Absolute Dweller

[Episode 04] Quest Reward (1)

Oh Eon-ju had a dream.

An afternoon where everything was calm.

Watching her most precious son play at the apartment playground.

Somewhere in the ordinary days where she couldn’t take her eyes off him for fear of him getting hurt.

Then, she quietly opened her eyes.

Realizing she had woken up from the dream, Oh Eon-ju lightly sobbed.

It was a sweet dream.

She couldn’t hold back tears because she knew well that such a dream could never come true.

“Oh Eon-ju.”

A man was standing at the emergency exit, looking straight at her.

‘What is this?’

Perhaps because of the dream, the man in front of her felt strangely comforting.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jae-hyun.”

He emitted a peculiar atmosphere.

Instinctively, she felt that this man in front of her was the source of the unknown power she had just experienced.

That overwhelming presence was hidden behind that softness.

“…Was it you?”

“What?”

“You’re the one who blew up the heads of the goblins.”

He nodded slowly, acknowledging it.

“Yes, that was me.”

Really, speaking as if such things were nothing to him.

‘Perhaps…’

Was it because of the foggy state of mind just waking up from a dream?

Or maybe because of the content of that dream.

An absurd thought came to her.

‘If this man…’

Could it be possible?

Oh Eon-ju, in front of the unfamiliar man she had just seen for the first time, shed tears and pleaded.

“My son, please save my son… Just for a day, even for one day would be enough…”

***

The first encounter with Oh Eon-ju was intense from the beginning.

[Citizen Oh Eon-ju’s trust in you has greatly increased.]

From the moment our eyes met, trust had increased significantly.

Starting from that, with only a few words exchanged, another trust increase notification appeared.

Exactly when I revealed that I had killed goblins.

After that, after staring at me blankly for a while, she burst into tears and made a strange request.

“Please save my son, just please save my son…”

“…”

A plea to save her son.

With just that, it was possible to roughly deduce the situation.

‘Did she lose her child to goblins?’

The emergency staircase was a mess of goblin corpses that Oh Eon-ju had killed.

Perhaps because they were the ones she had killed before becoming a citizen, the corpses did not disappear and remained in a gruesome state.

Heads smashed, entrails spilled, necks broken, and more.

It was possible to deduce the urgent situation at a glance.

And in those traces, a strong sense of hatred could be felt.

‘Save him.’

What she was saying now probably didn’t mean recovering her ailing son.

Literally, it would be a request to resurrect her dead son.

“Urgh.”

Whether she knew it was an absurd request or not, after saying those words, she could only weep with sorrow.

Watching her in that state made my heart ache again.

‘Is there no way?’

To resurrect someone who’s already dead.

In the past, it would have been an absurd thought, but now, in the current state of the world, it wasn’t such a strange concern.

Where monsters and superhumans were once mere stories.

While contemplating, I thought of one possibility.

‘If this is possible…’

When I first gained the ability to assign quests, I tested the limits of penalties.

However, I had never tested the limits of rewards.

‘Quest Assignment. Hunt a thousand goblins, unlimited time, no penalties. Reward… Resurrection of the son.’

Ding!

The moment I heard the system notification sound, there was a slight, inevitable sense of anticipation.

If this was truly possible, it meant I could resurrect even the dead.

And that could apply to my precious ones as well.

However.

[Unable to assign the quest.]

Disappointingly, the attempt to assign a quest ended in failure.

‘As expected, it’s not possible.’

Well, of course not.

No matter how remarkable the ability, it’s unlikely to bring someone back to life.

As I was thinking so, it happened.

[Insufficient funds to issue the (Quest Reward: Resurrection). Please increase your cash holdings and try again.]

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

The system window displayed an unbelievable message.

However, no matter how many times I reread it, the notification remained unchanged.

‘So, right now…’

What it was saying was clear.

‘You can bring the dead back to life if you have enough money?’

Even as I tried, I genuinely didn’t believe this would be possible.

‘Good grief.’

But it really seemed possible.

“Sob.”

Oh Eon-ju’s sobbing figure, stifling her breath, was profoundly pitiful.

Although it was cruel, I found myself calculating as she cried.

‘I can’t estimate how much money will be needed for resurrection.’

Even though I didn’t know the exact amount, it was clear that an enormous sum would be required.

‘I wonder if it’s worth investing that much money in this person.’

There was no need for a lengthy consideration.

Her level and abilities alone made her worth the investment.

“Oh Eon-ju. Oh Eon-ju.”

I spoke to her, lifting her tear-streaked face.

“I think I can help.”

“…Yes?”

“I can resurrect your son.”

“!!!”

Oh Eon-ju responded with a face that suddenly regained clarity.

“Really, can you really bring my son back to life?”

“To be honest, it’s impossible right now.”

“Ah…”

I addressed her, who now looked full of disappointment.

“But I promise on my name. I will definitely bring your son back to life.”

“What do I, what should I do?”

At this moment, she seemed more desperate to grasp at straws than to believe my words.

Her desperation was evident in her expression.

“Well.”

In my heart, I wanted to send her back to my family’s home right away.

I wanted to ask her to bring her family to this apartment.

Currently, she had the most powerful specs among the citizens.

However, sending her alone was too risky due to various uncertainties.

The most significant concern was not knowing what level of monsters she might encounter on her way to my family’s home.

‘I should send her with a surefire force to minimize the risk when sending her once.’

Among the cards I currently possess, the most powerful combination is to have Oh Eon-ju join Ha Dong-geon’s party.

In Ha Dong-geon’s party, there was Moon Byeong-ho and Kang Deok-su registered as vassals.

