Kaya Awakens and Column's Boom

The approaching beasts came to a halt.

Kwarrr…!

With feeble cries, they melted away.

As the creatures died, Mu-hyuk and his companions gained an enormous amount of experience.

"W-We survived…!"

"But what the hell happened? We didn't even accept a quest, so why did the statue's seal break?"

Mu-hyuk was curious about that too.

Just then, the one who had been a statue opened his eyes.

Flicker.

His crimson eyes devoured the sky, creating the illusion that the heavens were being sucked back into the gaze of the now-awakened man.

"Have I… awakened?"

"Y-Yes."

"It was you who woke me."

"That's right."

He was a fairly young man. He stared at Mu-hyuk and the group for a moment.

"Hoo, so fate flows this way in the end."

"Pardon…?"

"No matter. Anyway, you've worked hard. Since ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you've broken my seal, I must give you a fitting reward. But that's strange. The ones climbing up now have contributed more. Are you allies of theirs?"

"No."

"You're not…?"

"No."

"Hmm, what to do."

"It's clear that we broke the seal."

"That's true."

"And we don't know if those climbing up have good intentions or malicious ones."

"Hmm."

The man pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"The situation isn't great, and I'm busy too, so I'll just reward you. Come closer."

They were getting a reward without even accepting a quest. Best of all, it meant the Phoenix Guild wouldn't get one.

Step.

The four gathered in front of the man.

Swoosh.

Light burst from his outstretched hand, dominating the space.

Mu-hyuk grinned as he acquired the skill.

Nice!

Now it was time to seek out another power.

"Um, I have a question."

"What is it."

"Are there other places like this, cursed or sealed?"

"Hmm, wait."

Kaya closed his eyes.

About ten seconds later.

He opened them and shook his head.

"There are no more here."

"Here…?"

"In this place, on the Grakan Continent, there are none."

"Ah, I see. What about other continents?"

"I wouldn't know about that."

"Hmm."

Unlike the Craftsman's Island, he didn't know much.

A pang of regret rose up.

Still, we've found quite a few, right?

Mu-hyuk couldn't recall exactly how many hidden powers Dark had found.

So he had no sense of how many users had uncovered in total.

Wait, isn't this something I can ask?

"Um, then."

"I don't have much time, so speak quickly."

"Do you know how many sealed places there were on the Grakan Continent?"

"Curious fellow."

"Yeah, just for reference."

"Four in total."

Mu-hyuk's eyes sharpened.

If there were four per continent?

They'd claimed three on the Kai'on Continent, practically monopolizing it.

Of course, it was just a guess.

But the possibility was high.

"Thank you."

"That's it. I have work to do, so I must go."

"Ah, yes."

There was no dimensional gate, it seemed.

At that moment, Kaya kicked off the ground.

Whoosh.

He shot into the sky, wings sprouting from his back. He vanished into the distance. Mu-hyuk snapped out of it and remounted his warhorse.

"Let's head down for now."

"Ah, y-yeah!"

"Right."

"We can't go back the way we came, so this way."

The Phoenix Guild was probably climbing up there.

"Running into them would be awkward, huh?"

"Exactly, so let's hurry."

They descended the opposite side ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from their frantic ascent.

A short while later.

The Phoenix Guild reached the summit.

"I don't know why the monsters suddenly vanished, but this is our chance. Search for anything!"

"Yes!"

But no matter how much they scoured, nothing turned up.

"Nothing on the left!"

"Same on the right!"

The manly leader furrowed his brow.

"There has to be something! Search again!"

"Yes!"

His certainty that something was there blinded him. It took a full day of pointless searching at the peak to face reality.

"Why—why the hell is there nothing?!"

His anguished scream echoed through the frozen mountains.

*

It had been ages since he'd set foot on the Forma Continent.

Swoosh.

He pulled the magic crystal orb from his inventory and infused it with MP. Light burst forth.

Twice, three times.

The repeating glow seeped in, and Rakak's face appeared.

"I've just about wrapped up my business."

"Yeah, but I'll have to head out again soon after arriving."

"No, this time it'll be short."

"You've been busy without me, right?"

"Good to hear."

"Tell him I'm almost there."

"Sure."

He ended the communication and checked the village status.

Mu-hyuk's eyes widened.

"Whoa."

When he'd left, the population was around 5,000. Now it was nearing 30,000. He hadn't imagined it would grow this much.

Architecture Level: 5 (100%)

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 works, spiritist guild, thief guild, information guild, high-rise construction.

And architecture at 100% too.

He'd have to level it up right away upon arrival.

