Chapter 15
Chapter 15
The gate was locked, but since the key mechanism was a giant spherical lock, I stuck my finger in, pushed against the iron holding it in place, and the door opened.
Click!
Well, look at that? This house is a 'click' type?
I entered Cheonsu-hyeong's house... no, the building that had now become my house.
This place was an alleyway that had been designed and built all at once in the past, where a total of four households were divided into two, constructed like a mirror image of each other.
And the place I bought was the house right next door, the one below ours.
"As expected, the interior is the same."
Our house was at least tidy because Mom tended the vegetable garden and kept the yard clean, but this place was a mess, as if it had been abandoned ever since the Ruined Game incident.
Ha-rang followed me into the new house.
"Oh my? The layout here is the same as your house?"
Hey, could you please just stick to one, either 'hey' or 'honey'..?
"Because that's how the alley was designed and built."
I pulled the front door to get inside, but
Teol-keong
It was locked.
"Uh... it's my house, but this is a bit..."
If I had the Lockpicking skill, I could have picked the locked door like a thief, but I didn't have such a skill.
Phew... I was going to bulldoze it with Construction anyway.
I used the newly learned Decomposition skill on the door, not the Blessed Decomposition.
Twinkle!
Then, the front door turned into a square box-shaped construction material.
Construction was one of the few pieces of content that the developers, who valued detail during the Ruined Game era, nerfed after listening to user feedback.
Originally, it was so realistic that you had to collect every single material like cement, bricks, and rebar, but after many users strongly suggested it, they updated it for convenience and changed all materials into Construction Materials.
Of course, those who were professionals or valued realism would collect bricks and apply cement to put up buildings, but the majority of people simply used the Construction skill to build the house they wanted.
As the front door turned into materials, Ha-rang, who had been playing in the yard, approached behind me.
"Wow, did you learn Decomposition? You must have points to spare?"
"Well, you have to become a jack-of-all-trades to survive..."
Once the door blocking the way disappeared, I went inside the building.
Inside, ink wash paintings were hung on every wall, and ink sticks were piled up in the corner of the house.
"Ah... Mr. Park usually did calligraphy and paintings..."
I remembered the face of the man who would draw a picture on a fan for me every summer when I was a child.
"Phew... even I can't bring myself to grind this up."
I took out a huge carrier from my inventory and rolled up the paintings hanging on the wall one by one.
Once I finished organizing the artworks, what remained were supplies like brushes, ink sticks, and inkstones.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Park, I'm just going to... grind this up."
After cleaning up the large room and the storage, I was able to obtain about 10 Peanut Butter.
Ha-rang was still following me around, watching my Decomposition work.
"It's fascinating every time I see it... What kind of skill is it, anyway?"
"Ahem... You shouldn't keep trying to dig into other people's secrets."
"Tch... Does your ability disappear just because you tell me! How stingy..."
She turned her head as if angry, but she still hovered around me.
Like a cat...
After finishing the room cleanup, I smiled at her behavior and went to the kitchen.
"Phew... The refrigerator... if the electricity has been cut for 4 days... isn't that basically Pandora's box?"
After agonizing over it, I lacked the courage to open the door, so I decomposed the entire refrigerator.
"Hey! What a waste!"
"Then are you going to clean up the rotten ingredients inside, Ha-rang-ssi?"
"Th-that's not it, but..."
As the refrigerator disappeared, the dust that had been piled up behind it floated around.
"Ugh... This won't do..."
Giving up on cleaning, I came out of the building.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to do some rank-up grinding for Construction and Decomposition, so I'm just going to bulldoze it."
"Then I'll head home. There's nothing as boring as grinding, right?"
"Yes, see you tomorrow, Ha-rang-ssi."
Ha-rang headed to her house, escorted by zombies.
Left alone, I took out my weapon from my inventory and started looking for ownerless buildings.
As I walked around catching zombies, it wasn't long before I found an ownerless building.
"Alright... I'm sorry to the deceased, but please sacrifice yourself for me, the survivor."
I decomposed the iron door and put the Construction Materials into my inventory.
Fortunately, just like in the Ruined Game days, Construction Materials could be stacked in the inventory, up to 100 per slot.
Shall we start the grind?
I first decomposed the front door, went inside, and converted the contents into Peanut Butter.
