Raising the Barrier
Before starting the Acid Tentacler operation, I used the brief lull to ask Uncle Doogang for a favor. “Uncle, could you head back to your place and bring the kids over?”
“If that’s all… I can do that. But I can’t go alone……”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll ask some people who know where my house is to escort you.”
“Then it’s fine.”
Uncle agreed to my request. There was a reason I specifically wanted him to go. I brought up one more difficult favor.
“And… could you try convincing the people in your group to help us fight the Acid Tentacler……?”
His people still hadn’t properly settled here. When danger came, they might simply run away. Of course, that wouldn’t be easy either, but it would be several times easier than fighting the Acid Tentacler. Even knowing that, I had no choice but to ask.
Uncle looked troubled, but soon shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. “We owe our lives to you, Dohyun, and the others. Honestly, I want to stay by your side!”
“Huh……?”
“You’re strong, Dohyun. Staying near someone strong gives us the best chance of surviving longer!”
Uncle then got to the main point. “Some of my group still tremble just hearing the name Acid Tentacler……. Still, if I persuade them, a few will come along. I’ll do my best! Besides, we can’t lose our home to that monster again!”
“Uncle…… Thank you so much!”
“No need for thanks. And get that arm treated quickly.”
“I will.”
I answered with a smile. Uncle Doogang immediately set off for my house with a few of Jaehun’s subordinates. After watching him go, I entered the Mart and had my right arm’s wound roughly treated. When I came back out, Nayoon had already gathered people and finished preparations.
“These people will help you with your work.”
She introduced about twenty people. I spotted some of the workers we’d hired when building the house.
“Quite a few showed up!”
“Everyone’s highly motivated!”
Jaehun answered my remark. Anxiety showed on their faces, yet their eyes were alive. They carried at least a sliver of hope. I had to make sure they didn’t lose it.
With Nayoon’s command, we departed and reached a spot roughly a kilometer from the Mart.
“This should be far enough, right?”
“Yeah. If a big fight breaks out here, the Mart won’t take any damage.”
“Then… shall we start by demolishing that building over there?”
“Is it really possible for one person to destroy a building?”
Nayoon asked with a slightly disbelieving expression. The people who had overheard began murmuring among themselves.
“Does it make sense for one person to tear down a building……?”
“Even the boss probably couldn’t do that……”
“Still, he’s the one who beat the boss, isn’t he?”
“Come on, even so……”
“No, with his skill, it might actually be possible……”
Showing them would be faster than explaining. I told everyone to wait at a safe distance and walked toward the building I’d already scouted. Only Nayoon and Jaehun followed me.
“Can you really destroy it?”
“I’ve never taken down anything this big before……. But it’s definitely possible!”
I answered Nayoon’s repeated question with confidence. Our goal was singular: to create a wall blocking the path the Acid Tentacler would take. A massive wall even that creature couldn’t break through. If we couldn’t lure it into terrain favorable to us, we’d simply make that terrain ourselves.
The street was about forty meters wide. To build a wall that could block it, we’d need enough material from demolishing at least one building. That was why I’d chosen the five-story building in front of me.
I told the two of them to stay outside for a moment and entered the building alone. My Demolition & Construction skill was now level 5. I could create or destroy up to five cubic meters at once, with sixteen seconds per cubic meter. Normally, the safe way would be to climb up and demolish it piece by piece, but we didn’t have that kind of time. Creating the wall was already tight on time—there was no room to methodically tear it down from the top.
So, risky as it was, I’d bring it down from below in one go. First, I checked whether anyone was inside. With so many people gathered out front, the chance of anyone remaining was low, but I still carefully searched from the upper floors just in case someone might get buried alive.
——The result was clear: no one. The building was completely empty.
“As expected…… Now I can start.”
I examined the pillars and load-bearing walls on the first floor. After checking everything, I decided the best method was to make it collapse straight down. I began removing the central pillars first. Heart pounding, I demolished the first pillar, focusing on the bottom meter as quickly as possible. Speed was everything.
“This is terrifying…… I have no idea when it’ll fall……”
If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve picked the Safety Inspection skill when choosing my class-exclusive rare skill. Then I’d at least know when it was about to collapse. But this was the choice I made. Regretting it now was pointless……. I just had to finish quickly and accurately.
——I finished demolishing the central pillars. Only the outer load-bearing walls remained. Fortunately, the building was well-constructed; it still hadn’t collapsed. Even so, I was scared, so I stepped outside immediately.
When I emerged, Nayoon and Jaehun, who had been waiting, approached.
“Are you done?”
“No, this is just the beginning!”
The three of us moved away from the building, stopping near the center line of the road. From there, I activated my skill, trying to use it from as far away as possible. I discovered that the maximum range of Demolition & Construction was ten meters.
“I’m really going to bring it down now, so you two should get farther away.”
