Parasite (1)
Since their battle with the vampires had ended, Ha Dong-gun's party had been enjoying a long vacation.
It was the complete opposite of the days when they relentlessly hunted monsters without a single day of rest. There were several reasons for this change.
First, their financial situation was more than comfortable.
Chosen by Kim Jae-hyun and empowered by him, they had amassed a tremendous fortune by hunting countless monsters over time.
As an elite party, they had faced formidable monsters, and even just their base pay had made them billionaires.
Ohn Joo, who had personally finished off the progenitor vampire, had assets exceeding 100 billion won. With that kind of wealth, none of them had a pressing need to continue monster hunting.
Second, there was a lack of suitable hunting grounds.
The main hunting zone had shifted to Ulsan. This was because the territory ruled by Kim Jae-hyun had expanded tremendously.
With all of Busan now under his protection, hunters had to travel at least 10 kilometers to find monsters.
To hunt, they had to go as far as Gimhae, Yangsan, or Gijang.
Things might've been easier if they could use cars, but only a small portion of the roads-mostly around Seomyeon-had been restored.
In short, just going out for a hunt meant traveling a ridiculously long distance.
In these circumstances, since Jeonpo Station in central Seomyeon was now connected to the Homeplus in Ulsan, most parties capable of hunting beyond the protected territory had flocked to Ulsan.
At first, they had hunted the remaining mid-tier vampires lingering in the city, but that didn't last long.
With their leader gone, the vampires scattered in all directions in search of safety. In their place, a flood of random monsters from the surrounding mountains poured into Ulsan.
It was as if they had instinctively sensed that the progenitor-the master of the territory-was no longer there.
As a result, Ulsan was now packed with monsters, though most were goblins or orcs-hardly worth going out of one's way to hunt.
And most importantly, Kim Jae-hyun had assigned them a special mission.
As Ha Dong-gun looked toward Kim Geon, who had just returned from scouting the skies, he asked:
"Did you find anything?"
Kim Geon, returning to his human form, shook his head and replied,
"...No, hyung. I didn't see anything that looked like a dungeon entrance."
Their mission from Kim Jae-hyun was to search for and clear dungeons.
"Dong-gun, are you okay?"
Kang Deok-soo, standing beside him, asked with a concerned tone.
"What do you mean?"
"No, it's nothing..."
Kim Geon wore a similar expression as he looked at Ha Dong-gun.
That's because the place they were currently exploring was
Jangjeon-dong-the very neighborhood where all three of them had been born and raised.
Their family homes had been nearby.
An apartment complex that had once been taken over by black orcs.
While Kang Deok-soo and Kim Geon could still cling to hope that their families had survived, since their homes had only been damaged-Ha Dong-gun was different.
His house had been completely soaked in blood...
"I'm fine. It doesn't bother me.'
""
Kang Deok-soo let out a quiet sigh.
As someone who had been his friend for 20 years, he knew too well that Ha Dong-gun was just putting on a brave face.
"That's why I told him to go somewhere else."
Ha Dong-gun's party had split into two teams for the exploration, and Deok-soo had tried to assign Ha Dong-gun to a location far from here.
But Ha Dong-gun had insisted on coming here.
His reasoning? "I know the area well, so it'll be more efficient."
"You stubborn fool."
Of course, he couldn't say he didn't understand his friend's feelings.
Even after seeing the blood-soaked home, some part of Ha Dong-gun probably still wanted to believe his family was alive.
"...I guess I'm no different."
Aside from the blood, his own situation wasn't that different.
He knew full well how slim the chances were of any family members surviving in a world like this.
And yet, he couldn't let go of that sliver of hope.
That's what family meant.
Besides...
"Now that all of Busan is a safe zone, maybe... just maybe..."
If luck was on their side, maybe they had survived.
Maybe he'd bump into them one day while exploring a dungeon.
He often found himself lost in that kind of daydream.
Even knowing it was unlikely, he just couldn't give up hope.
At that moment, Ha Dong-gun spoke up.
"Geon, take a break for a bit. Once the sun goes down, fly up again and take another look. If there's a dungeon entrance, it'll stand out.'
"...Got it, hyung."
"I'll take line 3. Deok-soo, you check line 4.'
"Okay."
They were currently inside the Busan University campus.
Since it was inside a university, each building was marked with a number, which made it easier to divide up responsibilities.
Kang Deok-soo let out a small sigh as he stood in front of a beige-colored building labeled "416 Biology Hall."
Like every other building, the inside was full of traces of the struggle for survival.
Bloodstains and the stench of rotting corpses filled the hallway as he carefully inspected the interior.
When Kang Deok-soo approached the bathroom, he flinched at something moving inside, only to realize it was just his reflection in the mirror. He let out a quiet sigh.
"Scared me."
Kang Deok-soo didn't feel the need to go further into the restroom.
If the dungeon entrance had been there, light would have been pouring out from the dark inner part of the bathroom.
There was no need to search deep inside.
He simply took out his smartphone, turned on the flashlight, and gave the place a quick look.
