Build the Kingdom

Chapter 5: Welcoming Guests (1)

The mortar was a versatile tool for many uses. It could also be used as a bowl to mix water into the ground flour to make dough.

That was exactly what Hu did.

He gathered the crushed flour to keep it from scattering, then poured a thin stream of water into the mortar.

Next to him, Rader and the Old Serf stood idly by and asked,

"Lord Landowner, it’s not mealtime yet."

It was a natural misunderstanding since their meals so far had consisted of simple mixtures of flour and water.

"Does this look appetizing to you?"

Hu asked.

Of course, it didn’t. Just the sight of it made one nauseous.

"You have to eat to survive."

"That’s the true meaning of food."

Rader and the Old Serf responded one after another.

Yeah, I want to stop eating just to stay alive.

In the meantime, Hu’s hands kept moving steadily.

He poured water, checked the state of the dough, and kneaded it roughly by hand until it started to take shape.

It was a little too soft.

‘Too much water.’

He added more flour.

Now it was too dry. He added water again.

After repeating the process a few times, Hu realized this wasn’t an easy task.

He knew the process in theory, but doing it with his own hands was a whole different story.

Even with the game’s adjustments, it was still difficult.

‘I’ve never actually made bread before.’

There was no reason to have done so.

In the first round, during those desperate times when food was scarce, he just endured it.

The days reeked of stale flour dough with every breath he took.

After that, once he was able to gather and hunt, he scoured the surrounding areas like a madman.

He never had the chance to cook with his own hands.

But there were others who did.

Most people frantically tried to upgrade their farmland instead of wasting time cooking.

Cooking King EmptyDragon.

He was infamous for being just as crazy as FisherKing, the Farmer King.

If one dug the ground with bare hands to make a pact with a spirit and became the Farmer King, this one dedicated everything solely for the sake of eating.

Mad Whale—during the first round, that’s what people used to call Hu and other players who did odd things, mocking them all together.

‘Mad Whale and his kids,’ wasn’t it?

Well, thanks to that, he actually grew close to them.

‘You fools were the real idiots.’

Four of God’s Five Fingers, including Joo Hee-yeon, had no interest in things like this.

They followed the royal road of the game.

But they knew one thing and missed two.

[God Hand] was fundamentally a life simulation and management game.

The goal was to improve the quality of life.

What could be more important than cultivating the land and enhancing the quality of the food you put in your mouth?

Of course, those two failed because they were too obsessed with land and food.

‘I’ll make excellent use of your legacy.’

The rewards from helping someone in the first round remained with him as knowledge in the present.

Crunch.

At the sudden thought, Hu’s molars ground together involuntarily.

"Hehe, I think Whale Hyung is the best. You’re the best, Whale Hyung!"

"You’ll be able to clear this game."

"We’ll just be used as fertilizer, so make sure you finish this game."

"Want to share a glass of wine tonight?"

The voices of those who were once called God’s Five Fingers and hailed as heroes still echoed vividly in his ears.

They were the ones who had said those things.

Bastards worthy of being beaten to death.

And now, they were acting like rulers of the Pandemonium Kingdom?

"Lord Landowner?"

Lost in thought, Hu was pulled back to reality by Rader gently shaking his shoulder.

"Oh, right."

"You said you’re sick of flour."

"Yeah. Don’t you want to eat something else?"

"But right now, hunting and gathering are impossible. That requires scouting the surrounding area first…"

"That’ll only be possible after the area’s been scouted and deemed safe."

Hu knew this too.

Right now, it was the famine season, when they had to survive on nothing but flour.

But there were always loopholes.

Without saying another word, Hu silently got back to work. He poured water again and checked the dough’s consistency.

What would be the right texture for the dough? Would just stirring flour be enough for yeast to form naturally?

‘EmptyDragon said something about that.’

Without yeast, he said you could mix in things like fruit peels and let it sit for a few days.

His username was weird and his behavior was eccentric, but he was a good guy.

"Everything we do is to eat, so don’t skip meals."

During the time when Hu was so absorbed in [God Hand] that he often skipped meals, that friend would shove bread into his mouth.

As he kneaded the dough by hand, Hu fondly recalled the memory.

"Eat, eat. You little punk, doesn’t it taste amazing?"

That was the moment when EmptyDragon had forced bread into his mouth despite his refusals.

Thanks to that, he nearly choked to death.

If you’re going to give someone food, at least give them water too, you crazy bastard.

Anyway, making the dough came first. Hu wasn’t sure, but he figured this would do for now.

"Um, Lord Landowner. The dough needs more water. If you make it like this, the moisture will evaporate, and the dough won’t come together properly."

Hu’s ears perked up.

Rader blinked beside him and asked,

"What are you talking about?"

Even the Old Serf tilted his head after hearing his own words.

