Jagalchi Market (4)
The grandfather seen through others' eyes was slightly different from the one I knew.
Should I say he looked sterner and more intimidating?
I realized that the warm and affectionate side he showed me was reserved only for family.
'And somehow, he seems much more energetic.'
It felt like he had become 20 years younger.
It probably wasn't just my imagination.
I could tell just by the way he walked.
He used to struggle with walking because of his age and a neurological issue that weakened his legs.
But now, that frail image was nowhere to be seen. He was leaping off tree roots and striding forward with ease. Even his face looked as young as the grandfather I remembered from childhood.
'It must be because of his awakening.'
He was a remarkable Level 55 ability user.
It was only natural that his physical abilities had drastically improved.
On top of that—
[Guardian of the World Tree (Passive) (Mythic)]
Chosen by the World Tree,
{Vitality of the World Tree}
{Blessing of the World Tree}
{Protection of the World Tree}
Instead of a standard lettered ranking, my grandfather's awakened ability was classified as "Mythic."
And its power was on an entirely different level.
'This is incredible.'
His skill had multiple sub-skills embedded within it, similar to my "Absolute Sovereign of the Household" ability.
'Are abilities hereditary?'
If so, that was a promising thought.
It meant that other family members might have awakened with similar, extraordinary abilities.
With that in mind, I decided to test something. I used my Ring of Communication on my grandfather.
[Grandfather! Can you hear me?]
However, since the ring was designed for communicating with my retainers, my voice never reached him.
Left with no choice, I redirected my message to Kim Jaehyun's group, asking them to pass it along.
[Everyone, this is my grandfather. Could you please greet him on my behalf?]
Just then, a man who was friendly with Ha Donggeon's party was introducing my grandfather to them.
"This young man who just arrived is truly amazing. He can create things out of thin air! Everything here was made by them."
"Really?"
Grandfather glanced at the supplies filling the storage area before approaching Ha Donggeon's party.
Ha Donggeon stepped forward and bowed his head.
"It's an honor to meet you, Chief."
"Chief? Why am I the chief?"
"Well…"
Ha Donggeon hesitated, caught off guard by my grandfather's blank expression.
Then, grandfather extended his hand first.
"We've been struggling with water, so I appreciate you coming here."
"Oh, but those supplies weren't from us."
"What did you say?"
Grandfather turned back to look at the stocked storage and asked,
"Then where did all this come from?"
"These are all thanks to Jaehyun's ability. We came here at his request."
"What? Jaehyun?"
Grandfather's eyes widened as he continued,
"You mean the Kim Jaehyun I know? My grandson?"
"Yes, that's right. Kim Jaehyun from Seomyeon Apartments."
"My goodness… Are you saying my Jaehyun is alive?"
Ha Donggeon nodded.
"Of course."
Hearing that, my grandfather immediately turned around and spoke urgently.
"Then follow me!"
"Huh?"
He climbed onto the tree root he had been riding earlier and gestured for Ha Donggeon's group to get on.
"Hurry!"
The party quickly stood up and climbed onto the tree root.
As soon as they were on board, the root began moving toward the World Tree.
Rumble—
At the same time, my heart swelled with anticipation.
It was because I thought my mother, father, and grandmother would be waiting there.
There was no way to go meet them yet, but I believed that once the forward base was completed, I could use the Absolute One's Gate skill to travel directly to my family home.
Then, I suddenly remembered the system message that had popped up when I met my grandfather earlier.
[Conditions have been met.]
['Annex' has been added to the list of constructible items.]
That's right. A new construction option had appeared.
As soon as I encountered my grandfather, the 'Annex' option was unlocked.
I temporarily deactivated the Absolute One's Eye and immediately switched to construction mode to check its price and effects.
Annex (10,000,000,000 KRW)
<>
A safe zone installed outside the main house,
Its area expands in proportion to the main house's territory.
When {activated}, it temporarily exerts the same influence as the declared territory of the main house.
However, it can only be {activated} when a direct descendant of the Absolute One's household resides within it.
The price was about eight times higher than that of the forward base, but the key point was that there was no mention of it being destructible.
Unlike the forward base, once built, it wouldn't be destroyed.
On top of that, I had received a 10-billion-won construction subsidy from securing the first apartment complex. Even after installing solar power generators in every building, I still had over 7 billion won left.
That meant I only needed to invest an additional 3 billion won to build it.
And at this point, 3 billion wasn't even that much of a burden anymore.
'Construct the Annex.'
As soon as I made the decision, a green projection of the World Tree and the Annex's range appeared beneath my feet. Given the massive cost, the Annex's range was on a completely different level compared to the forward base.
It enveloped the entire World Tree and extended further, forming a dome-like structure spanning several hundred meters.
Its shape and size closely resembled the place I was currently in—except for the web-like roads stretching outward, it was almost identical in scale.
'So the Annex's range expands in proportion to my growth. Not bad.'
With these capabilities, the 10-billion-won investment was absolutely worth it.
Compared to the limited-range forward base, this was worth dozens of times more.
'There's nothing to hesitate about.'
[This facility requires the presence of one direct descendant of the Absolute One's household during the 7-day construction period.]
[Do you wish to proceed with construction?]
[Yes / No]
Yes.
Bzzzz—
[Time remaining until Annex construction is complete:]
167 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds
After confirming that construction had begun, I stepped outside and reactivated the Absolute One's Eye.
Just as I was about to ask my grandfather to stay within the safe zone while the Annex was being built, a new message appeared.