The restroom was a complete mess.
The stench of excrement was overpowering, and at the center lay the corpse of a monster surrounded by the decaying bodies of several people.
The monster resembled a wolf, but it was the size of a grown man—a type that had been spotted all across Busan National University.
'If these things were running loose, survival would've been hopeless. Then that guy too...?'
He was struck again by just how lucky he had been.
'If I hadn't gone to Dong-geon's housewarming party that day...'
He might have run into one of these monsters instead of goblins.
'No, if I had stayed home, I would've been killed by those damn Black Orcs.'
There would've been no chance of being chosen by Kim Jae-hyun and gaining
power.
'... What a goddamn world.'
These monsters were running wild right near his own home.
'Even if my parents managed to escape...'
There was still a high chance they had been caught and eaten by the monsters.
Just as Kang Deok-soo furrowed his brows and turned to leave the bathroom, he paused in front of the mirror.
'...I look like him.'
His face, rough with unshaven stubble, looked just like his father's.
"Dad..."
Staring at his own reflection, he felt the yearning grow stronger.
'I miss you.'
Just then-
Clunk!
A rattling noise came from deep inside the bathroom.
Kang Deok-soo reacted instantly to the sound.
'Rise.'
He no longer needed to say the words aloud to summon the Silver Knight.
The knight emerged in front of the toilet stall where the noise had come from.
And immediately tried to open the door.
Rattle, rattle!
As expected, the door was locked.
"Aaaah!"
A high-pitched scream rang out from inside.
Realizing belatedly that they were inside a safe zone, Kang Deok-soo shouted quickly,
"Calm down!"
He immediately dismissed the Silver Knight.
Then moved closer and shined his phone's flashlight toward the stall.
"It's okay now. Please open the door."
"N-no!"
A terrified female voice came from within the stall.
"You're safe, I promise."
"Go away!"
Her voice was full of distrust.
'No choice, then.'
He couldn't afford to waste time coaxing her into opening the door.
Time was of the essence, so Kang Deok-soo gripped the door.
Crack!
The lock shattered, and the door swung open.
"Gasp!"
A stifled breath came from inside as she tried to block the door with her body, but someone at level 50 like Kang Deok-soo was far too strong.
The woman, now exposed, looked up at him with a pale, terrified face.
Kang Deok-soo, expressionless, simply shone the light from his phone toward
her.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you."
Just as he reached out to pull the woman out—
"Don't touch me!!"
A voice, almost a scream, rang out, and Kang Deok-soo tilted his head in confusion at the strange sense of familiarity.
And then-
"...Huh?"
He quickly realized the source of that familiarity.
"Yesol?"
"How long do you think they can hold on?"
I asked, my face tense.
Director Lee Sung-min, who had been checking on my grandfather's condition, replied.
"All four of them are simply asleep, so under normal circumstances, with proper care, they could survive for months or even years. There are plenty of cases where people in a vegetative state last that long. However..."
Director Lee glanced toward my grandmother and continued cautiously, his voice filled with concern.
"Despite receiving top-tier care and a full supply of nutrients, your grandmother's condition has been deteriorating."
It had already been a week since the light emitted from my grandmother's body caused the family to lose consciousness.
At first, Director Lee had confidently claimed they were just asleep. But as my grandmother's condition continued to worsen, he began to show signs of
unease.
"At this rate, we may only have a month at most-perhaps even just a week before it becomes critical."
I could feel Director Lee watching my reaction carefully.
It was clear I wasn't doing a great job hiding my emotions.
'I have to find a solution within a week.'
This wasn't just ordinary sleep.
A transparent energy had taken root in their bodies, slowly draining their life force in real-time.
As for my mom, dad, and grandfather, there was no immediate need for
concern.
All three of them had reached level 50.
They possessed physical strength and vitality far beyond that of ordinary people, and so, even now, they were enduring with just IV fluids and nutrients.
But my grandmother was different.
Even with the bloodline buff, she was only level 21-a low level-and she had already been asleep for months before this.
Her condition had already been deteriorating when this whole situation began.
Now that my grandfather's powers were gone, I had tried to replace them with Kim Dajeong's healing, but it hadn't been nearly enough.
Over the past week, my grandmother had grown visibly thinner.
'Damn it.'
I was starting to panic.
'Should I try it?'
I considered forcibly burning away the transparent energy with my power.
It was an incredibly dangerous method-but if I did nothing, we would lose everything.
'If only I could assign a quest, maybe I'd have a shot at this.'
My frustration only grew.
And then-
Bzzzz
My grandfather's right hand, peacefully resting in sleep, began to flash briefly.
Bzzzzzzz
As the light pulsed like a vibration-
BOOM!
A faint tremor was felt throughout the entire area.
[An unauthorized entity is attempting to enter.]
A system message popped up before my eyes-one I'd become all too familiar with.
'The Eye of the Absolute.'
I immediately activated the Eye toward the disturbance.
The one knocking on the transparent barrier was-
[White Dragon (Lv. 63)]
The giant monster that had once come to this place before.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]