CHAPTER 75

 The Calm Before the Storm (2)

He stared blankly at the frozen wall when a voice called out to him.

[Mr. Moon Ji-hoon, please gather your party members and come up to the 30th floor.]

[Mr. Moon Ji-hoon?]

"Ah, y-yes! What did you say again?"

[Please gather your party members and come up to the 30th floor. It'll just take a moment.]

"Ah, understood!"

After calling out to Moon Ji-hoon, I finished my meal.

"That was good."

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah. A lot."

"Hehe."

I placed the used dishes into the dishwasher, turned it on, and sat down on the sofa.

Immediately, Kkami climbed onto my lap, and I gently petted her.

Beep—

Seeing Kkami stretch out comfortably as if in a good mood, I smiled softly. Then, Seo Ye-jin sat next to me.

"Kkami seems to be low-energy lately. Maybe it's because the days are getting shorter."

I chuckled and replied, "She's always been like that."

The way I remember Kkami, she was almost always sprawled out in the sunlight, basking with a lazy expression.

"Oppa, wanna watch a movie?"

"A movie?"

"Yeah. It's an old film called Notebook."

"Where'd you get that?"

"I dunno. It was just being sold. Ta-da!"

Seo Ye-jin proudly pulled out a USB stick and hummed a little tune.

"Hold on a sec, oppa!"

"Alright."

She scampered off to the kitchen and started rustling around, preparing something.

'Stuff like that's been popping up a lot lately.'

It wasn't just movies.

Dramas, YouTube videos, novels, comics, music—you name it.

All kinds of content were being traded among citizens.

Of course, most of that was probably illegally downloaded.

Even if it was purchased legitimately, sharing it with others for money was illegal.

But then again—

'With the world in ruins, does any of that even matter anymore?'

In a way, it was the illegal downloaders who had preserved humanity's cultural content legacy.

Anyway, there were plenty of people trading videos or selling them for cash among the citizens.

The fascinating part was that these small-scale trades mostly happened in cash. Citizens could still use the money in their wallets for transactions.

But just like when I pay citizens, a transaction fee is charged.

To avoid the steep 10% fee, most people preferred using cash for personal trades.

Because of that, about two weeks ago, there were people breaking ATMs or searching empty houses to scavenge for cash. They even called themselves "treasure hunters."

'They were actually pretty helpful.'

Just the emergence of a new profession like "treasure hunter" was a welcome sight.

Relying solely on the working population's skills and monster hunting had its limits.

Plus, thanks to the cash those treasure hunters brought in, cash transactions became more common, and all kinds of exchanges started booming.

Their cash helped open up exponentially more ways for people to earn money.

People began flipping decent abandoned cars they found on the streets as used car dealers. Others started selling a variety of foods. And like the movie Seo Ye-jin brought, some people were selling content.

Everyone began making money in their own way.

That's how prevalent cash transactions had become—some folks who lived off monster hunting would even buy goods at the store and resell them for cash, or eat the 10% fee just to get their hands on real money.

Because some items were only available through cash.

'Well, I guess I was sort of a treasure hunter too, in a way.'

Of course, my methods were a little… different from regular folks.

While they were busting open ATMs or picking locks on empty homes for some cash, I was robbing bank vaults.

Using the Eye of the Absolute and the Warehouse of the Absolute, I cleaned out the cash from the banks.

That's why even now, one of the small rooms in my house was piled high with bills.

I was lost in thought when—

Pop! Pop!

A popping sound came from the kitchen, and soon, the scent of popcorn filled the air.

"Popcorn?"

"Yep! Smells good, right?"

"The smell definitely gets a passing grade."

After a while, I heard more popping, then Seo Ye-jin returned with a huge bowl full of popcorn.

"Ta-da!"

I grabbed a handful. It was salty and delicious.

"You made this really well."

"This is the bare minimum for me!"

Ruffling Seo Yejin's hair, he said,

"Thanks. I'll enjoy the meal."

She smiled bashfully and plugged a USB into the living room TV.

Once the lights were turned off, the room was transformed into a perfect movie theater.

The sound of the dishwasher running could be heard, but it wasn't enough to be distracting.

As the movie started, Kkami's eyes sparkled as she turned her gaze toward the TV.

Seo Yejin gently stroked Kkami with the back of her hand and said,

"This is going to be fun, right, Kkami?"

Thwack!

It was one of those rare moments when Kkami became bursting with energy.

'The Eye of the Absolute One.'

Using the Eye of the Absolute One, he saw that Moon Jihoon, Moon Sanghoon, and even Baek Seungyeop were gathered and heading up to this location.

[Mr. Moon Jihoon. I'm sorry, but could you come early tomorrow morning?]

"Huh? Oh, yes?"

[Something urgent came up.]

"Ah, understood. I'll come by early tomorrow morning."

Turning his head, he saw Seo Yejin and Kkami already immersed in the movie.

'So peaceful.'

He stared at them for a moment before turning his gaze back to the screen.

As he watched the movie, he simultaneously activated the Eye of the Absolute One to scan the entire area.

The well-maintained roads were the first thing to catch his attention.

Though not quite like the world before the collapse, there were no broken sections or abandoned vehicles, and a few cars were on the move. Traffic lights and other facilities were functioning normally too.

'All thanks to the Restoration Skill.'

The Homebody Absolute One's Home Restoration Skill was one he rarely used.

There were already so many things draining money, so he hadn't seen much reason to spend on fixing broken windows or homes.

