A King's Never-Ending Toil
In the limousine heading for the hotel, Kim Hwang-je checked the state of the royal castle once again.
He felt like he finally understood why the kings of Joseon had died from overwork.
Ruling a country was a job that never ended.
Internal Affairs: 22/100
The family collapses and society collapses!
A grand chaotic collaboration!
The king wants to hunt down the runaway ministers, cut off their heads, and be done with it.
Kim Hwang-je let out a deep sigh.
With the monumental task of ruling the nation before him, the ministers had all fled.
Where the hell did those bastards run off to? Is there even anywhere for them to go?
It would be nice if he could at least bring in someone like Hwang Hui.
He would work them for the rest of their lives.
Imagining someone’s neck going ice-cold, Kim Hwang-je leaned back against his seat.
There was one more mystery.
Refugees were flooding into the royal castle.
Every day, displaced people from unknown places appeared and shuffled into the poor slums.
They poured water into dirty, oversized pots and cooked the distributed Dungeon Food into a thin porridge.
I really need to prepare proper food soon…
He didn’t want to make excuses, but the workload he had pushed through until now had already been an insane forced march.
Abundant supplies would have to wait until after they survived.
Fortunately, thanks to the massive amount of materials poured in yesterday, Military had shot up vertically!
Military: 33/100
Your Majesty!
We thank you for your boundless benevolence!
Are you satisfied, Your Imperial Majesty?
Now that they’ve been given spears, armor, and arrows, they’ve at least shed their beggar appearance!
Indeed. It had risen a full sixteen points, from seventeen to thirty-three.
Overflowing satisfaction… my ass.
This wasn’t some old online game. What kind of ridiculous pay-to-win nonsense was this? Would gacha be next?
No, the monetary value of the equipment supplied had easily surpassed five billion won.
Arrows and armor were expensive…
Yet it had only gone up by sixteen points.
So this was what running a nation was like.
No wonder people always talked about war funds.
A chill ran down Kim Hwang-je’s spine and he shivered.
He deliberately ignored the butler’s puzzled gaze from the side.
Yet at the same time, reading that message made his shoulders square with pride.
The soldiers who had been in “beggar appearance” had dealt with members of Howling, one of the worst armed organizations on Earth.
And with a single finger and the right amount of cash, he could command those soldiers however he wished.
“Hehehe…”
The butler watched Kim Hwang-je with a strange look as the man suddenly turned serious, then just as suddenly burst into laughter.
What on earth was going through his mind?
Then, just as abruptly, Kim Hwang-je wore a grave expression again.
He was thinking:
Exactly what level were the waves those guys had been holding back? Hell difficulty? Whoa, what if that line actually breaks?
The butler took a sip of cold water while observing the constantly shifting expressions on Kim Hwang-je’s face.
His serious face is truly dignified. No matter how shabby his clothes may be, he carries an undeniable majesty. He really lives up to his name.
This was one of the effects of the baby fairy dragon Poyu’s saliva scent on the butler.
That sweet smell acted as both perfume and a dragon’s pheromone.
It gently steered one’s thoughts into a favorable direction.
Under its influence, the butler analyzed Kim Hwang-je’s expression.
It must be the face of a man worrying about his friends, his homeland, or the safety of the entire world.
In reality, Kim Hwang-je was literally only worrying about his own stomach.
He really does seem like a decent person…
Despite possessing such immense power, he was kind and humble. Very few top-tier ability users ever used polite speech toward the butler. His sense of responsibility was clear. Although his fashion sense left much to be desired…
But wasn’t that exactly why one employed a butler?
Perhaps he was a man one could entrust the young lady to.
The young lady he had watched for so long needed to find a marriage partner soon. Especially for the sake of the family’s succession…
Completely unaware of the old butler’s heart, which was a tangled mess of elderly concern, Kim Hwang-je was too busy examining the castle walls through World Observation to notice.
Fortunately, once the soldiers put on their new armor, picked up their new spears, and stood atop the walls, the cement-covered barriers looked far more reliable.
Even thirty-three points felt reassuring.
Kim Hwang-je exhaled and leaned back in his seat.
You can’t fill your stomach with a single spoonful.
Of course, if you wanted to get full quickly, there was always the funnel-to-the-throat method.
That method was the blast furnace.
It was a production plant where molten iron boiled furiously and iron plates rolled out nonstop along the conveyor belt.
Shouldn’t he show those disgusting monsters the taste of revolution? The taste of the Industrial Revolution!
Kim Hwang-je used World Observation to scout for a suitable location to build a steel mill.
Numerous workers were busy cutting down trees.
Kim Hwang-je knew exactly how brutish that labor was.
Some high-and-mighty person throws you an axe one day and orders you to “kill the forest.”
A forest is nothing like the imagination.
Delicate new buds and beautiful meadows only exist on Windows desktop backgrounds.
A forest is wildness itself. Tough, persistent parasitic vines that cling to every tree. Kudzu roots that grow as thick as a human torso and burrow into the earth. Trees that proudly bear the title of “giant.”
Why was he going on at such length about clearing a forest?
Because Sirius and Baekju were the ones eating tear-soaked bread while swinging axes in the very woods where the steel mill would rise.
Ding!
Due to Life Link (Lv. 1), Strength and Stamina have increased by 0.0005!
Due to Life Link (Lv. 1), Strength and Stamina have increased by 0.0005!
* Labor Reformer bonus has been applied!
Behold these overwhelming numbers.
Merely four decimal places.
This was truly a revolution of grinding!
Of course, for them it was reform through labor.
