Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 158

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Chapter 158: Hot Night (2)

“Over here is Choi Jongseon, who came from Yangju. And this is her son.”

As Yeongwoo introduced the Yangju Strongest Sword and her baby in order, Lim Suna greeted the two with a big smile.

It was typical of Jeong Yeongwoo to introduce even a newborn baby as ‘her son.’

“Oh, I see. I’m Lim Suna, the assistant manager of Taewon Group’s secretariat. Nice to meet you.”

Then, Suna sent Yeongwoo a glance, questioning how this situation came about.

It was because every time Yeongwoo returned to Gangnam, he kept bringing in outsiders without permission, which made Suna feel a bit awkward.

“Oh… I had to bring them along because I accidentally blew up Yangju. Besides, we needed someone to handle Gwangjin District, so…”

“I see… you blew up Yangju…?”

Suna asked with wide eyes, thinking that what Jeong Yeongwoo said might be a metaphor, not a literal fact.

“It just happened that way.”

“….”

How could someone just accidentally blow up a city?

“…Then I’ll arrange accommodations near the headquarters for Choi Jongseon as well.”

“Yes. And…”

Yeongwoo then gestured towards Kim Jeonggu.

Quickly.

“This is Mr. Kim Jeonggu. He’s my father.”

At this, Suna failed to control her expression for the first time.

“Huh?”

She looked at Yeongwoo and Jeonggu with incredulous faces.

The fact that this crazy Strongest Sword had a father was surprising enough, but what was even more shocking was…

“Kim….”

That Jeong Yeongwoo and his father had different last names.

Finally, she glimpsed that Yeongwoo’s background was not typical.

Moreover, wasn’t Gangnam the area where Jeong Yeongwoo killed the previous master and his son and took over?

Bringing his own father there was quite an extraordinary thing to do.

“Father, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Lim Suna.”

As Suna bowed politely, Kim Jeonggu also lowered his head with a solemn expression.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Kim Jeonggu.”

Given the situation, Jeonggu didn’t insist on denying that he was Jeong Yeongwoo’s father.

“Shall we prepare accommodations for your father as well?”

When Suna asked this, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Yeongwoo shook his head.

“No need. It’s better to just have him stay in my place without bothering with additional arrangements.”

“…?”

Kim Jeonggu looked at Yeongwoo with a puzzled expression.

However, since Suna was Yeongwoo’s subordinate after all, she nodded even after seeing Jeonggu’s face.

“Yes. I’ll prepare as you said. Is there anything else you need?”

“Yes. Just in case, ask Mr. Jongsu and Chief Inspector Kwon Taeyoung too. Ask them if they’d like to watch TV in my room tonight.”

“Oh… I understand.”

Although it seemed like a ridiculous story to Suna, Yeongwoo’s intention was to provide welfare for the colleagues who had worked hard for him.

Especially, didn’t Jongsu say that the reason he lived in this world was to witness extraordinary events that were never seen in the previous world?

Like the sight of conglomerates turning into dragons and returning.

So, Jongsu would naturally be interested in watching TV that illuminated the rooms of returnees and the strong from various parts of the world.

“Alright, is everything done? I still have some work left, so I’ll leave it to you, Jongseon.”

When Yeongwoo signaled to Jongseon that she could go, Kim Jeonggu asked with a pale face.

“Shouldn’t I stay here too…?”

To this, Yeongwoo gestured towards Kim Jeonggu from across the window.

“What are you talking about? You should ride an iron horse from another world while you’re at it. We’re only going to spend three days together, so let’s make some memories.”

* * *

Riding the flying horse Negwig with his father for a drive through the streets of Gangnam.

Of course, there was no romance in it since it wasn’t a typical father-son relationship.

“What are we doing tonight?”

Asked Jeonggu, who was sitting in the back seat, and Yeongwoo pointed to the black light pillar visible on the other side.

“We have to meet the merchants in Gangnam, Gwangjin, and Paju. We need to collect abnormal climate equipment.”

“Abnormal climate equipment…?”

“Yes.”

Yeongwoo briefly explained abnormal climate immunity equipment and night dungeons to Jeonggu.

He said that if you activate the orb left by the mutants on the road at night, you can enter the interdimensional dungeons where people from all over the world gather.

“…That’s absurd.”

