The Fisherman of Time?! Really?!
"The Fisherman of Time?! Really?!"
The reaction came from an unexpected source. Lee Da-bi, who had been listening from the side, gasped in surprise.
However, Chairman Yoo, having already been emotionally scarred by Tae-hyun once, was in a state of absolute distrust! He grumbled sourly.
"Forget it. There's no need to play dumb. I already know everything."
"Huh? No, wait. I really said it because I knew..."
"Know what?! You're just trying to tease me again! Birds of a feather really do flock together!"
"That's not it at all! We have a few players in our guild who are absolutely obsessed with fishing. When I asked them, they said they've been searching high and low for a way to change into that class, but couldn't find a single clue. It's an incredibly rare class!"
"I-Is that so?"
As a human being, hearing that something you owned was highly valuable was bound to make you feel good. Chairman Yoo's mood lifted slightly once more!
"You're quite different from that slacker over there. I have no idea why you hang around with a fellow like him..."
"He pays me a lot of gold."
"Wh-what a wicked bastard... exploiting people with money!"
Listening to their conversation, Tae-hyun chimed in nonchalantly.
"You're one to talk, Elder. Who was the one who had to pay that massive corporate fine again?"
"Th-that wasn't me, it was my son...!"
"More importantly, none of the other players could change classes, but this elder did? That's actually pretty intriguing."
"Right?"
Both Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi wore expressions of genuine curiosity. Normally, hidden or Heroic-grade classes with unknown requirements were nearly impossible for beginners to stumble into. They weren't called Heroic classes for nothing!
"Elder, what exactly did you do?"
"I literally did nothing but sit in one spot and fish..."
"You must have done it for an incredibly long time. But wait, was there even a place to fish around Tyrum City?"
"You brat! You know damn well...!"
Chairman Yoo lunged forward, trying to grab Tae-hyun's collar again.
"I did it at the lake! While getting beaten up by rabbits!"
"Ah, those rabbits. Talk about nostalgia. I had a pretty rough time dealing with them too."
"Right?! Every single creature in that place was completely bizarre. Apparently, there was some psycho who hunted those rabbits to near extinction..."
"Ah, that was me."
"...Seriously?"
"Take a look at this title."
"?!"
Chairman Yoo was stunned once again. The legendary maniac who had slaughtered those rabbits was standing right in front of him?!
While he was reeling from the shock, Lee Da-bi spoke up after checking her guild chat again.
"Huh? That's strange. My guild members say they've tried sitting in one spot and fishing for over three days straight too..."
"I didn't do anything else either..."
Chairman Yoo had no further clues. Then, Tae-hyun spoke as if he had just realized something.
"Then there's only one explanation."
"...?"
"Fishing in Tyrum City must have been the class change condition. Wow, Elder. You got a rare class all thanks to me."
"..."
Watching Tae-hyun speak so shamelessly, Chairman Yoo felt his anger boiling over once more. He finally understood, deep in his bones, the warnings Kim Tae-san had given him about his son. Ah, so this is what he meant!
A person capable of driving even the most seasoned, cunning, and battle-hardened corporate chairman to absolute madness. That was Kim Tae-hyun.
Chairman Yoo took a few deep breaths. Getting angry any further was pointless.
"Hoo, hoo... Fine. But even you couldn't have predicted this."
"...?"
"Because of your wicked schemes, I actually got to meet my granddaughter and grow closer to her."
"Ah. Ji-soo? Well, she's a Tyrum Ranger, so it makes sense you'd run into her around Tyrum City."
"!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!"
Chairman Yoo dropped his fishing rod. His face contorted into an expression of utter, world-shattering shock.
"H-H-How..."
"Huh?"
"How do you know about Ji-soo?!"
Even amidst his chaotic confusion, Chairman Yoo desperately tried to piece the puzzle together. How on earth did Tae-hyun and Yu Ji-soo know each other?
Did they meet at my birthday party? No, even if they did, is it possible to get this close so quickly? Does that even make sense? Is it because of Pan-On? Is this how young people are these days? I should have this wicked, degenerate game shut down immediately...
"Elder? Elder?"
Tae-hyun waved a hand in front of Chairman Yoo's face. The old man looked as if his soul had departed for another dimension!
"Wh-what?"
"You asked how I know Ji-soo."
"I-I did...?"
"We met in the game."
"...!"
"We started together in Tyrum City. You know how it is there, right? Newbies have no choice but to party up. So Ji-soo and I wandered around together..."
"You wandered around holding hands with my Ji-soo?!"
"...I didn't even mention the letter 'H' in hands."
"You promised Ji-soo a future together?!"
"Hey, someone call a priest. I think his ears are cursed."
"You rascal! You impudent rascal!"
You have successfully handled the fishing rod with perfect posture.
Your Fishing skill has increased.
Perfect posture fueled by pure rage! Chairman Yoo's fishing rod thrust forward repeatedly like the spear of a high-level lancer.
Evasion successful.
Evasion successful.
Of course, every single strike missed.
Only after some time had passed did Chairman Yoo finally calm down. Listening to Tae-hyun's explanation, he was able to grasp the exact nature of their relationship.
However, Chairman Yoo remained absolutely certain. His grandfatherly intuition was screaming at him. The reason his granddaughter had been acting so strangely lately was definitely because of this punk!
Looking at when she started the game, it matches perfectly! Come to think of it, she was in an incredibly good mood after my birthday party. It was because of him! Oh, my aching head! I was blind and let a tiger cub into my own home!
