Absolute Dweller

Chapter 74: Eve of the Storm (1)

[Episode 16] Eve of the Storm (1)

Baek Sung-yeop¹Dammit, I should’ve just named him Baek Seung-yeop instead. was attacking the goblin dungeon along with the twin brothers, Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon.

“Kiaaak!”

As soon as the goblins spotted them, they panicked and started to retreat.

This was because all three of them had the Goblin Slayer title, which not only evoked instinctual fear in goblins but also added an extra 10% to their basic salary.

However, their lack of tension upon seeing the goblins was not solely due to the effect of the title.

Dududududu—

It was because they were also armed with rifles rented for dungeon raids.

“Kkiaaak!”

Hunting goblins in the dungeon was actually easier than hunting those outside the safe zone.

This was because the weapons the goblins had were no more than dull stone knives.

They were much less threatening than goblins wielding stolen kitchen knives or scissors from some household.

Dudududu~!

Baek Sung-yeop frowned at the gunshots echoing through the cave. Despite having earplugs, his ears were ringing from the incessant gunfire reverberating around him.

He was checking the goblins who had been shot and fallen.

[Quest completed.]

[Rewards will be given.]

[You have gained a small amount of experience.]

‘Have we taken down all fifty?’

Baek Sung-yeop, who had completed the quest that had become his daily routine, stretched.

At that moment, the last goblin corpse disappeared, and the dungeon exit appeared in the air.

Confirming this, Baek Sung-yeop asked his companions.

“How much is left?”

“About ten?~”

“Me too~”

The two only had to hunt forty.

Yet, Baek Sung-yeop was the first to complete the quest.

Smiling triumphantly at their answers, he said, “Then you guys go on your own to the next dungeon. I’m clocking out early.”

Then, Moon Ji-hoon asked him.

“Hey, could you come with us?”

“Haha. Uh-huh. What are you guys going to do without me? Build your independence, build your independence.”

Moon Ji-hoon asked him to stay because dungeon attacks required at least a group of three. It would be difficult if Baek Sung-yeop left like this.

Although Baek Sung-yeop’s attitude was nonchalant, Moon Ji-hoon persisted.

“Haha. Yeah, buddy. How could we come to a dangerous place like this without you?”

“Agreed~”

Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon were trying to accommodate Baek Sung-yeop’s preferences because of the quest penalty.

A long time ago, when a giant appeared in the city, they chose to avoid responsibility and flee. As a result, they were forced to constantly receive hunting quests.

The excruciating pain that came for a minute when they failed to clear the quest in time.

‘There was nothing more hellish than that.’

Although they had rarely experienced it since the dungeons appeared, it was a pain they had frequently endured in the past when the goblin population was dwindling.

If they received the penalty, every minute felt like an hour.

‘I never want to experience that pain again.’

Although the number of goblins they had to catch had increased compared to before, there was no need to worry too much.

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Inside the dungeon, a hundred goblins poured out at once, and it was easy to hunt them as long as they had guns.

They just had to endure the sound of gunfire that echoed throughout the cave, but the difficulty of goblin hunting was not much.

Baek Sung-yeop condescendingly said, “Alright, fine. You guys will be very anxious without me, so I’ll accompany you.”

Moon Ji-hoon answered back, barely holding back his expression.

“Thanks, Seung-yeop.”

The twins tolerating Baek Sung-yeop’s behavior was not just because of the minimum number of people needed to clear the dungeon.

Back in the days when there were no dungeons, or in other words, when they couldn’t rent guns, they had received quite a bit of help from Baek Sung-yeop. During that time when they had to fight goblins with makeshift spears, Baek Sung-yeop had helped them in many ways.

‘So we have to endure it!’

Thinking about the help he had given them, he could endure this much condescension.

“Let’s go outside for now.”

After exiting the dungeon, the three approached the staff member who was waiting in front. Originally, they were supposed to return their firearms, headlamps, and other equipment.

However…

“Can we start another raid right away?”

Dungeon raid schedules were usually set in one-hour intervals, and the typical time for a party to complete a dungeon raid was around 40 to 50 minutes.

Baek Sung-yeop’s team, who had been tirelessly hunting goblins, had completed the dungeon raid in less than 20 minutes.

Thanks to this, they were able to make such a proposal.

Since this was not an uncommon occurrence, the staff member accepted their request smoothly.

“Sure, you can.”

“Then please.”

After checking their equipment and refilling their spare magazines with ammunition, they immediately went back in.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them went back into the dungeon and completed the raid in about 20 minutes once more.

After returning their firearms and equipment to the staff, they confirmed the raid reservation for tomorrow and went their separate ways.

“See you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay~”

Before going home, Moon Ji-hoon asked Moon Sang-hoon.

“Should we buy something?”

“Hmm~ Meat~?”

“Meat sounds good. Let’s grill some for dinner tonight.”

They found the convenience store on the first floor and looked around for something other than alcohol and meat to buy.

As they were forced to hunt goblins every day, their financial situation was quite comfortable compared to others. They earned about 5,000 to 6,000 won per goblin, and they caught over 100 goblins a day.

This meant they were earning over 500,000 won a day.

Even after subtracting the cost of renting equipment for dungeon raids and the cost of ammunition, they still made a net profit of over 200,000 won per person.

Thanks to this, they didn’t need to worry about spending money.

They loaded cola, snacks, and other items along with alcohol and meat and got into the elevator.

When they arrived home, their mother welcomed them.

