Tribute Trade Levels Up

Finally, the Tribute Trade had leveled up.

Kim Hwang-je wasn't exactly fluent in Chinese characters, but he knew the tu (投) definitely stood for "to throw."

* You can send neutralized enemies or consenting individuals to the royal castle.

* In the case of enemies, forced labor may be ordered.

* There is a chance they may escape the castle.

Some bastard is definitely hiding somewhere and writing these descriptions.

He had his suspicions more than a few times, but there was no way to track down the culprit. Besides, judging from the explanation, this skill was clearly unhinged.

Kim Hwang-je strolled down the street, quietly checking his status window. If he used this properly, he might be able to develop the kingdom inside him in earnest. Or he could just use it the way it was intended—locking up rude villains and correcting their bad habits. That didn't sound half bad either.

"Whoa!"

Kim Hwang-je sucked in a sharp breath right there on the sidewalk. While he was thinking, one particular person had flashed through his mind like lightning.

Site foreman Park Jo-woon!

Come to think of it, the man was a construction master, wasn't he?

"Jackpot!"

This must be what it felt like to shout "Eureka" in the middle of the street. Then it suddenly hit him—he had promised to pay for the cement but still hadn't sent the money. They had used about twelve tons last time. Even conservatively, that came to 960,000 won.

Hmm… Yeah. Let's deposit around three million won for now. Su-ah needs to buy some new clothes too.

He hadn't contacted them in a day, so he transferred a generous amount with a touch of guilt. The moment the transfer went through, an alarm rang.

The phone rang immediately. It was Park Jo-woon.

"Hwang-je, you can't do that."

"Huh?"

"You fool. When someone suddenly makes money, it's natural to want to share it. But you have to save and be frugal if you want to live well. You need to start preparing for marriage too. I'll only take the exact amount. Keep the rest."

Ah.

Kim Hwang-je scratched his head.

"Uncle, buy Su-ah some new clothes at least. She's at that age where she wants to dress up. I have plenty of money now."

"No need. What new clothes does a retaker need? You should buy yourself a new T-shirt since that one's all stretched out. You haven't even noticed, have you?"

Now that he mentioned it, the man was right.

Kim Hwang-je glanced down at his collar. Come to think of it, he had met Jung Da-yeon and wandered around jewelry stores wearing this pathetic stretched-out shirt. People might have mistaken him for a thief trying to sell stolen gold.

Yet Park Jo-woon's voice carried a warm chuckle. He knew exactly what kind of person Kim Hwang-je was.

"All right. I'll do that. Should I buy some meat on the way? I've got good news to share."

A pleasant grumble came from the other end of the line.

"What good news? Sounds fishy. Fine, I'll polish a nice marble slab and put it over the charcoal. Bring some soju too."

"Whoa. Are all the uncles there right now? Is thirty portions enough?"

Kim Hwang-je headed for the butcher with every intention of buying the highest-grade beef they had in stock. And people should always be suspicious of anyone buying them beef.

The uncle, unaware of his ulterior motives, answered cheerfully.

"Complaints have been pouring in, so we probably won't be able to do night work for a while. I don't know why everyone's acting like this just because things got a little safer. I sent everyone home already."

"Ah, I see."

"Anyway, it's a relief that someone like you awakened in our family. Make sure you only go to safe places! Listen to your seniors, don't get greedy and wander into dangerous spots."

"Uncle, why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you lecturing me so much?"

Yet Kim Hwang-je felt a sting at the tip of his nose. They said that when a person succeeds, they first think of their parents. But it was fortunate he still had an adult who cared for him like one.

After his parents passed away, Kim Hwang-je had lived on convenience-store meals paid for with government food cards. Park Jo-woon was the one who had offered him work and a way to survive. Thanks to him, the big-framed Kim Hwang-je never fell for the tricks of the bad kids. He worked during vacations and took odd jobs while attending school. That was how he could afford new clothes—even if they ended up stretched—and buy rice, kimchi, and soybean paste instead of relying on food cards.

