Absolute Dweller-Chapter 204

The Undead Wraith could be summoned for only 4 minutes, with a cooldown of 444 hours.

"Only 4 minutes?"

And after using it once, I’d have to wait over two weeks before summoning it again.

"Still, that doesn’t mean it’s useless."

After all, I had just gained the ability to summon an 81-level monster.

Considering its raw power, 4 minutes was more than enough time for it to wipe out most enemies.

"I should at least try summoning it once."

[Would you like to summon Undead Wraith (Lv. 81)?]

[Yes / No]

The cost and cooldown were unfortunate, but I needed to test it out.

Would it obey my commands?

How much of its original strength remained before it got consumed by the system?

"I need to understand its exact capabilities before I can use it properly."

Summon.

[444,444,444 won will be consumed.]

The cost was surprisingly low.

That meant it cost roughly 1 billion won per minute.

4 billion for a single summon wasn’t a small amount, but given my current income, it was pocket change.

"The real issue is its performance."

Honestly, the low summoning cost actually worried me.

"There’s a saying—‘cheap things are never good.’"

Considering the performance it had shown earlier, 1 billion won per minute felt way too cheap.

"Hopefully, there won’t be a catch."

It was like someone selling a luxury apartment for dirt cheap—it screamed scam.

BZZZZZTTTT—

The Undead Wraith materialized.

It appeared exactly as it did before—a ragged, pitiful-looking skeleton.

It stared at me blankly, not saying a word.

I decided to give it a test command.

"Do 10 push-ups."

CLATTER—

Without hesitation, it dropped to the ground and began doing push-ups.

"It follows mental commands."

It obeyed even trivial orders without resistance, which meant the master-servant hierarchy was firmly established.

“Say something.”

Instead of responding, it just rattled its jaw.

“...If you understand me, nod.”

CLACK—

It nodded.

"So it understands, but it can’t talk?"

Had its ego been completely erased?

At first, I thought it was like Lilith, who had been reset to a blank slate.

But this was different.

"It’s more like a puppet."

Its consciousness was completely wiped, leaving it as nothing more than a tool that followed my commands.

"...Does that mean its combat ability is weaker?"

A mindless doll could only follow explicit commands—which meant limited adaptability in battle.

But at the same time, it would never act against me.

"Alright, safety check complete..."

Now for the most important test.

"Can it leave the domain?"

If it was restricted to the safe zone like Lilith or the Elemental Kings, its usefulness would drop significantly.

At best, it would be a stationary artillery unit inside the safe zone.

But if it could move freely outside...

"Open East Gate."

...its value would change entirely.

BZZZZT—

I gave the command.

"Go outside."

Beyond the East Gate lay the frontline battlefield.

CLACK—

The Undead Wraith started moving slowly.

It was so sluggish that I snapped at it.

“Run.”

And immediately—

BANG!

The Wraith bolted forward, blasting through the East Gate in an instant.

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It passed through the transparent barrier and moved outside.

"It worked."

The summon remained active outside the safe zone.

And what’s more—

Within a certain radius, I could still use Absolute Vision through it.

Just like my retainers.

"Its movement speed is insane."

Within seconds, the Undead Wraith had reached the enemy lines.

I spotted rotting Ironworms—undead versions of the massive armored creatures I had encountered before.

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"Can I control them?"

I had a small hope.

If the Undead Wraith could still command the zombie army, it would be a limitless experience farm.

"If I could make the respawning monsters gather in one place, then bombard them..."

I wouldn’t be earning billions per bombardment anymore.

It would be trillions.

Unfortunately—

SCREEEEECH!

The undead creatures bared their fangs at the Wraith.

"Tch. No dice."

Oh well.

"Wipe them out."

And immediately—

SLASH!

[You have slain a Possessed Corpse (Lv. 39).]

[You have gained experience.]

[231,432,119 won has been deposited into Absolute Dweller’s Wallet.]

The Undead Wraith had annihilated the Ironworm’s undead form in a single strike.

"2 billion, huh."

For a Level 40 monster, the payout was underwhelming.

"So its kill-reward ratio is only x1."

In other words, the Wraith's kills gave me the same rewards as if I had killed the enemies myself.

"That means I shouldn’t let it hunt low-level mobs."

I had no reason to waste summons on fodder.

"Its physical power checks out. Now for the next test..."

The Undead Wraith wasn’t terrifying because of its physical stats.

Its true strength lay in—

"Enhancement."

It had divine power.

FWOOSH!

Instead of the usual purple aura, pure black energy—darker than the void—began to rise from its body.

And then—

WHOOOOOM—

The black energy expanded, spreading in all directions.

Simultaneously—

[You have slain a Possessed Corpse (Lv. 22).]

[You have slain a Possessed Corpse (Lv. 26).]

[You have slain a Possessed Corpse (Lv. 22).]

The Undead Wraith’s aura alone was disintegrating enemies.

......

......

Corpses in the vicinity had all perished.

‘...What is this?’

It wasn’t that he was shocked by the domain being reactivated—the one that bastard had wielded in life.

Fwoosh!

The Absolute One’s eyes glowed, now infused with a dark aura.

Until now, strengthening existing skills with a dark aura was something that had only been possible within his own domain.

And yet—

‘The Invisible Hand.’

Within this newly created domain, summoning the Invisible Hand was also possible.

