Chapter 98

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 98: Long Live the King (2)

“……”

Yeongwoo was surrounded by Strongest Swords as he searched the body, engulfed in complex emotions.

After all, wasn’t Jeong Hyunsik just a pivotal figure in the Seoul Alliance until a moment ago?

But now, having lost his life, he had become nothing more than a spectacle.

‘What on earth?’

A sense of discomfort arose.

Did everyone here lack empathy because they were all murderers?

Perhaps, being born into the ruling class, they all secretly wished for Jeong Hyunsik’s downfall.

As the “reset” began, everyone participated in the vote for annihilation as if they had been waiting for it.

And amidst this, the Strongest Sword meticulously searched the headless corpse, commenting as they went.

“I think that’s the ‘Wave.'”

“Is there anything in the pouch? It looks bulging.”

Continuous admonitions.

Ignoring them, Yeongwoo began to collect the equipment in the order they caught his eye.

The first was the ring that had been on Jeong Hyunsik’s finger.

Swoosh.

As Yeongwoo reached for the ring, an item tooltip appeared above it.

Pop!

「Wave」 – Unique Ring

[Voice transmission to the Strongest Sword of the acquisition area.]

| Area: Seoul

“Oh.”

“…Huh.”

As the tooltip for “Wave” appeared, the bustling interior fell silent for a moment.

It was only then that everyone truly realized.

That all the possessions of Gangnam’s Strongest Sword were passing into the hands of an outsider.

Among them, the “Wave” in particular was equipment closely related to Jeong Hyunsik’s position within the assembly, making its significance even more palpable.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo’s attention was more drawn to the equipment grade than the function of the ring.

‘Oh, it’s unique.’

It was two grades higher than heroic.

Therefore, he could complete one of the achievements he had been holding onto for a long time.

[Jeweller’s Touch]

| Wear two rings of heroic grade or higher on the index and ring fingers. (3/4)

‘Finally completing it.’

Completing one achievement would reveal a new one in its place.

So, Yeongwoo was more excited about the content of the newly emerging achievement than completing the current one.

Due to his achievement tendency being “stubborn,” he could occasionally indirectly obtain very rare information.

Like the “social worker” that revealed the return function of mutants.

‘There really is something in the pouch.’

Yeongwoo, holding the Wave, searched Jeong Hyunsik’s suit pocket as per one of the admonitions he had heard earlier.

Click.

Then, along with a few crimson coins, an oval-shaped stone came out.

‘What’s this…?’

As Yeongwoo grabbed the stone, just like before, a tooltip appeared.

Pop!

「Berserker」 – Mutant Charm

[Ignore a certain level of pain.]

“Wow.”

“What…?”

“What kind of item is this again?”

This time, the equipment was a complete mystery to the other Strongest Swords.

However, they immediately recognized how beneficial the effect written on the tooltip was.

Weren’t these the people who fought mutants and skirmished every day, even without challengers?

“What level does it mean by ‘certain level’?”

“Anyway, just looking at the options, it’s an amazing item…”

Amidst the Strongest Sword’s speculations, Yeongwoo looked at the “Berserker” with a meaningful expression.

‘So, it was thanks to this stone that Jeong Hyunsik could fight so well.’

Of course, Yeongwoo couldn’t precisely determine what the “certain level” mentioned in the tooltip meant.

But at least, it seemed that the pain inflicted by the golden punishment exceeded that “certain level” for sure.

“This item matches Yeongwoo’s compatibility very well.”

Jo Sangik added a comment.

It referred to Yeongwoo’s miraculous regeneration ability.

Isn’t it Yeongwoo who, even if his body is completely distorted, can recover perfectly given enough time?

Given such a person, giving him equipment that can conditionally ignore pain would create tremendous synergy.

“Yes. The compatibility must be great, but…”

Yeongwoo omitted the rest of the sentence.

Surely, even the legendary martial art “Rohm’s Bottom” was aware of this absurd new equipment.

In other words, it is no longer possible to guess what the Rohm’s Bottom, who previously ordered self-harm tactics, will now order.

Yeongwoo shuddered at the dreadful thought and shifted his gaze to the last visible piece of equipment.

The red bracelet hanging on Jeong Hyunsik’s left arm.

Tug.

As he removed the bracelet from the deceased, Yeongwoo himself experienced a tooltip he knew well.

「Self-Destruct」 – Mutation Bracelet

[Causes a powerful explosion.]

[Durability increased by 300.]

“Oh, it even raises durability. This is amazing.”

This item also suited Yeongwoo, who had a high regeneration rate.

Although the equipment named ‘Self-Destruct’ might not be easily usable by ordinary people, it was a risk-free move for Yeongwoo.

‘Is it over now? It’s much simpler than I thought.’

While thinking like this, Yeongwoo looked at ‘Serpent of Greed’ to see if there might be any other equipment.

「Serpent of Greed」 – Epic Compass

[Always seeks out rarity.]

*Ssshh!*

Unlike usual, the serpent opened its eyes wide and flicked its tongue, seeming to sense something from Jeong Hyunsik’s body.

“What is it?”

Yeongwoo asked the snake in a low voice, and once again, the other Strongest Sword who were surrounding him murmured.

Carrying a live snake around one’s left arm was already unusual, but now he was even talking to the snake.

There had never been such behavior in their expeditions.

