The Holy Land of Streaming
"T-Tae-hyun?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Tae-hyun looked at the players as if nothing had happened. The architect players pointed toward the demons screaming and fleeing in the distance.
"Didn't they... just run away?"
"Demons are naturally afraid of temples."
"???"
Was that true? They had never heard of such a thing. Low-grade undead were afraid of temples, but demons and high-grade undead usually tried to destroy them, didn't they?
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's how it is. Let's finish up construction quickly."
Tae-hyun coaxes them. The players look at him with suspicious eyes.
'No matter how I look at it, they ran away because they saw Tae-hyun.'
'They definitely fled from Kim Tae-hyun, right?'
'Kim Tae-hyun was ordering demons around earlier, could they be his subordinates?'
'Nah, no way...'
They whispered, but they had a lot of work to do. The temple construction was in its final stages. It wasn't just architect players. Many players came because they were enticed by the conditions Tae-hyun offered.
In Fantasia Online, the Valley of Despair and Sorrow was already famous.
These players didn't diligently level up, clear quests, and match gear; they aimed for a jackpot all at once in the Valley! Of course, only a few hit the jackpot, and the rest became slaves to the gacha.
Going to the territory's arena, aiming for the Goblin Universal Maker, or opening boxes after receiving the priests' blessings...
No matter what they did in the territory, nothing could be done without Archisus Order Contribution Points.
Yes. The Archisus Church utilized these people very efficiently. Two-thirds of the territory's buildings were built using only contribution points, without spending a single gold! When Tae-hyun offered Archisus Order Contribution Points, they swarmed from the Valley to the plains.
"But couldn't we build it a bit more grandly?" the architect players asked greedily.
The bigger and grander they built, the more experience they gained! Besides, shouldn't someone of Tae-hyun's stature build these temples to look cool and magnificent?
But Tae-hyun shook his head.
"Fast, simple, and sturdy is the best."
Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of building a grand structure to show off. Other players didn't build massive buildings and wear flashy gear for no reason. It was for publicity! To stand out and become famous among countless players, that kind of thing was important. Expensive houses, expensive gear, expensive cars... no, expensive mounts, and so on!
But Tae-hyun already had more than enough of that.
'I'll build the temple quickly, drop a few fortresses nearby, and then get out.'
No matter how small and humble the temple was, once the power of the World Tree spread, countless people would flock here. Side effects? Tae-hyun already knew from experience that people didn't care about such things.
People are more fearless than you'd think!
"Ugh... should I, should I try one more time...?"
'As expected.' Tae-hyun was certain.
Cain, who had just blown all his gold, was already seriously contemplating it. Honestly, it was impossible not to contemplate. If you got lucky, succeeded a few times, and pulled out, you could get free stats. Normally, to raise a single stat, you had to go through corresponding hardships!
Of course, Tae-hyun had no intention of doing such gambling. For Tae-hyun, who lived and died by his stats, a stat reduction was fatal. Only those who were desperate or had nothing to lose did that kind of gambling...
...Or those who were stupid like Cain.
Tae-hyun's next goal was one: raiding Hakkarias's Lair.
Hakkarias's Lair! If Hakkarias were still alive, even approaching it would be madness, but Hakkarias was dead.
'Since it was so unexpected, few people will move immediately, but they'll definitely show up soon. I have to move fast.'
No one expected Hakkarias to be defeated. It was natural, since even Tae-hyun, the one who did it, hadn't been certain. But now that his defeat was known, sooner or later, people would start thinking about raiding Hakkarias's Lair.
'Well... honestly, even if I go a bit late, it shouldn't be a big problem.'
As the saying goes, a rich house lasts three years even in ruin. Just because Hakkarias was dead didn't mean his lair would be breached so easily. Tae-hyun, having fought Hakkarias directly, knew this. Even without Hakkarias, wouldn't a Hakkarias-less Hakkarias's Lair still be at the difficulty level of a boss monster that players could barely hunt?
'But I have Heuk-heuk.'
A fellow Black Dragon! He would be a reliable helper when raiding the lair.
— Are you okay?
Yong-yong cautiously spoke to Heuk-heuk. Since their master, Tae-hyun, was hostile to Hakkarias, they had no choice but to fight, but there was no way Heuk-heuk would feel good about it. After all, they were fellow Black Dragons and acquaintances...
— I'm so...
— So sad? So tormented?
— So happy!
— ???
— Kuhaha! Serves that bastard right for dying! Let's see him boast about being better than me even in the afterlife!
The true nature of a Black Dragon never goes away! Black Dragons were fundamentally different from Gold Dragons. Heuk-heuk flapped his wings and shouted:
— He looked down on me just because I worshiped Sadiq, and now look at him! Serves him right!
— Y-Yeah. It's good to see you're in high spirits.
Yong-yong said that and subtly distanced himself. They had gotten a bit closer, but now the emotional distance widened rapidly!
It wasn't just once that demons came near the temple, saw Tae-hyun, gasped, "Yikes! It's Archisus! Don't make eye contact!" and fled. After it happened more than five or six times, the players became fairly certain. The demons feared Tae-hyun!
