The Art of the Shakedown

Having concluded the conversation on a pleasant note, Tae-hyun turned around and looked at the players. "Alright, let's head back!"

"Whooooaaaa!"

The players cheered, practically jumping for joy. Most of them had been trapped in the Exile for so long, wasting precious time. Being able to finally return home brought them unspeakable joy. The fact that they had ended up here after raiding in Tae-hyun's territory, and had been forced to join his cult just to leave, was completely erased from their minds by sheer ecstasy!

!

Come to think of it, one of the reasons he had come here was because the Demer Order had told him, "We have reliable information that a holy relic of Archisus is located there."

Tae-hyun checked the items dropped by the Kraken. There were plenty of miscellaneous drops, but nothing that looked like a holy relic. There was only one logical conclusion!

"Those bastards from the Demer Order dared to trick me!"

"?!"

"I must commend their technique. To never tell a single lie, only to pull one over on me at the most critical moment... Truly a masterclass in deception."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"You said there was a holy relic here. There isn't!"

"Uh... are you sure you've thoroughly searched the entire Exile?"

"...I'll go back and look."

"..."

The Demer Priests stared blankly at his back for some reason, but Tae-hyun ignored them. He turned back to the players.

"Hey, guys."

"...?"

"We're staying just a little bit longer before we head back!"

The players' faces instantly fell.

Tae-hyun headed back into the Exile, dragging the Demer Priests, Alcott, and Crawford along with him. Now that the curse had been lifted, all the NPCs in the Exile had vanished.

"But why do we have to tag along?"

"You guys were trapped here forever. You should know if there's anything of value around."

"There really is nothing here."

"Exactly. It's just a place designed to drive people mad if they stay too long."

"No way. Would the Demer Order really lie to me? They said it was here, so it must be."

Flinch!

At Tae-hyun's words, the Demer Priests began desperately searching the surroundings. One priest even started clawing at the dirt with his bare hands!

Harsh Whipping was a buff skill that temporarily boosted stats at the cost of HP and MP. Having mastered Supreme Eloquence, Tae-hyun's continuous skill leveling had finally triggered an evolution into a higher-tier skill. It was quite literally a soul-squeezing skill!

Still, finding it in a place like this is going to be a pain.

Well, I have my ways.

"Divine Foresight!"

It'd be nice if Carbanog had a skill like this too.

Divine Foresight revealed that there were no immediate dangers nearby, and that what Tae-hyun was looking for...

"...?"

Was currently in Alcott's possession. Alcott was practically glowing in Tae-hyun's vision!

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" Alcott asked, his voice trembling under Tae-hyun's intense gaze. Whenever Tae-hyun stared like that, it was never a good sign.

"Did you pick something up here?"

"Huh?"

In the Exile, players had nothing but time. They spent their days wandering around looking for an exit, practicing skills, or picking up random junk they had never seen before...

"I did pick up a few miscellaneous things."

"Hand them over."

"Why? I'm the one who found them! Ah, wait... You're looking for something specific here, aren't you?"

Realization dawned on Alcott, and he clapped his fist into his palm. Tae-hyun wouldn't act like this without a reason. Smirking slyly, Alcott said, "Alright. I'll give you what you want, but in exchange, you have to grant me a favor."

"Sure. Die."

"What I want is to leave the Archisus Church... Huh? Wait. What did you say after 'Sure'?"

Tae-hyun had already drawn his weapon. Terrified, Alcott scrambled backward.

"Hey, hey! What's with the sudden violence?!"

"Weren't you asking for a fight?"

"I was trying to make a deal!"

"Ah, my bad. I thought you were just too shy to ask me to kill you, so you were beating around the bush."

"Haha, glad we cleared up the misunder—"

"Sure. Die."

Why bother with negotiation and persuasion when you can just kill them and take it! Realizing Tae-hyun was one hundred percent serious, Alcott reacted instantly.

Thud!

"I'll just give it to you!"

"You should've done that from the start."

What a pathetic loser...

Standing nearby, Crawford watched Alcott with utter disdain. In his mind, his estimation of Alcott had plummeted past rock bottom and was currently drilling toward the center of the earth.

Huh...?

Tae-hyun was bewildered. He had expected to obtain an Authority skill of Archisus, so why on earth did he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get one from Sadiq instead?

"My Lord Count! Did you find it?!"

"It's the Authority of a different god."

"?"

"Uh..."

"Wait... Was it a different god?"

The Demer Priests exchanged glances ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and began whispering among themselves. Tae-hyun frowned and asked, "What do you mean? Weren't you talking about Archisus?"

"Well, you see..."

Among the Authority skills accessible to high-ranking priests of the Demer Order, there was a skill called Divine Revelation. It was a powerful skill that allowed them to receive divine messages and prophesy the future. The revelation had clearly stated that the Authority Tae-hyun sought was hidden in this Exile... And since Tae-hyun was indeed collecting Sadiq's powers as well, the prophecy wasn't technically wrong.

"Was it not?" the Demer Priests asked, carefully reading Tae-hyun's expression.

"Which god's Authority was it...?"

"We didn't lie to you on purpose, My Lord!"

"You're... you're not angry, right?"

Tae-hyun didn't answer and quickly changed the subject. He couldn't exactly tell them he had just acquired the Authority of Sadiq, the Evil God of Fire. Although, knowing the Demer Order, they would probably believe whatever excuse he threw at them...

Still, there's no benefit in blabbing about it.

