[Episode 02] Survivors (4)
I was watching the trail closely, hoping they would not reappear.
[Unauthorized person attempts to enter.]
“huh?”
I tilted my head at the sudden alarm and suddenly felt uneasy.
‘Could it be that there were still goblins left?’
I was worried that something might have happened to Choi Hyeong-jun.
‘The Eyes of the Absolute.’
I immediately used my skill to check the emergency exit.
And there I could see some familiar faces.
“Huh? They said I can’t go in here?”
“What does that mean?”
“Can’t you see? There’s a strange message right in front of you.”
“What? Then how did that old man get in there?”
“I don’t know either.”
Six men and women holding various weapons in their hands.
‘It’s those people!’
I never thought we’d come into contact like this.
‘It’s a lot harder than I thought.’
Choi Hyeong-jun did a much better job than I expected.
As I turned off the Eye of the Absolute skill to greet them, a new notification window appeared before my eyes.
With six photos seen through the eyes of the Absolute.
[An entity that satisfies the conditions for acceptance as a citizen has approached the corner of the house.]
[Would you like to offer citizenship?]
This gave me some new information.
‘The granting of citizenship has been changed to a proposal.’
Unlike Choi Hyung-jun’s family, who had been within the territory from the beginning, they were outside the territory.
‘People who are included in the process of expanding the territory can be forcibly granted citizenship, but in this case, are they given a choice?’
Proposal.
It literally meant giving them the choice of whether or not to become citizens.
then.
‘So you’re saying I can refuse?’
How can I get them to stop giving me the option of rejection?
At that time, I was thinking about a method.
♬♪♬♩~
The bell rang.
The moment I heard that sound, an idea occurred to me.
‘This is it.’
You just have to make it seem like the act of accepting the citizenship offer is nothing.
Then they will accept citizenship without any problem.
‘Quest granted.’
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun already has a quest he is currently working on.]
[Do you want to reset the quest?]
‘okay.’
[Please reset the quest.]
The changed quest content was simple.
‘Treating six guests for a meal.’
[Quest content has been updated.]
At the same time, I checked the outside situation through the moon pad.
Choi Hyeong-jun, who had been ringing the doorbell, checked the updated quest content, tilted his head, and moved toward the emergency exit.
Their conversation could be heard through the speakers on the wall pad.
(If it’s okay with you, would it be okay if I treated you to a meal at my house?)
(Yes? But we can’t even go in right now.)
At that moment, I repeated to myself the right timing.
‘Offer citizenship to all six.’
[Offering citizenship to Ha Dong-geon, Kang Deok-su, Kim Ga-yeong, Yoo Hye-rin, Kim Geon, and Moon Byeong-ho.]
I took a gamble and stared at the moon pad screen.
(Oh! The transparent wall is gone!)
A man of sturdy build entered the area with a cheerful voice.
Judging from the fact that he was holding a baseball bat, he seemed to be the man who had been the last of the goblin hordes earlier.
Following that.
(Really? You can come in right away once you get citizenship?)
All six accepted citizenship in turn and entered the area.
At that moment.
[The number of citizens has reached 10.]
[Experience points and settlement money earned by citizens increase by 10%.]
A notification I had never seen before appeared and made me smile.
‘Is this a bonus settlement amount for bonus experience points?’
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With the addition of people who will go on a full-scale monster hunt, these are quality buffs.
It was something to be welcomed with open arms.
‘Citizen management.’
The profiles of the six new members were satisfying at first glance.
□Ha Dong-Geon (Trust: 19) (Lv. 23)
□Kang Deok-su (Trust: 28) (Lv. 13)
□Kim Ga-young (Trust: 17) (Lv. 17)
□Yoo Hye-rin (Trust: 30) (Lv. 10)
□Kim Gun (Trust: 15) (Lv. 11)
□ Moon Byeong-ho (Trust: 11) (Lv. 10)
······
······
Current population (10/600 people)
As expected of a party that had crushed a horde of goblins, the level units were different.
Surprisingly, everyone had a double-digit level, and one of them was even level 23.
‘If it’s level 23, it’s the same level as the Kellykan I caught a week ago.’
The strangely high level of secrecy was understandable the moment he checked his citizen information.
