The Goblin Superstar

Tae-hyun was utterly flabbergasted. He had been right on the verge of burying the hatchet with Lee Se-yeon to strike a mutually beneficial deal, and now this? What kind of ridiculous sabotage was this?

"I don't know who they are!"

"..."

Tae-hyun pleaded, but Lee Se-yeon's eyes were already clouded with deep suspicion. She slowly took a step back.

"Your Majesty! Please do not abandon us!"

"We came all this way out of pure admiration for your glorious reputation! There is no goblin hero in this world as grand as Your Majesty!"

Out of all the races in Pandemonium Online, the one that loved Tae-hyun the most was, in fact, the goblins. He had a high Engineering skill, a sky-high Infamy stat, and a hair-trigger temper that made him blow things up whenever he was displeased! He was the ultimate role model and superstar for every goblin in existence.

I'm not happy about this at all!

Unlike being adored by dwarves or elves, receiving the passionate love of goblins left a bitter taste in his mouth. It made him seriously question the life choices that had brought him to this point. Regardless, he had to clear up this misunderstanding. Only then could he fleece—er, strike a mutually beneficial deal with Lee Se-yeon.

"I'm pretty sure we've never met before, right?" Tae-hyun said, darting a quick glance at Lee Se-yeon.

See? I have absolutely no idea who these guys are!

Lee Se-yeon grew even more suspicious at his defensive reaction. Is that jerk really pretending not to know them?

Reading her gaze, Tae-hyun quickly pleaded, "Se-yeon, think about it logically! Does it make any sense for me to have set this up in advance? How could I have possibly predicted you'd become the Emperor, let alone convince a bunch of goblins to stage this?"

Lee Se-yeon was almost swayed by his reasoning, but then she paused. "...Wait. If it's you, you actually would."

If it was Tae-hyun, he absolutely would! Dammit! Tae-hyun couldn't even argue. Honestly, it was exactly the kind of stunt he would pull. But this time, he was genuinely innocent!

"Let's talk next time!"

Flash! Fearing a potential ambush, Lee Se-yeon instantly cast Teleport. When in doubt, running away was always the best option!

"No...!" Left all alone, Tae-hyun wailed in sheer despair. He was so close to fleecing her!!

"Your Majesty. Now that the interloper is gone, shall we discuss our—gack!"

Tae-hyun grabbed the goblin by the collar and slammed him against the edge of the castle wall, looking ready to hurl him over.

"You little punks... Do you have any idea what kind of deal I was about to pull off?!"

"Cough, wheeze! Y-Your Majesty! Why are you doing this...?"

"You really don't know?! You guys are with the Archisus Church, aren't you? You definitely have that Archisus Church vibe!"

Having an absurdly high affinity for him while simultaneously ruining his life's work—they fit the exact profile of Archisus Church NPCs!

"We don't know any god by that name, cough, wheeze! We only came to ask a favor of Your Majesty..."

Terrified that they might actually be choked to death before they could even state their business, the goblins began to explain themselves, trembling in fear.

They were the Underground Alliance Goblins! A faction residing in the outer deserts of the vast Asbian Empire.

Originally slaves of the Asbian Empire, they had rebelled, attacked their noble masters, and escaped! Because of their history, they lived in constant fear of when the empire might launch a retaliatory strike, keeping them on high alert.

They were also the ones most horrified by the news of Uipoatl's resurrection! If Tae-hyun hadn't taken care of him, they would have attempted an assassination themselves.

But then, a miracle occurred. A hero had suddenly appeared and slain Uipoatl! The goblins had been absolutely ecstatic.

Yet, the crisis was far from over. A new Emperor had risen to succeed Uipoatl.

And so, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Underground Alliance Goblins made a grand decision: they would aid that legendary hero and take the new Emperor's head!

"...And that is how we ended up here. Cough, cough. Please, if you could just let go of my neck..."

"!!!"

Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment. Honestly, the quest itself was incredibly lucrative. Normally, to get a quest like this, a player would have to seek out the faction themselves, pass their grueling trials, and grind reputation points. It was an exceptionally rare quest. On top of that, it was a Legendary grade quest. He could already feel just how absurdly powerful this Demonic Sword would be.

A 'Demonic Sword' sounds a bit sketchy, but I'm sure I can put it to good use.

Any other player would have sold their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soul for a quest like this. Normally, to receive a decent quest from a newly discovered faction, one had to run dozens of tedious errand quests just to build basic rapport. Yet, here they were, coming directly to Tae-hyun, practically begging him to take it!

It was a golden opportunity—a top-tier quest with built-in support.

Sigh... If only they had shown up when Lee Se-yeon wasn't around...

If they had just waited until she left, they could have concluded their business in peace and harmony! Tae-hyun smacked his lips in regret, but what was done was done.

"Y-Your Majesty... Every single Emperor of the Asbian Empire has been a tyrant. Now that a new Emperor has ascended the throne, the surrounding lands are in grave danger! For the peace of the continent...!"

"Well, you're not wrong. The new Emperor is quite the tyrant herself."

Relieved that Lee Se-yeon was gone, Tae-hyun shamelessly talked trash behind her back! He felt like he and the goblins were going to get along just fine.

"...By the way, how long do we have to stay like this?"

"If we drop down from the wall, do you think he won't notice?"

The members of the Midas Guild whispered among themselves, warily scanning their surroundings. Tae-hyun seemed to have completely forgotten about them. Could they make a run for it?

But if we get caught...

If we get caught, we are dead meat. Genuinely dead meat...

In the end, the guild members couldn't muster the courage to leave and remained frozen in place. Of course, Tae-hyun had long since forgotten they even existed. He had already left them behind to pursue his next quest!

"No! Sob. To think we must part ways like this. My heart bleeds!"

"...Even if you say that, Your Majesty, we must return."

The paladins of the Phytos Church replied with deeply skeptical expressions. It was true. Now that the Nevuchadnezzar raid was over, the holy knights of each order had no reason to linger. While there were still plenty of undead roaming the vicinity, the players in the fortress were more than capable of handling them. This was no job for high-ranking paladins who exceeded level 400 or 500! They needed to return to the Central Continent as quickly as possible to thwart other dark conspiracies. The continent was vast, and there were far too many evil villains for the paladins to stop.

But Tae-hyun found it incredibly wasteful to let the paladins go. Sure, they had struggled against Nevuchadnezzar and Uipoatl, but that was only because those two were absolute monsters. Honestly, a single holy knight order was more than enough to completely trample almost any high-level ranker today. When the tiger is away, the fox rules the forest! Even Lee Se-yeon would have no choice but to flee if he set just two holy knight orders on her. Besides, their classes were a natural counter to her Necromancy...

"Ah. Your Majesty. If it is to repay our debt, we could perhaps remain at this fortress for a short while..."

"Safe travels!"

"..."

"..."

A solemn oath ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sworn upon the honor of the paladins—it was far too precious to waste on a trivial task like guarding a fortress. Tae-hyun instantly did a complete U-turn and bid them farewell. At his shameless pivot, the faces of the Grand Paladin Commander and the Archbishops contorted in disbelief.

The Grand Paladin Commander of the Phytos Church asked, looking thoroughly anxious. "Your Majesty... Just what on earth are you planning to make us do...?"

Please, let's just get this over with! Honestly, at this point, if Tae-hyun demanded one of the Phytos Church's sacred relics, they would probably just hand it over. Anyone else would have met with a furious, "How dare you covet our church's sacred relic!" but with Tae-hyun... their reaction was more along the lines of, "Wait, giving up a sacred relic to appease that devious snake? Honestly, that sounds like a bargain."

"I shall contemplate that at a later date."

"Your Majesty, we recently acquired an exceptional sacred relic in our order, if you would care to..."

"Haha. How could I possibly accept another order's sacred relic? I shall take the thought as reward enough."

"..."

