Good job Javier.
He felt a sense of gratitude arise from seeing the message in front of him.
Javier likely gave a cold and objective explanation of what happened.
Javier was the main character of the novel The Knight of Blood and Iron. He was a cold-blooded and stubborn guy. He strived to be objective about everything. He probably tried to be earlier as well.
There was no doubt he calmly informed the baron of what Lloyd had done and how he had behaved all this time.
It's a relief that the baron didn't negatively judge me.
It was actually a slight gamble.
He used to be a son who did nothing but cause trouble every day. But he suddenly revealed knowledge he never learned before. He made a heated flooring system that didn't exist here. As if that wasn't enough, he took things further by making money through setting up construction contracts with the villagers.
It would be justifiable for the baron to be suspicious of the situation.
But he wasn't.
Of course, he probably thought it was strange. However, he seemed to be happy more than anything.
That's just the heart of a parent.
Was there any parent who didn't first feel overwhelming happiness in a situation where their kid changed for the better?
On the one hand, it did feel unsettling to take advantage of that sincerity, but on the other hand, he didn't have another choice right now.
For now, let's just push forward and see what happens.
It was practicality over morality in the present. This was the time to seek profit through practical means.
If not, he would repeat his life in South Korea, forever struggling with poverty.
With that determination, Lloyd looked around at his surroundings again. Thankfully, he didn't sense another person's presence in the moonlit training hall.
He took a deep breath and opened the system window.
His eyes followed one spot among the sea of information flooding before him.
[Random Summon Game]
[Send RP to pick a summon]
[A strong and unique summon partner will provide their unwavering loyalty along with a wide range of skills to their master]
[1 Turn = 50 RP]
[Current RP: 61]
[Would you like to start the summon game?]
[YES/NO]
He chose 'Yes' of course and nodded his head.
[The random summon game is starting]
50 RP were expended with the introduction message.
At the same time, there was something emerging five steps ahead of him.
Fwoosh!
The ground was engraved with a pale light that formed a complex figure. The magic circle gave off mystical energy.
Is it coming out?
He frequently saw this scene in mobile games but it was a little different seeing it in real life. No, it was very different. It couldn't be compared to mediocre 3D visual effects.
He radiated with anticipation for what would come out of the magic circle. It was heart pounding to just watch him.
Then something came out at last. Bzzzt! Something surged from the ground with a strong shock wave.
It flew over in his direction, right into his arms.
“Ppodong!”
“...”
Soft and fluffy fur, plump bottom, short arms and legs, a petite figure that was smaller than half his fist.
This was a…
“Hamster?”
“Ppodong!”
“Why did a hamster come out of here?”
“Ppodong! Ppodong!”
“One came out because it's you?”
“Ppodong!”
“...”
The hamster nodded his head like it was obvious.
Lloyd set down the hamster feeling bewildered.
This is a summon partner?
He had used a whopping 50 RP to play the game.
But in the end, what had come out was one mere hamster that couldn't be seen as anything other than a pet.
However, Lloyd didn't panic, and instead calmed himself down.
I was told summon partners had a wide variety of skills. First thing, this fella understands my words and responds to me. It must mean he's not an ordinary hamster starting with this.
It wasn't only that. Somehow, he could also understand Ppodong's responses back. In other words, they could communicate.
He lifted the hamster onto his palm, looked at him and spoke. “Hey”
“Ppodong?”
“Do you have any special abilities?”
“Pp-do-dong?”
“You said you're a summon partner”
“Ppodong!”
“How about showing some proof that you are one?”
“Ppo-do-dong? Ppodong!”
The hamster stuffed both hands into his mouth and pulled something out of his cheek. It was a small envelope and a wrinkled piece of paper the size of a business card.
“Ppodong? Ppo-do-dong!”
“You're giving me this?”
“Ppo-do-dong!”
“Read the paper?”
“Ppodong!”
“...”
He smoothed out the piece of paper and saw tiny written words that resembled black sesame. Thankfully, the moonlight was bright so he could manage to read the content.
