[Episode 01] The Absolute Dweller (4)
The moment our eyes met, I felt my entire body freeze.
Fear wrapped around me, and my feet stiffened.
The creature, with its massive size and predatory eyes, was the epitome of a predator.
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing saliva resonated loudly.
In the next moment, Kellican abruptly thrust its mouth toward me.
Thunk!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
Only after an invisible barrier blocked the creatureâs teeth did I realize that it intended to pounce on me.
âUgh!â
Blocked by the transparent wall, the creature slid down, but soon flapped its wings and ascended.
In that state, it pressed its teeth against the wall, aiming at me.
Squeak!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
âŠ
âŠ
Right in front of me, watching the creatureâs teeth and the inside of its mouth live, a sudden uneasy thought crossed my mind.
âIt wonât break through, will it?â
Anxiety that the creatureâs fierce teeth might penetrate the invisible wall and reach my throat.
As I imagined this, I snapped back to my senses.
âI have to do something somehow!â
Without hesitation, I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and stood in front of the Kellican.
Ignoring my movements, the creature remained focused on chewing the invisible wall.
While estimating the length of the knife and the distance to the creature, I reached a conclusion.
âThe knife is too short.â
The typical kitchen knife had a length of only about 20 centimeters. Considering that my body would be blocked by the transparent wall, the effective range of the knife was barely a handspan.
Naturally, to strike the creature, I needed to target a spot close to the transparent wall, but the only place fitting that description was the creatureâs mouth, chewing on the transparent wall.
The tough beak and the teeth inside it.
Shoving a kitchen knife there didnât seem to have much effect.
âIf I want to stab it in the throat, I need to make it like a spear.â
Luckily, I had the right materials.
I fixed the kitchen knife to the end of a mop I bought from Daiso and tightly wound it with tape.
As I did this, a plausible weapon was completed.
Checking that the kitchen knife was securely fixed, I smiled with satisfaction.
âThis should be enough.â
Squeak!
[Unauthorized access attempt.]
The creature remained absorbed in the transparent wall, unaware of anything.
âNow!â
With all my strength, I thrust the spear into the creatureâs neck, sinking it halfway.
Squeal!
The creature recoiled in terror, causing the spear to come out and further aggravate its wound.
Splurt!
The blood spurted from the creatureâs body, blocked by the transparent wall, but the amount was quite substantial.
âGot it!â
However.
Squeal!
Despite the blood flowing from its neck, the creature was still moving perfectly fine.
Thud! Thud!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
It rammed the transparent wall with its head, venting its frustration. The sight of it violently hitting the wall resembled a wounded beast determined to kill me even if it meant its own death.
âHa, one more time!â
Regaining composure, I reached out with the spear again.
However.
Whoosh!
âOops!â
This time, the creature was attentive to my movements. As I thrust the spear, it caught the spearhead with its beak and pulled it towards itself.
Squelch!
The plastic spearhead from Daiso shattered inside Kellicanâs beak, causing me to lose the kitchen knife attached to its front.
âIf this continuesâŠâ
Squeal!
There was another small fruit knife, but it wasnât as sharp as the kitchen knife. Probably wouldnât inflict much damage.
âPlus, with the creature watching me, my attacks are unlikely to hit.â
The only hopeful thing was that even in its frenzy, the creature continued to spew blood from its neck.
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
The transparent wall was perfectly blocking the intrusion, so it wasnât particularly frightening anymore.
Just wait patiently, and it would be over.
As time passed and the creatureâs blood smeared the transparent wall, it was clearly getting exhausted.
Finally, the creature, which had completely stopped moving, merely stared at me without attacking the transparent wall anymore.
It seemed to be contemplating something.
As I locked eyes with the creature, an unsettling hypothesis came to mind.
âWait a minute.â
It seemed like the creature had realized that breaking through the transparent wall was impossible.
So, what if the creature gave up like this?
If it flew away to the sky before dying from excessive bleeding, what would happen?
âLooting is only activated when the corpse is nearby.â
The reason for formulating this hypothesis was simple.
During my time hunting goblins, success wasnât guaranteed.
Some of them were hit by the dumbbell on their bodies or other places, and among them, there were undoubtedly those in a state of imminent death.
âBut if the group took the creature away, they werenât subject to loot distribution.â
They must have died.
Those hit in the chest rather than the head by the dumbbell couldnât have survived until now.
âIn that case, it means loot distribution wonât happen if this creature moves a certain distance away.â
It couldnât be like that.
âHow much money was this? Are you just going to let it go like that?â
A captured prey too.
âIs there no way to finish this?â
I urgently looked around the house.
And in my desperate gaze, cooking oil caught my eye.
âRight!â
Maybe I could finish it with that.
âShop open! Purchase 10 sets of canola oil!â
[Are you sure you want to make this purchase?]
[Yes / No]
âYes!â
Zzingâ
Suddenly, twenty canola oil containers, each with 900ml, appeared in a row on the living room floor.
âWarehouse open! Only put cooking oil in, excluding plastic containers!â
Zzingâ
Storing all the cooking oil in the warehouse, I continued to move quickly.
I placed kitchen towels next to the broken end of the spear the creature was holding, securing them tightly with tape.
Then, I rushed to the kitchen and turned on the gas stove.
âSummon cooking oil!â
I poured all the cooking oil into a large pot and waited until it was sufficiently heated.
