The Absolute Ruler of Home (4)
The moment my eyes met its gaze, I felt my entire body freeze.
Fear wrapped around my whole being, turning my feet into stone.
Up close, the creature's enormous frame and predatory eyes were unmistakably those of a hunter.
Gulp.
The sound of my swallowing echoed loudly.
In the next instant, the Kellikan lunged at me, its jaws gaping wide.
Crash!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
An invisible barrier blocked its fangs, and only then did I realize that it had tried to pounce on me.
"Haah!"
The creature, unable to pass through the transparent wall, slid downward but quickly beat its wings to rise again.
Then, sticking to the wall, it bared its teeth and snapped at me.
Crack!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
…
…
Staring at the creature's fangs and the inside of its maw up close, a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
'It's not going to break through, right?'
The fear that its sharp teeth might penetrate the invisible wall and reach my throat sent a chill down my spine.
That thought snapped me back to my senses.
'I have to do something!'
Before the worst could happen, I needed to act.
I sprinted to the kitchen, grabbing a kitchen knife, and faced the Kellikan once again.
The creature, utterly focused on gnawing at the invisible wall, didn't even spare me a glance as I moved.
While estimating the length of my knife and the distance between us, I came to a frustrating conclusion.
'The knife is too short.'
A standard kitchen knife had a blade length of just 20 centimeters.
With my body stopped by the barrier, the range I could extend the knife was barely a handspan.
To inflict damage, I had to target the part pressed against the wall—which meant its mouth.
Sharp beak. Jagged teeth.
Stabbing a kitchen knife into that wouldn't do much.
'To reach its throat, I need to turn it into a spear.'
Luckily, I had just the materials for it.
I fixed the kitchen knife to the end of a rolling pin I bought from Daiso, securing it tightly with layers of tape.
With that, a crude yet functional weapon was born.
After confirming the knife was firmly attached, I grinned.
'This should do.'
Crack!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
The creature was still cluelessly fixated on biting the invisible wall.
'Now!'
Thrust!
I drove my makeshift spear with all my strength, piercing halfway into its throat.
—Kieeeek!!
With a shriek, the creature jerked back, and in doing so, the spear pulled out, widening the wound.
Splurt!
Blood gushed from its neck, dripping down the invisible barrier. A lot of blood.
'Yes!'
However—
—Kieeeeek!!
Even as it bled profusely, the Kellikan was still alive.
Bang! Bang!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
It rammed its head against the barrier, its rage palpable.
Its furious charge screamed of determination to kill me, even if it died trying.
"Hah, one more time!"
I steeled myself and thrust the spear again.
But—
Whoosh!
"Ah!"
This time, it was watching me.
The moment I stabbed, it clamped its beak around the spear and yanked it.
Snap!
The plastic rolling pin from Daiso shattered in its beak, leaving me weaponless.
"This is bad…"
—Kieeeeeeeh!
I had a small fruit knife, but it wasn't nearly as sharp.
It wouldn't do much damage.
'And now that it's aware of me, it won't fall for another attack.'
The only silver lining was that the creature was still bleeding out.
If I just waited, it might die from excessive blood loss.
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
With the invisible barrier keeping me safe, I wasn't afraid anymore.
All I had to do was wait.
As time passed and more of its blood smeared the barrier, the Kellikan visibly weakened.
Eventually, it stopped attacking and simply stared at me.
Like it was thinking.
Locking eyes with it, I suddenly had a bad feeling.
'Wait a second.'
It seemed to realize it couldn't break through the barrier.
And if it gave up?
What if it flew away before bleeding out?
[Loot settlement is only triggered when the corpse is nearby.]
This thought struck me because I had seen it happen before.
While hunting goblins, not all of them had died on the spot.
Some, mortally wounded, had been dragged away by their companions.
And those didn't trigger loot settlement.
'They definitely died. There's no way a goblin shot in the chest with a dumbbell survived.'
Which meant…
If the Kellikan escaped, I'd get nothing.
No way.
That thing was worth too much money to just let it go.
I had to finish it off.
My eyes darted around the apartment.
Then—
I saw it.
Cooking oil.
'That's it!'
This could end it for good.
"Open shop! Buy 10 sets of canola oil!"
[Confirm purchase?]
[Yes / No]
"Yes!"
Whirrr—
Suddenly, twenty 900ml bottles of canola oil materialized in the living room.
"Open storage! Store only the oil, not the plastic containers!"
Whirrr—
With the oil safely stored, I moved fast.
I wrapped kitchen towels around the broken spear's tip and taped it tightly.
Then, I ran to the kitchen and turned on the gas stove.
"Summon oil!"
I poured everything into a large pot and cranked up the heat.
Sizzle— Fwoosh!
I waited, heart pounding.
Crack! Crack!
'Is it hot enough yet?'
Waiting felt like forever.
"Store!"
I stored the now boiling hot oil and soaked the towel-wrapped spear tip in fresh oil before lighting it on fire.
Fwoosh!
A torch.
I rushed to the window.
The Kellikan was watching me closely.
Especially the fire.
I locked onto its head and smirked.
"Summon oil!"
Whirrr—
A boiling-hot 18L of canola oil rained down onto its head.
—Kieeek?!
The Kellikan, startled, looked up—
"Burn."
I stabbed the flaming torch into its body.
—KIEEEEEK!!
It shrieked, thrashing as fire engulfed its oil-soaked body.
Fwoooosh!
Wings flapped frantically, but the more it moved, the faster the flames spread.
With a final, agonized scream, it plummeted to the apartment walkway below.
Crash! Boom!
It shattered a tree upon impact, still writhing.
But no matter how much it struggled—
The fire wouldn't go out.
Fwoosh!
The thrashing slowed.
Then stopped.
[You have hunted Kellikan (Lv. 27).]
[Gained massive EXP.]
[Skill level increased.]
[Skill level increased.]
[New skill acquired.]
And then—
[Loot settlement complete.]
[₩9,347,487 deposited into the Absolute Ruler's Wallet.]
Seeing the amount, I nearly fainted.
"Nine… n-nine million?!"
I expected a high payout, but not this high.
Almost ten million won.
My first real paycheck.
"Haha…"
But that wasn't all the Kellikan left behind.
[Home Territory Expansion has begun.]
"Huh?"
Whirrr—
My vision expanded.
Beyond my living room.
Beyond my entire apartment.
Even into—
The next-door neighbor's home.
[A potential citizen has been detected.]
[Grant citizenship?]