Chapter 86

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 86: Stubborn (5)

As Yeongwoo accepted the compensation, his upper body immediately began to glow brightly.

Crack!

“What?”

Jo Sangik, who had been watching over him, was surprised to the point of astonishment, and then something was seen being put on Yeongwoo’s upper body.

Click!

It was none other than a golden armor.

The third reward item of the Golden Ratio Route was a chest plate.

「Golden Oath」- Legendary Breastplate

【Reduces enemy attack power by 50%.】

【Accumulated Golden Ratio: 5】

*’Golden Flood’ bonus.

‘Attack power…? It’s neither power nor strength, so what is attack power?’

The item tooltips in this world are never written in vain.

For example, the tooltip for Underdog is ‘Increases power by 25% against targets larger than the user.’

Therefore, if the Golden Oath simply reduced the destructive power of the opponent’s attacks, the expression ‘power’ would have been used.

‘Then does attack power have a more complex meaning?’

Even if it was purely a decrease in power, it was clearly an equipment with an unreasonable option.

‘It’s completely defensive equipment. When I take the initiative, it’s as good as useless.’

Perhaps it was a perfect effect for those walking the Golden Ratio Route.

In a world where all powerful people are choosing to monopolize 3 million people, wouldn’t it be a perfect move to attract hate to go around spreading karma alone?

“Deputy Minister, is there any kind of hierarchy among the Strongest Swords who attend the meeting?”

“Yes?”

Jo Sangik made a puzzled expression at the sudden question.

But he still gave an answer.

“If I were to say that there is no hierarchy at all, it would be a lie… However, since they have never directly competed with each other, I can only say that there is an implicit hierarchy.”

“Then, where does the Deputy Minister’s hierarchy lie? I know it’s a rude question, but I’m asking because I need to know.”

“……”

Jo Sangik hesitated for a moment at Yeongwoo’s question.

Then he glanced briefly to the north, in the direction of Yongsan Park.

“Well, it would be around the middle, wouldn’t it?”

It was a very defensive answer.

‘But that means he’s not at the bottom.’

Yeongwoo thought.

Since Jo Sangik had said he hadn’t seen the Golden Ratio before, he must have chosen only the 3 million karma monopoly for the past two days.

Therefore, the total karma he possessed was at least 6 million.

Converted to ability points, it would be 6,000 points.

‘Judging by the fact that there are no particularly conspicuous items other than the curved sword, it seems that he invested most of his karma in ability points….’

By simple calculation, Jo Sangik’s expected average ability value was approximately 1,500.

It is a whopping 300 higher than his strength, which is the highest among Yeongwoo’s four major abilities.

『Character: Jeong Yeongwoo 07』

[Strength] 1,200 (19+1,181)

[Endurance] 850 (21+829)

[Durability] 1,050 (13+1,037)

[Sense] 600 (24+576)

In other words, if you compare it with other abilities, the difference will be much wider.

Yeongwoo, who had thought this far, nodded his head and stood to look directly at Jo Sangik.

“Then would you like to try attacking me?”

“… “What do you mean?”

“It is the same as I said. Attack me with the intention of killing me. Just once.”

“Is it because of the armor’s abilities?”

Indeed, Jo Sangik was sharp as always.

Upon this, Yeongwoo nodded again.

“Yes, that’s correct. But I won’t die with just one blow.”

Even if I imagine the worst-case scenario where my body might be torn about, it’ll be just about bearable.

Of course, it would be incredibly painful, but once that time passes, I can get back up again.

‘I need to properly understand what abilities this equipment I obtained this time has.’

Eventually, after mentally preparing himself, when Yeongwoo signaled with his eyes, Jo Sangik raised the sword with a solemn expression.

“Are you really okay…? I might not have been much help in the fight against the mutant, but things could be different in individual combat. Don’t forget who I am.”

It meant not to overlook the fact that the person who would soon be facing them with a sword was the Strongest Sword.

“Yes. I’ve considered it thoroughly. Let’s begin.”

With Yeongwoo’s repeated approval, Jo Sangik also nodded.

And then.

Swish!

He truly swung the sword.

Swish!

「Your sensory value has temporarily increased from the original 600 to 1,360.」

“….!”

The sensory value of Jo Sangik that Yeongwoo confirmed through sensory deprivation was about 1,400.

