Expansion of Power (3)
'There's another one?'
It was definitely a Red Tiger.
However, this one was slightly larger than the one I had seen through the Absolute One's eyes.
It might even have a higher level than the one we had just taken down.
'That's money.'
A jackpot was rolling right into my hands.
And not just any jackpot—at least a 40-million-won one.
But this wasn't a situation where I could afford to just be happy.
'This looks dangerous.'
Sure enough, at the very back of the group, Yoo Hye-rin tripped over her own feet and fell.
"Kyaaah!"
"Hye-rin!"
At the same time, the Red Tiger's aura grew even sharper.
"Get up, quickly!"
Whoosh!
Kim Ga-young's arrow, imbued with piercing energy, flew toward the beast, but the Red Tiger effortlessly dodged by shifting its running direction.
Using a broken tree as a foothold, it leaped—straight toward the spot where Yoo Hye-rin had fallen.
"Grrraaah—!"
Its razor-sharp claws were just about to tear into Yoo Hye-rin's back.
Swish—
Yoo Hye-rin disappeared.
Screeeech—!
The Red Tiger's claws scraped against the pavement, leaving a long, deep scratch.
The sight of the deeply gouged pavement was utterly chilling.
"Grr?"
The beast looked bewildered, scanning the ground where Yoo Hye-rin had vanished.
"Huff, huff…"
Yoo Hye-rin, the one it was searching for, had been teleported right next to me.
She gasped for air, her face pale with fear.
'That was close.'
Had I been even 0.1 seconds late, the Red Tiger's claws would have carved into her back.
Fortunately, I had used my summoned servant ability just in time when she fell. If I had hesitated, she would have been dead.
'But thanks to that, we bought some time.'
The Red Tiger didn't seem pleased about having its prey snatched away at the last moment. The way it circled the spot where Yoo Hye-rin had disappeared made that clear.
Meanwhile, Ha Dong-geon and his group widened the distance between them and the beast as much as possible.
But the moment the Red Tiger moved, that gap quickly began to close.
Swish!
At that moment, Moon Byung-ho appeared beside me, carrying an elderly woman on his back.
He had used teleportation.
'That must've been at least a few dozen meters… He's gotten a lot better.'
It was probably thanks to the Power of Trust skill.
Since it boosted all stats, his mental power must have increased as well.
At that moment—
A being that meets the conditions for acceptance as a citizen has been discovered.
Would you like to grant citizenship?
"Grant it."
Moon Byung-ho carefully set down the unconscious grandmother before speaking to me.
"Please take care of her."
He looked ready to charge at Jeokho at any moment, so I stepped in front of him.
"Wait."
"Huh? But…"
"Can you trust me?"
Moon Byung-ho looked unconvinced, but after a brief hesitation, he nodded.
"…Alright."
With his confirmation, I turned my gaze back to Jeokho, who was chasing after Ha Dong-geon's party.
'About 10 meters, huh.'
That was within the range of the invisible hand.
I had already confirmed its power earlier.
It had enough force to dent a solid metal door in a single strike and rip out a locking mechanism entirely.
'This should be enough.'
I waited quietly for the right moment.
The first to enter the range of my invisible hand was Kang Deok-soo, carrying Oh Won-joo on his back.
Next came Kim Ga-young, then Kim Gun, and finally, Ha Dong-geon crossed the boundary.
Just as they were about to reach the safe zone triggered by the house's domain, Ha Dong-geon turned and fired an arrow at Jeokho.
Swish!
Jeokho had already closed the distance.
"Krrahh!"
Ha Dong-geon had been keeping an eye on Jeokho's movements and launched his attack at the right moment.
If he could stall even a little, the rest of his party could safely reach the safe zone.
But reality was never that easy.
Instead of slowing down, Jeokho charged forward even more ferociously.
Ha Dong-geon's arrow merely grazed Jeokho's body.
It didn't even leave a scratch.
"Dong-geon!"
Kim Ga-young shouted as she realized the situation too late.
But Jeokho was already upon Ha Dong-geon.
It was too late.
"Run, all of you!"
Ha Dong-geon shouted to his comrades and then sprinted in the opposite direction of the apartment entrance.
In that brief instant, he realized escape was impossible, so he moved to put as much distance between Jeokho and his allies as possible.
He had made the bold decision to sacrifice himself.
'This guy's impressive.'
A leader's sense of responsibility.
Sharp judgment.
Decisive action.
The courage to stand firm in the face of fear.
It was rare to find someone with all of these qualities.
'Grab him.'
Just before Jeokho's fangs could sink into Ha Dong-geon—
"Guhk!"
An invisible hand seized Jeokho by the throat.
And then, it lifted his massive body into the air.
"Graaaah—!"
Jeokho thrashed wildly, kicking at the empty space, but the invisible hand held firm.
It didn't take long for his furious struggle to turn into a desperate flailing for survival.
"..."
"..."
Everyone, including Ha Dong-geon, stood frozen in place, watching as Jeokho writhed in agony.
I leisurely opened my mouth.
"Kim Ga-young."
"Y-Yes?"
"Finish it."
"Oh."
I could have easily killed it with the invisible force of my hand alone, but that would have been a huge waste.
For one, I wouldn't receive the citizen bonus, nor the retainer perks.
If Kim Ga-young landed the final blow, the loot would be quadrupled, so there was no reason for me to do it myself.
Understanding my intent, Kim Ga-young aimed her arrow at Jeokho's head as it flailed in the air.
Wooong—
A faint light enveloped her arrow.
Swaaa—! Pshuk!
