Volume 42 Chapter 8

“Welcome Lord-nim.”

“Welcome. We have been waiting.”

Robin was welcomed by lined up soldiers as he came to Ars Village that was in his territory.

1,000 soldiers were dispatched from the Haven Empire.

“This village looks good to begin with. There is much room for development.”

Robin bought himself the position of a lord in the north with his money.

There were approximately 200 remote villages.

Shortly after the war ended, there were no quests, specialties or mercenary guilds.

“I have to develop this as quickly as possible. First, I should equip them with the basic facilities of a village?”

Robin decided to take advantage of the internal affairs mode. He committed 9 million gold to the village.

“Money must be spent correctly.”

Robin widely expanded the centre of the village with the village internal affairs mode.

“This skeleton is enough to make it grow into a large city in the future. The city’s traffic plan will increase the number of tourists.”

A giant fountain was installed in the square and wide streets for carriages were connected.

The lord ordered red brick and white stone buildings for the commercial district. The stones for the building were directly moved by the residents.

It was necessary for the lord to establish wages. Naturally, it was impossible to have an unpaid forced labour.

“In order to ensure their loyalty, should it be 2 silver a day? The village will develop quicker if the residents receive money. Money isn’t something that should be saved.”

The mobilized residents were paid 5 gold per day. Young children to the elderly participated in the building of the commercial district.

“Weapons store, armour store, grocery store, furniture store, specialty stores…this village isn’t bad and can develop into a market in the future. Should some livestock be raised in the grassland area near here?”

Raising cows was very fashionable in the north. It was easy to get excellent cattle and they could graze as they desired on the vast grasslands.

It was uncommon to see hunters pulling 1,000 horses.

“Cows entering the city will make the streets dirty. Horse trade should be developed in the lower level of the market.”

Robin boldly gave up on cattle breeding.

He also wasn’t fond of the agricultural sector.

Due to the nature of the profession, farmer users didn’t tend to have large yields. They needed to clear land outside the village but this would make the scenery worsen.

But the users couldn’t adequately utilize the wide plains.

It was for realistic reasons since they couldn’t block the attack of monsters.

It was like leaving a breadbasket for monsters and security would worsen, decreasing the loyalty of the residents. The chances of monster invasions would significantly increase so Robin gave up on the small income of the agricultural sector.

“My city will be the centre of tourism, finance and luxury goods production. In order to do that, I need to use the right investment strategy in the beginning. My father got ahead of others due to bold investments.”

Many of the northern villages were appointed to people like Robin.

The Haven Empire wanted the lords to quickly stabilize and develop the area.

In return, the lords would receive considerable wealth. Once the village and cities were stable, they could sell materials for money. This would benefit the Haven Empire a great deal.

Robin thought the north was worth more.

If the village grew to a city then his status and honour would be guaranteed. He would use his money to become one of the influential lords of the continent.

“Training centre for the blacksmiths and jewellery craftsmen. An auction and accommodations will develop the tourism industry. I should make it in advance.”

He planted rare trees to decorate the landscape and built 150 luxury accommodations.

“The work is growing rapidly. My village has the highest population around here. Although the initial development is slow…at some point it will increase dramatically.”

The 9 million gold meant that the village no longer felt undeveloped. There were new buildings luxuriously decorated.

Robin received an additional 4 million gold from the Haven Empire. Of course, such a large amount of money wasn’t for free.

“I will use this money to build a castle. A big and beautiful castle…it will increase the reputation of the village with tourists and increase the authority of the lord. Knights will also pledge allegiance to me.”

A castle was essential for a lord’s reign. A huge amount of money would be invested in it but it clearly had positive effects.

Merchants from the Central Continent came to Ars Village to sell luxury building materials. Many of the construction materials were difficult to procure directly.

In the past, cities were built with stone from the free cities and principalities.

The residents grew richer every day and the economic power rapidly rose. The village was crowded with merchants and tourists from the Central Continent.

“If all the people in the vicinity come to me…I will also accept residents affected by war in the Central Continent. Yes, my money means I can catch up with Morata’s development speed.”

