Chapter 154

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 154: Father (3)

“Father?”

“Yes…?”

“Who are you looking for?”

Father, the magical word.

With this single word, the murderous spirit emanating from those holding swords dissipated without vigor.

The majority present here had either lost their families as a result of the reset or were those who, unlike others, took up arms to avoid losing their families.

And because of that.

“Wait a moment.”

The tension was palpable.

Because their own deaths were the same as the death of the family they left behind in the residential area.

“Everyone, snap out of it! It could be a distraction tactic from the mutants!”

Someone instinctively grabbed the sword that had been slipping out of their hands and shouted, and right on cue, there was another clang from within the dust cloud.

Clang.

It was the sound of Yeongwoo taking steps to step out of the dust cloud.

“Relax, everyone! Let me speak for a moment….”

As Yeongwoo waved the dust away with his arms and took another step forward, one of the Strongest Swords from Gangbuk reflexively extended his sword, interpreting this movement as an attack.

Swish!

“Oh!”

“Ah!”

Then the other Strongest Swords of Gangbuk couldn’t help but intervene.

Such clumsy attacks not only did not affect the mutants but also risked their lives by inviting counterattacks.

Therefore, it was an ironic situation where the three Strongest Swords of Gangbuk, Nowon, and Dobong launched a joint attack in order to save the person who initiated the first attack.

Swish!

‘Fuck, what’s going on? I don’t know what kind of guy he is, but thanks to him, my life will be saved.’

Taking advantage of the intruder’s presence, Gwak Seongwon of Uijeongbu’s Strongest Sword gained some time and started looking around for an escape route.

He intended to escape from the Gangbuk Alliance while they were engaged in battle with the monster in the dust cloud.

But before he could even take a step, something absurd happened first.

Swoosh!

The blades of the Gangbuk Alliance, which had been cutting through the dust, were all blocked.

And then.

“Misters, I’ll retaliate from the second attack onwards.”

The voice of a man that had been continuously echoing from within the hazy dust finally emerged without a single break in breath.

And then.

Thunk!

As the Alliance’s blades were deflected onto the road, the person in question revealed himself.

Clang!

“Father! Stop all actions!”

As Yeongwoo called out to the fathers indiscriminately and walked out of the dust, everyone on that side who had been aiming their swords at him widened their eyes.

“What…?”

“….!”

“…Huh.”

Everything about the opponent surpassed their imagination.

A height of two meters.

The title of Joseon’s Strongest Sword.

Golden armor adorned all over the body.

A golden greatsword floating in the air like a guardian deity.

And even a sinister aura emanating from a cursed sword.

“Is, is he really human?”

“He’s not a mutant…?”

Then someone finally uttered the problematic line.

“So, whose son is he…?”

* * *

Father.

Or rather, he was looking for his biological father.

For Yeongwoo, there was only the one who created him, but there was no one who nurtured him.

So what Yeongwoo was looking for now was nothing more than his biological father.

More precisely, a being who passed on some of his genetic components to Yeongwoo, and depending on the perspective, could be considered as the original.

「This individual is a randomly combined composition of Level 4 settings.」

「Influenced by the settings of the parents, they possess the following immutable elements from birth. #Level4 #Orphan」

「As a Level 4 composite being, they receive retroactive adjustments to settings of Level 2 or higher during their lifetime.」

[Father]: Level 6 Extra

[Mother]: Level 1 Supporting Role

The combination of a Level 6 Extra and a Level 1 Supporting Role.

This rather discordant combination gave rise to the problematic existence known as Jeong Yeongwoo07.

A ‘stubborn’ acknowledged by the system and a ‘rising star’ that the beings of the universe began to take notice of at this moment.

However, Yeongwoo was also a pitiful existence who, if not for the reset, would have died a miserable death from being beaten by a drunken passerby during his return to home.

So he didn’t have high expectations for his father.

It’s not like he was a remarkable or excellent person.

