Today, I Am Safer Than I Was Yesterday (1)
Most monsters die when their heads are severed.
The same was true for raid monsters.
The problem, however, was that the act of cutting off the head essentially meant depleting almost all of the monster’s vitality.
If its vitality was at 100%, no matter how much one attacked the head, it would not be severed or crushed.
But what if you could truly cut off only the head?
Then that act itself would be judged a perfect ‘critical hit,’ reducing its vitality to ‘0’ in a single strike.
Just like now.
Squelch.
The entrance to Absolute Space sliced off the Mountain Turtle’s head with absurd ease.
In truth, this was no different from the Mountain Turtle voluntarily placing its own head on a guillotine, so evasion or endurance was impossible.
Just like that… the ‘turtle head’ was completely severed, and everything ended.
[You have eliminated the raid monster ‘Mountain Turtle.’]
[With Mountain Turtle’s disappearance, Invasion Event Gate No. 1 is immediately destroyed.]
[Calculating your contribution related to the elimination of Mountain Turtle.]
[Contribution 100%. All experience and loot are settled to you.]
[Invasion Event 4 Consecutive Gate Destruction Bonus is being settled.]
[Gate No. 1 has been destroyed. The main mission of the Invasion Event has been cleared.]
[Main mission success bonus for the Invasion Event is being settled.]
[Since five or fewer gates remain at the moment Gate No. 1 is destroyed, the Invasion Event is ending early.]
[All remaining gates are destroyed, and all monsters that emerged from the gates are immediately erased.]
[The Invasion Event has ended. All rewards that had been on hold are now distributed.]
[Additional acquisition bonus for the Invasion Event has been granted.]
[You have become the MVP of the Invasion Event.]
[As a bonus for achieving Invasion Event MVP, ‘Stigma Point +1’ and ‘Unconditional Level Increase +2’ are applied.]
[You have become the user with the most gate destructions in the Invasion Event.]
[Most Gate Destruction Bonus for the Invasion Event is being settled.]
[You have recorded the highest cumulative damage in the Invasion Event.]
[Highest Cumulative Damage Bonus for the Invasion Event is being settled.]
[You have gained an enormous amount of experience and your level has increased unbelievably (Lv. 31 → Lv. 38).]
[Due to the unconditional +2 level increase, your level rises (Lv. 38 → Lv. 40).]
[You have gained 3 new ‘Stigma’ points.]
…….
…….
“Crazy….”
At the same moment he defeated the Mountain Turtle, Seon Yul collapsed flat on his back onto the floor of Absolute Space and watched the flood of system messages rise before his eyes.
Rewards so massive that the word ‘crazy’ slipped out naturally.
Seeing this, Seon Yul clearly realized just how insane his performance had been.
“Did I really go a little crazy…? Why did I try so hard?”
It seemed like he had once again become slightly intoxicated by mana… or maybe his personality had genuinely changed… His condition had been a little strange, but it certainly wasn’t unpleasant.
It was just that Seon Yul, who had never once been the protagonist in his life, felt somewhat awkward in this position.
“There wasn’t really a dangerous moment, was there?”
Lying there, Seon Yul reviewed the Invasion Event battle.
He certainly hadn’t acted recklessly like a hero risking everything.
Of course, he had acted like a good person.
At this level, Seon Yul thought it was a success.
“As Auntie said, being a good person is enough.”
Nodding to himself and judging that everything was fine, Seon Yul slowly got up.
Since all emergencies had ended, everyone outside was probably busy with cleanup.
“Let’s go to Auntie.”
In a situation like this, there was no need to go outside immediately.
***
“As I thought, Auntie’s omurice is the best.”
Seon Yul was eating the omurice made by Lee Hyun Ah in the small kitchen of Absolute Space.
“Is there anything else you want to eat?”
When she had first entered Absolute Space, Lee Hyun Ah had been too flustered to do anything. But after some time had passed and she confirmed that, as her nephew said, this was an absolutely safe place, she truly relaxed.
