Survivors (5)
Seven men and women sat closely together around a large table in the living room.
"I'm so sorry! There aren't enough seats."
Park Hye-won looked at me anxiously, unsure of what to do.
"It's fine. It's our fault for barging in so suddenly."
A house that originally housed a family of four now had seven additional adults crammed inside—of course, space was tight.
"There's not much, but please enjoy."
Contrary to Park Hye-won's modest words, a feast was spread across the table.
Steaming, glossy white rice, neatly rolled egg omelets, fluffy steamed eggs, and perfectly fried eggs—an incredibly generous meal.
"What do you mean 'not much'?! This is a full feast, unni!"
Kim Ga-young exclaimed in excitement. Park Hye-won waved her hands, embarrassed, and redirected the credit to me.
"It's all thanks to Jaehyun for providing the ingredients. If it weren't for him, I could've only served plain rice and a few mandarins."
Realistically, after surviving for ten days, it was impossible for the house to still have any decent food supplies left.
The reason all the dishes were made with eggs was because that was all they had.
Since I was already raiding the empty refrigerator in Choi Hyung-joon's house, I took the liberty of filling it with milk and eggs. I also restocked the rice container, which had been nearly empty.
Through this, Park Hye-won's trust level had reached 50.
'She reached 50 before Choi Hyung-joon?'
Initially, she had the lowest trust level among Choi Hyung-joon's family. However, she was someone who found great happiness in small things.
"Thank you for the meal!"
As the meal officially began, everyone was too busy moving their spoons to talk.
"Mmm! The steamed eggs are amazing!"
"Wow, this omelet is the sweet kind, just like the ones from Japanese restaurants!"
At that moment, Choi Seo-yeon tugged at Park Hye-won's pant leg and mumbled.
"Mommy, Seo-yeon wants omelet too…"
"Seo-yeon, I'll make you some as soon as the guests finish eating, okay?"
"Hing…"
Kim Ga-young, seeing this, spoke to Choi Seo-yeon.
"Seo-yeon, do you want to share some omelet with unni?"
"Mm!"
Before Park Hye-won could stop her, Seo-yeon scurried over and squeezed into the seat beside Kim Ga-young, eagerly accepting the omelet she offered.
"Aang—mm!"
She looked just like a baby bird being fed.
At that moment, Ha Dong-geon turned toward Choi Hyung-joon's family, who were standing awkwardly in the kitchen.
"If you don't mind, why don't you join us?"
"Oh, we're fine. There aren't enough seats, and we already ate earlier…"
Despite his words, Choi Hyung-joon was openly drooling at the sight of the feast on the table.
What they had eaten earlier was probably nothing more than plain rice soaked in water. It was understandable.
I spoke up.
"Come sit with us. There's still plenty of food."
"Sh-should we?"
In the end, all eleven of us squeezed around the table to eat together.
I picked up a slice of the omelet and put it in my mouth.
"!"
Kim Ga-young's excitement wasn't an exaggeration.
Park Hye-won's cooking skills were far better than expected—the omelet really did taste just like the ones from Japanese restaurants.
'This is really good.'
Even the steamed eggs were seasoned perfectly.
Just mixing them with rice alone made for a perfect meal.
"Wow… I haven't had homemade food in so long."
Kang Deok-soo sighed in admiration.
'It really has been a while.'
Eating a meal without instant noodles made me think of my mother.
Especially because of the unnecessarily lavish spread—it reminded me even more.
'I hope they're safe.'
I missed my family.
After seeing Moon Byung-ho's situation through the Absolute's Eye, my heart wavered. It was because his worry for his grandmother was written all over his face.
I knew all too well what it was like to worry about family.
Moreover, I was moved by Ha Dong-geon's party, who all came together to help Moon Byung-ho.
That was why I had chosen to come here without hesitation and share this meal with them.
Because I could tell—they were good people.
"..."
Suddenly, a heavy silence fell over the table.
I looked up, wondering why, and saw that everyone was cautiously watching me.
It seemed like my expression had hardened, making them nervous.
I forced a smile to ease the tension.
"Ahem. Mm. This is really delicious."
I could feel how much everyone was intimidated by me.
'That's strange.'
People usually either saw me as easygoing because of my relatively youthful appearance or treated me casually.
But here, everyone seemed to find me intimidating.
Well—everyone except one.
"Mommy, Seo-yeon is sleepy."
Only the youngest, Choi Seo-yeon, seemed comfortable around me.
Even her slightly older sister, Choi Na-yeon, was carefully watching my reactions.
