Beneath the Pirate Fortress
Kim Tae-hyun set off with the dejected Rufo in tow.
Time was money. Their destination was the underground level beneath the pirate fortress.
"Uh, but..."
"What?"
"How are we getting in?"
"What do you mean, how? We use stealth."
"Yes, well... that's true, but I..."
"Ah."
Rufo didn't know how to use stealth.
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. Of all places to get tripped up, it had to be here.
What an incompetent idiot.
If Rufo had heard that, he would've beaten his chest in sheer injustice.
"What do we do?"
"Hmm..."
Leaving Rufo behind was one option, but Tae-hyun didn't really want to. There was no telling what might be down there.
A high-level NPC like Rufo was incredibly reassuring once a fight broke out.
"Can't be helped."
Clang, clang, clang—
The two blacksmith players, Kim Ji-sahn and Park Seong-chan, were hammering away again today.
Around them were the other blacksmith players who'd been dragged in alongside them.
The quest they were currently on was one all the blacksmiths had to do together.
Park Seong-chan lowered his voice and asked Kim Ji-sahn, "Hey. Did you find out where that guy went?"
"Not yet. Why don't we just ask the others?"
"We can't, you idiot! If there's something good, we've gotta keep it to ourselves!"
Park Seong-chan answered firmly.
There weren't just the two of them here.
If the others found out about Tae-hyun's abilities?
It was obvious what would happen. Every last one of them would swarm him and try to get close to him.
To blacksmiths, high-level blacksmiths who were far ahead of everyone else were figures of immense prestige.
"Looking at the mood right now, I don't think that'll happen..."
Park Seong-chan muttered.
In fact, among the people gathered here, Tae-hyun was being called things like "that bastard" or "that masked scammer."
"They'd change their tune if they knew. Once people want something, they'll bow and scrape just fine!"
"You think?"
Every time they got a break, people grumbled and cursed Tae-hyun out.
"Hey. You two."
"...?"
The two turned their heads.
It was one of the merchant group's employees who had come with them on the ship.
Tae-hyun and Rufo hadn't arrived alone. They'd also brought the ship's sailors and merchant employees who helped with their work.
Of course, to the players who had been tricked into coming here, they were all objects of resentment.
"What is it?"
Still, an employee of the merchant group was an employee of the merchant group. From a player's point of view, you couldn't just treat them carelessly.
They were the ones who needed something, after all.
"Come with me. We've got work to do."
"Work?"
The two stopped what they were doing and got up.
Work? Did that mean another quest?
"Another quest?"
"I'm sick of this grind..."
"Hey. It'll still be better than doing this."
"Oh. That's true!"
Whatever the merchant group wanted them to do had to be better than whatever the pirates did.
"Let's go, quick!"
The other players were all too busy with their own work to pay attention.
The two hurried after the employee.
"Huh!"
Kim Ji-sahn and Park Seong-chan were startled.
At the place the merchant employee had secretly led them to, there were people they never expected to see.
Instead of heavy armor, the man wore a light coat. His face was hidden behind a mask.
It was Tae-hyun.
Beside him stood Rufo, the merchant group's famed swordsman.
The two blacksmiths stared at each other in blank astonishment.
"No way..."
"Was he moved by our sincerity?"
"He's going to teach us?!"
But Tae-hyun was cold.
"No. Not that."
"..."
The two looked up at him with crestfallen faces.
"Then what is it?"
"I've got a job for you. Remember when you talked to the pirates last time?"
They had spoken to the pirates to draw attention.
Of course, thanks to that, they'd ended up with even more work they hadn't needed to do.
"Yes."
"I need you to do it one more time."
"...?"
Both of them frowned. It was obvious they didn't want to.
"Why? It went well last time."
"What? How was that good?!"
"All it did was dump a mountain of work on us!"
"Do you know how much those pirate bastards worked us?!"
The two burst out, indignant.
This was nothing like the blacksmithing they usually enjoyed.
Being rushed around, insulted by pirates all the while.
But Tae-hyun only tilted his head as if he truly didn't understand.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"???"
"It's a free chance to handle equipment. And not just mediocre equipment, either."
The two realized then that Tae-hyun was being completely serious.
T-that's... what a high-level blacksmith is like!
So that's the difference!
They were operating on a fundamentally different wavelength.
If Tae-hyun said, "Ah, I should rest now," while turning the game on, then they were the sort of people who said, "Ah, I should rest now," while turning the game off.
Hearing him speak with such utter sincerity, they couldn't help but be impressed all over again.
"N-no, but still... it's hard... and there's so much work..."
"That's how your skill goes up."
"And all the other people here are having a hard time too..."
"What? They don't like being given this kind of experience for free? I really don't get it."
Listening from the side, Rufo whispered quietly, "Normally, people don't like it when you make them work that much."
"Spoiled, the lot of them. So what, you're saying you don't want to do it?"
"Huh?"
At Tae-hyun's question, the two blacksmiths exchanged glances.
Their minds started spinning at top speed.
"No, it's not that we don't want to..."
"If you want us to do it, we will. But!"
"But?"
"If we work hard, then you... wait. What was your name again?"
Tae-hyun still hadn't given them his name.
That was why the other players had slapped nicknames on him and cursed him out.
"Kim..."
"Kim?"
"Kim Tae-san."
Because he hadn't put any thought into it, the name that came out was one he was familiar with.
His father's name.
But once he'd said it, he unexpectedly liked it.
Most of all—
If something goes wrong... it goes back to Father.
Of course, there were plenty of players running around with the name Kim Tae-san, so his father probably wouldn't actually take the fall.