『Name: Ha Dong-geon (Lv. 23)
Reliability: 19
Awakening Ability: Throwing a Baseball
Experience distribution rate: 0%
Settlement distribution rate: 0%
★Quest Granting Exit』
‘He is capable.’
As I focused on his awakening abilities, a brief description of the abilities he possessed came to mind.
Throwing a Baseball (D Grade)
Consumes stamina to increase the power of the ball by 3 times.
It seemed like the man who first threw the ball toward the group of goblins was Ha Dong-geon.
‘So that’s why the goblin died instantly.’
Anyone who has ever touched an actual baseball knows that it is no different from a rock.
Moreover, if the power was increased by three times with the skill, it could have easily become a lethal weapon.
It’s a bit disappointing that most of them have low reliability, but that’s okay if you slowly increase it.
‘Set the experience distribution rate for all six newly joined players to 70%.’
[Settings completed.]
The settlement amount was not touched.
This is because there is no place where citizens can spend their money, and there is no need to distribute it.
‘Okay.’
Now, all you had to do was give them monster hunting quests and they could sit back and earn experience and money.
Automatic hunting becomes possible.
Of course, I had no intention of treating them as money-making machines.
I thought we could meet face to face and have some human interaction at an appropriate time.
Maybe they could be the key to saving our family.
‘Before that, let’s take a look at what kind of people they are.’
The moment I was about to use the Eye of the Absolute skill.
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon’s trust level increases.]
Out of the blue, alarms about increased trust started appearing.
‘···what?’
How can your trust in me increase when we haven’t even talked to each other face to face?
[Citizen Kim Ga-young’s trust level increases.]
[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin’s trust level increases.]
“her.”
I felt like I had to see for myself what was going on.
***
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Hadonggun’s party, who received a sudden dinner invitation, rushed into Choi Hyeongjun’s house.
Park Hye-won, who had come out to the front door to greet me at the sound of the door lock password being entered, said in surprise.
“Honey? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later. Can you prepare some food for me?”
“Rice? I have to make some new rice···.”
“Please. It’s his instructions.”
“It’ll take a little while. I’ll have it ready in a minute.”
When Choi Hyeong-jun mentioned ‘that person’, Park Hye-won went to prepare a meal without saying a word.
Hadonggun looked at the sight and asked.
“What kind of person is he?”
“Hmm. Well, I don’t know either.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes. Other than the fact that you live next door···.”
At his words, Ha Dong-geon looked toward the front door and thought.
‘Was it the house on the other side?’
The reason their party came here.
It was because of the presence of a strange man who threw ramen and seaweed and such from the top floor.
I came here hoping I could get a little more.
“Anyway, he is a mysterious person. As I said before, the electricity that comes in is his power. He also has the ability to create water and tangerines.”
“Hmm.”
Hadong Geon carefully observed the porch light shining down on him.
‘Is it a superpower?’
The day they appeared in the world, he also awakened new abilities.
There was no law that said other people couldn’t do it.
‘What an incredible ability.’
I think I know why he threw food at them.
‘It’s clear that he can create more than just water and tangerines. He can also create the ramen and seaweed he threw at us.’
It occurred to me that perhaps I had the power to create anything I wanted.
‘I have to stick with this person.’
In times like these, you had to cling to someone with strong power to survive.
The ability to provide electricity and produce water and food.
In a world like today, that would be nothing short of a miracle.
It has a value that is on a different level from the throwing ability that you have.
While thinking of a way to contact him and show off their abilities, Choi Hyeong-jun said.
“It’ll take a little while to cook, so would you like to take a quick shower?”
The people who reacted most strongly to his words were Kim Ga-young and Yoo Hye-rin.
“Shower?!”
“You can wash it?”
I knew there was electricity, but I didn’t know there was water too.
‘Well, if you have the ability to create water, then that wouldn’t be difficult.’
Choi Hyeong-jun answered with a kind smile.
“Yes, there is warm water too.”
“Warm water?!”
“This is also His grace.”
Kim Ga-young and Yoo Hye-rin spoke in turn.
“Everyone get out of the way! I’ll wash first!”
“Then, next is me!”
Next to him, Choi Hyeong-jun spoke softly.
“There are two bathrooms, so you two can wash at the same time.”
“oh my god!”
“One of you can use this, and the other one can use the bathroom in the master bedroom. I’ll show you how.”
“Go, thank you.”
