A Sinister Opportunity
Still, despite their anxiety, they couldn't afford to back out now.
"Please proceed with the purification."
The Guild Alliance had expended a massive amount of Contribution Points for this operation. Mobilizing bishops from multiple churches to cast a purification spell was no small feat. It was a preparation that required pooling every single Contribution Point held by their executives! If this failed, many would weep tears of blood.
"-So you're saying he sacrificed himself to fight the Hungry Chaos? Does that even make sense?"
"-Are you doubting what the Archbishop saw with his own two eyes!?"
"-N-No, I'm not doubting it..."
"-Our church saw it too!"
"-Well, that guy usually spouts so much nonsense that I just assumed he was at it again."
"...Stop fighting and just start the purification already!" the ranker barked in frustration.
The guild had suffered so much to make this happen, yet these NPCs were bickering over useless nonsense. It made his blood boil.
Affinity is decreasing.
Reputation within the Phytos Church is falling...
Reputation within the Demer Church is falling...
"-What an incredibly rude adventurer."
"-Indeed. There is a reason the people of the Auston Kingdom live such difficult lives."
"..."
The Guild Alliance was not Kim Tae-hyun. The only reason Tae-hyun could constantly pick fights, extort, and harass the various churches and still get away with it was because his track record was absolutely spotless. He had resolved multiple continental crises and managed his kingdom flawlessly!
In contrast, the Auston Kingdom was an iron-fisted realm with high taxes that crushed any citizen complaints with brute force. The church priests were constantly nagging them, asking, "Isn't this a bit much?" Naturally, the guild members had to brace themselves for a drop in reputation and affinity if they said even one wrong word.
"...My apologies. Please proceed with the purification. Isn't this all for the sake of the people, after all?"
"Isn't it for the sake of your guild members, not the people?" Tae-hyun asked from the side, looking genuinely puzzled.
The guild members frantically hissed at him.
"Shh! Shh!"
"Why not just be honest? They're going to find out anyway."
"Please, just shut up...!"
They managed to placate the priests, but their tribulations were far from over. The Death Knights were still there.
"-Swear to grant proper treatment to Lord Steinhauer, who carries the royal bloodline."
"...I swear."
"-And bestow a castle upon him as well."
"Wait, that's a bit..."
"-Do you wish to see the plague spread for eternity???"
"...I swear, I've never seen such absolute bastards in my life!"
The Death Knights possessed the shamelessness befitting the undead. Gritting his teeth, the Guild Alliance leader spoke.
"Fine. We will grant him a castle."
The Auston Kingdom was vast, and they could afford to give away a small castle on the outskirts. Once they made that concession, the Death Knights nodded in satisfaction.
"-You may proceed."
The purification of the Plague Wasteland has begun!
Ensure that no interruptions occur.
The cultists of the Hungry Chaos are appearing!
"Ugh...!" the Guild Alliance leader groaned. Once this damn Plague Wasteland was purified, he swore he would never set foot in this place again!
The cultists of the Hungry Chaos are fleeing!
The purification of the Plague Wasteland continues...
"The threat of the Hungry Chaos is growing more severe by the day."
"If not for Your Majesty, this continent would have already been reduced to ashes."
"Haha. There's no need to go that far."
"If not for Your Majesty, who else would have sacrificed themselves to stand against it?"
"Oh, come now. The other churches played a massive role as well. It was only thanks to their help that we could fight. I hope we can continue to stand together in the future."
"It is our honor!"
"..."
"..."
The Guild Alliance rankers, battered and exhausted, watched the exchange between Tae-hyun and the church NPCs. It was a conversation that made them want to smack the back of his head. They were the ones who had done all the fighting, yet here these guys were, playing a game of "No, you did better," "No, you did!" If they had spent that time actually fighting, the battle would have been ten times easier.
Flash!
The purification of the Plague Wasteland is complete!
The discontent of the Auston Kingdom has significantly decreased!
The plague contamination will no longer spread!
Along with a dazzling light, an immense power rippled outward, and the plague began to dissipate. It was a sight so beautiful it naturally inspired a sense of reverence.
You have participated in the Plague Purification quest!
★ LEVEL UP! ★
Your Church Contribution Points have increased!
My, they shouldn't have.
Swooping in at the very end of a quest someone else had done all the work for, only to reap the rewards... was truly a beautiful thing. Even for a high-tier ranker like Tae-hyun, it was incredibly satisfying!
As Tae-hyun beamed with joy, the members of the Guild Alliance approached him. Unlike him, their faces were so worn and haggard they couldn't even muster up the energy to celebrate. The rewards were nice, but the sheer mental exhaustion of managing the operation had completely drained them. They looked like they wanted to log out immediately!
"...It's finally over. Kim Tae-hyun. Thanks for the help, and let's never see each other again."
"Hurry up and go back to your territory."
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down."
Having received his share, Tae-hyun planned to head back to the Valley and get to work. He had secured unexpected rewards and even pocketed some treasure, so there was no reason to linger.
Ah. But I guess I do have to come back here eventually.
Come to think of it, hadn't he received Carbanog's quest near this area? He would need to restore the statue to know the details, but it was highly likely related to the southern region of the Auston Kingdom. Moreover, now that the plague was gone, it would be much easier to search.
"By the way, this place is completely devastated..."
"How are we supposed to rebuild all this?"
"This isn't something to celebrate just because we got a new territory."
The guild members muttered among themselves. They had initially rejoiced at reclaiming a vast stretch of land, but looking around, that joy quickly evaporated. Having been contaminated by the plague for so long, the area was completely ruined. Fertile farmlands lay in ruins, and the once-sturdy castle walls were so thoroughly demolished they would have to be rebuilt from scratch.
