Episode 13
Episode 13: Building a Study Villa – House Construction Edition (1)
“No way! Why on earth are they buying those for 10 million Riyan each!”
The World Monitoring Team, 10th Branch.
The team leader there flew into a rage watching Gyeongjun’s monitoring screen.
Meanwhile, Gim Buha, who was beside him, was looking at Gyeongjun in the hologram with eyes full of envy instead.
“He earned over 10 million won in an instant. I’m jealous…….”
“No way! What’s there to be jealous of…… Honestly, I’m incredibly jealous! Even my salary as team leader doesn’t come close to that! That’s why I’m even more pissed!”
Gyeongjun, who had earned nearly 120 million Riyan in an instant.
Converted to won, it amounted to 12 million won, so it was enough to drive everyone crazy with envy.
“How on earth did he earn that much money just by studying? And he’s only Level 1!”
“Isn’t it precisely because he only studied? User Gyeongjun has done nothing but study for over a year, without hunting or completing quests. That’s how he obtained a Hidden Piece too; in a way, it could be called the result of his consistent efforts.”
“Ugh, I suppose so…… But still, selling chairs for 10 million Riyan each is too much.”
Even the team leader, who had watched countless monitoring screens, hadn’t known Gyeongjun’s chairs would sell at such an expensive price.
According to his eye for value, he thought Gyeongjun’s chairs would sell for around 2 million Riyan for high-grade and 1 million Riyan for normal ones.
However, Gyeongjun had sold them all at five times that price.
“He’s a total bandit, a bandit! Did you see him manipulating NPCs to his heart’s content?”
“Yes. He was good enough to be recruited into our company’s management team.”
The Seolha Group Management Team!
The very place from which half of Seoul National University’s business administration majors are said to drop out!
It could be called the dream of every humanities student in South Korea right now.
Gim Buha held Gyeongjun in such high regard that he compared him to that management team.
Perhaps that was why Gim Buha didn’t look too kindly on the team leader’s use of the word “bandit.”
“Besides, depending on how you look at it, 10 million Riyan might surprisingly be an appropriate price. Doesn’t our company always release products applying new technology at outrageous prices at first?”
“Ahem, well, I suppose so. What was it before, the folding phone?”
“You mean the foldable?”
“Yeah, that. That one was over 2 million won when it first came out too.”
Gim Buha nodded at the team leader’s words and manipulated his computer to bring up a window.
It was to show the team leader one more thing.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a tracking of the purchasers’ logs to see just how effective User Gyeongjun’s chairs are.”
“Oh, really? Interesting. So how was it?”
“As you can see in this table, beginners who purchased User Gyeongjun’s chairs are growing approximately 50% faster than those who didn’t.”
“Wait, people who buy potions with real money also get 50%, don’t they? You’re saying it’s the same? Is that even a possible figure? You didn’t check it wrong, did you?”
The team leader doubted the figure of 50%.
To recover HP/MP with Gyeongjun’s chairs, one had to stop hunting and sit for 10 minutes.
On the other hand, players who purchase potions with real money don’t have to stop hunting for 10 minutes.
And yet the hunting efficiency of both methods was the same!
It made no sense.
“The figures are accurate.”
“Then why on earth are the two methods equally efficient?”
Of course, an unexpected truth was applying here.
“I thought about it quite a bit too, and I think it’s this. They’re all beginners, aren’t they? In the first place, their Stamina stat is low, so it’s impossible to keep hunting without resting.”
“Ah……! Right, even if HP recovers with potions, it doesn’t relieve their fatigue.”
“Yes, so resting was an inevitable situation for players from the start.”
The team leader picked up after hearing Gim Buha’s words.
“Hmm, from this perspective, buying chairs for 10 million Riyan isn’t necessarily bad. Once you buy this, you use it forever. Potions disappear when you use them.”
“Exactly. Moreover, it’s an incredible rare item with only 19 in the entire World. I’m sure the buyers are satisfied as well.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
The team leader scratched his head awkwardly, inwardly surprised.
