A Dragonless Death Knight
The others began to whisper among themselves.
"Is it really okay to let him go?"
"Tae-hyun doesn't really like Smith, does he?"
"But... if we ignore him, the blowback might be..." Kane trailed off.
He didn't want to draw Smith's resentment! They say nice guys are the scariest when they snap, and if someone as nice and good-natured as Smith held a grudge, it would probably last a lifetime.
"What does it matter?" Lee Da-bi said dismissively.
"R-right? Smith is nice, so even if we pretend we didn't hear him and ignore him, he won't say anything."
...I meant that even if you, Kane, get on his bad side, it wouldn't really matter, Lee Da-bi thought, but she kept the thought to herself. Explaining it to him would probably just scare him!
"Everyone?" Smith called out again, tilting his head. Why was there no answer?
"Ahem! Perhaps it's because the surroundings are so noisy, but I can't hear very well!"
"Ah! That's true!"
It actually was noisy around here. However, it wasn't so loud that they couldn't hear Smith's booming voice from a distance.
In fact, Kim Hyeon-ah looked utterly dumbfounded.
"Are you guys seriously trying to pretend you didn't hear him?"
"..."
"..."
Kane and Jeong Su-hyeok flinched, having their true intentions pierced.
But Smith believed them.
"Since it is noisy, it's possible you didn't hear. Everyone! Once again..."
"Do you think I'll just stand by and watch? Don't you dare build that bridge! If you do, I'll attack you myself." Kim Hyeon-ah finally showed her true colors. Until now, she had held back because of the powerful enemy, the Adamantium Golem, but now there was no need to hold back. She couldn't let Smith go any deeper!
"Why don't you just leave quietly? If you do, I'll spare your life."
"Miss Kim Hyeon-ah. You underestimate me too much. I might hesitate if it were Kim Tae-hyun or Lee Se-yeon, but I am not afraid of facing you." Smith was polite but like an iron wall. He turned around and spoke firmly. He would conquer this mine, persuade the tribes inside, and make them attack the empire!
Kim Hyeon-ah clicked her tongue. Even though Smith was just standing there, tension was already rising.
I just need to buy time. She had to stop Smith from persuading the tribes inside this mine.
As the two stared each other down in a tense standoff, Kane let out a sigh of relief, as if he had just survived.
"They forgot about us, right? Right?"
And this guy is supposed to be one of the top-tier rankers... Jeong Su-hyeok looked at Kane with pity. Kane was definitely popular and one of the top-tier rankers who consistently delivered solid results in tournaments. But why did he look so pathetic? He didn't have a shred of the sharp, imposing aura that Smith or Kim Hyeon-ah possessed.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me..."
Uh-oh.
"Were you deeply moved by my quick-witted improvisation? Hehe. I'm not quite on Kim Tae-hyun's level, but I'm still pretty..."
"..."
"That's definitely not it."
"Yeah, I don't think that's it either."
Yu Ji-soo and Lee Da-bi said coldly.
"It has to be armor... Of course, I'll make boots, bracelets, earrings, and rings too... Honestly, if I had my way, I'd cover my entire body."
An Adamantium cloak, an Adamantium handkerchief, even Adamantium underwear!
-Kuuuoo...
The Adamantium Golem let out a strange sound and stared at Tae-hyun. For some reason, its gaze looked like pure contempt.
I want to squeeze out more, but I guess that's impossible now. Tae-hyun had already stripped the Adamantium Golem of as much as he could.
"Hand over more!"
-Kuuuoo...
"Hand over more! Before I Aykisus this entire place!"
-Kuuu, kuuuoo...
The Golem shed tears as it handed over more Adamantium!
No further persuasion is possible. If you threaten any further, the Adamantium Golem will attack.
Having been stripped to its absolute limit, the Golem refused to back down any further. Of course, the amount Tae-hyun had extorted was more than enough to craft a full set of armor and then some. No other player currently possessed this much Adamantium!
Actually, the problem wasn't the quantity.
