It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Monsters as Territory Residents?!

Monsters stood in a single file, resembling a queue for a popular concert!

In front of them sat Kyung-joon on a makeshift chair, operating his status window.

[Territory Shop]

▶Position Appointment Ticket (Normal): 10 points

▶Position Appointment Ticket (Advanced): 50 points

▶Position Appointment Ticket (Rare): 500 points

▶Position Appointment Ticket (Unique): 5,000 points

Kyung-joon scanned the status window.

He then spoke to the forest horned rabbit standing upright before him, his voice resembling that of an interviewer.

“Please introduce yourself.”

“Application number 1,372! Species: Forest horned rabbit. No name. Kyuul!!”

“Hmm…… Without a name, I can only offer you a general position. Do you have any unique strengths or anything like that?”

“Uh, uh…? M, My own strengths…? “

“Yes. Your unique strengths.”

“Uh… well… Kyul…”

The rabbit, flustered by Kyung-joon’s unexpected question, didn’t know what to say.

Kyung-joon waited patiently without uttering a word.

He knew pressing for an answer wouldn’t make a difference if the rabbit didn’t have any.

However, as time passed with no response.

‘If there’s nothing special, I’ll just give it a general position.’

Kyung-joon decided to purchase a Normal grade Position Appointment Ticket from the Territory Shop.

Just then.

“Ah…!”

The forest horned rabbit, who had been silent as a tomb, finally spoke.

“There is one thing I’m good at, Kyul!”

“Oh, what is it?”

“I’m really good at pooping!”

“Next applicant, please step forward.”

Kyung-joon, baffled by the forest horned rabbit’s nonsensical answer, immediately called for the next applicant behind.

“W, Wait a minute, Kyul! I, It’s true! My fellow rabbits say mine tastes much better than theirs……”

“Next.”

Kyung-joon tried to usher away the forest horned rabbit who kept talking about poop.

“Hold on a second, Kyung-joon-nim.”

“Mr. Ceram?”

Ceram, who was assisting Kyung-joon, intervened.

“It seems what the forest horned rabbit said is true.”

“What? Good at pooping and eating poop?”

Kyung-joon looked slightly confused.

“Yes. What the forest horned rabbit is talking about is probably ‘caecotrophy.’ It’s a crucial element for forest horned rabbits.”

“Ah, ah. Now that you mention it, rabbits do eat their own poop.”

Kyung-joon had momentarily forgotten about it because the forest horned rabbit’s answer was so outlandish.

Rabbits do indeed consume their own droppings.

To be precise, they produce two types of feces and eat the one called ‘caecotrophs,’ which are fermented in the cecum and contain valuable nutrients.

“Look closely. Doesn’t it have exceptionally well-developed muscles for a forest horned rabbit? It’s likely thanks to consuming its high-quality caecotrophs since it was young.”

“Indeed. Thank you, Ceram. I almost missed out on a talented individual.”

Interviewing thousands of monsters one by one inevitably took a toll on Kyung-joon’s judgment.

Ceram was proving to be a valuable assistant.

“Alright.”

[Purchased 『Position Appointment Ticket (Advanced)』 from the Territory Shop.]

▶Territory Points: 57,830→57,780

“Then, I’ll appoint you to an advanced position, utilizing your strengths. I look forward to even more exquisite caecotrophs in the future.”

Wooong!

Kyung-joon used the Position Appointment Ticket (Advanced) on the poop-proficient forest horned rabbit.

“Kyu, Kyuul…!”

A pale green light, signifying an advanced grade, enveloped the forest horned rabbit.

[The existence grade of the Whale Forest forest horned rabbit before you will be upgraded from Normal to Advanced.]

[The overall stats of the Whale Forest forest horned rabbit will be adjusted according to its grade.]

[New skills will be generated for the Whale Forest forest horned rabbit based on its grade.]

[A new title will be given to the Whale Forest forest horned rabbit.]

The gathered light then dissipated.

Above the forest horned rabbit, a green phrase that wasn’t there before was now floating.

<Self-Powered>

▼Whale Forest forest horned rabbit (Monster)

“Self-Powered forest horned rabbit……! It’s the perfect name for me, Kyuul! Thank you, Kyuul!”

The forest horned rabbit rubbed its body against Kyung-joon in gratitude.

It then hopped away towards the bushes with a satisfied expression and disappeared.

It had returned to the forest.

But it didn’t matter.

This 『Whale Forest Tail』 had practically become Kyung-joon’s territory a long time ago.

[<Self-Powered> Whale Forest forest horned rabbit has become a member of the territory.]

▶Population:

Humans – 107

Whale Forest forest horned rabbit – 357→358

Whale Forest Wolf – 137

Triple Horn Wild Boar – 72

Spotted Deer- 108

Arliv – 327

Silva – 245

“Phew, this is never-ending. How many more do you think are left, Ceram?”

“I’m not sure of the exact number…… but judging by the arlivs alone, there are well over a thousand trees, so I’d say at least 2,000 more.”

“Oh dear……”

A few days had passed since the corrupted arliv incident in the Whale Forest Tail was resolved.

As the arliv had said, Kyung-joon had truly become the 『Savior of the Forest』.

He had wisely resolved various issues the forest monsters faced, issues that made them slap their thighs in realization.

He even prevented the arliv’s contamination problem, which could have endangered the entire forest, before it could escalate.