Truly the Strongest Sword of Seoul.

However.

‘What…?’

But when he actually saw his attack, it was incredibly slow.

It seemed like it could be blocked even without the help of Gyeongbuk Sword Law.

Could it be this slow after being subjected to sensory deprivation?

And wasn’t the speed of an attack originally within the realm of strength?

But this wasn’t a speed that could come from a strength of over 1,500.

Blame.

Eventually, when Yeongwoo dodged the dodge with simple movements, Jo Sangik’s long scroll cut through the empty space.

Swish!

“…Huh?”

Just like Yeongwoo, Jo Sangik felt something was off.

Upon this, Yeongwoo requested again.

“One more time. This time, with the intent to truly kill.”

“Yes.”

A sharp killing intent flickered in Jo Sangik’s eyes, with his subtly wounded pride, and this time, his blade cut through the air without warning.

Swish!

It was a diagonal slash harder to dodge than a straight cut.

He was really serious about it.

However.

‘Still slow.’

Even this time, Jo Sangik’s attack felt incredibly slow.

‘It’s not just reducing power, it’s reducing attack ability.’

Yeongwoo, who deduced this much, immediately swung the Black Sword to parry Jo Sangik’s blade.

Clang!

Then, something unexpected happened even to Yeongwoo.

“Ugh…!”

Jo Sangik’s expression contorted in pain as he held the sword.

“Are you alright?”

As Yeongwoo approached in surprise, Jo Sangik touched his own wrist and spoke.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I guess I was a bit careless because I didn’t expect it to be this strong. My wrist feels a bit numb.”

“You’re strong?”

Yeongwoo started to ask, but soon closed his mouth.

Even if he didn’t reveal it to Jo Sangik, his strength value was supposed to be significantly lower than Jo Sangik’s.

And even if he was careless, once you let go of the weapon, it was gone.

There wouldn’t be any burden on his wrist.

Therefore, what this result meant was…

‘My strength didn’t increase. For a moment, the Deputy Minister’s strength and durability decreased.’

【Reduces enemy attack power by 50%.】

Yeongwoo finally seemed to understand what this tooltip meant.

‘All abilities used for attack.’

[PR/N: HOLY.]

From the strength used to wield the weapon, the endurance to support this strength with the body, and even the senses for accuracy and stamina to be used in small amounts.

It was an effect that shattered all the abilities that composed an attack.

‘This is truly an unreasonable item. At least in terms of defense…’

Not only Jo Sangik but also any other Strongest Swords in Seoul would be unable to withstand it.

‘Some may have already defeated mutants, so they’re much stronger than Deputy Minister Jo Sangik, but now I have 5 million too. I can match their level.’

Just as Yeongwoo was about to touch the card containing a large sum of money in his pocket, all of Yeongwoo’s ability scores began to increase by 100 each.

「Your strength value has increased from the original 1,200 to 1,300.」

「Your stamina value has increased from the original 850 to 950.」

「Your endurance value has increased from the original 1,050 to 1,150.」

「Your sensory value has increased from the original 600 to 700.」

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Yeongwoo’s completion of the Golden Flood achievement synchronized with the achievement window, raising all his ability scores by 100, thanks to the Epic ring.

‘Oh my, I wasn’t even thinking about it.’

As Yeongwoo belatedly opened the achievement window, he noticed that the completed achievement count had increased from 5 to 6.

〔Your achievement tendency is “Stubborn.”〕

||Completed achievements: 6

‘It’s still stubborn.’

Yeongwoo chuckled as he looked at his achievement tendency.

It reminded him of the first Golden Ratio incident, where the system determined his tendency as “Stubborn.”

‘I wonder how Yechan is doing.’

As he recalled the first Golden Ratio, Yechan, who was sitting next to him at the time, naturally came to mind.

So, he briefly considered using his fountain pen to check his location, but soon gave up on the idea.

There was a much more pressing issue at hand.

‘Now that I’ve completed the Golden Flood, a new achievement should have been added.’

The recommended achievement list had a maximum of 4 slots, and one of them needed to be completed to reveal a new achievement.

Therefore, now that the Golden Flood had been completed, a new recommended achievement should have appeared.

‘It’s highly likely to be related to the Golden Ratio route… Could the next one be ‘Golden Rain in 10 regions’?’

