The Unintended Kinship
Unaware of Cain's inner turmoil, Tae-hyun remained entirely focused on swapping his swords.
"Kweeeek..."
"No! Don't die!" Tae-hyun cried out in anguish.
It was a truly bizarre sight. He was the one beating the monster to a pulp with his sword, yet he was begging it not to die! Cain looked on in utter disgust.
"Hmm. Now that I think about it, even if it dies, I can still dismantle the corpse to reinforce..."
Squelch!
Before he could even finish his sentence, the mutant monster's corpse lost its shape and melted away into a puddle of goo.
"..."
"..."
Tae-hyun stared intently at Cain. Cain quickly averted his gaze.
"Cain."
"No way...!"
"It can't be helped. Let's do some hunting before we harvest the blue metal."
Pat.
Tae-hyun placed a hand on Cain's shoulder. It was a firm, reassuring hand, but right now, it felt terrifyingly ominous.
"Shall we do some serious dungeon hunting for the first time in a while?"
"!!!"
Dungeon hunting.
It didn't mean pushing all the way down to defeat the boss monster. Instead, it meant camping in a suitable spot and continuously farming the respawning mobs.
In fact, it was a very common playstyle. It was far more stable than constantly running around looking for new quests! There was a reason large guilds monopolized the best dungeons. Monsters that were good for hunting held immense value. They were easy to kill and gave high experience points! With enough time and patience, anyone could level up indefinitely.
Tae-hyun had also used this method quite often back in Pan-On 1.
Though I didn't do it in Pan-On 2 because the experience curve was ridiculously steep...
"No, but do we really have to hunt in a creepy place like this?" Cain grumbled.
He didn't want to spend even an hour in a place like this. Yet Tae-hyun wanted to pull off a massive mob pull?
Regardless of Cain's complaints, Tae-hyun pulled out his inventory of Dae-man-bul-gang-geom to count them, and then checked his arrows to see if they could be contaminated.
"Hmm. Contaminating all of them might be risky, so keeping one or two clean wouldn't be a bad idea..."
"You're ignoring me on purpose, aren't you?"
"They're coming! Block them!"
"Ugh!"
The deeper they descended into the mine, the more the monsters multiplied. Grotesque mutants began springing out from both the front and back with increasing frequency.
When they had faced them one by one, Tae-hyun had easily handled them. However, it didn't take long for him to realize just how troublesome these monsters actually were.
These bastards' attributes are completely random!
The mutant blocks Sadik's Flame with Fire Resistance!
The mutant takes additional damage from Fire attacks!
Some mutants took extra damage from fire, while others possessed high fire resistance.
"Kweek!"
Shatter!
One mutant unleashed a barrage of ice icicles, while another executed high-level rogue skills...
But what was even more infuriating...
A sand spear rising from the earth strikes your back!
"Wait, wasn't that ice magic?!" Cain screamed in sheer disbelief.
The mutant had clearly cast an ice spell, so why did a sand spear shoot out from the ground? This kind of underhanded, deceptive trickery was supposed to be Kim Tae-hyun's specialty!
You have stepped deep into the Blue Metal Mine.
The contamination is gradually worsening.
Mitigating the effects with Divine Authority...
The mutant monsters are becoming even stronger!
Tsk.
Tae-hyun lamented his lack of hands. Fighting with just the two of them was proving to be a tedious chore.
The mutant monsters were around the mid-300s in level. Cain was now a high-ranking ranker in the mid-200s, so they weren't impossible to defeat. However, the completely randomized attributes made things incredibly annoying. Even after unleashing a barrage of skills, one or two bizarre anomalies would somehow survive!
Still, the duo managed to coordinate remarkably well.
Essentially, Cain would draw their attention and hold them down, while Tae-hyun unleashed his explosive burst damage in the meantime! If nothing else, no monster could survive Tae-hyun's raw, overwhelming burst damage.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Why aren't you taking any damage?"
