CHAPTER 45

Jagalchi Market (1)

[What should we do?]

[We should treat skilled personnel accordingly. How about giving them rooms and turning that place into a hospital?]

[That's a good idea.]

[If we search, we should be able to find quite a few nurses as well. I'll leave everything, from assembling the medical team to its operation, to Davin.]

With that, all responsibilities related to setting up the medical team were assigned to Kim Davin, and I returned home.

Seo Yejin was still sitting cross-legged in the center of the living room, while Kami was sprawled out comfortably on the sofa, fast asleep.

'Ha Donggeon's party is moving without any issues.'

Ha Donggeon's party was passing directly through the railway line from Central Station to Jagalchi Station.

The efforts of Yoo Hyerin, Seo Yejin, and myself in clearing out zombies had paid off.

'The last remaining skill points should obviously be invested there, right?'

There was a skill I had in mind.

'Absolute Storage, Level Up'

[The skill "Homebody's Absolute Storage" has leveled up to LV. 2.]

[Storage capacity has increased to 200kg.]

[A "Preservation" function has been added.]

[Preservation] (Passive)

Maintains the physical state of items as they were when stored.

I had decided to upgrade the storage skill because I felt the increasing need for more capacity.

I had been experiencing storage limitations when utilizing Seo Yejin's gas explosions using rats or Yoo Hyerin's poison mist abilities.

'The capacity has doubled. Now, I can use it much more comfortably.'

And as always, there was an unexpected bonus.

'Preservation, huh?'

The moment I read the explanation of the function, an image flashed through my mind.

'Could that really work?'

Until now, whenever I retrieved an item from storage, it always appeared in a completely stationary state.

Since that was just how things worked, I had never given it much thought.

But after reading the description of the "Preservation" function, it suddenly took on a different meaning.

'If it preserves the physical state, that means the item will be summoned with the same motion it had when stored, right?'

In other words, if I throw a spear with all my strength, store it in my storage, and then summon it, it will be ejected at the exact speed it had when I first threw it.

'If that's the case...'

Fortunately, I had just the right item to take full advantage of this.

'Open Shop, S&W M60, purchase 100 rounds of .38 caliber ammunition.'

I grabbed the revolver that appeared in midair and loaded three rounds into the cylinder. The remaining rounds were stored in the inventory.

Then, I opened the living room window and aimed into the dark night sky.

Storage—

And the moment I pulled the trigger—

'Bullet!'

I pictured the flying bullet being stored in my inventory.

Bang!

With the sound of gunpowder igniting—

Ziiing—!

I watched as the bullet, which had just emerged from the muzzle, was sucked into the storage space.

It worked.

For now, everything was going perfectly.

—Beep!

Kami, who had been lounging on the sofa, jumped up in shock at the sudden gunshot, while Seo Yejin, startled, woke up and covered her mouth with both hands.

She looked at me standing by the window, gun in hand, and asked,

"Jaehyun? What was that all of a sudden?"

But her words didn't register in my ears.

I was too focused.

'If my theory is correct—'

Feeling the cold night air seep through the open window, I stared into the darkness.

And then—

'Summon, Bullet.'

The moment I summoned the bullet into the night sky—

Swishhh!

The bullet materialized midair and instantly shot forward, piercing through the cold night air at the exact same speed as before.

It had worked just as I had imagined.

Crazy

A shiver ran down from the top of my head.

"This is it!"

A sure way to assist Ha Dong-geon's party.

A joker card had appeared.

Ha Dong-geon's party arrived at Jagalchi Station and exited through the ticket gate.

The station was occupied by goblins, but they were no longer a match for Ha Dong-geon's party.

"Keeek!"

"Kiiek!"

Overwhelmed by the sheer strength of the party, the goblins ended up fleeing instead.

As they easily took care of the goblins, I used the Ring of Communication on them.

[Exit through Gate 2.]

Upon stepping out, they were greeted by an intersection tangled with overturned buses and cars.

"From here on, it's uncharted territory."

Unlike before, when Seo Ye-jin had scouted and cleared a route, this was an area with no prior preparation.

