The golden light that bloomed in the air split into eight branches, drawing beautiful lines.

As two lines met and formed a completed circle, six lines within it began to move chaotically, carving out intricate patterns.

And the overlapping patterns started to create picturesque designs in the empty spaces.

When those lines filled the empty spaces, starting from 12 o’clock in a clockwise direction.

Paaah!

Golden light shone from the magic circle, summoning a golden sphere about the size of a basketball.

And then.

Shiiiing.

The golden egg began to crack and soon opened completely.

From there, something small fell out.

“Oh?”

I instinctively reached out my hands and caught it.

The small object in my palm had a smooth texture.

There was a lump of fluffy black feathers.

The little creature looked up at me with its bright, round eyes.

-Cheep?

A cute baby bird was there.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.’

「Three-Legged Crow1Samjoko (三足烏). (Lv. 1)」

A three-legged crow deity.

Born with the power of the sun, but it was still a baby that needed protection. To grow, it needed to be exposed to high-quality sunlight.

It looked exactly like a little black chick.

“Hello?”

-Cheep!

When I greeted it awkwardly, the creature energetically responded.

“What should I call you?”

Calling it Three-Legged Crow didn’t feel right, so I wanted to give it a name.

“How about calling you Kkami2Can also be written as ‘Kami’ (but that’s semi-weird since it means ‘God’ in Japanese), ‘Gami’. Honestly, I regret the way I spelled so many people’s names but I’m too lazy to go back and change all the past chapters. Sorry, Moon Byung-ho, Kim Da-Bin, Kim Min-ho. because you’re a cute black crow?”

-Cheep! Cheep!

Even though it was just born, it was so full of energy that it seemed to keep talking to him while fluttering its small wings.

For some reason, I understood its words.

“Do you like it?”

-Cheep!

“That’s great.”

The fact that communication was possible right after birth indicated that Kkami was extremely intelligent.

-Cheeep!

“Are you hungry?”

-Cheep!

I wondered whether I needed to catch some bugs, but soon realized that’s not what the three-legged crow needed.

While carefully paying attention not to drop it, I moved to the living room window.

Then, I gently placed it on the sunlit floor.

Then.

-Cheeepp…

It stretched out comfortably, closed its eyes, and began to bask in the sunlight with its whole body.

“…Pretty good.”

It slept peacefully in that position.

Watching the little guy breathe evenly, even my heart became calm.

[The level of the three-legged crow has increased.]

[The efficiency of the solar power generator has increased by 100%.]

‘Hm?’

I could understand that the three-legged crow’s level increased while absorbing sunlight, but why did the solar power generator’s efficiency suddenly increase?

I immediately entered construction mode and checked the solar power generator.

《Solar Power Generator》

A facility that produces electricity using solar energy.

Generates 80,000 to 100,000 (+100%) won worth of electricity per day depending on sunlight, and any surplus electricity is refunded to the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.

The amount of electricity produced by the solar power generator had doubled.

‘Wait a minute, this way…’

I hadn’t built solar power generators in the recently acquired 10 buildings because I had spent almost all of the support funds.

Honestly, investing 130 million won in a facility that only generated 30 million won per year seemed like a waste.

‘But now it’s a different story.’

If the efficiency continued to increase every time Kkami leveled up, then it would become a worthwhile investment.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure yet.

I couldn’t guarantee that the efficiency would increase every time Kkami’s level rose.

At that moment, a notification appeared again.

[The level of the three-legged crow has increased.]

[The efficiency of the solar power generator has increased by 100%.]

In an instant, the efficiency of the solar power generator became three times greater.

’90 million won per year.’

Just a few level-ups accelerated not only the speed of recovering the initial investment, but also the profits over time.

Upon confirming that, I decided without hesitation.

‘Build solar power generators in all 10 buildings.’

Ding!

[Remaining time until completion of Solar Power Generator facility]

– 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

After finishing construction mode, Kkami was already fast asleep.

While Kkami took a nap under the sunlight, I had a busy day.

First, I had to decide where to invest the remaining skill point.

‘What should I raise with the last one?’

Now, there were only three skills left with the [+] button.

Absolute Dweller’s Warehouse, Absolute Dweller’s Health, and the Invisible Hand.

‘Of these three, the warehouse seems to be the best.’

Honestly, improving health didn’t seem very meaningful.

In any case, I couldn’t step a foot outside the homebound area.

Becoming healthier here wouldn’t be that useful.

‘Invisible Hand is the same.’

Although it was undoubtedly a powerful ability, what good was that if I couldn’t leave the area?

‘Still, the warehouse can be used in conjunction with the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.’

But what could be improved by raising the level of the warehouse?

‘I better keep it for now and focus on raising Dignity Maintenance or the Absolute Dweller’s Eyes.’

Having reached a conclusion, I immediately left the house.

First, I went to 3001, the next-door neighbor, and met Choi Hyeong-jun.

“I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

“Yes, Mr. Jae-hyun. Please feel free to speak.”

“I would like you to take care of 1 billion won for me.”

“What?”

It was something I thought of while contemplating the Tax Collection Skill. Handing the money to a trustworthy citizen to hold onto  would be beneficial based on the skill description.

Although there was a 10% initial transferring fee, a regular profit of 10% could be generated every month afterward.

After careful consideration, I chose Choi Hyeong-jun as the recipient of the 1 billion.

The reason was simple.

『Name: Choi Hyeong-jun (Lv. 25) [+]

Title: [First Vassal]

Trust: 89   Loyalty: 98

Awakening Ability: Gorilla’s Might

★Quest Assignment』

His trust and loyalty scores were outstanding.