TatadadakâHwarruk!
As the cooking oil heated up, my anxiety also intensified.
Cardddeuk! Carddeuk!
âIs this enough?â
The waiting time felt incredibly long.
âStore!â
I stored the summoned cooking oil in the warehouse as it came pouring down, and after soaking the kitchen towel in cooking oil, I immediately lit it.
Hwarruk!
The gas stove flame smoothly transferred to the end of the spear, and I ran to the living room window with it.
The creature was still watching me carefully.
It seemed particularly wary of the flaming spear.
Staring at the creatureâs head, I said, âSummon cooking oil!â
Right after that.
Zzingâ
The boiling 18 liters of cooking oil summoned above Kellicanâs head poured directly onto its body.
-Kiyeek?!
Caught off guard by the sudden cooking oil attack, the creatureâs gaze turned to the sky.
âDie!â
I stabbed the flaming part of the broken spearâs end into the creatureâs body.
-Kkieeeek!
Whether startled by the surprise attack or in pain, the creature flailed as it fell from the apartment wall.
While the creature was leaving, I could finally smile.
âItâs done.â
Cooking oil had a high flashpoint, making it not easily flammable.
However, despite the high flashpoint, since it was oil, once it caught fire, it burned very well.
Due to that, it sometimes become the cause of kitchen fires.
A flaming spear was stuck in the Kellicanâs torso.
The small flames slowly but surely began to spread over the creatureâs body, thoroughly soaked in cooking oil.
Hwarrukâ
Initially spreading slowly, the flames soon engulfed the Kellican entirely.
Hwarrururuk!
As the flames intensified, I could see the startled Kellican frantically moving.
Perhaps trying to extinguish the fire, it desperately flapped its wings, but such actions only made the fire even bigger.
-Keeeeek!
With an otherworldly scream, the creature fell to the apartment promenade.
Quack! Kuwoong!
Its hefty body crashed, completely destroying a tree on the promenade.
Whether the tree served as a cushion or not, the creature was still alive and moving.
-Kkwaaeeaak!
Desperately rolling around to extinguish the flames clinging to its body, its efforts only managed to spread the fire around, and the flames wouldnât go out.
Hwarrururuk!
Its struggles didnât last long.
[Hunted Kellican (Lv. 27).]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.]
[Skill level increased.]
[Skill level increased.]
[Learned a new skill.]
The system notification informed that Kellicanâs life had been extinguished.
[There are items nearby that meet the conditions for loot.]
[Initiating loot assessment.]
As the assessment began, the Kellicanâs corpse, previously engulfed in flames, started to gradually disappear from below.
Unlike the previous case where some parts remained, this time the body vanished completely before the notification appeared.
[Loot assessment complete.]
[9,347,487 won has been deposited into the wallet of the Absolute Dweller.]
Upon seeing the amount, I couldnât help but be astonished.
âNi-, Ni-, Nine million won?!â
Given the high level and the fact that I hunted it entirely on my own, I anticipated a decent amount, but I never expected it to be this much.
âAlmost ten million won!â
Considering the remaining money I had, I practically had an amount exceeding ten million won.
This was a significant sum, and the satisfaction of earning it directly was immense.
âHaha.â
However, the gift from Kellican was not the end of it.
[Residential Area Expansion is beginning.]
âHmm?â
Wooong.
With the appearance of an unfamiliar message, I felt that something was changing.
âWhatâs happening?â
A faint, rippling sensation spread throughout the entire house.
At the peak of it,
â!!!â
Suddenly, my field of vision expanded.
Wooong!
At first, I saw myself sitting in the living room.
âIs this⊠me?â
After that, my field of view quickly began to expand. I could see every corner of the living room, the kitchen, the rooms, and the bathroom.
No, it was more like feeling than seeing.
I could sense the overall shape of the house, the real-time flow of electricity, the arrangement of furniture, and even the tiny dust particles on the floor.
It felt as if I had become the house itself.
Wooong!
âUgh!â
At that moment, I felt a sudden surge throughout my body. My entire body swelled as if it would burst at any moment.
AndâŠ
âThis, this is!â
In reality, my body was expanding.
No, to be precise, the area I perceived was increasing.
Beyond the front door, through the corridor, wrapping around the elevator, and even extending to the neighboring apartment.
Eventually, I could vividly see what was happening in the neighboring apartment.
âA person?â
There were people in the neighboring apartment.
A young couple in their late thirties with two children.
âThese people?â
While I didnât know the others, the husband was a familiar face.
I had occasionally bumped into him when going to the convenience store or taking out the trash.
âPeople next door?â
Their conversation sounded as if it was happening right next to me.
âHoney, what should we do? I smell something burning. Is something wrong?â
âItâs okay. Weâre on the 30th floor. Most monsters canât come up here.â
âWeâve been hearing thumping noises for a while. Is everything really okay?â
âDadad. Iâm scared.â
âSeoyeon, shh!â
âUgh.â
I could guess why they were trembling in fear.
It was probably because of the noise created by the Kellican.
Then it happened.
âUgh!â
The moment I felt that the residential area had expanded to the entire 30th floor, I regained control of my body.
âWhat was thatâŠâ
As I tried to organize my thoughts, a new notification appeared before me.
[A being satisfying the conditions to be recognized as a citizen has been found.]
[Grant citizenship?]