He was dropped into a fantasy world and told to build a city on day one.

He was dropped into a fantasy world and told to build a city on day one.

This was just an ordinary little wooden cabin, but every man who came out of it wore a look of satisfaction. Villagers were even lining up for hours, just to experience it for two and a half minutes. You’d probably assume there’s some kind of special service inside, but actually, it was simply a house with underfloor heating. Turns out, this was a medieval fantasy world where the poor freeze to death in winter. And I, a civil engineering major, accidentally transmigrated into a novel as the baron’s eldest son. However, becoming a noble brought me no joy, because the baron’s family was heavily in debt, and this body was a total scumbag. He had committed all kinds of atrocities in the territory, and the villagers had long harbored resentment. So this body was just a trash noble doomed to die early in the story. And I had only one way to survive. I had to change how everyone in the territory sees me. As a graduate in civil engineering, I was shocked to find that houses in this world didn’t even have underfloor heating. Most families relied solely on fireplaces, which couldn’t warm an entire house. If I could build a house with underfloor heating here, it would surely sell like crazy. Maybe I could even use it to get rich and pay off all of the baron’s debts. My knowledge of civil engineering finally had a place to shine. No more brick-lifting on construction sites like in my previous life. At that moment, a floor plan for the heated house began forming in my mind. Suddenly, a system prompt appeared. Seems like I just unlocked something. “Relationship Points System has been activated. You can earn points by improving relationships with key characters. But the system didn’t explain what those points were for. I figured, since it said ‘key characters, ‘ then this person behind me, Javier, must be one. After all, he’s the main character of the whole novel. Sure enough, a negative 30 approval rating floated above Javier’s head. I gave him a charming smirk and said, “You really are handsome. “Trying to butter up the protagonist. But his affection didn’t increase. Instead, it actually dropped. At the same time, he scoffed and said, “Yeah, I know I’m handsome. Hearing this, I was speechless. This guy is seriously narcissistic. Putting the system aside for now, earlier I heard from Javier that the tavern owner’s mother had fallen ill due to the bitter cold of the lingering winter. So I immediately went to the tavern owner and placed a heating house contract in front of him: “So you’re the purchaser and I’ll be the builder. We’ll write off all construction fees against all of the property I damaged. The tavern owner gave me a skeptical look, and activated his skill, Stone Wall Heart. He didn’t believe someone would just come and offer compensation like this. “Damn, no one trusts this guy. My big plan can’t fail right from the start. Looks like I’ll have to make use of this scumbag image for now. I immediately put on a villainous expression and said, “Come on, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Let’s try to have a little trust. Sure enough, that did the trick. The tavern owner, frightened, hurried to sign the contract. And the system didn’t forget to compliment me for being such a scumbag. However, I didn’t care about all that. My business empire was going to start with this very first order. “You’ve made a wise decision. I promise you won’t regret it. Before long, just as I was about to start building the house, Javier called out to me, thinking I was plotting a new way to cause trouble after seeing me force the tavern owner to sign the contract. Hearing this, I replied dismissively, “I didn’t expect someone who looks righteous to have such twisted ideas. Have you heard of cognitive distortion? It’s where you believe someone will do this and that because of what they did in the past. This kind of distortion stems from deep prejudice and negativity. Javier claimed it wasn’t prejudice, but experience and statistics. However, when I asked whether experience and statistics weren’t all based on the past, he had no response. So I turned away and started building the house. At the same time, I told Javier that whether it was the tavern owner or his mother, I’ll make sure to make them smile, as their smiles would become the foundation of my fortune. I dug up the soil, carried it out, then compacted it, and kept repeating the process to lay the foundation. The wood could just be allocated from the baron’s estate warehouse, using heavy timber to build the main structure. Then I smeared the clay I dug up from the riverside to finish the exterior. After all that work, I was completely exhausted, frustrated by how weak this body was. Meanwhile, Javier hadn’t helped at all these past few days. He just stood around making snide comments. But deep down, he was already shocked. He never expected I’d actually follow through on the contract with the tavern owner. “Was this really the same scumbag from before? Seeing the deadline was near, I had no time to rest. I grabbed an axe, ready to continue. However, in the next second, Javier snatched the axe from my hands, and asked what he should do. “Chop the wood into thin little pieces, each about two hands’ length tall, one hands’ length wide, and one finger thick. Upon hearing this, Javier flung a pile of wood into the air, and in the next second, countless sword slashes cut them perfectly into the required sizes. Looking at the pile of neatly cut boards, a task that would’ve taken me hours, I couldn’t help giving him a thumbs up. No wonder he’s the protagonist of the whole novel, a swordsman destined to become a Sword Master. I quietly walked up behind Javier and patted him on the back. “Hey, once you’re done with that, come help me dig. Javier was stunned by how shameless I was. “Instead of thanking me, he gives me more work to do? This guy is unbelievable. I could tell he only helped out of curiosity because he wanted to see what kind of scam I was plotting. So I told him, “You just want to see results quickly, right? So how do we do that? Well, by working together, of course. The faster we work, the sooner you’ll find out what I’m up to. Javier had no choice but to help me finish the job quickly and uncover the truth. With his help, the speed increased several times over. Afterward, we just needed to dig the heating channels for the underfloor system. Finally, we completed everything just before the deadline. This became the first house in this world with underfloor heating. Meanwhile, Javier stared at the wall in confusion. “Are those letters? “Yes, that’s my brand logo. “You wanted to see what kind of scheme I had for the tavern owner, right? Go ahead and call the tavern owner and his mother. You’ll find out exactly what I’m up to. Soon after, the people of this world, who had never experienced underfloor heating, were instantly won over by the warmth. The tavern owner’s mother’s legs didn’t hurt anymore, and her back wasn’t sore either. This was the magical power of underfloor heating. “Thank you so much, young master. It has been a long time since I’ve seen my mother smile like this. Seeing this, Javier marveled, “Is the person in front of me still that scumbag young master? He actually worked hard and fulfilled his promise to the residents. And just like he said, both of them truly smiled with happiness. At that moment, the system prompt sounded: “Your approval rating by Javier increased by 2 points. You’ve gained 36 relationship points for improving your relationships slightly with a key character. Upon seeing this, I smiled faintly. Although this order was a total loss after accounting for the wood cost, that didn’t matter. Because this first heated house was built as a model home for promotion. And just like that, word spread fast. Out of curiosity, nearby residents came to experience it for themselves. And every person who felt the warmth of the floor was completely won over. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t you want a room like this in your own home? There are two style options available now. The first option is to build a new house in your yard. The second option is to renovate the floor of your existing home. Of course, if you sign both options, we’ll give you a 10% discount on the construction fee. However, even though the villagers understood the benefits of the house, they still didn’t trust this body of mine. If that’s the case, I’ll just keep using this scumbag image to pressure them into signing. “Hey, this price is already really cheap. Can’t we at least have some basic trust between us? Just as I was about to push further, a voice suddenly stopped me. The person who came was the father of this body, Arcos Frontera, the baron. He also had a negative 20 approval rating above his head, so clearly he was another key character whose relationship needed improving. Soon after, I was summoned back to the lord’s mansion. Until now, I had been hiding and avoiding the baron, afraid of what might happen if he stopped me from building. “Tell me, what kind of trick are you up to this time? Hearing this, I responded with my usual scoundrel attitude: “The tavern owner ordered a heated house from me, so I built one for him. “But you’ve also been signing contracts with other residents, haven’t you? After I confirmed this, the baron frowned and said that the residents of the territory were his cherished people, and he wouldn’t allow me to deceive them. Looks like no matter what this body does, it always causes misunderstandings. Since I couldn’t explain it clearly, I figured I’d better just run. Just as I was about to leave, the baron called out again: “Are you doing all this because of our family’s situation? Don’t worry, I can still handle things for now, so don’t get yourself too involved in this. Having read the ending of the novel, I knew he was completely incapable of handling the territory’s debt. Moreover, that attitude of his was just like my dad from my previous life, clearly in trouble but never saying a word, always pretending everything was fine. I’m not going to be miserable again because of stupid money. So, before leaving, I said, “Please don’t give up. Because I won’t either. Those were the words I wish I had said to my father back then. Just as I was thinking about how many orders I had collected, I ran into a fat man and a skinny one head-on. They didn’t even greet me, the son of the territory, and just walked past. Curious, I decided to follow them. Sure enough, they were the territory’s debt collectors. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but curl my lips into a grin, “Perfect timing. They’re just here in time. Back in my room, I planned to study the system. After chatting with the notification bar, I learned that points could be used to develop skills. Then, after scanning me, the system developed skills based on my existing knowledge. Seeing that I have enough Relationship points, I unlock Basic Surveying and Basic Design. Basic Surveying gave me titanium-alloy clairvoyant eyes, capable of precisely measuring ground structures. Basic Design allowed me to draw blueprints out of thin air. Having these skills would definitely make things a lot easier, but I was still worried whether Javier alone would be enough to handle all the construction. It sure would be nice if I could summon some heavy machinery. Just as I was thinking of this, the system prompted that it could also randomly summon fantasy companions, and these companions came with rich personalities and skills. If they could replace modern machinery, the work efficiency would be dramatically improved. However, one summon costs 50 relationship points. Clearly, the priority now was to quickly earn more Relationship points. Meanwhile, over on the baron’s side, the two debt collectors started getting greedy. They even demanded the baroness and her ladies as repayment. Suddenly, I appeared from behind, “Even if you’re debt collectors, that doesn’t give you the right to be so rude. This startled the fat man. “Who are you? But when the baron mentioned my name, he realized who I was. “So you’re the eldest son with the peculiar manners. But before he could finish, I cut him off. “Whatever. Now show me your warrant. Hearing this, the fat man and the skinny man both looked confused. “According to Article 3, Section 6 of the Royal Family and Nobility Act, entering a noble’s residence without a warrant is considered trespassing. Seeing them feign ignorance and even claimed the law didn’t exist, I had no choice but to refresh their memory. “Javier! “Yes, master Lloyd? “Cut off the arms of the trespassers. Seeing that Javier had really drawn his sword, the two of them broke out in cold sweat, and fled in panic. “Do you think you’ll be able to get away with this? You’ll regret this! At that moment, the baron looked terrified and shouted at me, asking what the hell I was trying to do. After all, those guys were the territory’s debt collectors. They had been treated with food and drink before, and still weren’t satisfied. Now things were completely blown up. But I had already prepared a countermeasure. I pulled out a big bag of money and placed it on the table. “This is the deposit from the heated houses. It should be enough to cover this month’s interest. However, the baron believed this money was extorted from the residents, so he refused to use it. At that moment, Javier said he would personally monitor me to ensure I fully fulfilled the residents’ contracts. Only then did the baron let go of his concerns. Then, I politely said my goodbyes. After Javier and I left, he asked