Encounter (6)
Seo Yejin, who was sitting cross-legged, was addressed.
"Please follow them as they are."
The place where my parents were was several hundred meters away from the edge of the territory.
I put on my shoes and grabbed the front door. Using the Absolute One's Gate, I connected it to the area closest to where my parents were.
Due to the recent giant attack, most of the area was in ruins, but fortunately, the path my parents were taking had escaped the worst of the disaster.
When I stepped out of the building and reached the boundary of the territory, I could see a group led by my parents in the distance.
I called out as loudly as I could.
"Mom! Dad!"
Although they were barely visible to the naked eye, my Absolute One's Sight allowed me to clearly see their expressions.
My parents looked slightly bewildered.
I called out to them once more, with even more strength in my voice.
"Mom! Dad! It's me!"
At that moment, my mother started running toward me at an incredible speed.
Whether it was because of her level 50 status or the effect of her bloodline ability, she was charging forward at an astonishing pace.
'That's… a little scary.'
Even though I had improved my physical abilities through daily quests, I wasn't sure if I could withstand such a tackle.
Fortunately, my mother slowed down and stopped right in front of me.
Then, with a trembling voice, she asked,
"Jae-hyun… is that you?"
Seeing my mother's teary face, I couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Yes, Mom. It's me."
She slowly approached me.
Since I had already unlocked my bloodline's power, there was no longer an invisible barrier preventing her from crossing.
Passing through the boundary without resistance, my mother placed her hands on my face and gently stroked it.
Her face, now streaked with thick tears, was right in front of me.
"Don't cry, Mom."
She pulled me into a tight embrace, whispering like a chant,
"Thank God. Thank God. Thank you, Lord, Buddha. Thank you, thank you…"
As I patted my mother's trembling back, I reassured her,
"I've been doing well, Mom."
By then, my father had approached and, with his usual calm expression, asked me,
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
"Good."
After exchanging brief greetings with my father, I turned to examine the people who had come with my parents.
Since my mother worked at a hospital, most of them were women—likely nurses.
One of them had two dogs on a leash. Since animals couldn't be granted citizenship, I needed to manually authorize their entry.
"Woof!"
Before the two dogs could bump into the transparent barrier, I granted them passage.
Upon checking, I realized that their owner had a skill similar to Kim Geon's servant-type abilities.
'Rather than all 23 of them being awakened individuals, it seems like they received their abilities from Mom…'
It was somewhat similar to the vassal registration system.
[Sovereign (Legendary)]
A person with the qualities of a king.
{Subjugation Contract}
{Royal Decree}
{King's Blessing}
By forming a Subjugation Contract, one could awaken their abilities. This ability allowed for up to 100 awakenings without any conditions.
'That's overpowered.'
Considering how much survival depended on whether one was awakened in the early days, I could tell how incredible my mother's ability was.
And on top of that…
'Does that mean my father's ability was also unlocked through the Subjugation Contract?'
Dad's SkillsGuardian Qi (S-Rank)
Consumes mental energy to generate a protective Qi around the body. While the Qi is active, physical abilities are tripled.
The reason Dad's skill was considered overpowered was the explicit mention of "tripled" in its description.
If it were simply a 300% increase, it wouldn't be as shocking.
For example, if there were two separate skills that increased physical abilities by 200% and 300%, stacking them would result in a total increase of 500%.
However, if a 200% increase was further multiplied by a skill that tripled stats, the 300% would be tripled instead—resulting in a final efficiency of 900%.
'So that means right now, Dad is…'
Bloodline members automatically receive all buffs that regular citizens have.
First, he benefits from the Power of Trust buff:
"All stats increased by 93%."
Then, considering the Bloodline Effect:
"All stats additionally increased by 930%!"
At this point, his total efficiency already reached 1123%.
'And if he activates Guardian Qi now…'
His final strengthened physical abilities would reach 3369% efficiency.
'That's insane.'
This level of enhancement could easily surpass several tiers of power.
Among the remaining 23 people, none had an S-rank skill like Dad.
Even though they were Awakened, most had C- or B-rank abilities.
'Still, they're on a completely different level compared to non-Awakened people.'
Once someone becomes Awakened, they can grow stronger by hunting monsters.
That alone was a massive advantage.
'Anyway, thanks to these people, Mom and Dad made it here safely!'
The 23 Awakened individuals under Dad's leadership had been granted citizenship. However, there was a slight difference compared to those I granted citizenship to.
It was due to Mom's Title Effect:
{First Kin}
Grants the right to register five vassals and the authority to distribute 1% additional citizenship rights.
Current Grantable Citizenship: (23/2,100 people)
※ Tax collection enabled.
This meant that the citizenship granted to those 23 people was completely separate.
Their Trust and Loyalty stats were tied to Mom, not me.
Even the authority to issue quests seemed to belong to her.
I turned toward the group Mom had brought and spoke.
"I will provide five generations' worth of rations for all of you. If you need food like rice or ramen, just ask. I'll provide anything you need."
"Huh?"
"Feel free to take a warm shower and sleep comfortably in a heated room."
Everyone, including my parents, looked at me like I was crazy.
"Jae-hyun, are you sure about this?"
Mom's voice was filled with concern.
I smirked and pointed at an apartment building.
"Mom, do you see the lights on over there?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was wondering why so many lights were still on…"
"In a world where electricity and water have been completely cut off, why do you think that's possible?"
"Huh?"
