CHAPTER 14

Driven Hunt (4)

"Kieeek―! Kieeek―! Kieeek―!"

Drawn by the cries of the goblins, the black beast arrived at the emergency stairwell of an apartment building.

The goblins were so frenzied that they paid no attention to it, entirely focused on climbing the stairs.

Enraged, the beast let out a roar.

"Kuwaaaah!"

Only then did the goblins finally react to the presence of the black beast.

"Kiiik!"

One goblin lunged at the unexpected intruder.

Crunch!

The black beast sank its teeth into the goblin's throat, tearing it apart.

"Kik!"

Its jaw strength was so powerful that the goblin died instantly.

And that was just the beginning.

Slash!

Wherever the beast's claws struck, goblin flesh was torn apart, spilling intestines onto the ground.

"Kieeek!"

With every bite of its fangs, with every sweep of its razor-sharp claws, another goblin perished.

"Grroowl!"

Terrified by the arrival of the predator, the goblins recoiled.

But in the cramped emergency stairwell, teeming with goblins, there was nowhere to run.

"Kik?"

"Kiiik!"

A cornered rat will bite the cat.

"Kyaaaak!"

"Kyaaak―!"

As if on cue, the goblins all charged at the black beast at once.

"Keeeek!"

They clawed at it, bit into its flesh, yanked at its fur, and crawled onto its body.

A dozen or so goblins attacking together was indeed a threat, but the black beast was unaffected.

Its thick layer of fat protected it.

"Kraah!"

Slash!

No matter what the goblins did, the beast only focused on killing as many of them as possible.

If the goblins had been this weak, the ones in this apartment would have already been wiped out by the black beast long ago.

Most goblins couldn't harm it.

Their claws and fangs were useless against its thick layer of fat.

But goblins were cunning and knew how to use tools.

The human homes they had looted contained dangerous objects, and the goblins that wielded them posed a real threat to the beast.

Thunk!

A sharp kitchen knife stabbed deep into the black beast's back.

"Kuaaaah!"

Agitated, the beast slammed into the wall.

Boom!

The goblin who stabbed it had its skull crushed instantly, but there were plenty more to take its place.

Thunk!

This time, an awl pierced its thigh.

The beast stomped its foot in frustration, crushing the goblin who had stabbed it, caving in its chest.

With each movement, each stomp, goblins died, but more swarmed in to replace them.

"Kieeek―!"

Goblins poured in without end, and the kitchen knives, awls, and scissors embedded in the beast's body were repeatedly reused by others.

Thunk! Stab! Slash!

Some goblins drove the knives deeper into its wounds with body slams, others gripped the handles and wrenched the wounds open, and some pulled out the scissors just to stab again.

The injuries kept piling up, and even with monstrous regeneration, it was becoming too much.

"Kuaaaah!"

This was the limit.

Though its bloodlust craved more slaughter, its survival instinct was stronger.

"Grkk!"

It was time to retreat.

Just as the beast was about to escape through the emergency exit—

Crackle—!

A strange sound came from above.

"…Krrh?"

And in the next moment—

Swoosh—

"!!!"

An overwhelming force passed by, and suddenly, the beast couldn't move.

Then—

Pop!

The goblins' heads exploded all at once.

A wave of unknown terror wrapped around the beast.

It instinctively understood—

This was like sticking its head into a predator's jaws.

Compared to this, having a knife or awl stabbed into its body was nothing.

A crushing fear gripped its throat, as if it were a mere insect caught in the hand of a giant.

Then, all of a sudden—

[Citizenship has been granted.]

"Haa―!"

The force binding it vanished.

Sizzle—

At the same time, the beast's outer form melted away, revealing a haggard-looking middle-aged woman.

As tension drained from her body, she lost consciousness and collapsed.

"...."

A sudden level-up.

An expanded territory.

Hundreds of goblins instantly wiped out.

It was all so sudden, but the most shocking part was this:

『Name: Oh Eonju (Lv. 33)

Trust Level: 9』

Awakened Ability: WerebearExperience Distribution Rate: 0%Settlement Fund Distribution Rate: 0%★ Quest Assignment ☐ ExpulsionWerebear (Grade A)

When transformed into a beast-human (bear), all physical abilities and regeneration are maximized.

For some reason, this citizen was accepted right after the expansion of the home territory. However, their specs were extraordinary—Level 33 with an A-grade ability. It was like hitting the jackpot.

And that wasn't all.

[Citizen Ha Dong-geon's trust has reached 50.]

[Loyalty is now unlocked.]

[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's trust has reached 50.]

[Loyalty is now unlocked.]

…

Ha Dong-geon's entire group had reached 50 trust points.

Among them, one person not only reached the trust milestone but also exceeded 30 loyalty points, meeting the conditions for vassal registration.

[Citizen Kang Deok-soo's loyalty has exceeded 30.]

[Citizen Kang Deok-soo has met the conditions for vassal registration.]

Upon checking, Kang Deok-soo's loyalty was at 31—just barely surpassing the minimum requirement.

'Vassal registration: Kang Deok-soo.'

Without hesitation, he was registered as a vassal.

Woo-woong!

[Name: Kang Deok-soo (Lv. 25) [+]]

[Title: The Third Species]

[Trust: 52 | Loyalty: 31]

[Awakened Ability: Knight of Steel]

★ Quest Assignment

Knight of Steel (Grade B)

Summons a full-body steel armor and a halberd for protection.

'So, vassal levels are proportional to the grade of their awakened abilities.'

Choi Hyeong-jun, who had a C-grade ability (Gorilla's Strength), was Level 20.Kang Deok-soo, with a B-grade ability (Knight of Steel), was Level 25.Moon Byeong-ho, possessing an A-grade ability (Teleport), was Level 30.

