Chapter 145

Chapter 145 – Job Change Quest (1)

Shin Dong-hoon was a man of military background.

Before his arrival in Busan, his primary duties had been guarding Wangsimni Station, and before the monstrous calamity destroyed civilization, he served as a sergeant within a division of the Army Special Warfare Command.

In fact, he had been just on the verge of completing his military service and receiving his discharge.

On the very day his terminal leave was scheduled to begin, the monstrous cataclysm erupted, turning the entire world into a chaotic nightmare.

It had all started when he and his fellow soldiers were out in Seoul, hoping to enjoy a few drinks together.

Because of this, he was completely unable to return to his family home in Jeju, where his parents lived, leaving him stranded in Seoul.

With the official declaration of a national emergency, all military personnel were ordered to report back, and from that day forward, their war against the monsters began.

Their primary assignment was to rescue survivors and facilitate evacuations.

Yet, they had accomplished practically nothing.

They had never been trained to handle a catastrophic event of this magnitude.

Every single structure they entered was filled with the corpses of humans and Orcs alike, and out on the streets, bizarre creatures were busy consuming armored tanks.

The absolute pinnacle of terror was a colossal cyclops, a behemoth so massive it rivaled the height of skyscrapers.

Its path of destruction through the city was like the physical manifestation of a god of ruin itself.

It was a creature of such terrifying scale that there was absolutely nothing he could do with the standard rifle in his hands.

CRASH!!!

With an ear-splitting sound, concrete buildings were being smashed to pieces, and Shin Dong-hoon fled for his life.

RUMBLE—!

And the giant pursued him relentlessly.

He desperately wanted to run faster, but his limbs refused to cooperate.

It felt as though he were trying to sprint through deep water, his body resisting his desperate will to survive.

‘If I don’t move, I’m going to die here…!’

Before long, his legs gave out entirely and he came to a complete stop.

Above his head, the shadow of absolute death loomed.

Shin Dong-hoon slowly looked up and saw the titanic foot of the giant descending directly toward him.

‘No…!’

An inescapable demise.

‘I refuse to perish like this…!’

With sheer desperation, he fought against the encroaching hand of death.

However…

CRASH!!!

───────!!!

“Ugh!”

Shin Dong-hoon cried out as he bolted upright, his mind highly disoriented for a moment.

The gentle touch of the blanket, the comfortable mattress beneath him, and the warm morning light filtering through the balcony glass.

Only after confirming these peaceful surroundings was he finally able to grasp reality.

‘…Was it just a dream?’

But he knew it wasn’t merely a dream.

It was an actual event he had lived through.

Because he had awakened his powers directly beneath the giant’s descending foot, he had barely managed to survive, eventually finding refuge in the Wangsimni camp and surviving until this day.

And…

‘In the end, I managed to reach this place.’

A paradise, a utopia, a literal heaven.

He had been residing here for an entire week, yet the reality of it still felt entirely unbelievable.

The luxury of a cozy bed, free from the constant anxiety of monster attacks, was incredible, but that was far from the only benefit he had received here.

From beyond his bedroom door, a delicious aroma began to drift inside.

Opening the door and stepping into the main living space, he saw his junior comrade from the same unit, Lee Jun-ho, busy preparing breakfast.

The source of the mouthwatering smell was the rice steaming inside an electric rice cooker.

Whoosh—

As he stood there blankly watching the steam rise from the cooker, Lee Jun-ho offered a greeting.

“Shin Snake, you’re awake?”

“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”

“Incredibly well.”

Strolling into the kitchen area, Shin Dong-hoon asked Lee Jun-ho.

“What are we having for breakfast today?”

“Soybean paste soup.”

“Again?”

“If you’re not happy with it, you’re free to cook for yourself.”

“…I’ll eat it gladly.”

Shin Dong-hoon sat down at the table and surveyed the kitchen space.

The electric rice cooker, the refrigerator, the pots, and the dishes—all of these things had been provided from the moment they arrived.

The temporary lodging they had been assigned was already stocked with almost everything they could possibly need, and all of it was free for them to use.

Electricity and water were fully functional for preparing food, and city gas was supplied for cooking on the stove.