Beyond the door Seon Yul had closed behind him, a fierce battle had been taking place, but the residential area and the combat area were perfectly separated. Not even the slightest noise could be heard, so she had no idea what was happening outside.
Several hours later, Seon Yul returned and told her that the emergency had ended and it was safe now.
That was enough to end everything. Even the faint anxiety that remained in her heart completely disappeared.
“Auntie’s coffee is amazing too… but it’s a shame there’s no coffee machine.”
“Hmm, there’s an extra machine at the shop. Should I give it to you? Ah, can’t you bring something like that in here?”
“No, I can. But I haven’t finished organizing the interior yet… I’ll talk about it when I have some leeway.”
More precisely, because of the import weight limit, he was refraining from bringing in everyday items unless necessary.
It would be nice to have a coffee machine, but it would be better to bring it in later when there is more allowance in the weight limit.
“Then let’s go to our shop. I’ll make it for you there.”
“Let’s… wait a few more hours before going out. The emergency is over, but just in case, it’s better to spend enough time before leaving.”
“Really? Okay. Since we’re here anyway, should I make some side dishes? Looks like there are some ingredients. Ah, but there’s no refrigerator?”
“It’s fine without a refrigerator. Auntie’s side dishes… I’ll welcome anything.”
Lee Hyun Ah was good at cooking.
Seon Yul had learned cooking from her when he was young.
So all of her dishes suited his taste perfectly.
Since they were already there, she started making side dishes as well.
Thus, Seon Yul spent enough time resting, chatting with his aunt while she cooked.
Nearly eight hours after the Invasion Event ended, Seon Yul exited through the emergency entrance with his aunt into his studio apartment.
Then he escorted her home.
She promised, as he had asked, that she would not tell anyone about Seon Yul’s abilities or awakening status.
When Seon Yul lost his parents in the past, Lee Hyun Ah had lost her husband.
After that, she raised Jun Hyeok and Seon Yul, living more bravely than anyone else, becoming their family in place of his parents.
In that process, the value she held most important was trust.
Therefore, she intended to keep her promise to Seon Yul no matter what.
Although chaos had erupted earlier, eight hours later, almost everything had returned to normal.
Since gates appeared so frequently in this era, people did not fall into major confusion over such situations.
The only unusual thing was that broadcasting stations were airing special programs, busily analyzing and discussing the incident.
After seeing his aunt home, Seon Yul returned to his studio apartment… but instead of staying there, he immediately entered Absolute Space and lay down on the bed.
“Phew… now it really feels like everything’s over.”
By safely escorting his aunt home, everything Seon Yul needed to do was finished.
“It was really a godsend that Auntie happened to be at her shop back then.”
Next to himself, the person Seon Yul considered most important was his aunt, Lee Hyun Ah. After her came her son, Jang Jun Hyeok.
These two had remained by his side after he lost his parents, supporting him and becoming his family.
“Auntie is safe, Jun Hyeok in Jeju is fine. And most importantly, me….”
“Perfectly fine.”
Seon Yul grinned.
He truly felt joyful.
Not only had he protected the people important to him, but he himself was completely unharmed.
But what most decisively made him smile was… his tremendous level increase and the enormous amount of loot that must have piled up, though he hadn’t checked it yet.
“Does this even make sense? From 31 to 40… I don’t think any user has ever experienced this kind of explosive leveling.”
It was even more meaningful because it happened in a level range notoriously difficult to advance through.
“Let’s check everything one by one.”
First, Seon Yul opened his status window.
[Stigma Level] 40 (0.00%) (Stigma Points: 5)
[Innate Ability] Absolute Space <EX> (Level 5)
[Level Privileges]
Level 1 → (Upon entering Absolute Space, you gain ‘Hyper Regeneration.’ However, once you exit Absolute Space, Hyper Regeneration immediately disappears.)
