Chapter 22

22. Raise and build! (3)

“Ugh… How many bottles did I drink yesterday…”

There was a drought in his neck. Ko Byeong-gap felt his thirst leave only after he emptied a 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water.

He plopped down on the bed and recalled last night. He remembered dancing shoulder to shoulder with the Goblins while blowing bottles. Anyway, his drinking was a problem.

“Oh my God, woo.”

His head was throbbing, and he had a lot of work to do, but he couldn’t handle it with a hangover. He sat with his legs twisted and calmly collected his breath.

‘Ancient Ki-breathing textbook.’

He practiced the breathing method described in the Ancient Ki-breathing Textbook. Soon, hot energy sprang up from his core and spread all over his body.

His sore stomach was refreshed, and his headache stopped. Ko Byeong-gap’s body quickly regained its peak condition.

‘That was awesome.’

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Why did the ancient kingdom perish when there were so many good techniques? What had they done to provoke the wrath of God?

He was lost in thought for a few seconds and then rose. It bothered him, but it wasn’t a question that could be answered if he thought about it at that time.

“Let’s get ready.”

He was scheduled to be away for the next four days. Maybe he won’t be back for more than a week. So there was a lot to prepare.

He packed his baggage first. It didn’t have anything special inside. Toothpaste, toothbrush, and soap were the only three things a man needed. His bag also contained spare underwear, casual clothes, work clothes, and some towels.

After that, he put cup noodles, bottled water, and instant rice in a large bag, enough to eat for a week.

“Hmm… that’s enough, right? If I need anything, I can buy it.”

Ko Byeong-gap packed all his belongings and went to Ashvilam.

There was the smell of morning dew on the quiet rocky mountain. The grass was moist, and the gentle sound of water could be heard over the forest.

Chirp! Chirp!

He also heard birds chirping…

‘Huh? Birds?’

Ko Byeong-gap turned his head reflexively. Some small birds were flying low in the sky. He lost his mind and looked at them, but they disappeared over the rocky mountain.

It was natural for birds to fly in the sky, but somehow it felt strange.

‘There’s life here besides the Goblins and I. Come to think of it, there used to be fish in the river, right? It isn’t surprising at all. By the way, what’s beyond that rock wall? I’ll have to go up there later.’

“Lord, you’re here.”

“Oh, Gobung, Gobung, Gobung. You woke up so early?”

“When the sun rises. I get up.”

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“Really?”

The Goblins prepared for their work early. They got a 100 out of 10 for diligence.

“Last night, Lord. Did you sleep?”

“Lord. Nice to see you.”

“Lord. Hi.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah. I have been struggling since morning.”

The Goblins that were headed to the cave saw Ko Byeong-gap and bowed politely.

“By the way, you came out early today.”

“I just dropped by. I have to bring my luggage, and I have business to do.”

“Lord. You mean?”

“Yeah, I’m staying here for a while.”

Yesterday, when they created a campsite, there was a part that Ko Byeong-gap was particularly concerned about. It was his own tent.

Two sofas were joined together to make a bed, and a desk with a broken leg was also brought in. Note that the desk was for ornamental purposes.

“Gobung.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Go and call Turka and Kiriyan.”

“Turka. Kiriyan. You mean? Okay.”

Gobung headed toward the cave. Both Turka and Kiriyan seemed to be in the cave.

Ko Byeong-gap yelled after Gobung, “You know my private tent? I’ll be there, so take them there.”

“Yes, sir!”

He went to his private tent with all his luggage, which was a short distance from the Goblins camp. It was in the middle of the forest, and he could see the river right away. The scenery was amazing since it was selected in consideration of the landscape.

He unpacked his luggage inside the tent and sat on a rocking chair outside.

‘Ancient Shop’

[Ancient Shop]

-Construction

-Techniques

– Miscellaneous Goods

-Others

[Crystals on Hand: 5,998]

‘It’s nearly six thousand. Their digging speed is pretty fast, isn’t it?’

Most of the Goblin manpower was put into the Crystal Cave. Even if they dug 20 crystals each, they could make 2,840 per day.

Moreover, they hadn’t concentrated on crystal mining for the past few days due to various chores. Their production would be much higher in the future considering that.

‘It feels just like yesterday that I had a hard time with 30 people.’

