Chapter 17

BOOM.

“HURK—!”

“…Huh?”

The spell never hit.

It exploded in midair, repelled by some invisible force.

As if it had struck a transparent shield.

《Combat is prohibited within the Safe Zone.》
《All physical and magical interference is nullified by the system.》
《To engage in combat, please exit the Safe Zone.》

Oh, right. This is a safe zone.

The safe part wasn’t just for show, it seemed.

“F-Fuck!”

The tattooed man collapsed on the spot, shaking like a leaf.

Even if he hadn’t been physically harmed, the sheer force of the explosion must have given him a pretty clear idea of what would have happened otherwise.

Still, since the system had blocked his attack, there was no reason to stop here.

He pointed his finger at the man again.

“Black Missile.”

BOOM.

“AAAAAH!”

“…Yeah, this really doesn’t work, huh?”

Just to be sure, he tested it again.

The result was the same.

Black Missile exploded harmlessly before reaching its target.

Even Energy Drain refused to activate.

A bit disappointing, but it wasn’t a total loss.

At the very least, this meant the Safe Zone really was safe.

No one could harm him here.

“Y-You piece of shit! You think this is over?!”

The tattooed man pulled a spiked mace out of his inventory, brandishing it with a wild look in his eyes.

He scoffed.

“Go ahead. Try me.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Come on. Take a swing. Kill me.”

“….”

The man hesitated. His eyes darted around, his grip tightening on the weapon.

But he didn’t move.

So he already knows combat is disabled here.

“Smart little pig. Trying to play both sides, huh?”

“Y-You bastard! You think you can stay here forever?! You’ll have to leave eventually!”

Ah.

So that was the plan.

Wait until he has to step outside. Then kill him.

It was so pathetic he almost pitied the guy.

“And you?“

The tattooed man flinched.

“Do you think you can stay here forever?“

“The hell kind of nonsense are you spewing?!”

“If you don’t get it, forget it.“

Seriously. First Alex, now this guy—why did none of these idiots understand subtext?

Fine. Time to make it crystal clear.

“Here, let’s make a deal.”

He met the man’s eyes and grinned.

“The next time we see each other outside the Safe Zone, you run at me as fast as you can and try to kill me. And I’ll blast you with magic the moment I see you. Sounds fair?”

“Wh-What…? W-Wait, hold on—”

The man’s eyes widened in realization.

He finally understood.

If he left the Safe Zone first… he would be the one who died.

Watching the slow realization dawn on his face, the same thought that had crossed his mind earlier resurfaced.

Why do these melee weapon idiots keep picking fights with me?

No armor. No shield. No helmet.

Charging at a mage with a club?

It was a mystery of human stupidity he would never solve.

“Conversation’s over, right? Then I’ve got things to do.”

“Hey, wait! You son of a—!”

Ignoring the tattooed man, he grabbed the doorknob.

The guy lunged to stop him, but his hands swiped uselessly through the air.

It seemed the system prevented any physical contact.

Smirking at the futile struggle, he deliberately let out a small chuckle before pushing the door open.

《Main Quest “Home Sweet Home” has been completed.》
《Quest reward: Ownership of the selected residence and control over access permissions.》
《You can use commands to expel individuals from your residence or block entry entirely.》

His eyes gleamed at the system messages.

The house’s old-fashioned appearance aside, the functionality was perfect.

A private space, completely untouchable by outsiders.

In a world where privacy was a luxury of the past, this was an invaluable reward.

As he took in the benefits, the tattooed man had already stormed up behind him, grinding his teeth.

“You bastard! Did you not hear a word I said!? I told you not to go in—!”

“Expel.”

Flash.

“…!?”

A single whispered command, and suddenly, the tattooed man was outside.

While he stood there in stunned confusion, another command followed.

“That pig is permanently banned from entry.”

“You little—!”

THUD.

“GAH!?”

The moment he tried to charge back in, he slammed into an invisible wall and was thrown backward.

Judging by how he groaned and clutched his head, the impact hurt.

“This is really nice.”

Grinning, he shut the door.

A few seconds later, the guy’s muffled shouts reached his ears.

Strangely, it sounded distant—like he was yelling from much farther away.

The system hadn’t mentioned it, but it seemed the house had built-in soundproofing as well.

A perfect sanctuary.

Satisfied, he turned to explore his new home.

“This is actually better than I expected.”

The Roman-style house was far better than he had initially assumed.

Especially the bed and blankets—they were even better than the ones he’d had in his one-room apartment.

At this point, it was already a more comfortable place to live than any house without running water or electricity.

As he inspected his surroundings, more survivors began arriving outside.

“Holy shit… After all that, I finally made it!”

“Is this the right place? It looks like a safe zone…”

Each person reacts differently as they step into the safe zone.

Some collapsed in exhaustion, while others remained composed.

A few of them fumbled awkwardly with their status windows, clearly unfamiliar with the system.

Not all of them are beta testers.

In fact, there were barely any beta testers among them.

If they were, they’d have arrived far more confidently.

Besides himself, he only counted two others who carried themselves with the composure of experienced players.

Most of them seemed to have picked a class on the spot and started at level one.

And every time a new survivor arrived, the tattooed man started another confrontation.

“Hold it! This place belongs to my friends—!”

“The hell are you talking about? Get out of the way.”

“STOP! If you enter, I’ll kill you!”

“Stop your own damn face.”

“If you don’t turn around right now—!”

“Oh yeah? You wanna fight, dumbass?”

“….”