Absolute Dweller-Chapter 163
It felt similar to the sensation I experienced whenever my territory expanded after leveling up.
However, there was a subtle difference this time.
Rather than my existing territory growing in size, it felt like new locations were being added to my domain.
‘It’s similar to when I use Descent.’
Or like the feeling I got when establishing a forward base.
Thankfully, there was no pain involved this time.
‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’
I focused on one of the newly created domains and activated Absolute Dweller’s Eye.
***
BANG!
Squeaaaal—!
A thunderous gunshot rang out, followed by a prolonged, high-pitched squeal—like a pig being slaughtered.
It wasn’t exactly a good sign.
The target was a monster so resilient that even a .50 caliber anti-materiel sniper round to the body wasn’t enough to kill it.
Only a direct headshot could ensure a clean kill.
But landing a shot on a target’s head from 1 kilometer away was far from easy.
"Damn, close!"
Clack—
A man with a blank expression ejected the spent shell casing from his sniper rifle.
"Stop making a fuss. You’re messing up my concentration."
"...Sorry."
The man peered through his scope once more and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
This time, there was no follow-up squeal.
The round had pierced straight through the target’s skull.
"Nice shot!"
Clack—
The sniper grumbled as he began clearing his weapon.
"I told you to be quiet. You're always yapping in my ear..."
"Damn, Tae-jun, your shots are killer today."
Hong Tae-jun and his party’s main source of income was hunting Giant Black Boars—monstrous, oversized wild boars with jet-black fur.
Their meat had recently become the hottest commodity in Seomyeon, selling at outrageous prices due to its exquisite taste and tenderness.
Even at sky-high rates, it was selling out almost instantly.
"Let’s go retrieve it."
"Okay."
The only reason the monster’s corpse remained after death was because Hong Tae-jun had changed his class to {Hunter}.
The same was true for the other four members of his ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) party—all of them were Hunters as well.
"It feels like the number of monsters around here has gone down a lot."
"Must be because the safe zones have expanded."
"Yeah. At this rate, won’t all our prey disappear? Tae-jun, what the hell are we gonna do then?"
"We’ll figure something out."
The party arrived at the location where the Giant Black Boar’s corpse lay.
The thing was massive.
One single boar provided meat by the ton, meaning just one of these creatures was worth over a billion won.
However, trying to sell an entire carcass whole was impractical. It would take too long to move and find a buyer.
So they usually butchered it on-site and sold it in parts.
Shhk—
First, they pierced its artery to drain the blood.
As they waited for the blood to flow out, Yoo Seong-min grumbled.
"Man, this is boring. Fishing for bluefin tuna was way more fun."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"At least when we fought orcs, it was profitable."
"Profitable?"
"Yeah, dumbass. Since Tae-jun gets to hog all the hunting, the rest of us are at a loss here."
"What are you talking about? We split the money evenly."
"Sure, but you get all the EXP."
For people whose livelihood depended on monster hunting, "experience points" had become a well-understood concept.
After every successful hunt, a holographic message would appear, displaying their earnings, experience points, and level.
Plus, South Koreans in their 30s and 40s had grown up playing MMORPGs like Lineage.
Even those who never played games knew about levels and experience points.
That being said, opinions on "leveling" varied.
"Tae-jun, aren’t you gonna end up super high level at this rate?"
"Humans don’t have levels, dumbass."
Some, like Hong Tae-jun, believed humans couldn’t be measured in levels.
"You’re an idiot. Monsters have levels, right? So why wouldn’t we?"
Others, like Yoo Seong-min, argued that humans had levels too.
Among ordinary civilians, opinions were split 50-50.
But among Hunters, Yoo Seong-min’s "level theory" was the dominant belief.
And for a very simple reason.
"Come on, Tae-jun. You’re a Hunter. You feel it too, don’t you? That rush every time you gain EXP?"
Hunters directly felt the effects of gaining experience through monster kills.
"And how do you explain our insane physical stats now?"
"...Because we’ve been training hard?"
"Bro, were we not training before the apocalypse?"
Yoo Seong-min lifted one of the Giant Black Boar’s legs with one hand.
"You really think we could do this with just regular exercise? Seriously?"
"......"
Hong Tae-jun shut his mouth.
Because deep down, he already knew the answer.
Before monsters appeared, breaking a 500kg total in compound lifts was an enormous milestone.
Now?
Even 2,000kg wasn’t out of reach.
And that wasn’t because of dedicated training—it was because something had changed.
‘Without levels, that wouldn’t be possible.’
Still, he refused to admit it out loud.
And the reason was simple.
"So, Tae-jun, let me take the next shot?"
"Not a chance."
"Come on! You gotta let me try!"
Hong Tae-jun was the sniper because he was the best shot among them.
The Giant Black Boar was massive, so hitting the body wasn’t hard, but only Tae-jun could reliably hit the skull.
"Just once! I swear I can do it!"
"No."
"Why not, you selfish bastard? You just wanna hog all the EXP!"
"Sigh..."
If he admitted that levels existed, things would spiral out of control just like this.
"Boss, if you’re gonna let Seong-min try, let me go first."
"What the hell?"
"Am I wrong, though?"
