The Ripple Effect of a Title

The rumor that the Woodstock Guild had actually received a countship sent massive shockwaves through the community. Countless guilds eyeing territories of their own all had the same thought: 'Wait... if even the Woodstock Guild can get one, honestly, shouldn't we be able to get one too?'

What did they have that we didn't? While Kim Tae-hyun or the other giant guilds were out of their league, the Woodstock Guild honestly looked like an easy target.

"Maybe we should at least try talking to Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Does anyone here know Kim Tae-hyun or someone in his party?"

"I know Cain."

"Oh? How do you know him?"

"We were in the same guild back in the Red Zone days..."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

For Count Tillau, this was a bolt out of the blue. Sure, he might have levied exorbitant taxes, thrown complaining citizens into dungeons, and sent soldiers to hunt down anyone trying to flee... but if a noble could have his title stripped for just that, no count on the continent would be safe!

"Assemble the order of knights! How dare those filthy peasants! Summon the soldiers to the walls... No! Waiting around for scum like that is a joke. Order the knights to charge and scatter them!"

Count Tillau roared in a towering rage. Meanwhile, a massive crowd of adventurers had gathered near the city of Tillau!

"Let's take the tyrant Count Tillau's head!"

"I heard Count Tillau is filthy rich!"

"If we split his fortune, we'll all be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠set for life!"

Such highly treasonous shouts were ringing loud and clear in Count Tillau's ears.

"Filthy adventurers! How dare they!"

"My Lord, we could also recruit adventurers to bolster our numbers..."

"Don't talk nonsense! How could I ever trust such scum!"

"Huh? What's this? He's really not recruiting us?"

"Since when was Count Tillau this considerate?"

The players based in Tillau were thoroughly bewildered by this sudden display of "kindness." Normally, when a city or castle serving as a player's base came under attack, a defense quest would trigger automatically. Ignoring it and fleeing meant incurring a penalty. Yet, Count Tillau had coolly bypassed them. From the players' perspective, they couldn't help but feel grateful.

"Isn't it just because Count Tillau looks down on adventurers? He's always acting so arrogant."

"True, that makes sense. Hey, honestly, this siege looks like it's going to be a blast. Should we join in?"

"...Even with that many knights?"

"Dude, the city walls are massive. You think there won't be a single spot for us to cause some chaos? Let's just slip in and farm some contribution points."

The players who weren't recruited naturally became enemies from within. Count Tillau's forces were solid, but holes were beginning to open up all over his defenses.

"Send an envoy to the King! I must protest this outrage! If His Majesty cannot provide a satisfactory explanation, then a rebellion—"

"My Lord! We are in no position to wage war against His Majesty right now!"

"...Ugh. Still, I must have an answer! If he fails to explain himself, I will expose this injustice to the other nobles!"

Easy come, easy go! The massive sum of gold generously offered by the Woodstock Guild was instantly drained by the equally massive construction costs. But it didn't matter. The Dwarf Smithy was well worth the price.

"Am I to work in this smithy?"

"No, Bekelf. As an Elder of the Archasus Cult, staying in a common smithy like that would be beneath your dignity. Your true workplace is up there."

"...?!" Bekelf stared up at the Sky Castle, his eyes wide with shock.

"C-could it be... for me?"

"Indeed! You will be in charge of the forge in the Sky Castle! Elder Bekelf!"

"Sob...! I shall dedicate my entire life to serving you!"

Bekelf wept tears of overwhelming gratitude, completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to be locked inside the Sky Castle to work like a dog for the rest of his days.

'Hmm. Once Bekelf settles into the Sky Castle, I'll have him start crafting Adamantium armor right away.' Even Tae-hyun suffered penalties when working with Adamantium. Having Bekelf's assistance would drastically reduce those penalties.

"Whoa! It's a Dwarf Smithy!!"

"What?! Seriously?! In this territory?!"

"Hey, do you have some kind of problem with our territory?"

"N-no, it's not that... It's just that a Dwarf Smithy looks way too normal and decent for this place..."

"Ahem. Honestly, I was a bit shocked too. Are they even real Dwarves? What if they're just Goblins wearing dwarf costumes?"

"Could be."

The passing players' conversation pierced Tae-hyun's heart. They are real Dwarves, damn it...!

'Phew. Still, it really has grown a lot.' A city built on the blood, sweat, and tears—mostly shed by others! In the past, anyone claiming that the Valley could rank among the top cities in Pandemonium Online would have been locked up in an asylum. But now, it could genuinely compete. While it lacked the comprehensive infrastructure of the Erangs Kingdom's capital, every single facility here was unique. This was exactly what Tae-hyun had aimed for, and that uniqueness alone gave them a powerful competitive edge.

'The queue for the Dwarf Smithy is already that long...?' It had barely been built, yet players were already swarming it like a cloud of locusts. After all, not everyone came to the Valley just to gamble!

"Your Holiness! You have arrived!"

"?" Tae-hyun turned toward the voice. "Fleming?"

"Yes!" Fleming, the Fire Magic School Master of the Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower! Standing out here alongside the fanatical NPCs of the Archasus Cult made him look somewhat out of place and clumsy, but he was undeniably an exceptionally powerful NPC. After all, one did not become a Magic Tower Master by being mediocre.

