Taming the Territory (End)

"Butler. When my companions put questions to you, answer them as honestly as you can. If they need anything, provide whatever is within your power to give."

"Understood, Your Excellency."

"Ah — just a moment, Jeong Hoon."

Kim Seyeon draped a Cleric's Sacred Armor over me. With this alone, I could take a zombie bite without worry. Their teeth couldn't pierce skin at all.

Carrying nothing but a single flashlight, I glanced back, left the others with one parting word, and started down the stairs.

Damn, it's huge down here!

After maybe five seconds of descent, the corridor that opened before my eyes — and the countless doors lining it — was more than enough to make me flinch.

"Uuuuuugh...!"

"Uwoooorgh..."

Zombies closing in from every direction, drawn by the scent of a living human, were enough to make anyone's brow furrow.

At least five of them were already shambling down the hallway alone. And every time I looked at that parade of doors, I didn't even want to guess how many more would come bursting out the moment I opened one.

Ah, shit. More blood all over me again!

Thud. Crack!

I separated heads from bodies that weren't even worth a single punch, then yanked open each door one by one to check inside.

Bang!

"Uwoooorgh!"

Thud!

Click-clack, BOOM!

"Uuuuuugh!"

Crunch!

Crrrk! Screeeech!

"Uwooooo...!"

Thwack!

Roughly that pattern, over and over, as I cleaned out the basement and pushed deeper.

Among the clothes of the (former) humans I'd beaten to death, I spotted an accessory I'd seen somewhere before.

"So this is that badge."

A badge shaped like a chrysanthemum. The emblem that marked its wearer as a member of this nation's National Assembly.

Figures. This was an evacuation site for the people gathered at the National Assembly Building.

But the apocalypse started at midnight on April 1st. Why were so many people still here? Did they throw a drinking party in the middle of the night or something?

"Hm?"

As I kept cleaning house, I found a room that felt different from the rest.

The door bore a large, unmistakable sign: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

Yeah, well, I'm not authorized. What are you gonna do about it now? With that attitude, I opened the door without hesitation and walked in.

Creeeak...

It was quite small. A single table sat in the center, and a map hung on the whiteboard. The interior was thick with dust, and not a soul was inside.

It looked like a place only people connected to some government agency could enter — yet no one was here. Some kind of military facility, maybe?

I felt a swell of satisfaction. The haul felt far greater than anything I'd gotten from smashing zombies. Because the map on the whiteboard and the documents scattered across the table looked extremely useful.

Papers stamped with things like "CLASSIFIED — LEVEL 2" sitting right out in the open — if those weren't valuable documents, what were they? And the map, considering phone GPS barely worked anymore, was enormously useful. Sure, a library might have maps, but this one was far more precious.

"A map marking every VIP ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠evacuation facility and bunker. Excellent."

Handing this kind of treasure to some unemployed nobody who didn't know a thing. Thank you, everyone who stayed at the National Assembly Building — for dying!

Apparently I'd finished off the last zombie left in the basement, because EXP and gold acquisition windows suddenly cascaded across my vision.

Feels like bonus EXP, honestly. Compared to the slaughter I pulled off on the main road earlier, this is a tiny amount.

"Welcome back, Orabeoni!"

"Your Excellency, are you unharmed?"

The first faces I saw coming up were Yun Mina and the butler. Where had everyone else gone?

"Nothing of note. And the others?"

"Seyeon unnie started asking the butler all sorts of things about the walls, then took Sora sunbae, Seeun, and Minji and stepped out for a bit! She said they'd be back soon, or something like that?"

"The walls?"

I turned my gaze on the butler, the man at the center of that story, and he answered in the same composed tone as ever.

"Lady Kim Seyeon inquired regarding the walls that protect the territory, and I answered her with the utmost sincerity. Should a fence or rampart properly enclosing Your Excellency's castle exist in sound condition, I can bestow upon it defensive power befitting a fortress wall. Should it be incomplete, however, granting such defense becomes difficult."

"Hm? Not installing walls, but... bestowing defensive power?"

Does our territory system have no construction, building, or repair functions?

Before the butler could say more, Yun Mina answered my unspoken question.

"I overheard earlier — he said you can assign the functions of facilities the territory needs to buildings that already exist! But creating facilities that aren't there is impossible! Kind of weird, right?"

"It shames me that my capabilities fall short. Should you employ blacksmiths or architects to repair and expand the walls, I shall use the system to grant them defensive power and fortification strength befitting a proper rampart."

Ah... so this is the decisive difference from Brave Saga Online.

Back when I was in XX-gu, I'd watched Seo Hyejin — who held the Lord class — construct guild facilities.

She would draw something like a "blueprint" of a building with a specific function (a defense tower, for example) on an empty lot, and then the Blacksmith-class survivors would rush over and build it exactly to that shape. According to the Blacksmith survivors themselves, they just put their hands on it and it built itself.

But my Territory System seemed different. It could only assign the role of a specific facility to a building that already existed. To install a new facility, we had to grunt and sweat and finish a building suited to that function ourselves — and only then would the butler here "bestow" the matching function upon it.

