CHAPTER 32

Summoning a Return (1)

The S&W M60 was a .38-caliber revolver and one of the representative firearms used by the South Korean police.

Of course, it was rarely ever used in practice.

It was just a single handgun, but even that alone was enough to change many things.

'I can't just put this on display in the store.'

Displaying the gun had plenty of advantages.

For one, it would make people more proactive in hunting monsters.

Even ordinary people below level 10 would start taking down orcs more frequently.

If enough armed citizens were present, they could even challenge stronger monsters.

'And the amount of experience points and settlement funds they bring in will increase exponentially.'

But along with these benefits came a massive drawback: it was simply too dangerous.

'I can't trust all the citizens.'

The way I accepted people into my territory had been completely indiscriminate.

There were no specific criteria.

The only reason I had taken in everyone without any vetting was that I was confident in my ability to control them, no matter what happened. And the growing population brought many advantages.

However, the situation changed once firearms came into the picture.

'There's no guarantee that none of these people have bad intentions.'

Allowing unverified individuals to own guns would inevitably lead to disaster.

Envy, grudges, jealousy.

For any number of reasons, incidents would occur, and in the worst case, someone could end up dead.

To put it bluntly, if a mentally unstable person got their hands on a gun, it would be nothing short of catastrophic.

'I have to distribute them only to verified individuals.'

The criteria were simple.

'I should only give them to those with high loyalty. Even among them, I need to be selective.'

This blatant discrimination might cause some complaints, but it was better than dealing with accidents.

By arming only the most loyal individuals, I could also encourage greater trust and commitment from them.

'The first person to receive one is already decided.'

Someone mentally stable, highly loyal, and capable of maximizing firearm effectiveness.

I handed Moon Byung-ho a newly purchased handgun and 100 rounds of ammunition from the store.

Ziiing—

Moon Byung-ho, caught off guard as the firearm and ammo materialized in midair, gave a small bow toward the empty space before him.

'Not that way.'

He bowed in the wrong direction, not toward where I was looking, but as long as the sentiment was conveyed, it didn't really matter.

Meanwhile, Ha Dong-geon's party, guided by the scout rat, quickly arrived at the shelter where the survivors were hiding and safely brought them back.

"They should be arriving soon. Should we head down together?"

"You too, Jaehyun?"

"I figured I could use a walk."

Walking alongside Seo Yejin, I took a deep breath.

Ssshh— Haa.

The air was nice.

As my domain rapidly expanded, the area now included walking trails.

It had been almost a month since I last came outside, so it felt refreshing.

[An unauthorized entity is attempting to enter.]

It seemed that the 35 survivors rescued by Ha Dong-geon's party had reached the front gate.

[An entity that meets the conditions for citizenship has approached the domain.]

[Would you like to offer them citizenship?]

'Offer it.'

And just like that, 35 more citizens joined us.

'Still nothing, huh?'

I checked each of their status windows one by one, but not a single one had an awakened ability.

Not just among these newcomers—among the 200 or so people who had joined as my domain absorbed 10 new districts through level-ups, not one was an awakened.

That was how rare awakeneds were, and among them, talents like Seo Yejin, who had an A-rank ability, were even rarer.

'Granting someone an awakened ability isn't even possible as a quest reward.'

I had already tested it.

I tried granting Nam Ji-ho, the most accomplished citizen, an awakened ability, but the system flat-out rejected it with a message: "Impossible quest reward."

It didn't say I lacked funds—it outright stated that it was impossible.

"The innate nature of a person is something that can't be changed, I suppose."

So, the only way to turn an ordinary person into an Awakened one was through vassal registration.

However, even vassal registration favored Awakened individuals, meaning that having the right genes from birth was likely a prerequisite.

'Let's think this through slowly. There's only one vassal registration slot left anyway.'

He had already filled all ten slots.

The only remaining spot had been unlocked when Moon Byungho's loyalty reached 100.

'It shouldn't be too easy to get someone to 100 loyalty.'

He had even gone out of his way to spend more time with Hadonggeon's party, but once loyalty reached a certain threshold, it refused to increase any further.

To be honest, unless there was a special event like the one with Moon Byungho, reaching 100 loyalty seemed incredibly difficult.

Just then, thirty-five newly granted citizens passed through the main gate and walked toward the area.

They looked mesmerized as they took in the apartment complex.

"Mom! Yejin!"

Seo Yejin ran and embraced her family.

"Yejin! Where did you go without telling us? Do you know how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Even though they had only been apart for a day, mother and daughter reunited in tears.

Watching them made him think of his own mother.

"Wow! Sis, you smell so nice! Did you take a shower?"

"Yeah. There's hot water, and you can even take a bath."

"Really?"

"Of course. There are beds, and we can eat warm meals too."

The anticipation was evident on the faces of the other survivors who overheard Seo Yejin's words.

He turned to her and spoke.

"Miss Yejin."

"Yes?"

"Apartment 2701 has been assigned to you. You are free to use it as you wish, but accommodating over thirty people in one unit will be a bit cramped."

"Oh…"

Seo Yejin realized what he was implying and anxiously scanned the faces of those she had been looking after.

"Then what should I do…?"

"I'll provide you with three additional rooms. You've earned that much."

"Ah, thank you so much!"

Providing electricity, water, and gas for a household with more than ten people was a policy that applied to all citizens.

