The Pelmas Who Changed Sides the Instant He Thought He’d Be Thrown Out
When it seemed like he might be the one getting kicked out, Pelmas pivoted on the spot. When it came to reading the room, he was an NPC without equal.
“If we get greedy just because we’re late to the game, we’ll only get ourselves hurt. If we go too hardline, even the ones who might’ve joined won’t come in.”
“But, Lord Tae-hyun... then what are you planning to do?”
“I’ve already got something in mind.”
“...?”
“We’re going with a buy-one-get-one strategy.”
“...What?”
“We lower the aggression level to the absolute minimum. What, you don’t get it? Outside castles and cities, crafting classes do this all the time. ‘Buy one dagger, get another dagger free.’ Or, ‘Bring in one cloth armor for repairs, and we’ll repair another cloth armor for free.’ Stuff like that.”
......
Of course Pelmas knew what buy-one-get-one meant.
But why, exactly, was such a cheap little phrase being used to define the direction of the Archisus Church?
“D-don’t tell me...”
Pelmas trailed off in a deeply uneasy voice.
“Exactly that. Believe in another church, and believe in ours too. Double the benefits!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
“Come on, it’s good, isn’t it? I thought of it myself, and honestly it’s a pretty solid idea.”
“There’s no dignity in that, no prestige, no holiness—”
“Ah, shut it. Seriously.”
Tae-hyun kicked Pelmas again.
“Guhk!”
“I mean, seriously? After reviving the church, I sat down and thought about it, and people like Lee Se-yeon and Smith get showered with support just because they’ve got Legendary Classes. But me? I have to run around personally and secure all my own backing! Does that make any sense?”
“Ghk! Ghk! Lord Tae-hyun! That hit me right in the bones!”
“And it’s not even like I wanted to become an Avatar! I was forced into it! If it were a class I’d chosen myself, I wouldn’t feel cheated! Hey, I do like raising trash-tier classes, but that’s only when I’m the one who chose them!”
“Th-that isn’t really my fault...”
Once he’d kicked Pelmas around like a ball a few times, Tae-hyun’s anger finally eased. He sat back down in his chair.
“Anyway, I worked my ass off to build this thing, so I decide. The church strategy is buy-one-get-one.”
......
Pelmas had a lot he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut.
A fist was always closer than reason.
“Think about it. The people who are already following the church are already following it on their own. But if we suddenly go, ‘The Archisus Church has been revived! Believe in us!’—who’s going to buy that? They’re already getting benefits from another church.”
Tae-hyun looked at the churches in Fantasy Online 2 the way someone might look at a bank or a phone carrier.
Why did players join churches?
Because if you believed, the perks were excellent.
Seen from that angle, the Archisus Church was at a huge disadvantage.
It had no power base and nothing to its name.
And most of the players likely to join it already had at least one foot in another church.
If you want church benefits, you have to clear church quests too. Once you’ve already done all that, switching churches isn’t easy.
It wasn’t just paladins and priests who belonged to churches. Even ordinary classes could worship a church’s god.
Of course, if you wanted stronger benefits, you had to clear the related quests.
And those quests became shackles that kept people from switching easily.
Because all that effort was annoying to repeat, and too much of a waste to throw away.
In that situation, the strategy of Believe in us and only us! was a terrible one.
Who would join?
No one.
In truth, Tae-hyun was making one mistake.
People didn’t move on profit alone.
At Tae-hyun’s current level of popularity, there would be quite a few players who’d join the Archisus Church simply because he was there.
Not because of any particular benefits.
Just because Kim Tae-hyun was involved.
A loyal following that would stick around to some degree even if he ran the Archisus Church like a complete mess.
Unaware of any of that, Tae-hyun was busy devising a strategy to lure in as many players as possible.
“Unless it’s a strict church that forbids you from believing in anything else, if it’s a mild, easygoing church, nobody really cares if you visit another one too.”
“That’s true...”
Even now, there was no major issue with following multiple churches at once.
As long as you picked the right ones.
If they weren’t hostile to each other and didn’t have overly extreme doctrine, players could get away with believing in two or more churches.
Of course, there were penalties when it came to clearing quests and climbing in rank inside the church—but most players never rose very far within a church anyway.
That was usually reserved for players with church-related classes like paladins and priests.
“That’s the crowd we’re targeting. But Pelmas.”
“Yes?”
“What’s Archisus actually good for?”
“...I’m sorry?”
That was how Tae-hyun asked about divine power—as if he were asking, Which ingredient’s good for stamina?
“No, look. Goddess Demer is the earth goddess. Tyran is for warriors, Henen is for thieves, Phytos is for paladins. They all have some kind of specialty...”
“Ah. That’s what you meant.”
Pelmas nodded.
“Archisus is good for gamblers.”
Thud!
“Guhk! Why?!”
“Do you think I asked because I didn’t know that, you idiot? I said other than gamblers. Something that might appeal to more people! Goddess Demer is the earth goddess, but her healing buffs are so good that all sorts of classes follow her! Bring me something like that!”
“Ah... Archisus is just... good for everyone, really.”
“...?”
“Lord Tae-hyun. Think about it. Archisus is a god who gives luck-related effects when you believe in him. There isn’t really any one specific class he fits!”
If you had to force it, maybe crafting classes.
Tae-hyun immediately understood what Pelmas meant.
“So he’s a complete miscellaneous god.”
“...Lord Tae-hyun, you are his Avatar...”
“Ah, whatever. Actually, that’s better. I was planning the buy-one-get-one strategy anyway. If it works for everyone, it’ll be easier to sell.”
......