"Jaehyun, where do we go now?"

[Just walk about 1km down the main road to the left, and you'll be near your destination.]

However, covering that 1km distance was no easy task.

The moment they turned the corner of the first building—

"Watch out!"

A monster jumped out.

[Land Shark (Lv. 24)]

It was the same land shark that had eaten Seo Ye-jin's rat back at Nampo Station.

Darting out from the alleyway, the land shark bared its razor-sharp teeth and lunged at Ha Dong-geon's group.

At the same time—

Pook!

Ha Dong-geon's spear pierced the land shark's side.

Crack!

O Won-joo, already transformed into his beast form, shattered the land shark's skull, finishing it off.

[You have hunted Land Shark (Lv. 24).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[13,813,758 won has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler's wallet.]

Ha Dong-geon shouted.

"Geon-ah, scout!"

"I'm sorry."

Kim Geon closed his eyes and focused as his crow, Kkamang, flew back and landed on his shoulder.

Kkaak!

With a slightly embarrassed caw, the crow conveyed what it had seen from the sky.

"—Senior, it looks like this area is completely—"

Before Kim Geon could finish his sentence, monsters began to emerge one by one from the surroundings.

"It's swarming with them."

A massive crab, the size of a large truck, blocked the road, while a school of swordfish with razor-sharp noses hovered menacingly in the sky, approaching Ha Dong-geon's party.

Their eyes held the gaze of pure predators, nothing more, nothing less.

Shwaaaak!

The school of swordfish struck first, diving in with their blade-like snouts leading the charge.

Tang!

The signal flare for battle ignited.

Despite the ambush, Ha Dong-geon's party responded skillfully.

"Duksu, block them!"

"Okay!"

Kang Duksu, clad in silver armor, stepped in front of Kim Ga-young and Kim Geon.

Cha-chang!

The swordfish's sharp snouts clashed against Duksu's armor, bouncing off.

"Take this!"

He swung his halberd and took one of them down.

At the same time—

Pook!

One of Kim Ga-young's skill-infused arrows cleanly pierced through the head of a blue marlin.

[You have hunted Sky Blue Marlin (Lv. 16).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[785,230 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]

Bang—!

Moon Byung-ho wasn't the only one holding a gun.

Even Kim Geon, who had no proper means of attack, was given a firearm, and his shooting skills were sharper than expected.

[You have hunted Sky Blue Marlin (Lv. 17).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[899,202 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]

However, with such a small group, it was impossible to keep track of all the dozens of marlins. One or two slipped past their sight and came flying toward Kim Da-jeong from behind.

"Stay away!"

Kim Da-jeong also held a handgun in her hands. It was the first time she had ever fired a shot.

Bang—

But there was no way a bullet fired with her eyes closed would hit its target.

Predictably, the bullet missed, and the marlin charged at her heart as if nothing had happened.

"Kyaaah!"

'Summon from storage, bullet.'

At the decisive moment, a single bullet appeared right in front of the marlin and pierced through its head.

[You have hunted Sky Blue Marlin (Lv. 17).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[231,733 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]

Since I personally fired the bullet, the payout was pathetic.

"Seo Ye-jin!"

"Y-Yes?!"

"Fire the gun for me!"

"Huh? The gun? Me?"

Handing the handgun to the flustered Seo Ye-jin, I spoke firmly.

"Yes, quickly."

At this point, there was nothing else she could do.

The area where Ha Dong-geon's party was fighting was out of her sensory range.

"Wh-Where should I shoot?!"

"Anywhere, it doesn't matter!"

"What?!"

"Hurry!"

Seo Ye-jin shut her eyes tightly and fired at the apartment wall.

'Store in storage, bullet!'

Bang—! Bang—!

The bullets she fired were immediately put to use in battle.

'Summon!'

[You have hunted Sky Blue Marlin (Lv. 17).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[1,393,121 KRW has been deposited into the Wallet of the Absolute Ruler of the Household.]

Even though the same hunting method was used, the efficiency of using bullets fired by Seo Ye-jin was six times higher.

"I fired them all!"

