Mind the Spacing

Of course, having seized the opportunity, Tae-hyun had no intention of letting a sucker—er, a player—like Chairman Yoo slip through his fingers.

"Haha, elder. You have no idea how wonderful the Archisus Church is."

"Hmph. Good or bad, I have no desire to be anywhere near something you run."

Although Chairman Yoo had only recently met Tae-hyun, he had already figured out how to deal with him. The best way was simply not to engage!

"Receive the buffs you get from praying here, and let's head to the Prica Continent together. The Prica Continent."

"The Prica Continent...?"

"Yes. I was actually planning on leaving for the Prica Continent very soon because of a quest."

"Mmm..."

Chairman Yoo, who had been adamantly refusing, hesitated at the mention of the Prica Continent. If he went there now, he might be able to meet Yu Ji-soo! Moreover, traveling with Tae-hyun would be the most effective way to keep an eye on him. It was a golden opportunity to see with his own eyes whether his precious granddaughter, whom he loved more than life itself, truly had feelings for this wicked bastard!

"Fine! But on one condition: no more scams like the one in Tyrum. Do you understand?"

"Haha. Elder, Tyrum City was purely out of consideration so you could meet Ji-su."

"You brazen brat...!"

Lee Da-bi, who had been listening to their conversation, whispered to Tae-hyun.

"But is there really a reason to go to such lengths to get him into the church?"

"He's filthy rich."

Tae-hyun explained his plan with a few simple gestures. Get Chairman Yoo to join the church -> Make him interested in the game -> Get him to spend more real money -> Massive success!

"...Can't you just spend your own money, Tae-hyun?"

"I don't pay-to-win in games."

"You have so much money, though..."

"Shh. Anyway, if we coax him nicely, we can turn him into a second Cain."

"Hey, I'm standing right next to you!"

Cain protested, but Tae-hyun ignored him.

"People like him spend money like crazy once they get hooked on something."

"I'm looking at the Auction House right now, but could you help me? I have no idea what's good."

Chairman Yoo frowned as he scrolled through the list ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of items on the Auction House. There were far too many items for a beginner like him to comprehend!

"I'll help you."

Lee Da-bi readily stepped forward. In Chairman Yoo's eyes, she couldn't help but look like an angel. He found it utterly baffling that someone as sensible as her was hanging around with Tae-hyun!

"Once again, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the players who fought bravely against today's raid..."

"Give us blessings!"

"Open my loot boxes for me!"

"Enhance my gear! I feel like it'll succeed if you do it!"

The moment Tae-hyun spoke, a clamor of requests erupted from the players!

Regardless, Tae-hyun coldly ignored them and continued with what he wanted to say.

"You can claim your rewards by going to the priests at the temple or Pelmas. Also, a special quest to repair the damaged buildings in the territory has just been posted, so it would be great if you did that too. And make sure to introduce and bring lots of other players to the Archisus Church. The more you bring, the more contribution points you'll accumulate!"

Tae-hyun was showing his true colors! Yet, the players, already deep in the swamp, only cheered in response.

"Blessings! Blessings! Blessings!"

"Luck! Luck! Luck!"

"Enhancement! Enhancement! Enhancement!"

I did lead them to this, but this is actually getting a bit terrifying, Tae-hyun thought as he averted his gaze.

Behind him stood Gabriel and the other blacksmith players. They were staring at Tae-hyun with bright, sparkling eyes. However, Tae-hyun considered them the most dangerous players in the entire territory. They were the kind of players who wouldn't surprise anyone if they accidentally blew up a corner of the fief!

"You guys..."

The moment Tae-hyun opened his mouth, the blacksmiths reacted with wild enthusiasm.

"Just give us any order!"

"What should we start with?!"

"...Can't you guys just leave for somewhere else?"

"Hahaha! What a great joke!"

"Bwahaha! Oh, my stomach! Look at Lord Tae-hyun's sense of humor!"

"..."

Shring— As Tae-hyun reached to draw his sword, Cain quickly grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Hold back, man! Hold back! Keep your sanity!"

With so many players watching right now, openly PK-ing them would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar!

"Whew... Fine. Go learn Engineering skills with Saruon in the territory. Just make sure to use any dangerous skills outside. And don't forget to lay plenty of traps around the perimeter."

In the end, Tae-hyun reluctantly gave them tasks! In his heart, he wanted to tell them to go to another city, but the blacksmiths acted as if they had stakes driven into their ears, stubbornly insisting on staying in this city.

Well... Engineering blacksmiths are quite useful... Despite the numerous side effects, when it came to sheer performance, Engineering blacksmiths had plenty of utility. Especially when it came to defending a city!

"Fufu, do not worry. I will train these blacksmiths well and make sure they pull their own weight."

Saruon spoke with a sinister grin! Seeing that, Tae-hyun felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

...Surely I won't come back from the Prica Continent only to find my territory burned to the ground... right? Now, he was resorting to leaving his territory in the hands of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demon.

"Trust us and have a safe trip!"

"We will protect Lord Tae-hyun's territory! Even if we have to self-destruct!"

"Please self-destruct outside. Do not do it inside."

"Excuse me, Count Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Aigoo! I must set off to defeat the wicked Sadiq Church, yet is there truly no one to guard my territory?!"

Tsk. Tae-hyun smacked his lips. Utilizing a powerful noble's knight order for free was a luxury other players couldn't enjoy no matter how much gold they had. Naturally, he couldn't keep pulling this scam forever!

"Count Kim Tae-hyun, I must return to my own fief as well, so I shall fight alongside you just once more before I depart."

"...!"

Tae-hyun snapped his head up. He had expected him to leave immediately, but he was willing to fight one more time?

