Savior (2)
Cultivate Yourself, Harmonize Your Family, Govern the Nation, and Bring Peace to the World (修身齊家治國平天下).
The idea is that only by first cultivating oneself and maintaining order within one's family can one govern a nation and bring peace to the world.
The first step to saving the world—or rather, the nation—is ensuring my own survival and protecting my family.
And after that, in order to save the country, the priority is:
"We need to find the families of our retainers."
Finding the families of the nation's greatest contributors.
It might sound trivial, but this was the most efficient method.
My top priority was expanding my domain by leveling up, and the ones who played the biggest role in that were my retainers.
They had moved for my sake until now, so it was time for me to move for theirs.
"The Absolute One's Eye."
Ha Dong-geon's party had advanced as far as the Jagalchi Station area.
My personal domain had expanded right up to the outskirts of Jagalchi Station.
Since teleporting was not an option due to the distance, I used the Gate of the Absolute One to move to the very edge of my domain and then summoned them.
[Everyone, could you return for a moment?]
They had advanced this far to find the mother of Kim Ga-young, who lived in Daeshin-dong.
The plan was to first rescue Kim Ga-young's family, who were the closest, and then proceed to find the families of the others.
For the past five days, I had been steadily working on opening a path to Daeshin-dong, but due to the monster wave, the monster density had increased drastically, making it difficult to clear even a single kilometer.
When Moon Byung-ho returned within my domain and saw me, he was visibly shocked.
"Jaehyun? How did you get here…?"
Ha Dong-geon, who was quick-witted, immediately spoke up.
"So, the massive monster slaughter earlier was your doing, Jaehyun?"
"Does that mean this area is now part of your domain?"
"You could say that."
"If the safe zone has expanded this far, we can conduct operations much more securely."
"Yes, and that's not all."
The reason I had kept Ha Dong-geon's party stationed here was not just to accelerate the construction of the annex.
Due to the monster wave, the increased monster density made traveling to Daeshin-dong incredibly dangerous.
The only possible alternative was utilizing the subway, but even then, clearing the path from my base to the station was no easy task.
However, once the annex was completed, everything would change.
With the expansion of my domain right up to Jagalchi Station, we would gain direct access to the subway.
And—
"We will reach Ga-young's family in Daeshin-dong by the end of today."
Kim Ga-young looked at me with a doubtful expression.
"Is that really possible? Even if a safe zone has formed…"
"Don't worry. We now have a way to clear the subway tracks."
By bringing Seo Ye-jin here, we could once again use the poison gas rat strategy to eliminate threats in the subway tunnels.
"Also, there's something I'd like to propose to all of you."
Seo Ye-jin, who had been scouting the subway tunnels from Jagalchi Station to Toseong Station, Dongdaeshin Station, and Seodaeshin Station using her rats, spoke up.
"If you had just sent people in blindly, it would have been a disaster."
"Agreed."
The underground tunnels were even more treacherous than we had anticipated.
We had assumed that, since monsters were swarming the surface, the subway would be relatively empty.
However, we were wrong—the tunnels were packed with deep-sea monsters that thrived in darkness.
The tunnels were overrun with grotesque creatures resembling catfish, crabs, octopuses, and eels.
Ssssshhhhhh—
But in such a confined space, they had no escape from Yoo Hye-rin's poison gas.
[You have hunted an Ironclad Eel (Lv. 32).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[625,738,094 won has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler's Treasury.]
[You have hunted a Darkness Octopus (Lv. 27).]
[You have gained experience points.]
[268,876,356 won has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler's Treasury.]
A complete gold mine.
The reason the bounty payouts for Yoo Hye-rin's poison gas victims were so lucrative was clear.
「Name: Yoo Hye-rin (Lv. 34) [+]
Title: [Fifth Species] [Knight] [Poison Master]
Loyalty: 94 | Devotion: 100
Awakened Abilities: Poison Mist, Poison Dust
★Quest Granting」
The moment she formed a subjugation contract, Yoo Hye-rin acquired the Knight title.
With this title, the payout amounts increased significantly.
Additionally, her poison had become even more potent, and she had gained the ability to create concentrated poison dust.
"But Yoo Hye-rin isn't the only one who has changed."
I turned my gaze to Seo Ye-jin, who was meditating nearby.
