Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 159

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Chapter 159: Hot Night (3)

“What…?”

As Jeonggu uttered in bewilderment, the golden goblin attached its arm back to Yeongwoo.

Thunk!

Then, the flesh of the severed sides that were completely separate until a moment ago was seen sticking together.

“What, what is this?”

Discomfort surged.

It was a whole different dimension when it came to riding an alien horse and having one’s body function oddly, apart from the usual.

“What have you done to your body? It’s fine to become stronger, but you still ought to remain human.”

For the first time since meeting Yeongwoo, Jeonggu lectured as an adult.

At the age of 58 this year, he was inevitably part of the conservative middle-aged group.

Of course, part of his discomfort stemmed from the fact that his face was now covered in someone else’s blood, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

But.

“You have to endure these hardships to be able to survive in this world without having inherited anything.”

Yeongwoo rebuked his father gently.

And in fact, considering those who transcended humanity, wouldn’t they all be included in this world’s top ranks?

How could those who could punch through building walls with their bare fists be considered ‘human’?

‘Anyway, the effects are remarkable. It’s worth the grade value, as expected.’

「Body Deficiency」 – Epic Breastplate

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

In Yeongwoo’s view now, the icon of the severed arm and the figure “40%” displayed below it were visible together.

It meant that he gained a 40% increase in power due to the recent left arm severance.

Then the figure started to decrease rapidly.

This was probably because the arm was starting to reattach.

‘It’s quite convenient, perhaps because it’s a high-grade item. It even displays the buff values.’

Just losing one pair of arms increased the power by a whopping 40%.

And if he were to lose another arm or a leg, he could attain the maximum buff of 80%.

‘I must obtain an Armor encyclopaedia. When encountering opponents strong enough to cut off my arms, it will create variables, and conversely, sacrificing an arm temporarily for extreme attack would also be possible.’

The appearance of the deficiency icon in Yeongwoo’s view was because he was wearing the equipment directly.

After completing the transaction with Totom, instead of the Golden Oath, ‘Body Deficiency’ was automatically worn.

‘In terms of versatility, the Golden Oath is still much more useful.’

Therefore, ‘Body Deficiency’ was a somewhat awkward piece of equipment to use immediately.

‘Encyclopaedia… The encyclopaedia is too OP. With just that, it becomes possible to configure truly absurd equipment.’

Meanwhile, his left arm was almost restored, and accordingly, the effectiveness increase effect of ‘Body Deficiency’ decreased to 0%.

‘Even if the arm is slightly less attached, once it’s somewhat restored, the buff disappears.’

After learning one more thing about this bizarre equipment, Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to the system message he had been postponing.

「Will you equip the unique grade ‘Body Modification’ spine?」

|Warning: There is an unusual equipping procedure. Please equip it while being in a state of undressed.

“……”

If the system expressed it as ‘unusual’, then it truly was unusual.

So even Yeongwoo, who was bold enough, couldn’t help but hesitate upon seeing this phrase.

‘Is it really necessary to physically remove the spine and replace it…? Is that possible?’

Yeongwoo, whose thoughts had come this far, couldn’t help but worry about Jeonggu behind him.

Isn’t he the one who was horrified just by seeing the arm being reattached?

‘If I say that the spine is being replaced, he would probably faint.’

It seemed that this was not a procedure that could be carried out on horseback, so for now, he decided to postpone it further.

Fortunately, a merchant from Gwangjin-gu was visible ahead.

“Kubu! Mediator…!”

As Yeongwoo called out the mediator’s name from a distance, the space in front of the pillar of light split open, and he appeared.

―Nice to meet you again, Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07.

“Have you caught him? The merchant!”

Then Kubu, after rolling his eyes once, replied.

―An agreement has been reached with the upper part of Seoul’s Gwangjin-gu, South Korea.

“Then what about Paju…?”

While asking this, Yeongwoo had a hunch that the merchant from Paju had already left Earth.

―Regarding the Paju you mentioned, the trade has already begun, and the stay has expired.

Someone had met and taken the merchant Yeongwoo called for.

Therefore, due to the restricted stay of the merchant, they were forced to leave as the sun set.

“Ah, what kind of a bastard?”

Yeongwoo rubbed his forehead.

Though he didn’t know, it was most likely someone who had come down from North Korea.

‘But still, it’s not such a bad outcome since I managed to get a merchant from Gwangjin-gu.’

After all, couldn’t he just turn his remaining money into stats?

Besides, he was in a state where he had an abundance of equipment but lacked stats.

“Mr. Kubu! Let’s proceed with the transaction!”

Eager to replace his spine quickly, Yeongwoo urged the mediator.

Then, after Kubu blinked his eyes widely, he introduced the next trading partner.

―The waiting traders are followers of Cerium.

―The mediation fee for this transaction is 10% and is included in the product price.

‘Cerium’s followers… There are religious groups even in space.’

As Yeongwoo confirmed the merchant’s name, Kubu soon announced the start of the transaction.

“I will show you the product list.”

Swish.