[The retainers have encountered a direct descendant of the Absolute One's household.]
[Unlocking the power of the bloodline.]
Name: Kim Min-sim (Lv. 21)
Title: [Bloodline] [Micho]
Trust Level: 99
Awakening Ability: None
'Grandmother?'
I saw my grandmother lying on a stone bed in a familiar-looking room.
She appeared to be peacefully asleep.
The only thing that seemed off was that it was still a bit early to be sleeping.
Moreover, my grandfather's sorrowful expression was making me uneasy.
"My dear, listen to what these children are saying."
It was the first time I had ever heard my grandfather address my grandmother so gently.
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Wooooong—
Following my grandfather's touch, a green light of life energy flowed into my grandmother.
The energy spread from her cheeks, enveloped her entire body, lingered for a moment, and then was absorbed inside.
Yet, she did not wake up.
And my grandfather, as if familiar with this situation, continued speaking to himself.
"They say our Jaehyun sent them. Jaehyun is alive!"
I stared blankly at the scene and used the Ring of Communication.
[Ask Grandfather what happened.]
Oh Won-joo spoke.
"Elder, Jaehyun wishes to know what happened."
"Jaehyun? How does Jaehyun know?"
"Jaehyun is currently sharing our vision."
It wasn't entirely true, but I didn't bother correcting it.
There was no time for such trivial concerns.
Grandfather let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"It's alright. Jaehyun, your grandmother has me by her side."
It was the first time I had ever seen my grandfather with a sorrowful expression.
He had always worn an almost expressionless face, but now, he couldn't contain the rising sadness.
His distorted facial expression and trembling voice conveyed the emotions he couldn't put into words.
"Grandma just suffered a bit of a shock, that's all."
Oh Eon-ju asked,
"Since when has she been unconscious?"
"…Since that day."
That day—
The day the monsters appeared and the world began to fall apart.
From that moment on, Grandma had been asleep.
"So, why don't you tell us some stories about Jae-hyun? Maybe let her hear his voice through that smartphone? If she sees his face, she might wake up."
Looking at Grandma lying unconscious and Grandpa sitting beside her with a sorrowful expression, I felt tears welling up for some reason.
Relief, sorrow, frustration, fear, and a fury I couldn't even pinpoint toward whom—
A whirlwind of indescribable emotions churned within me.
'Still… still, I'm glad she's alive.'
I was also relieved that, thanks to Grandpa's awakening ability, he could take care of Grandma.
Even though she had been in a coma for nearly a month, she looked as though she was simply asleep—healthy and peaceful.
All thanks to Grandpa's power.
'If only quest assignment was possible…'
No matter the cost, I could have improved Grandma's condition.
But it was impossible to assign quests to blood relatives.
"Grandpa, may I have your permission to try something?"
"For what?"
"I have healing abilities. I'd like to see if they might help."
Kim Da-jeong stepped forward.
"Go ahead."
With Grandpa's permission, Kim Da-jeong reached out toward Grandma.
Wooooong—
Unfortunately, her healing did nothing to improve Grandma's condition.
But then, something strange struck me.
The house was too quiet.
With seven adults suddenly barging in, any resident should have come to check what was happening, yet no one had.
By now, Mom and Dad should have come downstairs from the second floor.
A feeling of unease crept in.
[...Oh Eon-ju, could you ask Grandpa about my parents?]
"…Alright."
Oh Eon-ju carefully asked Grandpa,
"Sir, may I ask where Jae-hyun's parents are?"
"..."
Grandpa looked at Oh Eon-ju and asked,
"You said Jae-hyun is watching, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then I'll speak as if I'm talking to him."
His words carried a heavy implication, making me swallow hard.
"Jae-hyun, that day, your mom had gone to work. Your dad had also left to earn money."
I understood what he meant.
"Your dad can't live without your mom. He must have run straight to her. They're probably together somewhere, safe and sound."
I got the message.
Grandpa didn't believe they were alive.
And I knew it too.
Unless one of them had awakened an extraordinary ability like Grandpa, the chances of them surviving were practically zero.
I knew that.
But even so—
[Everyone, our next destination is Uihwang Convalescent Hospital. It's not far. Can we leave right away?]
I couldn't give up.
Even if it was just a sliver of hope, even if I had to grasp at straws—
"Jae-hyun…."
I knew it was selfish, but I still couldn't let go.
[No, actually, you've all worked hard today, and it's late. Let's rest here tonight and leave in the morning.]
And then—
[Detected the presence of a Blood Relative of the Absolute within proximity.]
"Huh?"
The 'proximity' the system referred to wasn't near Ha Dong-gun's party.
It was here—within the vicinity of this apartment complex.
'No way…'
A Blood Relative was approaching.
I didn't need to be told who they were.
'Mom… Dad…'
I didn't know their exact location.
But—
"Ye-jin!"
"Huh? Y-yes?"
"Command the nearby rats!"
"W-what?"
"Tell them to find every survivor in the area, immediately!"
I had the best scouts at my disposal.
Just as the sudden presence of a Blood Relative threw me into chaos, something strange began happening at the house where Ha Dong-gun's party was staying.
A loud banging echoed from the iron gate.
"Village Chief! Village Chief! We have a problem!"
Grandpa, hearing this from the bedroom, turned his gaze toward the entrance.
The door swung open, and the man from earlier rushed in.
"What's going on?"
"You need to come outside right now! A massive horde of monsters is approaching!"
The Monster Wave had begun.
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