Episode 10 â Demolition Is Experience
âVillage chief?â
Aren checked the title that had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[New Village Chief]
Grade: A (Unique)
Effect: All Stats +1
Chance of Immigrant Arrival +20%
Resident Affection Growth Rate +10%
Village Maintenance Cost â10%
Structure Durability +10% when constructing buildings
His face was full of confusion.
The titleâs effects made little sense to him.
âImmigrants? Maintenance costs?â
âWait a second⊠what is this evenâŠâ*
Ding!
[Congratulations on becoming a Village Chief.]
[A âHelper Butlerâ will be summoned for your assistance.]
A complex magic circle appeared on the ground, glowing with light.
âYou areâŠâ
âItâs an honor to meet you, sir. I am Alfredo, your helper butler.â
The man bowed deeply.
âAlfredo? A butler?â
âYes. I exist to support you, Village Chief, so that you may lead the village smoothly.â
Arenâs mind was still spinning.
If he could, he wouldâve asked Kim Min-soo what was going on â
but then he realized he didnât even know the guyâs in-game ID.
âUgh⊠Iâll ask him at work tomorrow.â
âYou seem confused, sir.â
âA little, yeah.â
âUnderstandable. Then please take a look at this.â
Alfredo snapped his fingers lightly.
[You can now access the Village Management Interface.]
[Village Management]
Village Chief: Aren
Village Chiefâs House LV.1
Tax Rate: 0% [Adjustable]
Residents: 0
Visitors: 0
Special Notes: None
âWhat is this?â
âA display that lets you check the villageâs status at a glance.
You can even adjust taxes from here.
As the level increases, more functions will unlock.â
âWait, I can collect taxes?â
âIndeed. Once you build residential houses, immigrants will arrive, and you may set their tax rate.â
Aren exhaled softly.
He could now picture the situation.
The house he built was the Village Chiefâs House,
and by becoming its owner, he had automatically become the new village chief.
âHuhâŠâ
All he wanted was to own a simple house.
He hadnât expected to be handed an entire village.
âSo what do I even do with the taxes?â
âThatâs entirely up to you. You may invest them in the villageâor keep them for yourself.â
âI can⊠keep them?â
âYouâre the village chief, after all.â
Aren rubbed his chin in thought.
âSo basically, this land belongs to me now?â
âYes, sir. The entire territory is yours.â
âHohâŠâ
He couldnât hide his intrigue.
After all, who wouldnât be thrilled to own free land?
âWait, my house has a level?â
Aren looked toward his house.
Come to think of it, Lex had appeared right after he finished building it,
so he hadnât had time to properly inspect it.
âCheck!â
[Village Chiefâs House LV.1]
Grade: D
Description: The home of a new village chief in an abandoned settlement.
Has existed for ages, influencing the surrounding area.
Requirement: [100% Understanding]
Durability: 225,000 / 225,000
Options: Temperature Control
HP Recovery Speed +200% while resting
MP Recovery Speed +200% while resting
Tax Rate +10%
<Hidden Option>
Chance of Special Visitor +10%
Even buildings had stats and effects.
âSo even âStar Understandingâ works on buildings too?â
He had assumed that skill was limited to equipment â but a house was made of wood, so it made sense.
âSo the house has a level. If I raise itâŠâ
âThen your territory will expand, and youâll gain more administrative options.â
âI see.â
Now things were starting to make sense.
As his thoughts settled, Alfredo smiled and clapped once.
âWell then, shall we begin with the basics?â
Ding!
[Quest Generated â âVillage Cleanup.â]
[Village Cleanup]
Grade: D
Description: You are now the village chief.
The village is in ruins. Start by cleaning it up.Objective: Clean the village (Progress: 0%)
Reward: Experience, increased chance of immigrants arriving, unlock construction of wooden houses
Failure: Decrease in immigrant arrival chance
Aren accepted the quest.
âFor immigrants to come, theyâll need homes.
But in the villageâs current state, honestly⊠no one would want to move here.â
He nodded.
The place had been abandoned for ages,
filled with decay and eerie silence.
âYeah, weâll need to clean this up. Tear down the old houses too.â
Aren picked up his hammer.
The first step was to demolish the crumbling, dangerous buildings.
âWhat are you doing?â
âHm?â
âYou need to eat first.â
âWhy are you holding a hammer⊠Village Chief?â
âWhy else? Youâre here to help, right, Alfredo?â
âYou may call me Alfredo, and formal speech is unnecessary.â
âAlright then, Alfredo. You said youâre here to help me.â
âThat is correct, butâŠâ
Sensing danger, Alfredoâs words trailed offâ
but it was already too late.
âThen youâll help me with this, right? Those houses over thereâŠâ
Aren grinned.
âWeâre going to tear them down â together.â
At least he wasnât alone in this.
With quiet resignation, Alfredo lifted his hammer.
First mission: demolition.
âThis isnât exactly what I signed up forâŠâ
Still, he swung the hammer.
THUD! THUD!
Bare-chested and sweating, Alfredo slammed the wooden mallet down again and again.
Aren had even crafted the hammer for him.
âHow did it come to thisâŠâ
He was supposed to be a butler, a counselor, someone who guided leaders toward greatness.
He had pledged to help his master become a wise and noble chiefâ
and yet, his very first task was demolition work.
âThis isnât how I imagined itâŠâ
A sigh escaped him.
He wasnât sure whether he was a butler or a construction laborer anymore.
He glanced toward Aren, who was energetically smashing old walls and clearing rubble.
A strange outsider.
