Taming the Territory (2)

A five-person party.

The minimum unit you needed to enter an instance dungeon in an online game, run a party quest, or queue up for a round of AOS. Never in a million years did I think I'd recruit our fifth party member like this. And of her own free will, no less — a brand-new member walking right through the door.

On top of that, another beauty! Every last one of them a beauty! My mood was soaring, seriously!

But... somehow it felt like I'd only been reeling in women who already had history with other guys. Han Sora had some kind of almost-thing going with that bastard who'd handed us the men's dorm (forgot his name), Kim Seyeon had been a married woman, and now Yun Mina here had some connection with that Han Daegeon asshole before ending up with me?

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Without even meaning to, I'd become the guy who snatches up women other men already had their eyes on. Was I actually this world's golden sun? Pew-pew-pew-pow? Granted, I wasn't blond, wasn't tanned, and wasn't a delinquent, but still?

"I hope you all have a pleasant night. I've sealed off the hotel entrance thoroughly enough that monsters and zombies shouldn't get in under ordinary circumstances. Just be careful of the windows."

I said this while glancing at the smartphone connected to my portable battery. The clock had already pushed past ten p.m. There was a reason little Minji was already snoring away.

And Yun Mina was taking a considerable interest in the phone in my hand.

"W-wow! Your phone is still alive? Ah, a portable battery! Do you have any extras? Just one for me too! That's okay, right?"

She stuck her hand out with shameless boldness as she made the demand.

Ha, seriously! Was this supposed to be a recruitment gift or something? And she thought I'd just hand one over without a second thought?

...Damn it! If she weren't so beautiful!

"Here you are."

"Waaah! Thank you! I can finally turn my phone on again after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so long! Ah, Jeong Hoon-ssi! No — Jeong Hoon oppa! As a thank-you, want me to show you some of the steamy photos sleeping on my phone?"

"That won't be necessary."

I shut down her thinly veiled temptation in a single stroke. Once things progressed far enough, I'd be seeing that stuff live and in real time anyway — so why bother?

...Huh? Had I forgotten the promise I'd made with Sora earlier?

Promise? Had I made some kind of vow with Sora? I was a generous man — the kind who wrapped a lonely, struggling woman in his arms, held her tight against his chest, and if she wanted it, burned with passion atop the bed. So I honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oppa, hurry..."

Han Sora tugged at my collar, urging me along.

I stood up from my seat. Once again, the endlessly curious Yun Mina tilted her head.

"Huh? Where are you two going? Aren't you sleeping?"

"We're going to bed. In the room right next door."

"Whaaat? Just the two of you? Why?"

That pure-looking question packed full of impure intentions! There were limits to how brazen you could be with a straight face!

Instead of answering right away, I hooked my arm around Han Sora's opposite shoulder, pulled her snug against me, and gave a short reply.

"Because we're like this."

"Ah, ahh... Jeong Hoon oppaa...!"

Han Sora called my name, joy flooding her voice, and Yun Mina's eyes went round as saucers. As for Kim Seyeon and Park Seeun, who already knew the situation—

"Ahem, ahem..."

"...Keep it down so you don't wake Minji. The soundproofing here is only so-so."

—they caught on immediately and reacted like that.

I wished the others a good night and left the room, stepping straight into the one across the hall.

But really, Kim Seyeon... the way she talked, anyone listening would think Sora and I spent every single night setting the bed on fire.

You think so too, don't you, Sora? That's why you're walking into this room with your head hanging so low. Right?

"Jeong Hoon oppaa..."

Han Sora's voice came out remarkably sultry.

Then, carefully, she lifted her head.

Oh. Her face was writhing with rapture and... desire.

Han Sora's arms slid around the back of my neck. She held on — and at the same time shoved me. Onto the bed. With a soft thud.

"When you say it like that... a girl... h-her switch... flips all the way on, you know?"

Ah...

Shit. I messed up.

Tonight we weren't just going to burn — we were heading straight into the fires of hell.

As Han Sora peeled off her clothes one piece at a time, I had to wonder whether the hearts filling her eyes were just my imagination.

"...Quietly. So Minji doesn't wake up."

I whispered it loud enough for Han Sora to hear as she unhooked her bra without the slightest hesitation, revealing her well-balanced, generous breasts and bare skin.

At my whisper, Han Sora lowered herself, brought her lips to my ear, and answered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this:

"Don't worry, Jeong Hoon oppa. All you have to do is... lie there and count the ceiling tiles."

Hold on. That... that was not a line a woman was supposed to deliver!

The words never made it past my throat.

And so, once again, I had no choice but to spend the night ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burning with Sora.

April 22nd. 8:00 a.m.

"Good morning. Did you have a... pleasant night? Minji, did you sleep well?"

