The Art of the Steal

"Ahem. I'm not exactly trying to show off, but... surely you recognize this." He muttered it under his breath, but his words carried perfectly to the giants' ears. He was practically shouting it for them to hear! "If you don't even recognize this, you must be truly foolish... But surely you aren't that stupid..."

"No! No! We recognize it!"

"You use the strange fire that the Great Warrior uses! You are indeed sent by the Great Warrior!"

His Speech skill was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on an entirely different level compared to Cain's!

I suspected the 'Great Warrior' the giants mentioned was the Holy Knight Commander, and it looks like I was right. Tae-hyun smacked his lips. When he first heard about the quest from Cain, he had thought, The Sadiq Order was completely destroyed, and what little remained of its foundation is practically in my territory. What could he possibly do? But it seemed the Holy Knight Commander was surprisingly capable. To think he had come all the way here, sweet-talked the giants, and managed to become their Great Warrior.

And that Holy Knight Commander must absolutely despise me... After all, Tae-hyun had constantly interfered with every single one of the order's plans, tracked him down to his hiding spot, and caused absolute chaos! On top of that, he had even stolen his divine Authority... His abilities are so good, though. I wonder if I can recruit him? His ability to manage a religious order is way better than any of my own cult's NPCs. He was a highly coveted talent for the Archisus Cult! Of course, if the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander heard this, he would probably want to wash his ears out with holy fire.

"You use the strange fire of the Great Warrior. We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will be able to use it soon, too."

"The Great Warrior said so. He said using the strange fire makes us stronger. Much stronger than the other giants."

The giant tribes in the desolate Zaion Mountains were constantly at each other's throats. Among them, the Black One-Eye Tribe was considered the smartest, but they were physically weaker and fewer in number, always leaving them at a disadvantage. Thus, they welcomed the outsider who brought them a new source of power...

Smart? Well, Cain also got called smart in the real world sometimes... Tae-hyun decided to be generous and let it slide. Of course, he had absolutely no intention of completing this quest with them. Doing so would only benefit the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander. All Tae-hyun would get out of it was some Holy stats and experience!

Wait. Hold on. Maybe...

"Do you guys happen to know a god named Akisus?"

"We know! We know! The Great Warrior told us. He said we must never believe in him. He is an evil god who will ruin your life if you worship him!"

"...Well, he's not that bad..."

Tsk. Tae-hyun quickly backed off. It seemed the Great Warrior had brainwashed them far more thoroughly than he had anticipated. When asked about other gods, the giants' reactions were along the lines of, "What's that? Is it edible?" But the moment the name Akisus was mentioned, they immediately reacted with, "That guy is a very bad guy! You must never believe in him!"

Wow, what a petty bastard. Why is Akisus the only one getting this kind of treatment? Tae-hyun grumbled, completely forgetting his own past actions.

In any case, now was the time to gather information. Walking alongside the giants, Tae-hyun began to pry for details. What was the Great Warrior doing? How many subordinates did he have? What was he plotting? What were his weaknesses? With Tae-hyun's Speech skill, extracting this kind of information should have been as easy as taking candy from a baby. The problem was... the giants were far stupider than he had imagined!

"The Great Warrior eats food."

"No, not that kind of stuff..."

"The Great Warrior also goes to the bathroom."

"..."

"The Great Warrior stays in the bathroom for a long time. We do not do that. We come out quickly."

"That is truly information I did not want to know..."

But Tae-hyun wasn't one to give up just because his targets were dim-witted. He had dealt with stupid opponents dozens of times before! Though this particular bunch was exceptionally brainless.

"Right, so, the Great Warrior is doing something at the holy land deep inside the mountains, correct?"

"Yes! Yes! But why do you ask again? Do you not know already?"

"I'm just checking to see if you remembered correctly. You guys really are smart."

"Hehe. Yes! Yes!"

"Right. Tell me more."

By the time they arrived in front of the cave, Tae-hyun had managed to extract almost all the useful information. So the Holy Knight Commander is doing something at the place the giants call their holy land... No matter how he looked at it, it was an ominous sign! He was definitely preparing something massive.

"The Great Warrior said so. When the time of the Hot One comes, we will all live full and happy lives."

The Hot One? Ah, Sadiq...

Thud.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Open it."

"Huh? Is it okay to open it? What if they run away..."

"Haha. Why worry when you guys are here? Surely you won't lose to such tiny creatures."

"That is true! That is true!"

They really are simple-minded. What incredibly easy targets to manipulate! Considering that normal giant monsters would throw boulders at the mere sight of a player and swing massive clubs just for making eye contact, these Black One-Eye giants were a highly unusual case. No wonder the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander had been able to sweet-talk them so easily.

"By the way, what is this thing? Why is it so sturdy?" Tae-hyun asked, pointing at the boulder blocking the cave entrance. Even at a glance, its color was completely different from the surrounding rocks, giving it a peculiar appearance. Furthermore, the fact that the party trapped inside couldn't break it no matter how hard they pounded on it meant...

"That? It is a rock from the holy land. It is sturdy, so we brought it out to use as a trap."

"We are smart! We brought it out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in advance just in case something like this happened!"

"...?"

So they had taken a precious rock—the nature of which was still unknown—from their sacred holy land and dragged it all the way out here to use as a trap? Without even knowing when they would use it, or if someone might steal it?

This place is absolutely wonderful!

