CHAPTER 19

 Expansion of Power (1)

The Absolute One's Eye, which had been illuminating Moon Byung-ho, was forcibly canceled, and his senses expanded throughout the entire dwelling.

At the same time, his body swelled with pain as the house slowly expanded.

'Krrgh!'

This time, it started from the 30th floor and gradually expanded downward.

Real-time agony twisted his muscles, and his blood vessels felt as if they were bursting.

It finally stopped when the expanded area of the dwelling, which had started from the 30th floor, engulfed up to the 21st floor.

[A being that meets the conditions for citizenship has been found.]

[Would you like to grant them citizenship?]

Seven photographs appeared before his eyes.

'There were still people left?'

He had thought he had granted citizenship to everyone during the goblin hunting operation, but apparently not.

'Grant it.'

[Civil rights have been granted to Jo Woo-jin, Kang Hyun-soo, Kim Da-jung, Nam Ji-ho, Moon Hae-ri, Nam Ah-young, and Nam Jin-joo.]

With that, seven more were accepted, bringing the total population of citizens to 101.

The threshold of 100 had been surpassed.

[The number of citizens has reached 100.]

[Experience points and settlement funds earned by citizens increase by 100%.]

There was the familiar notification he had expected, but also a completely new one.

[As the number of citizens has reached a certain level, all citizens unlock the skill 'Power of Trust.']

'Power of Trust?'

Something new had appeared.

He wanted to check it immediately, but there was a more urgent matter at hand.

He had to check on Ha Dong-gun's party.

'Absolute One's Eye.'

They were sprinting down an alley.

'Is anyone injured?'

He first checked Moon Byung-ho, whom he had seen covered in blood earlier.

Fortunately, he was running with an elderly woman on his back, seemingly unharmed. It appeared the blood he had seen before wasn't his.

'Hah.'

The real problem was Oh Won-joo.

Oh Won-joo, being carried by Kang Deok-soo, had lost consciousness and was bleeding from her side.

'She must have been hit by Jeok-ho.'

The only relief was that she had self-healing abilities.

He hadn't seen the battle, so he couldn't be sure what had happened, but the settlement fund report confirmed that Moon Byung-ho had landed the final blow.

Jeok-ho's level was 27—equal to that of Kellikan, whom he had previously burned to death.

Considering Jeok-ho had provided a settlement fund of around 9 million won, the 39 million won sum was hard to explain unless it was due to the vassal's settlement fund doubling perk.

'She was defeated despite the level difference?'

Jeok-ho was clearly level 27.

Yet a mere level 27 had dealt a critical injury to Oh Won-joo, who was level 33.

It proved that level wasn't an absolute measure of strength.

'Well, if levels were absolute, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Kellikan.'

Then…

'Is spending 100 million won to level up even necessary?'

Not that he was hesitant because of the money.

'Still, this is bad.'

Of all people, Oh Won-joo was the one injured.

From what he had observed so far, her contributions to the party were immense.

The number of goblins she had slain alone was greater than the rest of the party combined.

Naturally, he couldn't help but worry.

'Will she be okay?'

But that concern proved unnecessary.

"Kiiieeek!"

The moment Ha Dong-gun's party emerged from the alley, they easily wiped out the goblins they encountered.

Even though Moon Byung-ho and Kang Deok-soo hadn't even joined the fight.

"I hit it!"

"…Me too."

The arrows fired by Yoo Hye-rin and Kim Geon, which had previously always missed, now struck the goblins right between the eyes.

Meanwhile, the arrows shot by Kim Ga-young and Ha Dong-gun had also become significantly sharper.

"What the? My body suddenly feels so light…"

"Same here. I don't feel out of breath at all."

Their strange reactions reminded him of the notification he had seen earlier.

The skill unlocked for all citizens—'Power of Trust.'

{Power of Trust} (Passive Skill)

All attributes increase by (Trust Level)%

'So that's why.'

Everyone in Ha Dong-gun's group had a trust level of at least 50.If physical strength, dynamic vision, muscular power, reflexes, and other attributes all increased by more than 50%, it was only natural that combat power would skyrocket.

At that moment, Moon Byung-ho spoke to the bewildered group.

"We've all been chosen by him. Just like I was."

It felt somewhat similar to the retainer registration process.

Having suddenly leveled up to 30, Moon Byung-ho spoke with even more conviction.

"Your body feels lighter, and you're overflowing with power, right? I felt the same when I was hunting goblins. It looks like he's trying to help us."

Surprisingly, his words had an effect.

[Citizen Kim Ga-young's loyalty has surpassed 30.]

[Citizen Kim Ga-young has met the conditions for retainer registration.]

[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's loyalty has surpassed 30.]

[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin has met the conditions for retainer registration.]

Two people had met the requirements for retainer registration.

'Register them both as retainers.'

At that moment—

Wooong!

"W-what?"

"Kyah!"

『Name: Kim Ga-young (Lv. 20) [+]

Title: [The Fourth Servant]

Trust: 58 Loyalty: 32

Awakening Ability: Piercing

★ Quest Assignment』

『Name: Yoo Hye-rin (Lv. 25) [+]

Title: [The Fifth Servant]

Trust: 69 Loyalty: 33

Awakening Ability: Poison Mist

★ Quest Assignment』

Judging by their levels, it seemed they had obtained C-rank and B-rank skills, respectively.

A goblin horde, stimulated by the light radiating from their awakening, charged toward Ha Dong-geon's party.

As always, Kim Ga-young was the first to react.

However, the arrow she shot instinctively, almost like a spinal reflex, was imbued with a faint light.

Pshuk!

"!!!"

The arrow she fired struck a goblin directly in the forehead—just like always.

