The Absolute Ruler of Home (1)
For now, I can at least grasp the doorknob and turn it.
But the moment I push the door, I feel as if I'm blocked by an invisible wall, and this message appears.
[The Absolute Ruler of Home cannot leave the house.]
"Damn it, fuck!"
The doorknob turns, but the door won't open.
'I have to get out somehow…'
I know.
Leaving at this point is an insane idea.
It's been three days since the world collapsed.
The only reason I've survived this long is purely because of my ability.
Outside is swarming with terrifying monsters.
Even one of those monstrous birds that just smashed its head against my living room window could easily turn me into a meal.
And yet, I still have two reasons to go outside.
One is my family.
'Mom, Dad, and even Grandpa and Grandma.'
All my beloved family members are out there.
[The Absolute Ruler of Home cannot leave the house.]
"Sigh…"
There was a complicated reason why I was separated from my family.
This 30-pyeong (about 1,000 square feet) apartment—with three rooms, two bathrooms, and a spacious living room combined with a kitchen—was practically occupied by me alone.
My father had bought this apartment, pooling together a 200-million-won bank loan and our family's entire savings of another 200 million.
His gamble paid off, and within just six months, the apartment's price skyrocketed from 400 million to over a billion won.
I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I was living alone in this luxurious apartment because of a tax reduction policy.
To receive tax benefits, we had to prove at least two years of residence, meaning we couldn't sell it immediately. Until then, I was tasked with taking care of the house.
Of course, things didn't go as smoothly afterward.
The economy, already hit by COVID-19 and wars, took a nosedive, impacting the real estate market. The apartment that had soared past a billion won dropped back to 700 million.
On top of that, interest rates on the bank loan were rising, making things even riskier.
'Not that any of that matters now.'
With the world in ruins, who cares about bank loans or property prices?
I can't even sell the place anymore.
'Please, just be safe…'
Praying for my family's safety, I pressed the call button on my smartphone.
[…Connecting…]
As expected.
Just like the past three days, no matter how long I waited, nothing changed.
Calls, messages, KakaoTalk—every single messaging service was down.
Even though I knew it wouldn't work, I opened KakaoTalk and typed a message.
– Mom, are you okay?
"Please…!"
But the result was as expected.
⟳ Mom, are you okay?
The message failed to send, and a resend button appeared.
Then, suddenly—
[An error has occurred. Please try again later. (Error Code: 580, LO)]
A new message popped up, and the KakaoTalk app shut down entirely.
I tried reopening it multiple times, but it was the same.
Just in case, I looked at the status bar at the top of my phone. A disconnected network icon was displayed.
"…Damn it."
I had expected this to happen.
In fact, it was more surprising that the data had lasted for three days.
Google and Naver had both gone down the very day the world collapsed.
Clenching my fist in frustration did nothing to change the situation.
'I have to do something.'
This wasn't the only problem.
'If I stay locked up like this, I'll starve to death.'
Not only the internet but everything else was shutting down.
Water, electricity, gas—every essential resource for living was disappearing by the hour.
'At least I have enough water.'
Fortunately, I had ordered a large supply from Coupang.
I had twenty 2-liter bottles and forty-seven 500-milliliter ones. I had also filled every container and cup in the house with water.
Originally, I had stocked up because I was too lazy to use the water purifier, but my laziness ended up saving my life.
'The problem is food.'
Yesterday, when the power went out, the refrigerator shut down, and all the food inside was on borrowed time.
I had kept the fridge closed as much as possible, and the frozen items were still holding on, but it wouldn't last much longer.
'I only have a few packs of ramen left.'
Three packs of mild Jin Ramen.
'If I had known this would happen, I would've stocked up on instant noodles too…'
Since my parents visited every week to refill the fridge with fresh side dishes, I never thought about hoarding food.
Because of that, I only had enough food for a week.
'Even if I ration it, it'll eventually run out.'
Which meant, in the end, I would have to go outside to survive.
However—
[The Absolute Ruler of Home cannot leave the house.]
"..."
This ability was protecting me from the monsters outside, but at the same time, it was dooming me to starve.
When the food runs out, I'll slowly wither away from hunger.
'This is the worst.'
Desperate, I reached my hand toward the living room window.
If I could leave, I'd even jump out through the window.
But—
[The Absolute Ruler of Home cannot leave the house.]
"Fuuuuuuck!"
I swung my fist at the annoying message that had haunted me for days.
A dull pain spread through my knuckles as they collided with an invisible wall.
'What kind of "absolute ruler" is this?!'
If I can't even leave my own domain, then I'm nothing but a prisoner.
'…Pathetic loser.'
Even after the world ended, I was still the same.
A useless parasite who never set foot outside, leeching off my parents.
A 28-year-old who still depended on his parents' allowance.
A worthless, freeloading burden on society.
"…Fuck."
And then, suddenly—
Ding!
"…Huh?"
For the first time in three days, an unfamiliar notification appeared before me.
[You have hunted Kellikan (Lv. 23).]
'Kellikan?'
Immediately after—
[You have gained a large amount of experience.]
[Skill level has increased.]
[Skill level has increased.]
A flood of new messages popped up.
As I stared at them, I suddenly recalled the monstrous bird that had smashed into my window and plummeted to the ground.
I leaned out the window and looked down.
"Kraaah!"
"Keeek!"
A group of goblins with green skin had swarmed around the fallen monster, feasting on its remains.
From this height, they looked like a swarm of ants.
'Did they finish it off?'
The monster must have been unconscious when it fell, and the goblins had taken advantage of the situation.
Technically, I was the one who knocked it out, so the experience points went to me.
And because of that, my skill level had increased twice.
'Ha, what a joke. What's the point of leveling up a shut-in skill?'
But that was a mistake.
[You have acquired a new skill.]
[Eligible loot detected nearby.]
[Processing loot acquisition.]
"Wait, what?"
Right after the strange notifications appeared, something changed.
"KIEEEEK!!"
The goblins suddenly shrieked in agony.
Startled, I looked down again.
The scene had shifted.
The goblins, who had been celebrating, were now screaming in despair.
'What's going on?'
Their distress was caused by the monster's corpse.
'It's disappearing?'
Parts of the carcass were vanishing before my eyes.
[Loot acquisition complete.]
And then—
[2,203,241 won has been deposited into the Absolute Ruler of Home's wallet.]
Seeing the number, I instinctively counted the digits.
'Two… two million won?!'
For someone who had always relied on his parents' allowance, two million won was a fortune.
And before I could even process what was happening—
Flash!
The living room brightened.
The ceiling light had turned back on.
'…The power's back?'