The Frugal God's Secret

"Kyaoo!"

Unlike the absolute chaos caused by all those lunatics running amok, the quest ended in a resounding success.

This is actually better than I expected.

He had originally intended to gather a small crowd of players in the Valley to help Bulbul-i grow, but the results were far better than anticipated. For starters, hosting events or quests in his territory granted various additional buffs. Since the Valley already boasted incredible baseline effects, holding a quest like this yielded almost broken, cheat-like benefits.

"Why don't you host events like this more often in the future?"

"No. I don't think that's a good idea."

Tae-hyun's expression turned dead serious. No matter how he looked at it, holding a second event would turn the Valley into an absolute madhouse. But regardless of Tae-hyun's concerns, the atmosphere in the Valley was nothing short of a festival. As soon as the competition concluded, the gathered chefs began distributing their dishes. Players, thrilled to taste high-grade ranker cuisine they normally couldn't even dream of, erupted in cheers.

"Giving away the leftovers here! Line up!"

"Anyone need this? Take it! It'll spoil if you don't eat it today!"

"Chefs from the prestigious Power Warrior Guild will serve you from the ultimate food cart!"

"Do you sell popcorn?"

"...We are offering much better dishes than popcorn!"

"But we like popcorn. Can't you just make popcorn?"

"Yeah. When you think of Power Warrior, you think of popcorn."

"The household name of popcorn!"

"...But we're actually really good at making other things too, so if you'd just try some..."

"Boo! Popcorn! Popcorn!"

"Why won't you make popcorn?!"

"You're trying to drive up the price, aren't you? Fine! I'll pay double the original price!"

"No, that's not it! We worked really hard on these other dishes and wanted to show you..."

"Triple! No, quadruple!"

"...Guys! Prep the popcorn!!"

Of course, not every corner of the festival was running so smoothly.

"Everyone! Free food! Actually, we'll pay you silver to eat our food!"

"Seriously?! How does that even make sense? What do you even gain by giving away so much?!"

"We gain you!"

"Whoa! Give me a bowl!"

"Wait... No! Those guys are Bizarre Chefs! Run for your lives!!"

"Tsk. We've been made! Grab them!"

Watching this absurd spectacle, newly arrived players muttered among themselves.

"Aren't there way too many weirdos in the Valley?"

"I heard the Valley was a super fun and great place, but something's off..."

Meanwhile, Pelmas remained undeterred by Tae-hyun's lukewarm reaction. He had glimpsed immense potential in today's results. This was a brilliant way to draw in a massive crowd of adventurers without spending a single penny! Perhaps competition really was the answer. Even though the rewards were meager, the moment a competition was sparked, players threw themselves in, pouring out their own resources. Ideas like a Valley Construction Contest, a Valley Crafting Contest, and a Valley Donation Contest were already bubbling up in his mind.

"Just leave it to me!"

"I've never seen anything good come from leaving things to you. Go call Galakpad."

"Tsk..."

"This looks like it will take quite a long time..."

The Valley's artisans spoke with concern as they examined the artworks salvaged from the southern region of the Auston Kingdom. The damage was exceptionally severe.

"It's fine if it takes a while. But I'd like you to work on this one first."

Tae-hyun held out the statue to progress Carbanog's quest. He wanted to verify this one before any of the other artworks.

"This is..."

"Why? Is it difficult?"

Tae-hyun was slightly worried. Artworks varied wildly in their crafting difficulty. A crudely molded clay sculpture was easy enough for anyone to restore, but a masterpiece painted with all kinds of vibrant pigments required exceptionally high skill levels just to touch. The statue was a plain and humble piece, but it was still an artifact from the era of the Ancient Empire. There was a high chance it had been crafted using highly advanced, ancient techniques.

"Actually, this is incredibly easy."

"We can restore this right now."

"...Really?"

"Yes. Compared to the other artworks, this is far too simple. The only material used is stone."

"To be honest, it looks like it was made rather sloppily."

Don't cry. This is a good thing.

Is it the southern region of the Auston Kingdom after all?

The marked spot was one of the ruins in the southern Auston Kingdom, not too far from where he had found the statue.

Carbanog. They said it's because your church values frugality. Don't cry.

...

“The state of the continent is getting worse by the day,” Tae-hyun muttered under his breath upon arriving in the Auston Kingdom.

This field wasn't originally supposed to be very difficult, but the sudden appearance and attacks of the Hungry Chaos's minions changed everything. For low-level players, this event was nothing short of a natural disaster. Word had spread so quickly that players were now hiring high-level players just to escort them. The Hungry Chaos had begun directly encroaching upon the continent.

And the Hungry Chaos wasn't the only threat.

Demons, which had already been summoned in massive numbers, were loitering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around the vicinity. The World Tree, located not too far away, served as a direct gateway from the Demon Realm.

There were also Idergo Cult NPCs who had arrived, absolutely furious over the disappearance of the plague zones. They had been rejoicing over what they saw as a divine symbol of their god, only for some insignificant bastards to go and purify it.

