The Absolute Ruler of the House (5)
A notification popped up with four attached photos.
A couple in their thirties and two children.
They were all pictures of the family next door.
After a moment of hesitation, I asked the system a question.
"What happens if I don't grant them citizenship?"
[Entities that do not receive citizenship will be expelled from the house.]
[Are you sure you do not want to grant them citizenship?]
'Just as I thought.'
I wasn't asking for no reason.
The system understood my words.
Or maybe it could read my mind.
'Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to store only the ramen inside the bowl in the warehouse, or just the oil inside the canola oil bottle.'
Absolute Ruler of the House—my skill.
I didn't know its full nature, but I had a hunch that some level of two-way communication was possible.
Of course, the system wasn't exactly generous with its explanations.
It didn't tell me everything outright.
'Expelled from the house…'
I wasn't sure what "expelled" meant exactly, but I had a strong feeling it wouldn't be a gentle process.
"Grant citizenship to all four of them."
[Granting citizenship to Choi Hyung-jun, Park Hye-won, Choi Na-yeon, and Choi Seo-yeon.]
After granting citizenship to the family next door, I immediately opened my skill window.
I figured a new skill related to citizenship must have been unlocked.
However—
"Huh? It's something else?"
The newly awakened skill wasn't one for managing citizens.
Eye of the Absolute Ruler (Lv.1)
-Within the house, nothing can escape the Absolute Ruler's gaze.
I quickly realized that the strange phenomenon I had just experienced was actually me using this skill unconsciously.
'Where's the citizenship-related one? Oh, found it.'
Surprisingly, the citizenship feature was included within a different skill.
Declaration of the House (Passive) Lv.6
-No one may trespass upon the house without the Absolute Ruler's permission.
ᛗ Citizen Management
A new button labeled "Citizen Management" had appeared under the skill.
Pressing it revealed the four photos I had seen earlier, along with some numerical values.
□ Choi Hyung-jun (Trust: 24) (Lv.9)
□ Park Hye-won (Trust: 18) (Lv.5)
□ Choi Na-yeon (Trust: 33) (Lv.3)
□ Choi Seo-yeon (Trust: 42) (Lv.2)
Current Population (4/600)
"Six hundred?"
That number at the bottom likely represented the maximum number of citizens I could accept.
Since I had already accepted four people, that meant I could still take in 596 more.
'That's way too many, isn't it?'
Instinctively, I knew this feature was going to be crucial.
"Choi Hyung-jun."
Calling out one of the names revealed a more detailed citizen information window.
[Name: Choi Hyung-jun (Lv.9)]
Trust: 24Awakening Ability: NoneExperience Distribution Rate: 0%Monetary Compensation Rate: 0%★ Assign Quest / Expel
Experience distribution and monetary compensation…
That meant I could receive the experience and rewards gained by my citizens.
And the best part—I could adjust the distribution rate however I wanted.
'Wait, could this have been here all along?'
Maybe this function wasn't something that appeared as I leveled up.
Perhaps it was always there, but I had never been able to use it because I had no citizens in my house.
'That would explain a lot.'
At first, I had thought my skill was extremely restrictive.
It created a perfect safe zone within the house, but I was essentially trapped inside.
'But if I could grant citizenship from the beginning, that changes everything.'
If I had started off with people in my house, I could have just granted them citizenship.
Then, any experience they gained from hunting monsters would have been transferred to me.
'So that's how I was supposed to grow stronger…'
One thing was clear after my battle with Kelikan—I was far more overpowered than I initially realized.
I still wasn't sure exactly how strong level 27 was, but I was confident I could handle most monsters.
'If only I had awakened at my parents' house instead of here.'
My parents lived in a two-story house with my grandparents. If I had awakened there, everything would have been different.
I could have ensured my family's safety while also growing my power.
'And hunting wouldn't have been an issue either.'
I could have just opened the front door and attacked monsters from inside.
But awakening on the 30th floor of a high-rise apartment had left me completely isolated.
If I had been on the first floor, I could have easily killed goblins outside my window and leveled up.
'If I weren't lucky, I would've died without doing anything.'
This skill was designed for me to rule over a household of people from the beginning.
Yet, I had only now started using it properly.
'Guess I should be grateful things worked out in the end.'
Just then, something caught my eye in Choi Hyung-jun's citizen info window.
"Assign Quest."
Ding!
A new menu appeared with options for the quest details, time limit, reward, and failure penalty.
I decided to run a test.
"Hunt one goblin, one-week time limit, no reward, no failure penalty."
Ding!
"Quest Assignment"
Quest: Hunt a Goblin (0/1)Time Limit: 168 hours 00 minutes 00 secondsReward: Small amount of experience.Failure Penalty: None.
[Would you like to assign this quest?]
[Yes / No]
The quest window reflected my exact choices.
One thing stood out—the reward section.
I had set it to "None," yet a small amount of experience was still listed as a reward.
'So, a base reward is always provided? What about the failure penalty?'
I wasn't trying to be cruel.
I just wanted to see the limits.
Since quests weren't assigned instantly, I had time to experiment.
"Change the failure penalty to 'death.'"
Ding!
"Quest Assignment"
Quest: Hunt a Goblin (0/1)Time Limit: 168 hours 00 minutes 00 secondsReward: Small amount of experience.Failure Penalty: Death.
[Would you like to assign this quest?]
[Yes / No]
"…No."
[Quest assignment canceled.]
I couldn't believe it.
Not only could I fully customize quests, but there was no limit on failure penalties.
It was clear what that meant.
'If I wanted to, I could kill my citizens anytime.'
Their lives were entirely in my hands.
I didn't even need a difficult quest—just set a one-second time limit, and they'd die instantly.
"This is insane…"
Realizing the true extent of my skill sent shivers down my spine.
I had absolute power over the people in my house.
The skill's name was no exaggeration—I was truly the Absolute Ruler of the House.
'…Now, what do I do?'
I could easily exploit my citizens.
If I forced deadly quests upon them, they'd have no choice but to fight for survival.
I could even order them to find and rescue my parents.
But…
'Would they even try? More importantly, could they even succeed?'
I needed strong, capable allies.
And forcing people into submission wasn't the way.
'I need them to want to fight for me.'
A mutually beneficial approach would be best.
With that in mind, I prepared to visit my new citizens—
But then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Disheveled hair, unshaven face, and sweat-drenched clothes from the Kelikan fight.
'Yeah… I should shower first.'