A Gamble of Faith
Even Chairman Yoo's iron-clad resolve couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward. Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi saw it clear as day.
"How do you like it?"
"Cough... Ahem! You shouldn't have... I wasn't even thinking about getting one of these..."
Chairman Yoo spoke words he didn't mean. Of course, Tae-hyun wasn't the kind of person to just politely accept such a half-hearted response.
"Oh? In that case, I should probably give it to someone else..."
"Hey! You rascal!"
His true feelings slipped out instantly! Tae-hyun smirked, having fully expected this reaction. Caught red-handed, Chairman Yoo blushed and meekly accepted the gift.
"Ahem... I shall put it to good use."
"You really... get along well with my father, Elder."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Chairman Yoo grumbled at the teasing remark. Although he held Kim Tae-san in high regard, this definitely didn't sound like a compliment—yet he couldn't help but feel pleased. Grinning from ear to ear, Chairman Yoo took the motorcycle and began reading its description. Watching this, the nearby rankers began to whisper among themselves.
"Is that the motorcycle? The one Kim Tae-hyun is always riding?"
"Looks like it."
"That's so cool. I want one too. Is there any way to get it?"
"There are barely any players who've leveled up Engineering as much as Kim Tae-hyun."
And the few who did have the skill were all stuck in Tae-hyun's territory, doing nothing but crafting bombs.
"Maybe you should ask Kim Tae-hyun."
"Should I...?" As Crawford muttered, clearly tempted, Alcott wore a wicked grin.
You idiot! Go ahead and get scammed too!
It would be a waste to keep Tae-hyun's sheer wickedness all to himself! Alcott desperately wanted to see others suffer the exact same fate!
"Smith! Don't you want one of those too?!"
"I am perfectly satisfied with my horse, thank you."
"..."
Alcott clicked his tongue in disappointment. He really wanted to drag Smith down with him! That left Evangeline...
"Evangeline! What about you—"
"I would rather bite my tongue and drown in the ocean than ask Kim Tae-hyun for another favor."
"R-Right. Got it."
What an unexpectedly fierce reaction! Alcott had no idea just how much hell Evangeline had to endure to obtain the Archisus artifact that suppressed her misfortune penalty.
Meanwhile, Chairman Yoo, who had been reading the item description with a pleased expression, suddenly frowned.
"Wait. What is this?"
"Is something wrong?"
"What on earth does it mean that pressing the red button casts Self-Destruction?!"
"Ah, that. Well, Elder..."
Tae-hyun placed a hand on Chairman Yoo's shoulder and spoke in a deeply solemn voice.
"That is a feature designed specifically for you."
"...Are you telling me to blow myself up while riding it? Huh?"
A highly sensitive topic for an elderly gentleman! Watching this play out, Cain muttered under his breath.
"That's basically elder aban—mmph!"
"Be quiet. Shh."
"Elder, look. You just don't have to use it."
"If I'm not going to use it, why did you put it in there! It's bad luck!"
"Because nothing is absolute in Pangaea Online. You never know when this skill might save your life."
In truth, it was a feature he had added after falling for Gabriel's enthusiastic whispers, but he had to make it sound plausible right now.
"A self-destruction skill is going to save my life? Not send me to the afterlife?"
"Haha. Let's say it might save your pride instead. What if you run into thugs later and find yourself in a situation where they're trying to steal this motorcycle?"
"What kind of thugs would..."
He thought it was nonsense, but PVP encounters did happen quite often in Pangaea Online. Chairman Yoo's resolve wavered slightly.
"Is that so?"
"This is an emergency skill crafted precisely for those moments. In fact, my motorcycle and everyone else's have this exact same feature."
Of course, it was a blatant lie. But Chairman Yoo fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
"Hmm... That does sound plausible. I suppose a skill like this is necessary."
"Exactly, Elder. In the future, it wouldn't be strange if every single item came equipped with a self-destruction skill just in case it gets stolen."
"...?"
"...???"
It was a statement that left everyone nearby utterly horrified!
