Absolute Dweller

[Episode 11] Jagalchi Market (3)

“Who’s bothering our Poppi!”

When Ha Dong-geon’s headlamp illuminated the area, the figures were revealed to be middle-aged men and women around their fifties.

“Huh?”

“Ah, turn off the light! It’s blinding!”

“Oops, sorry.”

They approached Ha Dong-geon’s party with calm strides.

After passing by Ha Dong-geon’s party and seeing the state of the wooden monster, the men and women began to fuss.

“Oh my, this won’t do, there’s a hole here.”

“Is Poppi okay?”

Right after that, a complaint was directed at Ha Dong-geon’s party.

“Look! Did you guys do this?”

“Uh… yes.”

“And you made a peaceful tree like this into this mess?”

“…Sorry.”

The tense atmosphere was momentarily interrupted by cheers from the side.

“Look here! Poppi did it again.”

The man who had been talking to Ha Dong-geon also went to see the land shark.

“Wow, this guy has definitely gained weight.”

“It’s not that tasty though.”

“What, are you in a position to choose between cold rice and hot rice? If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Honestly, it tastes better overcooked.”

“Ooh–you’re being ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Listening to the familiar dialects transmitted through the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes, I felt a sense of relief.

‘Is that so..’

Everything became clear at once.

The existence of tree monsters that don’t attack people, and the gigantic tree that appeared only in our yard.

‘It’s an Awakener.’

I could immediately tell who had gained such power.

‘Grandpa.’

Since I was very young, our house had always been filled with plants.

The yard changed trees and flowers every season, and on the rooftop, various trees bore fruit at different times of the year.

After my grandpa retired, a field appeared on the rooftop, filled with radishes, onions, lettuce, eggplants, and occasionally, he would proudly show off the produce on our dining table.

I vividly remember watering the plants and tending to the soil myself every morning and afternoon.

‘Could that tree be grandpa’s ability?’

A tree that doesn’t attack people…

I never thought it could be someone’s awakening ability.

I thought it was simply coincidence.

It was only natural, considering that out of over thousands of new citizens, there were only five awakened individuals.

It was said that even awakening was an extremely rare occurrence.

However, the ability to manipulate trees up to level 30, and even make it grow to tens of meters whose functions are unknown?

Up to this point, as far as I know, there was only one Awakener with such an ability.

‘Only me.’

I was confident that there was no one else who had awakened to abilities similar to mine. That’s why I was angry when I saw the tree occupying my house.

Monsters with such power could easily run rampant.

‘There was no way I could’ve known someone else would’ve awakened to this extent.’

And that someone would be my family.

Things were falling into place so perfectly that the chances were lower than winning the lottery twice in a row.

Of course, in terms of American lottery odds.

‘Thank goodness. Really.’

Honestly, I was convinced that my family had died.

It didn’t make sense when you thought about it for a moment.

High level 20 monsters were roaming the streets, and in the sky, groups of level 10 monsters were flying around.

It was an environment where giant crustaceans in the early level 30s, and possibly even higher, existed.

How could ordinary humans survive in such an environment?

I was already filled with feelings of loss and anger, ready to explode at any moment. The sight of the giant tree growing where the house should have been was just the trigger.

But things turned out so well.

I felt ashamed of how angry I had been.

The anger had only lasted for a few seconds, but if it had stayed a little longer, it would’ve been ugly.

“Ha-ha.”

As I let out a disappointed laugh, Seo Ye-jin and Yoo Hye-rin asked with a worried tone.

“Mr. Jae-hyun, what happened?”

“…Are you okay?”

It must have been unsettling to see me suddenly laughing disappointedly during the operation.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing. Everyone is safe.”

Before I knew it, Ha Dong-geon’s group was helping to dismantle the land shark.

Thanks to their high levels and superior physical abilities, they were able to quickly dismantle the land shark, drawing admiration from those around them.

“Oh, to be young again! If only I were 20 years younger…!”

Before I knew it, Ha Dong-geon’s party was naturally carrying the load and moving with the middle-aged men and women.

I used the Communication Ring.

[Do you see the giant tree to your left? That’s my home.]

Ha Dong-geon, understanding my intention, spoke up.

“Excuse me, may I ask where we are going right now? I think we should go where that tree is.”

“Huh? Aren’t we already heading towards Gullu?~”

An old man next to them asked loudly.

“What? Do you know our village chief¹촌장 – village chief/head.?~”

Upon hearing that, I said to Ha Dong-geon’s party.

[Please ask for the village chief’s name.]

Ha Dong-geon immediately repeated my words like a parrot, and the old man casually told him.

“Our village chief’s name? He writes it as Ija Bongja Yeolja²이자 봉자 열자 쓰시는디 Actually not too sure about this. I’m making some assumptions here because Jae-hyun will say his grandfather’s name is Lee Bong-yeol (이봉열) in the next few lines..”

The moment I heard those words, a happy smile spread across my face.

‘As expected, it’s Grandpa.’

Lee Bong-yeol, the name of my grandpa.

The reason my surname is different is that my grandfather was from the maternal side of the family.

Since my parents got married, we lived with my grandparents so I had been living with my maternal grandfather and grandmother since I was born.

‘I’m glad you’re safe.’

