CHAPTER 29
Seomyeon Station (3)
[An entity that meets the conditions for being accepted as a citizen has been found.]
[Would you like to grant citizenship?]
I had assumed that most of the nearby people had already been accepted as citizens, but it seemed there were still some who hadn't received citizenship yet.
A total of 27 people.
Still, thanks to my diligent efforts in accepting citizens so far, the number wasn't too high.
'Grant it.'
I checked just in case, but as expected, none of the 27 were newly awakened individuals.
That meant the ratio of awakened ones was extremely low.
'But an A-rank Awakened voluntarily coming here?'
In that sense, Seo Yejin was an unexpected stroke of luck.
For some reason, Awakened individuals often seemed to show up voluntarily like this.
'I have to make her a retainer no matter what.'
To accept someone as a retainer, I first needed to increase their trust and loyalty.
From my experience so far, the best way to build trust was through direct interaction.
"Are you alright?"
Ha Dong-geon looked at me with concern from the side.
"I'm fine. You should go down and rest now."
"Understood. Please call me anytime if you need anything."
After sending him off, I began searching for Seo Yejin.
I thought she might be inside one of the newly added apartment buildings.
However, even after thoroughly searching the two newly added buildings, I couldn't find her.
'Where is she?'
I started to worry a little.
She might have harbored resentment because her tamed mouse was accidentally crushed to death.
'I'll have to summon her. Assign quest.'
"Assign Quest"
Quest Objective: Visit the apartment.
Time Limit: 48 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Cola and a chocolate bar.
Failure Penalty: None.
[Would you like to assign this quest as is?]
[Yes / No]
These were the two most popular items at the store recently.
Even though I wasn't sure of her exact situation, the reward would surely be tempting.
I was about to assign the quest when—
'Wait a moment.'
A thought suddenly crossed my mind, echoing Owenju's words from earlier.
("Can't you use your ability to bring your family here?")
I had tried before and failed, leading me to hypothesize that it was because they were outside my sphere of influence.
'If that's the case…'
Were those granted citizenship within my sphere of influence or not?
The answer was: They were within my influence.
No matter how far they were from home, the fact that the monsters they hunted were still being processed as part of my system was proof of that.
'Modify the quest.'
I made some slight adjustments to the time limit and penalty.
"Assign Quest"
Quest Objective: Visit the apartment.
Time Limit: 10 seconds
Reward: Cola and a chocolate bar.
Failure Penalty: Summoning.
[Would you like to assign this quest as is?]
[Yes / No]
It worked.
'Who would've thought I could even utilize the failure penalty?'
I had always assumed that failure penalties had to be negative consequences.
But now, I realized I could use them however I wanted, just like the rewards.
'I can summon them?'
Even though it was a one-time use, it meant I could apply a retainer-summoning ability to regular citizens as well.
I could teleport anyone who had acquired citizenship.
This was a major discovery.
'If I use this, I can bring my family here safely.'
As long as I could grant them citizenship, I could use the quest system to summon them into my territory.
'When an outpost is activated, it temporarily holds the same power as my home base, right?'
That meant I could use the outpost to grant citizenship as well.
So, if I sent out Ha Dong-geon's party, built an outpost, granted citizenship to my family, and then used the quest system to summon them—
'It's perfect.'
This was the most feasible plan I had come up with so far.
'The only issue is… how much money it'll cost.'
I had too much money on hand.
Because of that, there was no way to estimate how much it would cost to teleport Seo Yejin.
In the worst-case scenario, my entire fortune in the Absolute One's wallet could disappear.
'Even so, let's just do it.'
It was a problem that had no answer no matter how much I thought about it.
It was something I would have to confirm at some point anyway.
At times like this, the best approach was to just charge in headfirst.
'Assign the quest.'
Ding!
[ 00 minutes 09 seconds ]
I anxiously watched the countdown.
The quest cost would be charged upon quest completion.
Only three seconds remained.
'Please, just don't go over a billion won.'
A one-time teleportation ability.
The price was—
[ Citizen Seo Yejin has failed the quest. ]
[ Quest cost: 31,674,894 won has been deducted. ]
'Thirty million won!'
That was a good deal.
It was much cheaper than I had expected.
"Whew."
Thank goodness.
It was an expensive price, but at that rate, it was still manageable in urgent situations.
'I still need to figure out whether the cost increases based on distance, but at least it works properly.'
The gamble was a huge success.
"What… what the? Where am I?"
I heard Seo Yejin's voice from the entrance.
I walked toward the entrance and spoke to her.
"Hello, Miss Seo Yejin."
"W-Who are you? Do you know me?"
I extended my hand toward her as she sat on the floor, frozen in shock.
"I'm the one who granted you citizenship."
"Huh?"
Seo Yejin's expression gradually turned into one of shock.
"W-Wait a minute. Does that mean this place is…"
"Yes. The top floor of the apartment you saw through the mouse."
She was so overwhelmed that she didn't even think to take my hand and stand up.
I handed her a cold can of cola as she stared at me, mouth agape, and continued speaking.
"I'm sorry for inviting you so suddenly. You must be very surprised. Nice to meet you, my name is Kim Jaehyun."
A response came immediately.
[ Citizen Seo Yejin's trust has greatly increased. ]
It seemed she had finally grasped the situation.
And at the same time, she seemed to have gained trust in my ability.
And then—
"So… Jaehyun, you're the one who brought me here? And that weird quest earlier, too?"
"Yes. I assigned it to you."
Seo Yejin's expression brightened slightly as she spoke.
