Encounter (8)
Everyone stood in stunned silence, simply staring at the overwhelming presence of the White Dragon.
Fortunately, the White Dragon also did nothing but gaze down at them without any particular reaction.
'If I use the Spirit Summon now…'
I could save Ha Dong-geon's party.
But in exchange, my grandfather would die.
'I can't let that happen.'
Yet, I couldn't tell them to fight the White Dragon either.
Telling them to face such a monster was no different from ordering them to die.
Escaping with my grandfather and grandmother was impossible as well.
As the guardian of the World Tree, my grandfather couldn't move beyond a certain distance from it.
But hope wasn't entirely lost.
'If only the annex is completed…'
Once the annex was finished, my home's domain would expand to a 1-kilometer radius, extending the annex's area as well. That meant that the moment the annex was complete, I could blast that monster's head off.
However—
[Time Remaining Until Annex Construction Completion]
38 hours, 21 minutes, 19 seconds
Even with the 50% efficiency boost reducing construction time by 1.5 times, 38 hours still meant I had to endure for over a full day.
'It's impossible.'
The only remotely feasible option was to enter the White Dragon's stomach and trigger a gas explosion.
But that place was beyond Seo Ye-jin's influence.
Using rats to cause a gas explosion was out of the question.
'…What if I send one of the spirits into its stomach?'
The best candidate was Moon Byung-ho, who had teleportation abilities.
If I summoned the spirit back right before the explosion, I might be able to save him.
'No!'
There was about a five-second delay when summoning a spirit.
If the fire was ignited too late, the plan would be useless. If it was too early, Moon Byung-ho would be as good as dead inside the dragon.
'And considering what happened with the Cyclops, the White Dragon might survive an internal explosion, too.'
As levels increased, so did overall stats, including body durability.
One blast wouldn't be enough.
It might not even have an effect.
'Is there no other way?'
As I desperately searched for any possible weakness, staring intently at the creature—
「White Dragon (Lv. 63)」
A deep-sea monster that inhabits the ocean depths. It is currently in an extremely weakened state after laying eggs. White Dragon eggs can only hatch at the roots of the World Tree.
'Hmm…?'
The moment I saw that, I realized that the dragon's goal might not be a fight.
'Could it be…?'
What if it simply needed the World Tree to hatch its eggs?
At that moment, the White Dragon stirred, and Ha Dong-geon's party moved to attack.
Panicked, I activated the Ring of Communication.
[Stop, everyone!]
If the dragon truly wasn't planning to fight, there was no reason for us to attack first.
[I know this sounds strange, but please trust me and wait! Pass the message to my grandfather too—tell him to do nothing!]
My grandfather was preparing to move the roots of the World Tree to attack. Moon Byung-ho even used teleportation to stop him.
"What? You're saying we shouldn't attack? Do you have any idea how important the first strike is in battle?"
Lee Bong-yeol asked in frustration, but Moon Byung-ho replied desperately.
"Please, just this once. This is Jaehyun-nim's request."
"…Tsk."
And then—
『Do not fear, Guardian of the World Tree.』
Lee Bong-yeol, still on guard against the White Dragon, was startled by the voice in his head.
"Guardian of the World Tree?"
He instinctively understood that the dragon was referring to him.
And at the same time, he realized that the massive tree growing on his rooftop since the first day of the monster invasion was called the World Tree.
The White Dragon continued speaking.
Looking down at the World Tree, it murmured.
「To think the World Tree would be so small… I must be careful.」
Rumble—
The ground trembled.
But the White Dragon's movements were much more cautious than before.
A faint vibration continued as a long, white body emerged from the ground.
The white dragon cautiously approached Lee Bong-yeol.
As it reached him, a voice resonated from the dragon.
"Guardian of the World Tree, form a contract with me."
"…A contract?"
"I will protect you until the World Tree regains its power."
At that moment—
"!!"
Lee Bong-yeol felt a searing pain on the back of his right hand, as if it were being burned.
