Absolute Dweller-Chapter 179

"I can leave the Absolute Dweller’s domain."

I had already suspected it when I first created the Avatar, but confirming it for myself like this was a different experience entirely.

‘I really can step outside.’

When I turned around, I could faintly sense the existence of a transparent barrier.

‘Faintly?’

It was only then that I realized something important.

‘The connection to my main body has weakened.’

Before stepping outside the domain, my consciousness had been fully shared with my main body.

Even though the Avatar was a separate form, I had still been receiving real-time visuals from my Absolute Dweller’s Eye.

There had been no need for spoken words—communication had been seamless. But now, I couldn’t feel the presence of my main body’s consciousness at all.

‘Inventory.’

Ding!

It was empty, but at least it was functioning properly.

‘Marketplace.’

Same result.

It looked slightly different from what the administrator—that is, my main body—would see, but it was identical to what an ordinary citizen would see.

It seemed that I was subject to the same buffs as regular citizens.

‘Then how does something like the Power of Trust apply?’

Even when looking at my own status window through my main body’s Absolute Dweller’s Eye, there had been no indicators for trust or loyalty.

‘Loyalty aside, I wouldn’t even be confident about a trust level of 100.’

Believing in oneself with absolute certainty wasn’t exactly easy.

And pledging undying loyalty to myself? That was nonsense.

‘Since I don’t have any funds, it’s clear that I’m different from an ordinary citizen...’

There was no experience distribution, no revenue share.

I also couldn’t assign quests.

‘Well, I guess I’ll find out how that works when I hunt some monsters.’

And then—

[How’s the air out there?]

My own voice echoed in my mind.

“Wow...”

[What?]

“It just... makes sense now.”

[Makes sense? What does?]

“The reason why some citizens practically worship me like a god.”

Even excluding extreme groups like the Citizen Salvation Church, there were plenty of people who prayed to me or revered me excessively.

Even those who didn’t deify me still showed unwavering trust and support.

Honestly, I had assumed there was some level of ‘brainwashing’ happening at the system level.

The way trust and loyalty increased—it seemed like some kind of subconscious mental influence.

But now, I was starting to feel sure of it.

‘This is bizarre.’

Even though I was fully aware that the telepathic voice belonged to my main body—to me—there was an undeniable sense of reverence in hearing it inside my head.

‘This isn’t just normal telepathy.’

I had frequently exchanged telepathic messages with Kim Da-bin, so I could clearly tell the difference.

It wasn’t outright brainwashing or mind control, but there was definitely a subtle effect that encouraged admiration toward the sender.

Sensing my thoughts, my main body spoke up before I even voiced them.

[So, there is some kind of mental influence built into the system, after all?]

“A little. But it’s not that overwhelming. The moment I realized what was happening, I started feeling a sense of resistance toward you—or should I say, toward myself?”

[You can’t be sure of that. Your mental power is ridiculously high compared to most people, so you might just be brushing it off easily.]

“...That’s true.”

Damn, I really am smart.

[Anyway, as you probably noticed, the moment you stepped outside the domain, our consciousness link was severed.]

“It’s not completely severed, is it?”

[Hmm. Hold on.]

After a brief silence, my main body sent another telepathic message.

[You’re right. Sensory data is still being shared in real-time. I didn’t notice because I was using the Absolute Dweller’s Eye.]

“It’s similar to what Yejin does with her sensory link.”

[Yeah, there are a lot of similarities. But unlike Yejin, who can directly control her mice, I can’t make you do anything against your will.]

“I know. I already tested that while I was still inside the domain.”

The authority over this body belonged solely to me.

“I’m heading out now, so just load up my inventory with the supplies I’ll need. Thankfully, it seems to be working fine.”

[You’re going immediately?]

“Of course.”

The biggest advantage of the Avatar was that I didn’t have to worry about risks.

Even if this body died, I could just summon a new one in three days.

Even though the Otherworld was still largely unknown, I could enter without much concern.

[Just don’t overdo it.]

“I know. By the way, what’s the range of the Absolute Dweller’s Eye around me?”

[Same as an ordinary citizen’s.]

“Really? That means it’s at Level 2.5. Kind of disappointing.”

I had categorized ‘domain levels’ into three tiers.

A Level 1 domain was one where my influence was so absolute that simply harboring hostility toward me could be fatal.

A Level 2 domain was where I could freely manifest my Absolute Dweller’s Eye and exert various powers.

A Level 3 domain didn’t allow direct ability use, but it was enough to claim monster corpses and distribute rewards.

For most citizens, their surroundings were considered a Level 3 domain.

But ever since the status window feature had been introduced, a narrow Level 2 domain had also been created around them.

Since it only extended to their immediate body, I had labeled it as Level 2.5—something between the two.

In contrast, my retainers had a 5-meter-wide Level 2 domain from the very beginning.

