AQLTF 15

Day 40 of being stranded.

Pop-

A sprout with a brilliant, lustrous glow.

The cherry tomato seeds planted in the Safe Zone had grown into fresh, green cotyledons after just one week.

It was the result of Minhyuk’s skills, honed through elementary school practical assignments, finally shining.

‘As expected, I’m not dead yet.’

And that wasn’t all.

Shara-rang-

White flowers had bloomed from the potato stems that had been growing vigorously.

To top it all off, plump cucumbers were hanging abundantly from the cucumber vines.

[The cucumber has entered a harvestable state.]

The crops were once again growing healthily and vigorously.

Just looking at them made Minhyuk smile with a proud fatherly expression.

It was almost as if his farming efforts with his children were going well.

“Our reliable eldest son. You’ve grown well. Now you’re ready to go out into the bigger world.”

With an affectionate touch, Minhyuk picked the cucumbers.

Tuk- Tuk-

[Successfully harvested ‘Deserted Island Cucumber’.]

[You have gained 9 EXP.]

[Successfully harvested ‘Deserted Island Cucumber’.]

[You have gained 7 EXP.]

Experience points that would become the blood and flesh of the Safe Zone.

But perhaps because he had accumulated a lot of EXP during his previous farming?

Ding-!

[Safe Zone LV. 10 》 LV. 11]

[The Safe Zone is expanding!]

The Safe Zone leveled up after he had harvested only a few cucumbers.

And when he had harvested almost all of the cucumbers.

Ding-!

[Safe Zone LV. 11 》 LV. 12]

[The Safe Zone is expanding!]

Once again.

[A special benefit from the Safe Zone expansion has blossomed!]

On top of that, he had even received the special benefit for reaching Level 12.

Minhyuk immediately opened his status window and checked its contents.

[Safe Zone]

Status 》 LV.12

Space 》 36 pyeong.

Effects 》 Fertile Territory, Humidity Control, UV Protection, Legion Production, Remote Island.

Hmm. Remote Island.

Somehow, he felt like the names of the special benefits were getting stranger and stranger…

[Remote Island (LV.1)]

-Another deserted island to enjoy on a deserted island!

-You can establish a newly independent Safe Zone that is not connected to the existing Safe Zone.

-Maximum area 》 15 pyeong.

Oh?

The performance was pretty good, too.

“No, right? It’s not just pretty good. This is revolutionary.”

Until now, Safe Zone expansions had worked by increasing the existing area.

Just like expanding territory, he could choose one direction—east, west, south, or north—and extend it outward.

But the newly acquired special benefit, 「Remote Island」, was different.

Rather than expanding the existing Safe Zone, he could establish a completely independent Safe Zone wherever he wanted.

It was almost like having a vacation home.

Or maybe having two households?

“This… I should save it and use it when I need it later.”

Minhyuk closed the status window.

It was nice to have a new special benefit.

But first, he needed to finish what he had been doing.

Tuk- Tuk-

After harvesting all the cucumbers like that,

he called Elia, who had been playing with the meerkats, and filled her Spatial Backpack to the brim.

“Elia, you remember our promise, right?”

“Yup. Cucumbers are only for sick people.”

“And the rest?”

“Ten each!”

Elia proudly held up all ten fingers.

Minhyuk patted Elia on the head.

“Oh my, you’re so smart.”

“Yup. But, you know…”

Her voice was filled with innocent curiosity.

“Is it okay to sell this many cucumbers?”

As Elia said, it was indeed a larger amount than usual.

He had stuffed all the cucumbers except for 250 into the Spatial Backpack.

‘250 cucumbers… wouldn’t be enough to use as food for a week.’

Minhyuk, Elia, Kkurung, and his siblings.

It was an insufficient amount to feed their rapidly increasing population.

“What does Boss eat?”

“It’s okay. Boss has a special method of his own.”

“Umm… really?”

But it didn’t matter.

He could always make up for a few cucumbers through 「Jungle Development」.

“I’m off!”

“Okay. Do your best.”

[EX-grade Merchant Elia is moving to the Free Market.]

Minhyuk waved toward Elia before looking around the Safe Zone.