"Ah, okay, Seo-yeon. Na-yeon, do you want to sleep with Mommy too?"
"Mm."
With that, Park Hye-won took both children to bed.
Once she left, the real discussion began.
Ha Dong-geon spoke.
"Shall we continue our previous conversation? Your grandmother's house is so close, yet you haven't been able to visit. Why is that?"
He slowly opened his mouth.
"Because of the goblins."
"Goblins?"
"Yes."
That was strange.
The scene I had witnessed was Ha Dong-geon's party effortlessly crushing four goblins in an instant.
As I frowned in confusion, Ha Dong-geon provided further explanation.
"You know that underground parking lots in apartment complexes have large spaces, right?"
"Of course."
"Perhaps because they're good places to hide, like caves, all the goblins in the area have gathered there and taken up residence."
Just how large is an underground parking lot?
A space big enough to accommodate thousands of cars—how many goblins could it possibly hold?
"At least several thousand seem to be gathered there."
"······."
It was a far more serious situation than I had expected.
Thousands of goblins lurking underground.
The dozens I had seen earlier on the walking trail were nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.
"And as you know, all the entrances to the apartment complex are near the underground parking lot. With so many goblins wandering around, we haven't even been able to think about leaving."
I countered Ha Dong-geon's statement.
"But there's a side path, isn't there?"
"Yes, that's right. Our initial plan was to escape through the side path, but…"
Ha Dong-geon's voice trailed off, and his eyes wavered intensely.
"There was something even more dangerous than the goblins there."
"Something more dangerous?"
With a serious expression, Ha Dong-geon answered.
"…We suspect it was a werewolf."
"A werewolf?"
"We're not entirely sure. It was too dark, and it looked too dangerous. The moment we saw it, we ran away immediately."
If the side path was not an option, they were back to square one.
"So that means we have to break through head-on."
"Yes. That's why we've spent the past few days focusing on reducing the number of goblins."
Ha Dong-geon admitted with a grim expression.
"We've killed quite a lot of goblins, but it doesn't feel like their numbers are decreasing significantly. And now, we're reaching our limit."
"Your limit?"
At that moment, Kim Ga-young, who had been standing beside Ha Dong-geon, stepped forward to explain.
"Our main weapons are bows and baseballs. But arrows are consumables, and we're running out. We try to retrieve and reuse them, but… my husband is also running out of baseballs to throw."
"I can solve that problem. Can I see the arrows? And the baseballs too?"
Kim Ga-young brought over the bow, arrows, and baseballs they were using.
"Here you go."
I registered them in the shop and immediately performed an item restoration.
Restoring the arrows and baseballs didn't cost much.
The problem was the bow.
[Restoring the 'Well-Maintained Compound Bow' requires 1,530,000 won.]
[Would you like to proceed with the restoration?]
After a brief moment of deliberation, I made up my mind.
'Restore it.'
At the very least, bows and arrows would continue to be extremely useful.
Since I would be purchasing them frequently in the future, restoring them now would be a worthwhile investment.
"Are any of you proficient with a bow?"
Ha Dong-geon's party stared at me with puzzled expressions.
I gave them a meaningful smile and thought to myself.
'Purchase five sets of bows. Purchase five sets of arrows.'
Ziiing—
Pointing at the newly appeared sets of bows and arrows, I said,
"Even if you're not good at it now, take this opportunity to practice. You'll be using them a lot from now on."
The reason the others were using baseball bats wasn't that they were more effective.
It was simply because they had no bows to use.
But now, five more members of the group were armed with bows.
Even if they were inexperienced, having ranged weapons was a significant advantage.
The moment I handed them the bows and arrows—
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's trust has increased.]
······
······
Everyone present experienced an increase in trust.
"This will definitely make hunting goblins several times faster."
"If we have this many arrows, we won't even need to retrieve them. This might even make it possible to force our way through the apartment entrance!"
Ha Dong-geon's group was visibly excited.
The most encouraging response came from Moon Byung-ho.
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's trust level has significantly increased.]
It was understandable.
After all, the hope of saving his grandmother was becoming a reality before his eyes.
I turned to him and spoke.
"That would be premature. First, we need to significantly reduce the number of goblins."
"But…!"
"Even if we manage to get out, if the goblins remain, getting back in will be a problem. You're not planning on leaving for good, are you?"
"…"
Ha Dong-geon nodded in agreement.
"You're right. For safety's sake, we should reduce the number of goblins first. So, when will the operation take place?"
Upon hearing that, Moon Byung-ho's expression darkened again.
The more time passed, the lower the chances that his grandmother would still be alive.