how I knew about such a law. As far as he remembered, I’d always been the ignorant type. To this, I replied that I just picked it up somewhere. But the truth is, I got it from Javier himself, in the novel. It was right after the Baron and Baroness committed suicide. The two debt collectors came to dig up the bodies and sell them. And that’s when Javier said, “According to Article 3, Section 6 of the Royal Family and Nobility Act, entering a noble’s residence without a warrant is considered trespassing. Immediately after, he cut off their heads. When Javier is brought before a judge, he is found not guilty. Knowing how this story plays out is definitely an advantage. But there’s something more important right now. Suddenly, the system prompt rang. “Baron Frontera’s approval rating of you has increased by 6 points. You’ve gained 60 relationship points for improving your relationship with a key character. Your current relationship points is 61. What kind of fantasy companion would my first one be? That evening, I found an empty spot where no one was around. “Show me the summon game. As I pressed ‘start’, a green beam suddenly flashed, and began outlining a magic circle in front of me. However, the magic circle was a bit too small, and way too noisy. Suddenly, a hamster crawled out from the circle. Seeing this, I was completely dumbfounded. The disdain on my face was impossible to hide. Looks like I didn’t pull anything good this time. The little hamster noticed my disgust, and squeaked anxiously. Strangely, I seemed to understand what it was saying. The little guy claimed it could do a lot, and in the next second, it spat something out of its mouth. I picked it up and found it was a user manual and a small packet. Inside the packet were two kinds of seeds, one red and one blue. The red seed would make the little guy grow to gigantic proportions, and the effect would last for a maximum of 12 hours. On the other hand, the blue seed would make it shrink. Buying the dual-color seed pack required 1 Relationship point. At that moment, I wondered how big a tiny hamster could possibly grow. If it reached the size of a human, it might actually be useful. So I decided to see for myself and fed it a red seed. The next second, a flash of white light exploded, and I was sent flying several meters by something unknown. When I saw what was in front of me, I was completely stunned. Because the little hamster had grown to more than 30 feet tall. Seeing me frozen in place, the little guy smirked at me coldly. On top of that, Digging level 1, digging at a speed several times faster than modern excavators. Packing dirt level 2, a few death rolls could compress the soil completely. The last skill was even more critical, the Cheek Pockets Level 1. It could shape the soil directly inside its mouth. At this moment, I was beyond excited. Just this hamster alone had completely solved the problem of lacking heavy machinery. However, suddenly having such a huge creature around would seem suspicious. Fortunately, this world had summoners. As long as I carried a summoning book with me and claimed to be a summoning genius, that would solve everything. Now, I just needed to solve the manpower problem, and I could begin large-scale construction. The next day, I gathered the territory’s soldiers and began assigning them tasks. But this group of idle, salaried soldiers all looked annoyed when they saw it was me. The infamous scumbag was the one giving orders. Yet it didn’t surprise me, as I had already expected this reaction. Suddenly, “Master Lloyd, what exactly are you planning to make my soldiers do? I smirked to myself. As expected, this guy showed up. It was Neumann, one of the three knights of this land. In the early part of the novel, when the estate falls into ruin, he was the first to betray the baron and flee. Not only that, he sold the baron’s information to con artists. He was the main culprit behind the massive debts burdening the baron. And yet this trash was actually a knight awarded by this land. “Sir, Neumann, what do you think we’re doing here? Neumann declared that he would never tolerate his soldiers doing such lowly work as digging and shoveling. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but scoff. Clearly, he just hated that I was earning money to pay off the debts, yet he tried to make it sound so noble. Then I said flatly, “The baron has already given his permission. Neumann, seeing this, brought up my past, claiming I was using his soldiers for personal gain. I calmly replied, “You’re not wrong, but damn, you’re really asking for a beating. Neumann gritted his teeth in anger, but couldn’t lay a hand on me. Seeing him that pissed off, I scooped up a pile of soil and flung it right in his face. The soldiers standing nearby were all stunned by what they saw. In their eyes, I was just a useless noble who couldn’t do anything, and yet I dared to provoke a decorated knight of the territory like this. “You bastard! Are you insulting a knight’s honor? I pretended not to hear a word he said. “What? You want to forget about ranks and fight it out? Sure, no problem. Let’s do it. We’ll duel in a month. Neumann, though a bit confused, still accepted the duel without hesitation. Before long, after hearing that I would duel Neumann, Javier came over curiously and asked if I had any confidence in winning. I put on an indifferent face and said, “Are you an idiot? Of course I’m not confident. He’s a low-level sword expert knight who can use the Mana Heart Skill, and I’m just a lazy, good-for-nothing scumbag. How the hell could I beat him? Did you even think before asking? Javier was so mad that he almost drew his sword and chopped me on the spot, But his curiosity got the better of him. “Just what was this guy really up to? He was clearly provoking Neumann on purpose. And now he was saying he had no confidence in winning? It made no sense at all. At that moment, I asked Javier a favor. “Can you teach me how to use a sword? He rejected the idea instantly without even thinking. His reasons are, first, that he’s only here to watch me, and second, that someone like me learning swordsmanship would only put the people around me in more danger. But I already had a plan: “If you teach me how to use a sword, I can help cure your insomnia. Javier was stunned by the word insomnia. How the hell did this guy know about that? Of course I knew, because I had read the novel. In this world, knights are ranked into four levels: Low-level Sword Expert, Mid-level Sword Expert, High-Level Sword Expert, and Sword Master. Javier was currently in the transition from High-Level Sword Expert to Sword Master. At this stage, his nerves would become overly sensitive, which made it impossible for him to sleep. Although Javier was still suspicious of how I knew, he agreed without hesitation. Not because he believed I could actually cure him, but because he had already tried countless methods that didn’t work. However, he soon fell asleep. “I’ve read the whole novel, and I knew how you would cure your insomnia. The first time Javier ever slept well was after hearing someone read a magic incantation. I didn’t know any magic incantations, but I recited a passage from Reinforced Concrete Structural Design Theory, which had to be at least a hundred times more effective than any magic spell. “Now, your swordsmanship is all mine! The next day, the fully-rested Javier told me to run 50 laps first. He thought I’d give up immediately, but to his surprise, I didn’t resist at all, and started running obediently. And after each lap, I even ran up to him to mock him. “You thought I’d fight back, and then you’d use that as an excuse to say I had no talent and quit teaching me, right? From Javier’s expression, I knew I had seen right through him. “I’m totally gonna finish all 50 laps! Even the system couldn’t help but praise how shameless I was. But truth was, I was really exhausted. How could running 50 laps not be tiring? Still, compared to before, this was already a huge improvement. Back then, I had no family left by my side. I lived alone in a cramped rental unit, struggling day after day just to survive. I’d spend all day carrying bricks up to the roof of a four-story building, and all night loading and unloading delivery trucks. Just to keep from starving and avoid getting kicked out by the landlord. Back then, I held onto the hope that things would get better someday, constantly telling myself, just hold on a little longer and it’ll all be worth it. But eventually, that hope turned into endless despair. So compared to that hopelessness, this pain now was nothing. At that moment, a subtle change happened in Javier’s heart. “If you’re truly so serious about learning, then I’ll teach you my swordsmanship. Then, a system prompt appeared. Your approval rating by Javier increased by 1 point. You earned 18 relationship points with a key character, and your current relationship points is 29. Meanwhile, when the baron heard from Neumann that I had disrespected him and challenged him to a duel, he was deeply disappointed. However, since he had no just cause to stop it, he simply asked Neumann not to be too harsh. As his heir, the baron did not want me seriously injured. He just hoped the duel would knock some sense into me. “As you wish, my lord. But despite his words, Neumann had no intention of holding back. After leaving the room, he was already plotting to kill me in the duel, then eliminate the baron and his wife and make it look like a double suicide. He was even grateful I had challenged him because it would speed up his plan to move on to a bigger city. One month later, the duel was held as scheduled. But before it even started, Neumann was already furious. Because I showed up holding a shovel. In his eyes, that was pure humiliation. The baron couldn’t even watch, thinking this was nothing but a stupid joke. Only Javier didn’t see it that way. After all, someone playing a prank wouldn’t train nonstop every day, spend their free time teaching workers about underfloor heating at the construction site, He knew I was more serious than ever. The moment the battle started, Neumann, unable to hold back, swung his sword straight at me. Seeing this, I bent my knees and arched my back. With one clean sweep, I neutralized his strike. Neumann was surprised, but assumed it was just luck. But after every attack was deflected the same way, he started to realize something was off. This was the essence of modern close-quarter bayonet combat. My years in the army weren’t for nothing. Besides, people in this world have no idea how fearsome a shovel can be. Its broad blade could act as a shield, and it had enough cutting power to slice through thick roots. With the footwork I learned from Javier’s swordsmanship, combined with the shovel-based skill granted by the system that boosts all my physical attributes while holding a shovel, Seeing that he couldn’t win, Neumann activated his Mana Heart Skill. In the next instant, his speed multiplied several times over as he appeared in front of me in a flash, aiming his sword directly at my neck without mercy. The baron, and his wife thought their son was surely going to die. But the next second, I successfully blocked the attack. At the same time, I smiled. Because I knew exactly what made Javier the novel’s protagonist. It was the Asrahan Core Technique, Javier’s exclusive magic skill that allowed him to absorb external magical energy and use it as his own. In that moment, Neumann was completely stunned. “You absorbed my mana? His fear made him drop his guard, and in an instant, I smashed my shovel into that bastard’s face. That one hit alone was enough to knock him out of the fight. But I wasn’t done yet. I slammed another strike right into the back of his head. The soldiers watching from the sidelines were all dumbfounded, unable to make sense of what just happened. They can’t believe that the scumbag young master actually defeated the decorated knight of the territory. The baron, still in disbelief, announced the winner. But in such a thrilling moment, there was no way I was stopping now. I gave Neumann a swift series of strikes with the shovel until he begged for mercy. The baron told me to stop, but I pretended not to hear. When the soldiers came up to intervene, I acted like I was done, then caught them off guard and slammed another heavy blow with the shovel. Another knight of the territory, Bayern, thought the young master had gone insane. Only Javier felt something was off. From his point of view, this young master seemed to know everything about the future. Because fifteen days before the duel, that guy had suddenly asked to learn the Asrahan Core Technique. At the time, it was still an unfinished technique, and Javier had never mentioned it to anyone. When he asked how I knew, I shamelessly claimed I overheard him sleep-talking. And honestly, other than sleep-talking, there was no other explanation. What was even weirder, was that I said I could help him perfect the technique. Then, following my instructions, the breathing method that had been stuck for so long was actually completed on the spot. This was not the same scumbag young master from before. As I happily kept beating Neumann, I didn’t realize Javier was starting to suspect something. The baron, unable to watch any longer, angrily demanded I stop. Hearing this, I calmly told him to check the letters under the tablecloth of the table. Though confused, the baron looked under the tablecloth and found that there were indeed letters. The baron read them and was shocked. They were evidence of Neumann’s betrayal and secret dealings. Neumann couldn’t believe it. How could those documents have been found? He had hidden them so well. But