22. Facility Expansion
The alarm went off.
Han immediately checked on the elves’ condition.
“Ah. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Han breathed a sigh of relief.
The elves’ square was intact.
There had been almost no proper attacks yet.
But for Han, their safety was always a concern.
According to the system, they would be able to install stable defense facilities as time passed, but for now, it was impossible.
Irina was now on the lookout, checking the surroundings.
Quietly keeping watch with a bow in hand, she seemed so familiar with this place as if she had been here for ages.
Han discreetly peered into the mushroom house.
Inside the window, on the second floor, the siblings were sound asleep, snuggled under the straw, with young wolves gathered around them.
It was still early in the morning.
Even beyond this snow-covered square, darkness prevailed more than light.
It might take a while for the siblings and the young wolves to wake up.
Han had things to do in the meantime.
While he had rested last night, he had built up points again.
This time, he would summon a well.
“For the elves, water is an urgent matter.”
So far, securing water had been a challenge for the elves.
There were several inconvenient steps for them to drink water.
It was like a barren snowy desert here.
There was no proper water source here.
Therefore, to drink water, they had to either melt snow at most, or if not, rely on drinking apple or tomato juice.
However, these were uncomfortable.
It was merely a way to endure, not a rich way of life that allows one to drink water freely.
Moreover, their methods of melting snow were limited.
“Elves have always gone through uncomfortable processes to drink water.”
Having frequently observed the ways of securing drinking water up to that point, they were well aware of it.
In fact, some leeway had only recently come about.
Until the apple trees grew, Irina mainly secured water by filling a bucket to the brim during sleeping hours and melting it through body heat to obtain drinking water.
Although there was now some freedom brought about by Han’s creation of a bonfire, freedom was still not attainable from the element of snow.
The water resource obtained by melting a large amount of snow was very scarce.
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As a result, Han was in urgent need of drinking water.
There were two choices made available.
[There are currently two methods for securing drinking water: ‘Water Stand’ and ‘Fountain.’]
The points consumed for one facility were 1,000pt.
Therefore, careful consideration was needed for the choice.
Of course, a more free choice could be made later, even more so after further growth than now…
At the current stage where wise use of points was necessary, a slightly better method had to be chosen if possible.
‘Which one should I choose?’
Water Stand and Fountain.
Of course, both facilities produced water automatically according to time.
If not for that, there would be no reason for Han to ponder.
Of course, before making a choice, he inquired about the system’s thoughts.
However, the system remained silent on the matter.
It was a problem that the racial deity himself had to decide.
Yes, that’s right.
This was his choice, not a matter of relying on the system.
Of course, he could be a bit wiser.
But ultimately, to act as a deity, one must rely on their autonomy rather than depending on someone else.
A while later, Han made his decision.
“All right, let’s go with the Fountain.”
[Understood.]
With the system’s acceptance, a fountain emerged in the center of the square.
As the refreshing stream of water began to spray from the constructed facility, Irina, who was standing on the lookout tower, widened her eyes in surprise.
“…What’s this?”
(Thumbs up!)
As if to resolve that question, Han raised his thumb.
Covering her mouth, Irina chuckled.
“It seems like it was called forth by the god.”
In an instant, she leaped down, landing softly on the ground.
She watched the stream of cool water for a while as if entranced.
She slowly approached the fountain.
She murmured as she gazed at the fountain, shimmering like a mirror in front of her.
“I’ve never seen so much water in my life. My God.”
It must be the first time.
Most likely.
For her, water was a word that barely meant melting snowflakes in her hands.
Let alone the sight of water filling a vast fountain basin.
This was the kind of world it was.
“Unni, over here….”
It seemed the two siblings had gotten up.
Behind the kids rubbing their eyes, young wolf pups with wagging tails followed.
Zion and Yumina emerged with yawns.
The pupils of the kids widened as they witnessed the fountain spewing water.
“Uh… what?”
As they came closer, they finally realized what it was.
“Could all of this be water? Wow!”
“Did God do this?”
At that, Han raised his thumb again.
His action left the siblings speechless.
It was quite remarkable.
Indeed, which human in the world could conjure up so much water with just a flick of the finger or two?
From their perspective, surely only a god could perform such a feat.
The fountain raining down like a downpour.
Despite everyone being surprised and bewildered by it, they were also delighted.
“So much water….”
“It’s a blessing from God!”
The elves danced and frolicked above the fountain where the water was being received.
“Aha-ha.”
Irina too was savoring the falling water.
Her dripping hair showed she was thoroughly soaked.
In truth, that was why Han had chosen the fountain.
Both facilities had their own merits, but Han valued the fountain more for its ability to bathe.
