Published at 4th of November 2020 12:45:51 PM
Chapter 272
Chapter 272
“Hello, My Lord . I’m Johnny, and I’m temporarily in charge of the management of Phinis . ” Johnny, the man who introduced himself as Phinis’ temporary manager, was a fat man .
‘They are NPCs who usually care about their own interests,’ Hyeonu thought .
His preconceived notions against Johnny were stubborn . It was a byproduct of his long experience with virtual reality games .
“As you know, I am Earl Gang Hyeonu . As of today, I have been commanded by His Majesty the Emperor to rule Phinis . ”
Nodding, Johnny continued, “I naturally know this . It is impossible not to know about Viscount—no, Earl Gang Hyeonu who has emerged as a rising star of the empire . ”
Johnny’s face was red and full of excitement .
‘Why is he acting in such an exaggerated manner?’ Hyeonu cocked his head at Johnny’s behavior and remained vigilant . Then he said, “I’d like to see the information about Phinis right now . . . Is that possible?”
“Of course, you have to look at it . I’ve already prepared it . I have also prepared for your inauguration as the lord . You can come this way . ” Johnny guided Hyeonu to the heart of the lord’s castle .
The place that Johnny took Hyeonu to was at the top of the castle with 10 floors, and its entrance was blocked by a huge iron door .
“This is where the territory is managed,” Johnny stated while pointing at the iron door . A magic circle the size of a hand was drawn in the center of the iron door . The role of the magic circle was to be a security measure . It was developed by the imperial family since they couldn’t allow just anyone to carelessly manage the estate .
“Just inject magic power here . You can also create patterns with your magic power,” Johnny explained .
‘It’s a type of door lock?’ Hyeonu saw the magic circle and was astonished . He never imagined there would be this type of security method .
“Quickly inject magic power . That way, you can get inside,” Johnny urged Hyeonu, seemingly in great urgency .
‘Why is he rushing me like this?’ Hyeonu frowned, but he still injected his magic power anyway .
It was because Hyeonu was quite curious . What was the territory management place like? Magic power emerged from his right hand that was touching the magic circle, and a pattern was engraved on it . It was a very complicated pattern that couldn’t be imitated even if someone saw it . Hyeonu stopped injecting magic power and released his hand . Then a golden light burst from the magic circle, and the iron door started to open .
‘There’s nothing special?’
The view beyond the iron door wasn’t as complicated and flashy as he thought it would be . There was only a chair .
‘What is this?’
However, the chair was very strange . It was a modern chair that didn’t fit at all with Arena . The chair was very similar to ergonomically-designed chairs and seemed to be for the sake of having a sense of comfort in the game .
“Just sit here . Then I’ll be going . ” Johnny quickly escaped from this space before Hyeonu could stop him . Hyeonu tried to catch Johnny, but he couldn’t get up . It was because the moment he sat down, a voice rang out and a screen popped up in front of him .
-Welcome to the Lord of Phinis, Player Gang Hyeonu .
It was a familiar voice . This was the voice Hyeonu had heard back when he created his character .
-From now on, I will start the tutorial on territories . First, call out ‘Territory Status Window’ to confirm the status of the territory . Check it and then ask if you have any questions . I will answer them .
“Territory Status Window . ”
Hyeonu followed the voice’s instructions .
It was the first time Hyeonu had obtained a territory, so he couldn’t pass through the tutorial quickly like when he created his character .
He had no information this time .
[Territory Status Window]
[Territory Name: Phinis Earldom (formerly the empire’s direct territory)
Lord’s Name: Gang Hyeonu
Territory Development: Economy: 51 (-36) Military: 76 (-31) Magic: 56 (-45) Culture: 37 (-37)
Territory Population: 183,123
Territory Assets: 15,438 gold
Consumption Cost: 17,800 gold
Levy Amount: 3,200 gold
Security: Very unstable
Owned Facilities: 7 (excluding residential facilities)
Current Status: There are no complete buildings from the walls to the inner city . It is hard to find the original form . On the day when monsters come down from the surrounding mountains, the destruction of the territory is obvious . ]
‘What is this?’
Hyeonu’s expression distorted when he saw the status window . If the emperor were in front of him now, he would’ve grabbed the emperor’s collar . This was because the territory was a mess . There was nothing extraordinary, and the territory was on the verge of bankruptcy .
Hyeonu barely managed to open his mouth to say, “Start explaining . ”
In the midst of this, the wrinkles on Hyeonu’s face never disappeared . Nevertheless, just staring at the status window wouldn’t change anything .
-The territory’s development is literally a numerical value on the current state of the territory . The highest figure is 100 . The figures are based on the capital of the empire .
‘That means the negative number is due to the territory’s current state? Is it temporarily lowered?’
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Hyeonu’s guess was correct .
-The negative number in the brackets is a temporary drop . However, if it doesn’t return to its original state within 30 days, the number will remain the same .
‘Crazy . ’
Hyeonu heard the explanation and raised his right hand to rub the back of his neck; his blood pressure seemed to be rising . He didn’t know where to start . “How can I get rid of negative numbers?”
-Just restore the territory to its original state . If the buildings are broken, rebuild them . If there are no soldiers, train them . It is difficult to improve the value of a territory’s development .
“What is the consumption cost?”
