For Justice and the Salz Kingdom!

It was highly ambiguous to call it a truce, but they had technically agreed to one! How hard had they fought to secure this peace, and now Tae-hyun was going to break it with his own hands?

'Sure, why not?'

......

-......

It took him less than a second to decide.

The situation was different now. In the past, the Guild Alliance had been so dominant that no other faction could even keep them in check. But now, their guilds were fractured, their kingdoms were locked in civil wars, and their members were deserting left and right...

Honestly, even if the Guild Alliance came at him with everything they had, Tae-hyun felt like saying, 'Is that all you've got?'

In the meantime, he had acquired a whole new roster of subordinates, not to mention the connections he could mobilize from his church and other kingdoms.

Besides, the Guild Alliance were the ones who had started the fight in the first place. He wasn't going to feel any guilt about ending the truce and striking first. They should have behaved themselves if they wanted mercy!

"Hyung, I have a great idea."

"Hmm? I was just going to fight them head-on. Why?"

"...Since I'm a Tyrum Ranger, we can use the Salz Kingdom as an excuse to fight..."

"...!"

Now that he thought about it, the ownership of these mines was a constant dispute between the Salz Kingdom and the Auston Kingdom. The Salz Kingdom was notoriously unambitious, so they never reacted when Auston Kingdom players occupied the border mines. But if it had been any other kingdom, they would have dispatched soldiers or knights immediately.

A border mine was, after all, a treasure trove that everyone coveted!

"Hear me, soldiers of the Auston Kingdom! You have dared to trespass and occupy the lands of the Salz Kingdom! Your crimes shall not go unpunished!"

"W-Wait... What does the Salz Kingdom have to do with Your Majesty...?"

The soldiers stammered in confusion, but Tae-hyun completely ignored them. He spun around and shouted to his party.

"For the Salz Kingdom! For justice!"

"Yeah! For the Salz Kingdom! For justice!"

The rankers cheered enthusiastically. They didn't care what the excuse was. What mattered was having a stage to show off! They had spent so much time hiding like rats in the Demon Realm, suffering in silence. Now, they wanted to show the world what they could do alongside Kim Tae-hyun.

I'm a ranker! A ranker, damn it!

"If you do not retreat this instant, we will—"

"..."

"..."

"No! Don't go!" one of the rankers blurted out instinctively, instantly drawing everyone's gaze.

"Ah, no. I mean... the rewards... the experience points..."

"Let's just go into the mine," Tae-hyun said.

Mine maps were structured so that the upper floors were easy, and the deeper you went, the harder they became. Unless a mine below the third basement floor was in some incredibly bizarre location, players had usually cleared them long ago.

Even if a third-floor mine was difficult, current players could easily clear it and defeat the boss monster. Once a dungeon was cleared like that, players would map it out, locate the ore veins, and send in miners to work.

Of course, monsters still spawned, so being prepared for combat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was essential.

But what about mines that went past the fifth, seventh, or even the tenth basement floor?

Surprisingly, there were quite a few uncleared mines even in powerful nations like the Erangs Kingdom, the Espa Kingdom, and the Atali Kingdom. These were places still too difficult for the average player's level!

Because there were so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many dungeons in the game, the number of unresolved dungeons was staggering.

And clearing these dungeons was usually the job of professional raid parties—parties made up of veteran rankers who had practically lived in dungeons.

If you cleared one of these unresolved dungeons, you would receive immense fame and public attention...

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go. In reality, things weren't so simple.

There were thousands, tens of thousands of unresolved dungeons! And the number of raid parties challenging them was equally massive. With several unresolved dungeons being cleared every single day, how could every single party get the spotlight?

In the end, only a select few became famous. It had to be a party that cleared a dungeon notorious for its extreme difficulty, or a party that was already famous to begin with.

Thousands of players had cleared difficult quests, so why did Tae-hyun always get all the attention?

It was because Tae-hyun cleared the hardest quests in the most ridiculously difficult ways possible.

Only the best are remembered!

While others formed guilds and parties to progress step-by-step, he threw himself in solo and cleared them alone—an overwhelming, incomparable difference!

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying this is our chance," one of the rankers said, his voice brimming with anticipation. "I've finally realized it. Why did we go to the Demon Realm and suffer all that hardship?"

"Wasn't it because you blew all your money at the World Tree...?"

"Yeah, didn't we gamble it all away? My grandfather was right. He always told me never to gamble."

Ignoring the chatter of the other rankers, the speaker continued.

"We went through all that suffering just for this very moment!"

"...!"

"What nonsense is he spouting now?"

"Ah, you idiot! He means we need to start streaming right now! Think about how much attention we'll get!"

During their time in the Demon Realm, they had been too embarrassed to turn on their streams despite the public's burning curiosity. But this was the continent. Surely, they wouldn't suffer any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humiliating defeats here.

"...I call dibs! I'm streaming first!"

"Dibs? Are you insane? First come, first served doesn't apply to this!"

The ranker who tried to monopolize the opportunity was instantly shut down. What a shameless bastard, trying to hog it all!

As soon as the conversation ended, the rankers scattered in all directions. They checked their gear, adjusted their faces, and prepared to start their streams.

A classy dungeon raid stream with Kim Tae-hyun! Just thinking about the concept made them feel like they were about to hit the big time.

"Ah, what if people mistake us for Team KL candidates?"

"As if. Why would anyone think you're a candidate? Now, someone of my caliber, on the other hand..."

"Guys, your conversation is getting seriously pathetic."

