Absolute Dweller

[Episode 11] Jagalchi Market (2)

The road leading from Jagalchi Station to my house had a fish market.

From crawling fish to flying fish, various types of monsters including crabs and crayfish were moving around.

All the seafood gathered lived up to the reputation of Jagalchi Market.

Among them, the crustaceans were undoubtedly the most troublesome.

“This time it’s a lobster!”

“Step back!”

Just like the crab hunted before, a lobster armed with a tough chitinous armor appeared, but the strategy was already familiar.

Crash!

A barbell dropped like a bomb onto the lobster’s carapace, taking its life.

[You have hunted a Giant Lobster (Lv. 30).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[106,886,599 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s wallet.]

Unfortunately, it was credited as my hunt, so the settlement amount was disappointing. But currently, clearing the path was more important than money.

‘Sorry, Minho.’

The barbell, which had been used several times, was quite damaged.

‘I’ll register it and buy you a new one.’

Overall, the environment here was much more dangerous than near my apartment.

The average level of the monsters was high, and their numbers were large, making it quite challenging even with the skill of Ha Dong-geon’s party.

‘If I hadn’t raised the level of the warehouse, it could have been dangerous!’

Kim Da-jeong would have been injured in the first battle.

Then, Oh Eon-ju and Ha Dong-geon who could not receive blessings would have been significantly weakened, and they would not have been able to defeat the monsters as stably as they were now.

Furthermore, the function of the blessing was not simply an increase in physical ability.

Wooong.

Late at night.

In the pitch-black environment where street lights could no longer be expected, Kim Da-jeong’s ability was acting as a torch, illuminating the surroundings.

Just like at the subway station, the light emitted when receiving the blessing was doing its job properly.

As humans rely heavily on vision, having a light that brightens the dark night was a huge advantage in battle.

“Dong-geon, behind you!”

I summoned a bullet towards a marlin that was targeting Ha Dong-geon’s back.

[You have hunted a Sky Marlin (Lv. 17).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[1,326,284 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s wallet.]

Support through the warehouse function was top-notch.

However, my expression remained serious.

‘There are too many monsters.’

If it weren’t for my support, there would have been many dangerous situations.

Essentially, this road would be difficult to pass with the skills of Ha Dong-geon’s party alone.

That was the problem.

‘If Ha Dong-geon’s party finds it difficult to hold out, it means that this environment is even more unbearable for ordinary people.’

The party was composed entirely of awakened individuals.

Moreover, the combination was good, and I even gave firearms to Moon Byeong-ho, Kim Geon, and Kim Da-jeong, who lacked adequate means of attack.

Yet, just moving 1km was a struggle, to say the least.

‘–The chance of my family being alive is close to zero.’

I had no choice but to admit it.

Perhaps that was why my fear gradually grew as I approached my parent’s house.

‘But you never know. They might have survived by sheer luck.’

I simply couldn’t let go of hope.

When Ha Dong-geon’s party was passing near the fish market.

I could now say that we were almost there.

Despite the devastation, the familiar sight of the neighborhood evoked longing.

‘Once we enter that alley, we’re home.’

But then, I noticed something strange.

An odd tree was occupying the center of the road.

I immediately ordered the Ha Dong-geon party.

[Stop.]

A giant tree on the main road.

‘What is that?’

Was there something like that here?

It seemed unlikely.

I was born and raised in this city.

I knew perfectly well what was where.

‘There’s no way the city would leave a tree blocking the road like that!’

So, it meant that the tree appeared after the world ended.

And its meaning was clear.

‘It’s a monster.’

I stared at it with the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.

「Tree Giant (Lv. 32)」

‘As expected.’

Because the area had been full of marine-type monsters until now, I almost mistook it for a normal tree.

Given its high level of 30, passing by without knowing anything could have resulted in serious damage.

I commanded the Ha Dong-geon party.

[That tree is a monster. Attack it.]

As soon as the attack order was given, Oh Eon-ju transformed into her werebear form, and Kim Ga-yeong shot arrows at the tree.

Whoosh!

The arrow, imbued with piercing skill, penetrated the tree perfectly, but there was no message indicating the defeat of the Tree Giant.

Instead.

Rumble—

The tree slowly began to rise.

Rumbleee—

[Attack!]

There was no reason to wait for the monster to finish preparing.

Ha Dong-geon’s spear immediately flew towards the tree trunk.

However, the tree’s tendrils that emerged from its body blocked Ha Dong-geon’s spear.

Crunch!

Although the tendrils were shattered, they managed to block Ha Dong-geon’s spear throw without any damage.

The tree started walking towards Ha Dong-geon’s party.

Thud—

Its heavy body caused the ground to tremble with each step.

Swoosh.

Moon Byeong-ho teleported behind the monster, firing his gun at the tree monster’s back.

Bang! Bang!

The shots hit the monster’s body, but didn’t seem to do much damage.

Moon Byeong-ho’s gunshots only managed to crack the tough bark before bouncing off.

Thunk!

Kim Ga-yeong’s arrows fared slightly better.

With piercing imbued, they succeeded in creating holes through the tree, but that was about it.

Thud—

The tree monster didn’t seem to care whether there were holes in its body or not.

Thud!

As it approached, Oh Eon-ju, blessed by Kim Da-jeong, took the lead as usual.

Crunch!

Roots whipped towards her like whips, but Oh Eon-ju avoided them with graceful movements, and finally could attack the tree monster’s trunk.

Kacha!

