Absolute Dweller

Chapter 68: Vampire (5)

[Episode 14] Vampire (5)

<Achievement System>

When a specific achievement is achieved, you can grant a title with a random effect.

The explanation was simple, but I immediately grasped how it could be used.

‘Set up achievement.’

[Please set the achievement content.]

‘Killing a person with citizenship!’

[Achievement content setting complete.]

[Please set the name and effect of the title to be granted upon achievement.]

Murder was a serious crime.

Death would be paid back with death, but it was necessary to know the circumstances behind it.

‘Total stats reduced by 80%. Both hands sealed. Brand their forehead with the mark of a murderer!’

The reason for sealing both hands was because if the murderer had a weapon like a gun, it could lead to a catastrophe.

When I imaged the effect, the system responded.

[The cost of setting this achievement is 40,000,000 won, and the cost for granting the title upon achievement is 4,000,000 won.]

[Would you like to proceed with these settings?]

‘Is it possible for me to remove the title?’

[Possible.]

That’s a relief.

Then, even if an unjust incident occurred, I could hear the situation and resolve it myself.

‘Set it.’

Ding!

[Achievement setup complete.]

One worry was completely resolved.

‘It’s possible to punish all violent crimes like murder through the achievement system.’

In other words, it was possible to brand criminals who committed crimes such as murder, rape, and assault with a ‘title’.

Not only that.

‘On the other hand, it should be possible to give positive achievements for monster hunting, right?’

For example, hunting 100 goblins increases physical abilities.

‘Hm, how far can it go?’

It was quite a good feature, but it wouldn’t allow everything.

‘Set up achievement.’

[Please set the achievement content.]

‘Hunting 100 goblins.’

[Achievement content setting complete.]

[Please set the name and effect of the title to be granted upon achievement.]

‘Title name is Goblin Slayer. Effect is….’

First, I tried putting in an unreasonable effect.

‘Gain Awakening Ability.’

[This effect is not possible with this achievement.]

As expected, it was impossible.

‘Then, increase by 10 levels.’

[This effect is not possible with this achievement.]

‘Then…’

After several experiments, the effect of the Goblin Slayer title was as follows:

{Goblin Slayer}

Goblins feel fear, and an additional 10% of Basic Salary is earned when hunting goblins.

Although it was possible to increase strength or stamina, the current setting was much more economical.

‘Next is….’

At this time, my eyes met the gaze of Seo Ye-jin, who had been staring at me from the side. 

I caught a pleasant shampoo scent from her long hair, perhaps because she was quite close to me. She was dressed in a black tracksuit, which happened to be the same outfit I was wearing. 

I remembered registering it in the shop myself.

‘It looks good on her.’

I said to Seo Ye-jin, “Is there something on my face?” 

Seo Ye-jin, who had been staring blankly at me for a while, covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh, sorry. Did I disturb you?”

“No.”

Although her sharp eyes gave a prickly first impression, like a slightly aloof cat, she was just like a puppy when talking to her. 

In the slightly awkward atmosphere, Seo Ye-jin spoke first.

“I… I’ve been thinking, if your goal is to find non-human races, why not give a quest? Like, ‘If you’re a vampire, come here!’, or something like that.”

“There’s no point in that.”

To give a quest, I had to be sure about the target. I would already know if the person was a vampire or not when I gave them a quest. 

“Is that so? Then, um…”

I said to Seo Ye-jin who was thinking seriously, “You don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’ve found a solution.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Seo Ye-jin replied with a bright smile.

“As expected, Mr. Jae-hyun is amazing.”

That’s when Yu Hye-rin arrived.

Click.

I unlocked the door, and she opened it and came in on her own.

“Sorry for being late.”

“No problem.”

“Shall we start right away?”

Yu Hye-rin was preparing to produce poison mist immediately.

“Just a moment.”

Before starting to deal with the vampires in earnest, I planned to create the ‘Vampire Slayer’ achievement first.

A meeting room in the apartment community facility.

Intermediate Vampire Ahn Sang-hyuk called together the subordinates who had gone out hunting.

The vampires who had been hunting humans nearby gathered at their base in response to Ahn Sang-hyuk’s call.

Ahn Sang-hyuk opened his mouth at the gathering. 

“Shin Sae-rom is dead.”

Immediately, the eyes of the higher-ups widened, and they began to mutter agitatedly.

“Is it because of the burn marks on the first floor?”

“What happened?”

“I can’t believe Sae-rom is dead.”

Ahn Sang-hyuk waited for the commotion to die down before speaking again.

“After hearing gunshots, the entire first floor corridor exploded. Traces of bullets were found in the bodies of the lesser vampires nearby.”

At his words, a male vampire said angrily, “You talking about those bloody cops?”

“That’s right.”

The other vampires yelled excitedly, each saying their piece.

“Those bastards! They don’t know their place!”

“They’re too cocky because they have guns.”

“Who’d think they’d attack us first?”

The first man to get angry, Shim Hyeong-sik, strongly insisted, “We need to kill them right away and take away their guns!”

“Those arrogant bastards!”

“Let’s go!”

Some vampires agreed with him, while others said.

“It’s not a matter to take lightly. After all, they have guns.”

“We need to be careful.”

“A war with them is too dangerous.”

There were vampires advocating caution as well.

“But why did they suddenly attack us?”

“It’s strange. While our existence has been known for some time, it’s surprising that they would launch an all-out war.”