His next schedule was 「Jungle Development」.

But there was something he needed to do first.

“Whew… I need more firepower.”

During the first Jungle Development, he had obtained 121 cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

Of course, it had been a satisfying expedition.

But that didn’t mean it had been perfect.

‘We did manage to kill that lizard, but…’

The jungle was a place where gigantic monsters lurked.

With only ten Little Wooden Soldiers, he couldn’t guarantee their safety.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that an even more terrifying monster wouldn’t suddenly appear this time.

‘At the very least, if I don’t want to die in the jungle…’

He needed more firepower.

Scratch- Scratch-

Minhyuk immediately picked up his carving knife and began carving wood.

[Successfully crafted ‘Wooden Soldier Prototype’.]

[You have gained 14 EXP!]

[Successfully crafted ‘Wooden Soldier Prototype’.]

[You have gained 17 EXP!]

[Successfully crafted ‘Wooden Soldier Prototype’.]

[You have gained 16 EXP!]

Ten soldier prototypes were completed in an instant.

[The special benefit ‘Legion Production’ has been activated.]

[200 Coins have been consumed.]

Then, using 200 Coins, he summoned ten additional Little Wooden Soldiers.

Snap-!

The new soldiers gave a dependable salute.

“No. Something’s missing.”

Minhyuk stared at the wooden soldiers for a while before speaking.

“Can you give me that rifle for a moment?”

Snap-!

Hmm.

At this size, he could probably make twenty of them easily from a single log.

Scratch- Scratch-

With the Little Wooden Soldier’s rifle placed on the ground, he began 「Crafting」 once again.

Scratch- Scratch-

He cut the wood to an appropriate size.

Then he shaped the overall appearance.

After adding detailed elements such as the barrel, stock, and trigger—

[Successfully crafted ‘Wooden Rifle’.]

[You have gained 8 EXP!]

Minhyuk’s very own wooden rifle was complete.

Had his skills gradually improved?

It hadn’t taken very long.

[Wooden Rifle]

-Grade 》 F

-Effect 》 Aiming Accuracy +10%, Lethality +10%

-Description 》 A rifle made by someone.

On top of that, it even had effects that increased their firepower.

“Heh. Now this is enough to make me feel safe.”

Minhyuk distributed the rifles he had made himself to the Little Wooden Soldiers, whose number had increased to twenty.

“All right, soldiers. And Kkurung, too. Let’s set out to find our food!”

Snap-!

Kkurung-!

The second Jungle Development.

It was beginning.

The headquarters of the Love Church, a place overflowing with love just as its name suggested.

Kang Seongjun, the Pope of the Love Church, who had approximately fifty believers under him, was scratching his head awkwardly.

He was looking at the believers bowing down before him and cheering.

“The Tower’s god…! Has answered our request once again…!”

“Ahhh! Praise Him! Long live the Tower’s god! Long live the Pope!”

“The one who can communicate with the Tower’s god! His name is Kang Seongjun! We believe in you, Pope!”

“…?”

Kang Seongjun’s expression became even more troubled.

‘Why did this happen again…?’

The Deserted Island Cucumbers that he had asked Cha Seoyoon to purchase on his behalf.

But last week, he had failed to buy any.

Players who had lined up before her had hoarded dozens at a time.

Cha Seoyoon had then asked him to buy them from her, but—

‘She said she was asking for thirty times the price.’

What came back was an outrageous proposal.

Even for Kang Seongjun, a golden spoon, it was an amount he found difficult to afford.

‘I’m short on money…’

No matter how many titles Kang Seongjun had, being a building owner and the Pope of the Love Church,

at home, he was still nothing more than the immature youngest son.

A spoiled third-generation chaebol who didn’t earn a single penny and simply swiped his mother’s card.

In other words, there was a limit to how much money he could spend.

Therefore, instead of buying the resold cucumbers for 60 Coins each, Kang Seongjun had chosen a more reasonable option.

Praying together with his believers.

Begging for the Tower’s god to bestow their daily cucumbers upon the poor believers.

‘It wasn’t even a proper prayer… I was just lying face-down and spacing out.’

It had essentially been nothing more than a formality.

