Absolute Dweller-Chapter 167
‘Spirit Master, huh.’
So the unlocking condition was Sallion reaching level 10?
Of course, just because the class was unlocked didn’t mean I had immediate access to it.
It might still require further research at the Job Research Lab before I could make use of it.
Currently, my Job Research Lab was level 5.
‘Good.’
After checking, I found that Spirit Master research was already available.
That was because its research condition was level 5, just like Priest.
[Would you like to begin researching the class "Spirit Master"?]
[Yes / No]
‘Start it.’
Ding!
[Spirit Master]
...Research in progress...
Time remaining: 39 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds
Right at that moment—
[Trowell’s level has increased.]
[The earth’s power within your domain has increased by 100%.]
Trowell had reached level 7.
‘Elquines is level 9, Sylphid is level 8, and Trowell is level 7.’
I wasn’t sure how the Spirit Master advancement worked, but it seemed like a good idea to get all the Spirit Kings to level 10 if possible.
While absorbing the World Tree’s life force, the flickering fireball twitched and spoke to me.
[...Why are you looking at me like that?]
"Just wondering. Can you keep bringing them along like this?"
[Of course. Just trust me.]
"I’ll count on you then."
[H-hmph.]
Sallion was surprisingly simple-minded, making him easy to handle.
‘Most of my work here is done.’
With so many new citizens granted official status, I had spent a lot of time on internal affairs lately.
The focus had been on making the Count’s Domain, centered around Seoul Station, more livable for the people.
I worked on improving residential buildings like apartments and repairing roads.
Essential facilities like convenience stores were strategically placed, and I coordinated with business owners in Busan, encouraging them to open second locations in Seoul.
By concentrating Instant Dungeons in the right areas, I encouraged monster hunting, creating a growing workforce that could contribute to the economy.
‘Having a central hub really helped.’
Seoul had now developed to the point where it could sustain itself.
Some people had even started finding and trading luxury cars and home appliances that had been abandoned in Safe Zones.
Others used their pre-apocalypse professions to start businesses.
‘...Seoul really is full ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ of talent.’
Some of the new entrepreneurs even sought out investors, actively expanding their businesses.
This was Seoul, South Korea’s talent hub, after all—naturally, there were plenty of competent people here.
The same was true for Awakened individuals.
Cha Hyeon-seung, Yang Ha-young, Jeong So-ra, Lee Kang-hyeon—
Not just S-rank Awakened, but an abundance of A-rank and B-rank individuals as well.
Because of that, the number of vassals had also increased significantly.
‘Eighty in total.’
Even after factoring in those assigned to Forward Base construction and maintenance, we now had enough manpower.
However—
‘Even with vassals, we’re still short-handed.’
One thing became clear during the Seoul conquest.
Numbers matter.
‘I learned that lesson the hard way when building the domain.’
Vassals were strong.
They could instantly wipe out boss-class monsters throughout Seoul.
But in the end—
They were still only humans.
Even with Teleportation increasing their mobility,
Even with 100 Steel Knights,
Even with Kelikan’s Light Arrows wiping out monsters in seconds—
They were still just one person each.
And no matter how powerful a single person was, there was a limit to how much territory they could cover.
During domain construction, Ha Dong-geon and Oh Eon-ju had struggled under the workload, so I had to clear the surrounding monsters for them.
And just vassals alone weren’t enough for that.
That’s where the Hunting Teams came in.
They played a huge role in securing the domain.
‘The same happened after the Ice Dragon passed through.’
Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to save so many people.
More than anything, armed hunting teams were surprisingly effective at dealing with large numbers of monsters.
Sure, monsters above a certain level couldn’t be taken down with rifles, but that’s what the vassals were for.
And the more hunting teams handled low-tier monsters like goblins and orcs, the less stamina the vassals had to waste on them.
‘We need to train the civilians.’
For the vassals to shine, we needed a stronger base of citizens to support them.
And among the tools at my disposal, the most efficient way to strengthen the citizens was—
‘Giving them jobs.’
Even just unlocking the "Sharpshooter" job would significantly increase firearm power.
That alone would massively raise the level of monsters civilians could handle.
‘I could have Kim Da-bin manage job assignments through the Job Research Lab...’
But she was already swamped with work, so there was no need to overburden her.
Instead—
《Assign Quest》
《Quest Assigned》
Quest: Visit the Job Research Lab and change class to "Sharpshooter."Time Limit: 168 hoursReward: Small EXP, Firearm License, K-2 Assault RifleFailure Penalty: None
I personally selected promising individuals and assigned them custom quests.
Bucheon Station
Sitting near Bucheon Station, eating cup noodles, Kim Myeong-hwan suddenly saw a holographic quest window appear before him.
"Change class to 'Sharpshooter'?"
For Kim Myeong-hwan, "Job Research Lab" and "Sharpshooter" were completely unfamiliar terms.
‘Is it like being a Hunter?’
As someone who hunted monsters for a living, he had heard of hunters before.
But even he had never heard of a Job Research Lab.
‘...Wait, the reward includes a firearm license?’
Right now, he was using a rented assault rifle.
But if he completed this quest, he would get a personal firearm license and a K-2 Assault Rifle.
‘That would save me a ton of money.’
He was already spending a lot on renting weapons.
With this, he wouldn’t just save money—he also wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of paperwork every time he needed a gun.
‘Not a bad deal... but how do I actually complete it?’
