CHAPTER 31
Seomyeon Station (5)
Giant snakes have a habit of swallowing their prey whole while still alive, but this was no easy feat.
If a living creature trapped inside its stomach were to struggle in a final desperate attempt to survive, it could become quite dangerous.
That's why snakes either use venom to completely subdue their prey or constrict them until they suffocate before swallowing them.
However, this precaution only applies to prey of a certain size. When it comes to a tiny mouse, much smaller than the snake itself, there was no concern about swallowing it alive.
The snake had no idea what kind of consequences it would face from swallowing the mouse so carelessly.
'Alright, it swallowed it.'
By the time Hadonggeon's party arrived at Seomyeon Station, I had made Seoye-jin send a mouse rushing into the giant snake's mouth.
The snake, without hesitation, gulped it down in an instant, and now I had a clear view of its stomach.
'Storage open.'
There are two skills I can use while observing my vassals through the Eyes of the Absolute.
Storage and Shop.
The Dignity Maintenance skill was unavailable.
The domain created by the vassals under the "Servant" title was fundamentally different from the declared domain of my home territory.
In the domain they created, only the "Eyes of the Homebound Absolute" skill could be used.
This meant that generating things like electricity or gas within that domain was impossible.
However…
'Summon gas.'
I could store gas created in my home territory inside my storage and then use the storage skill to summon it wherever I needed.
A little loophole in the system.
Whoosh—
By the time Hadonggeon's party made their way out of Line 2 and reached Line 1, where the giant snake was lurking, its stomach was already filled with gas.
And then—
'Summon burning tissue.'
I summoned a burning tissue that had been prepared in advance inside my storage and placed it directly into the gas-filled stomach of the snake.
Once something is put into storage while burning, it stays in that state when retrieved.
With a fire ignited inside a gas-filled chamber, the outcome was inevitable.
BOOM—!
A spectacular explosion erupted from the snake's stomach, completely obliterating its body.
"Ugh!"
Seoye-jin, who had been sitting cross-legged beside me, clutched her head and woke up.
She had lost the mouse in the explosion, and the shock hit her hard.
Since we shared senses, she must have felt the pain of the blast directly.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes! I'm fine! I was just a little startled."
She spoke bravely, but her face looked exhausted.
"Do you want to lie down on the sofa and rest for a bit?"
"Oh, I'm fine…"
"Do as I say."
"Then… I'll take a short rest…"
As she lay down on the sofa, looking tired, I spoke to her.
"You did well."
"…Yeah."
While checking on Seoye-jin's condition, I summoned the Eyes of the Absolute to observe Hadonggeon's party.
The sudden explosion had left them in complete disarray.
'I can't let it count as my kill.'
The snake had to be slain by a vassal with the Knight title.
Only then could I gain six times the experience and settlement rewards.
If I accidentally killed it myself, I'd suffer a sixfold loss.
'Assign a party quest to Hadonggeon and Oh Won-joo: Finish off the giant snake.'
Hadonggeon was the first to regain his senses. He hurled his spear, shattering the giant snake's head and killing it instantly.
[You have hunted King Snake (Lv. 40).]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience.]
[1,812,043,879 won has been deposited into the Homebound Absolute's wallet.]
[Citizen Hadonggeon has defeated the boss of 'Seomyeon Station.']
[A forward base can now be established at 'Seomyeon Station.']
A staggering 1.8 billion won in cash.
[Skill level has increased.]
[Skill level has increased.]
[Skill level has increased.]
[Homebound Declaration has reached Level 15.]
[You have gained 3 skill points.]
Three levels rose instantly, and with it came a wave of excruciating pain.
'Ugh.'
The more space I expanded, the stronger the pain seemed to grow.
The domain, which had been expanding uncontrollably, finally stopped after fully absorbing ten apartment buildings.
At least the speed of expansion had increased—if that could be considered a silver lining.
'About halfway there now.'