"I hope this mine is really difficult. Aren't there any high-difficulty mines around here? Let's suggest going to one of those."

The rankers whispered among themselves, their eyes gleaming with greed.

Since things had turned out this way, they had to milk this opportunity for all it was worth! They didn't know how long they would be traveling with Tae-hyun, so they had to do everything they could.

"I think I heard a rumor about a mine in this neutral zone..."

"Ah, right! A friend of mine in the Guild Alliance told me about one. It's a hidden mine, so it won't be on the map. It goes past the tenth floor, and they haven't been able to clear it yet."

"Perfect. Let's suggest going there."

"Hey, but what about your friend who told you about it?"

"What about him? He'll just be a great friend who chose friendship over a stupid guild."

"True, true. That makes sense. Let's tell Kim Tae-hyun to head there."

Excitedly, the rankers began drawing up new maps and plotting quest lines. As expected of people who did nothing but play games all day, their hands were incredibly fast.

A mine location leaked by a friend, another leaked by a different friend, a mine location bought with real money on a secret forum...

Gather all the high-difficulty mines!

"Hehehe... Our time is finally coming..."

"To everyone who laughed at me for losing all my money at the World Tree, just you wait."

"They're still going to laugh at you for that..."

"Shut up!"

"Why are those guys whispering like that?" Tae-hyun muttered, looking back with a grimace.

Currently, the vanguard consisted of players like Tae-hyun and Choi Sang-yun.

The middle guard was made up of the Goblins, the Archisus Chimeras, and ranged classes like Ji-su and Lee Da-bi.

The rankers were bringing up the rear.

But hearing those rankers snickering ominously in the back—"Hehehe! This is it! Mwahaha!"—was deeply unsettling.

The Underground Alliance Goblins shared Tae-hyun's suspicion.

"Those fellows are acting highly suspicious, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty! This is a mine, and we are experts at fighting in mines. Just say the word, and we can collapse this entire place and bury them alive."

"...Wouldn't we die too?"

"...Ah!"

"..."

When Tae-hyun glared at them, the Underground Alliance Goblins cleared their throats and looked away.

"Right, let's get to work! Work!"

"There's an ore vein here!"

The Goblins were excellent miners. They would walk along, tap on a wall, order a golem to strike it, and boom—an ore vein would appear out of nowhere.

It was a feat that required at least an Advanced rank in the mining skill!

Watching them, Tae-hyun felt a wave of nostalgia. I used to be able to do tricks like that back in Pan-On 1...

Of course, he could still do it now. Just in a slightly different way.

"Divine Foresight."

Slam!

Tae-hyun activated Divine Foresight, then swung his Ancient Hammer, shattering the wall in a single blow.

"!?!"

"As expected of Your Majesty...! A man with the face of a goblin, the body of a goblin, the brain of a goblin, and the soul of a goblin...!"

The Goblins' hearts fluttered at his magnificent display.

Once the Goblins and Tae-hyun located the ore veins, the Archisus Chimeras moved in. With their massive Strength and Constitution stats, they were unmatched as pack mules!

There was a reason the Underground Alliance Goblins doted on the Chimeras so much.

"-Screeech! So happy! So happy!"

"Haha, look at them. Are you really that pleased?"

"We must reward them with some special Goblin snacks."

"-Screeeeech! Delicious! So delicious!"

"My, look how much they love it!"

The Underground Alliance Goblins wiped their noses proudly. The adorable sight of the Archisus Chimeras reminded them of their own children.

Of course, the Archisus Chimeras were actually beginning to look at the Goblins with growing disgust.

These goblins are completely insane! They keep trying to torment us!

"-This mine belongs to us!"

"Where do these ugly dwarfs think they're going?!"

"Since when is this your mine?!"

The Underground Alliance Goblins reacted furiously, launching a barrage of attacks. Goblins and Dwarves were racially predisposed to despise each other!

Since the Dwarves were only around level 100, they were no match for the Goblins. Under the overwhelming firepower of the Goblins' Engineering weapons and golems, the Dwarves melted away instantly.

"Bwahahaha! You primitive fools! Behold the power of our Underground Alliance!"

"Even the Emperor and the Demon Dukes have knelt before us!"

While the Goblins fought with absolute glee, the rankers in the back swung their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weapons with thoroughly depressed expressions.

"????"

Tae-hyun found himself more and more bewildered. Seriously, what is wrong with them? Did they eat something bad?

"Tae-hyun-nim, they're probably streaming right now."

"If they're streaming, shouldn't they be acting cheerful and bright?"

"Well, they aren't really doing anything on stream. Viewers can be surprisingly harsh, you know."

Viewers were indeed brutal. Even if they liked a player, they would ruthlessly criticize them the moment the stream became boring or tedious. Running a successful stream was no easy feat.

There was a reason desperate people flocked to the Valley!

"Hmm. When you put it that way, I do feel a bit bad for them."

Tae-hyun looked back at the rankers.

Come to think of it, he had dragged these guys along, promising to show them something after they despaired over losing their life savings at the World Tree. Yet, he hadn't really given them anything to do in the Demon Realm.

He felt a tiny, microscopic pang of guilt!

To give them something to do, they had to at least be strong enough to confidently strike a Demon Duke first!

True enough.

That was indeed the limit of what these rankers could handle. In fact, even doing chores was only possible because they were rankers. If they had been lower-level players, they would have died the moment they set foot in Furneus's Territory.

"Should I help them out a bit?"

"...How?"

Lee Da-bi felt a sudden wave of anxiety wash over her at Tae-hyun's question.

Ah, well, it's not my problem anyway...!