"But Tae-hyun, How Are You Going to Strike the Sadiq Church?"

"But Tae-hyun, how are you going to strike the Sadiq Church?" Pelmas asked, keeping a close eye on Tae-hyun's reaction.

Although the Sadiq Church had taken a beating and was currently hiding in the shadows, they were no pushovers. In terms of raw military power, they actually outclassed the Archisus Church! The Sadiq Church had been established on the continent for a long time, meaning they possessed numerous high priests, holy knights, and a formidable force of demonic beasts.

In contrast, the Archisus Church had only recently been revived, and they were still in the process of recruiting basic priests and holy knights. In truth, they had virtually no military power to speak of.

Tae-hyun was well aware of this.

"Well, obviously... we have to take out their high-ranking members."

What the Sadiq Church had that the Archisus Church lacked was high-level NPCs.

Thinking about it like this suddenly makes me sad...

If they could just take down a single figure like Antonio, the Holy Knight Commander, or the Archbishop, it would deal a massive blow to the Sadiq Church. Tae-hyun had no intention of waging a full-scale war to pull them out by their roots.

It's not like I have a massive army. Realistically, that's impossible.

The most realistic approach was a decapitation strike. By taking out the Sadiq Church's prominent figures, the remaining members would naturally go into hiding on their own.

And as a bonus, I can claim their Authorities.

He currently possessed two of Sadiq's Authorities: Flame of Chaos and Abyssal Flame. Tae-hyun anticipated that hunting down high-ranking NPCs would yield at least two more.

Hearing Tae-hyun's words, Pelmas tilted his head in confusion. "How, exactly?"

Indeed, the "how" was the biggest hurdle. If defeating the Sadiq Church were that easy, someone would have done it already.

"I have a plan."

"...?"

"First, the guys I sent earlier will find a way on their own. On top of that, I plan to pull a few strings myself."

Tae-hyun smacked his lips and opened the Church Quest Window.

As the supreme authority of the church, he had access to a quest creation interface. While this was undoubtedly a privilege unimaginable for an ordinary player, it wasn't as great as it seemed. Why? Because all the quest rewards had to come directly out of Tae-hyun's own pocket!

Fortunately, he had only offered a 1 Gold reward to the players earlier—and for a quest that was nearly impossible to complete, meaning he suffered virtually no loss...

But just issuing a quest consumes Holy stats.

Just as operating the church accumulated Holy stats, there were equally many places where those stats had to be spent. Still, this authority was undeniably a powerful tool. He had to use it wisely.

"Look closely. Most of the people who believe in the Archisus Church right now are crafters. And they're all a bit... quirky, aren't they?"

"I suppose so?"

At Tae-hyun's words, Lee Da-bi and Cain nodded in agreement.

It was true that the Archisus Church had a surprisingly large number of player followers for a newly established religion. But that was entirely due to Tae-hyun's fame and the unique nature of the god Archisus. Combat-class players who were serious about leveling up their characters had no reason to worship Archisus.

"We can't use them right now, but we have to think about the future. Other churches can mobilize legions of high-level holy knights, while we only have the paladins we just recruited."

"So what are you going to do?"

"We need to lure combat-class players into the Archisus Church. That way, when something big happens later, we can issue a church quest and use them as our main force."

This was exactly what Tae-hyun wanted. The power to instantly mobilize players by issuing a quest whenever a major event occurred, just like other churches did.

"Can we even afford the rewards? What are you going to give them?"

"That's the problem. We can't keep cheaping out like we did this time. First, we'll plunder a bunch of good-looking PvP gear and use that..."

"..."

"..."

Lee Da-bi and Cain's expressions turned sour. To think that his first thought when discussing rewards was plunder.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I have other ideas too."

"??"

Artifact Crafting. This was one of the Archisus Authorities Tae-hyun was highly anticipating.

Judging by the artifacts containing Archisus's power that are rolling around, there must be an Authority of that nature.

Other churches crafted items with unique religious traits and possessed valuable artifacts. Surely the Archisus Church could do the same. If they introduced Archisus Church artifacts that had never been seen on the auction house, people would undoubtedly show immense interest.

"I see..."

"Then do we need to obtain the Authority first?"

"We strike the Sadiq Church first. If we leave them alone, they'll keep burning down my territory. I let them be because I wanted to live in peace, but those bastards..."

Tae-hyun's eyes burned with a desire for vengeance. The grudge of the Arena!

Was that peace?

Can that really be called letting them be?

Compared to the damage Tae-hyun had inflicted on the Sadiq Church, the damage they had caused him was barely a stubbed toe.

"Wait, even if you want to offer rewards, don't players have to join the Archisus Church first? You said the problem is we don't have enough combat players."

"Right."

"Do you have a plan? Ah. Don't tell me..." Cain suddenly had an epiphany.

"What?"

"Most of the players currently in the Archisus Church are Koreans who joined because of your name. The Arena tournament will be watched by players all over the world. Are you planning to show off there to attract foreign players?"

"What a brilliant idea! That's amazing!" Lee Da-bi chimed in, impressed by Cain's deduction.

Both of them stared at Tae-hyun.