Once the primary cleanup was done, there were no items inside the building other than dust.
Coming out of the building, I placed my hand on the building wall and used the Decomposition skill.
Twinkle!!
The whole house emitted a bright light, and a clean vacant lot appeared as if there had never been a house there.
On that vacant lot, a large amount of Construction Materials was piled up, visible at a glance.
"Alright... start the repetitive grind!"
I used the Construction skill to build a shabby container box, which consumed the least amount of materials.
[Experience Gained 100]
Wow?
'They really did a stealth patch for the production classes...'
I could earn experience with the Construction skill back in the Ruined Game days, but it wasn't like this.
When I placed my hand on the container box again and decomposed it, Construction Materials were left there.
'It consumes 50 when making a container... and returns 30 when decomposing it.'
I lose 20 per grind, but the Construction Materials I got from tearing down one house were plentiful.
Alright... let's go again!
--
10 minutes later
"Phew... finally finished one house..."
The Construction Materials that seemed infinite quickly ran out.
"Hehe... but I gained a lot, so..."
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Geum-seul
Level: 11
Free Points: 2
[A] Low-level Construction +1: Allows construction by consuming materials.
[A] Low-level Decomposition: Decomposes items to obtain materials.
My level also rose by two stages, and Construction and Decomposition grew to the Low-level stage.
"Alright... now I have to go to the next house."
I put the remaining Construction Materials in my inventory and left the empty house.
--
5 hours later
The time when the sun that burned the purple sky had disappeared and two moons were floating in the sky.
I barely arrived home.
"Phew... it was seriously boring as hell, but I had no choice if I wanted to survive... hehehe..."
Level: 17
Free Points: 8
[A] Advanced Construction +1: Allows construction by consuming fewer materials.
[A] Advanced Decomposition: Obtains a large amount of materials when decomposing.
The system window that popped up in front of me was enough to make me happy just by looking at it.
However, this kind of growth wasn't the recommended leveling method back in the Ruined Game days.
"It was because it was a waste to waste Free Points on non-combat skills like Construction in leveling sections that were getting harder and harder..."
But this is reality. Even trash skills in the game often become essential in reality.
"Alright... Decomposition is enough at Advanced, so I'll spend Free Points on Construction!"
[Warning]
[Are you sure you want to use Free Points?]
[Cannot be undone.]
[Confirm] [Cancel]
"Yeah, confirm!"
The same warning window popped up 4 times, and I pressed confirm 4 times.
[A] Advanced Construction Max: Allows for perfect construction by consuming a small amount of materials.
Nice!
I smiled and operated the Construction interface.
Shabby Container
Materials consumed: 5
"Kuh... this is the high you get from building!"
The Construction Materials that cost 50 to build before the grind have been reduced to 5.
Therefore, if I'm short on materials, I can build a container and decompose it to infinitely multiply them.
Phew... I'm too hungry, so I'll eat and sleep today.
"Mom... give me food..."
Exhausted from the repetitive grind, I opened the front door and went into the house.
==
The 5th day since the Ruined Game incident broke out dawned.
With my eyes still closed, I habitually went to the bathroom, finished my shower, and went down to the kitchen.
"Yawn... Good morning..."
"Did you sleep well, son?"
I sat at the table, and Mom placed a heaping bowl of rice in front of me.
"Yes... Ah, Mom, I'm going to do some big construction work today, so please stay inside the house. I won't touch the vegetable garden."
"Hm? Sure, Mom trusts that our son will do a good job."
I finished a filling meal with the beef bulgogi Mom had taken out of the freezer and stir-fried last night, along with cucumber salad as a side dish, and came out to the yard, stroking my bursting stomach.
"Alright... first, I need to put up the walls for this house."
Starting with the front gate that used to make me nervous with its noisy sounds, I decomposed all the surrounding fences.
I only decomposed the walls, but nearly a thousand Construction Materials piled up.
Since the foundation of My Home in the Ruined Game was walls, I hurriedly surrounded it with the strongest Steel Wall from the wall category before zombies could get in.
However, if an incredibly terrifying wall appeared in this world, it was obvious it would become prey for hyenas, so I changed the exterior to a wall that looked extremely shabby.