The most mind-blowing part was that none of this was some kind of special privilege granted to him and Lee Jun-ho just because they were awakened.

Every single resident was receiving the exact same treatment.

In fact, many people found their lives here to be significantly better than they had been before the monster apocalypse even started.

‘Where could they possibly be sourcing the electricity and gas?’

Every single national institution responsible for managing power, gas, and water had long since collapsed.

So unless this place had a completely self-sustaining system, there was no logical way these resources should still be active.

Yet, they were being delivered flawlessly.

What was even harder to comprehend was not just the utilities.

The entire communication network remained active—something that seemed like a minor miracle in itself.

‘Open Exchange.’

Ding!

A holographic interface materialized in front of him, a system that looked like something straight out of a science fiction story.

Astonishingly, whenever they purchased something through this system…

Ziiing—

The item would physically manifest in the real world right before their eyes.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

“Whoa! Is that Sky Blue Marlin sashimi?”

“You have to start the morning with a hearty meal.”

“Haha, as expected of Shin Snake. I’ll eat well!”

But the wonders didn’t stop there.

Trading posts that functioned in place of convenience stores or supermarkets, and actual dungeons they could enter to earn currency—such things were far beyond his understanding.

After using his chopsticks enthusiastically for a while, Lee Jun-ho spoke up.

“Ah, there’s really nothing better than eating food that someone else made.”

“…”

Shin Dong-hoon, his mouth full of sashimi, muttered back to Lee Jun-ho, who was speaking through a mouthful of food.

“Jun-ho, do you actually know what a hunter is?”

Seeing Lee Jun-ho shake his head in response, Shin Dong-hoon went on.

“It’s a designated class. Apparently, these ingredients weren’t purchased from the system shop. If they bought them from the shop, they’d have to sell them at a much higher price to make any kind of profit, which makes no sense. So where do you think this came from?”

Lee Jun-ho stared at him blankly, prompting Shin Dong-hoon to offer a knowing smile.

“Do you know what happens to a monster’s body when an official citizen slays it?”

After a moment of contemplation, Lee Jun-ho answered.

“…Doesn’t it just disintegrate?”

“Exactly.”

Shin Dong-hoon paused for a brief moment before continuing.

“But this is freshly caught monster meat served as sashimi. Where do you think it originated?”

“Uh… Did someone who doesn’t have citizenship hunt them and sell the remains?”

“No. Someone without citizenship wouldn’t have the luxury to do that. They’d be far too busy trying to keep themselves alive.”

Lee Jun-ho, thinking it over, urged him.

“Stop dragging it out and just tell me. Does this have to do with those hunters you mentioned?”

“Bingo.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a specific class called ‘Hunter.’ Word is they can prevent the carcasses of slain monsters from dissolving away.”

“Oh…”

“What do you say we transition into hunters?”

“Wait, did I hear you correctly?”

Shin Dong-hoon picked up another piece of fish and spoke.

“I’m asking what you think about us trying our hand at business.”

“…Pardon me, but wouldn’t we have to venture outside the safe zone to hunt those monsters?”

“Precisely.”

“So, does that mean we actually have to go outside of Busan?”

“That’s right. To hunt down the Sky Swordfish, you’d have to travel as far out as Gimhae or Gadukdo.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s not far at all. Maybe a thirty to forty-minute drive from here?”

Lee Jun-ho set down his chopsticks and let out a heavy sigh.

“Wouldn’t it be much easier to just keep raiding the Orc dungeon?”

As awakened individuals, they were no strangers to fighting monsters, and because of their past achievements, they had been permitted to join the Orc dungeon raids. In fact, they had already completed the raid twice without taking a single scratch.

“The level of danger is similar to fighting Orcs, and there’s a lot of extra profit, right? It’s actually much safer than dealing with Orcs.”

“How can it be safer if the power levels are the same?”

Shin Dong-hoon replied with a confident smirk.

“Do you remember when you first received your citizenship?”

“Of course I do.”

“Do you remember those massive, wall-like barriers?”

“Yes.”

“They say the reason this entire city is secure is because of those transparent walls protecting the area. It’s essentially a massive transparent dome surrounding this place.”

