CHAPTER 64

Vampire (1)

The crown was as powerful as its brilliant appearance suggested.

When worn, the effects granted to citizens are doubled.

Currently, there were six effects applied to the citizens:

100% increase in experience points and earnings.

Power of trust.

Tax collection.

Base salary.

Economic activity support funds.

Job effects.

All of these effects would now be doubled.

'…I guess I have to keep wearing this, huh?'

It was a bit cumbersome, but the benefits were too good to ignore.

'Well, I hardly ever leave the house anyway, so I might as well wear it all the time.'

Just then, a system notification that had been ringing for a while caught my attention.

[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[₩18,011 has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the Household's wallet.]

This was because Kang Deok-su was relentlessly farming goblins in their den.

'Let's test it out.'

I carefully placed the crown on my head.

Immediately, I felt a cool sensation sweeping through my mind.

The moment I put on the crown, the notification window changed.

[You have hunted a Goblin (Lv. 7).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[₩28,670 has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the Household's wallet.]

'Almost ₩30,000 for a single goblin?'

The numbers had changed significantly.

When I hunted a goblin myself before, I only earned around ₩3,000. This was nearly a tenfold increase in efficiency.

Not just for goblins, but for all future hunts, the efficiency would be doubled. If possible, I should even wear the crown while sleeping.

'Speaking of which, the tax collection cooldown should be over by now.'

I had been so busy that I had forgotten to use the tax collection skill.

A month ago, when I last used it, the amount collected wasn't anything significant. But this time would be different.

I knew that, thanks to the rapid growth of Hadong-geon's party, each member now held assets worth billions.

With anticipation, I activated the skill.

'Tax Collection'

If the crown's effect applied to this as well, it would mean taking 20% instead of 10%.

That should net me at least several billion won.

But then—

[₩15,674,528,243 has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of the Household's wallet via tax collection.]

'Huh?'

The number of digits was completely different from what I had expected.

'₩1.5 billion?'

That meant the total wealth held by the citizens was around ₩7.5 billion.

'I see. It's not just from hunting, but also from the economic activity support funds.'

The citizens registered under the economic activity support program were earning billions per day. When accumulated, the total easily reached tens of billions.

'People have more money than I thought.'

No wonder the convenience store's sales had been booming lately.

It meant the citizens' purchasing power had significantly increased.

'Maybe I can start selling cars at the store soon!'

With road maintenance nearing completion, the demand for vehicles was slowly growing.

Even outside of hunting, having a car made many things more convenient, so there were plenty of people who wanted one.

'I could set up a car sales section in the underground parking lot so people can drive off with their purchase immediately.'

Or I could install convenience stores in areas that originally sold cars.

However, for now, this idea remained in the planning stage.

'I need to reach Level 25 quickly so I can upgrade the shop skill and increase the number of slots!'

Currently, all shop slots were fully occupied.

I had maximized the efficiency of each slot by categorizing items, but even that had its limits.

A significant portion of the slots was taken up by medical supplies.

Since there were so many different types of medicine, even grouping them by category had its restrictions, and the slots filled up quickly.

Right now, only the most frequently used medicines by the medical team were registered.

Even then, all 500 slots were already full, leaving no room to add cars.

In other words, in order to sell vehicles, leveling up the shop skill is necessary.

'But I'm almost at level 25 now.'

All this time, I had steadily leveled up and expanded my territory.

Now, I was on the verge of reaching level 25.

And with the crown that would accelerate my experience gain, it wouldn't be long before I got there.

'Once my territory expands, the demand for cars will increase even more.'

For now, the distance from the center of my territory to the outskirts was only a few kilometers. There was no real need to purchase an expensive car worth tens of millions of won. And even those who could afford one were mostly hunting teams.

Only the top-tier hunting teams would have that kind of money.

'Regardless, it's a good thing. The fact that citizens' assets are increasing means tax collection will continue to be lucrative.'

I was growing more and more fond of the crown I was wearing.

'Since the base income has also doubled, those who relied on hunting to make a living will be in a better position now.'

Most citizens had a settlement rate of 0%.

Even so, they could still make money thanks to the basic income system guaranteed to those with citizenship. The 100% of experience points and settlement funds that I couldn't touch—

Now that those had doubled, the citizens would grow faster, and their earnings would improve.

'For an artifact like this to appear right when an instant dungeon emerged—what great luck!'

People who had nothing to do besides hunting goblins would no longer have to struggle just to survive.

'And the economically active population has increased significantly, too.'

The economic activity skill doubled the amount of subsidies, but at the same time, it also doubled the population limit.

Since the population limit had suddenly doubled, there was now room to accommodate a significant number of new people.

'Good.'

I had been troubled by the lack of available jobs compared to the number of people willing to work.

I had no choice but to personally hand out quests as a way to distribute money, but now, I no longer needed to do that.

As I was going over the various positive effects brought by the crown—

The doorbell rang.

'Absolute Eye.'

When I checked, I saw Jang Sung-joon standing at the door. He had previously asked to borrow firearms so he could rescue his family.

Just by looking at his face, I could tell the outcome.

Click.

