The Price of Curiosity
"Can I watch the video later?" Lee Da-bi asked, suddenly curious. Dodging raindrops didn't sound particularly difficult, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't imagine Tae-hyun being given such a mundane trial. It actually sounds like it could be fun!
"It won't be very interesting to watch," Tae-hyun replied.
"Anything you do is always interesting, Tae-hyun."
"Even when I'm suffering at the hands of the Archisus Church NPCs?"
"...That's not what I meant."
"Would it be alright if I watched too?" Lee Se-yeon asked quietly. She was quite curious about what kind of trial Tae-hyun had passed.
Tae-hyun jokingly replied without much thought, "If you pay the usage fee to the Power Warrior Guild."
"Understood." Lee Se-yeon pulled out a pouch of gold and handed it to Lee Da-bi. She had taken it completely seriously!
Lee Da-bi, holding the pouch in a daze, looked utterly shocked and horrified.
"Loy..."
"Loy?"
"Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty...?"
"...Why are you doing that too, Da-bi?" Ryu Tae-su, watching them warily, chimed in. "Can I watch too if I pay?"
"We finally made it."
"Move quickly. If it's a first-come, first-served quest, we're in trouble."
An airship docked at Gray Cloud City, and several players who looked like swordsmen disembarked. There were already quite a few players in the city, but an even larger crowd had just arrived all at once.
"But isn't the fare for this thing way too expensive?"
"Airships are hard to come by, so we don't have a choice. It's not like we can fly there on mounts."
There were several ways to get to Sky Island, or to travel from Sky Island to other places. Flying mounts or flight magic were options, but few people actually chose them.
...Because the distance was absolutely massive!
Living mounts would eventually grow exhausted from continuous flight, and if they collapsed in midair, the player would be in extreme danger. Furthermore, if they were attacked by flying monsters...
To travel via flying mounts or flight magic, one needed an incredibly high-level mount or absolute confidence in their MP pool.
Because of this, people wanted a safer means of transportation, even if it cost money.
Something like an airship!
Thanks to this, the airship business was booming. And one of the groups that had jumped into the airship business was the Power Warrior Guild.
"Everyone! We would appreciate it if you chose our airship again next time!"
"Cut the prices first!"
"You're 1.5 times more expensive than the other airships!"
Ignoring the passengers' complaints, the Power Warrior guild members just kept reciting their script.
"If you use our service ten times, you get one free ride! Also, if you get logged out during the flight, our insurance covers..."
"But where on earth did they get that airship? Airships must cost a fortune."
An airship only needed to meet two conditions: it had to be large enough to carry a lot of people, and it had to be able to fly in that state!
The most common ones seen were those sold by the Magic Tower, embedded with countless magic stones enchanted with flight magic. Naturally, they were astronomically expensive.
"They didn't build it themselves, did they?"
"With what? Magic skills?? If they did, it would've been all over the news by now!"
"No, it's possible with the Engineering skill too."
"...Hey. Don't say such terrifying things."
The thought of having just ridden an Engineering-built airship made by the Power Warrior Guild sent shivers down their spines. It meant they had basically traveled on a bomb that could explode at any second!
"True, this isn't a quality just anyone can produce."
"Did Kim Tae-hyun help them?"
"Does Kim Tae-hyun have time to waste on helping them with that? Stop talking nonsense and let's go."
The reason these players had gathered here in such large numbers was simple: the Secret Swordsmanship skill!
Just as Baudouin had heard that there was an NPC in the arena who taught Secret Swordsmanship, other players had gradually caught wind of the information as well.
As soon as they got the intel, they boarded the airships and rushed up to Sky Island.
I have to get that Secret Swordsmanship skill!!
To a swordsman class, a swordsmanship skill—especially a Secret Swordsmanship skill—was worth their very life. A single well-acquired skill was better than leveling up several times.
"Is it here? Let's get inside quickly."
"Ah, new adventurers. Wandering the streets when you haven't even had your abilities recognized... what a sight."
"Why are you roaming around when you don't even have wings?"
"Seriously, why do these Garuda bastards nag us every time we see them? It's so annoying."
"Ignore them, ignore them. We got here first! Ahead of everyone else..."
The Gray Cloud Arena is changing!
The Gray Cloud Arena is transforming into the Archisus Temple.
"???"
"W-what is this?"
The players were dumbfounded by the message windows that suddenly appeared before they could even enter. The arena building was still standing right there, so what on earth did this mean?
"Wouldn't it have been better to look at other buildings before deciding?"
"We have to go clear the next quest, and we've already wasted too much time... If you made the decision, Da-bi, then it's fine."
The pressure is real...! Da-bi thought.
Tae-hyun didn't hesitate and decided to use the arena building as the temple.
"I shall use this building as the Temple of Archisus. Chieftain Galigoden has also granted his permission."
"Aigoo! What nonsense is this! Taking our arena as you please! What are we supposed to do to make a living?!"
"Boo! You wicked Archisus bastards!"
The Garuda fighter NPCs working at the arena were furious at the sudden decision. They were on the verge of being laid off en masse!
Tae-hyun handled it easily.
"You will be allowed to work in the newly transformed Archisus Temple. Any forced labor you had to do while working at the arena will no longer be required."
"...Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!"
"Long live Archisus!"
You possess the Supreme Eloquence skill!
The Garuda fighters have been persuaded!
The Garuda fighters have changed classes to Archisus Temple Gladiators!
The 'Archisus Temple Gladiator' class has been newly added!