“How did they even find out that this is our base?”

There were more vampires opposed to war than in favor of it.

It was inevitable.

They knew all too well the terror of “guns”.

Ordinary humans were nothing more than weak prey, but humans with guns were truly fearsome.

However, the vampire society was not a democratic society where the opinions of many were supported. It was a dictatorship where a single decision-maker decided everything.

Their dictator, Ahn Sang-hyuk, announced.

“We’ll fight back.”

In an instant, the mood changed.

“Yes!”

“Let’s kill them all!”

The radicals who supported the war were delighted.

“Tsk.”

“Hm…”

“Uh.”

The vampires who had cautioned against it fell silent.

“There’s no need to worry. We won’t engage in a full-blown battle with them.”

Ahn Sang-hyuk explained the plan to his anxious subordinates.

“We’ll start by infiltrating their group, pretending to be ordinary survivors. Then, we’ll wait for the decisive moment to bring them down from the inside.”

One of the cautious vampires asked carefully, “But haven’t we already confirmed that they don’t accept new people?”

“They, like any other survivor group, are probably suffering from a severe shortage of supplies by now. We’ll use that as bait to infiltrate their organization.”

“Oh!”

Before exerting their powers, vampires looked no different from ordinary people, which was why such a bold infiltration could be carried out. 

“As for who will carry out this operation…”

Ahn Sang-hyuk’s gaze slowly swept over his subordinates.

It was obvious, but everyone participating in this infiltration operation would be lower vampires. Lesser vampires couldn’t act like ordinary humans.

“I’ll do it! Give me a chance!”

Shim Hyeong-sik, who had been advocating for a war with the police from the beginning, stepped forward. However, Ahn Sang-hyuk shook his head.

“Son Gi-hwan, Yoon Hye-ji, Lee Han-gyeol, Kim Bom.”

He specifically selected the vampires who had advocated caution.

“You guys go.”

The named vampires nodded in response.

“Yes, sir.”

“We will live up to your expectations.”

“We’ll do our best.”

They were nervous, but felt it was natural.

Those radicals who only thought about fighting and bloodshed would never succeed in such an infiltration operation. While their combat strength was stronger than theirs, they boasted superior intelligence.

“Ugh, what’s with the weaklings…”

“Sang-hyuk nim, are you sure it’ll be okay? With such a weak team…”

The radicals also dismissed the cautious vampires. They were not only passive in everything they did but also significantly underperformed compared to them.

At that moment, Son Gi-hwan, the leader of the cautious faction, spoke to them.

“Do you have any complaints about Sang-hyuk nim‘s decision?”

“What?”

Shim Hyeong-sik, the leader of the radicals, and Son Gi-hwan, the leader of the cautious faction, faced off against each other in a war of nerves.

Other than Ahn Sang-hyuk, they were the only two intermediate vampires, so these two factions formed around them.

It was then.

Bang bang bang!

Someone was banging on the conference room door.

Shim Hyeong-sik responded irritably, “Who is it?”

The door creaked open, and a lower vampire came in. 

He was also part of the radical faction. 

Son Gi-hwan said angrily, “The radicals really don’t know any manners.”

“What? You little—.”

But then, the lower vampire who entered the conference room shouted urgently, “Huff, huff! You, you need to run away…!”

Before he could finish speaking.

Squeak squeak!

A mouse ran into the room.

And then…

Fwoosh—

Purple gas surged rapidly behind the mouse, quickly filling the conference room.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Everyone, stop breathing!”

“Escape through the window!”

Crash! Clang—

The sound of windows breaking echoed loudly through the chaotic conference room.

[You have hunted a lesser vampire (Lv. 18).]

[You have hunted a lower vampire (Lv. 22).]

[You have hunted a lower vampire (Lv. 23).]

There were more vampires in the apartment complex than I had thought.

It seemed that these vampires had eaten all the people there to grow stronger. 

‘There are more than a dozen lower vampires alone.’

Thinking again, how did Jegal Seong-gyu have the guts to attack this place alone?

With only one rifle.

‘He really was a strange guy.’¹You’re making me miss him now LOL. He was kinda a riot.

Seo Ye-jin’s mouse was running around, spreading poison gas everywhere.

In this situation where they should be running away, a vampire risked his life by throwing himself into the poison mist.

[Ms. Ye-jin, please follow that one quietly.]

I stopped spreading poison through the warehouse and watched him.

Sure enough, the vampires that seemed important could be seen gathered in the room he opened the door to. 

The vampires gathered here varied in levels.

[Lower vampire (Lv. 28)], [Lower vampire (Lv. 29)], [Lower vampire (Lv. 28)]

All of them were at least lower vampires, and their levels were in the late twenties. There were also three intermediate vampires.

Just by looking at their structure, I could easily tell at a glance who the leader was.

‘That must be Ahn Sang-hyuk.’

「Intermediate vampire (Lv. 38)」

He was the highest-level vampire among those gathered here.

[It’s now. Enter.]

As soon as Seo Ye-jin’s mouse entered the conference room, it began to spread poison mist in all directions.

“Run away!”

Crash!

Some of them were quicker on the uptake than I expected.

A few of them flew out and smashed the windows to escape.

And then.

Thud!

Someone grabbed Seo Ye-jin’s mouse with one hand.

It was the intermediate vampire, Ahn Sang-hyuk.

Crack!

The mouse’s body shattered, and the connection was severed.

TN: Ooohh, interesting.