"Kim Tae-hyun. Kim Tae-hyun."
"What?"
"Isn't it about time we set sail?"
"Ah. Right." At Evangeline's reminder, Tae-hyun gave the order. Seeing this, Lee Da-bi approached him and whispered softly.
"Tae-hyun, it looks like we're bound to clash with the pirates. Wouldn't it be better to enlist the help of these rankers?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm steering the ship straight toward the pirates right now."
"...!!"
Now that Chairman Yoo had been rescued, the players naturally assumed Tae-hyun was taking them back to a port on the Central Continent. Of course, Tae-hyun had never said any such thing. There was no way he would just head back when he had acquired such a massive pool of free labor!
Evangeline tilted her head as she stared out at the horizon. Something felt off.
"The direction feels different from when we came..."
-Go distract her.
-On it!
Tae-hyun sent a whisper to Lee Da-bi, who immediately summoned the members of the Power Warrior Guild.
"Evangeline! I'm a huge fan! Can we take a picture together?"
"Ah, of course."
"Evangeline! When you dominated those two opponents in the second match of the tournament, I thought it was absolutely incredible!"
"Ha, haha... It wasn't that big of a deal. Here, sit down. Let me tell you what I did back then..."
Too easy. Tae-hyun smirked inwardly. Though she looked cold and unapproachable on the outside, Evangeline was essentially friendless and surprisingly gullible. Pretend to be close and act like a fan, and she would crumble instantly!
"Great. Let's head straight for those pirates!"
"By the way, Tae-hyun. I heard there's a bounty on rescuing the Elder. Who gets to claim that?"
"Huh? Good question." Tae-hyun fell into thought at Lee Da-bi's question. In this situation, who actually got to claim it?
"Wouldn't it be whoever physically brings the Elder to the person who posted the bounty?"
"I see."
"...!"
"...!!"
The eyes of the Power Warrior Guild members listening from behind flashed with greed. Could this be... an opportunity?
"Gardu!! You bastard!! How dare you lay a finger on my friend?!"
Kada, the captain of the Kada Pirates, was absolutely furious. The rankers watched in utter bewilderment. No matter how they looked at him, that NPC was clearly a pirate. Why was he so worried about Kim Tae-hyun?
"Unforgivable!"
"Calm down, Captain! Gardu is a great pirate. We cannot easily provoke him!"
"Shut up! Fearing others when you call yourselves pirates? You are a disgrace to the profession!"
"Hehe, you are absolutely right!"
"..."
"...?"
Everyone turned their heads. Tied to the mast in the back, Pelmas was speaking with a sly grin.
"Shut that bastard up."
"Yes, Captain!"
"W-Wait, Captain! Please! Just hear me out! I have a deal that can instantly recover all the losses you suffered back then... in... mmph!"
Kada silenced Pelmas immediately, refusing to hear another word.
"We shall clash blades with Gardu!"
The Kada Pirates are now in a state of absolute hostility with the Gardu Pirates.
Kada slapped a hand as thick as a pot lid onto Tae-hyun's shoulder and spoke.
"My friend, do not worry. Though my strength alone may be lacking, I will rally other pirates to face Gardu. He will pay in blood for daring to underestimate the pirates of Uruk!"
"Ah, yes. Sure."
Kada was showing an overwhelming amount of friendship! Tae-hyun found himself in a bit of a dilemma. An NPC who trusted him so deeply and treated him so warmly was hard to come by. Moreover, Kada possessed great individual strength, and his faction was highly useful. He was a talent too good to throw away!
The problem was that if he wanted to keep Kada, he would have to abandon Pelmas, if nothing else. As long as Pelmas was around, Kada would never stop raging!
"...So, is there any good way to handle this?"
"There is an excellent solution, Tae-hyun," Galakpad said with a benevolent smile.
"Oh? What is it?"
"We abandon Pelmas. That Kada fellow may look simple-minded, but he seems quite capable. And precisely because he is simple, if he were to believe in Archisus, he would do so with absolute devotion. An empty mind is the perfect vessel for pure faith... much like that Slave of Archisus over there."