Before the reset, in other words, in the original world, the child Yeongwoo’s father had made was not the Strongest Sword but someone who had died in the streets.

|Name: Jeong Yeongwoo

|Role: Level 4 Extra

|Function: Background, Supportive Role

Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious about his father’s existence.

No, in fact, he was even more curious because he didn’t have high expectations for his father.

Because he was curious about how bad it was if it was bad.

“Anyone here could be my father. So for now, let’s put down our swords.”

A mysterious man with overflowing power.

As Yeongwoo scanned the audience and spoke, everyone hesitated, exchanging glances, and one by one began to lower their swords.

Isn’t he a monster who easily deflected the attacks of the three Strongest Swords?

They had no choice but to listen.

Moreover, the three Strongest Swords of Gangbuk Alliance knew very well that the man had successfully defended against their attacks without even using weapons.

‘Where did this bastard suddenly come from?’

‘If it’s not an illusion, he blocked our combined attack with his bare hands…’

‘Even though we launched our attacks without securing the area properly…’

As Gangbuk, Nowon, and Dobong Strongest Swords reminisced about the recent events, Yeongwoo scrutinized the people in front of him one by one.

‘This is tricky.’

The reason Yeongwoo referred to them as ‘fathers’ was because a considerable number of the members were indeed father figures.

Also,

|Created: April 8, 1992, 11:41 PM, unwritten and intentionally modified.

As Yeongwoo had been abandoned due to unintentional modifications, the age range of his father was likely much lower than expected.

‘He could have had me when he was young, so he’d be in his early fifties.’

Yeongwoo is currently thirty-four years old.

Therefore, excluding all women and men between the ages of 20 and 40, there was a high probability that his father was among the remaining candidates.

So, when counting the number of candidates, there were as many as nine.

“Hey, wait a minute. Are you saying your father is here…? Are you sure?”

Soon, doubts arose among the candidates.

The one who spoke was none other than Gangbuk’s Strongest Sword, Lee Jingeun.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

At the age of sixty-six, he had a son of similar age to Yeongwoo living in Gangbuk.

“If your father is really here, there’s no reason to hesitate like this.”

Their meaning was why aren’t you going to find your father when everyone has stopped fighting as you demanded?

It’s something you could tell just by looking at their faces.

For those who had never experienced life as an orphan, it was a natural thought.

So Yeongwoo looked up at the tracking marker at the top of his field of vision.

Since coming here, the marker had been changed to a square.

It meant that there was a wanted person nearby.

“I’ve never met my father in my life. I was abandoned as soon as I was born.”

“…..!”

“But somehow I got an item that helps find people.”

As Yeongwoo took out the ‘wanted poster’, people poured out words of admiration as if they had made an agreement.

“Oh my, is it true?”

“…Oh my god.”

“It seems like he came to find his father with that.”

“He was an orphan….”

Then people’s eyes began to focus on men who were the age of the monster’s father.

Who could have committed the wicked act of abandoning a newborn baby?

“Ugh, whoever did it, it’s really messed up.”

“Who is it? Confess quickly.”

“Is it even possible for there to be orphans in this day and age? Who is it?”

Then, the candidates began to step back, raising their arms.

“I… I’m not. I have all my children.”

“Neither am I.”

“I don’t even have a lover, let alone a son.”

The scene at the Uijeongbu prison, which had turned into the worst father discovery scene in a matter of seconds from a war scene.

Those who had participated in this battle had begun to express their annoyance due to their own stories.

For example, like Kim Jeonggu of Dobong.

“What the hell is all this nonsense? Did we come here to fight, or to play jokes?”

Kim Jeonggu, 58 years old.

He was here to avenge his brother who lost his life to the Uijeongbu’s Strongest Sword.

“How can you expect to find your father when you don’t even know what he looks like?”

With these words, Kim Jeonggu aggressively gripped his sword.

“Anyway, since the number of candidates is going to decrease, you’d better look carefully among the remaining people.”