Had User Gyeongjun considered all these factors from the beginning and tried to sell them at the price of 10 million Riyan?
He simply couldn’t shake off that thought.
“So this is why people say you need a good head on your shoulders…….”
“Right?”
“If we study, would we get smarter too?”
“Who can say?”
“Sigh…… I should’ve studied a lot more when I was young.”
“You said so yourself, didn’t you, Team Leader? That what we’re doing now is no different from studying.”
“Huh? Ah, ah. That? Well, that’s true but……! Hm-hah!”
The team leader’s mood slightly improved thanks to Gim Buha’s flattery.
“Alright! Since that’s how it is, let’s keep cheering for User Gyeongjun to study hard!”
Little did the team leader know at this moment…….
Who would have thought that User Gyeongjun would end up being carried to the hospital while studying?
* * *
Gyeongjun placed 『The God of Planning, Stephen Japs – Seolha Publications』 on the bookshelf and finished reading the Architecture Skillbook.
He had already read the skillbook several times, but it was to organize his thoughts before going.
What kind of house he would build there.
What he needed to prepare for it.
And how he would build it.
“Alright. I roughly have a picture in my head of how to do it.”
Slam.
Gyeongjun closed the Architecture Skillbook and put it in his inventory.
[Mythic Skill 『Dimensional Study Room』 has been turned OFF.]
▶Accumulated Time: 63 hours 32 minutes
The Dimensional Study Room time, which had originally been only 13 hours, had increased by over 50 hours after studying the Architecture Skillbook.
It was because the time gained through enlightenment was greater than the time consumed studying architecture.
The accumulated time was sufficient, and with the final exams in a month, it was the perfect timing to change his study location.
Of course, he hadn’t yet decided where to move the location.
“Timo, isn’t there a place nearby with few people, that’s quiet and has nice scenery? A good place to study.”
“Preferred features?”
“Aha. Something similar to rain sounds.”
Gyeongjun pondered for a moment with his arms crossed.
He couldn’t choose someplace like London where it rained all day just because rain sounds were good for studying.
If it rained too often, the air would be too humid and the books would get damp.
“A place similar to rain sounds where it doesn’t rain often…… Ah!”
Gyeongjun seemed to recall something.
“The sound of a stream. If there’s a small valley or river nearby where I can hear the trickling water flow, I think that’d be really nice.”
Soon, the indicator ‘Searching’ appeared above Timo’s crystal.
After about 5 minutes, the results came out immediately.
“It’s not far, is it? If it’s too far, I won’t be able to return to the Starting Village.”
To obtain study materials, Gyeongjun needed to visit the library periodically to borrow books.
If he ended up too far away, the system would activate and prevent him from returning to the Starting Village.
In the case of other villages, using the library required more difficult conditions, such as having Fame of 1,000 or higher, or possessing a noble status.
For Gyeongjun, there was no better place than the Starting Village library, which he could use indefinitely as long as he bought an access pass.
“Good. Then mark a few spots within that radius with the fewest monster spawns and reasonably close to the stream.”
Timo sent the OK sign and immediately began searching.
While Timo was finding suitable places, Gyeongjun gathered books from the library shelves.
Korean, Math, Chemistry 1, Physics 1, English, Korean History, and so on.
Gyeongjun intended to borrow as many books as possible from the library.
It was when he was carrying about ten books to the librarian’s desk.
“Solra solra~ bla bla~”
As always, Burari, the new librarian, was following the bizarre study method he had learned from his younger sister.
Of course, the source of it had been Gyeongjun.
Perhaps because the method was unexpectedly doing quite well, Burari had come to Gyeongjun once more to express his gratitude.
‘Studying by explaining to someone as if teaching them really does hit the mark for understanding. The big downside is that it’s a bit too loud and burdens those around you, though.’
Even so, Gyeongjun didn’t say anything to Burari.
Because Gyeongjun himself had been quite loud conversing with Timo in the library.
It was truly tit for tat.
