Absolute Dweller-Chapter 178

[It seems like this is the boundary of the Otherworld.]

On the smartphone screen, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness.

A thick mist of darkness loomed over the area, making it look unmistakably dangerous at a glance.

[......Ahem. Where exactly is this?]

Park Sae-rom looked around and found a sign that hadn’t been swallowed by the dark mist. She took a picture of it.

[It says Geumnam-ro! Is that Lotte Department Store over there?]

With the internet down, that little bit of information wasn’t enough to pinpoint the exact location.

But that wasn’t a problem.

The boundary of this world had already been identified.

‘A little over a 4km radius centered around Gwangju.’

That was Team 1’s achievement.

Not only had they determined the extent of the Otherworld’s influence, but they were also already in the process of constructing a forward base near the boundary.

With ten retainers stationed there, construction efficiency had been boosted to 300%, so it wouldn’t take too long.

Park Sae-rom, who had been diligently recording footage of the nearby buildings, cautiously switched to selfie mode and spoke.

[......Should we try going inside that mist? That’s what we’re supposed to do, right?]

Then, the video ended.

After reviewing the entire footage, I immediately pressed the record button and gave a brief instruction.

“There’s no need for that. Now, just meet up with Song Tae-young’s survivors and wait for the rescue.”

There was no longer any reason to take unnecessary risks, now that the boundary of the Otherworld had been identified from the outside.

But there was one thing I was curious about.

“Can you answer this quickly? How many hours has it been since you arrived there, Sae-rom? Please reply as soon as possible.”

With those final words, I stopped the recording and stored the phone in my inventory.

Park Sae-rom must have been waiting for my response because as soon as I put the phone away, she immediately pulled it out.

About five minutes later—

Bzzzt—

‘It’s here.’

I received a reply from Park Sae-rom.

[Uh... I think it’s been about two hours since I arrived here?]

It was a short message, but the impact I felt from it was stronger than I had expected.

‘So that’s how it is.’

Up until now, something had felt off while communicating with Park Sae-rom.

Her reactions had been strangely slow.

It happened so often that I couldn’t help but find it odd, and now, I finally had the answer.

‘Time flows differently.’

Because on this side, it had already been ten hours since Park Sae-rom went missing.

‘About five times slower.’

A day in the Otherworld would equal five days in reality.

‘Maybe this actually works in our favor.’

With the construction of the forward base and the establishment of a domain, we would normally have to wait about a week. But with the time flow inside the Otherworld being slower, Sae-rom would only have to wait for two days.

I pressed the record button and relayed this information to her.

“......So just wait for about two days. We’ll keep supplying you with the necessary resources, so hang in there.”

After placing the phone back into Sae-rom’s inventory, I checked the current situation.

The time was 7 PM.

It was about time for darkness to settle over the area.

We had already gathered enough information on the characteristics of each region where retainers had been dispatched, as well as the average monster levels.

In the case of Team 2, which was in charge of Daejeon, the estimated average monster level was only 8, which was extremely low. This was because most of the area was occupied by goblins.

While goblins were numerous, there were still survivor groups centered around Awakened individuals.

Even for non-Awakened adult men, goblins weren’t too difficult to handle.

There were several candidate locations for constructing a forward base, and they were in the process of selecting the most suitable one.

‘But domain construction seems difficult.’

The sheer number of goblins was the issue.

With only ten retainers making up Team 2, there was a limit to how much they could clear out the surrounding monsters.

For proper domain construction, it was clear that a dedicated hunting team would be necessary.

‘In comparison, Team 4 in Gangwon-do has better conditions for building a domain.’

While the average monster level was slightly higher, in the early 30s, the number of monsters was significantly lower.

However, there was one major issue.

‘......The survivors are scattered everywhere.’

There wasn’t a single location suitable for domain construction.

No matter where a domain was built, it wouldn’t be accessible to everyone.

This meant a Plan B was necessary—building forward bases in each region and relocating survivors to Seoul or Busan.

Instead of concentrating ten retainers to boost construction efficiency, it was deemed more effective to have all ten spread out and build separate forward bases. So, they were currently scouting for the best locations.

‘Teams 5 through 8 are progressing smoothly.’

Meanwhile, my Absolute Dweller’s Domain had expanded significantly due to a level-up.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Since the experience required for leveling up had increased, the amount of territory gained per level-up had also grown.

As a result, the Seoul secondary residence’s domain had extended much further than expected.

Goyang, Uijeongbu, Namyangju, Seongnam, Gwacheon, Anyang, Bucheon, Gimpo—

Almost half of Gyeonggi Province had now fallen within the safety zone, extending beyond Seoul itself.

This drastically changed the situation.

Teams 5 through 8 had entirely abandoned forward base construction and instead prioritized monster hunting.

The reason for ordering them to focus on hunting rather than survivor rescue was for leveling up.

With only about forty retainers in total, personally rescuing people one by one was far less efficient than leveling up and expanding the safety zone.

Technically, the team compositions of ten retainers per group were no longer necessary, but this shift was ultimately a positive development.

There was no longer a need to adhere to the previous strategy.

‘The only region progressing exactly as expected is Daegu.’

The average monster level there was in the early 20s, and the number of monsters was manageable.

