My Territory Has Expanded

But the moment I nervously tapped "Yes," an unexpected warning message popped up right in front of my eyes.

“I could die?”

A sudden wave of fear washed over me. Was this going to be like those martial arts novels where someone eats a mythical elixir and their insides start boiling over?

Since the warning didn't specify what kind of danger it was, I opened the Free Registry once again.

And the terrifying comments poured in instantly.

“...”

Is it true? Over twenty people dead, someone buried just a few weeks ago because of this... While comments from familiar usernames kept piling up, another reply appeared.

“...”

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really didn't know whose tune I was supposed to dance to here.

This I'm Not Going person had worried about me during the disaster, and they'd given me a lot of helpful advice. It seemed best to trust them for now.

I was scared out of my mind, but it wasn't like I could just skip the upgrade. I had to do it eventually, so what choice did I have?

And so, with trembling hands, I tapped "Yes" once more. At that moment...

It's going to hurt like hell, isn't it? Ugh, seriously... Just like getting a shot at the hospital, I tightly gripped my blanket, even holding the golem's hand beside me as I shivered in anticipation.

But what came next was not the horrific pain the forum users had warned me about. There was absolutely no dying or becoming a vegetable, as some had claimed.

Instead, a refreshing, soothing wave of mana circulated through my entire body—a thoroughly pleasant sensation. And that was it.

“Huh?”

“...Well, that was incredibly anticlimactic.”

Those bastards had definitely been messing with me. Annoyed, I opened the Free Registry again and wrote a post.

Ah. So it was actually dangerous! I was only fine because I had already done all the dangerous stuff beforehand...?

For a moment, I felt like I'd been hit over the head.

Well... even if they'd told me it was truly dangerous, I probably would've done it anyway. But still, I mean, I guess I'm grateful, but...

Even as I processed this, system messages continued to pop up.

A whole bunch of unlocked features flooded my screen.

First, I could immediately feel the expansion of my territory. The entire third floor of this crappy, poorly soundproofed villa—where cockroaches occasionally made guest appearances—had now fallen under the influence of my Magic Tower.

Accordingly, the range of my mana-based senses seemed to have widened. That must be what the notification meant by enhanced Mana Detection and manipulation capabilities.

As for perceiving certain Enlightenments...

Just as I thought, the Enlightenment requirements that used to be displayed as question marks were now visible. One of them was already satisfied.

If it was 'Mana Concentration,' it must have been satisfied because of my constant infusing of mana into water. As for 'Auxiliary Expansion'... I had no idea.

Still, looking at the modified spell's name, 'Auxiliary Magic Circle,' it seemed like something I would attach alongside the golem's primary magic circle. I'd have to ask about this on the Free Registry later.

Though maybe I'll get the hang of it if I just try it. And as for the Disciple System...

“Disciple System.”

Completely useless right now. I didn't even know if there were any living humans nearby, so how on earth was I supposed to take on a disciple?

“First, let's check our new territory. Golem!”

“Yes.”

“Go check and clear out all the other rooms on this floor. Bring back any decent items that look like they shouldn't be destroyed.”

I didn't know exactly what had happened in the early hours of the first day. Fearing I might stumble upon a horrific scene if I went into the other rooms myself, I decided to leave the scouting to the golem.

There were six rooms on this floor, including mine. Since they were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all studio apartments of similar size, it shouldn't take too long.

After a short wait, the golem returned, carrying a bag stuffed with various items.

“I have finished checking all of them. The room right next door was vacant from the start, and two others show signs of past occupancy but are currently empty.”

The golem pulled several pieces of women's clothing from the bag as it spoke.

“And these are the clothes I retrieved from those rooms. Since your current attire seems quite uncomfortable, would you like to change?”

But the clothes in question were tight-fitting, slightly revealing, flashy outfits and short skirts. On top of that, they were secondhand.

“Uh, well...”

Did the golem even know I was a guy until just a few days ago?

“No, it's fine... I'm good...”

“As for the remaining two rooms, one was completely destroyed by zombies. In the other, a suicide victim's corpse—”

“Right.”

Just imagining it made me shudder. Watching me hold my head and take a deep breath, the golem smiled.

“Do not worry. I have already cleaned everything up thoroughly.”

With that, the golem pulled out food, water, various tools, and writing utensils from the bag.

“I have brought back anything that seemed useful.”

Perhaps an art student had lived in one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the rooms, because the tools the golem retrieved included professional art supplies like brushes and paints, along with various hardware tools.

Remembering how I'd had to draw magic circles with a Sharpie before, I was incredibly glad to see these.

“Now, let's expand this room a bit.”

Now that I'd checked and organized the looted items, I planned to knock down some walls to expand my living space.

“If we destroy the walls, will the building not collapse?”

The golem made a highly logical point. Common sense dictated that destroying structural walls would lead to a collapse.

However, my intuition told me otherwise.

The message from earlier. Just as it said, the floor I was on seemed to have become incredibly sturdy—to the point of defying the laws of physics to some extent.

If this gets even stronger, I might be able to make floating stairs or bookshelves like in the movies.

So, knocking down a few walls to merge the rooms would be a piece of cake.

“It's fine. It won't collapse from just that. But...”

Before that, I quickly opened the Magic Archive and scrolled through the spell list. I was looking for the silence magic I'd spotted earlier.

If we smashed the walls without any preparation, it would make a massive racket and trigger another disaster. But with this spell, we'd be fine.

Since my Magic Tower level had increased, I should be able to learn it. If I lacked the Enlightenment conditions, I could just ask around.

Fortunately, the Enlightenment conditions were met. The moment I tapped "Yes," 10 experience points were consumed, and all the necessary knowledge for the spell slowly flowed into my mind.

“Mmh... I completely understand it now.”

So, true to its name, 'Veil,' this spell worked by covering the entire space with a thin barrier of mana to absorb sound.

Casting it inside the Magic Tower is incredibly easy.

All I had to do was sense the boundary of the mana-filled territory and gently drape the veil over it. Though, it would probably be much harder to cast in a place that wasn't saturated with mana.

Once the spell was activated, the air felt somewhat muffled.

“Ah, ah.”

When I spoke, my voice sounded damp and compressed. It meant the spell was working perfectly. To think that a disaster had occurred just because I couldn't use such a simple spell... I felt a sudden pang of resentment.

“Alright, we're good to go. Carefully break down the walls.”

“Understood. I shall trust your word.”

The golem immediately raised its fist and concentrated its mana.

Thud. Thud. Muffled thuds, like gunshots through a silencer, echoed several times. The walls crumbled halfway, connecting the six rooms.

As expected, the building didn't collapse. It seemed to be magically supported.

Thanks to the golem's thorough cleanup beforehand, there were no corpses or filth in sight.

Over the next few hours, I organized the rooms, dedicating one to looted food and water, another to clothes and miscellaneous items, and so on.

“A little more of this, and I'll basically be a landlord.”

I felt a bit sorry for the building's original owner, but then again, I doubted the landlord would be eager to reclaim a building sitting smack in the middle of Zombieland.

I completely merged my original room with the vacant one next door and cleared out all the clutter. This space would now serve as my magic laboratory and bedroom.

For now, I had plenty of food and water. Plus, with the level-up to Level 1, a lot of new spells had unlocked. I planned to spend my time sending the golem out for casual looting runs while I stayed in, learning and experimenting with various spells.