"Did you just badmouth me?"
"H-Haha... as if I'd ever do that."
At Kim Tae-hyun's words, Rufo immediately folded.
By now, Tae-hyun had plenty on him. If Tae-hyun went back and reported him properly to McCraney, then no matter how competent Rufo was, he was guaranteed to get chewed out thoroughly.
Cheap and humiliating or not, he had no choice but to stay on Tae-hyun's good side.
"I may not look it, but I'm a little handy with swords and armor."
"Excuse me? Really?"
Rufo asked it like he couldn't believe it at all.
"Want me to prove it? Take your armor off."
...!
Rufo took a step back.
As McCraney's bodyguard, his gear was anything but cheap junk.
Top-grade stuff that even the merchant company couldn't acquire easily!
And Tae-hyun wanted him to hand it over?
"I-I'm fine."
"You don't trust me? Hand it over."
When Rufo hesitated, Tae-hyun suddenly got greedy.
He looks way higher level than the pirates. If I strip that gear off him and fiddle with it, my skill proficiency should jump nicely, right?
Reading the greed in Tae-hyun's eyes, Rufo turned pale with fear.
He started backing away even faster.
"Come on, I'm not gonna eat you. I'll just tune your equipment up for a second and give it back. You don't trust me?"
"I-I do. I trust you."
But the distance between them kept widening.
"Still, you're an honored guest of our merchant company. I couldn't possibly trouble you with something like this..."
"It's not trouble, you punk. Hand it over."
"Th-then how about doing something else with that time? I'll teach you swordsmanship."
A chance to receive swordsmanship lessons directly from an NPC on Rufo's level!
There was no way Rufo's swordsmanship was mediocre.
For Tae-hyun, who didn't have many combat skills, it was an extremely tempting offer.
But Tae-hyun was a man of principles.
When your opponent is weak, press harder!
"Sounds good."
"Whew..."
"If you're gonna teach me swordsmanship, I can't just sit there and take it. Guess I have to work on your armor and sword too. Fair's fair."
...!
Rufo looked like the sky had fallen.
Crash—
Backing away, Rufo finally tripped and went down.
The moment he stopped moving, Tae-hyun approached with a grin.
"Hold still. Hey! Don't move!"
"N-No...!"
The two blacksmiths stared at their exchange in utter disbelief.
What the hell are those two doing?
Rufo squeezed his eyes shut.
Was there really no way to save his precious equipment from being ruined like this?
But justice still lived in this world.
"Hey."
...!
"Lord Denelson is looking for you."
Denelson, the overall boss of the Caterand Pirates, had summoned them.
The pirate delivering the message curled his lips in a grin.
And it clearly wasn't a pleasant one.
Of course not.
This was pirate island.
If the head of the pirates called for you here, there was no way not to get tense.
Heh. Let's see these bastards sweat a little.
The pirate watched Rufo and Tae-hyun with eager eyes.
One of his favorite things in the world was scaring outsiders who came to the island.
The pirates' reputation was so infamous that a few words were enough to make most people freeze up.
Heh. That count was hilarious too.
He remembered messing with Count Marcel.
The so-called count had trembled like crazy the moment he was intimidated, all dignity gone.
"Denelson's looking for us?"
"Yeah."
"...This is excellent news!"
"?!"
Rufo sprang to his feet and straightened his clothes.
"Ahem. If he's calling us, then it can't be helped. We have no choice but to go."
"Tch."
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He placed a hand on Rufo's shoulder.
"Don't forget you're teaching me swordsmanship."
"No, I'm a busy man too—"
"Want me to work on your gear?"
"...I'll teach you twice as hard!"
Rufo caved to Tae-hyun's threat.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a threat.
If he had known Tae-hyun's actual skill level, Rufo never would have reacted like this.
You did not yield to a pirate's intimidation. Your Speech skill increases.
Your favorability with the Caterand Pirates has increased.
Your Fame rises.
"...?"
Tae-hyun tilted his head at the sudden messages.
"What the hell?"
"What is it?"
"No... what is this?"
Why was it suddenly saying a pirate had tried to intimidate him?
It made no sense.
Whether Tae-hyun understood or not, the pirate was busy admiring the two of them.
They've got more guts than I thought. Then again, that's probably why they dared propose a deal like this.
Completely misunderstanding the situation, the pirate guided them forward with exaggerated politeness.
"W-Wait, take us too—!"
The two blacksmiths froze for a moment, then tried to call Tae-hyun back, but by then the pair had already gone too far.
"What do we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? We ask him again later!"
Kim Ji-sahn and Park Seong-chan nodded, their faces full of determination.
Opportunities like this didn't come around easily.
Most high-level blacksmiths belonged to guilds.
Or they were rankers famous enough to have their names known everywhere.
People like that didn't take disciples easily.
But Tae-hyun was an undiscovered master blacksmith.
If they begged and begged, maybe they'd have a chance.
"Unless we join a guild, we're bound to hit a ceiling! We have to learn under a master!"
"You're right. We have to learn!"
The two clasped hands, their resolve unshakable.
A chill ran down Tae-hyun's spine.
He flinched.
"What's wrong? Nervous?"
Rufo found that absurd.
