Translator: rainbowturtle
Editor: LD & Jyazen
Tang-E shook his head and said, âI canât use it yet. I have to learn it from my dad first.â
It didnât matter how eagerly Hyeonu asked. Tang-E couldnât do it. He couldnât use something he had yet to learn.
âThen learn it. It is always good to learn things. There are still many things left for you to learn.âHyeonu watched Tang-E with a strange heat in his eyes.
âMy dad will teach me anyway. Donât worry, Master dude,â Tang-E mumbled lightly before jumping down from Hyeonuâs arms and approaching Hugo.âIf you keep standing like that, I wonât learn anything. Then you will be the long-time leader of Bung Bung Island, Dad.â
Hearing that, Hugoâs expression changed dramatically. He lifted Tang-E urgently while speaking in a friendly voice, âWho wonât teach you? Letâs learn it right now.â
Then he continued to whisper something in Tang-Eâs ear. Tang-E nodded intermittently with shining eyes.
âIs he teaching the skill now?âHyeonu was thinking this when a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.
[Your pet âTang-Eâ has acquired a new skill.]
[Demi-human Transformation]
[A secret technique that is only taught to some Marionette Bears. It is an intermediate form between a bear and a human.
Type: Buff
Rating: Unique
Skill Proficiency: F
Used in the Giant Transformation state and all stats, including the magic power stat, will rise by 30% when using Demi-human Transformation.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Skill Cooldown Time: 30 minutes]
Hyeonu carefully read through the message window that rose before his eyes. He memorized every word from the description to the effect.
âOnce he uses this, Tang-E will change that way...â
Huhuhu.Sly laughter emerged from Hyeonuâs mouth. Tang-E approached Hyeonu with bouncy steps and spoke in a voice so small that Hugo couldnât hear: âMaster, now I can transform like Dad.â
âThen use it quickly. You have to immediately test what you have learned. Isnât it too dangerous to use directly in combat without testing first?â Hyeonu said.
Tang-E nodded. Hyeonuâs words werenât wrong. There was nothing more stupid than practicing a new skill in real combat.
âI understand, Master dude. I will transform right away.â
Tang-E immediately used Giant Transformation to turn into a giant bear over 9 meters in size. Giant Transformation was the basic condition of using Demi-human Transformation.
âKeuaaaaang!âTang-E screamed and emitted black magic power. Unlike Hugoâs magic power, Tang-Eâs magic power didnât shine on its own. Instead, it absorbed light from the surroundings and made it relatively bright. The black magic power gradually faded, but the magic power didnât disappear. It was condensed instead. Once the black magic power decreased, Tang-E was revealedâa child with blond hair, snow-white skin, and plump cheeks.
âOh my, he is very cute.â Hyeonu bit his lip at the sight of Tang-Eâs human appearance after a long time. He wanted to get close and hold Tang-E in his arms right away. However, it wasnât possible because Tang-Eâs transformation wasnât over yet. During this time, the light was still condensing. Finally, the ball of light that was the size of a ping-pong ball penetrated Tang-Eâs chest, where it was then absorbed. Light poured out from Tang-E before disappearing in a flash. After that, Tang-E changed. Two round black ears were now shaking amidst his fluffy blond hair.
âHup...â Hyeonu knelt down when he saw it. Simultaneously, he raised both hands and grabbed his chest.
âCute, cute.â
Hyeonu kicked off hard against the ground and rushed forward. He damaged the ground, but he didnât care. Right now, Hyeonu was a racehorse. He only saw Tang-E in front of him and ran. He couldnât see anything else.
âTang-E!â Hyeonu tucked his hands under Tang-Eâs armpit and lifted him up.
âHuh? Master, what is it? Is it bad? Your face is red. It is like raw meat.â Tang-E smiled at Hyeonuâs reddish face. Tang-Eâs small red lips were curved up in an arc.
Unable to withstand it any longer, Hyeonu hugged Tang-E tightly. Thoughts of Etono had already flown from his brain. It was impossible to think of other things when there was an angel with such ears in front of him. Hyeonu let out a silly laugh.
âThe effect of the skill doesnât matter at all. The important thing is...â
Tang-E was cute. That was it.
***
âIt is empty.â Hyeonu felt this when he saw Etono without a single living being in it. The city that had once been crowded with demons and demonic creatures had quickly become a ghost town. It was the result of Hyeonuâs work, but he didnât know it would be emptied so quickly.
âIt is a good thing.â
The empty city would soon be filled with players, and it would be rejuvenated. Then some of the revenue would go into Hyeonuâs pocket.
âUgh... I want to see Tang-E.â
Tang-E had remained on Bung Bung Island. He still had some work left to do with Hugo and Manong, so he asked Hyeonu not to summon him today.
âFirst of all, letâs go back to the interior office. I need to clean up the city.â
City maintenanceâthis was why Hyeonu came to Etono. It was impossible to build or repair new buildings without any demons, but he could work on the rest.
'For example... the taxes.â
He would use the lordâs authority to set the tax rate. It was okay to apply a high tax rate, especially in the current situation when it was unclear who the lord was. Who knew Hyeonu was the lord?