[Ppodong User Manual]
[Ppodong is an adorable hamster. Please give him lots of love]
[Ppodong will give his utmost loyalty to you, his master. A summon partner is not only your companion animal but also your family, so please don't neglect them]
[Ppodong can change his size by eating one of the enclosed sunflower seeds]
[Red Sunflower Seed: Ppodong grows to gigantic proportions. Effective for maximum 12 hours]
[Blue Sunflower Seed: Ppodong shrinks back to a smaller size. Feed this to Ppodong before the 12 hour period ends. Otherwise he will automatically shrink back once the time limit passes and be too exhausted to grow again for 24 hours]
[One set of the two colors of sunflower seed is 1 RP]
[Ppodong can use a wide range of skills while he is gigantic]
[Ppodong's Skill Log]
[Digging (Lvl.1)]
[Packing Dirt (Lvl. 1)]
[Cheek Pockets (Lvl. 1)]
Hmm. Digging and packing dirt. Could he be used as a forklift?
After Lloyd read the user manual, he opened the enclosed envelope that came with it. As expected, there were sunflower seeds inside. There are ten of each red and blue sunflower seeds.
Lloyd stared at the hamster, no, Ppodong. “Hey, you”
“Ppodong?”
“So, you get bigger if you eat this?”
“Ppodong!”
“How big?”
“Ppo-do-dong!”
“...”
How much bigger can he get? He's naturally so small.
Size was a relative concept. He wondered how much bigger it could possibly grow.
He'll have plenty of uses if he even manages to become human sized.
He never had a pet hamster before. He only heard somewhere that hamsters were good at digging furrows. That was why he anticipated human-sized Ppodong to be able to do the work of several people.
“Let's first check it out”
“Ppodong?”
“Get down first”
“Ppo-do-dong?”
He set Ppodong on the ground and held out a red sunflower seed.
“Do you want to try this?”
“Ppodong?”
“Doesn't it smell good?”
“Ppo-do-dong? Ppodong?”
“Here, it'll taste good”
“Ppodong!”
The hamster sniffed his nose and quickly snatched the sunflower seed. He put it in his mouth and chewed.
Meanwhile, Lloyd took a few steps back.
How big will he get? He studied him with equal parts excitement and worry.
And then, the moment Ppodong swallowed the sunflower seed he was munching on…
Poof! He grew approximately ten meters tall.
Amazing. Wow. Lloyd looked up in disbelief. Ppodong's face was very far up now that he transformed into a giant hamster.
If I hadn't moved back enough, I could've crashed into him and went flying like a bouncy ball.
The growth happened in an instant like popping popcorn or an airbag blowing up. Ppodong enlarged at an extreme rate.
If he hadn't made enough space between them? He would've crashed against the growing hamster and went flying as if he got in a car accident.
I'll be careful from now on. He made up his mind and looked up at Ppodong.
No matter, he needed to test Ppodong's skills right now.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
“Ppodong?” The hamster looked down at him with his gigantic head.
Thankfully, his eyes still looked friendly. There didn't seem to be a need to worry about getting eaten.
“Do you want to try digging?”
“Ppo-do-dong?”
“Can you make a uniform two meter deep furrow from here to there?”
“Ppodong?” “Ppodong!” Ppodong nodded his head.
He swayed his giant chubby butt while moving to the pointed location. Then he started moving his short two front paws at lightning speed.
“Ppo-do-do-dong!”
Swish! Swish! Swish! It was a soil storm; mounds of dirt explosively flew up into the air.
Ppodong's chubby body ruthlessly moved forward.
After three minutes, a two meter deep and twenty meter long gigantic furrow was completed in the training hall.
“Amazing” It was beyond his wildest dreams and above any of his expectations.
However, Lloyd quickly snapped out of his admiring trance. There wasn't time to be in awe.
I don't know who might catch this sight after all. He decided to finish the test as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
With that thought in mind, Lloyd spoke to Ppodong “Good job. Next is packing dirt”
“Ppodong?”
“Try filling in the furrow you just made as flatly as possible”
“Ppo-do-dong?”
“Can you do it?”
“Ppodong!”
Ppodong moved at once. He got into position in front of the recently made furrow. Then he shook his fluffy butt and spread his paw. Finally, he rapidly darted from side to side with gusto.
“Ppo-do-do-dong!”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
If the earlier digging was like a soil storm, his current movements were like a vacuum cleaner.