Tae-hyun? Nervous?
Sure, the man they were about to meet was Denelson, the infamously dangerous leader of the Caterand Pirates.
Still, Tae-hyun didn't seem like the type to get nervous.
He was the sort of man who looked like he could crack jokes in front of a god.
"No. I just suddenly got a cold feeling."
"You're a strange one."
As they talked, they'd already reached their destination.
The pirate raised a finger to his lips.
"From here on, you need to keep quiet."
"Why? Does your boss wet himself if he hears loud noises?"
"Tae-hyun!"
Rufo jabbed Tae-hyun in the side.
What in the world was he saying, right in the middle of pirate territory?
"What's your problem?"
"Do you not understand where we are right now?"
"Relax. You think this guy's actually gonna report that?"
"...?"
"To tattle, he'd have to say, 'That guy said Boss pisses himself when he hears loud noises.' No way he's saying that out loud."
If he relayed it badly, he could end up bleeding right alongside them.
Rufo clicked his tongue.
How could a man have such prodigious talent when it came to tormenting other people?
Grinding his teeth, the pirate forced himself to explain.
"Lord Denelson likes quiet."
"And if we're loud?"
"Then you'll be punished!"
"Really?"
Tae-hyun stopped walking.
Rufo and the pirate both stared at him.
Why'd he stop?
"Then answer my question."
"...?"
The pirate looked at Tae-hyun the way one might look at a madman.
What gave Tae-hyun the right to order him around?
"Are you giving me orders?"
"Yeah."
"And if I refuse?"
"I'll make an extremely loud noise."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Rufo and I are outside guests, so your boss probably can't be too harsh with us. But you? You'll definitely get punished."
!!
Your Speech grants a bonus to persuasion.
The pirate turned deathly pale.
Denelson was not a kind man.
He might let Tae-hyun and Rufo slide, since they were outsiders and still useful for future dealings.
But the pirate himself could very well be executed as an example.
"P-please don't."
"What? Please don't? Watch your tone."
"P-please don't do that, sir."
You succeeded in intimidation.
You succeeded in intimidation with exceptional finesse. Your Speech skill receives an additional bonus.
You have obtained the title Pirate Intimidator.
You are the first on the server to obtain this title. All stats increase by 5.
There are people in this world who uphold order, and people who don't.
And then there are people who intimidate the ones who don't.
You, who had no one else to threaten and ended up threatening pirates instead!
You have become an object of terror to pirates.
When dealing with pirates: Attack Power +5%, Defense +2%, Speech success +10%.
The stat increase was on the small side compared to other titles, but being the first still meant something.
It meant no one had worked as hard as Tae-hyun at threatening pirates.
And besides...
I get the feeling I'm going to be fighting pirates soon.
To find the Authority of Archisus, he had to locate the prison passage and head farther underground.
Ideally, he'd finish without getting caught, but if he was discovered, he might have to fight the pirates.
Any title useful against pirates was welcome.
"Why is Denelson calling me?"
"Lord Denelson is, ah... very pleased with the work all of you have been doing."
"Yeah?"
Tae-hyun sounded genuinely surprised.
Which was understandable.
While Tae-hyun had been roaming around the prison, the other players had been busily working their asses off.
While Tae-hyun had been clearing his quest smoothly, the other players had been grinding through tear-soaked manual labor.
To be fair, they weren't exactly losing out.
The pirates' tasks were high difficulty, and every time they completed one, their experience and skill proficiency rose quickly.
But still...
The players grumbled nonstop, convinced they'd been scammed.
"Good. So they really are working hard. I judged people correctly."
His shamelessness was nearly divine.
Rufo, who knew exactly how Tae-hyun had gathered those people in the first place, coughed awkwardly in disbelief.
"So that's why he called?"
"Probably. And also for what comes next..."
Tae-hyun nodded.
Then he quietly said to Rufo,
"Looks like Denelson's getting greedy."
"Sir. Tae-hyun. You do realize it'd be dangerous to support him any further, right?"
The McCraney Merchant Group was a fairly prominent operation in the kingdom.
If word got out that they'd secretly supported pirates like this, things could get dangerous fast.
Tae-hyun might act like it wasn't his merchant company, but for Rufo and McCraney, it absolutely was their problem.
"I know. Don't worry."
"..."
Rufo only felt more uneasy because of how unconcerned Tae-hyun sounded.
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun sank into thought.
I need to go lower... but making an opening isn't easy.
There was a reason he'd come back up from the second basement level.
After quieting Count Marcel down, Tae-hyun had gone back out and started wandering around again.
Who cared if nobles were there? What he needed was a way farther underground.
But at the end of the passage, all he'd found was an enormous iron door.
And the lock hanging on it looked anything but ordinary.
This lock is protected by powerful magic. It cannot be opened by ordinary means.
He'd tried to do something with Blacksmithing and Engineering, but the system had declared it impossible before he could even begin.
Damn it. If my Engineering were a little higher, I might've been able to do it.
If his Engineering skill were high enough, he could open locks even without a thief's lockpicking skill.
By making a temporary key.
But with magic layered onto it as well, he couldn't open it in his current state.
In the end, Tae-hyun had no choice but to give up and come back up.