Absolute Dweller

[Episode 07] Seomyeon Station (4)

The first place to use Seo Ye-jin’s ability had already been decided.

“Are you talking about Songdo Beach¹Songdo Beach. when you say Nambumin-dong?”

“That’s right.”

“I know! I’ve been there to ride the cable car before! There was a really delicious cold noodle store there.”

Coincidentally, Seo Ye-jin was someone who had been to Nambumin-dong, where his parents were located.

Naturally, she was in a much more advantageous position than Ha Dong-geon’s party, who had never been there before.

‘And just sending mice should be enough.’

While the direct rescue operation would have to be executed through Ha Dong-geon’s party, confirming the safety of family members and sending relief supplies with Seo Ye-jin’s mice alone was possible.

[Citizen Seo Ye-jin’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Seo Ye-jin’s loyalty has increased.]

I looked at the system messages with a strange gaze.

‘It went up again.’

Since a while ago, both trust and loyalty were increasing in real time even though I hadn’t done anything.

‘I knew that face-to-face interactions were effective, but not to this extent.’

Then suddenly, one thought came to my mind.

‘Could it be because of this skill?’

【Absolute Dweller’s Spirit (Passive) Lv. Max】

Completely immune to all types of mental abilities.

It was a passive skill received from raising Dignity Maintenance to level 3.

‘Honestly, I thought it was useless.’

Being immune to mental abilities was useless for me, who couldn’t leave the homebound area. Only those with citizenship could enter here, and if there was anyone among them who harbored hostility toward me, they would be immediately eliminated.

Just like the goblins that had exploded when the area expanded during the goblin hunt.

It was better to have nothing at all than to have something useless.

‘Back then, I felt like I raised it for no reason, but it seems like a cow catching a mouse while backtracking²Accidentally achieving something you didn’t expect..’

The reason why I raised Dignity Maintenance was because the number of slots for vassal registration increased last time.

In fact, I invested skill points in Dignity Maintenance hoping that the limit would increase. However, I received a completely unrelated passive skill and felt discouraged.

‘No, maybe it’s because the level of Dignity Maintenance has increased.’

I was already aware that there was a similar effect in Dignity Maintenance. Perhaps, the effect had been strengthened as the level increased.

Either way, the growth of trust and loyalty had accelerated, so investing skill points in Dignity Maintenance wasn’t entirely meaningless.

“Then can you do it now?”

“Of course!”

Seo Ye-jin, despite the sharp first impression, turned out to be a very warm and friendly type.

“If possible, please move along the subway tracks.”

“…Subway tracks? Are you talking about Line 1?”

“Yes, I plan to use that route for the rescue operation later.”

At that moment.

“No, you can’t!”

Taken aback by Seo Ye-jin’s sudden outburst, I asked her for the reason.

“Why not?”

“There’s a monster living in Seomyeon Station.”

“A monster?”

Seo Ye-jin nodded with a terrified expression on her face.

What kind of monster could provoke such a strong reaction?

“Can you send just one mouse to the place where that monster is?”

“…Yes.”

***

Seomyeon Station turned out to be surprisingly spacious.

That was because there was a long underground shopping mall on both sides, and was a transfer station where Lines 1 and 2 intersected.

It was larger and more complex than typical subway stations in Seoul.

As a station in the downtown area, it was always crowded.

However, now, it had become one of the most silent places.

All because of one presence that had nested there.

Deep within the historical place, the Line 1 tracks.

Ssshh―

The densely arranged scales of a reptile.

Long, vertical pupils.

A slender, black forked tongue.

Occupying the cold tracks was a giant snake.

Its belly bulged conspicuously, the result of devouring orcs near Seomyeon Station.

This creature was the reason why Seomyeon Station was deserted with nothing around.

Any monsters or humans who entered unknowingly went into its stomach.

The current silence was due to its belly being full.

Once digestion was complete, it would resurface and consume any visible creatures it came across.

Snap―

The owner of Seomyeon Station slowly raised its head toward the direction of the noise.

Sensitive to vibrations in the ground, it had already sensed the tiny presence earlier.

Yet it chose not to move, as it deemed the energy expenditure for chasing a small mouse that wouldn’t fill a fraction of its stomach too wasteful.

Moreover, if the small creature escaped into a hole, there would be no way to catch it.

If the tiny creature willingly entered its mouth, that was one thing, but it had no intention of moving to catch that small thing.

Ssshh―

However, conversely speaking, if the small creature approached willingly, there was no reason not to eat it.

As a born glutton, it did not discriminate between big or small prey.

A little closer.

A little closer.

Using the minimum amount of energy possible, it patiently waited to catch the mouse.

The foolish little mouse kept coming closer to it, and it could not understand why.

Just a little more.

Ssshhh―

It flicked its tongue, the smell of a mouth-watering rat coming to its mouth.

The moment it was unable to hold back its appetite and was about to move.

Squeak—

The mouse that had been approaching fearlessly so far ran away.

As the mouse disappeared into a mouse hole, the giant snake smothered its appetite.

Simultaneously, it made a vow.

Next time it appeared, it would immediately attack.

***

“…”

As Seo Ye-jin said, there was a giant creature living in Seomyeon Station.

The monster’s body length alone was dozens of meters.

‘Wonder what level something like that is.’

Judging by its size alone, it seemed to easily surpass level 30.

‘Maybe even over level 40.’

As I was made a serious expression, Seo Ye-jin spoke first.

“Did you see it, Mr. Jaehyun? It’s better to give up on using Seomyeon Station.”

Well, she was right.

It was better to break through the monsters on the surface than a place such a monster was guarding.

