[Episode 10] Busan Station (2)
â!!!â
This pain was qualitatively different from the pain he had experienced so far.
If the pain before had been like his body swelling up, the pain he felt at level 20 was like being stabbed all over with needles.
It felt like dozens of needles were piercing his skin from inside and stretching it outwards.
âMr. Jae-hyun! Mr. Jae-hyun! Are you okay!?â
I could hear Seo Ye-jinâs urgent voice, but I couldnât respond.
âMr. Jae-hyun! Breathe! You have to breathe!â
Just enduring the pain transmitted in real-time was overwhelming enough.
I was about to lose my mind during the few minutes of pain.
Finally, the area expansion was completed.
âPhew, whoo.â
Cold sweat was all over my body.
As the muscles that had contracted due to pain suddenly relaxed, a sense of exhaustion came.
I felt a slight weight on my chest, feeling like I could fall asleep at any moment.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Seo Ye-jin, looking alarmed, with her hands on my chest.
Struggling to speak, I asked, âWhat are you doingâŠâ
âI was trying to do CPRâŠâ
I raised my arms, which felt like wet cotton, and grabbed her hands.
ââŠIâm okay.â
My condition seemed serious enough for Kkami, who was sitting on the sofa, to come over and look at me with a worried expression.
-Cheep?
ââŠIâm fine.â
Kkami decided to settle on my stomach instead of the sofa.
As I gently stroked him, I felt the drowsiness creeping in.
With a lethargic feeling, I closed my eyes and checked the expanded homebound area with the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes.
âItâs huge.â
The area had expanded over a wider area than I had thought.
It extended along the road, including a wide area that reached as far as Seomyeon Station and Bujeon Station, swallowing up all the alleys within a 1km radius of the apartment complex.
A bloody vast area.
âNo wonder it hurt so much.â
Since it was the largest expansion so far, the pain could only be considered natural.
âIâm tired.â
I desperately wanted to sleep for just five minutes.
But now was not the time.
I had to watch over Ha Dong-geonâs party, who were performing their mission for me.
Sitting up to wake myself, I asked Seo Ye-jin for a favor.
âMs. Ye-jin, sorry to bother you, but could you pour me a glass of cold water?â
âJust wait a moment.â
I didnât even have the energy to use Invisible Hand.
I had exhausted all my energy enduring the pain, both mental and physical.
âHere you go.â
âThank you.â
After drinking the cold water, I felt a little clearer-headed.
âAre you okay?â
âThanks to you.â
While observing Ha Dong-geonâs party with the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes, I checked the skill window.
I had received 3 skill points for reaching level 20, and it was time to use them.
Among the skills with a [+] next to their level, the first skill to level up was already decided.
The most important skill for the current operation.
âLevel up the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes.â
[The Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes skill is now level 4.]
[Multi-perspective functionality has been added.]
I immediately tested the newly-added feature.
Multi-perspective was exactly what it sounded likeâa function where the perspective using the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes expanded to multiple viewpoints.
It became possible to observe several places at once.
I felt the number of perspectives gradually increasing.
âIs three the limit?â
Now, using the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes had become as natural as breathing, but with the increase to three perspectives, I found my focus reaching its limit.
To increase my concentration slightly, I closed my eyes and began to concentrate solely on the Absolute Dwellerâs Eyes.
âIt feels like sitting in a security room with CCTV screens.â
I could see three perspectives simultaneously.
One was still showing Ha Dong-geonâs party, another showed the busy Kim Dabin, and the last one illuminated people on the street in the newly expanded area.
âWhat happened?â
âI donât know. Suddenly, the goblinsâ heads exploded, and then they disappeared without paying?â
It was the party led by Lee Joon-hyuk, who had recently joined.
It was this party that had helped fill the experience points that were lacking from hunting goblins.
âJoon-hyuk, look over there!â
A woman pointed towards an alley.
âI think the goblins canât come this way?â
Even when Lee Joon-hyuk approached them, the goblins couldnât do anything. When they tried to swing their knives and weapons, it bounced off an invisible wall.
On the other hand.
Pwooook!
âKwajaeak!â
Attacking goblins from Lee Joon-hyukâs side was possible.
âThis is totally awesome!â
His party members were ecstatic.
âHey, me too! I havenât killed a single one yet!â
âYouâre not the only one! I havenât either!â
âGet out of the way! Iâm going to shoot my bow! If you donât want to get hit, get out of the way!â
Feeling something unusual, the goblins instinctively tried to flee, but it was already too late.
Chased by the people behind them, six goblins lost their lives in an instant.
âHuh? There are strange messages appearing in the air, do you see them?â
âIs this your first time seeing them?â
âWow. Itâs my first time catching them. Joon-hyuk is unusually active today.â
Surprisingly, they were hunting goblins familiarly.
âThe manâs words back then werenât just empty boasts.â
Now, it was possible to hunt within the safe zone, but they were probably battling with at least ten goblins or more before.
Yet, not a single person showed signs of tension.
It meant that they were truly very familiar with hunting goblins.
âAt this level, they are among the top tier of ordinary groups Iâve seen.â
They were enjoying the hunt.
And they had no hesitation in killing.
Not just a few of them, but everyone gathered here was like that. fđeeđ°đČđnđšvđđč.com
Whether they were able to survive due to such tendencies or by gathering together, they seemed to perceive goblin hunting as a fun game.
âBut is this also the ability of that person? This wall that blocks goblins, I mean.â
âProbably. It seems to be an extension of the transparent barrier we encountered at first.â
âWow. Itâs an amazing ability. Wait a minuteâŠâ
One of Lee Joon-hyukâs group members spoke with a worried look.
