Too Much of an Idol to Fail

'Huh?'

Tae-hyun had become far too much of an idol for his standing to ever drop!

Even if he went to the goblins right now and said, "Actually, this is a secret... but one of my parents is a Dwarf," they would probably just accept it. He was the superstar of the goblins! The ultimate idol of the goblins!

'What's wrong with being popular with the goblins? Leave me alone.'

Tae-hyun tried to think of it positively, though a lingering sense of unease remained in the corner of his mind.

'What on earth is this...?'

Tae-hyun was utterly dumbfounded. Was stopping them from reinforcing the castle really something to get this sad about?

"Sniff... I wanted to mount cannons under the castle..."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was going to attach steel spikes to the castle walls in case we had to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠land and engage in territory war... I even gave it a name..."

In their imaginations, the Underground Alliance Goblins were already painting a grand picture. In their minds, they had already finished building the castle, settled down, and raised their children inside it!

As the Underground Alliance Goblins pleaded through their tears, Tae-hyun's heart wavered slightly. Honestly, what other race had supported Tae-hyun as faithfully as these Underground Alliance Goblins? Looking at the results alone, they were better than the Archisus Church! Besides, what they wanted to do now was reinforce Tae-hyun's castle, not satisfy their own greed.

'...Well, they're still helping with my castle anyway...'

It was a bit excessive, but there was nothing bad about the castle getting stronger. Tae-hyun would have to face countless enemies in the future, and not all of them would sneak inside the castle. Some enemies would definitely try to smash the castle from the outside! Preparing for such occasions wasn't a bad idea.

"Lee Da-bi. Do we have any steel or bronze ingots?"

"Even if we scrape together everything in the Power Warrior Guild's warehouse, we'll probably only get about twenty or thirty. And I can't guarantee the quality... If we strip the Valley and the Capital clean, we might get around a hundred, but the penalty will be severe."

Players who held the position of a lord had various authorities. One of them was requisition!

They could basically go, 'Hey! You lot! Hand it over!' and extort whatever they wanted from the NPCs. Of course, doing so would naturally trigger reactions like, 'Aigoo, milord, how are we supposed to survive?' and, if they weren't careful, even spark a rebellion. It was cutting off one's nose to spite one's face!

"Should we buy them using the territory's operating gold?"

"No. It's already a bottomless pit as it is..."

Even though they were focusing development solely on the Valley and the Capital, the gold consumption was astronomical. In the Valley alone, they immediately needed additional temples, paladin training grounds, priest training grounds, various farming facilities for the newly arriving farmers, blacksmithing facilities for the blacksmiths, tailoring facilities for the tailors...

On top of that, the newly arrived goblins were happily digging away underground to build subterranean facilities, the vampires of the Blood Archipelago had banded together to create their own farms, and there were Orcs from the Uruk Region, giants from the distant Asbian Empire, and other rare races swarming the place. Just breathing cost gold!

Furthermore, a massive quest was currently underway in the Valley. It was the Magic Tower. A massive quest several times larger than anything before!

'They say it's progressing on its own, but does that even make sense?'

News had reached him that the master of the Magic Tower's Fire School, the priests of the Sadiq Church, and ranker mages were taking the lead to get things done. A Magic Tower construction progressing with zero gold! No matter how he looked at it, the story sounded too good to be true, so Tae-hyun found it hard to believe. He wouldn't even be surprised if he returned to his territory later only to find a shabby tower with a single Archisus magic book tossed inside and a sign saying, 'This is the Archisus Magic Tower!'

That was why, despite obtaining so many items and rewards in Pan-On, Tae-hyun rarely had more than 50,000 gold on hand. He spent it as fast as he earned it! Of course, 50,000 gold was an enormous sum, but considering Tae-hyun's position, it was pocket change.

"Senior. Should I use real money to buy them from the auction house?"

"No. Even if we try to buy them from the auction house, the supply for that amount will be lacking, or rumors will spread and we'll have to pay a premium..."

As he spoke, Tae-hyun realized that those words didn't really mean much to Yu Ji-soo. Yu Ji-soo was staring at Tae-hyun with an expression that clearly said, 'Can't we just pay the premium?'

"If we buy up a large quantity, some people might try to play tricks to exploit it, but isn't it fine to just pay that much? We only need to achieve our goal."

Lee Da-bi looked at Yu Ji-soo with a deeply moved expression. So cool...! She looks like one of those rich people you only see in novels! Well, she actually was a real-life conglomerate heiress.

'Ah. Did I say something unnecessary?'

Yu Ji-soo panicked when Lee Da-bi sent her such an intense look. Although she respected and liked Tae-hyun, she liked Lee Da-bi just as much. She didn't want to accidentally buy any ill will. 'She doesn't seem angry... right? Is she?'

"More importantly, I don't use real money to buy in-game items."

"Ah, right. But Senior, why haven't you done it?"

"Well, I've always been like that, so there's no particular reason... And if I win, it'd feel unfair to hear people say I only won because of pay-to-win."

