The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 6: Gaining Relationship Points (2)
‘Well done, Javier.’
Lloyd couldn’t help but feel grateful towards Javier, even if it was in a somewhat sarcastic way.
The messages floating before him were clear.
‘Javier must’ve explained everything calmly and objectively, just as I thought he would.’
In the novel *Knight of Blood and Iron*, Javier was the main character. Throughout the story, he remained composed and unshaken, never losing his cool, no matter the circumstances. He always strived to stay objective.
Lloyd assumed that Javier had reported everything about his recent activities to the baron in that same objective manner, providing details about what Lloyd had done.
‘Good thing the baron didn’t think I was acting too suspiciously.’
In truth, it had been a bit of a gamble. The son, who had always been known for his disgraceful antics, suddenly began showcasing knowledge no one knew he had. He even constructed an *ondol* room, something entirely unheard of in this world. On top of that, he expanded the project, entered contracts with the villagers, and started making money.
It would’ve been natural for the baron to have doubts.
‘But he didn’t.’
He might have found it odd, but more than anything, he would’ve felt joy.
‘That’s how parents are.’
They’re just happy when their children improve, regardless of how sudden or strange that change may be. Most parents react with joy, thinking, “My child has changed for the better!”
Using such a parental mindset felt a bit manipulative, but Lloyd knew it was necessary for the moment.
“For now, I’ll focus on what’s practical.”
Morals could wait. Right now, it was about securing his position and getting what he needed. If he didn’t, he risked living a life of poverty again, just as he had in Korea.
With his resolve set, Lloyd surveyed the moonlit backyard training grounds.
Thankfully, no one was around.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the system window.
Countless lines of information appeared before his eyes, but there was only one thing he was interested in.
[Fantasy Creature Random Draw]
[Use RP to summon a fantasy creature.]
[These unique and powerful creatures will pledge their absolute loyalty to their summoner and provide various abilities.]
[1 draw costs 50 RP.]
[Current RP: 61.]
[Would you like to proceed with the random draw?]
Of course, the answer was ‘YES.’
He nodded.
[Executing the Fantasy Creature Random Draw.]
With that, 50 RP vanished, and five steps in front of him, the ground began to change.
*Fwoosh…!*
A bright light etched itself into the ground, forming a complex, glowing pattern. The completed magic circle exuded a mystical energy.
‘It’s coming.’
Lloyd felt the anticipation rise. It was a sight he had often seen in mobile games, but witnessing it in reality was something else entirely. It felt… more tangible, more real, like something was truly emerging from that light.
Then, finally, it happened.
*Bzzt!*
A powerful shockwave burst from the ground, and something small flew straight toward Lloyd, landing right in his arms.
“Ppodong!”
“…”
Soft, fluffy fur. Tiny limbs and a round, chubby body barely the size of a fist.
In short, it was…
“A hamster?”
“Ppodong!”
“Why is there a hamster here?”
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
“…So, you’re telling me you’re what came out of the magic circle?”
“Ppodong!”
The little hamster nodded confidently, as if that was perfectly normal.
Lloyd, feeling bewildered, stared at the small creature.
‘This is supposed to be a fantasy creature?’
He had spent 50 RP to summon this creature, and yet, what appeared was a hamster that looked more suited for a pet store. Still, Lloyd didn’t panic. He took a deep breath and calmly reassessed the situation.
‘The message said these creatures provide various abilities. This hamster can understand me and even respond. That’s already not normal.’
And it wasn’t just that. For some reason, Lloyd could understand what the hamster was saying, too. It seemed like they could communicate.
He placed the hamster on his palm and asked, “Hey.”
“Ppodong?”
“Do you have any special abilities?”
“Ppodong?”
“You’re a fantasy creature, right?”
“Ppodong!”
“Well, then prove it. Show me something that makes you a fantasy creature.”
“Ppodong? Ppodong!”