“Be careful, Dohyun. I’m going.”
“Yeah…. Dohyun, be careful!”
After their warnings, they retreated to where the others were waiting. The moment they were clear, I used Demolition & Construction. I began chipping away at the remaining outer load-bearing walls. The building groaned under the increasing strain, emitting eerie sounds. It didn’t take long after the first noise for the structure to give way completely.
The instant the building started to fall under gravity, I ran. With a thunderous CRASH, dust instantly engulfed me and the others. When the loud, chaotic noise finally stopped, the only sound left was coughing from people covered in dust.
“Cough—— Hack——!”
I was no different……. Ow, my eyes stung……. I should’ve kept them closed while running!
As time passed and the dust slowly settled, visibility gradually returned. The building had collapsed into countless fragments. Nayoon, who had been watching beside me, exclaimed in admiration.
“You actually did it. That’s incredible!”
“It’s all thanks to the skill!”
“Is this the true power of a Unique Class?”
Jaehun was just as impressed. So were the others. But we had no time to marvel, even though the feeling was nice. Looking at the ruined building, I spoke.
“The real work starts now!”
***
Nayoon took some of her subordinates to clear out any monsters in the area. The sound of the building collapsing would have drawn a lot of attention. We also couldn’t risk monsters interfering during the fight with the Acid Tentacler. As a bonus, we might earn a few Coins. After Nayoon left, I took charge of the remaining people. Standing in front of so many and giving orders was a first for me, but it was something only I could do with my skill.
“All you need to do is bring the materials over here to me. Some of you have done this before. Please explain to those who haven’t!”
Since several people had already worked with me, I didn’t need to explain in detail. I left the collapsed building to the others and headed to the spot where we’d build the wall. The street was roughly forty meters wide, and the Acid Tentacler stood over three meters tall, so I planned for a wall five meters high and 1.5 meters thick. After calculating the approximate size, I dug one meter into the ground. I needed to excavate a total of sixty cubic meters of soil. A simple calculation put that at around sixteen minutes. The excavated dirt went straight into my Material Storage, and once it was full, I moved aside and dumped it all out. The skill’s experience points rose steadily. Though it consumed an enormous amount of mana…….
Materials from the building were also being neatly piled beside the dirt I’d stacked. With so many people helping, the work was progressing quickly! Before long, I finished digging out the ground. Next came compacting the soil. Without equipment, it would normally be impossible, but Demolition & Construction could handle that too. By using the skill with the intent of compressing the earth, I could pack it tighter than any conventional equipment. I wanted to compact it even deeper, but given the urgency, I settled for adequate firmness. I pressed down firmly. This would save all of us.
Once the compacting was done, several people who had been carrying materials looked at me and spoke.
“That was truly amazing!”
“You dug up all that ground in under two hours…… Even an excavator couldn’t do it that fast……?”
“It’s all thanks to the skill. Now, please dump all the concrete rubble here!”
“““Yes!”””
I split the group in half. One half continued moving concrete rubble as before, while the other half dumped the rubble I’d had them carry into the pit I’d dug. Once the rubble filled up, I began constructing the wall. I made the outer layer about fifty centimeters thick, leaving the inside hollow. At this rate, we’d finish in time…….
The only question was whether a wall built this way could actually stop the creature. No—believe in yourself! Believe in me and my skill! Right now, that was all we had.
I connected the finished wall to the adjacent buildings for extra support. Just as expected, it fused seamlessly as if it had always been one structure. While continuing the work, I spotted some welcome faces. Seorin, Daon, Sohyun, and Uncle Doogang.
“Oppa!”
Daon waved happily, and Sohyun waved beside her. Seorin saw me but looked away, apparently embarrassed about waving. Just seeing the three of them made me feel reassured. I couldn’t go to them since I was working, so they came over. Halfway there, Daon noticed my bandaged right arm and rushed over in alarm.
“Oppa, what happened to your arm?”
“Ah, I got a little hurt… Can you heal it?”
“Really… Of course I can! But…… please don’t get hurt where I can’t see you!”
“Okay, I got it!”
Daon carefully unwrapped the bandage around my right arm. I endured the stinging pain.
“Oppa, what did this to you?”
“Ow…… That hurts……!”
“Are you okay?”
“I can handle it. I’ll explain everything!”
Daon immediately used Heal. Uncle Doogang had probably already given some explanation, but I went over it once more.
“Acidic liquid, huh……”
“So we have to fight a monster like that……”
“I’m confident!”
Uncle Doogang spoke up. “I tried persuading my group, but only five people came, including me……”
He looked apologetic, but I was more than satisfied. I’d expected far fewer—maybe none at all.
“No, just bringing them here is more than enough. Thank you all so much!”
I greeted the people who had come with him. Now all our forces were assembled.
***