A Full Set of Adamantium Gear!
A full set of equipment made of Adamantium! And for every single member of the party! It was a luxury that no other party in the game had ever enjoyed.
Tae-hyun had made extensive preparations for this day. He possessed the Master Blacksmithing Skill and Highest-grade Mechanical Engineering, a forge capable of processing them—even if only barely—and a blacksmith capable of running it. And most importantly, he had the Adamantium Ingots.
It had taken an immense amount of effort, but... it was well worth it. Once completed, Tae-hyun's party would become a walking fortress!
'Anyone facing us is going to be swearing up a storm.'
Even now, there were very few ways to deal with Tae-hyun's party in the league. Opponents either had to turtle up and play for a draw, or target players other than Tae-hyun... But the latter strategy rarely worked. Tae-hyun simply didn't leave any openings. If an enemy damage dealer tried to flank and strike from behind, Tae-hyun would hunt them down and eliminate them first!
And now, even that sliver of hope was about to vanish entirely... Of course, that was their problem. Tae-hyun intended to do his absolute best to craft the gear, even utilizing one of his Authority skills!
'With my current blacksmithing skill level, I'll suffer penalties no matter what I do.'
Despite how much he had leveled it up, Adamantium was still a material he couldn't handle perfectly. By the time he could, the game would probably be over.
But Tae-hyun wasn't greedy. He would just do the best he could with what he had right now! Besides, just working with Adamantium would massively level up his Blacksmithing Skill and Highest-grade Mechanical Engineering... Tae-hyun planned to mobilize every single skill at his disposal to craft the Adamantium equipment.
"What's going on with the territory?" Tae-hyun muttered, utterly bewildered by the sudden atmosphere upon his return.
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Kim Tae-hyun is our god!"
"The God of Air Conditioning, Kim Tae-hyun!"
"????"
To be fair, Tae-hyun was objectively a popular lord. Other large guilds had to deploy their members in droves just to get cheered on in their own territories.
"Wait, do we really have to do this kind of event?"
"Shh! If the Guild Master doesn't get a warm welcome when he visits his territory, his temper flares up. Hurry up and hang the banners on the street!"
An event of this scale was basic protocol for any major guild.
But Tae-hyun didn't need any of that. The moment rumors spread that he had arrived in his territory, crowds would gather to cheer him on. His gameplay was legendary, and his territorial management was practically a charity... It was impossible for him not to be popular.
'But still, isn't this a bit much?'
Today's fervor, however, was downright bizarre. It was on a level Tae-hyun had never seen before! No matter how popular he was, usually only the local players of his territory came out to welcome him. Members of other major guilds rarely joined in. After all, Tae-hyun was typically an object of jealousy! They only paid their usage fees quietly because they wanted access to the Demon Realm, but they were undoubtedly burning with envy deep down.
Yet today, players from those very same major guilds were standing right there!
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Your Majesty!"
From amidst the massive crowd, Pelmas emerged with a majestic, dignified stride. As if they had eaten something strange, several players were surrounding Pelmas, acting as his bodyguards. They were holding up a banner that read: [The High Priest of the Air Conditioning God, Pelmas!]
'Have they lost their minds?'
Lee Da-bi, who had been busy clearing quests alongside Tae-hyun, quickly summoned her guild members to assess the situation.
"So... you see..."
"..."
Da-bi's face turned pale.
"Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun."
"?"
"Well..."
Da-bi quickly and concisely explained the situation.
The air conditioner... no, the Sky Castle had disappeared, and the players, driven wild by the heat, had absolutely demolished the Guild Alliance! Right now, countless Guild Alliance players had been captured and locked up in the dungeon.
"Let us out! Let us out, you bastards!"
"We signed a peace treaty with Kim Tae-hyun! Can't you hear us?! We have a peace treaty with your lord!"
"What kind of territory doesn't listen to a word we say?!"
From the Guild Alliance's perspective, it was utterly absurd. They weren't blind. They knew Kim Tae-hyun hadn't ordered this!
"How can this many players go completely feral all at once?"
"If it's Kim Tae-hyun, maybe it's possible..."
"Is Kim Tae-hyun some kind of hypnotist?! It's just a series of coincidences!"
"Coincidence or not, we have to resolve this! Why can't we get in touch with Kim Tae-hyun?"
Since there was no clear leader among the rioting players, the Guild Alliance had no one to complain to or threaten... The only person capable of defusing the situation was Tae-hyun, but the bastard was completely unreachable...
Tae-hyun, too, quickly grasped the situation.
Carbanog chuckles, remarking that mortals are truly bizarre for making such a fuss over a little heat.
'Haha, mortals indeed!' As a divine beast who felt no heat, Carbanog's comment was incredibly obnoxious.
Having fully assessed the situation, Tae-hyun immediately spoke up.
"You have all..."
"?"
"??"
"...done an incredible job! I am deeply moved by your efforts!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"Kim Tae-hyun said he's moved by our efforts!"
"See! I told you! Crushing those Guild Alliance bastards was the right answer all along!"
"If we see any of them in our territory from now on, we'll stomp them into the dirt!"
The players firmly believed that the Sky Castle had vanished because they had been acting selfishly. They had stood by and done nothing while the Guild Alliance acted high and mighty in the territory, thinking it wasn't their problem! They swore they would never live like that again!
"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"
Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded as he watched countless players—even members of other major guilds—shouting like madmen, swearing to protect the territory with their lives. Usually, these guys were so hard to sway, yet taking away the Sky Castle just once had turned them into this!
"Rest easy and go back to your quests! The Sky Castle will remain right here!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
With just a single word from Tae-hyun, the madness that had driven players to roam around muttering, 'We have to find the Guild Alliance...! We don't know when it'll get hot again...!' instantly vanished. The players stopped what they were doing, looking as if they had suddenly snapped out of a trance.
