The Luxury of First Class
Power Warrior guild members shared information using hand gestures, body language, and even whispers.
—That guy's from the Guild Alliance.
—Double the price?
—Triple.
—No. He looks loaded, so I think we can go with five times. Jack it up!
"Huh? The boarding fee is 20 gold?"
"That's because it's first class, valued customer."
"First class?! There's such a thing?"
"Hehe. Normally there isn't, but you look so noble that we're making an exception. Please don't tell anyone else."
"What are the perks of first class?"
"You can experience the sea at its closest, your experience points will shoot up just by sailing, and it's the safest place to be if a battle breaks out."
"Ooh...!"
Their silver tongues were flawless! The Guild Alliance members fell hook, line, and sinker for the Power Warrior guild members' pitch.
—Hey. Apparently, there's a first class here.
—What? Seriously?
—Yeah, shouldn't people of our caliber be riding in first class? Oh, and they said not to tell anyone else, so keep it down.
—Of course.
Having received the whispered tip from his friend, the next guild member spoke quietly when his turn came.
"First class..."
"!"
"...Hehe. I know it exists. I just wear this gear because I prefer to stay humble, but my actual gear is incredible. Give me a first-class ticket."
What a clown, the Power Warrior guild member sneered inwardly.
His current equipment was practically glowing, freshly polished by a blacksmith and dripping with active buffs. Humble, his foot...
Of course, the Power Warrior guild members weren't about to let their personal amusement get in the way of an opportunity. This was strictly business!
"Ah, but we're currently out of seats..."
"Thirty gold!"
"Right this way, sir!"
Some members of the Guild Alliance hid their guild affiliation. These were mostly experienced, high-level players. Bragging had its time and place, and flaunting one's Guild Alliance membership in the Atali Kingdom was a recipe for disaster.
Even the Power Warrior guild couldn't easily identify these cautious players, but...
"I know about the first class. I heard you get more experience?"
"Where is this first class that's safe during battle?"
The false rumors had them voluntarily turning themselves in!
Receiving the progress report, Kim Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded.
"Wait, why are there so many of them?"
"That just shows how popular the Asbian Empire is..."
"Shut it."
The Guild Alliance members stared at one another. Some recognized each other, while others were strangers, but it was clear they all belonged to the same alliance. And where were they right now? The absolute lowest deck of the ship—the rowing quarters!
"...What kind of first class is this?!"
"Call the manager!"
"I can't believe these scamming bastards. I'll never forgive them!"
Once they fully grasped the situation, their collective fury erupted! Just then, a Kingdom soldier NPC descended the stairs.
"What is the meaning of this commotion?"
"They scammed us! Look! A guy who looked like this told us this was first class and took our gold!"
"Ah. You mean that. Centurion! The adventurers here have something to say."
The players sighed in relief as the soldier nodded. Kingdom soldiers and officers were symbols of order. Whenever a problem like this arose, they would always appear and resolve it cleanly.
"What is it?"
"They apparently thought this was first class."
"This is indeed first class. His Majesty decreed it so."
"..."
"..."
For a moment, the guild members thought they had misheard.
"W-what? I misheard, right?"
"This place is first class?"
"This is first class, the deck above is second class, and the deck above that is third class. Do you understand now, adventurers?"
A truly unique way of calculating classes! Naturally, there was no way the guild members would accept such nonsense.
"Cut the crap!"
"Yeah! You think we're just going to let this slide with some wordplay? What about the other promises?"
"Other promises? What do you mean?"
"They said we could experience the sea at its closest, that our experience would shoot up just by sailing, and that it was the safest place during battle..."
The speaking guild member's face suddenly went pale. Surely...
"Since you are at the very bottom, you are closest to the sea. Since you will be rowing as oarsmen, your experience will increase greatly. And since any battle will be fought up on the deck, this is indeed the safest place. Adventurers, do not test my patience any further."
Your affinity with Centurion John is decreasing.
If you continue to complain, Centurion John may become hostile.
"No, this is insane...!"
The fact that the officer seemed completely serious made them even angrier. There was no point in arguing further with an NPC who was just following orders. They had to go upstairs, find the bastards who scammed them, and tear them apart.
"Hey! Let's go. No point talking to this guy."
"You cannot leave your posts. Sit down and row!"
"?"
"???"
Leaving your post without permission may result in punishment.
Your affinity with Centurion John is decreasing...
Your reputation within the Atali Kingdom's 3rd Fleet is decreasing...
Reputation and affinity were plummeting! The guild members felt their blood pressure rising.
"You bastards... I won't let this go. Out of my way!"
"Hey! Wait! Stop!"
"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!"
A few hot-headed guild members charged up the stairs in a rage. They looked ready to attack if the soldiers blocked them. The more level-headed guild members realized the danger of the situation and tried to hold them back, but their warnings fell on deaf ears.
"Soldiers! Emergency! Emergency!"
"What is happening?!"
"Knights! The adventurers are staging a rebellion!"
The Atali Kingdom's 3rd Fleet has turned hostile.
You may be attacked.
Your reputation is decreasing...
The knights rushed in as if they had been waiting for this exact moment! The guild members had never imagined that knights would be stationed right above the rowing quarters. Dealing with a crowd of soldiers was hard enough, but knights too?! The guild members who had drawn their weapons hesitated, caught in a dilemma. Should they fight?
Swoosh, swoosh—
"One! Two! One! Two!"
"We are rowing with all our might!"
"?!"
"You traitors!"
In the meantime, the guild members in the back had quickly sat down and begun rowing vigorously. It was a magic that forced even mages and priests to row! Thanks to that, only the ones who had stepped forward were left out to dry. With their allies abandoning them, what else could they do?
"W-we surrender!"