When I opened the door, I saw Jang Sung-joon with a wide smile on his face.

He held out the firearms he had borrowed and said,

"Hello, Jaehyun. I've come to return the items you lent me."

I smirked and replied,

"Congratulations. You reunited with your family safely."

"Yes. It's all thanks to you, Jaehyun. If I had been even a little late, I might have lost them forever. But because you willingly provided us with firearms, we were able to pull off a miracle and save them."

"I only offered the support I could. It was your own strength that saved your family."

Jang Sung-joon bowed deeply in gratitude.

"That opportunity meant everything to us. I want to take this chance to thank you once again. You've always looked out for us and provided us with the resources we lacked."

When his party had arrived at Ja Apartment in Yeonji-dong, the residents were in an all-out war against the orcs.

But for ordinary people with no combat skills, orcs were simply too powerful an opponent, and they had been getting overwhelmed.

That was when Jang Sung-joon's party appeared.

Armed with rifles, they quickly wiped out the orcs and became the heroes of the apartment complex.

Moreover, they shared the supplies I had provided with the residents, completely winning them over. In the end, they successfully escorted hundreds of survivors, including their own families, back to safety.

'This proves that as long as you have rifles, you can take down most monsters.'

Of course, the fact that I could provide unlimited ammunition was a key factor.

The ability to supply them with bullets in real time had made them even stronger.

"Thanks to your continued support, we were able to complete our mission. Thank you so much for trusting us with the weapons."

I briefly considered letting Jang Sung-joon's party keep the firearms, but I had already transferred full control of them to Kang Han-gyeol.

'I already ordered the retrieval of all firearms distributed to the existing hunting teams.'

I was planning to establish a system where even the best hunting teams would receive firearms from the Dungeon Management Bureau only when they needed them.

'Store in warehouse.'

Ziiiiing

After storing all the firearms that Jang Sung-joon had brought into the warehouse, I turned to him and asked,

"Your family and all your colleagues are currently staying in the communal facilities, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I have a proposal for you."

Jang Sung-joon's party consisted entirely of people bound by a subjugation contract.

That meant they had all gained an awakening ability.

'But since they've only been using firearms in operations, they're still not accustomed to utilizing their abilities.'

Training skilled riflemen was certainly important.

However, I believed that people with special abilities needed separate management.

Just looking at Ha Dong-geon's party showed how much potential a group with awakened abilities could have.

"Would you and your colleagues be willing to form a hunting team?"

"A hunting team?"

"Yes. But there is one condition. You must hunt monsters using only your awakened abilities."

My plan was to assign them a goblin den exclusively for their use so they could get accustomed to their abilities.

"Are you saying we can't use rifles?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Hmm…"

I wasn't too concerned about the others.

But I definitely wanted Jang Sung-joon as a combat asset.

'He's an A-rank psychokinetic. If trained properly, he could become as powerful as Ha Dong-geon or Oh Won-joo.'

Seeing him hesitate, I added,

"If you actively participate in hunting, I will give you three apartment units. Additionally, we will provide temporary housing for the survivors who came with you."

Most of the accommodations would be regular houses, but having personal housing was still a far better situation than what they were currently enduring.

Dozens of people crammed into a single apartment unit was far more grueling than one might expect.

Hearing this, Jang Sung-joon nodded vigorously and answered,

"I'll do it!"

[Citizen Jang Sung-joon's trust has increased.]

[Citizen Jang Sung-joon's loyalty has increased.]

"Shouldn't you ask the others as well?"

"Once they hear the conditions, they'll accept without hesitation."

I looked at Jang Sung-joon, who wore a determined expression.

"You don't need to be so tense. At first, the monsters you'll be hunting will only be goblins."

I planned to have them run repeated battles in the goblin den, an instant dungeon.

"It might be difficult to fight without rifles at first, but you'll get used to it quickly."

"Understood."

"And Jang Sung-joon, try using your psychokinesis regularly. It will be tedious and exhausting at first, but once you get used to it, you'll gain a weapon far more powerful than a rifle."

"Yes. I'll do my best."

I was confident Jang Sung-joon would adapt quickly.

He had already reached the early levels of the 20s after hunting various monsters while retrieving his family from Yeonji-dong.

'He should be able to handle goblins with ease!'

The other party members also had decent levels, so six of them should be able to take down a hundred goblins without much trouble.

'Once they're completely used to their abilities, I'll send them on real hunts.'

We planned to finalize the details later.

Just as Jang Sung-joon went downstairs, beaming with excitement—

[Citizen Jang Dae-il has died.]

[Citizen Kim Nam-gi has died.]

[Citizen Lee Se-hyun has died.]

[Citizen Seo Go-eun has died.]

'Huh?'

Suddenly, a wave of death notifications flooded in.

More than a dozen citizens had lost their lives in an instant.

'This has never happened before.'

For a moment, I thought there had been some kind of accident.

Unless a building had collapsed or something similar had happened, there was no reason for so many people to die at once.

But then, another strange notification appeared.

[You have hunted a Low-Class Vampire (Lv. 18).]

[You have gained experience points.]

[2,223,988 won has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler's Wallet.]

"A vampire?"

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