Or we could "select" a building already suited to receiving a territory function. The way I'd chosen the National Assembly Building as the lord's castle.

"For the present, this is limited to the grounds of the National Assembly Building. However, should Your Excellency later expand the territory and take ownership of other structures, you may assign whatever facility functions you desire to those buildings. Tall buildings in particular may be granted the functions of fortresses and watchtowers, activating vision and surveillance over the surrounding area."

"I see."

"Once Oppa levels up hard and the territory level rises, you'll naturally take over all of Yeouido. Then you won't need to build anything new — just assign functions to the buildings already standing. Ah, of course, anything that's fallen apart here and there, we'll have to fix ourselves. Right, Butler-nim?"

"...I should be able to offer some assistance through the cleaning function."

Well, for now, the facilities on the National Assembly grounds alone cover the basics.

Yeouido itself had banks, department stores, apartment complexes, tall towers — everything you could want. It even had a small-scale harbor function.

In other words, once I grew strong enough to fully seize Yeouido, all I had to do was repair any damaged buildings we needed.

"Ah, but... Jeong Hoon Orabeoni. While the others aren't here, there's something I really want to say..."

Here comes her true nature. Despite the butler standing right there in plain sight, Yun Mina suddenly closed in on me. Pressing her body against mine, leaning her face right up to my ear.

This little brat — the second Sora's out of sight, she does whatever she wants. I ought to give her a sharp talking-to—

"Orabeoni. Before long... if Seyeon unnie tries to match her pace with yours, I hope you won't be too startled. Well, Oppa has probably already guessed as much."

"...What?"

Th-this girl for real? She's been with us for barely a day and she's already jumping to conclusions this freely?

But the words that followed — whispered in a voice lower and more serious than I'd expected — left me with no way to put the brakes on her.

"Because Orabeoni has become the kind of man that any biological woman in this country of Korea — no, no... on this entire planet — would want to catch the eye of at least once. Or even become a second, third, or fourth lover for. Regardless of what Orabeoni looks like, what kind of body he has, or whether he's tall or short."

At those words, everything I'd been about to say to Yun Mina vanished from my mind in an instant.

Instead, I focused every scrap of my attention on the advice she was whispering.

"Look at Oppa right now. You've taken Yeouido — one of the choicest cuts of land even within Seoul, the capital of Korea, and one of the few places in this ruined world that can still guarantee some measure of safety. You've claimed it as a territory and become its lord. And not just any building — you've taken the National Assembly Building, one of the nation's most important institutions. If you set your mind to it, you could take all of Seoul. Given more time, the entire country of Korea. Three weeks into the apocalypse, looking at the whole planet... someone who butchers zombies like a slaughterhouse worker and erases monster threats in five seconds the way Oppa does — that person probably doesn't exist."

"Well, wannabes will exist, of course. Like that guy we met this afternoon — Miseon's oppa, Han Daegeon. The type who puts on a glossy exterior and drives people straight into hell. From here on out, people who want to copy Oppa, or snatch up everything Oppa's accomplished for themselves, will absolutely keep popping up. It's human nature — nothing to be done about it. But... every last one of them will fail. They'll fail, I promise. Because Oppa isn't weak enough, or ignorant enough, to fall for those kinds of attempts so easily."

"I won't ask why Oppa alone received such a peculiar system, or why he's so strong, or why he talks in that strange way. Even if I don't throw away my curiosity, I won't try to satisfy it if Oppa doesn't want me to. Instead... I want to ask for just one thing. Don't bow your head to anyone, Oppa. Someone who has to stand above others shouldn't lower his head so freely."

"And don't turn away from people who hunger for Oppa's affection. I'm not saying you have to accept everyone. But if Oppa thinks... this person is someone it's 'okay to take'... then just take them. Because..."

"No one else has that right — only Jeong Hoon Orabeoni. Only Jeong Hoon Orabeoni, who is trying to reclaim human life and rebuild civilization."

Coming from someone who usually spouted nonsense, that advice — politically sharp and provocatively bold all at once...

"I shall take it well to heart."

I did not refuse.

What, am I crazy enough to refuse? If anything, I wanted to leave just one private note of appreciation for the advice I'd just received.

Official harem, absolute win~

It was only much later, after that thought had already settled in, that I realized I hadn't gotten Sora's permission — and felt a twinge of oh crap.

Ten minutes after I'd locked Yun Mina's provocative advice deep in my heart, I was able to greet Kim Seyeon and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the others.

"Come to think of it — how did today's hunting go for everyone? You should have received the EXP from the zombies I killed earlier as well."

"Ah — Jeong Hoon oppa! I, today—"

The moment the party was gathered, we started by checking everyone's status.

"J-just a little more... and I think I can hit level 20."

"Wouldn't that make you the first person in Korea to reach level 20, Sora sunbae?"

"Sh-shut up! I told you not to call me sunbae!"

"Somehow I've ended up growing the slowest. I'll have to push myself harder."

"Being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Warrior and all, I might hit 20 pretty soon too."

"Take care of yourself, Seeun. If I fall, you'll be the one who has to protect the others from the front."

