The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 34: Building at the Speed of Light with Muscles (2)

“Fire in the hole!”

*Whoosh, flash!*

It was a bright, sunny morning as Lloyd’s shout cut through the sunlight, and Javier’s longsword gleamed, piercing deep into the granite. An intense flash followed, leading to an explosion from within the stone.

*Crack!*

Even granite, which had withstood thousands of years in one spot, couldn’t resist the precise, internal blast. A crack formed, spreading rapidly until the stone fractured under its own weight.

*Crash!*

A massive, cube-shaped chunk of granite, weighing several tons, toppled to the ground.

“Well done, Javier!”

Lloyd gave a thumbs-up, and Javier wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Javier’s role was complete; now it was the turn of a different helper.

“Ppodong, come here.”

“Ppodong?”

“Want to try this? It’s a red sunflower seed.”

“Ppodong?”

“I got it especially for you. Each set only has one red and one blue seed, and it costs a whole 1 RP per set.”

“Ppo-dong?”

“I bought fifty of them yesterday. Spent a whole 50 RP just to feed you and Bangul. Doesn’t that show my dedication?”

“Ppodong?”

“So, will you eat it up nicely?”

“Ppodong!”

Ppodong eagerly accepted the red sunflower seed from Lloyd’s palm, popping it into his mouth and munching away. Meanwhile, Lloyd stepped back to give him space.

*Thud!*

In an instant, a ten-meter-tall hamster emerged.

“Ppodong!”

“Well done, Ppodong. Good job!” Lloyd petted him affectionately. “Can you carry that for me?”

He pointed at the massive granite block.

“Could you take it to the orc village? Do you think you can manage?”

“Ppodong!”

Ppodong enthusiastically nodded his large, round head. He waddled over to the granite block, shook his plump behind, stretched out his little hands, and opened his even smaller mouth. With a bit of effort, he stuffed the granite into his cheek.

*Puff! Puff!*

One of Ppodong’s cheeks puffed out into a perfect cube shape.

“Nice work, Ppodong. Can you take this one too?”

*Puff!*

The other cheek filled up, also in a cube shape. Lloyd climbed onto Ppodong’s back.

“Alright, let’s go!”

*Puff!*

Even with several tons of granite in his cheeks, Ppodong strode toward the orc village as steadily as a dump truck.

Once the granite arrived at the village, the next stage began, involving Lloyd, a young orc warrior named Arosh, and twenty combat engineers.

“Stone’s here, squeak!”

“Everyone, get ready!”

*Screech!*

The workers, who had been waiting at the ice storage construction site, eagerly picked up hammers, chisels, and pickaxes as soon as the granite arrived. They ran toward the stone Ppodong had delivered.

“Let’s smash it, squeak!”

“We can’t fall behind, guys!”

“Yeah!”

Arosh and the engineers sweated away, chipping, shaping, and cutting the granite into the large blocks needed for the ice storage.

And throughout, Ppodong didn’t rest either.

“Ppodong?”

“Ppodong?”

“Can you dig here, from here to here? Make it seven meters deep.”

“Ppodong?”

Lloyd used a branch to mark a line on the ground, perfectly following the design plans for the ice storage. His surveying skills allowed him to draw precise lines in real-time on the terrain, only visible to him.

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Ppodong!”

Ppodong lifted his tiny arms and began digging furiously along the line.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Even the hardened, dry earth of the wasteland couldn’t resist his strength. Each scoop displaced a massive chunk of earth, creating clouds of dust. Lloyd stayed by Ppodong’s side, supervising each section Ppodong dug, checking it against the design.

As Ppodong dug, Lloyd carefully corrected any areas where the excavation was off by even a centimeter.

‘Excavation is one of the most critical stages of any construction, not just for an ice storage.’

The excavation was the foundation. If he was careless here, problems would arise later. Any issues with the structure would damage his reputation.

‘Trust is everything. Doesn’t matter if the client’s human or an orc.’

To Lloyd, even Chief Akush was a client, having signed a contract. As long as they paid, they were all “clients”—human, orc, or monster alike.

‘Craftsmanship? Nah, it’s because I’m getting paid! Anyone who pays is a client, a king of clients!’

Lloyd spared no effort, thinking of both the current payment and the future stream of revenue.

Days flew by in this grueling routine.

Javier blasted granite, Ppodong transported it, Arosh and the engineers shaped it, and Lloyd continued to perfect the site.

Ten days later, the groundwork was complete.

“No breaks! Let’s keep going!”

“Yes, sir!”

