Chapter 85: The World from Here On Out - Part 2
Gates had appeared, but the world hadn't changed overnight. Even though several years had passed already, it was more accurate to say that nothing had really shifted. But if you wanted to get technical, it was me who'd set that stalled time in motion.
After I got my own gate, things started rolling once I claimed the Fukushima Gate. It was like some ancient cartwheel that had been stuck suddenly lurched forward. Gate owners who'd been keeping a low profile started showing their faces to the world, and nations everywhere decided to recruit them and adapt to the new reality.
I'd reached out to Jeong Gi-hoon again and asked if his people were the ones using that hypnosis hunter. He denied it. I couldn't be one hundred percent sure it was the truth, but my gut told me he wasn't lying. He even volunteered that pro-Japanese corporations were the ones pulling those strings. And knowing his personality, I figured that checked out.
For starters, none of the residents in our territory could be hypnotized. We had all boosted our mental fortitude using ingredients that enhanced it. Hypnosis didn’t work on anyone with higher mental strength than the caster anyway, so we had prioritized that from the start. The same went for the people under my command in the subordinate territories. I had made sure they also leveled up their mental strength, and the Pink Guardian was grinding levels like crazy.
“Kyaaak!”
It might sound like a scream, but that was her cheer for landing a critical hit. What a unique Pink she was.
Lately, Go Yeon-ju had been teaming up with Si-yeon, the two of them hunting everywhere they could. Not just in our Siho Territory, but in her Jeju Territory too. They were clearly out to dry up the troll populations on both sides.
Oh, and troll breeding was finally taking off successfully. Helena had cast a spell to dominate their minds, and thanks to her magic, the trolls were living pretty content lives. Their numbers had grown to ten now, and we could harvest about three liters of their sacred blood per troll per day without any issues.
Meanwhile, Father's pet food business outside was selling like hotcakes. It wasn't just regular feed—we were peddling therapeutic rations, so there was no real competition with existing companies. Steady growth all around.
Seon-woo's general store had cemented itself as one of Korea's top spots. Department stores were hounding his dad daily for shipments, which meant poor Seon-woo senior was swamped. The whole area around it had become famous as Siho Street now, with pork belly joints, hanwoo beef places, and chicken shops thriving. Especially the no-fat-gain chicken—it was a massive hit.
And we'd started buying up Siho Street itself. The shop owners there got to keep running their businesses in place, so no issues arose. We'd chosen Siho Street as our gateway from Earth to the territory.
Plus, in Noona's clinical trials that had kicked off there, Juyeon's little sister had successfully regenerated her organs. Animal trials progressed even faster, leading straight to therapeutic use. It was a godsend for cats and dogs suffering from kidney failure—pet owner communities were blowing up online. The animal hospital director had gotten chummy with Noona somehow and was supposedly joining our territory soon. The village elders were thrilled at the news of a vet coming aboard.
“So, are we switching genres from gate stuff to territory-building now?”
To Seon-woo's quip, I shot back, “We've always been territory-building.”
“True, our world's gates aren't really hunter fare anyway.”
He nodded. Spot on. This world's gates might look the part, but they were territories through and through. From the very beginning.
“We've got a bunch of gate owners wanting to join up with our territory. What do you think?”
“Eh. Do we really need more subordinates right now?”
“Nah, not really. Honestly, we only took on Go Yeon-ju's territory because of the survival angle.”
True enough. It was a circumstantial alliance, nothing more.
“Better to solidify what we've got. And that forest...”
“Yeah.”
“Doesn't it feel like there's still way too much we don't know?”
I'd been neglecting Helena lately, but she'd gathered the Wind Tribe warriors and formed a knight order—with my approval, of course. The Wind Tribe made excellent fighters. Talk to them, and they came off as downright guileless folk. Combat was all they knew. Probably why they struggled with food shortages.
Word was Si-yeon had her eye on Helena for White Guardian duty. Did the colors even match? Whatever—it was Si-yeon's hobby, so who was I to judge.
