Absolute Dweller

Chapter 108

Kim Davin sent a telepathic message in a tense tone.

[Manager Yang, please connect.]

A moment of silence passed.

Then—

Bzzzz.

The phone on Kim Davin's desk vibrated.

On its screen appeared:

[Manager Yang Ji-ho]

010-1234-5678

Yang Ji-ho's phone number.

Kim Davin pressed the call button and switched the phone to speaker mode.

At that moment:

[Hello?]

Yang Ji-ho’s voice came through the phone.

“Wow!”

“It’s connected!”

“No way! It actually worked!”

Cheers erupted from all around.

[Hello? Can you hear me? You can hear me, right?]

The monumental first call had been established.

Kim Davin smiled and used his actual voice instead of telepathy.

“Yes, Manager Yang. I can hear you loud and clear.”

[Oh, Director! Does that mean it worked?]

“It seems so.”

[Yes—!]

Cheers rang out from the other end as well, celebrating the successful connection.

It really worked.

As people’s lives stabilized, the administrative team under Kim Davin’s leadership gained some breathing room.

Kim Davin had mobilized personnel to restore TV, internet, and communications, but there had been many challenges.

While the expansion of Kim Jae-hyun’s domain had brought telecommunications equipment and facilities under control, experts with the necessary knowledge were scarce.

The biggest issue was that most facilities in Busan were merely relay stations, while the central hubs were concentrated in Seoul.

Without a main server, the process had been painstakingly slow.

But we did it somehow.

With a proud smile, Kim Davin sent a telepathic report to Kim Jae-hyun.

[Mr. Jae-hyun, we’ve successfully restored the communication network.]

[Great work.]

Hearing Kim Jae-hyun’s words of encouragement filled him with a deep sense of pride.

Wanting to share that pride with his team, he spoke up.

“You all did an amazing job.”

“Thank you, sir!”

The team celebrated their success by calling their loved ones.

“Hello? Mom? It’s me!”

“Yeah, calls will work now.”

“Surprised, huh? Hehe.”

The relay of calls continued endlessly, spreading joy like wildfire.

Meanwhile, Kim Gun sat on a rooftop, releasing his fusion with Kkamang.

Having heard about the attempt to restore the network, he had charged his phone in advance. Unlocking it and opening the phone app revealed the familiar keypad.

When he entered 010, his family’s numbers appeared at the top of the list.

Phew...

Taking a deep breath, he stared at the saved contact labeled Mom.

With trembling hands, he tapped the number.

Her number appeared on the screen, and with a finger shaking so badly it seemed pitiful, he pressed the call button.

Then—

Ring-ring.

The call tone began.

“!!”

Kim Gun’s eyes widened in shock.

There’s no “phone is off” message!

That meant her phone was on, which in turn meant she had charged it.

And that could only mean—

Mom’s alive!

I brought the black aura, flickering on my fingertip, to the empty soda can I had just finished.

Fwoosh!

The black flames consumed the can entirely at my command.

[141 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

The process of the trash vanishing was no different from the disappearance of monster corpses, and the completion of the process also deposited settlement funds.

"Efficient enough."

This power fundamentally used the settlement funds in the Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.

The energy consumed to incinerate the can was about 30 won, leaving a net profit of 100 won.

While small-scale trash yielded minor returns, larger refuse yielded substantial sums.

"It’ll also speed up road clearing."

Previously, vehicles abandoned on roads had to be cleared manually. Now, I could simply burn them away, earning profits in the process.

“Scrapping cars pays surprisingly well.”

Discovering that I could recycle problematic waste in this manner was a gratifying achievement.

"Pure destruction is all the black aura can do on its own."

But the settlement funds earned could then be converted into creative power through skills.

"Destruction and creation, huh?"

From its structure, this power genuinely felt divine.

"Still, the real utility of the black aura lies in combining it with skills."

When added to a skill, the destructive energy of the aura significantly amplified the skill’s effect.

"Though it’s expensive..."

Overlaying the black aura onto a skill consumed money at an alarming rate, often costing billions.

"But the results are worth it. Now then..."

I contemplated the one remaining skill point I had.

After experimenting with the black aura recently, a temptation had begun gnawing at me.

"Should I just go for it?"

The skill that produced the most destructive results when paired with the black aura was, without a doubt, Invisible Hand.

It amplified the aura’s destructive properties, making it far more devastating.

"And thanks to the North Gate, the utility of Invisible Hand has also improved."

The North Gate allowed activation of the Absolute Dweller’s Eye anywhere, enabling me to open a gate near retainers and provide support as needed.

This also meant I could utilize the Invisible Hand through the North Gate.

At that moment—

[An unauthorized entity is attempting entry.]

A notification appeared, accompanied by a faint pain.

"What?"

Activating the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I quickly identified the intruder.

"Him?"

A winged vampire stood at the boundary, an upper-tier vampire under the progenitor’s command.

What was peculiar, however, was the crimson energy radiating from the vampire’s hands.

"Something’s different."

The vampire exuded an unsettling aura.

Suddenly, the transparent barrier surrounding the domain swelled and shattered.

‘!!’

[Calm Like Still Water (明鏡止水) activates.]

Despite the pain coursing through me, my mind remained clear.

As the vampire entered the domain, its entire body began to ignite, but the crimson energy enveloping it seemed to stave off complete incineration.

Its movements, precise and deliberate, were directed toward the World Tree.

But—

"Open East Gate."

The East Gate opened, bringing the vampire right before me.

“Grr, you...?”

The twisted expression on its face confirmed my suspicion.

"It’s the remnant of that progenitor."

Activating Invisible Hand and overlaying it with the black aura—

Fwoosh!

Black claws extended from the transparent hand.

And then—

Stab!

The claws pierced the vampire’s heart in an instant.

Fwoosh!

Black flames erupted from its heart, consuming the vampire entirely, leaving not even ashes behind.