The moment our eyes met, my entire body seized up.
Fear coiled around me, rooting my feet to the floor.
The creature, with its colossal size and predatory gaze, was the very definition of a predator.
Gulp.
The sound of my own swallow was deafening in the silence.
An instant later, the Shardbeak lunged, its maw gaping wide.
Thunk!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
Only when an invisible barrier repelled the creature’s snapping jaws did I realize it had meant to pounce on me.
“Ugh!”
Blocked by the transparent wall, the beast slid down, but it immediately flapped its wings and rose again.
It pressed its face against the barrier, teeth gnashing, still focused on me.
Screech!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
As I watched the creature’s teeth grind against the invisible wall, far too close for comfort, a dreadful possibility occurred to me.
‘It’s not going to break through, is it?’
A cold spike of anxiety shot through me—the image of those fierce teeth shattering the wall and sinking into my throat.
The thought snapped me back to my senses.
‘I have to do something!’
I bolted to the kitchen, snatched a knife from the block, and returned to face the Shardbeak.
The creature ignored me completely, still obsessed with chewing on the invisible barrier.
I weighed the length of the knife against the distance to the beast and came to a quick conclusion.
‘The knife is too short.’
It was a standard kitchen knife, maybe twenty centimeters long. Since my body was stuck behind the transparent wall, my effective reach was barely a handspan.
To hit the creature, I’d have to aim for a spot pressed right against the wall. The only target that fit the description was its mouth.
Its tough beak and the rows of teeth within.
Shoving a kitchen knife in there didn’t seem like it would do much.
‘If I want to stab it in the throat, I need to make a spear.’
Luckily, I had just the materials.
I grabbed the mop I’d bought from Da-isseo Mart, fixed the kitchen knife to the end, and bound it tight with roll after roll of tape.
Within moments, I had a crude but serviceable weapon.
I tested the binding, making sure the knife was secure, and allowed myself a grim smile of satisfaction.
‘This should do.’
Screech!
[Unauthorized access attempt.]
The creature was still absorbed in its futile assault on the transparent wall, utterly oblivious.
‘Now!’
With all my strength, I thrust the spear into the creature’s neck, sinking it nearly halfway to the handle.
Squeal!
The Shardbeak shrieked and recoiled, the violent motion tearing the blade free and widening the gash in its throat.
Splurt!
A torrent of blood sprayed from the wound. It splattered against the transparent wall, but the sheer volume was staggering.
‘Got it!’
However.
Squeal!
Despite the blood pouring from its neck, the creature was still moving with terrifying vigor.
Thud! Thud!
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
It began ramming the transparent wall with its head, venting its rage. The sight of it, wounded and thrashing, was that of a beast determined to kill me even if it died in the attempt.
“Ha, one more time!”
Composing myself, I raised the spear again.
However.
Whoosh!
“Oops!”
This time, the creature was watching my every move. As I thrust forward, it caught the spearhead in its beak and wrenched it sideways.
Crack!
The plastic mop handle I’d bought from Da-isseo Mart shattered in the Shardbeak’s beak, and I lost my grip on the knife as it was torn away.
“If this continues…”
Squeal!
I had another small fruit knife, but it wasn't nearly as sharp as the one I'd just lost. It probably wouldn’t inflict much damage.
‘Besides, with it watching me, my attacks won’t land anyway.’
My only hope was that even in its frenzy, the creature was still losing a lot of blood.
[Unauthorized entity attempting entry.]
The transparent wall was holding perfectly, so the raw fear had started to fade. All I had to do was wait it out.
As time ticked by, the creature’s blood smearing the invisible barrier, its movements clearly grew more sluggish.
Finally, the Shardbeak went still. It stopped attacking the wall and simply stared at me.
It seemed to be thinking.
As I held its gaze, an unsettling hypothesis formed in my mind.
‘Wait a minute.’
It looked like the creature had realized it couldn’t break through the wall.
So, what if it just gave up?
What if it flew away before it bled to death?
‘Looting only activates if the corpse is nearby.’
The reason for this theory was simple.
Back when I was hunting goblins, success wasn’t always guaranteed.
Some of them took a dumbbell to the body or limbs, and I was sure a few had been on the verge of death.
‘But if the group carried them off, they were never included in the loot distribution.’
They must have died.
A goblin hit in the chest with a dumbbell couldn’t have survived for long.
‘In that case, if this thing gets a certain distance away, the loot distribution won’t happen.’
It couldn’t end like this.
“How much was this thing worth? You’re just going to let it get away?”
I had it cornered, too.
‘Is there any way to finish this?’
My eyes darted around the apartment, searching desperately.
And then my gaze landed on a bottle of cooking oil.
‘That’s it!’
Maybe I could finish it with that.
“Shop open! Purchase 10 sets of canola oil!”
[Are you sure you want to make this purchase?]
[Yes / No]
“Yes!”
Zzing—
Instantly, a row of twenty 900ml canola oil bottles materialized on the living room floor.
“Warehouse open! Store only the cooking oil, excluding the plastic containers!”
Zzing—
With all the oil stored away, I moved quickly.
I took a wad of kitchen towels and fastened it to the shattered end of the mop handle with tape.
Then, I ran back to the kitchen and turned on the gas stove.
“Summon cooking oil!”
