[Episode 04] Quest Reward (3)
Using his teleportation ability, Mun Byeong-ho arrived at the home ahead of the rest of the party and quickly entered.
Click.
He inserted the key, opened the front door, and headed straight to the bedroom where his grandmother was.
Moon Byeong-ho, upon finding his grandmother lying in bed under the blankets as usual, breathed a sigh of relief. He approached carefully and spoke.
âGrandma, Iâm here.â
âHmm?â
When his grandmother woke up, she looked momentarily confused but soon reached out with both hands to cup Mun Byeong-hoâs face. Shortly after, she burst into tears, crying like a child.
âSniff. Grandma, Iâm sorry. I wasnât too late, right?â
While comforting his grandmother and sharing a moment of understanding, Mun Byeong-ho made a vow.
âMr. Jae-hyun, I will dedicate my life to you.â
***
I watched with satisfaction as Moon Byeong-ho and his grandmother reunited.
âGreat.â
From my perspective, Moon Byeong-ho could only be looked upon favorably.
Rapidly increasing trust and loyalty.
Honestly, how many people would dislike someone willing to believe in themselves and pledge loyalty?
Even just saying the right things would make that person look good, but in my case, it was visible in numerical terms, so it was even better.
âThis guy hits the jackpot every time.â
Among Ha Dong-geonâs party, he was the first to be recognized as a vassal, awakening the A-rank ability Teleport as he reached level 30.
Even when playing mobile games, you tend to like getting high-rarity characters in gacha draws.
Moreover, Moon Byeong-ho was not a character in a game, but a real person with a top-tier ability.
And this time, he even earned skill points.
âThereâs really no goose that lays golden eggs.â
At that moment, when Moon Byeong-ho, who had been hugging his grandmother and crying, raised his head with a determined expression, a new notification appeared.
[Citizen Moon Byeong-hoâs loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Moon Byeong-hoâs loyalty has reached 100.]
[Citizen Moon Byeong-ho is already registered as a vassal.]
[Vassal registration limit has increased.]
âHuh?â
I immediately opened the skill window and checked the Vassal Management tab.
?Vassal Management
1. Choi Hyeong-jun (Lv. 20) [+]
2. Moon Byeong-ho (Lv. 30) [+]
3. Kang Deok-su (Lv. 25) [+]
(3 / 11 members)
The number of slots had increased from 10 to 11.
âHa, hahaha.â
I was so happy that I burst out laughing.
âMoon Byeong-ho, youâre totally a god-tier character, a god-tier.â
If youâve played an RPG game, youâve probably heard the term before.
God-tier (blessed character).
Enhancing, acquiring items through hunting, or opening randomly obtained boxesâcharacters who perform significantly better than others.
I couldnât find a term more fitting for Moon Byeong-ho now.
âIâll definitely nurture you.â
I resolved to provide Moon Byeong-ho with everything I could in the future, whether it was leveling up or quest rewards.
Regardless of the cost.
The value of what he had already earned for me was easily worth billions.
Leaving aside everything else, just âskill pointsâ had that much value.
âEven if it wasnât that much, it was still close.â
I was worried because all 40 slots were almost filled.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed that I would run out of store slots before I reached level 10.
But now that I had skill points, there was no need to worry. All I had to do was level up immediately after filling the slots.
âCome to think of it, how much money do I have left?â
Upon checking, there was about 11 million won left in the Absolute Dwellerâs wallet.
Despite spending quite a bit, there was still some left thanks to the mass hunting.
I have earned millions of won from goblins alone.
Although the goblins killed alongside the expansion of the homebound area didnât count for bonus settlements since they were considered killed directly by me, the sheer number earned me quite a fortune.
âLetâs check how much it costs to level up our soldiers.â
I pressed the [+] button next to Moon Byeong-hoâs level.
And I was shocked by the amount.
[Insufficient cash to level up.]
[To raise the level of Vassal Moon Byeong-ho, you need 100,000,000 won.]
