Absolute Dweller

[Episode 02] Survivors (2)

The neighbor’s house was overall dimly lit.

The lights weren’t on, and it felt dark even in broad daylight, most likely due to the thick curtains covering the entire living room window.

‘Smart.’

It was a wise choice to avoid potential attacks from flying monsters like the Kellican.

‘But it’s too dark.’

Realizing this as soon as he stepped out into the corridor, Choi Hyeong-jun understood that the Dignity Maintenance skill could be applied anywhere within his territory.

So, he pressed the doorbell and was able to freely open the door.

Within the boundaries of his home, everything unfolded according to his will.

Staring at the living room ceiling, he wished, ‘Light up.’

Flash—

As the light came on, Choi Hyeong-jun’s family flinched, feeling the sudden warmth.

“Ah? The lights are on!”

The youngest, a 5-year-old who was the family’s baby, expressed amazement without understanding.

The others were trembling in fear.

Handing over a bottle of Samdasoo water while looking at Choi Hyeong-jun whose eyes were shaking, I said.

“First, let the kids drink water.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Choi Hyeong-jun carefully took the water I handed to him with both hands.

His overly polite demeanor was almost burdensome for me.

‘Did my first appearance have too much impact?’

Pressing the doorbell and entering unhesitatingly were intentional actions.

I pushed the concept of mystery as much as possible while aiming to take control of the conversation.

But it seemed to have worked even better than expected.

“Na-yeon, Seo-yeon. Let’s have some water.”

The two people were cautious while giving water to the children, and thanks to that, the kids were also watching me.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Seo-yeon! Are you okay?”

Unexpectedly, in the uncomfortable atmosphere, Choi Seo-yeon, who was drinking water, started coughing continuously, and the sound of her wheezing could be heard.

‘Before starting the conversation, I need to lighten the mood.’

Feeling a sense of apology for causing discomfort, I approached Choi Seo-yeon, took an orange from the box, and went over to her. Squatting down to the child’s eye level, I handed her the orange and initiated a conversation.

“Do you like oranges?”

Even while coughing, Choi Seo-yeon nodded slowly.

“Here.”

“T-Thank you. Cough.”

Bowing politely, Choi Seo-yeon received the orange and cautiously handed it over to her mother, Park Hye-won, while glancing at me.

“Just a moment.”

Park Hye-won skillfully peeled the orange and fed a piece to Choi Seo-yeon.

As the sweet taste entered her mouth, Choi Seo-yeon quickly relaxed, revealing a smile.

“Hehe. Mom, give me more!”

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes!”

As the four-year-old beamed, the frozen atmosphere rapidly thawed.

“Mom, me too, me too!”

About six years old, Choi Na-yeon also ran to her mother and eagerly ate the orange.

At that moment,

[Citizen Choi Seo-yeon’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Choi Na-yeon’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Park Hye-won’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s trust has increased.]

Following that, new messages continued to appear.

[Citizen Choi Seo-yeon’s trust has reached 50.]

[Loyalty is now open.]

[Citizen Choi Seo-yeon’s loyalty has exceeded 30.]

[Citizen Choi Seo-yeon has fulfilled the conditions for vassal registration.]

Choi Seo-yeon’s trust, which was already high at 42, had now surpassed 50 because of a single orange.

I quietly opened the citizen management window to check Choi Seo-yeon’s information.

『Name: Choi Seo-yeon (Lv. 2)

Trust: 57 Loyalty: 33

Awakening Ability: None

Experience Distribution Rate: 0%

Settlement Money Distribution Rate: 0%

★Quest Assignment 🖾Expulsion』

Not only did the trust increase, but a new index called loyalty also emerged.

It started at an impressive 33.

‘Perhaps because she’s a young child.’

In any case, thanks to this, I could understand the conditions for vassal registration.

The vassal registration system was a newly introduced feature that appeared when the dignity maintenance skill reached level 2.

I had attempted to register Choi Hyeong-jun, who had the highest level, as a vassal, but it failed with the message ‘Conditions not met.’

Trust 50 and loyalty 30.

That was the minimum condition for vassal registration.

“Should I try registering Choi Seo-yeon as a vassal?”

After some brief thought, I quickly gave up.

“She’s too young, and her level is low.”

Unlike citizens, vassal registration was only possible for ten individuals.

Although Choi Seo-yeon, as the first citizen to meet the conditions, could have been registered as a vassal to celebrate, doing so might lead to a situation where cancellation was not possible, similar to the shop window.

It felt too wasteful to try it as a test.

“It might have a more significant effect than I think. So, if I were to register a vassal, it should be someone at least at the level of Choi Hyeong-jun.”

Choi Hyeong-jun, a robust man in his thirties, was already at level 9.

It made sense to increase Choi Hyeong-jun’s stats for smoother monster hunting.

“But…”

□Choi Hyeong-jun (Trust: 31) (Lv. 9)

The trust had only increased to 31.

To reach 50, there was still a long way to go.

‘Honestly, it feels a bit of a waste to use it on Choi Hyeong-jun.’

At that moment.

“Um…”

Choi Hyeong-jun spoke first.

“I’m not sure how to repay this favor…”

“There are various ways.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s talk separately in the hallway for a moment.”

“Uh, sure.”

It was an awkward conversation to have where the family could hear, so I wanted to discuss it privately.

I had made up my mind to ask him to risk his life for me.

***

As we moved to the corridor and were alone, Choi Hyeong-jun stood stiffly, much like when we first met.

To ease the tension, I started with a light question.

“Did you receive citizenship?”

After a moment of hesitation, Choi Hyeong-jun answered.