I had read the novel, so of course I knew where they were hidden. Sending the little guy to steal them was a piece of cake. The baron was simply too kind. Anyone else, upon learning they’d been betrayed, would be demanding his head by now. I could tell he didn’t know how to handle it, “Throw a vicious mouse on his head. If it wounds him, exile him from the territory. If not, demote him to a regular soldier and give him a chance to reflect. To those around us, it seemed absurd. How could a knight be injured by a mouse? So they thought I was actually letting him off easy. Neumann thought the same, believing this was a lenient punishment. He felt no remorse at all, and the corners of his mouth even twitched into a faint smirk. In his heart, he vowed to find a chance for revenge. “You look really happy. Enjoy it, because it’ll be your last smile. Hearing this, Neumann broke into a cold sweat. At the same time, I gave a red seed to the little hamster on my shoulder. Then, I threw it into the air. “The best way to ask for forgiveness, is to remember that there is none. As the little hamster ate the red seed, its size gradually changed. Seeing this, everyone was utterly shocked. They couldn’t believe that a little creature, could grow into a monstrous size. In the next second, it falls straight toward Neumann, smashing him into paste. Well, I had never intended to spare that bastard anyway. And with that, the rotten apple was exiled from the territory. Before long, I asked the hamster to dig all over the territory. Seeing this, Javier came over and asked, “What’s going on here? I told him that it’s carving out a road. Since the once-feeble soldiers, looked like proper construction workers, I immediately got to work on a bigger plan. There was once a nation called Rome, and they were true road-building fanatics. What we’re building is what they called the Appian Way. It’s the key to this territory’s prosperity. Suddenly, Javier asked very seriously, “Master Lloyd, where did you suddenly acquire this knowledge from? You built a heating system that no one had ever heard of, and summoned a high-level creature out of nowhere. Are you really Master Lloyd? Then, the system gave me a warning: “Javier has suspicions about your identity! I started to panic. Because according to the novel, if Javier found out I was an outside presence who hijacked his lord’s son’s body, he might really draw his sword and kill me on the spot. But there’s no reason to be worried, because I have a special skill for times like these. “I learned it secretly when no one was watching. Why? Am I not allowed? “But young master, you’ve always just been a drunkard. And how do you explain the summoning magic? Even the most gifted mage can’t master it at 20 years of training. “So you can be a genius, but I can’t? I was born with a gift of summoning. What do you want me to do about it? Also, do you watch me 24 hours a day? You don’t know what I do when you’re not around, do you? Javier, not good with words, was left speechless. Seeing this, I immediately changed the subject. “If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving. I’ve got things to do. Javier had no choice but to give up. Afterward, I asked Bayern to supervise the construction of the road, since Javier and I had something important to do elsewhere. That evening, in a certain inn, a green-haired man was distressed after losing a large sum in gambling. He was the conman Tordes, who had scammed the baron’s estate out of its property. As he was wondering where to find his next gullible victim, I suddenly kicked the door open. “Who are you? “Right, you don’t know what I look like. I’m Lloyd Frontera. Does that ring any bells? Recognizing who I was, he nearly died of fright, then immediately shouted for his bodyguard to get them out of there. The scar-faced man in a black cloak grabbed him, and leapt out the window. But unbeknownst to them, I knew they would try to escape that way, and I had already arranged for Javier to be waiting outside. “Leave him here and walk away quietly. If you refuse, I will see you as a co-conspirator. “You’re so young. Do you even know how to hold a sword? The scar-faced man was a dark mage hired by Tordes. According to the novel, after Javier lost his lord, he swore revenge on the conman. But at that time, it was his first time facing a dark mage, and he was overwhelmed by powerful magic. All that, however, was what happened in the novel. Meanwhile, the scar-faced man launched an attack at Javier. Javier blocked it with his sword, but in the next second, dark magic engulfed him. Seeing this, the scar-faced man clenched his fist, ready to end the fight quickly. However, thanks to perfecting the Asrahan Core Technique early, Javier had a triple circle mana heart. This dark mage wasn’t even in the same league. The scar-faced man instantly realized the power gap, and tried to fly away without hesitation. Tordes saw Javier slowly approaching and was so terrified, that he stumbled backward. Javier was ready to cut off his legs and drag him to trial. Just as the sword was about to fall, I stepped in and stopped him. “Are you crazy? If this guy is taken to court, he’ll definitely be executed. Javier was confused. Is he seriously sympathizing with a conman? Afterward, we tied Tordes to a chair, and he trembled with fear. “Come on, there’s no need to be so scared. Everyone gets a little greedy sometimes. I can see why you made the most of your opportunity. Don’t worry, I won’t take you to court. Just hand over all of the baron’s remaining assets. Tordes thought I was going to let him off, so he immediately agreed to hand them over. However, I was just getting started. If he wanted to be fully forgiven, I asked him to sign a contract. This is a labor contract that even pays him a salary. But the contract had one little clause: Each month he’d get paid, but 80% of the salary would be deducted as repayment for the fraud. “So, after working for me for 520 years, the contract will end and you’ll be free. Tordes didn’t expect to become a lifelong labor slave. Javier quickly realized I hadn’t saved him out of sympathy. I slowly revealed a greedy smile. “This guy owes me so much money. How could I let him off easy? I am going to suck him dry for the rest of his life. Tordes still tried to protest. “What kind of insane contract is this? I simply left him with one line: “See you in court. Leaving the choice up to him. In the end, Tordes signed the contract. On our way back home, I told Javier that the funds confiscated from Tordes would serve as the startup capital for my next plan, which was to hire people. After all, relying on just the 30 soldiers from the baron’s estate wasn’t nearly enough. A few days later, the recruitment notice was posted, and to my surprise, many people came. I had assumed no one would apply because of my scumbag reputation. But Javier explained why. It turned out, because I had completed the underfloor heating contracts cheaply and on time, executed traitors in the territory, and could even use summoning magic, the residents saw me as a capable and trustworthy figure. Hearing this, I was utterly shocked, I hadn’t expected those things to attract so many people. One man even sincerely thanked me, saying his child used to catch colds from cold wind, but with underfloor heating, things had greatly improved. He then told me that he had a relative in a neighboring territory who was also interested in the underfloor project. Upon hearing this, I couldn’t help but show my wicked grin again. Looks like the first step of building my business empire was complete. I had finally made a name for myself. Losing some money on the heating project was no big deal. But as for other territories, there would be no more losing money. “Sure, they could still get underfloor heating, but they’d need to pay some extra for the travel expenses. Javier, standing beside me, finally understood why we had been losing money on the heating. But he still had one more question: Why does the road in the territory need to be built all the way to the mountain? Soon after, I brought Javier to the top of the mountain and told him, “Before long, this mountain will be completely bare, because underfloor heating consumes a huge amount of wood. These trees won’t last. Javier was shocked. “Young master, even knowing that, you still went ahead and built underfloor heating for them? I explained, “The reason I extended the road to the mountain is because there’s bituminous coal here. Once people have experienced underfloor heating, they’ll be addicted for life. And this coal is the perfect fuel for it. So they’ll have no choice but to buy it from me. Of course, residents of our own territory get a discount. But just a tiny discount. Javier was furious, “You’re shameless. Suddenly, I looked at him seriously. “Do you really think I’m shameless? If I don’t do this, how else can we pay off the territory’s debt? Javier fell silent, then reminded me, “It’s not that the baron doesn’t know there’s coal here. It’s just that previous barons tried to mine it several times, but the foundation was too unstable and kept collapsing. That’s why no one’s touched it since. Of course I knew all that. But I had modern excavation techniques. As long as I used shield tunneling, I could solve the collapse problem. “Let’s go! There’s so much for us to do. Javier was confused. He had never heard of shield tunneling. But seeing that I was no longer the same Lloyd, he chose to trust me. But what I didn’t expect was, inside the cave, there were magical beasts, creatures that didn’t exist in my original world. Thanks to recent events, my approval rating with key people and the territory residents has improved. As a result, my Relationship points had reached 639. With those points, I upgraded both Basic Design and Surveying to Intermediate. Intermediate Design allowed me to draw directly on paper, while Intermediate Surveying let me see through up to 5 meters of rock. That night, using the intermediate surveying skill, I located a safe route inside the mountain and began preparing for excavation. But Ppodong had collapsed from exhaustion after all the roadwork, and relying solely on manpower would take too long. Looks like it’s time to summon another companion. The second summon costs 70 relationship points. Sure enough, the magic circle was still tiny, and it looked exactly like PPodong’s. As the creature emerged from the magic circle, it fell to the ground. The next second, it said, ‘Bangul. It seemed that was its name. After some questioning, I learned that it could also grow massive by eating a red seed, and it’s skills perfectly solved the construction problems ahead. Before long, the mining operations officially began. Step one: Have Bangul dig soil at the front of the improvised shield tunneling machine. One of its skills, Chomping Dirt, allows it to eat through the soil. Step two: Have Javier stand ready behind her, because Bangul’s other skill could convert the soil she ate into steel and shoot it out. Step three: Let Javier cut the steel into fixed lengths. Step four: Have workers assemble those steel pieces into segments to support the foundation. At this point, Javier looked completely dead inside, A dignified knight, and here I am cutting poop-like steel underground. Just like that, a few weeks passed, and the tunnel was getting closer and closer to the bituminous coal. Suddenly, Javier reminded me, “Master Lloyd, it’s about time you went outside to rest. I told him that I was the person in charge here, so I had to stay on site. In my previous world, many leaders only knew how to talk big, but you’d never see them at the actual site. So I swore I’d never become one of those people. Using Intermediate Surveying, I saw through the rock, and the coal layer was just ahead. “We’re almost there! Push a little harder, everyone! ” I shouted to rally the workers. After thanking Bangul for making the work ten times faster, I immediately turned back at the workers and said, “Once we reach the coal layer, remove the shield tunneling machine and expand the mining space. It is still dangerous, so don’t get complacent. But before I could finish, I heard a noise coming from the other side of the soil. I immediately used the Intermediate Surveying, and saw that a hole had appeared, and it was growing larger. In the next second, a massive creature resembling an ant burst out of the dirt. Seeing this, Javier immediately drew his sword, and sliced off its mandibles in one strike. I grabbed my shovel, and smashed it down in sync. I was shocked, the novel never mentioned there’d be creatures like this in the tunnels. But the scariest part was, this ant wasn’t alone. They live in colonies and were swarming in. I shouted for everyone to evacuate, and Javier raised his sword to block the entrance. But there were too many of them, and with the limited oxygen in the tunnel, he couldn’t last long. Since arriving in this world, this was the first time I truly panicked. “Master Lloyd, get a grip. Don’t panic. That slap snapped me out of it, and I suddenly had an idea. After grabbing a torch, I immediately told Javier that we were going to break through the front and go into the ant nest. Javier thought the decision was insane, but followed through anyway. He trusted that there must be a reason for it. Meanwhile, the baron also received news, and without hesitation, he donned his armor and set out for the mine with his soldiers. Back in the tunnels, we were now deep inside the ant nest and completely surrounded. I noticed Javier was approaching his limit. And at that moment, I finally found what I was looking for, which is the methane layer. “Javier, I’ll dig here. You keep chopping the