Absolute Dweller

[Episode 10] Busan Station (1)

‘It would be perfect to assign positions to Kim Dabin and the public facility management team.’

The originally planned weekly salary of 700,000 won and the daily wage of 100,000 won for employees matched exactly.

Now, there was no need to give them money by paying a quest fee.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only advantage.

‘I need to increase the number of management personnel.’

The money paid to citizens from the economic activity population support fund was all free.

However, that amount was not small.

If all employees received 100,000 won, that would be 30 million won a day if all 300 positions were filled.

The money when all positions, from employees to department heads, were filled was…

‘It adds up to more than 500 million won a day.’

As this accumulated, the money that could be obtained through the tax collection skill increased, and on the other hand, some of it would be returned to me through spending at the convenience store.

‘It’s profitable to assign as many citizens as possible.’

However, no suitable duty other than public facility management had emerged yet.

‘We need facilities management, cleaning, and security.’

That was all that came to mind right now.

‘For security, I should focus on those who were gathered at the main gate that time.’

A rough picture was being drawn.

First, I immediately appointed Kim Dabin as one of the three department heads.

‘Kim Dabin accepted Choi Hyeong-jun, Yoo Hye-rin, and who else?’

As I was thinking about the names of people to fill the positions with.

[Citizen Kim Dabin’s loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Kim Dabin has been registered as a vassal.]

[Vassal registration limit has increased.]

Among those who were not vassals, someone achieved a loyalty of 100 for the first time.

‘As expected, achieving 100 loyalty immediately makes you a vassal.’

That meant that achieving 100 loyalty also meant gaining awakening abilities.

When I was about to check Kim Dabin’s abilities.

At that moment.

“Drreong.”

The loud snoring pulled me out of my contemplation.

“?”

Turning towards the source of the sound, I saw Yoo Hye-rin lying on the sofa, snoring loudly.

“Kuuu― drreong―.”

Probably because she was very tired, Yoo Hye-rin fell asleep.

As I watched her quietly, Seo Ye-jin asked, “Should I wake her up?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Yoo Hye-rin had already finished her job.

Rather, she deserved a reward since she pushed herself to her limits.

“Let her sleep like this.”

Using Invisible Hand, I moved her to the bed in the bedroom.

She was sleeping so deeply that she didn’t wake up while being carried.

“Drrreung― kugugugul.”

Of course, her snoring was still loud and impressive.

Watching Yoo Hye-rin disappear into the bedroom, Seo Ye-jin commented.

“It sounds like a steam locomotive.”

“Yeah, it does.”

After closing the door, the loud snoring silenced a bit.

“Are you okay, Ms. Ye-jin?”

“Am I supposed to be tired? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Then please keep up the good work.”

“Got it!”

Seo Ye-jin’s scouting abilities surpassed everyone else.

The hundreds of mice that spread out in every direction were her eyes and ears, simply incomparable.

But then…

“Huh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…The link isn’t working.”

“What?”

Seo Ye-jin’s abilities were not omnipotent either.

“What do you mean? All of a sudden?”

“Wait a moment.”

Seo Ye-jin closed her eyes and tested a few things before coming to a conclusion.

“It seems to be… too far away.”

“But it was working fine earlier, wasn’t it?”

“I think you can go a little out of range while the link is established, but the limit seems to be around the station.”

‘Of all times.’

Just a little further from Jagalchi Station was my parent’s home where my family was waiting.

The plan was to use Seo Ye-jin’s mice to check the condition of my home first, but…

That plan had now fallen through.

“It might be inconvenient, but could you start from Jungang station again?”

“Sure.”

Seo Ye-jin started moving from Jungang station towards Jagalchi Station using shared senses.

She moved without hesitation since they had cleared out all the zombies there.

‘Fortunately, we’ll arrive soon.’

As the mouse moved towards Jagalchi Station, I observed Ha Dong-geon’s party’s situation using the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.

***

Ha Dong-geon’s party was coming out through exit 1 of Choryang Station.

Even though it was a little before 6 p.m., it was already dark outside.

This was because the days were getting shorter as winter approached.

“Wow…”

The sky over the city without a single light emitted colorful hues like the night sky in a quiet countryside.

That was why the scene of the city’s devastating destruction was particularly evident.

Giant footprints littered everywhere, buildings collapsed to the ground, and concrete debris scattered around.

The scene of horrific destruction sparkled under the moonlight like a painting.

“It’s insane.”

“Geon-ah, scout.”

“Yes, sister.”

At Kim Ga-yeong’s urging, Kim Geon sent Kaman into the sky.

Kkaak―

Kaman scanned the area from high up and Kim Geon, who received the sensation, relayed.

“I don’t think there are any monsters nearby.”

Kang Deok-su remarked.

“There wasn’t even a common goblin at Choryang Station. Thanks to the chaos caused by the giant, we should be able to pass through here comfortably.”

Kim Geon agreed.

“That seems to be the case. Considering this sight, there shouldn’t be any ambitious ones trying to approach here. It’s like a sort of territorial mark. Who would dare to step into the giant’s territory?”

At that moment, Kim Da-jeong said in a worried voice.

“But will it be okay? It’s almost night. Wouldn’t it be better to stay somewhere safe and leave in the morning?”