Still, there was always the slightest chance.
He found himself thinking he should've gone around using the name Kim Tae-san from the start.
"So your name is Kim Tae-san. In any case, if we work hard, please teach us some blacksmithing techniques!"
"No... well..."
Tae-hyun hesitated.
These two had mistaken him for a blacksmith.
But Tae-hyun wasn't a blacksmith.
Naturally, he couldn't teach them any secret techniques or special skills unique to blacksmiths.
All he had were the basic skills any halfway decent blacksmith would already know.
Looking at their levels, they've probably got Enhancement too.
Mistaking his hesitation for deliberation, the two flung themselves down flat.
"We'll work really hard!"
"We want to leave our mark on this game too! No matter how much grinding you make us do, we won't complain—we'll work hard!"
"If I teach you what I know, that's enough?"
"Yes!"
Tae-hyun asked again, "Really? You'll be satisfied if I only teach you what I know?"
"Yes!!!"
"Fine. Got it."
"!!"
The two threw their arms around each other.
They were just that happy.
Watching them, Rufo whispered, "You do actually have skills to teach them, right?"
"I do, but... they probably know them too."
"..."
Rufo shook his head.
The two did exactly as Tae-hyun instructed.
The blacksmiths from outside were already well known among the pirates.
If you told them to do something, they did it. Convenient little fellows.
"What? You want to treat us?"
"Yes! You trusted clumsy blacksmiths like us and entrusted your weapons to us. Thanks to that, we've learned a lot."
"Ha! Look at these guys!"
The two blacksmiths tensed at the pirates' reaction.
Did they catch on?
"They've got the basics down! The basics!"
"H-ha, haha..."
"Fine! Let's go!"
In high spirits, the pirates slung their arms around the blacksmiths' shoulders and moved off with them.
Tae-hyun nodded when he saw it.
"Let's go."
He had already ordered the merchant employees to prepare drinks and food in advance.
The pirates would have a grand old time there.
Tap tap—
Rufo and Tae-hyun quickly passed through the prison and headed underground.
If Denelson had seen this, he'd have grabbed the back of his neck and collapsed.
That's what you get for trusting pirates.
No matter how strict the rules were, pirates were still pirates.
If soft-looking blacksmiths like those came up acting friendly, there was no way they wouldn't fall for it.
Honestly, who on this island would ever expect something like this?
"What is this place for?"
"Where they keep valuable hostages."
From inside came the sound of snoring.
Rufo tilted his head.
This was clearly a pirate dungeon prison, so why was a sound like that coming from inside?
When he peeked in, he saw a face that made his eyes widen.
"C-Count Marcel!"
"You know him?"
"I'd heard he'd been kidnapped, but it was these pirates who took him!"
"Nice to have that cleared up."
"Shouldn't we get him out?"
Tae-hyun frowned. Then he patted Rufo on the shoulder.
"If we wake him up, then we have to drag him around with us. And who knows what's down there? We'd have to haul that man around with us through all of it. If you want to do that, fine, but you can take responsibility for him. I'm not doing it."
"Haha. Let's leave him."
A quick change of stance.
Rufo valued his own life too much.
There was no telling what could be waiting below. He couldn't afford to babysit someone like Count Marcel.
That was a perfect way to get killed.
As they walked, Tae-hyun asked, "He's a noble from your kingdom. You okay just leaving him here?"
"He looks like he's doing just fine."
Rufo was already being tainted by Tae-hyun.
A shamelessness thick enough to seem plated in iron.
The two stopped in front of a door.
Tae-hyun carefully pulled out the stolen key.
Rufo watched with a tense expression.
Would it really work?
Creeeak—
With a dull groan, the door opened.
"...!"
What greeted them was a dazzling blaze of gold.
Heaps of gold piled high, jewels, and items that looked expensive at a glance filled the room.
"So Denelson was storing treasure down here too...!"
"Th-this is..."
Rufo handled treasure often enough in ordinary circumstances, but even he hadn't expected the scale of what lay here.
The pirates really had been diligent little magpies.
"Should we take some?"
"For once you've said something worth hearing. But first we find the way down."
Even as he said it, Tae-hyun felt a pang of regret twist in his gut.
How much was all this treasure worth?
And it wasn't just money. There were items too.
But there was no time right now. Trouble could break out at any moment.
Besides, there was simply too much treasure.
If they stuffed it all into their inventory, the weight would definitely slow them down.
"Find the way first!"
"How?"
Tae-hyun used Divine Foresight.
Then he began moving along the path it revealed.
At the same time, his hands moved just as fast.
You have acquired an item.
You have acquired an item.
Tae-hyun didn't even bother checking the windows and kept moving.
He was choosing items purely on instinct.
Scooping up whatever looked worth taking, he stuffed it into his inventory while following the route Divine Foresight showed him, digging through the piles of gold coins.
"Incredible."
"What is?"
"Finding the path while stuffing all that into your pockets at the same time..."
Even Rufo couldn't help admiring the skill with which Tae-hyun both carved a path through the mountain of gold coins and rapidly, precisely picked out items to pocket.
If it were swordsmanship, it'd be at a master level.
"Found it."
"...?"
Rufo had no idea what Tae-hyun meant.
Tae-hyun swept aside a mound of coins and pointed at the floor, but to Rufo, there was nothing there.
"What exactly did you find?"
"This floor has to be the entrance."
"Are you sure? If nothing else, if we punch a hole through the floor here, they're definitely going to notice."
"I'm sure!"
With that, Tae-hyun pulled out his hammer.