1 – 「Firewall」 – Unique Cape

【Ignores all abnormal weather conditions with flame attributes.】

◇ 623,000 Karma

2 – 「Heresy」 – Unique Gauntlets

【15% of attack power is converted into mental damage.】

◇ 680,000 Karma

3 – 「Rebirth」 – Unique Gem

【When reaching the state of death, all abilities increase by 25%.】

◇ 732,000 Karma

4 -「Judgement」 – Unique Gloves

【Increases power by 20% against enemies with #abilities.】

◇ 850,000 Karma

All four items were of the unique grade.

After looking at the entire product list, Yeongwoo furrowed his eyebrows.

‘They’re selling quite peculiar equipment.’

The equipment sold by Cerium’s followers mostly seemed to have effects aimed at preparing for something beyond the Earth’s internal conflicts.

Even the gloves, “Judgement,” increased power against enemies with #abilities.

“There are even items that convert attacks into mental damage. If I collect such items, it might be possible to convert 100% later on.”

So, even if it was a bit burdensome for an ordinary Strongest Sword, he decided to buy all the items.

“I’ll buy them all.”

On the contrary, it was an investment for Yeongwoo’s future.

After all, he had already reached a level where it was difficult to find opponents on Earth.

‘Of course, somewhere on that continent, there must be formidable opponents. But even that will end once I acquire more encyclopaedias.’

As Yeongwoo decided to purchase all the items with a meaningful expression, Kim Jeonggu widened his eyes.

“D-Do you have that much money?”

As a Strongest Sword, he knew roughly how much the products of these merchants would cost.

Moreover, this was already the second time he was buying everything at once.

Even if a Strongest Sword earned a considerable amount of money compared to ordinary people, he was still just a wage earner… No, he was more like a day laborer.

“I told you earlier, I also have income from advertising.”

After saying this to Jeonggu, Yeongwoo concluded the transaction with the followers.

–The transaction is complete. Thank you as always.

After blinking his eyes, Kubu refreshed Yeongwoo’s Karma balance.

Acquired!

* Available Karma: 5,955,000

‘5.95 million? There’s more left than I thought.’

If he poured all of this into his stats, it would increase nearly 6,000.

『Character: Jeong Yeongwoo07』

[Strength] 3,200 (19+3,181)

[Stamina] 2,648 (21+2,627)

[Endurance] 3,648 (13+3,635)

[Sense] 1,500 (24+1,476)

Currently, Yeongwoo’s total stats were approximately 10,000.

‘How much stronger can I get? No, how much stronger can I become? If I have money, can my stats skyrocket to tens of millions?’

As he began to feel powerless and fearful of his own growing strength, Yeongwoo also became curious about how much the likes of Destruction King Dogo would have in terms of stats.

As confirmed in their previous meeting, even the chairman uses ‘equipment.’

One of them, a mythical one-handed sword, is now in my hands.

「Bastard」- Mythical One-handed Sword

【Authority Obstruction】

【Contempt for the weak】

【challenger】

A weapon for those who dare to challenge transcendent beings, meant for the ultimate confrontation.

“….”

Yeongwoo glanced briefly at the peculiar appearance of the Bastard before grasping the reins of Negwig once again and spoke.

“Let’s go now.”

“…Where are we going this time?”

“To Gangnam. We’ve seen everything we need to see outside.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jeonggu’s voice sounded somewhat relieved now.

Simultaneously, Negwig began to gallop towards Gangnam, emitting long cries.

* * *

Clatter, clatter!

The distance from Gwangjin-gu to Gangnam was not far, so Yeongwoo had to move quickly.

First and foremost, he needed to equip the gem he had just obtained.

「Rebirth」 – Unique Gem

【When reaching the state of death, all abilities increase by 25%.】

The term “state of death” essentially meant a state close to death, which might not be very useful for ordinary humans, but for Yeongwoo, who possessed an incredible regenerative ability, there was no better insurance equipment.

‘If all abilities increase by 25%, it should include strength and endurance, right? It will surely help in blocking the final blow.’

Luckily, there was a slot available for the “Furious Goblin” in the accessory encyclopaedia, so Yeongwoo immediately equipped the gem.

[Furious Goblin] – Mutant Ring

【Increases strength by 100 every day】

【When reaching the state of death, all abilities increase by 25%.】

Becoming a monster day by day.

But there were still a few tasks left, including investing nearly 6,000 in stats.

「The night is approaching.」

「Therefore, to ensure your right to rest, the lodging service will begin in one hour.」

Soon, a pre-announcement for the lodging service starting at 8 PM appeared.

At this, Jeonggu cautiously spoke while gazing at the Parnassus Hotel building in the distance.

“Is it really over now? Are we going in to rest?”

Given his age, mental fatigue accumulated rapidly, and he really wanted to rest.

Haven’t they had enough terrible experiences today?

“Yes. Let’s go to the lodging and rest for a while, and then see how the general and the chairman are doing when the lodging service starts…”

“The general…?”

“Ah, before that, I need to replace my spine. Before the kids arrive.”

“…Spine?”

[TL/N: ☠️there’s more to come sir]
[PR/N: I miss jongsu tho, also jeonggu boutta see crazier shit]

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