Chapter 42

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 42: Unfamiliar World (6)

“Uh… what’s going on?”

Even as Myungho asked this, he was already putting the gear in reverse.

For him, who was just a prey in this world, all mysterious phenomena were something he had to avoid.

Therefore, he didn’t really want to know why the mutant and the Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword had formed an alliance.

Whether it was valuable information or not, it wasn’t clear, but for immediate survival, it wasn’t certain if it would be of any help…

No, it might even be a threat.

‘Putting your life on the line out of curiosity? That’s insane.’

Just as Myungho was about to step on the accelerator in reverse, Yeongwoo in the passenger seat spoke up.

“Wait. I need to get off.”

“What?”

Myungho questioned with a puzzled expression, but instead of answering, Yeongwoo opened the passenger door.

Suddenly, the intense sounds from the other side of the scene penetrated into the vehicle.

– Gaaaah!

– Kreaaak!

Most of those sounds were the orcs screaming and falling, and the actual situation was tilting towards the mysterious duo.

After all, one of the duo was a mutant on the second day, and the other was the Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword with a defense count of 96.

On the other hand, Yeongwoo…

「The current Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword is ‘Jeong Yeongwoo07’. Rank 1, 0 defenses.」

Since becoming Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword, he had not killed anyone, so his defense count was only 0.

Even if you combined all the defense counts from his time as Gumi’s Strongest Sword, it still didn’t match 96.

But what caught Yeongwoo’s attention right now was the reason why the duo had formed.

‘If you’ve fought in 96 defense battles, it’s not a case where you’ve become Strongest Sword by chance… But why are you cooperating with the mutant?’

Yeongwoo observed the two ‘figures’ rapidly reducing the orcs with great speed.

The mutant on the second day seemed to have a height of 5 meters, and each swing of his arm made orcs scatter like pieces of paper, indicating tremendous strength.

And near him, the movements of Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword, who moved like a lightning bolt, were also exceptional.

Swish!

Just by looking at the lightning-fast sword strokes and optimized movements, he felt familiar with hologram guides.

In other words, it wasn’t a situation where one side was weaker and surrendered.

‘Did they agree to team up just to defeat the orcs? No, that doesn’t make sense. Even without being Strongest Sword, there’s no benefit for the mutant.’

Of course, mutants were fundamentally humans, so there was always room for unconventional choices.

Even if they chose to become mutants, upon returning, their anger might have disappeared, or they might have been eccentric from the beginning.

‘…Or maybe they were just acquaintances.’

If it was the latter, it was highly likely that he would have to deal with both at the same time.

‘If I make a mistake, I might end up fighting 1v2 again.’

Swiftly, when Yeongwoo touched the necklace hanging around his neck, a tooltip appeared in his field of view.

「Pumpkin-colored necklace」 – Legendary Necklace

【Summon a friend.】

| Yeongtae.

Then, soon after, a notification followed stating that the friend summoning limit for the day had been exhausted.

「The daily friend summoning limit is 0.」

The basic usage limit for the necklace was 2 times, but Yeongwoo had already used up all the attempts.

Once when he first got the whistle and once during his fight with Sangju’s Strongest Sword.

Moreover, the reason why the whistle was used in Sangju was to deal with the Strongest Sword and the mutant at the same time.

But then, in the next city, he encountered a similar… no, even more bizarre situation.

‘Back then it was an individual battle, but this time there is a high possibility that I will have to fight them both at the same time.’

Therefore, if there was going to be a fight anyway, now was the perfect time for a surprise attack for Yeongwoo.

-Aim for the back!

=Kraaah!

The orcs were currently diverting the attention of the two powerhouses.

At this moment, it could have been an opportune time for Yeongwoo to stab one of them, inflict the pain effect of ‘Golden Punishment,’ and use that advantage to handle the battle more favorably.

But Yeongwoo…

“……”

Even though the orcs had dwindled to single digits by now, he didn’t join the fight.

He knew that the moment he launched a surprise attack, any other potential choices would be permanently blocked.

For example, options like dialogue.

‘Is this why the system diagnosed me as a stubborn guy?’

Thud, thud.

Yeongwoo walked at a moderate pace without drawing his sword.

-Sa-save me!

-Wait!

Thanks to this, the mutant and the Strongest Sword duo were able to deal with the retreating orcs without any interference, and the presence of the intruder was only noticed afterwards.

「Huh.」

“What?”

The blue orc who spotted Yeongwoo and the white-haired eyes of the elderly man widened simultaneously.

At that very moment, the meeting of the two sides became even more dramatic as the corpses of orcs scattered everywhere disappeared, emitting karma.

Shrrr!

Crimson coins scattered in all directions.

Some even rolled up to Yeongwoo’s feet, and, to no surprise, the white eyebrows of Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword Jang Chunyong trembled upon seeing this.

“……”

It meant not to touch the loot.

『Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword.』

A title that shone as brightly as the sharp gaze of the old man.

Upon seeing the opponent’s title, Yeongwoo slowly spread his arms.

Primarily, it was a gesture indicating no intention to fight, but there was also an intention to prevent Jang Chunyong from immediately retrieving the coins.

In the end, if he ended up fighting those two, he planned to take the loot after the battle was over.

“Do you have any story to tell? This is the first time for such a situation.”

As Yeongwoo asked this, he glanced at the mutant behind Jang Chunyong.

Then, a very familiar name entered his field of view.

[Actor – Jang Daemyung]

‘Ah… Jang Daemyung is from Munyeong.’

Jang Daemyung, 49-year-old male.

He had built a solid reputation as a villain actor for 15 years, gaining recognition, but two years ago, he was expelled from the film industry due to a hit-and-run incident.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Jang Daemyung was intoxicated at the time of the incident, and if he had taken emergency measures right after the accident, the victim might have survived, adding more controversy.

