High-Rise Horizons
A short while later.
Mu-hyuk arrived in the village and sought out Rakak to hand over the communication orb.
"My lord, this is…"
"It's a magic communication orb. Even if I head to another continent, we can still talk with this, so don't worry too much. Of course, if the distance gets too great, our conversation time will be extremely limited."
"What does it matter if it's short? With this…!"
Seeing Rakak so delighted filled Mu-hyuk with satisfaction as well.
"And I've been officially appointed as lord by the Hemil Empire. From now on, we can receive support accordingly, so keep that in mind."
"Oh, already?"
"Faster than expected, right?"
"Yes, remarkably so."
"By the way, how's the construction progressing?"
"It should be completed by tomorrow morning."
Then he could log in tomorrow and raise his architecture level.
"You've worked hard."
"Not at all."
"It's late, so don't push yourself too hard—get some rest."
"I will."
"I should head out now."
"Rest well, my lord."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
As Mu-hyuk turned to leave, something occurred to him.
"Oh, one more thing."
"Yes, my lord."
"No matter where I looked, I couldn't find Doran. Do you know where he is?"
Rakak's expression darkened instantly.
"I must have forgotten to mention it. Shortly after you left for the other continent, that friend said his training was insufficient and set off somewhere far away. He didn't say where or when he'd return. He just left word that he'd come back once he was no longer ashamed of his own skills."
"Hmm, I see."
That explained why he couldn't be found.
He'd thought maybe Doran had just gone out for a quick hunt.
"With the crystal orb, I'll contact you immediately if he returns."
"That works."
At least the orb put his mind at ease.
"Then rest well for real."
"Yes, my lord."
After parting with Rakak, Mu-hyuk hurried to the central restaurant.
Screeech.
As he opened the door, he saw Sung Min-woo chopping meat, along with Yerin and Kim Ji-yeon.
Crunch, crunch.
Sung Min-woo's face lit up with joy as he chewed something.
It was the look of someone utterly lost in blissful deliciousness. Just watching made Mu-hyuk's mouth water.
"Sluuurp, tasty, huh?"
"Yeah, you here?"
"Oppa, sit here. Yours just came out."
"Oh, really?"
Mu-hyuk took a seat and speared some food from the plate with his fork.
Slide.
The moment he cautiously put it in his mouth.
"Grrooo…"
A sigh of admiration escaped him involuntarily.
"This place is seriously the best."
"Honestly, isn't it better than fancy real-world cuisine?"
"Agreed."
Then Yerin glanced at Kim Ji-yeon.
"Unnie, you like it too, right?"
"Y-yeah. It's so good."
Sung Min-woo grinned like an idiot at her faint smile.
"That dumb look again."
"When did I?"
Friendly faces.
Delicious food.
It was a situation that naturally led to good times.
"Haa, I'm stuffed."
"Full means tired."
"Then let's call it here for today. See you all tomorrow."
"OK, rest up. I'm out!"
"Yeah."
"Oppa, see you tomorrow. Unnie too!"
"S-see you tomorrow."
One by one, they logged out.
Mu-hyuk was last.
You have logged out.
The capsule door slid open.
Hiss.
Mu-hyuk sat up, did some light stretching, and then accessed the Illusion homepage.
"Hmm."
Resting his chin on his hand, he scrolled through the free board.
I'm a viewer of Mu-hyuk's Illusion TV. Huge news dropped today. The first-ever +8 longsword is going up for public auction in the Hemil Empire in 4 days! You know, some big guild offered 9,000 gold, but Mu-hyuk straight-up rejected it! So cool! Folks with cash, join the public auction that day. lol
Illusion TV viewers had already hyped it up.
No need to post himself.
This would draw plenty to the public auction house.
Some would come loaded with cash. He'd surely fetch a solid price.
As he thought that, one comment caught his eye.
Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed at the content.
No way…?
Extremely unlikely, but what if.
He couldn't ignore it now that he'd seen it.
But no clear solution came to mind.
Ask Min-woo…?
He shook his head at the sudden thought.
Couldn't sell out a friend.
It could make them targets.
He pondered again.
The next day.
The unease from yesterday lingered, but he pushed it aside and threw himself into monster hunting with his companions.
During a break, he unwittingly voiced his worries.
"What? That was in the comments?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa, those trash bastards!"
"Oppa, want me to hype it up?"
"No, can't."
"Why?"
"If it's real, you'd be a target."
"Ah…!"
Sung Min-woo puffed out his chest.
"Then I'll do it."
"You can't either."
"Why? Think I'd fear those punks?"
"Why sell my friends just to sell an item pricier?"
Sung Min-woo mumbled.
"W-well, no, but."
"Right. Don't sweat it. Odds are it's nothing."
"Yeah, who'd go through that hassle for one item? Visiting mid/low guilds to pressure? Ridiculous."
"Exactly."
They soon forgot and resumed hunting.
25 minutes hunting, then rest.
In cycles, Mu-hyuk's summons occasionally headed to the Demon Realm.
Predictably, total annihilation.
But he persisted, swapping bones for steady growth.
Sent them back to the Demon Realm. Eventually, they'd gain exp.
"Hunger down too?"
"Yep!"
"Light meal."
A bit of cooking.
"Good eats."
Back to hunting. During rests, item enhancement.
A grind fest.
Thus the morning passed.
"Lunchtime already."
"Eat and back."
"Yeah, I gotta swing by Column Village for architecture. Hunt without me first."
"OK, oppa."
Out of the game, Mu-hyuk ate lunch with his mother, then logged back in.
Rode the warhorse to Column Village. At the entrance, he checked architecture level first.
Inn, restaurant, general store, butcher shop, carpenter guild, blacksmith guild, weapon shop, armor shop, accessory shop, guild management office, warrior guild, archer guild, mage guild, temple, expansion work.
Architecture level 4, exp at 100%.
Finally…!
You can raise your architecture level.
Requires 50,000 Fame; 10% of required amount will be consumed.
His fame exceeded 200,000—no issue.
Architecture level up.
Your architecture level becomes 5.
Fame (5,000) consumed.
Long-awaited level 5.
Inn, restaurant, general store, butcher shop, carpenter guild, blacksmith guild, weapon shop, armor shop, accessory shop, guild management office, warrior guild, archer guild, mage guild, temple, expansion work, spirit summoner guild, thief guild, information guild, high-rise expansion work.
High-rise expansion work.
He pressed that firmly.
High-Rise Building Expansion Work
Can build up to 5-story buildings; increase floors of existing low-rise structures.
The part he'd anticipated most.
Alright then.
Without delay, he drafted construction plans.
Spirit Summoner Guild construction plan established.
Thief Guild construction plan established.
Information Guild construction plan established.
All set as 5-story buildings.
Expansion plan for existing inn floors established.
Existing warrior guild…
Plus, existing low-rises planned from minimum 3 to 5 floors.
"Phew, all set."
So many plans—it'd take considerable time.
Column Village residents would bustle in the meantime.
Ideally start slower, but with departure looming, no choice.
Only Mu-hyuk could draft establishment plans.
Management could go to Rakak—no worries.
"My lord!"
Rakak approached from afar just then.