"Reload and shoot again! Hurry!"

"Yes!"

They overworked Seo Yejin to store as many warheads as possible.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed through the house, and the smell of gunpowder filled the living room.

Click.

"W-what's going on?!"

Yoo Hyerin, who had been sound asleep until then, stumbled out of the master bedroom with a shocked expression, as if struck by lightning.

Bang!

She slapped her own cheeks when she saw Seo Yejin firing at the living room wall.

"Why won't this dream end?"

Unfortunately, there was no time to explain everything to her.

While I stored the warheads, I continued assisting Hadonggeon's party.

"Dajeong! Blessing!"

"Yes, unni!"

While we were busy dealing with the swordfish charging in from behind, Hadonggeon and Oh Wonjoo were facing off against a massive crab at the front.

[Giant Crab (Lv. 35)]

Thud!

Oh Wonjoo dodged its huge claws and slipped into the crab's blind spot, twisting one of its joints.

Crack!

One of its legs shattered, throwing the crab off balance.

Squelch!

Hadonggeon's spear pierced straight into the creature's mouth.

-!!!

The crab, with its broken jaw, thrashed wildly in an attempt to retaliate, but Hadonggeon skillfully kept his distance.

He twisted his body midair and hurled his spear.

Clang!

However, the spear bounced off the crab's tough chitin shell.

Tsk.

Buzz—

I immediately summoned a new spear from the storage and handed it to Hadonggeon.

At that moment, Oh Wonjoo had already climbed onto the crab's back and stomped down hard.

Thud!

The Giant Crab shuddered violently, its insides rattled by the impact, but its tough shell showed no signs of breaking.

"Krrahhh!"

Scrape!

Even Oh Wonjoo's claw attacks barely left scratches on the shell.

Swish!

"Everyone, move!"

Teleporting in, Moon Byungho aimed his gun at the Giant Crab and pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

But even bullets bounced off the creature's thick chitin.

'Its durability is insane.'

Honestly, from the moment Oh Wonjoo failed to break it, I knew shattering its shell was nearly impossible.

'Is there no way?'

This wasn't just any ordinary shell—it had to have some special property.

'We need an impact of a certain magnitude.'

Something more powerful than claw attacks—something like a hammer blow.

"Krhhrrr!"

Realizing the shell was too tough, Oh Wonjoo switched strategies and started breaking its remaining nine legs instead.

Crack!

One by one, the Giant Crab's legs snapped under Oh Wonjoo's grip.

[Absolute Eye]

While keeping an eye on Hadonggeon's party, I activated a new perspective.

'I knew I saw something.'

What I spotted was the home of Kim Minho, a man covered in muscle since the first time I met him.

There was no way it wouldn't be there.

And sure enough.

'Bingo!'

An entire room had been turned into a training space, and a heavy barbell sat there, likely over 100 kg.

'Let me borrow this for a moment. Store in inventory.'

That alone was already a lethal weapon, but it still felt about 2% short of breaking that shell.

'Summon.'

I summoned it to the highest point within my domain.

The barbell, pulled by gravity, began free-falling. Just before it hit the ground—

'Store in inventory.'

I stored it at the peak of its kinetic energy.

Then—

[Oh Wonjoo.]

"Mm?"

[Jump so the crab's back is visible.]

Without question, Oh Wonjoo leaped high.

Crash!

The asphalt beneath her shattered as she soared into the air.

Now, the Giant Crab's shell was in perfect view.

That was my chance.

'Summon barbell!'

The 100 kg barbell reappeared, still carrying all its velocity.

And then—

BOOM! CRACK—!

The once-impenetrable shell shattered into pieces.

"Kraaaagh!"

Oh Wonjoo landed right on the crab's back and shoved her hands into the cracks.

Then—

Rip.

She tore it apart.

Beneath the broken shell—

Thump— Thump—

A pulsating heart lay exposed.

Squelch!

Oh Wonjoo's claws dug into it.

[You have slain the Giant Crab (Lv. 35).]

[You have gained experience.]

[931,732,266 KRW has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler's Wallet.]

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