“If you’re talking about that notification that appeared out of thin air, then yes. We received it about thirty minutes ago as a family.”

I asked to confirm whether citizens were aware of the citizenship grant.

“Before that notification appeared, was there anything special?”

“Well, um…”

“Was there?”

“Yes. For a moment, my body stiffened, and I couldn’t do anything.”

“I see. Thank you for telling me.”

It seemed that there was a temporary stiffness before being recognized as a citizen.

“So, what about monsters?”

As the Declaration skill reached level 5, the entire 30th floor had become my domain.

It could be inferred that, as the level increased, the area covered by the domain would expand.

In that case, there might come a time when non-human monsters would appear within the domain.

If they could be stiffened or expelled at my will, it would be fortunate, but things were unlikely to go smoothly.

‘Well… let’s think about that when the time comes.’

There was too much to do to worry about unnecessary things.

“I’ll be straightforward. I’ll help you return to your previous stable life. Cooking meals, taking warm showers—such a life.”

“What?”

“Not only that, but I guarantee safety within your home. No monster will be able to invade without my permission.”

“Is that really true?”

“I promise with my name.”

Choi Hyeong-jun looked at me with trembling eyes and then spoke with determination.

“Of course, you won’t do all of this for free, right? What should I do?”

I remained silent for a moment, casually staring at him before opening my mouth.

“The tasks I’m going to ask you to do might involve risking your life. Even so, will you do it?”

Choi Hyeong-jun’s contemplation upon hearing the serious mention of the possibility of death surprisingly didn’t last long.

“Yes. I will do it. If it means my wife and children can be safe, there’s nothing I won’t do. Even if it weren’t for you, I was planning to go out and get water and food. I had already staked my life on it back then.”

Initially, I had thought about immediately sending Choi Hyeong-jun to hunt goblins.

However, my thoughts had changed now.

It was because of the disappointing appearance he showed during our first encounter.

‘He seemed so tense even holding a golf club.’

When I pressed the doorbell, I perfectly grasped the inside situation using the eyes of an observer.

At that time, seeing the golf club in Choi Hyeong-jun’s hands made me quite nervous.

I even contemplated whether to shout not to attack as soon as I entered.

But when we actually entered the house, Choi Hyeong-jun couldn’t make a single attack.

‘He looks more bulky than I thought.’

He had a large build, and his skeletal structure was good, but he seemed more tenderhearted than he appeared.

It could be considered a natural reaction for a modern person, but anyway, it was disappointing.

‘I can handle this.’

Even though I heavily relied on the declaration skill, I had experience in catching Kellicans.

In the case of goblins, it was all about hitting them with dumbbells, but with the right weapons, I felt confident that I could handle them.

‘He doesn’t need to be aggressive, but he should be able to fight without panicking if he encounters goblins.’

Until now, Choi Hyeong-jun had shown himself to be a responsible adult willing to sacrifice for his family, but he didn’t seem like someone who could kill or do something similar.

Suddenly, his golf club caught my eye.

‘It’s probably made of solid iron. If he swings it, he could easily smash a goblin’s head.’

I reached out to Choi Hyeong-jun and said, “Can I take a look at that golf club?”

“Oh, this? Here you go.”

Taking the golf club, I silently thought, ‘Shop open. Register item.’

While using the skill of the Absolute Dweller’s Eye earlier, I realized one thing – I could use skills without explicitly mentioning them. Though it required a bit of concentration, it wasn’t that difficult.

Zing—

After scanning the golf club with the shop window, a new item was registered in the store, visible only to me. Choi Hyeong-jun couldn’t see the shop window or the light that emanated from it.

It was a damn expensive golf club. 538,200 won for a used one.

“What?”

This was, even after a 10% discount thanks to the shop level effect, still an exorbitant price of 538,200 won. I asked Choi Hyeong-jun with an incredulous expression, “How much did you pay for this?”

“Uh… well, I remember paying about 1.4 million won.”

“1.4 million?”

“Yes.”

I’ve noticed this before – the damn shop charged more for restoring items than their original prices. Even with a 10% discount due to the shop level effect, it was still not enough.

‘Restore.’

Just to test it out, I pressed ‘Restore,’ and an estimate quickly appeared.

[To restore the ‘Used Golf Club,’ you need an amount of 3,870,000 won.]

[Do you want to restore it?]

“Crazy.”

To restore it, a whopping 4 million won was required. It was nearly half of the money I had.

‘Cancel! Cancel!’

Anyway, whether it was used or new, there wasn’t much difference in the items. It seemed better to just buy it at a slightly higher price than to restore it like this.

‘If I need dozens of these, then maybe…’

Before that, it was actually more of a loss to restore it.

“Um… is that really what you want? I can give you anything. There are other golf clubs in our house too.”

Choi Hyeong-jun seemed somewhat relieved.

It was understandable; he was seriously talking about his life, and I was inquiring about golf club prices.

I quickly changed the topic of conversation.

“Uh, well. Do you remember the day the monsters appeared?”

“I… remember.”

“That day was a Saturday. It was the weekend. Probably a lot of people were resting at home.”

Due to the exceptionally good weather, some people would have gone out, but many would have been resting at home.

So, there would probably be dozens of people surviving in this apartment, or so I inferred.

“Lucky for those who were at home at that time; they should still be alive. Please find those people.”

Although I hadn’t fought goblins directly, following that a single individual didn’t possess much strength, I believed that goblins’ real power lay in numbers.

It was decided that Choi Hyeong-jun would find it difficult to hunt goblins alone, so he should focus on increasing the number of troops that could fight goblins.

“Please find the survivors and bring them up here.”