When the scorching pain subsided, a magnificent tattoo appeared on the back of his hand. It was a white tattoo, the same color as the dragon's scales.
"When you are in danger, use it to summon me. I will come to you at any time."
Immediately after those words, an egg the size of an ostrich egg appeared, floating before Lee Bong-yeol. As he caught it in both hands, the white dragon spoke.
"Take good care of my child."
With those parting words, the white dragon turned away without hesitation.
Rumble—
It moved away with far more careful movements than when it had first appeared.
Everyone stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.
Kang Deok-soo finally broke the silence.
"Holy crap, if we had attacked, we would've been screwed!!"
"…Yeah, we survived by following Jaehyun-nim's orders and staying still."
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo's loyalty has reached 100.]
[Citizen Kang Deok-soo is already registered as a retainer.]
[Retainer limit has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's loyalty has reached 100.]
———
With Kang Deok-soo, Kim Ga-young, and Ha Dong-geon all reaching 100 loyalty at the same time, the retainer limit increased by three.
'That makes a total of 18 now.'
That meant six more people could be registered as retainers.
'If I keep increasing it like this, I'll eventually surpass 100.'
When an ordinary citizen's loyalty reached 100, they could be immediately registered as a retainer, and the retainer limit would expand accordingly.
Unlike his mother, who could control 100 awakened individuals without restrictions, his growth was gradual—but unrestricted.
A late bloomer, so to speak.
'It would have been great if I could have taken in the awakened individuals my mother created as retainers.'
Unfortunately, that was impossible.
They had experimented with the medical team his mother had recently awakened, but the moment they formed a subordination contract, they automatically became part of her command and could no longer be registered as retainers.
'I need a way to create more awakened individuals.'
Naturally awakened individuals were too rare.
Just then—
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's trust has increased.]
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho's trust has reached 100.]
['Teleport' has been acquired.]
[Jackpot!]
[Congratulations.]
['Awakening Pill (Teleport)' has been obtained.]
'Huh?'
It was the second time he had seen a jackpot.
And once again, it was Moon Byung-ho.
'Damn, how does this guy always get so lucky?'
It was obvious what the Awakening Pill was for.
Whoever consumed it would awaken teleportation abilities.
'How should I use this?'
Two ideas immediately came to mind.
One was to give it to a citizen with high loyalty, have them awaken, and then register them as a retainer. That would essentially grant him a free knight.
'The other option…!'
There was an investment opportunity that would drastically boost his experience gain at the cost of forgoing settlement funds.
After some thought, he chose the latter.
[Da-bin.]
[Yes, Jaehyun-nim?]
[Call my father, please.]
The person who benefited the most from the Bloodline Buff was his father.
Among his bloodline, his father was the only one who actively engaged in combat.
What if his father gained Moon Byung-ho's teleportation ability?
'It would be like giving wings to a tiger.'
His father had been a Taekwondo athlete in his youth, so his movements were anything but ordinary.
If he added teleportation to that, his combat prowess would skyrocket several times over.
When his father came home, drenched from the rain, he handed him the Awakening Pill immediately.
"What's this?"
"A gift."
"A gift?"
His father examined the pill carefully before asking,
"Is this a supplement?"
"Yes. Just swallow it."
He bought his father's favorite Samdasoo water from the store and handed it over.
His father grinned.
"You've got good sense, son. Water has to be Samdasoo."
The moment he swallowed the Awakening Pill—
A brilliant white light burst from his body.
———
"What the hell is this? Son, you didn't give me something weird, did you?"
His father looked down at himself in confusion.
He reassured him.
"Dad, try thinking about teleporting from there to here."
"Teleporting?"
"Yeah."
Though skeptical, his father did as instructed.
Shwoop—
"Huh?!"
Of course, the teleportation skill activated.
And then—
[Bloodline member Kim Dong-hyuk's trust has increased.]
[Bloodline member Kim Dong-hyuk's trust has reached 100.]
['Guardian Energy' has been acquired.]
"Huh?"
"I acquired the skills that my dad possessed.
