A Blessing in Disguise
Unexpected events like running into Gardu's pirate fleet did not happen again. It was a blessing in disguise! Thanks to their encounter with Gardu, the Espa Kingdom's navy, which should have been hunting them down with bloodshot eyes, was nowhere to be seen. In the end, Tae-hyun and his party were able to land on the shores of the Atali Kingdom with all their massive loot intact.
“Peaceful. So peaceful,” Tae-hyun remarked.
“...”
Rufo remained silent, offering no response. Was this really okay? Could they actually handle the aftermath of all this?
“We're on land! Let's carry all of this straight to our territory!”
Tae-hyun shouted to the demons in a cheerful voice. However, the demons were looking utterly dejected. It was all because of the armor they were wearing! To any outsider, they would look like crude gargoyle monsters summoned by a low-class mage. But they weren't.
“Master. At least the armor I am wearing seems decent.”
“You're just realizing that now? You have no idea how much I cherish you.”
Yong-yong, the divine beast, looked at the demons squeezed into their creaking, hideous stone armor with eyes full of pity. After failing more than ten times to craft something proper, Tae-hyun had simply cobbled the armor together haphazardly.
'It's not like they're actually going to use this armor in real combat anyway. They'll strip it off when they fight, so let's just wing it!'
Of course, such pragmatic reasoning was completely lost on the demons.
“Tae-hyun, are we really broadcasting this? Are you absolutely sure? You can't blame us later, okay?”
Tae-hyun replied in an annoyed tone.
“Ah, how many times do I have to tell you it's fine?”
“No, think about it one more time, Tae-hyun. This might be like putting a noose around your own neck. Your public image is so good right now...”
Upon arriving at his territory, Tae-hyun was busy storing the mountain of loot and reorganizing his assets. That was when Bae Jang-wook contacted him. Anyone with even a passing interest in the game knew that Tae-hyun was running wild in the Espa Kingdom, so the broadcasting station had been flooded with inquiries.
With the situation so heated, Bae Jang-wook couldn't just sit idly by. He should edit the footage and air it immediately... but! Tae-hyun was currently one of the most valuable players in the fierce broadcasting war. And Bae Jang-wook was not a man who only looked at what was right in front of him. He was someone who drew up long-term plans. Broadcasting recklessly just because a player was popular would actually lower their value. Furthermore, there was the matter of image. A player's popularity on broadcasts was heavily tied to their public perception. Someone with an image as pristine as Tae-hyun's had to be handled with extreme care.
'Is it really okay to broadcast what he did in the Espa Kingdom?'
Winning the arena in Abalab City was fine. Sure, he had committed all sorts of underhanded deeds, but they had the magic of editing. That could easily be covered up. The appearance of Edaor and the clash with the guilds afterward was also fine. He had engaged in mass PK, but fortunately, his opponents were guilds that already had terrible reputations. Checking public opinion, the response was actually favorable toward Tae-hyun! The problem was what came after. Sending the demons to Bardo City, flying in from above to thoroughly plunder every single nook and cranny of the city, and finally escaping by ship!
'There's no way to edit this!'
If they aired this, Tae-hyun's image would be utterly ruined. Thus, Bae Jang-wook tried to persuade him. But Tae-hyun was resolute.
“It doesn't matter, so just air it.”
“If your image gets ruined...”
“If my image is fragile enough to be ruined by that, it's better to get it over with early. I haven't even started yet.”
“...?”
For a moment, Bae Jang-wook doubted his ears. He hasn't even started yet? He must have misheard.
“Anyway, I'm really fine, so you can stop worrying. Just air it.”
“Are you sure we can broadcast this?”
“Yes, yes. It's fine. Oh, and please add a teaser at the end.”
“A teaser?”
“Announce that I'll be holding a massive auction in The Valley. I'll be disposing of the items I got from the Abalab City PK, so tell anyone who wants them to come find me.”
“...!”
How could someone draw aggro like this!
'Is this really going to be okay?! Won't the guilds whose items were plundered come charging in?!'
“What should we have in our territory?”
Gathered around him were the dregs of Archisus... no, the devout followers of Archisus. Rufo, Ed-an, and even Pelmas.
Pelmas excitedly raised his hand.
“How about a casino!”
“Drag this madman out.”
“Why?!”
Rufo began to offer a more sensible opinion.
“A blacksmith, a grocery store, and if we go outside, we'll need fences or wooden palisades... Honestly, there is nothing here. We have to start entirely from scratch. If we ask the merchant guild for things like blacksmith furnaces...”
“Ah, don't worry about that. I stole them.”
“...Excuse me?”
Tae-hyun casually selected the necessary buildings and began drawing them out inside the Valley. Even building a small shop or a single blacksmith workshop would easily cost at least dozens to hundreds of gold.
'It's a good thing I extorted so much money...'
For Tae-hyun, who refused to pay real money for in-game currency, gold was not an infinite resource.
“If we set up a grocery store, the chefs will get buffs... Good. An archery range for archers? I don't even use a bow, though.”
“There are many archers among the players who visit this area. You shouldn't base it on your own standards, Lord Tae-hyun, but on the standards of the people visiting...”
“True. That makes sense. Can we build a Magic Tower?”
