The Storm Outside the Game

While Cain's business was wrapping up, a massive storm was brewing outside the game. A video had just been uploaded showing Tae-hyun becoming the first player to receive the title of Count along with his own fief! Since countless players had witnessed the event firsthand, it was only natural that the news spread like wildfire.

Due to Tae-hyun's notorious exploits in Fantasy Online 1, quite a few players had chosen "Kim Tae-hyun" as their in-game name. But once they actually started playing, they realized there were so many others with the same name that they hid their nicknames out of sheer embarrassment! It was a highly plausible theory.

While ordinary players reacted this way, a select few had entirely different reactions.

"Ugh!" Gu Sung-wook clutched the back of his neck. To think that guy was actually Kim Tae-hyun! Why did he have to hide his identity and make me chase my own tail over and over again...!

He was still searching for the crafting blueprint. After enduring all kinds of humiliation and hardships in Tyrum City, running around in endless circles, he had finally managed to uncover a clue.

"That blueprint... fufu... I passed it down to my disciple."

A vein popped on his forehead. If Gu Sung-wook had been even a fraction more hot-tempered, he would have attacked Gurendal right then and there. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his grip on sanity. He endured it.

"Whew..." And what did he do next? He wandered around searching for Tae-hyun. Of course, he couldn't find him. Just as he was about to give up and move on to another quest... that face appeared in the video!

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaargh!" Whenever he had watched videos featuring Tae-hyun before, he had simply thought, Wow, he's amazing, or Who is that guy? Is he a ranker? and brushed it off. Meanwhile, he had been running around like a headless chicken trying to find the "disciple." Thinking of all that wasted time, he couldn't help but roll around on the floor in agony. "Uuuugh, sob, sob..."

"Excellent!" While Gu Sung-wook was kicking his blankets in frustration, Bae Jang-wook was excitedly rushing his staff. Now was the perfect opportunity. Even without any promotion, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sheer impact of this quest had already made Kim Tae-hyun's name known far and wide. If they aired a special broadcast now, capturing the public's attention would be a piece of cake! First place in the ratings is ours!

"Hurry! Get this video edited, fast! How far along are we?" The footage of the Katerand Island quest that Tae-hyun had sent was a literal goldmine. Although the information regarding the Avatar of Archisus class quest had been cut out, it was still more than enough to understand what had transpired on Katerand Island! It showed exactly how Tae-hyun had deceived the pirates, breached the dungeon, and defeated the boss monster—everything the public had been dying to know. And as the ultimate finishing blow, it even featured a Gold Dragon!

Incredible, absolutely incredible! Even Bae Jang-wook, who was thoroughly desensitized to all kinds of gaming videos, couldn't help but marvel at the footage Tae-hyun had provided. The sheer visual spectacle of summoning a Gold Dragon in that situation and wiping everything out was breathtaking!

"Um... but there is one problem."

"A problem? What kind of problem?"

"If you look at this..." one of the staff members said, pausing the video.

"Whether it works perfectly or not, whether the pirates are satisfied with the trade or not... none of that matters. We just need to get onto the island. Once we're in, we can sneak down to the underground."

"The players captured by the pirates? Is there really any need to rescue them? We can just use them as hostages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and discard them."

"Ah, damn it. A quest popped up. Guess I have to rescue them."

These lines completely shattered Tae-hyun's heroic image! And they were all spoken by Tae-hyun himself during the Katerand Island quest. Since Tae-hyun didn't care about his public image, he had sent the raw footage as it was, but the broadcasting station couldn't let that slide.

"Should we... edit this?"

"Exactly! You're finally starting to understand how broadcasting works." It was time to "slightly" tweak the content to give the viewers dreams and hope!

"Whether the pirates are satisfied with the trade or not... none of that matters."

"Then what does matter?"

"The players captured by the pirates... I have to rescue them."

It was the ultimate Evil Editing! Even the staff member who put it together was amazed by his own craftsmanship. It was completely seamless.

"How is it?"

"Perfect. Let's go with this. Cut out all the lines that ruin the mood!"

What Tae-hyun didn't want revealed on the broadcast was information regarding the Avatar of Archisus. What had happened to the Gold Dragon Yong-yong, what kind of quest Tae-hyun was currently clearing... all of this information was edited out. At a glance, the footage seemed incomplete, but Bae Jang-wook didn't mind. He was confident.

There's no need to show them everything. In fact, viewers will be even more curious if we only give them bits and pieces. From the Katerand Island quest to the subjugation of the Sadique Order, they had already scheduled a special broadcast dedicated entirely to Kim Tae-hyun. Even if some information was withheld, the sheer curiosity would force people to watch.

"Bwahahaha!"

"Please be quiet!"

"Oh, right..."

"I've thought of something."

"Yes? What is it?" Rufo tilted his head at Tae-hyun's words.

"A way to make use of the fief."

"Ah..." Rufo looked at Tae-hyun with eyes full of anticipation. Tae-hyun was now a Count. What wise method would he use to lead them?

"Let's just leave it alone."

"...Pardon?"

"There's nothing we can do with it right now. Let's just leave it be."

"But it's a fief! A glorious fief bestowed upon you by His Majesty!"

"Yeah, you dummy. A fief crawling with monsters in the surrounding mountains, with zero residents, and where the only valley with actual buildings is completely destroyed and in ruins."

"..."

"No matter how I calculate it, it's a net loss. There's no way around it."