Out of the 25 apartment buildings in District 1, I had turned 13 into my home territory.
It successfully took up almost half.
[An entity that meets the conditions for being accepted as a citizen has been discovered.]
[Would you like to grant citizenship?]
Since 10 new buildings were added at once, many people needed to be accepted as citizens.
"Two hundred people?"
To be precise, 214 people.
More people than expected had been hiding inside their homes, holding out.
"Grant it."
The moment citizenship was granted to all of them at once—
[The number of citizens has reached 1,000.]
[Since the number of citizens has reached a certain level, all citizens unlock the 'Basic Salary' skill.]
{Basic Salary} (Passive)
Experience points and settlement funds that citizens earn increase by an additional 100%.
"What does this mean?"
The moment I checked the citizen information window, I understood.
『Name: Kim Min-ho (Lv. 17)
Trust: 57
Loyalty: 13
Awakening Ability: None
Experience Distribution Rate: 70% (+100%)
Settlement Fund Distribution Rate: 30% (+100%)
★ Assign Quest Expel』
It was literally a basic salary.
Even if I set the distribution rate to 0%, they would still receive an additional 100% experience points and settlement funds.
"Nice."
I had been thinking about increasing the citizens' settlement funds anyway.
I could retrieve money from the citizens through the store, and considering the efficiency of 'tax collection,' it was more beneficial to invest a certain amount of money back into the citizens.
"It's a bit of a shame that exploits won't work, though."
I had once conducted an experiment to maximize tax collection efficiency.
It involved providing money through quest assignments, which led to me paying Kim Da-bin a weekly salary.
However, there was a major issue with this method.
"I have to pay a 10% fee."
To pay Kim Da-bin 700,000 won, I had to pay a 70,000 won quest fee.
Since the tax collection effect duplicated 10% of the money, it ended up as a net zero.
"And when retrieving the money, another 10% fee is deducted, making it an actual loss."
To profit from tax collection, I would need to let the money sit for at least three months.
"Wait a minute. That means…"
As I organized my thoughts, I suddenly realized something.
"If I don't withdraw the money and let it accumulate, I keep earning a 10% profit?"
A guaranteed 10% monthly interest—120% interest in a year.
No financial product like this existed anywhere.
If it did, it would definitely be a scam.
"Should I invest around a billion won?"
Just as I was seriously considering it, Seo Ye-jin, who was lying on the sofa, carefully spoke up.
"Um… Jaehyun?"
"Hmm? Yes?"
"I'm sorry to ask this, but… could you bring my group here?"
Seo Ye-jin's group of 35 survivors, including her family.
Even though I had provided them with supplies, their current location wasn't suitable for long-term living.
After experiencing warm baths and sleeping in a cozy bed here, she must have wanted her family to have the same comfort as soon as possible.
"Of course, I'll do that."
Seo Ye-jin brightened up and stood up, bowing deeply.
"Thank you!"
"Can you control the mice again now?"
"Of course! I'm completely fine now!"
"I'll tell them to follow the mice, so please guide them."
"Understood!"
I assigned a party quest to follow the mouse and rescue survivors, then leisurely observed Hadonggeon's party with the Absolute One's Eye activated.
Escaping from Seomyeon Station wasn't too difficult.
Since it had been the domain of the giant snake, there wasn't a single monster left.
The scene that unfolded upon exiting through Exit 2 of Seomyeon Station was a spectacle of shock and horror.
'A complete ruin.'
It was utterly devastating.
Overturned vehicles scattered haphazardly, bloodstains covering the roads, shattered windows of first-floor buildings, and rotting corpses abandoned in various places—it was beyond horrifying.
The eerie silence that had settled only amplified the fear.
Chirp—
Thanks to Seoye-jin's mouse guiding them along the optimal route, combat encounters were almost nonexistent.
They occasionally ran into goblins, but for Hadonggeon's party, dealing with goblin hordes was as easy as eating a bowl of porridge.
