The Pride of the Fishermen

Of course, Kim Tae-hyun was the only one marveling; everyone else looked utterly appalled.

"Hey! Storing them in the Sky Castle is insane! What if they melt?!"

"They won't. We have the Frost Core."

"But what if they do?!"

If those monsters woke up and poured out of the Sky Castle right above their territory, it would be an absolute disaster.

"...I'll just have to make sure they don't melt."

"......"

"Guys, think about it. This is way more realistic than hauling them all the way to Frozeland."

Boom! Crash! Clang!

Even as they argued, the bear and wolf warriors were tearing up the island, fighting as if they intended to reduce it to splinters. The racket was so deafening that even the expedition players hiding in the forest flinched.

For now, the beasts were locked in combat, unable to take their eyes off each other. But the moment they broke focus, this precarious peace would shatter.

Ultimately, the group nodded. In times like this, they had to trust Tae-hyun's judgment. Whatever else might be said, everyone here was prepared to bet their lives on his decisions.

...Even if this particular plan sounded completely unhinged.

"Everyone dive in and bring up at least one block! Elven warriors, split up and help them!"

"Wait, isn't that the Pope?!"

"??"

Hearing a gruff, hearty voice from behind, Tae-hyun turned his head.

What the...?

A group of unfamiliar middle-aged men were sitting comfortably on a fishing boat, wearing warm, genial smiles.

"It is! It's Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Oh my, my kid is a huge fan. Do you think I could get an autograph?"

"Pope! Thanks to you, we've been having a grand old time fishing. Thank you!"

What is up with their gear...? Are they rankers?

Tae-hyun swiftly appraised the older men's equipment. It was mind-bogglingly high-end.

That armor... it's an item that multiplies the wearer's evasion and magic defense. And what's with those boots and that cloak? What, are they wearing a literal skyscraper's worth of gold?

Furthermore, though their fishing boat looked ordinary at a glance, it was clearly anything but. An ordinary boat would never have made it this far out.

Tae-hyun tensed up at the sudden arrival of these high-level, clearly pay-to-win older gentlemen. Had Kim Tae-san put a bounty on his son's head?

Fighting wasn't the issue, but wasting time when they were in such a rush...

"Some raider bastards earlier said there was a massive quest over here, but who would've thought we'd run into the Pope himself? Is there anything we can help you with?"

"...?"

Tae-hyun was baffled. Why were these guys offering to help?

Is it a trick? An ambush? A trap?

Only now did Tae-hyun understand why these middle-aged men were so thrilled to see him.

Fishing was one of those classes that players willingly brought into the Archisus Church without Tae-hyun having to coerce them. To these fishing-obsessed older men, Tae-hyun was practically a savior.

"It's nothing really... actually, yes! There is something you can help with!"

"Name it! Just say the word!"

"We need to haul up some massive blocks of ice from the seabed. Do you think you can reel them in?"

At Tae-hyun's words, the fishermen's eyebrows twitched.

How dare he...

How dare he ask a true fisherman if he could "reel it in"!

"Pope. Do you know what I named this fishing rod?"

"...I'm afraid I don't."

"I named it Lamborghini. Because it cost about the same as one."

"......"

"......"

Tae-hyun and his companions were utterly speechless. Seriously...?

"Today, I shall prove this baby's worth!"

As the fisherman thumped his chest and roared, the man next to him clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"?"

"Haha. From where I'm standing, your fishing skill still looks a bit green, my friend. Trying to pull this off when you haven't even reached Advanced Level 8? Isn't that a bit much?"

Slap.

Then, the man next to him clapped a hand onto the second man's shoulder.

"Ahem. Ahem. Since when did people who haven't even hit Advanced Level 9 start volunteering to fish? Ahem. Ahem."

"......"

"......"

A subtle, highly competitive tension crackled among the fishermen. And a moment later...

"Move aside! I'm doing it!"

"You impudent punk, there's an order to things! Respect your elders and yield!"

"Elders? There are no elders when it comes to fishing! Are you going to go to the afterlife first just because you're older, hyung-nim?!"

"Wh-What did you say, you bastard?! You want to go right now?!"

The bickering among the fishermen was incredibly petty. Watching this display, Tae-hyun turned to Lee Da-bi, completely dumbfounded.

"Is Arantis Kingdom just a complete madhouse?"

"N-No... even if they don't get many new players, it's supposed to have an incredibly good reputation...?"

"That?"

"Th-That's strange..."

Lee Da-bi was flustered. The information she had gathered definitely painted a much more dignified picture.

Tae-hyun's casual question had set the fishermen's pride ablaze.

Can you reel them in? had been translated in their minds to: If you're real fishermen, surely you can pull this off? If you can't even do this, you might as well throw away your rods!

Panicking, Tae-hyun tried to intervene.

"No, wait. It's not just one block of ice. They're practically the size of entire frozen ships, so if you could cooperate—"

"What? There's more than one?!"

"What? They're ridiculously huge?!"

"......"

"......"

Whoosh!

The fishing boat suddenly shot forward like a bullet.

I'm catching it first!!

Everyone gasped at the sheer speed, which made it look like the boat had a jet engine strapped to it.

What on earth is that boat...?

Just how much real money did they dump into this game?

"Graaaah!"

"Argh!"

"Kyaaaah!"

The once quiet and peaceful Nodranche Island was becoming incredibly, violently noisy today.

"Don't you think the streets feel unusually narrow today?"

"That, my friend, is proof that our Valley is growing," a Valley player replied, shrugging.