ants! ” I shouted, then went full speed into the ground. Suddenly, a piercing screech echoed from within. When we looked up, we saw that it was the ant queen. And it was huge. “Javier, can you hold it off? He immediately replied that he couldn’t. But even if he couldn’t, he had no choice but to try. Javier channeled all his magic, and clashed head-on with the ant queen. His hands went numb from the shock, but he still managed to deflect the queen’s attack. I seized the opportunity and kept digging non-stop. Finally, at the critical moment, I struck the methane layer. I immediately told Javier to run toward the tunnel entrance. Soon after, we saw the small tunnel we had come through. As soon as we jumped out, I immediately turned around, and threw a torch into the ant nest. It hits the head of the ant queen, and bounces toward its back. While the ant queen tried to get through the small tunnel, the methane gas had already spread throughout the ant nest. In the next second, a deafening explosion erupted. At that crucial moment, Javier had taken the brunt of the explosion to protect me. The baron, who had just arrived outside, heard the sound from within. He wanted to rush inside to help me, but was stopped by one of the soldiers. Meanwhile, as the dust cleared, I looked toward the ant tunnel. It seemed the plan had worked. But Javier had fallen unconscious from shielding me. Even Bangul was knocked out by the shockwave of the explosion. What was worse, the tunnel exit had been blocked by the blast. If we don’t dig our way out quickly, we will all die from lack of oxygen. From the look of it, we’d need to dig at least 15 feet. But the oxygen supply here was already nearly gone. At that moment, Javier vaguely saw that I hadn’t given up yet. Then he completely lost consciousness. Suddenly, “Javier is touched by your determination not to give up. Your approval rating by Javier increased by 6. You earned 108 relationship points, and you now have 157 Relationship points. Sure enough, there’s always a way out. As the remaining oxygen keeps depleting, I asked the system to search for a skill I can upgrade. In an instant, it began searching through my knowledge. In the end, I concluded that the only sliver of hope lay in enhancing the Asrahan Core Technique. I used up all my Relationship points to upgrade it. At last, I pushed the technique to a double circle level. Now, mana amplification rate has reached 200%, and I gained two new skills: The Energizer, and the latent power surge. Immediately after, I instantly activated Energizer, a skill that lets me act tirelessly for 10 minutes. For those 10 minutes, I had only one thought in mind: Dig. Keep digging. But when the effect wore off, there were still 3 meters left to go before reaching breathable air. And I couldn’t give up. I used my final skill: Latent Power Surge. Whether I could create a miracle would depend on these last 20 seconds. I grabbed my shovel and kept digging with all my strength. Even though I gave it everything I had, there were still 30 centimeters to go, and I had run out of oxygen. At that moment, there really was nothing else I could do. I had wanted to enjoy the sweet life of a noble’s son, but now it seemed that chance was gone. Suddenly, I faintly heard something ahead. I looked up, and saw it was Ppodong bursting through the earth, followed by a rush of precious, life-saving oxygen. After inhaling the oxygen, I struggled to stand up. I couldn’t give up now. After all, the life of a noble’s son still awaited me ahead. Soon after, relying only on my fading consciousness, I slowly carried Javier out of the mine. Meanwhile, the baron and his men were exploring deeper into the tunnel. The moment I saw them, my body immediately relaxed, and I passed out. When I woke up again, several days had passed. As soon as I opened my eyes, “All of Baron Frontera’s subjects were deeply moved by your heroic courage and send their praises. For this great achievement, you have been awarded a large amount of bonus relationship points. You currently have 507 relationship points. I was still a little tired, but when I saw the reward, the corners of my mouth lifted instinctively. “500 Relationship points, that was a huge win! After resting, I went back to the mine to check on the ant nest and see how construction was going. Because of the ant beast incident, the workers now looked at me with expressions of pure admiration. Even I felt uncomfortable from it. At that moment, “Why do you insist on personally doing such dangerous work? You could just have the workers do it. He was genuinely confused. Was I really doing it because I cared about their safety? I told him, “As the person in charge, I should be the one to shoulder the risk. This way, even if I earn the most, no one can complain. Javier was speechless. He really couldn’t figure out whether this guy in front of him was good or bad. Suddenly, I used the intermediate surveying and saw something behind the soil. Without hesitation, I started digging. After all, there was a high chance it could be ant eggs. But when I broke through and saw what was behind the dirt, I was completely stunned. Because it was an Orc, bound and tied up. Just then, “Jackpot! What an amazing new item. Afterward, I immediately brought him back to the territory. After questioning him, I learned that he was the son of the Orc chief. Arosh said he would never forget the favor of saving his life. If there was anything I needed, he’d do his best to help. Hearing that, I grinned, “Well then, let me borrow 120 Orcs to work at the mine. However, Arosh firmly refused. He explained that all Orcs are warriors, and warriors only take orders from warriors. Since I wasn’t one, even if he lent them to me, I couldn’t command them. Hearing this, I thought to myself, “So that’s how it works. I then found out that their coming-of-age ceremony involves bringing back an ant beast’s head. Arosh had accidentally ventured deep into the ant nest and was paralyzed by venom, which was why he got trapped. So now, it was time to begin my brainwashing campaign. “Congratulations to you Arosh on successfully completing your coming-of-age ceremony! Look at this giant ant queen’s head. We caught it together. The scene was terrifying. When I entered the ant nest, I saw a young Orc battling the queen. It was you who fought the ant queen for days. That’s how I was able to easily finish off the exhausted beast. So technically, that wild ant, was caught by both of us. “Then, Arosh is a mighty warrior. What does that make me? Completely confused by my logic, Arosh immediately responded, “You’re a mighty warrior too! “And what about the 120 Orc workers? “You’re a mighty warrior, so you can borrow them! Soon after, we followed Arosh back to the Village of the Sand and Steel tribe of Wild Orcs, but was told by the chieftain that my request couldn’t be fulfilled for now. Hearing this, I was speechless. “Why did they change their minds again? Turns out the Sand and Steel Orcs needed to consume a massive amount of meat daily to build muscle. And since they had no way to preserve meat, anything hunted had to be eaten right away. Otherwise, it would spoil after just a day. So they had to rotate large hunting teams around the clock, meaning they had no extra manpower to lend me. But I was determined to get those 120 Orc workers, because if I could secure that kind of brute labor, the territory’s productivity would multiply by hundreds. Moreover, when we first arrived at the village, I saw that their training equipment was made from treasures humans would die for. I was stunned. It felt like such a waste of precious resources. So, to secure both the workers and the gold and treasure, I confidently promised the chieftain that I could create storage facilities that would keep meat fresh for a long time. In the end, I made a contract with the chieftain. I’d build stone ice vaults for food preservation, and they’d pay me using their current exercise equipment. However, I’d also give them stone-based replacements in return. To build the stone ice vaults, I needed granite, which is extremely hard. Javier, standing beside me, was puzzled. How were we supposed to break such tough rock? Suddenly, I gave him a mischievous grin. And Javier, seeing that expression, instantly knew he was about to be used. It turns out, while this world didn’t have explosives, Javier was basically a walking human bomb detonator. One of the main storylines in the novel Knight of Blood involved an entire city trapped by a powerful, evil magical barrier, with thousands of citizens inside having their mana drained. Javier could only watch helplessly from the outside. To save them, he tried over and over to break through the barrier, and it was during this time that he unknowingly created his ultimate technique: Mana Blast. In a key moment, he shattered the barrier and rescued everyone inside. Since I had read the novel, of course I knew how he came to master the skill. So, shamelessly, I told him the technique’s underlying principle. He demanded, “Where did you learn something like that? I put on my most innocent, wide-eyed face and said, “I figured it out myself. Look at my eyes, do they look like they’re lying? Javier said my gaze was incredibly irritating and full of lies. Realizing I couldn’t fool him, I quickly changed the subject. “Just give it a try. If it works, your swordsmanship evolves. If it doesn’t, you’ve got nothing to lose. Reluctantly, Javier followed my instructions and stood before the granite. He encased one of the magic circle to protect his Mana Heart Skill, then used the remaining circles to crash together. Plunging his sword into the granite. The next moment, mana erupted, and a deafening explosion rang out. I stood there in awe. This guy really pulled it off on the first try. As expected of a novel’s protagonist. Javier slowly emerged from the smoke, his clothes completely shredded, and his hair now looked like it had gotten a full ionic perm. He walked up and demanded, “Did you ever consider that this might happen? I immediately held back my laughter and waved my hand, saying no. Then the mighty Sword Master Javier started muttering, “You know I’m a knight. I learned swordsmanship to protect my lord, not to work on construction sites. I told him there was no need to thank me. Javier glanced back and replied that he had absolutely no intention of thanking me. But the system chimed in: “Javier is grateful for you teaching him. Your approval rating has increased by 3. You earned 54 relationship points for improving your relationship with a key character. Your current relationship points is 561. With Javier’s mana blast, the construction progress sped up dramatically. I had the giant Ppodong shape the shattered granite in its mouth. As for transporting the molded granite, the Orcs, full of endless energy, came over and handled everything themselves. After all, this was the perfect chance to train their muscles. I just leisurely sat on the side, fanning myself the whole time. Next, all we needed were ice blocks and insulation materials. But the five people I had sent to collect insulation materials had been gone for three weeks. Normally, that was more than enough time for a round trip. So either the soldiers were slacking off, Or something had gone wrong on the road. I stood up, ready to go look for them. Javier stepped in to stop me, saying he’d handle the task alone. Even though he didn’t know what had happened, It was too dangerous to let the territory heir go personally. But I told him seriously: “How many times do I have to tell you? I am the man in charge, and I am responsible for all my workers. In the end, Javier and I set off together to search. On the way, I found our territory’s specialty gloves and the straw meant for insulation, but there was no trace of our people nearby. Suddenly, Javier sensed something was off with the flow of mana in the canyon ahead. Hearing the name of the canyon, I felt a surge of dread. I immediately told Javier to follow me quickly, because if we don’t hurry, those five soldiers might already be dead. Soon after, we arrived at a mountain cave. This was the very place Javier raided in the early chapters of the novel. The hideout of the dark mage Luppellan. I thought to myself: This guy dares lay a hand on my soldiers? He’s infringing on my private property. Even if he dies for it, it still wouldn’t be enough. Suddenly, Javier stepped forward, eager to rush into the cave. I was just about to warn him, but it was too late. Luckily, I moved fast and yanked him back. The next second, an explosion erupted. The cave had been filled with magical traps by the dark mage. “Mr. Javier, you’re a knight, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you have considered that this place might be trapped? Then, I told him to enhance his sensitivity to the flow of mana in this area. Normally, the concentration of mana in the air is stable, so a trap’s location should stand out. In the novel, Javier triggered the first trap just like that. After that, he used this method to bypass the remaining traps, and barely made it into the dungeon, covered in wounds. At that moment, Javier led the way, and I followed behind. But I failed to notice that Javier’s suspicion toward me was growing deeper. He was now convinced that the man behind him knew exactly what was happening, and what was going to happen. Yet he couldn’t sense any special power coming from me at all. Thankfully, Javier set aside his suspicions and focused on rescuing the soldiers. Meanwhile, inside the cave, the dark mage Luppellan was preparing to sacrifice the five people he had captured. “A pentacle connected to the underworld, a sickle soaked in blood for 100 days, and a young human. It’s perfect. At that critical moment, a voice interrupted him. “You little bastard, stop touching my private property! Are you tired of living? The man couldn’t believe someone had actually broken in here. He had clearly set hundreds of traps outside. Immediately, he activated his magic, dropped the steel gates, and released a large amount of sleeping gas. Although surprised, he thought that getting two extra sacrifices wasn’t bad either. But I wasn’t worried at all. I held my breath, activated the skill Energizer, and began digging down. As for Javier, there was no need to worry about the gas, because he was immune to all sedatives. What I didn’t notice was that Javier, watching me dig, thought I looked like a mole, and secretly decided to use that to make fun of me later. Once I had dug far enough, I called Javier over and told him to use his new skill mana blast to blast open the passage. Immediately after, a loud boom rang out, and Luppellan staggered back in shock and fell to the ground. Then, he saw a hand slowly reach out from the tunnel. “Hi there. First time seeing someone enter like this? Enraged, Luppellan cast a summoning spell. The next second, a massive two-faced ogre emerged from a magic circle. It was a failed byproduct of his resurrection spell, with skin as hard as steel. I quickly warned Javier, “This one might be a bit tricky to handle. But before I could finish, Javier leapt up and unleashed a Mana Blast Slash in midair! He split the steel-skinned ogre clean in half. I stood there confused. That move wasn’t even in the novel. At that point, Luppellan was completely terrified. He knew he was finished. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t beat the two of us. “Hey, you kidnapped my soldiers and delayed my construction project for weeks. So tell me, how are you going to compensate me? Luppellan dropped to his knees, begging for mercy. He said his hideout was full of expensive magical items, and if I wanted, I could take them all. I grinned mischievously. “Then everything here is mine from now on, right? Javier checked the five kidnapped soldiers and said they were just exhausted. There was no immediate danger. I asked Luppellan why he kidnapped so many people. He told me he was researching how to bring back the dead. It turns out he used to be a mage in the lord’s capital. He lived a peaceful and happy life with his family, until the former lord stole his wife and murdered his son. Hearing that, I cut him off. “No need to say another word. So, just because you wanted to bring your wife and child back to life, you think it’s okay to kill hundreds of innocent people? Just because you’re pitiful, you think it’s fine to destroy other people’s families and happiness? No matter how you justify it, your nature won’t change. You’ve completely ruined people who once lived as happily as you did. You are a serial murderer. After saying that, I stood up. “If you ever harm others again, I won’t spare you. In the novel, Javier spared Luppellan. But that guy went on to harm hundreds more, modified himself, and became a persistent antagonist who kept clashing with Javier. Even knowing that, I still turned and walked away. Because I knew this guy would never change. He would definitely try to sneak attack. “I told you I won’t spare you now, didn’t I? In the next second, Javier instantly turned, drew his sword, and sliced off Luppellan’s head with a single swing. Back in my original world, there was an old man at the construction site who always picked on me over tiny mistakes. Every time he insulted and bullied me, I endured it. I thought patience would bring long-term peace. But he took me for an easy target. Each time, he got worse. I tried to hold myself back, thinking that if I blew up now, things would only get worse. In the end, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I punched him again, and again. Even as I was beating him to a pulp, I was thinking, “I’m screwed. After that, he never dared mess with me again. I finally had peace. So, there are clearly times when violence must be stopped with violence. When dealing with bad people, you have to punish them like bad people. After everything was settled, I led the five rescued soldiers and the insulation materials back to the Orc tribe. Seeing how weak they were, I ordered them to hand me their backpacks, saying, “If you pass out, I have to carry both you and your bags. Now hand it to me. They never expected the territory heir to carry their gear, and they were moved to tears on the spot. Seeing this, Javier can’t tell if I’m just trying to avoid the hassle of carrying extra weight, or if I’m actually worried about them. But to these men, it doesn’t matter right now. For them, master Lloyd is a leader they can trust and follow. Suddenly, “The rescued soldiers have been deeply moved by your actions. Through their words, this moving episode will soon spread far and wide. Wasn’t this a rewarding experience? I stared blankly at the message. I thought I’d get some relationship points from that, but a rewarding experience? That doesn’t translate to money, so I don’t care. Back in the Orc tribe, the stone ice vault was already complete. Now we had the insulation materials. All that remained was the ice. Javier asked, puzzled, “In this scorching wilderness, where are you going to get ice? The truth was, I had no idea. Javier’s eyes widened in shock. He could tell from my expression that I really had no plan. Then he confronted me: “You signed the contract with them before even figuring this out? Were you planning to scam them? I asked him, “Do you know what unsuccessful people have in common? ‘I can’t do that because of this…’, ‘because of this reason and that reason, let’s not do this. ‘ They find a million reasons not to do something without even trying. But successful people take action first, then figure things out later. Now that is innovation! That is the mind of an entrepreneur! But Javier didn’t agree. He thought that if that were true, there should be a thousand times more failures than successes. That evening, I climbed the mountain to figure out how to make ice. In this world, there’s magic that can freeze things. And natural elements have their own magical properties. Manipulating fire-element mana to condense. That’s fire magic. Suddenly, an idea struck me. The next day, I finished making the mold for the ice blocks. Then I had Ppodong and Bangul pour the transported water into the mold. After that, I plunged my hand into the water to sense it, and used the unique trait of the Asrahan Core Technique, which could absorb external mana. So if I extracted the warm-energy mana from the water, then what would remain in the water would be only the cold-energy mana. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. A few days later, I finally succeeded. And the truly food-preserving stone ice vault was complete! Arosh and his father were thrilled, because this meant they didn’t have to go hunting every day, and they wouldn’t have to worry about leftover meat spoiling anymore. I smugly looked at Javier. “That’s the mind of an entrepreneur! Javier sighed and admitted that he accepted it. Just like that, I fulfilled the contract and successfully secured 120 Orcs. Their chief, Akush, formally expressed his gratitude. They didn’t believe that signing a contract meant everything should be taken for granted, From this moment on, the Sand and Steel tribe would form a blood pact with my territory! My friends would be their friends. My enemies would be their enemies. And whenever my territory faced danger, they would rush to help without hesitation! At that moment, “The tribe has opened up! The orc tribe has accepted you as a true friend. The Orcs’ approval rating of you has risen, increasing your relationship points. Special bonus of 100 relationship points for helping the tribe open up. You currently have 611 relationship points. With that, I led the 120 Orcs back to the territory. The moment we arrived, the townspeople were terrified. After all, the sudden arrival of 120 musclebound orcs in the town was quite intimidating. Even the baron, who knew why I went to see the orc tribe, was frozen in fear when he saw them in person. On top of that, there was an unexpected bonus. Word had spread across the land about how I’d defeated the dark sorcerer and rescued the soldiers. People were praising my valiance and courage. As a result, I received 300 bonus relationship points for the special achievement. Back at the estate, I searched through Luppellan’s magical items and stumbled upon a book. Suddenly, I was completely stunned. Without delay, I rushed to the mine. There, I found my ‘employee’ Tordes. “There you are! I have some good news. Do you remember the part of our contract about working for 520 years? If you think about it, that was ridiculous, right? But now you don’t have to worry anymore. Here, there’s a spell that can turn a corpse into a ghoul I can control. That means you can work the whole 520 years! Isn’t that exciting? Tordes didn’t respond, so I asked him if I was the only one excited about it and ordered him to smile. The next second, he was moved to tears. “Keep up the great work. You can do it! At that moment, “The rulers of the underworld is impressed by you and would like to offer you a position. After giving Tordes that warm “greeting, ” I returned to the lord’s manor to discuss something with the baron. But from a maid, I learned that the baron was currently receiving guests. Upon hearing that it was the two debt collectors demanding payment, I instantly got excited again. At that moment, the two were pressuring the baron to mortgage the mining rights. They claimed that if he agreed, they’d accept repayment of just 10% of the principal for now. Suddenly, I made a dazzling entrance. “It’s been a while, gentlemen! How have you been lately? I overheard your generous offer outside, So I’d like to propose a little offer of my own, if I may? After showing that they have a warrant this time, the fat one grumbled impatiently, he had no interest in hearing any kind of bullshit proposal. But then, the fierce Orc Arosh stomped into the room! The two who had never seen an Orc before, were instantly scared out of their wits! Arosh glared at them coldly. “Anyone who causes trouble for the Fronteras will be destroyed with the full force of the Sand and Steel tribe. I chuckled and told Arosh it was fine, then turned back to the two debt collectors, who were now frozen in fear. “Don’t mind my friend here. Now, would you like to reconsider my offer? We’ll repay the debt little by little, So we ask you to reduce the future interest rates. If you refuse, my friend here might get very upset. And if he does something impulsive, I might not be able to stop him. In the end, the two of them accepted the deal. Then fled the manor in terror. Afterward, I told the baron that the underfloor heating project was gradually expanding and the coal mining was progressing smoothly, so the debt should be repaid soon. But now there’s a big problem. The Orcs eat ten times as much as normal people. The cost of feeding them is huge, so if this continues, we might fall deeper into debt. However, there’s no need to worry too much, because the work efficiency of Orcs is a hundred times that of humans. For example, this Orc has been working for 24 hours straight. Upon hearing that, I immediately had him dragged back to rest. Even so, he didn’t want to rest. He was obsessed with training and building bigger muscles. The best part is, these Orcs don’t even want a salary. They just need to be fed! To any employer, they’re the perfect workers. But at this stage, the food expenses for the Orcs are still quite high. So I told the baron that we need to increase tax revenue, and use that money to buy meat for the Orcs. Considering the future profits from the coal mine, this is definitely not a losing trade. But the baron said that the residents already had poor living conditions, and raising taxes would only make things worse for their struggling families. I told him that we’re not going to raise the tax rate indiscriminately. We’re going to help the residents earn more money, and the tax revenue will increase naturally. So I plan to turn the Maritz Wetlands in the north into farmland. Then distribute the farmland to the residents! Let them farm to their hearts’ content, earn a lot of money, and then pay more taxes. After that, Javier and I headed to the Maritz Wetlands. “This land has been abandoned for hundreds of years. How could anyone possibly farm here? “I have a plan, just you wait. To be honest, I still don’t have a concrete plan. But as always, first make the bold claim. Then figure out a way to make it happen. That’s the spirit of entrepreneurship! That night, I found an open space, and began simulating farmland designs. I had to come up with a structure that could completely drain water even when it rains. And so, I began working day and night on simulations, sometimes even forgetting to eat or rest. The baron was worried about me, but even so, he did not want to stop me. “As if by miracle, he’s become a different man, working hard for the sake of the territory. I may not be able to help him, but I do not want to be an obstacle. Javier said that it is a wise decision, for the current master Lloyd is the type of person who never gives up until he keeps his word. At that moment, a system notification rang. “Baron Frontera’s Approval rating of you has increased. You have received 20 relationship points. Your current relationship points is 931. Finally, on the 30th day, the plan was completed! The water could now be drained smoothly, and if the water could be drained, that meant taxes could be increased too. I was getting closer and closer to that luxurious noble retirement life! Immediately after, I collapsed to the ground. My body was exhausted, but it was nothing compared to staying up all night doing part-time work. Suddenly, “Your efforts have had a major impact on the special skill ‘Architectural Design. ‘ You have unlocked a new skill. The new skill I unlocked was Simulation Mode, the third option in the design skill. With this skill, I can now operate and simulate within a virtual space based on measured data. I immediately cursed, “Why didn’t you bring out something this good earlier? You made me suffer for a whole month for nothing! But now’s not the time to argue with the system, I had more important things to do. Because I was preparing to summon my third partner. After all, the first step in developing the Maritz Wetlands was to drain all the water out of it. Sure, I could ask the giant Ppodong and Bangul to slowly drink it, but that’d still be a bit too much. So I decided to spend all my remaining Relationship points to summon as many as possible! This time, the summon costs 100 Relationship Points. It Looks like the Relationship Points cost increases by 1. 