Absolute Dweller-Chapter 174

‘Summon Retainer, Park Sae-rom.’

[ Target not found. ]

‘Enhance.’

[ Target not found. ]

As soon as I realized Park Sae-rom had disappeared, I tried everything I could.

Nothing worked.

I was now certain that Gwangju’s transformation into a ghost city and her disappearance were connected.

I shifted my entire focus onto Team 1, activating Absolute Dweller’s Eye on each of the nine remaining members.

“Sae-rom! She’s gone!”

“Where did she go?!”

Oh Eon-ju turned toward the rear of the formation.

"When was the last time anyone saw her?"

“Sh-She was here just a moment ago...”

And then—

“Wha—!”

One of the twin brothers with ice abilities, Moon Ji-hoon, vanished.

‘!’

Even with Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I couldn’t tell what had caused it.

“What the...?”

The remaining team members watched Moon Ji-hoon vanish right before their eyes.

Panic spread.

Kim Min-ho turned to Oh Eon-ju, shouting.

“We need to get out of here right now!”

But—

“Captain’s gone!”

Even Oh Eon-ju had disappeared.

She had been scanning the area, searching for the missing members, when she vanished.

However.

‘I understand now.’

I had figured out the condition for disappearing.

‘The mirror.’

Oh Eon-ju had disappeared the moment she looked toward a mirror on the left side of the terminal.

Moon Ji-hoon had vanished in the exact same way.

‘Summon Retainer, Oh Eon-ju. Summon Retainer, Moon Ji-hoon.’

[ Target not found. ]

Just like Park Sae-rom, both of them were completely undetectable.

Now that I understood the cause, I made a decision.

‘Enhance, Shin Dong-hoon.’

Shin Dong-hoon.

The only retainer with time-related abilities.

And the only one among the recently recruited retainers with whom I had formed a Subjugation Contract.

Because his rewind ability was too valuable to waste.

I didn’t even need to give him an order.

The moment Enhance was activated—

Time began rewinding.

Shin Dong-hoon had already been instructed to immediately use his ability whenever I enhanced him.

‘Good.’

He had been fully upgraded with citizen effects and every possible enhancement, reaching Level 60.

With Enhance applied, his rewind ability could now turn back time by—

‘Exactly 1 minute and 37 seconds.’

It wasn’t much.

But it was enough to reverse death.

That was the only reason we had avoided fatalities so far.

However.

ZIIIIING—

Even after the rewind, Park Sae-rom was still missing.

She must have vanished even earlier than I had realized.

‘Damn it.’

There was nothing more I could do.

I had to be satisfied with at least recovering Oh Eon-ju and Moon Ji-hoon.

[ Team 1, stop searching and close your eyes. ]

“Huh?”

For a moment, they hesitated.

[ NOW. ]

The moment I raised my voice, all nine members immediately shut their eyes.

‘Summon Retainers.’

With all of their senses blocked, I instantly teleported them to the Safe Zone.

"Haah—"

Thanks to Shin Dong-hoon, I had minimized the damage.

But Park Sae-rom was still gone.

‘If only I had realized it sooner...’

Because our operations were spread across multiple regions, I had been too late to catch it.

And unlike other regions where monsters were actively attacking—

Gwangju had been too quiet.

The only good news?

Her retainer status was still active.

‘She’s still alive.’

I had to rescue her.

[ Team 1, you can open your eyes now. ]

“...Where are we?”

The team looked around in confusion.

“...Hanbit Base?”

They had been unexpectedly transported back to their starting point.

Amidst the disorientation, Oh Eon-ju was the first to react.

"...Where is Sae-rom?"

As a leader, her first instinct was to check on her team.

“Huh?”

“One, two, three... Nine. There are only nine of us.”

The expressions on Team 1 turned grim.

I spoke up.

[ I’ll explain. ]

I quickly summarized what had happened before the time reversal.

[ The trigger for disappearance is looking into a mirror. Park Sae-rom must have accidentally looked at one while moving. ]

Oh Eon-ju’s expression darkened.

"...Is she dead?"

[ No. She’s alive. ]

I made sure to sound confident.

I couldn’t let them doubt it.

[ As of now, Team 1’s mission is changing. Your new priority is to rescue Park Sae-rom. ]

Even as I said it—

I thought to myself.

‘But how?’

I had no idea where she had gone.

Absolute Dweller’s Eye, Summon Retainer, Enhance— none of them worked.

Was there even a way to bring her back?

And then.

[ Your skill level has increased. ]

[ Household Declaration has reached Level 40. ]

[ You have obtained 3 Skill Points. ]

Because of the experience flooding in from the ongoing operations, my level had risen.

And with it—

‘Skill Points.’

For the first time in a long while, I had enough points to level up a skill.

ZAP—

[ Clarity of the Mirror Mind has activated. ]

As Domain Expansion triggered a wave of pain, Clarity of the Mirror Mind activated, allowing my mind to remain clear and composed.

