The Angler's Paradise

"If they just change their class to Angler, all equipment and consumables like bait will be supported until level 100... Hmm. That sounds decent."

"...That seems a bit excessive. More than that, if you only support anglers, it's a bit..."

Tae-hyun had only one reason for coaxing Chairman Yoo: to grow the chairman's undersea kingdom well and use it as an ally!

Just looking at Kim Tae-san and the middle-aged uncles' guild right now proved his point. They had started from absolute scratch on bare ground with no castle, no city, nothing. Despite facing all kinds of competitors, they had managed one of the finest territories in the Auston Kingdom—at least until the Guild Alliance pushed them back with sheer numbers.

And the source of that power was...

Pay-to-win!

Creating something out of nothing—that was the magic of pay-to-win.

A territory? Walls, buildings—everything could be solved by throwing cash to gather architect players.

Guild members? If you bought gold with cash and promised to support them with gold and items, they would swarm in.

That was how powerful the almighty dollar was.

Furthermore, Chairman Yoo's situation was far better than Kim Tae-san's. Though it was a bit small, it was still a kingdom. It was underwater, and there were barely any rival forces nearby.

In other words, there was plenty of time to grow through Chairman Yoo's heavy cash investments!

But while Tae-hyun was coaxing him nicely, Chairman Yoo seemed to be heading in a strange direction.

I can't let him only support anglers!

It would be a crying shame to invite only anglers to such a prime location. Besides, angler players were a tiny minority compared to the overall player base. To grow a territory, they needed to actively attract a diverse range of players...

Wait. Now that I think about it, this is getting depressing...

Come to think of it, Tae-hyun's own territory was also far from having balanced growth.

"What's wrong with only supporting anglers?"

"A territory can't function with only anglers. What if a territorial war breaks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out?"

"What kind of territorial war would happen down here?"

Chairman Yoo's counterattack poked right at his sore spot.

He was absolutely right. Honestly, this place probably wouldn't have any major issues even if it was filled with nothing but anglers, just as Chairman Yoo wanted.

But Tae-hyun did not back down.

"Whew. Elder, you don't know what you're talking about. Do you know how much Pan-On players love territories? Just look at the Auston Kingdom. How fiercely are they fighting over there? Besides, just a moment ago, a bunch of bastards swarmed in to attack the royal palace."

"Mmm..."

"Even if this place is far from the continent, it's not like people can't sail here, right? The location is public now, too. If you don't prepare in advance, you might end up in deep trouble later."

"Yes... that is true."

Chairman Yoo nodded. Tae-hyun thought, Perfect!

"Exactly. That's why we need a way to attract combat-class players as well..."

"I'll just have to make it so the anglers can fight too."

"...Excuse me?"

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded.

Combat classes were combat classes. Crafting classes were crafting classes. There was a reason they were categorized like that!

Of course, crafting classes could swing weapons and fight, but they had many disadvantages—which was why they were crafting classes in the first place.

Yet, no matter how much Tae-hyun explained, Chairman Yoo refused to listen.

"No, I'm telling you, it's too hard."

"But didn't you beat high-ranking rankers as a blacksmith back in Pan-On 1?"

"..."

To think he would be tripped up by his own past actions! Tae-hyun felt like he had been smacked on the back of the head.

"...Th-that was an extreme exception... Normally, it's incredibly hard for a crafting class to beat a combat class..."

"Well, it's not impossible, so they just need to work hard!"

"..."

What needlessly positive optimism! Tae-hyun gave up trying to persuade him.

"Ah... Yes..."

"Come to think of it, I suppose I can call myself a lord now. Let's get along as fellow lords. Helping each other out."

I don't think that's going to last long... Tae-hyun thought to himself, but he didn't say it out loud.

"Elder."

"Hmm?"

"Best of luck."

"Somehow... I have a bad feeling about this."

Having made up his mind, Chairman Yoo immediately added new policies.

- Full support for the Angler class!

- Come to the Arantis Kingdom of dreams and hopes!

- All equipment, consumables, and more fully supported!

"The Lord has gone mad!"

Although the Arantis Kingdom was already the center of attention, there was a reason these rumors spread so rapidly across the community boards.

The Power Warrior Guild members were desperately advertising! Now that the Arantis Kingdom was in Chairman Yoo's hands, they only stood to gain if they hyped it up.

If things kept going like this, the Arantis Kingdom would literally turn into a giant fishing hole where people did nothing but fish! They had to lure in as many players as possible...

What exquisite spin-doctoring!

