Absolute Dweller-Chapter 162

Kim Gayoung’s daily routine was simple.

Hunting monsters all day long.

She no longer needed direct orders from Kim Jaehyun—she could now communicate with Kellikan well enough to maneuver across Gangseo-gu, Bucheon, and Incheon while eliminating monsters.

And she wasn’t alone.

A total of 17 retainers, including Moon Byungho, Kang Deoksoo, and Kim Gun, along with 37 hunting teams, were actively engaged in the mass eradication of monsters.

Regions that had been far from the Ice Dragon’s path had only suffered heavy snowfall.

Unlike the completely frozen central zones, these areas still had a high monster survival rate.

The only solution—was to take them down manually.

But that also meant—

There were survivors.

"What’s that?"

Leveling up meant getting stronger.

That was obvious.

However, how one’s abilities grew varied from person to person.

Moon Byungho, who had Teleportation and Invisibility, saw his mental strength skyrocket.Oh Wonjoo and Ha Donggeon experienced extreme physical enhancement.

And for Kim Gayoung—

"Khan, take us down. Over there, where the orcs are."

Among an archer’s most crucial abilities, her dynamic vision had improved the most.

Now, her sight had far surpassed that of a human—

Even eagles and hawks couldn’t compare.

That’s why—

From hundreds of meters above, she could spot the orcs carrying off humans.

Screeeech—!

Kellikan acknowledged her command with a nod and folded his wings.

Gravity dragged them down, sending them plummeting toward the ground.

FWOOOOOSH—!!!

As the winds roared past, Kim Gayoung’s hair whipped wildly.

Her eyes, however—

Glowed with predatory focus.

Her left fist extended forward, aiming at her targets.

A brilliant light flared from her palm—

Shaping itself into the form of a bow.

WHIRRR—

Her right hand pulled back—

The moment she let go—

ZIING—!

A single arrow of light streaked toward the orcs.

Five meters above the orc horde—

FWOOOSH—!!

The one arrow burst apart, scattering into dozens of smaller shards.

THUD!

BOOM!

All seventeen orcs surrounding the captives dropped dead instantly.

Their skulls caved in, and their bodies collapsed.

And at that very moment—

BOOM—!!!

A sudden burst of air pressure marked Kellikan’s deceleration.

The survivors stared blankly at the sky.

Then—

From Kellikan’s back, Kim Gayoung jumped down.

Landing gracefully, she calmly addressed them in a familiar tone.

"Don’t be alarmed. I’m here to rescue you."

It had all happened too suddenly.

The survivors couldn’t react properly.

Most of them could do nothing but stare at her, slack-jawed.

"Huh?"

"KYAAA!!"

Some finally noticed the dead orcs, letting out screams as they collapsed.

"It’s okay. The danger is over. You’re safe now."

Her composed tone helped some regain their senses.

A man, his hands still bound, hesitantly spoke.

"You... You did this? All of it?"

"Yes, I did."

He pointed at the massive creature in the sky.

"And... And that bird...?"

"He’s mine."

"......You own that thing?"

"Yes. His name is Khan."

Kim Gayoung whistled.

Kellikan fully folded his wings and descended beside her.

"H-HOLY—!"

The man fell backward, landing flat on his rear.

Kim Gayoung simply smiled, patting Kellikan’s head.

"There’s nothing to be afraid of."

The man gulped, watching in awe.

Kim Gayoung glanced around, scanning the others.

"From now on, I will personally protect you. I’ll guide you to a safe place. Don’t worry."

Those words—

Were the trigger.

"HNGH—!"

A woman, who had collapsed earlier, began to sob.

"Hic—!"

One by one—

The rest followed suit.

By the end—

All eight of them were wailing aloud.

They had thought they were already dead.

They had given up—

Only to be rescued in the last moment.

However—

Not all of them were crying in relief.

Some—

Were clutching lifeless bodies, their sobs more gut-wrenching than the others.

Five corpses lay among the fallen orcs.

Drained of all blood, their bodies pale.

Those who held them didn’t need to explain what had happened.

Kim Gayoung walked closer to the most devastated among them.

"Excuse me."