As we approached the house, I saw people more frequently.

It felt like the people gathered here were maintaining the appearance of the world before the monsters took over.

There were no broken buildings or corpses strewn on the streets.

The more I confirmed this, the more at ease I felt.

“Let’s stop here for a moment.”

The space that used to be the front parking lot was now a warehouse, with the bodies of marine monsters like land sharks and sky marlins piled up.

There were also people processing them.

‘There are a lot of people.’

Over a hundred people were gathered here.

Most of them were elderly men and women. Nambumin-dong was a city with a very high average age and almost no young people.

Many of them were originally engaged in the fishing industry, so they seemed familiar with processing fish.

Nearby, some had opened up stands and immediately made sashimi to eat, and the savory smell of grilled fish wafted through the air.

It felt like the main area of Jagalchi Market had moved here.

“Let’s leave it here.”

“You caught another one?”

“Yeah, that’s right. This is a new guy, but it’s time to eat, so let’s have some sashimi.”

The man holding a sashimi knife skillfully extracted the flesh of the land shark and put it in a bowl, handing it over.

“Here you go!”

It was a proper plate of sashimi prepared with soy sauce, wasabi, and red pepper paste³초장..

“Let’s sit here and eat.”

“What about chopsticks?”

“We don’t have any, just eat with your hands like this. Mmm~”

I hurriedly summoned chopsticks from home to them.

Ha Dong-geon’s party naturally picked up the chopsticks, but the old man and woman who saw the chopsticks appear out of thin air were startled and exclaimed in surprise.

“How did you do that just now? Are you a magician or something?”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Amidst the awkward attention, Ha Dong-geon’s party took a piece of sashimi each and put it in their mouths.

“Mm?~”

“Yum!”

It was sashimi made from freshly caught fish.

It couldn’t have tasted bad.

“It’s delicious!”

“Great.”

“I haven’t had sashimi in a long time.”

“Right, right, eat a lot.”

I summoned cola, cider, and water for Ha Dong-geon’s party, who were eating happily.

Then.

“N-No way?!”

“Isn’t that cola?”

“Cider! Cider!”

Adults gathered around them curiously and showed a strong reaction.

Ha Dong-geon’s party, including Ha Dong-geon, handed the summoned drinks to them and said, “Do you want some?”

“Is it okay?”

“Of course.”

“Hey, hey! I should give it to me first! I took care of you all!”

“Here’s one for uncle⁴Probably been mentioned a lot but in Asian culture, you can call strangers ‘uncle’ or ‘aunt’. No blood relation, it’s just a term of address similar to mister/miss..”

The people who received cola and cider drank with excitement.

I don’t know if it’s okay to say this about older people, but it was cute to see them sipping and enjoying each mouthful.

Seeing this, I chuckled and purchased a large quantity of cola and cider for them, along with ramen, rice, eggs, milk, and other stuff.

“No!”

“What in the world?!”

“Is this all for us to eat?”

Ha Dong-geon nodded with a faint smile.

“It seems so. It looks like a gift from Mr. Jae-hyun to everyone.”

“Jesus Christ, who is this Mr. Jae-hyun? I should at least give him a bow. Who among you is he?”

“Oh, he’s not here.”

The man who was about to kneel down asked Ha Dong-geon’s with a dumbfounded expression.

“What do you mean?”

After thinking for a moment, unable to come to a conclusion, he asked again.

“Well, is this Mr. Jae-hyun someone like Jesus? If he’s not here, is he in heaven?”

Oh Eon-ju joked with a smile.

“Maybe he really is.”

The people in the warehouse suddenly got busy because of the goods that appeared out of thin air.

“Everyone, move this stuff to the warehouse!”

“Mr. Kim, come over here!”

Meanwhile, an old man who had been friendly and chatting with Ha Dong-geon’s party since the beginning asked.

“Hey, do you have any butane gas or gas burners?”

I immediately purchased those items from the store.

“Wow, this is awesome!”

The old man shouted to the people in the warehouse.

“Look at this! This is the item I asked for!”

“What is it? Gas?”

“Gas? Really?”

The reaction was intense, especially from those who were grilling fish.

They were cooking by lighting a fire using wood, so the appearance of a gas burner and butane gas was a big deal.

“For real?”

“Here! Bring it over here! Let’s eat some spicy fish stew!”

“Ramen! Start with ramen!”

The whole warehouse was bustling with excitement.

That’s when it happened.

Rumblee-

An unusual sound began to echo.

The sound that extended from the warehouse roof to the entrance turned out to be the sound of tree roots growing.

A person descended from the tree roots and shouted, “What’s all this noise about?”

He was an old man with thick, magnifying glasses and a half-bare head.

A strong presence with a stubborn face.

As soon as I saw his face, I couldn’t help but be moved.

“Grandpa…!”

At the same time.

[Family members of the Absolute Dweller have been encountered.]

[Opening the power of kin.]

『Name: Lee Bong-yeol (Level 55)

Title: [Kin] [Ichon] [Druid]

Trust: 88

Awakening Ability: Guardian of the World Tree⁵I will most likely be using both Guardian of the World Tree and World Tree Guardian in the future.』

[Conditions have been satisfied.]

[The construction item ‘Annex’ has been added to the list of available items.]