There was a reason why Kim Ga-young and Yoo Hye-rin tried so hard to act so bright.
I guess he just wanted to change the mood a little.
Because their atmosphere has been too heavy these days.
So the two women disappeared, leaving only four men in the hallway.
Kim Gun muttered.
“···Senior. Is that guy also a superpowered person?”
Hadong Geon nodded and answered.
“Maybe so. I think that person has abilities that are incomparable to the abilities I have.”
Hearing that, Kang Deok-su put his arm around Ha Dong-geon’s shoulder and spoke loudly.
“Don’t be discouraged, Emma! One blow from my club will take down that bastard―”
“You crazy bastard. What are you talking about when you can’t even see clearly?”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Please, just stay still and do nothing.”
“Ahaha. Okay, okay.”
Hadong Geon sighed softly and said.
“Anyway, our goal here is to get as much food as we can. Don’t make any mistakes and look your best. Got it?”
“Okay, okay.”
“···yes.”
“······.”
There was one man who did not respond to Ha Dong-geon’s words.
Hadonggun put his hand on his shoulder and called his name.
“Byeong-ho.”
Then finally a response came.
“Oh, yeah, bro. Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“I’m sorry. It was all because of me.”
Moon Byung-ho answered, trying hard to shake off his dark expression.
“No, hyung. What did you do wrong?”
“Ugh. Sorry. I called you to a housewarming party for no reason…”
“No, bro. I wanted to come too.”
The reason the Ha Dong-gun party came together was because of the housewarming of newlyweds Ha Dong-gun and Kim Ga-young.
Just as preparations for the party were in full swing, monsters appeared and the world was ruined.
Naturally, they all ended up isolated in Ha Dong-geon’s house.
“Grandma will be okay. I’m sure.”
“······yes.”
Everyone was worried about their families, but Moon Byung-ho couldn’t help but be especially worried.
His grandmother, his only family member, was getting older and had difficulty moving, so Moon Byung-ho’s care was essential.
But Moon Byung-ho was unable to return home.
That day, as soon as the monsters appeared, they all promised to visit Moon Byung-ho’s house first.
However, I tried to go out several times over the past ten days, but was blocked by goblins every time.
It was all thanks to their previous experience that they were able to deal with goblin groups so easily.
“After we get some food here, let’s all go to grandma’s house.”
“······Yes. Thank you, hyung.”
Moon Byung-ho’s voice was shaking badly.
He knows it too.
It’s already too late.
Ten days passed since that day.
Even if they had been lucky and not been attacked by monsters, the chances of Moon Byung-ho’s grandmother being alive were extremely low.
Kook
What was infuriating was that his house was so close that it could be seen from Hadonggun’s house.
But every time, I failed.
There were just too many goblins swarming around at the moment. Dozens of them would appear at any given moment, which goes without saying.
“It’s right nearby, so if we work together we can get there. Let’s just try a little harder.”
“Thank you so much, bro. But······.”
Let’s stop now.
It’s okay now.
I wanted to say it because I knew it was annoying to everyone, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
It was just a thorn stuck in my throat and hurt.
A heavy silence fell for a moment.
It was a time when no one could speak first.
Crash
“huh?”
“uh?”
“what?”
At the sound of the front door opening, everyone tensed up and picked up their baseball bats.
Hadong Geon also took a baseball out of his pocket.
But the next moment, when the door opened and the man appeared, everyone’s bodies froze.
‘What, what is this presence?’
He was a man with an ordinary appearance.
He wasn’t particularly tall or large.
Rather, her soft impression and clean skin without any trace of sunburn gave off a gentle atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the oppressive feeling was transmitted, as if a giant was opening the front door and coming in.
It seemed as if the maw of a giant beast was aimed at their balls.
Their instincts, sharpened by countless near-death experiences, sounded the alarm.
Hadong Geon realized it instinctively.
‘This man···.’
That the lives of herself and her comrades were in the hands of the man in front of her.
They had an intuition that the man was a being who could kill them at any time if he wanted to.
He opened his mouth.
“I will help you.”
Just one word sparked hope in Moon Byung-ho’s heart.
Maybe that’s why I nodded my head as if I was possessed.
‘perhaps···.’
She developed a belief that the man in front of her would be the one to save her from this pit of despair.
A conviction without any basis.
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