I poured all the oil into a large pot and waited for it to heat up.
Sizzle—Crackle!
As the oil heated, so did my anxiety.
Pop! Sizzle!
‘Is this enough?’
The wait felt impossibly long.
“Store!”
I stored the boiling oil back in the warehouse, soaked the kitchen towels on my makeshift torch, and immediately lit it on the stove.
Fwoosh!
The gas flame leaped onto the oil-soaked tip. I grabbed the burning spear and ran back to the living room window.
The creature was still watching me, its eyes wary.
It seemed particularly suspicious of the flame.
Staring at the creature’s head, I commanded, “Summon cooking oil!”
In the next instant.
Zzing—
The eighteen liters of boiling oil I had stored materialized in the air above the Shardbeak’s head and cascaded down onto its body.
“Kiyeek?!”
Stunned by the sudden, scalding deluge, the creature looked up, confused.
“Die!”
I plunged the flaming end of the broken mop handle into the creature’s body.
“Kkieeeek!”
Startled by the surprise attack or simply writhing in pain, the creature flailed wildly, falling away from the apartment wall.
As the beast plummeted, I could finally smile.
‘It’s done.’
Cooking oil has a high flashpoint, so it doesn't ignite easily.
But once it does catch fire, it burns ferociously.
It’s the reason so many kitchen fires start.
A flaming torch was now embedded in the Shardbeak’s torso.
The small flame began to spread, slowly but surely, across the creature’s oil-drenched body.
Fwoosh—
What started as a slow burn soon engulfed the entire Shardbeak.
FWOOOSH!
As the flames roared to life, I could see the startled Shardbeak thrashing in mid-air.
It beat its wings desperately, perhaps trying to extinguish the fire, but that only fanned the flames higher.
“Keeeeek!”
With an unearthly scream, the creature crashed into the apartment complex’s promenade below.
CRACK! KWOONG!
Its heavy body slammed into a tree, utterly destroying it.
Whether the tree cushioned the fall or not, the creature was still alive and moving.
“Kkwaaeeaak!”
It rolled frantically on the ground, trying to smother the fire clinging to its body, but its efforts only spread the blaze to the surrounding grass. The flames would not go out.
FWOOOSH!
Its struggles were short-lived.
[Hunted Shardbeak (Lv. 27).]
[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.]
[Skill level increased.]
[Skill level increased.]
[Learned a new skill.]
The system notifications confirmed that the Shardbeak’s life had been extinguished.
[There are items nearby that meet the conditions for loot.]
[Initiating loot assessment.]
As the assessment began, the Shardbeak’s flaming corpse started to dissolve, disappearing gradually from the ground up.
Unlike before, where some parts might remain, this time the entire body vanished before the next notification appeared.
[Loot assessment complete.]
[9,347,487 won has been deposited into the wallet of the Hearthbound Dweller.]
The amount left me speechless.
“N-N-Nine million won?!”
Given its high level and the fact that I’d hunted it alone, I expected a decent payout, but I never imagined it would be this much.
“Almost ten million won!”
With the money I already had, my total was well over ten million.
It was a staggering sum, and the satisfaction of earning it myself was immense.
“Haha.”
But the Shardbeak’s gifts weren’t finished.
[Residential Area Expansion is beginning.]
“Hmm?”
Woooong.
An unfamiliar message appeared, and I felt a strange shift in the air.
‘What’s happening?’
A faint, rippling sensation spread through the entire house. It crested in a sudden, jarring expansion of my senses.
“!!!”
My field of vision ballooned outward.
Woooong!
At first, I saw myself, sitting in the living room.
‘Is this… me?’
Then my perspective began to expand rapidly. I could perceive every corner of the living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, and the bathroom all at once.
No, it was less like seeing and more like knowing.
I could sense the house’s layout, the real-time flow of electricity through the walls, the precise arrangement of the furniture, even the motes of dust on the floor.
It felt as if I had become the house itself.
Woooong!
“Ugh!”
A sudden surge pulsed through me. My whole being felt like it was swelling, about to burst.
And then…
“This, this is!”
My body was actually expanding.
No, to be precise, the area of my perception was expanding.
Beyond my front door, down the corridor, wrapping around the elevator, and pushing into the neighboring apartment.
I could vividly perceive what was happening next door.
“A person?”
There were people in the apartment beside mine.
A young couple, probably in their late thirties, with two children.
“These people?”
I didn’t know most of them, but the husband’s face was familiar.
I’d seen him now and then when I went to the convenience store or took out the trash.
“My neighbors?”
Their voices were so clear it was as if they were in the room with me.
“Honey, what should we do? I smell something burning. Do you think something’s wrong?”
“It’s okay. We’re on the 30th floor. Most monsters can’t get up this high.”
“But we’ve been hearing all that thumping. Is everything really okay?”
“Daddy, I’m scared.”
“Seoyeon, shh!”
“Ugh.”
I could guess why they were so terrified.
It was probably because of all the noise the Shardbeak had made.
Then it happened.
“Ugh!”
The moment I felt my residential area expand to encompass the entire 30th floor, I snapped back into my own body.
“What was that…”
As I tried to process what had just occurred, a new notification materialized before me.
[A being satisfying the conditions to be recognized as a citizen has been found.]
[Grant citizenship?]