After shaking his head a few times, the Old Serf continued,

"Ah, I used to bake bread in a large city once."

"…Really?"

Hu asked, surprised.

"Yes, I did."

The Old Serf replied.

"Oh."

Hu let out a soft breath, genuinely pleased.

Every character in [God Hand] had their own traits. The best way to discover them was to try out various tasks.

Sometimes, hidden abilities would awaken without the character even realizing it.

Hu had categorized this into his own classification system, calling this type ‘Experience-based.’

Just like now.

Past accumulated experiences would manifest as traits and abilities, and when pushed in the right way, those abilities would bloom.

"You know how to bake bread?"

"Yes. I can bake."

Hu grabbed the Old Serf’s hand tightly.

The rough texture of his skin was evident.

This was luck.

Pure, unadulterated luck.

"So, what’s your name?"

Until now, he hadn’t even asked because the old man seemed like someone who would soon cross over the River Jordan.

"My name is…"

[A new trait has awakened in the Nameless Serf. Please give him a name.]

Oh-ho, look at that.

A hidden ability? So, I just unlocked a hidden trait from a character who didn’t even have a name.

"Baker."

What was there to hesitate about?

He was an old man who baked bread. Naming him something like Baker Grandfather would suffice.

Of course, there was no need to give him a surname.

"Baker, my name is Baker."

The old serf who had just received a name spoke.

"I suddenly feel healthier."

Ah, of course.

Now that his hidden ability had awakened, this man was no ordinary serf.

"I’m not coughing anymore."

As abilities stacked, physical capabilities also improved. This was basic knowledge in [God Hand].

"Alright, Baker."

Hu placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, Lord Landowner."

"Then, let’s get to work."

Baker nodded and immediately started working on the dough.

Hu watched silently before turning around. Rader stood there blinking, looking completely clueless about what was going on.

‘Some advisor, huh.’

Outwardly, Hu kept a calm expression, but inside, he was cursing Rader’s ancestors.

‘What kind of idiot advisor is this useless?’

With some luck, advisors could sometimes gain the traits of a mentor.

But Rader wasn’t even close. He couldn’t recognize the abilities of the serf standing right next to him.

"Rader."

"Yes, Lord Landowner."

"Time to work."

"Yes, sir."

He was told to grind everything, but Hu had set aside some for planting.

There was already a field cultivated with a broken plow. In this world, wheat could grow within ten days.

If there was spare time, planting was the best answer.

"Am I doing this alone?"

Honestly, you’ve been doing everything alone so far.

Thinking that, Hu said,

"When planting seeds, do it with care."

Farmer King FisherKing once said, tossing seeds randomly and hoping for a bountiful harvest was the mindset of a thief.

Even if the game system offered adjustments, farming was still farming.

"With care, you say?"

"Yeah, dig the earth like this and plant each seed individually."

Hu squatted down and demonstrated how to do it.

"If I do it like that, I won’t finish even if I work until sunrise."

"Then you’ll just have to work for two days."

There was no danger of breaking his back planting seeds; Rader might be dumb, but he was strong.

It meant forcing him to do hard labor alone. Trust and loyalty were bound to drop.

"Rader, you’re truly an excellent advisor."

Hu sweet-talked him.

"Yes, yes, I know that very well."

It didn’t work.

Excessive drops in loyalty couldn’t be fixed with just words.

‘Isn’t this a bit early?’

For him to react this way already meant that his loyalty had been terrible from the start.

He was useless.

As Rader turned toward the field and Hu furrowed his brow,

"Hyit-cha!"

Baker let out a strong shout.

Watching him energetically knead the dough brought Hu peace of mind.

But wait, had that old man even washed his hands?

It wasn’t a big concern.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about hygiene—shelter, food, and clothing weren’t even properly secured yet.

‘Fluffy, Fluffy.’

As he planted seeds, Hu called upon the earth spirit again, hoping for a bountiful harvest, and exhausted his spirit power before heading back to the clay house he had built earlier.

"Alright, then."

Hu patted the top of the clay house.

It felt rough and solid to the touch.

‘It’s dried well.’

He picked up a few sticks and pushed them into the clay house, then took out two flints that Fluffy had helped him find earlier.

Holding the white stones in both hands, Hu sat on the ground, pinning the sticks with his feet, and began striking the flints.

Clack! Clack!

It didn’t take many strikes before sparks flew.

"Whoo, whoo!"

He blew gently to ignite the spark on the sticks, then added thinner sticks to feed the flame.

Fwoosh.

A small fire flared up.

‘This should do.’

"Baker, Baker."

Calling him in a soft tone, Baker looked up from his dough.

Hu’s land was still small enough that he could walk around the entire perimeter in just a few minutes.

Thanks to that, Baker could hear him even while working.