5 times each turn. I wasn’t hoping for a creature with any special skills. I just needed one like Ppodong and Bangul, who can grow large enough to carry the water. Just then, it shot out from the magic circle, and hit me directly in the face, causing a nosebleed. This time, I drew a Hamangpotamus, and it’s name was Hamang. Seeing this, Ppodong and Bangul happily greeted Hamang. I interrupted them and asked for its instruction manual. Without hesitation, Hamang spat it out. By now, I’ve gotten used to creatures spitting manuals like this. However, after reading its instruction manual, I was a bit disappointed. It couldn’t grow bigger with a red seed. Although the manual said it could drink water, and could even spit the water back out, how much could such a tiny thing possibly drink? And then, the next second, it began drinking the water in the wetlands, and the more it drank, the bigger it grew. In a single gulp, Hamang drank the entire wetlands dry! Seeing this, I exclaimed, “Hamang, how can you drink so much when you’re so small? With Hamang around, the marshland transformation project became much easier. As Hamang drank up all the water in the marsh, I had workers begin clearing the exposed weeds. Then, Javier used mana blast to punch holes in the ground, inserted bamboo poles into them, and filled the space around the poles with sand to form sand piles. Next, Ppodong rolled around to compact the foundation. Once the moisture deep in the ground was collected into the bamboo straws, Hamang drank all of it in one gulp. Finally, I had workers build the embankments. All of this came from the refined plan I designed using the Simulation Mode Skill. And just like that, ten days later, we finally completed the first phase of farmland transformation in Maritz Wetlands! I loudly encouraged the workers below: “We still have a long, hard road ahead, But once the entire project is done, bonuses will be handed out! So let’s keep pushing forward! Meanwhile, Javier looked out over the area, and couldn’t believe that the land abandoned for hundreds of years was actually becoming usable farmland. What surprised him even more was how naturally he had started working alongside us. He was just thinking he should resist next time, when I suddenly shouted: “Javier! Go plant these seeds in that field over there. Planting them will drive away pests and protect the territory. Helpless, he went off obediently to water and sow the seeds. At that moment, the baron and his wife came over and said, “He’s really turning these wetlands into farmland. Not only I, but the people of this area must be thinking the same thing. That this is a miracle. At the same time, a system notification rang. “Everyone in the Frontera Barony feels deep awe and respect for the miracle you have performed. For this great achievement, you have been awarded a large amount of bonus Relationship Points. You received 450 relationship points. Your current relationship points is 1, 281. Months passed, the seeds Javier had carefully watered every day had sprouted, and a sense of satisfaction grew in his heart. I said from the side, “Once we install the waterwheels, the Maritz Wetlands transformation will truly be complete! It is something to remove the water when the rains come. Otherwise, all the land we reclaimed will be underwater. Just as I was thinking the craftsmen for the waterwheels should be arriving soon, we saw a group of uninvited guests approaching in the distance. It was the viscount of the northern Maritz Wetlands territory, Viscount Lacona. His lackey spoke up first: “Who’s in charge of this project? Don’t you know this land belongs to Viscount Lacona? I order you all to vacate immediately! Although the Maritz Wetlands had been abandoned for hundreds of years, administratively, it was indeed split in half. The northern part belonged to Viscount Lacona’s domain. It was obvious. He waited until the wetlands were fully reclaimed before pretending to assert land ownership, trying to snatch up this fertile land without lifting a finger. But having read the novel, how could I not expect this? According to Article 321 of the Kingdom’s Land Act, Clause 1, Aim. The aim of the law regards the development of long-standing barren land, and the establishment of ownership of the reclaimed land. Clause 2, Definition. Barren Land is land that has been abandoned for over 100 years, without any residential or cultivation activities transpiring on the land. Clause 3, Ownership. Any and all land that meets the requirements listed below will be recognized as belonging to the developer of the barren land. First, the land must be developed with a clear purpose, using capital and manpower. Second, the land must be capable of supporting human habitation. Third, the land must be suitable for long-term agricultural activity. And fourth, the land must have yielded at least one harvest of a crop variety specified by law. After saying that, I casually pulled an onion from the ground. At that moment, Viscount Lacona was completely speechless. No matter how furious he was, there was absolutely nothing he could do now. Javier stood in stunned amazement beside me. He thought, “So the seeds planted earlier were to drive away this pest Viscount Lacona! I grinned and mocked Lacona, “Look at that, at your first visit, and you brought so many people along to witness Maritz Wetlands’ first harvest. I really don’t know how to thank you. This time, I won’t charge you a spectator’s fee. Here, take this onion as a gift. So now, would you kindly get off my land? Lacona was already fuming with rage, but all he could do was leave in humiliation. As soon as he left, the residents working the fields erupted in thunderous cheers. Hearing their cheers, I immediately turned around and pulled a dramatic face: “Am I paying you to cheer for me? Get back to work! With summer over, fall came and brought heavy rains. I installed and tested the water wheel. I’ve run hundreds of simulations, but there’s no room for complacency. I stayed to make sure everything ran smoothly until the very end. Once I saw it was successful, the entire project came to a close. Then, the system prompted. “Monumental achievement in construction! You have left an indelible mark in the history of civil engineering on the Lorasia Continent. As a reward, you have received a large amount of skill experience. Both Surveying and Design skills upgraded by two levels. At the same time, everyone’s approval rating rose significantly. Next, it was time to enter the next phase. Meanwhile, Viscount Lacona was grinding his teeth in jealousy. Seeing Martiz Wetlands turned into fertile land made his blood boil, since technically, half of that land had once belonged to him. So, he started brewing a sinister scheme. A few days later, I woke up with a splitting headache. Even Javier was experiencing the same symptoms. Immediately, I sensed something was wrong. I stepped outside to ask around, and found that every household in the territory was suffering from headaches. From the cattle rancher, I learned the cows had stopped drinking water since yesterday. Right away, I suspected the problem was with the water source! Although I’d read most of the novel’s info about this world, ever since the ant beast incident, I realized this world held events not recorded in the story. For example, after investigation, I found out that the main source of income for Lacona’s territory was a mysterious dyeing technology. Their land produced a special fruit used for dyeing called the Ladona berry. At that moment, I gritted my teeth, “That Lacona bastard! Meanwhile, Lacona’s lackey was negotiating with the baron. As expected, it was their discharge of fuel wastewater that polluted the water source. Now they were here demanding the baron hand over half of the Maritz Wetlands. “If you refuse, we’ll just keep dumping wastewater. They weren’t even afraid of legal consequences, because a lawsuit usually takes at least two years to reach a verdict. The lackey arrogantly said, “You’re already tight on money, now you’re short on water, and you’ll still need to pay for a lawsuit. Can you even last two years? Well then, I look forward to your wise decision. Furious, the baron snapped, “I won’t hand over a single inch of land my son and the people worked so hard to reclaim! At that moment, I made my grand entrance from outside the door, and gave the lackey a surprise opening smack! Enraged, the lackey shouted that he would stake his honor as a knight and challenge me to a duel. I accepted. After all, I’d been looking for someone to vent my anger on anyway. I gave him a beating that left him begging on his knees. “Enough. Please, stop hitting me. “Fine, I’m satisfied. But this is for treating the Baron with disrespect! Meanwhile, the baron shouted that the duel was over and that I must stop, but his face said otherwise. Bruised and battered, the lackey returned to report what had happened. But Viscount Lacona simply said, “Good work. You did very well. Because now they could frame the incident as a violent outburst from a brutish noble, which would help them drag out the legal process even longer. But I wasn’t worried in the slightest, because I already had a plan in mind. “We, the Frontera Barony, will never do something so wasteful! We will blow them out of the water by our means. We worked this land with our blood, sweat, and tears. Let us protect it from the evil of greed! After constructing a large reservoir, I had Hamang transport clean, unpolluted water into it. Next, it was time to start building the water supply system. I was going to dig a canal from Lake Kapua in the eastern mountains all the way to our territory. A few months later, Viscount Lacona flew into a rage, demanding to know what I had done! I calmly answered his question: “Your waste discharge polluted our territory’s water supply, so we had no choice but to divert water from the distant Lake Kapua. In the process, I dug a channel all the way from Lake Kapua to our land. My workers really suffered a lot because of this. Anxious and impatient, Viscount Lacona snapped, “Enough nonsense! I’m asking what you did to my dye workshop! I smirked, “See, that’s your problem, you’re too impatient. Let me finish. On the way, we encountered a large ravine. With no other options, we built an aqueduct bridge. To gather the limestone needed for construction, we had to blast it. But some of the limestone accidentally scattered into the river at the bottom of the ravine, and we ended up exposing all the limestone bedrock as well. Lacona shouted furiously, “What does any of that have to do with my dye workshop? I grinned mischievously and said, “That stream happens to be the water source for your workshop. And the lime content in the water dyed all your fabric to crap. Lacona instantly flew into a rage. “I’m going to sue you in the noble court! “Go ahead! Weren’t you the one who said the court takes two years to reach a verdict? But I wonder if by then, anyone will still remember your products. With that, Lacona finally panicked. After all, the dye workshop was the only pillar industry in his territory. At this moment, I stood up. “Now that your doubts have been cleared, I’ll be taking my leave. Lacona roared in impotent fury, “I have connections in the royal court! I swear, I’ll make you pay double for my losses! I couldn’t be bothered to respond and just waved my hand casually as I walked away. On our way home, Javier looked at me in confusion. “Why provoke him like that? If he really entangles you in a legal battle, wouldn’t it cost even more? I smiled mysteriously. “Let’s just wait and see who suffers more in the end. Sure enough, one month later, Lacona came personally, kneeling on the ground to beg for mercy. He let go of his dignity and pleaded with me to save his dye workshop. “If this continues, my entire territory might go bankrupt. I grinned wickedly, and pulled out a contract I had prepared in advance. “Just sign this, and we will start supplying water for your workshop. Lacona read through the contract, and instantly turned to stone. This wasn’t a contract. It was clearly a slave pact! It demanded an outrageous amount of money just to be supplied with water, and it didn’t even have an expiration date. Even if he died, his descendants would still be squeezed dry. How could I let him off with just a little suffering? If everything could be turned into money, I’d drain even the blood vessels in his body for profit, squeezing every last drop of value out of him! After Lacona signed the contract, I immediately brought it to the baron. He could hardly believe that we’d be receiving a large sum every month. With this money, we can pay off our debts and still have money to spare. I just smiled and clapped my hands, saying the Viscount was surprisingly generous. Javier, behind me, stayed silent. He knew the Viscount started this fight, and that I brought good results to our people and the baron. But with a contract like that, it seems like I was the devil. At that moment, the baron told me that Count Cremo had heard about the old, beat-up treasure I received from the Orc tribe, and that he wanted to purchase it for a handsome price. Hearing this, I was confused. Count Cremo could easily afford brand-new treasures, so why would he be interested in something old? The baron didn’t know the full details either, but said that Count Cremo mentioned wanting to build a statue. After finishing building the waterworks and wrapping up that incident, we immediately departed for the trade city, Cremo. Since I had built the first waterworks on this continent, I had now become a famous engineer, and received a bonus of 600 relationship points, making my current relationship points 2,
