CHAPTER 20

Expansion of Power (2)

[Room 2902]

Of course, without bothering to ring the doorbell, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it right away.

Unlocking the front door wasn't difficult.

Handling electronic devices within my domain was easy enough.

However—

Clack!

I had no way of dealing with an analog lock.

'Damn it!'

Clack— Clack—!

'Isn't there some way?'

For a moment, I considered climbing down from the upstairs window, but that was impossible.

Due to the restrictions of my domain, I couldn't fully step outside.

I could stick my hand or head out of the living room window, but not enough to actually leave the apartment.

'Right. That new skill!'

In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten about the new skill I had gained.

The Invisible Hand of the Absolute Ruler of the Household Lv. 1

– Summon and control an invisible hand.

'Bingo!'

I immediately used the skill.

From what I had learned using the Maintain Dignity and Absolute Eye skills, there was only one crucial factor when activating a skill—

'My will.'

Knowing exactly what I wanted was the most important thing.

As soon as I pictured unlocking the front door's security latch, I felt something surge out of my body and latch onto it.

Thunk— Crack!

"…"

The invisible hand shattered the security latch effortlessly.

It was so strong that it not only ripped out the latch but also bent part of the front door.

As I stared at the severely damaged door, a better idea suddenly occurred to me.

'…I could've just used the Servant Summoning skill.'

I realized I could have summoned Choi Hyung-jun from inside to unlock the door instead of breaking it.

But what was done was done.

'Let's focus on rescuing the person first.'

I turned on the lights, illuminating the darkness of the house.

Bright light flooded the interior, revealing Kim Da-jung lying unconscious in the middle of the living room.

She was beautiful.

Even at the brink of exhaustion, her beauty still shone through.

'Why is she like this here?'

Why the living room floor, of all places?

There were perfectly fine beds in both the master bedroom and the smaller room. The floor wasn't even covered with blankets.

"Hey, wake up."

I carefully tapped her cheek.

When she didn't respond, I grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her.

Still nothing.

Her body limply swayed, but she remained unconscious.

Only the faint rise and fall of her breathing proved she was still alive.

'She's in worse shape than I thought.'

Her skin was dry and rough, her eyes sunken, her lips cracked. She even had a slight fever.

Yet, even in this state, her beauty was almost surreal—like a princess from a fairy tale.

'Severe dehydration.'

I couldn't understand it.

There were water bottles in the kitchen.

Dozens of 300ml Icis bottled waters, small enough to fit perfectly in one hand, were stacked there.

If she had just been drinking those properly, she wouldn't have reached this level of dehydration.

There were also snacks and chocolates on the island counter, and the pantry had a variety of instant noodles.

"There's food and water, yet she came this close to dying.

'What the hell is this woman thinking?'

Was she really planning to die?

Come to think of it, her neatly folded hands almost looked as if she was calmly accepting death.

Even if she had decided to die, I had no intention of letting her.

I would save her. No matter what.

'What should I do?'

At least I knew from the military that you couldn't just let a severely dehydrated person drink water recklessly.

Especially for an unconscious person—it could block their airway and be extremely dangerous.

'The proper procedure would be to get her to an ER.'

The only real solution was to increase her blood volume through an IV.

But in this ruined world, there was no way any hospital was still running, nor was there an emergency team to come to the rescue.

For now, I lifted Kim Dajeong's legs.

This was to push the blood in her legs toward her heart, buying some time by prolonging the function of her vital organs.

'If I do nothing, she's really going to die.'

She was a woman with healing abilities.

I couldn't let her go so easily.

'I have to save her.'

What could I do?

I carefully examined all the skills I had.

I searched through the store and my inventory, but there was nothing that could help Kim Dajeong.

After thinking for a long time, a brilliant idea struck me.

'Would this really work?'

There was no need to hesitate.

I just had to try it now.

'Assign quest. Reward: Recovery from dehydration.'

The quest objective: Take one breath.

And then—

[Citizen Kim Dajeong has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 10,000,000 won deducted.]

'It worked!'

A full ten million won had been spent, but it was worth every penny.

"Mmm…"

The effect was immediate.

Kim Dajeong slowly opened her eyes, frowning at the living room light as she raised her arm.

"Hey, Kim Dajeong. Are you awake?"

The moment our eyes met—

[Citizen Kim Dajeong's trust level has increased.]

Another trust level increase notification appeared.

'Again, huh.'

It wasn't just Kim Dajeong.

Ohnju, Hadonggeon's party, and even Choi Hyeongjun's family had all experienced the same thing.

The trust level had increased the moment we met.

'People I meet in person seem to gain trust in me very quickly.'

It made sense.

Of course, someone would trust a familiar face more than a complete stranger.

But for trust to increase the instant they saw me… That was something else.

It was abnormal.

It had to be because of a skill.

'Is it due to the "Maintain Dignity" skill?'

Kim Dajeong, still groggy, looked at me and asked,

"…Who are you?"

"My name is Kim Jaehyun. I live in the apartment upstairs."

"…What?"

Gradually, life returned to her eyes. As soon as she fully regained consciousness, she gasped and scrambled out of my arms.

"W-Who are you?"

"Like I said, I live upstairs."

"How did you get in here?"

