Strengthening the Foundation (1)
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As I opened the front door, I saw Lee Jun-hyuk's party gathered closely together in the hallway.
"You told us to bring everyone, so we all came."
With twenty-four men and women, including Lee Jun-hyuk, the hallway looked incredibly cramped.
"Let's move to another location first."
Only my retainers were allowed inside my home.
Ordinary citizens could only enter up to the area just beyond the front door, where the shoes were placed, so I decided to change locations.
I stepped outside, keeping my hand on the front door, and used the Absolute Door.
'To Room 1802, where Lee Jun-hyuk is staying.'
It was where he and the seven core members of his party resided.
"Come in."
As I stepped inside, Lee Jun-hyuk looked at me with a confused expression and asked,
"Didn't you just say we were moving to another location?"
"Yes. And we did."
When I smiled inside the entrance, one by one, they began to notice the difference.
"Huh?"
"This is our place, isn't it?"
"What? What just happened?"
[Citizen Lee Hyun-chan's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Lee Hyun-chan's loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Shin Ah-young's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Shin Ah-young's loyalty has increased.]
As expected, demonstrating my abilities was the most effective way to raise trust and loyalty.
The members of Lee Jun-hyuk's party had already reached full loyalty through continuous interactions.
With my Power of Trust skill, it was an effective way to quickly strengthen the hunting party's combat power.
As they murmured amongst themselves, I addressed them.
"Please, come inside."
Even though the living room was quite spacious, it felt completely packed with over twenty people inside.
This party was one of the top hunting teams within the domain.
Of course, Lee Jun-hyuk's presence as a leader played a major role, but even excluding him, the remaining twenty-three members were actively engaged in hunting monsters.
'Their average level is already in the early twenties.'
The seven core members were all approaching their late twenties in level.
Lee Jun-hyuk, who had accumulated the most achievements, was still at level 40—the same as when he awakened. But considering how much harder it was to level up at higher stages, this was expected. The monsters they typically hunted ranged from level 18 to 25.
In any case, the relatively lower-level party members had experienced explosive growth.
Even though the surrounding monster levels had increased and they had firearms, achieving this level of progress in such a short time was no small feat.
It was proof of how actively they had been hunting.
I addressed them again.
"I have a proposal for you."
"Please, go ahead."
"I would like you all to form a contract with me."
"A contract?"
"Yes."
I briefly explained the Contract of Subjugation.
"If you swear loyalty to me, I will grant you the power of awakening."
As soon as I finished speaking, an intense reaction erupted.
"Awakening?"
"Does that mean we can be like Jun-hyuk?"
"Really? For real?"
Immediately after, excited voices filled the room.
"I'll do it! I'm in!"
"Me too!"
"I've already sworn my loyalty deep in my heart!"
Everyone was on board.
That was to be expected—these were the people who had observed the powerful Lee Jun-hyuk from the closest distance.
"Calm down. Awakening doesn't guarantee powerful abilities. You need to choose carefully."
At that moment, someone stepped forward.
"Jaehyun."
It was Lee Jun-hyuk.
"Everyone here, including myself, is prepared to swear loyalty to you. Because we all understand that it's the most beneficial choice."
"That's right!"
"Exactly!"
In the playfully shifting atmosphere, Lee Jun-hyuk knelt on one knee before me, bowing his head.
"So please form a contract with me first, Jaehyun-nim. I will serve you with all my loyalty."
At this, the people around us started making playful remarks.
***
"Isn't that a bit over the top?"
"Kneeling down? Does he really have to go that far?"
"Why not? I can do it too!"
Soon, others began following Lee Jun-hyuk's lead, kneeling on one knee.
"Oh? Me too!"
"What the—? Is everyone doing it? Well, that makes it less embarrassing, I guess."
"Is this a hidden camera prank?"
With that, it became an undeniable fact that everyone was accepting the contract of subjugation.
The atmosphere here was definitely different from Ha Dong-geon's party.
Even among those gathered, there were surely people who had lost family members or had yet to find them. And yet, they always maintained a cheerful and free-spirited attitude.
"Jaehyun-nim, you look embarrassed."
Noticing my slight discomfort, they started exaggerating their playful antics even more.
"I pledge my absolute loyalty, my lord!"
"Oh, 'my lord' sounds great."
"Pfft. Are we filming a historical drama or something?"
Amid the chuckles and laughter, I swallowed my embarrassment, placed my hand on Lee Jun-hyuk's head, and spoke.
"I accept your oath."
Flash!
At that moment, a bright light burst from my body and enveloped Lee Jun-hyuk.
Simultaneously, his title changed from [Knight] to [Viscount]. Like Oh Won-joo, he skipped over the Baron rank and advanced straight to Viscount.
Thanks to this, my retainer limit increased by three more.
While Lee Jun-hyuk's skill set remained unchanged, just like in Ha Dong-geon's party, the overall quality of his skills had likely increased significantly.
That meant he had become much stronger.
"Ohhh!"
"Whoa, that was amazing!"
"Did you see that light just now?"
Having already witnessed so many extraordinary things, Lee Jun-hyuk's party was no longer easily surprised by such occurrences.
"Jaehyun-nim! Next is me! Please do me next!"
Shin Ah-young, one of Lee Jun-hyuk's key members, knelt down and raised her hand to appeal to me.
"Alright…"
One by one, I placed my hand on their heads, forming the contract of subjugation with all of them.
As expected, most of them awakened D-rank or C-rank abilities.
"Seol Byung-hoon's ability is Heavy Strike. It temporarily triples his destructive power."