'No need to worry.'
Keeping the Absolute One's Eye active, I focused on the skill window.
[Available Skill Points: 3]
'Where should I invest these points to make the best use of them?'
Early on, the answer was always to level up the shop skill.
At the time, it was crucial to register items as quickly and abundantly as possible.
'But the situation is different now.'
Ever since the shop skill reached level 5, the significantly increased slots and the new 'batch listing' function had changed everything.
'Now, even filling all 500 slots is a task in itself.'
Even after registering everything from supplements to vitamins, not even half of the 500 slots were full.
'There's no urgent need to level up the shop further.'
There were plenty of other skills that could use the skill points.
Currently, the skills with an active [+] button next to their level were Dignity Maintenance, Storage, Absolute One's Eye, Absolute One's Health, and Invisible Hand—a total of five.
'The first choice has to be the Absolute One's Eye.'
At this stage, the most useful skill was undeniably the Absolute One's Eye.
'It also synergizes well with Seoye-jin.'
It would become an essential skill when going to rescue family members in the future.
Without hesitation, I proceeded with the level-up.
'Housebound Absolute One's Eye, level up.'
Wuuung—
As the Absolute One's Eye skill reached level 3—
Burning—
'Ugh.'
A searing sensation, as if my eyes were on fire, spread across the surface of my eyeballs, and my vision changed.
「Goblin (Lv. 8)」 「Goblin (Lv. 7)」 「Goblin (Lv. 7)」 「Goblin (Lv. 7)」
Above the goblins engaged in battle with Hadonggeon's party, their levels appeared.
Upon closer inspection, I could even analyze their characteristics.
「Goblin (Lv. 8)」
Height: 103 cm. Lives in groups and possesses intelligence sufficient to use tools. Surprisingly good eyesight, allowing it to see far distances and distinguish objects even in dark caves.
'Not bad.'
Up until now, monster levels were only revealed after killing them.
But now, just looking at them with the Absolute One's Eye was enough to identify their levels.
'This ability is exactly what I needed.'
The simplest way to increase quest difficulty was to assign the task of hunting high-level monsters.
However, the problem was that high-level monsters were scarce.
Low-level goblins were everywhere, but finding monsters at level 20 or above was already difficult.
'Honestly, finding high-level monsters is harder than hunting them.'
To grant Owenju's wish in the future, this ability would be indispensable.
Identifying an appropriately leveled monster first would help cut down on the resurrection cost when assigning her a quest.
'A shame I can't level it up further just yet.'
The [+] button next to the Absolute One's Eye, now at level 3, had disappeared.
It meant my proficiency with it was still lacking.
'Next up…'
The skill that caught my attention the most was Dignity Maintenance.
'If Seoye-jin's rapidly increasing trust and loyalty were really due to leveling up Dignity Maintenance, then investing skill points into it is worth it for that alone.'
It would also be helpful when recruiting new vassals and maximizing the effects of Trust's Power and the [Knight] title.
'Dignity Maintenance, level up.'
Just as I was about to check the newly unlocked function of the Housebound Absolute One's Dignity Maintenance skill at level 4—
Bang!
'Huh?'
A sudden gunshot snapped me back to reality.
Checking with the Absolute One's Eye, I was shocked to find that the shooter was a goblin.
'What the…?'
The goblin aimed its gun at Hadonggeon's party again.
Shwish! Slash!
Before it could fire, Moon Byungho teleported behind it and sliced its neck.
"Kiiik!"
The remaining goblins were mercilessly cut down by Moon Byungho's spear.
'Register item!'
While Moon Byungho finished off the goblins, I quickly registered the fallen gun in my shop and immediately restored it.
S&W M60 (476,320 won)
.38 caliber bullets (100 rounds) (158,400 won)
Seeing the registered revolver in the shop, I couldn't help but smile.
'A gun, huh?'
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