CHAPTER 18

Quest Reward (4)

Using his teleportation ability, Moon Byung-ho arrived home ahead of his companions and hurried inside.

Clack.

He inserted the key, opened the front gate, and went straight to his grandmother's room.

Seeing his grandmother lying in bed as usual, he let out a sigh of relief.

Carefully approaching her, he spoke.

"Grandma, I'm home."

"Hm?"

His grandmother, waking from her sleep, rubbed her hands over his face in a daze. Then, like a child, she burst into sorrowful tears.

"Sniff… Grandma, I'm sorry. I was too late, wasn't I?"

As he held his grandmother tightly, reuniting with her, Moon Byung-ho made a firm resolution.

'Jaehyun-nim, I will dedicate my life to you.'

***

I watched warmly as Moon Byung-ho and his grandmother reunited.

'Such a good kid.'

From my perspective, there was no reason not to think highly of him.

His trust and loyalty had skyrocketed.

Honestly, who wouldn't appreciate someone who wholeheartedly trusts and pledges loyalty to them? Even simple words of affirmation make people look favorable, but in my case, I could literally see those values as numerical stats.

'This guy hits the jackpot every time.'

Among Ha Dong-gun's group, he was the first to be accepted as a retainer, and at the same time, he awakened an A-rank ability—teleportation—upon reaching level 30.

Even in mobile games, pulling a high-tier character makes you feel attached.

But Moon Byung-ho wasn't just some in-game character; he was a real person—with an overpowered teleportation ability, no less.

And now, he had even earned me skill points.

'He's practically a golden goose.'

Just then, as Moon Byung-ho lifted his head with a resolute expression after embracing his grandmother, a new notification appeared.

[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's loyalty has increased.]

[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Moon Byung-ho is already registered as a retainer.]

[The retainer limit has increased.]

"Huh?"

I immediately opened the skill window and checked the retainer management tab.

Retainer Management

Choi Hyung-jun (Lv. 20) [+]Moon Byung-ho (Lv. 30) [+]Kang Deok-soo (Lv. 25) [+]

(3 / 11 members)

Sure enough, the limit had increased from 10 to 11.

"Ha, haha."

A hollow laugh escaped in sheer joy.

'Mun Byung-ho is totally a blessed character, a blessed character.'

Anyone who has played an RPG game would have heard this term at least once.

A "blessed character."

A character that excels in everything—whether it's enhancement, obtaining items through hunting, or opening random loot boxes—far better than others.

There was no better way to describe Mun Byung-ho at this moment.

'I'll make sure to raise you properly.'

I resolved to do everything I could for Mun Byung-ho from now on.

Whether it was leveling up or quest rewards.

No matter how much money it cost, it wouldn't be a big deal.

After all, the value of what he had already earned was easily in the billions.

Leaving everything else aside, just the 'skill points' alone were worth that much.

'I was already cutting it close.'

With nearly all 40 slots filled, I was getting increasingly worried.

No matter how I looked at it, the shop slots would run out before I even hit level 10.

But now that I had skill points, there was no need to worry. As soon as the slots were filled, I could just level up.

'Come to think of it, how much money do I have left?'

Checking my funds, I found that there were around 11 million won left in the Absolute Wallet.

Despite spending quite a bit, this much remained thanks to mass monster hunting.

Since I had wiped out nearly a thousand goblins at once, just hunting goblins had earned me millions.

Even though I didn't receive a bonus settlement because the goblins I killed during the territory expansion weren't counted as my direct kills, the sheer number of them still brought in a considerable fortune.

'Let's see how much it costs to level up Byung-ho.'

I pressed the [+] button next to Mun Byung-ho's level.

And then, I was utterly shocked.

[Insufficient funds for level up.]

[To increase the level of Retainer Mun Byung-ho, 100,000,000 won is required.]

[Please increase your available funds and try again.]

"...."

I stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the overwhelming message filling my vision.

'Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million… one hundred million.'

One hundred million won.

That's how much it would cost to raise Mun Byung-ho's level by just one.

'Sorry, Byung-ho.'

Barring some extraordinary event, it was unlikely that Mun Byung-ho's level would be rising anytime soon.

'But I'll make sure to give you daily quests.'

I planned to clear all of Mun Byung-ho's daily quests, even if it meant spending more money to lower the difficulty.

If this accumulated day by day, Mun Byung-ho would grow stronger at a rapid pace.

I watched through the Absolute's eyes as Mun Byung-ho carried his grandmother on his back, returning to this place, lost in thought.

"If I hit the jackpot just one more time, then I'll seriously consider leveling up. For real."

I'm not asking for much.

Just one more time.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, I sensed someone arriving on the 30th floor via the elevator.

"Who could that be?"

Turning the Absolute Eye toward the hallway to check, I saw a muscular man and a slender woman carrying a load of something as they approached.

'So it's them.'

The average level of an adult male was around 7 or 8, but this man was level 15 on his own.

The woman with him was level 11, which was quite high for a woman.

After stepping out of the elevator, they glanced toward my apartment before heading to Choi Hyungjun's place and ringing the doorbell.

♬♪♬♩~

Park Hyewon opened the door to greet them.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Kim Dabin, and this here is my younger brother, Kim Minho. We live in apartment 1701 of this building."

"Oh, I see. What brings you here…?"

"We came to ask for a favor."

Kim Dabin spoke with a serious expression.

"I know it's shameless of us, but… would it be possible for us to take a shower?"

I thought they were going to ask for something huge, but it was just a shower?

"A shower?"

"Yes, a shower."

Understanding their situation, Park Hyewon nodded willingly.

"Of course, come in."

"Thank you so much!"

