Castle Life (2)

"Assassination? Not just straight-up PK?"

"No, sir. Sure, it's PK at the end of the day, but sniper or assassination squad is more accurate. It's made up entirely of thieves—mostly rankers, at that."

Unlike their popular image in guild wars and raids, Taesung's executive players had a notorious reputation for poor manners among other top-tier users whenever they crossed paths in hunting grounds. Naturally, this racked up a ton of grudges—but the real problem was that none of those grudges had ever been resolved properly. Taesung's far stricter and more systematic guild structure meant their "extermination" process was airtight enough to not just prevent revenge, but drive the aggrieved players out of the game entirely.

While Taesung played the game like untouchable tyrants without a care in the world, the victims they'd left in their wake built up grudges too deep to fade away, even if it was "just a game." And according to Dodak Tong, the group of rankers among those victims was exactly the assassination squad he had in mind.

"It's not just about grudges, either. Some rankers are joining for the money, of course."

Running their extermination system inevitably meant falling into murderer status more often than anyone else. Especially as cumulative PK counts rose and levels climbed, the duration of murderer status dragged on longer for Taesung members—you could spot them in that state far more easily than players from other guilds. High-level players generally dreaded murderer status since every death hit like a truck anyway. But Taesung couldn't avoid it because of guild policy!

Dying in murderer status spiked item drop rates by about tenfold compared to normal. And Taesung execs were infamous for their top-shelf gear, making them little more than walking treasure chests. Dodak Tong explained that a few rankers had signed on purely for the lucrative loot.

"We don't take just anyone. Small elite team only. That's why we're secretly contacting rankers exclusively. Of course, once we go live, we'll end up on Taesung's extermination list, so everyone's prepared to delete their characters. What do you say—care to join forces with us?"

"It's definitely intriguing. I'm curious just how big an impact you'll make once you start operating for real. That said, my level's still low, and I've got a pile of stuff to handle, so I can't commit right now. But if your squad kicks off in earnest, I'll seriously consider jumping in."

"Understood. I hope to hear good news from you. To us, you'd be worth a million troops, Sandro. We'll be waiting for your call."

One man army. My plan to topple Taesung solo hadn't changed—but Dodak Tong's pitch had its appeal. Above all, their real-time intel network was tempting as hell.

With insiders and connections among top users both inside and out, he boasted a setup that could pinpoint any Taesung member's location in a flash. Sure, once the assassination squad went active, Taesung would watch their movements more carefully. But going in blind versus hitting them with prepped intel? Worlds apart.

Still, he wasn't someone to trust blindly. His ID was Dodak Tong—literally "back of the head," as in a sucker punch! His warning about Darius stealing the Holy Sword felt fishy too.

With that elite assassination squad... he'd really leave someone as easy to kill as me alone? No blowback like real-life revenge, either.

Before shaking on it, I needed to tread carefully. Conversations with Darius and Dodak Tong had given me plenty to mull over, so I pushed checking my private dungeon till tomorrow. With that, I logged out after the marathon siege day.

"Holy shit... can reality and the game really feel this different?"

Rising from the capsule, the room felt off in a whole new way today. My one-room apartment—half-filled by the capsule and bed—was comically cramped compared to the massive hall that felt like a school auditorium just moments ago.

"Used to think it was fine since even Tayeon felt shabby... but now it's straight-up two different lives! Heh."

My first real home, even if it was in-game with a one-month timer. Seeing tangible proof of my growth made it all the sweeter. The siege tension must've gotten to me—the capsule was soaked in sweat. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I cleaned it quick with the capsule cleaner, then hopped in the shower.

Thought about calling Hyunjung to celebrate, but didn't want to drag the guy out of hunting, so I flicked on the TV instead.

It was already 8 PM. Taitonic TV was airing my feat from today.

Unlike Rozentas, Kaljen had a reporter on-site. Quick clips of Atlantis and Taesung's fierce clash gave way to detailed shots of Ferari and Luitus crashing from the sky.

"Damn! Even I gotta say that's slick! Look at that perfect pathing!"

My maneuvers to claim top obelisk honors—precise DPS, checks, and blocks—were impressive even to me. The video ended with the massive white titan standing alone as everyone else got light-pillar yeeted.

The lead story was mine, but it covered other news I hadn't caught: Phoenix taking Rozentas, Oracle losing Entas to betrayal, Taesung reclaiming Bernstein in a bloody last-three-minutes brawl. Second-biggest spotlight? Phoenix again.

TV cut to ads right as the timing slipped. Hilariously, the star was all too familiar.

Taesung Electronics, Korea's top corp. Their brand ad featured edited in-game footage of Darius: first siege win, infamous instance boss first kill, coronation sword grab amid crowds. His narration peaked, then the global logo popped up.

Beep!

"That smug prick! Shamelessly starring in his daddy's company ad?"

Only someone with a clean conscience hams it up in image ads like that. I burned to expose his true colors to the world ASAP.

TV done, I crashed on the bed and checked the All-Tayeon free board on my phone for reactions.

Lots of mixed reactions, but my flashy moves had stirred up backlash. I never planned on public support anyway. Still, for safety when my identity leaked later, I couldn't afford to stay too much of a hate magnet.

I reviewed today's actions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again. Hasty and impulsive? Maybe. But for rapid growth, solid call.

With Taesung developing titans now, no time for slow builds.

Worrying won't fix it. Focus on what I can control: level up! Next month, grind levels exclusively and replan calmly.

Mind cleared, I hit the sack after the long day.

4 AM dawn. Big wins yesterday let me crash for a solid five hours—first in ages. First post-login: Hit up steward Benedic for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overnight taxes.

"Benedic, how much we raked in so far?"

"Lord of Kaljen Castle, Sandro. Total taxes collected from our Kaljen region: 32,375 gold."

"W-what? For real?"

Staggering sum—barely eight hours, a third of a day, over 3 million won in taxes?

"Whoa! Owning a castle is jackpot central!"

"Lord of Kaljen Castle, Sandro. Apologies, I don't follow."

"Nah, just mumbling to myself."

No huge expectations—Kaljen was known as low-pop. High-level zone? Post-siege bump? Few users, but mostly high-level—their auction house trades were pricey. Taxes there would stack up nice, and it checked out.

No wonder "taxes" were top secret for lords.

Not for nothing guilds comp dropped items. Fat tax revenue lets them fund sieges aggressively.

Sieges cost a fortune: pots, scrolls, drop losses exponential. Plenty dove in with their own cash for fun, but others needed support—which taxes enabled.

Not me. One-month castle grab—no leaks, all gold in.

"Got something else to spend on, huh?"

300k guild achievement points from the conquest—bonus I hadn't eyed. Guild disbands in a month? Burn it all. Peanuts split guild-wide, but solo? Jackpot.

Left Benedic, headed to knight captain's office from yesterday. Addressed Black Rose Captain Patrick.

"My lord, Sandro. What brings you?"

"Wanna draft some knights as guards. Cool?"

"The Black Rose Knights live and die for our liege alone. My lord, Sandro—we've honed our blades daily for this!"

This was it. Players dragging NPC soldiers like pets in villages or fields! Castle-owner perk. Private dungeons, NPC attitude shifts, guild mark upgrades... but skipping "guard soldiers" would've sucked.