The Gathering Storm and a Lucrative Venture

"Me? I'm on the Prica Continent." Choi Sang-yun didn't seem to notice that Tae-hyun was trying to change the subject. "There are tons of rankers on the Prica Continent. There are still many undiscovered cities, so you get discovery bonuses, and the monsters are strong with lots of rare ones..."

"The Prica Continent..." Tae-hyun trailed off, lost in thought. He couldn't stay on the Central Continent forever. Eventually, he would have to venture to other continents. But there's no need to go right now, is there? With a religious order to manage and divine authorities to find, there was no reason to leave for another continent just yet.

"Let me know when you eventually come to the Prica Continent. I'll come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help you out."

"I'd appreciate that, but I don't know if I'll have any reason to go there for a while. So, Su-hyeok, how are things on your end?"

"Ah, yes! Well, first, I returned to the Uruk Region..."

Jeong Su-hyeok returned to the Uruk Region accompanied by the Orc shamans. Since he had previously made enemies of the Orc army, he had been incredibly tense, but surprisingly, nothing happened. The retreating Orc forces had returned to their respective villages and locked their gates tight. This was all due to the Great Chieftain's injury! It seemed they intended to wait and avoid any rash movements until their leader fully recovered.

"Chwek! Cowards, the lot of them!"

"Chwek! Let's set fire to their villages!"

The Orc shamans were incredibly aggressive. Sometimes, Su-hyeok found the Orc shamans who followed him around downright terrifying.

"You've returned!" Bama-eo greeted him.

It worked! Su-hyeok rejoiced internally.

"Incredible! To think you actually managed to wound that Orc chieftain!" Bama-eo praised.

"Well, that wasn't actually me..."

"Hahaha! What does it matter as long as the result is good? Anyway, outstanding work!"

"Th-thank you?"

"Our tribe will officially worship the Archisus Church from now on! A God of Luck is far more to our liking than those other stuffy, old-fashioned deities."

Su-hyeok let out a sigh of relief. He had successfully persuaded at least one tribe. Descending from the village of the Primitive Human Tribe, Su-hyeok looked back at the Orc shamans trailing closely behind him.

Do I have to keep dragging them along? He needed to meet and persuade other tribes in the future, but no matter how he looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, traveling with Orcs was going to be difficult.

"Ahem. Hey, guys. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Do you... by any chance, want to settle down somewhere nice?"

"???"

"Chwek?"

The Orc shamans tilted their heads in confusion. Su-hyeok thumped his chest in frustration and tried again.

"I mean, find a suitable place and make yourselves at home! There are plenty of other Orcs around here!"

"Chwek! The shaman is trying to abandon us!"

"No! Chwek!"

The Orcs clung to his ankles. Su-hyeok desperately pushed them away with his staff and cried out, "No, I'm not abandoning you! Just stay here and behave, and I'll come back to get you! I swear!"

"Chwek! Really?"

"...Yes!"

Su-hyeok wasn't a good liar by nature. However, after spending so much time with Tae-hyun, his lying skills had improved significantly. Only after soothing the Orcs with promises of his return was Su-hyeok finally able to escape.

"Pant, pant... Seriously, those Orcs..."

How on earth did he end up with a pack of Orcs attached to him? Su-hyeok barely had any Tactics skills. At his level, even if he dragged them around, he wouldn't be able to utilize them properly. Besides, if he ran into an NPC who hated Orcs during another quest... it would undoubtedly ruin everything.

Let's leave them behind for now.

Walking out of the Uruk Region alone, Su-hyeok suddenly remembered something. The Demer Church NPCs, along with Choi Ha-yeong and Choi Ha-jun. What were they up to now?

They probably escaped during the massive Orc offensive...

Since the entire Uruk Region had been turned upside down, they must have either fled or gone into hiding. I think it was around here.

"Oh!"

"Is that you, Mage?"

A few Demer Paladins were packing up their gear at the spot where they had parted ways. He hadn't expected them to still be here. Su-hyeok ran over to them, delighted.

Did Ha-yeong leave already? Only NPCs were in sight; the players were nowhere to be found.

"You're alive! We were worried when you didn't return," one of the paladins said warmly.

Hearing the kind words of the Demer Paladins made Su-hyeok's conscience prickle. It felt like all he had done since coming here was get in the Demer Church's way.

"I-I got lucky... But what's going on? Were you attacked?" He asked out of concern, given how the Orcs had been rampaging.

"Huh? No, we received orders from the Holy See to return. The others have already departed, and we're just packing up the last of our things before we head out."

"What about the temple? I heard you were planning to build one here..."

"This region proved to be quite formidable. I wanted to push forward, but the Holy See ordered us back, saying there's an urgent matter."

"...?"

An urgent matter at the Holy See. If Tae-hyun had heard this, he would have immediately sensed it: a quest! If they were recalling paladins from so far away, it had to be a massive quest.

"Come to think of it, we captured and interrogated some Orcs, and they mentioned that the Archisus Church has begun to spread around here. It's truly bizarre. How could the Archisus Church, which only recently resurrected, already..."

Ugh! Su-hyeok's conscience ached even more.