Appraise.

Even though the message stated he couldn't identify it due to his insufficient Blacksmithing Skill, Tae-hyun wasn't annoyed at all. In fact, this meant the boulder was an even more incredible item than he had anticipated!

Black Iron... That's a seriously rare item. It was one of the rarest metals in Pan-On, almost as difficult to obtain as Adamantium! It could only be found in minuscule amounts at meteorite crash sites. Naturally, its performance was the absolute best among steel-type metals—boasting incredible durability, physical attack power, physical defense, and more... It was hilarious that these guys were using such a material as a mere cave door just because it was "sturdy."

How do I take this with me? It was far too wasteful to leave it here. Tae-hyun wanted to haul it back to his territory, melt it down over time, and extract the raw materials. Even if his current skill level wouldn't allow him to extract all of it, it would still be more than enough.

Plus, my Blacksmithing Skill will probably go up a ton. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Rumble. While Tae-hyun was busy plotting, the cave entrance opened.

"Give it a rest already. Since it's not budging, it's clearly not going to work. Let's just wait until it opens and then fight our way out."

"No! I can do this!"

While everyone else had given up, Cain was still groaning and straining, desperately trying to push the boulder.

"Still, it's nice to see him working so hard."

"It's definitely because of the Tonic I forced him to drink. It really pumps up your strength."

The Orc Ahjussis watched Cain with warm, proud smiles. However, the rest of the party found his behavior bizarre.

"What is wrong with Cain?"

"Mr. Cain is acting very strange. He's usually not the type to do this."

Cain was desperate. He had to achieve something before Tae-hyun arrived!

Rumble.

"?!?!"

In that instant, the boulder Cain was pushing slid aside, revealing the cave entrance.

"What?!"

"How did he push that?!"

The Orc Ahjussis gasped in shock. They were players who had risked their lives to raise their Strength stats as high as possible. Even with all their gear and potion buffs, they hadn't been able to budge it an inch, yet he had just moved it?

But it was a misunderstanding. Three giants appeared from the newly opened entrance.

"Prepare to fi—"

"Are these the ones?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"I will verify if they are indeed spies."

Tae-hyun strode confidently into the cave. Seeing him, the others let out sighs of relief. Tae-hyun had come to rescue them!

Whack!

"?!"

"You useless fool! How could you handle your job so poorly and cause such a misunderstanding?! These brilliant giants had to waste their precious time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because of you!"

"Ah! Ow! Why?!"

Cain shrieked in confusion. He thought Tae-hyun had come to save him, only to be immediately beaten. Tae-hyun had even pulled out his massive hammer, swinging it wildly for the giants' benefit! While it dealt no actual damage, it certainly looked convincing.

Seeing this, the Orc Ahjussis began to whisper among themselves.

"I mean, even if Tae-hyun has a nasty temper, beating his own teammate with a giant hammer like that is..."

"He's an absolute hoodlum, a total thug. Whose son is he anyway?"

The Orc Ahjussi who had spoken quickly shut his mouth when Kim Tae-san glared at him.

"Whew. My apologies. These guys are indeed subordinates of the Great Warrior who worships Sadiq. It seems there was a misunderstanding."

"Really?"

"Oh. It is not our fault. Those guys spoke strangely. We only did what the Great Warrior told us to do!"

The giants grumbled defensively, glaring at Cain. Tae-hyun placated them with a smooth voice.

"Of course, of course. It's not your fault at all. I'll explain everything clearly to the Great Warrior."

"Thank you! Thank you! Human is kind!"

"Well, I'm practically made of kindness. Ah, by the way... we need to move that boulder over there. It's far too heavy for small races like us. Only mighty, strong beings like you could possibly move it."

"?"

"These Orcs will guide you, so just carry it over to where they show you."

"Understood! Understood!"

Hearing Tae-hyun's instructions, the Orc Ahjussis hurriedly sent him private whispers.

The Orc Ahjussis were utterly dumbfounded by Tae-hyun's blatant attempt to scam the giants and steal their rock.

Grumbling all the while, the Orc Ahjussis played rock-paper-scissors. One of them was selected as the guide. Watching this, Cain cheered inwardly. The chosen uncle was the very same one who had been aggressively trying to feed him the Tonic earlier.

I'm free! Finally free!

Once that uncle left, there would be no one left to force-feed him that horrific health drink!

"Ah, right. Even though I'm leaving, make sure to take care of that young friend and give him his Tonic. He looks like his energy is severely depleted."

"Got it, got it. We'll make sure of it."

"..."

The unbreakable bond of the Orc Ahjussis! Cain fell into deep despair.

Once the three giants departed with the designated Orc Ahjussi, Tae-hyun spoke quickly.

"First, let's get out of here. The Great Warrior has probably been notified, so we don't know when he'll show up... By the way, there are a lot of unfamiliar faces here. Huh?"

Tae-hyun blinked. Among the crowd of Orc Ahjussis, he spotted a very familiar face.

"H-H-Hello!"

"Oh. Yeah. It's been a while... but why are you here?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely puzzled. Why was Yu Ji-soo here when she should have been off enjoying the game elsewhere?

Did Cain trick her into... No, that's impossible.

Dismissing the absurd thought, Tae-hyun quickly came to his own conclusion.

"Ah, you came along when the uncles were gathering? I guess there's plenty of work to do over in Uruk right now."