The Ultimate Shut-In

Expansion of Power (1)

The Absolute One's Eye, which had been illuminating Moon Byeong-ho, was forcibly canceled, and his senses expanded throughout the entire house.

At the same time, an excruciating pain spread through his body, making it feel as though it was swelling. The house itself slowly widened.

'Ugh!'

This time, the expansion started from the 30th floor and gradually extended downward.

The pain was unbearable, as if his muscles were twisting and his blood vessels were bursting in real time.

It finally ended when the expanded house swallowed the area down to the 21st floor.

[An entity that meets the conditions for citizenship has been detected.]

[Would you like to grant citizenship?]

Seven photos appeared in front of him.

'There are still people left?'

He thought he had granted citizenship to everyone during the goblin hunting operation, but apparently, that wasn't the case.

'Grant it.'

[Citizenship has been granted to Jo Woo-jin, Kang Hyun-soo, Kim Da-jung, Nam Ji-ho, Moon Hae-ri, Nam Ah-young, and Nam Jin-joo.]

With the addition of these seven, the total population of his citizens reached 101.

He had surpassed 100 citizens.

[The number of citizens has reached 100.]

[Experience points and settlement funds earned by citizens have increased by 100%.]

The familiar notification was expected, but there was also an entirely new one.

[Since the number of citizens has reached a certain threshold, all citizens have unlocked the skill 'Power of Trust.']

'Power of Trust?'

Something new had appeared again.

He wanted to check it immediately, but there was something more urgent at the moment—checking the status of Ha Dong-geon's party.

'Absolute One's Eye.'

They were sprinting down an alleyway.

'Anyone injured?'

He first examined Moon Byeong-ho, who he had briefly seen earlier covered in blood.

Fortunately, he was fine and was carrying an elderly woman on his back while running. It seemed the blood he was covered in wasn't his own.

'Whew.'

The real problem was Oh Won-joo.

Carried on Kang Deok-soo's back, she had lost consciousness, bleeding from her side.

'Did she get hit by Jeok-ho?'

The only relief was that she had self-healing abilities.

Since he hadn't seen the battle, he couldn't be sure what had happened, but judging by the settlement funds, it was clear that Moon Byeong-ho had landed the final blow.

Jeok-ho's level was 27—on par with the Kelikan he had burned to death before.

Considering that Jeok-ho had provided about 9 million won in settlement funds, the massive sum of 39 million won could only be explained by the double payout perk for vassals.

'She lost despite the level gap?'

Jeok-ho was only level 27.

Yet, he had managed to inflict a critical wound on Oh Won-joo, who was level 33.

This proved that levels were not an absolute measure of strength.

'Well, if levels were truly absolute, I wouldn't have been able to take down Kelikan myself.'

In that case…

'Is there really a need to spend 100 million won to level up?'

It wasn't that he was being stingy with money.

'But this is a problem.'

Of all people, Oh Won-joo had been injured.

From what he had observed so far, she was crucial to the party.

She had single-handedly taken down more goblins than the rest of the party combined.

Naturally, this made him concerned.

'Will they be okay?'

However, his worries were unfounded.

"Kieeek!"

As soon as Ha Dong-geon's party emerged from the alley, they swiftly slaughtered the goblins they encountered.

And that was without Moon Byeong-ho or Kang Deok-soo even participating.

"I hit it!"

"…Me too."

It was thanks to Yoo Hye-rin and Kim Geon, whose arrows, which had previously always missed, now struck goblins right between the eyes.

Additionally, the arrows fired by Kim Ga-young and Ha Dong-geon had become noticeably sharper.

"What's going on? My body feels incredibly light…"

"Yeah, and I'm not even out of breath."

Seeing their reactions, he recalled the earlier notification.

The 'Power of Trust' skill that all citizens had unlocked.

{Power of Trust} (Passive)

All stats increase by (Trust Score)%.

'So that's the reason.'

Everyone in Ha Dong-geon's party had a trust score of at least 50.

Strength, dynamic vision, reflexes—every single stat had increased by over 50%.

It was only natural that their combat abilities had skyrocketed.

Just then, Moon Byeong-ho turned to the confused party members and spoke.

"You have all been chosen by him. Just like I was."

It seemed similar to vassal registration.

Having experienced a sudden level-up to 30 himself, Moon Byeong-ho confidently reassured them.

"Your body feels lighter, and you're overflowing with power, right? I felt the same way during the goblin hunt. He must be helping us."

Surprisingly, his words had an effect.

[Citizen Kim Ga-young's Loyalty has surpassed 30.]

[Citizen Kim Ga-young has met the conditions for vassal registration.]

[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin's Loyalty has surpassed 30.]

[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin has met the conditions for vassal registration.]

Two people had become eligible for vassal registration.

'Register them both.'

At that moment—

Wooooong!

"What, what's happening?"

"Kyaa!"

Name: Kim Ga-young (Lv. 20) [+]

Title: [Fourth Servant]

Trust: 58 | Loyalty: 32

Awakening Ability: Piercing

★ Quest Available

Title: [Fifth Servant]

Trust: 69 | Loyalty: 33

Awakening Ability: Poison Mist

★ Quest Available

Judging by their levels, they had awakened C-rank and B-rank skills, respectively.

A goblin horde, seemingly agitated by the radiant light from their awakening, charged at Ha Dong-geon's party.

As always, Kim Ga-young was the first to react.

This time, however, the arrow she instinctively fired was enveloped in a faint light.

Whoosh!

"!!!"

Her arrow pierced clean through a goblin's forehead and continued, impaling multiple goblins behind it.

"Kraaaagh!"

"Kyak!"

The goblins, now riddled with holes, collapsed, screaming in agony.

Kim Ga-young was the most shocked of all.

"What… was that?"

It was the effect of her newly awakened skill.

Piercing (C-Rank)

Consumes mental energy to fire a penetrating arrow.

It seemed she had subconsciously activated the skill in the heat of the moment.

'I should assign her a quest.'

Once she saw the skill name in the quest details, she would immediately understand its effects.

Just then, a notification appeared—she had completed her previous goblin-hunting quest.

A new one could now be assigned.

Objective: Use Piercing to hunt 10 goblins (0/10)

Time Limit: 10 minutes

Reward: Increased Piercing skill proficiency

Penalty for Failure: Fatigue

Upon seeing the quest, Kim Ga-young went on a rampage, using her Piercing arrows to take down multiple goblins at once.

While preparing a similar quest for Yoo Hye-rin, he hesitated.

'This ability is tricky…'

Poison Mist (B-Rank)

Consumes mental energy to generate a deadly poison mist.

It was a powerful ability.

But if used recklessly, it could harm her allies.

'I'll hold off on that for now.'

His thoughts were interrupted by a notification—Ha Dong-geon's party was nearing safety.

'Time to check on the newcomers.'

And then, he noticed a woman lying motionless on the floor of Room 2902.

Almost as if she were dead.

Her name was…

Kim Da-jung (Lv. 26)

Trust: 18

Awakening Ability: Heal (B-Rank)

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward Room 2902.