Absolute Dweller

[Episode 16] Eve of the Storm (3)

Moon Ji-hoon was still in shock.

‘The rumors were real.’

Stories about people with mysterious abilities were quite popular among the citizens.

Rumors that those chosen by him would gain superpowers had spread widely.

The existence of superpowers spread so widely largely due to the influence of the ‘medical team’. Many people had experienced the use of their abilities directly to treat patients.

Moon Ji-hoon was one of the people who had directly experienced this miracle.

‘I never thought I would be chosen like Ms. Da-jeong!’

Before the dungeon became operational, Moon Ji-hoon fought battles with goblins outside the safe zone every day, risking his life.

Goblins were weak, but it wasn’t easy to hunt them down with crude weapons as they swarmed in groups. Even if they utilized the safe zone, there were still dangerous moments, and he had been stabbed by a goblin’s knife before.

‘I really thought I was going to die then.’

After being transported to the nearby medical team and waiting for treatment in the emergency room, he was lucky enough to meet Kim Da-jeong, who happened to be there.

She emitted a green light and instantly healed his wounds.

Even when she pulled out the knife stuck in his back, he didn’t feel any pain. The wound just disappeared with a tingling sensation.

Experiencing that miracle firsthand, Moon Ji-hoon was able to truly appreciate the existence of the being that had suddenly turned this huge space into a safe zone.

He realized how powerful the man he had met face to face just once was.

Not only had he created a huge safe zone, but if he could really create such superhumans as rumored, what kind of being was he?

Moon Ji-hoon sincerely regretted fleeing to the underground parking lot with Baek Sung-yeop back when the giant appeared.

Because fleeing at a crucial moment meant he would no longer be chosen.

‘But he gave me a chance too.’

Moon Ji-hoon looked down at his palm and exerted his power.

Crackle.

As a chill spread around his palm, ice crystals began to form.

‘With this power, I can clear the goblin dungeon alone.’

He was confident that he could crush the goblins even without a gun.

At the same time, he was grateful.

‘He knew that I had changed my mind!’

Honestly, he was glad.

It meant that he recognized his repentance and desire for atonement.

‘This is a chance.’

He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

He would prove his worth to him no matter what.

‘I’m going to leave a deep impression on him. Moon Ji-hoon, you can do it!’

Sunlight began to seep through his room window.

The day was brightening.

‘He said early in the morning, so I should start getting ready now.’

Moon Ji-hoon had stayed up all night.

Yet strangely, he wasn’t tired at all. Adrenaline was surging in his head.

First, he opened the door to his brother’s room and called his name.

“Sang-hoon.”

“Um?”

“Wake up. We have to get ready now.”

In only his underwear, Moon Sang-hoon looked at Moon Ji-hoon with a dazed expression and asked in a groggy voice, “What time is it?”

“You need to get up, shower, and get ready to go. Hurry up.”

Despite Moon Ji-hoon’s urging, Moon Sang-hoon checked his smartphone.

Although other functions had stopped working, it still performed amazingly as a clock.

“…Oh, what? It’s only seven o’clock. I want to sleep more.”

Anticipating this reaction, Moon Ji-hoon pulled back the blanket and placed his hand emitting chill on Moon Sang-hoon’s back.

“Ack!”

“Still not getting up? Even like this?”

“S-Stop it! Okay, okay, I’ll get up! I’ll get up, okay?”

After forcibly waking him up and sending him to the shower, Moon Ji-hoon went straight to Baek Sung-yeop’s house.

When he pressed the doorbell, his brother Baek Sung-min, not Baek Sung-yeop, came out.

“…Ji-hoon hyung?”

“It’s been a while, Sung-min ah.”

Moon Ji-hoon looked at him with a warm smile.

Unlike him, Baek Sung-min had courageously seized the opportunity when the giant appeared.

In recognition of that, he was given the special privilege to own a gun and later even became the leader of the rescue team.

It seemed like he was preparing to leave for work.

‘But I was chosen by him before you.’

As far as he knew, Baek Sung-min did not possess any special abilities.

That fact alone made him feel like a winner.

“Where’s your brother?”

“He’s still sleeping.”

“Can you wake him up? He called us early in the morning.”

“He?”

Moon Ji-hoon pointed upward with his index finger and spoke in a subtle voice, “The one on the top floor.”

“Ah, Mr. Jae-hyun?”

“His name is Mr. Jae-hyun?”

“Yes. Mr. Kim Jae-hyun.”

“I see.”

Moon Ji-hoon repeated the name in his mind, vowing to never forget it again.

Then, Baek Sung-min said with a smile.

“Wow, this guy’s still sleeping even though it was Mr. Jae-hyun’s call? Hasn’t he woken up yet?”

“Could you tell him to get ready and come as soon as possible?”

“Got it.”

“Thanks.”

Baek Sung-min’s handling of the situation was very decisive.

Thanks to him, the three of them were able to gather in front of Baek Sung-yeop’s house less than 30 minutes later.

Baek Sung-yeop complained with a loud yawn, “Haaa. What kind of person tells people to come so early in the morning? Who does he think—”

At that moment.

“Hey.”

Moon Ji-hoon cut off Baek Sung-yeop and advised him sternly, “Watch your mouth.”

Normally, he would have let it pass, but for some reason, those words were particularly grating today.

‘How could you take such an opportunity for granted…!’

He recalled the moment of awakening.

