CHAPTER 24

Construction (2)

"Construction?"

The moment I uttered that word.

Buzzzzz―

That unique sensation of the home territory expanding washed over me as the entire apartment complex came into view.

'Ugh. Again?'

I instinctively braced myself for the pain that would follow.

'…?'

But instead of pain, what appeared before me was a new system window.

[Facilities Available for Construction]

Solar Power Generator (₩133,000,000) Convenience Store (₩219,900,000) Gym (₩300,000,000)

[Support Funds: ₩1,000,000,000]

Seeing the exorbitant prices of the facilities, I couldn't help but click my tongue.

The cheapest option was the solar power generator, costing a staggering 1.33 billion won.

'Solar power generator.'

When I selected it, a translucent projection of a solar power facility appeared on the apartment rooftop.

It looked exactly like the solar panels installed on residential roofs or rooftops.

A brief description accompanied it, explaining that it would generate a certain amount of electricity daily, and any surplus energy would be converted into money and deposited into the Absolute One's wallet.

It even provided a monetary estimate of the solar generator's efficiency.

'Only 30 million won per year?'

Despite requiring a massive 1.33 billion won to install, its annual output was worth only 30 million won.

That meant it would take at least five years just to break even.

[Would you like to proceed with the installation?]

[Yes / No]

'No.'

It was too much of a waste.

'I have way too many expenses right now.'

While the power consumption had increased with the growing population of hundreds of citizens, it wasn't yet at a level that necessitated a solar power generator.

'I'd rather use this money to level up Hadonggeon instead.'

Just as my interest in construction was starting to wane, my gaze landed on the "Support Funds" section at the bottom of the list.

1 billion won.

A massive sum earned from conquering an entire apartment building.

But something felt a bit off.

'Could it be?'

※ Support funds can only be used for construction.

'Ah…!'

This changed everything.

Even though it was 1 billion won, it wasn't actually part of my own money.

If I didn't spend it on construction, it would just sit there unused—practically as good as game points.

'In that case, I might as well use it all.'

Since it was a separate budget from my actual cash, there was no reason to hesitate.

[Would you like to proceed with the installation?]

[Yes / No]

'Yes.'

[Time remaining until solar power facility construction is complete]

23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

In an instant, the support fund balance dropped.

[Support Funds: ₩867,000,000]

'Tsk. Still feels like a waste.'

Even though this money could only be used for construction, seeing over a billion won disappear still stung.

I had never spent such a large amount of money before.

'Can I install another one?'

The description mentioned that any surplus electricity not used by citizens would be converted into money and deposited into the Absolute One's wallet.

That meant the more electricity produced, the more money I would earn.

But it wasn't going to be that easy.

[Only one solar power generator can be installed per apartment building.]

'Tch.'

Unfortunately, to install more solar generators, I would need to increase the home territory level and conquer neighboring apartments first.

'What's this convenience store about?'

It was priced at over 2 billion won, but that didn't matter.

I had already decided to spend all 10 billion won of the support funds anyway.

'Hmm?'

The convenience store system was more innovative than I expected.

It was linked to my Absolute One's Shop skill, allowing me to sell items I personally registered.

What was interesting was that there was no need for a cashier.

As long as someone placed money in front of a transparent item display, the system would instantly produce the item in real time.

'This is nice.'

Up until now, distributing relief supplies had been a hassle.

But with a convenience store, citizens could purchase what they needed on their own.

The best part was that I wouldn't have to manage it manually.

'I can also set the prices myself.'

The items in the store were available to me at a 20% discount, meaning I could sell them at full price in the convenience store and make a 20% profit margin.

Additionally, since citizens would need money to shop, I would have to distribute wages, which meant I could also make use of my tax collection skill.

'This means I can afford to increase the percentage of wages distributed to citizens.'

Since I now had a way to reclaim money, distributing wages didn't feel like such a loss anymore.

It was a bit of an exploitative system, but if I really needed to, I could just raise the prices of essentials like water and rice to recover funds quickly.

'Not that I'd take it that far.'

And that wasn't the only advantage of the convenience store.

'Let's build it right away.'

Ding!

[Please select a location for the convenience store.]

Unlike the solar generator, which was installed on the rooftop, the convenience store would replace an entire apartment unit.

Luckily, I had the perfect spot in mind.

'Unit 101.'

The first and second floors had been left in shambles by the goblins.

I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning them up, but installing the convenience store would completely refurbish the area.

Broken windows, goblin filth—it would all be erased in an instant.

[Time remaining until convenience store construction is complete]

47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

'And lastly… the gym?'

At first, I had thought, "Why would I need such a useless facility?"

There was already a gym in the apartment complex's community center, but I had never used it.

I wasn't particularly interested in working out.

But the gym in this construction system had a very different meaning.

"Gym"

A basic training facility for citizens.

Increases strength and stamina. Training here improves workout efficiency by 200%. Citizens below level 15 receive an additional 300% efficiency boost.

'Whoa.'

I had already known that leveling up was possible through exercise, not just quest rewards.

In fact, citizens who worked out regularly tended to have higher levels.

For example, former bodybuilder Kim Minho was level 15.

If the gym's description was accurate, then citizens could now reach his level nearly five times faster.

On top of that, with the workout efficiency buff, it would pair well with quest rewards to maximize gains.

Ding!

[Please select a location for the gym.]

The gym required a much larger space than the convenience store.

So, I decided to dedicate the entire second floor to it.

[Time remaining until gym construction is complete]

71 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

After setting up the gym, I was left with around 350 million won in support funds.

'I spent it well.'

Since I hadn't touched my own money at all, I actually felt pretty good about it.

'Now then.'

This newly unlocked construction feature.

This was just the appetizer.

'Though, with a 1-billion-won budget, it was a pretty luxurious appetizer.'

But the main course was yet to come.

I deactivated construction mode and returned my senses to normal before opening my skill window.

[Available Skill Points: 3]

Upon reaching level 10, I had gained three skill points.

Most of my skills now had a [+] button next to them, except for the ones I received at levels 8 and 9.

I didn't need to think too hard.

I had already decided which skills to upgrade.

'Absolute One's Shop, Absolute One's Prestige, Absolute One's Eye.'

I upgraded the Absolute One's Shop first.

[Absolute One's Shop has reached Level 5.]

[The number of items you can register has increased to 500.]

[A new feature, Categorization, has been added.]

"…What?"