Robin launched the housing construction.

Due to the very cheap housing, almost no taxes and excellent facilities, the number of residents was growing every day.

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Weed roamed the territory of the Arpen Kingdom. Weed found famous hunting grounds from the information boards.

Remarkable achievements due to the hunt!

In a short period of time, his level had gone up by 5.

Even so, he was still only level 427.

“There is still a long way to go.”

Weed asked Seo-yoon.

“Did you gain some levels?”

“A little bit.”

“What level?”

“471.”

“Heuheuheuk! It is like I suddenly doubled in size. My stomach is upset from eating pajeon (korean type of pancake) a week ago. By the way, this isn’t important but what level is your swordsmanship?”

“Advanced level 8. Today I will reach level 9.”

“Heoheok, it feels like the pajeon is coming up.”

He had lost too many levels on the final secret sculpting technique quest.

He estimated that Bardray had reached at least level 500. It was like being famished after only eating sweet potatoes for one week.

“I didn’t play with other people while growing up.”

Weed toured the central area of the Arpen Kingdom between Morata and Vent Castle. There was an overwhelming amount of information about the central region on the bulletin boards.

Users withdrew from the dungeons after clearing them so they were decent hunting grounds.

“Cooking delicious seafood soup at the hunting ground. Many people are bringing them into the dungeon.”

“Various types of flower decorations for the farm. Affordable prices, wildflowers. Don’t ask about the source.”

“A new branch of the Grass Porridge Cult has been born. The Midnight Snack Porridge unit! Chicken porridge, ham hock porridge, bossam porridge. Looking for new members. The Wheat Porridge unit will provide barley drinks!”

Due to the crowds of people at famous dungeons, a market formed.

There were many players who came back to the central region from the remote areas after realizing this fact.

The location was great and wooden villages started being built on plains and rivers. The village residents were especially made up of young people.

“Weed-nim rules the Arpen Kingdom. The kings and nobles are the same but I can believe in Weed-nim.”

“I will believe in Weed-nim even if we are in the depths of hell.”

Hunters and lumberjacks continued to bring their wives and families.

The places with traces of the Niflheim Empire had large villages created.

Most large villages were at places where transportation was convenient and was close to rivers or plains. The cities of the Niflheim Empire that flourished in the history books were being recreated.

Some villages had players settle in for hunting and adventures, increasing their population.

Weed was able to experience the evolution of the Arpen Kingdom through his trip.

The features of every city were being developed. The rural areas contained buildings from the era of the Arpen Empire.

The higher birth rate meant more warriors were being trained. They helped defend the fortresses, granaries, etc. from the monsters.

The construction of different buildings led to commercial development.

The Keltun Kingdom soldier camps and Mapon Kingdom trade centres were examples of buildings from the warring period.

Vent Castle reflected the elegant architecture of the Niflheim Empire. The construction required time and manpower but added historical and cultural value.

Weed granted some benefits as the king while wandering around. Strong and harmonious buildings would grant a positive benefit to the development of the city.

The Arpen Kingdom was a colourful and interesting place.

The ellyons wearing green hats and clothing quickly spread out through the north. Due to the nature of the fairy, they ate dew at night and made new friends.

Initially they stayed in nature but soon frequented the villages.

The ellyons developed mines and increased the growth rate of the grain after playing in the farmlands.

The arnin had a role in looking after domestic animals. They cared for cows, pigs and sheep. There were only a few arnin but they could take care of thousands of livestock each.

In the future, they could tame dangerous predators like the saber-toothed tigers and the griffins. Saber-toothed tiger corps or griffin knights might arise. They would be good in war as well as increase the efficiency of hunting and adventures.

The changes in the north meant a lot of time was needed for the roads to be connected. The activities of the users slowly widened but the griffin could overcome these constraints.

“Hmm, the development is fast. Speaking of which, there must be fairly organic quests.”

The normalization of the Northern Continent.

Despite the undeveloped areas, there were several advantages compared to the Central Continent. Weed’s adventures was an advantage.

And adventurers and merchants contributed to the Arpen Kingdom.

This type of development had several advantages over the Haven Empire.

