Chapter 55: Expansion

Even though he ate almost three times his usual amount, his stomach didn’t feel full or uncomfortable at all.

After eating that much, he should have struggled to breathe and felt bloated, unable to move for a while, but instead, he felt energized.

“Hyung, let’s go to Seoul. With a taste this good, no matter where you open it, it’ll be a hit.”

Park Hae Jin spoke, eyes gleaming as he looked at his older brother sitting across from him.

His voice was full of excitement and anticipation.

“No thanks. I’m happy here. If I wanted to make money, I’d have kept being a Hunter.”

Sang-woong waved his hand dismissively, sounding completely uninterested.

His expression was relaxed, as if satisfied with his current life.

“True, there’s no real reason to go to Seoul. Maybe I should just quit everything and live here too?”

Park Hae Jin mumbled this quietly, like he was trying to convince himself.

“Fine, I’ll give you the best house. You can just eat at the restaurant.”

His brother smiled warmly at his younger sibling’s words and readily agreed.

There was a gentle consideration in his voice.

“Hyung, you didn’t hurt your head from being a Hunter, right? You look like you’re you, but your actions are kind of strange.”

His younger brother stared at him with a puzzled expression and asked.

The Sang-woong he knew didn’t act like this.

It felt like how you’d react to an older uncle.

“What’s strange about it? I’ve always been like this. You just didn’t know me well.”

Sang-woong shrugged his shoulders and said nonchalantly.

His eyes sparkled with mischief, but there was also something mysteriously profound about them.

As the two of them chatted for a while, the sudden sound of a dog barking echoed.

Park Hae Jin’s head naturally turned toward the source of the noise.

There, right at the entrance door, a large dog sat solemnly.

“Oh, it’s Leon. Seeing him in person, he’s even more handsome and dignified. Hyung, can I pet Leon once?”

“Sure.”

Park Hae Jin opened the restaurant door and stepped outside.

Leon, who saw him for the first time, glanced at him once, sniffed, and then immediately lay down on his belly.

Not only did he look similar, but he also apparently recognized Sang-woong’s scent.

“Wow, so cute! Hyung, I think he likes me. He’s showing his belly.”

“Of course he does. You’re the owner’s younger brother, after all.”

Sang-woong gently waved a large beef bone in front of Leon’s nose.

Leon’s black eyes fixed intently on the bone, and his tail wagged slightly.

As soon as Sang-woong offered the bone, Leon carefully took it, sniffing it deeply.

Once the bone was fully accepted, Leon wagged his tail vigorously with a satisfied expression.

Then he grabbed the bone in his mouth and turned to head back to his spot.

“Leon, eat here. Our younger brother said he misses you.”

Sang-woong called out softly to Leon.

Hearing that, Leon turned back and came closer to Park Hae Jin.

Then he started eating the beef bone.

“Wow, hyung, how did you train him? I’ve never seen such a smart dog. No wonder there were such cool scenes in the music video.”

Park Hae Jin couldn’t take his eyes off Leon eating the bone, expressing admiration.

“I didn’t really train him. He’s just naturally smart.”

Sang-woong shrugged as if that was the norm.

While Park Hae Jin was watching Leon, Lee Hye-won arrived, pulling a large carrier.

“Oh, Leon’s here too.”

Lee Hye-won exclaimed happily upon spotting Leon chewing on the bone.

Her eyes were filled with warm affection for Leon.

Hearing her voice, Leon briefly paused eating and perked up his ears.

Recognizing Lee Hye-won’s voice, he wagged his tail lightly to show his happiness.

“Our Leon must be missing you a lot.”

Lee Hye-won put down the carrier for a moment and gently stroked Leon’s head, sounding a bit regretful.

There was a hint of sadness in her voice at having to leave.

“If Leon misses you, he can just come down.”

Sang-woong looked at Lee Hye-won and spoke gently.

“Director, thank you for everything until now.”

Lee Hye-won bowed respectfully to Sang-woong and sincerely expressed her gratitude.

Every time she ate his food, she felt energized and healthier.

Not only had she lost weight, but her skin also improved.

If she hadn’t met Sang-woong, she probably would still be trapped in depression, lamenting her fate.

“As a director of Starlight Entertainment, it’s only natural. Don’t mention it.”

Sang-woong replied warmly to Lee Hye-won’s thanks.

“Hye Won, let’s go now.”

Park Hae Jin took his eyes off Leon and quietly looked at Lee Hye-won.

“Yes, President.”

Lee Hye-won nodded shortly in response.

“Hyung, I’m heading out.”

“All right, be careful going up. When you come down next time, wait a few days before coming back up.”

His older brother smiled warmly and advised his younger sibling.

“Got it. I’ll call after I get there.”

“Director, goodbye.”

Lee Hye-won politely bowed to Sang-woong.

Her expression was full of gratitude for the care she had received.

“Yes, Hye Won. I look forward to your future activities.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Hye-won bowed once more to express her thanks and got into the car.

The two of them left Sang-woong’s restaurant with the sound of the engine, heading toward Seoul.

Sang-woong watched the car slowly fade into the distance and silently wished them well for the future.

***

Passing through the Dungeon Gate, fresh morning sunlight poured dazzlingly.

The sky stretched blue without a single cloud, clear and transparent like perfectly polished glass.