"Ah, y-yes. And you and Sora, Jeong Hoon-ssi... did you sleep well?"

"As you can see."

"G-good morning, Seyeon unni. Hi, Minji."

The moment we stepped out of the room, we found Kim Seyeon and Seo Minji already waiting outside.

Seo Minji bowed her little head in greeting. But her expression was strange. Looking at me, the corners of her eyes turned sad, as if she felt sorry for me; looking at Han Sora, her eyes went wide with astonishment.

Truth be told, Kim Seyeon wore a similar face. It was only natural that mother and daughter would react alike.

Yeah. If I saw a man with shadows under his eyes and a woman with smooth, glowing cheeks, I'd think the exact same thing and react the same way.

He got wrung dry. The guy. Thoroughly.

If it had been any man other than me (I didn't even want to imagine it), he would have been sucked dry down to the bone by the aspiring succubus named Han Sora last night. I was certain of it.

"Good morni...ng? Hooni oppa, why does your face look like that?"

"Good morning! Looks like you two had a really intense night?"

Belatedly, Park Seeun and Yun Mina opened their hotel room door and appeared. Unlike yesterday's provocative outfit, Yun Mina was dressed in something more athletic and practical today. Ah — she had a bag slung over her shoulder, so she must have packed a change of clothes. Tch. Shame.

"Mina-yang? There is a small child present."

"Whoops, sorry! Unni's sorry, Minji, okay?"

"Ung...?"

Did Yun Mina have any tact or not? And why, after hearing that exchange, was Han Sora looking triumphant rather than embarrassed?

I didn't want to know, so let's move on to the main topic...

We headed down to the café-style restaurant on the third floor of the five-star hotel. The spacious dining room was empty except for us, the tables bare of food and coated in dust.

We claimed a spot by the windows, polished off a light breakfast of snacks, and began discussing our plans.

"Slurp, slurp..."

I gave Minji a piece of candy so she'd have something to keep her mouth busy. After clearing my throat lightly, I spoke.

"Yun Mina-ssi, would you take a look at my system first?"

"Just call me Mina, Jeong Hoon oppa! I'm four years younger than you, you know? Nowhere near as close as your girlfriend next to you, of course!"

Yun Mina winked playfully at Sora beside me as she made her cheerful demand. Naturally, Han Sora answered her with nothing but a rotten glare.

"Very well, Mina-yang."

"Tch, I told you to call me casually."

For now, this level of distance was ideal. I'd close the gap gradually. Having landed four beauties already, I was in no hurry whatsoever.

"I shall bring up my system. I would like you to examine it."

Yun Mina, who had looked mildly disappointed, let out a gasp the instant her eyes fell on my "special" system.

"Wow! I figured as much, but... so your strength really comes from this 'special' system? Looking at the Brave Saga stat conversion... aren't you basically top-tier on Earth? I'm so jealous, seriously! No wonder you took down that Field Boss!"

Whether her tone was praise or sarcasm was hard to tell. I could only trust that I'd get used to it someday.

Calmly, I pointed to the part I wanted Yun Mina to see. No — the part I wanted the entire party to see.

"Look at this."

These were the territory systems exclusive to Warrior and Rogue — features I still hadn't activated. The one we needed to discuss right now was the Warrior's territory system. Kim Seyeon, Park Seeun, and Han Sora already knew about it, so they quietly focused on what I was saying. In the end, the one brimming with curiosity was Yun Mina alone.

"Aha! I thought it was weird that nobody had the Lord class... so your special system mixed in Lord-class features too? Oppa, what on earth did you do in society? Be honest. You were into some weird stuff, weren't you?"

"...I merely enjoyed a game called Dragon Gate RPG. At any rate, I had been planning to activate this Warrior system now. In fact, I already executed the activation when I woke up this morning. And so..."

I pressed my finger against the notification that read Warrior Level 7 achieved — Territory Construction or Territory Selection is now available! A new alert activated in response.

"It came up like this. Quite different from Seo Hyejin's."

"Ah, you're right. Hyejin got a guild creation window. The one everyone who'd played Brave Saga Online was familiar with."

Kim Seyeon spilled the details as the memory came back to her.

To put it simply: before Seo Hyejin could claim the men's dorm as her guild base and territory, she first had to create a guild. The guild creation process required a guild name and a party of at least five members with Seo Hyejin herself as party leader. Only after completing every one of those steps could she select a building as her stronghold.

But for me, there was none of that — just a bare message telling me to choose a Lord's Castle. Compared to the user-friendly guild system of Brave Saga Online, this was remarkably unhelpful.

Was it because this was such an alien system? Classic RPG games used to come with separate manuals, so in-game explanations were minimal... but still, this was way too unfriendly!

