Chapter 99

"I'm back."

As I opened the front door and stepped inside, my grandfather's voice immediately came from the master bedroom.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

"Jaehyun?"

"Yes, Grandfather."

When I entered the master bedroom, I saw my grandmother lying peacefully with her eyes closed on the stone bed, as usual, while my grandfather sat beside her, silently taking care of her.

"Where's Mom?"

Just then.

"Son? Is my son home?"

I heard my mother's voice coming from the kitchen.

Grandfather offered an explanation.

"She's cooking right now. You haven’t eaten, have you?"

"No, I haven’t."

"Then join us later for a meal."

"Yes, Grandfather."

I approached the bed.

On top of Grandmother's blanket, a fairy was curled up, dozing off.

When I gently touched it, the fairy looked up at me with drowsy eyes, stretched its body, and gave a big yawn. Then it spread its wings and flew up, circling around me.

"Yes, I’m glad to see you too."

The fairy was currently level 13.

Considering Kami had already surpassed level 20, its growth rate was noticeably slow.

Still, after reaching level 10, the fairy’s ability had increased the natural recovery rate of all citizens within the domain by 900%.

Thanks to the fairy's presence, minor injuries could be healed instantly just by entering the domain.

When the fairy landed on my shoulder, I extended my hand toward it. It hugged my hand with its tiny arms, rubbing its cheek against the back of my hand.

After spending a little time playing with the fairy, I turned my attention to checking on Grandmother's condition.

"How is Grandmother doing?"

"Same as usual."

Thanks to Grandfather infusing her with green life energy and Mom’s meticulous care, Grandmother had been able to maintain her health.

But it seemed that wasn’t enough to make her fully recover.

"She looks like she’s lost a bit of weight..."

No matter how incredible Grandfather’s powers were, she had been unable to consume proper nutrients for months now.

It wasn’t sustainable.

"What exactly is the problem?"

At first, I had hope seeing Grandmother briefly open her eyes with the fairy's abilities.

I thought that if the fairy continued to grow steadily, one day she might wake up fully.

But waiting for the fairy to grow at this rate would take too long.

"If this keeps up, Grandmother’s body will reach its limit."

That was unacceptable.

I had to figure out a solution.

At that moment, Grandfather approached Grandmother and used his power.

Wooong

As the green life energy emanated from his hand and flowed into Grandmother’s body, I instinctively observed it.

"That power..."

Previously, I had thought it was just one of his many abilities. But upon closer inspection, its nature was distinct.

This energy resembled the black aura I possessed and the crimson energy of the vampires.

And then.

Ziiing

Before I could fully grasp the nature of the power, I felt a strange sensation I hadn’t noticed before.

"Interesting."

Out of habit, I activated the Absolute Dweller’s Eye to observe the green energy being absorbed into Grandmother's body.

With the skill, I could identify what had been merely a vague sense to my naked eye.

The green energy was absorbed into her body, gradually diminishing.

No, to be precise, it was being devoured by another energy within Grandmother’s body.

Something inside her was ravenously consuming the green energy Grandfather was releasing. Only a fraction of the energy managed to remain and sustain her life.

The entity consuming his power was...

"A transparent aura?"

It was then that I became aware of the transparent energy growing inside Grandmother’s body.

Instinctively, I realized.

"This is the cause."

The reason Grandmother couldn’t wake up was undoubtedly due to that energy.

"If only I could deal with this..."

The transparent energy was most concentrated around her head.

When I reached out my hand toward it—

Flash!

"!"

The moment my hand touched the transparent energy, it flared up violently, spreading outward.

And then—

I saw an entirely different scene before my eyes.

An endless blue sky.

A vast forest densely packed with trees and a gigantic tree at its center.

Majestic mountains decorating the horizon in brilliant hues.

Pah!

As I pulled my hand away from the transparent energy, I returned to reality.

"Huff, huff!"

"Jaehyun! What’s wrong?"@@novelbin@@

Grandfather, alarmed by my sudden reaction, patted my back.

The green life energy emanating from his body surrounded me, and the warmth quickly calmed my breathing.

"I’m... I’m fine."

"What happened?"

"I’m not sure either."

What had I just seen?

It was clear that the transparent energy in Grandmother’s body was connected to it.

Just then.

Fwoosh!

Black flames rose, ready to incinerate the transparent energy surrounding Grandmother’s head.

The energy had dared to oppose me within my domain.

But I consciously suppressed the flames.

"If I recklessly burn this energy, Grandmother won’t survive."

I could easily destroy it.

This was my domain, and the transparent energy in her body was cornered.

But the energy had been parasitizing her body since before I established this annex, creating a small domain of its own within her head.

Burning it away would inevitably harm Grandmother.

If I wasn’t careful, I could destroy everything in the process.

"I need another way."

There had to be a method to expel the energy while keeping Grandmother safe.