The boy—

Who cried the hardest, was young.

Far too young.

Kim Gayoung bit her lip.

The corpse he clung to belonged to a middle-aged woman.

A mother.

His mother.

Instead of being in school, he had been forced to witness her murder.

"We need to move the bodies. Can you do that?"

"...Where to?"

"As I said earlier—we’re moving you to a safe place."

The boy, wiping away his tears, asked—

"Is it really... safe?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

Her unwavering confidence finally made the boy nod.

"Please... Take care of her."

Just then—

A voice echoed in their minds.

[Survivors, this is Kim Jaehyun.]

The unexpected voice left them stunned.

[We’re going to transport the bodies to a safe location. Is that alright?]

It wasn’t normal to hear someone’s voice inside your head.

Still—

It felt oddly reassuring.

[We’ll make sure they receive a proper burial. You have my word.]

[Please, trust me and let us take them.]

The boy nodded first.

ZIIIIING—

His mother’s body vanished.

The others—

One by one—

Followed.

ZIIIIING—

All five corpses were transported safely.

Suddenly—

A green glow enveloped them.

FWOOOSH—!

Their bare feet, bruised and bleeding, healed instantly.

Cuts closed.

Fatigue faded.

Energy returned.

"Huh?"

"What the...?"

Then—

New supplies appeared in front of them.

ZIIIIING—

Comfortable shoes and clothing.

Bottled water and energy bars.

And finally—

Eight bicycles lined up neatly by the roadside.

[Please depart as soon as you’re ready.]

With that—

Kim Jaehyun’s voice disappeared.

Kim Gayoung turned toward them.

"We leave in five minutes."

The bicycles, designed for rough terrain, would ensure they made it safely.

Abandoned vehicles blocked the road everywhere, and the ground was shattered due to various monsters, but there were still plenty of gaps wide enough for a bicycle to pass through.

Monsters appeared frequently, targeting them, but each one was taken down the moment it emerged by Kim Ga-young’s Light Arrows.

In the end, they reached the domain’s outer wall within two hours and were able to receive their citizenship.

A man in a suit, who had been waiting there in advance, spoke.

"From here on, I will guide you."

People turned their gazes toward Kim Ga-young.

They had watched her take down monsters over the past two hours.

Her overwhelming strength had already earned their deep trust.

"From here on, this is a completely safe zone. There is no need to worry. Please follow his guidance."

Only after hearing Kim Ga-young’s assurance did the people finally relax.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ga-young-nim."

"I’ll be counting on you."

After handing them over, Kim Ga-young mounted Kellikan and soared into the sky.

Her destination was a high-rise building in the center of Sindorim Station.

Compared to other areas in Seoul, the high-rises in Sindorim were relatively intact, and this particular one was among the most well-preserved.

Originally used as a hotel, the building now housed a considerable number of people.

Kellikan landed precisely within the H-marked area designated for helicopter landings. Kim Ga-young stroked its head before stepping into the building.

On the top floor, the Feast Restaurant always had a buffet prepared, and she would often stop by to eat there.

She grabbed a plate with familiar ease when—

"Ga-young?"

Ha Dong-geon was there.

Her husband, Ha Dong-geon, had become the lord of the Sindorim Station domain, which meant he was no longer free to move around as he pleased.

However, that didn’t mean he simply stayed put within the domain.

He had his own fair share of busy days.

"Have you finished clearing the dungeons?"

"I’ve taken care of everything discovered so far."

His primary responsibility was clearing the dungeons that appeared within the domain.

There was still little known about dungeons, as there wasn’t yet a proper database compiled on them.

Fortunately, thanks to Kim Jae-hyun, they could roughly analyze dungeons in advance.

By assessing the size of the dungeon entrance and the energy emanating from it, they could estimate the level of monsters inside.

However, naturally occurring dungeons tended to contain exceptionally powerful monsters.

Because of that, most dungeons were left to vassals to handle, but in Ha Dong-geon’s case, he was solely responsible for every dungeon that appeared within his domain.

Both husband and wife were being mercilessly overworked by Kim Jae-hyun.

"Really? Then you can finally get some rest?"

"For now."