It pierced straight through Jeokho's crown in an instant.
[You have hunted Jeokho (Lv. 28).]
[You have gained a large amount of experience.]
[63,211,776 won has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]
As Jeokho's increasingly loud cries faded, a sudden silence took over.
And then—
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's loyalty has increased.]
…
…
A flurry of notifications announced the rising trust and loyalty of Ha Dong-geon's party.
And then—
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon's loyalty has surpassed 30.]
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon has met the requirements for retainer registration.]
At last, Ha Dong-geon had opened his heart to me.
'Register retainer: Ha Dong-geon.'
Ding!
***
Wooong—
A green glow emanated from Kim Da-jung's hands, flowing into the bloodied side of Oh Won-joo.
What had seemed like a severe wound quickly stopped bleeding, as new flesh rapidly formed.
As the wound healed, the once weary expression on Oh Eon-ju's face began to regain vitality.
'It was a huge relief that we found Kim Dajeong just in time.'
Oh Eon-ju's injuries were far more severe than expected.
Since she had reverted to her human form, the regenerative abilities of her beast form didn't apply, and she had already completed all her daily quests, making it impossible to recover through quest rewards.
It had been a critical situation where she might have been lost forever.
I asked Ha Dong-geon,
"What happened? What was that red tiger?"
"It seems that Byeong-ho's grandmother's house was within their territory. We encountered one while rescuing her and managed to hunt it down. But it looks like there was another one. That one must have been the one that chased us."
Hearing his explanation, a few things started making sense.
'I knew something was off.'
That alleyway had been too clean.
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find any traces of goblins.
In reality, if goblins had been there, Moon Byeong-ho's grandmother wouldn't have survived unscathed.
'So it was the territory of two red tigers.'
Because the area was guarded by those creatures, goblins didn't dare to invade, allowing Moon Byeong-ho's grandmother to survive for so long.
You could say she had been lucky.
Thanks to them, she had been kept safe from the goblin threat.
[Citizen Kim Dajeong has completed the quest.]
[Quest fee: 73,312 won deducted.]
"Phew. It's done!"
"Good work, Dajeong."
"Oh, it's nothing. So, can I go home now?"
This place was not Kim Dajeong's home.
"Please wait a moment."
Of course, this was Choi Hyeong-jun's house.
"Auntie! Peel me a tangerine!"
"Ha… Ha… Seoyeon, you should say 'Unnie~.' Try it. Gayoung unnie~ please peel me a tangerine~."
"Gayoung unnie~! Please peel me a tangerine!"
Ha Dong-geon's party, Kim Dajeong, and even Kim Dabin and Kim Minho, who had taken a shower here, were all gathered in Choi Hyeong-jun's house.
Choi Hyeong-jun, who had been fidgeting beside me, cautiously spoke up.
"Uh— Jaehyun-nim. We're not going to keep using my house as a gathering spot forever… right? Haha."
His eyes held a feeling of resignation.
The sorrow of a man who had lost his family's cozy home was evident in his gaze.
"There's no need to worry. I was about to talk about that."
It wasn't feasible to keep treating Choi Hyeong-jun's house like a shared lodging.
Fortunately, a suitable solution had come up.
"Apartment 2901 is currently vacant. I will provide electricity and other essentials, so Ha Dong-geon's party and the others can live there."
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"Really?!"
The happiest person was not Ha Dong-geon's party but Choi Hyeong-jun himself.
"Why would I lie about this?"
Of course, if the owner of the apartment showed up later, I intended to return it.
But given that the world was now overrun with monsters and the owner had yet to return, it was likely they never would.
"Kim Dabin."
"Y-Yes?"
Kim Dabin, who had been huddled in a corner, shrank back slightly as all eyes turned to her.
I continued speaking.
"Apartments 2101 and 2102 on the 21st floor are also vacant. I will supply electricity to them as well, so please inform the other survivors that they should handle showers, restroom use, and other necessities there."
The message was clear: stop coming to Choi Hyeong-jun's house.
Kim Dabin seemed to understand and nodded hesitantly.
"Understood."
Now that I had used the stick, it was time for the carrot.
"If you'd like, you two can use one of the apartments for yourselves, and the other one can be shared with others."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. However, there are a few things I'd like you to do in return."
Kim Dabin, who had quickly taken the bait, responded eagerly.
"Just tell me! I'll do my best!"
I looked at her and said,
"I want you to act as a messenger between me and the survivors."
"A messenger…?"
"Yes."
The nearly one hundred survivors were valuable in themselves.
Even though they didn't directly earn experience or money like Ha Dong-geon's party, every additional person provided a steady bonus.
But that didn't mean I planned to let them remain idle.
"Tell them that the team who hunts 100 goblins the fastest will receive a vacant apartment. They will be provided with electricity, water, gas, and unlimited food."
If I wanted, I could supply electricity and water to every apartment from the 21st to the 30th floor.
Thanks to the two red tigers, I had nearly a billion won in spare funds, so money wasn't an issue.
However, I planned to distribute these resources selectively, rewarding people based on merit.
"Additionally, if a unit accepts ten survivors, they will receive the same benefits. However, depending on the floor, there may be delays in implementation, so be sure to inform them."
Only those who proved their worth would be rewarded accordingly.
After finishing my explanation, I assigned the same quest to all survivors except for Ha Dong-geon's party and Choi Hyeong-jun's family.
"Quest Assigned"
Quest: Hunt goblins (0/10)
Time Limit: 168 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Small amount of experience
Failure Penalty: Ban from shared facilities
[Would you like to assign the quest?]
[Yes / No]
'Yes.'