"Grandfather, when will Grandmother wake up?"

"Why?"

"I have something I want to ask."

"To your grandmother?"

"Yes."

"We'll wake her up after we finish eating and everyone is gathered."

The fairy could only awaken Grandmother once every three days, and even then, it was limited to about ten minutes at most.

Because of this, they would choose a time when the whole family could gather and have enough time to talk to her.

"Grandmother will be happy. Last time, when she woke up, she kept asking where you were. Did you know that?"

"Dad told me."

Just then, Mom's voice came from the kitchen.

"Dad! Jaehyun! Dinner’s ready!"

The kitchen table was set with a meal Mom had prepared with great care.

Soybean paste stew, an assortment of side dishes, steamed mackerel, and grilled rockfish filled the table, stimulating my appetite.

Grandfather took the head seat at the table and made a joking comment.

"You roasted the expensive akamochi just because the precious son came home?"

"You like it too, Dad. And it’s not even that expensive at the store."

Since fishing for fresh catches was no longer possible, all kinds of fish—from mackerel and pollack to tuna—had been registered in the system.

Because the fish were now standardized as commodities, anyone with enough money could purchase even the largest catches. The rockfish on the table, for instance, was an impressive size.

Though Mom said it wasn’t expensive, a fish of this size must have cost quite a bit.

Not that money was an issue.

"Where’s Kim Seobang?"

"He’s at work. He’ll be back soon."

Dad’s daily earnings were enormous.

Thanks to his family title, the monsters Dad hunted were exclusively credited to him, and the revenue from his hunts regularly exceeded hundreds of millions of won.

With such substantial income, spending money on food was barely a drop in the bucket.

"These days, his earnings must have increased even more."

After defeating the progenitor and incorporating most of Busan into the domain, hunting now required traveling much further away.

To facilitate travel, I had set up the South Gate for convenient access to Ulsan’s forward base.

The South Gate had to be installed on a transparent barrier, so I used Jeonpo Station, right in front of our apartment, as the forward base. It was a worthwhile investment.

Moreover, setting up a forward base within the domain came at half the cost, and it didn’t require a knight-level retainer for activation, making operations even more efficient.

Beep beep beep – Ding-dong!

Just then, the front door opened, and Dad walked in.

"Mmm~ Smells delicious. Is that akamochi?"

The grilled rockfish Mom prepared was tender and flavorful.

Even though it was a large fish with plenty of meat, the four of us quickly stripped it to the bones with our chopsticks.

"Thank you for the meal."

After finishing dinner, the whole family gathered in the first-floor master bedroom where Grandmother was resting.

Mom spoke gently to the sleeping Grandmother.

"Mom, you’ve been waiting for a long time, haven’t you? We’re going to wake you up now."

With those words, Grandfather released green life energy toward the fairy.

The fairy absorbed the green energy with a pleased expression. Then, it fluttered around above Grandmother, scattering sparkling dust.

At that moment.

Sssrrr—

Using the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I observed the transparent energy as it retreated into the domain it had created in Grandmother’s head.

When the energy fully withdrew from her body and settled into the small area within her head—

"Mm..."

Grandmother slowly opened her eyes.

Mom was the first to speak to her.

"Mom, are you feeling okay? Are you in pain anywhere?"

Grandmother nodded faintly, her expression still dazed.

"Look here, Mom. Jaehyun is here."

"Jaehyun...?"

At Mom’s words, Grandmother slowly turned her head toward me, her face lighting up with a faint smile.

"Yes, it’s you... My grandson is here."

"Yes, Grandmother. It’s me."

"Mom, are you thirsty? Here, have some water."

Grandmother seemed unable to regain full clarity of mind.

‘Even though the duration has lengthened, the issue remains the same.’

The last time I visited, she had been able to wake up for only about three minutes.

Back then, she quickly fell back asleep, so I hadn’t thought much of her dazed state.

But now, even though she’d been awake for nearly five minutes, her dreamlike expression made the gravity of the situation clear.

"Grandmother."

"Mm...?"

"I want to ask you something."

I looked at her and asked,

"Do you know anything about a giant tree and a forest?"

"A giant tree...?"

"Yes, a giant tree."

For a fleeting moment, when I saw the dense forest and the massive tree, one thought came to mind.

"It seemed like Yggdrasil..."

Could Grandmother’s condition be connected to the World Tree?

"The World... Tree...?"

At that moment—

Wooong—

The transparent energy, which had been cautiously observing from its domain, suddenly surged outward.

In an instant, it engulfed Grandmother’s entire body.

"Mom!"

Grandmother collapsed, losing consciousness.

Then—

Fwaaah—

A brilliant light burst forth.

[The Absolute Dweller’s mind blocks the attack.]

As the system notification appeared—

Thud.

Mom, Dad, and even Grandfather collapsed, losing consciousness.

I was the only one left standing.