Absolute Dweller-Chapter 232

While eating ramen, he was able to hear about the tasks he needed to carry out and the overall system.

“The main purpose of the rescue team is to rescue people and bring them to the forward base so they can gain citizenship,” he explained.

There are two main tasks that the rescue team has to perform: rescuing citizens and hunting monsters.

“The team responsible for rescuing citizens consists of people who are specialized in rescuing others, such as those who can pass through walls at will or teleport. On the other hand, those responsible for monster hunting are specialists focused solely on hunting monsters.”

The team that Yamma was assigned to was responsible for monster hunting.

It wasn’t hard to guess why he had been assigned there.

“My role is to distinguish between mutants and monsters, right?”

“Correct. That’s what you’ll be responsible for, Yamma-san.”

It was the task of distinguishing whether something encountered was a mutant or a monster.

Though relieved that he wouldn’t have to engage in direct combat, the responsibility still felt heavier than expected.

Yamma nervously asked,

“…What happens if I can’t tell whether someone is a mutant?”

What if he mistakenly confused a mutant with an ordinary monster?

What if that led to the person’s death?

Nakamoto Hiroshi looked him in the eye with a serious expression and said,

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Yamma-san. We can feel it.”

Though these words came from Nakamoto Hiroshi, who had saved him, they felt too abstract.

It wasn’t like the identity of a mutant was written on their forehead, and simply feeling it didn’t seem like enough.

Considering that Nakamoto Hiroshi had known from the beginning that he was a mutant, it seemed likely that distinguishing between the two was possible, but what if that ability was exclusive to Nakamoto Hiroshi?

A sense of unease piled up into a single question.

“…Can someone like me really do this?”

Shouldn’t he first complete training or an orientation before being deployed for a rescue operation?

He would need to train to identify mutants and…

At that moment, Nakamoto Hiroshi spoke firmly.

“You can do it.”

He continued, his face serious.

“You must do it.”

“…”

A brief silence hung in the air.

Since he had already finished his bowl of ramen, there was no way to act nonchalantly.

As he stared down at the empty bowl, Nakamoto Hiroshi spoke again.

“This is a race against time.”

Hearing this, the words of Aiko, the woman who had subdued him during their previous encounter, came to mind.

‘Didn’t she say I wouldn’t understand what time means to mutants?’

It seemed there was a valid reason for her to use excessive force to subdue him.

Even without that, Nakamoto Hiroshi had repeatedly mentioned ‘time.’

After all, he was explaining work while they were eating, trying to save time.

Nakamoto Hiroshi then explained the reason behind his urgency.

“There is a golden time in which humans can return to their original form. That means there is a time limit for those in mutant form.”

The idea was that if time passed, it would be impossible to reverse the transformation.

“When that time comes, their personality will be banished to the Void Space.”

“…!”

The Void Space.

Even without a detailed explanation, he immediately understood where that place referred to.

He had once been a mutant, after all.

A hell where nothing could be seen, no smells could be smelled, and no feelings could be felt.

Just the thought of being sent back there sent shivers down his spine.

Now he understood why Nakamoto Hiroshi was so desperate to save time.

Yamma nodded.

“I understand.”

At this point, there was only one choice left.

Whether it ended in success or failure.

“I’ll try.”

There was no other option but to try.

Nakamoto Hiroshi smiled warmly.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Yamma-san.”

Listening to their conversation, I made up my mind.

‘Now, there’s no need to say that time passing doesn’t matter anymore.’

In fact, Nakamoto Hiroshi’s understanding was mistaken.

With the disappearance of Orochi, the cause of the mutation, the loss of personality would no longer continue.

Therefore, even if time passed, the mutants wouldn’t be sent to the Void Space.

‘However, depending on how much the erosion has progressed, there might still be some individual variation.’

For example, Yamma’s case.

Neither Nakamoto Hiroshi nor Ichikawa Kana had fully returned to human form.

But they weren’t like Fujita Yumi, whose personality returned while still remaining a monster.

Their appearances were a mix of both human and monster traits, with about half of each.

‘At least it’s better than Fujita Yumi, who can’t even communicate properly.’

They had simply forgotten their names, but they were able to think and speak normally.

In contrast, Fujita Yumi had little left of her former self, except for her love for her daughter.

That was because a significant amount of erosion had taken place.

‘The personal quests didn’t work either.’

It seemed the power tainted by divinity couldn’t be reversed even through quest assignments.

‘Yamma-san must be the same.’

As they were talking, I noticed something strange.

Yamma’s real name was Kawaguchi Haruto.

Before their conversation, his name was clearly displayed as such in the eyes of the Absolute.

It was also shown in the citizen data.

But now,

‘The moment a name is given, the data changes.’

Now, whether viewed through the Absolute’s eyes or the citizen data panel, he was listed as ‘Yamma.’

Surprised by the change, I missed the opportunity to ask him for his real name.

‘I’ll have to tell him eventually.’

After all, the level of contamination varied from person to person, and the improvement they experienced when gaining citizenship also differed. But time wasn’t really important.

Still, not correcting it was due to the fact that time was indeed in short supply.

‘In many ways.’

Firstly, non-mutant Japanese citizens were still in a survival situation.

Lack of food.

An abundance of monsters.

To increase their chances of survival, rushing was the only answer.

Using crystals to quickly establish a forward base in Osaka was also a decision made to save time.