Ko Byeong-gap’s goal was to reach 500 Goblins before breaking through the fog zone. He was immersed in brief sentiments and focused on the shop window.

‘Buy this, buy that…’

from the ancient shop. The items he bought were:

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Ancient Martial Arts Textbook – Low-grade 1 piece.

Ancient Alchemy Textbook – Low-grade 1 piece.

Ancient Ki-breathing Textbook – Low-grade 2 pieces.

Ancient Physical Training Textbook – Low-grade 3 pieces.

Three growth potions.

And one Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Intermediate.

In total, it was worth 5,930 crystals.

[Crystals on Hand: 68]

‘In an instant, it was all spent.’

He felt sorry for spending nearly 6,000 crystals in one batch. However. he decided not to mind too much. The crystals had to be used anyway, and the crystals could be gathered again.

He left the purchased items at his feet and picked up only one textbook.

Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Intermediate. It was an expensive product that cost 1,500 crystals.

“The low-level textbook was great, but how strong would I become if I mastered the intermediate level?’

With a pounding heart, he opened the textbook. A hologram flashed right before his eyes.

[Do you want to engrave ‘Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Intermediate’?]

‘I’m going to get carrots.’

Of course, he would!

Ko Byeong-gap quickly gave his consent, but something unexpected happened. He didn’t absorb the textbook.

[Currently, due to the low achievement rate of ‘Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Low-grade’, the engraving of “Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Intermediate” has failed.]

[Current achievement rate of ‘Ancient Swordsmanship Textbook – Low-grade’: 2.21%]

“What?” Ko Byeong-gap groaned and let out a sigh. The point of the hologram was reasonable. He lacked internal skills to move from lower to intermediate. Where could he find his progress?

Even so, he couldn’t help but be embarrassed because he hadn’t thought about it at all.

‘Well, it would be too much of a scam to learn the whole textbook just by swinging a sword.’

He was disappointed, but on the contrary, he also gained excitement. The fact that his achievement so far was only 2.21% meant that he had room for growth in the future.

He smiled bitterly and kept the textbook on the desk inside the tent.

“Lord, sir, we’re here.”

In the meantime, Gobung brought in Turka and Kiriyan. First of all, he handed over the growth potions to them one by one.

“Now, grab one and take a shot.”

“Lord?”

“Do you mean drink?”

“Uh, drink it up.”

The three Goblins looked at each other and said, “Are we allowed to drink this?”

Kiriyan asked on their behalf. Ko Byeong-gap nodded willingly with his arms crossed.

“From now on, Kiriyan and Turka will hunt with me as professional combat agents. To do that, you need to be stronger than you are now.”

“Ah…”

“Gobung is the head of the workforce, and you’re going to need more stamina than others because I order a lot of things. So hurry up and drink.”

The Goblins pursed their lips. Ko Byeong-gap frowned slightly.

“What are you doing, stupid? I told you to drink.”

“Oh, I see!”

Gobung drank the Growth Potion. Kiriyan and Turka followed suit straight away. As he looked at them, Ko Byeong-gap smirked and said, “It’s going to hurt a bit.”

“Turn it off…”

“Ugh!”

The effect came immediately. The three Goblins clasped their hearts and sweated profusely. Naturally, turbulent change was accompanied by pain.

Ko Byeong-gap waited patiently until they regained their stability. Ten minutes later, the Goblins were back to normal.

“What do you think? Do you think something’s changed?”

“Huh… it’s amazing.”

“Energy! It overflows!”

The muscles in their bodies had grown in size. The change was particularly noticeable in Turka, the Giant Goblin.

‘It wouldn’t be a problem if I put three more heads on my shoulder.’

Ko Byeong-gap was satisfied and nodded his head. Afterward, he handed out a textbook to each of them.

For Gobung, only the textbook on physical training. For Kiriyan, the alchemy, physical training, and Ki-breathing textbooks. He gave Turka the martial arts, physical training, and Ki-breathing textbooks.

“Come on, open the textbook in your hands.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Do you see anything in front of you?”

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“That’s right.”

“Now say yes to that.”

Ko Byeong-gap taught them how to imprint the textbooks. The Goblins did as they were told. After a while, each textbook began to be absorbed by the Goblins.