As soon as someone was registered as a vassal, their level was determined based on the grade of their ability.

'Is the ability grade completely random?'

Comparing the three, ability grade didn't seem related to trust or loyalty. If Moon Byeong-ho had received an A-grade ability due to high loyalty, then Choi Hyeong-jun, who had even higher loyalty, should have gotten at least a B-grade ability.

Yet, Choi awakened a C-grade ability, while Kang Deok-soo, with a barely passing loyalty of 31, obtained a B-grade ability.

'It would be great if I could figure out the conditions for obtaining higher-grade abilities.'

This was crucial.

Since vassal registration was limited to 10 people, maximizing efficiency meant selecting those who could awaken higher-grade abilities.

'Also, what happens if I register someone who already has an awakened ability?'

Ha Dong-geon and Oh Won-joo—two individuals who already had abilities before vassal registration.

What would happen if they became vassals?

"Whoa…"

Lost in thought, a faint sound came from behind.

Turning around, Kang Deok-soo stood there, his expression frozen in shock.

"What the hell…?"

The others weren't much different.

Their faces were a whirlwind of emotions—shock, fear, and awe.

He could guess what they were thinking.

'They must see me as a monster.'

It wasn't just the fact that he had fried the goblins with electricity.

"What just… happened…?"

They instinctively realized that something immense had occurred—that the hundreds of goblins filling the emergency staircase had been wiped out in an instant.

That's why they looked so terrified.

Facing them, he spoke.

"The operation is over. Now, return the survivors to their homes."

Keeping everyone gathered in Choi Hyeong-jun's apartment forever wasn't an option.

'With this level-up, the emergency staircase, elevator, and hallways on each floor have all become part of my home territory.'

Now, the elevators could be used freely.

'This apartment is practically safe now.'

Technically, the entire apartment hadn't been integrated yet, but since all the pathways leading upward were secured, it was effectively under control.

Unless monsters like Kellikan, who could break through windows, appeared, there was no longer a need to worry about enemy invasions.

"If anyone is short on water or food, please take some of this."

After purchasing a generous amount of water and instant noodles and placing them in the hallway, I turned to Choi Hyungjun.

"Now, clear away all the wires."

"Y-yes!"

Chwararak chwararak

The sound of Choi Hyungjun tidying up the wires echoed noisily through the hallway.

'The Eye of the Absolute.'

I used my skill to perceive the newly acquired domain as a whole.

I could see Oh Wonjoo lying unconscious in the emergency stairwell.

'The first floor.'

With a composed expression, I walked over to the elevator, restored the power, and pressed the call button.

Wooouuung

The elevator operated normally and soon arrived on the 30th floor.

♩♬―

[30th floor.]

[The doors are opening.]

I calmly stepped into the elevator and headed down to the first floor, where Oh Wonjoo was.

***

The moment Kim Jaehyun's elevator doors closed…

"Haah—."

As if on cue, everyone let out a deep breath and slumped to the floor.

Until the moment he left, the overwhelming charisma radiating from him had been suffocating, pressing down on the entire space.

Even breathing had felt difficult.

Ha Donggun slowly approached the emergency stairs.

Clang— Clang—

Beyond the sight of Choi Hyungjun diligently organizing the wires, the state of the emergency stairwell remained a vivid testament to the fierce battle that had taken place.

Pools of water, scorch marks left on the floor and walls from the electric currents, and the completely burnt-out emergency lights.

There wasn't a single goblin corpse left, but the intensity of that moment still lingered in their minds.

"······."

The method of hunting goblins using electricity had been truly astonishing.

It showed potential, and he was confident that this strategy could quickly reduce the goblins' numbers.

'The problem is what came next.'

Right after the electrocuted goblin corpses disappeared, there was an instant when he couldn't breathe.

Something immense had descended upon him, rendering him completely immobile.

And in that frozen moment, Ha Donggun had witnessed the final moments of the goblins in the emergency stairwell.

'Their heads exploded all at once.'

Some goblins had miraculously survived the electrical attack. Then, all of a sudden, their heads burst simultaneously.

Of course, if that had been the only strange occurrence, Ha Donggun wouldn't have been so shocked.

He would have assumed it was simply some kind of special ability.

But then…

'What matters is that right after it happened, the emergency stairwell fell completely silent.'

The overwhelming presence of the goblins had vanished in an instant.

As if someone had erased them from existence.

'Why?'

He couldn't shake the thought that this entire apartment building was under Kim Jaehyun's influence.

If that were true…

'Was he testing us?'

Ha Donggun replayed the events in his mind once again.

And then he focused on one anomaly.

'Byungho.'

Moon Byungho, who had displayed an oddly unwavering trust in Kim Jaehyun. His physical abilities had suddenly improved drastically.

'When we were luring the goblins to the 30th floor, Byungho saved us from danger multiple times.'

He had known Moon Byungho for a long time, but he had never been someone who stood out.

He could hold his own, sure, but he was never the ace of the team.

Even during the past ten days of battles against the goblins, his contributions had been overshadowed by others.

'But then, suddenly, he changed.'

It started the moment the operation began, right after Moon Byungho's body became enveloped in radiant light.

From then on, he had fought like an entirely different person.

If that change had occurred because he had been "chosen"…

If it was a reward for his unwavering loyalty to Kim Jaehyun…

'…That's terrifying.'

How far did that man's powers extend?

Was his ability really just a newly awakened superpower, like he claimed?

'No… is Jaehyun even human like me?'

The unknown breeds fear, fear turns into reverence, and reverence leads to only one conclusion.

'…Whether he's human or not, the answer remains the same.'

In this cursed world, the only way to survive was to earn his favor.