Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 103
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Chapter 103: Finally, Disaster (2)
「Hey, stand straight…!」
The thunderous voice peculiar to mutants echoed through the air.
Upon this, the people forming a line about ten meters long panicked and stood up straight.
This place is now in the middle of Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.
And those standing in rows according to the mutant’s orders were none other than the personnel from Gwangjin-gu Police Station and monster contractors.
Simply put, they were the second strongest individuals in Gwangjin-gu after the Strongest Sword.
They were the security personnel of Gwangjin-gu and the next vested interests.
But now, they were merely pawns in the mutant’s plan.
「Alright, next!」
Cha Dooseong, a mutant on the third day in Gwangjin-gu, pointed his finger towards the human formation.
More precisely, he called forth someone bearing the title ‘Gwangjin’s Strongest Sword’ over their head.
「Don’t annoy me and come out quickly, before everyone else is killed.」
As the impatient mutant issued a threat, finally, a man tremblingly stepped out of the formation.
This man’s name was Kim Seongwoo 102.
He was also the 295th Strongest Sword of Gwangjin-gu.
“Uh, ugh….”
His face was already soaked with tears, and his body was stiffened to the point where he couldn’t walk properly.
Understandably so.
“….”
In the place he was called to, the 294th Strongest Sword lay fallen, having died in battle earlier.
And from that corpse, about four meters away, lay the beginning of all this calamity, Strongest Sword Jang Taemin04, dead.
‘Fuck.’
Kim Seong-woo looked at the corpse of the first Strongest Sword with eyes full of sorrow.
If he hadn’t lost to Cha Dooseong, he wouldn’t have had to stand in this position as the 295th Strongest Sword.
But before facing Cha Dooseong in a real fight, the first Strongest Sword had sensed his impending defeat and hastily sent out a call, rallying all the forces of Gwangjin-gu.
In response, Kim Seongwoo and other skilled individuals from Gwangjin-gu answered the call, but it was already too late.
—Boom, Bang!
I still can’t forget it.
The sound that echoed as I stepped into the Children’s Grand Park to chase the mutant’s mark.
Until then, Jang Taemin was still alive.
—Boom, Thud!
However, his limbs were all twisted back, rendering him unable to fight anymore.
And standing before the completely ruined body of Jang Taemin was a mutant, casting a long shadow over him.
Once the strongest presence in Gwangjin-gu, Jang Taemin’s face continued to be hit.
—Boom… Thud.
[Sports Athlete – Cha Dooseong]
Upon seeing the mutant’s name tag, the supporting troops froze in an instant.
Cha Dooseong.
He was a genius boxer, a former Olympic gold medalist in boxing.
However, due to his violent nature, he was expelled from the boxing world after causing assault incidents, and thereafter, he lived a downward spiral life, engaging in assault, extortion, vandalism, and other crimes.
So, it was only natural that such a person would become a candidate for elimination.
But who could have known?
Later, given the choice, Cha Dooseong chose to become a ‘mutant’ and returned to Gwangjin-gu on the third day of the reset.
Then he killed all the hundreds of skilled individuals from Gwangjin-gu who had come at Jang Taemin’s call.
Nonetheless, still unable to calm his anger, he began to play with the remaining survivors.
A game known as the sparring of death.
If someone could dodge even one punch from Cha Dooseong, they could leave this place alive.
But of course, no one succeeded, and now it was Kim Seongwoo’s turn.
「Over here.」
Finally, Cha Dooseong pointed with his pale finger at Kim Seongwoo.
Cha Dooseong, a mutant on the third day in Gwangjin-gu, was about two meters tall, resembling a ghoul, a monster that tears apart corpses.
“Phew… huff.”
Breathless.
After Kim Seong-woo stood in the designated spot, he closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again.
Given that he had been called up to this point… he must already consider himself dead.
As he glanced briefly at the back, he saw dozens of survivors watching him anxiously with equally restless expressions.
Soon, after he dies, the 296th Gwangjin Strongest Sword will be born among them.
“…Ah.”
His legs trembled.
Finally, he saw Cha Dooseong’s horrifying shadow cast by his own feet.
And then.
-Clank!
“Huh…?”
Beyond Cha Dooseong’s shoulders, a superhuman riding a black horse appeared from the direction of the park entrance.
* * *
Clack, clack!
A chilling sound of iron hooves, so unfamiliar it sent shivers down one’s spine.
The skilled individuals from Gwangjin-gu who were lined up in front of Cha Dooseong were in despair.
They thought another mutant had appeared.
But.
「What… what’s this god-awful smell?」
Seeing a fearful glint pass over Cha Dooseong’s face for the first time, their thoughts changed.
‘What… could it be?’
‘Isn’t there only one smell that mutants react to that much?’
‘…Mutant equipment.’
Indeed.