"You looked like you were in serious condition, so I forced the door open."

"What do you mean…"

Kim Dajeong looked around her apartment in confusion.

Then—

"Ah…"

Her expression changed as if she had suddenly realized something, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Aah…"

Covering her face with both hands, she started crying.

Her small shoulders trembled.

"..."

Watching her silently sob, I thought to myself.

How do you comfort someone?

What kind of words could reach a person who was crying so desperately?

I didn't know.

A comforting hug or a shared sorrow—those were things that required a certain level of closeness.

I wasn't close enough for that.

So, I decided to just say what I wanted to say.

"Kim Dajeong."

She looked up at me, her face streaked with tears.

I spoke to her.

"Please help me.""

I decided not to ask what had happened or why she was crying so sorrowfully.

There was no need to make her recall painful memories.

Instead, I thought it would be less sorrowful to shift her attention elsewhere—to the present reality.

"My colleague is seriously injured."

***

Kim Dajeong stared blankly at the man who had introduced himself as Kim Jaehyun.

'What is this man talking about?'

What started as a plea for help because his colleague was seriously injured had somehow escalated to him claiming she had a special power.

'What kind of nonsense is this?'

Superpowers?

And not just any ability—healing powers.

She suddenly felt foolish for taking him seriously just because he had mentioned an injured person.

'Healing? How does he even know I'm a nurse? Is he saying this on purpose?'

Had this man just read too many comics?

Then, a thought struck her.

Maybe this man, who was rambling on in front of her, was actually trying to comfort her.

She had received enough attention from men to instinctively recognize such gestures.

'Hmm.'

A kind person.

As she started to feel a bit of fondness, her curiosity about him also grew.

The face she had glimpsed earlier came to mind, and as she looked at him talking so earnestly, she thought:

'…He is pretty good-looking.'

His clumsy attempt at comforting her actually managed to knock on the door to her heart.

"Pfft."

"…Why are you laughing?"

It was interesting.

Normally, the men who tried to console her when she cried were full of ulterior motives, but she didn't sense any of that from the man in front of her.

Regardless, if his goal was to comfort her, she had to admit—he had somewhat succeeded.

"Alright. Where do we need to go?"

She said it with the thought of playing along.

But then—

"Hold on a moment."

[You have been given a quest.]

Quest Objective: Use Heal to treat the injured Oh Wonju.

Time Limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds

Reward: Healing proficiency enhancement

Failure Penalty: None

"Huh?"

As she blankly read the holographic window that had appeared in front of her, the man spoke.

"There's no need for you to move. You're in a weakened state, so please rest here and eat this in the meantime. I'll bring Oh Wonju here."

Then, out of nowhere, a tangerine appeared in midair and fell in front of her.

"…Huh?"

"Please rest."

As he turned his back to leave, Kim Dajeong grabbed his arm.

"W-Wait a second!"

"What is it?"

"What… is this?"

The man looked down at the tangerine in her hand and answered,

"A tangerine."

"Not that…!"

She had so many questions—the sudden hologram, the tangerine that materialized from thin air—but she couldn't form the words properly.

Frustrated, she tried to stand up.

"Ah—!"

She ended up tripping over her own feet.

She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain that was sure to come.

But…

"…?"

It didn't hurt.

Something felt strange.

When Kim Dajeong slowly opened her eyes,

"!!!"

She found herself floating in midair.

She could feel something supporting her, yet nothing was visible.

Her eyes widened like a rabbit's as she looked at the man.

He spoke nonchalantly,

"You're still weak, so be careful when moving. You might get hurt."

As she was gently placed back on the ground, Kim Dajeong couldn't close her mouth in shock.

"Just wait a little while."

She stared blankly in the direction the man had left, then looked down at the tangerine in her hand and seriously thought:

'Am I dreaming right now?'

…

[Citizen Kim Dajeong's trust level has increased.]

As I took the elevator down after calming Kim Dajeong, another notification popped up, indicating that her trust level had increased again.

Her trust level had already surpassed 30.

It seemed that showing her my abilities firsthand had worked well.

'So she didn't believe me before, huh?'

The moment she suddenly laughed after crying so sorrowfully, I had a feeling that was the case.

It must have sounded ridiculous to her—talking about superpowers and healing.

'Well, seeing is believing.'

Sometimes, it's best to just show people rather than explain.

♩♬―

[You have arrived at the 1st floor.]

[The doors are opening.]

Upon reaching the first floor, I walked down the hallway to the main entrance to meet Hadonggeon's party.

I had already confirmed that they were approaching from a side path, so they should be arriving soon.

'There they are.'

The first thing I saw was Moon Byeongho, sprinting toward us while carrying an elderly woman on his back.

'Good job, Byeongho.'

Thanks to him, I had already gained so much today.

I watched with a satisfied smile, but then I noticed something off about the atmosphere.

'…Why are they running so frantically?'

Following right behind Moon Byeongho, Kang Deoksu, Ha Donggeon, Kim Gayoung, Yoo Hyerin, and Kim Geon were all running with gritted teeth.

As if they were being chased by something.

And soon enough, their pursuer became clear.

'That is…?'

Behind Hadonggeon's party, a massive red tiger was closing in on them at full speed.