The Sad Habits of a King
While the envoys backed away, Tae-hyun quickly widened the distance between them.
"By the way, did you really need to pretend you weren't yourself?"
"...Right?"
Habits were truly terrifying things. Even though there was absolutely no reason to pretend otherwise, he had habitually blurted out, "I'm not Kim Tae-hyun." It was a sad habit born from having far too many enemies.
Wait, I didn't need to act weak in front of these envoys, did I?
Tae-hyun was the King. The envoys were merely noble NPC lackeys. On top of that, the nobles were the ones in a desperate position.
"Actually, I am King Kim Tae-hyun."
"..."
"..."
Affinity with the House of Count Bolone has decreased.
Affinity with the House of Count Bonazo has decreased.
Your regional reputation has decreased.
The atmosphere among the envoys instantly turned icy.
"Your Majesty! How could Your Majesty lie to us like this?"
"Indeed! This is highly dishonorable! How could you do such a thing!"
The envoys pointed their fingers and pressed him. They looked ready to explode, eager to vent the pent-up frustration they had been harboring. To these nobles, Tae-hyun was nothing more than a lucky upstart who had stumbled onto the throne.
But Tae-hyun's response was utterly cool.
"Oh. So what?"
"???"
"???"
"Did you pay for my lie? I'm the King, I can lie if I want to. Are you the King? Hey. Have you ever been to the Asbian Empire? Do you know how well the ministers there serve the Emperor? They serve her even in death. But you're picking a fight with me over a single joke? Does a joke ruin my honor? Hey. Who has higher honor, you or me? How many times have you saved the continent from a crisis?"
"N-No... that's not what..."
Affinity with the House of Count Bolone has decreased significantly.
......
Tae-hyun's verbal onslaught sent his affinity and reputation with the respective factions plummeting. But Tae-hyun didn't care in the slightest. They weren't close to begin with! If someone dislikes you for no reason, give them a reason!
"Hey, you. Say that again. Are you saying I'm a dishonorable rebel who usurped the throne? Are you comparing me to Sadiq or the Salavian Order?"
He was putting words in their mouths that they hadn't even spoken! Normally, such a blatant attempt would never work, but Tae-hyun was the King, and the envoys in front of him were just envoys. If you don't like it, become the King yourself!
"I-I never said such a thing!"
"What? So I'm wrong and you're right? Ha. You really look down on the King."
There it is. His Pan-On 1 personality is coming out, Choi Sang-yun thought to himself.
"No... it's not like that..."
"What do you mean it's not like that? My feelings are hurt. All meetings are canceled. Everyone, go back!"
"!!"
"!!!!"
The other envoys looked at Tae-hyun in absolute horror. No, what about the support for their territories...!
"Your Majesty! We have absolutely nothing to do with Count Bolone's envoy!"
"Your Majesty! That's right! I was not disrespectful to Your Majesty!"
The envoys who had been keeping quiet quickly scrambled to cut ties. They weren't about to drag themselves down with him!
"Hmm. Really? But you seemed pretty quiet when he was insulting me earlier."
"...!"
"T-That is..."
"Out of my way!"
Tae-hyun pushed past the envoys and strode into the palace. The envoys stood there, stomping their feet in anxiety, completely at a loss for what to do.
"Ah. That felt incredibly refreshing."
It felt like the first time since putting on the crown that he had actually used the authority of his title. Other kings apparently squeezed heavy taxes out of their people, while Tae-hyun had been walking on eggshells around his nobles...
"They're still standing out there."
"Of course they are. Let them stand."
Tae-hyun intended to break their spirits. If they stood out there long enough, they'd come back in thoroughly humbled.
• The envoy of Count Bolone continues to wait.
• The envoy of Count Bonazo continues to wait.
• ......
• The envoy of Count Marchetti has left in anger.
• The envoy of Count Ernesto has left in anger.
Oho.
The envoys were split into two groups: those who waited, and those who left in a huff because they couldn't take it anymore. It was obvious.
The ones waiting are the desperate ones.
Their territories were currently under attack. On the other hand, Count Marchetti and Count Ernesto, whose lands hadn't been raided yet, just left. Count Marchetti's territory was below the northwest, and Count Ernesto's was below the northeast. Neither had been hit.
Meanwhile, Bolone and Bonazo were lords of the northwest, taking direct hits from the Guild Alliance and the crazy blacksmiths. They had every reason to beg.
"Now then..."
Tae-hyun gathered his group in the palace and spoke.
"What should we do about this?"
"Huh? There are so many players gathered right now. Can't we just gather more and go crush the Guild Alliance?"
"Yeah. Is there even anything to think about?"
Tae-hyun had plenty of cards to play. Players were voluntarily gathering, shouting, "Overthrow the Guild Alliance! Protect Tae-hyun's territory!" (Even though it wasn't technically his territory). He had the kingdom's soldiers, demon warriors, the newly added giant tribes, and more. Couldn't they just take everyone and steamroll them?
"No. The Guild Alliance looks easy, and they are indeed easy, but they're not that easy."
"?"
"???"
What kind of "I drank alcohol but didn't drunk-drive" logic was that?
"Cornered rats fight back hard. Even if the Guild Alliance is fractured and broken, they still have an overwhelming number of rankers."
The Guild Alliance was currently a cornered rat. If Tae-hyun showed up, they might all scatter, or they might unite and charge. He had no desire to fight dozens of rankers at once. And while the player numbers on his side looked massive, it was a bit of a bubble.
We can't compare to them in terms of high-level rankers.
A direct, full-scale clash had to be avoided. The battle on the plains was only possible because Kim Tae-san had his massive Orc army. And even then, if Lee Se-yeon hadn't helped, Tae-san would have been in danger. The sheer force required to push back that many Orcs was immense.
