"Lord Leon said he could tell at a glance that I was someone capable of great things, so he entrusted this important task to me."
Lin Murphy stood with his hands on his hips, proudly boasting to Ethan Carter.
"Yeah yeah yeah, if you're so capable, why aren't you building the toilet instead of coming to find me?"
"I'm sharing the good fortune with you! I thought of you first when there was a good opportunity, so I came to ask you to help complete the task together."
"I don't consider being assigned to build a toilet a good thing. Besides, I haven't even finished farming yet. You can keep this 'good fortune' to yourself."
Ethan waved his hand, signaling Lin to leave and not disturb his farming.
Seeing Ethan's reaction, Lin dropped the act. He grabbed Ethan's arm and wailed:
"Bro, please help me! I really don't know how to build a toilet! If I can't complete the task, my favor with Lord Leon will drop to zero!"
"You don't want to see your good buddy get targeted by the game's protagonist and quit the game in despair, do you?"
Ethan looked at Lin's teary eyes and felt a chill run down his spine. He tried to pry Lin's hands off.
"Let go of me first! Who told you to accept random quests just for rewards? Besides, if you don't know how to build a toilet, do you think I do?"
Lin refused to let go, clinging even tighter.
"If you don't agree, I won't let go! Having someone help is better than me being clueless alone."
"And it's not like you're helping for free. Lord Leon said all participating players will receive Poké Dollars based on contribution."
"Please, my dear giegie~"
By the end, Lin was even shaking Ethan's arm, his voice dripping with exaggerated sweetness.
"I'm begging you to stop being disgusting first! Fine, I'll help, just let go of me already!"
Ethan felt goosebumps all over. Since when did Lin become so shameless in the game? He wasn't like this in real life.
Was everyone just letting loose after entering the game?
"If you'd agreed earlier, I wouldn't have had to act cute. Who knew you were into this?"
The moment Ethan agreed, Lin immediately let go, wearing a look of disgust.
"Poliwag, stop watering. Do me a favor and blast this guy with Water Gun!"
Ethan turned to the Poliwag watering the fields.
"Poli?"
Poliwag looked at Ethan in confusion.
Weren't you two just getting along? Why attack him now?
"Wait wait wait, we're just joking!"
Lin was genuinely afraid Poliwag would take it seriously and hit him with a Water Gun.
But he was overthinking it. Leon had already instructed these Pokémon—they were only responsible for plowing and watering. They didn't have to obey other commands.
Ethan knew this, of course, which was why he said it—just to scare Lin and stop him from being so annoying.
"Enough messing around. Let's get serious. I really appreciate your help. Do you think the two of us are enough, or should we recruit more players?"
"We definitely need more people. Just the two of us would take forever."
"Lord Leon said if we need people, we can ask Secretary Walter."
"We should still recruit players. NPCs can only do manual labor. The technical stuff has to be figured out by us."
Ethan pointed at Dylan, who had been watching the whole scene:
"Never mind others for now. Let's drag Dylan in first. He's been laughing at us this whole time."
"No problem!"
Lin had met Dylan through Ethan and wasn't close at first.
But guys bond quickly—just go for foot massages a few times, and you're buddies.
Under their combined pressure, Dylan joined the team.
The three decided to research after logging off today and start building the toilet tomorrow.
The next day arrived quickly.
The moment Lin logged in, he eagerly shared what he'd learned with the other two.
"I spent all day watching carpentry tutorials and videos on building outdoor toilets. I've basically mastered the process. Just wait and see me shine!"
"Why were you watching carpentry videos? Didn't we say in the group chat we'd build the toilet with bricks?"
Dylan asked, confused.
"When did you say that? I didn't know anything about it!"
Lin was even more puzzled.
"Oh crap, I forgot to add you to the group! That's why you were silent all day!"
Dylan finally remembered he hadn't invited Lin to the group.
"Wait, you made a group behind my back?"
Lin felt left out.
"No, this group was made by Dylan earlier. It only has the five veteran players. We usually discuss game stuff there after logging off."
"We were so focused on the toilet today that we forgot to remind Dylan to add you."
Ethan explained.
"So you're saying you plan to build the toilet with bricks? I wasted a whole day on carpentry? Why can't we use wood?"
Lin was upset about wasting his time.
"At first, we considered wood since we have plenty of lumber. But wood rots when wet. It'd get eroded by waste quickly and start decaying, so we dropped the idea."
"Then we thought of making bricks. A brick toilet would be sturdy, waterproof, and easier to clean."
"Plus, it'd give us experience for future brick houses. We'll be pros when building our own homes later."
Ethan shared the group's discussion results with Lin.
Lin's greatest virtue was being open to advice. He was quickly convinced.
"But isn't brick-making complicated? Are you sure the three of us can do it?"
"I looked up some guides and videos. It's actually not that hard. Just follow my lead."
Ethan led them to a muddy area and told them to dig clay into buckets.
Though Lin didn't understand how mud related to bricks, he obeyed.
After gathering clay, Ethan shaped it into a lidless cylinder with a vent at the bottom.
He then lit pre-placed twigs and leaves inside to quickly dry the clay with heat.
This formed a basic clay kiln.
Next, he neatly stacked cut wood inside the kiln, lit it, and sealed the top.
He shaped the kiln's top into a cone with clay. Once the temperature was high enough, he blocked all vents to let the wood smolder.
Now, they just had to wait.
