A Pirate's Honor

Tae-hyun looked around, searching for a suitable target. Usually, all it took was approaching a decent NPC and saying, "Let's gamble!" Of course, it had to be a reasonable NPC; he couldn't exactly waltz up to a dungeon boss and ask to roll some dice.

"Ahem."

"...?"

As Tae-hyun, currently acting as the vice-captain, approached with a dry cough, the pirates stared at him with looks that clearly said, What's his deal?

"You guys look bored. Care for... a little gamble?"

"Haha! You've got a great sense of humor, Vice-Captain!"

"...!"

Tae-hyun flinched at the unexpected reaction. Did they see through my dark intentions?

"If you play with us, we'll clean you out in no time!"

"Ah. Is that so?"

A gentle, benevolent smile spread across Tae-hyun's face.

It was a simple game: roll a die to generate a number from 1 to 100, and the player with the highest number wins!

"..."

"...???"

"W-what? Is this a scam?"

Unfortunately for the pirates, their misfortune had only just begun.

Titles and stat bonuses were rolling in one after another. Tae-hyun smacked his lips in thought. Maybe I should have done some gambling earlier to farm these titles... Honestly, it wasn't like he was lacking in the Luck department right now, but stat-farming like this was always better the earlier you did it.

"Aaaargh!"

"This is a scam! A total scam!"

"Vice-Captain! What kind of trick did you use?!"

The pirates simply could not accept reality. Watching them, Galakpad clenched his fists tightly and spoke up.

"My Lord Tae-hyun! Speak it! Proclaim that glorious name! Once these ignorant fools hear it, they will surely be moved to tears...!"

But Tae-hyun did not utter the name of Archisus. That was the amateur way. A true professional took a much more calculated approach.

"Sigh. What would I even do with your pocket change anyway?"

"Mmph! Mmmph!"

Seeing Tae-hyun prepare to return the Gold, Pelmas, who was tied up in the back, groaned in sheer agony, completely forgetting his own miserable plight. Returning money won from gambling?! Unbelievable!

"I'll give it all back."

"Vice-Captain...!"

"Vice-Captain...!!!"

Their eyes shone as if they were looking at the most benevolent vice-captain in the entire world. Tears welling in their eyes, the pirates tried to grab Tae-hyun's hands. But Tae-hyun smoothly pulled his hands back and spoke.

"But I can't just give it back for free. Do me one small favor."

"What is it?"

"Just believe in a certain god."

Well, if they're so unhappy about it, they can come down here and proselytize themselves. Why didn't they just pitch their own gods to the pirates? Tae-hyun brushed the warning aside. Frankly, he had gone through so much trouble just to convert a handful of pirates; if other churches started whining, he'd find it utterly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ridiculous.

"Archisus! Archisus!"

"The great, glorious name, Archisus!"

"Oh, Archisus! Grant us Gold!"

"????"

Kada, the captain of the Kada Pirates, was thoroughly bewildered by the sudden shift in the crew's atmosphere.

"W-what is this? Who is Archisus?"

"Archisus is that very deity, Captain!"

"The one who will grant us victory in our gambles against those other pirate bastards!"

Kada blinked in confusion. Fortunately, Tae-hyun was right beside him.

"Captain, Archisus is the great God of Luck."

"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."

"Oh? Where did you hear it?"

"Ah. I think that bastard Pelmas mentioned it when he was scamming me."

"..."

"..."

An unexpected betrayal from Pelmas's past! The entire group glared at Pelmas, who quickly hung his head in shame.

"That's only because Pelmas had it all wrong. If he had truly understood the real power of Archisus, he wouldn't have ended up a ruined, pathetic gambler."

"The real power?"

Perhaps because Tae-hyun's affinity rating with him was so high, Kada listened intently.

"It is... the power of absolute luck that guarantees victory in any gamble!"

"I'm a bit done with gambling, though..."

Having been ruined by Pelmas's scams, Kada looked disgusted at the mention of gambling. But Tae-hyun pressed on.

"Captain! Think about it. Shouldn't you win back at least as much as you've lost?!"

It was the classic logic of a gambling addict! Yet, despite his initial reluctance, Kada began to waver under Tae-hyun's silver tongue.

"So all I have to do is believe in Archisus... is that it?"

"Exactly, Captain."

"But how do I know it actually works?"

"If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

"There are plenty of bastards on Skull Island where the pirates gather who took our Gold. Can you win all of it back from them?"

Perfect! The mere fact that this quest had triggered meant he was already ninety percent of the way to success. For Tae-hyun, taking Gold from others was as easy as taking candy from a baby. All he had to do now was make his move once they reached the island.

"What on earth is Kim Tae-hyun doing?"

"Who knows... I thought he'd be practicing his skills or something..."

Crawford and Alcott whispered to each other, their faces filled with utter incomprehension. Since Kim Tae-hyun was one of the top rankers in the game, they had expected him to show off some extraordinary training in his spare time. Instead, he was playing cheap dice games with pirates for pocket change, only to give it right back... They couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"When are we reaching the mainland anyway?"

"Go ask him."

"Y-you can ask him too, you know."

"I don't even know Kim Tae-hyun, but you do. Go on, ask."

"I... things are a bit awkward between us because of the Guild Alliance. It's uncomfortable."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that?!"

"Hmm..."

"Lower your eyes, will you?!"