I briefly used Absolute Vision to scan the surrounding buildings.
Since this area was a bit farther from the path of the rampaging giants, many buildings were still intact.
I found a perfectly suitable building.
Its glass exterior had been shattered, making it look a bit rough, but that didn't matter.
All that mattered was turning on the lights.
"Everyone, watch closely."
I made sure everyone's attention was on me.
Then—
Snap!
As I snapped my fingers, the entire area, including that building, lit up.
Fwoosh!
The half-destroyed city, now glowing in the dark, looked as dazzling as any grand performance.
Seeing everyone gape in disbelief, I asked:
"Who's thirsty?"
Then, I summoned an ice-cold Coke in front of them.
The people who instinctively grabbed the drinks stared at them in shock.
"C-Can we drink this?"
"Of course."
"Uh… excuse me."
"Yes? What do you need?"
"Do you have Diet Coke? Or Pepsi?"
Without answering, I simply summoned the drink they wanted.
"Thank you!"
That was the trigger.
Everyone started making requests.
"Do you have Fanta?"
"How about Sprite?"
"I can provide anything. Just let me know what you need."
Like children receiving Christmas presents, they happily drank their sodas.
I smiled and spoke again.
"Follow me, everyone."
"Woooooah!"
The people cheered and eagerly followed behind me.
***
Using the Absolute Gate, I moved to the apartment complex and first guided my mother's subordinates to the houses they would use.
Additionally, I provided them with all the supplies they said they needed, including ramen, rice, eggs, and milk.
"If you need anything, please feel free to come and ask at any time."
Their reactions were overwhelmingly grateful.
Of course, that was to be expected.
It was obvious how much they had suffered to make it this far.
They must have struggled not only to find food and water but also to maintain basic hygiene.
Now that all those problems were solved at once, it was only natural for them to feel relieved.
After personally guiding everyone, I was about to take my parents home when my mother asked with a worried expression,
"Jaehyun, these are all other people's homes. Is it really okay for us to use them like this?"
I chuckled and replied,
"We'll return them if the owners come back. But considering no one has come back yet, I doubt that will happen."
So far, no one had shown up.
"Don't worry about that. Let's just go home."
I opened the last allocated household's front door and connected it to our home's entrance.
And there—
"Mother! Father! Hello!"
Standing there were Seo Yejin and Yoo Hyerin, waiting in advance, both bowing politely with their hands neatly clasped.
Seo Yejin was drenched in sweat from continuously using her abilities, while Yoo Hyerin had messy hair, as if she had just woken up.
Their appearance was enough to cause a misunderstanding for my parents.
"…Son, is this really our home?"
"...Yes."
"Then, are these two your girlfriends?"
"No, they're not."
My father joked playfully,
"Wow, our son is really popular! Two-timing?"
"It's nothing like that, Dad."
"They both seem nice. Please take good care of our son."
At that moment, Yoo Hyerin suddenly overreacted.
"I-I will serve him with all my heart and sincerity!"
Was this the side effect of having 100% loyalty?
Raising an eyebrow and pursing his lips, my father whispered to me,
"Our son is really something, huh?"
Ignoring his teasing, I turned to Seo Yejin and Yoo Hyerin.
"You two can head back now."
"Yes, sir!"
After sending them off, only my family remained.
"Mom, Dad, you should wash up first."
After they finished bathing together, I asked,
"Now, tell me—how did you two end up together?"
"You know how your father is. He was waiting to pick me up from work that day, and then everything suddenly happened."
My father was a taxi driver and would always make sure to drive my mother to and from work.
'What a relief.'
The one who had awakened was my mother.
Since my father was always devoted to her, he had been right by her side when the monsters appeared, which allowed them both to survive.
"Was it difficult getting here?"
"I could only make it thanks to your father."
My mother smiled proudly as she tightly held my father's hand.
He smiled back at her.
I suddenly said,
"How is Grandpa doing?"
"Is he really okay?"
"Yes. Grandma, on the other hand…"
Seeing my expression, my mother asked anxiously,
"Did something happen to her?"
"She's asleep."
My mother clutched her chest in relief and scolded me.
"Jeez, don't scare me like that!"
But I responded with a serious expression.
"She's been sleeping ever since the monsters first appeared."
"…What?"
"Don't worry. She'll be fine. Grandpa is with her."
My mother's face darkened as she asked,
"What exactly happened?"
"I'll explain everything now."
I told them about my powers, how I had been surviving, what had happened with Grandpa, and how our family had gained special abilities because of me.
As the night deepened, the warmth of being with family filled the house.
***
Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.
For the past few days, a strange phenomenon had been occurring—sea monsters were swarming onto land in massive numbers.
It was bad enough that they were invading in hordes, but the real problem began when their overwhelming numbers started spreading inland.
Stronger creatures than goblins and orcs attacked the cities, causing the number of surviving humans to dwindle rapidly.
And then—
"W-What the hell is that? That thing is a monster…!"
Minakuchi Takaki, who had barely managed to survive using his abilities, was left in shock at the sight of the gigantic creature emerging from the sea.
BOOM—!
Beyond the stormy waters, the towering beast stood like a god's judgment.
If that thing marched into mainland Japan, everything would be doomed.
At that moment—
'It's… leaving?'
The monster was gradually moving deeper into the ocean.
Only after it completely disappeared did Minakuchi let out a breath of relief.
"…Phew."
Where was it headed?
No one knew.
But wherever it was going, only devastation and destruction would await.
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