Sirius and Baekju, wearing nothing but a single pair of pants, were cutting trees while being whipped.
He couldn’t hear the sounds, but every time they opened their mouths their breath came out in visible puffs, so the whip clearly hurt.
Naturally, those prideful bastards had tried to run away several times, but the Labor Supervisor was truly formidable.
After a light massage, those ill-tempered fellows had shed tears and picked up the axes.
And every time they chopped down a set number of trees, Kim Hwang-je’s stats rose.
Kim Hwang-je chuckled to himself.
Yet the butler’s eyes, influenced by the saliva scent…, looked upon him as if watching something adorable.
At that moment the limousine came to a smooth stop.
Kim Hwang-je turned away from the status window and looked out the window.
They had arrived at Gaya Hotel.
This hotel was famous as the most expensive on the Korean peninsula.
Its appearance was beautiful as well.
It literally resembled a graceful space battleship standing vertically.
At its peak sat a golden crown-shaped sculpture.
Kim Hwang-je sat in the rear seat and stared blankly up at the sky.
“Yes, you may pass.”
At the checkpoint, a police officer verified the limousine driver’s ID and waved them through.
It felt less like entering a hotel and more like stepping into a military base.
This Gaya Hotel, where the genuine legendary artifact Gaya Gold Crown was stored at the top floor, served as the central axis of the Gold Crown Barrier that protected southern Seoul.
The lower levels housed a shopping mall, the middle levels a department store, the upper levels corporate offices and residences, and the top level the hotel itself.
Among civilian-accessible facilities, few were this secure.
Thanks to that, state guests and CEOs of global corporations paid hefty sums to stay here.
While the safety of the Park family mattered, Kim Hwang-je also needed a secure location because of the upcoming wave.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Isn’t it? The young lady decided without hesitation that the auction must be held here. It took some time to persuade the Garak clan.”
The Garak clan was the ancient bloodline that protected the gold crown.
The butler smiled gently and offered the information.
“I want a building like that too…”
“You will have one.”
Of course, he meant inside his stomach rather than in reality.
Would he one day be able to erect skyscrapers inside the castle as well?
Harboring such worldly thoughts, Kim Hwang-je gazed up at the building that soared into the heavens.
Then he stepped out of the car.
“I would like to reserve a room for you…”
The butler said.
But Kim Hwang-je shook his head.
“No. I can’t possibly impose on you that much.”
The butler nodded, though he looked disappointed.
It was a shame, but explaining the young lady’s virtues would have to wait for another opportunity.
“Then I shall see you next time.”
“Yes, take care on your way back.”
Kim Hwang-je parted from him and entered the hotel alone—a place he once thought he would never set foot in even once in his lifetime.
The lobby beautifully reinterpreted Gaya, the kingdom once known as the Land of Gold.
The moment Kim Hwang-je appeared, every gaze in the room snapped toward him.
“Is that Kim Hwang-je?”
“It is Kim Hwang-je.”
“Look at that shabby T-shirt. It’s definitely him.”
“They say he’s a grand mage?”
The internet really was terrifying.
Although the underwater giant had not reached Calamity grade, it was still a rare monster that had breached the barrier.
A few people even stood up as if they wanted to approach him.
Kim Hwang-je hurriedly walked toward the front desk.
“How may I assist you, sir?”
“Yes… I’d like to rent the top floor.”
It was a simple request, so why did his mouth feel so dry?
His lips still hadn’t caught up with the overwhelming sense of disparity.
“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but the Executive Suite Room Line on the 130th floor and above at our Gaya Hotel is currently difficult to reserve due to a special event. If you’d like, I can recommend a Deluxe Room on the 120th floor level instead.”
What a ridiculously long and complicated name.
Well, the kind of people who used such rooms would never make reservations themselves.
No need to rack one’s brain over it. A life with someone to remember all that for you must be convenient in many ways.
Kim Hwang-je’s head spun slightly, but he managed to keep his wits.
He quietly pulled the invitation from his pocket and presented it.
It was a letter embossed with gold leaf.
Instead of wax, the seal had been stamped with gold mixed with perfume.
The varied scents based on rose were Jung Da-yeon’s personal fragrance.
Of course, that signature perfume was precious in its own right.
But far more important was the golden crest stamped on the envelope and the four leaves rising within it.
It was the symbol of the Lost Association.
The employee who saw the pattern bowed his head at once.
“Please excuse me. Shall I reserve the highest remaining Executive Room appropriate for auction participation?”
“Please do.”
After that, he had no knowledge of the endless stream of complicated terms, so he had no choice but to rely on the employee’s kindness.
Fortunately, thanks to the four-leaf crest, the employee was extremely courteous.
Many people who had tried to approach Kim Hwang-je turned away when they saw him enter the VIP corridor.
Following the employee’s guidance, Kim Hwang-je took the direct elevator up to the suite room on the 130th floor.
“Whoa…”
The walk from the elevator to the room felt like an eternity, and the distance from the front door to the bedroom was another eternity.
The room was even a duplex. The first floor contained a massive living room, a kitchen, and more than ten bedrooms. The second floor held a conference room that could seat at least forty, a study, a bar overlooking the night view, and the main bedroom—all fully prepared.
This facility was designed for welcoming state guests and higher, meant to accommodate both the honored visitor and their entire entourage, which explained its enormous scale.
When Su-ah arrived soon, where should he even begin explaining?
Kim Hwang-je first sat on the living room sofa and took a bottle of wine from the cellar.
A glass of wine with a night view like this is perfectly acceptable, right?
Beyond the wide glass windows, Seoul’s nightscape sparkled as if the Milky Way itself had descended.