"...I didn't even think of that."

"!?"

Tae-hyun stared back at Cain with a look of genuine surprise, matching Da-bi's initial expression. He really hadn't thought of that at all!

"T-That wasn't it?"

"I don't even want to think about the Arena. Why would I make a plan like that?"

"Then what were you thinking?"

"Sigh. Fine. I'll show you. Look closely."

"??"

Tae-hyun drew a chart on the ground.

It was a tier list they had definitely seen somewhere before!

Cain and Lee Da-bi exchanged glances. This was definitely a multi-level...

Regardless of their reaction, Tae-hyun proudly continued his explanation.

"Players in higher tiers will receive greater blessings. Silver gets Low-grade Archisus's Blessing, but Gold gets Intermediate Archisus's Blessing. Not only that, we'll sell better items to players of higher tiers."

Listening to him, Lee Da-bi raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"By ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any chance, do we accumulate Contribution Points if we recruit other players and get them to join the church?"

"Spot on."

It really is a pyramid scheme!!!

The two screamed silently in their minds.

The players who had escaped the territory gathered in a group, cursing Tae-hyun.

"That son of a...!"

Curses flew in various languages—a truly global coalition of hatred directed at Tae-hyun.

"You bastard, you abandoned us to save your own skin?!"

"Are you guys proud of dragging us down then?!"

After a pathetic round of bickering, they all let out a collective sigh.

"Let's stop fighting. Fighting amongst ourselves only benefits that guy."

"Hey, I'm a bit worried. Does anyone know what kind of curse Archisus's Curse is?"

No one did. It was only natural. Unlike other churches, information about the Archisus Church didn't spread unless Tae-hyun released it himself.

Suddenly, anxiety began to spread.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I have an Advanced Curse Removal Scroll. This should clear almost anything. I'll use it now."

He unrolled the scroll.

"What do you mean, malfunction?!"

Usually, it would say 'Failed due to lack of power,' but 'Malfunctioned due to sudden bad luck' was a message they had never seen before.

"What malfunctioned?"

"The scroll..."

"Does that even make sense?"

The players had not yet realized. This was only the beginning!

"Damn it, let me repair my gear first..."

"?!?!!"

"Should we get some buffs before we fight?"

"?!?!?!?!?!"

As time passed, they began to realize one by one.

Archisus's Curse was a curse that triggered unfortunate events ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠related to luck! It didn't drain their HP or lower their defense, but it was incredibly, agonizingly annoying.

"KIM TAE-HYUUUUUUN!"

"Wow, they're coming up. They're really coming up."

"Are they really?"

"Yeah. I knew they would."

Tae-hyun stared at the forum board with a satisfied grin. Posts had been popping up one after another for a while now.

The players had given up and were now trying to gather information on the Sadiq Church. Tae-hyun wore a smug expression. There was nothing more satisfying than watching people dance in the palm of your hand.

"Oh, a carriage is here."

A carriage arrived at the entrance of the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. Usually, carriages were used by low-level players. In other words, the players getting off that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carriage were highly likely to be newcomers looking to join the Archisus Church.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the players rushed toward them!

"?!?!"

It was a completely different sight from before. There was only one reason.

The multi-level... no, the new Archisus Church tier system Tae-hyun had introduced!

"Hey! When you join the Archisus Church, make sure to say my name!"

"Don't listen to him! Use my name when you sign up! I'll give you a potion set!"

"A-Are there any blacksmiths? If you're a blacksmith, party up with me! I'll help you! In exchange, just use my name...!"

It was a fierce arena of greed! Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction once again.

"Hey, you punk!"

"...?"

Someone called out to Tae-hyun. He turned his head.

An middle-aged Elf male he had never seen before was pointing a finger at him, looking utterly shocked.

"Who might you be?"

"Y-You... told me to start in Tyrum City?!"

With those words, Tae-hyun instantly realized who the Elf was.

"Ah... Chairman! Haha! Wasn't Tyrum City great?"

Seeing Tae-hyun's smile, Chairman Yoo had an epiphany. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Having dealt with countless people throughout his life, Chairman Yoo could read a person's true intentions just from their smile.

That smile was absolutely not out of goodwill!

The meaning behind that smile was undoubtedly: 'You should suffer too.'

"You little rascal!!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chairman Yoo swung his fishing rod! Tae-hyun stood perfectly still without even trying to dodge.

Seeing this, Lee Da-bi whispered, "Is that my grandfather?"

"To be precise, he's someone else's grandfather. But Chairman, what brings you here?"

"Huff, puff... I changed classes."

"Oh, to what?"

"Fisherman of Time."

"The Fisherman of Time?!" Tae-hyun gasped in surprise.

Chairman Yoo, slightly intrigued by his reaction, asked, "Is it that good of a class?"

"No, I just wanted to pretend to be surprised."

"..."

"Fisherman of Time... The name sounds nice, but isn't it basically just being unemployed?"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chairman Yoo swung his fishing rod again!

But not a single strike landed. For the first time since starting this game, Chairman Yoo felt a burning desire to 'get stronger.'

It was a resentment he hadn't even felt when he was getting beaten up by rabbits!