Perhaps because it was a top-tier wall, the materials obtained from decomposition weren't enough, so I hurriedly took out additional materials from my inventory and built walls on three sides, excluding the direction of the newly purchased house.
After that, I installed a sturdy iron door with fingerprint recognition and a keypad where the front gate used to be.
"Phew... now I don't have to be startled by the sound of the door."
The house was still shabby, but the wall protecting it instantly became a state-of-the-art and strongest wall.
Through the open wall, I went to the house next door and decomposed the house entirely.
Then thousands... no, just a mountain of Construction Materials appeared.
"Hmm... it might be hard to manage if it's too big, so I'll just make it about 3 times bigger."
Using the materials, I installed a Fertile Vegetable Garden, which can only be built at the highest tier of construction.
"Mom!!"
At my call, Mom came outside, and
"Son, what's the matter... Oh my?!"
She was surprised at the newly changed appearance of the yard.
"Is this much vegetable garden enough? Should I make it bigger?"
"Hmm... make it a little bigger. And make one in that corner too. Let's plant the apple tree seedling that was in the corner of our house."
I added the vegetable garden according to Mom's request, and Mom was satisfied.
"This is so great~ It must be a new skill?"
"Yes, it's a skill I learned after grinding all day yesterday."
Hearing my words, Mom immediately brought a shovel and started setting up the vegetable garden, and I turned around and went to the empty space.
I recalled the saying that it's burdensome to live with your parents, but it's really great to live next door.
"Alright... shall I build a My Home here now?"
I first used Decomposition and Construction to reinforce the remaining old walls with the strongest shabby walls.
I also built a two-story house that looked shabby on the outside, but since the yard was enough to be used communally, a building larger than the original house appeared.
"Son? What if the new house is this shabby?"
"It's only like that on the outside. It's clean inside, so don't worry."
"Is that so?"
Mom tilted her head and went into the new house that didn't have a door yet, and I followed her in.
Then the interior was really clean and spacious, like a newly built apartment.
"Oh my! It's really spacious!"
"Hehe... Mom, do you want to live here?"
Smack
Ouch... System-nim... help me...
"You really! What do you take your mother for, saying such things?"
I stroked my burning back.
"I did it because you liked it so much..."
"Forget it! I know perfectly well that this is a newlywed house for you and Ha-rang-ssi, so how could I ask for it?"
Mother?
"Uh... yes?"
"You don't have to hide it, son. Every time I saw you watching porn and pleasuring yourself alone, my heart hurt so much..."
Mother?!?!?!?!
"Uh... yes??!?!"
"So hurry up and live happily with Ha-rang-ssi in this house!"
With that last word, Mom turned around and went to the vegetable garden.
"What on earth was I in Mom's head..."
25 years old, senior in Japanese Language Department.
No certifications other than Japanese language certification.
Virgin since birth.
Caught masturbating while watching porn.
I shuddered at the information that was terrible just to think about.
"Ugh... but it's not like that now..."
Even if it was an indirect act, I shared close skinship with Ha-rang, and although it's a guess, I'm probably the richest person in the world right now.
"With Ha-rang-ssi... a newlywed house..."
Looking at the empty interior, it seemed like furniture was needed, and
"Shall I go look at furniture with Ha-rang-ssi..."
I unconsciously moved my steps toward Ha-rang's house.
--
Knock knock
"Come in"
Creeeak
Today, Ha-rang was lying on the sofa, wearing black underwear, the pinnacle of sexiness, not pure white underwear.
As I stared blankly, admiring her figure, Ha-rang asked first.
"What's up today?"
"Ah... well... I built a house... so..."
"Huh? You already finished the grind and built a house?"
"Yes... so... uh... would you like to... go look at furniture... together..."
You idiot! What the hell are you babbling about!!
Since I had never even been on a date, let alone a relationship, as a lifelong virgin, I stuttered severely.
"Furniture? I was bored, so that's good. I'll go with you."
Ha-rang got up from the sofa, and I bowed 90 degrees to her.
"Th-thank you!!"
"Is this something to be so thankful for...? Come on, let's go quickly. If we want to see proper furniture around here, we have to go all the way to A-Mart, right?"
"Yes... then please take care of me today."
"Yeah~ Let's go."
So we headed to A-Mart, which was an hour's walk away.