"I am familiar with the territory system of Dragon Gate RPG, but even I do not know the finer details. For the time being, it seems we must decide which building to claim as our territory."

"I see. Do you have a place in mind?"

"I have given it thought, but first I would like to hear your opinions."

At my words, Kim Seyeon, Park Seeun, and Han Sora offered their thoughts in that order.

"A spacious building would be best. Here in Yeouido, the HD Department Store north of the hotel seems ideal. It was built recently, the height is appropriate, and the building itself is enormous."

"I think the ST Building would be good! I saw it on the way here and it looked relatively intact! If we're up high, we can spot monsters and zombies coming from a long way off, right?"

"I-I think... the department store Seyeon unni mentioned sounds good."

"Ah, Sora unni betrayed me! Traitor!"

"B-but... if you think about it logically, a spacious building like Seyeon unni said would be much better... and with a tall building, if something goes wrong on the lower floors, you could end up stranded above..."

With five people gathered, things had gotten quite lively. Ah — one of them wasn't participating, so was that wrong?

"I'll abstain. A newbie who just joined yesterday spouting off her own opinions would be pretty tactless. Right, oppa?"

She'd already blabbed about her own circumstances without a shred of tact, so what was Yun Mina even talking about?

And she clearly had more to say.

"Besides, it looks like oppa already has another place marked out. Am I wrong?"

I genuinely wondered whether there was anyone else alive who could read a person's mind and then dangle it in front of them like this.

Well, having a woman this distinctive by my side wasn't a bad thing. More importantly, she'd come of her own free will. I couldn't exactly turn her away just because she rubbed me the wrong way a little.

"I do have a place in mind. A rather symbolic one, at that."

Becoming a lord was tantamount to holding political power.

That being the case, I believed the right move was to secure, as our first territory, a region that was advantageous for defense while also well-equipped with facilities — or easily developed into one.

When I thought of a building with political symbolism, a region with existing infrastructure, and a location relatively easy to defend against zombies and monsters...

Only one place in Yeouido came to mind. Only one building.

I pointed through the window at that structure.

"H-huh?"

"Hooni oppa... there?"

"...Ah, so that's why...!"

"Ohoho..."

Han Sora looked flustered, Park Seeun wore an expression of pure curiosity, and Kim Seyeon let out a soft sound of realization. Yun Mina's eyes lit up with interest as she gazed at me.

The building I was pointing at was the one that occupied most of the northwestern land of Yeouido itself.

The National Assembly Building.

That place — the fighting pit of people who, despite being elected, were obsessed with nothing but their own politics.

I had finally announced before my women my ambition to make it my territory.

Surprisingly, the idea of occupying the National Assembly Building and Yeouido came from rational judgment. Some might raise a question mark, but it truly was rational!

Among the major buildings of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches divided by the Republic of Korea's separation of powers, the National Assembly Building of the legislature was the most suitable. The judiciary was too fragmented across prosecutors' offices and courthouses, and the executive had already relocated once and sat too far from the water, making defense extraordinarily difficult (and with Gangbuk in the state it was in, it wasn't even an option to begin with).

But the National Assembly Building of the legislature was the only one located on Yeouido — three sides bordered by water (the river), with the remaining section able to become a perfect island if you simply opened a waterway, and bridges ensuring isolation was unlikely.

Above all, choosing the National Assembly Building came with enormous benefits from its affiliated facilities.

"With the National Assembly Library, we could lay the foundation of knowledge needed to rebuild civilization."

"I thought the same thing! I visited once during my university days... the number of books was incredible! Ah, and the National Assembly Broadcasting Station too! If we occupy that and somehow get radio transmission working...!"

"Indeed. There is a high possibility of restoring communications as well."

As expected, Kim Seyeon was sharp. She was saying everything I wanted to say right out of her own mouth.

Ah, anyway! I was absolutely not reading too much into this! I'd been thinking just like Kim Seyeon, harboring grand ambitions and considering Yeouido the right choice all along! This was correct, period!

And so our destination was decided. No — from the very moment this catastrophe began, my ultimate destination had long been set in my mind.

"I shall make the National Assembly Building the castle of my territory. From the very beginning, that was my only thought."

It was the moment my long-held wish became reality.

"Uwooooorgh..."

"Krrrk! I-I'm going! Bridge! Crossing!"

"Kukekek! Krik!"

"Purrrrk, purk!"

Of course, the sweeter the dream, the faster it shatters.

Shit... I'd completely forgotten about them.

"Whoops... I forgot all about those things. Got too excited and..."

"Th-there's a lot of them!"

"Hooni oppa, that looks pretty bad."

"Looks like we won't even be able to set a toe near the National Assembly Building? Jeong Hoon oppaa?"