Level 10 → (Within Absolute Space, you can use ‘Powerful Strike.’ Cooldown: 5 minutes.)
Level 20 → (Upon entering Absolute Space, you gain ‘Wire Master.’ The effect disappears immediately upon leaving.)
Level 30 → (Absolute Space can now be used as a ‘Subspace.’ All objects existing within Absolute Space can be controlled from outside it. However, more than half of your body must not be inside, and it can only be used as Subspace from outside, not from within.)
Level 40 → (You can now use ‘Absolute Space [Tattoo]’ that can be opened on your body. The tattoo can only be inscribed on your own body, and the tattoo itself becomes an entrance to Absolute Space. Regardless of the number of existing entrances, only one Absolute Space [Tattoo] can be created. From the moment the tattoo is inscribed until the entrance disappears, 0.5g of intermediate-grade magic stone is consumed per second in real time. The tattoo’s size is limited to 30 cm in width and height, and it has a cooldown, preventing consecutive use. [Cooldown: 10 minutes])
[Acquired Abilities] None.
“Absolute Space Tattoo? Does that mean I can engrave Absolute Space onto my skin like a tattoo?”
A somewhat surprising level of privilege had appeared.
“0.5g per second means 30g per minute… that’s 3 million won.”
That meant 3 million won per minute, 30 million won per 10 minutes, and a staggering 180 million won per hour.
“The maintenance cost is insane… but if it works the way I think it does, cost might not be the problem.”
He wouldn’t be able to use the tattoo as a main entrance himself, but having one more additional entrance to Absolute Space was undeniably powerful.
There was one crucial thing to confirm.
Seon Yul returned to his studio apartment.
To test it properly, he had to be outside Absolute Space.
“The method of use is….”
Back in his room, Seon Yul stared at the back of his hand and focused.
After a short time, a small, cute entrance to Absolute Space slowly formed on the back of his hand.
It looked like a real tattoo attached to his skin.
[Absolute Space Entrance <Tattoo> created].
The moment it was created, magic stones began being consumed in real time. The consumption appeared in his vision like a health bar in a game.
“Wow, that’s no joke.”
Not wanting to waste intermediate-grade magic stones, Seon Yul grabbed a kitchen knife to test the one thing he was most curious about.
He gently made a small cut on his palm.
Slice.
It was a light wound and didn’t hurt much.
Yet astonishingly, the wound healed and disappeared the moment it formed.
“Wow… it really works?”
He muttered in amazement.
Confirmation complete.
Just as Seon Yul had thought, engraving Absolute Space [Tattoo] meant that part of his body was recognized as being inside Absolute Space.
In other words, while the tattoo entrance was active, he could use not only Hyper Regeneration but also Wire Mastery and all other abilities usable within Absolute Space… even while outside.
“First, close the tattoo entrance.”
He closed the Absolute Space [Tattoo] entrance.
The consumption gauge stopped, gradually faded, and disappeared.
“It’s ridiculously expensive, but this tattoo ability… is incredible.”
Originally, the Absolute Space entrance could not be opened directly onto a living being’s body.
Even when attaching it to an object, it had to be overlaid without overlapping the object itself.
If anything obstructed the location where the entrance was to open, it simply wouldn’t open.
That was an absolute, unchanging rule.
Therefore, to attach Absolute Space to an object, one had to focus intensely and repeatedly open the space until there was no gap between the object and the entrance.
Back during the free service period, this was easy.
There was no cost to opening an entrance, so you could repeat the process endlessly until it aligned perfectly.
But now, each attempt consumed at least about 1kg of intermediate-grade magic stone, so he rarely bothered attaching entrances to objects anymore.
“So I’ve become a little safer again.”
Seon Yul nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.
“Now, shall we check the loot?”
The level of privilege pleased him greatly.
But the happy time was not over yet.
Checking the loot and the leveling of Absolute Space itself…
There were still many happiness points left.
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