âRecruit NPCs and players to be administrators...â
The one recruiting the administrators wouldnât be Hyeonu but the empire. The earlâs title made this possible. Hyeonu was literally going to step back and extort money.
âI can get taxes and monthly rent.â
In addition, he planned to collect monthly rent from players, including large guilds, by lending them buildings. It was only then that there would be commercial actions to collect taxes.
â3.2 million gold... Wonât it be gained faster than expected?â
Hyeonu returned to the office and immediately sat down in a black chair.
âTerritory Status Window.â
[Territory Status Window]
[Territory Name: Etono
Territory Affiliation: Baler
Lordâs Name: Gang Hyeonu
Territory Development: Economy: 33 (-44) Military: 70 (-70) Magic: 62 (-62) Culture: 26
Territory Population: 0 demons, 0 demonic creatures
Territory Assets: 69,023 gold
Consumption Cost: 0 gold.
Levy Amount: 0 gold.
Security: Very good
Owned Facilities: 9 (excluding residential facilities)
Current Status: The city is empty. As a result, the magic power absorption speed of the magic power stone has slowed down sharply.]
Hyeonu frowned. There was an enormous change in the status window. The shock doubled when Etonoâs current situation was put into text. It was shocking for the numbers of 650,000 demons and over 1.2 million demonic creatures to fall to zero. In addition, the economy, military, and magic stats had all collapsed.
They were just zero. Zeroâthere was nothing left. Even so, it was easy to recover because this was the probationary period. Once time passed...
âIt will be terrible.â
Hyeonu shook his head as he looked at the status window again.
âDid culture remain because of the buildings? Then that means the demons and demonic creatures have no influence on culture.â
Cultural development hadnât fallen since it hadnât risen due to Etonoâs population in the first place. It was thanks to the Colosseum that the figure of 26 remained. Hyeonu pressed on the levy section of the status window, and a new message appeared on the screen.
[Levy Amount]
[Current sources of income, tax rate adjustment, audit.]
Hyeonuâs finger moved again and stopped over âtax rate adjustmentâ.
Then he slowly pressed on the words.
[Tax Rate Adjustment]
[Current taxes: 15%
Too high a tax rate will cause the dissatisfaction of the territoryâs residents to rise and security will decline. If the dissatisfaction of the residents grows, a rebellion might occur.]
â15%? Why is it so low?â
Etonoâs tax rate was very low at 15%. The average tax rate of the Yusma Empire was 30%, and Etonoâs was half that.
âStill, the income is pretty high.â
The levy amount that Hyeonu remembered was approximately more than 20,000 gold. It was a formidable amount considering that Phinis only collected over 15,000 with a 30% tax rate.
âThere is a lot of money in the demon world.â
He thought it was possible because a lot of money was thrown at the Colosseum. Then he considered how there were only a few Colosseums...
âThis must be one of the few cities that can make money.â
However, that was all the past. Etono was now a ghost town with nothing.
âOnce the players come, many small amounts will accumulate to make a bigger amount...â
Hyeonu set the tax rate as 30%, no more or no less. It was just as much as the tax rate in Phinis.
***
âHyung-nim, arenât you thinking about going to the demon world? Hyeonu said heâs going there.â
âReally? Then we will go too. We donât need to be out here anymore.â Kim Seokjung clapped his hands together and got up. His white clothes, which had golden patterns, swayed as he did so.
âHyung-nim, I donât think we can leave right now.â Gang Junggu grabbed Kim Seokjung just when he was about to leave.
âWhy?â
âArenât you the only one who has done their third class advancement? Donât I still have to do it?â
Gang Junggu had yet to finish his third class advancement. His speed was a few days slower than Kim Seokjungâs. The reason for this was simple. Gang Junggu was slightly slower to level up. The two people had the same class;they were both monks dedicated to Sun God Liru. So, of course, their class quests were the same. Rather, Gang Jungguâs speed was actually much faster than average because he just followed Kim Seokjungâs path. Thus, the difference was reduced to this extent.
However, Kim Seokjung threw away Gang Jungguâs hand and said, âThen I will go there first, and you will come after.â
He had nothing to do here. It was much better to be by Hyeonuâs side.
âThere are always incidents occuring at my dongsaengâs side.â
It was the first time in his life that Kim Seokjung had seen such a troublemaker. Hyeonu was a moving bomb who caused storms everywhere he went. Thus, it was fun to stay around him. Kim Seokjung felt it was meaningful to play the game when he was with Hyeonu.
Jerking away, Kim Seokjung looked at Gang Junggu and asked, âJunggu, how is that thing going?â
âYou mean that? I just need to call the company and sort it out. The date... Itâs tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is also fine.â
âReally? Then I should go to South Korea first. Iâll be waiting for you, okay?â
âI understand, Hyung-nim. Iâll tell him to finish cleaning the house by tomorrow,â Gang Junggu said.
Kim Seokjung smiled with satisfaction.
âSigh... It is a surprise.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He thought of Hyeonu in South Korea. His dongsaeng would look surprised after seeing him.