CHAPTER 36

Summoning the Beast (5)

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa—!

The Cyclops spewed out thick flames.

The fire, initially directed straight ahead, soon shot high into the sky.

Whoooosh—!

The air around the creature heated up as the flames spread, only for the sensation to abruptly vanish.

'It's blocking the air.'

The barrier had cut off the excessively heated air from entering.

The giant, who had been flamboyantly spewing fire for a while, suddenly dropped to his knees.

Thud!

And then, in that very position, he began to tilt forward.

His massive shadow loomed closer and closer toward us.

"Huh? H-Hey?!"

"It's falling this way!"

"Run!!"

I spoke calmly to the panicked people trying to flee.

"Stay in your positions."

Everything was going almost perfectly according to plan.

Now, the citizens would concentrate their firepower on the giant's head, which had collapsed onto the barrier.

A finishing blow, so to speak.

'It'd be ideal if the retainers delivered the final strike.'

It would be best if Ha Dong-geon or Oh Won-joo finished the job, but unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, just as I was seriously debating whether to hand a gun to Seo Ye-jin, who stood beside me with a knight's title, a black shadow engulfed me.

I braced myself to hear the sound of the giant's body crashing against the barrier any second now.

But then—

"J-Jaehyun! Behind you!!"

Choi Hyeong-jun, his face ghostly pale, was pointing behind me with a trembling finger.

'…'

By now, the sound of the giant's head colliding with the barrier should have echoed through the air. But no such sound came.

A sinking feeling crept into my chest as I slowly turned around.

And there—

—Krrrrrrr

'…No way.'

The beast was exhaling thick black smoke, its bloodshot eye staring straight down at me.

"Fire! Open fire! Protect Jaehyun!"

At Choi Hyeong-jun's urgent shout—

Bang— Bang!

The citizens' handguns simultaneously unleashed a volley of bullets at the giant's eye.

—Kraaaaagh!

It was a meaningful blow.

Even if they were just handguns, guns were still guns.

And the concentrated fire from over a hundred handguns was quite the threat.

The Cyclops' eye was turned into a bloody mess.

It seemed to have completely lost its function.

But this was a monster that had survived a gas explosion inside its own stomach. A mere .38 caliber handgun wasn't enough to take its life.

—Kraaaaaahhh!

The giant let out a roar of fury, and the once-thunderous gunfire came to an abrupt halt.

Then, it raised its fist.

As if to say, "Now, it's my turn."

'It's coming…!'

Was it because of the tension?

The sight of the giant's massive fist descending felt like it was happening in slow motion.

For the first time, I felt the deep, chilling fear of death.

'Can I block this?'

Could my skill withstand that overwhelming fist?

I had some faith, but no certainty.

After all, the strongest monster that had attacked the barrier so far was the level 28 Kellikan.

The shadow of death grew darker and darker as it loomed over me.

'Invisible Hand.'

Preparing for the worst, I readied my last resort.

'Enlarge.'

Before the operation began, I had saved my skill points to unlock this ability.

An enormous, invisible hand extended from my body, growing rapidly in size, ready to intercept the giant's fist.

And then—

BOOOOOOM!!!

[Unauthorized entity attempting to breach the barrier.]

The Cyclops' full-powered punch was completely nullified by the barrier.

'…It worked!'

The barrier, having withstood the blow, didn't even tremble.

It remained firm, not a single crack forming.

Whether the monster realized this or not, it kept furiously hammering its fists against the barrier.

BOOOOM— THUD!

[Unauthorized entity attempting to breach the barrier.]

[Unauthorized entity attempting to breach the barrier.]

Each time, a deafening impact rang out, yet inside the barrier, no shock was felt.

""Waaaaaah—!""

For some reason, the citizens, watching from safety, erupted into cheers.

"Shoot! Keep firing!"

Now emboldened by the barrier's resilience, they resumed their counterattack.

Tat-tat-tat-tat—

Bullets rained down upon the giant's fists, arms, legs, and body.

—Kwooarrrrrr!

Seo Ye-jin, clutching her head, turned to me and asked,

"Jaehyun, what should we do? Should we attempt it one more time…?"

"Can you manage?"

"I think I can hold out for one more round."

Gritting my teeth, I watched the giant relentlessly pummel the barrier.

"How are we supposed to shove a rat into that thing's mouth?"

Perhaps aware of the rodent bomb tactic, the beast stubbornly kept its mouth shut even as it attacked.

'At least it's not invulnerable.'

The gas explosion using the sacrificed mice had definitely had an effect.

And the continuous gunfire from the citizens was steadily accumulating wounds on the beast.

'If we keep this up, we might actually be able to take it down…'

But there was no telling when its monstrous vitality would finally run out.

We needed something to deal a decisive blow.

And then—

Thunk!

A spear flew in from somewhere, piercing deep into the giant's side.

'They're here.'

Ha Dong-gun and the rest of Team 1 were seen making their way to this location.

Oh Won-joo, who had fully recovered thanks to Kim Da-jung's treatment, was with them.

'Summon standard-issue spear.'

To allow Ha Dong-gun to fight freely, spears were continuously summoned for him.

He naturally grabbed one from the air and hurled it at the giant.

Thud!

-Kraaaagh!

The giant, seemingly aware of the spears piercing its body, thrashed about in irritation.

Thud!

Regardless of its reaction, the number of spears embedded in its body continued to increase.

And then—

Swaaash! Thunk!

Arrows shot from an apartment rooftop tore into the giant's body.

Kim Ga-young's arrows, imbued with the Piercing Skill, joined in turning the giant into a pincushion.