Pelmas desperately wanted to object to the phrase buy-one-get-one strategy, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Good. Then let’s make the announcement.”
The aggression level of the Archisus Church has been set to the minimum.
Believing in other churches will not cause any negative effects.
As the number of believers in the church increases, the Avatar’s Divine stat will increase.
You may construct church buildings. The church buildings currently available are as follows.
You may bestow church-related classes. The classes currently available are as follows.
A list of buildings and classes began to scroll down.
Unlike the class list, which was extensive, the list of available buildings was pitifully short.
Archisus Holy Knight Training Grounds — The church lacks sufficient renown. The number of believers is insufficient. Cannot be installed.
Meditation Sanctuary for Archisus Priests — The church lacks sufficient renown. The number of believers is insufficient. Cannot be installed.
Well, can’t be helped... What about the classes?
Gatekeeper of the Archisus Church — A class that guards the church’s gate. Only someone with a strong sense of responsibility and a diligent spirit can take it. Required Reputation: 500. Infamy: 50 or less.
Cleaner of the Archisus Church — Keeps the church clean and orderly...
No, not this crap! Figures a miscellaneous god would have nonsense like this...
There were all kinds of bizarre classes in there.
Ignoring them, Tae-hyun kept searching through the list.
There were classes piled up like a mountain.
Something’s weird here.
Normally, a church had a set number of related classes.
A few classes that fit that church’s nature.
But the Archisus Church had way too many.
No—not just too many. It looked like it had practically everything.
Archisus Church Blacksmith... hell, that one makes me want to take it. Archisus Church Painter—I haven’t really raised Painting enough for that... Hm?
Then Tae-hyun found something, and his eyes lit up.
“...You’re not buttering me up because you want to make me do something, are you?”
Deep-rooted distrust.
Tae-hyun had suddenly called him over and was acting nice, so Cain got scared first.
He’d been through too much with this man.
“What, now you’re making a fuss even when I’m being nice?”
“N-no, that’s not it...”
“Forget it. My feelings are hurt.”
“No! I was wrong!”
“After all the trouble you went through with that self-destruct stunt and everything, I thought I’d be nice to you for once.”
“No, I mean... it’s just... you’re acting different from usual, so I got thrown off!”
“Fine. I get that you were thrown off. Now leave. I tore up the contract, didn’t I?”
“?!”
When Tae-hyun destroyed the contract item, Cain’s eyes flew wide open.
If you broke a contract, the penalty from those items was brutal.
They weren’t cheap, either.
And Kim Tae-hyun was just destroying one like it was nothing?
Kim Tae-hyun?
“You’ve gone through a lot with me—clearing quests together and all that—so I figured I didn’t need stuff like this anymore. That’s why I called you over... but forget it.”
Tae-hyun turned his head away with a sulky look.
“I said that’s not it. I was just surprised because this isn’t like you!”
“Yeah, I know. You were surprised. Now get lost.”
......
At Tae-hyun’s attitude, Cain grew deeply uneasy.
If you earned this guy’s grudge once, he’d keep taking revenge until the end of the earth.
That was Kim Tae-hyun.
“I said go.”
“W-why did you call me, then? You really just called me here to destroy the contract?”
“I was going to destroy the contract and give you a class advancement quest, but forget it. If you trust me that little, why would I give it to you?”
“What? A class advancement quest? A class?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t tell me... it’s related to the Archisus Church?”
“Yeah.”
“...!”
Cain’s eyes widened.
One of the hottest topics on the Fantasy Online 2 site right now was the revival of the Archisus Church.
It wasn’t the kind of event that produced instant, continent-shaking reactions like some of the larger questlines, but still—the declaration that an entire church had returned was no small matter.
People who simply liked Tae-hyun thought of it lightly.
Kim Tae-hyun revived the Archisus Church? Maybe I should go check it out.
Maybe I’ll join the church for a bit.
But players who took Fantasy Online 2 seriously were already turning their brains at full speed.
What were the advantages of the Archisus Church?
What quests would come from this in the future?
How would it relate to the other churches?
And Cain could fairly say he was standing near the center of that storm.
Because he was at Tae-hyun’s side.
Thanks to that, Cain’s own standing had been rising steadily.
Compared to the days when Red Zone Guild collapsed, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
Back when Red Zone had still been doing relatively well, these were the same people who hadn’t given Cain a second glance. Now they were reaching out to him. Even new broadcasters had contacted him.
Of course, Cain wasn’t stupid.
If he went on a broadcast, he’d obviously be expected to talk nonstop about what it had been like being around Tae-hyun, so there was no way he could do it.
The aftermath would be terrifying... and honestly, it’d be humiliating too...
Still, he couldn’t deny it felt good.
Red Zone Guild had utterly collapsed, but life really was impossible to predict.
And now Tae-hyun was saying he’d give him a class related to the Archisus Church.
Cain swallowed hard.
Could it be... has Tae-hyun finally developed a conscience?
His Rare Class, Warrior of Red Blood, was a pretty good class in its own right.
But it still had limits.
Compared to that, the classes related to the Archisus Church were completely uncharted territory. No one had gotten one yet.
I might be able to get a Heroic Class? A paladin? A warrior? Whatever it is!
“Give it to me! Give it to me!”
“Nah, forget it. I told you, my feelings are hurt.”
“No, really! I’ll work hard! I swear I’ll work really hard!”
“How hard?”
“I-I can wear self-destruct armor too! Give me an Archisus Church class! It fits me perfectly!”
“It really does fit you.”
This was where Cain should have sensed danger.
But greed had dulled his instincts, and with them, his sense of self-preservation.