“Wow! Lord! Oh, my head! I think it’s going to break!”

“Don’t worry, man. You won’t die.”

“Ugh!”

Of course, it was hard. Still, they managed everything. About 10 minutes later, the Goblins acquired their last textbook. However, they were exhausted and limp.

‘Alright, Ashvilam’s first elite army.’

Their aura was different from just a few minutes ago, but that was just the beginning. Ko Byeong-gap’s final goal was to be the best of all the Goblins.

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“You guys get plenty of rest in the morning. In particular, keep Kiriyan and Turka ready so that they can come out whenever I call.”

“Yes, yes, yes, sir!”

“Go, see you later.”

“Already. Are you leaving?”

“Yes, I have to work. What would you do if you played?”

Ko Byeong-gap returned to his room after being sent off by the three Goblins. He immediately changed into his work clothes and packed his gear. After that, he left the house and locked the front door tightly.

‘It’s like going on a trip for a few days, huh?’

His steps down the stairs were light.

* * *

Mim! Mim! Mim!

It was still early July, but cicadas had already been raging. Ko Byeong-gap sat in a coin laundry room and listened to the sad courtship song.

“Should I cry like that?”

He was just sad that he hadn’t had a humble relationship for 25 years.

Come to think of it; they were always good people. The problem was that he followed bad situations like a shadow.

Ring ring!

The machine rang out a signal that the dryer was complete. He took out his clothes, put them in plastic bags, and left the coin laundry.

He checked his cell phone as soon as he got in the car. The cell phone screen displayed a map of cracks nationwide.

“One D-class in Cheongju City. It’ll take about 30 minutes.”

Ko Byeong-gap, who had set his target, drove straight away.

‘It’s already been three days.’

It had been three days since he left the house. What Ko Byeong-gap did over the past three days was search for Goblins.

He roamed at least three or four, up to five or six cracks a day, and chased after the Goblins. At night, he parked his car anywhere and went to Ashvilam to sleep.

He wasn’t subjugating. There were many cases where he went into the cracks and came back without Goblins.

Anyway, the goal of that journey was to capture Goblins, not hunt. His short-term goal was to fill Ashvilam with up to 300 Goblins, but life wasn’t always so giving. In the past three days, he had harvested only 47 Normal Goblins and one Hob Goblin.

‘Shall I raise the search range to C-rank? It wouldn’t be that dangerous if I were just looking around anyway.’

While he agonized over one thing or another, he arrived at the crack that he had targeted. There seemed to be no occupiers. Ko Byeong-gap hurriedly packed his things and dipped himself into the crack.

It was crazy!

“Ah man, Gabris again?”

No Goblins came out. Instead, the monsters with four jaws greeted him. He thought about leaving but changed his mind and decided to clear them for food.

‘Did the kids say they ran out of meat? Let’s unwind for a while.’

He pulled out his long sword. The blade made of a Rake Wolf’s tail radiated a harsh purple light.

“Kiriyan! Turka! come out!”

He opened the door to Ashvilam and shouted. The two Goblins appeared as if they had waited.

“Yes, Lord!”

“Did you say we ran out of meat? Today’s dinner is monster meat.”

“Alright!”

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“Hi!”

The swarm of Gabris rushed in with fighting spirit.

“They’re begging to be eaten. Turka, Kiriyan. Show me your skills.”

“Yep!”

“Wooooo!”

Turka ran out with his fists clenched. The guy snatched two Gabris in an instant. When he grabbed their necks and threw them on the floor, their necks broke, and they died instantly.

“Ha!”

Kiriyan gathered an electric current into a harpoon. Soon, five lightning bolts were fired. One Gabri was broken for each shot.

‘Should I build up some skills too?’

Ko Byeong-gap shook off his cigarette and took a posture. Three Gabris were aiming for Ko Byeong-gap with their mouths wide open.

‘From the one on the left!’

Ko Byeong-gap smashed the ground. At about the same time, one of Gabri’s necks fell off. Immediately after that, he fired a slash, and the guy in the middle was cut in half.

“Heee-eee-eee-eee!”

The blade in his open mouth struck the last Gabri. It floundered its limbs even when it was dead.

‘Now, E-class monsters are no longer a problem. C is also worth a try.’

He smiled fiercely and slaughtered the rest of the Gabris.