The sole heir to a ruined world

**The Sole Heir of a fallen world, Episode 9**

“This should be enough.”

Lee Hank Yul smiled faintly as he looked at the numerous sacks lying on the ground.

He had bought over ten types of seeds in bulk to start farming.

Although he didn’t have a vehicle, he wasn’t too concerned about transporting the goods.

“Let’s go.”

All he needed to do was grab the sacks and move them to Asgard.

When he arrived in Asgard, his hands were full of the sacks he had purchased from the Hunter Market.

‘With this, I might even be able to send the villagers outside, right?’

He stared at the villagers for a moment, thinking he’d test the idea later, and began walking.

—

**「15 minutes left until growth into a ‘Warrior.’」**
**「14 minutes and 30 seconds left until growth into a ‘Farmer.’」**

—

Lee Hank Yul set the sacks down in one spot and leaned against the tree stump.

—

**「2 hours and 21 minutes left until the sprout grows.」**

—

He gently tapped the small sprout growing from the stump, then glanced around the meadow.

The space was roughly 100 pyeong (about 330 square meters).

It was a large area for personal use, but considering he’d be summoning more villagers in the future, it didn’t feel all that big.

‘…Well, I’ll probably figure out a way to expand the land later.’

After all, this was divine land.

There was no way it would remain limited to just 100 pyeong forever.

If he kept nurturing the sprout, the answer would eventually reveal itself.

“Good.”

The gentle breeze tickled his hair, bringing a soft smile to his face.

How much time passed like that?

—

**「The growth of the Warrior has been completed.」**
**「The growth of the Farmer has been completed.」**

—

Lee Hank Yul opened his eyes at the soft light flickering in his view.

In front of him stood two figures made of light that vaguely resembled humans.

They were about a head taller than the villagers and had decorative features on their otherwise plain, porcelain-like bodies, setting them apart.

The warrior had a helmet and a large sword the size of its torso, while the farmer carried a straw hat and a hoe.

Seeing their distinctive appearances, Lee Hank Yul studied them curiously.

*Toing?*

*Tooiiing!*

“They still can’t speak, huh.”

Even with their new hats and tools, their faces were still featureless.

It felt like watching statues made of light moving around.

Lee Hank Yul gestured for the farmer to follow him toward the sacks.

*Toing?*

The farmer tilted his head as if asking what the sacks were.

Instead of replying, Lee Hank Yul opened one of the sacks and showed the contents.

Seeds spilled onto the meadow, and the farmer began jumping up and down excitedly.

“Why don’t you try farming with these? The field is over there.”

*Toing!*

The farmer nodded eagerly, hoisting one of the sacks onto its back and heading toward the field.

Lee Hank Yul watched quietly.

The farmer climbed onto the field and began tilling it vigorously with the hoe it carried.

*Thud, thud!*

After tilling the field energetically, it planted seeds in the freshly turned soil.

‘How will it water them?’

While Lee Hank Yul pondered this, something unexpected happened.

“…Huh?”

In the spots where seeds were planted, sprouts began to grow almost instantly.

The farmer hadn’t watered them.

Instead, it raised its tool high and waved it around the field.

Looking closely, Lee Hank Yul noticed tiny particles of light falling from the hoe onto the field.

It seemed these light particles were accelerating the growth of the plants.

‘It’s doing just fine on its own.’

Satisfied, Lee Hank Yul turned his attention elsewhere.

The warrior stood with its massive sword planted into the ground, resting its hands solemnly on the hilt.

To Lee Hank Yul, however, the warrior just looked cute.

The farmer’s farming skills were impressive.

Now, it was time to test the Warrior’s combat ability.

—

**「An invasion has begun.」**

—

It looked like he would get to test it soon enough.

—

**「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」**
**「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」**
**「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」**

—

This time, fewer goblins appeared, but each one was stronger.

These goblins were the ones that had given Lee Hank Yul serious trouble before, leaving him with injuries that nearly killed him more than a dozen times.

He glanced down at his sword.

‘Hopefully it doesn’t break during the fight this time.’

During the last invasion, his sword had snapped mid-battle, putting him in a very difficult position.

At least this time, the sword wasn’t cracked, so he figured it would last longer.

—

**「Asgard’s Warrior awaits your command.」**

—

The warrior stood, staring at him intently.

Lee Hank Yul gave the order.

“Kill all of them.”

—

**「Asgard’s Warrior has acknowledged your command.」**

—

*Whoosh!*

The warrior raised its massive sword high.

*Tooiing!*

Letting out a spirited cry, the warrior charged toward the corrupted Scout Goblins.

‘Ah, it’s dangerous to rush in alone…’

But as Lee Hank Yul watched the scene unfold before him, he blinked in disbelief.

The goblins he had struggled so much against were now…

The warrior was handling them with ease.

When Lee Hank Yul had faced them, it had been a hard-fought battle, and every goblin had pushed him to his limits.

But now, with a single swing of its massive sword, the Warrior…

**A trained combat style.**

Lee Hank Yul had gone through countless near-death experiences and spent a lot of time just to kill these goblins.

Even though the villager had grown into a warrior, it was still just a single stage of growth.

It didn’t seem like their combat abilities would have drastically improved.

*Whoosh!*

But the warrior dodged attacks skillfully.

*Crunch!*

And it killed efficiently.

The Warrior didn’t care about the goblins’ coordinated attacks and took them down one by one.

It didn’t need any help from Lee Hank Yul.

*Crack.*

Even when its arm was torn off, the damage quickly healed in this space.