Essentially, this domain was on the same level as the one he had deployed before using Descent.

‘This is completely...’

Four minutes.

And a cost of over a hundred million per minute.

Even taking all of that into account—

‘The cost-effectiveness is insane.’

An overwhelmingly broken ability.

His excitement over the newly acquired joker card lasted only a moment.

Then, he noticed the state of the house.

‘Ah.’

The wallpaper and flooring were intact, but the computer tower and monitor were utterly smashed beyond recognition. The sofa was ripped to shreds, the TV and refrigerator completely destroyed.

Unforgivable.

‘Oi, put your head down.’

And so, the skeletal bastard spent the remainder of its summoned time with its head firmly planted on the floor.

***

Even after Kim Jae-hyun personally took down the Deathless Wraith, the corpse legion continued its march south.

However, unlike before, their advance was no longer orderly.

They were now driven purely by instinct—by rage and hatred toward the living, compelling them to move southward.

Most of them were annihilated by concentrated artillery fire before they could even reach the military demarcation line. Yet, a handful of surviving corpses managed to reach the safe zone, hammering against the transparent barrier.

“Gurghhh—”

Most of them were low-level undead, like orcs or goblins. Any truly dangerous ones never made it past the military demarcation line, having been dealt with by his retainers long before.

As a result, the ones left were nothing more than stragglers.

And at the frontlines, these low-tier monsters had become a lucrative source of income for the civilians.

Bang! Bang!

With every orderly gunshot, a corpse’s head was blown apart.

Some higher-level assimilated corpses could still move even after losing their heads, but most of these were of low rank.

The moment their heads exploded, it was over.

Splat!

One peculiar detail stood out—the location where the civilians were shooting from.

Ten civilians lay prone in a firing line, maintaining steady aim as they fired in sequence.

The scene was reminiscent of a military shooting range.

Moreover—

Bang!

“Cease fire!”

Each of the ten shooting lanes even had designated assistants, just like in the military.

The moment the assistant for Lane Six called out to signal the end of firing—

[Cease fire. Set your selectors to safe mode.]

A voice came through the speakers, regulating the gunfire.

The source of this system was unmistakable.

[Shooters who have completed their turn, please exit. Next group, prepare for firing.]

The only difference between these civilians and actual soldiers {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} was that they weren’t wearing military uniforms.

[Load a single round. Fire upon readiness.]

Ratatatat!

Most of those finishing their turn were men—people already deeply familiar with this process.

“Never thought I’d be doing this again.”

“Seriously. How many years has it been since we finished reserve duty?”

“No idea. More importantly, how many shots did you hit?”

“Of course, I got a perfect score. You?”

“Ahem. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, so... seventeen?”

“Tsk. You’re buying drinks tonight.”

Unlike dungeon raids, where they had to physically hunt monsters, simply shooting targets from within a safe zone was child’s play for men who had spent two years in mandatory service doing nothing but firing drills.

For civilians who were still too afraid to enter dungeons and had no other means of income, this was a blessing from the heavens.

However, hitting moving corpses wasn’t easy for everyone.

Some of the volunteers had never undergone proper firearms training.

“Sigh.”

Chae Soo-bin let out a small sigh.

Her performance today: 7 out of 20 shots landed.

Better than last week’s mere 5 hits, but still unsatisfactory.

‘Another whole week to wait.’

Because it was a safe and profitable way to earn both money and experience, competition for these spots was fierce.

With word spreading, the number of applicants had skyrocketed. Now, she might have to wait two weeks instead of one.

And even when her turn came, there was no guarantee she’d improve enough to match those veteran shooters chatting leisurely ahead.

Then—

“Firearm No. 133, return your weapon.”

“Ah, yes!”

Hearing her number called, she started toward the firearm return station—only to freeze in place.

The person collecting the firearms was a woman in a military uniform.

‘...I’m jealous.’

These days, among civilians, being a soldier was considered a god-tier job.

Recently, those assigned to artillery battalions had not only become multi-millionaires, but had also returned empowered—having received enhancements to their physical abilities and awakened new skills thanks to Kim Jae-hyun’s selection.

Moreover, soldiers were deployed in real combat situations, regularly culling the corpse legions.

For civilians, this was a once-a-week, twenty-shot ordeal. Meanwhile, soldiers were constantly on the battlefield, earning vastly superior rewards.

For these reasons, military enlistment had become insanely competitive.

A 900-to-1 acceptance ratio, or something just as absurd.

With so many applicants, the requirements had skyrocketed—candidates needed exceptional stamina, marksmanship, and dungeon raid experience.

Most recruits were already experienced hunters.

‘Someone like me doesn’t stand a chance.’

Staring at the female soldier checking firearms, eyes filled with longing, Chae Soo-bin let out a small sigh.

‘I want to be special too...’

At that moment—

Bzzzzz!

“Huh?”

Something warm and fuzzy began to stir within her body.

At the same time, she somehow instinctively understood what she had just gained.

‘This is...?’

The strange energy rose to her palm—shimmering black mist coalescing above it.

And then—

Ziiing—

A glowing object formed in her hand.

‘...A crystal?’

Before she could even process the sudden phenomenon—

[Chae Soo-bin?]

“Huh? Y-yes?!”

[Would you be available to speak for a moment?]

A foreign voice echoed directly in her mind, causing her to jump in shock.