"Tae-jun’s holding a gun, dumbass."
"So am I."
Kim Seong-ho chuckled.
"Boss, we let you take the shot ‘cause you’re the best. If Seong-min wants a turn, he should prove himself first."
"......."
"If you wanna snipe, go beat Tae-jun at the shooting range first."
Hong Tae-jun smirked.
"Thanks, Seong-ho."
"No problem. These damn boars are rare as hell. If we miss a kill, that’s days of wasted effort."
"Hey, even Tae-jun missed his first shot today!"
"Yeah, and then he corrected his aim and nailed it. Can you?"
"...No."
"See?"
Completely shut down, Yoo Seong-min grumbled to himself.
"Man, we really need a damn status window to check our levels properly..."
At that moment—
『Name: Yoo Seong-min (Lv. 23)』
『Class: {Hunter}』
『Title: [Goblin Slayer] [Orc Slayer]』
『Awakening Abilities: None』
『Funds: 72,343,223 KRW』
A holographic window appeared in front of him.
And he froze.
"What the...?"
As I observed the scene with a serious expression, Kim Seong-ho spoke up beside me.
"Boss, you sulking?"
"It's not that..."
"Come on, man, you're acting all moody over nothing."
"Seong-ho, don't you see this?"
"See what?"
"Try saying ‘status window.’"
"...Status window? Huh?"
Right then, as Kim Seong-ho stared in confusion at the holographic window that appeared before him—
"AMBUSH!"
Hong Tae-jun’s sudden shout rang out.
At the same time, an arrow flew straight toward Kim Seong-ho, piercing his stomach.
"Urk!"
"Seong-ho! Fuck!"
Yoo Seong-min grabbed the falling Kim Seong-ho, dragging him behind the Giant Black Boar's corpse for cover.
Then, he immediately raised his rifle toward the direction the arrow had come from and pulled the trigger.
BANG—!
That shot signaled all hell breaking loose.
RATATATATAT!
But the situation was dire.
They were completely surrounded by orcs.
Grinding his teeth, Hong Tae-jun muttered.
"We got played."
"What the hell happened?!"
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
"Those bastards were waiting for us."
The orcs had set a trap, using the Giant Black Boar as bait.
"What? But why...?"
"Revenge, obviously."
Hong Tae-jun’s party had slaughtered countless orcs.
Now, they were here to exact bloody vengeance.
"Shit."
It wasn’t necessarily a targeted attack.
They weren’t the only hunters in the area killing boars.
But at this moment, none of that mattered.
They were completely fucked.
And then—
[Would you please remove the arrow from Kim Seong-ho’s body?]
"Huh?"
"What?"
A strange voice suddenly echoed in their minds.
[This is Kim Jae-hyun.]
"What...?"
Every citizen in Hong Tae-jun’s party knew that name.
The sheer weight of it was enough to make them freeze.
"B-But if we pull it out, it could be even more dangerous..."
[Hurry.]
"...Understood."
Though still uncertain, Yoo Seong-min followed the instruction.
The arrow had pierced straight through Kim Seong-ho, with the tip sticking out of his lower back.
They carefully snapped the arrow in half before pulling it out.
"Urgh...!"
Kim Seong-ho let out a cry of agony.
And then—
WOOOOOOOM—
A green light emanated from his wound, absorbing into the injury.
And just like that—
"Huh?"
The bleeding stopped.
"Seong-ho, what's wrong?"
"My wound...."
Kim Seong-ho lifted his shirt, running his fingers over his fully healed skin.
"What... the hell?"
But before they could process what had just happened—
"KRUOOOOOOOH!"
The orcs, caught off guard by Kim Jae-hyun’s sudden intervention, quickly charged forward.
At the same time—
"Ah."
Dozens of arrows were raining down on them.
It was over.
‘We’re dead.’
But at that moment—
"......??"
Something unbelievable happened.
The arrows stopped midair.
And then, they moved again.
"KRUAAACK!"
"KAAAGH!"
"KUEEEEK!"
The arrows reversed direction, twisting unnaturally through the air, slaughtering the orcs as if they had minds of their own.
"Holy shit..."
Everyone stared in shock, jaws hanging open at the miraculous sight.
And then—
WOOOOOOM—
A brilliant white light erupted near Kim Seong-ho.
***
[Citizen Kim Seong-ho’s loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Seong-ho’s loyalty has reached 100.]
[Citizen Kim Seong-ho has been registered as a vassal.]
[Vassal limit has expanded.]
After eliminating the orcs with telekinesis, I took a moment to process what I had just learned.
‘Now, I can use Absolute Dweller’s Eye on all citizens with citizenship.’
This was far more valuable than simply allowing citizens to see their status windows.
Previously, I could only use certain abilities on vassals.
But now, I could extend those abilities to all citizens.
‘The range is still pretty limited, though...’
Vassals generated a 5-meter radius where my abilities could be applied.
By contrast, for regular citizens with status windows, the effect was restricted tightly to their bodies.
That made it less useful for things like storage and marketplace functions.
But for abilities gained through 100 loyalty, it wasn’t an issue.
And the result spoke for itself.
‘This is insane.’