With my current level, it's going to be extremely difficult to process it perfectly.
Indeed. Adamantium was as difficult to work with as it was rare.
If I try to make armor, not only will there be penalties, but I'll probably lose a lot of material in the process...
Just thinking about losing a single scrap of Adamantium made his eyes bleed. He had to find a way to master handling Adamantium!
The duration has ended. Golgol-i returns to his original state.
The Dragon Death Knight receives massive additional effects when riding a dragon.
Swoosh!
Smoke billowed from Golgol-i's body as his size shrank. The powerful buff he had gained from absorbing all those undead had ended, but it was true that he had evolved a step further from a regular Death Knight!
However...
"...Wait, how are you supposed to ride a dragon anyway?"
The problem was that he didn't have a dragon! A Dragon Death Knight was a death knight that rode a dragon, but without one, he wasn't much different from a standard Death Knight.
-Eh? Master...
"You're not planning on riding me, are you?"
Tae-hyun's voice carried a chilling hint of murder. Golgol-i quickly spoke up.
-I meant, couldn't you just summon one for me, Master!
A Bone Dragon was still a dragon! Although it was a pathetic monster compared to a Dragon Lich, a Bone Dragon was still quite powerful in its own right. And a Bone Dragon was something Tae-hyun could summon now.
"Uh..."
-?
As Tae-hyun hesitated, Golgol-i looked puzzled.
"...I'm about to cancel my Dragon Lich state to work on the Adamantium."
-Can't you just summon the Bone Dragon first and then cancel it?
"If I cancel the Dragon Lich state, I won't be able to maintain the Bone Dragon."
Tae-hyun only looked down on Bone Dragons because he was currently in his Dragon Lich state. In reality, only a handful of Necromancer players could summon and maintain a Bone Dragon. Unless it was a special case like Golgol-i, Tae-hyun, who was already chronically low on MP, couldn't afford to keep a Bone Dragon active. It would be a waste of MP that he could use for other skills!
-T-then... what about me?
"Hmm... What about Yong-yong or Heuk-heuk..."
-I am a Death Knight, Master! How can an undead ride a divine beast?!
"...Let's just walk."
-!!!
Golgol-i looked utterly devastated. He had absorbed all those essences and fought so hard to evolve, only to end up on foot!
-Master! Master!
Tae-hyun turned his head, pretending not to hear. As he did, his eyes met the Adamantium Golem's.
The Adamantium Golem had a look on its face that clearly said, 'If that transformation had worn off earlier, I would've killed you right then.'
"Why are you glaring at me so fiercely?"
-Kuuu...
The Golem shook its head, pretending to know nothing.
Tae-hyun shrugged and canceled his Dragon Lich state. Behind him, Golgol-i cried out in despair.
-Master----!
Dragon Lich state deactivated.
Golgol-i's stats have returned to normal.
Magic skills have been restricted.
Black magic skills have been restricted.
Maximum MP has decreased.
All the buffs and various spells vanished, but Tae-hyun felt light. He could use his divine Authorities again, and his normal state felt much more comfortable. Indeed, one shouldn't do things they aren't used to!
-Kuuuoo!
The Adamantium Golem was startled. It stood up and jumped.
With a single leap, the ground shook, and lava erupted.
"What? Is it attacking?"
-Master! You shouldn't have canceled the Dragon Lich state. That thing is...!
Tae-hyun drew his weapon. Let's see what it's got...
Hmm. Should I just abandon Golgol-i and swim through the lava to escape?
Since his Luck was high, maybe he could survive in the lava somehow?
However, the Adamantium Golem hadn't stood up to attack Tae-hyun.
-Kuuuooo!
"What is it saying?"
Other players would have to jump through all kinds of hoops to communicate with a non-verbal monster, but Tae-hyun had Karbanog. A god was still a god, even if fallen!
"I am the Avatar of Archisus. I told you earlier I was going to Aykisus this place."
-Kuuu!
