Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Rumble and clang!
The deafening thunder that could tear your ears apart greeted us first. Then, blinding flashes of lightning followed, strong enough to blind us.
Soon after, the thunder struck again.
Having encountered this situation immediately after passing through the ‘door leading to reality’ with no preparation, we could only stand there, dumbfounded, getting soaked in the rain.
It was quite miserable.
“…Is it a bit too much for a tropical rainforest to have continuous rain and thunderstorms?”
My free will wasn’t there, but even the lunchbox was meticulously packed for this trip.
Oh well, the reality that made sighs escape involuntarily. It seemed the same for Cha Jae-joon and Ellie Kim as they looked up at the sky with expressions like a raccoon that lost its cotton candy.
“Ms. Ellie Kim, can’t you do something about these clouds?”
“Oh, Jooni… Sorry, but controlling weather phenomena is too difficult, even for me. The burden… factor? It’s too much.”
“That’s too bad. I thought with your abilities, you could at least stop the rain.”
“…Sorry. But if you find a place to escape the rain, I can help dry you off, all fluffy.”
Ellie Kim bravely clenched her fist, maintaining a hopeful expression. Listening quietly to their conversation, I widened my eyes, staring intently at Ellie Kim.
“…Huh? What’s Ellie Kim’s ability that you’re talking about?”
“Uh? Oh! Yeon-oh, you didn’t know! My ability is water! I can control water, even the water in the air! It’s something to be proud of, a rare ability in the world of hunters! How about that, do you like it?”
“…Impressive, Ellie Kim.”
“I wear a mask and operate secretly, so… my skills and abilities are outstanding! Surely, when Yeon-oh sees me using my abilities, she’ll fall head over heels for me.”
She laughed confidently, spreading her arms as if expecting applause.
“Of course, controlling weather phenomena like this is incredibly hard, though.”
The self-assuredness she had just ten seconds ago disappeared without a trace. With slouched shoulders, she sadly mumbled while looking at the picnic bag we brought.
“Our delicious lunchboxes will be ruined. That’s the saddest part for me. Too much, too much!”
“If your ability can at least keep the bag from getting wet…”
“…Oh!”
“…If you have that kind of magic, please use it sparingly. That lunchbox bag… is the one I lent you, right?”
Cha Jae-joon sent a puzzled look my way but nodded as if acknowledging my statement.
“Then give it to me. If it’s an item that came from my house, I can put it in my inventory.”
“…!”
“Wow!”
“Is this also an item that came as a reward? It’s so useful!”
“Well, it’s not exactly like that, but the explanation is a bit long… Anyway, let’s find a place to avoid the rain first, and I’ll tell you later. Our current situation is more urgent. If we keep getting rained on like this, we might all catch a cold or quickly run out of energy and be an easy target for monsters.”
“Oh, okay.”
He quickly handed me the lunchbox bag. I safely put it into my inventory and took a deep breath.
‘…Riding Arvani in this heavy rain and wind is dangerous.’
However, blindly walking forward through this thunderstorm, trying to pierce through the rain and wind, would also be suicidal. Is going back home the only option?
If there’s a ‘door leading to reality,’ moving to my house is as easy as pie. But there was a lingering uneasy feeling.
‘…I feel like there’s something I can do here.’
Before coming here, I experienced a system window explosion that might provide hints…
Then it happened.
Ellie Kim asked me as if genuinely curious.
“Yeon-oh, can’t you create a house here? Wasn’t your ability to create a safe zone? I’m just guessing, but maybe you can make it here… Well, it’s just my deduction.”
“…!”
“The system window that appeared when we entered Yeon-oh’s house was fascinating. I think Yeon-oh can do that here too. Since Jooni and I have tight lips, we’ll keep your secret!”
She tried her best not to make her words messy. It was not the uncertain tone and way of speaking she had when we first met, but a truly confident manner of speaking.
Before I could be surprised by Ellie Kim’s change, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at her excellent insight.
She had found a small clue about the ‘safe zone’ with just one visit to my house.
In reality, the house wasn’t the core of the safe zone. And I had just realized that fact now.
‘…Yeah, if the house were the core of the safe zone, the system wouldn’t have displayed ‘that phrase.”
That phrase.
That was precisely it.
I quickly entered the title section and confirmed the title I had acquired less than an hour ago.
[The title ‘Inexperienced Homeowner’ is activated.
? The proficiency of the skill <Owner of the Safe House Inside the Gate> will increase more rapidly.
? More items related to the house will appear.
? Every time the house is upgraded, all stats will permanently increase by 30.
? Even in other areas, you can somewhat exert the influence of the Safe House, but you must fulfill the dominance requirements in those areas.]
‘…Here it is.’
The phrase about being able to extend the influence of the Safe House, even in other areas.
This meant that I could temporarily turn the places I go into Safe Houses, much like my own home.
Of course, there was a condition below it.
However, I must fulfill dominance requirements in other areas.
‘This surely refers to the dominance I need to establish over the land I want to create a Safe Zone on.’
In other words, if I could dominate even a portion of the land in this dungeon, I could create a Safe House. If that happened, the proficiency of <Owner of the Safe House Inside the Gate> I possessed would also increase.
At the same time, if I created a Safe House in a place with heavy rainfall and saved water from the rain?
‘…I could also raise the proficiency of <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)>.’
All these hypotheses would come true if everything aligned. Since I hadn’t used it in practice yet, it remained a hypothesis.
Now it was time to put it into action. I alternated my gaze between Cha Jae-joon and Ellie Kim, then opened my mouth.
“Is there any good land around here? I want to try something.”
“Of course! Yeon-oh, I’ll do anything you want. If you like it, I’m in!”
“Then Ellie Kim, you take the west, and I’ll take the east to search quickly. And if there’s a cave in the
terrain it would be even better.”
“Sure, I’ll hide well with Arvani…”
They nodded in understanding. It would be a nuisance for me to move around in this situation. Ellie Kim was S-level, so I trusted her physical abilities. I would preserve myself and ensure nothing happened to my body.
“Alright, one hour at the latest. Both of you should return within an hour.”
Since we didn’t know the potential dangers of the dungeon, it was best to get in and out as quickly as possible. Cha Jae-joon and Ellie Kim nodded, and as soon as I gave the signal, they disappeared from their positions.
About an hour later, almost simultaneously, Cha Jae-joon and Ellie Kim arrived at my location. They expressed amazement as if fascinated by the fact that I was hiding among the vines.
“Do you happen to have a hiding skill? It’s top-notch!”
“…No, unfortunately not.”
“This level is impressive enough!”
Wait, what?
Ellie Kim’s words sounded very suspicious. She spoke as if the system had perfectly generated the skill she needed, like someone who had experienced it before. Well, I would look into it later.
For now, I directed my gaze toward them, asking if they found any suitable places.
“Ms. Yeon-oh, I didn’t find a cave in the area I went to. Instead, I found an extremely large tree nearby. Would the hole in that tree be suitable?”
“Yeon-oh! I found a cave! And I confirmed there are no monsters inside! Choose me!”
Cha Jae-joon and Ellie Kim suddenly started competing, each claiming their discovered location was more comfortable. It felt like watching a scene from “Rescue Me! X Edition.”
And the place I chose was…