A Very Logical Relic Hunt

Kim Tae-hyun pondered over the Noble Warriors. His ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠current plan was perfect, save for a few minor details.

'We already agreed on that,' Tae-hyun thought.

The plan to resurrect Nevuchadnezzar himself sounded like absolute madness, but Tae-hyun had his own logic. In fact, most of the quests he had completed so far were like this—the kind of methods that would make anyone else scream, "Are you out of your mind?!"

If he couldn't stop Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection, it was better to control it rather than wait passively. And if possible, steer it toward the land of someone far away from the kingdom, someone they didn't get along with!

'Very logical,' Tae-hyun thought, nodding to himself.

But even this perfect plan had its share of problems. Namely, Uipoatl's reaction!

The ill-tempered Emperor Uipoatl. There was no way he would sit idly by while Tae-hyun carried out his schemes. Especially now, when Tae-hyun, who was supposed to be searching for the lost crown under his orders, was doing everything but finding the crown!

'He might attack the moment we arrive in the empire. Especially since we're leading such a massive army...'

Leading a huge force into his territory was bound to cause misunderstandings. Even if there weren't any, there would be now!

Of course, Tae-hyun was well aware of this, which was why he planned to land at a different port instead of the original one. He wanted to avoid cities directly ruled by Uipoatl as much as possible...

But that was merely a temporary measure, not a permanent solution. Once they set foot in the Asbian Empire, they had no way of knowing when or how Uipoatl would send an army to hunt them down.

And if that happened, the Noble Warriors would be in a very dangerous position. Whose side would they take?

'Even though we've gotten quite close, they'll probably side with Uipoatl.'

No matter how evil Tae-hyun pretended to be, he couldn't match the genuinely wicked Uipoatl!

'What? Why? What.'

The Noble Warriors, who loved tyrants, would undoubtedly obey Uipoatl's orders.

'But... it's such a waste to get rid of them.'

Normally, he should have eliminated them, but Tae-hyun couldn't bring himself to do it. They were too valuable!

The Noble Warriors of the Asbian Empire were a powerful force, on par with the noble knights of the Erance Kingdom. They weren't the heavy-armored, charging type, but lightly armed, fast-moving, and skilled with both bow and sword. They were rare, high-quality NPCs.

They were complete warriors who performed well wherever they were deployed! In Pan-On, level was king, and the fact that they were at a similar level to knights showed how premium they were.

"Alright. I've decided."

'No.'

"Do you know how much I trust you all?"

"Haha. Of course, Your Majesty. If you don't trust warriors like us, who would you trust? Those crazy dwarves? Those crazy giants? Those crazy priests?"

The Noble Warriors laughed confidently, pointing at the Archisus Artillery NPCs one by one. Every single group had "crazy" attached to them, but Tae-hyun couldn't deny it. Honestly, it was true!

"So, I have a favor to ask of you..."

"What is it, Your Majesty? Ah! Are you finally going to listen to the loyal advice we gave you last time?!"

Standing nearby, the 4th Prince asked curiously, "What was the loyal advice they gave last time?"

"Oh, just to slice and dice the King of Erance..."

"Cain. Take him away."

"W-wait. Slice and dice? What do you mean, slice and dice?!"

The 4th Prince doubted his ears. I must have misheard, right?!

Tae-hyun looked back at the Noble Warriors and spoke.

"It's not that. I have a mission for you brave, capable... and, well, versatile warriors."

"What is it?"

"You know I am the Pope of the Archisus Church, right?"

"Yes!"

"Indeed. The most important thing in running the church is finding holy relics imbued with divine authority. I want to entrust this crucial task to you."

"Ohhh... Your Majesty. Just leave it to us!"

If Uipoatl saw this, he would have screamed, "I sent these crazy bastards to spy on you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and look whose orders they're taking!"

But the envoys Uipoatl sent were currently locked up in a strange place, and the Noble Warriors were completely smitten by Tae-hyun's character!

"Your Majesty. So, where should we go to steal it?"

Stealing was already assumed! Tae-hyun spoke grandly.

"I don't know either."

"...Pardon?"

"But with your skills, I'm sure you can find it."

"N-no, Your Majesty. But at least a general location..."

"There are relics of divine authority scattered all over the world. How hard could it be to find just one? Ah, there are none in the Asbian Empire. I already found them. Go look somewhere else."

A plan to keep them as far away from the Asbian Empire as possible! The Noble Warriors were flustered but nodded.

"Understood. We will definitely find it!"

Swoosh— The Noble Warriors rented a ship and sailed away. Watching them leave, Tae-hyun smiled warmly.

"Whew. That's one load off my mind."

"...What are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doing...?"