Alcott threw a fit under Crawford's suspicious gaze. But Crawford, whose suspicions had already been piqued, did not look away.

"Land ho! It's an island!"

At the pirate's shout, Alcott, who had been cornered, quickly changed the subject.

"Oh?! Finally!"

"They said it's an island, not the mainland."

"...We're probably just making a quick stop!"

"There are an awful lot of pirate ships here for a quick stop, though..."

"...!!"

Realizing the situation, Alcott was about to rush over to Tae-hyun and yell at him... but he couldn't. His anger management kicked in within a single second!

"I-I'm sure there's a good reason."

"You've gotten strangely soft since we came here, haven't you?"

"I've always been like this!"

Of course, not all rankers possessed Alcott's impeccable self-control. Roy was too terrified of Tae-hyun—being Kim Tae-san's son—to even approach him. Smith, being his usual polite self, simply assumed there was a reasonable explanation and let it slide. Crawford remained quiet because he was busy keeping an eye on the suspicious Alcott. But...

"Where on earth are we?!"

Evangeline was a different story.

"An island."

"No, why are we at an island?! Weren't we heading to the mainland?!"

"We're dropping off the Elder. He said he wanted to come here."

It was a blatant lie, delivered without a shred of shame! Evangeline was dumbfounded. When had the old man ever said such a thing?!

"What absolute nonsense... If I ask him, the truth will come out!"

"Go ahead, ask."

Tae-hyun's sheer confidence made Evangeline hesitate. Did he really say he wanted to come here? Huh? That makes no sense. He clearly said he wanted to go to the mainland...

However, Chairman Yoo utterly betrayed Evangeline's expectations.

"Indeed. I wanted to visit this island as well."

"?!?!?"

"Haha. Isn't it great, Elder?"

"Hahaha. Yes, it is. Quite nice."

"It'll be wonderful for you to spend some time fishing here~"

"Ohohoho. Yes, indeed. Wonderful."

The sight of Chairman Yoo and Tae-hyun acting so completely out of character made Evangeline blink rapidly. Of course, doing so changed absolutely nothing.

"W-what on earth is going on...!"

Evangeline quickly explained the situation to the other rankers. Smith simply shrugged it off, saying, "Well, there's not much we can do, is there?" But Crawford was not having it.

"Isn't this a bit much? We need to return to the mainland as soon as possible. Shouldn't we demand they turn the ship around?"

"Kim Tae-hyun isn't exactly the type to listen to others..."

"Even so, if everyone here speaks up, he won't be able to ignore us. Me, Evangeline, Alcott..."

"L-leave me out of this."

"..."

Sharp glares pierced Alcott from all sides! But Alcott shamelessly ignored them. It was still infinitely better than dealing with Tae-hyun!

Does Kim Tae-hyun really have some dirt on him? What is going on?

"...Fine, excluding Alcott, and Smith..."

"Ah. Please count me out as well."

"Why you too?!"

"My current quest is temporarily on hold, so my schedule is wide open. I think watching this unfold might be quite entertaining."

"...Then that leaves..."

With Alcott and Smith out, the only ranker left was Roy! Crawford turned to Roy and spoke.

"Well, with you included, that makes three of us, which is a majority. Thank goodness."

"Ah, actually, I'd also like to..."

"...What is wrong with all of you?!"

Crawford truly could not comprehend what was happening.

This quest is a total freebie. That was what Tae-hyun had thought. But that belief was shattered to pieces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not long after.

"How about a gamble..."

"No way. Not interested."

"Let's play a game of..."

"I said no."

"Why won't you play?"

"Are you seriously asking that? Good grief..."

A pirate from another crew on Skull Island looked at Tae-hyun and spoke in a lecturing tone.

"The Kada Pirates were just attacked by the Gardu Pirates! How can you even think about gambling when our fellow pirates have been attacked? Do you have any decency? Show some respect!"

"...!!!"

An utterly unexpected reason! Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. Since when did pirates have such a strong sense of camaraderie?

No, surely if I look around, there must be at least one or two...

"No way. Gardu is out there roaming around with his eyes wide open, and you want to gamble?"

"Hmph. That bastard Gardu dared to attack the Kada Pirates? I won't forgive him. Gambling? What kind of gambling, you brainless fool!"

"..."

Kada had done his job too well. Absolutely no one wanted to gamble! Every single pirate on Skull Island was walking around with a stern, solemn, and serious expression, shouting, "I won't forgive that bastard Gardu!"

"...I'm screwed."

"There's no way to solve this..."

For things to go awry in such a bizarre manner. Tae-hyun smacked his lips. Should he just be satisfied with the fact that these pirates wouldn't join Gardu's fleet? Since he had already started this, he really wanted to secure the Kada Pirates...

"Hmm. I have a good idea."

"Elder!"

Chairman Yoo appeared, carrying his fishing rod with a majestic air, with members of the Power Warrior Guild trailing behind him! He was riding the motorcycle Tae-hyun had gifted him.

He must really like that thing.

Just how much does he love it?

He kind of reminds me of Tae-hyun's dad.

Choi Sang-yun was busy having these highly disrespectful thoughts.

"What kind of good idea?"

"Doesn't the quest just require you to return their Gold, by any means necessary?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then we can just give them the Gold. I will pay for it."

"Elder...!"

"Haha, my boy. No need to be so thrilled—"

"What are you plotting?"

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly turned ice-cold!