A Pope Doesn't Wear His Crown for Show

The position of Pope was certainly not won just for show. The merchant players stared at Tae-hyun with eyes filled with envy that transcended mere respect. They had respected him before, of course, but this was different. They were looking at him as if he were a walking statue of Archisus! If they hadn't been in public, they would have thrown themselves to the ground and started praying right then and there.

"What's the big deal about getting a few extra item drops?"

"Forget that, look at Kim Tae-hyun's control. Those Raptors might look like nothing, but their damage is no joke. He just ignored it, dove right in, and wiped them out."

The combat-class players spoke as if they couldn't comprehend the merchants' reaction. Was that really their only response after witnessing Tae-hyun's spectacular battle? Of course, the merchant players felt exactly the opposite. Was that really their only response after seeing this insane amount of loot?

"No, that's not what's important right now—"

"Are you looking down on items? You're the ones who run around doing every quest imaginable just to earn a few copper!"

"You haven't forgotten that you actually have to kill the monsters to get those items, have you?"

The players were bickering over which aspect of Kim Tae-hyun was more amazing! Tae-hyun watched this bizarre spectacle with utter bewilderment.

"Hmm... They really will fight over anything."

"It's only natural for arguments to break out when you gather dozens of people like this," Lee Da-bi said, clearly used to it.

Normally, Tae-hyun was on the receiving end of dealing with dozens of players by himself, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not leading them. On the rare occasions he did lead a party, it was for incredibly difficult quests, and during those times, he exuded a terrifying, bloodthirsty presence. No one dared to utter a useless word in front of him back then—unless they happened to have a spare neck!

In contrast, Lee Da-bi was someone who had led large-scale raids with the members of the Power Warrior Guild—the absolute worst of the worst when it came to difficult clients. She was thoroughly accustomed to managing massive groups where complaints and grievances constantly flew around. In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fact, it would have felt stranger to her if they were’nt complaining!

"Though... they don't usually fight over things like this."

"Right?"

Normally, players bickered over where to go first, which quests to prioritize, or how to distribute the loot. But this time, Tae-hyun was handling everything so flawlessly that there was literally nothing left to argue about—so they had resorted to fighting over this instead.

They must have had bad blood from the start.

Whenever people gathered, competition was inevitable. It was only slightly subdued here because of the harsh and barren nature of the Prica Continent, but the guilds here still kept each other in check and competed fiercely. Since being chosen by Tae-hyun guaranteed an absolute advantage, they were fighting like this to prove their worth!

Come to think of it, I don't actually need to drag all of them around with me, do I?

Even without the support of these players, Tae-hyun, Lee Da-bi, and his summons were more than capable of defending themselves. Tae-hyun realized a much better way to utilize this massive crowd of players.

"Attention!"

"???"

"What is it, sir?"

"Is there a problem...?"

"These bastards must have offended you! You absolute Cains!"

"Wh-what? You're the Cains here! You just stood around watching without even hunting, you Cain-like bastards!"

"You guys weren't any help either! At least we sorted the junk loot for him!"

"...Stop using Cain as an insult..."

It was just too pitiful! Tae-hyun cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Now that I think about it, traveling in such a large group is highly inefficient. Let's split up."

"???"

"There is only one thing I want from the Kaf Volcanic Region: the Phoenix! Disperse and find it! I will handsomely reward the party that locates it first."

"!!!!!!"

The eyes of the gathered players went wide.

"C-could we perhaps get a merchant spot at Valley Port?"

"Sure, that much is easy."

Valley Port. It had started out small, but because it was the closest port to 'The Valley', its scale had grown astronomically. It was now one of the largest ports in the Atali Kingdom, with everything from the pirate fleets Tae-hyun had brought in to the royal navy fleets sailing through its waters! A merchant player could make a fortune just by setting up a single stall there. Of course, all of those spots were currently managed by NPCs, and no quest could ever grant them. After all, the king himself was a player!

"I want to be rewarded with Archisus Order Contribution Points!"

"That works too."

"I want to join the Power Warrior Guild!"

"...Why on earth would you... Ah, no. Sure, if that's what you want."

They could have just joined normally, but it seemed they were under some bizarre misunderstanding.

"I want to go to Nodranche and become a port merchant!"

"..."

"..."

The requests were getting weirder by the second. Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi exchanged a look.

"Well... if that's what you want, go ahead..."

"Oh! If that's possible, I want to join the Nodranche Expedition too!"

"?!?!"

Even the combat-class players started raising their hands and chiming in! Tae-hyun didn't know it, but this was largely due to Cain appearing on the broadcast. Although MBS was a Korean broadcasting station, news that Team KL was appearing had drawn viewers from all over the world to the live stream... and the collective sentiment had somehow drifted toward: Whoa, I really want to visit Nodranche!

Have they gone mad as a group?

Tae-hyun couldn't understand it at all. The land was barren, there were barely any NPCs, the climate was terrible, and the location was incredibly remote... But to the players who were already hooked, none of that registered as a negative.

"...Well, if you want to join the Nodranche Expedition, I can introduce you..."

Who was he to stop them from volunteering for suffering? But Tae-hyun's words only set the players' hearts ablaze.

"Woaaaah!"

"Me too! I'm going to Nodranche too!"

"Nodranche! Nodranche!"

