Chapter 194

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 194: The Strong Man Who Plays the Flute in Seoul (3)

“Tax-free…!”

Upon hearing the welcome words, Yeongwoo spread his eyes and arms wide, and the green guiding line flashed in sync.

Snatch!

Then.

Shwaaah!

From the sky, the heart in question quickly shot down.

A reward from the reset system for defeating Seoul’s first dragon, Chaebol Im Kwangho.

‘A dragon’s heart… It can’t be a real heart, right? It’s probably an amulet or something.’

As Yeongwoo thought this, he was suddenly engulfed in an ominous premonition.

Swhaa!

Finally, the dragon’s heart appeared before him, literally looking like a heart.

Kwung, kwung!

The new heart, standing at Yeongwoo’s eye level along the green guiding line, was emitting an incredibly powerful pulse, dispersing the surrounding air.

Moreover, its size was enormous, as if it had just been pulled from a real dragon’s body.

Kwung…!

“W-What is this? Did you really bring the actual heart?”

As Yeongwoo asked Kubu, staring at the heart larger than himself, the extraterrestrial tax accountant rolled his eyes.

―Yes. Currently, the dragon’s heart is preserved in its original form, and it can be processed into an amulet if desired.

An amulet.

As Yeongwoo expected.

But…

“…What if I don’t process it?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Yeongwoo asked, and Kubu blinked in response.

―The unprocessed dragon’s heart can become bodily equipment and can be installed through transplantation surgery.

“Uh…”

In other words, like the spine implanted in the horrific process last time, the dragon’s heart could also be inserted into a human body.

Kwung, kwung!

“…”

Yeongwoo continued to stare silently at the pulsating heart.

The outer layer of the heart muscle, crackling from within, was covered in a greenish metal, making it look somewhat like a car engine at first glance.

‘…Putting that into my body?’

Fundamentally human though he may be, Yeongwoo felt a vague fear rising, but at the same time, he became equally curious.

What would happen if he put it into his body?

“Wouldn’t the equipment effect… be stronger without processing?”

―Yes. The unprocessed form of the dragon’s heart is the most powerful, and if processed into an amulet, its unique functions cannot be used.

“Unique functions? What are those?”

As Yeongwoo asked, Kubu raised his eyes towards the sky.

―Functions that generate special climates depending on the heart type.

“What did you say?”

After hearing the answer, Yeongwoo’s mouth fell open.

In short, by inserting that green heart into his chest, he could create a venomous typhoon.

“No, then it’s better to receive it in its original form. Let’s go without processing.”

Pointing to the giant heart, Yeongwoo spoke, and Kubu requested confirmation once again.

―It can only be installed through surgery. Will you receive it without processing?

“Yes. Pain can be endured, but if the heart is processed, it cannot be undone, right?”

―Understood. Then I will process it as received in its original form.

At Yeongwoo’s final consent, Kubu’s pupils flickered.

Snatch!

Immediately, a new tooltip appeared in Yeongwoo’s vision, and the enormous heart began to shrink to fit the size of the wearer’s body.

「Heart of the Venomous Dragon」 – Legendary Heart

【Venomous Fang】

【Corrosive Blood】

【Heart Fusion】

“…The composition itself is extraordinary.”

A tooltip for the heart already seemed ominous.

As Yeongwoo focused on the unique effects listed in the tooltip, detailed information appeared below.

Snatch!

【Venomous Fang】

|Adds 10% of total attack power as poison attribute damage.

【Corrosive Blood】

|Blood becomes corrupted, gaining corrosiveness.

【Heart Fusion】

|Fuses with hearts of other dragons.

“Whoa…”

Yeongwoo carefully examined the impressive effects of the new heart.

‘At this rate, isn’t it almost like an alien…?’

Adding 10% of total attack power as poison attribute damage.

And blood becomes corrosive.

In itself, it was a remarkable effect, but Yeongwoo was already looking beyond that.

‘If I were to defeat and extract the hearts of other dragons and fuse them, would the attribute damage increase by another 10%?’

Of course, the effect obtained from the fire dragon would likely be fire attribute damage, and the lightning dragon would be lightning attribute damage.

Anyway, if it really worked that way, it meant a 10% increase in damage for each type of dragon defeated.

Simply put, if he defeated ten different types of dragons and seized their hearts, his attack power would double.

And above all, this meant…

‘10% of total attack power… It means whether doping or getting conditional buffs, they all apply.’

With various attributes, he would also encounter fewer situations where he’d be countered due to specific resistances of opponents.

‘In the end, it’s telling me to keep hunting dragons to upgrade the hearts.’

Since he had no choice but to specialize in dragons, Yeongwoo couldn’t help but feel satisfied with the situation.

However, if there were any downsides…

‘…The surgery takes a bit of time. It would be safer to do it during lodging.’

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but think of Kim Jeonggu’s distorted expression.

What else would he say if he said he would do heart replacement surgery in addition to spinal surgery?

“Now, can I just take this?”

As Yeongwoo pointed to the still-floating “heart,” before Kubu could answer, the Golden Goblin reached out.

-Kit!

Then, he grabbed the heart with both hands and threw it into a pocket of space.

“…”

Seeing the heart that would be transplanted tonight being thrown around, Yeongwoo felt strange, but he decided to let it go for now.

‘It’s called a dragon’s heart, so it won’t get squished just because it’s tossed a bit.’