「Name: Seo Ye-jin (Lv. 37) [+]
Title: [Tenth Species] [Baron] [Beast Tamer]
Loyalty: 72 | Devotion: 76」
Awakening Abilities: Queen of Mice, Evolution, Enhancement
Experience Distribution Rate: 200%
★Quest Granted
In her case, the previous knight title evolved into the noble title of Baron.
[Baron]All abilities increase by (**Loyalty * 2%)Monsters hunted by retainers with the Baron title grant 3x experience and settlement fundsBarons can distribute experience points for growth
While the experience and settlement fund multipliers remained the same, the ability increase based on loyalty saw a massive boost.
Not only did the stat increase apply to all abilities instead of just physical abilities, but the amplification was also doubled.
Additionally, a new ability called Enhancement was obtained.
Enhancement (B-Rank)Can enhance targets that are subordinated to the userMice that receive enhancement move significantly faster and become much harder to kill
***
And naturally, Seo Ye-jin wasn't the only one who obtained the Baron title.
The knights Ha Dong-gun, Kim Da-jung, and Oh Won-ju also had their knight titles upgraded.
Ha Dong-gun and Kim Da-jung, like Seo Ye-jin, received the Baron title.Oh Won-ju, however, gained the higher title of Viscount.[Name: Oh Won-ju (Lv. 45)] [+]
Titles: [Ninth Species] [Viscount] [Warrior]
Trust: 100 | Loyalty: 100
Awakening Abilities: Werebear, Primal Vitality, Berserk
Experience Distribution Rate: 200%
★Quest Granted
[Viscount]All abilities increase by (**Loyalty * 3%)Monsters hunted by retainers with the Viscount title grant 3x experience and settlement fundsViscounts increase the retainer registration limit by 3 slotsViscounts can distribute experience points for growth
While most aspects were similar to the Baron title, there was one critical difference:
"Retainers with the Viscount title can increase the retainer registration limit by 3 slots."
'Thanks to this, the retainer limit has increased to 21.'
Additionally, Moon Byung-ho, Kang Deok-soo, Kim Ga-young, and Kim Gun had all experienced a stat upgrade through the subordination contract.
After confirming that the poison gas in the subway tracks had dissipated, Ha Dong-gun's party was given the go-ahead.
[You may depart now.]
***
Kang Deok-soo, First to Act
"Rise!"
Clank! Clank!
[Name: Kang Deok-soo (Lv. 32)] [+]
Titles: [Third Species] [Knight] [Commander]
Trust: 93 | Loyalty: 100
Awakening Ability: Steel Legion
★Quest Granted
Upon becoming a knight, his previous skill "Steel Knight" upgraded to "Steel Legion."
This allowed him to summon and control armor golems in addition to his own armor.
"Charge!"
Ten Steel Knights rushed toward the monsters.
Slash!
Each one possessed formidable combat power.
In some ways, they were even stronger than Kang Deok-soo himself, despite him wearing armor.
Crash!
A giant crab's pincers struck one of the Steel Knights, but it barely had any effect.
"Rise!"
Since they were just summoned golems, he could simply re-summon them when destroyed.
With the Steel Golems drawing enemy aggro, the monsters had no time to focus on anything else.
"Hahaha! Let's go!"
The most excited one of all was Kang Deok-soo himself.
Thanks to the path cleared by Kang Deok-soo, Ha Dong-gun's party easily entered Exit 2 of Jagalchi Station.
[The path has been cleared. Proceed straight to Seodaesin Station.]
***
The 3km-long subway track.
With their enhanced physical abilities far surpassing normal humans, they reached their destination in under 5 minutes at full sprint.
"We actually arrived in just one day…!"
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's trust level has increased.]
As Kim Ga-young exited the ticket gate at Seodaesin Station, she spoke.
"…If we take Exit 2 from here, our apartment complex is right in front of us."
"Let's go."
And as they stepped outside Exit 2…
"Creak!"
A familiar sound was heard.
To the right of the exit, in a small patch of grass between two roads, a group of goblins had gathered. They were hunting a sky-blue fish that had its snout stuck in a tree, unable to move.
It was quite an encouraging sight.
The presence of goblins meant that this area was relatively safe from sea monster attacks.