As everyone worked together to tear apart the giant's body—

Ding!

[The level of Samjok-o (Three-legged Crow) has increased.]

[The efficiency of the solar generator has increased by 100%.]

[The solar generator has reached maximum efficiency.]

A notification popped up, indicating that Kami had reached level 10.

[Samjok-o (Three-legged Crow) partially unlocks the power of the sun.]

[It inherits part of the divine beast's power.]

[Basic fire magic evolves into intermediate fire magic.]

Just like before, the knowledge of intermediate fire magic flowed into his mind, deepening his understanding of fire.

But that wasn't all.

[Samjok-o (Three-legged Crow) detects an enemy intrusion within its domain.]

[Samjok-o (Three-legged Crow) requests permission to unlock its power.]

[Allow? Yes / No]

'Huh?'

A strange notification appeared.

'Unlock its power?'

Judging by the mention of an enemy, it was likely referring to the Cyclops. But what could that little bird possibly do?

'Go ahead.'

At that moment—

[300,000,000 won will be consumed.]

'Huh? 300 million?!'

Simultaneously, the solar panels installed across 13 buildings emitted a blinding light.

The light's destination—his home.

It concentrated near the living room window on the 30th floor.

Fwaaaash!

The intense sunlight focused on that spot, and then—

Crash!

Something enormous burst through the living room window.

'That's…?'

Spreading its wings, it was a raven at least three or four times larger than a pelican.

With sleek black feathers and three legs, it was unmistakably the Samjok-o (Three-legged Crow).

'…Kami?'

Kami, now gigantic, soared toward them.

Then, it opened its beak.

Bzzzzzzzt—

A powerful laser shot from Kami's mouth, slicing across the giant's chest.

And in the next moment—

Thuuud!

The Cyclops' upper body slid off, crashing to the ground.

Kami's single strike had cleaved the giant in two.

"Hah…"

The sight was so unbelievable that he let out a breathless gasp.

-Krrgh, aaaagh!

The Cyclops' severed upper body writhed atop the defensive wall.

At that moment—

"Kroooh!"

As if waiting for this moment, Oh Won-joo, now in beast form, sprinted up the giant's back.

In an instant, she reached the Cyclops' shoulder and slashed at its neck with her claws.

Slash!

The flesh was torn away, and blood gushed out.

At the same time, Oh Won-joo's eyes glowed red, and her body swelled.

"Kraaaaagh!"

With a roar, she struck again, her claws widening the gash in the giant's neck.

-Krraaaagh!

When the giant raised its hand to cast out Oh Won-joo—

'Invisible Hand, Gigantification.'

A giant, invisible hand extended and blocked the attack.

Kwaaang!

As a result, Oh Won-joo could focus entirely on attacking the giant's neck.

Kwajik! Pugeok—!

At last, her claws tore through the cyclops's carotid artery.

Puhwak—!

A fountain of blood gushed from the cyclops's neck.

The giant's blood rained down like a waterfall over the defensive wall.

[Cyclops (Lv. 51) has been hunted.]

[A massive amount of experience points has been acquired.]

[31,925,374,089 KRW has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the Household's account.]

At the same time as the massive sum of over 3 billion KRW was transferred—

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

The skill leveled up four times in a row.

'Kuh!'

Then, as expected, an intense wave of pain struck, and I could feel my domain expanding.

All twelve remaining buildings were now under my control.

At that moment, when I had completely engulfed the entire first residential complex, something different happened.

'!!!'

They say when pain is too extreme, you can't even scream.

That was exactly my situation.

The domain, which had seemingly completed its expansion by absorbing the entire first complex, suddenly exploded outward.

Up until now, the domain had simply expanded along the surfaces of buildings and the ground. But now, it swallowed the air itself, finally forming into a dome.

[Congratulations!]

[You have declared the Household Domain over the entire first residential complex.]

[10,000,000,000 KRW in construction subsidies has been deposited.]

As the flood of rewards and system notifications poured in, and the unbearable pain finally subsided, my tension unraveled, and I collapsed on the spot.

"Jaehyun!"

Choi Hyung-jun, who had approached me at some point, caught my falling body.

"Are you alright?!"

"I'm… fine."

"You don't look well! I'll take you home!"

"If you could… please."

Choi Hyung-jun lifted me, supporting my back and knees.

"..."

I suddenly found myself being carried like a princess and thought—

'This is a bit…'

Embarrassing.

"…Wait a moment."

"Yes? What's wrong? Are you hurt…?"

I was just about to ask him to carry me on his back instead.

-Beep…

At that moment, a small, fluffy creature landed on my stomach.

"You little…"

It had spent 300 million without permission.

And all it did for that price was a single attack.

'But that attack was crucial.'

Of course, I didn't regret the 300 million that Kami had spent.

After all, the money I earned afterward exceeded 30 billion. That kind of pocket change wasn't worth fretting over.

'Summoning a spirit beast… It seems to be restricted to my household domain, but its efficiency is incredible.'

On top of that, the 1 billion I spent to summon it wasn't a waste at all.

'Should I summon all ten spirit beasts?'

With this level of performance, there was no need to hesitate.

Just as I looked at the summon button—

"...?"

I doubted my eyes.

[Summon Spirit Beast] (10,000,000,000 KRW) {Disabled}

Why did it look like an extra zero had been added?

'100 billion? 100 billion, seriously?'

Moreover, I couldn't even attempt to use it.

I almost let out a raw curse.

[Citizen Oh Won-joo has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 324,576,089 KRW deducted.]

I heard the sound of Oh Won-joo's wish being granted.

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