Tae-hyun didn't underestimate his opponents. Well, he looked down on them, but he didn't underestimate them. Others joked, "Isn't the Guild Alliance just a bubble?" because they always got thrashed by Tae-hyun, but very few people could actually say that to their faces.
"It's better to divide and conquer... without making them too wary."
If the opponent was Kim Tae-hyun?
—Ranker emergency! Everyone gather! If we don't unite, we die!
But if the opponent looked easy?
—Well... do we really need to group up? Let's just fight.
That's how they'd react. The Guild Alliance was strong, but that was it. Tae-hyun was confident he could handle them. The problem was what came next.
"The noble NPCs are the problem."
Tae-hyun wanted to use this opportunity to subjugate the lords who didn't listen to him. Look at other countries' kings! Their nobles listened so well! Even if the southern nobles were out of reach, he had to make the northern nobles submit this time.
"Why? Can't we just say we'll help them and squeeze them dry?"
"Ah. We'll do that with the ones who stayed. The problem is the ones who left."
The desperate ones were fine. The ones who weren't desperate enough were the issue. If only the Guild Alliance would strike them boldly, but they weren't doing that. They were too scared of Tae-hyun, and there were too many crazy players around.
"I want Count Marchetti and Count Ernesto's territories to get raided a bit."
"What if we bait the Guild Alliance there?"
Cain raised his hand and asked. The others immediately scolded him.
"Hey, that's a bit much."
"Indeed. And would the Guild Alliance even take the bait? Well, they might, but what if it backfires? They might push in even further."
"Hmm... I think it's a good idea."
"?"
"????"
Everyone was shocked. That was a good idea?!
"H-How? How are you going to bait them?"
"Is Kim Tae-hyun going to strip naked, slather himself in honey, and taunt them?"
"...Cain. I get what you're thinking... and of course, baiting them directly would be hard. Not after everything they've been through."
The Guild Alliance had fallen for so many traps that they were extremely wary and paranoid. Even if rumors spread that Count Marchetti's territory was piled high with gold bars, they'd probably suspect it: How can we trust that? It's a trap!
To make them believe it, he'd have to use Alcott or someone...
But it's a waste to use him now.
A different method was better than baiting.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Hmm. I'm going to negotiate."
"?!?!?!?!?!!"
A word they never expected to hear from Tae-hyun's mouth!
Huh? What's this in the building tab?
Tae-hyun looked at the construction window with a puzzled expression. A new option had appeared under buildable structures.
Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger
🪙 Construction Cost: 0 Gold
📜 Description: Only an Apostle who has overcome the impossible Dungeon of Hunger can infuse this structure with its curse. This dungeon requires no special construction costs. All that is required is the labor to dig deep into the earth.
"!!!"
A 0-Gold building, the first he'd ever seen! Even a basic barn cost more than 1 Gold. But a dungeon built on his territory was 0 Gold!
Oh my! I have to buy this...!
Wait. Reason returned to stop him.
Let's think about this.
There was no such thing as a free lunch! Why was it 0 Gold?
This... must be that same dungeon, right? The one where you starve as you move.
There was no other explanation. If he installed this dungeon in his territory?
...Is there any benefit?
Usually, having a dungeon in a territory attracted many players. They would farm items and gold, spend it at merchants, and boost the local economy. But this Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger?
Normal players wouldn't even step foot in there!
It was too bizarre of a dungeon; most people would avoid it. And it wasn't like the rewards were good. Judging by the monsters that appeared, they were probably weaker, if anything. It wasn't 0 Gold for nothing.
Ah... but it's still a waste to just ignore it. Is there really nowhere to use it... Eh, whatever. Let's just build it.
Tae-hyun made up his mind. It was 0 Gold! If he built it now, he'd find a use for it eventually!
I hope I get a chance to lock someone I hate in there, Tae-hyun thought as he gave the order to Pelmas.
Digging the Earth
📍 Objective: Help construct Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger.
🎁 Reward: Contribution Points, Experience, and Church Favor
When the quest dropped, players swarmed like clouds.
"By the way, Your Majesty."
"?"
"When will the Ritual of Lava take place? Many people are looking forward to it."
"Huh? Ah... they're looking forward to that?"
Tae-hyun was taken aback by Pelmas's words. He had forgotten what the Ritual of Lava even was! But why were they looking forward to it?
"Why would they look forward to that?"
"Of course they would!"
"????"
Was there some weird trend going around lately?
Well, there was that extreme spicy food trend a while back.
A trend of people seeking the absolute limit of spiciness! He hadn't understood it back then, but that was just how trends worked. Tae-hyun nodded and said,
"I guess I can perform the ritual once before we head out. Tell them to gather."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Pelmas left with a broad grin. We can make a fortune off this!
"Hear ye, everyone! The great King of the Atali Kingdom, and the revered Pope of the Archisus Church..."
Five minutes later.
"...Tae-hyun-nim!"
"How many titles did he just list?"
"I don't know. I lost track halfway through."
The players whispered among themselves. How could one person have so many titles? Did he just make them up on the spot?
"Will now perform the Ritual of Lava!"
"!!!"
"F-Finally!"
"Me! Pick me!"
The reaction was passionate. Pelmas was highly satisfied. As long as he played his cards right, he could rake in an insane amount of gold!
"Your Majesty, in what order should we proceed? By contribution points, as usual?"
"Hmm? No. Everyone gathered here can probably get a ladleful anyway. Just tell them to line up. Let's make this quick."
"...A ladleful? Uh... what kind of ritual is this?"
Pelmas felt a sudden wave of anxiety. He had assumed the Ritual of Lava involved leaping over lava, hunting lava monsters, or clearing a lava-themed dungeon...