When he gained the ability to use this power, he had felt Kim Jae-hyun’s gaze.

The conversation that followed also showed that he could clearly see his situation.

There was no way he could tolerate such remarks in a situation where Kim Jae-hyun might be watching.

“…What?”

Baek Sung-yeop was shocked by his strong reaction, “What did you just say?”

“Watch your mouth.”

“You punk…!”

As Baek Sung-yeop clenched his fists, Moon Sang-hoon stepped forward to defuse the tension.

“Hey~. Both of you are sensitive since you just woke up~. Let’s stop and go up~!”

Baek Sung-yeop calmed down at Moon Sang-hoon’s carefree remark, growling at Moon Ji-hoon: “Watch yourself.”

***

While they went up in the elevator, tension remained high between the two.

Ding—

[30th floor.]

[The door opens.]

Just as they were going to press the bell of Room 3002, the front door opened as if waiting for it.

Moon Ji-hoon bowed to Kim Jae-hyun.

“H-Hello!”

Baek Sung-yeop looked at Moon Ji-hoon’s behavior disapprovingly.

Just by looking at their eyes, I could roughly guess what the party’s atmosphere was like.

‘It seems like they’re not that close.’

I thought they got along because they had been coordinating for quite some time, but it seemed that I had misunderstood.

‘Then there was no need to gather all three!’

I wanted to hear Moon Ji-hoon’s honest feelings, so I said to Moon Ji-hoon, who was still bowing.

“Only Mr. Ji-hoon, please come in.”

“Yes.”

Since Moon Sang-hoon and Baek Sung-yeop were not registered as vassals anyways, they could only go as far as the entrance where shoes were placed.

“Please wait outside for a moment.”

“Okay~”

“…Yes.”

I took Moon Ji-hoon to the living room and asked straightforwardly, “Do you plan to continue partying with them?”

I had called Moon Ji-hoon here today because I judged that his ability was too valuable to be wasted on goblin hunting.

I had planned to enhance his specs by signing a subordinate contract to grant him the [Knight] title and, if he wished, make similar contracts with the other two to bolster their strength.

However, if the atmosphere of the party wasn’t harmonious, there was no need to go through the trouble.

Moon Ji-hoon answered cautiously, “I will follow as Mr. Jae-hyun wishes.”

I shook my head slightly and said, “I want to hear Mr. Ji-hoon’s honest thoughts.”

“I…”

After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth and continued.

“I don’t really want to be with Baek Sung-yeop. But I want to take my brother.”

“I see.”

Looking at Moon Ji-hoon, I said, “There’s something I’d like to propose to you.”

I briefly explained the subordinate contract and gave him a choice.

Moon Ji-hoon’s response was concise.

“I’m honored!”

He immediately accepted the subordinate contract, was promoted to a [Knight], and gained an additional ability called ‘Cold Blast’. His level remained at 30, but it was a noticeably powerful ability.

‘Not bad.’

I intended to add Moon Ji-hoon to Lee Joon-hyuk’s team.

‘Lee Joon-hyuk, who manipulates water, and Moon Ji-hoon, who controls cold, will surely have a strong synergy.’

I thought I might be able to form another ace party like the Ha Dong-geon party.

After completing the subordinate contract, I went out to the corridor where Moon Sang-hoon and Baek Sung-yeop were waiting. I said to them.

“Congratulations. I will free you from the quests from now on.”

Baek Sung-yeop’s face brightened.

“R-Really?”

“Yes. It’s thanks to Mr. Moon Ji-hoon, so be grateful.”

Seeing Baek Sung-yeop’s expression stiffening, I thought, ‘People are really easy to read.’

While their personalities weren’t to my liking, they were better than those who wore masks and pretended to be someone they weren’t.

They were much easier to deal with than those types of people.

“I’m sure you all know that you ran away when the Cyclops appeared. The quest was a punishment for that.”

In the suddenly somber atmosphere, I continued.

“When that happens in the future, it will not end in a light punishment like now, so please keep that in mind.”

I said to Baek Sung-yeop, whose expression was gloomy, “Mr. Baek Sung-yeop, please go down now.”

“Huh? Just me?”

“Yes. I still have things to discuss with the others.”

“I see.”

After sending Baek Sung-yeop away, I explained the subordinate contract to Moon Sang-hoon as well.

“That’s great~”

Moon Sang-hoon accepted the offer happily.

‘I wonder how this will turn out.’

This was rather like an experiment.

‘If awakening abilities are really determined by genes,’

The results would show now.

“Kneel before me and swear your loyalty.”

“Yes~”

Wooong.

After completing the contract and checking, Moon Sang-hoon’s awakening ability also included ‘Cold Blast’, just like Moon Ji-hoon.

‘So that’s it.’

When I checked his loyalty, I found that Moon Sang-hoon’s loyalty surpassed the conditions for vassal registration.

‘Vassal registration, Moon Sang-hoon.’

Along with a bright light, a vassal with the same ability as Moon Ji-hoon was born.

That’s when it happened.

[A being satisfying the conditions to be recognized as a citizen has been found.]

[Would you like to offer citizenship?]

Just as I was checking the information of the new citizens.

‘Awakener?’

A new Awakener had come.

‘Grant citizenship first!’

The moment they accepted citizenship.

[The number of citizens has reached 50,000.]

[As the number of citizens have reached a certain level, the ‘Exchange’ will be opened.]

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