The Magic Tower. Building it would spawn mage NPCs in the territory, generate related quests, and allow them to receive magical assistance if anything happened to the territory... In short, it was an incredibly useful facility!
“I figured you would ask, so I looked into it. It starts at a minimum of twenty thousand gold.”
“...I could buy a real building in the real world for that much.”
“And since we have to recruit mages separately, that's just the bare minimum. Where are you even going to bring mages from?”
“Well, I haven't even cleared the quests yet... Forget it. A Magic Tower isn't absolutely necessary right now, so let's focus on the essentials first.”
A Magic Tower was not a critical facility. Tae-hyun intended to secure the essential buildings required for a small village first.
“If a lot of players start coming, we'll also need to think about taxes.”
“Let's tax them heavily. Double tax them. No, triple tax them!”
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.
“Who would come here if we start taxing them when we're in the middle of managing our public image? No. Leave the taxes alone for the time being.”
“I've hired the territory's soldiers from the merchant guild's mercenaries. That will cost gold every month.”
Now that he was taking a serious interest in his territory, money-draining holes were opening up everywhere!
“Ugh... Would it have killed that king to just give me a fully developed city? That damn king...”
Just then, Cain opened the door and walked in. Free of any worries, Cain's face was practically glowing.
“Must be nice. Why are you looking so lively when I'm having such a massive headache?”
“W-what did I even do...?!”
Cain protested, feeling wronged by the sudden attack the moment he arrived. Of course, it was true that he had been in a great mood lately. No matter how much Tae-hyun nagged and bullied him, Cain was steadily growing stronger.
'And I'm getting fans again!'
Though it was only a few, he had been receiving messages cheering him on.
Of course, it felt like he was just riding on Tae-hyun's coattails... but still, this was a massive win!
“Why did you come in here instead of playing outside? You came to help, right? Surely you didn't just wander in because you were bored? Unless you have a death wish, that is.”
“N-no. I just wanted to ask you something...”
“What?”
“...You won't get mad, right?”
Cain asked timidly, intimidated by Tae-hyun's prickly attitude. Tae-hyun put on a gentle, friendly smile and replied.
“Haha. Cain. When have I ever gotten mad at you? Hurry up and spit it out.”
“That's literally you getting mad, you bastard!”
Cain gave up and spoke.
“Well... there's a rumor going around that you're the crazy blacksmith, Kim Tae-hyun, from Pan-On 1... I wanted to ask if it's true...”
“...!”
What Cain said was true. Recently, on various internet forums, the theory that Tae-hyun was indeed the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1 had begun circulating once again.
Tae-hyun furrowed his brows as he read the reactions. There was always a reason when a rumor that had once died down suddenly flared up again. If so...
'My father did this.'
To be precise, it was highly likely that his father's friend, Yang Sung-gyu, had cooked this up. Having been thoroughly played by Tae-hyun, he was bound to try and keep him in check by any means necessary.
People loved conspiracy theories. Toss them just a few pieces of bait, and they would eagerly set the internet ablaze.
'Denying it on broadcast would be the worst possible move.'
Even if Tae-hyun shouted, 'I am not the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1!' people wouldn't truly listen. If anything, it would only solidify the association in their minds, causing them to whisper even more.
'Is there anyone who can manipulate public opinion on the internet for me...? Ah. There is.'
Tae-hyun stood up and walked outside.
“Lee Da-bi!”
“I-I didn't do anything!”
Lee Da-bi, who was busy pulling loot out of her bag, squeaked in surprise.
“You want me to manipulate public opinion?”
“Yes.”
“How could you ask me to do something so wicked...”
Tae-hyun jingled a pouch stuffed with gold. Clink, clink!
“...is what I would say if I weren't absolutely thrilled to do it! Let me do it!”
“Good. Launch a public relations campaign to convince everyone that I am not the Kim Tae-hyun of Pan-On 1.”
“You're not?”
“Of course I'm not, which is why I'm doing this. I have no idea what bastard is spreading these baseless rumors.”
Lee Da-bi instinctively felt a wave of suspicion wash over her. She stared at Tae-hyun. If she compared his behavior in the Espa Kingdom to the notorious antics of the crazy blacksmith Kim Tae-hyun in Pan-On 1...
'They're... identical...?!'
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, it's nothing!”
Lee Da-bi swallowed hard, thoroughly startled. She could never voice this realization. Especially not if Tae-hyun was actively trying to hide it.
'If I say it out loud, he'll kill me! He'll definitely kill me!'
“Of course, that's not all. Lee Da-bi, your class is a Merchant, right?”
“Yes, but...”
“I'm close with the McCraney Merchant Group, but it's not run by players. That means their representative doesn't necessarily have to manage this place. A merchant who manages the entire economic flow of a territory... How much experience points do you think that would yield?”
“...!”
Lee Da-bi's eyes went wide.
“Of course, there are plenty of merchants who would kill for an opportunity like this, but you're my friend. Right?”
“...Of course!”
Lee Da-bi eagerly grabbed Tae-hyun's hand. Who cared about Pan-On 1 or whatever! The present was what mattered! If he was offering her such a massive, juicy opportunity, Lee Da-bi was more than ready to pledge her absolute, undying loyalty to Tae-hyun.