I spoke up.
"The operation will take place tomorrow."
"…Tomorrow?"
"Yes. The sooner, the better."
"That may be true, but…"
"Tomorrow, we will rescue your grandmother, Mr. Moon Byung-ho."
Everyone looked uncertain upon hearing that.
They seemed skeptical about how much the number of goblins could be reduced in just one day.
After scanning the group, I firmly declared,
"We will conduct a hunting drive."
I then began explaining the outline of the operation.
After hearing the full plan, everyone's expressions hardened with determination.
"It might actually be possible…"
"As long as everything goes smoothly…"
"We don't have much time, so finish your meals and follow my instructions."
Just then—
[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun has completed a quest.]
[30,000 won has been deducted for the quest.]
I frowned at the notification.
'So, it costs money?'
I suppose if quests could be issued for free, it would lead to exploits.
'For example, setting up an extremely easy quest.'
If someone could gain experience points just by issuing a quest to do ten push-ups, they could slowly level up citizens without hunting monsters.
'Conversely, that means as long as I have enough money, I can level up citizens as much as I want.'
If I had enough capital, I could use this method to my advantage.
'But unless it's absolutely necessary, I shouldn't waste money on this.'
After all, my finances weren't exactly abundant at the moment.
Just then, a new message popped up, likely due to Choi Hyung-jun completing the quest.
[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun's trust level has increased.]
At the same time—
[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun's trust level has reached 50.]
[Loyalty has been unlocked.]
[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun's loyalty has surpassed 30.]
[Citizen Choi Hyung-jun has met the conditions for vassal registration.]
Finally, his trust level had reached 50.
Moreover, as soon as loyalty was unlocked, it shot past 30.
'Is that even possible? Citizen Info: Choi Hyung-jun.'
[Name: Choi Hyung-jun (Lv. 9)]
Trust Level: 51
Loyalty: 62
Awakening Ability: None
EXP Distribution: 0%
Monetary Distribution: 0%
★ Quest Assignment ☐ Expulsion
Checking his status, I saw that his loyalty was already 62—higher than Choi Seo-yeon, the first to unlock loyalty.
That meant he could immediately be registered as a vassal.
'Vassal Registration: Choi Hyung-jun.'
At that moment—
Wooooong!
A bright light seeped into Choi Hyung-jun's body.
"W-What was that just now?"
"It looked like something flashed…"
Ding!
[You have appointed your first vassal.]
[You have acquired the skill 'Summon Vassal' as a reward.]
{Summon Vassal}
Summons a vassal into the house.
However, once summoned, the vassal can only be summoned again after two hours.
The new skill was incredibly straightforward.
If used well, it could be highly effective.
Additionally, Choi Hyung-jun's citizen info had undergone significant changes.
[Name: Choi Hyung-jun (Lv. 20) [+]]
Title: [First Species]
Trust Level: 51
Loyalty: 62
Awakening Ability: Gorilla's Strength
★ Quest Assignment
His level had jumped by 11.
A new title, [First Species], had appeared.
Moreover, he had awakened the ability [Gorilla's Strength].
Gorilla's Strength (C) [Passive]
Grants the strength of a gorilla.
When I examined the title, its effects were revealed.
{First Species}
The experience points and monetary rewards from monsters hunted by a vassal are doubled.Creates a summonable zone for 'Household Sovereign's Eye' within a 5m radius outside the house.
Now, I could send Choi Hyung-jun on scouting missions and gather more detailed information about the outside world.
'What's this plus button next to his level?'
[Would you like to spend 1,000,000 won to level up Vassal Choi Hyung-jun?]
Seeing the absurd cost of one million won, I immediately dismissed the message without hesitation.
'That scared me.'
Just as I was calming down, I noticed Choi Hyung-jun staring at his hands.
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, Jaehyun-nim. Ever since that light hit me, I feel overflowing with power. Like I can do anything… Was this your doing?"
It was likely the effect of [Gorilla's Strength].
"Yes, it was."
I gave him a warm smile.
"Thank you, Jaehyun-nim. I feel like I've become ten years younger…"
Seeing how happy he was, I handed him a newly purchased bow and arrow set.
"Hyung-jun, please participate in the operation as well."
"…What?"
Normally, citizens received a 10% bonus in experience points.
However, since the vassal effect doubled that, he would now receive 220% of the experience.
That meant I would gain more rewards by having Choi Hyung-jun hunt monsters than doing it myself.
"You must hunt as many as possible."
As he made a distressed face, I reassured him once more.
"I'm counting on you."