The hamster reached into its cheeks, pulled out a small envelope, and handed it to Lloyd, along with a crumpled piece of paper.
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
“You’re giving this to me?”
“Ppodongdong!”
“You want me to read the note?”
“Ppodong!”
“…Alright.”
Lloyd unfolded the note, squinting at the tiny writing under the bright moonlight.
[Ppodong User Manual]
[Ppodong is a cute hamster. Please care for it with love.]
[Ppodong will serve its summoner with absolute loyalty. Fantasy creatures are lifelong companions and family members. Please do not abandon them.]
[Ppodong can change its size by eating the two types of sunflower seeds included.]
[Red Sunflower Seed: Makes Ppodong grow larger. Maximum growth duration = 12 hours.]
[Blue Sunflower Seed: Shrinks Ppodong back to its original size. Feed before the 12-hour limit to avoid fatigue. If Ppodong remains large for over 12 hours, it will automatically shrink and enter a state of exhaustion for 24 hours, during which it cannot grow again.]
[The cost for a 2-color sunflower seed set is 1 RP.]
[Ppodong can use several skills when in its larger form.]
[Digging (Lv. 1)]
[Earth Compacting (Lv. 1)]
[Pouch Storage (Lv. 1)]
‘Hmm. Digging and earth compacting?’
Was this little creature supposed to act like a mini-excavator?
After finishing the note, Lloyd opened the small envelope. As expected, it contained sunflower seeds—ten red and ten blue.
Lloyd looked at Ppodong.
“Hey.”
“Ppodong?”
“So, if you eat these, you grow bigger?”
“Ppodong!”
“How much bigger?”
“Ppodong!”
“A lot?”
“Ppodong!”
“…Okay.”
How much could this tiny hamster really grow? Lloyd wasn’t sure. He hadn’t owned hamsters before, but he knew they were good at digging tunnels. If this creature could grow to the size of a person, it could potentially be quite useful.
“Alright, let’s find out.”
“Ppodong?”
“Go on, give this a try,” Lloyd said, holding out a red sunflower seed.
“Ppodong?”
“Doesn’t it smell good?”
“Ppodong? Ppodong?”
“Go ahead. It’ll be tasty.”
“Ppodong!”
The hamster sniffed the seed, quickly grabbed it, and began nibbling. Lloyd stepped back several paces, watching closely.
‘Let’s see how big it gets.’
With a mix of anticipation and curiosity, he kept his eyes on Ppodong. As soon as the hamster finished chewing the seed and swallowed it…
*BOOM!*
It grew.
…To about 10 meters tall.
‘What the…?!’
Lloyd’s jaw dropped.
Looking up, he saw Ppodong’s enormous face looming far above him.
‘Good thing I stepped back. I would’ve been flung like a ragdoll if I’d stayed too close.’
The transformation had happened so fast, like a kernel of popcorn exploding or an airbag deploying. If he hadn’t kept his distance, he might have been hit by Ppodong’s rapidly expanding body.
‘Gotta be more careful next time.’
Still recovering from the shock, Lloyd looked up at the now-giant hamster.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
“Ppodong?”
The enormous hamster’s head tilted down to look at him, its eyes still filled with innocence. At least he wasn’t worried about being eaten.
“Try digging a trench. From here to over there. Two meters deep. Think you can do it?”
“Ppodong? Ppodong!”
The giant hamster nodded and waddled over to the designated area, shaking its massive, fluffy behind.
Then, with surprising speed, it began to dig.
“Ppodododong!”
*FWOOOSH!*
Dirt exploded in all directions as Ppodong dug into the ground like a living drill. In just three minutes, the hamster had created a trench that was two meters deep and 20 meters long.
“…Whoa.”
Lloyd was stunned. Ppodong had far exceeded his expectations.
But he didn’t have time to marvel for long.
‘Someone might see this if I don’t hurry.’
He needed to finish the tests quickly and efficiently.
“Alright, now flatten it out.”
“Ppodong?”
