“What’s That...?”
Far in the distance, something caught Han Ji-woo’s eye.
“What the...?”
It was a grapevine.
“Holy shit!”
A single vine stood tall and proud, heavy clusters of plump grapes dangling from its branches. Counting the bunches along the sprawling arms, he tallied more than twenty. With just some proper supports for the branches, it could easily bear even more fruit.
Then, a news article flashed through Han Ji-woo’s mind. Some farm had harvested four thousand bunches from a single vine. The photo showed it dominating the vineyard like a spiderweb, its branches blanketing the entire field. That one plant had claimed a whopping 1,000 square meters.
And the crazy part? No special techniques—just letting it grow wild while tending the surroundings.
“No reason mine can’t do the same.”
If that was too much hassle, he could just have Pao plant grape seeds. Great Harvest never failed.
Either way, a new fruit had appeared. Tasting it was only natural!
...But right now, priorities came first.
“Lucy. Pao. Hold off on the grapes for a bit! We gotta prep for monster hunting first.”
“...Got it.”
...Nyaah.
The pets, who’d been eyeing the grapes hungrily, deflated instantly. No helping it, though. Even if Han Ji-woo had grown stronger, a Monster Wave was uncharted territory. No clue how many beasts would swarm, so every second counted for prep.
Spend it munching a grape and survive thanks to solid defenses—or waste it and die.
Time until first Monster Wave: 2:58:11
“What should we prep?”
Mulling it over, Han Ji-woo scanned the newly opened area. Beyond the grapevine and stream, nothing much had changed. The land had expanded plenty, but the gains felt modest.
“Figures. Nothing but rocks rolling around... Wait.”
A spark lit in his mind.
“What’s the basics of a defense game? Smashing ‘em with missiles, duh.”
The scattered rubble—shattered remnants of the stone walls—could serve as ammo. His stats had skyrocketed since the start; Inventory them now, hurl later. Lethal.
He and the pets got to work gathering debris.
Then, amid the haul, one piece stood out: ruddy hue with silvery glints.
◈ A metallic ore essential for crafting iron tools and weapons.
“I-iron ore!”
After endless rocks and wood, finally! Eyes gleaming, he scoured the rest. Sure enough, iron ore dotted the rubble.
“Iron means iron weapons, right?”
Perfect timing before the Wave. Swinging a stick or stone axe after mastering swordsmanship? No way. This was like leaping from the Stone Age to the Iron Age!
Evolution of eras! From ape-man survival to full-fledged Homo sapiens sapiens.
Pao had a sword, but it was rusty and barely boosted attack. Eyes wild, Han Ji-woo prioritized the ore, ignoring plain rocks. The wall had been massive—tons of debris, plenty of ore mixed in.
After bagging 50 chunks:
Pickaxe = Iron x5 + Wood
Ore Mining = Ore + Axe-type tool
Ore Mining = Ore + Pickaxe-type tool
(Tools used in synthesis with Ore Mining blueprint are not consumed.)
“Sweet!”
Han Ji-woo pumped his fist and opened the crafting window. He’d tinkered endlessly the past couple days, combining scraps for new blueprints—to no avail. Limited materials, probably.
But iron changed everything.
Inventory had a stone axe ready. He loaded 50 iron ore and the axe.
No dice. Instead:
Stone Axe can only mine one ore at a time.
“Ugh, efficiency’s trash.”
Plenty more ore scattered. Mining it all by hand for a weapon blueprint? No time—the Wave loomed.
“Wait, maybe...?”
He mined one chunk with the stone axe: five iron ingots. Perfect for a pickaxe. Synthesized it—solid tool appeared.
Loaded the pickaxe with 49 ore:
Bingo. Proper tools for the job. Hit synthesize: 245 iron ingots stocked.
“Yes!”
Elated, he mined every last ore chunk, then bagged all plain rubble too.
“Missiles secured. Time left...”
Time until first Monster Wave: 02:34:25
Two and a half hours. Find an iron weapon blueprint, stat.
* * *
Time until first Monster Wave: 00:04:48
Five minutes to Wave. A gleaming steel sword shone in Han Ji-woo’s grip.
Post-iron frenzy, he’d jammed materials into crafting nonstop. Five blueprints unlocked:
Steel = Iron x5 + Fireflower Petals x10
Steel Sword = Steel x30 + Fireflower Petals x60
Unihorn Steel Sword = Steel Sword x1 + Unihorn Cock’s Horn x1
Round Wooden Shield = Wood x1/2 + Iron
Round Steel Shield = Steel x5 + Wood x1/10
Unihorn Steel Sword! That’s what he held. Tinkering to amp a plain steel sword, he’d tossed in a male unihorn cock’s horn on a whim. Jackpot—a step-up blade, etched with swirling engravings along the blade.
Steel sword infused with unihorn cock power. Stronger and lighter than standard steel sword.
Attack +17 | Agility +10
“Nice.”
He’d made the round steel shield too, but without shield skills, it just got in the way. Stashed.
“Where’re these things even coming from?”
Knew the spawn paths, he could fortify better. No intel, though—walls everywhere, no guesses.
“Won’t be top-tiers. Stay calm. Hoo...”
Wave closing in, nerves frayed. Facing a horde for the first time? Tough.
“Armor on. Rubble stocked. Steel sword ready. When they show, Pao and I missile ‘em with rocks firs—Huh?”
Double-checking, he caught Pao staring at the sword, mesmerized.
Got it. “Pao! Hit the coop, snag another unihorn cock horn.”
“A horn?”
“Yeah.”
“Got it!”
Pao bolted, eyes still glued—tripped on a rock.
Thud!
“Ow!”
Lucy narrowed her eyes; he yelped and dove into the coop. Returned with a snapped horn.
“Here!”
“Good job.”
Han Ji-woo whipped up another Unihorn Steel Sword and handed it over.
“Yours.”
“Huh? Th-this for me? Not yours?”
“Yup. Gift.”
Materials plentiful, why not? Wave incoming—armed Pao meant more firepower. Win-win.
Pao gulped, gripped it. Held the blade to his nose, enraptured. Swung it experimentally, beaming.
“Thanks, Master! First good sword ever! So grateful!”
Pao’s warrior pride surges from wielding a fine blade.
Pao engraves the unbreakable warrior spirit of ‘No Retreat in Battle’ to protect his master.
All of Pao’s stats +5!
Acquired King Goblin’s unique skill: Warrior’s Roar
Warrior’s Roar
Roar to boost allies’ morale (+5% base stats for 10 min) and crush enemies’ (-5% base stats for 10 min). Mana cost: 10.
“Whoa!”
Han Ji-woo marveled; Pao thumped his chest.
“Pao! Now even braver for Master!”
“Rock solid!”
Gifting gear triggered growth signals. Promising.
He nodded at the revelation—
Time until first Monster Wave: 00:00:00
Monster Wave commencing.
Gulp.
Wave message hit; Han Ji-woo swallowed hard.
Stay cool!
Slap! Slap!
He smacked his cheeks, hyping up. “Come at us from anywhere!”
Back-to-back with Pao, they scanned. Lucy perched on his head, alert.
Then—
Rumble rumble rumble!
“...!”
A wall section crumbled. Monsters poured out in a horde.