The Allure of Silver

The party members were even more shocked to hear that Cain had received a fief. Then again, it was an achievement well worthy of one. To conquer land and build a fortress in the Demon Realm!

Ugh... My stomach hurts from jealousy...!

My stomach... My stomach...!

That guy who just piggybacks on Kim Tae-hyun!

I hope he completely ruins his next match!

But even if he ruins it, isn't he basically a walking bomb anyway? He'll just get packaged and carried regardless.

Wow, he really gets a free ride!

These were blasphemous thoughts that would have prompted Cain to chop off their heads on the spot had he heard them!

— I want to invite you guys to this fief.

— !!!!

— I-Is that for real?

— Yeah. But there are tons of other guys who want to come too, so there aren't many spots left. It's first-come, first-served, so decide quickly if you want in.

Three years as a slave of Archisus, and even a dog learns how to scam! Having steeled his resolve, Cain was displaying an astonishing level of intelligence. It was a marvelous sight that would have brought tears of deep emotion to his teammates' eyes had they witnessed it!

"Do you know which of my territories brings in the highest revenue?"

"...The fortress?"

"Yeah..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi fell silent. No matter how lucrative a fortress environment was for making money, this was just a bit sad...!

— Master! A wyvern!

— I will take it down!

Before anyone could even reply, the gun held by Yu Ji-soo roared, unleashing a devastating shot. The incoming wyvern let out a mournful shriek and plummeted down the cliff.

"..."

"..."

"Ji-soo, the firepower is great, but let's hold off on using that for a bit. We aren't getting any experience points from it."

"Yes, sir!"

With those words, Yu Ji-soo slammed the gun down onto the ground.

— I told you to stay still...!

— N-No, but I just couldn't resist that...

The giants of the Archisus Artillery snickered as they moved along, carrying their cannons.

"Giant bastards are stupid. Living in a place like this."

"True, true. If they came to The Valley, they'd get lots of delicious food. So stupid."

"???"

"????"

Self-deprecation?

— You dwarf bastards! There's no way the demons would chase us all the way out here! Let me loose for a bit!

Pogalo banged on the iron bars of his cage and shouted. Gusion shook his head at the sight. Why was this demon named Pogalo so utterly clueless? Doing that would only leave him with physical pain...

Splash!

— Argh! It burns! It burns!

"Be quiet. The demons might chase us."

In fact, Tae-hyun frequently encountered assassin NPCs. Ever since he returned from the Demon Realm, demons had been added to the mix. It was obvious who had sent them! Every time the demon assassin NPCs attacked, they would say things like, "Duke Furneus will come for you...!" which gave Tae-hyun the chills.

The Zaion Mountains are rugged and remote, but they could definitely track me down here.

The tenacity of demons was terrifying. Especially one who had his castle stolen...!

Should I have brought the older uncles along? No... we have enough people. No need to carry extra baggage.

As soon as Tae-hyun's party passed through Uruk and began climbing the Zaion Mountains, a message arrived from Kim Tae-san. For the older uncles who were gradually establishing themselves in the Uruk region, the Zaion Mountains were an incredibly tempting target! And when it came to conquering such a formidable objective, there was no better companion than Tae-hyun.

— Son, did you suddenly get into hiking?

— Hiking, go??

— Makgeolli and scallion pancakes, go???

Of course, Tae-hyun pretended not to hear. There was no reason to increase their party size for no good reason.

"Your Majesty. There aren't many livable places in a barren wasteland like this. We either have to dig straight down or climb all the way up."

"I'm well aware of that."

Giants usually established their villages near mountain peaks or inside deep caves.

"If you would grant us permission, we goblins will try digging straight down."

"Right now? We haven't discovered anything yet."

"Is it not the specialty of goblins to create something out of nothing?"

"...??"

Tae-hyun paused. He was a bit conflicted about how to respond to this proposal from the Underground Alliance Goblins.

Will we really find anything just by digging straight down from here?

It was an incredibly vast mountain range. Looking up, all one could see from one end to the other were endless mountain peaks. He could understand why players still avoided the Zaion Mountains.

But rather than wasting time wandering around, maybe trying to dig a path...

If they dug and found something, they might be able to befriend whatever local tribes lived there. If they became friendly, they could obtain a map of the surrounding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠area, which would minimize trial and error...

"How long will it take?"

"Just one day. If you could just lend us those demon bastards..."

"That's easy enough."

"Hehehehe! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The dwarves of the Archisus Artillery wore displeased expressions. Dwarves and goblins were traditionally on terrible terms. Yet here were these goblin bastards, coming in and basking in Tae-hyun's favor...

"Please understand. They're only doing this because they recognize how well you guys train those demons."

"Ahem. Well, if you put it that way..."

The dwarves coughed and stroked their beards sheepishly. Just as a farmer rejoices when his well-raised cattle are praised, the dwarves rejoiced whenever their well-trained demons were complimented!

They were always a bit weird.

"Activate the excavation golems! We're digging in!"

"Let's search for any underground caverns first!"

While the goblins diligently dug into the earth to find a path downward, the rest of the party deployed cannons around the perimeter and set up a temporary camp.

This should be more than enough to defend ourselves.

Although the wyverns were flying in aggressively, they could easily handle them with this setup. It seemed other monsters wouldn't appear until they ventured deeper...

"In mountaineering, there are the fourteen eight-thousanders, which refer to the fourteen peaks that rise above eight thousand meters. Among them, my personal favorites are K2 and Annapurna..."