"Hooni oppa, talking about something that isn't going to happen doesn't make it feel real, you know?"

"Yep yep, power-leveled sky-high on day one of recruitment. Thanks for the high-level bus, Orabeoni and unnies?"

"Y-you shamelessly take a carry from someone else and then—"

"Oh my? If we're keeping score, didn't sunbae also freeload hard the first time she met Jeong Hoon Orabeoni? With sunbae's personality, there's no way she was out there firing arrows left and right on her own. Right?"

"Y-you little—!"

Listening to Sora and Mina's bickering evolve in real time into full-blown comedy routine territory, I found myself glancing up at the sky without thinking.

The sun was already setting. We'd been on the move since morning. I checked my phone — the clock read 6:30 p.m. I spoke to the butler.

"Butler. Does the territory have lodgings where we might sleep?"

"Originally, the basement of this building could have served that purpose, but that is presently impossible. For now, I would recommend the former childcare facility located on the left side of the territory as lodging."

"I see. Are there buildings that could serve as lodgings in the future?"

"The building to the left of the fountain at the center of our territory — formerly known as the National Assembly Members' Hall — may be used as lodging going forward. However, bedding and such would need to be arranged by hand before I can convert it into proper quarters."

"Understood. Guide us to the lodgings."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

The butler bowed his head courteously and led the way.

As we followed, I talked with the party. Kim Seyeon first.

"How were the walls?"

"Honestly... repairing them with just the five of us is unrealistic. They're too low, too flimsy, and too long. There are plenty of stretches with no wall at all. It would be faster to bring in residents who have the Blacksmith class."

"And among Blacksmiths, would finding someone who chose Architect as a subclass be easy?"

Among the survivors from Seo Hyejin's guild — the old Daengdaeng Elementary School group — there had definitely been people with the Blacksmith–Architect class. Thanks to them, Seo Hyejin had no trouble with building repairs, renovations, or new construction.

"J-just having the Blacksmith class is enough, actually. Simple things — walls and ramparts, for example — any Blacksmith can build or repair. It's only more advanced structures that need the Architect line."

Han Sora, our resident expert on Brave Saga Online, filled in the details. Moments like this always made me think the same thing.

Without Sora, this really would have been rough.

Taking a woman like her as my very first companion had been pure luck.

"Ideally, that group we met this afternoon — Han Miseon's survivor party — would have some Blacksmith-class people among them. They're staying at the subway station, so if we bring them in, it should be easy. I just hope they haven't run off somewhere else..."

"When you go to bring Miseon's people in, please make sure to include me, Seyeon unnie. Miseon's people... I can make every last one of them bow their heads and come under Jeong Hoon Orabeoni's feet. Sounds good, right, Oppa?"

Yun Mina piled onto Kim Seyeon's words and looked at me.

I wondered if she really had to phrase it that way — but Yun Mina's provocative advice from earlier came back to me, and I simply nodded.

Right. From now on, I have to move publicly not as Survivor Jeong Hoon, but as Jeong Hoon, Lord of Yeouido. If I don't think and act like someone with real authority, it'll be a problem. Good thing Lawful Good keeps my outward appearance in check.

For now, I need to put some real effort into securing "that thing" for the territory's energy supply as top priority.

Mainly with money. Gold.

"First... we shall clear out the monsters and zombies. We need to secure a generator as soon as possible."

The party's current gold stood at: Han Sora with 5,598 gold, myself with 5,139 gold, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Seyeon with 6,293 gold, Park Seeun with 3,793 gold, and finally Yun Mina with 2,435 gold — for a total of 23,258 gold. Still a long way from the 50,000 gold price tag on a small generator.

"Yes. Starting with Yeouido and working through YP-gu, where Yeouido belongs, we'll go around clearing monsters and zomb—"

"Oh my, no need for all that, Jeong Hoon Orabeoni? Seyeon unnie?"

"Hm?"

Seyeon and I, who'd been about to launch into hunting plans, naturally turned our full attention to Yun Mina.

She wore a thoroughly innocent expression and grinned.

"You'll probably figure it out by tomorrow. I have a feeling you'll think, 'Ah, so this is what they mean by a fisherman's windfall.'"

Another provocative remark from Yun Mina — whom we'd known for all of two days — that left us tilting our heads.

And the next day.

The morning of April 23rd.

"Ah—!"

"I'd clean forgotten."

Watching the endless stream of monsters and zombies still advancing down the main road in front of the National Assembly Building that morning, we finally understood what Yun Mina had meant.

And then...

"I-I did it!"

"...Is it really okay to level up this fast?"

By the afternoon of April 23rd.

Han Sora and Park Seeun had both reached level 20, and the party's gold had climbed past 30,000.

Once again, Yun Mina's words from yesterday came back to me.

If you think... this person is someone it's "okay to take"... then just take them.

No one else has that right — only Jeong Hoon Orabeoni. Only Jeong Hoon Orabeoni, who is trying to reclaim human life and rebuild civilization.

Without meaning to, my eyes met Kim Seyeon's nearby.

"Hehe..."

From her alluring glance and smile, I could tell that the private exchanges (?) she and I would share were not far off.