“Good. Let’s check them one by one and build the study villa right away at the best spot.”
“Yeah. But give me just one minute.”
Before leaving the library, Gyeongjun felt he had to do one last thing.
He opened his status window and entered the section labeled ‘Customer Support’ once more.
『Inquiry Title: Request for Action Regarding Burari, the New Librarian at the Starting Village Library.』
『……(Omitted)……I am leaving the library now, so it is fine for me, but I am submitting this inquiry for those who will use it afterward.
Thank you for your hard work around the clock, always.
Thank you.』
Gyeongjun completed the customer support ticket like that, borrowed the books, and left the library.
Heading toward a place where he could study well and concentrate.
* * *
Afterward, the process of building the house proceeded without a hitch.
First, he went to Carpenter’s workshop and purchased the materials needed for construction.
Because he had built up high Affinity with Carpenter, he could buy what was originally 25 million Riyan at a discount for 20 million Riyan.
He had nearly gone back and forth multiple times to move the materials due to inventory limits, but Carpenter and his friends helped him finish it in one go.
“Phew. With this, all the materials are moved.”
He had settled at the place Timo had told him about, and with all materials moved, now was the time to build the study villa he had so long desired.
He had already learned the construction skill.
And at Level 4, at that.
Thanks to having read the Architecture Skillbook countless times and already having learned Carpenter skills, his level was 4 from the moment he first learned it, not 1.
[Normal Construction]
▶You can construct buildings using construction materials. The materials you can handle and the buildings you can construct vary according to skill level and grade.
▶Skill Level: Lv.4
▶Skill Type: Active
▶Skill Grade: Normal
[Commencing construction.]
The construction was carried out by Gyeongjun alone.
It would have been nice to have Carpenter and his friends help, but by proceeding alone, he could acquire more Dimensional Study Room time.
[You have partially realized construction know-how.]
[5 hours have been added to the Dimensional Study Room.]
Working alone was difficult, but he gained just as much in return.
[Your Strength has increased by 1 through steady construction.]
[Your Stamina has increased by 1 through steady construction.]
[Your Dexterity has increased by 1 through steady construction.]
.
.
.
▶Strength: 33→57
▶Stamina: 34→53
▶Dexterity: 42→57
The Stamina, Strength, and Dexterity stats that had risen endlessly during construction!
Stats don’t normally rise this well just from construction.
However, Gyeongjun was the exception.
The Mythic Skill 『Infinite Reading』, which raised stats when he studied.
Because studying wasn’t just reading books; directly experiencing the construction learned from books was also part of studying.
[You have successfully completed your first construction.]
[Gyeongjun’s Study Villa]
▶It is the first work of a novice architect. Though clumsy workmanship is still visible, not a single part is architecturally flawed. Infused with the energy of a water spirit, it relaxes both body and mind.
▶Recovers 5% HP/MP per minute while resting.
▶Building Grade: Normal
[Normal Skill 『Normal Construction』 has increased to Level 5.]
[Normal Skill 『Basic Carpentry Work』 has increased to Level 6.]
[Normal Skill 『Basic Carpentry Processing』 has increased to Level 5.]
[Normal Skill 『Basic Carpentry Patching』 has increased to Level 5.]
[10 hours have been added to the Dimensional Study Room.]
“It’s finished~!”
“Yeah, you worked hard teaching me this and that too. Aigoo~”
Gyeongjun let his body collapse from the hard labor.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the deep blue sky and the vast plains beneath it.
And between them stood a cozy little log cabin.
“This is my study villa.”
Gyeongjun looked up at his completed study villa with a proud heart.
Then, a status window he had never seen before appeared before his eyes.
[You have accumulated a certain level of knowledge through studying.]
[You have acquired 1 Mythic Skill Point.]
[You can choose one of the Mythic Skills 『Infinite Reading』, 『The System That’s Just a Bit Too Smart』, or 『Dimensional Study Room』 to raise its level.]
[You can check the Lv.2 unlock abilities in advance.]