Between the Hungry Chaos, the demons, the Idergo Cult, and the local monsters... the overall difficulty had spiked to the point where normal players couldn't even venture out alone. While the southern region of the kingdom had it particularly rough, the entire continent was suffering.

Boom! Crash!

"By the decree of the Great Hungry Chaos, we shall destroy everything!"

"Oh, for crying out loud."

Tae-hyun, who was flying overhead on Yong-yong, halted. Down below, he spotted members of the Power Warrior Guild. The buildings they were painstakingly constructing were being smashed to pieces by the Hungry Chaos!

"Yong-yong, head down! The rest of you, attack!"

"Understood, Master!"

Whoosh! Tae-hyun plunged straight down from the sky. As he descended alongside a barrage of magic unleashed by his divine beasts, the minions of the Hungry Chaos retreated in sheer terror.

"An ambush!"

"Tae-hyun?!"

"Yes! Fall back!"

"No! You don't need to help us!"

"?!"

Tae-hyun blinked in confusion. What are they talking about?

"Aren't they destroying the buildings you guys are working on?"

"Yes, they are!"

"And you're fine with that?"

"Of course! If they break them, we get paid to build them all over again!"

"...Are you guys geniuses?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. Even in the midst of this chaos, the Power Warrior Guild had found a way to turn a profit.

"Right. Keep up the hard work!"

"Yes, sir! We'll do our best!"

The Power Warrior Guild members waved enthusiastically as Tae-hyun took to the skies once more.

"Alright, everyone! Let's run away and hide while the Hungry Chaos minions smash everything!"

They would receive construction funds from the Guild Alliance to build, and if the structures got destroyed midway, they would simply complain: “Hey, the buildings got destroyed because there are too many field monsters here -_- either protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us or give us more money.” Since the Guild Alliance was currently in utter disarray, they would blindly cough up the cash again. It was an opportunity of a lifetime! The Power Warrior Guild members waited with gleeful anticipation.

Is this a city?

Having been ravaged by the plague once before, the surrounding area was a desolate ruin without a single standing wall. Tae-hyun opened his map and tried to find the shortest route.

Looking in the direction Carbanog pointed, he saw the pillars of a temple. The presence of temple pillars meant there used to be a temple nearby.

But there's no way it's a temple of Karbanog, right?

He highly doubted a temple dedicated to Karbanog would have its pillars left so perfectly intact...

No, I was wrong. My bad.

"!"

A flashback quest! A quest where one enters and experiences the past of a specific person or organization. While he had encountered them occasionally regarding kingdoms or NPCs, he had never imagined he would witness the past of the Karbanog Church.

Even the Archisus Cult doesn't have something like this. Why only the Karbanog ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Church?

...Fair point.

Flash! A brilliant light flared, and in an instant, the scenery completely shifted. A city so prosperous that it was hard to believe it had been a ruin just moments ago unfolded before his eyes. It looked several times more flourishing than even the capital of the Erangs Kingdom! The city walls soared so high they seemed to pierce the heavens, and massive golems walked the streets, puffing out mana and steam. Several Sky Castles drifted through the clouds, with dragons soaring nearby.

Tae-hyun knew instinctively.

This is the era of the Ancient Empire!

An era of such unparalleled prosperity could only belong to the Ancient Empire. Tae-hyun stopped a random passerby and asked.

“Excuse me, where can I find the Karbanog Church around here?”

“My word. Why is a young fellow like you already believing in the Karbanog Church?”

“...”

[...]

The avatar and the god stared in disbelief. That was a bit too harsh!

“What's wrong with the Karbanog Church?”

“It's far too humble. It's a religion only old folks on their deathbeds believe in.”

“And what god do you believe in, then?”

“I belong to the Archisus Cult, of course. If you want to become a great adventurer, the Archisus Cult is the only logical choice, isn't it?”

Hey, this isn't my fault.

It wasn't Tae-hyun's fault that the Archisus Cult had been so popular during the era of the Ancient Empire.

“Just recently, the paladins of the Archisus Cult burned down the royal family of a minor kingdom and rescued a bunch of demons. Truly a joyous occasion.”

“...Huh? Isn't that backward?”

Tae-hyun momentarily doubted his own ears. What?

“Haha. The royal family of that minor kingdom was an evil faction conspiring with wicked demons to plunge the continent into chaos.”

“Ah... But why did they rescue the demons?”

“What do you mean, why? So we can use them as bait again, of course!”

The man looked at Tae-hyun as if he had just asked the most obvious question in the world.

“...Anyway, please just tell me where the Karbanog Church is.”

“Tsk, tsk... Fine. Follow me.”

No matter how pathetic he found Tae-hyun's choice of faith, perhaps due to Tae-hyun's high Speech skill, the NPC obediently led the way.

“Here we are.”

“...?”

Tae-hyun blinked in bewilderment. This place... was the temple of the Archisus Cult, wasn't it?

Don't tell me the Archisus Cult deceives people, kidnaps them, and then forcibly converts them?

It was a highly plausible suspicion.