There was nothing else he could do.

He had to do at least this much so that the believers wouldn’t lose hope in life.

That was definitely how it was supposed to be…

“P-Pope! I got the cucumbers! Fifty of them!”

Just now, Cha Seoyoon had managed to get cucumbers.

A whopping fifty.

And she hadn’t even succeeded in an open run.

“I-I was a little late… but the merchant pointed directly at me and sold me all the remaining cucumbers! He said they were cucumbers for people like me!”

She hadn’t even made a reservation.

Why on earth…?

Out of all those people, why had the merchant specifically chosen Cha Seoyoon…?

“This is right, isn’t it? The merciful Tower’s god heard our prayers? Amazing! Thank you so much, Pope! I believed in you!”

What a remarkable coincidence.

It was enough to make anyone wonder if ghosts were playing tricks.

Not long after they had all prayed together, the merchant had singled out Cha Seoyoon and handed her fifty cucumbers as if the whole thing had been planned in advance.

As if the Tower’s god had truly answered them.

‘What is this…? Why does everything keep lining up so perfectly…? Could it be… that I really have some divine aura or something…?’

At this point, Kang Seongjun was beginning to experience an identity crisis.

Perhaps he possessed some hidden talent that even he himself didn’t know about?

Bang-!

It happened then.

“P-Pope!”

The door was thrown open, and Cha Seoyoon entered the Love Church headquarters, drenched in sweat.

For once, she wasn’t wearing her robe over her head.

At the same time, the believers all gasped when they saw her bare face.

“S-Sister’s face…”

“My goodness…”

“Ah… T-Tower’s god…”

Cha Seoyoon had said beforehand that she would eat five cucumbers.

Her face had completely recovered.

Her beautiful appearance had returned.

To be precise, a few red spots remained around her mouth, but compared to before, when her entire facial features had horribly melted away, it was practically as if she had been reborn.

She had recovered to the point where she could once again return to the glamorous life she had once enjoyed without looking out of place.

“…Pope.”

Gulp-

After swallowing nervously, Cha Seoyoon knelt before the religious altar and spoke.

“I… will leave the Love Church as a believer starting today.”

“…”

Pope Kang Seongjun quietly nodded.

It was practically the natural course of events.

‘Well… she must have been itching to get back to her old life.’

Cha Seoyoon had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the biggest stars.

She must have missed that glamorous life more than anyone.

Even if he put himself in her shoes, it was the same.

Who wouldn’t want to stand before the public under the flash of cameras? Who would want to remain in some shady cult?

Her face had recovered, and she wasn’t going to receive a single penny by staying here.

Those who wanted to leave should leave.

“Good. What are you planning to do from now on?”

“From now on, I will work as an Apostle of the Love Church.”

“Okay. You have been saved… huh?”

Kang Seongjun’s brow furrowed.

“…W-What did you say you were going to do?”

“I want to become the Love Church’s first Apostle and take the lead in missionary activities.”

“No, why would you…?”

Kang Seongjun stared at her with an expression that seemed to ask whether she was in her right mind, but Cha Seoyoon seriously knelt on one knee.

“Please allow me, Pope! I will devote everything I have to the Love Church!”

Cha Seoyoon was more sincere than she had ever been.

‘This is… my second life.’

When she had contracted 「Mana Core Erosion Disease」,

her life had practically come to an end.

No.

It had been a life more miserable than death.

“Wow, WTF, is that Cha Seoyoon?”

“Ugh… that’s f***ing disgusting;;;”

“She acted all high and mighty because of her face, lol. What a pathetic loser.”

The fall had been even more brutal because she had once soared higher than anyone else.

The endless ridicule and contempt.

The mocking hallucinations that rang in her ears every night.

Because of that, Cha Seoyoon had thought about taking her own life several times.

Her mind was already as good as dead.

But…

At her mother’s recommendation, she learned about the Love Church.

She joined, desperately clinging to even the thinnest straw of hope.

And there, she met Pope Kang Seongjun.

And then.

She was saved by the omnipotent Tower’s god.

Her face had returned, but her heart was completely different from before.

‘I have to repay His grace.’

Sincere faith.

A faith that had become more unwavering than ever.

