Build the Kingdom

Chapter 4: No, You're Fine (2)

“Damn it, how am I supposed to live eating this garbage?”

In the first round, Hu had muttered this constantly.

It was only natural.

All he had to eat were clumps of flour that didn’t even have a hint of sweetness, only a dry, chalky taste.

Even now, that thought hadn’t changed.

The three most essential things for human survival were said to be food, clothing, and shelter.

Clothing could be dealt with later.

As long as it didn’t rain, it wasn’t cold enough to freeze to death yet, and if the hut’s door had fallen off, that was a problem that could be solved later too.

But food?

“Thank you, Lord, for providing today’s daily bread—cough, cough!”

The old serf prayed devoutly before his meal, though it didn’t suit him. After finishing his prayer, he bit into the flour and coughed.

The coughing could very well have been caused by that dry, tasteless flour.

“Ptooey.”

Once his stomach felt somewhat full, Hu spat out the flour. Tasteless, completely devoid of any flavor.

Eating like this for ten days straight was torture.

While Rader was off fetching water, it was breakfast time—or rather, time to replenish energy for the day ahead.

Sunlight streamed through the window on an exceptionally clear day, and a warm breeze served as a natural alarm clock.

“Lord Landowner! Lord Landowner!”

Rader’s voice called from outside.

When Hu stepped through the doorless entrance, the old serf followed behind him.

A broken plow caught on Hu’s foot.

The crude plow had fallen apart easily.

There was no lingering attachment to it.

Hu pushed it aside with his foot and looked ahead.

There, Rader was standing in front of the wheat field, shouting excitedly.

“It’s a bountiful harvest! What luck this is!”

The old serf followed up with a murmur.

“Oh, the Lord has blessed us.”

The Lord didn’t do anything—Hu did.

‘This is thanks to Fluffy.’

Spirit power took quite some time to recover after being used.

And whether it was related to stamina or not, using up all his spirit power left him as exhausted as if he had sprinted at full speed.

It was the reward of persistently wishing for a good harvest through Fluffy.

The wheat stalks stood tall, glowing with a golden hue.

“Harvest it.”

Hu wasn’t excited.

“Yes, sir!”

“Got it!”

The long wheat stalks were cut down cleanly with stone sickles and neatly stacked in a pile.

The dry taste lingered on his tongue, thanks to the flour meal from earlier.

For someone who had experienced the first round, this was tolerable. How much harder must it have been for those players who started without any knowledge?

Hu set the two serfs to work and began searching the ground for flat stones.

After gathering the stones in one place, he fetched the water bucket Rader had brought back.

Rader, who had been swinging his sickle, noticed and spoke up.

“Lord, that’s today’s drinking water…”

“Going without for a day won’t kill me.”

The advisor fell silent.

Hu placed the flat stones on the ground, pressing them firmly with his foot, then stacked stones neatly beside them.

He shaped them into a rough form and covered the top with more stones.

It resembled a crude igloo, though it was far too small for even a dog to enter—hardly something that could be called a house.

‘Fluffy, Fluffy.’

When he called the spirit’s name, a dissatisfied puppy peeked its head out near his foot.

Seeing Fluffy’s head emerge from the soil, Hu conveyed his intention inwardly.

Through the thread of shared connection, Fluffy followed Hu’s command.

Soon, dirt began to rise and pile over the stones, and Hu sprinkled water on top.

The water trickled down, mixing with the dirt to create muddy clay.

“Heave-ho!”

Rader continued swinging the sickle with all his strength.

“Cough, cough!”

The old serf, despite his aged body, was also doing his best.

Next to them, Hu kept pouring water, shaping the mud house steadily.

To an outsider, it might’ve looked like child’s play—building mud on top of stones.

Even as all the wheat was harvested, Hu repeated the same task.

Before long, a decent stone structure and a dome-shaped mud house were completed.

“Lord, playing with mud is something children do.”

Rader’s voice rang out.

Focused more on strength than intelligence, the advisor was busy moving the cut wheat aside.

“Just mind your own work.”

Hu kicked Rader’s unnecessary advice aside and reached into the entrance of the mud house he had made.

There was just enough room to swirl his hand around.

“All harvested, my lord! Our land will shine now!”

It was a phrase he had heard in the first round as well.

A sign that the first step of the tutorial had been completed.

‘It took longer than I thought.’

Using Fluffy and spirit power was more exhausting than expected. If not for that, he would’ve finished sooner.

Thankfully, it was a sunny day. If it had rained, all their work would have been delayed.