“How about skipping one station and going to Beomnaegol Station? I’ve seen the skills of your colleagues. With their skills, they should be able to clear the way there without any trouble.”

Seo Ye-jin’s suggestion was reasonable.

Even I would have come up with a similar plan.

‘If Seo Ye-jin hadn’t joined.’

There was no way to deal with that monster before she joined.

But not now.

I smiled at Seo Ye-jin and said.

“You can go to Room 2701.”

“What?”

“You can stay there starting today. Oh, you might need to clean up a bit.”

“T-Thank you.”

During this time, more than 800 people had joined, but there were still many empty rooms.

The reason for this was because I hadn’t allocated empty rooms to them.

These were reserved for citizens who had thoroughly contributed.

Seo Ye-jin had the qualifications to receive one of these rooms.

“Well then, I’ll go take a look.”

“Yes, rest well.”

After sending Seo Ye-jin off, I immediately activated construction mode.

‘Install solar power generators.’

[Time remaining until completion of solar power generator facility]

– 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds

I built solar power facilities in the two newly-added buildings.

Since there was still 350 million won in support funds left, I could build both for free.

‘This is surprisingly efficient.’

It felt even more so because I was using support funds for construction.

This money could only be spent on construction anyways.

‘Let’s increase the facilities in the new buildings.’

People had organized themselves to take turns using communal facilities for meals and going to the bathroom.

However, with close to 800 people, the two units on the 21st floor were not enough.

‘I need to announce various things again.’

Fortunately, Kim Dabin was quite capable, so there wasn’t much to worry about in that regard.

I was paying her a decent weekly wage, and Kim Dabin was handling her tasks with enthusiasm.

Although the weekly wage I paid Kim Dabin was only 700,000 won, she was quite satisfied with it.

In the current situation, it was the equivalent of hunting 700 goblins. Considering that goblins were growing scarcer in the area, its value was even more significant.

She was earning more money than her younger brother, Kim Minho, at the moment.

‘I might need to increase the workforce.’

She didn’t directly appeal to me, but I had heard her express difficulties through the Absolute Dweller’s Eye several times.

It was only natural.

She was working alone for over 16 out of the 24 hours the public facilities were operating, and her brother, Kim Minho, covered the remaining 8 hours.

It was practically the same as abuse.

If a company had operated this way before the apocalypse, it would have been reported and exposed immediately.

‘I need to establish at least a three-shift system. The same goes for the newly-created facilities.’

There was much to do.

Amidst the busy work, the next day quickly arrived.

‘Let’s get started.’

It was time for hunting.

***

Ha Dong-geon’s party was moving from Jeonpo Station to Seomyeon Station.

Even though it was an unlit underground area, all eight members were wearing headlamps, brightly illuminating the path.

“They’re coming!”

-Kyaaak!

The subway tracks leading from Jeonpo Station to Seomyeon Station were occupied by bat-like monsters larger than humans.

However, they posed no threat to Ha Dong-geon’s party.

Swahhh! Pchook!

There weren’t many in numbers, and thanks to Kim Ga-young who accurately shot through their heads every time, the bats disappeared altogether after a few battles.

While quietly following the tracks, Yoo Hye-rin asked Kim Ga-young.

“Unni, about the snake in Seomyeon Station that Jaehyun mentioned. Can we really hunt it down?”

“Shouldn’t it be fine? Besides, if there’s an emergency, Mr. Jae-hyun can always summon us.”

“Oh, right. I was worrying for nothing.”

They were all aware of vassal summoning.

After the fight with the Red Tiger, they had a stronger trust in Mr. Jae-hyun after his timely summon of Yoo Hye-rin.

“No need to worry too much.”

Everyone had high trust in Kim Jae-hyun.

They believed that no matter how dire the situation, he would always find a solution somehow.

As they exited the lengthy tunnel, they finally arrived at Seomyeon Station.

“Hoh…”

What awaited them there was a gruesome scene.

One of the subways had completely derailed and flipped over, leaving blood stains and dead bodies scattered around.

There were also corpses with signs of being devoured by the bat-like creatures.

“Ugh.”

The environment was nauseating due to the stench.

Ha Dong-geon gathered his party, saying, “Let’s move to Line 1.”

They stepped over the fallen subway car and entered the station.

Unfortunately, the situation inside was no better.

The place was filled with corpses scattered in every direction.

Oddly, there wasn’t a single monster like goblins or orcs present.

Thanks to this, they were able to easily reach Line 1 through the transfer area.

And then…

“!!!”

When Ha Dong-geon and his party illuminated Line 1 with the light of their headlamps, they froze in place.

A colossal monster was staring at them from within.

Frozen by indescribable horror, a terrified Kang Deok-su shouted.

“H-How are we supposed to fight that thing?!”

At that moment…

Kwaaaaang!

“Urk!”

“Get down!”

An unexpected explosion shook the entire underground space.

Beeeeeeep―

Amidst the deafening noise, a familiar noise sounded.

Ding!

《Party Quest》

Quest Details: Finish off the giant snake.

Time Limit: 10 minutes 00 seconds

Reward: A large amount of experience points.

Failure Penalty: None.

‘This…? Finish it?’

Ha Dong-geon slowly rose and gazed at the spot where the monster had been just moments ago.

There, a giant snake was gasping for breath.

‘What’s wrong with it?’

As the smoke cleared, the shattered remains of the giant snake’s body were revealed.

Its internal organs were scattered in all directions, perhaps from the explosion just now.

‘I’m not sure what happened, but…’

Anyway, it was an opportunity.

Ha Dong-geon raised his spear and forcefully threw it towards the head of the still-breathing giant snake.

Swoosh!