And the moment I saw it, an idea suddenly struck me like lightning.
'Wait a minute. Then if I raise my mom's trust level to 100, can I obtain her abilities too?'
My mom's abilities.
The power to create 100 Awakened individuals—if I could obtain that, it would be incredible.
I immediately ran to my mom, who was preparing food in the kitchen.
"Son!"
I heard my dad's emotional voice behind me, but right now, my mom was more important.
"Mom!"
"Hmm?"
Currently, my mom's trust level in me was at 97.
If I raised it by just three more points, I could gain her abilities.
"Is there anything you want? Something you'd like to eat?"
"All of a sudden?"
"Anything?"
"Hmm…"
As I urged her, my mom thought for a moment before answering.
"I'd like some tteokbokki."
"Tteokbokki? Got it, just wait a second."
As I was about to head out to get the tteokbokki, my dad, looking deeply moved, was waiting for me.
"Son!"
Before I knew it, I was caught in his embrace.
Dad, maybe take a shower first.
"Oh, sorry. Hahaha."
"Dad, after you take a shower, you know Dabine from the 21st floor, right?"
"The girl who's really good at what she does?"
"Go find her. There's something you need to do."
"Got it."
Leaving my dad grinning as he headed for the shower, I opened the front door and visited Choi Hyungjun's house for the first time in a while.
After ringing the doorbell and waiting briefly, I heard Park Hyewon's voice.
[Jaehyun? What brings you here?]
"I need a favor."
[Come in first.]
With Park Hyewon's help, I made the tteokbokki, but my mom's trust level didn't budge from 97.
'It's okay. I still have a trump card.'
There was no need to rush.
Time would solve it.
[The construction of the annex has been completed.]
At the same time, the usual cleaning began.
[Hostile entities against the Absolute Ruler of the Household have been detected.]
[Eliminating them.]
The monsters within my territory were wiped out in an instant.
[You have hunted a Land Shark (Lv. 24).]
[You have hunted a Land Shark (Lv. 23).]
[You have hunted a Sky Swordfish (Lv. 17).]
[You have hunted a Sky Swordfish (Lv. 18).]
[You have hunted a Giant Lobster (Lv. 29).]
[You have hunted a Serrated Crab (Lv. 30).]
Since these kills were recognized as mine, I only received a 1x multiplier on the experience points and rewards, but the sheer amount was overwhelming.
Thanks to that—
[Skill level has increased.]
I leveled up with an enormous amount of experience, and instead of an annex, my overall household territory expanded, triggering another round of cleaning.
[You have hunted a Land Shark (Lv. 23).]
[You have hunted a Sky Swordfish (Lv. 17).]
[You have hunted a Sky Swordfish (Lv. 18).]
And then—
[A being that meets the conditions to be accepted as a citizen has been discovered.]
[Would you like to grant them citizenship?]
Along with the expansion of my annex, thousands of new people entered my domain.
'Grant it.'
The moment I granted them all citizenship—
[The number of citizens has reached 10,000.]
[As the number of citizens has reached a certain threshold, they can now acquire 'jobs.']
[Conditions met.]
['Job Research Institute' has been added to the list of constructible buildings.]
Numerous new notifications kept ringing, but something even more important needed my attention.
I quickly went to find my mom.
"Mom, let's go visit Grandpa and Grandma."
My dad was out rescuing people with the relief team.
So, I took my mom to the annex first.
'Absolute Ruler's Door.'
I linked our front door to my grandparents' house and opened it.
Click.
Beyond the door, the familiar sight of their home appeared.
And—
"Grandpa! I'm here!"
"Who's there?"
When I opened the bedroom door, I saw my grandfather sitting beside my grandmother.
He looked at me in shock.
"J-Jaehyun?"
"Yes, Grandpa."
And then—
"Dad!"
My mom ran to my grandfather and hugged him.
[Family member Lee Jisook's trust level has increased.]
[Family member Lee Jisook's trust level has reached 100.]
[You have acquired 'Contract of Subjugation.']
'Bingo.'"
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