“Don’t worry, Da-jeong. If you consider the goblins’ habits, night is actually safer. They tend to hide when night falls. That’s why they used to move only at night in the apartment complex!”

After thinking for a while, Ha Dong-geon came to a conclusion.

“We’ll move. If it becomes dangerous, Mr. Jae-hyun will summon us.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Ha Dong-geon’s words.

Their trust in Kim Jaehyun was so strong that they believed he would somehow help them even in the worst scenario.

At that moment, a mouse arrived in front of them.

Squeak―

“Is this the mouse sent by Seo Ye-jin? Let’s follow it.”

The mouse led Ha Dong-geon’s party along the pre-explored route.

Although the mouse wasn’t deliberately guided by Seo Ye-jin, it ran from Jungang station to Jagalchi Station all the same. The mice trained by her were quite smart, so they could guide themselves to some extent.

When they arrived at Busan Station following the mouse’s guidance, they saw a giant lake in front of them.

“What is this place? Did the giant make this too?”

“Maybe. That space was probably created when the broken building hit the ground.”

In front of Busan Station’s high-speed railway building, there was a hole several tens of meters in diameter. It was filled with water, whether seawater or groundwater, and concrete debris floated around like isolated islands.

Then.

Splash―

Something rose from one of the islands.

At the sudden sound of water, the gaze of Ha Dong-geon’s party focused there.

‘That’s…?’

At first glance, it looked like a person.

“Is it a person?”

“It looks like a woman, doesn’t it?”

That was true, as the upper body was in the shape of a woman.

However, the lower body resembled a fish covered in blue scales, not human.

The creature, in a half-human, half-fish form, was a Siren.

“Aaaaa―.”

The Siren began to sing. No, it was more like a high-pitched shriek.

“Aaaaaa―!”

“Ugh!”

“W-What is this?”

Everyone covered their ears with both hands due to the ear-splitting noise.

At that moment.

“Splish!”

First, Kang Deok-su and Moon Byeong-ho were sucked into the lake in a stiff state.

“Deok-su! Byeong-ho!”

Then, one by one, the rest of the group began to be sucked into the lake.

Splash!

Glug, glug…

The first to react in the sudden situation was Kim Da-jeong.

“Magic Armor!”

Just before being dragged into the water, she used her skill on Oh Eon-ju.

Wooooong―

Bright armor appeared on Oh Eon-ju’s body, and the next second, her body began to swell.

“Crack!”

In an instant, after completing her transformation, Oh Eon-ju rushed towards the Siren.

Thud!

As the transformed Oh Eon-ju swam towards the Siren with fierce momentum, the Siren looked quite startled.

The Siren stopped screaming for a moment, which allowed the paralysis of the others to be lifted.

Splash! Swoosh!

With a splash, Ha Dong-geon’s spear flew through the water and pierced the Siren’s heart.

***

[You have hunted a Siren (Lv. 33).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[350,376,203 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

‘What a surprise.’

I was really shocked when Ha Dong-geon’s party was sucked into the lake by the Siren.

There was a moment I considered summoning them back.

‘It was dangerous.’

Fortunately, they were able to escape the crisis thanks to Kim Da-jeong.

‘Monsters with special abilities are troublesome.’

Despite being only a level 33 monster, it posed a serious danger to the entire party.

‘If it wasn’t for Kim Da-jeong’s ability, we would have been in big trouble.’

Her ability, Magic Armor, was not just a skill that blocked physical attacks. It was a magical armor that ‘protected’ the target from various harmful effects.

When they were being sucked into the water by the Siren, it seemed as if they couldn’t move at all, but Kim Da-jeong’s Magic Armor blocked it.

That was why only Oh Eon-ju could move freely, and taking advantage of the Siren’s momentary confusion when the paralysis was briefly lifted, Ha Dong-geon threw his spear to finish it off.

‘Kim Ga-yeong seems to be injured.’

While the others were fine except for getting wet, Kim Ga-yeong seemed to have injured her head during the process.

Fortunately, Kim Da-jeong was there and immediately started to treat her.

“Phew.”

No matter how Ithought about it, including Kim Da-jeong in the party was truly a godsend.

Blessings and healing when injured were good, but the best thing was knowing that there were things that could counteract special abilities like the situation just now.

“Mr. Jae-hyeon…”

At that moment, Seo Ye-jin spoke up with a gloomy expression.

Just by looking at her, it was clear what the result was.

“It seems to have failed.”

“Yes… This time, the link was cut before we could even reach Jagalchi Station.”

“It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do. Please focus on guiding Ha Dong-geon’s party.”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

In any case, seeing Ha Dong-geon’s party overcome the crisis gave me more confidence.

‘These people are the best combination I can come up with right now.’

Even without Seo Ye-jin’s support, he believed that they could reach his parents just fine.

‘I can only trust and watch.’

Supplying Kim Ga-yeong’s arrows and Ha Dong-geon’s spears in real-time, and utilizing intermediate fire magic as much as possible for support, was the best I could do.

‘Is there anything else that could be helpful…’

At that moment.

[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[7,150 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[6,920 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

…

…

The citizens continued hunting diligently even as the sun set, and thanks to them.

[Your skill level has increased.]

[The Absolute Dweller’s Declaration has reached level 20.]

[You have gained 3 skill points.]

[You have acquired a new skill.]

With the level-up, a surge of pain came as well.