Summoning the Divine Beast (3)
A small, round bundle of black fur lay on a tiny square pillow near the living room window.
As the sky, once darkened, regained its blue hue and the sun peeked over the mountains, morning began.
The spot the furball occupied was the best place to bask in the first rays of dawn.
Bathed in the warm sunlight, the black furball slowly opened its eyes.
Raising its head, it stretched lazily before fully embracing the sunlight with its entire body.
[The level of the Three-Legged Crow (三足烏) has increased.]
[The efficiency of the solar power generator has increased by 100%.]
"Already at level 5, huh?"
Sipping my morning coffee in the living room, I watched Kami and smiled.
With this, the efficiency of the solar power generator had increased fivefold.
Now, in just a year, it had become a facility that could more than pay for itself.
And all of this had happened in just a single day.
"Honestly, I'm not sure if investing a billion won was worth it, but it's not bad. I'll make back that ten billion in no time."
But that wasn't the only change.
[The Three-Legged Crow (三足烏) is partially unlocking the power of the sun.]
[You are inheriting a portion of the divine beast's power.]
[You have awakened Beginner Fire Magic.]
"Magic?"
As soon as I received the strange notification, I instinctively understood what Beginner Fire Magic was.
'This is…?'
It didn't take long for the unfamiliar knowledge to feel as if it had always been there.
Soon enough, I fully comprehended it and could control the power.
'So, this is how it works.'
I raised my index finger and visualized a flame forming at its tip.
At that moment—
Fwoosh!
A flame flickered to life as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
'This feels… familiar. Ah!'
I quickly realized that the sensation was similar to using the Dignified Sustenance skill, which allowed me to generate electricity and gas.
After extinguishing the flame, I opened my palm and visualized a fire the size of a baseball.
Whoosh!
A larger flame materialized with ease, its heat more intense than expected.
After verifying that, I immediately moved on to the next step.
'The Absolute Eye.'
Dawn had barely begun.
Even though things had stabilized in the city, very few people were out for a morning stroll at this hour.
I stared at the empty walking path and imagined a fire the size of a house.
Fwoosh!
However, the result was only a bonfire-sized flame.
'This is my limit for now.'
To be honest, it wasn't an overwhelmingly powerful ability.
But—
'What if I do this?'
I activated the Dignified Sustenance skill to release a burst of gas.
Whoooosh—!
The flames erupted, consuming the gas and spreading in all directions.
'These two abilities complement each other well.'
Beginner Fire Magic alone lacked destructive power, but when combined with the gas from Dignified Sustenance, it became a significant threat.
'At least I won't need to bother with lighting tissue paper to ignite gas bombs anymore.'
But that was about it.
It was merely a way to make gas bombs easier to use.
As I concluded my simple experiment, an inexplicable fatigue set in.
Though staying up all night played a part, this exhaustion felt different.
'So that's how it is. The resources these skills use are different.'
While the method of using them was similar, I instinctively understood that they were fundamentally different types of power.
No matter how often I used Dignified Sustenance, I never felt physically drained.
The only thing that diminished was the money in my wallet.
However, Beginner Fire Magic seemed to draw upon my mental energy instead.
'Still, this power has limitless potential for growth. Kami will keep evolving.'
Since the word "Beginner" was attached to the magic, it was clear that as Kami leveled up, I would gain access to intermediate and advanced fire magic.
'Time for breakfast.'
Having pulled an all-nighter, my hunger kicked in early.
For today's breakfast: soy sauce egg rice.
I placed two sunny-side-up eggs over rice, added the perfect amount of soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed everything together.
Scooping up a bite and topping it with kimchi, I brought it to my mouth.
It tasted just as I had expected.
'Grandma used to make this often.'
Since my mother worked long hours, my grandmother frequently prepared my meals.
And this was the dish I always begged her to make.
I suddenly found myself longing for my grandmother's cooking again.
'Just wait a little longer, Grandma. I'll come find you soon.'
In the afternoon, system notifications kept popping up.
[The construction of the solar power facility has been completed.]
[The construction of the solar power facility has been completed.]
······
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Since the morning, Kami's level had increased by three stages, causing the newly built solar power facilities to start operating at eight times their usual efficiency.
'At this rate, I might finally start seeing some money flowing into my wallet.'
Up until now, all the electricity generated by the solar power plants had been supplied to the citizens.
In fact, money had been flowing out of my wallet instead.
But with efficiency now increased eightfold, there would undoubtedly be surplus electricity even after supplying everyone's needs.
'I wonder how much I'll be earning.'
Around that time, Seo Ye-jin arrived at my house.
♬♪♬♩~
'She's here.'
Seo Ye-jin, a key member of this operation, had arrived.
This morning, she had taken a rare opportunity to sleep in, soaked in a warm bath, and enjoyed a homemade meal prepared by her mother.
I had personally instructed her to take enough rest.
It was my way of showing consideration.
After all, the survivor group she led had endured nearly a month in harsh conditions.
I had given her time to reunite with her family and relax.
"Hehe, thank you so much for yesterday."
"I only gave you the treatment you deserve for your abilities."
Thanks to Seo Ye-jin, the scope of our abilities had expanded significantly.
How could I not appreciate her?
"I'm counting on you again today!"
"The Ha Dong-gun party is currently waiting at Seomyeon Station. You can guide them directly."
Seo Ye-jin nodded and replied.