Of course, Jang Daemyung received a prison sentence in the trial, but public anger did not easily subside.

It continued to circulate on the internet and other media, and that’s why Yeongwoo vividly remembered the name Jang Daemyung.

‘In the end, the target of public outrage… Well, it’s only natural.’

Although famous individuals are often more vilified in the first-stage screening compared to heinous criminals, Jang Daemyung’s case was somewhat different.

At the time, he may not have been driving with the level of malice of a murderer, but he hit someone anyway, and because he avoided responsibility for this, he ended up committing murder.

Furthermore, while drunk driving is unintentional manslaughter, a hit-and-run is just plain murder in Yeongwoo’s view.

Hence, when he learned that the mutant in Mungyeong City was Jang Daemyung, any curiosity or leniency he had in attempting dialogue disappeared.

In this case, he thought it would be better to die than let him go.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

‘I should have just attacked him earlier.’

Regrettably, he now regretted letting go of the perfect opportunity.

And Yeongwoo’s thoughts were vividly displayed through his gaze, or more precisely, Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword Jang Chunyong16 sensed it with his tremendous experience.

“Seems like you recognize my child. I’ll tell you in advance, I am Daemyung’s father. That should answer your question about what happened.”

“…As expected.”

Seeing that they shared the same family name was enough for Yeongwoo to make a good guess.

Yeongwoo nodded, tightly sealing his lips.

In just two lines of dialogue, he read a lot from the opponent’s pronunciation.

Jang Chunyong16 looked like an eighty-year-old, even though he might not be that old.

Until receiving his identification number and title, he would have been just an ordinary old man.

Then, suddenly, as the reset started, he would have witnessed the public re-judging his son, who was already imprisoned, in real-time.

Whether he knew his son would return here or if it was just for revenge on the world…

In any case, the old man with Jang Daemyung as his son ultimately became Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword.

The defense record of 96 times would now seem entirely different.

“Did you come here to see my child?”

Soon, Jang Chunyong16 asked threateningly while raising the sword he had on the ground.

‘Ah.’

His sword was an early bird too.

Imagining the opponent who had skillfully overcome the dispute at the exchange counter, Yeongwoo cautiously moved his hand to his waist.

“I didn’t know that your child was here. I just…”

Yeongwoo’s gaze turned to Jang Daemyung, who stood like a mountain behind him.

However, unlike when he crushed the orcs earlier, Jang Daemyung now looked back and forth between the outsider and his father with a face full of fear.

At least, Jang Daemyung didn’t want to fight with people.

‘What’s this…? They know very well that they have a significant advantage if they start a fight.’

As Yeongwoo was wondering with a puzzled expression, Jang Daemyung moved his blue chin and opened his mouth.

“If you didn’t come to kill us, please go on your way. We don’t want to fight with people.”

“…!”

Yeongwoo, who had encountered many mutants, was even more surprised.

“Then… why did you come back?”

As Yeongwoo stammered in surprise, Jang Daemyung pointed with his large finger at Jang Chunyong16.

“I came to see my father. I was curious about what happened to the world. It’s not like I came here to kill anyone.”

Jang Daemyung, saying this, didn’t seem filled with anger, nor did he seem like he had lost his mind.

‘Did he really come back purely because he was worried about his father…?’

Is filial piety supposed to be like this?

Yeongwoo, who had never had a father, could only conceptually understand it.

“If you’re hesitant, just go. Don’t waste your precious life.”

Jang Chunyong16, reading Yeongwoo’s hesitation from his eyes, issued another warning.

The fact that he appeared here in the first place implied that he had come searching for the mutant marker.

Therefore, Jang Chunyong was aware that the outsider in front of him was no ordinary person.

And indeed, Yeongwoo was not just any Strongest Sword; he was the Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword.

Having the pumpkin-colored whistle meant he needed to collect mutants, and to maintain the position of Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword, he had to continue accumulating the title.

Furthermore…

‘Leaving Jang Daemyung like this would make the Golden Flood achievement too distant.’

[Golden Flood]

|Summon the Golden Rain in five or more regions. (3/5)

Since Yeongwoo didn’t choose to monopolize Karma, his abilities were significantly lower than other Strongest Swords.

Achieving the Golden Flood was crucial for him.

“If I just pass by here, someone else will come to target your son anyway.”

As Yeongwoo spoke, Jang Chunyong16 chuckled.

“Hah! Isn’t that just an excuse? Anyway, even if you didn’t come to harm my son, it sounds like you did.”

“I won’t deny it. I came searching for mutants. However, I don’t want to harm your son.”

“Then what do you want to do? This place is becoming uncomfortable.”

Jang Chunyong16’s words seemed to be true.

Moreover, there had been an enormous aura rising from him since a while ago.

At this point, Yeongwoo quickly extended his hand toward Jang Daemyung.

“Mr. Daemyung! Haven’t you heard about the return function before coming here?”

「……?」

Hearing Yeongwoo’s words, Jang Daemyung momentarily had a blank expression, then looked down at his own palm.

Immediately, Jang Chunyong16, who was emitting a formidable aura, took a few steps back, glancing worriedly at his son, who stood at a height of five meters.

“What’s that nonsense about a return?”

「Ah. No way!」

After a while, Jang Daemyung seemed to recall something.

He partially opened his palm, radiating a blue aura.

Paat!

In his hand, a teleportation mark in the form of a door was being created.

‘As expected…!’

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

As anticipated, Jang Daemyung had learned about the local reconciliation method, the return function, before being sent here.

However…

Paat…!

In no time, Jang Daemyung folded his palm, erasing the mark.

Then, he stared directly at Yeongwoo and opened his mouth with a slightly different atmosphere than before.

“But why should I go back?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]