Absolute Dweller - Chapter 20: Expansion of Influence (2)

[Episode 05] Expansion of Influence (2)

[Apartment 2902]

It went without saying, but I didn’t bother with things like ringing the doorbell. Instead, I immediately grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

Unlocking the front door wasn’t difficult.

Dealing with electronic devices within the homebound area was easy for me.

However.

Click!

The safety lock was beyond my control.

‘Damn it!’

 

Clack, clack!

 

‘Is there any way?’

For a moment, I thought of coming down through the upstairs window, but it was impossible.

Due to the restrictions of the homebound area, I couldn’t fully go outside the window.

While there was enough space to extend my hand or head out of the living room window, it wasn’t enough to completely go outside.

‘Right. The new skill I gained!’

In my desperation, I thought of the new skill I hadn’t checked due to the chaotic situation.

Absolute Dweller’s Invisible Hand Lv. 1

– Summons an invisible hand and control it.

‘Bingo!’

I immediately tried using the skill.

Something I felt while using Dignity Maintenance and the Eye was that the most crucial factor in using a skill was one thing:

‘My will.’

What I wanted was the most important element.

The moment I pictured releasing the safety latch on the front door, I felt the sensation of something leaving my body, and the invisible hand attacked the safety latch.

Kwoong—snap!

“…”

The invisible hand effortlessly destroyed the safety latch. It was so powerful that part of the front door was bent.

As I stared at the severely damaged and now open front door, I belatedly thought of a better solution.

‘…I could have just used Vassal Summon.’

Come to think of it, I could have summoned the still idle Choi Hyeong-jun inside to open the door.

But what can I do?

The spilled water is already spilled.

‘Let’s save people first and then think later.’

The darkened apartment lit up.

The bright light illuminated the entire house, and in the center of the living room, I saw Kim Da-jeong lying as if she was sleeping.

She was a beautiful person.

Even though her life seemed to hang by a thread, her beauty still shone through.

‘Why is she like this?’

Why the living room floor?

There were perfectly good beds in the bedroom and small room. But there wasn’t even a blanket laid out in the living room.

“Hey, wake up. Snap out of it.”

I gently patted her cheek.

There was no response, and when I shook her shoulders and body, it was the same.

She just swayed weakly, unable to regain consciousness.

The only thing that proved she was still alive was the breath barely hanging on.

‘Her condition is worse than I thought.’

Wrinkled skin, sunken eyes, dry lips. There was also a slight fever.

Despite this, her undeniable beauty was so surreal that it felt like watching a princess from a fairy tale.

‘It’s a serious case of dehydration.’

It didn’t make sense.

Especially since there was still water in the kitchen, with bottles and containers left.

There were dozens of small bottled water, each with a capacity of about 300ml.

If only she had taken care to drink them in time, she wouldn’t have fallen into such a serious state of dehydration.

On the Irish table, there were also snacks like cookies or chocolates, and the cabinet had different types of ramen.

There was both food and water, yet she had come to the brink of death.

‘What is she trying to do?’

Was she really determined to die?

Looking at it now, her neatly folded hands seemed to calmly accept death.

Even if she had resolved to die, I had no intention of letting her.

I must save her.

‘What should I do?’

In the military, I learned that you should never force water on a patient showing severe dehydration symptoms.

It was especially dangerous for unconscious patients, as it could obstruct their airway.

‘The proper procedure is to send her to the emergency room.’

The only solution was to increase the amount of blood in her body through an intravenous injection.

However, there were no intact hospitals left in this ruined world, and there were no paramedics who would come all the way here.

For now, I lifted Kim Da-jeong’s legs for first aid.

Elevating the legs would redirect blood to vital organs, helping to maintain their function for a little longer.

‘If I can’t do anything more, she’s really going to die.’

She was a woman with the Heal ability. I couldn’t let her go so easily.

‘I must save her.’

I went through each of the skills I possessed, considering every item in the shop and the things in the warehouse, but there was nothing that would be helpful for Kim Da-jeong.

After thinking for a while, a clever idea came to mind.

‘I wonder if I can use it like this?’

There was no need to hesitate.

If I tested it right now, it would either work or not.

‘Quest Assignment, reward is recovery from dehydration.’

The quest content was ‘Take one breath.’

And then.

[Citizen Kim Da-jeong has completed the quest.]

[Quest cost: 10,000,000 won.]

‘Success!’

Even though it cost a whopping 10 million won for the quest, it was worth it.

“Ugh.”

Because the effect was clear.

Kim Da-jeong slowly opened her eyes, looked at the bright living room lights, and furrowed her brows. She then raised her arm.

“Hey, Miss Kim Da-jeong, are you awake?”

As our eyes met.

[Citizen Kim Da-jeong’s trust has increased.]

A notification appeared, indicating an increase in trust.

‘Here we go again.’

It wasn’t only Kim Da-jeong whose trust increased the moment we met.

It happened with Oh Eon-ju, the entire Ha Dong-geon party, and even Choi Hyeong-jun’s family.

A notification about trust increasing appeared on our first encounter.

‘People I meet in person all seem to have a rapid increase in trust.’

It was kind of obvious.

It was natural for trust to rise faster for someone you knew than for a complete stranger.

However, having trust rise immediately upon meeting face to face was a bit different.

It was weird.

The abnormal increase in trust was undoubtedly due to the influence of skills.

‘Is it because of Dignity Maintenance?’

Kim Da-jeong looked at me with a dazed expression and asked, “…Who are you?”

“I’m Kim Jae-hyun. I live upstairs.”

“…Huh?”