In this world, only mutant-grade equipment with the scent of dead mutants could unsettle a mutant by smell alone.
|This equipment contains the scent of a mutant. Another mutant can detect and be wary of it.
In other words, the person approaching from the other side was not a mutant but someone wearing mutant equipment…
“Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword…?”
Someone in the audience read the purple title of the approaching opponent within visible range.
Then others, as if deranged, repeated the same word.
“Strongest Sword? Strongest Sword?”
“Strongest Sword has arrived?”
Then, at some point, the mood shifted slightly.
“Wait, where did Strongest Sword come from?”
Although it was a miracle that Strongest Sword appeared before everyone died, that alone wasn’t enough.
Because the Strongest Sword who appeared had to face none other than Cha Dooseong, a former Olympic gold medalist in boxing who now possessed the powerful physique of a ghoul.
Seeing how he easily subdued Gwangjin Strongest Sword Jang Taemin as if breaking a twig, it was clear that any ordinary Strongest Sword was not going to be enough.
At least.
‘We need someone like Gangnam’s Strongest Sword…’
The moment the prospective deceased thought this, the Strongest Sword in question, who had approached within about twenty meters, leaped off his horse.
Thud!
Then, his black cloak fluttered, revealing the golden armor hidden beneath it.
“Huh.”
“…Oh?”
The golden equipment, including three pieces of Golden Gear, and even the Artifact Helmet,’Vanguard’ a reward of the Golden Route.
This Strongest Sword, or rather Jeong Yeongwoo07, had appeared more convincingly than anyone else since the reset.
Though not perfect, he closely resembled a knight from fantasy.
Click.
As Yeongwoo finally touched the ground with his silver-white boots, Cha Dooseong, who had been only glancing back until then, straightened up fully.
「What are you?」
Cha Dooseong’s twisted nose snarled incessantly, the smell of the mutant equipment having become much stronger than before.
Though the Strongest Sword who was currently struggling over there emitted a disturbing smell, it was definitely not to this extent.
In other words, the newcomer this time was much stronger than the Strongest Sword he had killed just hours ago.
「What are you doing?」
Cha Dooseong asked, his tone much angrier than before.
Finally, Yeongwoo spoke up.
“Don’t you know? As far as I know, mutants can even read Hangul properly.”
Even Yeongwoo’s tone was sharp.
It was evident even without mixing words that this mutant had a twisted personality.
In addition to that, the hundreds of corpses scattered around the Children’s Park… if one didn’t get emotionally moved by that, they wouldn’t be human.
“What’s up? Come at me.”
As Yeongwoo confirmed his opponent’s height and pulled out Underdog, preparing to engage, Cha Dooseong, sensing something different about this one, tensed his body.
But then.
“Wait a moment!”
An unexpected figure intervened between the two monsters.
“…?”
As a startled Yeongwoo turned his head towards the source of the sound, the face of Gwangjin’s Strongest Sword, Kim Seongwoo102, with a frightened expression, came into view.
And soon, the line that followed from his mouth was:
“Ho… Are you alone?”
“Yes…?”
A completely unreasonable question based on suspicion, asking if there really was only one of him.
“What about the others? Like Jeong Hyeonsik?”
“Ah.”
Only now did Yeongwoo understand what his opponent was worried about and nodded briefly.
After all, he had seen the Gwangjin Strongest Sword suffer a crushing defeat earlier, and for nearly two hours, he had been humiliated by the mutant, so it could be considered a very natural reaction.
“Don’t worry. Two more…”
Just as Yeongwoo was trying to reassure his opponent.
Swoosh!
With a tremendous noise, a sensory decay notification appeared.
「The sensory value has temporarily increased from the original 800 to 2,410.」
“….!”
Through this, it could be inferred that the opponent’s sensory value was a whopping 3,220.
‘What, this guy. His stats are even higher than Kim Taejoon’s.’
Of course, Yeongwoo had not been idle during this time.
Currently, Yeongwoo’s stats had once again increased due to the “Idealist” effect, and on top of that…
「Golden Oath」- Legendary Breastplate
【Reduces enemy attack power by 50%.】
【Accumulated Golden Ratio: 6】
He even had a new suit of armor boasting overwhelming defensive capabilities.
Thanks to this.
Swish!
“….Huh.”
Yeongwoo, who had once lagged behind even in ordinary races among civilians, managed to avoid the punches of a boxing gold medalist.
「Is this…?」
Cha Dooseong wore an expression of disbelief.
Although there was a considerable distance between him and his opponent, he never dreamed he could dodge the punches like this.
「You lucky bastard.」
Eventually, Cha Dooseong, his pride scratched, assumed a full-fledged fighting stance, and just as Yeongwoo was about to face him with his sword, a quest notification suddenly sounded.
[Dogo] “Romanticism”
[Mission] Engage in a solo battle with Cha Dooseong using bare hands and win.
[Reward] 2 million karma
[Special] You must disclose the fact that you are supported by Dogo.
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