"I already sent some rats along the subway line. We should be able to reach Choryang Station without any issues."
"The way you phrased it makes it sound like there's a problem beyond that."
"…Yes. To be precise, at Busan Station."
She spoke with a serious expression.
"I think you should see it for yourself."
Seo Ye-jin sat cross-legged and immediately activated sensory sharing.
Through the rat's vision, Busan Station indeed appeared to have serious issues.
'…'
Shaaah—
Long before reaching Busan Station, the sound of water began to echo.
At some point, the entire path ahead was submerged in water.
To make matters worse, a section of the ceiling had collapsed onto the tracks, completely blocking the way with massive concrete debris.
'There's no way we can get through this.'
We would have to surface before entering Busan Station and find another way to pass.
At that moment, Seo Ye-jin ended the sensory sharing, opened her eyes, and spoke.
"As you saw, the tracks are in this condition, so I sent the rats aboveground. However…"
Instead of finishing her sentence, she closed her eyes and activated sensory sharing again.
I shared her vision through the Absolute One's Eyes.
And then—
'Whoa.'
The sight aboveground was nothing short of hell itself.
The war-torn appearance of Seomyeon suddenly seemed mild in comparison to this devastating scene.
'There's not a single intact building.'
Everything was in ruins.
If the God of Destruction had descended, it would probably look exactly like this.
No high-rise buildings remained intact, and the roads were overturned or shattered into jagged, bloodstained rubble.
The destruction was so extreme that it had practically reshaped the terrain, creating an utterly surreal scene.
Squeak—
As the rat scurried forward with its tiny body, I used the Absolute One's vision to take in the surroundings more broadly.
Thanks to it, I could see at a glance what kind of shape the place where the mouse was running frantically took.
'…Footprint?'
A massive footprint was deeply embedded in the ground.
It was an enormous footprint, approximately 10 meters in length.
I stood there, momentarily dazed by the sight, as if reality itself had been distorted.
'No way…'
The moment I recognized it as a footprint, the surrounding destruction came into focus again.
The shattered buildings, the demolished roads, and the massive footprints chaotically imprinted at the center of it all.
'…A giant?'
Even just from the remnants left behind, I could infer the scale of destruction.
The monster was no longer here, but the devastation it had wrought was undeniable.
The sheer difference in size would have made resistance impossible. The number of people who must have died, the overwhelming despair they must have felt—it all came through so vividly.
'This is insane.'
It was then.
RUMBLE—
A massive sound echoed through the air.
'Where is that coming from?'
At first, I thought it must have come from where the mouse was.
But it wasn't.
"J-Jaehyun!"
RUMBLE—
The house was shaking.
The loud noise wasn't coming from Busan Station, where the mouse was.
It was coming from near my house.
'An earthquake?!'
The tremors lasted for over ten seconds before stopping.
'…I have a bad feeling about this.'
Why do ominous premonitions never seem to be wrong?
At that moment—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A frantic knocking sounded at the front door, followed by Choi Hyungjun's urgent voice.
"Jaehyun! Jaehyun! You need to see this!"
Seo Yejin and I exchanged bewildered looks.
"Let's go outside."
"Okay."
As soon as I opened the door, I was met with Choi Hyungjun's grave expression.
"What's going on?"
"P-Please, come to my house…!"
Following him, we rushed into Choi Hyungjun's living room—
And were met with a shocking sight.
BOOM!
From the window, which overlooked the streets of Seomyeon—
A colossal monster with an unrealistically massive body was toppling an entire apartment complex.
RUMBLE—!
As it shoved its enormous body against a building, the apartment tilted before collapsing like dominoes, crashing into the adjacent structures.
BOOM!
The impact generated a thunderous noise and triggered tremors akin to an earthquake.
Once it had thoroughly crushed the apartment complex, the monster shifted its gaze.
Its next target appeared to be a high-rise in Seomyeon.
'…Forced summoning.'
I immediately summoned Ha Donggeon's party, who had been waiting at Seomyeon Station.
There was no telling when the underground structure would collapse under the monster's steps.
The group, suddenly transported, looked around in confusion.
"Huh? Why are we here?"
"What's going on?"
"Maybe it's because of the earthquake?"
But the moment they looked through the living room window, they all froze.
THUD!
The giant was charging straight toward us.
THUD—BOOM!
Increasing its speed, it rammed directly into Lotte Department Store in Seomyeon.
CRAAASH!
The entire building crumbled helplessly into massive concrete debris.
Even the thick, rising dust clouds couldn't fully obscure the devastation.
"…."
THUD!
The giant emerged from the dust, completely unscathed.
And as it did, its gaze landed directly on our apartment complex.
'This is insane.'
THUD!
The cyclopean monster, with its single glaring eye, began marching toward us.
「Cyclops (Lv. 51)」
Could my abilities withstand that creature's attack?
Even if I survived, the buildings outside my domain would surely be destroyed.
'I have to stop it.'
But how?
Then—
"Jaehyun. Give me a chance."
Next to me, Oh Wonju was staring at the giant with fiery determination.
I turned to her.
"…Can you do it?"
"I'll make it possible."
She was the only one whose spirit burned even in the face of that overwhelming force.
"…Alright."
I granted Oh Wonju a quest.
"Quest Assigned"
Quest Objective: Hunt the Cyclops (0/1)
Time Limit: 24 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: One-day revival of your son.
Failure Penalty: Extreme pain for 24 hours.
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