As Kim Minho entered the house, he handed a box to Park Hyewon.

"Ma'am, where should I put this?"

"Oh my, what is all this?"

"We brought some canned food and other things."

"Really?"

The box he was carrying was filled with useful supplies—canned tuna, whelk, canned chicken breast, Spam, and more.

'They're offering all that just for a shower?'

In times like these, long-shelf-life foods were as valuable as treasure.

Obviously, this was too much in exchange for a single shower.

"Oh my, you really didn't have to."

"No, no! We're the ones barging into your home with a selfish request. It's only right that we bring something."

Kim Minho joked lightly before revealing his true intentions.

"This is also our way of asking for your continued generosity in the future… hehe."

Only then did their reasoning become clear.

'Of course. They're hoping to take showers here regularly.'

It was actually a very clever move.

They had quickly realized the value of having electricity, water, and gas in a world that had collapsed.

By making a bold investment from the start, they were securing their stake in that privilege.

However, as their conversation continued, it seemed that wasn't their only purpose.

Glancing at Park Hyewon, Kim Dabin cautiously spoke.

"Um… about those people carrying bows and baseball bats, do they live next door?"

"Huh?"

Park Hyewon tilted her head in confusion before clapping her hands as if she understood.

"Oh, them? No, they're not actually my neighbors. They used to live in another building, but… well, it's a bit complicated. Anyway, only one person actually lives next door."

Hearing this, Kim Dabin asked,

"Would that be the pale-skinned person who can conjure objects out of thin air?"

"Oh! Yes! You know them?"

Then, this time, a response came from Kim Min-ho.

"Well, actually, we saw them fighting monsters in the hallway yesterday. And among them, that person was just…"

Kim Min-ho trailed off, his body trembling slightly.

Sensing the pause, Kim Da-bin continued his words.

"He had an extraordinary presence."

"More than that… it was kind of scary."

Hearing Kim Min-ho's answer, Kim Da-bin tilted his head in confusion and asked,

"Scary? With your build, you're saying that?"

"No, I know, but… it was like a primal fear, you know? It just felt that way."

At that moment, Park Hye-won spoke to them.

"Rather than standing there at the entrance, why don't you come inside?"

"Oh, thank you."

Following Park Hye-won's guidance, they entered the house and soon encountered Choi Hyung-joon.

Choi Hyung-joon was in the living room doing squats.

"Oh my, boss! You're working out. But if you do squats like that, your knees will get wrecked!"

As Kim Da-bin exclaimed in shock, Kim Min-ho immediately approached Choi Hyung-joon and corrected his posture.

"Spread your legs a bit wider, and make sure your knees don't go past your toes. Push your hips back a little more."

"Oh, t-thank you?"

Choi Hyung-joon turned to his wife, Park Hye-won, with a look that demanded an explanation.

Instead of answering, Park Hye-won took a can of tuna from the box Kim Da-bin's group had brought and shook it.

While this was happening, Kim Min-ho, still adjusting Choi Hyung-joon's posture, suddenly spoke in surprise.

"Member— I mean, boss. Have you always worked out a lot? Your muscles are amazing."

"It's not really like that…"

"But then, why is your posture…"

As Kim Min-ho looked confused, Park Hye-won spoke up.

"You can take a shower over there. Da-bin, you can use the one in the master bedroom. The towels are inside, so just take one and use it."

At that point, the "Eye of the Absolute" was deactivated.

'Not bad.'

They seemed like decent people.

He had been considering forming another team with high-level individuals anyway, and if he added a few more people to these two, he could create the perfect combination.

'Once they're done showering, I'll time my approach.'

After registering the canned goods they had brought, he could level up the shop.

'Might as well meet up with them and talk.'

He was planning to assign the new team to resource gathering and rescuing survivors from other apartment buildings.

Just then—

[Citizen Choi Hyung-joon has completed a quest.]

[Quest cost: 78,145 KRW has been deducted.]

[Citizen Choi Hyung-joon has used up all available quest attempts for today.]

[Evaluating quests completed by Citizen Choi Hyung-joon.]

[······ Evaluating ······]

At that moment, the quest given to Choi Hyung-joon had ended.

'Not very efficient.'

He had given him the same basic strength-enhancing quest he assigned to Kang Deok-soo, increasing the number of repetitions significantly, yet the quest cost hadn't decreased much.

'It's probably because of his awakened ability.'

For Choi Hyung-joon, who possessed the raw strength of a gorilla, bodyweight exercises were simply too easy.

'Can't be helped.'

He had decided to continue nurturing his followers, even if it cost money.

He had also realized that the additional daily quest rewards were quite worthwhile, making it a good investment.

And if he hit the jackpot, like with Moon Byung-ho, it would be a massive success.

'Wait a minute. Technically speaking, isn't Hyung-joon's exercise a way of training skill proficiency? Then if I hit the jackpot again, would I get skill points?'

Just as he was getting his hopes up—

[Evaluation complete.]

[Strength has slightly increased.]

Choi Hyung-joon immediately shattered his expectations.

'…Lame.'

Maybe it was because the last bonus had been so huge, but this one felt terribly underwhelming.

Then, at that moment—

[You have hunted a Red Tiger (Lv. 27).]

[You have gained a large amount of experience points.]

[39,783,200 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler.]

[Skill level has increased.]

[A new skill has been acquired.]

'What the…?'

He quickly activated the "Eye of the Absolute" to check on Ha Dong-geon's party.

"Huff… huff…"

There, covered in blood and gasping for breath, Moon Byung-ho stood over the corpse of a red tiger.

'What the hell happened?'

Before he could fully grasp the situation—

'Ugh!'

A sharp pain struck him.