And,

‘The existence of mutants has made the rescue operation far more difficult.’

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Mutants.

On the surface, they appeared to be no different from ordinary monsters.

But they were humans, and if they gained citizenship, they could return to their original human form.

Since they couldn’t kill them, the situation made monster hunting much more cautious.

The problem, however, was,

‘There are too few people.’

The number of those who could distinguish mutants was too small.

The rescue team only had six members.

With Yamma included, that made only seven.

Excluding the seven teams, everyone else would be proceeding with the rescue operation unable to distinguish between mutants.

Right now, they were only hunting monsters that would attack survivors or launch preemptive strikes.

They were forced to give priority to the monsters' first attacks.

‘If the rescue team weren’t so overwhelming, we wouldn’t have been able to use this method.’

Of course, the elite guards and the hunting teams had grown incredibly strong.

When they first targeted major cities like Gwangju, Daegu, and Daejeon, the average level of the hunting teams was just in the mid-30s.

However, now, the top-tier hunting teams had an average level in the high 40s.

‘The experience factory of Jeju Island and the Legion of Corpses played a big role.’

Thanks to the guards, many of the members had experienced explosive level-ups.

At this very moment, among those in the hunting teams, over a hundred had surpassed level 50.

Among them, the one who benefited the most was…

‘Kim Myung-hwan.’

His level was 60.

He had essentially reached the max level before breaking the limit.

A level that could rival most of the elite guards.

Of course, that had been possible because I had chosen him.

‘He benefited from the Jeju Island experience factory.’

As Kim Ga-young's younger brother and a member of her guard, he shared the experience gained from hunting the Black Chong monsters.

This special privilege wasn’t given just because he was Kim Ga-young’s brother.

Rather,

‘It was because he worked incredibly hard.’

He hunted monsters, sacrificing sleep, and always operated at the front lines, making it hard not to notice him.

It wasn’t because he had a good older sister but because he always gave his best in whatever position he was in, which is why I chose him.

And now, he still didn’t disappoint me.

Even now, he was active in Japan, the frontline, proving that my choice was not wrong.

***

Yamma sat there with a dazed expression, almost as if entranced.

Nakamoto Hiroshi had been sent to the field, and Yamma was waiting for the handover from the rescue team.

It was then that a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

“Kawaguchi Haruto…”

He recognized it as his own name.

However, the process of learning that name was quite mysterious.

The voice came from none other than ‘Kim Jae-hyun.’

‘Is Jae-hyun really human?’

Was it because the voice came directly to his mind? He felt even more mystified by his presence.

‘It’s such an unbelievable ability.’

Creating safe zones, using a system like a marketplace to transfer items in real time, turning his mutated body back into a human, and instantly healing severe injuries like crushed legs.

What’s more, this wasn’t even the end.

‘Inventory.’

A special privilege granted to him as a member of the rescue team.

He had his own personal space.

Inside it were the food and various supplies Kim Jae-hyun had provided him.

‘He can even grant psychic powers.’

It didn’t stop there.

Nakamoto Hiroshi had said that his enhanced strength was all thanks to Jae-hyun.

And,

‘Status window.’

A holographic window displaying basic information, including his name.

The status window showed his level and awakening abilities.

‘The ability to grant such powers to all citizens…’

It was practically god-like power.

‘Still, this makes me feel a bit relieved.’

Knowing that such a remarkable person was watching over him calmed his anxious heart.

Just then, a man descended from the sky riding a large bird.

It looked similar to the bird that had helped him during his rescue.

‘Wasn’t its name Kellican?’

As they got closer, he awkwardly shouted in Japanese.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cho Chan-wook, the leader of Squad 3 of Rescue Unit 101!”

“Ah… nice to meet you.”

“I’m sorry for the wait. Let’s go!”

“…Yes!”

Carefully, he climbed onto Kellican’s back and they quickly moved.

‘Wow.’

From the sky, he could see the overall situation of the city in a raw, unfiltered way.

Collapsed buildings and shattered roads.

Monsters scattered everywhere.

It was a city that looked incredibly dangerous.

Since he had wandered around the city in his mutant form before, he knew just how dangerous the monsters were.

He could roughly tell how powerful they were as well.

‘Now that I think about it...’

There were certain monsters among them that felt strangely familiar.

Beings that gave off a sense of shared understanding.

‘Is this the sensation Nakamoto-san mentioned?’

Just as he thought he was starting to understand,

Flash—

A bright light flashed from a distance.

And there,

‘…A giant?’

A monster the size of an entire apartment building stood there.

A creature with a single, enormous eye that took up half its face. A cyclops.

Gulp.

Just seeing its presence froze his body.

However,

“Is that giant a mutant?”

“Huh?”

The man, who introduced himself as Cho Chan-wook from Korea, looked completely unfazed.

Though still bewildered, he focused on the giant.

He didn’t feel any sense of kinship from it.

All he felt was fear.

“…No. I don’t sense anything like that.”

As soon as he heard that, the man spoke into his radio in Korean.

“Ah. Bravo District 8, giant monster sighted. It’s not a mutant.”

Immediately afterward,

Rustle!

A sharp, slicing sound could be heard as something cut through the air.

“...Huh?”

He saw the giant cyclops’s massive head detach from its body.

Boom!

The giant, which had entered with overwhelming force, met its end in less than thirty seconds.