At this rate, even if they entered the castles or cities, there would be nothing left to salvage. They would basically have to start over by building fortresses and villages from the ground up!
"We need to build facilities, but before that, we probably need to put up fences and wooden palisades first."
"This is driving me crazy."
Although the Guild Alliance boasted one of the largest player bases in Pan-On, they couldn't mobilize everyone in perfect unison. On top of that, their members were already highly fatigued from fighting the Midas Guild and Smith's White Knight in the Auston Kingdom.
"-Everyone! Let's head to the southern Auston Kingdom to till the land and build a new village!"
"-Has the guild leader lost his mind?"
"-Do we look like prisoners locked up in your country?! Why the hell should we do that! Boo!"
While the executives and rankers who stood to gain a lot might comply, the ordinary guild members didn't possess that level of loyalty. They were players who would jump ship at any moment if better conditions were offered elsewhere.
"I think we need to talk to the guild leader and spend some money."
"Is there even money in the guild vault?"
"We have the investment funds from the real world, so we can just exchange that into gold. As long as we have gold, we can hire people anywhere."
"Ohhh...!"
The guild members marveled at the executive's reassuring words. As expected of Su Ning! He might be a bit lacking in gaming skills, but his business acumen was definitely superior to Kim Tae-hyun's.
Oh...?
And Tae-hyun overheard that. This feels like an opportunity, doesn't it?
"Thank you so much!"
"Sure. Their situation seems urgent, so don't sell your services cheap. Oh, and let me know if you need materials. I'll mobilize the kingdom's soldiers to gather them for you."
"Thank you, thank you so much!"
"????"
Lee Da-bi's head whipped back and forth as she listened to the conversation between Tae-hyun and the Power Warrior Guild executives. What on earth were they talking about?
"Tae-hyun, they didn't... beg you, did they?"
"Huh? No, they didn't."
"Phew..."
Da-bi let out a sigh of relief. No matter how desperate they were, going directly to Tae-hyun to beg would have been too much of a blow to her pride as a guild leader.
"-Guild Leader. But can't we just go to the Valley and beg Kim Tae-hyun?"
"-Try it if you want to get kicked out of the guild."
"-...I won't."
"Since the Guild Alliance purified the southern Auston Kingdom and is starting construction there, I just introduced them to the Power Warrior members. You guys are good at crafting, aren't you?"
"It's less about crafting and more about being good at manual labor..." Da-bi muttered.
To be precise, construction quests like that didn't require high-level architecture or crafting skills. Only the person directing the project needed the actual architecture skill. What was truly needed were stats like Strength, Constitution, and Stamina, along with the sheer persistence to endure such tedious quests! And the members of the Power Warrior Guild excelled spectacularly in those areas.
Gudar, one of the Power Warrior Guild members, grinned with pure malice. The guild members following him thought to themselves:
He really has a villainous face. Every single time I look at him, it's terrifying.
It was a miraculous face that made him look evil no matter what he did!
"-Hehehe... Finally, the opportunity has arrived."
"-What opportunity is it?"
"-The opportunity for us architects to finally shine! I will break away from the Labor Division, create a new Construction Division, and become its leader!"
"-Can't we just stay in the Labor Division? We get along so well..."
"-Silence! How long are you going to live being satisfied with so little!"
"-We don't really have any ambition for architecture..."
"-Yeah. We don't care about titles either."
"-If I become the division leader, I'll share all of the leader's operating budget with you guys."
"-...Leader! Leader! Leader!"
"-Go, Leader Gudar!"
"-This is an opportunity that Kim Tae-hyun himself handed to me. Do you know what that means? It means he's expecting great things from me!"
"-I think it's just because you were standing closest to him..."
"-Shh. Shut up."
"-Let's show them our power in the Auston Kingdom!"
"-Whooooaaa!"
"-Contact the other guild members and tell them not to accept anything less than 5 gold per person! Tell them absolutely do not work for cheap!"
"-But Lord Gudar! Won't the guys who aren't in our guild offer to work for cheaper?"
"-Then persuade them to join us! If you tell them they can make way more money by banding together, they'll definitely jump on board!"
"-Ohhh...! Ohhhhh!"
A crowd had gathered like a sea of clouds. At a glance, it looked even larger than the crowd for the Pan-On All-Star Super Player audition currently taking place in the Auston Kingdom.
Why on earth were so many people gathered here? Was a massive new quest about to begin?
...Not quite.
"Why are there so many people here?"
"I'm wondering the same thing."
The Power Warrior executives selected to help run the event whispered among themselves. Why on earth were so many people flocking to a competition to cook a dish that Tae-hyun's pet would like???
The crowd felt the same way.
"But seriously, why did so many people gather? Are they giving out loot boxes or something?"
"No, it's nothing like that. It's a competition."
"What kind of competition?"
"You know that pet Kim Tae-hyun carries around? It's a contest to cook the dish that pet would love the most."
"...We gathered all this way just to watch a contest like that?!"
"N-No, the lineup of participants is insane. Let me tell you how big of a deal this is..."
"No matter how you explain it, I still don't get it."
The player, completely out of the loop, stared at his friend as if he were looking at an idiot. But his friend had a point. This was a competition where the most prominent chef rankers were participating. It was a battle of pure pride!
"So, there's this ranker named Chao, who's basically a legendary chef. He got into a massive argument with another ranker named Paz, and do you know what he said...?"
"..."
Hearing the long-winded backstory from his friend, the player was left utterly speechless.
Do these chef rankers just have too much free time on their hands? What is it about this competition that makes them stake their entire pride on it...?