Of course, Jeonggu found it hard to believe.

“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”

People from all over the world gathering in an interdimensional dungeon to carry out cooperative missions.

Even for Yeongwoo, who had experienced all sorts of extraordinary events, it was hard to imagine.

“…Then how do you communicate inside? If everyone is a foreigner.”

“I’m not sure if it’s only inside the dungeon or if it’s the same for all reset checkpoints, but communication just works.”

“Well… I guess there’s nothing impossible.”

Surprisingly, Kim Jeonggu readily agreed.

“However…”

Yeongwoo continued, adding to his previous statement.

“The dungeon difficulty is quite high, and if even one person doesn’t follow the rules, the entire party is at risk. At least that was the case in the last dungeon.”

“But in the end, you came back alive, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

Yeongwoo fell into a brief recollection.

It could only be expressed as luck.

The Sicily’s guardian sword of Sicily, Ottavio.

And the Tocantins Leopard, Ricardo.

Although there was some initial friction, they turned out to be excellent comrades in the end.

But what if in the next dungeon, they meet a Strongest Sword from a country like North Korea or Japan, where the national sentiments are not favorable towards each other?

‘There’s a chance we might be lucky enough to meet good people again, but… the probability of that not happening is quite high.’

So, Yeongwoo planned to organize a party with fellow Strongest Swords from his own country as much as possible.

That way, there would be less discord within the dungeon, and the rewards for completing the dungeon could also be directed towards their own country.

Therefore.

Yeongwoo’s father in the back seat was also one of the candidates for the party.

After all, he was a figure who could become the strongest in Dobong, even as a 6th-grade native.

‘He’s still my father. Even if he doesn’t admit it himself.’

Perhaps he wanted to feel something fatherly from this man before the day came when he would have to kill his father in three days.

It was probably a desire born out of long deprivation.

‘Whether it’s a dungeon or anything else, something might happen in extreme situations, right? In movies, there’s always that kind of scene.’

Of course, Yeongwoo knew better than anyone else that movies and reality were quite different.

He realized this once again when his father, as if showing off, rolled over.

‘I wish I never knew my father. What exactly does having a father mean?…’

As Yeongwoo was lost in thought with a troubled expression, merchants from Gangnam finally appeared ahead.

Gooooooooo…!

Within the faint light pillar, as usual, a strange silhouette loomed, and when Yeongwoo approached it with Negwig, the mediator Kubu appeared.

A grade 9 broker under the Universal Law that is made up of eyelids.

–Nice to meet you again, the strongest in Gangnam, Gyeongbuk, and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07!

Upon this, Yeongwoo waited for Kubu’s self-introduction.

He wondered if there had been any changes in Kubu’s title or something.

Ever since he found out that this diligent mediator’s legal grade was much lower than expected, he had been curious about this extraterrestrial as well.

–I am Kubu, the owner of the Tenta tribe and the guardian of Daro, who is mediating this transaction.

‘Same as before.’

It hadn’t been long since their last meeting.

Yet when Yeongwoo showed a slightly disappointed expression, Kubu blinked his large eyes and looked at him.

–You’re quite late.

“Yes. I was busy today, so it turned out like this. But fortunately, there are still merchants left. They should also be getting off work soon.”

This was true.

When he visited Chungju, he heard directly from Shin Yeongju, the Strongest Sword there.

–Yes. As all the merchants waiting in line have returned, currently, only trades with the auctioneer from Totom are possible.

–Shall we proceed with the transaction?

He was probably designated as a merchant in Gangnam-gu as of today.

“Sure. Let’s deal right away.”

Yeongwoo’s heart becomes anxious.

At this point, wouldn’t it be highly likely that merchants in the other two regions would also be preparing to leave work?

Kubu must have noticed Yeongwoo’s feelings, and he started trading right away.

–The intermediary fee for this transaction is 10% and is included in the product price.

–I’ll show you the product list.

As Kubu rolled his eyes, blue spots appeared before Yeongwoo, then began to transform into human characters.

1 – 「Crow」 – Heroic Helmet

【Ignores Void Fog.】

◇ 110,000 karma

2 – 「Power Attack」 – Relic Hammer

【Power increases by 15% when using both hands.】

◇ 344,000 karma

‘Wow. Someone great was waiting for me.’