"Good job, good job."

"Ugh... I'm a terrible person..."

Leaving Su-hyeok to wallow in his guilt and start digging a hole in the ground, Tae-hyun turned to Choi Sang-yun and Ju Hyeon-yeong.

"It sounds like the Demer Church released a quest. What do you think it is?"

"Who knows... I haven't heard anything either. But if it's a quest from the Demer Church, everyone's going to be drooling over it."

Unlike the Sadiq Church, which was bizarre and widely shunned, getting on the good side of the continent's mainstream religions was always highly beneficial. The contribution points earned from such churches were as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠valuable as gold—if not more.

"Ah, I did hear one more thing." Su-hyeok poked his head out of the hole he was digging.

"What is it?"

"They said they're gathering paladins to strike down a new enemy that has appeared on the continent."

"An enemy of the Demer Church? Who? It can't be... Sadiq. They wouldn't mobilize like this just to attack the Sadiq Church. The Abyssal Flame has already been extinguished."

"Isn't it you?"

"...?"

Choi Sang-yun pointed at Tae-hyun. "You and your Archisus Church. You guys have been growing at an insane rate lately. It wouldn't be surprising if other churches started picking fights with you."

"No way... We haven't even done anything..."

Tae-hyun paused. Come to think of it, they hadn't exactly done nothing. In the Auston Kingdom, they had run amok using the princes' names as shields! And they didn't stop there—they had completely driven out all the other churches! Tae-hyun suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"No... surely not. There's no way."

"I hope so too, but just in case, you'd better watch your back."

Tae-hyun nodded. If there was even a hint of trouble, he would need to move immediately. To think he might end up at odds with the Demer Church so soon after fighting the Orcs. Well, nothing's confirmed yet! Tae-hyun calmed his anxious mind.

"Oh, by the way, what's Ji-su up to these days?"

"...!"

Choi Sang-yun was shocked. To think Tae-hyun would ask about Ji-su first! Ji-su! You did it! You actually did it!

"Are you okay?" Seeing Sang-yun pump his fist in silent victory instead of answering, Tae-hyun asked with a look of bewilderment.

"Ahem! Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't look okay..."

"You mean Ji-su? He's doing great in the Pied Guild! Because of the Orc invasion, he's probably doing a defense quest in Tyrum right now."

Yoo Ji-soo's class was a Tyrum Ranger. Due to the nature of her class, she had deep ties to Tyrum. It was a class that couldn't refuse any quests related to Tyrum City!

"Didn't all the Orcs pull out?"

"The Orcs that invaded the Salz Kingdom didn't. They're stubbornly holding out along the mountain range."

The Salz Kingdom, where Tyrum City was located. The Orcs that had gone there were led by the Orc chieftain Rashajag, an exceptional archer. Even as the Great Chieftain retreated after being heavily wounded, they utilized the mountainous terrain of the Salz Kingdom to dig in and resist. Naturally, the ones suffering were the players of the Salz Kingdom! Continuous Orc subjugation quests were keeping them completely overwhelmed.

"Is that so? I had no idea. As long as they don't march down toward the Atali Kingdom, I don't care."

"They won't be able to. They're barely holding their ground there."

"I wonder what level Ji-su is at now?"

Clang, clang!

The Valley of Despair and Sorrow was buzzing with excitement over the construction quests.

"Excuse me, can someone without any construction skills participate in the quest?"

"Of course."

"And... is it true that the reward is Holy Water infused with the blessing of Archisus?"

"Absolutely!"

Players blinded by luck rather than gold! Anyone wandering around the Valley of Despair and Sorrow was bound to end up that way.

Along the roads, blacksmiths could be seen attempting equipment enhancements. Past the blacksmiths, merchants were selling large quantities of treasure chests they had imported from afar. And past those merchants, crafting players were trying to receive luck-related buffs to create superior items. In a place like this, it was impossible not to get swept up in the craze.

Luck! I need overwhelming luck!

Currently, there were very few ways to obtain a luck buff. There were equipment pieces and dishes, but those were incredibly hard to come by. Naturally, the most reliable source was the buffs from the Archisus Church! Praying at the Archisus Temple whenever the cooldown reset granted a basic buff.

However, even that wasn't easy. The lines of people waiting to pray and receive the buff were so long that waiting was a given! Moreover, people blinded by greed for luck weren't about to be satisfied with just that. If there were Archisus priests around, they could complete quests to receive individual blessings, but currently, there were no Archisus priests stationed in the territory. It was no wonder items like the luck tickets sold by Pelmas were flying off the shelves. That was how starved for luck the players were.

Amidst all this, the news that Tae-hyun was personally crafting Archisus's Holy Water was bound to turn heads.

...Holy Water gets a bonus from the Cooking skill?

It didn't make much sense, but a bonus was a bonus, so he wasn't complaining.

While making the Holy Water, Tae-hyun realized something.

This... is a completely lucrative venture!

Unlike other dishes, Holy Water didn't require complex ingredients. All it took was water and Tae-hyun's divine power! Yet, because it was tied to multiple skills, the experience gains were incredibly sweet.