A Monumental Misunderstanding
While Cain was reflecting on his life, feeling regret and self-reproach, Tae-hyun sped toward his territory as fast as possible. Heuk-heuk, clinging to the back of the motorcycle, screamed.
"Master! The speed! Please slow down!"
"Are you really a dragon?"
"Master! Look over there, it's you, Master!"
"I see it. I'll slow down, alright? Stop talking nonsense."
Tae-hyun thought it was pathetic for a 'Demonic Beast + Black Dragon' to make such weak noises. But Heuk-heuk hadn't misseen.
"Isn't that your face, Master?"
"......?!"
At those words, Tae-hyun spotted a statue towering over the cliff behind his territory in the distance. No matter how he looked at it, it was a statue that looked exactly like his own face.
"......"
"Where is that bastard Pelmas?" Tae-hyun muttered, his voice dripping with murderous intent.
Whenever something bizarre happened in his territory, the first suspect was always Pelmas!
However, this time, it wasn't Pelmas's doing.
Entering the building, Tae-hyun was shocked to find Pelmas tied up tightly.
"......Did the Sadiq bastards stage a rebellion?!"
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Tae-hyun untied Pelmas first.
Pelmas cried out, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Lord Tae-hyun! You've returned!"
You have freed Pelmas, a follower of Archisus.
Reputation increases by 1.
That is a pathetic increase. Pelmas's insignificant presence!
"You didn't tie yourself up on purpose just to act like a victim because you were afraid I'd beat you up after causing trouble, did you?" Tae-hyun asked suspiciously.
To Pelmas, this was incredibly unfair!
"No! Why would I do such a thing?!"
"I feel like you're entirely capable of it......"
The Church of Infinite Distrust!
Pelmas beat his chest and shouted, "Look outside! They aren't even collecting taxes properly! The priests are handing out free blessings and acting all kind! If I were in charge, would I ever do that?!"
"Hmm. You actually have a point there."
Tae-hyun was instantly convinced. Unless Pelmas had completely lost his mind, there was no way he would ever be nice to players. This was a guy who would sell plain water as 'Archisus's Miracle Elixir' if he could get away with it......
Of course, thanks to that, the new players who had recently arrived in the territory were deeply moved.
"Oh! What a wonderful territory! As expected of Kim Tae-hyun! He even looks out for beginners!" they rejoiced.
"Then what happened?"
"Sniff, here is what happened......"
Pelmas began to explain the situation through his tears.
As soon as Galakpad and his zealots arrived at the territory, Galakpad was furious.
- "You scoundrel, Pelmas! How dare you manage the sacred territory of Lord Archisus in such a manner!"
- "N-No...... I didn't do this arbitrarily on my own. I had Lord Tae-hyun's permission......"
- "Do not lie, you rogue! Where do you get off spreading such slander! There is no way Lord Tae-hyun, the Avatar, would give such instructions!"
- "He literally told me to run it like a multi-level marketing scheme!"
- "To think you would cloud Lord Tae-hyun's eyes and cover his ears just to pocket all the profits for yourself! Unforgivable! Beheading you right now wouldn't be enough, but we shall leave your judgment to Lord Tae-hyun when he returns. Lock him up!"
At this point, Pelmas also lost his temper and fought back.
- "What did you say, you bastard? Do you know how hard I worked for this territory...... Sure, I pocketed a little profit for myself! But still, do you think you can just waltz in here and lock me up? Do you know how long I've been here? The people here won't stand for this!"
With those words, Pelmas looked around at the surrounding NPCs.
- "......"
- "......"
Everyone avoided Pelmas's gaze.
- "......Y-You guys! This is an order! Seize him!"
- "Technically speaking, Count Kim Tae-hyun is the only one who can order us around, not you, Lord Pelmas."
- "I am his proxy! For now, at least!"
- "Count Kim Tae-hyun also told us that if Lord Pelmas starts talking nonsense, we don't have to listen to him......"
- "Is this nonsense?!"
- "Since you two seem close, why don't you just settle it between yourselves?"
The merchant mercenaries, Archisus paladins, and other NPCs near Pelmas all quietly backed away.
Pelmas thought about calling the noble knights, but they were even colder.
- "We do not listen to anyone other than Count Kim Tae-hyun!"
In the end, no one helped Pelmas.
- "Pelmas. Stay quiet. Your punishment will be decided by Lord Tae-hyun."
- "Don't make me laugh, Galakpad! Sure, I tricked you and sent you running in circles looking for the holy relic while I met up with Lord Tae-hyun, but......"
Pelmas was digging his own grave. Galakpad's face twisted into a terrifying scowl, but Pelmas failed to notice.
- "My heart, which beats for the territory and Archisus, is completely shameless and without a shred of guilt!"
- "So, are you saying you want to fight?"
- "No! I surrender!"
"?" Tae-hyun tilted his head as he listened to the story. "What?"
"I surrendered."
"......Then why did you strike such a dramatic pose?"
"......"
Thud!
"?!"
The door burst open, and Galakpad walked in. Seeing him, Pelmas puffed out his chest and shouted.
"Lord Tae-hyun! That's him! That's Galakpad! Show him what for!"
"Lord Tae-hyun! I have been waiting for your return!"
Galakpad knelt and bowed politely. Tae-hyun's favorability for him instantly rose by 1.
"While you were away, my unworthy self managed the territory. New fields have been cultivated, and the number of adventurers has increased significantly. The harvests offered by the farmer adventurers have been safely stored in the temple."