It felt as if the day itself was cheering Sang-woong on in what he was about to do.

“Master, are you finally going to expand the land today?”

Aria asked, her eyes sparkling brightly as she looked at Sang-woong.

“Hmm, Aria has worked hard all this time, so I’ve gathered a lot of Points.”

“Heh, I was just doing what you ordered, Master.”

Aria spoke humbly, but her role was anything but small.

While Sang-woong was away from the land, Aria was responsible for it.

Monsters kept invading the land, and every time they did, she led the golems out to fight.

“Should we upgrade the Shop Window first?”

As soon as Sang-woong said that, a message appeared before his eyes.

-Would you like to upgrade the Shop? It requires 50,000 Points.

“I’ll upgrade it.”

-50,000 Points have been deducted.

50,000 Points disappeared, and the Level 4 Shop Window opened.

“What kind of items will the Level 4 Shop Window have?”

Sang-woong’s anticipation rose from deep inside, like a child finally seeing a long-awaited present.

The first thing that caught his eye was, as expected, potions that raise Skill Levels.

“Oh, I can upgrade the Appraisal Skill.”

In the Level 3 Shop Window, potions that increased Inventory Level were sold, so he had assumed that the Appraisal Skill maxed out at Level 2.

But in the Level 4 Shop Window, potions that increased both Inventory and Appraisal Skill were available.

He immediately bought the potion and raised his Appraisal Skill Level.

-You can now understand and speak all languages of this world’s races. –

From now on, even without becoming a resident of the land, communication with them was possible.

Inventory also doubled in size again.

The second item was the Purity Seed.

It was a seed that increased mana affinity.

“This is amazing.”

Mana was the lifeblood of Hunters.

If mana affinity increased, even hunting the same number of Monsters would yield more mana.

Also, even Hunters of the same level could demonstrate stronger power.

Any Hunter who pursued strength would covet this without exception.

As expected, the Shop Window sold Elemental Food, Land Elixir, and Eclipse Saplings that purified the air.

“So now I need to plant 1,000 Eclipse Saplings.”

Next, they sold Stone Golem Equipment, Level 3 Wooden Fence upgraded by one level, and Level 2 Wood Golem.

Increasing the wooden fence’s defense, arming the Stone Golem, and combining it with a Level 2 Wood Golem would make the forces much stronger.

“Wow, as expected, it doesn’t disappoint.”

He was confident that even if enemies came charging, the sturdy wooden fence and strengthened golems could hold them off.

The items so far were impressive, but Sang-woong couldn’t help but get excited when he saw the next one.

The Giant Thorn Cactus.

Each thorn looked like a spear sharp enough to pierce steel.

-Thorns can be fired. Thorns will continuously grow.

It felt like receiving an unexpected gift.

Although it was priced at an astounding 20,000 Points, the description said it could be used semi-permanently.

He didn’t know how powerful it would be, but judging from the items sold at the Shop Window so far, the power likely wouldn’t disappoint.

Sang-woong finally bought some Land Elixirs and used them.

Using ten Land Elixirs, the entire core of the land was dyed blue.

-Conditions to expand the land have been met. Would you like to expand the land? Expanding requires 100,000 Points. –

Seeing the message, Sang-woong sighed deeply in frustration.

He had expected expanding the land would require many Points, but it was far more expensive than he anticipated.

“Well, no choice. It’s not like they’re going to give it away.”

Sang-woong used 100,000 Points to expand the land.

Immediately, Aria responded.

“Wow, Master, the land has become so much bigger.”

“That’s right.”

Aria’s exclamation was enough to show how vast the land had become.

Now, to move from one end of the land to the other, transportation like a bicycle was needed.

Even the Ahoa Tribe, known as the best farmers, found it overwhelming to cultivate this vast expanse.

Though spending all the Points he had worked hard to collect emptied his reserves, Sang-woong felt great.

At first, his power had seemed fragile, like a candle about to go out even in a slight breeze.

But now, this place had the strongest energy nearby.

Sang-woong invested all the remaining Points into the Mana Cannon, which he was most curious about, and the Stone Golem’s equipment.

And as the land expanded and its energy spread wider, just as expected, Monsters reacted soon after.

“Master! Monsters have invaded!”

Aria’s urgent shout cut through the silence.

Instinctively, Sang-woong turned and ran toward the direction of the Monster invasion.

The first sign was the heavy footsteps shaking the ground.

Thud!! Thump!! Thump!! Thump!!

With intense trembling that shook the earth, hundreds of ogres, nearly as big as golems, surged over the horizon like a black wave.

Their overwhelming presence, charging fiercely as if to break and crush everything in sight, was terrifying to behold.

Bulging muscular bodies with grotesquely deformed faces.

Their rotten yellow teeth gleamed as they snarled, baring their throats.

They exuded raw savage strength and ferocity from head to toe.

They swung massive maces made of wood or bone above their heads or wildly swung them through the air like wrecking balls.

Their sheer numbers far surpassed that of Sang-woong’s golems.

Here and there, torn leather armor and ominous scars deeply carved into their bodies told stories of countless deaths.

They were warriors who knew only destruction.

At the front, a massive Heavy Ogre blew hard into a Buffalo Whistle held in its mouth.