Lee Jung-seop, a hardcore hiking enthusiast, chatted excitedly to Chairman Yoo as they scaled the outer cliffs of the Zaion Mountains. Chairman Yoo remained utterly silent.

I shall become a rock... I shall become a rock...

The culprit behind this entire ordeal was none other than a wyvern.

— Elder. Wouldn't you like to have a Silver Wyvern as a pet?

— A... A Silver Wyvern?

Chairman Yoo had been instantly swayed by Lee Jung-seop's words. A Silver Wyvern! He had hunted plenty of regular wyverns and even acquired some as mounts, but a Silver Wyvern was different. The Silver Wyvern possessed one overwhelming advantage that set it apart from ordinary wyverns.

Namely...

It was silver!

— Uh... is being silver really all there is to it?

One of the few sane middle-aged men in the group raised a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠logical question, only to be met with the furious indignation of the other uncles.

— What do you mean, "is that all"? That's more than enough!

— Do you have any idea how important aesthetics are?! Do you know how expensive a Silver Wyvern is?!

Though he already owned a mount, the prospect of taming a Silver Wyvern was incredibly tempting to Chairman Yoo.

And after I went through all that trouble hunting wyverns in the Erangs Kingdom last time...

— One of our guild members discovered it while climbing the Zaion Mountains recently. They found a tameable wyvern nest. They had to flee immediately because of the danger, but if we go there and just bring back an egg, we can get a Silver Wyvern that we can tame right away. This is something money can't even buy!

— I... I see!

Perhaps Chairman Yoo had truly adapted to being a gamer, because the moment he heard those words, his inner consumer screamed, Oh my god, I must buy this! and he readily agreed. But thinking about it now...

Wait, if these guys bring back the eggs, they're just going to sell them anyway. Couldn't I have just bought one from them with money?!

There had been absolutely no reason for him to tag along on this grueling hike! Furthermore, flying mounts couldn't even be used here. Wyverns were highly aggressive monsters that would immediately attack anything they saw flying in the sky.

Ugh... Why on earth did I come here...

"Oh? It looks like there are players who arrived here before us."

Lee Jung-seop pointed toward a light in the distance. A fairly large group of people seemed to have gathered there.

"It looks like a pretty big party... We're bound to cross paths if we keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going this way. What would you like to do?"

"Do you think we'll end up fighting if we meet?"

"I can't say for sure, but if they have any sense, they won't pick a fight here."

While players often fought over territory in remote areas to claim it first, this was the Zaion Mountains. If two high-level groups clashed here, they risked mutual destruction!

"Then let's keep going straight."

"Oh. Isn't that the Yuseong logo on those cannons? Yuseong Life... Wow. They must be some seriously big shots. I definitely won't pick a fight with them."

Lee Jung-seop recognized it instantly. These days, it was standard for top-tier players to plaster sponsorship logos on their gear and items. A generous sponsor was every player's dream! And one could easily gauge a player's status by the caliber of their advertisements. The larger the conglomerate, the more prestigious the player was considered. After all, a massive conglomerate wouldn't just hand out sponsorships to anyone.

The Yuseong Group was the top conglomerate in South Korea. Landing an advertisement for one of its subsidiaries meant the player possessed immense fame and a stellar image...

"..."

Chairman Yoo, having finally hauled himself up the cliff, froze in sheer disbelief. He could understand crossing paths with Tae-hyun's group here. They were both high-level players, so meeting in a place like this was entirely plausible. But why on earth were they advertising for Yuseong???

The reason Team KL had taken on the advertisement for Yuseong Life was simple. They had actually received an offer from Yuseong Life. And it was an exceptionally lucrative one at that!

"No matter how I look at this, it feels like they made this offer without reporting it to the Chairman..."

"What are you talking about? We absolutely deserve this! It's proof of how successful we are!"

Cain, completely oblivious to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠internal politics, spoke with absolute conviction. Although Yuseong Gaming was under the Yuseong Group, that was a separate matter. Even subsidiaries under the same conglomerate could run their own advertisements! It simply meant Team KL was the hottest, most talked-about team right now.

"Mmm..."

"It's double what the other places offered, so there's no reason to turn it down! Plus, if we go exclusive, the additional options are...!"

"...Eh, fine. Let's take it. It's not like I'm the one getting stressed over it anyway."

"Oh, Pope! It's been a while!"

"You can speak casually with me."

"How could we do that after you helped us so much last time!"

The older uncles rejoiced the moment they saw Tae-hyun's party. After all, who was responsible for them obtaining those rare wyvern hearts in the Parbat Mountain Range last time? It was none other than Tae-hyun! Captivated by his magnificent display of extracting multiple hearts from a single wyvern, the uncles had decided to join the Archisus Church that very day.

"Congratulations on your match! We cheered so hard for you, we're so glad it went well... Oh, by the way, where is that other fellow?"

"Ah, Cain had some other business to attend to... What brings you all here?"

"Shh. This is a secret... but we're here to get a Silver Wyvern egg."

"Oh... Is there something special about the Silver Wyvern?"

"Yes, of course there is. It is... silver."

"...????"

"????"

Jeong Su-hyeok and Yu Ji-soo stared in utter bewilderment, but Choi Sang-yun and Lee Da-bi understood immediately.

"Color is extremely important."

"Anyone who has played Mabinogi knows that's basic common sense..."

Meeting familiar faces here, and finding out that every single one of them had joined the Archisus Church, made Tae-hyun feel incredibly generous.

"If you need to, feel free to use our camp. We'll probably be here for quite a while."

"Oh! Is that really okay? Thank you so much!"

While the two parties chatted amiably, Chairman Yoo was furiously sending a whisper.