In fact, many citizens chose to live together despite the inconvenience to meet this requirement.

"You can use units 2402, 2301, and 1902 in the same building."

"I'll do my best!"

[Citizen Seo Yejin's trust has increased.]

[Citizen Seo Yejin's loyalty has increased.]

Starting with Seo Yejin,

[Citizen Hong Dallae's trust has significantly increased.]

[Citizen Seo Yeo-jin's trust has significantly increased.]

[Citizen Lee Seung-jun's trust has increased.]

[Citizen Han Jung-su's trust has increased.]

…

…

Notifications about rising trust levels kept flooding in.

'Things have definitely changed.'

There had been moments before when citizens' trust increased in large numbers.

One such time was when he had gathered people at Choi Hyungjun's house to hunt down a goblin horde.

Back then, simply demonstrating his ability to summon water and food had instantly boosted the trust of everyone nearby.

'But trust has never risen "significantly" before.'

This time, all it took was a single statement, and trust levels were skyrocketing.

It had to be an effect of his increased "Dignity Maintenance" skill level.

'Come to think of it, I leveled it up but never checked the details.'

Upon reaching level 4, the "Dignity Maintenance" skill had gained an intriguing new feature.

ᛇ Beast Management (0/10)

'Hmm…?'

He examined it and saw that there was an option to summon beasts.

[Summon Beast] (1,000,000,000 won)

'…One billion won?'

It seemed that the newly added function was an absolute money sink.

Just then—

"Jaehyun, do you have a moment?"

It was Yoo Hyerin.

"What is it?"

"…I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"Well…"

Noticing her glancing at the others uneasily, he spoke.

"Everyone, great work. Go upstairs and rest."

Seo Yejin's group was busy dividing people into three rooms, while Hadonggeon's party tactfully stepped aside.

After sending them off, I spoke to Yoo Hyerin.

"Shall we take a short walk?"

"A walk…? Yes, that sounds good."

Yoo Hyerin and I walked in silence for a while. After a few minutes, she was the first to speak.

"Um…"

As she hesitated for a long time, I spoke to her gently.

"You can speak freely."

"Okay, then…"

She lowered her head deeply and said,

"I'm really sorry, but I want to leave the party."

As expected.

I had a feeling this moment would come.

She continued speaking as if making excuses.

"My abilities… I don't really contribute to the party. I feel like it wouldn't make a difference if I left…"

As if guilty, she rambled on, and I responded as kindly as possible.

"You can be honest with me."

She bit her lip, then tightly shut her eyes and blurted out,

"I'm scared!"

Once she started, her emotions poured out like a rapid-fire confession.

"I'm so scared. The goblins were terrifying, fighting the orcs was terrifying, and that huge snake was absolutely terrifying."

Her emotions burst forth, turning into tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm a useless person. You went out of your way to choose me, but I couldn't live up to expectations… Hic."

I had already sensed this before.

Even when we went to rescue Moon Byungho's grandmother, Yoo Hyerin had barely contributed.

During the final chase with Jeokho, she tripped and almost died, and during the orc subjugation, she hadn't really done anything either.

Her ability—poison mist—was difficult to use effectively because it could potentially harm teammates as well.

Although her enhanced physical abilities had improved her archery skills, they weren't particularly useful in combat.

Even Kim Gun was helping the team by using his companion, Kkamang, for scouting, but Yoo Hyerin hadn't been able to contribute in any way.

She was probably more aware of her lack of usefulness in the party than anyone else.

Even though she was risking her life to travel with the party, failing to achieve anything must have been incredibly frustrating.

Her suppressed feelings had finally erupted after today's encounter with the giant snake.

"Hic… sniff."

Yoo Hyerin sobbed pitifully, her body shaking.

More than fear, I could sense frustration and embarrassment from her.

I spoke casually, as if it were no big deal.

"That actually works out well. We needed more hands anyway."

"Hic… What?"

"You know Kim Dabin on the 21st floor, right? She's been struggling to handle all the administrative work by herself."

"Sniff."

"Not just there—I'm planning to establish and manage communal facilities on every floor. I need someone reliable to oversee things."

Tear-streaked, snot-nosed, Yoo Hyerin sniffled and looked up at me.

I held out my hand to her.

"I believe you'd be great for the job. Will you help us?"

Just as I was trying to comfort her, I couldn't help but think it was a bit of a waste that I had already registered her as a retainer.

[Citizen Yoo Hyerin's loyalty has increased.]

[Citizen Yoo Hyerin's loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Yoo Hyerin is already registered as a retainer.]

[Retainer limit has increased.]

"What…?"

I hadn't expected her loyalty to hit 100 over something like this.

"Wahhh!"

Suddenly, she threw herself into my arms and sobbed like a child.

"I'll do my best! Please trust me! Hic."

I was momentarily taken aback, but then I lightly patted her back, waiting for her to calm down.

"You've worked hard."

"Hic… I will serve with all my heart!"

"Yeah, yeah."

After finally calming her down and escorting her to Room 2901, I returned home.

Then, I stared at a certain button.

[Summon Spirit Beast] (1,000,000,000 won)

"Should I do it?"

Every function I had used so far had been useful, and anything that required money had proven to be worth the cost.

And right now, I wasn't short on money.

"Alright, let's go for it. Summon Spirit Beast!"

[1,000,000,000 won has been deducted for summoning the Spirit Beast.]

Vrrrrr—

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