Ppodong's pump butt became his center of gravity. His hefty behind grounded him as he quickly moved from side to side.
He gathered the messily scattered mounds of dirt he dug earlier and pushed them into the furrow.
The hamster ruthlessly advanced and the furrow filled in more each time he moved forward. But that wasn't the end.
“Ppo-do-dong!”
Once Ppodong finished filling in the burrow, he laid his body down and started rolling along the area. Once forward, once backward. That was enough.
He used the heavy and plump fat on his side to compress the ground like a steamroller.
Thanks to that, the bumpy surface became flat after he rolled over it once back and forth. There wasn't a single trace left of the furrow.
Good. Very good. The more he looked, the more he was satisfied.
Lloyd felt Ppodong was worth the 50 RP he invested. What a relief. I had overworked myself to collect the RP.
He had purposefully visited the baron while he was quarreling with the debt collectors and went a bit overboard to better his appeal. This was all so he could increase his likeability with the baron.
It was worth the risk of being suspected. Now, I should test out the final skill.
Lloyd looked up at Ppodong. The hamster was proudly looking at the furrow he perfectly filled in.
“Hey, Ppodong?”
“Ppodong?”
“You have cheek pockets, right?”
“Ppodong!”
“Can you hold stuff in there?”
“Ppo-do-dong? Ppodong!”
“It's possible? How much?”
“Ppodong!” The hamster pointed his paw across the yard to a rock that was about two meters in diameter.
Lloyd knit his eyebrows. No way.
However, it was real.
Before he could say anything, Ppodong had already started moving and put the rock in one of his cheeks.
“Ppu-du-dung!”
“Amazing…”
“Ppuduuuun! Ppudung!” He proudly nodded his head.
Every time he nodded, the cheek stuffed with the rock powerfully recoiled.
I could even use him as a weapon. He's built like a tank.
Lloyd knew Ppodong was ten meters tall, but he felt like he had met a dinosaur, seeing him in real life. Even the elephant he saw at the zoo seemed like a puppy compared to Ppodong.
“Now, put the rock back in its place”
“Ppodung?” Ptooey!
“Good job. Do you want to eat this now?”
“Ppodong!”
He put the blue sunflower seed in the hamster's mouth. Ppodong instantly turned small once he swallowed the sunflower seed. Poof.
He took the shrunken hamster in his arms. Ppodong must've been tired as he pushed into Lloyd's inside pocket.
Lloyd felt his small weight and warmth.
It was a success. This is amazing.
He went over what he saw of Ppodong today. The results had far surpassed his expectations.
He dug a twenty meter long and two meter deep furrow in only three minutes and perfectly filled it back in. Furthermore, he was even able to hold a rock weighing several tons in one cheek.
A high power forklift, a perfect steamroller, and even a dump truck. He had all three functions in one body. It felt like getting the Swiss army knife of heavy machinery.
With these abilities, he wouldn't hesitate to spend RP on the sunflower seeds needed for transformation.
On top of everything, he's incredibly portable,
Before he knew it, Ppodong had fallen fast asleep in his inner pocket.
He probably had to hide him for the time being.
I'll have to carry around a summoning book. He needed at least this much of an excuse to prepare for when Ppodong would be seen by others. That way, it wouldn't look suspicious if the troublemaker of the baron family suddenly summoned a giant hamster. If anything, people would chant “Our young master is the best!”
With that, he escaped the training hall with Ppodong in his arms.
As he returned to his bedroom, he thought of what to do next.
I finally have decent construction equipment. Now, it's time to seriously start building.
He already had a successful sale with the heated flooring systems earlier today. It was wise to strike while the iron was hot. He planned to follow the momentum and start his construction business.
To do that, I need a construction team with engineers and seasoned laborers, who will work flawlessly on site and a capable individual to lead them.
Of course, he had thought about how to organize the field team before.
Flicker. The fireplace in the bedroom burned all night.
Lloyd picked up a sheet of paper and pen in front of it.
He refreshed his memories and began making a list of all the main characters early on in the novel The Knight of Blood and Iron.
That was the memorable start of how Baron Frontera's ordinary knights and guards would be transformed into a full scale construction army.
