CHAPTER 13
Driven Hunt (3)
Crunch.
Under the brilliantly shining moon, red eyes gleamed ominously in the deep shadows cast by the apartment buildings.
Snap!
The northern alleyway.
The master of this place was a humanoid beast.
A creature covered in coarse, jet-black fur across its entire body.
Crunch!
It was engrossed in shattering a goblin's neck.
Kill.
Dozens of goblin corpses lay scattered around it, reeking of rot.
Crack—
This wasn't just a hunt for sustenance.
The sheer number of mutilated goblin bodies surrounding it reeked of malice.
The way it continued to tear apart the goblin's body felt more like an act of rage than a simple hunt.
Kill.
Not a single goblin corpse remained intact.
Each one was horribly disfigured, torn to pieces.
"Grrrr."
What was unusual was that there wasn't a single human corpse in sight.
The mountain of bodies surrounding it was composed solely of goblins.
More.
Finishing off the goblin it had been holding in its mouth, the creature's glowing red eyes flickered as it searched for its next prey.
I need more.
Just then, the hated cries of goblins reached its ears.
"Screeeech! Screeeech! Screeeeeech!"
The sound of the goblins wailing in hysteria sent the beast's instincts into overdrive.
Underground parking lot.
It had invaded their den once before and suffered many wounds, yet it showed no hesitation in its steps.
Those wounds had long since healed.
Kill.
It was time to hunt.
Swoosh—
With a sound like space twisting, Choi Hyung-Jun appeared.
Whew. That was close.
He had been watching over Choi Hyung-Jun through the Absolute Eye skill the entire time the operation was in progress.
If anything had gone wrong, he was prepared to use his Retainer Summon skill immediately.
He had hoped it wouldn't come to that, but an incident had almost occurred, and he had been forced to activate the skill.
But I didn't expect the skill to take three whole seconds to cast.
Since activating it required him to disable the Absolute Eye, the actual delay was even longer.
"Huff! Huff!"
Choi Hyung-Jun, panting heavily, looked at him with teary eyes and spoke.
"Jae, Jaehyun-nim! Ugh!"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Sniff… I'm fine."
"That's a relief. Hm?"
Despite his words, a faint trickle of blood was visible on Choi Hyung-Jun's calf.
Following his gaze, Choi Hyung-Jun checked his leg and scratched his head.
"When did this… It's nothing. A wound like this will heal in no time."
Judging by the small amount of blood, it didn't seem too deep.
It looked like a goblin's claw had scratched him—but goblin claws were undoubtedly filthy.
To prevent secondary infection, immediate treatment was necessary.
I should register some medicine, too.
There were too many items he needed to register.
"Wait here."
"…Alright."
Entering the house, he opened the drawer where the medical supplies were stored.
I might need these more than I expected.
Fighting monsters would be a constant from now on.
Minor injuries would be inevitable, and proper treatment required medical supplies.
Antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, band-aids, cold medicine, digestive medicine, Tylenol…
Since he had often been sick as a child, he always kept a well-stocked supply of essentials.
Antibiotics, too.
Before the world had turned into this mess, he had once suffered from an abscess.
He had visited the hospital frequently for treatment, but like most people, he had stopped going once he had mostly recovered.
The prescribed medicine had been forgotten—but remained intact.
Penicillin.
Penicillin was hailed as one of humanity's greatest medical discoveries.
The history of medicine was said to be divided into two eras: before and after penicillin.
Now, with monsters everywhere and frequent wounds inevitable, it was one of the most critical medicines to have.
I have way too much to register.
There were only a few slots left in the shop.
With just 40 slots, filling them with daily necessities alone was overwhelming.
Since he had no idea when he would earn more skill points, conserving the remaining slots was crucial.
He never knew when he might stumble upon an essential item.
Would this work?
There was a trick to saving shop slots.
He had discovered that the toolbox Choi Hyung-Jun brought had registered as a single item, despite containing a hammer, screwdrivers, and various other tools.
Probably because it was originally sold as a set.
But these medical supplies were different. They had been bought separately, so it was unclear whether they would count as a set.