Lee Se-yeon and her party were dumbfounded to see Tae-hyun sending away his own subordinates. I mean, they needed every single hand they could get right now, and he was just sending them away?!

"Carpenters, over here! Architect class players, over here!"

"Blacksmiths, come help too! Anyone with a crafting class, or at least a crafting skill, get over here!"

"Looking for people to do the East Fortress crafting quest together!"

"Need people for the fortress moat quest! Urgently seeking good diggers!"

A barren desert with nothing in sight. In the middle of it was the Hunger Dungeon! Now that even the Flower of the Desert Giant Tribe guarding it were gone, it had become a truly desolate, empty desert.

But now, people were packing the desert. Easily over tens of thousands of people were bustling about.

As soon as they arrived, the church and kingdom soldiers began building a fortress on the sand. To face Nevuchadnezzar, a fortress was the most important thing! If a wave of undead struck, they could hold out as long as they had a fortress.

With the Hunger Dungeon at the center, a massive fortress began to rise.

A grand project involving a deep moat in front and multiple layers of walls! Tae-hyun looked at this and sighed in relief.

'I'm so glad this isn't my money...'

If he had used his own money, he wouldn't just be crying tears of blood—he'd be crying tears of his very soul. Watching him, Lee Se-yeon tilted her head.

'Is Kim Tae-hyun actually human?'

She could see him looking relieved. Since Tae-hyun was human, he must be nervous facing a massive quest like Nevuchadnezzar.

'With a fortress, holy knights and soldiers on the walls, Archisus Artillery and mages inside... plus players on top of that. We could even stop a dragon.'

Among all the quests Tae-hyun had done, rarely had he prepared so stably. Hasn't he always prepared by the skin of his teeth?

"It's a magnificent sight. Truly magnificent."

Everyone admired the massive fortress taking shape on the vast desert. Lee Se-yeon whispered softly.

"When are we starting Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection?"

"As soon as the fortress is finished..."

Before Tae-hyun could finish, a message window popped up.

"...Hold on. I need to go give some directions."

"What directions?"

But Tae-hyun had already vanished.

"Wait! How about we engrave this pattern on the fortress walls?"

"Huh? Does that have any effect?"

"It looks cooler."

"...???"

"And let's put decorative pillars here."

"But this is an empty space?"

"It looks cool."

"??!?"

"Once the pillars are done, a roof would be nice too. Roofs are cool."

"Uh... isn't this... a temple? Wait, it's a temple, isn't it?!"

Tae-hyun ran around frantically, trying to add extra constructions to the fortress. The fortress was massive, but it didn't have much inside. Now, Archisus pillars and even a temple dedicated to Archisus were being completed one by one.

Tae-hyun reacted immediately. This was what the 4th Prince was for!

"Go, Cain!"

Cain took the 4th Prince and headed toward the high priests of the other denominations.

"...But what exactly am I supposed to do?" the 4th Prince asked in a panicked voice. Persuasion was a skill far outside his wheelhouse!

Of course, Cain didn't have any ideas either. But the 4th Prince was staring at Cain with wide, sparkling eyes. As his guardian knight, Cain had to show him something.

'What... what should I do?'

Cain recalled what he usually saw. Politicians... when politicians are in this situation...

"First, cry!"

"What?"

"I said, cry!"

"Uh... *sob*! This is so sad!"

The 4th Prince covered his face and pretended to cry. Let's think of something sad... something sad!

Thinking about being captured by Tae-hyun and dragged around, tears suddenly gush out. As the 4th Prince wailed in front of them, the high priests were flustered.

"N-no, Your Highness. Why are you crying?"

"Did something happen...?"

"I only wanted to stop Nevuchadnezzar and protect the continent. But you all are so displeased... *sob*..."

"No, but why are we building an Archisus temple when we're supposed to be building a fortress..."

"*Waaaaah! Sob, sob!*"

Since he had nothing to say, the 4th Prince cried even more sorrowfully! Cain flared up in anger.

"His Highness is crying like this! Are you really priests?! How can you be so heartless?!"

"N-no... what did we even do?!"

"Oh? Just because you're a church, you think you're all that? Do you look down on royalty?!"

"T-that is not the case."

'Ohhh...' Tae-hyun was impressed. Bringing the 4th Prince along was a great move!

'Ugh.'

A literal money pit! The fortress was constantly demanding, "Offer more!"

Starting from the Power Warrior Guild members, the Archisus Church NPCs were coming in and plastering Archisus everywhere they could, but there was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠limit. The fortress was just too wide.

"Hmm. There are too many empty spaces."

"?"

"...Are you really Carbanog? What's wrong with you?"

Why are you suddenly doing a good deed you've never done before!

'True.' Tae-hyun was directly directing and building it, so that wouldn't change.

"...!"