Episode 20.
Sweet Rent and Taxes
“Phew… Is this enough?”
Joohyun finished his work and stretched, loosening his stiff body.
Sounds came from his body as he moved.
‘I must have been sitting too long. Well, I haven’t exercised…’
“Joohyun.”
“Ah, Minsoo.”
“Are you done with the work?”
“More or less.”
“But about that task… Isn’t it the section chief’s job? Why are you doing it?”
Kim Minsoo handed Joohyun a mix coffee.
Since Joohyun felt like something sweet, he took a sip and looked revived.
“Well, it’s something that happens all the time.”
“All the time…? Are they putting you on again? Why can’t that guy catch you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tsk, I don’t get why an incompetent guy is a section chief. Honestly, isn’t he jealous of you by now?”
“Jealous of me? Why?”
“Because you’re rising. You’re good at work, so he’s getting impatient, right?”
That sounded plausible.
Everyone around knew how well Joohyun worked.
The HR team also had a good opinion of him, and rumors said he might be promoted to assistant manager soon.
“That section chief seems to subtly push you down out of fear you’ll take his position.”
At those words, Joohyun chuckled lightly.
“Enough nonsense, let’s just eat. I’m hungry.”
“Ah, right. Let’s hurry!”
“Hey, hey. Why rush so much? It’s the company cafeteria anyway…”
“You don’t know what today’s menu is?”
“What is it?”
Kim Minsoo smiled slyly.
“It’s spicy stir-fried pork. Hey!? Hey! Where are you going!? You said slow! Why sprint all of a sudden!!”
As Kim Minsoo finished his sentence, Joohyun sprinted away!
He couldn’t resist spicy stir-fried pork!
“…Pig.”
“Since I ate pork, part of my body could be made of pig, no exaggeration.”
“Now I see, not just a pig but you actually are a pig.”
“Wanna get hit by a pig?”
“Clear the pork feet first.”
After enjoying their meal in the restaurant, Joohyun and Kim Minsoo rested in the break room.
Then Kim Minsoo had a realization.
“By the way, your village has been making a big fuss lately?”
“Huh?”
“I saw community posts. Everyone was talking about your village. You’re the first user to own a village.”
“Ah, I saw that.”
Now the community was buzzing about Joohyun’s village.
Naturally.
Since Illusion’s release, no one had managed to claim a village.
Many tried but failed even for a small village, and large guilds moved but to no avail.
Then, an unknown user claimed a village. No wonder it was noisy.
“These days, even on NewTube, everyone talks about your village. Some user praises the potato stew sold there a lot… I think it was on the news too.”
“Really, that much?”
“Of course. Illusion is so popular. The number of global users is in the hundreds of millions.”
“Hmm…”
Joohyun had only started because he wanted a home in the game.
But things were bigger than he thought.
“Phew…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, many people come to the village now, but sometimes there are weird ones.”
“Don’t you have a guard in your village?”
“No. I guess we have to build one soon. Before it’s too late.”
Joohyun looked troubled.
Seeing that, Kim Minsoo gathered his thoughts and said,
“Why not quit the company and just focus on Illusion? Sounds like a good idea.”
“Quit the company?”
“Yeah. You made a lot of money selling furniture, right? Why bother working at a company?”
It wasn’t something Joohyun hadn’t considered.
Building houses and crafting furniture had been fun.
Even now, he still felt the thrill thinking about finishing the furniture.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Do you know how many want to make money with Illusion? I wanted it too…”
“Don’t you?”
“It’s not that I don’t, I just can’t. Think about it: if everyone could make money with Illusion, who’d be stuck at these jobs? They’d just play games.”
Only very few can make money from Illusion.
Only those with special skills or talents survive in the wild game world like Illusion.
Like Joohyun.
“Then I guess I’m lucky.”
“It’s not luck, it must be skill. You’ve got great dexterity. You can do it.”
“…”
Joohyun cast a strange look at Kim Minsoo.
His flattering skills today were exceptional.
If normally it felt like coach class, today was like first class comfort.
“So, what’s your real intention?”
When Joohyun pressed, Kim Minsoo flinched and reluctantly revealed his true feelings.
“Do you have any guard jobs in your village? If the salary’s good, I’d work like a dog.”
“I don’t hire dogs. Pigs, maybe.”
“Oink oink.”
“Where is human dignity, friend?”
“Money > dignity for us office workers. We’re slaves to salary.”
“Hmm…”
Persuasive.
Realistic talk that was hard to argue against.
“Then… if I succeed, please hire me. Huh? That’s what friends are for.”
“Well, I haven’t fully settled yet…”
‘Come to think of it…’
Kim Minsoo had played games for long.
So he knew a lot and could greatly help a beginner like Joohyun.
