The 1,025 goblins settled safely into their new home, Baltadren.

Of course, for the first three days after the relocation, they barely ate, slept, or washed. There were too many things that needed fixing.

The most urgent issue, no matter what anyone said, was repairing the walls. How could he rebuild the collapsed fortifications? Go Byeonggap had to rack his brain all day long.

But for all his worry, the problem turned out to be absurdly easy to solve.

‘Who would’ve thought the wall sections would just slot together.’

Where the wall needed repair, laying new sections made the gaps fill in and mend themselves as if by instinct.

You could even get crystals refunded proportional to the percentage not materialized. Clever system, all things considered.

With the wall standing straight again, he threw full effort into shaping the residential district. But urban planning wasn’t something you finished in a day or two. For now, he settled on building only the most urgent facilities — and that alone ate up three whole days.

On the morning of the fourth day in Baltadren, the goblins split into watch patrols, work crews, and a kitchen squad, each falling into their assigned roles.

“My Lord. The purification work at the North Gate — complete.”

A cluster of goblins carrying watering cans approached and reported. Go Byeonggap muttered, “Good, good,” then gave his order.

“Well done. Head to the West Gate and repeat the same process.”

“The same? Yes, I understand.”

Go Byeonggap walked over to the North Gate to check. The soil, once ash-gray, now showed a healthy clay-ocher hue.

After Jeonghwa left, a work crew arrived with pickaxes and shovels and began turning the soil over. Leveling the ground. On the other side, giant goblins were rolling massive logs to flatten the terrain.

‘Good. A few more cycles and it’ll be fit for farming. No problem.’

Progress was smooth. He headed to the wall next. Beast goblins greeted him. For sentry duty, beast goblins were ideal.

«Anything to report?»

«Sir! Nothing unusual. To report!»

The beast goblin answered briskly. Byeonggap swept his gaze across the wide wilderness below.

‘Too peaceful.’

It had already been four days since they came to Baltadren. Yet the number of Grugles they’d spotted barely reached three or four. And even those few would loiter in the distance before vanishing.

‘Well… no news is good news. Let’s think positively.’

A quiet stretch was far better than fighting Grugles for his life every single day.

Next, he moved to the residential zone. A goblin with a hammer was smashing apart a building marked for demolition. Tiny and his crew loaded the rubble onto carts and hauled it away.

They were clearing the site before construction properly began.

‘Smooth as can be.’

Byeonggap had never seen anyone work as hard as his goblins. They took on heavy labor without a single complaint—it was almost endearing.

«Ah! There you are!»

He was watching the work with satisfaction when Ea found him.

«You were looking for me? Why? Something wrong?»

«No, I need you to tell the goblins to eat. This place is too big for me to handle alone.»

«Is it already that time? Alright, got it.»

«Thank you. I’ll leave it to you, then.»

«Everyone! Time to eat! Stop working!»

«Ah! Yes, sir!»

The goblins caught on quick and wrapped up their tasks.

As Ea said, Baltadren was enormous. The workers were scattered in every direction, and gathering them all for meals or assembly was quite the ordeal.

«Call everyone from the other sectors too. And don’t forget to prepare meals for the sentries later.»

«Yes, sir! Understood!»

«Move quickly.»

The goblins vanished in a flash.

Byeonggap turned around, satisfied. Ea, who he’d thought had left, was waiting for him.

«You’re still here?»

«There’s one more thing I need to tell you.»

«Again? What is it?»

«We’re almost out of meat. Probably after breakfast tomorrow, it’ll be completely gone. I thought I should let you know.»

Byeonggap let out a small sigh.

«Ah… already gone, huh.»

«There are so many mouths to feed. And unlike Somnium, we don’t have other food sources.»

‘I should get back to subjugation duty soon. Then again, it has been a long break.’

Ever since the expedition, he’d been so focused on Asvillam that raiding had fallen by the wayside — maybe one job a week at best.

«Don’t worry. I’ll have a supply ready for you by tomorrow.»

«Yes, understood.»

The short lunch ended and work resumed. He called the raid team together and told them subjugation would restart tomorrow.