Chairman Yoo had naively assumed Ji-soo was simply overjoyed to celebrate her grandfather's birthday. But looking back, it was glaringly obvious that Tae-hyun was the cause.
"Elder, is your fishing practice done?"
Tae-hyun yawned and asked nonchalantly. Seeing him so casually refer to the wild swinging of the fishing rod as "fishing practice" made Chairman Yoo's blood boil all over again.
How on earth do I land a hit on this kid?
Tae-hyun was successfully instilling a burning passion for gaming in an old man who previously had zero interest in it!
What infuriated Chairman Yoo even more was that Tae-hyun didn't seem to have any romantic feelings toward Ji-soo. He spoke of her as if she were just a younger friend he knew. This rubbed the old man the wrong way for an entirely different reason.
Patience. I must endure...
Chairman Yoo forced himself to hold back. If he ran his mouth about Ji-soo, his granddaughter might end up giving him the cold shoulder forever.
"Yes, it's over, you brat!"
"It's great that you met Ji-soo. Did you tell her you're her grandfather?"
"..."
"You didn't."
Tae-hyun shot him a pitiful look. The look made Chairman Yoo bristle.
"I-If I told her, she definitely would have avoided me!"
"Well, that's true, but that's your fault for not being close to her in the first place, Elder."
"Ugh..."
"But if you didn't tell her, why did you split up? You could've kept traveling together. Ji-soo is a sweetheart, so she would've hung out with you even if you're low level."
"She said she was heading to the Prica Continent with her guildmates, so I told her to go ahead. How could I possibly follow her there?"
"Why not? You just follow her."
"My level is too low, and I didn't want to be a burden, so I just left."
"True, since you don't hunt, your level is a bit of a disadvantage. But fisherman-type classes can grow perfectly fine even if they completely ignore combat, right? Besides, you have another option."
"What option?"
Tae-hyun made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
"Pay-to-win."
"Sp-spending real money on a game?"
"Did you get your capsule for free?"
"No... well, that's true, but... still, spending money on a game feels a bit wrong, doesn't it? I'm afraid your father would mock me if he found out."
He had reacted indifferently when Kim Tae-san suggested it, so he was worried Tae-san would laugh at him if he started paying-to-win now. But that was only because he didn't truly know Kim Tae-san.
"Huh? My dad? Mocking you for paying-to-win?"
"W-Why? What's wrong?"
"Out of everyone I know, my dad is the biggest pay-to-win whale..."
"..."
"Ah, you didn't know. Well, my dad does care a lot about his image, so he probably kept it quiet."
Seizing the opportunity, Tae-hyun gleefully began spilling the beans on Kim Tae-san. Spreading the embarrassing secrets his father wanted to hide was always his favorite pastime!
"Starting with Lineage back in the day, he played several other games too. Every holiday, the game company executives would literally come to our house to bow and thank him for keeping their servers running."
"..."
An amount of money capable of keeping an entire game afloat single-handedly! It was an anecdote that vividly illustrated just how much a wealthy man with too much free time could invest when he got hooked on a game.
"One time, he didn't log in for a few weeks, and the developers literally showed up at our door with gift sets, asking if there was anything they needed to patch to make him happy..."
"...He is completely different from how he looks on the outside."
"He likes to put on airs in public. Anyway, Elder, if you want to get strong easily and quickly, just swipe that card. Pay-to-win. Even in real life, don't fishermen buy the most expensive gear the moment they see it?"
"Well, that's true..."
Chairman Yoo felt himself wavering. His current gear was already a massive step up from his beginner rags, giving him the distinct look of a fantasy fisherman. If he actually spent real money, just how much better could his equipment get?
"If you gear up with top-tier stuff, you'll survive just fine even on the Prica Continent."
"...Tell me how to do this 'pay-to-win' thing."
Ultimately, Chairman Yoo succumbed to the temptation.
After explaining how to use the Auction House, Tae-hyun suddenly remembered something and asked.
"By the way, putting Ji-soo aside, why did you come here?"
"Hmm? Ah, a fisherman NPC recommended Archisus to me. Told me to believe in Archisus, and that I could find the faith here. Is that true?"
Pat. Tae-hyun placed a hand on Chairman Yoo's shoulder, a warm, saintly smile spreading across his face.
"You've come to the right place, Elder. The Archisus Church is one of the fastest-growing denominations these days. There's no better religion for a fisherman."
"Is that so?"
When it came to gaming, Chairman Yoo was as innocent as a newborn child.
"Alright, let's get you registered right away. A message window will pop up, just click accept."
"Hmm? Don't I need to meet a priest NPC or something?"
"The Archisus Church doesn't need such tedious formalities."
"Is that so?"
Chairman Yoo naively accepted the prompt asking if he wanted to join the Archisus Church. Immediately, a cascade of notifications explaining the church's features filled his vision.
✔ Recruiting other players will grant you additional contribution points.
✔ The currently available church quests are as follows...
✔ Praying near the temple will grant you various buffs.
Reading through them one by one, Chairman Yoo looked up at Tae-hyun.
"By the way, do you also believe in Archisus? Since you know so much..."
"To be precise, I don't 'believe' in him."
"What do you mean?"
"My character class is Archisus."
"...What?"
"This church belongs to me."
"..."
Chairman Yoo froze for a moment. Then, he frantically began waving his hands at the floating system windows.
"What are you looking for, Elder?"
"Where is the 'Leave Church' button?!"