Because he had already started walking the Golden Ratio route, it would be awkward if an entirely different type of achievement appeared.

‘Well, let’s take a look for now.’

The final task of this mutant battle.

With half anticipation and half worry, Yeongwoo unfolded the recommended achievements.

Swish!

[Nocturnal]

|Spend a night outside of your place of residence.

[Jeweler’s Touch]

|Wear two rings of hero grade or higher on your index and ring fingers each. (3/4)

[Complete Orphan]

|Find and eliminate your parents. (1/2)

[Golden Journey]

|Summon the Golden Flood in the next area.

|Domestic (0/3) |Foreign (0/2)

* * *

Thunk.

…

…

Thunk!

…

Thud, thunk!

‘Who on earth is making all this noise?’

Taejoon frowned in his sleep, then abruptly woke up, startled.

“Huh!”

Suddenly, an eerily white ceiling came into view, almost giving him chills.

“Wh-what?”

Instinctively, he sat up and reached out to touch the floor, only to realize that the texture of the ground felt strange.

“Ugh!”

To his surprise, just like the ceiling, the floor was made of an unidentified white material.

And not only that. The walls surrounding him and the modest door attached to one side of the wall…

‘T-There’s a door!’

As soon as Taejoon realized that there was a doorknob in this strange space, he instinctively ran towards it.

Thunk!

Since it was only about 10 square meters, it only took a few steps to reach the doorknob.

Thump!

Soon, the doorknob was in his hand.

Without hesitation, Taejoon pulled the doorknob, opening the entrance buried in the white wall.

Swish!

But before he could step outside, he stumbled back into place, landing on his backside.

“Oof…?”

Because, even outside the door, it was still an entirely white space.

Moreover, unlike the room with walls and a ceiling, there were no walls or ceilings outside, making it seem like an infinite space.

There was simply an endless expanse of bright white background.

Because of this, there was no way to gauge up or down, making it impossible to tell whether what he was looking at was the floor or empty space.

“W-What the…? Where is this?”

It wasn’t until after Taejoon had crouched outside his room that he noticed another man sitting outside.

“Ah!”

As Taejoon saw the man and let out another scream, the man’s face lit up with what seemed like genuine joy.

“Hyung! I’ve been waiting for so long, for real!”

“…Huh?”

“It’s me! It’s me! Can’t you recognize me?”

The man had a mischievous expression, looking like he was in his early twenties at most.

He was wearing something that looked like white pajamas, which seemed incredibly odd.

“……”

Taejoon blinked for a moment, then involuntarily shut his mouth.

“No way.”

“You seem to have guessed it right.”

“Are you… that creature from before?”

Due to his lack of composure, Taejoon referred to him as a “creature” instead of by his name, but the other person didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Yes, that’s right! I’m Hong Yeongtae!”

Hong Yeongtae.

He was a friend… no, a captive of Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo07.

So, this place is…

“Oh, crap.”

Taejoon muttered under his breath.

He had simply thought it was a long dream.

“This is that prison.”

As Taejoon said this, Yeongtae sniffed and forced a smile.

“It’s not that bad now that you’re here, Hyung. There was nothing like this before you came.”

Yeongtae pronounced “like this” as he gestured to the endless space outside the room with his hand.

“That… wasn’t here before?”

“Yes. Until you came, there was only my room here.”

“…”

His room, he said. So does that mean there’s another room like this?

Taejoon felt like he was about to get dizzy.

“Come out quickly, Hyung! There’s nothing there anyway.”

Yeongtae waved his hand eagerly, calling out to Taejoon.

After hesitating for a while, Taejoon finally stretched his foot out of the room.

Then.

In the distance to the left, he could see another square white building.

And Yeongtae, jumping with joy, was already running towards it.

“What… what’s in that room…?”

As Taejoon looked around the still dark white space, he asked, and Yeongtae, now much further away, answered in a voice louder than before.

“There’s an hourglass!”

“An hourglass…?”

“There’s also a menu board!”

“……?”

“Next, I’m going to save up money to buy a TV!”

Yeongtae’s voice sounded even further away.

But the word “TV” clearly reached Taejoon’s ears.

“A TV? There’s a television here?”

As Taejoon asked this, Yeongtae was already jumping into his room.

“……”

So, in the end, Taejoon…

Clang!

…started chasing after Yeongtae.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]