"I know it's shameless of me to ask, but… could I make a request? There are people I'm responsible for. Could you take them in as well?"
"…What?"
Her words caught me off guard.
"There are others with you?"
Hearing her story, I realized there were quite a few.
A total of 35 people.
[ Citizen Seo Yejin's trust has greatly increased. ]
As she looked at me with hopeful eyes, chattering excitedly, I spoke firmly.
"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible."
"Huh…?"
Seo Yejin's eyes trembled violently.
"W-What do you mean…?"
"It's impossible for me to bring them here using my power."
Teleporting non-citizens wasn't possible, and even if it were, it would be a problem.
Bringing Seo Yejin alone had cost 30 million won, so bringing 35 people would exceed a billion won.
I wasn't willing to invest that much money just to save them.
Seo Yejin, clearly desperate, crawled on her knees and grabbed onto my pants.
"No! My mother and little brother are there! I'll do anything—I beg you, please…"
I wondered if there was anything I could do in response to her desperate demeanor.
The most straightforward solution that first came to mind was to send Ha Dong-geon's party.
Considering their abilities, bringing back thirty people at once would certainly be possible.
However, another, better solution suddenly came to me.
'Seo Yejin wasn't even in direct contact, yet she was able to grant citizenship.'
That meant the household domain must have recognized the tamed mice as a part of her.
'If that's the case, then maybe this could work too.'
To apply the idea that had just come to mind, I first needed to accept her as my retainer.
Only then would the "Follower" title activate.
I checked Seo Yejin's citizen information window.
[Name: Seo Yejin (Lv. 31)]
Trust Level: 37
Awakening Ability: Queen of Mice
Experience Distribution Rate: 0%
Settlement Funds Distribution Rate: 0%
★ Grant Quest | Expel
Her trust level, which had previously been a single-digit number, had shot up by 30.
'That was fast.'
As expected, her trust level was skyrocketing exponentially after a direct interaction.
'Just a little more, and it'll be enough.'
Was there a way to raise her trust level and, at the same time, increase her loyalty, which would unlock later?
Looking at Seo Yejin, who was clutching my pants with tear-filled eyes, I asked,
"Are you truly willing to do anything?"
Seo Yejin hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Anything. I'll do anything."
"There's only one way."
I lowered myself to match her eye level and stared straight into her desperate eyes as I continued.
"Trust me completely and swear your loyalty to me."
"…What?"
"If you do, I will save them."
A direct approach.
I chose the simplest, most straightforward method—asking her to trust and swear loyalty to me.
Even as I said it, I didn't expect it to work.
I was just giving it a try on the off chance it might.
If it didn't work, I could always send Ha Dong-geon's party.
But then—
"I will trust you, Jaehyun-nim. I will devote myself entirely. If it means saving my family, I will even lay down my life. How can I prove my sincerity?"
[Seo Yejin's Trust Level has increased significantly.]
Unexpectedly, it worked.
[Seo Yejin's Trust Level has reached 50.]
[Loyalty has been unlocked.]
[Seo Yejin's Loyalty has exceeded 30.]
[Seo Yejin has met the conditions for retainer registration.]
'…This actually worked?'
She was the fastest person I had ever met to qualify for retainer registration.
It must have been her desperate need to save her family.
She was probably grasping at straws, clinging to my words with all her might.
I spoke sincerely.
"Well done."
I immediately registered her as a retainer.
Flash!
A bright light unique to retainer registration burst from her body.
It felt good.
The brighter the light, the better the result tended to be.
And then—
[Name: Seo Yejin (Lv. 35) [+]]
Title: [Tenth Follower] [Knight] [Tamer]
Trust Level: 52
| Loyalty: 33
Awakening Abilities: Queen of Mice, Evolution
Experience Distribution Rate: 0%
★ Grant Quest
[Tamer]
The abilities of tamed creatures increase by (Loyalty)%, and their growth speed accelerates by (Trust)%.
[Evolution (A+ Rank)]
Tamed creatures continuously grow.Once they reach a certain level, they evolve.
The birth of the fourth knight.
I looked at Seo Yejin, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and asked,
"Do you have tamed mice where your family is?"
Seo Yejin frantically nodded.
"Take one of them to your family right now."
"Understood."
As she was about to sit cross-legged on the cold floor, I spoke.
"Come inside. It's cold out here."
Seo Yejin quickly followed me.
She sat cross-legged on the living room floor, closed her eyes, and focused.
'Absolute Eye.'
The moment I focused my vision on Seo Yejin—
'I see it.'
A small mouse with short legs was scurrying down a narrow tunnel.
[Tamed Mouse (Lv. 2)]
It worked.
Because Seo Yejin was sharing her senses with the mouse, the Absolute Eye created a summonable field centered around it.
Before long, the mouse appeared in front of a group of people in a chaotic state.
"A mouse!"
"Isn't that Yejin's mouse?"
"Yejin! Where are you?!"
As they panicked, I materialized items I had purchased from the store.
Ziiiing—
"Gasp!"
Starting with water and chocolate bars, I prioritized simple, readily consumable food like bread and milk.
At the same time—
[Seo Yejin's Trust Level has increased significantly.]
[Seo Yejin's Loyalty has increased significantly.]
'As expected.'
It seemed that I could only use Absolute Eye on the mice with whom Seo Yejin was actively sharing her senses.
But that was more than enough.
Her ability and Absolute Eye were a perfect match.
From now on, tens of thousands of mice crawling through the sewers would all become my eyes.
'This is insane.'
I had obtained the ultimate scout.
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