"...Wait, are you insulting me?!" Cain, who had been listening blankly, suddenly flared up. Why was he getting dragged into this out of nowhere?!
"Hmm, it's tempting, but I don't know. Throwing Pelmas away is a bit..."
"I think it's perfectly fine to abandon him."
"Seems fine to me."
-I also think it's fine, Master.
-I agree as well, Master.
The players, the NPCs, and even his divine beast and magical beast all unanimously agreed on Pelmas's utter uselessness!
"No, but still..." Tae-hyun hesitated. Even if Pelmas seemed useless, losing him completely would still deal a blow to the church. More than anything, there would be no one left to keep Galakpad in check. Tae-hyun did not want to return to his territory only to find his coffers completely drained by Galakpad's overzealous charity.
"Then how about persuading Kada? His grudge against Pelmas isn't some blood feud; it's just because he got scammed. If we play our cards right, we might be able to convince him," Lee Da-bi suggested.
"Will that really work?" Tae-hyun tilted his head. Getting scammed might be better than a blood feud, but it was by no means a trivial grudge. In fact, judging by what Kada had said, it seemed he had become a pirate precisely because Pelmas had scammed him...
"Still, I think it's worth a shot. With your silver tongue... I mean, your Speech skill!"
"Did you just say 'silver tongue'?"
"You misheard!"
"She's right. With your silver tongue... I mean, your Speech skill, there's definitely a chance."
"I think so too."
Everyone around him readily agreed on the power of Tae-hyun's eloquence! To an outsider, it practically looked like he was hypnotizing NPCs. Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. How should he persuade Kada? If he just bluntly asked him to forgive Pelmas, Kada might tell him to jump into the sea instead, so he needed a meticulous plan. Just then, Galakpad spoke up.
"Why not convert him to the faith of Archisus first?"
"...?"
"If we make him believe in Archisus, he will realize who you truly are, which will make your words far more persuasive. Furthermore, since Pelmas is a high-ranking official of the Archisus Church, Kada might be more inclined to show some understanding."
"Oh. That actually makes sense." It sounded far too logical coming from Galakpad, which made it even more suspicious.
"Of course, even if we cannot make him forgive Pelmas, it would still be a great blessing if those pirates came to believe in Lord Archisus."
Ah. So that was your angle. He didn't actually care about saving Pelmas; he just wanted to expand the Archisus congregation! Unlike Pelmas, Galakpad's desires were always hilariously transparent.
"But how do we make them believe in Archisus? Is there anything about him that appeals to pirates?" Unlike the goblins, Tae-hyun wasn't particularly appealing to pirates. The same went for Archisus. Pirates would naturally worship a god of the sea or a god of thieves. Why on earth would they worship Archisus?
"How about showing them how swords and arrows miss us?"
"That seems a bit weak. It'll just look like a regular magic shield."
"Mmph! Mmmph-mmph!" Pelmas, still tied to the mast, groaned desperately. Tae-hyun tried to ignore him, but Pelmas groaned even louder.
"Mmmph-mmph-mmph..."
"...Should we just abandon him?"
"MMPH-MMPH!!!"
"Sigh. Someone go quietly untie his gag." Since his very life was on the line, Pelmas was absolutely desperate. With tears welling in his eyes, he cried out the moment the cloth was removed.
"Gambling, Lord Tae-hyun!"
"Huh?"
"Show those pirates the greatness of Lord Archisus through gambling!"
"...?!"
Gambling. Since Pangaea Online boasted near-infinite freedom, it naturally featured various forms of gambling. However, it was surprisingly difficult for someone like Tae-hyun to profit from it. Thanks to his absurdly high Luck stat, he would win almost every single time, and after a few consecutive victories, the opposing NPCs would inevitably throw a tantrum and refuse to play anymore. Exploiting the game solely with a high Luck stat was harder than it seemed. But what if he wasn't trying to win gold, but rather trying to demonstrate the greatness of Archisus?
This might actually work.