‘He even gave me a game console and coupons.’
If anything, Joohyun starting the game was thanks to Kim Minsoo.
Above all.
‘He said he’s a high-level tank, with great strength and stamina.’
There was a manpower shortage in the village, and Alfredo was struggling.
Kim Minsoo seemed perfect for hard labor.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What?”
“Pretty suspicious.”
“What’s suspicious about my eyes? Normal.”
“Nope. Suspicious. 100% suspicious. Right now, you’re not seeing me as a friend… but as a labor supervisor watching a good worker.”
“…Pretty detailed.”
“I worked on construction sites for years. I got that look a lot. I was the ace of the construction site. Hah.”
“…”
Kim Minsoo proudly said that.
Does he know?
That soon, because of this, harsh trials would come to him.
“Hey… why are you grinning so happily at me?”
“…”
“Don’t laugh. Stop laughing!”
Giggle
After work,
Joohyun went straight home and logged into the game.
As soon as he logged in, Alfredo greeted Arlen warmly.
“Welcome back, Village Chief.”
“Yeah, how are things?”
“Excellent. After you introduced the takeout system, sales have risen significantly.”
“Really?”
Arlen nodded.
The problem had been smoothly solved while he was offline.
He checked the message.
[Quest ‘Clue’s Worry’ cleared.]
[Experience gained.]
[Resident satisfaction increased by 10%.]
[Resident dissatisfaction decreased by 20%.]
[Clue was deeply moved by your solution and cried while looking at today’s sales.]
“Why cry holding sales… Cry?”
[Bonus activated.]
[For one month, maintenance costs for the restaurant will decrease by 10%.]
[For one month, Clue will work hard, increasing restaurant sales by 10%.]
[Chance of immigrants arriving increases.]
“Why’s that?”
“Nothing. Just checking status. Seems takeout is working well.”
“Yes. Strangers passing nearby heard rumors and come to buy a few dishes each day.”
“That’s good.”
Since then, Arlen wandered and did small quests solving villager complaints.
He built residential buildings and welcomed immigrants, spending relaxed days.
Then, after a few days,
Ding!
[You can now collect rent and taxes.]
[Would you like to collect rent and taxes?]
“Huh? We can collect rent and taxes now?”
“Yeah, it’s time. How about collecting now? It’s your first time as village chief to collect it.”
No need to hesitate.
Honestly, he couldn’t help but be excited.
Though he made money selling furniture, it was the first time as village chief to receive money.
‘Let’s go…’
[Accepted.]
[You received 200 gold in rent.]
[You received 115 gold 554 silver in taxes.]
Rent and taxes were collected.
“Wow… How much is this?”
Arlen’s eyes rounded in shock.
Converted to cash, about 3.15 million won.
He wouldn’t have imagined collecting this much from rent and taxes.
“Taxes depend on sales… But how is rent calculated?”
“Each residential wooden house pays 20 gold. You get more as the level rises.”
There were 10 residential buildings in total.
200 gold came from rent.
“Village management window!”
[Village Management]
Village Chief: Arlen
Village Chief’s House LV. 1
Tax: 5% [Configurable]
Residents: 40
Visitors: 1,335
[Special Note]
Many strangers visit, making things noisy and uneasy.
‘The number of visitors has increased a lot.’
With the clothing store and restaurant becoming famous, visitor numbers kept rising.
Arlen rubbed his chin.
‘If sales increase, I can collect more taxes. Then…’
His body trembled slightly.
This was the current scale, but what if the village grew and more buildings were constructed?
He could collect much more rent.
‘This…’
Though he told Kim Minsoo he’d think about quitting, collecting rent and taxes felt better than he imagined.
“Kuk!”
“Village Chief! Why’s that!? Are you feeling ill? Should I get…”
“…Ah…”
“Yes? Please say more…”
“It’s too sweet… Like my teeth will rot. Is it okay for rent and taxes to be this sweet? Is there a dentist here?”
“…”
Alfredo’s worried gaze turned cold.
He looked like saying, “What a guy…”
But it couldn’t be helped.
‘What can I do if it’s good?’
Ding!
[Maintenance cost: 226 gold paid.]
Maintenance cost was paid.
It seemed the village was maintained by using taxes and rent like this.
By now, Arlen was beginning to get an outline of how to run the village.
“If I build a lot of houses, I can collect more rent too?”
“Right. But if you just increase residents recklessly, side effects could occur.”
“What kind of side effects?”
“A great sage once said, when 5 people gather, 1 of them will be trash.”
“That’s…”
At that moment,
“Aaaah! Pickpocket!!”
“Someone catch him!”
A commotion arose.
At that same time,
Ding!
[Quest ‘The Sage’s Words are the Truth!’ has been created.]
[Do you accept?]