“My boys are here? What did you bring today?”

“We bought some meat.”

“Let’s grill meat~!”

After organizing the things they had bought, Moon Ji-hoon went straight to the bathroom in the bedroom and took a warm shower.

“Phew. Feels like I gained weight.”

After a quick shower, he heard the sound of water from the bathroom near the living room.

He roughly dried his hair with a towel and opened the door to see Moon Sang-hoon floating in the bathtub.

“Taking a bath again?”

“It feels good~”

“You did a great job today.”

“You too~.”

Moon Ji-hoon was the older brother, but the two of them didn’t care about such trivialities. They had been like friends since they were born.

Sitting on a computer chair, Moon Ji-hoon stared blankly out the window.

‘The sky looks beautiful.’

These days, Moon Ji-hoon sometimes thought.

Maybe it’s better now than before.

When monsters appeared in the world, things got tough for a while.

He remembered the extreme situation where electricity, food and water were cut off, and they couldn’t go outside.

But it all changed when a person named Kim Jae-hyun appeared.

The concept of a safe zone was born, and they could use it to hunt goblins.

After being recognized for their achievements and being able to use electricity, water, and gas, they were able to regain stability in their daily lives.

There were times when it was difficult due to the quest penalties, but now, with dungeons and the ability to use guns for goblin hunting, it was honestly much easier.

‘At least it’s better than back then.’

He felt that now was better than when he graduated from college, worked for a small business, and received a tiny salary.

‘I couldn’t find any hope back then.’

It was a time when he felt like he was just enduring each day rather than living it.

But now, each day was full of life.

‘I hope it continues like this…’

Suddenly, the face of the person who brought this peace came to mind.

‘If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to dream of this peace.’

Moon Ji-hoon liked the current sense of stability.

So, remembering him, he sincerely prayed.

‘May this peace continue.’

At that moment.

Wooong—

“…Huh?”

Light shone from Moon Ji-hoon’s body.

He could feel energy flowing throughout his body.

After the light subsided, Moon Ji-hoon muttered to himself in confusion.

“What was that?”

He didn’t know yet.

Contrary to what he desired, spectacular events awaited him in the future.

[Citizen Moon Ji-hoon’s loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Moon Ji-hoon will be registered as a vassal.]

[Vassal registration limit has increased.]

I was eating the pasta made with Seo Ye-jin when the system window appeared in front of me.

‘Who was Moon Ji-hoon?’

I tried to recall who this individual who had achieved 100 loyalty on his own was.

“Ah!”

He was one of the twins who stuck with that bully named Baek Sung-yeop.

He was also one of those I had arranged for the daily goblin hunting quests to be assigned through the system.

Because he had run away when the Cyclops appeared in the past.

‘But why did he suddenly reach 100 loyalty?’

While I was puzzled, Seo Ye-jin called me.

“Oppa, what’s wrong? Does it taste weird?”

“Huh?”

I explained to Seo Ye-jin, who was looking at me with anxious eyes.

“It’s not that, something came up just now. Wait a moment, Ye-jin²Hmmmm, they’ve changed the way they address each other..”

“Oh, take your time.”

Reaching 100 loyalty wasn’t something that could be easily achieved.

Up to a certain point, trust and loyalty could rise quickly just by contact with me, but the higher it was, the harder it became to increase loyalty.

In particular, reaching 100 loyalty was difficult to achieve unless there was some special event.

‘Vassal management, Moon Ji-hoon.’

I immediately checked his specs.

「Name: Moon Ji-hoon (Lv. 30) [+]

Titles: [Twentieth Vassal] [Goblin Slayer]

Trust: 89 Loyalty: 100

Awakening Ability: Cold Emission

Experience Distribution Rate: 0% (+200%)

★Quest Assignment」

Cold Emission (Grade A)

Expend mental power to emit cold air in all directions.

I could tell that it was a decent ability just by seeing that it was Grade A, but I would need to see how he used the ability to know exactly what it was.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.’

Moon Ji-hoon was sitting bare in a chair, probably just out of the shower.

There were no quests currently assigned, whether it was because the daily goblin hunting quest had already been completed or there were no quests assigned.

‘Nice!’

I immediately assigned a quest to use his ability.

As soon as the quest was assigned.

“W-What? What’s this…?”

I could see Moon Ji-hoon checking the quest details in panic. It seemed that he mistakenly thought the quest he had just received was a goblin hunting quest.

I used the Communication Ring to address him.

[Hello, Mr. Moon Ji-hoon.]

“Eek!”

Moon Ji-hoon was startled by my sudden voice and, as a result, his chair tipped over backwards.

Casually, I spoke to him again.

[Please check the quest details again.]

“Oh… A-Are you, by any chance, him?”

[Him?]

For a moment, I recalled the “him” that the higher vampire had mentioned.

As my voice sharply changed, Moon Ji-hoon stammered and continued his explanation.

“T-The one on the 30th floor…! I-I’m sorry! I can’t remember your name!”

I spoke to him as he bent over at the waist naked.

[Please check the quest details.]

“Y-Yes!”

Moon Ji-hoon checked the quest window and then tilted his head.

“Cold Emission…?”

At that moment.

Crackle, crackle…

Sharp chunks of ice rose around his body.

Soon, his room filled with chill, and the surroundings began to freeze.

“What?”

Seeing this, I made up my mind.

‘Indeed, it would be a waste to use such an ability on just goblin hunting!’