Absolute Dweller

[Episode 11] Encounter (7)

The next morning, I informed my grandpa about my parents.

The method was simple.

All I had to do was pass a smartphone with a recorded video to him.

‘I never thought I’d use a smartphone like this!’

I always thought of it as an expensive watch, but it turned out to be a million-won digital camera.

Confirming the safety of my parents, Grandpa was ecstatic and played our video several times beside Grandma.

“Jae-hyun, can we also watch a video of Grandpa and Grandma?”

“I’ll ask them to make one.”

After watching the video of Grandma and Grandpa taken by Ha Dong-geon, Mom started crying.

“You’ll be able to meet them soon.”

When the annex is completed, Grandpa can move to the main house using the Absolute Dweller’s Door.

I asked Ha Dong-geon’s party to hunt monsters near the base while construction was being completed.

The reason was time.

‘I never thought there would be such an effect!’

[At the construction site of the ‘annex,’ there are three vassals with the ‘Knight’ title. Construction efficiency increased by 50%.]

Ha Dong-geon, Oh Eon-ju, and Kim Da-jeong increased the efficiency just by being there.

Originally, the construction would’ve taken a week, but now it was reduced to just four days.

Furthermore, due to the monster wave yesterday, the number of monsters near the base had increased tremendously.

The level of the monsters was also high, and hunting there was several times more efficient than coming back here to hunt.

‘Now you have to walk 1km to hunt here.’

After the homebound area expanded to a radius of 1km, the frequency of citizens hunting drastically decreased.

This was because citizens who did not know that the area had expanded were still wandering around their usual hunting grounds.

Since the area had already been incorporated, the remaining goblins all died yesterday with the level up.

[Ms. Dabin.]

[Yes, Mr. Jae-hyun.]

[There’s something I want you to announce.]

[Yes, go ahead.]

[Please explain to everyone that the area has expanded. Now, you have to go beyond Seomyeon Station to hunt.]

But that wasn’t the only important thing.

[And please establish a relief team.]

[A relief team?]

[Yes. We need people to rescue the survivors within the expanded territory.]

In the newly-expanded area, there were thousands of survivors, most of whom were in very serious situations.

[Citizen Kang Jeong-ho has passed away.]

‘Another person died.’

More than ten people have died since yesterday, all within the safe area.

The biggest cause was lack of drinking water. People who couldn’t go outside due to monsters were dying of dehydration inside their homes.

I had been using the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes to provide relief supplies whenever I found citizens in dire situations, but I was not enough on my own.

If they were still conscious, relief supplies would be enough, but too many were already unconscious.

[For those who had requested the establishment of a medical team yesterday, please also include them in the relief team. They will surely be helpful.]

[Understood.]

I wanted to save as many people as possible.

I used the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes to find as many people as possible and, if necessary, I was prepared to use the Absolute Dweller’s Door to directly reach them or even use quest assignment to provide treatment.

“Jae-hyun, why do you look so serious?”

“Well…”

I briefly explained the situation to my mother.

After hearing everything, my mother said, “If that’s the case, I think I can help.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Some of the people my mother brought with her had similar abilities to Kim Da-jeong.

They had abilities like ‘Heal’ or ‘Care’. ‘Care’ was an ability that was excellent for conditions such as dehydration, fainting, and poisoning.

“I’d also like to see some of those doctors. If they make a subordinate contract, they’ll probably awaken similar abilities.”

It was as my mother expected.

Almost 80% of them had awakened abilities related to healing.

However, the grades of the awakened abilities varied greatly. Most of them were D or C grades, so the overall level was low.

‘Still, this alone will be a big help.’

As the relief team began to move, the situation quickly calmed down.

Seo Ye-jin searched for survivors, and the relief team was deployed according to those in the most critical condition. Meanwhile, I supported those in need of supplies using the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.

These were some incredibly busy days.

After three days and nights of hard work, I was able to check every house in the area.

Nearly a hundred people had died during this process, but far more were saved.

‘…It’s over!’

When I checked the last house, I collapsed onto bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

After about an hour of sleep, I was awakened by a system alert.

[A being satisfying the conditions to be recognized as a citizen has approached the homebound area.]

[Would you like to offer citizenship?]

Since the area had expanded, new citizens had been flowing in.

Thanks to this, the number of citizens was approaching ten thousand.

‘Offer it.’

Padapada—

Rain was pouring outside.

‘Even though I didn’t sleep much, I feel refreshed!’

Thanks to the rewards from daily quests, my stamina had greatly increased.

It seemed like the increase in mental strength also played a major role.

At that moment, Kim Dabin’s telepathy came through.

[Mr. Jae-hyun.]

I used the Communication Ring to respond.

[What’s wrong?]

[The relief team suggests rescuing people outside the area.]

[Outside the area? It could be dangerous.]

[I suggested the same, but they say it’s the golden time so we must go out.]

I could understand what they were saying.

When the apartment’s area expanded, the survivors’ conditions weren’t as critical as they were now.

Most people were hungry and thirsty, but there weren’t many on the brink of death due to severe dehydration.

Now, most people had reached their limits.

The golden time.

It could be said that the current moment was like a golden time that would never come again.

If we didn’t act now, many people would lose their lives.

Even if we expanded the area in the future, we would likely accept more bodies than survivors.