[Increase your cash holdings and try again.]
ââŠâŠâ
Faced with the overwhelmingly shocking message, I stood frozen for a moment.
âTen, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million⊠hundred million.â
100 million.
To raise Byeong-hoâs level by one, a whopping 100 million won was needed.
âSorry, Byeong-ho.â
Unless something special happened, Byeong-hoâs level was unlikely to increase in the future.
âBut Iâll give you daily quests every day.â
Even if it required spending more money to lower the difficulty, I intended to have Moon Byeong-ho complete all of his daily quests.
Accumulating day by day, Moon Byeong-ho would quickly become stronger.
Observing Byeong-ho carrying his grandmother back here through the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes, I thought to myself.
âIf the jackpot hits just one more time, then Iâll seriously consider leveling him. Really.â
I didnât expect much.
Just one more time.
âHuh?â
At that moment, I felt someone arrive on the 30th floor through the elevator.
âWho is it?â
Turning the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes in this direction and checking the corridor, I saw a muscular man and a woman with a slim figure coming with something in her hands.
âItâs them.â
The average level of adult men was around 7 to 8, but the man was at level 15.
The woman accompanying him also had an impressive level of 11.
They got off the elevator, glanced at my house, then headed towards Choi Hyeong-junâs house, pressing the doorbell.
????~
Park Hye-won opened the door and greeted them.
âWho are you?â
âIâm Kim Dabin (Da-bin), and this is my younger brother, Kim Minho (Min-ho). We live in Apartment 1701.â
âOh, I see. What brings you here?â
âWe have a favor to ask.â
Kim Dabin spoke with a serious expression.
âI know itâs shameless, but could I use your shower just once?â
I wondered what significant request they had, but it turned out to be merely taking a shower.
âA shower?â
âYes, a shower.â
Park Hye-won nodded readily as if understanding.
âOf course, come in.â
âThank you so much!â
As Kim Minho entered the house, he extended a box to Park Hye-won.
âMaâam, may I know where I can put this?â
âOh, whatâs all this?â
âI brought some canned goods and various things.â
âReally?â
The box he was holding was full of useful items, spanning from cans of tuna to whelks, chicken breast, spam, and more.
[Footnote: Golbaengi, a type of seasoned food made by mixing moon snails with vegetables.]
âBurn all of that for just one shower?â
During times like these, non-perishable food with a long shelf life was considered as valuable as treasure.
Naturally, it was excessive compensation for just one shower.
âOh my. You really donât have to.â
âNo! When you come barging into someone elseâs house and make an inconvenient request, you should come prepared for this much, right?â
Kim Minho, who had been acting nervously, revealed his true intentions afterward.
âFor the future, please take good care of us a bit more⊠hehe.â
Only then did their intentions become clear.
âWell, that makes sense. It seems like they mean to ask for showers occasionally in the future.â
It could be seen as a very clever strategy.
In this ruined world, they had realized early-on the value of having electricity, water, and gas.
Perhaps they intended to secure that value with bold investments at the beginning.
However, from the following conversation, it became apparent that their goal wasnât solely that.
After glancing at Park Hye-won, Kim Dabin cautiously brought up the topic.
âUm⊠do the people carrying the bow and baseball bats live next door?â
âYes?â
After a moment of pondering, Park Hye-won clapped her hands as if realizing who they were talking about.
âOh, those people. They arenât the neighbors. Originally, they lived in a different neighborhood⊠Itâs a bit complicated, to be honest. Anyway, thereâs only one person living next door.â
After hearing Park Hye-wonâs words, Kim Dabin asked.
âBy any chance, is it the person with pale skin who can create things out of thin air and such?â
âOh, right. You know about them?â
Upon hearing this, Kim Minho chimed in with his answer.
âWell, you see, we saw them fighting monsters in the corridor yesterday. Among them, that person was somethingâŠâ
While speaking, Kim Minho shivered.
At that timing, Kim Dabin continued his words.