The paladins finished their preparations to depart, looking thoroughly dejected.

Well, the fortress is packed with players anyway, so it should be fine.

The fortress established in front of the Heart of the Sand desert was currently one of the most popular locations in Pandemonium Online. Newly opened hunting grounds always enjoyed explosive popularity. On top of that, the fortress had become incredibly famous due to the recent Nevuchadnezzar raid. People were flocking there in droves just to sightsee, even if they had no intention of hunting!

Crafting class players gathered to cater to the massive crowds, which in turn attracted even more players... Who could have predicted that a fortress situated in the middle of a barren desert would draw such an immense crowd?

Wait. Come to think of it, doesn't this benefit Lee Se-yeon too?

While Tae-hyun was making a handsome profit off the fortress, its soaring popularity meant that the nearby villages would thrive, the roads would improve, and ultimately, the state of the Asbian Empire would flourish!

Sigh. Nothing in this world ever goes exactly the way I want.

Even if he gained a hundred, he couldn't stand the thought of Lee Se-yeon gaining even one! Was this petty soul truly the Apostle of a god?

"Senior. Don't you think you've been away from the kingdom for too long?" Yu Ji-soo asked, her voice laced with concern.

While other rankers only had to focus on leveling up their own characters, Tae-hyun had to manage his territory while simultaneously progressing through his class quests. And he had far too many enemies lurking nearby!

But Tae-hyun was perfectly confident. "It'll be fine for a while."

The Guild Alliance in the northern Auston Kingdom had fractured and was currently locked in a muddy, chaotic feud with the Midas Guild. Meanwhile, the nobles of the Atali Kingdom—excluding those in the south—had sworn absolute, unwavering loyalty to him. In short, there was no immediate threat on the horizon!

The only potential wild card was the demons descending from the World Tree, but after the brutal beatdowns they had received, they wouldn't be showing their faces anytime soon.

Huh? Wait, isn't this the kind of thing Lee Da-bi usually asks about?

Tae-hyun tilted his head. Lee Da-bi was always the one who kept track of these administrative details for him.

"Where is Da-bi?"

"Unni is... well... she seems to have a lot on her mind lately..."

"Is there trouble with the Power Warrior Guild? Well, actually, it'd be weirder if there wasn't trouble over there."

To the members of the Power Warrior Guild, this was a terribly unfair accusation! Granted, they did cause constant trouble and give Lee Da-bi endless headaches on a daily basis, but still...!

"Y-Yeah, exactly. Power Warrior is always the problem!" Yu Ji-soo quickly changed the subject in a panic. Sorry, Power Warrior!

"We warned you so many times! Seriously, do you guys have zero learning capacity?! Good grief!"

"..."

"What was it you said to us again? My memory's a bit fuzzy. Did you call us cowards? Did you say we were shaking in our boots because of Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun? Hmm?"

The Midas Guild members who had split from the Guild Alliance were absolutely ecstatic. After all, one of the most satisfying feelings in the world was getting to say, "I told you so!"

They had explicitly warned the others not to get involved with Kim Tae-hyun, but those stubborn fools had insisted on tagging along for the Nevuchadnezzar quest to scavenge some scraps, only to return utterly humiliated.

"Stop it. What do you think you're doing?"

"We're serving justice. You dared to ignore our hard-earned experience and wisdom, didn't you?"

As the saying goes, the sister-in-law who pretends to mediate is more hateful than the mother-in-law who beats you. The humiliated rankers gnashed their teeth. They hated these smug, mocking bastards even more than they hated Kim Tae-hyun!

"We can't just take this humiliation lying down! We need a guild-wide response!" the disgraced rankers shouted. The only way to salvage their pride was to band together and exact revenge!

Naturally, the guild members who had experienced the Guild Alliance's downfall vehemently opposed the idea.

"Over my dead body!"

"You ignored us when we tried to stop you, and now you want to cause another disaster?!"

To an outsider, they looked exactly like spies planted by Tae-hyun himself!