I explained each person's newly awakened ability so they could understand their own strengths.
"Seo Yo-han's ability is…"
D-rank abilities were generally simple enhancements—boosting strength, sight, hearing, or smell.
They weren't particularly impressive as supernatural abilities, but compared to having no power at all, they significantly increased combat effectiveness.
Starting from C-rank, the abilities became more clearly supernatural—people could shoot fire or ice arrows, and one person even gained telekinesis, similar to Jang Sung-joon.
Of course, since their rank was lower, the quality of their abilities would be significantly weaker compared to Jang Sung-joon's A-rank telekinesis. But even so, their powers had limitless applications.
And then—
'Three people awakened B-rank abilities.'
Lee Hyun-chan, Shin Ah-young, and Kim Ji-tae.
All of them were key members of Lee Jun-hyuk's party.
'I think I'm starting to get it!'
As more examples accumulated, I was beginning to understand what influenced higher-ranked abilities.
The fact that all B-rank awakenings happened among the key members couldn't just be a coincidence.
Especially considering that most of the people who awakened D-rank abilities were in their late teens and had the lowest levels within the party.
'It's not just about level.'
If it were, Jang Sung-joon—who was barely level 10 when we first met—should never have awakened an A-rank ability.
'There's something innate.'
It could be called potential, or perhaps talent.
'The contract of subjugation has a limit of 100 people.'
So, from now on, it seemed best to establish subordinate contracts with as many talented individuals as possible.
"Registering retainers. Lee Hyun-chan, Shin Ah-young, Kim Ji-tae."
Woo-woo-woong!
"What the…?"
"Their bodies just started glowing!"
"Huh? My body suddenly feels lighter."
The three individuals, who had awakened B-rank abilities, were immediately registered as retainers and received the [Knight] title, enhancing their stats.
I turned to Lee Jun-hyuk.
"Jun-hyuk."
"Yes, Jae-hyun?"
"Actually, there's something I'd like to ask of all of you."
"Please, feel free to speak."
As I got to the main point, the playful atmosphere of the party quickly turned serious.
They knew how to be lighthearted when appropriate, but also serious when needed.
That was the kind of group Lee Jun-hyuk's party was.
"With the expansion of my domain, Hwangryeong Mountain has now come under my territory."
"Hwangryeong Mountain… you mean that mountain back there?"
"Yes. And it seems there's something called a dungeon within it."
Lee Jun-hyuk's expression shifted slightly.
"…A dungeon? Do you mean the kind of dungeon I'm thinking of?"
For men of our generation in Korea, the concept of a dungeon was something we were all familiar with.
This was thanks to the countless games that had used the term "dungeon."
"It seems likely."
Dungeons were inherently dangerous places.
You never knew what might come out of them.
"I'd like to ask you to explore the dungeon."
"Thank you for entrusting us with this task."
Lee Jun-hyuk readily accepted the dungeon expedition.
"I'll do my best to support as well. For now, we should rest and begin our exploration tomorrow morning."
"Understood."
"Then, please rest well."
Just as I was about to return home to rest, I received a message from Kim Da-bin.
[Jae-hyun, I've gathered ten capable individuals just as you requested.]
[I'll head over right away.]
With no time to rest, I made my way to the communal facility on the 21st floor.
Clack.
Using the "Door of the Absolute," I appeared inside the communal facility's main room, immediately drawing the attention of everyone waiting there.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Kim Jae-hyun."
The ten men and women gathered by Kim Da-bin all had familiar faces.
"These are the people you recommend, Da-bin?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"I recognize them."
"When selecting only the most qualified individuals, it was inevitable that they would be people I've worked with before. Would you like me to find someone from the new arrivals instead?"
"No, these people are perfect."
After checking, I confirmed that they were all designated as part of the active workforce, earning a daily wage.
I turned to them and spoke.
"I plan to appoint you all as department heads, just like Da-bin."
Even with the population growing significantly, there were only a few department heads.
So far, the only ones with such a title were Kim Da-bin, Lee Sung-min (the leader of the medical team), and Baek Seung-min (the leader of the relief team).
Since there were twelve department head positions left, I was essentially offering most of them to this group.
"Are you serious?"
"I'll do my best!"
Of course, I wasn't just going to hand out the positions for free.
I quickly put a damper on their excitement.
"However, there's a condition."
The enthusiastic mood instantly turned tense.
"The reason I want to appoint you is simple. As more people join, we're encountering more and more problems. Only those who can propose solutions to these issues will receive the department head title."
Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure what I needed to do to maintain a stable society.
I had never held a leadership position before—not even as a class president, let alone anything bigger.
'Well… there was that one time in the military when I was a squad leader!'
But every Korean man went through that, so it wasn't exactly an exceptional experience.
That role hadn't involved making major decisions, and it definitely didn't prepare me for leading a large group like this.
'If I don't know something, I just have to learn!'
That's why I decided to ask the people around me.
After all, Kim Da-bin had carefully selected these elites.
"We need a group to maintain security. Nothing serious has happened yet, but without a force acting as a stabilizing presence—like the police—problems will arise sooner or later."
Sure enough, suggestions started pouring in immediately.
"Trash is piling up everywhere. We need a dedicated department to handle waste disposal."
"The expanded territory means we need to clear out monster corpses and human remains. We also need road maintenance. So far, we've been handling it haphazardly, but it'd be much more efficient if a dedicated team managed it."
Ideas kept coming one after another.
'This is great.'
But one proposal stood out to me the most—an unexpected one.
"Uh… are you aware that there are firearms, including rifles, stored in police armories? I believe we should assign people to secure them."
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