*Ssshh!*

Eventually, the snake turned its head in one direction, and as Yeongwoo began to probe that direction, tension naturally spread among the assembly.

If by some chance the outsider found something else, then the snake might also be some kind of equipment, meaning he found something.

But if it turned out to be a bluff, he was just a crazy person keeping a pet snake.

Whatever it was, it was an interesting situation.

*Swish, swish.*

As Yeongwoo searched Jeong Hyunsik’s body here and there for a while, he suddenly made an expression that seemed to be wondering.

“What…?”

What could be surprising enough for this expert to react like that?

“What is it?”

Even Songpa’s Strongest Sword Oh Yeonhee, who had been silent until now, urged Yeongwoo for an answer.

Upon this, Yeongwoo untied Jeong Hyunsik’s shirt before responding.

“…?”

Another round of murmurs from the Strongest Sword assembly.

In the meantime, Yeongwoo noticed that the Serpent of Greed was still pointing at the upper abdomen of the corpse, so he covered his mouth with his hand.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“It feels like there’s something inside this person’s stomach.”

“…?”

Yeongwoo’s statement caused a stir among the audience.

Even Jo Sangik seemed to speak as if to warn him not to joke.

“What, what are you talking about? What could be inside him?”

“There’s no way this guy is wrong. He’s found similar things before.”

Yeongwoo glanced at Serpent of Greed.

Thanks to this serpent, he had found the mutant cornea ‘One Eyed Sentinel’ that he would have missed before.

Therefore.

“Since there are no tattoos on his abdomen or chest… it’s highly likely that something is inside.”

Yeongwoo said as he pulled out a small dagger from his pocket, causing the Strongest Sword to protest and step back.

“What?”

“Let’s see, let’s see.”

“What are you doing, exactly?”

However, Yeongwoo paid no attention to them.

His wrist was almost fully recovered by now, and more importantly, he needed to do this kind of mischief before more spectators gathered.

“I’m sorry. It might look a bit gruesome, so please step back.”

Even before Yeongwoo mentioned it, most of them had already backed away.

The only ones closely watching the situation were Oh Yeonhee and Jo Sangik.

“Are you sure about this? What if nothing comes out of it? This is ridiculous.”

Oh Yeonhee seemed genuinely angry.

But it wasn’t like they were going to cut open a living person’s stomach, and after all, wasn’t this part of the process of claiming the spoils after a duel?

Yeongwoo decided to push forward.

“Let’s think about that only after we’re sure that nothing comes out.”

Then, he immediately raised the dagger and slashed Jeong Hyunsik’s abdomen.

*Squish!*

“Argh, fuck it.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

While the audience grimaced, Yeongwoo began to extract the organs that started to flow out from between the yellow layers of fat one by one with the dagger.

To an outsider, it would have seemed extremely cruel, but to Yeongwoo, it was just a laborious farming process.

‘Ah, there it is.’

Finally, as he dug into the innards, Yeongwoo found what he had been confident about—a ‘piece of equipment.’

*Squelch.*

As Yeongwoo reached in and pulled something out from among the organs, Mapo’s Strongest Sword Yang Wootaek vomited on the floor.

It seemed he had the weakest stomach among the audience.

And in the meantime, Yeongwoo slowly raised the problematic equipment that was still active even though its owner was dead.

「Self-Generation」 – Mutant

【You can live without eating.】

【Energy is self-generated】

【–Empty slot–】

“This… it’s certain?”

Without even realizing it, Jang Jeongho, who read the tooltip, quickly retreated.

It seemed he, too, was overwhelmed by nausea.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo regarded the ‘Self-Generation’ with curiosity, as it seemed to parasitize Jeong Hyunsik’s existing organs.

The equipment, with its wet hair tangled like crazy, appeared to be breathing lightly, almost as if it were alive.

“Mr. Jeong Hyunsik was truly remarkable. To think he would consider putting something like this inside his body.”

Yeongwoo himself had experience wearing mutant corneas, so he could imagine how significant of a decision it must have been for Jeong Hyunsik.

The idea of transplanting something unknown into one’s body was beyond terrifying.

‘But how did he attach this to his stomach? Did he swallow it?’

Of course, Yeongwoo wearing the mutant corneas was a thing of the past.

Since then, he had been through a lot, from being sliced up by Sungbuk’s Strongest Sword to sacrificing an Audi to the shareholders of Dogo, an alien arms company.

In other words, he had become an even more daring and eccentric individual than when he had worn the mutant corneas over his eyes.

*Thud.*

As Yeongwoo tore off the ‘Self-Generation’ covering Jeong Hyunsik’s abdomen, Seongbuk’s Strongest Sword Lee Yoobin screamed in horror, almost as if she were shrieking.

“Oh! Are you insane? Why would you do that?”

Then, when Yeongwoo brought the ‘Self-Generation’ near his mouth,

“…!”

No one could make a sound.

It was beyond their realm of common sense.

Would Jeong Hyunsik have been doing this on his own while he was alive…?

‘If that’s true, then he deserves to be recognized not as Gangnam’s Strongest Sword but as Seoul’s Strongest Sword.’

As someone in the audience thought this, the problematic ‘Self-Generation’ suddenly stuck to Yeongwoo’s mouth, emitting a disgusting slurping sound.

Then,

*Suck!*

In the blink of an eye, it was sucked into Yeongwoo’s throat.

[TL/N: OH NAH WTF???]

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]