47. Rework

Early in the morning, Ko Byeong-gap opened his eyes in a disorderly manner. That was the day he decided not to go out for subjugations. However, there was something else he had to do, so he didn’t procrastinate and moved diligently.

He took a cold shower and changed into clean clothes. It was around 7 am when he was ready to go out.

He wouldn’t use his number one treasure today. Ko Byeong-gap took the subway for the first time in a while and headed to his destination… to a car rental company.

“You’re the one who called, aren’t you? Your name is…”

“I’m Ko Byeong-gap.”

“Oh, right. You can follow me.”

He was guided by the staff and headed to a car. A neat, blue one-ton truck greeted him, which was commonly referred to as a dragon car. The cargo hold had a whistle, so it was perfect for moving luggage.

“Are you moving?”

The employee of the rental company asked with a smirk. Ko Byeong-gap roughly confirmed it. What he was trying to do today had nothing to do with moving, but he didn’t need to talk about it.

“I’ll use it well and return it.”

“Yes. Drive safely.”

He drove the one-ton truck out onto the road. It had been a long time since he drove a truck, but he was a pretty good driver. He quickly got used to it and manipulated the gears.

He headed to a big furniture store. He was going to buy furniture and household items there.

How long had he been driving? He arrived at an enormous store that was a rectangular warehouse-type building, and at first glance, it looked like thousands of cars surrounded it.

“Why are there so many cars? I came on a weekday on purpose, but it’s a waste of time.”

Ko Byeong-gap sighed at the parking lot that was so large, and it left him stunned. It was full of people despite it being a weekday morning.

Whatever the situation was, he went inside the building, and from the moment he entered, the faint smell of wood stimulated his nostrils. Ko Byeong-gap really liked the scent.

“Wow…”

He had never been to such a big store in his life. He used to run to Daiso when he had something to buy.

of eye-catching furniture was there. Household items were neatly displayed, and each one looked beautiful. In his heart, he wanted to move that whole store to Ashvilam. He enjoyed the eye candy as he strolled around the big store.

‘I wish I had Ea with me.’

Ko Byeong-gap smacked his lips. He wanted to bring Ea and show her around the store if possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust in his own eyes, but he thought Ea would be better in that regard.

If the talkative Spirit saw that place, she would surely be constantly talking by that time.

‘How can I cover her up so she would look like a human being?’

If she dressed casually and covered her eyes with sunglasses, she would look like a human being. Of course, the question was whether there were sunglasses that could completely cover her eyes.

‘With Doran’s ears, she could just pretend to be a foreigner, right? But what about Ea?’

Ko Byeong-gap started shopping in earnest with such thoughts.

First of all, the items he planned to buy that day were kitchen-related items. All the tableware that they currently use in Ashvilam was recycled.

In other words, he picked up the cooking utensils, bowls, and even the spoons and chopsticks from different places.

‘I should have bought these earlier… I’m a little sorry.’

So far, he turned a blind eye to it since he didn’t have any money to spare and was in a hurry to pay off his debts. The Goblins didn’t complain anyway.

‘But I’m not going to treat anyone who follows me badly.’

The Goblins mined day and night to rebuild Ashvilam and followed their Lord without complaints. He wanted to give them better conditions, even if their affection was hypothetical.

‘Let’s spend ten million won today. Let’s see what I can get!’

His wallet was full since his profits jumped sharply when he raised his subjugation targets to B-rank cracks. His debt settlement, which he expected to settle by next year, was also pushed earlier. That was the reason why he ran two subjugations a day. Hopefully, he would be able to finish them all within the next month.

Anyway, Ko Byeong-gap bought things at random. When he bought 350 spoons and chopsticks, the employees’ eyes widened.

Who was that guy? Was he going to open a restaurant?

Well, that was his plan. He bought all sorts of things, ranging from tableware such as spoons, forks, and bowls to cooking tools such as kitchen knives, cutting boards, and pots. This process lasted for more than three hours.

There was so much that he had to go back and forth to the parking lot dozens of times. He wanted to buy all the tables and chairs if he could.

“Was that all?” he said. At that point, he wanted to put about 300 beds in Ashvilam, but the problem was that he couldn’t carry it all. Not even the one-ton truck could load all of it. He thought about using a cargo trailer next time.

‘I’m going to have to find another way.’

His shopping ended with some disappointment since he spent a lot of money.

“I spent about 8 million won.”

Ko Byeong-gap glanced over the receipt and just crumpled it. Men shouldn’t leave any lingering attachments to the past.

He drove in search of a quiet place.

***

It was almost noon when Ko Byeong-gap entered Ashvilam. As he ordered the day before, Ea cleaned up her belongings as soon as breakfast was over, and because of it, lunch still wasn’t ready.

Ko Byeong-gap handed out bread and drinks he bought outside.

“Let’s eat this for a meal, even if it’s not good enough.”

“Lick!”

Contrary to his concerns, the Goblins responded well. No matter how good Ea’s cooking skills were, it wasn’t comparable to processed goods.

“Gobung.”

“Ah, yes?”

“After eating that, just pick 50 people to work with me. Including you.”

“Including me. You mean? Okay! What are you going to do? What are you thinking?”

“Oh, I’m going to tear this place down. I’ll walk down the tents and throw away the little things.”