“Fill in the trench and make the ground as level as possible.”
“Ppodong?”
“Can you do that?”
“Ppodong!”
The giant hamster moved immediately. Positioning itself over the trench, it began to move its paws in a wide, sweeping motion.
“Ppodododong!”
*WHOOOSH!*
If digging had been an explosion of dirt, this was like a vacuum cleaner sucking everything back into place. Ppodong gathered up the scattered dirt and pushed it back into the trench, smoothing it out as it moved.
And then, to Lloyd’s surprise, Ppodong rolled its entire body over the filled trench, pressing down with its hefty bulk like a steamroller.
Forward once. Backward once.
By the time Ppodong had finished, the ground was perfectly flat, with no sign that a trench had ever been there.
‘This is amazing.’
Lloyd was thoroughly impressed. He no longer had any doubts about the 50 RP he had spent.
‘It was worth pushing myself to gather the RP.’
He had taken a calculated risk by confronting the baron while the loan sharks were present. He had wanted to make an impression and raise the baron’s opinion of him, knowing it would increase his RP.
‘It was worth it. Now, for the final test.’
Lloyd turned to the giant hamster, who was proudly admiring its handiwork.
“Ppodong?”
“Ppodong?”
“You have pouches in your cheeks, right?”
“Ppodong!”
“Can you store things in there? How much?”
“Ppodong!”
The hamster pointed toward a large boulder on the other side of the yard. The rock was about two meters in diameter.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow.
“Are you serious?”
Before he could even process it, Ppodong waddled over to the boulder, opened its mouth wide, and stuffed the entire rock into one of its cheek pouches.
“Pppodong!”
“…What the…”
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
“Are you okay?”
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
Ppodong nodded proudly, its cheek bulging comically with the massive boulder inside.
‘This hamster is practically a tank.’
Seeing the 10-meter-tall Ppodong in action, Lloyd realized just how much power he had summoned.
“Alright, you can put the boulder back.”
“Ppodong? Ptooey!”
“Good job. Now, how about you eat this?”
Lloyd handed Ppodong a blue sunflower seed.
As soon as Ppodong swallowed it, the giant hamster shrank back to its original size.
“Ppodong.”
The small hamster happily crawled into Lloyd’s pocket, where it promptly fell asleep.
Feeling the soft warmth of Ppodong nestled in his pocket, Lloyd grinned.
‘That was a massive success.’
He ran through the tests in his mind, still amazed by the results.
‘A 20-meter-long, 2-meter-deep trench in three minutes. Then it filled it up perfectly. And it stored a rock weighing several tons in its cheek pouch.’
Ppodong was a high-powered excavator, a flawless steamroller, and a dump truck all rolled into one. It was the ultimate construction tool.
‘I don’t even mind using RP to buy sunflower seeds if it means I can keep using Ppodong like this.’
Not to mention, Ppodong was incredibly portable. The little hamster was already fast asleep inside Lloyd’s pocket.
‘I’ll need to carry a fake summoning spellbook around or something, just to keep up appearances.’
That way, when the time came to reveal Ppodong to others, it wouldn’t seem so suspicious. Instead, people would admire him for summoning such a fantastic creature.
Satisfied with his new partner, Lloyd left the backyard training grounds.
As he returned to his bedroom, his mind was already racing with plans for the future.
‘Now that I have a reliable tool for construction, it’s time to start the real work.’
He had successfully secured contracts for the *ondol* rooms earlier that day. Now, it was time to ride that momentum and dive into the construction business.
‘To do that, I’ll need a proper construction team. Skilled workers who can follow instructions and a capable leader to manage them.’
Lloyd already had ideas about who he could recruit.
With that in mind, he sat down at his desk, pen and paper in hand, and began drafting a list of all the key characters who appeared in the early chapters of *Knight of Blood and Iron.*
It was the beginning of a transformation—the Frontera Barony’s simple knights and guards would soon be reshaped into an elite construction crew.
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