As the sun rose to its peak in the sky, Erik was back in his work room at the new house, going over multiple plans to help solve the issues. Morthanu had revealed that he had spoken with Talia regarding the managerial position of supervising the village and cooperating with Erik and his projects, accepting the position after much consideration. That would enable Erik to easily introduce new concepts to the villagers through Morthanu, which is what he was now hoping to use.

Erik sighed deeply as he stared at the drawings littered on his desk. He tapped one of the drawings with a pen, closing his eyes to protect from the silver light that flashed the room. When he opened his eyes, he found a small, handheld device with a grip and barrel.

"Never thought I'd be producing modern weapons in a fantasy world," Erik muttered to himself, examining the pistol. It was a sleek design, compact and deadly, a stark contrast to the swords and bows he was used to seeing now. He glanced at the chest next to him, which were filled with similar pistols and hunting rifles. The chest next to that one was filled with modern military armor and clothing, something Erik thought might come in handy as well.

Since the majority of the hunting party lacked magic, Erik came up with the idea for them to increase the power of their ranged weapons, thus resulting in the modern firearms from his world. With the addition of reinforced, lightweight military gear, Erik essentially turned the hunting villagers into a well-equipped and formidable force.

He brought some pages over to his focus and shook his head. "Maybe we'll save bringing grenades and explosives to this world later," he murmured under his breath. There wasn't any real threat just yet, so Erik held off on conjuring those. Instead, he drew up a blueprint for a new type of lodging: a series of interconnected treehouses that could be constructed high above the ground, utilizing the vast forested area that surrounded the village. He had seen similar designs in his world and thought they could serve as a unique and comfortable solution to the overcrowding issue.

Of course, Erik could begin building apartment complexes, but that would require a power plant and better infrastructure- something he decided would need more time to plan out and develop. Opting for a more setting-appropriate housing would be more practical for now.

Rubbing his eyes, Erik decided to take a break, heading downstairs into the kitchen for a quick snack. He grabbed an apple and took a bite, the sweetness surprising him after a morning of stress. As he chewed, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. He had conjured modern clothes for the villagers, built a water park, and was now dealing with real estate issues? This was definitely not what he had in mind when he agreed to Osiris' experiment.

Illyanth trudged into the kitchen, snorting when he saw Erik. The baby dragon sauntered over to his oversized food bowl, quietly eating the piles of meat that had been set out.

"Oh, to be a dragon in this world," Erik mumbled to himself, watching Illyanth devour his meal. "No worries about overpopulation or housing shortages. You can fly anywhere you want. Powerful, untamed, and terrifying. Aren't dragons also hoarders of riches-"

Erik blinked. He hadn't considered that perhaps there were other dragons in the world. Older than Illyanth, who have had years of living and probably acquired massive stores of valuable items and trinkets. A devilish smile bloomed across his face as he considered his far future plans. Maybe he'd make it a goal to scam a dragon later.

For now, though, the treehouse lodging idea was his priority. He needed to convince Morthanu and the villagers to support the construction, but given the fact that his projects so far had been a resounding success, Erik didn't feel it would be too hard to get them on his side. The only problem would be orienting the hunting villagers to the gear from his world.

Erik took a deep breath and headed outside, the cool air doing little to soothe his racing thoughts. He approached the village council building, where Morthanu was likely to be found. As he walked, he couldn't help but admire the way the village had grown. It was a stark contrast to the quiet, unassuming place he had first arrived at.

Now, it was bustling with activity, with a surge of visitors from other villages and the three kingdoms. Fragrant aromas of food wafted from the main burger shack, but there were other food stalls that had popped up as well, trying to make a place in the rising culinary boom.

The water park was constantly busy, easily the loudest area in the village. Ricteronu had taken initiative to add expansions to the water park and build outwards into the lake, cleverly including the natural water source as a part of the attraction. Because of that, the water park's capacity nearly doubled in size, producing more revenue than Erik expected.

Besides the physical projects, Erik noticed that a large majority of people were wearing clothes that were a fusion of the modern ones from his world, and Geritara's style. Erik was impressed with the way that Geritara had added his own flair to Erik's world without completely overshadowing it.

"Morthanu, I have a solution to the housing crisis," Erik announced as soon as he reached the village elder's office. "We can build treehouses. It sounds a little primitive, but I've made some adjustments using influence of building structures from my world-"

Erik stood still as he tried to comprehend what he was looking at. Morthanu was doing push-ups on the ground with a pretty villager sitting on his back. Some of the other elders were scattered around the room, lifting what looked like weights. In fact, it looked as though the council building had turned into a gym.

"Ah, Erik," Morthanu calmly greeted, waiting for the woman to slide off his back before standing up. "What did you say?"

"I, er, I was going to tell you my solutions to the issues you mentioned before... what the hell is this?" Erik's eyes darted around the room, taking in the bizarre sight of the council members engaging in what seemed to be a mid-afternoon workout session.

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"Miss Taliana and Mr. Geritara stirred up a lot of attention with their model scouting. Apparently, while they do plan to include other body shapes in the future, the clothing they want to sell is athletic wear," Morthanu explained, catching his breath. "From there, people became curious and then Miss Myrese suggested a training camp for us to get into shape outside of combat. However, instead of a training camp, the Beggar Princess mentioned something about a 'gym' she saw in your journal, so we decided to try that in the council building."

Erik didn't say anything for a moment, staring at the weights in the room. Then he shook his head, deciding not to question anything anymore. "Okay, well, I've got solutions to the two issues you brought up. For the housing, I've got a blueprint for treehouses that are sturdy, spacious, and comfortable. As for the hunting party, I've been developing weapons from my world to help with their safety. I was also thinking of expanding the village farms and enhancing them with upgrades."