'Maybe it's because of the terrain.'
Daesindong was surrounded by small mountains, forming a natural barrier.
The structure made it difficult for the monsters pouring out of the sea to reach this place.
The absence of sea monsters was likely thanks to this geographical advantage.
The goblins' continued survival was proof that this area was relatively unaffected.
'Maybe…'
Tatadada—
Ha Dong-geon's party ignored the goblins and kept running.
The distance from the subway station to the apartment complex where Kim Ga-young's mother was staying was only about 100 meters.
They sprinted down an alley to the left, and an apartment complex soon came into view.
"We're going in."
Going through the front gate would take a slight detour, but with Ha Dong-geon's party's physical abilities, even unconventional paths could be used as shortcuts.
Without hesitation, Ha Dong-geon dashed into a flowerbed and leaped over a two-meter-high wall with ease.
The others followed, effortlessly clearing the wall as well.
"Kieeek!"
As soon as they entered the apartment complex, they encountered a dozen goblins.
Wooong!
In that instant, light gathered at Kim Ga-young's bow.
And then—
Swaaaash!
The moment before the light struck the goblins, it exploded, splitting into dozens of fragments.
Pupupuk!
Each fragment became a deadly projectile, piercing through the goblins' bodies.
"Kyaaaak!"
[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 7).]
[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 8).]
[You have hunted Goblin (Lv. 7).]
"Kikikik!"
Seeing this, the surviving goblins panicked and fled. With no time to spare, Ha Dong-geon's party ignored them and pressed on.
"Where do we go?"
"This way!"
Kim Ga-young led the way.
'Oh?'
When they arrived at the apartment building where Kim Ga-young's mother was staying, they saw that the entrance had been completely barricaded with wooden planks.
It meant there were survivors inside.
'Maybe…'
Ha Dong-geon swung his spear, smashing the barricade to pieces, then turned to his team.
"Ga-young and I will go up alone. The rest of you guard this place."
"Got it! Rise!"
Kang Deok-soo and the Steel Knights took up defensive positions at the entrance.
Clank, clank.
With the elevator out of service, Ha Dong-geon and Kim Ga-young had no choice but to use the stairs.
Thanks to their enhanced physical abilities, they swiftly ascended to the 19th floor.
Kim Ga-young pounded on the door of her home and shouted.
Bang, bang, bang!
"Mom! Mom—!"
Her desperate, heartfelt cry—
Click.
"…Noona?"
It seemed to have reached the heavens.
"Myeong-hwan! Where's Mom?"
"She's inside. Oh, is that brother-in-law?"
And then—
"Ga-young!"
A middle-aged woman's voice called from inside the apartment.
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's trust level has increased.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young's trust level has reached 100.]
[You have acquired 'Arrow of Light.']
As soon as she saw her mother, Kim Ga-young threw herself into her arms, crying out.
"Mom!"
"Ga-young! Oh, my baby!"
What followed was a tearful family reunion.
"H-heuk, heuk, Mom…"
"Why are you crying, Ga-young? What happened?"
"Dad… h-he's…"
Kim Ga-young couldn't finish her sentence, only sobbing uncontrollably.
But that alone was enough for them to understand.
"No… no…"
Sniff.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Kim Ga-young's mother and brother, soon spilling over.
"H-heuk, Mom…"
"Oh no… my love… oh no…"
"..."
It was a sorrowful and heartbreaking scene—a family reunited in the face of despair.
The pain was even greater because of the one family member who was no longer with them.
The sorrow stretched on.
Even though Kim Ga-young had finally fulfilled her hope of reuniting with her family, she still couldn't escape the abyss of despair.
…
The world was unfair.
Some were born into unfortunate households and suffered abuse, while others were born with silver spoons in their mouths, never lacking anything.
Some, with no abilities at all, died meaningless deaths at the hands of monsters, while others awakened to overwhelming powers and lived comfortably.
No matter how much one questioned the world, the only response was silence.
There was no reason for what had already happened—only the reality to be accepted.
The only thing we could do was be grateful for survival, cherish reunions, and grieve for those we would never see again.
'We need to hurry.'
Now, the next priority was finding the families of Ha Dong-geon, Kang Deok-soo, and Kim Geon.
The next destination: Jamjeon-dong.
All three of their families were there.
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