He had once bought a cheap plot of land on the outskirts of The Valley without thinking much of it.

But the Power Warrior guild member had been relentless. Swayed by the persistent sales pitch and the dirt-cheap price, the player had ended up buying the small plot of land.

And now, the price of that land was skyrocketing like crazy!

Hehe. I am never selling this.

The player planned to build something there himself and start a business. A building would be great, or even just a street stall...

He was absolutely thrilled with The Valley's growth!

Not only had a Demon Realm entrance opened up here, but with the Curse of the Volcano running rampant, The Valley's growth rate had reached a whole new dimension. The number of players visible on the streets changed by the day!

Every single building in the territory—the temples, blacksmiths, tailor shops, arenas, training grounds, crafting stations, and art halls—was packed to the brim, with lines stretching out the doors.

"No, that's not what I mean. Look over there, they're blocking the road."

"??"

Only then did the player realize something was amiss.

On ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a wide avenue that could easily accommodate dozens of people walking abreast, players were setting up street stalls side by side, completely blocking the path.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! People are trying to walk here! You can't just set up stalls in the middle of the road!"

"Stalls belong in the plaza or on the curbside! Who on earth sets them up right in the middle of the street?!"

Despite the players' protests, the people setting up the stalls plugged their ears and ignored them. Since it wasn't just one or two, but dozens of players acting so brazenly, there wasn't much anyone could do.

"Where did these jerks even come from?"

"I've never seen them before..."

The local crafters muttered in frustration. With so many new players flooding in lately, it felt like the number of troublemakers was rising.

But this time, it was too much. For dozens of them to show up at once and cause a scene like this, they had to have some serious backing to be this bold...

"...Wait a minute? You guys are from the Guild Alliance!"

"It's the Guild Alliance emblem!"

"So what if we are?"

"?!"

"Is there a rule saying Guild Alliance members can't be here? This is a public territory open to everyone!"

"Hey, you guys of all people shouldn't be saying that!"

It would have been annoying enough coming from anyone else, but hearing such shameless words from members of the Guild Alliance left everyone utterly flabbergasted.

Hey! Do you have any idea how many of our territories you guys have attacked?!

"We are pure production players! We haven't harmed anyone. We're paying our taxes legally to use this space, so what's the problem?!"

The crafters of the Guild Alliance.

The reason they had come to The Valley was simple.

...It was just too damn hot outside!

As the Curse of the Volcano grew progressively worse, even ice magic was beginning to reach its limits. Except for a few specific buildings and regions, the oppressive heat made everyone sweat buckets and gasp for breath.

Combat classes could at least move around, but for production players, it was absolute hell. They needed a stable, comfortable environment to craft their items, but under these conditions...

In their desperation, they had thought of The Valley.

"-This place is completely immune to the curse right now!"

"-B-But is it really okay for us to go to Kim Tae-hyun's territory to craft and sell?"

"-Why not? They barely charge any taxes anyway. They can't complain if we're contributing to their tax revenue!"

"-No, that's not the point. If Kim Tae-hyun gets pissed..."

"-We're not going there to cause trouble. We're just legally crafting and selling items, so what's the big deal? They let the Demon Realm players use the place, so there's no way they'd reject us."

"-That's true. Besides, Kim Tae-hyun is a busy man. Why would he micromanage something as trivial as this? He has a million quests to deal with."

"-Exactly. A man of Kim Tae-hyun's stature wouldn't deign to get involved in something so minor."

The Guild Alliance crafters, having never personally experienced Tae-hyun's wrath, had grown incredibly bold.

Their guild executives had wanted to stop them, but they couldn't. The crafters' dissatisfaction due to the heatwave was beyond imagination.

"-You can't—"

"-If you say no, we're leaving the guild!"

"-It's too hot to work! I'm done!"

"-Ah... No, wait! Fine, fine! You can go! Just don't leave!"

When even the usually quiet, diligent workers rose up in a collective rebellion, the executives had no choice but to wave the white flag. That was how terrifying the heatwave was.

The local Valley crafters, taken aback by the sheer audacity of the Guild Alliance players, asked in trembling voices:

"Are... aren't you guys afraid of what Kim Tae-hyun will do to you when he finds out?"

"What did we do wrong? And do you really think Kim Tae-hyun has the time to care about something this minor?"

"Ugh..."

The local crafters flinched, unable to counter. Even to them, this dispute felt far too trivial for Tae-hyun to personally intervene.

"What's going on? A fight?"

"Looks like the crafters are bickering. They're fighting over territory because some guys set up stalls where they shouldn't."

"Do we get contribution points if we join in?"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Eh, then I'll just watch."

Although the population of the territory had swelled, very few players were willing to step forward. Tae-hyun hadn't issued any orders, and since it didn't affect them personally, they had no reason to get involved.

The local Valley crafters suddenly felt a deep sense of sorrow.

We thought we were all part of the same territory...

Those bastards!

At that exact moment, a system message flashed before everyone's eyes.

Rumbleeeee—

"?"

"????"

"????????"

With a majestic, low rumble, the Sky Castle suddenly departed.

Immediately, a wave of sweltering, oppressive heat rushed into the territory. It was exactly like turning off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the air conditioner and flinging the windows wide open on a scorching midsummer day!

"......"

"......"

"It... It's because of those bastards!!"

"Kill them! Hang them! Burn them to ashes!"

"Waaaaah!"

"?!?!?!?"

In an instant, the players of the territory transformed into bloodthirsty, savage beasts, looking like the protagonists of an ultra-violent video game!