Lee Hank Yul quietly observed the scene.

‘It’s similar to me.’

The warrior’s combat style resembled his own.

It didn’t fear death, charging forward to kill its enemies even if its arm or neck was severed.

There’s a saying about giving flesh to take bone.

But Lee Hank Yul didn’t stop at giving flesh—he would give his bones and even his life to take the enemy’s.

The Warrior was the same.

*Crunch!*

—

**「‘Asgard’s Warrior’ has defeated a ‘Corrupted Scout Goblin.’」**
**「You have obtained a Yellow Mana Stone.」**

—

The Warrior had killed the last remaining goblin.

It felt like less than 30 minutes had passed.

Considering that it usually took Lee Hank Yul over an hour to fight these goblins, the Warrior’s ability was clearly impressive.

—

**「The potential for the Warrior’s growth has been discovered.」**
**「‘Asgard’s Warrior’ has identified the conditions for growth.」**
**「The conditions to become the ‘Commander of Asgard’ have been unlocked.」**

**- Conditions: Defeat 3/100 Goblins, 0/10 Squad Leader Goblins, 0/1 Scout Commander Goblin.**

—

“Oh.”

Lee Hank Yul stroked his chin as he reviewed the conditions.

One battle had already produced a satisfying result.

—

**「5 hours remain until the next invasion.」**

—

Checking the invasion timer, he picked up the mana stone and walked toward the sprout.

—

**「All mana stones have been converted into 1,500 mana points.」**
**「Total mana: 1,607.」**

—

He had gained a significant amount of mana from just one battle.

As he thought about what to do with the mana, his gaze shifted to the apple tree beside the stump, laden with ripe apples.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything since awakening.’

While he didn’t feel hunger in Asgard, he didn’t dislike eating either.

Lee Hank Yul enjoyed good food, but he’d been so preoccupied with everything that he hadn’t even thought about eating.

‘I planned to sell these later, but eating one shouldn’t hurt.’

After all, the apples would keep growing.

Taking one of the apples that a villager had picked, he took a bite.

*Crunch.*

‘Oh.’

The juice filled his mouth, sweet and tangy.

The taste was so pleasant it made him want to keep eating more.

It had been a long time since he had eaten fruit this delicious.

After finishing the apple, Lee Hank Yul suddenly noticed a strange sensation in his body.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist tightly.

It wasn’t his imagination.

He felt stronger than before eating the apple.

Could it be possible that eating just one apple could cause this?

Lee Hank Yul turned to look at the apple tree full of fruit.

“I don’t even like eating fruit that much.”

—

**「The sprout has grown.」**

—

*Crunch.*

As he read the message, he finished off the last bite of the apple.

—

**「The sprout has grown, unlocking a hidden ability.」**
**「You can expand the land by 1 pyeong (3.3 square meters) for 1,000 mana.」**

—

‘One pyeong for 1,000 mana… not sure if that’s good or not.’

While it was true that mana stones could be obtained from hunting goblins, 1,000 mana felt like a steep price.

That amount of mana could summon 100 villagers.

—

**「You can summon a Warrior directly for 500 mana.」**

—

Oh, now *that* was useful.

He could summon farmers or warriors directly without needing to go through the villager stage.

—

**「1,000 mana is required for the sprout’s next growth.」**

—

“Hmm.”

Lee Hank Yul let out a low hum.

He had expected the mana cost for growth to increase over time, but jumping from 500 to 1,000 was a bit extreme.

“Well, I still have to do it.”

The sprout needed to grow to unlock new abilities, and that was essential for handling the invading goblins more effectively.

—

**「1,000 mana has been consumed.」**
**「10 hours remain until growth is complete.」**

—

He didn’t stop there—he summoned another Warrior as well.

*Toing!*

—

**「‘Asgard’s Warrior’ greets you.」**

—

The newly summoned Warrior stared at him solemnly.

Lee Hank Yul tapped its head lightly.

“You’ve definitely gotten stronger.”

Clenching his fist, he could feel the difference in strength.

Although he couldn’t see exact numbers, it was clear that his physical abilities had improved.

It wasn’t just his strength.

After testing a few things while eating the apple, he found that his stamina, speed, and reaction time had all improved as well.

‘Even if there’s no visible stat display, it’s clear that every time I eat an apple, the stats I gain are applied to me.’

Lee Hank Yul turned to look at the apple tree.

No new apples had grown yet. It would probably take time for more to appear.

‘Until then, I’ll keep all the apples for myself. At least until my growth is complete.’

With the possibility of gaining strength from eating the apples, there was no need to share them.

In the end, he needed to become stronger to survive.

‘Speaking of which, if I can expand the land, I should build a proper house.’

Materials like wood could always be brought in from outside.

Sitting on the tree stump, Lee Hank Yul began to think about what to do next.

*Bzz, bzz!*

The vibration of his smartphone snapped him out of his thoughts.

Ah, it was time for his part-time job.

“See you later.”

Waving to the villagers, he left Asgard.

“…Hank Yul, you’re here.”

The store manager looked at him, alternating between his face and legs, as if still not used to it.

“Yes.”

“Alright… take care.”

The manager patted his shoulder but stopped midway and left the convenience store.

Lee Hank Yul watched him go, then moved behind the counter.

“This is boring.”

Sitting idly behind the counter felt strangely dull.

Lying in the meadow back in Asgard felt far more enjoyable.

Just as he was starting to think that,

*WEEEEE-OOOOO!*

The piercing sound of a siren filled the city, echoing painfully in his ears.