They were going to sneak out of the war for now.

“…..!”

At this, Uijeongbu’s Strongest Sword Gwak Seongwon, who had been looking for an opportunity to escape, leaped towards the high outer wall of the prison.

“Dammit!”

Ta-aat!

The strongest man among the Uijeongbu prison inmates, Gwak Seongwon, moved like lightning.

“That bastard!”

“Get him!”

Seeing this, all the Strongest Swords of the Gangbuk Alliance, including Kim Jeonggu of Dobong, naturally lit up and jumped up.

And Yeongwoo was no different.

“Gwak Seongwon…!”

Calling out the name of the man who might be his biological father, he sent the ‘Dragon’s Legacy’ towards his left leg.

Sshaeaeaeat!

It was the duel sword of the Joseon’s Strongest Sword.

Thanks to that, Gwak Seongwon was hit in the leg with the sword and slammed into the ground, unable to even cross half the distance to the outer wall.

“Krek!”

Then the enraged people of Gangbuk Alliance rushed towards him, brandishing their swords fiercely.

Of course, they were soon bound by the golden waves that swept through the field.

Hwaaat!

“Ah…!”

“Ugh!”

“What is this…?”

Some of the people immediately recognized the nature of this energy and widened their eyes.

This oppressive feeling, like squeezing one’s heart, could only be felt when facing the prestige of the Strongest Sword.

『Joseon’s Strongest Sword』

Eventually, Yeongwoo, the source of this prestige, calmly walked among dozens of swordsmen, emitting golden rays from his eyes.

Then.

“…Ugh.”

Standing in front of Gwak Seongwon, who still hadn’t removed the Dragon’s Legacy from his leg, Yeongwoo looked down at him.

“….”

The tracking marker was still square.

After a moment of thought, Yeongwoo opened his mouth.

“How old are you now? You must be in your early fifties at most.”

Upon hearing this, Gwak Seongwon, sweating profusely, managed to answer.

“W-Well. I just turned sixty this year…! But what about this sword? Even if I were your father, what good would it do to break my leg?”

To this, Yeongwoo glanced briefly at the Dragon’s Legacy stuck in the man’s leg and then spoke again in a harsh tone.

“I am currently thirty-four.”

“…What?”

“If you’re sixty, it means you had me when you were seventeen.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying you’re not my father.”

“……!”

With Yeongwoo’s last words, a long shadow was cast over Gwak Seongwon’s head.

“What? This crazy bastard!”

Gwak Seongwon exclaimed with a scream.

Then.

Gwak Seongwon’s body was split in half by a mythic-ranked sword, ‘Bastard’.

“Kyaaah!”

“You little…!”

Everyone in the audience, except for Kim Jeonggu, was startled and stepped back.

Of course, at this time, even Kim Jeonggu, who came to avenge his brother, did not have murderous intent in his eyes.

The reason was that the gaze of the Joseon’s Strongest Sword, who had just killed one of the candidates for his father, overwhelmed him.

“…He was the enemy of my brother. I’m just sorry I didn’t kill him myself. I have no feelings for him.”

As Kim Jeonggu said this, Yeongwoo reached out his left hand and retrieved the Dragon’s Legacy stuck in the dead man’s leg.

Thunk!

“I knew he wasn’t my father. The sword didn’t ignite.”

Then Yeongwoo pointed the Dragon’s Legacy at Kim Jeonggu.

Whip.

“By the way, was this guy the enemy of your older brother?”

“Big… What?”

While Kim Jeonggu made a puzzled expression, Yeongwoo looked at the tracking marker in front of him with a very clear mind.

The reason was that just a moment ago, when everyone except Kim Jeonggu stepped back, the marker changed to a circle.

In other words.

“It seems like you might be my father.”

“W-What are you talking about? That can’t be….”

As Kim Jeonggu made an unjust expression and shook his head sideways.

On the other hand, Yeongwoo threw the question with a confident face.

“How old are you this year?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]