Perhaps due to our frequent encounters, these values had increased significantly.

‘With this level of loyalty, he should be reliable.’

I immediately gave him 1 billion through quest assignment.

[Quest cost: 100,030,000 won.]

A 10% fee of 100 million won, and a basic quest cost of 30,000 won was consumed.

“Oh, oh my god…!”

At that moment.

[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s trust has increased.]

[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s loyalty has increased.]

[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s loyalty has reached 100.]

[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun is already registered as a vassal.]

[Vassal registration limit has increased.]

Choi Hyeong-jun cautiously inquired.

“O-Of course, I should keep and not use it, right?”

That was originally the plan.

But it turned out that 100 loyalty could be broken with something like this.

Considering the value of vassal registration, 1 billion won wasn’t that high a price.

“You can use it to some extent.”

“R-Really?! Thank you, thank you!”

Next, I took Yoo Hye-rin and introduced her to Kim Dabin. Then, I gave full control over the public facilities staff to Kim Dabin.

“Can I really choose whoever I want?”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter. Miss Dabin can make a team. Since you’re the team leader, I’ll double your weekly salary.”

[Citizen Kim Dabin’s loyalty has increased.]

“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

As I watched Kim Dabin take Yoo Hye-rin, I took a moment to observe the public facilities. Citizens were busy, taking turns cooking meals and waiting in line to use the bathroom.

‘It seems inconvenient.’

Although it was a public facility, it was originally a regular home.

Accommodating a large number of people or providing services like a public restroom was difficult.

Taking a shower was recognized as a privilege among citizens, so a solution was needed.

‘But I can’t just give it away.’

Otherwise, the efforts citizens had made to acquire electricity, water, and gas would be undermined.

‘Is there any solution?’

As I pondered, one idea came to mind.

‘What if I sell it at the convenience store?’

I registered an item as a test.

[One Day Electricity Usage Voucher] (10,000 won)

‘It works?’

Intangible values could also be registered.

The kiosk system allowed automatic electricity supply when the unit and room numbers were entered.

‘Let’s create water and gas vouchers too.’

I divided them into daily, weekly, and monthly usage vouchers, selling them at prices of 10,000 won, 30,000 won, and 100,000 won, respectively.

‘There will be buyers.’

If I were a citizen, I would rather find a way to gather money and purchase the vouchers than use such inconvenient public facilities.

‘And…’

The next issue to address was providing firearms.

I planned to select individuals with high loyalty for firearms.

It didn’t take long to identify those who had achieved a trust of 50 and unlocked loyalty.

‘All the individuals who meet the conditions are combatants.’

Most of them had face-to-face interactions with me before, leading to the unlocking of loyalty.

Among them, Baek Sung-yeop had a loyalty of 57, but I decided not to provide him with a gun.

‘It’s predictable given his personality.’

If I gave Baek Sung-yeop a gun, I could only imagine him using it for self-promotion or extortion.

This is why first impressions are crucial.

‘In that case, the remaining candidates are Kim Minho, Nam Ji-ho, and Shin Yoo-ra.’

I registered the S&W M60, and due to itemization, other revolvers with the S&W mark were created, and the M60 was the best choice among them.

‘Let’s meet separately later to distribute them.’

Currently, all three of them had gone hunting outside the homebound area.

‘Seo Ye-jin seems busy…’

It looked like she was busy organizing her subordinates.

For now, I went to visit Ha Dong-geon’s party, waiting in Room 2901.

♩♬―

[29th floor.]

[Door opens.]

Kim Da-jeong and Oh Eon-ju, who occupied Room 2902, were also gathered in Room 2901.

“That snake was level 40?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. I see…”

In response to Ha Dong-geon’s answer, Oh Eon-ju’s expression seemed somewhat bitter.

She probably thought of the quest details from back then.

Click.

As I opened the door and entered, they all rose from their seats to greet me.

“Thank you for your hard work today. Is everyone feeling okay?”

“Yes~.”

“Perfectly fine.”

“I didn’t do much, really.”

I responded with a smile to their playful replies.

“Thanks to the monster at Seomyeon Station, the surrounding area has become a monster-free clean zone. Especially the subway tracks.”

Currently, Seomyeon Station was like Muju-gun3Muju-gun or Muju County. I guess not many people are there since it’s a national park?.

Although the former boss, King Snake, had died, the news hadn’t spread widely yet.

Monsters would be avoiding Seomyeon Station as usual.

“There are almost no monsters near Seomyeon Station all the way to Beomnaegol and Beomil Station4Beomil Station, also the Busan Metro..”

It was already confirmed by Seo Ye-jin’s abilities.

Perhaps because it was sitting on Line 1, it was challenging to find even a single monster around the next two or three stops.

“Right now is our chance. We need to act before other monsters take over the area.”

Today, seeing Yoo Hye-rin crying and pleading with me, I realized one thing.

The people before me were risking their lives to carry out my request.

So, in a way, they were entrusting their lives to me.

We were fortunate to know about the monsters at Seomyeon Station in advance thanks to Seo Ye-jin joining. Otherwise, it would have been quite dangerous.

The outside world right now was truly a place where one could die at any moment.

I understood that my desire for my family’s safety, my wish to save them, was a kind of greed.

‘Even so…’

Although their lives weighed heavily on my shoulders.

“Tomorrow, please head directly to Jagalchi Station.”

I couldn’t give up.