âIf we leave his line of sight, wouldnât our heads also explode like those goblins just now?â
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
His statement silenced the excited party members.
âS-So, was that just now some kind of warning sent by that person? Like, âlisten carefullyâ?â
A heavy silence descended upon the entire party.
âD-Did we do something wrong?â
As fear began to spread, Lee Joon-hyuk stepped forward.
âIsnât it okay as long as we donât leave then?â
âW-What do you mean, Joon-hyuk?â
âYouâve all experienced it. Normal bathrooms. Houses where you can take a warm shower, where you can cook and eat warm meals, and sleep in warm blankets.â
Lee Joon-hyuk looked around at his party members.
âSo, letâs make sure nothing happens. Behave well, cleanly, and sensibly. If we do that, everything will be fine.â
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyukâs loyalty has surpassed 30.]
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyuk has fulfilled the requirements for vassal registration.]
Just at the right time, Lee Joon-hyuk fulfilled the minimum requirements for vassal registration.
âVassal registration, Lee Joon-hyuk.â
At that moment, a bright light emanated from Lee Joon-hyukâs body.
âHuh?â
âW-Whatâs going on?â
âJoon-hyuk oppa!â
Name: Lee Joon-hyuk (Lv. 40) [+]
Titles: [Twelfth Vassal] [Knight] [Wizard]
Trust: 59 Loyalty: 31
Awakening Abilities: Water Creation, Water Bomb, Water Control
Experience Distribution Rate: 0% (+100%)
â Quest Assignment ă
{Wizard}
The power of skills is increased by 100%.
Water Bomb (Grade A)
Summons highly-compressed water and detonates it. The power increases proportionally to the consumed mental strength.
Water Control (Grade S)
Consumes mental strength to freely manipulate the water summoned.
âHm?â
He awakened an S-grade ability.
Since Lee Joon-hyukâs initial ability grade was B, I didnât expect it to work out so well.
âIs it because of his high level?â
At the time of vassal registration, he was at level 33, the same level as when Oh Eon-ju was registered.
âIt doesnât seem like just luckâŠâ
I didnât know the exact reason, but the result was good.
âAnyway, this is amazing.â
This marked the birth of the second S-grade ability user.
âAssign quest.â
ăQuest Assignmentă
Quest Content: Try using Water Bomb and Water Control.
Time Limit: 10 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: Mental strength enhancement.
Failure Penalty: Mental fatigue.
Citizens couldnât see their status windows. Naturally, they wouldnât know the information about their newly-acquired awakening abilities either.
While they might naturally realize how to use their skills over time, directly informing them of the skill names like this made it much quicker to learn.
âJoon-hyuk, are you okay? There was light coming from your body just nowâŠ!â
âWait a moment.â
Lee Joon-hyuk read the quest I gave him and then reached out into the air.
Then.
âWater Bomb.â
Kwaaaang!
A powerful explosion erupted from the air.
AndâŠ
Shooaaaah!
The water droplets from the water bomb turned into a downpour.
The raindrops falling over Lee Joon-hyukâs party were all created by Lee Joon-hyuk.
âWater Control.â
At that moment.
The water stream that was pouring stopped in midair.
Moonlight scattered on the suspended water droplets, creating a dreamy atmosphere.
Everyone was momentarily mesmerized by the sight that was reminiscent of a large-scale magic performance.
âUgh.â
However, a moment later, Lee Joon-hyukâs concentration wavered.
Shooaaaahâ
The water droplets all fell to the ground at once.
âWhatâs this?â
âDid you do this, Joon-hyuk?â
But it seemed like their words didnât reach Lee Joon-hyuk.
âHaha, hahaha!â
Lee Joon-hyuk, who was laughing like crazy, suddenly looked around and bowed towards the apartment complex.
âThank you! Thank you!! I will never forget this grace!â
Lee Joon-hyukâs sudden actions left his party members staring at him blankly.
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyukâs trust has increased.]
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyukâs loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyuk has completed a quest.]
[Quest cost: 70,251 won.]
âWhy is he doing that? Itâs too much.â
Was it really necessary to bow down and hit his head?
Although he did awaken a good ability, his reaction was too intense.
However, it was nice to see his pure joy, like that of a child.
âAssign the quest again.â
I assigned the same quest two more times, completing the daily quest in one go.
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyuk has used up all available quest attempts for today.]
[Citizen Lee Joon-hyukâs performed quests are being evaluated.]
[······ Evaluation in progress ······]
While the daily quest evaluation was ongoing, I seriously thought about how to use him.
âShould I add him to Ha Dong-geonâs party?â
It wasnât very appealing to just add Lee Joon-hyuk to Ha Dong-geonâs party now.
Ha Dong-geonâs party was already well-balanced, and inserting Lee Joon-hyuk might disrupt their teamwork, similar to when I first inserted Oh Eon-ju.
âMore importantly, Lee Joon-hyukâs departure would significantly lower the value of the group heâs currently leading.â
They were united around Lee Joon-hyuk. If he were to leave, there was a high probability that the group would fall apart.
âI guess for now, itâs better for Lee Joon-hyuk to continue with his current group.â
[Evaluation complete.]
[Mental strength has increased greatly.]
âHm?â
It was really rare for the daily quest reward to include the word âgreatlyâ.
It was like winning the lottery, happening maybe once in a hundred times. And yet, it happened now.
âLucky.â
Even without this stroke of luck, dealing with the pain of leveling up was incredibly exhausting. But with the increase in mental strength, it became more bearable.
At that moment, I sensed some commotion coming from Ha Dong-geonâs party.