They had achieved levels 30 and 25 respectively, and were in an awakened state with decent abilities.

If Oh Eon-ju, who was at level 33, joined them, they would be able to handle most monsters easily.

‘The best would be to make all seven of them vassals.’

With that, even if they faced monsters of an unbeatable level, there was no need to worry. If all of them were together, it should be enough.

It significantly reduced the worry about losing one of them.

After organizing my thoughts, I opened my mouth to Oh Eon-ju.

“For now, come up with me. There are people I’d like to introduce.”

***

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ha Dong-geon.”

“I’m Oh Eon-ju.”

The place where Oh Eon-ju was introduced to Ha Dong-geon’s party was the living room of Choi Hyeongjoon’s family.

Although the survivors who had filled this place with relief supplies had scattered to their respective homes, Ha Dong-geon’s party and Oh Eon-ju, who came from different neighborhoods, didn’t have a suitable place to go.

Thanks to the kind-hearted Choi Hyeong-jun, they could gather here now.

Oh Eon-ju said cautiously.

“You were hunting goblins by throwing baseballs, right? And the lady with the bow.”

Ha Dong-geon, with a surprised expression, asked, “You know us?”

“You don’t recognize me? We’re from the same district.”

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Oh Eon-ju demonstrated her ability.

*Thud!*

“Oh!”

Until just now, Oh Eon-ju had the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged woman, but she had suddenly transformed into a black-furred beast.

Kim Ga-yeong, witnessing this transformation, exclaimed in surprise.

“The werewolf from the alley!”

The true identity of the werewolf that Ha Dong-geon’s party had seen in the alley turned out to be the beast form of Oh Eon-ju.

Immediately returning to her human form, Oh Eon-ju casually replied, “To be precise, I’m not a wolf but a bear.”

“…A bear?”

“Yes, a bear.”

Thanks to Oh Eon-ju’s unexpectedly calm response, the atmosphere flowed smoothly.

‘Is this the composure of an adult?’

At that moment, Oh Eon-ju smiled and said, “I’ve helped you a few times before, didn’t you know?”

“Ah!”

As soon as they made a guess, a reaction followed promptly.

“It wasn’t a coincidence that you helped us at the entrance of the underground parking lot.”

“Yes, goblins are my enemies and you are friends.”

They had thought of her merely as someone with good social skills, but from the conversation, it seemed that Oh Eon-ju had a favorable impression of Ha Dong-geon’s party.

Thanks to this, the conversation progressed quickly.

“It’s fortunate that you already know each other.”

First, Ha Dong-geon briefly explained the situation to Oh Eon-ju.

“I see. My grandmother…”

[Citizen Oh Eon-ju’s trust has greatly increased.]

“Mr. Moon Byeong-ho, the rescue operation for your grandmother is scheduled to take place early tomorrow morning. Oh Eon-ju will also be deployed for tomorrow’s operation.”

The operation was nothing special. By conducting a mass hunt of goblins in the underground parking lot, the number of goblins in the vicinity had drastically decreased. The plan was to take advantage of this situation to rescue Moon Byeong-ho’s grandmother.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Me too.”

And so, the pre-operation meeting for tomorrow concluded.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work today, and have a good night. I’ll see you early tomorrow morning.”

At that moment, Choi Hyeong-jun, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, asked me.

“Um… Mr. Jaehyun.”

“Yes?”

“Am I included in tomorrow’s operation as well?”

He was sweating nervously.

Originally, I had planned to include him in the operation.

However, after witnessing Choi Hyeong-jun’s performance during the goblin operation, I had to reconsider the plan.

‘Having great strength doesn’t matter if he freezes in front of monsters.’

In fact, Choi Hyeong-jun had been quite a risky factor during the goblin hunt. Knowing this, I couldn’t involve him in the operation.

I nodded once and replied, “No. You’re also injured, so take a good rest tomorrow.”

“Phew.”

Hearing my response, Choi Hyeong-jun let out a sigh of relief.

Park Hye-won, who had been anxiously listening beside him, was relieved. She said with a worried expression.

“I’ve prepared some guest blankets, but they’re lacking.”

“Is it not enough?”

“It’s not like that, but… It might be a bit cramped if you sleep in it.”

It seemed that if two people were left out, everyone would be able to sleep comfortably.

I spoke.

“The rest of you, please sleep here. Only Mr. Moon Byeong-ho and Mr. Kang Deok-su, come with me.”

“Yes?”

“Uh, me?”

I nodded reassuringly toward the bewildered individuals.

“Yes, the two of you.”

Moon Byeong-ho entered the house more calmly than expected, while Kang Deok-su followed, looking quite tense.

“The small room over there is the guest room. The blankets are in the wardrobe, so feel free to use them.”

“Thank you.”

As they were about to enter, I addressed them, “Do you know why I called only the two of you separately?”

Kang Deok-su scratched his head and replied, “I’m not sure.”

Shortly after, Moon Byeong-ho spoke up, “Is it because we were chosen by Mr. Jaehyun?”

I nodded.

“Exactly.”

I looked at the two of them and continued explaining.

“Both of you have awakened. Mr. Moon Byeong-ho gained the ability of teleportation, and Mr. Kang Deok-su acquired the ability of a steel knight.”

Moon Byeong-ho and Kang Deok-su widened their eyes. It seemed that my words were hard to believe.

I thought to myself.

‘Quest assignment. Show your abilities in front of me. Time limit: one hour. Penalty: sleep in the hallway. Reward…’

Quest rewards, how far could they go?

‘Increase strength.’

Ding!

Sorry, temporarily reducing to 3x/week since I’m really sick. Might’ve gotten norovirus, stay safe & healthy everyone!