The large scale reconstruction of Mordred, the capital city of the Niflheim Empire was mainly carried out by merchants.

“An excessive amount of goods needs to be transported here.”

“If we use the river and plains then it can quickly arrive at the destination.”

“Artifacts are also being found often. Let’s not forget that merchants are developing the kingdom.”

Mordred would occupy the centre of the northern transportation network once it was fully restored.

When looking at the location on a map, Morata was in the middle of mountains and rivers. Mordred would be the core location that connected the north and west areas of the Arpen Kingdom.

In the past, it was the capital of the Niflheim Empire but it was abandoned and became a monster’s paradise.

-A party that is going to explore the Red Ruins near Mordred. The hunt will last for 5 days before returning.

-Magician wanted! Looking for 10 magicians to hunt at Mordred.

This dungeon was a heaven for magicians.

An expedition was configured with at least 1,000 users to beat the monsters.

They would fiercely assault the monsters before the monsters ended up hiding in the mountains or dungeons.

After the war, the army of the Arpen Kingdom periodically came here to fight against the monsters.

The result was that the monsters were reduced to a certain extent and the debris could be cleaned up.

Mordred of the Niflheim Empire used to have a population of 1 million people. The buildings were gradually restored from the outside.

After the architects built the Earth Palace, they would be dispatched to Mordred.

There were many people interested in the architecture of the Arpen Kingdom.

The Central Continent had the buildings and cities already completed. However, the northern architects created the roads, villages and infrastructure themselves.

Many novice architects gained experience from restoring Mordred.

The Arpen Kingdom’s development was due to the collaboration between architects and merchants.

“Architect is a really attractive profession. The essence is labour but there are endless possibilities in the future.”

Weed watched the developments of the Arpen Kingdom from the streets.

He had started in the Rosenheim Kingdom but the Arpen Kingdom was starting to feel like home. A comfortable feeling like his own home.

Users were running around the shops to buy cheaper goods, women sitting down and residents wandering.

“I’m not far away from mastering sculpting.

He had created some fine pieces and masterpieces while staying in the Arpen Kingdom.

Weed’s handicraft and sculpting skill was currently at 97% advanced level 9. One last step remained to the master level.

The next stage of the final sculpting technique was also close. Time Sculpting was at 64% beginner level 8. It was very difficult to raise Time Sculpting so he had great expectations of the intermediate stage.

“I understand that no class masters have appeared yet.

The Class Master Quest was a really big topic. But no one who mastered their profession had appeared yet.

He sculpted numerous new works in an attempt to increase his skill proficiency. No matter how many sculptures he continued to make, the proficiency didn’t increase much.

Weed travelled to different regions and used those materials to make the sculptures. Sometimes he would mobilize moonlight sculpting or blacksmithing.

‘No, I need to master sculpting sooner.’

Weed had experience mastering skills.

During the final secret sculpting technique quest, he became a sword master. At that time, his level was 680. He defeated strong monsters and achieved the last stage.

Hard work was the true way to became a master swordsman!

“If I raise it harmoniously then I might be able to reach it at a much lower level.”

He might be able to achieve sword mastery when his level was still in the 400s.

He also had concerns about Bardray.

Compared with Geomchi, his level was enough to become a master swordsman.

“If given the opportunity, I will conquer the best hunting grounds and achieve master level without delay.”

But in Bardray’s case, he didn’t train in the basic skills. Because of his overall level and diverse range of skills, he still hadn’t achieved mastering swordsmanship.

Weapons, armour, quests and exceptional subordinates meant he didn’t place much significance on the sword.

“It isn’t just Bardray. There is another one close to becoming a master.”

Weed didn’t hear any rumours about other masters.

Among the professions, only a few were challenging it.

There was too much competition among the combat professions so someone like Bardray was likely to achieve it. However, they lost their lives in challenging battles so their proficiency would drop.

But the blacksmith profession was different. In particular, the blacksmith Fabio was significantly ahead of him.

“He is right in front of mastering the blacksmith skill. Umm……”

Weed wasn’t obsessed with the order itself. The first to become a class master would receive great honour.

