A Tower Built on Free Labor
Having committed a laundry list of sins, the Guild Alliance had treaded with extreme caution when visiting the Demon's Forge to negotiate. There was absolutely no reason for them to openly wander around the crowded plaza! Of course, the Midas Guild members had no idea that the Guild Alliance member they had just spotted was actually a spy. In truth, he was a member of the Power Warrior Guild!
Pelmas, Galakpad, and the newly arrived Fire Magic School Master of the Magic Tower, Fleming, were currently huddled together, deep in agonizing thought.
"Ugh... This is... It's just not working. No matter how I look at it, it's impossible."
"You had better cough up whatever funds you've got hidden away," Galakpad rumbled.
"I don't have anything like that, you bastard! Who do you think you're talking to?!" Pelmas snapped.
"What was that?"
"N-No, I mean... I don't have any. I really don't, Lord Galakpad!"
When Galakpad glared at him, Pelmas immediately tucked his tail. If Galakpad decided to get serious, Pelmas would either get beaten to a pulp or thrown into the dungeons below. Kim Tae-hyun wasn't around to stop him, and Galakpad was a lunatic who would go all the way once he lost his temper.
The reason they were agonizing like this was none other than the construction of the Magic Tower. Ever since the Nevuchadnezzar raid, Fleming, the Fire Magic School Master, had fallen head over heels for Tae-hyun and his church. To be precise, he was captivated by Sadiq's Authority! Tae-hyun had quickly given up on building a Magic Tower, deeming it unrealistic, but Fleming had come to the territory and made an offer.
"If there is anything I can do to help, I shall gladly assist."
"Oh... What can you do?"
"Well... Perhaps we could gather mages and construct a Magic Tower... Of course, we would need to recruit mages from other schools as well, but..."
"!!!"
Hearing Fleming's words, Pelmas's ears had perked up. A Magic Tower! A structure so rare and precious that it could only be found in the most prosperous kingdom capitals, right here in The Valley?! Moreover, Fleming's status lent immense weight to his words. One of the Magic Tower Masters! Considering Galakpad was just a former scribe, a Magic Tower Master was an incredibly prestigious position. Though, in truth, all the NPCs of the Archisus Church were originally from rather pathetic backgrounds... Pelmas had quickly summoned the other NPCs to hold a meeting.
"Let's build a Magic Tower!"
"What? Us?"
"Do we even have the budget for that?"
"We've barely managed to turn a profit just now. How are we supposed to build a Magic Tower?"
"We should finish the temples we're currently building first..."
"Honestly, there are way too many other things to build besides a Magic Tower."
"Just invest more in the forge."
"Silence! While His Majesty is away, the management of this territory falls on my shoulders! You should listen to me!"
"Galakpad is a co-manager too, you know."
"And we all know His Majesty doesn't trust you. He literally told us to lock you up if you try anything funny."
"..."
It was a state of perpetual, infinite distrust! Yet Pelmas did not give up. It felt as though if he missed this opportunity, they would never be able to have a Magic Tower.
"We might not have money, but we have people! Let's gather them. We'll pour people into this instead of money!"
"Wow. Look at this shameless piece of trash. If you put people to work, shouldn't you pay them?"
"I knew he was like this the moment he got a sliver of power. Shouldn't we contact His Majesty and have him dragged down?"
"Pelmas is finally showing his true colors..."
The Valley operated on a surprisingly democratic system. The other NPCs had no qualms about hurling insults and verbal abuse right to the face of Pelmas, who was technically their highest authority!
"...Am I doing this just for myself?! Everyone benefits if a Magic Tower is built!"
"Your excuses are so cliché! You absolute trash!"
"Just listen to me, will you?! I'll make sure the adventurers won't have any complaints!"
"There he goes again, trying to scam people. You swindler! Don't you think you rip off the adventurers way too much?!"
"I-I had no choice either!"
Half of the Archisus Church's nefarious ideas came from Pelmas's brain, and the other half came from Power Warrior. True to his gambling roots, no one could match Pelmas when it came to dragging people into the abyss of gambling!
"It is much cheaper to roll the Goblin Crafting Machine ten times at once rather than one by one! We'll even throw in a bonus!"
"Do not give up just because you've lost all your fortune! If you roll a hundred times, you are guaranteed to get the blessing of your choice!"
Whenever someone pulled what they wanted from the crafting machine, the priests of the Archisus Church would rush over in a crowd, cast blessings on them, and advertise it everywhere.
"This is the chosen one!"
"Everyone! This person hit the jackpot today...!"
"It is the power of Archisus!"
All of this drove the players to compete fiercely. Pelmas felt wronged. I was just encouraging healthy competition!
"Even if we mobilize the adventurers as much as possible, we still need a lot of mages to build a Magic Tower."
"Exactly. Master Fleming might help us, but why would mages from other Magic Towers bother to assist?"
"Damn it! I'll go get them myself! Just you watch!"
Slam!
The moment Pelmas stormed out, the other NPCs immediately contacted Galakpad.
"Lord Galakpad! Pelmas is about to cause trouble again!"
And that brought them to the present. Surprisingly, Galakpad had agreed with Pelmas's proposal. How wonderful would it be to have a Magic Tower that could spread the name of Archisus? Of course, agreeing didn't make a non-existent budget fall from the sky. As a result...
"Hand over the money!"
"I don't have any! Seriously!"
Flustered by their unsightly bickering, Fleming intervened.
"I-I will try to find some mages."
"Would you really do that?"
"Yes. I will gather as many mages as possible from the adventurers in the territory and hire them through quests."
"Hmm..."
"Mmm..."
Both of them groaned. They doubted there were any decent mages in the territory...! But how could they stop Fleming, an outsider who had come to help, when he was showing such enthusiasm? In the end, the two of them nodded.