"Okay… Then meat for four portions for the two of you and…"

Kim Hwang-je wiped his warm nose with the back of his hand and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tried to continue when Poyu's claws suddenly dug into his scalp.

"Ouch!"

He dropped the phone and clutched his head. Poyu spread her wings wide and shouted.

"Hunting time has come! The enemy is targeting the thread of fate, it has!"

She flapped over and landed on Kim Hwang-je's right shoulder, then declared in a proud voice.

"Ahem. I am the fairy dragon who sees the threads ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of fate! And I am the emperor's guardian dragon who protects those who must be protected! And… um… what came next? Right! Emperor uncle is my protection target!"

Uh, thanks.

He decided not to ask why the grand lines didn't match the baby voice.

Kim Hwang-je picked up his phone, rubbed his stinging scalp, and pulled Poyu into his arms. The little dragon rubbed her whiskers against his chest like a cat.

"Hehe, did I do good, uncle? Mommy said if a problem happens later, I should say it like that."

"Yeah, you did great. Thanks, Poyu. But what kind of problem is coming?"

"Hmm. The thread of fate told me. The uncle you just called uncle is about to be taken hostage by bad guys soon!"

"What?!"

Which bastard uncle?!

Kim Hwang-je's face turned to ice. But why?

Then Jung Da-yeon's warning resurfaced.

Howling is attacking people connected to the underwater giant. They might target you soon as well, Mr. Kim Hwang-je.

She had wanted to talk about it over a meal, but there hadn't been time. He had figured that with a whole kingdom inside him, everything would work out somehow.

But they were going after the people around him instead…?

Had they already run a background check?

Feeling slowly faded from his fingertips as his heart hammered wildly. The memory of losing his family replayed automatically in his mind. Kim Hwang-je pressed his eyes shut and asked.

"Those damn bastards… when are they coming?"

"Um… probably in twenty minutes…?"

Poyu looked a little scared. Only then did Kim Hwang-je regain his composure and gently hug her.

"Uncle…"

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry, Poyu. I can protect you this time. I really can."

Because there's a castle inside my body.

As Poyu nestled against him, Kim Hwang-je patted her back. He finally understood how much King Dave and Archmage Gemini must have agonized before handing over the fairy dragon.

A dragon with precognition, no less. If he hadn't known, who knows what would have happened.

Full of gratitude, Kim Hwang-je pulled out every gold coin in his pocket and fed them to her. Poyu pounced on them happily.

"Kyaha! Gold is yummy!"

"Gemini should be in her lab by now, right?"

She sat on his head crunching the coins, sending gold dust sprinkling down onto his hair. Kim Hwang-je scanned the royal castle this way and that with World Observation. The archmage was buried in frantic paperwork. When he poked her icon on the status window, her sky-blue hair twitched and she looked up at the sky.

He opened her skill list.

"Whoa."

The king's skills were expensive but not that numerous. Gemini's, however, were not only expensive but insanely numerous. Many of them couldn't be used with money alone.

There was even this one:

Time Stop

Cost: 11.8 trillion won

Materials: Thalys Anar's dark red gem, Atal Karman's opal eye

All sorts of complicated materials were required. Kim Hwang-je didn't have the mental bandwidth to examine them right now. Fortunately, he scrolled down and quickly found something usable immediately.

Teleport

Price

Instantly moves to a remembered location. Price increases in proportion to distance.

When he pictured the location in his mind, the price window updated smoothly.

80 million won.

It was an eye-watering amount, but every second counted now. Good. The transportation problem was solved.

He stroked Poyu and asked, "Poyu, can I see what you saw?"

"Yeah! I'll show you!"

Poyu chanted a spell. Soon, the events that would unfold appeared before his eyes.

A man with explosive muscles and another with long hair tied in a ponytail appeared from the east side of the Nokdu construction site. Both wore coats emblazoned with a wolf's face—the symbol of Howling. Kim Hwang-je recognized it easily.