It was enough if he mastered sculpting and could freely use Time Sculpting.

“Of course, I hope that I can occupy the position of the first class master.”

Weed continued hunting and making sculptures.

He couldn’t do anything else. The development of the Arpen Kingdom was dealt with and he needed to do things for himself.

“This is life. My legs will stretch when I sleep at night and when I go to the toilet in the morning.”

There wasn’t a big secret behind Weed’s growth.

If he wasn’t hunting or on an enormous adventure then he was sculpting!

The dungeon and quests were simple so they only took a day or two to solve.

“I need to make a piece that will increase sculpting and Time Sculpting.”

Minor sculptures could be completed.

A shining fox or a realistic wolf.

These types of works continued to be popular with the users.

Even so, they would be tough to help Weed master sculpting. These types of sculptures increased the proficiency by 0.1%.

Maybe other art professions were just as hard to master.

“Others need to do these type of things. Art is a hard calling.”

Weed suddenly pictured a sculpture he could make.

‘I should take advantage of nature sculpting and moonlight sculpting. A really huge magnum opus…something others can’t follow. And I can only make a sculpture.’

Now that becoming a sculpting master was right in front of him, his worries deepened.

Then he had a sudden epiphany.

“My knowledge…I should use the knowledge gained from travelling around the continent. I am one of the people that knows the Versailles Continent the best. Of course, I am fully sure that it can’t be exactly the same.”

Weed was honest with himself. But he thought he could try.

“Okay, let’s do it!”

So he decided to make a very large sculpture!

He settled in a location near Mordred.

Weed decided to make a sculpture that was 2,000 pyeong.

The Versailles Continent.

From Jigolaths in the north to the Desert of Tranquility. The large sea islands to the east and the forests in the west. Lakes, mountains, oceans and cities would be included in this piece of the Versailles Continent.

He needed to express the basic scale using the oceans.

“I should use nature sculpting to bring the rain and snow. The desert area should have a shining sun.”

Just thinking about it caused his body to tremble.

“I have to stay humble. Otherwise I don’t deserve to be called a real artist.”

In medieval times, there were the names of a few genius artists. They finished works of art over a few years or even decades.

The artwork was large in size so a lot of effort was required to complete it.

“Art is hard work. There is no art without labour. Hard work is required to admire art.”

Weed held a shovel and pickaxe instead of the Sculpting Knife and started to carve the Northern Continent.

He had seen the recent changes in the terrain and was confident about his knowledge. However, he needed to use his memory for the rest of the continent. He had a vague idea of the volcanoes and coastline.

As a piece of art, it didn’t have to be exactly the same as reality. Still, there were areas that he didn’t have any knowledge of.

Wy-3 was good for short and long distances but there was another way.

“Yurin, I will buy you clothes.”

“Oppa, what do you want me to do?”

“That……”

Jigolaths that had made him shocked in the past.

Volcanoes popped like firecrackers as a backdrop to a hunting festival.

He then went to the south pole.

In fact, the south pole was still an unknown and unexplored area. But Yurin could draw a picture using some books.

“Oppa, I found some books about the south pole in the library……”

“I’m not interested. It is just a book.”

“There is a pile of treasure.”

“Where? Let’s go!”

They visited the place in the book using Picture Teleportation.

Weed and Seo-yoon had experienced the harsh cold of the north so they were dressed warmly. Yellowy and Goldman were thickly dressed and Phoenix was brought as well.

But some places weren’t able to be prepared for.

The south pole was on an entirely different level.

Swaeeeenng!

Even the sound of the wind was different.

The cold wind blew quickly.

“Well…since it is like this. Soon…you will be able to adapt.”

Weed believed that he had the survival ability of a cockroach. But after seeing a penguin die from the cold, he changed his mind.

Living spirits of ice wandered around looking for living things to be their prey.

They were in a serious crisis and barely managed to hunt it with their lives intact.

Phoenix moaned and said.

“This isn’t a place where we should stay, Master.”

“I think so…no, I don’t care but if you think we should go back then we will.”

Even Phoenix was barely able to return from the dungeon.

