Absolute Dweller-Chapter 181

A colossal darkness spread across an area spanning hundreds of meters in radius.

As it unfurled its body, its overwhelming scale became painfully clear.

Just the length from head to tail was approximately 500 meters, and despite standing on all fours, its shoulder height exceeded 300 meters.

With sharp ears, an elongated snout, four powerful limbs, and three massive tails, it resembled a giant wolf.

A wolf so large that even skyscrapers seemed insignificant beneath it.

In sheer size, it rivaled the Ice Dragon I had encountered not long ago.

‘At least... it's not that bad.’

The aura and pressure radiating from the Ice Dragon back then were on another level compared to this creature.

But that didn't mean this monster was weak—not at all.

Its mere presence was overwhelming, beyond comparison to any normal boss-tier monster.

It only seemed less intimidating when compared to the Ice Dragon.

‘Then again, what wouldn’t seem weaker compared to that thing?’

Since I couldn't use Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I had no way of knowing its exact level.

But my instincts told me...

‘It’s probably somewhere in the 70s.’

At the very least, it wasn't in the 80s—which was somewhat reassuring.

But in the grand scheme of things, that didn’t change anything.

‘There’s no way my Avatar can handle this.’

There was only one solution.

‘I need to use Descent.’

My real body had to descend into the Otherworld and personally take it down.

That was the only way.

‘At least there's one stroke of luck.’

Park Sae-rom, who was clinging to my side trembling, had just reached Trust 100—

That meant she met the conditions for me to Descend through her.

However, since the System's influence didn’t reach the Otherworld, my main body would have to physically enter this realm.

That was the whole reason I had been building the forward base near the boundary—

And now, constructing a territory there.

‘I need to hold out for one day.’

Since we'd already eaten, drank, and rested for several hours, about six hours had passed.

‘That means I still need to survive for over 18 hours.’

Of course, fighting this thing for 18 hours was impossible.

But evading it for that long?

‘If I use Teleportation effectively, I might be able to pull it off.’

As I formulated my strategy, I activated Thousand-Mile Vision to scan the surrounding terrain.

Where could we relocate all the survivors?If the creature moved toward us, where would be the best escape route?Would my mental energy last long enough to sustain teleporting everyone?I was calculating every possibility—

When suddenly—

KUUUUUUUUUNG—!

The creature took a step.

‘!!!’

All the scenarios I had considered—

Became meaningless in an instant.

Because the direction it moved...

Was the exact opposite of where we were.

I watched in real time as the distance between us increased.

And in that moment—

I let out a long sigh of relief.

“Phew...”

I had been mentally preparing for the worst-case scenario—

Only for the monster to completely ignore us.

‘Was I overthinking it?’

It seemed unlikely that the creature had gotten up just to kill us.

But that left me with one major question—

‘Why did it suddenly start moving?’

This thing had remained still all this time.

Why was it moving now?

Why at this exact moment?

And most importantly—

‘...Why are the other shadow monsters moving in the same direction as well?’

At the end of these questions—

A dreadful possibility formed in my mind.

‘...No way.’

A terrifying realization.

“Sae-rom.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Look after the people for me.”

I said only that—

And then, I looked up.

Using Clairvoyance, I pierced through darkness, concrete, and all obstacles—

Until I saw the jet-black sky.

Just like the boundary near the Otherworld’s edge, the sky was shrouded in dark mist.

‘Body Hardening.’

Just in case—

I reinforced my entire body with Protective Energy.

Then—

‘Teleport.’

Fwoosh!

The next moment, I teleported straight into the dark mist above.

And as soon as I arrived—

Gravity yanked me downward with full force.

Still, I maintained Clairvoyance and stared downward.

Specifically—

At the heart of the Otherworld, where the creature was headed.

BOOOOOM—!

With each step, the ground quaked as buildings shattered beneath its weight.

Skyscrapers collapsed, crashing onto lower buildings, triggering a domino effect that destroyed entire blocks.

What had once been a semi-intact Gwangju—

Was being completely obliterated in mere moments.

And from my vantage point in the sky—

The creature’s destination became painfully clear.

‘Just as I thought...’

It was moving toward the western outskirts of the Otherworld.

And what was happening there right now?

‘That’s where we’re constructing the domain.’

This monster was heading straight for the construction site.

It was trying to stop the domain from being built.

***

As soon as the anomaly occurred, I focused my mind on my avatar’s senses, allowing me to immediately grasp what was happening.

‘So domain expansion applies even within the Inner World?’

The biggest weakness of domain construction was the constantly expanding transparent barrier in real-time.

In the case of home expansion, which accompanies level-ups, any monsters caught in the middle of the expanding territory would be pulled in and crushed.

The same applied to people without citizenship. They would be forcibly included in the territory and granted citizenship.

However, domain construction was different.

If monsters stood in the way of the expansion, the process would halt, and the burden would be entirely transferred to Oh Eon-ju, who stood at the center of the domain.

That alone caused immense mental strain.

It was precisely why the retainers were hunting the surrounding monsters like madmen.

‘But for that phenomenon to occur inside the Inner World as well...’

From the outside, it looked like there weren’t any monsters at all, so I had assumed this was a bonus area where we could build the domain without concern.

But in reality, it turned out to be the worst possible zone, requiring direct defense from within the Inner World.

The scene unfolding through my avatar’s eyes was chilling.

A colossal creature was moving its massive body, leading tens of thousands of shadow troops, all marching toward the western sector where domain construction was in full swing.

‘Just having obstacles is already enough to cause severe mental shock.’

But what if it actually attacked?

‘That would be dangerous.’

And if—

‘If that monster were to launch an attack...’