Mu-hyuk and the group arrived at the sizable village and headed straight for the warp gate. After a long wait in line, they reached the gate attendant.

"Welcome. Where to?"

"Abenso Village."

"2 gold."

They paid and stepped onto the gate.

Whoooosh.

The gate activated, teleporting the four instantly to the Abenso Village gate point.

"Skeleton Warhorse summon."

After riding for about 50 minutes.

"Tons of users here."

"It's bustling."

They spotted users hunting and passing through.

Having unequipped all items that screamed "Mu-hyuk," no one recognized him.

Another relaxed 10 minutes, and Column Small City came into view in the distance.

"Wow…!"

An exclamation escaped naturally.

Thanks to the high-rises visible even from afar.

Already this much…?

Mu-hyuk swallowed subtly, inwardly shocked though ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he didn't show it.

The buildings were taller than expected, stable, and even stylish.

Of course, he'd ordered it, but he hadn't anticipated they'd execute it this well.

"Whoa, it's cool…!"

"A-Amazing. It's developed so much."

Mu-hyuk nodded at Ye-rin and Kim Ji-yeon's words.

Perfect.

Realizing it was his, his mood lifted automatically.

He was probably the only one who'd grown a village to this scale in the current situation.

This will be a huge asset.

They soon reached the entrance to Column Small City.

Two guards.

Passing them revealed a vibrant interior scene.

"LFG tank for party!"

"Need lvl 120+ archer! Ice skills a huge plus!"

"Aggro magnet wanted!"

"Frost mage LFG! Level doesn't matter!"

People recruiting parties.

"Flame Rhino materials up on auction house super cheap!"

"Selling longsword base atk 167! Just the gold minus auction fee!"

Merchants hawking wares.

"This is because of you, right?"

"Huh? What?"

"Them looking for frost archers and mages."

"Ah…."

Mu-hyuk smirked.

"Yeah, I did post the Flame Rhino strategy."

"Heh, makes hunting easier, so users flock here."

"Whoa, that was you, oppa?"

"I figured it'd help, but not to this extent."

"As expected of my oppa!"

Praise makes even whales dance, they say.

His mood brightened for no reason.

"Anyway, let's rest. I'll tour the village."

"Okay!"

"We'll be at the central inn."

"Got it."

The three headed to the central inn, while Mu-hyuk strolled slowly around the village.

"Oh? Village chief!"

"Long time no see."

It was Kahomer, the guild management director.

"Whoa! You're finally back?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone's been waiting for you, my lord!"

"I was a bit late. Anyway, where's the steward?"

"Ah, at this hour, probably in his office?"

"Right. Thanks."

"No problem."

After greeting him, he headed to the lord's castle. Since it would take time, he decided to raise the architecture level en route.

He naturally selected Yes.

Mu-hyuk checked the level 6 details, then selected new buildable structures.

He arrived at the lord's castle.

The guard at the entrance spotted Mu-hyuk and widened his eyes. Having seen him once before, he recognized him immediately.

"Salute!"

After the greeting, he entered.

The office was on the second floor, right?

The lord's castle had been built when it expanded to a small city, but he'd been too busy to check it out then. Now he leisurely walked, taking in the castle.

Just then, Rakak descended the stairs and spotted Mu-hyuk.

"Oh, my lord!"

Mu-hyuk turned and smiled.

"It's really been a while, hasn't it?"

"Don't even mention it!"

"You've worked hard all this time."

"Not at all."

They chatted amiably, catching up.

"I see."

"Yes. Ah, and sorry to bring this up right away, but…"

"It's fine."

"We need to build a few more structures."

Naturally, the soldier training camp and academy.

"Structures?"

"With the population boom, we have more talented folks. I think we should establish an academy to teach them swordsmanship and magic."

"Sounds good."

"But we can't limit it to the talented ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones. It's time for a soldier training camp for those less gifted. It would allow specialized training for infantry, spearmen, archers, cavalry, and such."

Mu-hyuk nodded.

"Proceed with all of it."

"Yes, my lord."

After a few more instructions, he asked Doran's location.

"Ah, Sir Doran should be at the training grounds behind the castle."

Rakak left for the constructions, and Mu-hyuk headed to meet Doran.

More NPCs than expected were at the training grounds.

"Haaap!"

"Haat!"

Amid the intensely training group, Doran stood out.

Bang!

An arrow nocked on the bowstring launched.

Hoo.

One glance showed he'd grown incomparably from before.

"Doran."

At Mu-hyuk's call, he turned.

His eyes widened.

"My liege!"

With a joyful shout, he rushed to Mu-hyuk.