It looked like Park Jo-woon was asking who they were. The muscular man grinned, baring his teeth, and slapped Park Jo-woon's face with one brutal strike. The foreman flew backward, bleeding profusely. The man slung him over his shoulder and signaled to the ponytail.

The archer drew an arrow and fired it at the construction site. The Nokdu site exploded. Buildings collapsed in a roar. They drew a wolf symbol on the ground with blood using some spell, then vanished to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the west.

The entire sequence—from appearance to disappearance—took less than a minute.

Kim Hwang-je snapped out of the brief vision and returned to reality.

"Those sons of bitches…"

His arms shook. He had bitten his lip so hard that blood trickled down.

He pulled out his phone and searched "muscular Howling" and "ponytail Howling." Information flooded the screen. They were murderers currently traveling across Korea, committing bombings, looting, and assassinations.

"The big one is warrior Sirius. The ponytail is archer Baekju…!"

There was still time!

Kim Hwang-je immediately pressed the teleport payment button.

Kim Hwang-je and Poyu vanished from the spot.

"Uncle!"

"Huh? How did you come down from above?"

Park Jo-woon had been on the seventh floor of the construction site, checking the finishing work for the next day. Yet Kim Hwang-je, who should have come up from below, was descending from the eighth floor.

Kim Hwang-je checked his watch. Good. There was still time. He had jumped down from the rooftop section to reach him, so he was panting heavily.

"Huk… huk. Uncle, it's an emergency. Enemies are coming soon."

"What? Enemies? What are you talking about? Is a monster wave coming?"

"It's too long to explain. We have to get you out of here, fast!"

Kim Hwang-je looked toward the east side of the site—the exact spot where Howling would appear.

"No matter what you see, don't be shocked. They'll take good care of you over there."

Park Jo-woon swallowed hard again. Just like last time, when the now-awakened Kim Hwang-je wore such a serious expression, it was clear this was no trivial matter. Even if his T-shirt collar was still stretched out.

In the end, Park Jo-woon decided to trust him once more.

"All right. I believe you. What do I need to do?"

Kim Hwang-je immediately activated the skill.

He was on edge, half-expecting an arrow to come flying at any second.

Flash—!

A blue light rippled, and Park Jo-woon vanished in an instant. He shrank into a tiny grain-like particle and flowed into Kim Hwang-je's body.

Through World Observation, he saw the soldiers on the ramparts approaching the suddenly appearing Park Jo-woon and offering their hands. The foreman, who had landed hard on his backside, stared with wide eyes and an open mouth, completely lost on how to process the absurd situation.

Behind him stood a medieval royal castle. Before him stretched a plain soaked in blood and dust. Even without a full-scale wave, the sporadic battles seemed like they would never truly end.

He had often thought about it when he was younger—could he witness such a sight without getting hit by a truck? Soon a guard approached and extended a hand. Park Jo-woon took it and stood up.

Watching the scene, Kim Hwang-je let out a long sigh of relief. He stroked Poyu's head where she sat on his shoulder and handed her a gem. Her eyes sparkled. Gems were a delicacy, after all.

"Thanks, Poyu. This is a bonus."

"Yeah. I thought it through and did good. Emperor uncle is good at giving gems too—ah!"

Poyu had been lying on her back on his shoulder, chewing the gem and acting cute, when she suddenly shot upright and flew into the air.

"They're here! Poaaaaang!"

Boom—!

A breath blast erupted from Poyu's tiny mouth. The arrow that flew in at that exact moment collided with the breath and exploded in midair. Dust swept across the construction site floor and surged upward, slamming into the seventh floor where Kim Hwang-je stood.

"Cough! Cough!"

Kim Hwang-je glared through the cloud of dust, looking down. Below, two men stared back from within the swirling dirt.

They were the muscular Sirius and the ponytail Baekju from the vision.

Text blinked before Kim Hwang-je's eyes.

Without hesitation, Kim Hwang-je selected Y.

If they were worth eight hundred million won, they had to be seriously strong. And those bastards had tried to beat and kidnap his uncle.

It was time for some proper re-education.