Morthanu nodded, wiping the sweat off his brow with a cloth. "The council will need to review these proposals, but I'm inclined to agree. The village has been growing so fast, we need to keep up with the pace."

"Thanks," Erik nodded, then hesitated for a moment. "Er, excuse me for asking, but what Circle rank are you? You mentioned you were a sorcerer, but I thought the higher you were, the physically stronger you are. Kinda how Talia's a 12th Circle and is a living tank."

Morthanu chuckled, flexing his arms. "Ah, I'm actually a 9th Circle. But, it doesn't hurt to continue with physical training after all."

"So, what do you think about the treehouses?" Erik asked, eager to get back on track. "If you like the idea of it, I can start planning further and drawing up some blueprints."

Morthanu nodded thoughtfully. "It's certainly an intriguing concept, Erik. Utilizing the trees for lodging is both resourceful and in tune with the natural beauty of our village. The council will need to discuss it thoroughly, but I suspect they'll be quite open to it."

Erik felt a surge of relief. "Great, I'll start drafting more detailed plans right away." He turned to leave, eager to get back to his sketches.

"Oh, you can also go ahead and introduce these weapons to the hunting party," the village elder called after Erik, who grunted back in response.

He headed over to the hunting center, where he found the party preparing to leave. They were all dressed in traditional leather armor, with swords and bows at their sides. The sight was oddly comforting in the midst of his chaotic thoughts.

"Hey guys," Erik called out to the hunters, holding up the designs for crossbows and basic firearms. "You're about to get a serious upgrade."

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It wasn't long until the hunters rapidly adjusted to the technology of Erik's world. With deafening earmuffs on, Erik nodded approvingly, watching them practice firing the crossbows and guns. The power behind the shots was astonishing. They hit their targets with uncanny precision, their expressions a mix of excitement and awe.

"Amazing, Burger King..." one of the hunting villagers said in astonishment. "These weapons have power comparable to an actual mana bullet... and you said these don't require magic at all?"

Erik nodded with pride. "They do, however, require something called 'ammunition'. It's a fancy word for what you shoot with these bad boys," he said, holding up a bag of steel bolts. "But fear not, I've got plenty and more can be made at the village forge. Just don't lose them."

The hunters looked at each other, then back at Erik, their eyes gleaming with excitement. They had heard of the power of the 'thunderous sticks' that could slay monsters without the need for magic. This was a game-changer for them, and they knew it.

"Now, as for my personal project..." Erik muttered, examining the special pistol that he conjured. Just like the rest, it looked ordinary, save for the silver rune etched on the grip.

He had applied the same mechanics from his rune generator to his weapon, curious to see how it would turn out. Essentially, by engraving a rune on the pistol, Erik hoped that it would be able to absorb elemental mana, thus altering the properties of the bullets that the pistol shot out. Right now, he needed to find a hunting villager among the group that could use magic and ask them to help him out a little bit.

"Hey, I've got something here," Erik called out, holding up the pistol. "I need someone who can use mana to give it a shot. Not literally, though."

"I can, Burger King. What do you need help with?" one of the hunters, a young woman with a short bob of red hair and piercing green eyes, stepped forward. Her name was Elara, and she was known for her proficiency in earth magic, which came in handy when hunting prey.

"You... use earth magic, right? Can you somehow infuse a portion of earth magic into my gun?" Erik held out the pistol to Elara, forgetting to correct her on his name in excitement of his new invention.

"Sure. May I ask the reason why?" Elara took the pistol gingerly, eyeing the rune with curiosity.

"It's an experiment," Erik replied with a grin.

Elara studied the rune for a moment before nodding. She took a deep breath, her eyes closing as she focused her mana. The rune on the gun began to pulse with a dull, earthy brown light.

She opened her eyes and smiled. "There, I gave it a little bit of earth magic," she said, handing the gun back to him.

"Thanks," Erik eagerly took the weapon back, feeling a slight aura of power radiating from it. He walked a few paces away from the hunting party, aiming the barrel at a tree in the forest. Taking a deep breath, Erik recalled his limited experience with firearms, exhaling and squeezing the trigger.

Erik expected the bullet to transform into a rock or something similar when he fired. However, instead of a bullet, a massive chunk of solid earth shot out of the barrel. It hit the tree with a loud thud, utterly disintegrating it as the earth mass shattered and splintered nearby trees. The hunting party screamed in terror as they were caught off-guard by the demonstration. The animal companions the villagers used also went into a state of panic. Erik himself momentarily forgot that he had conjured the weapon.

"Heavens above, Burger King!" someone shouted from the shocked group.

"S-sorry..." Erik sheepishly lowered the pistol, his cheeks burning with embarrassment as the dust from the obliterated tree settled. The villagers slowly approached, their fear replaced with curiosity and awe. The animal companions cautiously followed, sniffing at the smoldering remains of the tree.

"Holy shit! I didn't realize how powerful adding a rune to modern weapons would be!" Erik thought to himself. The villagers were now staring at him with a mix of fear and excitement. He knew he had to regain control of the situation before it got out of hand.

"Please do not spread any rumors about this, and you all can eat dinner for free tonight at one of my burger shacks."

The hunting party immediately cheered and headed off, their fear forgotten in the face of free food. Erik chuckled to himself, realizing that food was a universal currency. Then he stiffened.

"Hey, wait, aren't you guys supposed to go hunting first?!"