Chapter 274

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 274: Starry Night (4)

10:21 PM.

Having dismissed the Strongest Swords, Yeongwoo hurried to his room.

He had little time to rest, as the night dungeon would soon appear along with the abnormal weather.

“Phew.”

As Yeongwoo groaned and sank into the sofa, Jeonggu, who had followed him, sat down on the living room floor and looked at him.

“What have you been doing? What about those orcs from earlier?”

“What do you mean? I told you already. They were the ones who conquered northern Australia with their own strength. But now we’re allies, so you’ll be seeing them more often.”

“You mean we’ll have to deal with them again?”

“Yes. The brothers will also handle the bridge maintenance, and we’re planning to invade China together.”

The latter was especially part of the official agreement.

And in the case of the former.

‘The deputy minister couldn’t even scratch it, so the bridge won’t collapse easily. But…’

Yeongwoo recalled the moment the Bastard easily damaged the tower’s surface.

That definitely wasn’t because of Yeongwoo’s own strength.

At that time, it was.

‘A mythical weapon. The tower can’t withstand attacks from a mythical weapon.’

This meant that the high bridge could collapse at any time.

If there was another owner of myth on this planet.

“… I’m a bit worried.”

“About what?”

“This country, no, this world. Anything too radical is never good.”

Jeonggu felt that the planet was changing too rapidly and expressed his concern.

But Yeongwoo’s concerns were a bit different.

“I don’t think adding one more species to the planet’s inhabitants is a radical change. It won’t drastically alter our way of life because of them.”

“Then what?”

“A much bigger change is already happening. For instance, a cosmic pornography production company is getting involved in the planet’s development rights.”

“What?”

Jeonggu’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was something he couldn’t even imagine.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just be aware of it. Right now, we’re choosing the lesser of evils to avoid the worst situation.”

There wasn’t enough time, nor did he have the energy to explain in detail.

Yeongwoo closed his eyes again, hoping to recover even a little.

Then he suddenly remembered and asked Jeonggu.

“What’s today’s abnormal weather?”

Each country had different abnormal weather.

So, since they moved from Australia to Korea, the expected weather must have changed, too.

Jeonggu quickly responded.

“They say it’s extreme cold.”

「Just so you know, tonight’s weather is extreme cold.」

「Beware of freezing and ruptures.」

Korea’s sixth abnormal weather event, extreme cold.

“Extreme cold? Why does that sound familiar?”

Lying on the sofa trying to sleep, Yeongwoo reopened his equipment codex.

Swish!

Soon, he found a necklace related to extreme cold in the accessories codex.

「Heated Stone」 - Heroic Necklace

【Ignores extreme cold.】

Fortunately, he had the entrance ticket to tonight’s dungeon.

“…What?”

“Oh, I don’t need to procure any equipment separately to enter the dungeon today.”

Yeongwoo said this and closed his eyes again.

Thinking about the “radical” events that might happen starting tomorrow.

‘The brothers will also find it hard to endure the abnormal weather, so they won’t work at night. Then they’ll resume construction in the morning.’

And since this side started construction, the other two forces might also be up to something.

Lemu and Mara.

‘We’re building a road… I wonder what the other two are doing? Which one of them is behind Im Dupyeong?’

As Yeongwoo pondered over the weight of the “Strongest Sword”, his consciousness slowly sank.

Then.

“…”

He fell completely asleep in front of Jeonggu.

Snore.

As Yeongwoo began to snore loudly, Jeonggu left the living room and headed to the bedroom.

There, Seok and her children, who had been watching television, turned to Jeonggu.

“Madam, is everything alright?”

Jeonggu glanced at the television and asked, and Seok nodded.

“I’m watching them work.”

“Work? Oh.”

At Seok’s words, Jeonggu properly rechecked the television and saw the now four returnees working.

“That’s…”

“They say it’s a statue of a player. It must be really big.”

Although Seok kindly explained, Jeonggu tilted his head not because the four people were assembling a statue of a player.

“That’s... my son’s face?”

Although only part of the forehead, the right eye, and 30% of the lips were assembled and scattered around the room, Jeonggu could recognize it.

He could tell that if it was put together well, it would form Yeongwoo’s face.

“What? Are you saying that’s Yeongwoo’s face?”

“Yes. Look closely. If you attach here and here, and fill in the gaps properly...”

“Oh my, it does look like him?”

Although Seok still seemed half-convinced, Jeonggu was sure.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

‘What on earth are these people making...?’

Even though only the face was fragmented, the statue's body was almost complete.

The body of a man drawing a sword and pointing forward.

The armor he wore was very different from Yeongwoo’s current appearance, but Jeonggu was convinced.

‘That’s Yeongwoo. But why are they using a model of Yeongwoo as a statue of a player?’

While Jeonggu had a questioning look in his eyes, the four people on the screen were diligently carrying the pieces of the statue.

Then finally.

“Oh.”

A short sound came from behind Jeonggu.

“Huh...?”

When Jeonggu turned around, he saw Yeongwoo staring at the television with half-open eyes.

He had taken a short nap and woken up.

“When did you wake up?”

“Just now. We need to get to the dungeon in time, right?”

Come to think of it, quite a bit of time had passed, and the wall clock in the room already showed 10:54 PM.

Six minutes until the abnormal weather and the start of the night dungeon.