Well, the rain would come when needed. Hu knew that, too.

The sunlight was drying the mud house Hu had built.

“Lord, what about the harvested wheat?”

“Separate the grains and pile them on one side. Stack the leftover stalks here. Also, bring any remaining flour.”

Hu’s commands were sharp and clear. His mind was already filled with the next tasks.

“Yes, sir!”

Rader moved energetically, clearly happier doing this than pulling a plow like an ox.

Of course, Hu didn’t care in the slightest.

He looked at the mud house and then climbed up the hill.

A hill covered in grass, topped with a single tree.

In God Hand, not all players started the same. Some began with five serfs, others were gifted solid stone houses right from the start.

But Hu had neither sturdy serfs nor fertile land.

Instead, he had a hill and a tree.

A lone tree on a hill—if that wasn’t an advantage, what was?

Hu climbed the tree.

“Lord, climbing trees is dangerous!”

Rader shouted while carrying the harvested wheat. Hu ignored him and reached out from a branch.

A small, round fruit.

It was unripe. Hu plucked it and climbed back down.

It was a special feature of his land that other players didn’t have.

‘An apple tree.’

What luck.

He had always believed food was the most important of the three essentials—food, clothing, and shelter.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have started this land with FisherKing’s advice.

“What are you doing?”

Still, there was one last thing to wait for. Hu waited for it patiently.

“Cough! Cough!”

The old serf was struggling to move even half as much wheat as Rader.

That was the final step.

The field now lay bare, though it had expanded compared to the beginning.

Thanks to the human ox who had tirelessly worked the land as long as the plow allowed.

The moment the serf dropped the last stalk onto the ground—

[It’s a bountiful harvest!]

A system window appeared.

Yeah, damn it, God Hand. It’s a bountiful harvest.

The result of pouring in spirit power.

[You’re the first player to achieve a bountiful harvest!]

Yeah, I know. Now, hand over the reward.

Even if reality was mixed into it, God Hand was still a game.

[A special reward will be given. You may choose between a farming tool or a bodily enhancement…]

“Stone mortar.”

Hu spoke. Rader hurriedly approached and said.

“Lord Landowner, running a farm is all about manpower, first and foremost!”

That was the role of an advisor.

In other words, instead of a stone mortar, he was suggesting getting oxen or serfs.

But Hu had a different thought.

That wasn’t something he necessarily had to accept as a reward.

“Stone mortar.”

Hu repeated the exact same words without missing a beat.

“No, Lord Landowneeer.”

[Delivering the stone mortar by the blessing of the Pandemonium Kingdom, ruler of this region.]

The blessing of the Pandemonium Kingdom?

Ah, this area belonged under that kingdom’s jurisdiction.

In the first round, he had heard the name of another kingdom.

“So, you’re the one giving the stone mortar, huh? Joo Hee-yeon?”

Hu smirked as the corner of his mouth lifted.

Fine, I’ll take it gladly. I’ll use it well until the day I grind your head into paste with this mortar!

“Ye—”

“Shut up and just go get the stone mortar.”

Before the words were even finished, the surrounding mist suddenly began to clear.

It marked the end of the very first step of the tutorial.

The black fog lifted, revealing a portion of the area.

The land had expanded exactly twice as much as before. It formed a circle with the hut and hill at its center.

Rader blinked and tried to open his mouth to speak.

An advisor’s role shone brightest after the tutorial ended.

“Build a fence. It’ll protect us from barbarian invasions and allow us to connect with nearby villages—maybe even meet new people.”

Hu spoke the words Rader was about to say for him.

“...Yes, that’s right.”

“Now, the stone mortar.”

Rader had nothing to do. There was no need for an advisor here.

Moreover, Rader was a foolish advisor, and Hu had no intention of using him as one.

“That requires the kingdom’s delivery wagon to—”

Snort!

Before Rader could finish his sentence, a mule burst through the black fog, sticking its head forward.

It was pulling a cart, and a short, shabby old man was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Who ordered the stone mortar?”

“Me.”

As Hu approached and spoke, the old man looked down at him from above.

“Take it.”

He was a merchant serving under the Pandemonium Kingdom. Hu jerked his chin toward Rader.

Rader approached and lifted the mortar from the back of the cart.

“Hup!”

As expected of Rader, a strong advisor indeed. He set the mortar down beside them.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Yeah, go.”

The merchant glanced at Hu, but Hu didn’t pay him any mind.

“Kids these days are so rude. Honestly, these young landlords...”