"If we use our merchant group's connections to gather residents..."

"And do what with them? Considering the monsters in the area, we'd have to start by building defensive walls and hiring mercenaries. And then what? Who's going to foot the bill for all of that? Is your merchant group going to sponsor it? Oh, that sounds great. Let's do it right now!"

"Ack, no, absolutely not!"

Tae-hyun was someone who would actually go through with it. Rufo quickly grabbed Tae-hyun's arm.

"I understand that getting a fief makes you ambitious, but we really can't do anything right now. Even if we gather residents and build a village, it'll be a loss. The maintenance costs alone will bleed us dry. Creating something out of nothing is no easy task."

Tae-hyun was cold and pragmatic. Anyone else would have been thrilled to receive a title and a fief, and would have poured everything into building a new town there. But Tae-hyun immediately ran the numbers. The result? It's just a massive headache. I'm already too busy as it is. Tae-hyun still had a long way to go with his Avatar of Archisus class quest. He was already stressed enough by how slowly his level rose... But Rufo still looked like he couldn't let go of the dream.

*Slam!*

"Lord Tae-hyun! I heard the news! You received a noble title! Aigoo! I always knew you were destined for greatness!"

It was the Great Thief Ed-an and the gambler Pelmas. These two, who had been nowhere to be found while the fighting was going on, had rushed over the moment it ended.

"Get lost, you freeloaders!"

"Oof! What was that for?!"

"Haha! Ed-an, this kick is simply Lord Tae-hyun's way of showing affection!"

"Is that so? Then please, kick me again!"

They were a duo whose thick skin couldn't be pierced even by a bucket of cold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water. Knowing this, Tae-hyun didn't bother wasting any more breath on them.

"I'm leaving the fief alone."

"What?!"

"Why?!"

"There's nothing to do there."

"You have to collect taxes!"

"Taxes! Taxes! Taxes!"

"There's no one there to tax, you idiots. Someone throw these nuisances out."

"You can't throw us out—urk!"

"Quiet down. We're having a serious discussion here." Tae-hyun shut Pelmas up before continuing.

"Since we can't do anything with the fief right now, we're leaving it alone. We can do something with it later if an opportunity arises. It's not like the land is going anywhere. We can't gather residents or build a village right now, but since it's my land, I can do whatever I want there. Any suggestions?"

While everyone else remained silent, Pelmas raised his hand.

"Pelmas. Speak."

"Ahem. Lord Tae-hyun, the McCraney Merchant Group is a business that buys and sells goods, correct?"

"Is there anyone here who doesn't know that?"

"As you know, we have to pay taxes when we bring goods into a city..."

Taxes! Cities, castles, villages... the ultimate authority of their owners lay in taxation. In Fantasy Online, owners could impose whatever taxes they wanted to extort players. Of course, in Fantasy Online 2, most lords were NPCs, so normal tax rates were applied, except in a few absolute lawless towns or villages.

"And?"

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't have to pay those taxes?"

"...?"

Rufo stared at Pelmas, wondering what on earth he was talking about. What kind of nonsense was this...?

"We can build a warehouse for the merchant group and store goods here. We won't have to pay any taxes, and if we acquire any... suspicious items, we can keep them here..."

In short, smuggling! Rufo's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. However, Tae-hyun clapped his hands.

"Even a guy like you has his uses!"

"Haha, thank you!"

Pelmas possessed a skin so thick that Tae-hyun's constant scolding didn't faze him in the slightest. Flustered, Rufo turned to Tae-hyun.

"Lord Tae-hyun, are you seriously going to do this?"

"Do what? Smuggle?"

"Yes!"

"Why not? It sounds great. I bet McCraney would absolutely love the idea."

"..."

"Of course, if we do it out in the open, we'll get caught. Hmm, how do we avoid getting caught?" Tae-hyun scratched his chin, lost in thought. "Right. If you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest."

Even though the large-scale quest had ended, the Valley of Despair and Sorrow was still bustling with players. Thanks to the rampage of the Sadique Order, demonic beasts still lingered within the valley. Combined with the monsters in the mountain range behind it, it made for a decent hunting ground—aside from the fact that there were no nearby villages. Consequently, the players with merchant classes were having the time of their lives. They had even hired porters to carry their goods and set up stalls.

"Selling Intermediate HP Potions! Get a 4% discount if you buy a bundle of 50!"

"Selling Strength Pills in sets of 5!"

Of course, the prices were far from cheap. There was no way they would drag all these items out here just to sell them at a discount.

"Hey, isn't this way too expensive?"

"Customer, if you don't like it, you can go somewhere else!"

It was a seller's market! When the merchant players grinned and replied so smugly, the other players felt their blood boil. But there was nothing they could do. There wasn't a single village nearby. If they wanted to sell their junk loot and restock, they had to rely on these merchant players.

"Everyone, freeze!"

"...?"

Soldiers suddenly appeared, causing the players to tilt their heads in confusion.

"From now on, only those with the Count's permission are allowed to conduct business within this fief!"

"What? Who's the owner of this place anyway?"

"How dare you! Do you intend to defy the royal decree of His Majesty?!"

A mercenary waved a piece of paper stamped with the Count's seal.

"It's real?!"

"What? Who the hell is the lord here?!"

"Unlicensed business is strictly prohibited! Pack up your things, all of you!"

"W-what on earth is this...?"

It was a bolt from the blue for the merchant players!