Lloyd took off his shirt and joined the engineers in hauling granite blocks. They began laying the stones on the pre-leveled ground. His past experience helping with tiling back in Korea came in handy here.

‘Of course, these stones are a lot bigger and heavier than those tiles!’

Still, the principles were the same: laying stones to ensure a stable, leveled floor, setting the slopes, and filling the gaps with mortar mixed with lime for waterproofing.

Once the foundation was complete, they moved on to building the walls. But that’s when problems arose.

*Crack!*

With an alarming sound, one of the engineers’ backs gave out.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Ugh… I think my back is gone.”

“…”

The heavy granite blocks were too much for them. Over the days, more engineers began to struggle. One sprained a wrist, another injured a shoulder. Despite their experience, this work was on another level.

In the end, Lloyd was left as the only one able to lift the blocks. Even Javier had to rest after multiple rounds of blasting.

‘This is tricky. If only Arosh were here.’

But Arosh and the orc warriors had left on a hunting expedition, as was their duty.

‘And I can’t ask Ppodong to transform here.’

The freshly laid foundation was still settling. If Ppodong, who weighed several tons, moved over it, it might shift out of alignment.

‘What should I do?’

Lloyd pondered the issue. The stones were too big to reduce in size without compromising insulation.

‘Waiting until the foundation settles to use Ppodong might be the safest bet.’

But that afternoon, an unexpected solution presented itself.

“Squeak! You’re lifting it all wrong!”

A group of orcs had been watching the construction from the start. Today, as Lloyd struggled to lift a block, the orcs started commenting.

“Human! That’s not how you lift, squeak!”

“Pardon?”

Panting, Lloyd looked up to see an elderly orc leaning over the edge of the construction pit.

“I mean what I said. You won’t isolate the right muscles lifting like that, squeak.”

“Huh?”

“Keep your back straight, push your hips back, chest out. Let your ankle flexibility help activate the proper muscles, squeak!”

“Uh, I’m not trying to exercise here…”

“Doesn’t matter, squeak!”

“…”

From that point on, more orcs began chiming in with advice.

“Grab lower, squeak!”

“Breathing’s important, squeak!”

“Lift faster, squeak!”

“One more, squeak!”

“…”

It felt like Lloyd was surrounded by veteran gym coaches offering unsolicited advice at the gym. Eventually, their impatience with his inefficiency got the better of them.

“Ugh, this human’s hopeless, squeak!”

“Can’t you lift as we showed, squeak?”

“Let us demonstrate, squeak!”

“Watch and learn, squeak!”

A dozen muscular orc men stomped into the pit, each grabbing a granite block. Veins bulged on their backs as they hoisted the stones.

“Hyah, squeak!”

“Hup, squeak!”

What took Lloyd strenuous effort or multiple engineers to lift, the orcs hefted easily, as if flipping a table.

“Wow.”

Lloyd’s mouth dropped open, astonished.

But he quickly adapted, realizing the opportunity.

“Incredible! Truly amazing!”

“Squeak! This is nothing, squeak!”

“No, it’s really incredible. I could never dream of placing these stones up *there* on my own.”

“Up there, squeak?”

Lloyd pointed halfway up the wall.

The muscled orc glanced at it and smirked.

“That’s where humans go wrong. Watch closely, squeak.”

Effortlessly, he lifted the stone over his head and placed it exactly where Lloyd indicated, as gently as placing a box.

*Boom!*

The granite block settled into its spot with a resounding thud, perfectly aligned.

‘This is it.’

Lloyd clenched his fist discreetly in triumph, grabbing another block and pretending to struggle.

“Ugh, this is too hard for me…”

“Tsk! Step aside, human. We’ll show you how it’s done, squeak!”

*Thunk! Boom!*

One by one, the massive stones were lifted and set into place.

Throughout, Lloyd played up his fatigue, milking the orcs’ sympathy. His over-the-top expressions, worthy of an acting award, stirred their concern.

Every time he groaned, another orc stepped in, muscles bulging with determination, eager to show him the correct way to lift.

With their help, they finished the walls of the ice storage in less than a day.

And the work didn’t stop there.

“Oh no, this part is even harder! Ugh, ngh…”

The next day, Lloyd again feigned weakness, looking like a novice gym-goer in need of a trainer.

More orcs arrived, snorting with determination to help him.

Their “assistance” allowed them to construct the arched ceiling in less than two days!

‘And they’re not even cutting corners.’

Each orc handled the stones with the precision of a crane, positioning even the heaviest pieces perfectly.

It was pure muscle power at its finest.

The high-speed construction Lloyd had dreamed of was becoming a reality.