Hyeonu left behind the three monsters and returned to Etono. Of course, he didn’t forget to get back the Blanc Return Stone from Lebron. It was more convenient to travel around the demon world with this.

‘I don’t need to worry about Lebron.’

No matter what Lebron did in the demon world now, it had nothing to do with Hyeonu.

‘It is a waste of time to worry about monsters.’

“I have to check how much I’ve earned.” Hyeonu sat on the chair in the inner office and called up the territory status window.

[Territory Status Window]

[Territory Name: Etono

Territory Affiliation: Baler

Lord’s Name: Gang Hyeonu

Territory Development: Economy: 44 (-34) Military: 70 (-50) Magic: 62 (-51) Culture: 28

Territory Population: 0 demons, 0 demonic creatures, 7 humans

Territory Assets: 123,023 gold

Consumption Cost: 0 gold.

Levy Amount: 0 gold.

Security: Good

Owned Facilities: 9 (excluding residential facilities)

Current Status: There are only a few adventurers in the city. The magic power absorption speed of the magic power stone has increased slightly. Still, the magic power absorption rate is a bit slow.]

‘Haven’t the territory assets increased a lot?’

Not long ago, Etono only had around 70,000 gold. Since the large guilds came, the assets had increased by over 50,000 gold.

‘Isn’t the deposit considered as assets?’

Thinking carefully, there weren’t as many assets as he thought. There was a price difference, but most buildings had a deposit of over 100,000 gold. Yet the amount of money had only increased by approximately 50,000. In other words, the deposits were money that would disappear one day and weren’t considered as assets.

‘If every guild rents a building...’

It didn’t seem like it would take long to regain the 3.2 million gold. In the long run, Etono would be a ridiculous source of income for Hyeonu. It was a cash cow.

‘Let’s think 3.2 million gold as an investment.’

Then Hyeonu started to manage the territory. He stared at the monitor for a while before finding a strange thing.

[Magic Power Stone Management]

A very familiar title was written there.

‘What?’

Hyeonu quickly pressed the part that said ‘Magic Power Stone Management’. The following content appeared.

[Magic Power Absorption Adjustment]

[Remaining Magic Power in the Magic Power Stone]

“Eh?” The appearance of the new thing attracted Hyeonu’s gaze.

‘Adjust magic power absorption?’

Hyeonu pressed it like he was possessed by a ghost.

[Present magic power absorption - 10%]

[-You can adjust the magic power absorption. It can be increased up to 100%.]

“Oh!” A burst of admiration emerged from Hyeonu’s mouth. It was certainly rewarding to check the territory management window.

‘If I raise this, won’t the magic power stone fill up quickly?’

Hyeonu remembered the phrase in the status window. The magic power absorption speed was still slow.

‘I should raise it to 30%.’

30% was three times the current rate. Naturally, it would gather much faster than it did now.

‘Then how much magic power is gathered now?’

Hyeonu wondered how much magic power remained in the magic power stone.

[Remaining Magic Power in the Magic Power Stone: 71%]

‘Isn’t this good?’

The magic power stone contained a fairly large amount of magic power, much more than he thought.

‘Absorbing it once should be possible...’

This was fine then. There was no longer any need to worry or think about it. In any case, it would take half a year in Arena time to be able to use the magic power absorption once and then again. No matter what happened in the meantime, Hyeonu who used Magic Power Absorption would be filled with magic power.

‘I just need to wait.’

The only thing left to do was to wait.

***

The appearance of the demon world drove a big wind to Arena once again. It didn’t have a direct impact on the players though. There were very few people who were likely to be shaken by the appearance of the demon world. However, the demon world had a significant effect on A-World… as well as a great effect on Quency. Among those at Quency, it had a huge impact on the planning team.

“What direction should we turn the main scenario toward? There aren’t as many directions as I thought.” Kim Jinyeong asked the question to Park Hyeonjun, who appeared no better than a dead body, while handing him a cup of iced coffee.

It was like he said. There really weren’t many directions they could take it. This situation was impossible to fix just by modifying it slightly. Park Hyeonjun didn’t plug the straw into the cup. He just opened the lid and drank the cold coffee straight. It was only then that he opened his mouth. Now, his eyes seemed to be alive. He replied, “I know. It’s not supposed to be like this. This is completely new. It has to go naturally, so we went with the expedition format.”

The modification policy of Quency focused on natural transitions. They fixed things so that players didn’t sense the issues. It seemed to be like that originally.

“Expedition... Then it isn’t just the players. The NPCs of the empire will also move to Etono. If things go wrong... perhaps the emperor will go over?” Kim Jinyeong sipped his coffee. He was tired too.

“We’ve determined there is quite a high chance of that. The moment the emperor’s teacher, Duke Blake, ascended to the position of a demon king in the demon world... The emperor’s personality isn’t the type to leave it alone.”

It was already expected. No, they were certain. Based on the pattern of the emperor’s behavior so far, he would visit the demon world unconditionally. The reason didn’t matter.