Hearing this, the Adamantium Golem was startled again and was about to jump...
"Ah, stop jumping, you bastard!"
-Kuuu...
The Golem plunged its hand into the lava, rummaged around, and pulled something out. It was a massive, blazing lava hammer.
"Oh... By any chance, can't you tear off some more pieces from your body?"
-Kuuuooo!
"I didn't need a translation to figure that one out, so it's fine."
The Adamantium Golem is assisting you. You receive a massive bonus to smelting Adamantium!
Your proficiency in Blacksmithing has increased!
My Blacksmithing Skill is currently in the early Advanced level 8... Once I finish crafting everything with Adamantium, I might actually hit Advanced level 9.
The peak of Blacksmithing, the Highest-grade Blacksmithing Skill, was finally within sight!
Tae-hyun, who wasn't even a blacksmith by class, had already mastered Highest-grade Mechanical Engineering and was now on the verge of reaching Highest-grade Blacksmithing.
If the ranker blacksmiths found out about this, they would cough up blood in sheer disbelief.
Crash! Boom!
"Ugh!"
"Kane! That was amazing!"
"As expected of Kane!"
"If you have time to cheer, help me out, you bastards!!"
Kane screamed. Once Tae-hyun disappeared, the dungeon's difficulty instantly multiplied. Fortunately, not many enemies appeared, but if they had come in hordes, they would have been in real danger. Even so, Kane was the one suffering the most. Standing at the very front without a second thought had been his undoing.
The path gradually narrowed...
Suddenly, enemies appeared!
Thanks to that, the people behind Kane didn't take a single hit, while Kane was left to take a beating all by himself.
Every hit reduced his gear's durability and inflicted stun...
Of course, Kane was a tank, but there was a huge difference between playing the tank in a wide-open space where everyone fought together and being forced to take a beating alone in a narrow corridor.
Boom!
The Dwarfs in the back fired their cannon. One of the cannonballs grazed Kane's back.
"Aaargh! Which bastard was that?!"
"S-sorry! It wasn't intentional!"
"Slave's Chain!"
Kane threw his chain toward a tribal warrior charging at him. At that moment, another warrior lunged.
"Whoa!"
Kane quickly twisted his body. As he did, the tribal warrior pulled by the chain swung in the direction Kane had turned.
And that direction happened to be over the cliff.
"!"
-Aaaaaah!
Kane had just flung a warrior into the lava using his chain!
The party behind him gasped in admiration.
"As expected of Kane!"
"Kane...! I'm impressed. To think you could use it like that!"
"No, I didn't do that on purpose..."
-You cowardly bastard! Fighting so dishonorably!
The Ajit Tribe Warriors grow even more enraged!
All stats of the Ajit Tribe Warriors have increased!
"Argh! Seriously!"
Kane gnashed his teeth. Why was everything going so wrong!
But that wasn't the end of it. New NPCs appeared from the other side of the corridor.
"We're doomed. Run!"
Kane cleanly gave up and shouted.
"What? Kane, are you seriously running away..."
"If we can't win, we run, you idiots! Do you expect me to fight this???"
Kane began to suspect the Beijing Fighters players.
Are these bastards trying to screw me over because they aren't the ones getting hit?
Of course, the Beijing Fighters players had spoken out of pure admiration...
But it didn't sound that way to Kane.
However, Kane's prediction was off.
Clang! Clash!
The newly arrived Akisus Tribe Warriors began to clash with the Ajit Tribe Warriors.
"...!"
There was no rule saying NPCs from the same map had to be friendly with each other!
Kane let out a sigh of relief. He thought he was a goner, but now he had some breathing room.
"Let's wait for them to fight it out, then take out whoever wins."
Kane decided to play the opportunist! It was a solid plan, since whoever won would be injured and exhausted.
But Kane's prediction was off once again.
-What are you just standing there for, Aykisus's Slave! Come and help us!
"?????????"
Kane shrieked in horror at the unexpected call. Who the hell was that?!