A level-70-class monster swinging its massive feet—how much mental trauma would that inflict on Oh Eon-ju?

‘It could very well be life-threatening.’

That was how serious the situation was.

‘What should I do?’

There were two choices.

One was to immediately halt the construction.

That way, Oh Eon-ju’s life would be guaranteed.

Judging by the reaction earlier, she felt something as soon as the expanding border touched something. If that was the case, moving the forward base a bit farther away and constructing the domain there should solve the issue.

Once the domain fully forms, even that monster wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Then, I could take my time figuring out a way to enter the Inner World.

I had already confirmed that using Aura Protection allowed me to survive the ominous black mist, so entering from the outer areas should be fine.

‘But...’

That would inevitably cause delays.

I had already used up the last of my gems for the Gwangju forward base construction, so I couldn’t even use instant completion anymore.

I would have to wait it out.

It would take three days just to construct the forward base.

And another eight days to complete the domain.

Since time flowed slower in the Inner World, I would only need to endure two days, but—

‘The problem is whether stopping the domain construction will actually calm that monster down.’

Looking at Gwangju, the area seemed mostly intact. That meant the monster hadn’t moved until now.

It was just a gut feeling, but I had a strong suspicion that once provoked, the monster wouldn’t stop rampaging.

If that thing kept going berserk, enduring for two days would be impossible.

All survivors inside the Inner World, including Park Sae-rom, would die.

“Haa...”

The other option was to push forward with the domain construction.

If it worked out well, I could finish the job without any casualties.

‘It looks powerful, but...’

I evaluated the massive shadow beast through my avatar’s vision, trying to gauge its strength.

Absolute Dweller’s Eye hadn’t activated, but I could still sense its power through the avatar’s instincts.

‘It’s doable.’

My avatar alone might not be enough.

But.

[Lee Joon-hyuk, Jang Seong-jun. Head to Gwangju city immediately.]

Among the retainers, these two were among the few who had reached level 60.

If they assisted my avatar, the odds were favorable.

And—

[Jeong Sora, you too.]

Looking at the domain’s surroundings, she could be spared.

‘If I level up Jeong Sora to the maximum, she should be able to hold the line.’

And if we failed, I could cancel the domain construction later.

‘With this force, we should be able to hold out for two days.’

I adjusted my strategy, increasing the number of retainers, and began briefing them.

[You will now enter the Inner World. Your mission is to stop the shadow creatures interfering with the domain expansion. Look at the mirror in the center of Gwangju— that will serve as your entry point.]

However, that expectation was quickly shattered.

“Jae-hyun-nim, is this the right place?”

[......?]

The three of them were standing in front of the mirror.

But they weren’t entering the Inner World.

‘So just looking at the mirror isn’t enough to enter?’

It was unexpected.

[Try touching the mirror.]

[Shine a light on it...]

[There should be a restroom inside U Square. Try going there...]

I tried every method I could think of, but none of them worked.

Even when they stood directly in front of the mirror where my avatar had entered, nothing happened.

‘Don’t tell me... the shadow creatures have to pull them in?’

Right now, all the # Nоvеlight # shadow creatures were focused on attacking the domain in the west.

There was no intermediary to guide them in.

‘Damn.’

I closed my eyes and focused on my avatar’s senses, checking the Inner World.

BOOM! BOOM!

At the expanding domain’s border, my summoned elementals were holding the line against the enemy forces, while my avatar fought alone against the giant monster.

‘At this rate, we won’t last long.’

The only silver lining was that the expanding domain was strengthening the elementals.

The enhanced elementals obliterated the lesser shadow creatures before they could even get close.

BOOOOM!

‘Huh?’

Wait.

‘My domain... is being applied inside the Inner World?’

The Field Effect created by Salion, the Fire Spirit King, had activated as his level increased.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

I immediately tried summoning the Absolute Dweller’s Eye within the Inner World.

But—it didn’t activate.

‘Something’s there.’

I felt it.

A breakthrough was possible.

SWOOSH—

I teleported to the outer edge of the expanding domain.

Not inside the Inner World.

But in the empty void outside.

BOOM! BOOM!

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The buildings and ground in front of me were shattering in real-time.

I stood still.

WUUUUUNG—

Black energy rose from my body.

‘...Absolute Dweller’s Eye.’

A dark eye opened within the swirling black mist, scanning the surroundings.

And then—

ZZZZZZT—

Through the enhanced vision, I saw something special.

An unbroken glass window on a building.

Beyond it—I could see the Inner World.

I stepped forward.

Silently.

I extended my hand.

And poured black energy into the mirror.

WUUUUUUNG!

The black mist was sucked in, flowing into the Inner World—and into my domain.

‘Open East Gate.’

At last—my power reached inside.

ZZZZZT—!

Beyond the forcefully opened East Gate, I saw the Fire Spirits battling the shadow creatures.

The entire scene moved in slow motion.

Without hesitation—I stepped forward.

BOOM! WHOOSH—!

In an instant—I was on the battlefield.

The domain had expanded again, bringing me right to the brink of the enemy forces.

‘Summon.’

In that moment—

BOOM—!

Behind the Fire Spirits, a horde of Wind Spirits appeared, blasting the shadow creatures back.

And—

RUMBLE—!

The ground shook.

From beneath the concrete, something rose.

Jagged spikes burst upwards, impaling the shadow creatures.

BOOOOOM—!

A devastating explosion wiped out the front lines.

A collaboration between the Wind Spirits and Earth Spirits.

And immediately, the Fire Spirits filled the gaps, unleashing blazing destruction.

After pushing back the shadow army with summoned spirits—

‘Summon retainers.’

ZZZZZZT—

I summoned reinforcements.

It was time for a counterattack.