But unlike before, the arrow pierced cleanly through the goblin's head and continued, impaling the bodies of the goblins charging behind it.

"Kreeegh!"

"Kakak!"

"Kieek!"

Goblin after goblin collapsed, screaming, with gaping holes in their bodies.

Of course, the most shocked person was Kim Ga-young herself.

"W-what the…?"

This was the effect of her newly awakened skill.

Piercing (C-rank)

Consumes mental energy to fire penetrating arrows.

It seemed she had unconsciously activated the skill while focusing.

'I should assign a quest.'

The moment she saw the word "Piercing" in the quest details, she would immediately understand what kind of skill it was.

Right on cue, a notification appeared indicating that Kim Ga-young had completed the goblin-hunting quest assigned earlier. Now, a new quest could be given.

"Quest Assignment"

Quest Objective: Hunt goblins using Piercing (0/10)

Time Limit: 10 minutes

Reward: Increased Piercing proficiency

Failure Penalty: Fatigue

Upon checking the quest details, Kim Ga-young immediately went on a rampage.

Her precisely aimed Piercing arrows took down at least two goblins with each shot.

The moment Kim Ga-young began rampaging, skillfully wielding her abilities, I hesitated for a moment before assigning a similar quest to Yoo Hye-rin.

'But this ability is a bit tricky.'

Poison Mist (B-Rank)

Consumes mental energy to generate a lethal poison mist.

The ability itself was excellent.

If used in the underground parking lot where the remnants of goblins remained, it could potentially wipe them out entirely.

But that was the problem.

A B-Rank poison mist skill—undoubtedly extremely lethal.

If used carelessly, it could have a negative impact on teammates.

'I'll put this on hold and review it later.'

Besides, it didn't seem like Yoo Hye-rin needed to step in at the moment.

[Citizen Kim Ga-young has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 67,773 won deducted.]

[Citizen Kim Ga-young has used up all available quest attempts for today.]

[Evaluating quests completed by Citizen Kim Ga-young.]

[······ Evaluating ······]

"Wow."

She displayed a completely different level of performance compared to Choi Hyung-joon, who had awakened the same C-Rank ability.

'Impressive.'

She maximized the piercing arrow trait to incapacitate as many goblins as possible.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was single-handedly clearing the way.

[Evaluation complete.]

[Experience points increased slightly.]

I had been hoping for more, but once again, it was a dud.

'Well, I guess that makes sense.'

If the odds were high, the system message would have celebrated with a jackpot announcement.

It was another reminder that Moon Byung-ho's case was an anomaly.

'At this rate, there's nothing to worry about.'

The shortcut to the apartment complex was coming into view.

Thanks to Kim Ga-young's stellar performance, Ha Dong-geon's party would likely reach safety soon.

'Maybe I should check in on those people.'

I had planned to visit Kim Da-bin and Kim Min-ho, but when I checked, they still hadn't finished showering.

'Guess I'll go a bit later.'

They must have been making the most of it because even after 30 minutes, they were still in there.

'Might as well explore the newly expanded area.'

Floors 21 through 29.

About half of the newly expanded area consisted of vacant apartments.

Refrigerators in these unoccupied units were filled with rotting food and swarms of insects.

The occupied apartments were slightly better, but the filthy, uncleaned interiors and bathrooms piled with human waste made them a different kind of hell.

'Disgusting.'

Maybe it was because I could perceive the full state of these homes so clearly, but it felt even more repulsive to me.

One apartment stood out—it remained clean despite the dire circumstances.

'These must be the people I just granted citizenship to.'

It was a normal home occupied by Nam Ji-ho and his family of four, but compared to the others, it was almost shockingly clean.

An interesting detail was that the bathtub was half-filled with water.

When I saw someone enter the bathroom and scoop water into a container, I realized its purpose.

Drinking water.

'Huh.'

It seemed they had the foresight to fill the tub before the water supply was cut off.

That alone could sustain the four of them for about a month.

Others had to drink from toilet tanks to survive—plain tap water was a luxury in comparison.

'They're smart.'

And that wasn't all.

A camping gas stove was set up in the living room, allowing them to cook rice and ramen.

There was even some leftover rice in a pot at the moment.

Unlike other apartments, they also managed their waste properly.

As a result, their living conditions were actually better than those who had received relief supplies from me.

'No wonder they didn't accept Ha Dong-geon's rescue offer.'

When a group of strangers armed with bows and baseball bats shows up claiming to be a rescue team, why would they open the door?

The people who had followed Ha Dong-geon's party during the monster-hunting operation had no choice—they were desperate.

Most of them had been forced to leave their homes to scavenge for food and water despite the monsters roaming outside.

They had no other options.

But this family, in contrast, had the luxury of choosing whether to trust Ha Dong-geon's party or not.

Honestly, if a so-called rescue team showed up armed only with bows and bats, it would make more sense not to believe them.

'I want them on my team.'

Just the fact that they had the quick thinking to fill the bathtub before the water was cut off proved they weren't ordinary people.

In a crisis, people with that kind of resourcefulness were invaluable.

'Hmm?'

Of course, not all the newly discovered survivors had rejected rescue out of rational judgment.

Apartment 2902, Living Room.

At first, I thought it was a corpse.

The person was lying completely still on the floor, without the slightest movement.

'This woman…?'

She looked like she was on the verge of death.

[Name: Kim Da-jung (Lv. 26)]

[Trust Level: 18]

[Awakened Ability: Heal]

[Experience Distribution Rate: 0%]

[Monetary Compensation Rate: 0%]

[★ Assign Quest] [ Expel]

Heal (B-Rank)

Consumes mental energy to heal wounds.

Without hesitation, I sprinted toward Apartment 2902 at full speed.