"......."

"......."

That last part sounded like his true feelings, didn't it? Yu Ji-soo and Lee Da-bi both thought so, but they didn't voice it.

"As expected, gathering it ourselves is the best. Hmm. Does anyone have a map?"

"I have a map of the Salz Kingdom."

Yu Ji-soo raised her hand. Both Lee Da-bi and Tae-hyun gasped in admiration. A map of the Salz Kingdom!

"...Why do you both look so amazed just because I have a map?"

"O-Oh, it's nothing."

"R-Right."

"...Anyway, looking around here, there's a mine on the Salz Kingdom side, and another on the Auston Kingdom side. There's also a mine in the neutral zone."

"Hmm. We should raid the Auston Kingdom mine and the neutral zone mine."

"We should raid the Auston Kingdom mine and the neutral zone mine."

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

Everyone was in perfect agreement!

Thanks to Tae-hyun, who had boldly charged at a Demon Duke only to abruptly cut off his stream, the public was practically going out of their minds. Please... please tell us what happened! The sparks flew over to the other parties remaining in the fortress.

Since they were dying of curiosity but couldn't see anything because it was the Demon Realm, people were invading the streams of other parties who had gone to the Demon Realm and venting their frustration! As if it wasn't enough that they had been beaten up in the Demon Realm and extorted for a fortune by the giants, the Expedition players felt incredibly sorrowful having to listen to this.

"Why don't they go themselves...!"

"Do they have any idea how difficult this place is?"

Of course, the public didn't respond to such rational arguments with rational understanding.

"Ah, just go already!!"

"Go check the situation and die if you have to!!"

The Expedition players chose to shut down their streams rather than step outside the fortress. If they were members of the Power Warrior Guild, they would have bargained, saying, 'Depending on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how much gold you guys donate, I may or may not go out,' but the people here were all high-level players or above. The penalty for dying once was far too severe. Thanks to this, all sorts of wild rumors began circulating in Pan-On.

Even though it was clearly nonsense if they thought about it for just a second, people believed it anyway!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The player who had actually heard the truth from a somewhat reliable source was instantly ridiculed and banned.

However, it didn't take long for this wild rumor to be proven true.

A massive castle had suddenly appeared in the mountain range of the Salz Kingdom! No matter how few players there were in the Salz Kingdom, a castle like that appearing was bound to spread rumors. Besides, no matter how one looked at it, that castle belonged to Furneus.

"Everyone! Look at this! There really is a castle here!!"

The Salz Kingdom players shed tears of joy as they approached the castle and started streaming. It was the first time in ages that they had felt the public's attention since starting in the Salz Kingdom! While players in other kingdoms were happily enjoying Pan-On with all sorts of massive quests, the Salz Kingdom players had to live in regret, wondering, 'Why did I start in the Salz Kingdom?'

"Everyone!!! Come to the Salz Kingdom!! The Salz Kingdom welcomes you!!!"

"Taxes are low, there are few players, so there's barely any competition!!!"

"The Salz Kingdom, where you can easily enter dungeons!!!"

The players cried out at the top of their lungs. But the more they did, the more disgusted the viewers looked!

"Halt! This is the mine of His Majesty the King, ruler of the great Auston Kingdom!"

"Huh? The defenses are surprisingly solid."

"Right?"

Tae-hyun's party was surprised. To think they would build fortresses and station guards at every single mine like this. Was the Auston Kingdom really that wealthy?

"Ah. It must be because of the territory war right now."

The rankers quickly realized and spoke up. Currently, the Auston Kingdom was in the middle of yet another civil war! A newly emerged guild that had split off from the Guild Alliance controlled the west, while the Guild Alliance held the rest, and they were locked in a fierce territory war. These mines, bordering the northwestern Salz Kingdom, were in a position where either guild could seize them at any moment! Such defenses were only natural.

"Well, even if the defenses are solid..."

"...it won't mean a thing."

The rankers chatted among themselves, looking at the guards with pity. Normally, elite soldiers were powerful enemies over level 200 or 300. With various support buffs, even rankers would struggle to face them alone. But their opponent now was Tae-hyun! Behind him was a golem army brought by the Underground Alliance Goblins and the Chimeras of Archisus. With the rankers added to the mix, capturing a single mine like this was child's play.

'Is it finally time for me to shine after so long?'

'Capturing bases like this is fun. Hehe. Since it looks like I won't be embarrassed anymore, maybe I should turn my stream back on...'

"Y-You...! What is a hero like the King of the Atali Kingdom doing here?!"

The guard let out a scream-like shout, seemingly recognizing Tae-hyun. Tae-hyun prepared to speak confidently.

"Well, to plun—"

"C-Could it be an invasion?"

"No...! How are we supposed to fight a hero like that?!"

"Everyone, calm down! The Atali Kingdom and we definitely have a truce!"

The soldiers babbled among themselves. Hearing their words, Tae-hyun suddenly realized.

"Ah."

Now that I think about it, we did, didn't we?