The tree monster’s torso burst open, dealing the most significant blow so far.

However.

Crunch—

Roots under Oh Eon-ju’s feet grew rapidly, firmly gripping her ankles.

“Argh!”

Rumblee—

They quickly grew thicker, completely restraining her lower body.

As additional roots extended towards Oh Eon-ju’s heart.

Swoosh!

Moon Byeong-ho, risking his life, appeared in front of her, touched her shoulder, and teleported her away just in time.

Swoosh.

‘Hm?’

At that moment, I noticed a strange reaction from the tree monster.

‘Why did its attack stop?’

The moment Moon Byeong-ho appeared in front of Oh Eon-ju.

It was a split second, but I could see the tree monster’s attack halting.

‘Could it be?’

I ordered Ha Dong-geon’s party to prepare for the second round with the tree monster.

[Let only Oh Eon-ju fall back and the rest attack.]

“What? Just Oh Eon-ju?”

[Yes.]

Oh Eon-ju was the vanguard of Ha Dong-geon’s party.

Removing her would naturally lead to a significant drop in power.

The tree monster, impervious to attacks, was the most troublesome monster they had encountered so far. Everyone was puzzled by the decision to remove their strongest fighter.

“Understood.”

Oh Eon-ju silently stepped back, and although the others were bewildered, they accepted the command for the time being.

“According to Mr. Jae-hyun’s command, Oh Eon-ju will step back to protect Ga-yeong and Da-jeong. Deok-su, you come forward.”

“Okay–! But can I do it?”

“You’re tough enough.”

“Okay, got it!”

Ha Dong-geon spoke to Oh Eon-ju.

“Please take care of the back.”

“Got it.”

As soon as Oh Eon-ju de-transformed and stepped back, a curious thing happened.

Thud—

“Huh?”

Thud—

When Oh Eon-ju returned to her human form, the tree monster turned around without hesitation and began to return to its original position.

“–What?”

The tree monster returned to its original spot, then, as if nothing had happened, sat down and transformed back into a tree.

“Mr. Jae-hyun, what just happened? Did you know about this?”

I was taken aback by how things were unfolding, so I couldn’t answer immediately.

‘Is it because it doesn’t attack humans?’

Come to think of it, the tree monster had only started attacking after Oh Eon-ju had transformed.

Furthermore, its attacks had always been aimed solely at Oh Eon-ju.

It had only defended against and pushed away the attacks from the others without retaliating.

That was why I had moved Oh Eon-ju back.

Now that I think about it, it seemed that it was not Oh Eon-ju herself but her transformed form that had provoked the tree monster.

‘Then—‘

It was then.

Rumblee!

The tree monster began to move again, but this time, it moved in the opposite direction of Ha Dong-geon’s party.

Appearing there was a land shark, a shark-like creature that moved on land like a snake.

Swoosh!

The land shark writhed in agony, impaled by the roots of the tree giant.

Thud thud.

After subduing the land shark, the tree giant turned around without hesitation and returned to its original position.

One of the tree giant’s roots had pierced through the land shark, which was now squirming around.

‘What’s that?’

It wasn’t strange for monsters to fight each other.

Even goblins of the same kind would fight and kill each other, and it was not uncommon to see orcs and goblins fighting each other.

So, it wasn’t strange to see the tree giant subdue the land shark that had encroached on its territory.

‘What’s strange is that it doesn’t attack humans.’

Despite Ha Dong-geon’s party approaching very close, the tree monster remained motionless, as if it were an ordinary tree.

‘I could burn it down, but…’

While it showed near immunity to physical attacks, it was speculated that it would be vulnerable to intermediate-level fire magic.

However.

‘Let’s leave it for now.’

If it only attacks monsters and not humans, it was actually advantageous to leave it be.

There was a chance that it could protect Ha Dong-geon’s party in the area it was guarding.

[Ignore the tree monster as it doesn’t seem hostile and continue forward. You can enter the alley after passing by the apartment building.]

“Understood.”

Ha Dong-geon’s party began to move cautiously.

In order to enter the alley beyond the apartment, they had to pass right by the tree monster, so they proceeded slowly, alert of any unexpected events.

Fortunately, the tree monster remained still until Ha Dong-geon’s party had all passed by.

Just as they were about to enter the alley.

A part that had been obscured by the apartment building was revealed, and my heart sank.

‘Heuk!’

There stood a massive tree.

It emitted a faint light, whether from the moonlight or its own luminescence, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

The size alone was almost 20-30 meters tall and incredibly thick.

But of all places.

‘That’s…!’

The fact that the tree was standing exactly where my house should have been bothered me.

Seeing it, uncontrollable rage swept over me.

It felt like my blood was boiling.

Unknowingly, I clenched my teeth and tensed my entire body.

The reflection of my face in the living room window was distorted like that of a demon.

Until I saw it, I didn’t even realize I was making such an expression.

I didn’t even know I was capable of such an expression.

‘I’ll kill it.’

I thought boiling rage was just a figure of speech.

But feeling this emotion coursing through me, it was indeed an apt expression.

I felt like I had to explode that tree right now.

‘Fill it with gas and detonate it. Ha Dong-geon’s party can be summoned back with vassal summon.’

Just before I lost my mind and gave the order to Ha Dong-geon’s party.

[The presence of blood relatives of the Absolute Dweller has been detected nearby.]

A cold system alert interrupted my burning thoughts.

-?

And at that moment.

“Who are you people?!”

A stranger’s voice echoed in the darkness.