Oh, and of course, the fact that the fountain basin could hold a large amount of water in advance.
“Now everyone can bathe freely whenever they want.”
This way, time would be saved, and they could bathe freely whenever they pleased.
Of course, they could also drink the water.
It would be much more convenient than the hassle of waiting to melt and warm up in a bathtub each time.
Was it due to Han’s consecutive actions?
“Thank you, God.”
As a gesture of gratitude, she once again prayed towards the statue of Han.
Of course, while offering a gesture of apology.
“Ah….”
Han scratched his head at the tribute he had received early that morning.
“Another one has arrived.”
It wasn’t a gesture made with expectations of reward.
Now was the point where the supply of apples and tomatoes for the elves to eat had started to dwindle.
Over the past few days, they had been consuming them as their staple, and already nearly half was gone.
It was a limited resource.
Of course, there were still mushrooms scattered around this area, so there was no fear of starvation.
But one couldn’t live on just that every day.
Certainly, there was a sense of gratitude, yet at the same time, a mixture of regret and thankfulness towards the elves who cared so much.
“As a sign of gratitude, I’ll prepare a special lunchbox today…”
That’s when it happened.
Ding-.
The sound of a bell ringing inside the house echoed.
Han turned his head towards the entrance.
A voice could be heard.
“[Mr. Kim Han, are you there?]”
“…?”
What could it be?
In his already limited human interactions, only his colleagues from work knew him.
“Oh, come to think of it, today was the day the package was supposed to arrive, wasn’t it?”
There was a corner of his mind that remembered.
Today was the day money would be deposited from the intermediaries.
A few days ago, he had heard that all the appraisals by the appraisers were done, and the items were up for auction.
It was said that a series of items would be returned to him as intermediary compensation.
“Yes, just a moment!”
He opened the door.
“…?”
However, what he was told about sending a package was slightly different.
“Mr. Kim Han? Are you the one?”
“Well… yes, that’s me.”
Even as he replied, he felt flustered, his words stumbling.
He felt perplexed by the scene before him.
A man and a woman in smart suits filled the entrance.
The atmosphere was so peculiar that even passersby in the neighborhood glanced over once or twice.
The man in sunglasses at the forefront bowed.
“If you felt the atmosphere was strange, please accept our apologies. Due to the somewhat special nature of the message we have to deliver, a bit of escort was required.”
“…Escort?”
What he offered was a small box.
The gaze of Han naturally turned in that direction.
“…Was that package sent as a mediator’s reward?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Mr. Kim Han.”
What kind of identity must this hold for people to gather like this just to deliver one thing?
Naturally, curiosity arose about the contents of the box.
“What is this?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Pardon?”
“We haven’t been informed about it, so we can’t know. The only person who will find out is you, Mr. Kim Han, the recipient.”
With that, they politely bowed their heads, apologized for any inconvenience, and disappeared.
“…….”
After they vanished,
The onlookers from the neighborhood covered their mouths, glancing at Han with resentment, then muttered among themselves.
Caught off guard, Han quickly shut the door.
Alone in the space, Han stared at the box in his hands.
It was an incredibly strange experience that so many people had gathered just to deliver this one box.
“What could possibly be inside?”
Click.
Carefully sealed inside the box was,
“…A letter?”
Surprisingly, the only thing inside was a brief letter.
***
Thank you, Mr. Kim Han.
Thanks to you, my younger sibling was able to regain their health.
Although I paid the price, it was as if I purchased a medicine that I wouldn’t have been able to afford originally.
I will definitely repay this favor in the future.
If you come to our guild, we will warmly welcome you.
-Sent by Jin Hwa Lin.
The contents of the letter were brief.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary written in it.
In short, it was a letter expressing gratitude for selling them an apology.
However, the fact that the recipient of this letter was one of the top-tier hunters in the country was a bit different.
Certainly not an ordinary civilian.
Han could understand why she had enclosed such a letter.
“Come to think of it, didn’t that person Jin Hwa Lin mention that her younger sister’s health was quite poor?”
She was said to lack innate vitality.
Thus, she was born with a frail constitution.
She was constantly searching for all kinds of elixirs within the dungeon every day.
That was also one of the reasons she actively engaged in dungeon conquests.
It would have been only natural for her to be a significant figure.
Clearing dungeons rewards one with groundbreaking innovations that could change the world.
But this was South Korea.
In this country, there were many without money, but conversely, there were also many wealthy individuals.
No matter how exceptional a top-tier hunter might be, they couldn’t dare to overlook those equipped with substantial wealth.
Hence, Jin Hwaryun could participate in auctions, but she wasn’t among the top bidders.
Her ability to purchase a single apple was thanks to a treaty presented by Han.