Chapter 89

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 89: Wave (3)

「Wanted Poster」 – Epic

【Seek what you desire.】

|Father

A magic pen that finds what you desire.

Yeongwoo briefly looked at the phrase ‘father’, which was currently set as the search target, and then quickly re-entered the target.

‘Will it still search properly even with two conditions attached?’

Kim Taejoon’s, family.

From the beginning, it was unclear how an item from space would perceive the overarching concept of ‘family’.

In the human world, the category of family includes not only blood relations but also relationships like spouses and adoptive parents.

‘Whatever it is, if I can find even one member of the family, that would be fortunate.’

With a slightly anxious heart, Yeongwoo re-entered the search target of the wanted poster.

Then, the wanted poster in the form of a magic pen vibrated for a moment and displayed a system message.

「A new search target has been entered. Would you like to update the results?」

To update the results meant to erase the arrow pointing to ‘father’ currently displayed in front of him.

“Y-yes… Confirm.”

As Yeongwoo confirmed the update, the wanted poster shone brightly.

Pah-at!

Then the search arrow, which had been pointing north, began to tilt eastward.

Ssssh.

“Huh….”

“Brother, what’s going on?”

Now the arrow was pointing northeast.

Considering the current location, which is based in Gwanak-gu, northeast would be.

“Seocho, Gangnam, Gwangjin, perhaps. Then is Guri City next?”

On the other hand, VC Soft’s headquarters are in Bundang.

So Yeongwoo expected the arrow to tilt south.

Swish.

Yeongwoo then pointed the arrow direction with his hand.

“Is there anything related to VC Soft or chairman Kim Taejoon in that direction? It seems to span Seocho, Gangnam, and Gwangjin.”

Upon hearing this, Jongsu looked at Yeongwoo surprisingly.

“Brother, VC’s first office was in Nonhyeon-dong. That’s why Kim Taejoon built a memorial there.”

“Oh, Nonhyeon-dong.”

“Gangnam-gu.”

Gangnam-gu.

It’s the stronghold of Jung Hyunsik, who lost his son.

As fate would have it, Jongsu also pointed out this fact.

“It was right under the nose of Gangnam’s Strongest Sword. But they say it’s darkest under the lamp. There shouldn’t be any problem quickly finding the family and bringing them back.”

Of course, Yeongwoo agreed with this assertion.

At least by this afternoon, Gangnam’s Strongest Sword should be tied up in Yongsan.

“Are you okay, officer?”

“I don’t have experience in investigations… but this is close to handling complaints. It brings back childhood memories, and I like it.”

Taeyoung said this while unconsciously feeling the gun at his waist.

It was a keepsake of Kim Byungcheol, the chief of Icheon Police Station, with a bullet in it.

“Gangnam is also a relatively well-organized area like here. But just in case, it would be better to move with Mr. Jongsu.”

“Yes, brother. It’s about time to pay for a meal.”

“Understood.”

With both men nodding without hesitation, Yeongwoo intended to pay them for their security.

However, Jongsu vehemently refused and took out a golden coin from his pocket.

“You have already provided enough for security. And the money you gave last time is still here.”

Jongsu’s current wealth amounted to a whopping 147,000 karma.

In fact, among ordinary people, he was considered quite wealthy.

“Right now, abilities would be more useful than cash. Keep only the minimum and invest in your abilities.”

As Yeongwoo said this, dotted lines appeared along Jongsu’s body contour.

He had started investing in abilities as soon as he heard Yeongwoo’s words.

Meanwhile, Taeyoung, still a bit concerned, spoke with a stiff expression.

“If we find Mr. Taejoon’s family, where should we go next?”

This was quite a difficult problem.

If Yeongwoo were to be killed by Jeong Hyunsik, then the reunion of Taejoon’s family would become problematic.

‘My name was on the nametag along with Yeongtae’s. So if the owner changes, the chances of our friends disappearing are high.’

Perhaps he would be released from his indenture and become a mutant again.

And secondly, if Yeongwoo were to assassinate Jeong Hyunsik.

‘In that case, I would become the Strongest Sword of Gangnam. It’s unimaginable, but… it would be a very good thing for the chairman and his family.’

In this case, it would be better for Kim Taejoon’s family to stay in Nonhyeon-dong as it is.

And lastly, if for some reason both Yeongwoo and Jeong Hyunsik were to survive the reunion.

In that case, since Yeongwoo wouldn’t be able to summon his ‘friends’ in Gangnam, it was imperative to bring chariman Kim Taejoon’s family.

Therefore, the conclusion was reached.

“It would be best to bring them to Seoul National University.”

They decided to rely on Seoul National University, which was relatively neutral.

* * *

1:52 PM.

Yeongwoo, who had dispatched the two to Gangnam, now set out for his final appointment in Gwanak, a meeting with a merchant.

– Creak.

From the iron horse Negwig to golden goblin.

Anyone could see that it was an unprecedented change, but fortunately the road to meet the merchant was quiet.

It didn’t seem like the merchant’s symbol itself appeared in the same places as monsters or mutants.

“What, what is…?”

“Ahh!”

However, there were occasional sightings of Gwanak-gu residents running away in terror at the sight of the iron horse.

“…Huh? What’s going on?”

And occasionally, instead of fleeing, some people stared directly at Yeongwoo’s face.

They seemed to have noticed the resemblance between the face engraved on the commemorative coin he had just obtained and the creature.