Helena had also taken it upon herself to teach magic to our territory's high schoolers. The top student in school apparently had real talent for it. The others were just picking up basics. I could barely grasp magic myself, which left me feeling a bit salty sometimes. But hey, as long as our people were growing, I didn't sweat it.
“The forest's secrets... Yeah, definitely something there.”
Seon-woo had to be sensing it too. The higher your level climbed, the tougher that forest felt.
Nyaang.
Hoya was nudging us to head in, right on cue. She kept pushing me to develop the forest. Whatever we gained from it, we had to keep going back—that was her line.
“Hoya, c'mere.”
She leaped into my arms at my call. Moments like this made her feel like my Hoya... though sometimes I wondered if this powerhouse was really the same cat. The System still listed her as my pet and me as hers, which secretly thrilled me.
“Hoya, hitting the forest sounds good, but how about you and me just chill sometimes?”
Nyaang?
She tilted her head, pondering, then licked my face. Deal.
So I scooped her up and headed to the bedroom in my lord's quarters. Arm pillow on our bed, downtime mode. This was our healing ritual. That's how we'd spend the day—assuming no territory emergencies.
Seon-woo saw me carrying Hoya off and turned away. Guess even he thought I looked beat.
I spent the day playing with Hoya and toys, feeding her snacks, fully recharging. No one bothered me—maybe out of consideration. Fully powered up, I set out with her the next day. Back to the forest.
My level was 66 now. I'd stalled at 59, hit 60 absorbing Go Yeon-ju's territory, then grinded to 66 after the monster wave. I suspected 70 would bring another wall.
“Hoya, that's our hunting ground for today, right?”
Nyaang. Yep.
“What's waiting this time?”
Nyaang? Playing dumb. Sly Hoya, but cute enough to let slide. I knew everything she did was for me.
“Let's go in.”
She perched on my shoulder. The air shifted as we entered—no surprise anymore. I spread my mana to scan around, a trick Helena taught me. Not real magic, just sensing via mana diffusion, like echolocation.
“No humanoids or animals at least...”
Just a ton of plants. Oddly abundant.
“Figures.”
The plants were the monsters here.
Shwick!
“Damn, since when do plants whip around like that?!”
A tentacle—vine?—shot at me. Instinct kicked in; I drew my sword and sliced it. But that was just the opener. Tentacles flew from everywhere.
“Hoya! Isn't this overkill?”
Nyaang! She hopped off to a tree branch, unfazed. Notably, none targeted her. Smart bastards.
Nyang nyang!
“Infuse fire energy into the sword?”
Nyang! Yes.
I channeled fire into the blade and unleashed Hertian Beginner Swordsmanship—but Hoya chimed in again.
Nyang nyang!
“Use elven swordsmanship?”
Why thrusting-focused elven style? No clue, but I followed. Hoya's advice was gold.
Thrusting these tentacles was trickier than slashing, but I stuck to it, repelling the carnivorous plants with Elven Sword.
Then I noticed something slashing missed: Slashed plants regrew tentacles, but pierced ones started sealing up. Stab all five tentacles on a plant, and it shut down completely.
I stabbed away at the horde as Hoya directed. Four hours in, Elven Sword hit intermediate, and the area was cleared.
“Huff huff huff.”
Hoya hopped back, licked my face. Good job.
She darted into the plants, fetching something.
“What's this?”
Nyang! Shut up and check.
I activated Observation.
Item: Forest Elixir (Lv. 8)
Consuming grants +10 to a random stat. Up to 300 max.
Simple description. But not simple at all. +10 random stat? Meh, we had plenty like that. The kicker: no "first consumption" limit.
Meaning one thing.
“You can keep eating it, and stats keep going up? Till 300?”
Nyaang! Yes.
Hoya had probably maxed it already.
“It doesn't respawn forever, right?”
Nyaang nyang!
“Ah, so method matters?”
Nyang!
Yep. That's why she brought me here. Listening to Hoya was always the way.