How on Earth Did You Become a Friend of Dragons?
"How on earth did you manage to become a friend of dragons?"
"Could you teach us how as well?"
The members of the Draken Secret Society approached Tae-hyun, asking in cautious, polite voices. However, their eyes were burning with intense fervor.
Lately, I feel like I only run into crazy people... Tae-hyun grumbled to himself.
Starting with the blood-crazed Elf Duke Gellendel, and now these guys.
Carbanog remarks that birds of a feather flock togeth—
In any case, thanks to Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong, the members of this secret society seemed to trust Tae-hyun quite a bit, even though it was their first time meeting him. Although their actions occasionally showed hints of madness, this was more than enough to be considered a warm welcome.
How should I exploit these guys? Tae-hyun thought.
It seemed possible to get help or support from them. The problem was the process! From the looks of it, these guys were outlaws being chased by the Empire. If he got tangled up with them the wrong way, Tae-hyun might end up being chased alongside them.
Lee Se-yeon would be thrilled to hunt me down.
If she could take Tae-hyun's head in the name of the Empire, she would definitely jump at the chance. The important thing was to receive their support safely.
"By the way..."
"?"
"Is that golden dragon more magnificent, or is that pitch-black dragon more magnificent?"
—?
—??
When one of the cultists asked Tae-hyun, the other members of the secret society immediately began to whisper and argue among themselves.
"Of course it's the golden dragon! Gold Dragons have always been the guardians of order, not to mention great dragons that wield lightning..."
"What nonsense! The wicked and deep-scheming Black Dragon is the true epitome of a dragon. Do you not know a dragon's wrath? A Black Dragon's wrath is true wrath! Have you lost your mind, not tasting the essence of black magic?"
"Hmph! Such shallow black magic would be torn to shreds before the great lightning magic of a Gold Dragon!"
"What? You rascal. Is that any way to speak in front of your uncle?"
"Quiet, Uncle! Cast aside your outdated tastes that don't fit the times. Black Dragons are the strongest? What nonsense! Gold is the strongest!"
—.......
—.......
The factions of the Draken Secret Society have begun to clash!
The Black Dragon Faction and the Gold Dragon Faction have clashed for a long time. Your affinity may change depending on whose side you take.
Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk turned their heads to look at Tae-hyun. What on earth would Tae-hyun say?
"Both are correct."
"……."
"Booo! Boooo!"
"What kind of weak-willed nonsense is that!"
Jeers immediately erupted! However, Tae-hyun did not even blink as he roared authoritatively.
"Silence!"
"!"
Supreme Eloquence
You dominate the atmosphere of the crowd.
A bonus is applied to persuading the Draken Secret Society...
...
The Supreme Eloquence skill had the power to make even bickering people shut their mouths and listen.
"You claim to worship dragons, yet you rank and discriminate against them by their color! Have you no shame? Even these dragons here do not wish to associate with people like you!"
—Act angry.
—Huh?
—I said, act angry.
—??
—????
Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong were flustered, but they did as they were told.
—Roar! Roar!
—Rooooar?
"Aigoo! We have sinned!"
"O great dragons! Please do not abandon us!"
The members of the secret society immediately threw themselves flat on the ground!
You have resolved the conflict between the factions!
Your experience points increase significantly.
Your authority within the Draken Secret Society increases!
Your Reputation...
"What? Kim Tae-hyun is here?"
Lee Se-yeon looked utterly appalled.
Seeing this, her guild members began to whisper among themselves.
—As expected, whenever Kim Tae-hyun is mentioned, our Guild Leader gets a bit...
—What did I tell you? I told you not to bring up Kim Tae-hyun.
"Hey. I can hear you, you know?"
Lee Se-yeon found it absurd. Ever since a few ridiculous articles came out, her guild members had started looking at her and Tae-hyun with lukewarm, knowing eyes.
Why on earth would she be sensitive to Tae-hyun's movements? It was because whenever Tae-hyun showed up, quests went in completely unexpected directions!
As a top-tier ranker and a Guild Leader, she was only worrying about logical concerns, but her guild members seemed to have flowerbeds for brains, harboring all sorts of strange misunderstandings.
"Guild Leader... if that is your wish..."
"No, Unni! Not that guy!"
"Guys?"
"Yes?"
"All of you, shut up."
As Lee Se-yeon's voice dropped a register, the guild members immediately shut their mouths. They realized she was genuinely angry. At times like this, Lee Se-yeon displayed a terrifying charisma.
"Spouting nonsense when we should be clearing quests... Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes! We finished the quest for the tomb guarded by the beast."
"We brought the amethyst and reagents needed for the Empire's black magic golem."
The guild members replied quickly. Lee Se-yeon's guild was a small, elite group. Moreover, most of them were loyal guild members who had followed her since Pan-On 1. Every single one of them was an outstanding talent!
While the Guild Alliance, Kim Tae-hyun, and other rankers were running wild, Lee Se-yeon had not been sitting idle. She had been making her own preparations.
Soon, whether I like it or not, the time will come to clash with the Guild Alliance.
Currently, the Guild Alliance was expanding like crazy. Honestly, if not for Tae-hyun, they would have taken several times more territory. To fight them, making a similarly sized guild was the standard way, but Lee Se-yeon didn't do that. It wasn't her style.
Just as she had in Pan-On 1, she insisted on a small, elite guild.
Using a method that doesn't suit me will only cause problems.
Even if you inflate numbers and grow the guild's scale, skill is what decides the final battle. Sometimes, thousands or tens of thousands of people could not match a single person. Lee Se-yeon intended to become that kind of existence, just like in Pan-On 1.