"Count Anong, you su—er, Count Anong! Thank you so much!"

"Did you just call me a 'su'?"

"You must have misheard. I shall surely defeat those wicked Sadiq Church bastards and return flying the banner of justice!"

If he could use them to fight one more time, that opened up plenty of options. Tae-hyun grabbed Count Anong's hand and shook it vigorously.

Once his conversation with Count Anong was over, Tae-hyun moved swiftly. He clicked the approval buttons wherever lordly authority was required, constructed every building possible, assigned volunteering players to the damaged structures... and even prepared for any potential future raids!

Once everything was roughly sorted, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was finally time to depart for the Prica Continent!

"Um, Kim Tae-hyun..."

"...?"

The two players who had received a quest and a curse during the last raid were calling out to Tae-hyun from the entrance of the territory.

"What is it?"

Thud!

"We were wrong! Please, just lift the curse!"

"The Sadiq Church and Jekas are both way out of our league!"

Indeed. They desperately needed to lift Archisus's Curse, but they lacked the confidence to face either the Sadiq Church or Jekas! Thus, they had come to beg Tae-hyun.

"Seriously, if you can't even clear such an easy quest, how do you expect to survive in this harsh world of Pan-On? When I was at a low level, I thwarted Sadiq's conspiracies and even hunted down their divine beast."

"..."

Despite Tae-hyun's blatant bragging, the two players tightly shut their mouths and endured. No matter how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dirty and unfair it felt, they had to bear it!

"Well, if you're that lacking in confidence, I'll change it to a different quest. It's pointless anyway if you don't make it all the way to the Prica Continent."

"W-What kind of quest is it?"

"A quest to defend my territory. Here, I'm feeling generous. I'll raise the reward to 10 gold so you'll guard it diligently. That's a whopping tenfold increase. Great, right?"

"..."

Seizing the opportunity, Tae-hyun successfully increased his territory's slave labor—er, defense force. Now, it was truly time to set off for the Prica Continent!

"Winner, Choi Jin-hyuk's Team!"

"Woooooooah!"

Choi Jin-hyuk and his friends embraced Jeong Su-hyeok, letting out joyous cheers. A comeback victory from a hopeless situation! Although they had brought Jeong Su-hyeok along hoping for a sudden turnaround, they hadn't actually expected him to pull it off.

"We did it, we did it! Su-hyeok did it!"

"T-This makes no sense..."

The opposing team sat slumped on the ground, their faces completely blank. They had been 99% certain of their victory, but suddenly, that player named Jeong Su-hyeok had started spamming magic like a madman. Just like that, the tables had turned!

"Our levels are capped at 100 right now, so how could he keep casting spells like that?"

"His MP should have been completely depleted!"

"Did he use some kind of cheat?"

Despite the opposing team's protests, the tournament staff replied coldly.

"We check all items before and after the match. If any unauthorized equipment or items had been brought in, they would have definitely been detected. There was no foul play."

"Damn it!"

"How does this make any sense?!"

Jeong Su-hyeok looked at the opposing players with a slightly apologetic expression. Since they had lost a won game to a luck-based skill, he could understand their frustration.

Huh?

"Well, look who it is."

"...?"

Someone called out to Jeong Su-hyeok from behind while he was reviewing his quest window. Su-hyeok turned his head.

"Who are you?"

"What do you mean, 'who are you'? You don't even know who we are?"

"??"

The players standing before him looked like Holy Knights. They were all wearing the exact same set of equipment.

"The Holy Knight Is King Guild. Does that ring a bell?"

"Ah! The Holy Knight Size King Guild!!"

"Mind the spacing! If you don't want to die!"

The Guild Master reacted with extreme sensitivity.

"You're that guy who was hanging around with Kim Tae-hyun, aren't you? Looks like you're running around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without him now."

"Senior Kim Tae-hyun entered as part of the invited team..."

"Hmph! Invited team, my foot. It's just a popularity contest."

The Holy Knight Guild Master clearly held a massive grudge against Tae-hyun. Since Su-hyeok had seen plenty of people with grudges against Tae-hyun, he wasn't particularly surprised.

"Well, this works out perfectly. Crushing his lackey should help relieve some of my anger."

"...?"

"What, you still don't know? Take a look at who your next opponent is."

"...!"

Only then did Jeong Su-hyeok realize why these Holy Knights had come over to pick a fight. Their next opponent in the qualifiers was none other than this Holy Knight team!

"You might have gotten lucky and made it this far, but you'd better just surrender. I plan on playing with you like a toy. You wouldn't want to be humiliated like that on a global broadcast, would you?"

Of course, these qualifier broadcasts didn't actually garner that much attention. While they were technically broadcast worldwide, only dedicated viewers watched the qualifiers. However, the Holy Knight Guild Master was absolutely overflowing with motivation. He was determined to vent the anger he had received from Tae-hyun onto Jeong Su-hyeok!

Meanwhile, Choi Jin-hyuk approached Jeong Su-hyeok.

"Su-hyeok, who are these guys?"

"Huh? Oh. The Holy Knight Size King Guild..."

"W-What? A guild name like that actually got approved?"

Choi Jin-hyuk cried out in shock. At his reaction, the Holy Knight Guild Master ground his teeth and roared.

"Holy! Knight! Is! King! You bastards!"

"Ah, my bad... Hahaha. I thought it meant something weird. But wait, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?"

"Y-You know, that guild I mentioned before, the one that got absolutely demolished by Senior Kim Tae-hyun."

Jeong Su-hyeok had whispered in an attempt to be considerate, but his voice was loud enough to carry perfectly to their ears. It only made the humiliation even worse!