“Little things. You mean?” Gobung’s eyes widened. “Well, what about us?”

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m trying to build you a better house. You think I’m going to lose my mind and smash decent things?”

“Ahhh…”

“You can’t live in a tent that’s always falling down. Did you forget the last time it rained? It was leaking, and there was an uproar.”

“Yes.”

About a week ago, rain fell in Ashvilam for the first time. Even though there wasn’t much rain, raindrops seeped through the cracks in the tent.

“You guys are having a hard time, so it’s hard to put you to sleep in a place like this. I’m your Lord, so shouldn’t I take care of you guys?”

“Lord…” Gobung looked up at Ko Byeong-gap with teary eyes. He seemed to be moved.

Ko Byeong-gap laughed at how funny the scene was and said, “Anyways, pick the best workers.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ko Byeong-gap took a step closer to the tents. He looked at the cluster of tents with fond eyes. Fragments of memories passed by his eyes. He remembered shooting all over the city, trying to pick those up. He remembered the first time he set up a tent and drank with pride.

“I did a good job,” Ko Byeong-gap said to himself inside the tent. It was a torn piece of cloth at best, but it was the best he could do at the time.

‘I’m a little sad that I’m going to throw it away. I can’t help it, though.’

Although it was a bit disappointing, that place had to be overturned for future development.

‘Even if we cross the fog, we have to empty this place.’

In the past, Ko Byeong-gap had implicitly thought so. That there was nothing more to see there once they crossed the fog. That place was only for them to stay in for a while, so there was no need to invest and develop it.

However, that was a big miscalculation.

‘There is no guarantee that there is a crystal cave beyond the fog. Why did I overlook that?’

The rocky mountain nearby provided valuable crystals. It was foolish to abandon such resources for one-time use only.

‘We need to completely fortify this place. That way, we can get resources safely.’

If they removed the fog, the monsters called Grugles might flood in. If that happened, of course, it would disrupt the supply and demand of crystals.

The rocky mountain had to become an impregnable fortress. It was their home base with crucial resources.

The meal was soon over. Gobung gathered 50 workers just as Ko Byeong-gap ordered, and the unselected personnel headed to the cave as usual.

“Lord. Ready.”

“Good! First, take all the things here and stack them up in the field.”

“Yep!”

The Goblins moved in perfect order. The tents, which had been the home of the Goblins for nearly three months, quickly lost their form. Some of the Goblins looked disappointed.

‘We have to organize it well.’

Ko Byeong-gap unfolded a large drawing paper that he had brought from his house. There was already a bit of a sketch of the approximate landscape of Ashvilam. Ko Byeong-gap painted an additional building on it. In other words, it was like a bird’s eye view of the city.

By the time the composition was completed to some extent, the work to dismantle the tent was finished.

‘Good.’

Ko Byeong-gap rose from his seat with the drawing paper and opened the ancient shop.

[Ancient Shop]

– Construction

– Techniques

– Miscellaneous Goods

– Others

[Crystals on Hand: 1,367,420]

All the crystals he used recently were about 30,000 crystals to buy the solar-powered lamps. As he saved them, he realized that there were already over 1.3 million crystals.

Ko Byeong-gap opened the ‘Construction’ category for the first time in a very long time.

‘If possible, I would like to buy a good one, but if I buy only the highest quality, I would have no savings left. Let’s make a moderate compromise between intermediate and advanced.’

He glanced over at the items on display. Some of the things that looked good at a reasonable price were cited.

‘From high-end items, even one product has many forms. This is good.’

There were many types of “high-end brick buildings” such as L-shaped, U-shaped, and straight ones.

He decided to put the restaurant first.

[Advanced Multipurpose Hall Type I]

– Price: 18,000 Crystals

– Description: A multipurpose building that can be used in various ways. It is suitable to accommodate a large number of people. It is made of high-quality materials and has excellent durability.

“Everyone, back off. I’m placing the building!”

Ko Byeong-gap shouted that and forced the Goblins to retreat.

“Wow…”

“That’s cool.”

It wasn’t long before the silhouette of a blue and translucent building came before them. Exclamations rang in the area over its majestic figure, and Ko Byeong-gap placed the building on a well-organized site.

[Do you want to install ‘Advanced Multipurpose Hall Type I’ in this location?]

[Starting installation…]

[Required time is about 120 minutes.]

‘It would take a long time because it’s a large building.’

“Wow, that’s so cool! I’ve never seen such a nice building in my life. Seriously! What is this building for?” Ea asked with starry eyes. Ko Byeong-gap straightened his back, proud of himself.

“This is the restaurant.”

“What? A restaurant? This wonderful place?”

“Yes. You can cook over here from now on. I replaced all the cooking utensils with new ones, so it’ll be easier to cook.”

“Wow, thank you!” She was so happy that she jumped. Ea, who was in charge of cooking, was joyful to have her own home. Ko Byeong-gap also felt better when she saw her happiness.

“Oh, be happy later and help me now.”

“Help you? Alright, tell me anything! I’ll do my best to help you! What should I do?”

“Help me put the building down because I think you have a good eye.”

“You noticed it, didn’t you? That’s right. I have a good eye, and I’m very good at reading things. If I help you, I can decorate this place beautifully!”

Ko Byeong-gap and Ea began to put the building together. The crude Ashvilam gradually transformed to have a more sophisticated look.