Let's... Let's Try Placing It Next to It First

"L-let's try placing it next to it first."

"Ah. Yohas. For me...?"

"No, Your Holiness!"

"No?"

Tae-hyun smacked his lips in disappointment. Yohas scurried away to avoid Tae-hyun's gaze.

Right next to it won't do! Behind it!

......

Yohas's face rotted. The intensity of the names was rising.

Underneath!

Aaaargh!

Yohas seriously contemplated giving up on the installation altogether.

......

Checkmate!

After agonizing over it again and again, Yohas finally placed the Phytos statue on a flowerbed at the very edge of the central plaza. He then covered the statue with thick bushes so it would be as hidden from sight as possible.

The name was still rather ominous, but Yohas had done the absolute best he could under the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠circumstances. Of course, neither Phytos nor the Phytos Church would ever see it that way!

The repairs on the central plaza are almost finished.

Tae-hyun felt relieved. At the same time, he realized the power of sheer numbers once again. The number of players had grown exponentially in such a short period!

In Pan-On 1, it felt like only his die-hard fans and luck-obsessed players were around, but now, the player base itself had expanded massively. Having so many people to borrow strength from made things incredibly convenient. It was the exact opposite of his experience in Pan-On 1!

You really never know how life will turn out.

If the past Tae-hyun had seen his current self, he would have been utterly dumbfounded. Even he had to admit he was playing the game in a completely opposite manner now.

I should check the items and head over to Esla quickly.

Tae-hyun began reviewing the items he had obtained from the recent raid. Because he had faced so many enemies, sorting and identifying the loot was a chore in itself. He decided to start with the most important one!

"Identify."

Up to this point, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the item description window looked surprisingly normal. However, an additional description window appeared beneath it.

"..."

The necklace Mosrak had been wearing. Because it was the item that had intrigued and puzzled him the most, Tae-hyun had checked it first. But what was with these stats...?

Both physical and magic defense are minus one hundred, and it can't be unequipped... What on earth is this?

Even in Pan-On, such items were incredibly rare. A cursed item that completely screwed over the player the moment they put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it on! What made this item particularly malicious was that, unless you were Tae-hyun, it was impossible to even verify its true stats. There was a reason why Mosrak, despite being a demon who had suffered so much at the hands of Archisus, had been wearing this necklace!

Even Carbanog felt sorry for Mosrak!

"!"

The Order's Authority Quest, which he had temporarily put on hold to hunt demons, was presenting itself once again from an entirely different angle.

I have a strong feeling about what kind of skill this is...

It was clearly a skill specialized in crafting cursed items just like this! In Pan-On, there were no blacksmiths who specialized in crafting and distributing such items yet. Tae-hyun's instincts flared. Just like in Pan-On 1, it was time to bring another revolution to the blacksmithing industry!

Meanwhile, a revolution of a different kind was taking place elsewhere.

"Say that again, Daniel!"

Murmur, murmur—

The mechanical engineering blacksmiths of the capital murmured in shock. Daniel, a young and exceptionally talented mechanical engineering blacksmith, had openly rebelled against Gabriel.

"Master! I don't believe bombs are the only thing to mechanical engineering! I want to try making other things!"

"H-how could you say such a thing...!"

"He's lost his mind!"

"My... my heart..."

Several blacksmiths clutched their chests in sheer shock! However, Gabriel spoke calmly.

"Bombs are the flower of mechanical engineering, the very essence of it. You know this well. What is the only mechanical engineering item that sells well on the market right now?"

"...Bombs."

"And the items used in tournaments?"

"Bombs..."

"Why do others fear us?"

"That's also bombs."

"Exactly! The essence of mechanical engineering is bombs! Of course, there are other items. But we don't have time to waste on such useless, trivial things!"

"B-but Player Kim Tae-hyun makes other items perfectly well too."

At those words, the other blacksmiths reacted violently.

"That man is a different species!"

"Exactly! Compare apples to apples!"

"Hey, you punk! Just because Michael Phelps is a great swimmer, do you think you'll swim just like him if you practice? Wake up!"

"Enough, enough, Daniel. Their words are not wrong. Lord Kim Tae-hyun does make other items. But we are not supermen like him. We need selection and focus. We cannot master everything! There is simply not enough time!"

Gabriel slammed the floor and shouted.

"Look at the ranker blacksmiths. They all have their specialties. In weapons, there are swords, spears, bows... In armor, there are chestplates, boots, gauntlets... Why do they only dig into one thing instead of doing everything? Because that is how you become the best! Daniel! Didn't you want to become the best?!"

"Master, I want to be the best."

"Indeed!"

"But I don't think that path lies in bombs. I will become the best in mechanical engineering on my own path!"