With the heart issue resolved, the next step was to obtain today’s main mission, the coordinates locator.

“Is the merchant ready? Please open the trades.”

As Yeongwoo ordered, Kubu rolled his eyes once again.

―The mediation fee for this transaction is 10% and is included in the item price. A total of six merchants have bid for this trade.

―Would you like to see the list of bidding merchants and their proposals?

“…Huh?”

Surprised by Kubu’s words, Yeongwoo inadvertently widened his eyes, and Kubu did the same.

―…Is there a problem?

“No, it’s not a problem, but… Wasn’t this merchant not ready yet?”

―That’s correct. Since there are no transaction records, merchant selection is possible.

‘What? Does that mean the one who went here first didn’t deal with the merchant?’

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Of course, it could be that they moved on to the next area before the merchant appeared.

Defeating a mutant doesn’t immediately summon a merchant, after all.

Anyway, as Yeongwoo had two wanted items, he couldn’t help but be pleased.

“Are there really six merchants? There are so many strange things happening today.”

―As Yeongwoo’s universal rating has rapidly increased, the range of accessible merchant types has also expanded.

“Ah…”

In other words, those six merchants came to meet Yeongwoo, not to trade with other Earthlings.

“Then, during the merchant selection process, can you accommodate my convenience? I won’t ask you to reduce the fee.”

As Yeongwoo subtly threatened, Kubu blinked his eyes.

―If you let us know your preferences, we will do our best to accommodate them within the limits possible.

“Okay. It’s nothing special.”

After saying this, Yeongwoo probably looked beyond the sky, where the merchants were waiting.

“Please leave only the ones who brought the coordinates locator or martial arts.”

In short, it was a command for Kubu to personally select and bring the merchants.

―…

After looking at Yeongwoo for a moment, Kubu’s eyes flickered.

―Understood your orders.

As Yeongwoo was recognized as a tax client, Kubu couldn’t refuse his request.

This was the price of the courtesy request.

As Kubu blinked his eyes rapidly for a while under Yeongwoo’s orders, he finally called someone to the black pillar behind him.

Kwaaaah!

From the sky, pink beams began to fall, quickly dyeing the black pillar with the merchant’s emblem.

“Wh… Who’s appearing so flamboyantly?”

As Yeongwoo unconsciously took a step back and asked, Kubu proudly replied.

―As you requested, we couldn’t find the coordinate locator, but we were able to bring merchants dealing with martial arts.

―The trading partner this time is the Sadun Pilgrimage Team.

“Pilgrimage…? So they’re religious people?”

But they sell martial arts…

While Yeongwoo made a puzzled expression, three merchants appeared, each covered in a long hood.

Although their heights seemed to be about five to six meters, their entire bodies were covered in clothing, but they couldn’t hide the contours of the muscles hidden underneath.

‘Are they really… a pilgrimage team? Is it right for them to go on a pilgrimage for religious purposes?’

―Will you agree to the deal? The product list is ready.

“Yes… Let’s take a look for now.”

As Yeongwoo nodded with a bewildered expression, Kubu blinked his eyes widely and displayed the product list.

Swoosh!

As usual, the product list, starting from the blue blotch, quickly took on the form of human language.

1 – 「Severe Punishment」 – Artifact Spear Technique

【Do not spare the sinner.】

◇ 310,500 Karma

2 – 「Distrust and Hatred」 – Unique Swordsmanship

【Boldly wield the whip to awaken faith.】

◇ 776,000 Karma

3 – 「Call of God」 – Epic Archery

【With sufficient faith, you can even reach the gods with your arrows.】

◇ 3,940,000 Karma

“….?”

Product descriptions that seemed to be missing a screw or two, much like those of the prisoners of Rohm.

‘Is this right? Are they asking for 3.94 million for such tooltips?’

Of course, when compared to what the prisoners sold under “Rohm’s Bottom,” martial arts generally fetched that price.

And most of all…

‘I could probably make good use of the archery. When fighting a dragon, the first task is to drop the opponent from the sky.’

* Available Karma: 5,214,500

Current balance, 5.21 million Karma.

Eventually, just as Yeongwoo was contemplating, in the moment he decided to purchase ‘Call of God’…

Clack!

Metallic footsteps sounded from behind Yeongwoo, and then the voice of a young man flew over.

“Stop moving! Don’t touch the merchandise. That merchant is mine.”

“Huh…?”

As Yeongwoo turned around at the unexpected confrontation, a title he had never seen before came into view.

『Gyeonggi’s Strongest Sword』

The Strongest Sword of Gyeonggi.

“Ah.”

Upon seeing the opponent’s title, Yeongwoo realized a lot.

The one who completely swept away Uijeongbu and passed through must have been this guy.

‘What, he’s not an ordinary guy, is he?’

Yeongwoo inwardly admired as he saw that the opponent was about two meters tall.

Encountering the Strongest Swords, who had invested in appearance as well, was not common.

But that was one thing, and another was…

“Why are you speaking informally?”

“….?”

“Why are you speaking informally to someone you’ve just met?”

As Yeongwoo said this, he instinctively jumped off the Negwig.

*Gasp!*

Then…

“Huh?”

As his ankle, which hadn’t fully healed yet, hit the ground, he fell over.

Thud!

Seeing this sight, the Strongest Sword of Gyeonggi finally drew his sword with a triumphant voice.

Shwaah!

“It said ‘The Strongest Sword of Joseon’… I knew something was off… you idiot.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]