However, the plains were vast. Demons began appearing elsewhere. Leaving the temple being built right in front of the World Tree alone, they headed toward the edges of the plains! Since the plains were so wide, they could easily avoid the area where Tae-hyun was.
— Kuhahaha! Feel the power of one who has crossed over from the Demon Realm to the continent!
— Succumb to the power of demons!
They were low-grade demons, but they were threatening enough to the players passing by! Players who couldn't handle demons ran away first.
"Demons didn't use to appear here?!"
"Who cares! Why are you even asking that! Run!"
Merchant players drove their carriages frantically. With low combat power and no real-time information, the only thing they could rely on was their movement speed.
"There are a lot of people over there!"
"Let's ask for help!"
In the distance, under a massive tree, people were gathered and building something.
— You cowardly humans!
— Stop! Fight us fairly!
"...?"
The merchants doubted their ears. Did the demons eat something bad?
Screeech—
The merchants stopped their carriages. Normally, this was something they shouldn't do, but curiosity got the better of them.
"Hey! Why are you stopping! Drive faster! What if it's a trick!"
"No, look. The demons can't come over here?"
The flying low-grade demons were gnashing their teeth and glaring this way.
— Argh! Come over here!
— Humans! Are you scared!
There was no way such provocations would work on merchants. Instead, the merchant players got excited and began teasing them.
"They really can't come over here!"
"Hey! Let's throw rocks! Rocks!"
"Shoo! Shoo!"
— You Archisus-like bastards!
After this happened several times, rumors spread among the players.
Fantasia Online players were always searching for the perfect hunting ground. A perfect spot meant a place where strong monsters appeared in abundance, but were easy to catch! And the area near the World Tree Temple met all the conditions of a perfect spot.
Since the Guild Alliance had been hit so hard they couldn't even come near, players swarmed in.
"Why are there so many people?"
Tae-hyun was puzzled. There was no reason for so many people to gather near the World Tree. At most, it should just be people building the temple and receiving contribution points.
'Are they assassins?'
Tae-hyun doubted them first! Because he had committed so many misdeeds, his first instinct upon seeing anything unusual was suspicion. A personality that would surely live a long life!
Carbanog shakes its head in disapproval.
Of course, they weren't assassins. There were people who came to hunt after hearing the rumors, people who came to participate in the temple construction, and people who came after hearing rumors about the World Tree.
"Tae-hyun! I have a favor to ask."
"You want to pray to the World Tree? Get in line and wait. Once the temple is finished, I'll let you do it there," Tae-hyun replied, annoyed.
Players addicted to gambling were already flocking like clouds. The eyes of the players who came after hearing rumors of a new gamble sparkled.
— Just let me pull once!
"That's not it!"
"Huh?"
Only then did Tae-hyun look at the player's face. Surprisingly, his eyes were clear. It wasn't the look of a gambling addict.
"What is it?"
"If you let me pray to the World Tree first..."
"...You are an addict, aren't you?"
Tae-hyun doubted his own eyes for failing to recognize him.
"No, it's not! I'm not addicted to that like the others..."
"Sure, sure. That's what all the addicts say. Go stand in line. I'm going to put a daily limit on it anyway."
Having run the Goblin Universal Maker, Tae-hyun knew very well. If you didn't set a limit, people would cling to it endlessly! For the line to move, there had to be a limit per person to keep things rotating. Even so, there was always a long line in front of the territory's maker 24 hours a day...
"This will be beneficial for you too, Tae-hyun. I am... Pashang, a personal streamer."
"Uh... right. Congratulations."
"Please listen to me seriously!"
"I'll listen seriously when you say something worth listening to! You're asking to pray first, so what do you expect me to do?"
Pashang began to explain to Tae-hyun.
"Do you know what your territory is called among streamers like us?"
"...What is it called?"
Tae-hyun grew anxious. It wouldn't be called something like "Hell" or "The Abyss," would it?
"It's called the Holy Land of Streaming!"
Even unpopular personal streams become fun once they go to the Archisus territory! Just going there and running the Goblin Universal Maker or the Archisus Arena was incredibly entertaining to watch. Not only that, but opening boxes in the territory, taking Church quests...
People who were truly desperate for popularity went to the Valley to buy bombs.
In any case, the Valley was perfect for streaming from top to bottom. Just breathing there was entertaining! Tae-hyun didn't know, but in the early days of the territory, many streamers from various countries became famous here.
The problem was that competition had now become fierce! With thousands of streamers doing things like "I'm doing the arena!" "I'm running the maker!" "I'm spending my entire fortune opening boxes!", it was no longer possible to stand out with ordinary content. They needed something... something more stimulating!
In the midst of this, the news of the World Tree was like music to the ears of quick-witted streamers. This was a must-do!
"As a professional streamer, I feel a sense of duty to be the very first to cover this place. For my fans...!"
"I get it, so go stand in line."
"Tae-hyun! I'm telling you, this is good for you too!"
"How?"
"The publicity..."
"Hey. Drag him out."
At Tae-hyun's words, the Akisus Tribe Warriors rushed over. Pashang was terrified by their crazy appearance.
"N-No! I'll give you a special guest appearance! A special guest appearance! I don't just give this to anyone!"
"What a novel kind of crazy bastard."
But this was only the beginning.