"Yes, Lord Landowner."

"How long will it take?"

Doing it himself would have been a struggle, but now he had an expert.

That changed everything.

The progress speed would be different now.

"Give me half a day."

"Oh-ho."

Satisfied, Hu nodded and told him to get back to work before turning around.

"I won’t be able to finish it all today by myself."

Rader muttered under his breath.

"Then do it tomorrow, and the day after that too."

I was cold about it.

Once it passed the point where persuasion worked, there was no need for unnecessary praise.

Rader’s lips pouted.

Ignoring him, Hu gathered more sticks, stoked the flames higher, and pushed them inside the clay oven he had built.

The thin sticks burned quickly and turned to blackened ash.

Maintaining the fire so it wouldn’t go out, he added broken pieces of the plow.

The solid wood pieces first blackened with soot and then caught fire.

Fwoosh.

Flames began to rise inside the clay oven.

"Whoo, whoo, whoo!"

Lying with his chin close to the ground, Hu blew into the fire until it grew larger.

"Good, good."

Expressing his satisfaction, Hu shoved in more wooden pieces and used a long stick to push the burning wood deeper inside.

The structure was deep enough that an adult man’s arm could reach inside up to the shoulder—this was a primitive oven.

It wasn’t even recognized by the system language, meaning it was too crude to be acknowledged as a proper structure.

‘Well, it doesn’t need to be perfect anyway.’

The goal was to ignite the fire and heat the oven.

This wasn’t a quick job.

Unbothered by the black soot staining his face, Hu focused solely on stoking the fire.

By the time the wood had turned into charcoal and maintained heat, the sun was beginning to set.

"The dough is ready!"

Baker shouted.

Alright, Hu hadn’t expected it to be ready today.

"Bring it over!"

At Hu’s command, Baker brought over the kneaded dough.

Hu shaped it into a round form, placed it on a roughly made wooden board, and pushed it into the oven.

Two palm-sized boards were enough to fill the clay house.

Only two could be baked at a time.

"You can handle the rest on your own, right?"

When Hu asked, Baker nodded.

Baker was a baker. And since [God Hand] was a world governed by game mechanics, he would indeed handle it on his own.

"Yes, I’ll take care of it."

With the fire burning, Hu’s job was done.

The thick, smoky smell lingering in his nose didn’t matter anymore because soon, the aroma of baking bread spread throughout his territory.

A rich, savory scent hit his nose.

"Oh, what’s this smell?"

Rader stopped sowing seeds and approached to ask.

"Bread, Rader."

"Ah, bread at last."

Yes. Not bread mixed with sand, but pure bread made solely from flour.

The first bread I ate during the first round was mixed with sand. It was bread eaten on a damned battlefield.

Now, Rader grinds the flour, Hu lights the fire, and Baker kneads and bakes the dough.

The bread was baked quickly.

Baker pulled out the charred wooden board from the oven.

When he took out the round, puffed-up bread, the surface looked blackened and burnt.

‘Is it a failure?’

It could have been. But before Hu could say anything, Baker quickly brushed the surface off with his hands.

"Temperature control is difficult."

Saying that, Baker offered the brushed-off bread forward.

The outside was browned from burning, but when he tore it apart, the soft, white interior was revealed.

Damn this blessed game world.

If this were an actual otherworld, it would’ve taken a whole week just to make one loaf of bread.

I put a torn piece of bread into my mouth.

It melted softly.

How long had it been since I’d tasted real food?

No, maybe calling this simple piece of bread “real food” was an exaggeration, but compared to eating plain flour dough, this was a hundred times more satisfying.

"Ooooooh!"

Next to me, Rader, who also got a share, burst into tears.

"This is heavenly!"

"Goodbye to plain flour from now on."

Eating plain flour mixed with water wasn’t food—it was just survival.

At Hu’s words, Baker and Rader’s eyes changed.

Raising a serf’s loyalty with words was like filling a sack one grain of rice at a time.

But this was different.

"Tastes good, doesn’t it?"

At that simple question,

"Yes, Lord Landowner! I pledge my loyalty!"

This was the result.

Rader was a simple-minded fool. His loyalty skyrocketed as he immediately bowed his head toward Hu.

"Good."

That was enough. Hu chewed and swallowed the bread, then knelt down on one knee and wet his finger with saliva.

He checked the direction of the wind and spoke.

"Bake more, Baker."

Thanks to the abundant harvest, there was plenty of wheat, and the strong Rader had ground a large amount.

"Wouldn’t it be better to bake as needed when eating?"

Even with tears streaming down his face, Rader offered his advice.

"Just bake."

Hu ordered.

If it was just for the three of them to eat, baking a few more times would be enough. But that wasn’t all.

Watching the wind’s direction, Hu waited for guests.