âThat person was emitting an unusual atmosphere.â
âMore than that, it was somewhat⊠scary.â
In response to Kim Minhoâs continued answer, Kim Dabin asked with a puzzled expression.
âScary? Coming from you with that physique?â
âNo, I know. Itâs just that⊠there was some instinctive fear, you know?â
At that moment, Park Hye-won spoke to them.
âFirst, donât just stand there in the entrance like that. Come inside.â
âOh, thank you.â
Following Park Hye-wonâs guidance, they entered the house and soon met Choi Hyeong-jun.
Choi Hyeong-jun was doing squats in the living room.
âOh, sir! Youâre exercising. But doing squats like that will ruin your knees!â
When Kim Dabin exclaimed, Kim Minho immediately approached Choi Hyeong-jun and corrected his posture.
âWiden your legs a bit more, and pay attention so that your knees donât go beyond your toes. Move your hips a bit more to the back.â
âT-Thank you?â
Choi Hyeong-jun looked at his wife, Park Hye-won, with a gaze that seemed to seek an explanation.
Instead of answering, Park Hye-won took out a can of tuna from the box brought by Kim Dabin and shook it.
Meanwhile, Kim Minho, who was correcting Choi Hyeong-junâs posture, was surprised and said.
âYou⊠no, Boss. You seem to exercise a lot regularly. Your muscles are amazing.â
[Footnote: ??? â Boss.]
âItâs not like thatâŠâ
âNo, but why is your postureâŠâ
Park Hye-won spoke to the confused Kim Minho.
âFeel free to shower over there. Ms. Dabin can take a shower in the master bedroom. You can use the towels inside.â
At that point, I released the Absolute Dwellerâs Eye.
âNot bad.â
First of all, they seemed like decent people.
Even without them, I was thinking of forming another team with high-level individuals. Adding a few more people to these two would create a suitable combination.
âI guess Iâll go once they finish showering.â
After registering the canned goods they brought, it would be possible to level up the shop.
âI should chat with them a bit.â
I planned to assign the new team tasks such as procuring supplies and rescuing survivors in other apartment buildings.
It was then.
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun has completed a quest.]
[Quest cost: 78,145 won.]
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun has used all available quest attempts for today.]
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-junâs completed quests are being evaluated.]
[······ Evaluation in progress ······]
In the meantime, the quest given to Choi Hyeong-jun had ended.
âThe efficiency isnât great.â
I gave him the same strength-enhancement quests that had been given to Kang Deok-su, but despite significantly increasing the number of reps, the quest cost did not decrease much.
âItâs probably because of his awakened abilities.â
For Choi Hyeong-jun, who had the ability Gorillaâs Might, regular body exercises were likely too easy.
âCanât help it.â
For now, even if it cost money, I planned to continue providing opportunities for growth to those who became vassals.
I also found out that the additional daily quest rewards were better than I expected, so it was well worth the investment.
Just like in the case of Moon Byeong-ho, if a jackpot came out, it would be a huge success.
âWait a minute. Come to think of it, isnât Choi Hyeong-jun exercising skill proficiency training? If so, would I get skill points again if the jackpot is hit?â
My dreams were short-lived.
[Evaluation complete.]
[Strength has slightly increased.]
Choi Hyeong-jun promptly betrayed my expectations.
ââŠDammit.â
[Footnote: ??? â To lose spirit or energy because joy or excitement has disappeared.]
Because there was such a huge additional reward last time, this reward felt disappointingly shabby.
However, at that moment.
[You have hunted a Red Tiger (Lv. 27).]
[You have gained a large amount of experience points.]
[39,783,200 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dwellerâs wallet.]
[Skill level has increased.]
[A new skill has been acquired.]
âWhat?â
I urgently opened the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes to check the situation of Ha Dong-geonâs party.
âHuff, huff.â
There, a dead Red Tiger was lying beneath Moon Byeong-ho, who was panting while covered in blood.
âWhat happened?â
Before I could properly grasp the situation:
âUgh!â
The pain began.