"We're sorry! I must have temporarily lost my mind!"
"Silence, adventurers!"
Equipping [Oarsman's Shackles]...
Equipping [Heavy Iron Ball]...
"..."
"If you cause trouble one more time, we will throw you into the sea!"
No matter how unfair and dirty it felt, the guild members had no choice but to shut their mouths.
"Wow. Why is that ship moving so fast?"
"The Guild Alliance guys are down there."
"Maybe we should have put them on this ship instead? Their rowing speed is no joke."
Even Tae-hyun was impressed by their speed! Currently, the group was leading a massive armada toward the Asbian Empire. It wasn't just the Kingdom's fleet; a multitude of player ships were trailing closely behind them. They had decided that traveling with Tae-hyun was far safer than sailing on their own.
"Ah, I want to do some piracy."
"Don't say that out loud!"
"Why did it have to be a Kingdom vessel..."
—Um, Master.
—O Master.
"?"
It was rare for Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk to call out to Tae-hyun at the same time.
"What is it?"
—Well... you see. The Asbian Empire... probably won't like us very much.
—Indeed, Master.
"!"
Tae-hyun realized the issue. The Asbian Empire was an empire that had been destroyed by dragons. And Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk were, technically speaking, dragons!
—We aren't "technically" dragons, we are literally dragons.
"Alright, alright. In any case, you're saying you shouldn't show yourselves, right? I'll keep that in mind."
—Master, is it really alright?
The two divine beasts were puzzled by how unfazed Tae-hyun was by this revelation.
"I mean, it's not like it's anything new. You guys are the divine beasts of Sadiq and Archisus, after all."
Sadiq and Archisus were both gods who were far more likely to be cursed at than welcomed wherever they went. Of course, Yong-yong begged to differ.
—O Master! How can you compare Archisus to Sadiq!
Carbanog agrees. Compared to Archisus, Sadiq cannot even hold a candle...
"Ah. There's a sea monster over there."
A large sea monster swam in the distance, kicking up massive sprays of water. Of course, with an armada of this scale, there was absolutely nothing to fear. The sheer damage output if every player here attacked just once would be astronomical. Besides, it wasn't even in their path.
"We can just ignore it and keep going."
"No, we can't do that. Turn the ship around!"
"?"
"?"
"We have to kill that thing before we go."
At Tae-hyun's command, a fisherman player on the deck approached him.
"Tae-hyun, those sea serpent-type monsters aren't worth the effort. The meat tastes terrible, and the buffs are mediocre. Turning the ship around for that is just a waste of time, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
Just as Tae-hyun was about to speak, Lee Da-bi chimed in.
"We might be fine, but many other players are using this route right now. If we just leave it, it could cause massive damage to them—especially the smaller boats."
"Ah...! What a profound consideration!"
"That's amazing!"
Even Yu Ji-soo was deeply moved. To think he had such noble intentions! However, Lee Da-bi stared at her as if she were talking nonsense.
"Pardon? Of course that's a lie."
"?"
"He's probably doing that to gather ingredients for his Abnormal Cooking."
"Cain, rejoice. It's a Monster Essence for you to eat."
"..."
If it was big and looked like it had high vitality, Tae-hyun's first instinct was to kill it and turn it into an essence! His mindset was slowly becoming more and more like a pragmatic middle-aged man.
When Tae-hyun's lead ship changed direction, the other vessels trailing behind were puzzled.
"Why are they changing course?"
"I heard they're going to clear out that monster over there."
"Why? It's so far away, it's not even a threat."
"They said they're clearing it out because it might pose a danger to other players passing through here."
"As expected of Kim Tae-hyun...! He's on a completely different level from other rankers!"
"If it's Kim Tae-hyun, I totally approve of him dating Lee Se-yeon!"
"Anyone who says Kim Tae-hyun has a bad personality should be thrown into the ocean!"
"The rumors about what happened in Pan-On 1 must have been exaggerations too!"
If any of Tae-hyun's past victims had been present, they would have wept tears of blood and vehemently protested, but fortunately, none of them were here.
"Let's help too!"
"Yeah!"
Everyone turned their ships to assist Tae-hyun.
"Look, it's Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Look over here, please!!"
"Ah, is that Cain over there?"
"Why is he covering his face? He looks completely devastated."
"Nah, you must have misseen."
Thud-thud-thud-thud! With a series of satisfying impacts, the sea serpent collapsed. Unable to withstand the barrage of arrows and spells raining down from all directions, it finally fell.
"Retrieving that carcass is going to be a chore."
"Shouldn't we leave that task to the fishermen, Your Majesty?"
"Huh?"
By the time Admiral Brangsong spoke, Tae-hyun was already standing on the ship's railing. He was fully prepared to dive in!
"Y-Your Majesty! Let others handle such tasks..."
Tae-hyun pretended not to hear and leaped. What nonsense was he talking about when there were skill levels to raise and items to loot!
The fisherman players who had rowed out in small boats to butcher the monster were startled to see Tae-hyun.
"We can handle this, sir!"
"That's right!"
"No! Let me do it. I can't just stand by and watch!"
Slash, slash, slash, slash! Fearing that others might stop him, Tae-hyun immediately got to work with his blade.
◈ Butchering [Giant Sea Serpent]...
◈ Acquired [Sea Serpent Scale] x3
◈ Acquired [Sea Serpent Meat] x5
◈ Acquired [Sea Serpent Essence] x1
◈ Skill level has increased...
Items poured out every time Tae-hyun made a move! Thanks to his absurd Luck stat, he was obtaining two or three items where others would only get one.
If I hunt around this area, I'll have plenty of Monster Essences for a while.
A scheme born purely out of greed. Yet, to those watching from the sidelines, Tae-hyun looked like nothing less than an exemplary leader leading by example.