«Bamond, you’re on the raid team now. When I call for you tomorrow, just follow along with them.»

«Ah — yes. I’ll do that.»

He’d added the goblin priest Bamond to the raid team. The kid’s combat ability might be weak, but he had his unique healing power — enough to pull his weight and then some.

«Alright, sun’s down! Let’s wrap it up!»

«Yes, sir!»

«Operation. End!»

And just like that, another busy day passed.

* * *

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

The cheerful alarm rang. Go Byeonggap opened his eyes in his own bed for the first time in a while. Outside, it was still pitch-black — early dawn.

“Back to the hunter grind. Hah, time to make some money.”

He’d spent way too much lately. Even being as frugal as possible, the money sunk into Asvillam was enormous.

He still had plenty left, but if he just burned through it carelessly, he’d be flat broke in no time. So Byeonggap shook off his laziness and prepped for the hunt.

After showering and changing into his work clothes, he left the house. In the parking lot sat his brand-new car, fresh off the lot.

“Damn, that’s a sharp-looking ride.”

Just looking at his new car brought an involuntary smile to his lips. For the record, his old compact had been moved over to Baltadren.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

The air inside was crisp and chilly. While the engine warmed up, Byeonggap punched the destination into the navigation system. Today’s location: Pocheon.

“Maybe I’ll knock out two runs today… Eh, let’s just get going.”

The engine purred to life, and the car rolled smoothly forward. By the time he reached the destination, dawn had already broken.

A small rural village in Il-dong-myeon, Pocheon City. A rift had appeared under a bridge away from the houses. Freshly spawned — only twenty-six hours old.

Byeonggap lit a cigarette and savored the moment for a while.

“Been a while since I went subjugating. What is it — about two weeks?”

He felt no anxiety at all. It wasn’t like he’d been out of a fight — he’d just been out of rifts.

Besides, during the expedition, he’d gone toe-to-toe with an S-rank apex monster — a balrog.

Now he could confidently claim his nerve was top-tier.

“Time to work. Work.”

He stubbed the butt out in his portable ashtray, then stepped into the rift. A moment later, the world flipped, and the hidden world greeted him.

“Huuuuh! Haah… Been a while since I tasted this shitty air.”

The air of the hidden world—stale, heavy. Not that he minded. After all, a pine caterpillar had to live on a pine tree.

“Guooooo…”

The monster emerged, radiating killing intent in all directions. A D-rank Horn Gabri. Exactly the kind of weak monster you’d expect at the entrance.

“Good, meaty ones showed up. Might as well loosen up before calling the kids.”

Crack. Crack.

He rolled his shoulders lightly, then drew his sword.

“Hiiing!”

“Hing!”

The Horn Gabri lunged, splitting its maw into four branches. Go Byeonggap stood there with an easy grin, then moved like lightning.

Chak! Chak! Chak!

“Kweeeeeeek!”

The sharp sword made from a Sharpdeer’s horn lashed out fast. Even without internal energy, its sheer edge sheared through the Horn Gabri.

The Horn Gabri burned with fighting spirit until its final breath, but all that remained was its own corpse.

“Hiiing—cough!”

“Guess that’s done.”

Now that the mid-grade manual’s mastery rate had hit Max, thirty Horn Gabri were nothing.

Byeonggap stabbed his sword into the ground, lit a cigarette, and opened the gate to Asvillam.

«Hey, kids. Come out.»

The moment he barked, the raid team and work crew waiting inside poured out in a rustling flood.

The goblins glanced at the fallen Horn Gabri corpses and feigned surprise.

«My Lord, you took these on alone? Why didn’t you call us?»

«It’s fine, I was just messing around to warm up. Come on, what are you standing around for? Move the meat, quick.»

«Yes, sir!»

«Let’s move it!»

The hob goblins and Tiny worked together to haul the horse monster’s carcasses. The transport itself was over in no time.

«Bamond.»

«Ah—yes, Lord.»

«Stay well hidden behind Kiriyan and Dorma. You’re our healer—you absolutely can’t get hurt.»

«Ah, understood.»

«Turka, Orka.»

«Yes! My Lord!»