'Hey.' There was only one reason why such an outstanding talent was out here roughing it: he was utterly infatuated with Sadique's Flame! As a grand archmage of the fire school, he sought to obtain Sadique's Flame to ascend to even greater heights of magical mastery. Of course, to Tae-hyun and Carbanog, this made him look incredibly foolish. Of all the things to fall in love with, he chose Sadique's Flame! Regardless, Fleming had gathered NPCs and players alike, pouring all his efforts into constructing a Magic Tower in the territory. Tae-hyun was well aware of this. Why? Because...

'Because the moment gold enters my treasury, it immediately vanishes...!' With gold being drained at such a terrifying rate, only a blind man wouldn't notice!

"Your Holiness, rejoice! The Magic Tower is on the verge of completion!"

"What?!"

Both Tae-hyun and Carbanog were utterly dumbfounded! Even though they were pouring astronomical amounts of gold into the project, Tae-hyun honestly hadn't expected the Magic Tower to be finished so quickly. A Magic Tower wasn't some local community center; how could it be built so easily?

"It's really finished?"

"For now, only the Flame School Tower has been completed. The towers for the other schools will be added later once we secure more gold..."

"..." What is this, a DLC?! Tae-hyun was speechless, but on second thought, it made sense. Fleming was a fire mage, after all. He couldn't be expected to build towers for schools he didn't belong to.

'Besides, if we had to build all the other schools too, the gold cost would have been dozens of times higher...'

'Right? We should be glad we only have the Flame School for now. Fire magic is incredibly useful anyway.' Among all magic types, fire-based spells were highly popular due to their explosive destructive power. A Flame School Tower was bound to be a massive hit.

"I would be deeply honored if Your Holiness would grace us with your presence to witness the completion of the construction!"

"Very well." Half-excited and half-anxious, Tae-hyun followed Fleming.

"Oh...!"

'I'm surprised too.' Rising high into the sky, the tower's exterior resembled a roaring blaze. It possessed a magnificent, fiery splendor. Perched atop the mountain range behind the Valley, the spectacular Flame School Magic Tower acted like a beacon, drawing people in.

Buzz, buzz— Dozens of players had already gathered, drawn by the fiery spectacle, whispering excitedly among themselves.

"Since when did our territory have a building like that?"

"Is that some kind of gacha building?"

"No... it looks like a real Magic Tower."

The players of the territory were, ironically, more bewildered when a perfectly normal and impressive building actually appeared!

"Whoaaaaaa!" At any rate, it was a brand-new building! The players cheered. As players, they couldn't help but rejoice when their home territory developed. Furthermore, a new class! Until now, the classes available for immediate advancement in the territory were extremely limited. Most other special classes had to be acquired by following Tae-hyun around.

"I'm a mage, should I switch to a Pyromancer? I was planning on focusing on fire magic anyway."

"Dude, I was an ice mage, and even I'm thinking of switching. It's always better to have a cooler title in front of your class."

"Is that so?"

"Plus, since it's a brand-new Magic Tower, it'll be way easier to climb the ranks if we start farming contribution points now!"

The Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower already had dozens of established NPCs and hundreds of players holding higher ranks. But here, everyone was starting from the exact same baseline! It was an incredibly tempting proposition for the players.

"You all have worked incredibly hard." Fleming looked at the mage players who had assisted him with a warm, proud expression. The players looked deeply moved, but then... they suddenly froze.

'...Wait, is this really okay?' These were actually mage players from the Midas Guild who had sneaked in to spy on the territory, only to be forcibly conscripted into the quest! Driven relentlessly without a single moment to escape, they had been forced to participate in building the Magic Tower, but...

'...S-should we have sabotaged it midway?'

'Are you insane? Doing something like that in Kim Tae-hyun's territory? You know I used to be in the Guild Alliance, right? Back then, I...'

'But what is the guild going to say when they find out we actually helped finish the construction?!'

'We'll just have to make up an excuse and say we didn't do anything!'

'You think they'll buy that? The mood in the guild is already terrible because Polle switched over to the Archisus Church...'

The ice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mage ranker, Polle! He was a highly anticipated prospect within the Midas Guild, but for some bizarre reason, he had abandoned them to join the Cult.

"I shall never forget your dedication. Here, take this."

'A... A title!'

'A-Academic Guardian?!'

Just as Bekelf had desperately craved the title of Elder, everyone loved a fancy title. No one in their right mind would turn down a promotion! The mages of the Midas Guild fell into deep contemplation, exchanging glances.

"Should we... stay just a little longer?"

"S-should we?!"

'Let's see. The Dwarf Smithy and the Magic Tower. Ah, there was the Temple too. The basic temple and the Archisus Temple should be enough for now. As for the Paladins... let's build the Paladin Tower later. I'm out of gold. Ugh, how does gold disappear this fast? The Casino is still as popular as ever. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the Statues, but since we need them scattered around to get the buffs, I don't have much of a choice...'

Tae-hyun carefully scrolled through the list of buildings in his territory. Not only were there taverns and inns, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there were also countless structures built individually by the various races that had migrated here. It was truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thriving!

'When I first received this place, I had no idea how I was going to manage it...'

"Your Holiness! Your Holiness! An envoy from Count Tillau has arrived to protest! He is demanding an immediate audience with you..."

"Tell him I'm not here."

Tae-hyun replied without a second thought. After all, wasn't this exactly why he had appointed Pelmas as his diplomat?