“The emperor won’t receive the demon world penalty either... So the demon world will be turned upside down again.”

“There is no need to worry too much. In any case, the emperor and Lebron might be strong enough to get a new city... but they will never invite troublesome things with their personalities.”

Nevertheless, Park Hyeonjun wasn’t worried. It was inevitable to work overtime for this situation, but the inevitable circumstances wouldn’t occur next time. The design had already been completed.

‘It is for the night shift,’ Park Hyeonjun thought.

Then he asked, “Team Leader Kim, have you been having any problems recently? You look pretty tired.”

Kim Jinyeong might not have reached Park Hyeonjun’s extent of exhaustion, but he didn’t have the appearance of a healthy person either.

“The price of potions has soared. There seems to be a shortage of gold and potions on the market... It is the influence of the demon world opening too early. I think we need to create more NPCs who can produce potions,” Kim Jinyeong answered.

The problem was because Hyeonu had found the demon world too early and made it public on his stream. In order to hunt at high-level hunting grounds, players had to indulge in potions like drug addicts, and the demand for potions would naturally increase. Supply fell short of demand, so the increase in demand would cause prices to rise.

Park Hyeonjun nodded. “Then we will also reflect on it on our side. We will increase the production of potions by at least 20%.”

This wasn’t a difficult thing to do. They just had to add NPCs, or they could raise the level of NPCs.

‘In any case, we need a certain amount of potions.’

His encounter with Kim Jinyeong increased his work, but Park Hyeonjun’s expression was bright. It wasn’t because there wasn’t much work remaining but that it was nothing compared to what they had done so far.

“Then see you in a few days, Team Leader Kim.”

***

At Incheon International Airport, numerous people exited the arrivals hall with their luggage. Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu were amongst them. The two people were each dragging a suitcase of the right size for them. Kim Seokjung frowned as he tucked his sunglasses into the pocket of his shirt.

“Junggu, is the day right?” He turned to ask Gang Junggu, who was still wearing sunglasses.

“Today is Wednesday, so it is right. The tickets have already been booked. They’re in the best spots. Maybe Hyung-nim will appear on camera several times,” Gang Junggu said while shaking his white smartphone. The tickets were in there.

“The house?”

“It is in Hannam-dong. Both Gangnam and Itaewon are easy to get to from there. If we have time, we can go to Hongdae.”

“That’s not it. I am asking if the construction is over,” Kim Seokjung said.

Gang Junggu nodded. “Construction ended a few days ago, and the cleaning is done every two days.”

Three crease lines formed in between Kim Seokjung’s brows as he furrowed. He wasn’t very satisfied with Gang Junggu’s answer.

“Shouldn’t you show me with photos instead of your mouth, Junggu?” Kim Seokjung’s voice was even lower this time. This caused Gang Junggu to quickly unlock the screen of his smartphone to look for the photos. However, he couldn’t see the screen properly with the sunglasses and the phone’s low screen brightness.

Eventually, Gang Junggu took off his sunglasses. Holding the sunglasses in one hand and navigating the smartphone with the other, he soon found the photos. The objects were properly distinguished now, so he saw the photos of the house with one glance.

“Here it is, from here to here. There are around 40 photos.”

Gang Junggu had reduced them to 40 photos. The detailed photos he picked out were overall views of the house, the interior rooms, and the outside garden.

“40? That is quite a lot...” Kim Seokjung received the smartphone from Gang Junggu and checked the photos. He didn’t look at any of them carefully; he merely scrolled straight past them and only had a look at small parts.

“I don’t like the 1st floor. Did you not put in everything I requested?” Kim Seokjung asked.

In the first place, there were only two things that Kim Seokjung expected from Gang Junggu—the interior of the first floor and the exterior garden.

The Hannam-dong residence had a total of three floors. The first floor was just the toilet, living room, and kitchen. The kitchen was an open-plan kitchen. On the first floor, Kim Seokjung hoped to prepare all types of things, ranging from coffee and beer machines to a wine cellar, a shelf for whiskey, and a large refrigerator for wine and drinks. He planned to make it an excellent space for eating and enjoying.

“How can I get it if there are no supplies, Hyung-nim? I can’t bring them on the plane with us,” Gang Junggu responded. However, it was impossible to have everything in a short period of time. Even if the machine were put in, it was difficult to fill it with all the alcohol Kim Seokjung wanted.

This was the only thing that Kim Seokjung pointed out. “I need to throw a party this evening... What does this sound like? Junggu, do you want to buy drinks in the middle of the party?”

Kim Seokjung was going to have a party tonight celebrating Hyeonu’s first league win. Yet if there wasn’t the most important alcohol... there was no way to hold the party. He couldn’t imagine a party without alcohol.

“I’ll let the kids get them. So why don’t we move first? We have just under two hours until the start of the match.”

Two hours wasn’t tight, but there wasn’t much time. Exiting the airport was a priority.

“Really? Then make it cheaper.”

The two people quickened their pace. The sound of their suitcases’ spinning wheels rang out loudly in the airport.