Class change is now available at the Archisus Temple!
The reputation of the Archisus Church has increased significantly!
"!?!"
Tae-hyun was startled. An unexpected bonus effect! A new class called 'Archisus Temple Gladiator' had actually been created.
Gladiators were usually a class you could change into by clearing quests around arenas like the Colosseum, but for it to appear in a temple...
He couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Is it because of the characteristics of this building? Fascinating.
Perhaps it unlocked because he had seized the arena to turn it into a temple and brought the NPCs along with it. In any case, it wasn't bad.
The more classes added to the church, the more players would flock to it.
The problem was...
The Garuda fighters came along as a package deal.
He had only wanted them to work here, not join the Archisus Church, but they had gone ahead and signed up all on their own!
Carbanog asks if this isn't a good thing.
Carbanog. In my experience, having weirdos join under you is never a good thing.
Weirdos always caused trouble!
And one of the most prominent weirdos among them, Godorobal, approached Tae-hyun.
Now that the arena building had completely transformed into a temple, Godorobal seemed deeply moved.
Wow! The Pope of Archisus is truly bold!
"Your Holiness. But there is no place to pray here."
"Tell them to pray while they fight."
Tae-hyun had no intention of tearing this place down to build a new structure and erect statues. It would cost material fees, labor costs, and take forever... It had taken so long back in the Valley, so the thought of starting construction all over again on Sky Island was dizzying.
Let's just consider the arena as the temple!
What matters is a heart that believes in God, not buildings or statues.
Carbanog notes that saying that now isn't very convincing...
"I-Is that really alright? Still, praying while fighting is..."
"Godorobal. Think about it carefully. Praying while fighting might feel a bit strange."
"Yes."
"But what about praying in the middle of a fight?"
"Uh... that actually sounds okay?"
Fighting while praying felt somewhat sacrilegious, but praying in the middle of a fight felt perfectly fine.
"Exactly. You can just think of it as praying in the middle of a fight. I believe in you, Godorobal. Archisus has always been a church characterized by its freedom."
"Didn't you say before that there were strict, ironclad rules...?"
"Do you want to be kicked out?"
"N-No, Your Holiness."
"Good. Rid yourself of that bad habit of doubting the Pope's words. Anyway, Godorobal. Make sure the people who come here believe in Archisus. You asked me to let you believe in Archisus proudly, didn't you? If it's you, you can do it."
"...I-I will do my absolute best!"
Godorobal clenched his fists. He didn't know what it was, but he felt a deep sense of trust from Tae-hyun.
"Yes, I believe in you. Manage the temple well. Don't embezzle the donations. Don't start weird businesses with the donation money. Don't scam the believers..."
"Wait, Your Holiness! Isn't that a bit much? Do you really distrust me that much?!"
Godorobal was indignant. No matter what, what kind of trash among the believers of Archisus would commit such acts?
"I apologize. I've been burned before."
"!?"
"Anyway, I'm counting on you!"
Tae-hyun gave his orders, changed the sign on the arena building, and coolly departed.
Meanwhile, the players who arrived late were left utterly bewildered, unable to tell if the place was an arena or a temple.
"...It's an arena?? It's literally just an arena?"
"There are no statues, no place to pray..."
Godorobal nodded as he looked at the newly arrived players.
"Gladiators! Bring those adventurers over. Since they have come to the Archisus Temple, we must teach them the virtues of Archisus."
"Unemp—cough, I mean, Lord Godorobal! What should we do?"
"Throw them into the arena and fight them until they collapse to show them the greatness of Archisus."
"What if they endure it?"
"Then they are qualified to believe in Archisus, so we must make them believe."
"And if they can't endure it?"
"Archisus is generous, so we must still make them believe."
"Oh..."
The players hesitatingly entering the building had no idea.
That once they stepped inside, leaving peacefully was out of the question!
"They say the Garuda cities are built on the clouds, but the royal palace where the Garuda royalty resides is particularly special."
The Garuda royalty traveled around on a custom-made cloud where they had built their palace! Ordinary players couldn't even dream of approaching it.
"If it's the Sky Blacksmith, I suppose you can go."
"You want to visit the royal palace? I'll pass along the word, so you may go."
You have been granted entry to the Garuda Royal Palace!
You can now enter the Garuda Royal Palace.
Your reputation increases significantly!
"..."
"..."
Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young blinked, utterly speechless. Lee Se-yeon wasn't particularly surprised, but the two of them had yet to fully adapt.
How could he gain access to a place players hadn't even set foot in so easily...?!
"Da-bi. Why are they acting like that?"
"I think they're disappointed they couldn't finish fighting in the arena earlier."
"Hmm. I guess I did them a disservice."
Come to think of it, they might have preferred playing in the arena over getting the Secret Swordsmanship skill. It was probably their first time at a Garuda arena, so how exciting must it have been?
Of course, if asked to choose between an arena fight and the Secret Swordsmanship skill, the two of them would have screamed, "Obviously the latter!!" but Tae-hyun had no way of knowing that.
"If a decent monster appears, I should let those two have it."
"Are you sure that's alright?"
"I should do at least this much for the team."
"Tae-hyun...!"
Lee Da-bi was slightly touched. She knew all too well how much Tae-hyun preferred playing solo. For such a person to say something like that...
"Se-yeon. If a monster appears, let's yield it to those two and step back for a bit."
"...Why? Are you trying to punish them?" Lee Se-yeon asked back, looking thoroughly confused.