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275. The journey to Cremo was long, and winter was fast approaching as we drew near. So it took us until mid-winter to finally reach Cremo. When we arrived, Count Cremo welcomed us very enthusiastically. However, as soon as we met, he completely ignored me and walked straight toward Javier. It turned out he thought Javier was the architect. Just as I was about to speak up, Cremo suddenly turned around and shouted, “How dare you, a mere servant, dare to interrupt a conversation between nobles? At that moment, “Haha, servant face. Embarrassed beyond belief, I just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Once he understood the situation, Cremo laughed and apologized, saying he had been too rude. Meanwhile, Javier was standing behind me, barely containing his laughter. I looked completely dead inside. Then, the system prompted, “It is my face that is at fault. I sighed and said to the system, “If I could, I would beat you right up. But then Cremo dropped another bomb on me that dealt a heavy emotional blow. “But seriously, how did you end up with such a servant-looking face? Right then, I really wanted to punch him in the face! But this Count Cremo was also an important character in the novel. When Javier becomes a wanted criminal after beheading the two debt collectors. He goes into hiding and is eventually arrested by Count Cremo. But the count can see Javier’s character and integrity from just a few words with him, and ends up providing a lot of support to him in many ways. Just then, Count Cremo revealed the dilemma they were facing. In recent years, the trade volume of their territory had been steadily declining. Starting a few years ago, a giant beast called the “Giga Titan” began frequently appearing in the waters near the port. Although it hadn’t attacked passing ships, its enormous figure alone was enough to terrify people. Hearing this, I immediately recalled the contents of the novel. The book mentioned that Cremo’s territory gradually declined because they couldn’t eliminate this sea monster, leading the trade-dependent port to fall into decline. But the novel never explained exactly how the problem was solved. Count Cremo seriously said, “I’ve consulted countless documents, trying to find a way to drive it away. In the end, I discovered that the mightiest warrior of the sea, the mermaid, is actually the creature the Giga Titan fears the most. So, “To build a giant mermaid statue in the sea. That way, if the Giga Titan sees it, it might be so scared that it runs away! But he ultimately abandoned this plan, “If I fill in part of the sea to build a statue, it would make the sea shallower and block ships from entering the port. After hearing this, I completely understood the current situation. So, “I can build this statue for you. And it won’t affect the water depth of the shipping route! “Because for me, this isn’t difficult at all! As long as we combine the technologies of “anti-slide piles” and “caissons, ” we can build a stable foundation in the water! After the order was confirmed, I immediately took Javier and set out to sea. Standing on the deck, I took a deep breath, and lowered my head into the water. Then, using my surveying skill, I conduct underwater measurements. However, I forgot that It’s winter. The icy seawater almost knocked me out cold! Javier saw how miserable I looked and quietly showed a smirk. I angrily said to him, “Why do you look so damn happy? Javier chuckled, “It’s my first time feeling so happy watching someone else suffer. But he still couldn’t imagine how to build a perfectly vertical foundation underwater. “Unless you plan to use magic? I responded confidently with a grin, “Maybe it is magic. A type of magic called ‘cement. After finishing the measurements, we came ashore. Suddenly, a blonde beauty called out to me. Seeing her, I couldn’t help but blush. Could it be my romance arc is finally starting? Her name was Christine, and she was here to deliver a love letter. However, it was for Javier next to me. Javier sighed, took the letter, and naturally slipped it into his pocket. Seeing him accept the letter, Christine immediately ran off in embarrassment. At that moment, I couldn’t help but call out to Javier. “Wait a second! You bastard! Your indifferent attitude is seriously pissing me off! What was with how naturally you accepted that love letter and slipped it into your pocket? Javier looked genuinely surprised after hearing this. “Have you… never received a love letter before? At that moment, a single tear unconsciously slid down the corner of my eye. But the next second, Javier calmly added, “I don’t really know what to say. But please, do your best. In that instant, I couldn’t hold it in anymore! I burst into tears! I really wanted to curse out his entire family right then. Then, I turned my grief into strength, and threw myself into work. I kept telling myself: I’m not jealous at all! I’m going to be rich! I’m going to make tons and tons of money! Suddenly, the door was flung open. I was just about to get angry, but when I looked up, it was none other than Count Cremo. I immediately walked up respectfully to greet him. “Apologies, Count, I was just too focused on work. It turned out that Cremo had come to deliver materials. The Count said that all the other necessary materials were ready, but the volcanic ash was still missing. At that moment, I fell into deep thought. Volcanic ash is the key ingredient in Roman cement, whose greatest advantage is its durability. Buildings constructed by the Roman Empire still stand strong even two thousand years later. Count Cremo sighed. “Volcanic ash isn’t completely impossible to find, it’s just that the source is far too distant. If we wanted to travel to the volcano and bring back materials, even the fastest trip would take half a year. And I can’t afford to wait that long. After hearing that, I smiled. “Don’t worry. I have another way. If Roman cement won’t work, then we’ll use Portland cement instead! But what worried me was, while I knew the general method, I lacked detailed data. So I had no choice but to keep experimenting again and again! However, even after trying hundreds of different mix ratios, the cement’s hardness still didn’t meet expectations. Seeing how exhausted I looked, my three companions kept pestering me to go out and get some fresh air. Frustrated, I ended up shouting at them in anger. At that moment, I suddenly remembered the little dog that had stayed by my side in my previous life. It was the last family member I had with me at the time. Only after it passed away did I realize how important it truly was to me. I regretted it. I truly regretted not spending more time playing with it back then. Awakened by this sudden realization, I immediately hugged the three little companions. “Compared to this research, you guys are far more important to me. Moonlight spilled onto the quiet path. I reflected on myself, what a complete jerk I’d been. Because everything had been going so smoothly, I had taken it all for granted and treated you like machines. Thinking back on how I acted, I was beyond foolish! At that moment, I bent down, and sincerely thanked the little ones. “It’s thanks to you that everything has gone so well. Just then, “Your fantasy companions have felt your sincerity. A new upgrade for your companions is now unlocked. With 500 relationship points, you can now add new skills for your companions. I didn’t expect the little ones could actually be enhanced. At that moment, Bangul was the first to step up, saying she wanted to receive a new skill first. Ppodong and Hamang quickly backed her up, saying she was the right choice! Well then, let’s go ahead and enhance her. In the next second, Bangul radiated golden light, and slowly floated into the air. After the enhancement was complete, she even unlocked a skill that was exactly what we needed right now! The Volcanic Blast. Excited, I immediately took Javier to the back mountain to test out Bangul’s new skill! With my command, a massive explosion rang out, and it actually produced volcanic ash! Seeing this, I excitedly said to Javier, “Did you see that Javier? It really created volcanic ash! However, because Javier hadn’t covered his ears, the blast temporarily deafened him. Seeing the opportunity, I didn’t hesitate to shout at him. “Javier, you’re ugly! Javier calmly replied, “No matter how ugly I am, I’ll never be as ugly as you, Young Master. I shouted again, asking if he could hear me now. He simply responded with a confused “What? “—clearly pretending not to hear. Now that we had the final ingredient, we could officially begin construction! First stage, make a “giant diaper” to filter the volcanic ash, and strap it onto Bangul. Then, attach five layers of mesh filters to the tail end of the diaper to catch the ash. Next, have Bangul activate the skill—Volcanic Blast! A thunderous fart echoed across the entire territory. At the same time, we successfully collected a sufficient amount of volcanic ash. Count Cremo stared at the scene in shock and couldn’t help but think to himself: “This guy really isn’t an ordinary engineer. Not only can he use unheard-of skills, but he can also use summoning magic. When all this is over, I must report him to His Majesty the King. A man of such talent being buried in a small village is truly a waste! Now that the materials were all gathered, it was finally time to begin the second stage! Next up was making the caissons for pouring cement. We placed the finished caissons into the sea, then had Hamang drink all the water inside them. Lastly, we drove in tightly packed anti-slip piles at the bottom of the caisson. After hammering the piles, Javier casually asked: “When will the next batch arrive? I stared at him blankly, “Why are you being so obedient this time? You didn’t even say your usual, ‘I’m a knight, why should I do this? Hearing that, the tsundere Javier’s expression instantly changed. “You’re right! I’m a knight! Why the hell am I hammering wood stakes? With that, he threw down the hammer and stormed off dramatically. But I had already mastered the perfect way to handle Javier. I immediately put on a pained expression and started making things up: “If you don’t hammer the stakes, I won’t be able to make any money. Then the territory won’t be able to pay off its debt. I’ll collapse from the stress. The baron will be heartbroken! And if he falls ill, the baroness will waste away in sorrow! “So, dear knight, please protect our family, okay? After hearing this whole speech, Javier was completely at a loss for words. He fell silent for a few seconds, then finally picked up the hammer with resignation and willingly continued doing manual labor. With my regular “conditioning” of Javier, the steel framework of the caisson was finally completed! The final step was pouring in the all-important cement. Then, after waiting for the cement to harden and removing the caisson, the artificial sea foundation was officially finished! At this moment, Count Cremo still seemed a bit doubtful. “Will this foundation really be able to support the weight of the mermaid statue? But he still made a promise: “If it truly succeeds, you’ll be handsomely paid for the job. A few months later, the mermaid statue was completed. The foundation successfully held the weight! The overjoyed count immediately invited wealthy merchants and nobles from all over the territory to hold a celebration banquet at sea! At the banquet, “Ladies and gentlemen, please look this way! This young man is the top contributor who helped us build the mermaid statue! However, everyone completely ignored me and rushed over to shake hands with Javier. I already expected this kind of result. I’m absolutely not jealous. Compared to praise, I prefer people to pay up quickly! But that look on his face really pisses me off! “Don’t look at me! Stop pitying me! Count Cremo couldn’t help but chuckle loudly. “It’s all because of your face! When Count Cremo explained that they had mistaken Javier for me, everyone was stunned, they had genuinely assumed I was the servant. However, I didn’t realize that danger was slowly approaching. Because what Giga titan felt toward mermaids wasn’t fear, it was rage! Seeing that there was only one mermaid, the Giga Titan slowly submerged, and without hesitation, it surged toward it, charging in like a mad beast. At that moment, Javier was sitting on the deck, leisurely sipping red wine. Suddenly, he sensed that something was approaching quickly from the