According to the settings of God Hand, that merchant would one day grovel and deliver goods once Hu’s status rose.

It wasn’t worth paying attention to.

“Rader, your turn.”

Hu spoke to Rader, who was still panting after moving the mortar.

His clear, gentle eyes resembled those of an ox.

Watching the sweat drip down his long sideburns, Hu spoke firmly.

“Grind.”

“Grind what?”

What else? Was there anything here other than wheat?

“Old man, put the wheat in.”

“Yes. Cough, cough!”

The old serf coughed as he poured the wheat grains.

“Grind until it turns to powder, Rader.”

Without a plow, it was time to become a moon rabbit pounding rice cakes.

“Yes, sir.”

Rader began pounding the stone mortar with a heavy thud. The size was just right.

It wasn’t palm-sized—it was large enough that even if Hu climbed in, it would reach up to his calves.

Rader squatted in front of it, sweat spraying from his sideburns.

“Hoo!”

“Ha!”

While grinding, Rader asked.

“How much should I do?”

Seeing him grind in rhythm, Hu replied.

“All of it.”

Slip—Clang!

Missing the beat, Rader’s pestle slipped, hitting his own head. He looked at Hu with disbelief.

“A bountiful harvest, my lord.”

Yeah, I know. The wheat grains are thick and plentiful.

“You can do it, Rader.”

“Lord, every person has work that suits their body. If you assign tasks according to that, efficiency—”

Rader was an advisor, after all. It was advice befitting his role.

But to Hu, Rader was just an ox.

A hardworking ox with hands and feet.

“Yeah. I know.”

Just like in the first round, Hu was a competent leader and fulfilled his role diligently.

“Grind it, Rader.”

“My arms won’t be able to withstand it, my lord.”

“No, you’ll be fine.”

I saw you pulling the plow—you’re sturdy enough.

Without growth traits, there was no way to check character stats, but Hu could tell by instinct.

Rader was absurdly strong.

“Don’t rest.”

Hu turned his body after speaking. He placed the remaining wheat in the earthen house.

There was something else he needed.

He would find it when enough spirit energy gathered.

The earth spirit had many uses. Chief among them was making the soil fertile.

“My land, my spirit.”

The more he used spirit energy, the more it grew.

Hu felt the bond extending from his thigh increase from three threads to about five.

Having used up all his spirit energy while shaping the soil, Hu had nothing left to do for now.

“Sometimes, rest is necessary too.”

Hu sat down on the ground.

“Hoo! Ha!”

Beside him, Rader’s loud grunts echoed.

“Cough! Watch your hands, sir!”

The startled old serf’s voice rang out as he poured the wheat grains into the mortar.

Hmm, I should warn him to be careful.

Serfs were property. Especially now, with only two of them left.

If one of their hands got crushed by the pestle, they’d have nothing left.

With that thought, Hu closed his eyes.

It was a warm, sunny day. His eyes closed naturally. The rhythmic pounding next to him was like a lullaby.

“Just a little nap.”

He would pursue ruthlessly soon enough.

But for now, rest was rest.

“Joo Hee-yeon, I’ll put this mortar to good use.”

For now, he was still under Pandemonium’s jurisdiction. This couldn’t be helped until he moved past the early farm stage.

Right before falling asleep, Hu thought of his parents on Earth, Fluffy, and his household mate.

Back in the first round, even when he was about to die, he missed that person he once called an enemy and others who were like younger siblings—he found them endearing.

“They’ll live well on their own.”

She was a tough woman; she’d definitely survive just fine.

He dismissed his sentimental thoughts and made a firm resolve.

“This time, I won’t do it like before.”

In his past life, he had tried too hard to take care of everyone.

And that’s what got him stabbed in the back.

Hu thought so and soon fell into sleep.

It was a sweet afternoon nap.

When he briefly closed his eyes and woke up, the sun was already leaning westward.

Feeling his spirit energy recovered, Hu stretched and asked Fluffy for a favor.

“Could you find me some flint?”

Now that the land had expanded, things buried within it should start revealing themselves.

Normally, he would have to dig with a shovel or his hands, but he had Fluffy.

Soon, the little dog made of earth dropped two white-flashing stones before Hu.

That alone consumed all five layers of spirit energy.

“Good job.”

Hu gave his thanks and picked up the stones.

“Ugh.”

There was Rader, collapsed after pounding the mortar.

Seeing that, Hu flicked a stone.

Clack!

Sparks flew in front of him. It was time to resolve food among the necessities of life.