Tae-hyun suddenly realized something was off.
Cain's role was to block the oncoming monsters and tie them down. Of course, he had been doing a great job so far. Cain was, after all, considered one of the best tanks in the world.
But that didn't mean he shouldn't be taking any damage.
Naturally, the monsters should have been clawing and biting furiously to tear the tank apart, which was why tanks wore heavy armor and carried massive shields.
Yet Cain wasn't taking any hits at all.
Even in the last fight, the mutants swarmed him, but they just flailed around in front of him.
When Cain blocked the narrow pathway, the mutants merely hopped up and down instead of attacking him! The only times Cain actually got hit were when the mutants missed while trying to target Tae-hyun.
"W-was it not because my controls improved?" Cain asked, wide-eyed.
With no healer and without chugging a single potion, his HP had remained perfectly full. He had genuinely believed his own skills had reached a new peak.
"I admire your optimism, but does that make any sense?"
"Well... I thought that after being overworked and abused under you, my hidden potential had finally blossomed..."
"..."
"..."
[......]
"Anyway, let's test it."
"Test? How?"
Five minutes later.
"Kim Tae-hyun, you absolute bastard... Kim Tae-hyun, you piece of sh*t..."
"Master. It seems your slave is cursing you."
"Haha. You're imagining things. Just an illusion."
Cain stood alone at the entrance of a passage, muttering to himself.
Testing whether they would attack him was simple. All they had to do was throw Cain in there without Tae-hyun.
"Kweeeek!"
A mutant unleashed a flashy Blade Storm!
"T-that bastard is cheating again! He didn't even cast the skill!" Cain braced himself behind his shield.
Just try and come at me! I'll give you a taste of my shield!
No, but seriously, this is ridiculous. Why wouldn't they hit me?
"Uh..."
Cain blinked.
The number of mutants swarming from the passage was far greater than expected.
Seeing this, Tae-hyun hesitated.
"Uh. This wave is a bit large. Did they happen to group up?"
"H-hey!"
"It's fine. The passage is narrow, so not many can hit you at once."
"Is that supposed to comfort me?!"
At that moment, the first mutant arrived in front of him. Cain maximized the fire output of his shield and raised his weapon.
Come on!
"Kweeeek?"
"Kweeeek..."
The mutants paused. They stared at Cain, then paused again. They tilted their heads as if deeply confused.
Then, they gently nudged Cain aside and simply walked past him.
"Kwek."
"Kweeeek."
"Huh?? What???"
You have been recognized as kin by the mysterious mutants!
You will not be attacked.
Your Reputation with the mutants has increased.
[......]
"You bastards! I'm not one of you!"
It wasn't like they were in a zombie movie where you could blend in by acting like a zombie! Feeling insulted, Cain swung his weapon.
The mutants shrieked in sheer bewilderment.
"Kwek! Conscious! Conscious!"
"Kweeeek! Behavior!"
The words were bizarre, but it felt as though the mutants were crying out, 'Why are you doing this, friend?!' which made Cain feel even more wronged.
Tae-hyun watched the spectacle in awe.
"Fascinating, but it's a bit awkward to use, isn't it?"
After all, as long as Cain traveled with Tae-hyun, they would still get attacked. What was the point of Cain being friendly with them if he was alone? It wasn't like they could use Speech to persuade the mutants...
Wait.
Tae-hyun froze.
Why is that impossible?
Now that he thought about it, wasn't that just a narrow-minded prejudice?
Should I give it a try?
Pan-On was a game where trying things that everyone else deemed impossible could lead to a massive jackpot.
Carbanog asks how you plan to persuade them.
That's the problem.
The mutants usually attacked Tae-hyun on sight. They were only attempting some semblance of communication with Cain, but they showed no such mercy to Tae-hyun. They just screamed and spammed skills.
"Hmm..."
First attempt.
"Hey! This is really not it! This is absolutely not it!!!" Cain wailed.