The hunted members of the Guild Alliance felt incredibly wronged.
'These bastards went completely feral, and they stop just like that because of one word from Kim Tae-hyun?!'
'What is wrong with these people...'
As the mob of players dispersed, the territory returned to its usual state. Once again, it was a bustling hub with everyone busy at their respective posts.
"I never knew seeing things back to normal could bring me such joy...!" Cain muttered quietly.
The sight of countless players packing the wide city avenues and screaming in unison had been truly terrifying.
"Let us out! Kim Tae-hyun! Let us out!"
"If I release criminals of the territory so easily, how can I expect to rule?"
The Guild Alliance members were flabbergasted by Tae-hyun speaking like some royal NPC. ...He wasn't wrong, but this was hardly the time or place for that!
"Cut the crap, you bastard! You know damn well we didn't do anything wrong!"
"I heard some of your crafters were causing trouble in the plaza."
"Th-that's just standard competition! Who locks people up for that?!"
Crafters competing and keeping each other in check in the plaza was a common occurrence everywhere. Of course, Tae-hyun was a man who could be infinitely petty once he found even the slightest pretext!
"Ahem! To commit a crime and show absolutely no remorse!"
"They must be executed immediately!"
Cain chimed in from the side, playing along. The Guild Alliance members gnashed their teeth.
"That six-armed bastard...!"
"His personality is just as hideous as his looks!"
"...Let's execute them right now!"
"N-no! No!"
"Kim Tae-hyun, what do you want? Let's negotiate!"
Normally, they would have said, 'Go ahead and lock us up if you dare!' but... the current situation was dire. Too many of them had been captured! From random guild members passing by to elite parties stationed in the Demon Realm, everyone had been dragged to the dungeon. And they were right in the middle of preparing for a territory war!
"First, your crafters will stop acting up in other people's territories."
"...We can do that."
That much was easy enough to concede.
"And I'll need a small bail fee for each person."
"...F-fine."
Though they wanted to curse him out, they could agree to that too. Paying gold to get out of prison didn't cost that much individually. Of course, when collecting pocket change from hundreds of players, it added up to a massive sum for Tae-hyun.
'Between the territory auctions and this, money is rolling in incredibly fast lately.'
Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction. In truth, the Guild Alliance had practically funded the development of his territory.
"And since I need to make sure you've truly reflected on your actions, you'll have to help out with some territory construction before you leave."
Forced participation in daily construction quests! The guild members finally exploded. They needed to get out and do their own quests, so what the hell was this about construction?!
"Stop pushing it, you bastard!"
"What? Hmph. It seems your reflection is still lacking."
"N-no, wait..."
"We're in a real hurry here, Kim Tae-hyun! Give us a break! At least reduce the difficulty or the number of buildings!"
A heated negotiation ensued between Tae-hyun and the Guild Alliance executive! Watching from the side, a member of the Power Warrior Guild asked Lee Da-bi in a worried tone.
"Guild Master. Guild Master."
"What is it?"
"Even though the Guild Alliance is called a bunch of pushovers..."
"...Watch your mouth."
Da-bi warned quietly. Tae-hyun could get away with badmouthing Su Ning all he wanted, but if a regular Power Warrior Guild member did it, they might get backstabbed and killed in PVP.
"...But anyway, aren't they doing incredibly well lately?"
They had successfully made a spectacular comeback through territory wars and massive investments! Even if they hadn't fully reclaimed all their land, they had essentially resurrected themselves.
"They are, aren't they?"
"But is it really okay to give them a reason to fight us like this?"
The newly recruited guild member raised a very sensible question. Da-bi answered him kindly.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Why is that?"
"Because even if we didn't do this, we've already piled up far too much bad blood for them not to fight us!"
Reconciliation was only possible with someone you could actually make peace with. Even if Tae-hyun started showing consideration and being nice to the Guild Alliance now, would they ever forget their grudges? It was much better to just keep squeezing them for everything they were worth while he still could.
"...!"
The guild member's face lit up with sudden realization.
Surprisingly, Tae-hyun put forward a fairly reasonable proposal.
...Of course, handing daily construction quests to people he had forcibly locked up was already highly unreasonable, but...
"The Valley is running smoothly, but the outskirts are still underdeveloped. I need you to build roads and outposts here and there. The roads are straightforward, and the outposts are small structures that, once built, will allow us to station a set number of soldier NPCs."
These were small, simple structures!
The Guild Alliance members felt relieved by the surprisingly reasonable request.
'Phew. At least Kim Tae-hyun has a shred of conscience left.'
'Isn't forcing us to do this in the first place proof that he has no conscience?'
'Who doesn't know that? Shut up, I'm already annoyed enough.'
Although tedious, these were quests that could be finished in the blink of an eye if multiple guild members pitched in. The Guild Alliance executive gritted his teeth and said,
"Once we finish this, there will be no more demands."
"Of course. Trust me."
Watching the executive and the guild members stream out of the dungeon, Da-bi asked,
"Why are you having them build roads and outposts?"
"I figured it's about time I start paying attention to the rest of the kingdom."
Although Tae-hyun had claimed the throne, he had only managed his own territory up until now. He hadn't paid any attention to the kingdom as a whole! The reason was simple. The lords of the other territories were all noble NPCs, and they absolutely refused to listen to a word Tae-hyun said. And with enemies surrounding him on all sides, Tae-hyun couldn't exactly afford to wage territory wars against them... So, they had simply ignored each other.
But now, the situation had changed. The noble NPCs who used to ignore Tae-hyun were on the verge of being completely wiped out.