The broad avenue directly in front of the National Assembly Building. And the great bridge over the Han River stretching away to the northeast from there.

That entire long stretch was occupied by a massive throng.

No — that wasn't a throng of people.

It was a procession of horrific monsters and zombies, radiating nothing but the intent to trample humanity underfoot, marching in a line. Crossing the bridge, every last one of them heading toward Gangbuk. Toward Gangbuk.

And of all places, right in front of the National Assembly Building.

It looked like we'd need to take out the trash before we could claim the territory.

"U-uh... hold on a second. Everyone? Everyooone?"

Near a building a short distance from the avenue, as we checked our gear in preparation for combat, Yun Mina called out to us.

The composure she'd shown just moments ago was steadily draining away, leaving her voice thoroughly flustered. I looked over at her while pulling a weapon from my bag, and the smile ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was fading from her face as well.

"Y-you guys... wh-what are you doing right now? From where I'm standing, it looks like you're about to, about to, like..."

"As though we are about to charge in and attack the monsters and zombies lined up over there. Is that what you wished to say?"

"Y-yes! Exactly! That's what I wanted to say!"

"And you also wished to ask whether we had lost our minds. Am I wrong?"

"That's exactly right! So... I'll say it! Have you lost your minds?!"

Yun Mina tried her hardest to keep her voice calm as she laid into us. Watching that cold-sweating, dead-serious face of hers... it felt like I'd landed a solid hit. This felt pretty good. So she was capable of showing genuine panic after all.

"Of course not. On the contrary, this is the most reliable method. A procession of monsters is blocking the front of the National Assembly Building. If slaughtering every last one of them and clearing the path clean is not the surest method, then what is?"

The moment I answered, the way Yun Mina looked at me changed instantly. I could clearly feel some kind of expectation fading away in a flash.

"Ugh...! Seyeon unni! Stop this idiot! You have a child!"

"Seeun. Could you watch Minji here for a bit? Minji, stay here quietly with Seeun unni, okay? Mommy will be right back."

She'd apparently trusted that the sensible Kim Seyeon would voice an objection... but it was useless. Everyone here except Yun Mina and Minji had already gone on repeated large-scale monster hunts with me.

"If you cannot trust us, you are welcome to simply observe. We hold no great expectations either."

"What? Trust? Trust, you say? Excuse me, Jeong Hoon oppa! What kind of trust do you put in a suicide charge like this, seriously?! I latched onto you because I wanted to live! I never thought you were this kind of person!"

That made two of us.

I never imagined she'd distrust me this much. It was a little disappointing. It was our first meeting, so I could cut her some slack, but still.

"Your thoughts will change soon enough."

"What kind of nonsense... do you even know how many monsters are walking down that avenue? Just by eyeballing it, I can see at least five hundred, and looking at the length of the line, there have to be thousan—"

Thirty minutes passed.

"Th-th-th-what the..."

"Oppa, fifteen more orcs just got aggro'd from the left!"

"Understood!"

We didn't charge onto the avenue itself. Instead, drawing on our training, we pulled aggro and drew a portion of the monsters and zombies out of formation toward us.

Han Sora, assigned to the aggro-drawing role, shone once again. No — she simply put on the best performance in our entire party. Every time she drew her bow, multiple monsters and zombies crumpled in heaps, and the ones that registered it came charging our way.

"Stay close to me, Mina-yang. Sacred Ground is truly safe, after all."

"N-no... th-that... th-that's... what on earth is that...?!"

"Mina-yang. You've been underestimating our Jeong Hoon-ssi far too much. You remember what the Administrator said, don't you? He's the one who took down a Field Boss with a party of just three people. Ah, and of course... one of those three was me."

From behind, I could hear Kim Seyeon half-praising me and Yun Mina's trembling voice.

Heh. The sound of Yun Mina's genuine, shocked horror felt goddamn amazing. Nothing beat the pleasure of flipping someone's expectations over like a pancake.

"Kueeeek!"

"Kuhiik! This human! Filthy strong!"

"This is no time to let my attention wander."

I drew my iron sword back, then swept it sideways in a wide, fast arc.

Whoooosh!

"Kuhiiiiiiiik!"

"Uwowowuk?!"

"Kiheek!"

In an instant, the goblins, orcs, and zombies that had been charging us lay scattered across the ground in two pieces each. Behind them, more monsters and zombies came rushing in.

Thwip! Thwip!

Those monsters' heads went flying in the blink of an eye. Han Sora's arrows. The remaining monsters and zombies that had been charging faltered.

Of course, that freeze was the last movement of their lives.

"A-amazing..."

Around the time we'd slaughtered several hundred of them, I finally heard Yun Mina's heartfelt admiration.