With a trembling heart, Hae-jin checked the new Skill and Trait he had acquired.
[Trait: ‘My Comfortable Home’ acquired!]
[Skill: ‘A Landlord’s Gravitas’ acquired!]
Gaining any new ability was automatically a benefit.
What mattered now was just how good the abilities he had drawn actually were.
‘So... what exactly do these do?’
Just like before, the strange abilities of the God Landlord Job were difficult to figure out from their names alone.
With no other choice, Hae-jin was about to open their descriptions like before when—
“Ugh!”
ZAP-!
His head suddenly grew hot.
It felt as though information were being forcibly poured directly into his brain.
He instantly gained a complete understanding of the new abilities he had acquired.
He staggered from the dizziness for a moment, but opened his eyes again a few seconds later.
Perhaps this was meant to be a convenient service.
“Oh, if that’s how it works, then this is better than I thought.”
The effects of the Skill and Trait he had just understood were quite impressive.
[My Comfortable Home]
-All recovery rates increase by 100% while inside your property.
-Your property always remains in a ‘perfect’ state.
At first glance, it did not seem particularly extraordinary.
But the effect Hae-jin had understood was different.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s some cheap temporary building. Electricity, water, heating, and everything else will all work properly, and the facilities themselves will automatically be repaired to perfect condition? Whoa... Isn’t this ridiculously good?!’
It was an especially wonderful ability for a penny-pincher like Hae-jin.
Did that not mean that no matter how run-down a property he bought, he would never have to spend a single won on renovations?
The crumbling lodge he was standing in right now was the perfect example.
It had been in such terrible condition that actually living there was nearly impossible, and naturally, the water and electricity had been cut off long ago, causing all sorts of inconvenience.
But now, could it not all be restored perfectly?
Next came the Skill.
[A Landlord’s Gravitas]
-Attack Power increases in proportion to the value of properties you own.
-Leased buildings do not provide this effect. Only properties personally owned by the user are recognized.
There was nothing complicated about it.
It was simply an excellent Skill.
‘Especially since I have to hunt while invincible with Safe Property. That means Attack Power matters more to me than Vitality or any other Stat. This came at exactly the right time.’
Of course, right now, when the only property he actually owned was one cheap lodge, the effect was somewhat underwhelming.
Hae-jin checked his Stats.
Sure enough, his Attack Power had increased by an almost laughably tiny amount, complete with decimal places.
‘It feels like it went up by about 0.1%. Damn, I won’t even notice that right now. It said the increase depends on the price of the property, and I practically got this lodge for free.’
To be fair, the lodge had almost no value.
That was precisely why Hae-jin had been able to buy it.
He felt slightly disappointed.
But it did not take long for his imagination to start racing again.
‘Still, when you think about it, this is the kind of Skill that becomes amazing later on, right? It directly raises my Attack Power.’
All he had to do was earn a great deal of money and purchase expensive buildings.
What would happen if he owned an entire building in Seoul, where land prices were astronomical?
Instead of 0.1%, perhaps his Attack Power would rise by 100%.
Maybe even more.
‘Then I could probably kill monsters much stronger than Garbage Dogs with a single spear thrust, right?’
His Attack Power would skyrocket, after all.
Once he focused on that possibility, the future suddenly seemed much brighter.
‘All right, then. I’ll rest for today. Starting tomorrow, should I get back to hunting seriously?’
In the end, nothing about his conclusion had changed.
Earn lots of money.
Buy real estate.
And become a God Landlord hunter, exactly as his Job name suggested.
A life where he could hunt effortlessly and live effortlessly.
There could hardly have been anything Hae-jin wanted more.
Today as well, he had taken another enormous step toward that goal.
Hae-jin’s daily routine did not change much afterward.
He woke up in the morning, went to work at the lodge, grilled meat to lure in monsters and killed them, then took the corpses to the Monster Exchange in the Hunting City and sold them.
He continued that routine for more than a week.
After diligently keeping at it, he eventually reached Level 7.
Considering that an average hunter needed at least six months, and sometimes more than two years, to rise from Level 1 to Level 7, his growth could only be called absurdly effortless.
Even more so when those hunters had to genuinely risk their lives and suffer injuries in battle to achieve the same thing.
However, that routine could not continue forever.
One day, while grilling meat as usual to lure in monsters, Hae-jin noticed something strange.
“Tsk... They should’ve shown up a long time ago. What’s going on?”
The smell of meat had already been spreading for more than three hours.
Normally, three or four monsters should have appeared by now.
At the absolute minimum, there should have been at least one.
Yet strangely enough, not a single monster was anywhere to be seen today.
Just in case, Hae-jin waited several more hours.
The result was the same.
He clicked his tongue and let out a small sigh.
‘Did I kill every low-level monster around here?’
Monsters were not infinite, after all.
Without intending to, he had apparently wiped out the nearby monster population and purified the surrounding area in the process.
Other people might have considered that a good thing, but from Hae-jin’s perspective, it was rather disappointing.
‘So what am I supposed to do now? Should I get another property in a different area? Hmm...’
He was suppressing his disappointment and thinking realistically about his next move when—
RUSTLE, RUSTLE-!
He heard the faint sound of leaves brushing against one another.
It was not the wind.
It definitely sounded like a living creature approaching on foot.
Hae-jin immediately brightened and hurried off to retrieve his Long Spear.
He carefully watched the thing approaching from a distance.
Then—
“Huh?!”