He felt as though half of his human dignity had been stripped away! Currently, Cain was on all fours, crawling like a dog in front of Tae-hyun.
"If the mutants see this, won't they find me interesting?"
"That is crazy bullsh*t!"
"Kweeeek!"
"Kwe... Kwek."
The mutants are terrified by your appearance!
The mutants are fleeing!
"..."
"..."
Well, it certainly had an effect.
The problem was that the mutants had fled in absolute terror after seeing one of their "kin" being treated like a slave dog!
"Still, we made progress."
"Sob, sob, sob..."
"It means we can influence them. Good. Let's change the method."
Second attempt.
Tae-hyun pressed his sword against Cain's throat.
Cain gulped at the incredibly ominous posture.
"K-Kim Tae-hyun. You're not actually going to stab me, right?"
"Haha. I might draw a little blood..."
"C-can't we just do the dog thing from earlier?"
"No, that scares them away."
"Kweeeek!"
The mutants appeared once more.
With his sword pressed against Cain's neck, Tae-hyun roared.
"Don't move! Unless you want to see your cute, weak kin die!"
"..."
"..."
It was a hostage threat that made both Cain and Yong-yong cringe in disgust!
Your Speech skill is being applied.
Your Infamy stat is being applied.
Your Terror stat is being applied.
Tae-hyun's Threaten skill, Infamy, and Terror stats were already at a level where he could stop an opponent's heart with words alone.
As such, his threat carried an overwhelming weight that instantly froze the mutants in their tracks.
Threat successful!
Your Speech skill has increased.
"Kweeeek! Hold enemy!"
"Kwek! Good person!"
"What are they saying?"
Carbanog guesses they might be saying the exact opposite.
"Ah. I thought they called me a good person because I captured Cain."
Tae-hyun had almost never heard the words "good person" in his entire time playing Pan-On!
"Listen well! If you do not wish to see your kin perish, follow my commands!"
"Kweeeeng..."
"Guide us to the deepest part of the mine! And don't try any funny business!"
"..."
Cain let out a deep, heavy sigh as he remained held hostage.
I just want to go home!
Oh?
Tae-hyun was taken aback.
None of the blacksmith players had discovered this metal yet?
What are those blacksmiths doing? Are they too lazy?
Recalling his own days as a blacksmith in Pan-On 1, he couldn't help but feel that the current generation of blacksmiths was incredibly lazy!
Of course, to any other blacksmith, this would be an outrageously absurd accusation.
You crazy bastard, how are we supposed to find a metal hidden in a place like this?!
You can receive an additional bonus by naming the first-discovered metal after Archisus.
The Archisus Church's reputation will increase...
[......]
A free bonus.
Simply naming it after Archisus would grant him rewards. It was a quest practically handed to him on a silver platter.
"Fine. I shall name it after Archisus."
You have named the metal after Archisus.
The metal's name is finalized as Archiranium.
"Archiranium... why does that sound so familiar?"
[?]
"No, it's probably nothing."
"Kweeeek. Far! Far!"
"Kwek. Closer!"
As Tae-hyun approached the glowing blue metal embedded in the mine wall, the mutants began to panic.
Even though they lived in this mine, they never dared to approach the blue metal. Doing so often resulted in bizarre anomalies or instant death.
Archiranium unleashes a powerful force!
Resisting with Divine Authority!
Archiranium casts a random magic spell!
The Archiranium pulsed with a brilliant blue light, suddenly unleashing a chaotic surge of magic into the surrounding area.
What?!
Tae-hyun was startled as a lightning storm erupted all around them. Though he managed to dodge it successfully, he was amazed that a mere metal could cast magic entirely on its own.
Indeed, it was a metal truly worthy of the name Archisus!
It's almost terrifying to mine.
Tae-hyun braced himself, every nerve on edge, as he began to harvest the blue metal.
Fortunately, it wasn't so hard that it couldn't be chipped away.