The two of them picked up their meals and sat at ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the same table.

Kim Ga-young smiled.

"It feels like it's been a while since we had lunch together."

"We've both been busy."

"Yeah."

Ha Dong-geon popped a shrimp into his mouth before asking.

"Something bad happened?"

Kim Ga-young hesitated slightly.

"...Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah. Extremely."

Kim Ga-young let out a small sigh before speaking.

"I met some survivors. But..."

She recounted the bitter encounter.

"Apparently, they were hiding in a safe shelter, but then those orcs suddenly appeared there."

"Suddenly?"

"Yeah. Out of nowhere."

Kim Ga-young paused for a moment before continuing.

"It seems like Dabin was right after all."

Ha Dong-geon’s expression turned serious.

"So monsters really are continuously appearing."

It was a hypothesis formed through months of accumulated experience.

Even though the number of monsters appearing now was far less than on Apocalypse Day, they were still consistently spawning.

Ha Dong-geon let out a deep sigh.

"A world where you never know when or where some monstrous creature might appear, huh?"

In truth, countless survivor groups had similar experiences.

Testimonies about monsters suddenly appearing out of thin air were abundant.

The only reason there weren’t more witnesses was because most of the people who encountered those situations didn’t survive to tell the story.

Kim Ga-young spoke seriously.

"This only makes Jae-hyun-nim’s presence even more crucial."

In safe zones created by Kim Jae-hyun’s power, not once had monsters ever spawned randomly.

Instead, dungeons formed naturally, but that was something they could prepare for.

Furthermore, Kim Jae-hyun could fully control lower-tier monsters like goblins and orcs within his domain.

"Maybe Jae-hyun-nim’s ability is humanity’s only salvation."

"Yeah, I think so too. But if that theory is correct..."

Ha Dong-geon trailed off, and Kim Ga-young continued where he left off.

"Then one day, a dungeon with something like an Ice Dragon could appear."

The vassals were aware of the Ice Dragon's existence.

Kim Jae-hyun had told them about it personally.

Those who had directly or indirectly sensed its presence could grasp just how terrifying its power was.

A heavy silence settled between them before Kim Ga-young spoke again.

"...What happens if a dungeon is left unattended?"

So far, no dungeon had ever been neglected for long.

The vassals possessed overwhelming combat power, and they had always dealt with dungeons swiftly.

But what if they came across a dungeon beyond their strength?

What would happen if an abandoned dungeon was left unchecked?

What if monsters started pouring out of it?

Ha Dong-geon answered.

"We’ll have to get stronger. Even more than we are now."

"...Yeah."

Listening to their conversation, I smirked.

‘That’s not how it works, though.’

Dungeons didn’t spawn monsters outside of their designated zones just because they were left alone.

‘I already tested that theory.’

Back when dungeons first started appearing, similar concerns had been raised.

So, I deliberately left some untouched.

I chose ones filled with relatively weak monsters and monitored them carefully.

Not once did a single monster escape.

They remained as stable dungeons, never expanding beyond their original boundaries.

Once I confirmed that, I stopped rushing to clear naturally spawned dungeons within my domain.

There were more pressing matters to attend to.

‘And even if a monster did break out, as long as it's within my domain...’

If a monster refused to submit to me, its head would explode on the spot.

Even an Ice Dragon wouldn’t be an exception.

If that creature had stepped into my domain, I could have killed it instantly.

‘No need to tell them that, though.’

Both of them were motivated to get stronger, so there was no reason to pour cold water on their determination.

‘I should focus on my work instead.’

There was too much to do.

Finding more survivors with my Clairvoyance, processing citizenship registrations for the tens of thousands of people Lee Kang-hyun had brought in—

There was an overwhelming amount of work piling up.

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

And then—

[The number of citizens has reached 1,000,000.]

[Due to reaching a certain threshold, the Status Window has been unlocked.]

A massive influx of survivors from Gangbuk had pushed the total population beyond the million mark.

And with it, a new function had been activated.

‘Status Window?’

At that moment—

WOOOOOM!

A powerful sensation washed over me, expanding my senses to an unprecedented level.

‘What... is this?’