As soon as Yeongwoo glanced at the top of the product list, he couldn’t help but smile.

Usually, items 1 and 2 were like curses, but this time, there was nothing to discard.

“Crow” seemed to be abnormal climate equipment, and “Power Attack” would be perfect for the weapon encyclopaedia later.

Sometimes, when items are added to the weapon encyclopaedia, they come out at an unbelievably cost-effective level.

Power Attack itself might only be worth the price of a weapon when viewed separately, but if that effect is constantly applied through the encyclopaedia, wouldn’t the story change completely?

But even more than that, there were two items below that stood out.

3 – 「Body Modification」 – Epic Spine

【Martial art slot +1】

◇ 820,000 karma

4 – 「Body Deficiency」 – Epic Breastplate

【Power increases up to 80% depending on the degree of limb loss.】

◇ 4,100,000 karma

‘Crazy.’

Yeongwoo’s mouth hung open.

‘If I add a martial art slot, does that mean I can use two sword techniques at the same time?’

After consulting with himself, that was the only conclusion.

Of course, there was a risk of having to change part of the body to an alien item… but wasn’t this deal with Jeong Yeongwoo07?

‘If I could cut open someone else’s stomach and eat their organs, there’s nothing I couldn’t change, right?’

Besides, didn’t Yeongwoo have conditional anesthesia?

「Berserker」 – Mutant Charm

【Ignore a certain level of pain.】

Therefore, Yeongwoo didn’t feel much psychological burden no matter what the process of ‘wearing’ that spine was like.

Even if the worst comes to worst, his body would regenerate quickly.

And in the same vein, the Epic Breastplate, “Body Deficiency,” was also a must-buy item.

‘If it’s a limb deficiency… Does that mean… it refers to having limbs cut off?’

Perhaps it was a piece of equipment designed for special cases like a one-armed swordsman, but Yeongwoo could use it just as easily.

‘Whether it’s cut off by someone else or by me, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s in a deficient state, the effect will trigger, right? Among people with intact limbs, I’m probably the one who can make the best use of it.’

The only downside was that he couldn’t give up the armor he was currently wearing, so the armor encyclopaedia was essential.

And another problem was…

【Power increases up to 80% depending on the degree of limb loss.】

‘How much limb deficiency is needed for maximum activation?’

Surely it wouldn’t be referring to a state where all limbs were missing from a human perspective.

‘No, that’s from a human perspective, but the one who made it…’

Yeongwoo looked up at the merchant inside the pillar of light.

The Totom Auctioneer looked like a large tree with awkward branches.

“I suppose we can’t expect additional explanations about the equipment effects?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, Kubu blinked and replied.

–That’s correct.

“Hmm.”

As expected.

So Yeongwoo nodded immediately.

“Well, I’ll find out for myself if possible.”

Then, he scanned through the four items on the product list one by one.

“I’ll buy everything here, so Kubu, please hurry and stop the merchants from leaving Gwangjin-gu.”

Upon hearing this, Kubu blinked his large eyes again.

–The transaction is complete. Thank you as always.

Once the transaction was completed, Yeongwoo’s karma balance was updated.

* Available karma: 8,840,000

With a current balance of 8.84 million karma, it was unprecedented to have money left after buying Epic-grade equipment with cash.

–Well then, see you again.

As the transaction ended, Kubu bid farewell with a farewell message different from usual.

Did he accept Yeongwoo’s request to hurry and stop the other merchants from leaving?

Soon after, Kubu vanished into thin air, so Yeongwoo quickly directed Negwig towards Gwangjin-gu.

And then, he called out to the passenger in the back seat.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be surprised.”

“I’m not surprised at all. Even if it’s like this, you’re still the Strongest Sword…”

Before Jeonggu could finish his sentence, Yeongwoo’s ‘Bastard’ suddenly appeared in the air.

“You damn…!”

It was only after seeing that he had not been warned about dealing with merchants or mediators that Jeonggu realized what the warning was about.

Creak!

Just now, the crazy orphan had cut off his own arm.

-Ke-ak!

Of course, the arm was grabbed by the Golden Goblin with both hands, but Jeonggu flipped it over after the bloodshed.

“Oh no fuck… why are you doing this?”

To which Jeong Yeongwoo07 replied bluntly.

“40%.”

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