«Speak your command!»

The two giants, each carrying a massive shield, answered in unison.

«Nothing special—just stay sharp. It’s been a while since our last raid. One slip and you get hurt.»

«We’ll keep that in mind!»

«Changsik, Taesik—stick close by my side.»

«Yes, sir!»

«Right.»

The meat transport was done. Byeonggap tossed his cigarette butt aside carelessly and gripped his sword again.

«Let’s wrap this up quick and go home.»

The subjugation began.

* * *

It had only been half a year since he’d panicked even at an E-rank rift. But now, even a B-rank rift wasn’t all that hard.

The monster that appeared after the Horn Gabri was a Flame Steed. Registered as C-rank, this horse monster was one and a half times the size of a Gabri.

It wasn’t just the Flame Steed’s size that made it tricky — it was the fire that cloaked its body like armor. It could even spew flames from its mouth, though the range was only fifty, sixty centimeters at best.

«Everyone, reinforce your bodies with internal energy.»

«Yes, sir!»

Of course, that fire was useless against higher-rank awakeners who protected themselves with karma.

Go Byeonggap and his goblins, too, could weather those flames as long as they wrapped themselves in internal energy.

«Drive them in!»

«Kreerk!»

Like shepherds, they herded the Flame Steeds into a single cluster, then Kiriyan and Dorma wiped them out with ranged attacks.

A troublesome enemy, but with strategy, they dispatched them easily.

The rift was nearly at its end. The boss monster would be showing up soon.

In a spare moment, Go Byeonggap lit a cigarette and gazed at the dead Flame Steeds. Their once-proud flames had all died out, leaving only chunks of meat.

“A theme park with nothing but horse monsters. So the boss is probably going to be a Centauro, huh.”

As he cracked a pointless joke, a thought struck him.

‘But seriously—what the hell are these things?’

Countless attempts had already been made to uncover the origin of monsters, their true nature. And just as many efforts to communicate with them.

But they had failed, time and again.

Even though it had been discovered fifteen years ago that some monsters possessed intelligence rivaling humans, why had they failed?

The answer was the monsters’ boundless, bottomless aggression.

They charged to kill the moment they saw a human — what conversation could there be?

And dragging them out of the rift for experiments? They’d drop dead on the spot more often than not.

Monster research had suffered major setbacks because of it.

But after the last Monster Wave incident, everything had flipped a hundred and eighty degrees.

‘Now that monsters don’t die outside the rift, it’s made experiments a hell of a lot easier, hasn’t it?’

There’d even been news about it just a while ago. Captured monsters had been transferred to specialized research institutes.

Well… setting all that aside, there was one question only Go Byeonggap could carry.

He was the Goblin Lord. That was why he could communicate with goblins. Through various incidents, he’d even learned that goblins were descendants of some once-prosperous race.

‘Sure, fine, I get the goblins.’

The questions about goblins were gradually finding their threads.

‘But what about the other monsters? What are these things that live inside the rifts like the goblins do?’

Did they have their own Lords too? Their own homelands, like Asvillam?

Thinking about it made him a little wistful, even—

«Wistful my ass. Is this really the time for me to be worrying about monsters?»

«…My Lord? Did you just say something?»

Kiriyan started, asking in surprise. Go Byeonggap waved a dismissive hand.

«No, just talking to myself. Come on, let’s go catch the boss.»

«The Lord commands us to move!»

«We move.»

Whatever the monster’s backstory might be, it wasn’t his problem. Just something happening to someone else.

What was he supposed to do, sympathize with a monster just because it had a situation?

After pushing deeper through the hidden world for a while, Go Byeonggap and his party finally came face-to-face with the boss monster.

Contrary to his expectation of a horse-shaped beast, what revealed itself was a harpy.

A naked female torso, razor-sharp claws on both hands and feet. Bird-like wings sprouted from her arms, and her face was a fifty-fifty blend of bird and human features.

A monster recorded in the mid-tier of B-rank.

But there was one more detail that stood out.

“That can’t be…”

Byeonggap’s face twisted as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.

The harpy’s belly was swollen, round and tight like a pregnant woman’s.