Thorough administrative skills. Tae-hyun's favorability rose again.
"These people with me are like my own hands and feet, all devout believers of Archisus! They have spent a long time searching for Archisus's holy relics, so they will surely be of great help to you, Lord Tae-hyun. Please, give us any command!"
And finally, combat capabilities! Tae-hyun was deeply moved. He had spent so much time hanging out with weirdos and suffering; finally, he was being rewarded! Other churches on different continents were thriving with the support of high-level NPCs, while he had to build everything from scratch. It made no sense.
Yes! This is what a real church looks like!
"L-Lord Tae-hyun? Lord Tae-hyun?" Pelmas called out in a panic, realizing things were going in a strange direction. Tae-hyun, who was supposed to beat up Galakpad, was nodding with a deeply moved expression!
"And, Lord Tae-hyun."
"Yes, yes, Galakpad. What else did you do?"
"To commemorate your great victory, we have been constructing a statue in your honor."
"......"
Tae-hyun's face instantly froze.
As time passed, Tae-hyun came to accept the reality.
There was no such thing as a normal NPC in the Archisus Church! If an NPC seemed normal, it was a trick!
Still, Galakpad was an excellent NPC. Except for the fact that he was slightly unhinged.
The subordinates he brought along were all outstanding warriors, mages, and rogues. Compared to the meager lineup of Archisus NPCs he had before, it was a tear-inducing upgrade! Of course, they all had a crazed look in their eyes. Even Heuk-heuk whispered from behind.
- "Master. The look in those guys' eyes is dangerous. To believe in Archisus to that extent... it's dangerous."
- "I don't think a demonic beast of Sadiq like you has any right to say that."
- "Master, please do not take offense. But... among those who know the truth, Archisus is considered a far more dangerous god than Sadiq......"
- "......How am I supposed to not take offense when you're saying something so offensive?"
Tae-hyun sighed and began organizing the territory. First, he made Galakpad and Pelmas reconcile.
- "You want me to reconcile with this bastard?!"
- "If you don't want to, do you two want to fight to the death?"
- "I will reconcile."
Persuading Pelmas was easy. On the other hand, Galakpad......
- "Since Lord Tae-hyun commands it, I shall obey."
Contrary to his words, Galakpad's eyes burned with a fiery passion. He glared at Pelmas as if he wanted to murder him! His gaze screamed, 'You dared to deceive Lord Tae-hyun!'
- "L-Lord Tae-hyun. Please do something about that guy."
- "Deal with it yourself."
Next, he rolled back the territory's policies. Operating with zero taxes and free blessings from the priests was unsustainable in the long run.
Let's charge at least a minimum. We have to maintain the place.
Even with this adjustment, it was still incredibly cheap compared to other players' territories!
- "When you do something, consult and agree with each other first. No beating each other up. No threatening. And that statue......"
Tae-hyun sighed mid-sentence. Looking at the statue being erected on the cliff above the valley, he could only let out a deep sigh.
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"Alright! Just a little more strength! We just need to pull this over!"
When the quest to build Tae-hyun's statue was first announced, the gathered players didn't think much of it.
- "I'll just carry some luggage, get some EXP and Contribution Points."
- "Construction quests like this are usually nothing special...... It's not like we're building a mega-structure. Let's just do what we're told and get a blessing."
Even those who weren't crafter players had surprisingly participated in construction quests before. Anyone who spent their beginner days in a major city had done a construction quest at least once! It was a simple quest where you carried materials or gathered resources when a new building was being constructed in the city. It was popular among beginners because it was easy and fast. Everyone present thought this would be the same.
However, the Valley of Despair and Sorrow was home to both sculptor and architect players. And they thought completely differently.
- "This is our chance!"
Sculptors and architects usually had to gather all the materials themselves if they wanted to build something. Constructing a church statue or building was a massive opportunity. Usually, it was a privilege granted only to players who had accumulated massive amounts of Contribution Points!
Yet, the Archisus Church had surprisingly opened this opportunity to everyone. 'Do as much as you can!' was the instruction from the Archisus Church! The players were deeply moved by this generosity.
- "I will use this opportunity to create the most magnificent and grand statue ever!"
"Should we use the bronze provided by the McCraney Merchant Group? If it's not enough, we can carve more stone and coat it over......"
"No! That is not enough!"
"?!"
"Bigger! More majestic! Let's build it on top of that cliff so it can be seen from far away!"
"W-Wait...... Can we really make it that big? The materials we have here won't be nearly enough for that."
"There are plenty of untouched areas around this valley. Let's go in and mine the materials! Whether it's stone or ore!"
"D-Do we really have to go that far?"
"We must!"
Swept up by the passion of the sculptor and architect players, the other players began gathering materials. After all, if the quest difficulty increased, the rewards would too, so it wasn't a loss!
Aaron, the sculptor, took charge. He was the highest-level sculptor among the crafters gathered here!
"Any ore is fine. We can melt it all down, mix it, and coat the statue!"
"But won't there be a problem when we coat it?"
"There are other blacksmiths here, so let's ask them for help!"
"Blacksmiths......"
"Those blacksmiths?"
The players flinched. There was only one type of blacksmith player in the Archisus territory. The notorious Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths!
"D-Do we really have to call them?"
"Can't we just do it ourselves...... We have blacksmiths too......"
"To gather and process the materials quickly, we don't have enough hands! We need to borrow every hand we can get!"
"A-Alright. We'll call them."
Inside the territory, Gabriel, who was busy hammering away, paused.
"They want us to help build a statue?"