Might as well try.
He shoved as many medical supplies as he could into the first-aid kit and attempted to register it in the shop.
[ Makeshift Used Medical Kit (77,330 won) ▶ Restore ]
…It worked.
It was ridiculously expensive, and the restoration cost was absurdly high, but at least he had confirmed that improvised sets could be registered.
I'll restore it later. It's not urgent right now.
Except for being unnecessarily expensive, it was decent.
Another advantage was that if needed later, the medicine could be taken out separately and registered in the store.
I grabbed a hastily put-together first-aid kit and a bottle of water before heading outside, where Choi Hyung-joon was waiting for me in a calm posture.
"Let me see your wound."
"I'm really fine…"
When I rolled up my pants, it was clear that the wound was a laceration caused by a goblin's claws.
Though the wound wasn't large, the surrounding area was already red and swollen, making it look worse than it seemed.
"I'll disinfect it."
"Oh, okay."
I wiped away the blood with an alcohol swab and applied an antiseptic. Choi Hyung-joon flinched slightly at the sting, but once I applied the ointment, his expression relaxed.
[Citizen Choi Hyung-joon's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Choi Hyung-joon's loyalty has increased.]
"…Thank you."
"Take this too. It's an antibiotic. Here's some water."
"Ah, okay. Got it."
Just as the treatment was finishing, commotion erupted from the lower levels of the emergency stairwell.
'They're here.'
Behind Ha Dong-geon's hurried footsteps, dozens—no, hundreds—of goblins were chasing after him and his group.
"We're almost there! Just a little more!"
Through accepting more than 90 people as citizens, I had learned that the average level of an adult man was around 7 to 8.
But even the women in Ha Dong-geon's party, Kim Ga-young and Yoo Hye-rin, had double-digit levels.
Maybe it was because they were former athletes, but their stamina far exceeded that of ordinary people.
"Huff! Huff!"
Yet even they were struggling.
Watching the situation, I understood why.
Running up 30 floors at full speed was already exhausting, but they were also being pursued by murderous goblins.
To make matters worse, these goblins were running on all fours like dogs, making their speed terrifying.
The only reason Ha Dong-geon's party had made it this far unscathed was thanks to their incredible teamwork.
"Hngh—!"
Crash!
Moon Byung-ho, who was at the very back, swung his bat, sending two goblins tumbling down the stairs, crashing into the ones behind them.
For a moment, it looked like a domino effect, but the goblins quickly regained their formation and resumed their chase.
"Byung-ho! Run!"
As Moon Byung-ho ran, Kim Ga-young and Ha Dong-geon, who had reached the top first, provided covering fire.
They deliberately aimed for the goblins' stomachs and shoulders.
Thunk!
"Kyack!"
The injured goblins became obstacles, slowing down the ones behind them.
It was an incredible display of teamwork.
Thanks to that, everyone managed to reach the 30th floor safely.
Thud, thud, thud!
All six of them burst through the emergency exit at once, like sprinters crossing the finish line.
And right behind them, the goblins charged forward without slowing down, trying to follow them through the exit.
But—
Rumble!
"Kyyaaaak—!"
"Kreee?!?"
"Kiiieeek!"
The goblins were stopped by an invisible barrier, flailing in confusion.
"Huff! Huff!"
As everyone struggled to catch their breath, only one person remained unaffected.
In fact, he had enough energy left to keep swinging his bat at the goblins.
That person was none other than Moon Byung-ho, who had been outstanding just moments ago.
Crack!
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[10,085 won has been deposited into the Absolute Lord of the House's wallet.]
The moment Moon Byung-ho smashed a goblin's head, a pleasant notification rang out.
'This is efficient.'
Since he had become a vassal, I was receiving close to 10,000 won every time he killed a goblin.
With the 90% bonus from having over 90 citizens, plus the vassal's double reward perk, I was getting a total payout of 380%.
The same applied to the experience points—he was gaining 380% more.
"Huff! Hey, Byung-ho. Aren't you even out of breath?"
Kang Deok-su looked at Moon Byung-ho like he was some kind of monster.
