Interview Exploitation Method (3)

In the center of the plaza stood a circular fountain. I circled the railing atop it, and as the surrounding crowd pushed forward to the front row one by one, I accepted their guild join requests and immediately kicked them out, distributing achievements that way.

The moment I tapped Yes, the guild expulsion button followed right away.

Since it was a one-man guild with no other members listed, selecting users to kick was a breeze. Circling the fountain nonstop, accepting and expelling whoever popped into my view took just 2 seconds per person.

Right after, the user who'd snagged the achievement would use a return scroll to bail from the plaza. Repeating this nonstop for 2 hours straight every day let me hand out Noble Family achievements to over 3,000 players daily.

Just 2 hours a day, sure—but by the end, I was utterly drained, like my soul had been sucked out. Still, it was worth every ounce of grind. Player reactions after the first day were overwhelmingly positive.

Users thanking me profusely for their first-ever achievement. Ones thrilled to score something they'd never dreamed of from a top guild. Even pledges to buff and shield me in the field from now on, no attacks ever...

No matter my ulterior motives, the fatigue from all that repetition melted away with those grateful posts. And one more hidden goal I'd aimed for: draining Kaljen Castle dry in the final week. It worked like a charm—taxes had exploded.

The event wrapped today, but the plaza was still packed with hopefuls. Day one had been chaos incarnate, way worse. A quiet castle suddenly swarming? Taxes couldn't stay flat.

Teleport fees from all these users, shop consumables bought on impulse, exchange commissions... The week's haul doubled the previous three weeks' combined.

Squeezing Kaljen Castle for every last drop? Yeah, I'd wrung it all out.

Frantically accepting and kicking, I barely glanced at IDs—until a familiar one jumped out.

Huh? No way... is this...?

I accepted on autopilot but snapped to attention, scrutinizing IDs carefully from then on. Last day, near the end of 2 hours—when I'd be most exhausted and off-guard. Perfect window for those bastards to sneak in and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snag achievements by accident.

"Hahaha! What the hell are you idiots doing?"

Sure enough, they'd slunk in. The backstabbers from when I was leveling a fresh character in the beginner zone. Two of them, shamelessly disguised in mage hoods, here for my achievements.

That fight had been memorable—they couldn't have forgotten my ID. Especially StudJjuho; he'd hunted me across the beginner zone for a while. No way they didn't recognize me, yet here they were, brazen as hell.

"Sandro! Why aren't you accepting joins? Event over already?"

"Sandro! Still 5 minutes left!"

Me stopping mid-circle to laugh instead of handing out achievements? Front-row users yelled.

Urging was one thing—grudges another. I wasn't the forgiving type who forgot slights easily.

"Sorry, everyone! Achievement giveaway ends here! See, I accidentally gave some to the Stud Family right up front! No clue how long they'll hog the fountain, so I can't continue!"

"What? We've queued over 2 hours to reach here! What do Stud Family have to do with stopping?!"

"The Stud Family backstabbed me for no reason while I was hunting in the beginner zone. High-level jerks even threatened to force-quit my character. Now they're here for achievements right in front of me. Should I give 'em? I've done plenty this week—sorry, that's it. Thanks for understanding!"

Some had already bailed, figuring it too late. But over a thousand still ringed the fountain, clinging to last-day hope.

My calm, firm tone hit them—the final train had left. Like fire sweeping dry grass, the plaza erupted in curses at the Stud Family.

"You fucking Stud assholes! Cross my path and you're dead meat! Got it?!"

"Still backstabbing noobs in beginner zone? With matching IDs? Lmao, delete your chars! Pathetic!"

"They're here too! IDs: StudJjuho! StudSeojun! HotBabeSunmi and StudHyunwoo were just ahead—they got achievements!"

IDs called out, the two in front panicked and triggered return scrolls.

"S-sorry!"

"We never succeeded at PK—we got wrecked instead!"

"You trash, that's your excuse?!"

But return scrolls took 10 seconds. They ate a barrage of insults from the crowd. Probably more shit-talk in those moments than their whole lives.

"Oh? Stud Family all returned? Thanks to you all, it's handled—no 5 minutes, I'll add 30 extra and wrap the event! If you spot rude players like this, give 'em justice like today!"

"Whoa! Thanks, Sandro!"

"Next time I see Stud Family in the field, first strike incoming!"

"Exterminate the Stud Family!!"

And so, the event ended on the eve of the siege war with a minor uproar.

Now, just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one last step: negotiating Kaljen Castle's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sale.

After hinting at selling the castle for Great Thief Willipeng's Strange Boots on stream, three guilds had approached by today: Olympus, Atlantis, and rising stars Amazon.

Legendary item or not, three bids proved even an empty Kaljen Castle held real value. Phoenix, fresh off founding Reverse Kingdom, could've bid too—but apparently lacked manpower for six-castle defense, so no word.

Still, Phoenix GM Hellfire had a special request.

Casual catch-up shifted to castle sale—Hellfire's real aim.

What? Unexpected from a king-tier player. I figured some angle, tied to the sale—maybe urging a handoff to ally Atlantis.

Opposite. Hellfire earnestly begged: don't sell to Atlantis.

Mega-guild power plays I neither knew nor cared about. Tayton's main stream was those clashes—solo players like me could be wildcards, not mains. (Though that might change.)

Hellfire's rundown: Second nation founded, but too far behind Taeseong in power and time. Yet as #2, top guilds were ramping up checks—growth slowing post-founding, crisis mode.

One castle from me wouldn't tip scales. If desperate, Phoenix or Atlantis could buy easy. So Hellfire's real play? Me.

Eyeing my growing influence and potential, nudging me into his vision for guild wars. Not a bad pick for me.

Olympus GM was that guy. From lowbie days, his king-tier rise blew my mind.

Third nation already...

Not some Romance of the Three Kingdoms—Tayton hitting three-way split sudden-like? Player-driven over dev plot, but even devs hadn't foreseen this.

A living game, rawer than reality with tangled desires. Somewhere along, I'd become key player, game changer.

Hellfire seems trustworthy... Unless he betrays first, I'll roll with his plan.

Agreed to his request, secret deal done. Price mismatch kills the sale—bring a fat offer, I added.