Having suffered so much on the Prica Continent, they had fallen into the delusion that Nodranche would somehow be a paradise!

"Let's move! Faster than the other guilds!"

"Wait, those guys?! There shouldn't be a path over there! When did they get a map? They said they didn't have one!"

"Shut up! Would you openly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠share all your information if you were in our shoes?!"

In an instant, the players scattered by guild and party, sprinting down the paths they knew.

Lee Da-bi asked with a worried expression, "Will they be okay? The difficulty here is no joke."

"It's not like they're new to the Prica Continent. They've surely explored the mountain ranges and volcanic regions to some extent. The ones who lack confidence will band together on their own."

Just as Tae-hyun predicted, several guilds whispered among themselves before starting to move together.

Maps of the Karp Mountains and the southern volcanic region were already somewhat public. It was only natural, given that explorer players had traveled back and forth multiple times. There had simply been no reason to go there before! With so many other hunting grounds available, there was no point in fighting through hordes of monsters attacking from all sides just to wander around a volcanic wasteland. But now, things were different.

The reward!

Nodranche...! Nodranche! Nodranche!

Should I ask to switch to the Nodranche Expedition too? Instead of being a port merchant?

The players looked as if they had fallen into a state of mass hypnosis!

"To catch a Unicorn, you need an unsullied, pure being. Strangely, those Unicorns must be blind, because they never approach us when they see us."

"...Isn't that obvious..."

"Well, that's why we caught them like this."

Normally, Unicorns were drawn to those with pure hearts. Thus, hunters usually used incredibly pure beings as bait when trying to catch them... but the Tyrum Hunters were different. Infinite stealth standby! They would go to a spot where a Unicorn was likely to pass, dig a hole, lie face down, and wait for weeks on end. It was a truly insane method.

...I really dislike these guys...

Gong-gong began to spin rapidly at Yu Ji-su's waist. Although it couldn't speak, its meaning was perfectly clear.

"Captain!"

"Don't call me Captain."

"Commander!"

"Adding 'sir' doesn't change anything!"

"Commander! We are so glad you trust us like this! What's so different about a Corrupted Unicorn anyway? We'll catch one for you right away!"

"But aren't Corrupted Unicorns attracted to beings full of desire rather than pure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones?"

"That's true. They are a real pain for hunters like us. They'll probably run away the moment they see us, right?"

...I feel like they'd charge straight at you the moment they saw you...

After all, where else could you find people as greedy as the Tyrum Hunters!

"Where there are Unicorns, there are bound to be Corrupted Unicorns. Let's go, Commander!"

"There's a Siren over there! Speed up the ship!"

"No, Sir Knight! If you get that close to a Siren, you'll be charmed!"

The NPC sailors desperately tried to stop Cain.

"I just need to hit it with a chain from up close!"

"I'm telling you, you'll be charmed before you can even do that!"

"It's fine! I can take it!"

Having traveled with Tae-hyun, Cain had grown highly confident in his own durability. His class, Avatar of Archisus's Slave, might have had a questionable name, but its stats were the real deal! Even so, the Siren's song was terrifying. The claim that they were monsters specialized in status ailments was no exaggeration.

"Aaaah! My fans are over there!"

"Ugh, this guy, seriously!"

Choi Sang-yun quickly grabbed Cain and hauled him back. It was made all the more difficult because Cain's Strength stat was incredibly high.

"Huh? What just happened?"

"You got hit with a status ailment, you idiot!"

"No... Me? That's impossible! I even plugged my ears...!"

"I guess plugging your ears isn't enough."

The players of Team KL huddled together, deep in thought. If plugging their ears didn't stop the song, how on earth were they supposed to fight back?

"...Are you filming this?"

"Yes!"

"Y-you can edit this part out, right?!"

"We're broadcasting live in the first place..."

"Just turn it off for a second and turn it back on when I do something cool...!"

"Cain... the more you talk, the uglier it gets... Just stop..."

Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok stared at Cain with pity. He was single-handedly securing plenty of screen time. Just look at the faces of the staff behind them! They looked absolutely thrilled with Cain's antics.

Cain racked his brain, desperately trying to look cool. I have to restore my image somehow! It was highly debatable whether he had any image left to restore in the first place, but still!

"I've got a great idea!"

"Oh... what is it?"

"Sirens are monsters that charm people, lure them into the sea, and then attack them, right?"

"Right."

"So, we tie someone up with a very long chain, throw them into the ocean, and when the Siren attacks, we haul them back up!"

In short, human fishing! Choi Sang-yun was appalled. He's spent so much time around Kim Tae-hyun that he's only learned the absolute worst habits!

Jeong Su-hyeok said with a flustered expression, "A Siren's level must be well over three or four hundred. How could anyone just endure that?"

Furthermore, defending oneself underwater would be incredibly difficult, and the various status ailments would make it nearly impossible to use skills properly... Unless someone was exceptionally sturdy with a massive HP pool, it would be an impossible task.

"..."

"..."

Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun exchanged a glance, then turned their eyes back to stare intently at Cain. At that, Cain seemed to realize it too.

"...Ah..."

Why did he dig his own grave when Kim Tae-hyun wasn't even here to force him...! Is Kim Tae-hyun controlling me from afar?!

Cain leaped to his feet and began to wrap the heavy iron chains around his waist. Instantly, the stream's chat section exploded!