‘I’ll save at least one more person.’

Now, the area outside was much more different from the time when only goblin groups were there.

‘Sea monsters from the sea have come all the way here.’

There weren’t many of them.

However, sky marlins were flying through the air, and land sharks roamed on the roads.

Occasionally, you could also spot giant crustaceans.

It was a difficult environment where ordinary people couldn’t even imagine going outside.

With the creatures attacking and casualties occurring even in the hunting teams, most teams had stopped hunting except for a few.

Despite the danger, they were risking their lives to rescue people.

They were truly remarkable.

‘Is it because there are a lot of former firefighters?’

Among the firefighters, there were many who had a strong belief in risking their lives to save others. Perhaps they were the ones actively voicing their opinions.

‘I admire them.’

[Ms. Dabin, I’ll assign hunting teams to act as guards, so please ask the relief teams to wait for a while.]

[Yes, understood.]

Currently, there were only two teams that could move to protect others.

‘Only the team led by Lee Joon-hyuk and Dad’s team.’

The criteria was whether they could defeat a level 30 giant crustacean or not.

Lee Joon-hyuk’s Water Bomb was surprisingly powerful and could crush the armor of the crustaceans, and the same was true for Dad.

That’s when it happened.

[You have hunted a Giant Crab (Lv. 33).]

[You have gained experience points.]

‘Is Dad out hunting in this heavy rain?’

Since there was no settlement reward, it meant that one of my kin was hunting.

After discovering that his physical abilities had drastically improved since unlocking the power of kin, Dad had developed an interest in hunting.

Honestly, at first, I was a little worried and attached Seo Ye-jin’s mouse to him. However, after seeing him shatter the chitinous armor of the Giant Crab with a single punch, my worries faded.

But then…

[You have hunted a Hammerhead Shark (Lv. 25).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have hunted a Sawfish (Lv. 22).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have hunted a Blue Crab (Lv. 28).]

[You have gained experience points.]

Suddenly, hunting messages started pouring in.

No matter how strong Dad was, he couldn’t hunt monsters at this speed.

There was only one person who could do this at the moment.

‘It’s Grandpa.’

I immediately used the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.

Shwooohh.

It was pouring rain there.

Crack!

Although it was broad daylight, the sky covered in dark clouds only occasionally lit up with flashes of lightning.

[What’s happening?]

Ha Dong-geon answered.

“It’s a monster wave.”

As expected, another monster wave was unfolding.

‘This is already the third one.’

This phenomenon first occurred about four days ago.

And now, it had happened three times in total.

Even though most of the monsters were passing by as usual, the amount was higher than before.

‘At this rate, the proportion of sea monsters will continue to increase inland.’

Survival for ordinary people would become even more challenging.

‘Why does this keep happening?’

Kuddddeuk!

Looking ahead, I saw the roots of the World Tree in action once again.

A vast number of sea monsters were pouring towards the place, and Grandpa’s wooden root wall was holding them back.

Whoosh! Slam!

The sound of monsters being stabbed and smashed constantly echoed.

The continuous messages of experience points gained were just a bonus.

But this time, there were too many monsters.

Rumbleee! Crash!!

Grandpa’s wooden root wall was still sturdy, but the concrete building next to it couldn’t withstand the pressure and collapsed, creating a gap.

Monsters poured in through the gap, squeezing through the cracks that appeared.

Swoosh!

Ha Dong-geon’s spear and Kim Gayoung’s arrows were the first to react.

The heads and bodies of the monsters that emerged were blown apart, killing them instantly.

However, as the bodies disappeared, new monsters kept pouring out through the gap.

“Kacha!”

Oh Eon-ju transformed into her werebear form, preparing for the impending battle, but her turn didn’t come.

It was the tree giants who had been waiting behind the wooden root wall who began to step forward.

Whoosh! Whoosh! 

Tentacles stretched out from the tree giants, immobilizing the monsters that flowed in, preventing them from moving.

While the monsters struggled, the expanding roots completely filled the gap.

Just as balance was being maintained by Grandpa’s overwhelming power.

Kwarrung!

Under the brilliant lightning, something enormous wriggled.

‘Huh?’

At first, I thought it was just a trick of the eyes.

But…

Kwarrurrung!

With the next lightning flash, I could s’e clearly.

‘…What is that?”

In the very far distance, something was looking down at us.

Although all I could see was a shadow through the rain and dark sky, the fact that it was visible from this distance indirectly indicated how gigantic the figure was.

Then.

‘It disappeared?’

In an instant, the figure vanished.

So, at first, I thought it was just an illusion.

However…

Kugugugugu—

The ground shook.

Kwagwagwagwag!!¹Thank you ChatGPT for donating more sound effects.

The vibrations grew stronger, breaking the ground and toppling buildings.

In the distance, an apartment that could not withstand the quakes collapsed to the side.

Baanggg!

With a massive explosion, the powerful shaking reached its peak.

Boom!

And not far from away, the ground swelled up significantly.

Kwagwagwag!

The concrete burst like a pimple, and a thick pillar of earth shot up.

Flash!

Rain-soaked dirt fell away, revealing a massive head covered in white scales.

The eyes of a giant reptile glanced down indifferently at Ha Dong-geon’s party and Grandpa.

「White Dragon (Lv. 63)」

It was the appearance of a monster.