distance, and at an incredible speed! I immediately asked if he could estimate its size. “It’s probably twice the size of this ship. Slightly bigger than Giant Hamang after transformation. I instantly realized something was wrong. Giga titan must be approaching! I immediately rushed to Count Cremo, and quietly told him that Giga titan seemed to be closing in fast! “My lord, please evacuate everyone quickly! However, the count didn’t seem too convinced after hearing that. He frowned and looked at the knight beside him, Genovan. “Genovan, try sensing if there’s anything unusual in the sea. Genovan, currently a high-level sword expert advancing to the Sword Master stage, had extremely sharp senses. But after a moment, he calmly said, “There’s nothing unusual. I was speechless. Our Javier definitely has a better perception than him. After all, he’s the protagonist. Just as I was thinking about how to convince them, “Don’t worry too much. In the past few years, Giga titan has never come near here. And it has no reason to suddenly launch an attack. “Well, maybe now it does. I said seriously, slowly raising my head, looking toward the mermaid statue. Count Cremo instantly realized something, and his expression changed drastically. He immediately shouted an order! “Everyone, move away from the statue at once! But the Giga titan was getting closer and closer. Slowly raising the anchor would definitely be too late! I suddenly turned to Javier and shouted loudly, “Javier, go handle the anchor! Javier nodded immediately, then took a leap from the ship, and dove headfirst into the deep sea. I quickly threw out Ppodong, and had it bite off the rope tying the sailboat to the statue! Meanwhile, underwater, Javier unleashed his Mana Blast Slash! And with that, the anchors, which hadn’t yet been raised, were directly cut off! But Giga titan was still too fast! It had already reached beneath the mermaid statue! Suddenly, its massive body burst out of the sea, and with a mighty collision, the newly built statue shattered with a crash. At the same time, the shockwave from the impact overturned the ships that hadn’t evacuated in time. At that moment, Javier used the recoil from his mana blast to leap from the sea, and caught me steadily in midair. Elsewhere, half of the mermaid statue’s body was sent flying straight toward the city. Debris rained down, and the city was instantly thrown into chaos! Meanwhile, many people were still waiting for rescue at sea. I immediately summoned Hamang, and had it swallow the seawater and the people who had fallen in all at once, then quickly transport them to the shore. Suddenly, Javier’s expression changed, and he shouted. “Master Lloyd, the Giga titan is charging toward the city! But he noticed that I was running in the opposite direction. “Master Lloyd! Where are you going? I turned back sharply and replied urgently. “Of course we’re running the other way, you idiot! You want to go head-to-head with that kind of monster? Are you insane? Javier was stunned, his face full of shock. “Are you saying you’re going to just ignore the people in danger? Without hesitation, I shouted back. “We’re here to make money! Not to fight monsters and protect the world. There’s an army in this city. They’ve got cannons. They’ll handle it themselves! Javier froze. He never imagined that the same young master, who had shown wisdom in crisis, an unyielding spirit, and never turned his back on his people, would now make such a choice. I kept a straight face and said: “I’m already busy enough with my own problems. Why should I have to protect someone else’s city? Running away is clearly the most logical choice! Suddenly, the system chimed in with a prompt. “Javier’s approval rating of you has decreased by 5 points. Your relationship with an important character has worsened, but rest assured, you won’t lose relationship points for this. Then, Javier declared resolutely. “I can’t do that. After all, Javier, who upheld absolute justice, could never stand by and watch innocent people die. I roared in frustration. “You bastard! Stop trying to be righteous all the time! If you go, you might die! However, Javier didn’t respond to me. He simply stepped on his sword, and shot off at high speed toward the city. Meanwhile, the city’s cannons roared, but to Giga titan, they were completely useless! The cannonballs couldn’t even scratch its defense. At that moment, its massive eyes scanned the surroundings, and suddenly locked onto the upper half of the mermaid statue lying on the ground! The next second, it seemed to go completely berserk, dragging its enormous body and charging straight toward the mermaid statue. Its one and only goal was, to completely destroy the mermaid. Wherever its massive body passed, houses were instantly reduced to rubble, countless buildings shattered. Giga titan showed absolutely no concern for the lives of the humans on the ground. At that moment, Javier arrived. With a mana blast slash, he struck directly at Giga titan’s leg. However, what Javier never expected was, his full-force strike was completely deflected! Javier’s eyes suddenly narrowed, as the enraged Giga titan raised its massive pincers and slammed them down with force! Javier’s figure flashed swiftly, narrowly dodging the blow. But the next moment, a powerful water-blast suddenly erupted from the gills on either side of Giga titan. Still midair, Javier knew clearly, there was no way he could dodge this attack. Only one choice remained, that is to take the hit head-on! He gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, holding it horizontally in front of him. The next second, the surging water blast struck him directly, and the powerful impact sent him flying several meters, slamming hard into a wall. At the same time, a trace of blood spilled from Javier’s mouth. Then, he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Javier struggled to his feet. He knew full well he wasn’t a match for this creature. But until all the citizens found shelter, he would never allow himself to die! Meanwhile, on the other side, I was leisurely paddling on a wooden plank out at sea. I thought to myself, I’m not some overpowered protagonist from a fantasy novel! “Even if I have a system, all it gives me are engineering design skills. Even if I go back, what could I possibly do? What help could I be? I’m just a regular person. Seeing the city’s people getting injured one after another, it broke my heart too. But so what, it’s not like there’s anything I can do. But suddenly, I stopped paddling and fell into deep thought. If I just run away and let the city be destroyed like this. Then the construction fee payments will be delayed! “No! Let’s go back, Bangul! Then, I mounted the giant-sized Bangul and charged straight toward the city. “You’re dead meat, you damn giant lobster! At that moment, Javier was still locked in combat with the Giga Titan. He thought, “If it’s a living creature, then its eyes must be a weak point! So he thrust his sword straight at the Giga Titan’s eye. However, even with his mana blast, its eyes can’t be penetrated. The next second, the Giga Titan’s tentacle lashed out viciously! But just at that critical moment, Hamang suddenly appeared, and slammed a heavy blow right onto the Giga Titan’s head. Successfully rescuing Javier. “You damn lobster! Don’t you dare mess with my source of income! ” I shouted angrily. But the battle was still raging on. Javier seized the opportunity, raised his sword, and aimed to slash the Giga Titan’s head. However, even attacking the head had no effect. “Damn it! If I couldn’t find a weakness in its defenses, there is no chance of victory. Yet, javier felt an inexplicable sense of relief when he saw the young master return. He knew that if the young master was back, there must be a way to win! Two and a half minutes earlier, I had ridden Ppodong around the Giga Titan, and conducted a series of scans. Upon seeing the data from the Intermediate Surveying, I couldn’t help but grin. “Even living things are made out of something so they can be surveyed. This creature’s outer shell, on a molecular level, is actually a triple-layered honeycomb structure! And it’s been condensed at high density to form a reinforced defensive layer. Isn’t that the exact same structure used in cutting-edge bulletproof armor? Meanwhile, Javier immediately unleashed a mana blast, aiming right at the Giga Titan’s neck. But in the next moment, I was shocked to discover that the Giga Titan actually redirected the impact energy into its horn. I instantly understood what was going on. It was using its hollow horn to concentrate energy, then releasing it all at once! “Looks like we have to get rid of that horn first! I immediately activated Simulation Mode to see what methods could completely defeat it once the horn was cut off! The simulation revealed that Inside its belly, there was a water sac used to fire water blades. If we precisely blast that water sac from underneath, it’ll be completely blown to pieces! Back in the present, Javier asked what to do next. I made a few hand gestures at him. “First this, and then this. Javier looked utterly confused. “Young master, have you gone insane? “Damn it! “I shouted in frustration. “I’m telling you to cut off its horn! Can’t you pick up on anything? When he finally understood, Javier turned around, only to see the Giga Titan’s claw already swinging down. In the blink of an eye, he made a graceful leap into the air, narrowly avoiding the attack. Landing squarely on the Giga Titan’s back. Javier knew that even if he severed the horn, it still wouldn’t be a fatal blow. But deep down, he knew the young master would never speak nonsense. “All I have to do is follow the plan! At that moment, “Even if its horn is hollow, cutting it off won’t be easy! So you need to make the mana circles spin at high speed, not just strike with brute force! Hearing the instructions, Javier gripped his sword tightly, and slashed with all his might! At the same time, he rapidly spun the mana circles within his body. In the next second, the blade shone with a dazzling light. Like lightning, it slashed down hard at the Giga Titan’s horn. “It’s working! As expected of the main character, Javier pulled it off on the first try! Seeing its horn being sliced off little by little, the Giga Titan immediately swung its huge claw at Javier in retaliation. At the critical moment, Ppodong leapt up and blocked the attack. Just then, Javier completely severed the horn. The strike made the Giga Titan wail in agony. Seeing this, “Javier, attack its underside now! From the tail slightly angled toward the head, attack that spot with your mana blast! Javier found the target, and was just about to strike. But unexpectedly, the Giga Titan’s massive body began descending, and was about to crash down on him. The impulsive Javier even considered going down with it in a final strike! Thankfully, at the critical moment, Ppodong showed up just in time to save him. Seeing this from above, I was nearly scared to death. “Nice one Ppodong! Ppodong flailed his arms at Javier in frustration, clearly furious. Haver spoke with a hint of guilt: “I’m sorry, Master Ppodong. I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I know you’re scolding me for being too reckless just now. Then, “It won’t happen again. I’ll do everything I can to stay alive until we win. Because he believed the young master’s plan would definitely work! I fell deep into thought. Since the Giga Titan was unexpectedly agile, attacking its belly would require drawing its attention away completely with a strong decoy. “Looks like it’s finally time to use that thing. “Hey Ppodong! Without delay, I mounted Ppodong to charge off toward our target location. “Javier, that thing already sees you as the biggest threat! Lead it to the woods on the east coast in a moment! 15 minutes earlier, Count Cremo was still wallowing in regret over building the mermaid statue. At that time, I said to him, “Maybe that statue still has another use. That thing came onto land solely to settle the score with the mermaid. So we can exploit that obsession! Back to the present, I figured the Count should’ve finished preparations by now! At this moment, Javier had already reached his physical limit after a string of battles. But for the sake of the city’s people, he had to complete the luring mission. Seeing Javier fleeing, the Giga Titan went berserk and gave wild chase! Javier pushed forward with nothing but sheer willpower. Suddenly, my voice echoed from up ahead. “Javier. He looked up, and saw me riding with the mermaid statue already tied up with rope. Then I shouted at the Giga Titan, “You damn lobster! Your true enemy has just arrived! The moment the Giga Titan saw the statue, it let out a thunderous roar of rage! I yelled to Javier, “I’ll create an opening for you! Use that chance to strike its belly! Panting heavily, Javier said, “Next time, can you tell me the plan in advance? “There better not be a next time! At this moment, the Giga Titan was no longer focused on Javier. It had eyes for only one thing, and that was the mermaid. Javier followed closely behind, using the last of his strength to catch up. Seizing the moment, he leapt into the air, igniting his final trace of magic, and piercing through the lobster’s belly with all his might. “Mana Blast! A massive explosion shook the entire forest. However, the sight before him left Javier in shock. That blow only shattered the outer shell. At this point, Javier’s magic was completely depleted. He couldn’t even stay conscious, let alone launch another attack. Suddenly, my voice rang out. “Javier, you did it! From here on, leave it to me!

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