"We are counting on you!"
"May the blessing of Lord Archisus be with you...!"
"Wait, isn't that Fleming, the Fire Magic School Master?"
"Are you going to keep talking nonsense today?"
"No... I'm serious!"
The guild member who was being dismissed felt incredibly wronged. That really looked like Fleming! As the Fire Magic School Master, Fleming was highly famous among mage players. Especially those who specialized in fire magic! He was an incredible NPC who had reached the Legendary rank in fire magic and possessed several secret fire spells. Countless players cleared all sorts of quests just to learn a single spell from him. But why on earth would Fleming be here?
"Ugh, just follow me. I'm telling you, it's really him."
"Don't you think we shouldn't have brought him along?"
"I think he's finally lost his mind... Gasp!"
"Whoa!"
The guild members froze. It really was Fleming! Fleming, the Fire Magic School Master, was wandering down the main street wearing his signature robe embroidered with red patterns. He looked somewhat anxious, as if searching for someone—though surely that was just their imagination?
"Ah. You there. Are you mages?"
"Huh? Yes! Yes, we are!"
To think they were being addressed directly by Fleming, whom players usually had to wait in line for days just to catch a glimpse of at the Magic Tower!
"Could you assist me with a task?"
"O-O-O-Of course!!! Anything!!!"
Fleming, the Fire Magic School Master...
[Accept! Accept! Accept!]
The guild members accepted immediately without even reading the details. If they hesitated and missed this chance, they would regret it for the rest of their lives! It was a request from Fleming himself, and a Magic Tower quest at that.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"Wait... This isn't a Magic Tower quest. It's a... Magic Tower Construction Quest?"
"...Wait, really?"
Looking closely, it wasn't a standard Magic Tower quest, but a Magic Tower Construction Quest. The guild members were flustered.
"...Uh... Maybe we're just helping with some crafting inside the Magic Tower?"
"Could be..."
"Master Fleming! How may we assist you?"
"I require your assistance in constructing a Magic Tower."
"..."
"..."
"...Excuse me?"
Only after hearing the full explanation did the guild members realize they had walked right into a trap. To think they had eagerly accepted such a crazy quest!
How are we supposed to build a Magic Tower?!
It wasn't something players of their level could construct! However, they had already accepted the offer, and declining now meant giving up any hope of leaving a good impression on Fleming.
[If you abandon the quest, Fleming may be disappointed.]
[If you abandon the quest, your reputation within the Magic Tower will decrease.]
[Your Magic Tower contribution points will be deducted.]
Sob, sob!
This was exactly like one of those tips constantly given to beginners in Pandemonium Online:
"Dear beginners! Please read the quest description all the way to the end before accepting! If you accept blindly out of laziness, you might end up in serious trouble!"
...To think they would be the ones experiencing this now! The only remaining option was to persuade Fleming.
"M-Master Fleming. Building a Magic Tower is truly... impossible. How could we possibly gather all the materials?"
"Well... I believe we can manage if we build it step-by-step, one piece at a time..."
"How could that possibly be—"
"Well, we must do our best. For now, I plan to start by creating a space for the Fire Magic School."
Fleming chuckled warmly. Normally, the guild members would have admired that gentle smile, but not today. He's actually going to do it!
No, honestly, he'll probably give up on his own after a little while.
It's realistically impossible...
And there's no one to build it anyway.
However, the guild members did not yet know the true power of this territory.
Rumble, rumble—
"What did you call us for?"
"Oh, come on!!! Why are there so many jobless people in this territory?!"
This was the territory with the highest concentration of idle players in all of Pandemonium Online! It was teeming with people who spent their days gambling, only to swarm like locusts the moment a quest popped up, thinking, Oh? A quest? Perfect! Time to make some money! In less than a minute, a massive crowd of players gathered like storm clouds, leaving the guild members lamenting. It seemed they all had some experience with manual labor, as they were holding various construction tools in their hands.
"Sob, sob..."
"Please let me go back to the guild...!"
"Wait. Isn't this technically helping Kim Tae-hyun?"
Click—
...Those absolute bastards!
The other rankers were happily dumping the tedious work on them just because they didn't have to do it themselves! They weren't called an alliance for nothing. In things like this, the ones who got stuck with the job always ended up losing out.
"Urgh... Just you wait...!"
"I will never forget this grudge!"
"What are you muttering about? Move aside. We need to start construction."
"Y-You...! You're from the Guild Alliance, aren't you?!"
The Midas mage was startled to see the guild member he had spotted earlier in the Guild Alliance (who was actually a Power Warrior). Of course, Najakse, the Power Warrior Guild member, was equally startled.
Wait, why does this guy have such a good memory?
"Who are you? What are you plotting?"
Flustered, Najakse quickly racked his brain. He had never expected to run into someone from the Guild Alliance here! Fortunately, it seemed the other guy had left the Guild Alliance, but...
"What is the Guild Alliance even plotting here... Ah. Wait. You're in Power Warrior?"
"!"
"Don't tell me you...!"
"..."
"Did you jump ship to Power Warrior?!"
...He's just an idiot.
Najakse breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried his spying would be exposed for nothing!
"Phew. Fine. There's no reason to hide it anyway. After the Guild Alliance fractured, I left the guild too."
"But why Power Warrior?"
The Midas Guild member asked out of pure curiosity. A genuine question! Why, out of all the countless guilds, would he choose that one? Of course, it wasn't a question he should have asked out loud in this spot. The Power Warrior Guild members standing behind Najakse began to glare at him.
"Ah... N-No... I'm not saying the Power Warrior Guild is bad! I-I was just asking! Someone of your caliber could have easily joined any of the giant guilds!"
The Midas Guild member quickly sputtered out insincere compliments to save himself!