"!"

Seeing Daniel refuse to back down to the very end, Gabriel's face hardened.

"Fine. In that case... you are expelled!"

Gabriel had cared for the talented Daniel like his own disciple. Seeing his cold demeanor, the other blacksmiths stirred in unease.

"!"

"Get out, Daniel!"

"...Thank you for everything, Master!"

"Hmph. Take this with you. We have no use for the crude items you made!"

Whoosh—

Daniel reflexively caught the item Gabriel threw. It was a toolbox he had made. Inside the box was a key.

"...!"

Gabriel turned away, refusing to even look at Daniel. However, Daniel choked up with intense emotion.

"Master...!"

"Hmph. What are you hesitating for? Get out!"

"Yeah! Get out! Take these items with you too! We don't need them!"

The other blacksmiths threw Daniel's creations at him. Seeing items like the Golems and Siege Weapons he had crafted, Daniel choked up. Even as they kicked him out, they were making sure he had the authority to use the forge and plenty of materials! Tears welled in his eyes.

"I will... I will surely repay this kindness! *Sniff!*"

"Tae-hyun, I just got a report from a guild member. The blacksmiths apparently built another secret underground bomb storage."

"Are they out of their minds...? Tell them to stop making bombs!"

Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded by Lee Da-bi's words. Like squirrels digging holes to bury acorns, the blacksmiths built secret storage spaces for bombs whenever they had a spare moment!

Of course, Tae-hyun also borrowed their bombs when he needed them in large quantities, but this was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Can't they make something else?"

"Even if we tell them to, they say their skill levels are too low..."

"If their skill levels are low, they should raise them."

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. Just because they had focused solely on bombs didn't mean they had to make bombs forever. They could always try to change!

Thud, thud, thud—

"?"

A shabby-looking figure ran toward Tae-hyun's party as they left the capital and headed toward the Auston Kingdom. No, it wasn't a human, but a demon. It was Freid.

"Pant, pant..."

"Oh, it's Freid. What's going on?"

Even though Tae-hyun was the one who had burned down Freid's sanctuary, he shamelessly put on a straight face. First rule of lying: Never admit to a lie until you are caught red-handed!

"Help me!"

"What? Help you with what? Did something happen?"

"That bastard Mosrak... he burned down my entire sanctuary!"

"Oh my god, how could he do such a thing!"

Tae-hyun gasped. Or rather, he pretended to gasp.

"Even for a demon, how could Mosrak think of burning down the entire forest? Isn't that going too far?!"

"Exactly! That bastard Mosrak. I will never forget this grudge!"

Freid gnashed his teeth. Tae-hyun subtly inquired,

"But you managed to bring all your treasures, right?"

"No... I didn't have the luxury to do so."

Tae-hyun's expression instantly turned ice-cold. Cain flinched upon seeing it.

That's the exact face he makes whenever I mess up.

"What? You left all the treasures behind? You absolute fool! Even if you were dying, you should have grabbed the treasures first!"

Tae-hyun was getting angry at Freid for leaving the treasures behind, completely ignoring the fact that he was the one who had set the fire! Everyone shook their heads at his sheer shamelessness.

"I-I had no choice!"

Freid stammered, flustered by Tae-hyun's sudden anger. It had been a truly perilous situation.

"I hid them, but it would have been too dangerous if I ran into assassins sent by Mosrak while trying to retrieve them."

"Tsk, what a coward."

"..."

Freid felt a surge of anger but held it back. He was the one in a desperate position right now.

"But why did you come here?"

"What do you mean why? Aren't we allies who joined hands to deal with Mosrak? My sanctuary is gone, so I came to seek your help."

"Haha. We were allies. Before you lost your treasures."

"Y-you wicked bastard! Didn't I already give you treasures before?!"

"That was because I fed you the greatest rabbit dish in the world."

"Without treasures, you're just a steamed bun without filling, or like Sadiq without a church. If you have nothing, shoo, shoo."

"Are you really from the Phytos Church?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm the Avatar of Archisus. I did receive Phytos's choice, but I'm not from his church."

"!!!!!"

Freid was utterly shocked. "W-what? Ha... hahaha. You're joking, right? It's a joke, right?"

"I'm not joking."

"...Now that I think about it, there's no way a guy like you could have come from the Phytos Church!"

Freid accepted it in a single second! Tae-hyun's sheer wickedness made perfect sense if he was the Avatar of Archisus.

Thud—

Freid fell to his knees.

"To think... to think I joined hands with the Avatar of Archisus. What have I done?! What have I done?!"

"...I think he's more terrified of you than Mosrak," Lee Da-bi muttered, looking at Freid with a bewildered expression. Surely, this was a bit much?