“Well, look at that. Isn’t that your face?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

Yeongwoo scratched his chin with an indifferent expression.

Then, tilting his head again, he said.

“No matter how I look at it, that’s our chairman’s armour.”

* * *

11:00 PM.

「From this moment on, [Abnormal Weather] Extreme Cold is generated.」

A snowstorm began to rage outside the room’s window, and Yeongwoo prepared to leave.

Of course, the mystery of the “statue of a player” remained unsolved.

“Why is that statue wearing your chairman’s armor?”

“I don’t know. Since most of my assets came from the company, it might mean commemorating the chairman...”

“But why is your face on it?”

“That armour is the chairman’s signature, and the chairman is the company itself, so they might have dressed it like a uniform.”

Yeongwoo had nothing more to say about it.

Ultimately, that statue was provided not by Dogo but by another military company, Toma.

A pan-galactic military company ranked third in hazardous companies for planetary development.

[List of Hazardous Companies]

*Ranking of companies unsuitable for planetary development.

1- Dogo

2- Hammer of Kwaya

3- Toma

4- Hexagon

5- Cerium

And the fact that Yeongwoo was directly associated with two of the five companies listed as hazardous companies indicated that he himself might not be living rightly.

‘But what other choice is there? Can a mere human walk the straight path and protect a planet?’

Yeongwoo sheathed the ‘Bastard’ and stood up.

“I’m leaving now. Father, keep an eye on how the statue turns out.”

As Yeongwoo opened the room’s door to leave, Jeonggu asked, looking at the snowstorm outside.

“Where will you come back from tonight? Are you coming back here?”

He said this knowing that the orcs had built a suspicious road for his son.

Now, if the kid wanted, he could leave this land in the blink of an eye.

That’s why Jeonggu felt a bit scared for some reason.

Everything was happening, changing, way too fast.

“Man, even demons are fundamentally human. Got it?”

“Yes?”

“Behave like a human wherever you go and whatever you do.”

“Why are you cursing at me all of a sudden?”

Yeongwoo frowned.

Still, he waved his hand lightly while walking away, bidding farewell to Jeonggu.

“I’ll try to come back here. The bridge isn’t finished yet.”

* * *

11:11 PM.

Having left Gangnam, Yeongwoo, as always, headed towards Gwangjin-gu over Cheongdam Bridge.

Pushing through a snowstorm so severe that visibility was almost zero.

“Why not just make it cold? Did they really have to make it snow so hard?”

When Yeongwoo grumbled like this, the golden goblin hiding under his cloak to avoid the snow also made an agreement sound.

-Kit!

On the other hand, Pofu Tenta, curious about the falling snow, sat at the edge of the back seat, waving his arms through the snowflakes.

- Bat...!

“What, doesn’t it snow on your planet?”

Well, the climate differed vastly from planet to planet.

And unlike the goblin, Pofu Tenta didn’t seem to feel the cold much.

Yet, he was seeing snow for the first time.

Crack, crack!

Meanwhile, Negwig passed through Cheongdam Bridge and reached Gwangjin District.

A region, once a ruin, that Yeongwoo used as a battleground with the Dragon race.

Also, every night.

“It’s time to bring it out.”

It was used as a summoning area for the night dungeon where warriors from all over the world gathered.

- Kikik!

Soon, the golden goblin opened the subspace pouch and took out a golden sphere.

Swish.

The sphere immediately turned pitch black, losing its radiant glow.

“......”

It was always a bizarre phenomenon to witness.

Flash!

Yeongwoo then stopped Negwig and landed on the ground, confirming that no people were around.

Then.

Thud.

He placed his hand on the black sphere laid down by the goblin.

Paahhh!

As usual, an ashen wave spread out from the sphere.

Then, the surroundings turned grey as the abnormal weather suddenly ceased.

- Kiii...

- ...Bat.

The goblin flattened his pointy ears, and Pofu Tenta narrowed his large eyes, showing signs of tension.

But after that, nothing happened.

Only the occasional sound of Negwig stomping its feet in place broke the ashen silence.

So, as Yeongwoo looked around again.

“What, where’s the dungeon...?”

Whoooosh!

A sharp sound of something breaking through the air came from above, through the grey mist.

Something was descending.

“Is it falling from above this time?”

Yeongwoo wasn’t too surprised, having seen various dungeon entrances before.

However.

Boom!

His jaw dropped in astonishment when he saw the dungeon entrance fall nearby.

Because.

“What...?”

The object that fell from the sky was in the shape of a gigantic anchor.

“No way, it couldn’t be...”

Yeongwoo muttered incoherently, walking quickly to the anchor.

When he got within about five meters, a holographic text finally appeared.

Paaat!

◇ Dogo awoke to find his bedroom filled with assassins.

To which Dogo said.

【Do you not understand morality? Your numbers are too few, bring more.】

However, the immoral did not listen, and the next day, their heads were displayed by the bed. It was inevitable.

“What... What is this...?”

As Yeongwoo stared blankly at the unfamiliar message, the dungeon interface appeared.

[Moral Lecture]

| Dungeon Grade: Ancient

| Difficulty: B

| Required Personnel: 8

| Recommended Personnel: 16

The first ancient-grade dungeon since the reset.

But the issue was.

‘Is this... a dungeon created by the chairman?’

While Yeongwoo was still in a daze, another unfamiliar message appeared.

「In this dungeon, no equipment can be used.」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]