“……”

Upon Yeongwoo’s awkward nod, the other party also bowed their head slightly and went on their way, a few bizarre incidents like this happened a couple more times before.

Sssaaaat…!

Finally, they arrived at a park where a black pillar of light had taken hold.

‘Merchants generally appear in secluded places.’

Yeongwoo glanced around, relieved to see not a single ant in sight.

Monsters and mutants didn’t care much whether they appeared on the street or on top of buildings.

After all, wasn’t this world theirs to destroy?

In contrast, merchants seemed to choose places that caused the least disturbance to the worlds they visited.

Was it because they were coming to trade?

Clack, clack.

As Yeongwoo slowly pushed the iron horse into the park, he saw a black pillar of light descending in the center of the spacious playground.

‘Looks like I’m the first customer after all.’

After confirming once again that there was no one nearby, Yeongwoo leaped off the iron horse.

Thud!

At that moment, the silhouette within the pillar of light twitched and turned towards Yeongwoo.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

The merchant who had arrived earlier had noticed the arrival of his trading partner.

‘He’s not as big as I expected.’

Of course, whether he would end up trading with the merchant remained to be seen.

As the distance between Yeongwoo and the merchant shrank to within 10 meters, the space in front of the pillar of light split open, revealing the mediator, Kubu.

Sllurp.

– It is an honor to meet you again, the strongest in Gyeongbuk, Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07 from Earth!

– I am Kubu, the mediator of this transaction and the guardian of Daro, representing the Tenta Tribe.

The greeting was almost memorized by now.

However, Kubu’s appearance, with eyelids as his only facial feature, still didn’t feel familiar.

– The mediation fee for this transaction is 10%, included in the price of the goods. Three upper parties have bid for this transaction in total.

– Would you like to see the list of bidding parties and their proposals?

The perks of being a primary mediator were still in place.

“Yes, please show me.”

As Yeongwoo nodded, Kubu’s eyes blinked widely.

And then.

Squiggle!

The space between Yeongwoo and Kubu distorted, and soon three fist-sized objects appeared there.

‘That’s the list of bidders…?’

As Yeongwoo approached the unidentified objects, which had been unrecognizable until just now, they began to transform into different shapes.

Shirring.

It was none other than…

‘…Oh.’

Earthly items.

Each bidder had crafted an object that Earthlings would recognize in their own way.

‘Unbelievable.’

Yeongwoo sifted through the objects imitated by the aliens, feeling like a judge.

The first one was…

‘A statue?’

It was a figure of a person sitting on a sturdy chair, but upon closer inspection…

‘…A king. It’s a king.’

It depicted the figure of a king seated on a throne, even wearing reasonably well-made royal attire.

The material seemed to be of a strange substance, neither clay nor stone.

In any case, what they seemed to be appealing to was Yeongwoo, their trading partner – their understanding of humans seemed to be high.

Considering Yeongwoo was Korean, they had sent a representation of a ‘king,’ a concept that had existed only in the past but was still conceptually used today.

Thus, the items they offered were likely closely related to human characteristics.

‘They must be very meticulous people.’

However, Yeongwoo’s thoughts changed as soon as he saw the second item.

Shirring.

The second one was made up of countless grains of sand, moving alone as if it were truly alive.

Shit!

The second bidder had sent a flying bird.

A bird that seemed almost perfect, from the subtle movements of its feathers to the delicate trembling of its beak.

‘Incredible technology.’

However, Yeongwoo couldn’t exactly determine what they were trying to appeal to with the bird. Perhaps they simply liked the concept of a bird among Earth’s various contents.

‘Now, onto the next one.’

As Yeongwoo turned his eyes to the third item, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

‘W-what is this?’

The third one wasn’t an object but rather a kind of scene.

A night sea that seemed as though thunder would strike at any moment.

In the midst of it, a huge whirlpool was visualized, swirling wildly.

“……”

Although it was clearly a depiction of a part of Earth, Yeongwoo felt a sense of dread.

At the same time, he also felt a desire to see the items that these beings were presenting.

“These people… no, I will trade with these bidders.”

As Yeongwoo pointed to the problematic sea landscape, Kubu blinked his eyes.

– Are you sure about this?

“Yes.”

As Yeongwoo nodded again, Kubu’s eyes briefly flickered towards the empty space.

Then.

– In accordance with the request of Jeong Yeongwoo07, I return the Shameel bidder and call forth the prisoners of Rohm.

As Kubu finished speaking, the black pillar of light vanished, and the silhouette that had been visible inside was lifted up into the sky.

Then, almost immediately.

Whoooo…!

A thick, oily substance poured out from the inside of the pillar of light.

‘Is that the merchant?’

Yeongwoo stared blankly at the “prisoners of Roam,” which filled the entire pillar of light from bottom to top with darkness.

Then Kubu rolled his eyes and said.

– The list of items is complete.

The merchant, the prisoners of Roam.

Whether they were actually prisoners somewhere or if the name “prisoners” was just a title for the bidder, there was no way to know.

But judging from the items they were selling.

‘They’re definitely extreme individuals.’

1 ― 「Broken Scale」 – Unique Ring

【30% reduction in muscle strength.】

【Endurance and senses increased by 40%.】

◇ 680,000 Karma

2 ― 「Masochism」 – narrative gem

【Slot: Strength increases by 25% when bleeding.】

◇ 1,700,000 Karma

3 ― 「Rohm’s Bottom」 – Legendary Sword Technique

【Fight like a prisoner.】

◇ Local martial arts

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]