Yellow barely survived becoming a frozen bull.

They experienced this piece of the continent with their own body. A special environment that was just as challenging as the 10 forbidden zones.

Hunting while checking the terrain!

Yurin and Seo-yoon helped a lot in this. Yurin would take him everywhere while Seo-yoon read books about the terrain in the library.

Even the sculptural lifeforms like Yellowy, the wyverns and Bingryong were mobilized.

“Ummoooooo.”

Yellowy ploughed an area that would represent the seas and rivers.

“This is a wide, piece of land but the materials are lacking.

The wyverns would bring stones and mud from other areas. Bingryong was necessary to express the north and south poles.

“This is great. Breathe out.”

Making ice sculptures.

The Northern Continent was completed after a week.

In contrast, the Central Continent was well known so he didn’t need to do a lot of research about it. But the rivers, roads and villages were intricately connected so it was hard to express.

The spacious Southern Continent that was filled with desert was almost too easy!

The east and west wasn’t easy but he expressed it accurately. Even the orc castles in the Plains of Despair were clearly represented.

Weed spent 2 months making the sculpture.

He visited more places and hunted in order to not fall behind. Information about famous dungeons and hunting grounds were obtained and he cleared it with Seo-yoon.

He didn’t only concentrate on hunting so he only raised his level 2 more times.

“Now it is 80% complete.”

Weed became more confident about the piece.

He couldn’t exactly make the continent. It was too impossible. He was elaborate as possible but there were bound to be some errors in his task.

Nevertheless, it was 2,000 pyeong so a magnum opus would come out.

Goldman played an especially important role in this.

“Be sure not to damage the sculpture when stepping on it.”

“Gol gol gol gol, I will be careful.”

“This is a chance for you to participate in the artwork. Goldman, isn’t this experience rare?”

“Using this precious body to pull out weeds, I really met the wrong master.”

A sculptural lifeform pulling out weeds!

Other users watching were astonished at the level of Weed’s sculpture.

It wasn’t obvious at first glance that the sculpture was of the Versailles Continent.

Fortresses, villages and mountains. The commercial districts, residential areas, streets and Grand Buildings were all reproduced. Rivers flowed in the correct direction and there were lush waters. The harbour had small, wooden sailboats floating along the currents to the big ocean.

The elves were asked to plant specific tiny seeds where needed. Thus, there were golden fields and granaries. There were even tunnels where the mines should be.

Rain soaked the ground and caused the waters of the river to rise. Volcanoes in the Jigolaths occasionally emitted real smoke.

The important thing was that there was a constant air circulation around the continent.

Weed had just intended to make a map at first but it became more complex and sophisticated.

Compared to the thriving and developed Central Continent, the Arpen Kingdom still gave off a rural feeling.

There were beautiful sculptures such as the Tower of Light.

A piece where he could no longer carve up the ground!

Weed turned his gaze towards the sky.

“The world isn’t just the land. Of course, real estate is very important but that isn’t the end of it.”

The sculpture already had rain clouds. But the sky should have the sun and the stars.

“Moonlight Sculpting!”

Moonlight sculpting was used to generate constellations in the sky. Shiny stars, the moon and the sun were created!

Time Sculpting was used to create a natural flow.

The sculpture created a miracle as the sun, moon and stars moved while illuminating the ground.

It made the Versailles Continent feel much more beautiful.

“It was a mistake. 2,000 pyeong is too small. I should have made it over 10,000 pyeong.”

The limit couldn’t perfectly express the sunrise and sunset.

Nevertheless, Weed decided to stop here. If he indulged in endless greed then the sculpture would never be finished.

A sculpture made with Nature Sculpting and Time Sculpting.

“It is done. I still have regrets but…curly ramen noodles are still delicious.”

“The Versailles Continent.”

“Um, wait a minute. A better name…should it be The Living Versailles Continent?”

“That still seems a little strange…just name it A Beautiful World.”

“Yes. I can’t think of a cool name.”

“Ohhhh.”

A rotten smile bloomed brightly on Weed’s face.

TO BE CONTINUED

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