"Hello, Lee Se-yeon."
"Ah, Smith. Long time no see."
One of the top-tier rankers who possessed a Legendary Class—Smith!
Even now, quite some time after the launch of Pan-On, people estimated that there were fewer than ten players with Legendary Classes. That very Smith was now standing before Lee Se-yeon.
If gossipers saw this, they would have been shocked. Two top-tier rankers allied! Their past clash in a dungeon didn't matter to them. That was what rankers were like.
"Did you find what you wanted?"
"No. As expected, Legendary Class quests are no joke."
"Indeed."
"Still, thanks to you reviving the Asbian Empire, clearing the quest has become much easier. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Smith bowed. Despite being recruited as the star player of the New York Lions and being a top-tier ranker in Pan-On, Smith was always polite and humble.
"Come to think of it, something strange happened."
"?"
"I was contacted by the Guild Alliance. They asked if I was the one who commissioned an attack on them..."
"Those bastards are always looking for an excuse to pick a fight, aren't they?"
"True, but they never targeted me before."
"They must finally feel confident enough to pressure you."
Lee Se-yeon shrugged. Smith nodded with a serious expression.
"Didn't I tell you? The Guild Alliance is dangerous."
"Mmh... but once I finish my class quest, not even the Guild Alliance will be able to defeat me."
"Are you the only one clearing quests? Kim Tae-hyun is clearing them, I'm clearing them, and all the other rankers are clearing them too."
"Why... why bring up Kim Tae-hyun..."
Smith flinched. For some reason, hearing Tae-hyun's name made him slightly nervous. No, he knew the reason. It was probably because of what he had suffered since Pan-On 1. Although Smith wasn't petty enough to hold a grudge over such things, he couldn't help but feel tense.
Lee Se-yeon smiled as she saw Smith flinch.
Wait. I'm not in a position to laugh at others.
Her guild members' teasing ("Our Guild Leader gets weird whenever she deals with Kim Tae-hyun!") had a point. She was angry when she heard it, but seeing them worry meant she hadn't been acting properly.
I need to act more cool-headed and rational from now on!
"Ah. One moment. A whisper..."
Smith received a whisper and nodded.
"Ah. Really? Huh? Kim Tae-hyun is here? Oh..."
"……."
Tae-hyun didn't come alone; he had brought a fleet and a massive crowd of players, so the rumor had spread instantly. Lee Se-yeon found it intriguing. There was no way Tae-hyun would do charity work for free.
What is that bastard Kim Tae-hyun thinking, bringing all those players here? Don't tell me he took their money?
A sharp deduction!
"Should we go say hello?"
"You really are too easygoing."
"Pardon? It's always nice to see a familiar face."
"There are plenty of people who can't do that... Anyway, you'd better avoid running into Kim Tae-hyun. If your quest gets tangled up with him, it'll get incredibly annoying."
"That's true, but what are the odds of that happening?"
Smith smiled amiably.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Overthrow the Emperor and revive the dragons!"
"Overthrow the Emperor and revive the dragons!"
The Draken Secret Society chanted ominously.
Tae-hyun watched them and thought, Hmm... this is dangerous.
The Draken Secret Society was not a normal group. Well, most groups he met weren't normal, but still... First of all, they wanted to destroy the Empire and burn it in the name of dragons. If this were a church, they'd definitely be classified under an evil god!
If this were the Auston Kingdom, he would have gladly agreed, saying, "Yes! Let's set it on fire!" But this was a far-off empire. Besides, he had recently planned: *I might need to ally with Lee Se-yeon, so let's avoid fighting her as much as possible.*
His conclusion after agonizing over it was simple.
An eat-and-run!
Fortunately, I have the title of Friend of Dragons, and my affinity, reputation, and standing are at their maximum, so it'll be easy to squeeze them dry.
He was genuinely shocked earlier when he saw them carving Adamantium. To think an ancient empire's remnant had such things.
"Lord Kim Tae-hyun, friend of dragons. Won't you move with us?"
"Yes! Let's move together."
His companions looked at Tae-hyun and thought to themselves:
An eat-and-run.
He's planning an eat-and-run.
He's definitely going to eat and run...
"By the way, what are we doing?"
Tae-hyun peeked at them. He was ready to immediately reject if they threw a crazy quest at him. There are limits!
"Patrolling the ruins."
"Oh...?"
An unexpectedly normal quest!
"Patrolling the ruins?"
"Yes. One of our noble duties is to protect the ruins left behind by the dragons. The Empire despises such ruins and tries to destroy them on sight..."
"They are very bad people."
"They are incredibly wicked!"
The members of the Draken Secret Society nodded in deep anger.
"Anyway, patrolling those ruins and catching intruders is our duty."
"Well, if it's just that much..."
Tae-hyun nodded. It was a low-risk quest, perfect for farming contribution points. Plus...
If it's an undiscovered ruin dungeon, I can plunder it as much as I want!
"Could I perhaps see a map related to the ruins?"
"Here it is."
Map information has been added.
"Mmh. The righteous hearts of the Draken Secret Society truly touch my soul. By any chance, could I also know about other ruins near this one?"
"As expected of Lord Kim Tae-hyun, the friend of dragons. Your passion is inspiring. Here, take this."
Map information has been...
"Good. Good. Now, what is the most expensive... ahem, I mean, the highest priority ruin we must protect?"
He was a secret society member who was basically inviting a tomb raider inside under the guise of protecting the ruins.