‘What’s the best choice in this situation?’

There were countless options, so I had to calmly assess them one by one.

‘First, the shop.’

Though my inventory slots were nearly full, I didn’t feel the need to invest skill points to expand them just yet.

What was available in the shop was already sufficient.

‘And right now, the shop won’t help much anyway.’

I could increase slots later when I got more skill points.

‘Health, Invisible Hand, and Household Restoration— none of them will help either.’

They were all useful skills, but not for rescuing Park Sae-rom.

‘That leaves three options.’

Dignity of the Absolute DwellerAbsolute Dweller’s EyeAbsolute Dweller’s DoorDignity ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) of the Absolute Dweller had always been the wild card skill that introduced new variables.

The ability to register retainers, summon beasts, and extract relics all came from this skill.

‘Even Descent originated from here.’

It was no coincidence that this was the highest-leveled skill I had.

‘Absolute Dweller’s Eye and Absolute Dweller’s Door are also viable.’

If Absolute Dweller’s Eye leveled up, I might re-establish a connection with Sae-rom.

And if Absolute Dweller’s Door unlocked new abilities, I might be able to bring her back.

‘What should I do...?’

As I debated, my eyes landed on one more skill.

‘The Storage Skill...’

It was my second-highest leveled skill.

‘Level 5.’

The reason I had leveled up Storage was simple.

‘To activate inventory sharing.’

Back then, I had been lucky to obtain extra skill points from Moon Byeong-ho, allowing me to unlock the inventory system.

I had only granted access to retainers and hunting teams, since they needed equipment for field operations.

‘Does Park Sae-rom’s inventory still work?’

With Absolute Dweller’s Eye and Summon Retainer failing, it was highly possible she was cut off from all external functions.

If she was in an environment where food was scarce, her inventory might be her only lifeline.

I cautiously accessed her inventory.

Ziiiiing—

Inside the dimensional space, various items floated—water bottles, snacks, and random junk.

Among them, a deck of poker cards and a set of hanafuda radiated an unmistakable presence.

‘...Yeah, that’s so like her.’

As I observed, something shifted.

Ziiiiing—

A water bottle from inside her inventory vanished.

‘Good. It’s still functional.’

Gulp, gulp—

“Ahh.”

After downing the 500ml bottle in one go, Park Sae-rom crushed it and tossed it aside.

“Haa... I can finally breathe.”

She wiped the sweat off her forehead and slumped down.

Around her, everything was engulfed in darkness.

She had barely managed to find a temporary hideout, evading the shadow creatures lurking everywhere.

“...What now?”

She had just confirmed something—

The Exchange System wasn’t working.

Normally, she relied on food registered in the shop.

But now, her inventory only held snacks.

“Something’s definitely wrong...”

By now, they must have noticed she was missing.

If that were the case, Kim Jae-hyun would have used telepathy or Summon Retainer to retrieve her.

Yet, there had been no response.

Something must have happened.

Otherwise, she would have been able to access the shop.

‘Worst case scenario...’

She might have lost Jae-hyun’s protection.

The moment she realized this, a chill ran down her spine.

‘Am I going to die here?’

Just as negative thoughts clouded her mind—

SLAP!

She smacked both of her cheeks.

“...!!”

And immediately regretted it.

The pain was unbearable.

So much so that she couldn't even scream.

“Aaaah!! Shit! Why is my hand so strong?!”

Of course.

As a retainer, she was stacked with buffs.

“Damn it... It hurts...”

She gently rubbed her swollen cheek before regaining her composure.

Then, she opened her inventory.

‘First, let’s check what I have.’

She didn’t have any proper meals, but snacks were abundant.

She also had water and drinks.

Just as she was about to strategize how to stretch her resources—

“Huh?”

Her inventory list updated.

‘What the hell? Is there a ghost in here?’

A shiver ran down her spine.

But instead of panicking, she checked what had changed.

“...A smartphone?”

She hesitated, then pulled it out.

It wasn’t her usual device.

At that moment—

[ Sae-rom, this is Kim Jae-hyun. ]

Hearing the voice from the phone, she nearly burst into tears.

“Jae-hyun-nim!”

[ Right now, this is the only way I can contact you. Please record a message describing your situation and store it in your inventory. I’ll retrieve it and listen. ]

“Yes, yes!”

[ If you need anything, let me know. I’ll send it through your inventory. ]

“Thank you!”

Even though she realized it was a pre-recorded message, she still felt reassured.

‘I’m saved.’

Just like when she first met Jae-hyun in Ulsan, she felt a spark of hope.

Without hesitation, she pressed record and started speaking.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

“Um... So, at first, people around me just disappeared. And then everything turned pitch-black. I couldn’t see anything, and these shadow creatures started coming out of the dark. Oh! And when I went outside, the sky was completely black. It was supposed to be daytime, but it felt like night. And then—”

As she rambled through her explanation—

CLICK—

A door creaked open in the darkness.

“Who are you?”

A man's voice came from the shadows.