He had only used the skill a couple of times—once when fixing a window Kkami had smashed during a transformation, and another when repairing the door to Unit 2902, where Kim Dajeong lived, after it was busted down.

In areas destroyed by Cyclops, he had just used the Construction Function to build things like solar panels or gyms.

That way, there was no need to fix minor debris or collapsed buildings.

But as road usage increased, so did the need to repair damaged roads.

Right after realizing this skill would see frequent use, he invested one of his last two skill points into the Restoration Skill.

'And it paid off big time.'

When the skill hit level 2, a new function called "Clay Figurine Creation" was unlocked—and it was a total jackpot.

At that moment, a road under restoration appeared in the Eye of the Absolute One's field of view.

'They're working hard.'

It was an area where Cyclops had left a giant footprint, and clay figurines (土俑) were now busy working in the area.

Rumble rumble…

When the figurines reached out their hands toward the shattered concrete, it slowly began to regenerate and return to its former state.

'Definitely worth the cost!'

Three hundred million won—per unit.

But the performance was so satisfactory, he ended up maxing out at thirty figurines.

It had cost him a massive one hundred billion won, but if he had used the Restoration Skill alone for all the road repairs the figurines had completed in the past month, it would've cost several times more.

'Leveling up the skill was the right call!'

Once again, he experienced the boundless potential of skill leveling, but still couldn't bring himself to use his last remaining skill point.

There were plenty of skills that could use it.

The "Dignity Maintenance" skill, which always unlocked attractive features, was appealing. He also wanted to increase the capacity of the warehouse, which had a 200kg limit.

Then there was The Eye of the Absolute One, a skill he used almost daily, as well as Invisible Hand, Health, and The Door of the Absolute One.

All of them were worth leveling up.

'But still…'

There was a reason he hadn't used the final skill point, even after an entire month.

'I'm still stuck at level 25.'

It had been a month since he hit level 25 after defeating an advanced vampire, and not once had he leveled up since.

'Feels like the required XP skyrocketed!'

Though he hadn't hunted another high-level monster like the advanced vampire, he was confident he'd taken down plenty of monsters.

Thanks to Hadonggun's party successfully clearing dungeons, the limit on goblin dungeons increased to 30, and they'd been farming steadily there. When a dungeon reached its limit and disappeared, they'd immediately create a new one.

'And yet, it's still not enough?'

He needed to reach level 30 to gain another skill point.

But if getting to 26 was this hard, hitting 30 would be even worse.

It was clear that it would take far more time than before.

'Plus, monster numbers around here have really thinned out.'

Thanks to Hadonggun's party and many other hunting teams, monsters around the area had been nearly wiped out.

Now, in order to hunt monsters, they had to travel long distances—traveling by car had become the norm.

"I need to set up a hunting point somewhere else."

He was thinking of finding a monster-rich area and establishing an outpost there.

"Once the outpost is built, I can use the Gate of the Absolute skill to travel back and forth."

Moreover, there was a high chance that higher-level monsters occupied other regions.

"If I could just find a few monsters on par with advanced vampires, I'd have hit level 30 in no time."

But he didn't have high hopes.

He figured there was no way a large number of such high-level monsters could exist in one place.

At least, that's what he thought—until now.

"Urghhh…"

A man dangled in the air, struggling to survive with a massive hand clutched around his neck.

He desperately clawed at the thick hand gripping his throat with his sharp fingernails, but it was useless.

"Hey. What did you say your name was again?"

"Ghhh… Krahh!"

"I see. Can't talk in that position, huh."

When the monster loosened his grip, the man collapsed to the ground and gasped for air.

"Hhhhhh… Hah… Hah…"

Wheezing and panting, the man slowly looked up.

The monster choking him was enormous. He had to be over two meters tall, his body covered in stone-like muscles.

His build resembled an orc more than a human.

The monster spoke again.

"What did you say your name was?"

"…Kim Junho. Hah…"

Despite the rebellious glare in his eyes, Kim Junho answered obediently.

"Right. You know Jung Younghoon, don't you?"

"!!"

Seeing his reaction, the monster spoke flatly.

"Yeah, that loudmouthed bastard."

Kim Junho bared his teeth, showing clear hostility toward the creature.

***

"Did that bastard send you?"

"What?"

The monster's expression hardened.

"You think I work under that dumbass?"

Clearly annoyed, the monster muttered.

"Tsk. Judging by the fact you don't know he's dead, you must not know where he got himself killed either."

"D-Dead?! He's dead?!"

The monster, now looking bored, swung his hand silently.

Splat!

In an instant, Kim Junho's head was sent flying.

His lifeless body slumped forward slowly. The monster reached out toward the corpse.

Squelch, squelch…

A lump of blood filled with Kim Junho's life force slowly rose into the air.

Then, as the monster opened his mouth, gleaming fangs briefly shone in the darkness.

Slurp!

The life-filled blood was sucked into his mouth, and the hulking man, having finished his meal, casually stepped out of the office.

Outside, hell awaited.

The corpses of dozens of vampires were strewn about the place.

Some of them were still twitching, clinging to life.

The monster slowly approached them and, just like he had with Kim Junho, reached out.

Squelch, squelch…

Orbs of blood imbued with life rose and vanished into his mouth once again.

"Hmph."

The hulking man smacked his lips for a moment, then scowled and grumbled.

"Where the hell did that bastard get himself killed, anyway?"

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]