The moment he saw what it was, his eyes widened.
Naturally, he had assumed it was a Garbage Dog.
But what appeared in front of the lodge was not a Garbage Dog.
It was simply a dog.
Literally, an ordinary large white dog covered in dirt.
“Wait, a dog is still alive out here?”
This was a remote region that had become a Demonic Zone.
There were no people or wild animals around, yet a dog had suddenly appeared.
How could he not be surprised?
WHINE... WHINE...
The dog slowly approached Hae-jin while remaining wary of him.
It whimpered rather pitifully.
Now that it had come closer, Hae-jin could see that its fur was completely tangled and its body was so emaciated that its ribs were visible.
It apparently had not eaten properly in a very long time.
“You must’ve had a hard time... trying to survive somehow.”
Although the dog was clearly cautious, its face looked remarkably gentle.
Hae-jin could not help feeling sorry for it.
He slowly called the dog closer, then cut off several pieces of the meat he had been grilling and tossed them over.
WHINE-!
The dog hurried over and lowered its head to sniff them.
Yet despite how hungry it must have been, it did not immediately eat.
Instead, it looked silently at Hae-jin.
“It’s okay. There’s nothing strange in it. I’m not a bad person either. I’m giving it to you, so you can eat.”
He spoke in a gentle voice.
Perhaps the dog understood his meaning.
It lowered its head slightly, then began devouring the pieces of meat.
Hae-jin watched blankly for a moment before bringing over a bowl of water as well.
‘It eats well. It really must’ve been starving for a long time. It seems very gentle too. I get the feeling someone abandoned it.’
He continued to feel sorry for the dog.
Then—
DING!
[A strong bond has formed!]
[Would you like to designate ‘Dog’ as the property’s Watchdog?]
“Huh?!”
A message had appeared without any warning.
A Watchdog?
There had never been anything about that in his Skill window.
‘My abilities even have a taming function? Is this some kind of hidden Skill? What the hell is this?’
Judging by the word Watchdog, it seemed he could tame the dog.
There was nothing to lose, so Hae-jin immediately selected accept.
At that moment—
FLASH!
A brilliant light began pouring from the dog’s body just after it had wolfed down two pieces of beef.
Even though it was the middle of a bright afternoon, the glow was so intense that Hae-jin had to squeeze his eyes shut.
When he slowly opened them again, a new status window was floating in front of him.
[‘Dog’ has been registered as a Watchdog!]
[Name: Dog (Unregistered)]
[Job: Watchdog]
[Title: Watchdog of The Forest Lodge]
[Owner: Lee Hae-jin]
[Level: 1]
[Trait: None]
[Skill: None]
[Please name your new family member!]
It was a status window belonging not to him, but to the dog he had just met.
“Th-this is actually possible?!”
It even had a Level, Traits, and Skills.
Did that not mean his Watchdog could grow just like him by leveling up and learning Skills?
Once Hae-jin understood the situation, his mouth fell open.
‘God Landlord really was an absurdly overpowered Job.’
He had discovered an ability he had never even imagined existed.
BARK BARK-!
Perhaps it was because the dog had been registered as his Watchdog.
Earlier, the Skill had prevented it from passing the entrance, but now it walked into the lodge and stood beside Hae-jin.
“Oh, you can come inside now. Did you enjoy the food?”
As though answering him, the dog affectionately rubbed its head against Hae-jin’s leg.
Then it began licking his leg with its enormous tongue.
The sight was so adorable that Hae-jin crouched down and vigorously stroked its head.
“Ah, right. It told me to give you a name.”
The dog was a large white mixed breed, or at least it seemed to be.
Calling it simply ‘Dog’ forever would be strange, so after some thought, Hae-jin decided on a name.
“You’re the watchdog of our lodge, so how about I call you Guard?”
“BARK BARK!”
“You like it? Heh, good. From now on, you’re Guard. You have to protect our home properly, all right?”
Guard, his new family member, barked energetically.
After playing with him in the yard for a while, Hae-jin took Guard inside the lodge.
Thanks to My Comfortable Home, the lodge had automatically returned to its original condition, essentially giving him a free renovation, while the disconnected electricity, gas, and water now flowed without issue.
“First, you’re getting a shower, Guard. You’re way too filthy to sleep with me like this.”
“Wh-whine...”
“If you want to live with me, you don’t have a choice. Accept your fate.”
He brought Guard into the bathroom, turned on plenty of hot water, and washed him.
Perhaps because he had spent so long as a stray, black grime continued washing off him for quite some time.
Maybe it was the warmth he had not felt in so long.
Guard had disliked it at first, but quickly grew accustomed to the bath and eventually even lay down on the bathroom floor, surrendering himself to Hae-jin’s hands.
By the time the bath finally ended more than two hours later, the freshly cleaned Guard looked remarkably dependable.
“You’re even cuter when you’re clean! How did such a gentle, dependable dog end up as a stray? Good grief... You must’ve had a hard time in all sorts of ways too.”
Somehow, Hae-jin had ended up raising a dog he had never planned on owning.
But he was actually pleased to have suddenly gained a new family member.
A Watchdog.
Especially because it had revealed yet another new ability of the God Landlord Job.
“Let’s do well together from now on, Guard. All right? I’ll feed you beef every day.”
“BARK BARK!!”
Hae-jin smiled contentedly as he stroked Guard.
The dog, panting happily, somehow seemed to be smiling as well.