And he did it all without sacrificing anyone, practically saving the silva tribe in the process – a perfect happy ending where no one was left unhappy.

‘Ah, I feel a little sorry for the players. Especially SurvivalKing.’

The players who kept getting killed upon entering the Whale Forest thanks to Kyung-joon.

Although the administrators recently announced their support for hunting in the Whale Forest, leading to more players flocking to the Whale Forest Tail, the players were still outnumbered.

The monsters in Kyung-joon’s forest were equipped with gear on par with, or even better than, what most players had.

It was only natural, considering they were equipped with items dropped by the players themselves.

‘It’s all thanks to Kingyear.’

Kingyear, who constantly reminisced about the ‘good old days’, turned out to be surprisingly skilled at crafting weapons.

He crafted weapons specifically for the monsters, showcasing a level of expertise that made one wonder what he did in those ‘good old days’.

‘And the monsters are even more formidable because they understand humans and employ human strategies.’

Unlike other monsters that simply charged in blindly, the monsters in Kyung-joon’s forest were different.

Every action they took was deliberate, each playing a specific role, and every fight was strategically orchestrated.

With physical and magical abilities far surpassing humans, the fact that they were now employing human tactics made them virtually invincible against players.

But that wasn’t all.

Kyung-joon had seen comments like these on World Inven before.

━Isn’t the health regeneration of Whale Forest monsters strange? Is it a bug? Their health keeps refilling?

└Nope, doesn’t seem like a bug, it’s like some kind of regeneration ability. While fighting, their health gradually increased;; Around 10% per minute lol

└Ah, for f***’s sake, this game is ruined

└Greetings. I am Ranker. This game, The World, is the best god game. But some noobs have complaints about Whale Forest? I also have complaints about your gameplay. Fold this game.

Just like the comments suggested, the monsters in Kyung-joon’s forest did indeed possess a regeneration ability.

To be precise, it was a ‘buff’.

The rare bread mass-produced by the residents of the Study Territory.

It provided a permanent, continuous HP/MP buff while also regenerating HP/MP by 0.2% per second.

The monsters always consumed this rare bread before heading out to hunt players.

So no matter how much damage they took, they would always recover and return.

Kingyear’s monster equipment, Kyung-joon’s strategies, and the residents’ rare bread.

With these three elements combined, the monsters were truly invincible!

Of course, if this continued, players might stop entering the forest altogether. That’s why Kyung-joon, just like he did with Limurimu’s Slime Dungeon, prepared a ‘carrot’ to lure them in.

Just as he had significantly increased the difficulty of the Slime Dungeon while simultaneously raising the clear rewards, he did the same this time.

He instructed the monsters to retreat if they felt the players were putting up a good fight.

And to drop any one of the items they were carrying.

This was the ‘reward’ players could obtain by conquering the Whale Forest.

‘And then, the strategy of sending a stronger monster party later to retrieve the dropped item. This…… this is what I call creative economics.’

[<Herb-savvy> silva has become a member of the territory.]

[<Sap-overflowing> arliv has become a member of the territory.]

“Alright, next applicant, number 2,145.”

And so, Kyung-joon continued appointing positions to the monsters.

The administrator’s announcement of support for hunting in the Whale Forest, posted on The World’s website a few days ago, was about to take effect.

Once it did, even more players would swarm the Whale Forest.

Kyung-joon needed to establish a ‘system’ that would allow the Whale Forest to function on its own before that happened.

And that’s what these position appointments were for.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Ceram was preparing to leave.

His employment contract was set to expire today.

But before he left, there was something he had to do.

‘I want to repay him. I have to repay him.’

He was grateful to Kyung-joon for taking in and protecting a wandering peddler like himself, even if it was only for a month.

He was the true Savior of the Forest, the one who protected the Whale Forest Tail from the unknown dark magic.

And he was a true benefactor who even saved his mother and younger sister.

Ceram desperately wanted to repay Kyung-joon.

He wished he could dedicate his life to serving Kyung-joon and his territory, but……

There was a reason he couldn’t.

‘If AngerManagementVodka finds out I’m here……’

He didn’t know much about otherworlders, or players for that matter.

But from his six months with AngerManagementVodka, Ceram sensed that the guild 『Ruski Komrade』 AngerManagementVodka belonged to was a large and dangerous organization.

AngerManagementVodka himself seemed like a powerful player, and he had heard that there were dozens more ‘executive-level’ players like him in Ruski Komrade.

And the number of their subordinates was countless.

‘I need to leave before I cause any trouble. I was too caught up in my own thoughts when I first signed the contract……’

The reason he had immediately signed the tutoring contract with Kyung-joon, despite not knowing who he was, was partly due to Kyung-joon’s honest and charming demeanor.

But it was also partly driven by his desire to avoid AngerManagementVodka.

As a seasoned wandering peddler of 20 years, Ceram knew how to weigh his options.

But this time, it was different.

He couldn’t even begin to repay the debt he owed to Kyung-joon.

Even if he couldn’t repay everything, he had to at least leave this behind.

‘This time……’

Black soil and fertilizer.

Finely chopped herbs in a mortar.

What appeared to be a arliv branch and the sap oozing from it.

Surrounded by various elements of the forest and earth on his desk.

‘……I will succeed!’

Wooong!

Ceram’s mana began to glow as it gathered in his hands.

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