Just then—
[Greetings, Hunters.]
A voice echoed inside his head.
Kim Jae-hyun’s voice.
[If you’ve received this quest, please inform your team and return to Busan for processing.]
Since the message had been broadcasted to everyone, there was no need to report it separately.
"Has anyone in our party received a quest?"
The party leader, Kim Hye-na, asked.
Kim Myeong-hwan raised his hand.
"Sunbae?"
"Yeah."
"What’s the quest about?"
"It says I need to change class to Sharpshooter, but I don’t know much else yet."
"Ohh, so it's that one."
"You know what this is?"
"Yeah. Don't you have to go to the Job Research Lab for that?"
Kim Myeong-hwan blinked in surprise.
"Wait, so this is common knowledge?"
"Not really. Most people still don’t know, but apparently, new jobs are being unlocked aside from Hunter."
"New jobs...?"
"Yeah. One is Warrior, and the other is Sharpshooter. They’re said to grant buffs for melee combat and ranged combat, respectively. But the weird thing is, you need to pass a test to get them."
"A test?"
"I don’t know the details either..."
Kim Hye-na smiled and continued,
"Anyway, this is great. Once you become a Sharpshooter, your firearm damage skyrockets. I heard that even orcs will go down in one shot, even if you don’t hit their heart or head."
"...That much of a difference?"
Orcs were tough monsters.
With their muscular bodies, they wouldn’t die from just a bullet or two.
A normal rifle had to hit a critical point, like the head or heart, to take them down.
But if any shot could kill them instantly—
"This would change everything about hunting."
"Exactly."
Orcs would no longer be a real threat.
That realization led to another question.
‘Why was I the only one who got this quest?’
If Sharpshooter was so amazing, wouldn’t it make sense for every gun-user to get the quest?
"Hmm... if only you got it in our party, maybe it’s based on shooting skill?"
"That makes sense."
Among his team, his marksmanship was by far the best.
After all, he could hit an orc’s head from 250 meters away.
‘That means Jaehyun-nim is aware of my skills.’
His shoulders instinctively puffed up a little at the thought.
"Alright, let’s start moving out. Without you, our party loses a lot of firepower."
"Ahem."
Kim Myeong-hwan felt flustered by Kim Hye-na’s continued praise.
But then—
"Prepare for battle! Enemies incoming!"
One of their team members, who had been keeping watch, shouted.
Everyone immediately stopped resting and drew their weapons from their inventories.
However—
"!!"
The enemy was bad news.
"Everyone, get inside a building!"
A massive creature, the size of a mid-sized car.
Its entire body was covered in golden brass-like metal plating.
The hunters in Bucheon called it the "Golden Tiger."
And it was charging straight at them.
Thud, thud, thud—
The golden plating on its body functioned as full-body armor.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bullets struck its surface, but they bounced off harmlessly in every direction.
"I’ll stop it!"
Kim Hye-na, the only Awakened in the party, reached down and touched the ground.
The moment her hand made contact—
Kuuugugug!
A massive concrete hand erupted from the ground, grabbing the charging beast.
Crack!
The giant hand closed in tightly, trying to crush the monster.
However—
CRASH!
It was Hye-na’s hand that shattered instead.
"Urgh!"
The Golden Tiger, breaking free, charged again.
Thud, thud, thud—!
The team members, who were rushing into the building, fired desperately, but the bullets had no effect on stopping it.
"GRRAAAHH!"
The tank-like beast lunged toward Kim Hye-na, its jaws wide open.
Hye-na, realizing she had no way to stop it, instinctively shut her eyes.
Then—
CRACK!
A sickening tearing sound rang out.
Confused, she slowly opened her eyes.
There was no pain.
Standing right in front of her was—
"S-Sunbae—?!"
Kim Myeong-hwan.
He had intercepted the attack—but at a terrible cost.
The beast’s jaws were clamped onto his shoulder.
And before she could even react—
RIP!
Its head jerked to the side, and his arm was torn off completely.
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"SENBAEEEEEEE—!!"
As blood sprayed like a fountain, the team fell into panic.
Then—
KWA-KWAK!
A foreign sound erupted.
"Huh?"
From right in front of the monster, Kim Hye-na noticed something strange.
A long, sharp object had pierced straight through the creature’s neck.
And in the next moment—
KWA-KWA-KWAK!
Several long spears rained down from above, impaling the Golden Tiger all over.
Now looking like a pincushion, the monster disintegrated into dust in moments.
Descending from above, riding Kelikan, was a woman.
"...Yang Ha-young."
The ruler of Bucheon and Gangseo Districts—and one of the newest vassals.
The spears that had pierced the beast were sharp, elongated bones.
If rumors were true, they were weapons made from her own bones.
Once she landed, Hye-na immediately begged,
"Please take him to a Safe Zone! As fast as possible!"
"Understood. What about you all?"
"We can return on our own. No injuries on our side."
"Good luck, then."
As Yang Ha-young lifted Kim Myeong-hwan into the air, Kim Hye-na stared down at her trembling hands.
‘...I couldn’t do anything.’
The monster that she could barely slow down had been instantly dealt with.
To become a vassal, she needed to be at that level of strength.
‘I’m too weak.’
Because she wasn’t strong enough, her senior had been horribly injured.
‘I need to become stronger.’
If she wanted to protect the people she cared about, she needed power.
But how?
‘A job... Maybe there’s one that suits me.’