-The consumption cost is literally the cost of operating a territory . The standard procedure is for it to be deducted every seven days . It will automatically disappear from the territory’s warehouse . Something big will happen if there aren’t enough gold coins in the territory’s warehouse . Currently, the consumption cost of the estate has increased considerably due to the planned restoration project .
‘I’m not worried because Lebron said he would get money for me . ’
The money wasn’t much of a concern for Hyeonu as he was reassured by the support that Lebron would provide .
“So the standard for the levy amount is also every seven days?”
-That’s right . The levy amount is added to the territory’s warehouse every seven days . At present, the current condition of the Phinis territory is poor, so the levy amount has been severely reduced .
There was nothing good about any of the explanations . It was a territory, but it was the worst territory . “Are there really monsters coming down from the surrounding mountains? It’s a monster wave?”
-Yes, monsters will periodically descend on Phinis . The level of the monsters is roughly between those of the Hejin Great Mountain Range and the Balder Mountains .
‘Isn’t this good?’
It was good news . This was an element that would appeal to players . It wasn’t as competitive in Phinis as it was in the Hejin Great Mountain Range, nor were the monsters as difficult to fight as those in the Balder Mountains . There were many players at this level . Anyone who had finished their third class advancement would be able to hunt here easily .
‘I don’t need to worry too much about monsters if I do good publicity . ’
“Then let’s move on . What is after the status window?”
-Then I will move to the next one . Please call out ‘Territory’s Administration’ .
“Territory Administration . ”
[Territory Administration]
[Building construction (+), soldier training (+), adjusting tax rates (+), policy announcement (+), talent recruitment (+) . ]
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This time it was simple . There were only a few things that appeared .
-Click on each one for more details . This is where you can determine the direction for development of the territory and set a large framework for the operation of the territory .
“Is there anything else?”
-New areas will be opened as the number of player lords increases in the future .
“By the way, do I have to come here to handle the territory’s administration?”
-That’s right . Instead, there are considerations for the lords . You can return to your territory at any time . The return location is fixed here, the internal room .
‘Isn’t this the best?’ Hyeonu thought that the return function was the biggest benefit of being the territory’s lord .
“Then finish the tutorial . ”
-I understand . If you ever have any questions, please click the question mark on the top of the Territory Status Window .
Hyeonu ended the tutorial, and more message windows appeared .
[The title ‘First Lord’ has been created . ]
[First Lord]
[A title given to the first player to become a lord .
Effect: All benefits associated with the territory are increased by 10% . Consumption cost is reduced by 10% . ]
[The title ‘Lord of Phinis’ has been created . ]
[Lord of Phinis]
[A title given to the player who became the lord of Phinis .
Effect: Attack and defense will increase by 10% in Phinis and the surrounding areas . ]
‘It is fortunate . I’m the first one . ’
He had been worried that maybe someone had obtained a territory in a way Hyeonu himself didn’t know about and that perhaps he wouldn’t get the first title .
Nonetheless, his worry had been groundless, and Hyeonu gained the title .
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There were tears in his eyes as he put the gold that he was lacking into the territory warehouse .
‘It is 20,000 gold only once . . . ’
[Would you like to put 20,000 gold into the territory warehouse?]
“Put it in . Put it in . . . ”
If it were 35,000 gold, it could last two weeks . It could even last a longer period of time with sufficient support from the imperial family . Hyeonu finished putting in money and then something came to mind—Johnny, the man who left Hyeonu here and disappeared .
‘Where the hell did he go?’
His doubts grew like snowballs . Perhaps the reason why the territory was like this was because Johnny had stolen something? Hyeonu urgently rushed out of the administration room and ran through the castle . This wasn’t just a walk-around; it was a search .
Johnny wasn’t far away . He was packing his things in a room nearby the inner room .
“Where are you going to in such a hurry?”
Seeing Hyeonu appear like a ghost, Johnny fell onto his bed in amazement . “Uhh! What’s going on? My Lord, have you already finished managing the estate?”
“Johnny, I asked where you’re going . ”
“Where am I going? I have to go back to the capital . It is my hometown . I will go there quickly . I don’t want to work here anymore . It was only for a few months, but it was really hard . Don’t you see these skinny cheeks?” Johnny pointed to his face . Objectively, it was a very plump face . It was absolutely not skinny, far from it .
“You aren’t hiding anything and running away?” Hyeonu questioned .
Johnny waved his hands vigorously at Hyeonu’s words and said, “I’m not such a conscienceless administrator . It is better to steal food than to steal anything in the territory warehouse . ”
His eyes and expression looked like he found Hyeonu’s question really unfair .
‘It really isn’t the case? Am I too stuck on my preconceived notions?’ Hyeonu wondered . Just then, Hyeonu had an incredible idea . It didn’t matter if Johnny embezzled money or not . “It really isn’t the case? You’re innocent, Johnny?”
“Yes, I am innocent, My Lord . ”
Hyeonu held the hands of the innocent Johnny to prevent him from going anywhere . Then he said, “Congratulations . Today, you are appointed the official administrator of Phinis . I will speak to His Majesty . I can’t give up on such a talented person . ”
Hyeonu’s idea was to tie Johnny to Phinis . In any case, manpower was scarce . Even if he attracted real people, the best choice was still an NPC of Arena . Johnny had ruled Phinis while there was no lord, so his ability should be sufficient .
“Let’s do well, Administrator Johnny . ”
Thus, Hyeonu recruited a competent administrator NPC .