Using his hands to illustrate, Shin Dong-hoon continued.

“But here’s the trick. The transparent dome completely blocks any incoming attacks from the outside, but you can still attack from the inside out.”

Lee Jun-ho quickly picked up on the meaning behind his words and asked.

“…Are you saying we can hunt monsters from completely within the safe zone?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying. We can earn currency by hunting monsters far more securely than fighting Orcs, all while running a trading business with the monster carcasses.”

“Hmm…”

If that was true, it was incredibly tempting. Hunting Orcs was never entirely risk-free either.

And most importantly…

“I heard that even if we change our class to hunters, we can resign whenever we want. Though if we want to switch jobs again after that, we have to wait a month.”

It meant there were essentially no real penalties. They could just give it a try and quit if it didn’t work out.

“Alright. How do we go about becoming hunters?”

“We have to meet them in person.”

“? Who?”

“Kim Jae-hyun.”

Lee Jun-ho’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked.

“That person?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

The truth was, Shin Dong-hoon’s goal wasn’t just to make money as a hunter; he was highly curious to meet Kim Jae-hyun.

Shin Dong-hoon spoke up.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“…About what?”

“About Kim Jae-hyun. What kind of person he actually is.”

“I mean, I am curious, but…”

“Then let’s go meet him ourselves.”

[The level of the Job Research Institute has increased.]

[Research on the ‘Warrior’ job is now active.]

[Research on the ‘Archer’ job is now active.]

With the addition of the clay golems, bringing the total count to 10 golems, the construction efficiency had doubled, allowing for a swift completion of the upgrade.

‘Should I level it up again right now?’

[To increase the level of this facility, 3 clay golems are required during the construction period (14 days).]

[Do you want to upgrade the Job Research Institute building to level 3?]

[Yes / No]

‘No.’

Even though the efficiency had doubled with 10 golems, it would still require an entire week. To reach level 5, which was necessary to unlock the priest’s research, it would take at least a solid month of continuous construction.

‘Since I’ll have to wait regardless, it’s better to complete the active research projects before upgrading the tier. Let’s start with the Warrior.’

[Do you want to start the research on the ‘Warrior’ job?]

[Yes / No]

‘I’ll begin now.’

Ding!

[Warrior]

...Research in progress...

-Remaining time: 11 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds

Compared to the Hunter research, which had only taken 3 hours, this was a relatively time-consuming research process.

‘Once the Archer research is completed, I’ll initiate the level 3 construction.’

With that plan set, I shifted my focus away from the Job Research Institute and directed it toward the Absolute Dweller’s Eye.

The tasks I was primarily focusing on were two:

The rebuilding of Seoul.

Monitoring the newly arrived survivors.

The restoration of Seoul was proceeding without any issues. Using the Gunja subway station area as our primary base, we were systematically clearing out monsters in the surrounding areas, gradually expanding our territory.

There were several reasons for not actively dealing with the monsters in Seoul just yet. One of them was that powerful monsters in certain districts were keeping weaker ones, like Orcs and Goblins, suppressed.

For instance, in the Jamsil district, where highly influential monsters like Aisenblade had been successfully hunted, the survival rate of the locals had actually increased due to the loss of those dominant threats.

However, once those boss-level monsters were removed, weaker monsters like Orcs and Goblins began to run rampant unchecked, and the survivors who had been hiding in buildings were suddenly in immediate danger.

‘I need to be much more cautious about handling boss-level monsters.’

For now, rescuing survivors was a higher priority than hunting down bosses.

The second task, monitoring the newcomers, was a continuous effort. Special attention was paid to the awakened individuals, as their unique abilities could easily become dangerous hazards depending on how they chose to use them.

I was closely observing their conversations, daily habits, and overall character to prepare for any potential incidents.

This applied to the ordinary citizens as well, though not nearly as intensely as it did for the awakened.

Time passed quickly.

[The research on the ‘Warrior’ job at the Job Research Institute has been completed.]

The moment the Warrior research was finished:

[Jaehyun, people have arrived who wish to change to hunters.]

This particular group was being led by Shin Dong-hoon, one of the individuals I had been keeping a close eye on.