Gradually, life returned to her eyes. When she came to her senses, she moved out of my arms.

“W-Who are you?”

“As I mentioned earlier, I live upstairs.”

“How did you get in here?”

“Your condition seemed severe, so I forcefully opened the door and came in.”

“What do you mean…?”

Kim Da-jeong looked around the house with a confused expression.

Then.

“Ah…”

She seemed to realize something and tears started flowing from her eyes.

“Ohhh…”

Kim Da-jeong covered her face with both hands and cried.

Her delicate shoulders trembled lightly.

“…”

While silently watching her sobbing with bated breath, I pondered.

How do you comfort someone?

What do you say to reach someone’s heart when they’re crying so sorrowfully?

I didn’t know.

Providing comfort, whether through words or understanding their sadness, required some level of familiarity. Consolation was something achievable only when you knew someone well enough.

I lacked that connection.

Therefore, I decided to say what I wanted to say.

“Ms. Kim Da-jeong.”

When I called her name, she looked up at me with a tear-stained face.

Facing her, I spoke.

“Please help me.”

I chose not to ask what happened or why she was crying so bitterly.

There was no need to remind her of painful memories.

Instead, I directed her attention elsewhere, to the present reality, thinking it might be less painful.

“My colleague is seriously injured.”

***

Kim Da-jeong stared blankly at the man who introduced himself as Kim Jae-hyun.

‘What is this man talking about?’

The story, which began with a plea for help and news of an injured colleague, had progressed to the point where he claimed she had a special power.

‘What nonsense is he saying?’

Superpowers? Healing abilities?

She felt like a fool for taking him seriously when she heard that someone was injured.

‘Healing abilities? Did he say that because he knows I’m a nurse? How does he know that?’

Maybe this man read too many comics.

Then it occurred to her.

Maybe this man, who was fervently talking in front of her, wanted to comfort her.

As someone who had received too much attention from men, she instinctively sensed it.

‘Hmm.’

A kind person.

With the arising goodwill, there came a curiosity about this man.

His face, which she vaguely saw earlier, came to mind, and while observing his face as he spoke passionately, she thought.

‘… He’s quite handsome.’

His clumsy manner somehow knocked on the door to her heart.

“Pfft.”

“Why are you laughing?”

It was fascinating.

Usually, men who tried to comfort her when she was crying were filled with ulterior motives, but she didn’t feel that from this man.

In any case, if this man’s goal was to comfort her, he had somewhat succeeded.

“Alright. Where do I need to go?”

It was a statement to reciprocate the favor.

However.

“Just a moment.”

[You have received a quest.]

Quest Content: Use Heal to treat the injured Oh Eon-ju.

Time limit: 1 hour 00 minutes 00 seconds.

Reward: Strengthen Heal proficiency.

Failure penalty: None.

“What?”

While she blankly read the holographic window in front of her, the man spoke.

“No need to move. Since you are in a weakened state, you can stay here and rest. I’ll bring Oh Eon-ju over.”

Then, out of nowhere, an orange appeared from the air and dropped in front of her.

“…Huh?”

“Then, please rest.”

Kim Da-jeong, looking puzzled, grabbed the man who was about to leave.

“Wait a minute!”

“What’s the matter?”

“What is this?”

He looked at the orange she was holding out and answered.

“It’s an orange.”

“No, I mean…!”

There were many questions she wanted to ask: the hologram, the orange that appeared out of thin air, but the words didn’t come out properly.

Just as she tried to stand up in frustration.

“Oh—!”

She tripped over her own feet and fell.

Closing her eyes, she expected the impending pain, but…

“…?”

It didn’t hurt.

Feeling something odd, Kim Da-jeong slowly opened her eyes.

“!!!”

She could see herself floating in the air.

Although she felt as if something was supporting her body, nothing was visible.

Kim Da-jeong looked at the man confusedly.

He casually said, “Since your body is currently weakened, please be careful while moving. Don’t get hurt.”

Kim Da-jeong, who carefully descended to the ground, couldn’t close her mouth.

“Please wait a little.”

While Kim Da-jeong stared blankly in the direction the man had left, she earnestly contemplated while looking at the orange left in her hand.

‘Am I dreaming?’

***

[Citizen Kim Da-jeong’s trust has increased.]

Having calmed down Kim Da-jeong and descended in the elevator, I received another notification indicating an increase in trust.

Her trust had already surpassed 30.

It seemed that showing her my abilities at the last moment worked well.

‘She really didn’t believe it.’

Since the moment she suddenly stopped crying and started laughing, it felt like something had changed.

The talk about superpowers and healing must have sounded ridiculous before.

‘Well, it’s hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes.’

Seeing is believing, and in this case, showing the ability directly was even more convincing.

♩♬―

[First floor.]

[Door opens.]

Arriving on the first floor, I walked down the hallway to meet the members of Ha Dong-geon’s party at the main entrance.

Since they had come near the side road, it was about time for them to arrive.

‘There they are.’

The first thing I noticed was Moon Byeong-ho, who was running hard while carrying his grandmother on his back.

‘Well done, Byeong-ho.’

Thanks to Moon Byeong-ho, I had gained a mountain of things today.

As I smiled at him, I suddenly noticed something strange.

‘…Why is he running so urgently?’

Running after Moon Byeong-ho was Kang Deok-su, Ha Dong-geon, Kim Ga-young, Yoo Hye-rin, and Kim Geon. All of them were sprinting with clenched teeth, as if they were being chased by something.

And soon, the identity of that ‘something’ became apparent.

‘What is that…?’

Chasing closely behind Ha Dong-geon’s party was a massive, red tiger.