"Alright, make more kilns like this one."
"And this will make bricks?" Lin asked, surprised.
"No. Since when are bricks made from wood? We're making charcoal. You can't make bricks without it."
"Huh? Why not just use coal?"
"Great question! Why aren't we using coal? Because we don't want to? No—it's because we don't have any!"
Ethan snapped.
"Oh, right. I'll suggest coal mining to Lord Leon later."
Lin said sheepishly.
"That's for the future. For now, we're making charcoal. We'll make bricks with it tomorrow."
"Wait, tomorrow? What do we do after building these kilns?"
"We can carve brick molds from wood and find suitable clay for brick-making."
Ethan assigned their next tasks.
By the time they finished, it was already afternoon.
"Whew… finally done."
Lin was so tired he could barely straighten his back.
"There's too few of us. We'll recruit more players and NPCs tomorrow. It won't be as exhausting."
"Alright, I'll ask Secretary Walter for help tomorrow. We still have time before logging off. What's the plan?"
"Dylan and I will keep farming. As for you—didn't you watch carpentry all day? Put it to use and keep building."
Building? Sure, why not? Perfect chance to show off my skills to those who called me a troublemaker!
Lin was brimming with confidence!
"Are you here to mess things up? Why'd you carve a hole in the middle of the bed?!"
"Sorry, sorry! I thought it was a toilet seat…"
Lin wanted to cry. His knowledge was all mixed up!
After three days of effort, Ethan's team finally produced their first batch of red bricks.
Though issues like insufficient drying time and uneven firing left the bricks low-quality, they'd succeeded.
They'd even made some cement from wood ash.
Now, they could build the toilet.
Lin's toilet videos finally came in handy.
He directed players and NPCs, quickly completing the first public toilet.
"Sir, this toilet is built entirely with bricks and cement—durable, waterproof, and rot-resistant."
Lin explained to Leon during inspection.
"We divided it into men's and women's sides with a wall. Since most townsfolk sit to relieve themselves, we used seated toilets instead of squat ones."
"Without a sewer system, the toilets don't flush. We placed buckets below for waste collection."
Leon listened while surveying the toilet, nodding in approval.
Though crude and flawed, building a brick toilet in days exceeded his expectations.
The issues didn't matter—this was temporary anyway. They could rebuild later.
Leon planned to redesign the town eventually.
Current Ember Town was messy, lacking even basic drainage.
"You've done excellently, living up to my trust."
"Build the remaining toilets the same way. For your outstanding work, I'll grant you farmland rights now. The special reward comes after finishing the other toilets."
Leon patted Lin's shoulder approvingly.
"Thank you! For the town's prosperity, I'll give my all!"
Lin said solemnly.
"Damn, Lin's out-simping me!"
Dylan whispered to Ethan.
"Don't sell yourself short. You're equally matched. Pot calling the kettle black."
"You don't get it. Simping for a game protagonist isn't simping—it's strategy."
"Besides, simping in-game beats real life. At least NPCs raise affection. In real life, you just get called a simp!"
Ethan had no rebuttal.
Dylan had a point. Maybe I should try simping too?
As Ethan pondered, Leon called him over.
He hurried to Leon and bowed.
"My lord, how may I serve you?"
"Murphy told me you helped greatly with the toilet, contributing much. Name your reward."
Ethan glanced at Lin, who winked.
See? I've got your back.
Ethan nodded slightly in thanks, then replied:
"My lord, I need no reward. Serving you is honor enough."
What the—?
Lin and Dylan stared at Ethan in shock.
Since when did this straight-laced guy learn to simp?!
"Your dedication is commendable, but merit deserves reward. Besides the promised Poké Dollars, I grant you one use of my Ursaring."
"Ursaring use?"
"Simply put, you may borrow my Ursaring for one battle—but not for catching Pokémon."
"Thank you! I'll treasure this opportunity!"
Ethan was thrilled.
A level 30+ Ursaring—Leon's strongest Pokémon—lent to him? He'd be unbeatable among players.
And Ursaring would keep leveling up.
Ethan resolved to save this chance for emergencies.
"One more task. With toilets built, we need a place to store waste. I leave this to you."
Leon assigned the new quest.
"Understood! We'll complete it promptly!"
Ethan's team agreed.
A septic tank? With bricks and cement, it'd be easy.
After the players left, Leon studied the toilet thoughtfully.
Toilets were done. The septic tank was underway. Only waste transport remained.
Ember Town lacked sewers, so waste had to be moved manually.
And this task shouldn't go to players.
Coming from modern society, they'd naturally dislike it.
If forced, they'd comply to keep playing—but why bother? Leon had better candidates.
He told an attendant:
"Notify Secretary Walter to post a job notice for waste collectors. Successful applicants get three meals daily and tax exemption!"
"At once, my lord."
Players might find waste disgusting, but locals wouldn't.
After years in filth, they were used to it.
And Leon's offer was generous—plenty would apply.
"Another problem solved. Watching the town improve is satisfying. Plus, the daily Creation Points increase!"
Leon checked his Creation Points, smiling.
[Side Quest: Repair Town Buildings (Complete. Reward issued.)]
The sudden notification startled him.
"Wow, I'd almost forgotten this side quest. Only two basic lottery draws? Whatever, nothing good anyway. Just use them."
"Double draw, go!"
[Congratulations! You obtained—]
(End of chapter.)