“So if I enter the Otherworld, I’ll likely be completely cut off, just like what happened with Park Sae-rom.”

[That’s highly probable. The only hopeful factor is that sensory sharing seems to be a separate function, but I suspect even that might be severed.]

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Since sensory sharing was also a system-based ability, it stood to reason that if all system connections were severed in the Otherworld, this one would be as well.

“Well, there’s no way around it. It’s a bit annoying, but I can still communicate using the inventory.”

Even though I was on the outskirts of Gwangju, getting to the city center wouldn’t be difficult.

I lifted my head and looked up at the sky.

Since the city's lights had gone out, the stars in the night sky shone like scattered jewels.

With no moon to outshine them, the starlight seemed to burn even brighter.

I gazed at the sky and activated my ability.

"Teleport."

Whoosh—

In an instant, my body shifted hundreds of meters into the night sky—and immediately, I began to plummet.

The sensation was like riding a high-speed amusement park ride. As I fell, I turned my gaze toward the heart of Gwangju.

A city swallowed by darkness.

"Teleport."

I activated the ability again.

Whoosh—

I landed safely on the rooftop of a building and looked around.

This was Gwangju U-Square, the place that Team 1 had investigated when they first arrived.

Though it was darker than before, the landscape matched perfectly with what I had seen through the Absolute Dweller’s Eye.

"I found the right place."

Two teleportations were all it had taken to reach the center of Gwangju.

"Clairvoyance."

I activated my Clairvoyance, searching for an intact mirror inside the building. I found one, but even after staring intently at it, nothing happened—I didn’t cross over into the Otherworld.

[It looks like you have to actually stand in front of the mirror to enter the Otherworld.]

My main body had reached the same conclusion.

"I think so too."

At the moment, I had access to all the abilities I had obtained from reaching Trust Level 100.

Teleportation had been useful even before, but Clairvoyance—this was my first time using it.

Until now, I had relied on the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, so I had never needed Clairvoyance.

‘But this is way more useful than I expected.’

Combining various abilities created new synergies.

For example—

"Teleport."

Previously, I could only teleport to places within my line of sight.

But now that I combined it with Clairvoyance—

Whoosh—

I phased through the concrete walls and teleported straight inside the building.

It was nighttime, and the interior was even darker. I had arrived in the bathroom.

Surrounded by complete darkness, I looked into the mirror.

The moment my gaze met my own reflection—

Rustle.

I sensed movement beside me.

"Invisible Hand."

Instinctively, I tried to activate the skill.

But—

‘Damn it.’

Nothing happened.

I couldn’t use Absolute Dweller-related abilities right now.

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That meant I couldn’t use Absolute Dweller’s Door, Absolute Dweller’s Storage, Absolute Dweller’s Market—and of course, Invisible Hand.

I was only able to access the Marketplace and Inventory, the same as ordinary citizens.

Even without Invisible Hand, though, I didn’t feel particularly threatened.

Thanks to Clairvoyance, I could clearly see the beast moving in the darkness.

I took a step back, effortlessly dodging its jaws.

Then, using Psychokinesis, I lifted it into the air.

Grr?

Before the creature could understand what had happened—

Crunch.

I crushed its entire body.

Then—

BOOM!

Just as Park Sae-rom had warned, the Shadow Wolf exploded upon death.

Since I had anticipated it, I wasn’t caught in the blast.

However—

Grrr!

Grrr...

Six more Shadow Wolves had emerged, encircling me.

At the same time—

Fwoosh!

Spirits of fire, taking the form of wolves just like their opponents, materialized in front of them.

Grrr...!

Fwoosh—!

The Shadow Wolves and Fire Spirits lunged at each other.

And the moment shadows clashed against flames—

BOOOOM!

A far more powerful explosion than before ripped through the bathroom, destroying it entirely.

I used Psychokinesis to block the shockwave completely.

Immediately after, I activated Thousand-Mile Vision.

Unlike Yoo Han-gil, I didn’t need to sit cross-legged and focus to use it. My vision simply expanded rapidly.

The entirety of the U-Square building came into view.

The Shadow Wolves, scattered throughout the building, were now rushing toward the destroyed bathroom.

Beyond the building, my vision extended, revealing the ruins of other structures.

It looked different from what Park Sae-rom had recorded.

Was it because there was no moonlight?

The scattered shards of glass and broken windows, which had once reflected eerie light, now revealed nothing.

The entire city was engulfed in darkness.

Shadow creatures crawled through the abandoned streets.

As my sight expanded, so did the number of stronger /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ monsters I saw.

There were shadow creatures the size of buildings, as well as flying monsters soaring through the sky.

And then—

I saw it.

‘...This is it.’

The Shadow Castle that Park Sae-rom’s survivor, Song Tae-young, had described.

But calling it a castle was inaccurate.

Because—

Kuuuuuuuuuuung—

It wasn’t a building.

It was a living thing.