Nothing about him followed the norm.
But stillâ
âHeâs my master now. So⊠Iâll just do my best.
It canât get any worse than this, right?â
That comforting lie was all he had.
Alfredo raised his hammer again.
He had no idea what kind of backbreaking chaos awaited him in the days to come.
BAM! BAM!
CRASH!
[You have successfully demolished a house.]
[Village Cleanup progress has increased.]
[You have gained job experience.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Through repeated hard labor, your stats have increased.]
[Strength +1]
[Stamina +1]
[Dexterity +2]
Aren wiped the sweat streaming down his face.
âHow many more are left?â
There were still several houses left to demolish.
He looked down at the hammer in his hands.
[Demolition Hammer]
Grade: C
Description: A wooden hammer made by a skilled carpenter specifically for demolishing structures.
Not suited for combat.
Attack Power: 15
Usage Requirement: [100% Understanding]
Durability: 875 / 900
Options:
âą Strength +5
âą Attack Speed â20%
âą Accuracy â10%
âą Demolition Efficiency +15%
<Hidden Option>
âą Demolition Speed +10%
He had made it himself.
The one heâd been using before was far too small and weak.
So, he simply crafted a new one.
It wasnât a weapon â its attack power was low â but the heavy head made it perfect for demolition.
âStill, thanks to this, the workâs going faster.â
âWhy are you staring at that thing?â
Aren spoke casually to Alfredo, who had insisted earlier,
âNo master should use honorifics with his butler.â
Aren frowned as he noticed Alfredo just standing there, watching.
âWhat are you doing? Get back to work.â
âDo you see this? My handsâtheyâre trembling.â
âTremors? You should quit drinking. Itâs bad for your health.â
âTheyâre shaking because Iâm exhausted!â
âAhâŠâ
Fair enough.
In real life, a job like this would be done in minutes with machinery.
Doing it all by hand was grueling work for a beginner.
âAlright. Take a break.â
âHaaahâŠâ
Alfredo slumped down, completely drained.
His once neat, formal attire was now drenched in sweat and dust.
There was something oddly familiar about the sight.
It reminded Aren of the workers whoâd stayed up all night helping his father in the carpentry workshop.
âBut still, Village Chief⊠youâre really something.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âHow are you so good at tearing things down? I swing and swing, and nothing happens.â
âExperience.â
âExperience?â
Aren smiled, hefting his hammer as he approached a nearby wall.
âWhether itâs a wall or a machine, everything has a structure.
If you donât understand it, youâll waste energy hitting the wrong spots.
But if you learn where the weak points areâŠâ
He ran his hand along the old wall, then suddenly swung the hammer with precision.
CRACK!
The wall collapsed in a chain reaction, crumbling into dust.
âYou can bring it all down with minimal effort.â
Aren nodded in satisfaction.
Alfredo just stared, wide-eyed, before letting out an admiring gasp.
âAmazing⊠so thatâs what you meant by âexperienceâ?â
âExactly.â
Aren hadnât always been this good.
Heâd learned from following his carpenter father around, watching and practicing.
âSwinging blindly wonât do. You have to know where to strike.â
âEfficiency matters. A single accurate hit at the weak point saves time and effort.â
âDonât worry if you donât get it now â keep doing it, and youâll understand.â
Those lessons had built up over time,
and now, he could demolish buildings with practiced ease.
âThough, I guess the game makes it a little easier.â
Without stopping, Aren swung his hammer again and again.
[You have successfully demolished a house.]
[Village Cleanup progress has increased.]
[You have gained job experience.]
[Through repeated labor, a new skill has been created.]
[Skill acquired: Star Demolition LV.1]
[Star Demolition LV.1]
Grade: C
Type: Active
Experience: 0.00%
Description: The power of the stars guides your hand, allowing you to perceive structural weak points more efficiently.
After demolition, recover part of the building materials used in construction.
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Effect: Demolition Efficiency +15%
Recover 20% of materials used in construction.
A new skill had appeared.
âStar Demolition?â
A demolition-assist skill.
And better yet â it refunded a portion of materials after demolition.
âNot bad. Normally, demolishing is just a loss, but this could make it worth it.â
Aren activated the skill.
[Star Demolition activated.]
[Analyzing structural weak points.]
Light shimmered across the decaying walls.
âWait⊠those lights areââ
He swung his hammer toward one of the glowing spots.
BAM!
The wall instantly shattered.
âAh, so thatâs how it works!â
The light marked the weak points of the building â
the very spots Aren would normally find through intuition.
âPretty convenient.â
He swung again.
Thanks to the skill, a few hits were all it took to bring the whole structure down.
[Demolition complete.]
[Star Demolition skill experience slightly increased.]
[Recovered 20% of materials.]
He collected several wooden planks and a handful of nails.
The planks were too damaged to reuse, but the nails could still be salvaged.
âNot bad at all.â
âLetâs keep going.â
âDo you think I can do it like you, Aren?â
Alfredoâs voice was tinged with both fatigue and envy.
Aren laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
âOf course. Youâll get there.â
âAren⊠you really believe in me that muchâŠ?â
âKeep smashing things, and youâll naturally improve. And if notâŠâ
Aren tilted his head slightly, grinning.
âThen just keep doing it until you do.â
âThatâs⊠not very reassuring.â
âSmash.â
âUghâŠâ
A few days laterâ
âFinally done.â
The demolition was complete.
âWhewâŠâ
Aren looked out over the now-empty village,
a faint spark of anticipation in his eyes.
âNow I can start rebuilding⊠my way.â