"Forget it. What's done is done."

"As expected of the Count! So generous!"

"Truly a hero!"

"Shut up."

Leading the fleet, Tae-hyun's group sailed swiftly toward the Central Continent. Having secured everything they came for, there was no reason to linger. Since they were aboard holy vessels of the religious orders, their sailing speed was incredibly fast. The players gazed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out at the open sea, their faces filled with overwhelming emotion.

"Once we get back to the mainland, I'm not going anywhere near the ocean for a long, long time."

"If a quest even mentions the word 'pirate,' I'm instantly declining it!"

Splash!

"Huh?"

A fleet of ships suddenly appeared ahead of their fast-moving vessels. Given the wide variety of ship types and the assortment of different flags flying from their masts, they appeared to belong to players.

"What's that?"

"Are they heading right for us?"

Neupe, Neure's younger brother, stood on the deck of his flagship, addressing the remaining players under his command.

"Listen up! We had no choice but to retreat because we were at a disadvantage inside the Arantis Kingdom, but the battle isn't over yet! Sure, players are flocking to Arantis, but most of them are casuals who don't know the first thing about PvP! They can't stay cooped up in the kingdom forever; eventually, they'll have to venture out. That's when we strike! With hit-and-run tactics like this, they won't stand a chance!"

"Yeahhhhh!"

Proving that his bandit instincts hadn't rusted, Neupe, who had managed to escape earlier, had rallied the defeated players to devise a new strategy. Indeed, if they cruised these waters executing hit-and-run raids, it would deal a devastating blow to the low-level players heading to Arantis. It was a brilliant plan to tank the kingdom's reputation while getting their sweet revenge.

"Uh, boss? There's a ship coming from over there."

"They must be newbies trying to enter the Arantis Kingdom! Let's go crush them! We'll show anyone who dares come here that only death awaits them!"

"But... isn't that ship coming from the opposite direction of the mainland?"

"Hmm. And here I thought you were smarter than your brother."

Neupe and the rest of his surviving crew were currently forced to press their foreheads against the deck. The battle had ended in the blink of an eye.

They were all silently cursing Neupe in their hearts.

Is this guy seriously a ranked bandit?

If he has eyes in his skull, he should've checked who he was picking a fight with first!

Not only were Tae-hyun and the other high-level rankers an overwhelming force, but they also had high-level NPCs from various religious orders with them. If they were unlucky, they could have ended up with religious bounties on their heads, which would have sent elite assassins after them!

"I'm sorry! I must have temporarily lost my mind!" Neupe screamed desperately. He was a man who would gladly throw away his pride, dignity, and everything else for the sake of survival. His older brother, Neure, was currently crying tears of blood, trying to recover after losing all his gear from picking a fight with Tae-hyun. Neupe refused to suffer the same fate, no matter how much of a bastard Kim Tae-hyun was!

"Hey. You're speaking out loud."

"Huh?"

"You just said what you were thinking out loud."

"...D-did I? Haha."

Standing nearby, Kane clicked his tongue in disappointment. "PvP players these days have really gone downhill. Back in my day, we had standards."

"...?"

"...???"

"W-why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Tae-hyun turned back to Neupe. "Well, since you surrendered, I'll show some leniency."

"Really?!"

"Of course. I'm a generous man. Just sign up."

"Sign up where? Gasp! Don't tell me... the Power Warrior Guild?! That's...!"

Leaving the Guild Alliance to join the Power Warrior Guild? That was the absolute last thing he wanted to do.

Lee Da-bi, standing next to Tae-hyun, pouted. "It's not us. And besides, the Power Warrior Guild is very selective, okay? We wouldn't accept a guy like you anyway."

"Whew, thank goodness..."

But Neupe didn't know yet. Joining the Power Warrior Guild would have been a luxury compared to joining the Archisus Church!

Watching this unfold, Alcott thought to himself, But if word gets out within the Guild Alliance that they joined the Archisus Church, things won't end well for them...

Alcott made a swift, decisive choice. He was going to keep his mouth shut!

Upon arriving at the harbor of the Atali Kingdom, the players shed tears of joy as they finally set foot on solid ground. A few of the braver ones quickly summoned their mounts and bolted, screaming at the top of their lungs as they fled.

"Kim Tae-hyun! It was miserable working with you, and I hope we never meet again! You cheap, dirty bastard! We only went there because of you, and you still shook us down like that?!"

"Yeah, you petty scumbag! Stop living your life like that! The moment you appear on a broadcast, I'm going to spam hate comments!"

"You and Lee Se-yeon deserve each other! You both play dirty!"

It was a sight Tae-hyun had seen countless times since the days of Pan-On 1. He wasn't hurt in the slightest. Of course, that didn't mean he was going to let them off scot-free! Mentioning Lee Se-yeon, in particular, was unforgivable. In Tae-hyun's mind, he was an incredibly kind and innocent soul compared to her.

"Those scoundrels have insulted the Count! Arrest them!"

"What?! Those insolent fools!"

Clatter, clatter!

"Aaaaargh! You crazy bastard!"

The players, who never expected Tae-hyun to be petty enough to mobilize the actual city guards, screamed in terror as they fled.

"L-let's just leave quietly."

"Y-yeah, good idea."

Since threats like "I won't give you a ride!" would no longer work, the players who had been planning to throw a few parting insults at Tae-hyun quickly shut their mouths after witnessing the scene. A man who possessed both god-tier skills and absolute political power was nothing short of a living nightmare!