‘Is it because Moon Byeong-ho is leading the team?’

Daegu, under the command of Team 3, was the most stable region.

They had already begun construction of a forward base in the city center and had successfully established cooperation with the local survivor groups.

Once the forward base was complete, they could immediately begin building a domain.

It was on track to be the first region to complete its mission.

‘In the end, everyone is doing well.’

Not everything was going perfectly according to plan, but they were adapting to changes and finding new solutions.

The only real issue left to resolve was Park Sae-rom’s situation.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye was useless.’

I had hoped that upgrading the skill would allow me to # Nоvеlight # see into the Otherworld, so I had invested points into it.

However, even at Level 5, it was still impossible to see inside the Otherworld.

Instead, a new function had appeared—Eye of Truth.

It allowed me to determine whether someone was lying, essentially functioning as a lie detector, but it wasn’t particularly useful in the current situation.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Door was the same.’

I had hoped upgrading it would allow me to forcibly open a door to the Otherworld, but the new ability I gained was Three Doors.

This meant I could now operate three gates at once—one at Dongdaemun, another at Seodaemun, and a third at Namdaemun.

Simply put, the cooldown had been reduced to one-third.

‘It’s helpful, but....’

It still didn’t grant me a way to enter the Otherworld.

‘And I only have one skill point left.’

I was considering two options.

The Absolute Dweller’s Prestige Maintenance skill and the Absolute Dweller’s Storage skill.

Storage had made the shortlist because the current inventory function I was using to communicate with Park Sae-rom was based on it.

‘If leveling up Storage lets Sae-rom enter the inventory directly, then the problem would be solved.’

However.

"It doesn't seem like such an ability could manifest."

The inside of the Inventory or Storage was a completely separate space.

If you put in hot water, it would stay hot, and food wouldn't spoil. It didn't seem like a place where living beings could enter and exit freely.

In the end, my choice was clear.

"I'll upgrade the Prestige Maintenance skill."

[Are you sure you want to upgrade the Absolute Dweller's Prestige Maintenance skill?]

"Yes."

Woong!

[The Absolute Dweller's Prestige Maintenance skill has reached Lv. 8.]

[The 'Avatar' function has been added.]

"Huh?"

Even while reading the system log, I was unsure.

"Is this... really what I think it is?"

There was no need to ponder it for long. I just had to use it.

"Avatar."

At that moment—

Whoosh—!

A swirl of black energy formed in front of me.

And shortly after.

"This is..."

Before me appeared a familiar man.

A man with the same face as mine.

When he opened his eyes—

"!"

I could see through his perspective as well.

"Huh."

He—or rather, I—let out a dry laugh.

I already knew what he was going to say next.

"“This is amazing.”"

He and I spoke simultaneously.

After all, a part of my consciousness was inside the man standing before me.

His thoughts, his feelings—everything was transmitted to my mind.

"It's like having multiple Absolute Dweller's Eyes open at once."

However, there was one distinct difference.

『Name: Kim Jae-hyun (Lv. 50)

Title: [Avatar]

Awakened Abilities: Primal Vitality, Bodyguard Qi, Subordination Contract, Throw, Piercing, Teleport, World Tree’s Vitality, Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Enhancement, Friend of the Four Elemental Kings, Control Water, Psychokinesis, Thousand-Mile Vision

Strength - A

Stamina – A

Senses – A

Physical Durability - S

Mental Power – SS+』

The state window, which I couldn't see on my own, was now visible.

The level was high, and the overall stats were impressive.

The version of me sharing my consciousness spoke up.

"Level 50? Isn't that wrong?"

"Yeah."

I had assumed that even if there was a level, it would be relatively low.

After all, the Avatar's body felt too weak.

While physical strength and stamina seemed similar, there was a huge disparity in mental power.

This meant there were significant limitations on what I could do with this body.

Unlike the time I fought against the cult, where I could teleport large areas, this body couldn't handle such feats.

The Avatar version of me chuckled.

I could sense what he was thinking without him needing to say it.

My consciousness was split and embedded in his mind, after all.

"If my Avatar is Level 50, then what’s my real level?"

"Well, it must be much higher than 50."

"Even compared to other Level 50 people, this is ridiculously strong."

The reason lay in the title "Avatar."

[Avatar]

All stats increased by 1,000%. If the Avatar suffers fatal damage, it will be unsummoned and can be resummoned after three days.

That meant the Avatar was ten times stronger than an ordinary Level 50.

"But... will it work?"

Even without an explicit object, I understood what he meant.

"Let's find out. But first, put some clothes on."

It felt strange to converse with myself.

Is this how it would feel to have multiple personalities?

Once my Avatar was fully dressed—

[Forward Base construction has been completed.]

Just in time, the forward base being built in the outskirts of Gwangju was finished.

"Perfect."

I immediately opened the Dongdaemun gate.

My Avatar stepped through the gate and stood at the edge of the forward base.

"Will it work?"

I had one major restriction.

[Absolute Dwellers cannot leave their home territory.]

I couldn't physically leave the bounds of my domain.

My Avatar reached out towards the boundary.

And then—

"!"

In an instant, it passed through the boundary and emerged outside.