Still swinging his bat wildly, Moon Byung-ho answered,
"I don't really know—myself!"
Thunk!
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[12,711 won has been deposited into the Absolute Lord of the House's wallet.]
With every swing, a goblin's head exploded.
Watching this, Kim Gun mumbled blankly,
"…Insane."
"What would we have done without Byung-ho?"
"Wait, was Byung-ho always this strong?"
Ha Dong-geon's entire party stared at Moon Byung-ho in shock.
'Well, of course they would.'
The reason only Moon Byung-ho appeared to be perfectly fine was that I had registered him as a retainer.
And then.
『Name: Moon Byung-ho (Lv. 30) [+]
Title: [Second Servant]
Trust: 55 Loyalty: 88
Awakening Ability: Teleport
★Quest Assignment』
For some reason, Moon Byung-ho's level had skyrocketed to 30 after being registered as a retainer, which was undoubtedly a major factor.
Thanks to that, his stamina and strength had become incomparable to the others.
The icing on the cake was his awakening ability.
Teleport (Grade A)
Consumes mental energy to move through space. Can only be used to teleport to locations within the user's line of sight. The energy consumption increases based on the number of passengers and the distance traveled.
'Registering him as a retainer was a great decision.'
Honestly, it felt like winning the lottery.
Although there was a restriction that the ability could only be used for places within sight, it was clear that this ability would be crucial in rescuing my parents.
Perhaps that's why I couldn't help but smile every time I looked at Moon Byung-ho.
Crash!
"Gyaaaah―!"
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[9,902 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Household Overlord.]
Seeing him steadily eliminating goblins and earning both experience and cash was truly admirable.
Of course, since there were so many goblins, it would take all day to clear them even with continuous effort.
Luckily, I had a method.
It was time to move on to step three of my mass hunting strategy.
"You've all done really well."
As I spoke, everyone turned to look at me.
Even Moon Byung-ho, who had been diligently beating down goblins, stopped and turned to face me.
I spoke to him directly.
"It's dangerous, so please step back."
He tilted his head in confusion but soon followed my instructions.
Once I confirmed that everyone was far enough away from the emergency stairwell, I raised my hand toward it.
'Open storage. Release all the water inside.'
Bzzzt—
The water, which had been stored to the limit of my inventory, gushed out like a waterfall.
Whoooosh!
"Kieek?"
"Kiiiik!"
Before the goblins could even process the sudden downpour…
"Choi Hyung-joon, now!"
"Yes!"
Choi Hyung-joon flipped the power switch on the extension cord that had been connected all the way from my house.
Crackle—
Bare wires, which he had carefully spread across the emergency stairwell, were tangled together in a mess.
And now, the water-drenched goblins were sprawled all over them.
As soon as the electricity surged through the exposed wires, a terrifying sound filled the stairwell.
BZZZZZT—!!
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]
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Dozens of goblins were instantly electrocuted.
'That worked.'
Of course, only those closest to the wires died immediately.
There were still hundreds of goblins left beyond this point.
But that wasn't a problem.
'I just have to keep repeating this process.'
Although a considerable amount of electricity had been discharged, causing my wallet balance to drop quickly, even more money was being deposited at the same time.
[You have gained a large amount of experience points.]
[334,464 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Household Overlord.]
[Skill level has increased.]
[You have learned a new skill.]
The moment I absorbed an enormous amount of experience all at once—
'Hmm?'
The Absolute Overlord's Eye activated involuntarily.
At the same time, an intense pain overwhelmed me.
'Argh!'
It was the same as before.
The excruciating pain I had felt when my domain expanded.
A sensation as if my body was inflating, followed by an explosion-like expansion of my territory.
But this time, the expansion took a slightly different direction.
My perception extended toward the emergency stairwell.
My awareness stretched through the exit and reached all the way down to the second basement floor.
I could now perceive every detail of the emergency stairwell, which was packed with goblins.
And then—
[Hostile entities detected by the Household Overlord.]
[Eliminating threats.]
With a simple notification—
Splat!
Every single goblin filling the stairwell had their heads burst open like fireworks.
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]
[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 6).]
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