Between being the center of attention and the aggressive advertising, the effects were immediate.

Every player in Pan-On who called themselves an angler, fisherman, or anything that could catch a fish swarmed in.

Thanks to that, the waters near the entrance of the Arantis Kingdom were teeming with all kinds of fishing boats.

"Huff, huff... I thought I was going to die when my boat capsized on the way here."

"It's so damn far. But is it true they're really giving out that gear?"

False or exaggerated advertising was a common occurrence in Pan-On. Just look at Power Warrior... Well, it wasn't just the Power Warrior Guild; every guild advertised with slogans like, "A rosy future awaits you if you join our guild!"

Besides, the advertisements for the Arantis Kingdom sounded too good to be true. Even as they traveled, players kept wondering, Are they really going to give it to us?

"Here you go. Take it."

"By any chance, what is your class? Ah. An angler... N-no, I'm not disappointed... *Sniff*..."

However, those doubts vanished in an instant.

Upon entering the kingdom, support was indeed being handed out everywhere.

Just register your return point ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the territory, verify it, and they would hand over the items!

The players distributing the items all looked incredibly depressed for some reason, but the anglers who received the free support were absolutely thrilled regardless.

"The rumors were true!"

"Let's go fishing! Anyone looking for a party?"

"Oh, are you new here? Would you like to join us?"

"Ah, yes! I'd be grateful if you'd have me!"

"I'll send you an invite now. We're going to head up to move, are you all ready?"

"Ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ah. You're new, so you don't know. First, you received your gear, right?"

"Yes, I got the gear."

"Next, go over to the Archisus Church temple, join the order, get blessed, and then come back."

"Huh?"

In any case, now that his work here was done, Tae-hyun planned to make a cool exit.

The paladins would be waiting, so he needed to go back up and grill Priest Hugo!

Is this place an exile? Huh! You should have checked the map before bringing it! Look, see! This is the Real Map!

...Something like that.

However, Chairman Yoo caught Tae-hyun just as he was about to leave.

"What is it?"

"Before you go, could you set up a temple for me?"

"A temple? An Archisus Temple?"

Chairman Yoo nodded. Tae-hyun asked, looking utterly bewildered.

"I don't mind, but why an Archisus Temple of all things?"

"That's... Look, are you going to set it up or not?!"

Instead of answering, Chairman Yoo snapped at him.

He felt strangely scammed after changing his class to an Archisus Angler. Talking about it only felt like it would hurt his pride even more!

Perhaps due to Chairman Yoo's class, various Archisus-related buildings were now visible in the territory construction window.

"Why are you getting angry all of a sudden?"

"Are you going to install it or not?"

"Installing it is no big deal, but..."

"?!?!"

An unexpected level up!

Since he had leveled up not too long ago, he hadn't expected this at all. The experience reward must have been massive.

Finally, I've reached Level 100...

While every random player and their dog had already hit 100, and top-tier rankers were soaring past 200, Tae-hyun had finally, barely managed to reach Level 100!

A deep wave of emotion washed over him.

Huh?

Suddenly, along with a bright light, various types of weapons ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared before him.

Every single weapon Tae-hyun had ever used even once in Pan-On was there!

He wasn't surprised by the weapons themselves. Seeing as he had to choose one, it would likely grant a special buff related to it.

What surprised Tae-hyun was that Archisus was actually giving him a choice.

Usually, Archisus just picked things completely at random!

Hmm... It's between a sword, a spear, and a musket.

The weapon Tae-hyun used most frequently was, of course, the sword.

The performance of the Dae-man-bul-gang-geom was outstanding, and he doubted he would find a weapon that surpassed it for quite some time.

However, Tae-hyun's Swordsmanship skill was already Advanced.

I can raise my Swordsmanship skill just by continuing to use swords, and I've never really felt like my Swordsmanship was lacking. I'm not sure if getting a blessing on it would even do much.

If he picked it and didn't see much of an effect, it would be a massive waste.

Then that leaves the musket and the spear... Would the spear be better?

There was only one reason Tae-hyun chose the spear: the Spear of Karbanog.

He would continue to use this artifact, and there was a high chance it would get even better depending on future quests.

In that case, it wouldn't hurt to raise his Spearmanship skill in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠preparation for when he needed to use the spear.

Tae-hyun chose the spear.

This meant that raising his Swordsmanship skill would also raise his Spearmanship skill, and raising his Spearmanship skill would raise his Swordsmanship skill.

It was a subtle but incredibly powerful effect.

A perfect effect for someone like Tae-hyun, who constantly swapped between different weapons!