She had never once considered abandoning the Love Church that had saved her.

Rather, she felt a burning desire to devote the life she had newly been gifted to the Tower’s god.

For the sake of telling more people about His greatness.

For the sake of people suffering from hardships similar to hers.

“If I use my fame, I’ll be able to spread the Love Church quickly. I sincerely ask you. Please trust me with this, Pope.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…”

From Kang Seongjun’s perspective, this was an extremely bewildering development.

‘This… I think I need to stop this before things get even bigger…’

But he couldn’t easily refuse.

That shining light of faith in Cha Seoyoon’s eyes.

No… the gaze was almost bordering on madness as she stared straight at Kang Seongjun.

If he told her no…

He had no idea what kind of trouble he might face at the hands of a once-famous A-rank Hunter.

“Well… fine. Cha Seoyoon. I hereby grant you the position of the Love Church’s first Apostle.”

“Thank you! Infinite glory to the Tower’s god!”

“…Y-Yes. Well… infinite glory…”

Therefore, Kang Seongjun had no choice but to agree, swallowing his tears.

Several hours later.

Click- Click-click- Click-

Cha Seoyoon stood at a press conference.

Step- Step- Step-

With reinforcements added to his forces,

and their firepower upgraded as well, Minhyuk’s legion had set out.

“Everyone, fire!”

The effect was truly tremendous.

Bang! B-b-b-b-bang-!

The first time he had seen the firepower of the Little Wooden Soldiers, hadn’t he described it as looking like a meteor shower?

Not anymore.

It wasn’t a meteor shower.

It was a torrential rain of bullets.

Screeeech-!

A lizard collapsed simultaneously with the gunfire.

But this was a different lizard from last time.

It wasn’t the Blink Lizard, which had rainbow-colored scales and could become transparent while using Stealth.

This one was only half its size and had no special Stealth effect.

Just an ordinary lizard.

‘I wanted to compare how much stronger we’ve become…’

But the Blink Lizard never appeared.

It was a little disappointing.

Anyway.

“Hehe. Soldiers, we’re heading back!”

Snap-!

The second 「Jungle Development」 was also a success.

And so, they returned triumphantly to the Safe Zone with 145 cucumbers and two bowls of cherry tomatoes.

“Whew… it’s so hot.”

Perhaps because he had just returned from such a distant expedition,

his body felt hot and stuffy.

He had also sweated quite a bit, leaving him feeling rather uncomfortable.

Whooosh-

Then, an emerald-colored sea came into Minhyuk’s view.

“I do want to go swimming and cool off…”

Minhyuk sadly shook his head.

No matter how many Little Wooden Soldiers he had, it was obvious that bullets wouldn’t be effective underwater.

He didn’t know what might be lurking in that vast sea.

There had to be some way to safely enjoy swimming…

“…There is!”

Minhyuk suddenly sprang to his feet.

[Remote Island (LV.1)]

-Another deserted island to enjoy on a deserted island!

-You can establish a newly independent Safe Zone that is not connected to the existing Safe Zone.

-Maximum area 》 15 pyeong.

The new special benefit he had obtained while harvesting the cucumbers earlier.

Moreover, he hadn’t allocated the additional 6 pyeong he had gained from leveling up the Safe Zone.

No more, no less.

Just 3 pyeong.

‘Rather than expanding the existing Safe Zone, what if I secure an independent Safe Zone out in the sea…?’

Swimming would be totally possible.

“…Let’s go.”

Minhyuk rolled up his pant legs and headed toward the sea.

Splash- Splash-

The cool water soaked his ankles.

His desire to go swimming immediately surged.

‘Let’s see… somewhere with a decent depth but still in a position where I can safely go back and forth…’

It was then, as he continued pondering.

Bob-bob-bob-

Something approached, floating on the surface of the water like a buoy.

Minhyuk casually turned his head.

[You have discovered an ‘Otter’.]

Lying on its back and carefully hugging a precious shell,

an otter was lazily drifting toward him while dozing off.

H-Hoeeeng!?

The moment their eyes met, it was startled and fell into the water, flailing around.

Splash-! Splash-!

Hmm…

What was that?