Chapter 392

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 392: The Big Hand (2)

"The equipment gift? Of course, sir!"

Yeongwoo responded enthusiastically, and Lemu nodded as if he had expected that answer.

□ Very well.

Then, he reached out toward the steel signature plate prepared beside the gift table.

Swoosh.

It seemed like he had intended to pull the plate toward him remotely.

— I-I’ll bring it for you!

Out of nowhere, Kobu appeared, hastily lifting the signature plate, preventing everyone from witnessing Lemu’s telekinetic abilities.

— I apologize for the slow response! I didn’t expect you to arrive so early...

Kobu spoke as if he had committed a grave sin, leaving Yeongwoo tilting his head in confusion.

‘No, but how strong is a Rank 4 for him to be acting like this?’

It was understandable for other guests to be making a fuss, but wasn’t kwaya’s Hammer a fairly formidable corporation?

They designed cosmic prisons, and their parent organization was none other than kwaya, the Lord of the Abyss.

‘That means Kobu, Tobu, and Chobu should all be of fairly high rank... So why are they being this submissive?’

Yeongwoo glanced at Lemu with newfound curiosity.

Maybe, under universal law, as a Rank 7 entity, he should be groveling on the floor alongside Kobu.

‘Well, I suppose I was never properly educated about cosmic beings.’

The only thing Yeongwoo knew for sure was that mentioning the names of Rank 2 beings or higher was strictly forbidden.

Then, what kind of terrifying existence were the Rank 3 beings, like the Chairman and Mara?

Had they been just one rank higher, Yeongwoo wouldn’t have been able to even speak their names.

‘And right below them is Lemu, the President.’

His mind went blank.

‘Lemu must not be an ordinary Rank 4. Considering he constantly challenges a Rank 3 being like the Chairman, that says a lot.’

There was no doubt—Lemu must be at the absolute top of the Rank 4 spectrum.

That would explain why Kobu was trembling and treating him with such extreme reverence.

— Please, sign here...!

Kobu held the signature plate up with both hands as he pleaded.

Lemu casually flicked his fingers.

□ You don’t know how I sign, do you? It would be wise to step back.

— Huh...?

Kobu barely had time to respond before the steel signature plate in his hands started glowing red-hot.

Fwoooosh!

— Ack!

Startled, Kobu pulled his hands back and stumbled away.

But the plate never hit the ground.

Lemu was holding it in midair—without even touching it.

— L-Lemu, sir!

— Incredible!

The alien guests watching burst into another round of exclamations.

And then—

Sssshk.

Lemu pressed a few fingers against the now half-melted plate.

The outline of his fingertips, along with the shape of the ring he wore, was imprinted into the molten steel.

“Oh.”

So this was how Lemu signed.

A stark contrast to Chairman Dogo, who left his mark by wildly slashing with a sword.

‘How do beings like these even coexist in the same universe?’

It was truly one of the universe’s mysteries.

With Lemu’s signature verified, the gift-handling team officially accepted his equipment gift.

<Designer: Lemu>

「Gift contribution complete!」

‘Wait, it actually worked? So how do they determine the price?’

Yeongwoo widened his eyes, eagerly awaiting the next message.

Then, for the first time in this ceremony, the value of an equipment gift was revealed.

「To celebrate the wedding of Strongest Sword Jeong Yeongwoo’s parents, Kim Jeonggu and Song Jiseon, a token of goodwill worth 1.6 billion has been delivered in the form of ‘Lightning Rod.’」

“What?”

1.6 billion...!

Yeongwoo felt the blood in his temples swirl.

‘Damn, this is what you call a wedding gift. The ceremony’s prestige just skyrocketed.’

With Lemu’s contribution, the ranking of gift values was now fully universalized.

[Top Gift Rankings]

[1st] Lemu, Lightning Rod 「1.6 billion」

[2nd] kwaya’s Hammer, Confidential

[3rd] Cheok, 90 million

[4th] Osaek Credit, 50 million

[5th] Voltak, 40 million

“Sir… You’ve done something truly incredible. Thank you…”

Yeongwoo instinctively bowed his head.

And since he was already at it, he went all the way down, curling himself into a near-perfect ball.

Thanks to Lemu, the minimum gift value for the soon-to-arrive Chairman and Mara had now been set at 1.6 billion.

‘Wait, but what kind of equipment is worth that much?’

This wasn’t even a price Lemu had set—it was something the gift-handling team had evaluated on their own.

“Sir, if you don’t mind… May I touch the equipment you gifted, just for a moment?”

Before the ceremony’s formal gift reveal was even finished, Yeongwoo dared to make a request.

Lemu, as if expecting this, immediately grabbed the spear and handed it to him.

□ Of course.

And the moment Yeongwoo laid eyes on it, he immediately understood why Lemu was so willing to let him hold it.

「Lightning Rod」 - Legendary Spear

【Lightning Fire】

【Lemu's Seal】

【Lightning Rod】

【Lightning Fire】

| Doubles the lightning damage you possess.

【Lightning Rod】

| When hit by lightning damage, attack power increases by 15%.

【Lemu’s Seal】

| Every time you pronounce ‘Lemu,’ you receive a thrilling jolt of lightning damage and gain favor with machines.

‘…What kind of insane weapon is this?’

For some reason, it felt unsettling.

But at the same time, he instinctively knew—it was a gift he could never refuse.

【Lightning Fire】

| Doubles the lightning damage you possess.

‘Damn, this effect is ridiculous.’

Its meaning was clear.

It would double the effect of Coffin's Thunder Dragon, a power he had obtained as compensation for his second uncle’s funeral rites.

【Thunder Dragon in the Coffin】

| Grants additional lightning damage equal to 20% of final attack power.

In simple terms, wielding this spear would grant him lightning damage equal to 40% of his final attack power.

And that wasn’t all.

The moment he took lightning damage, his attack power would instantly increase by 15%.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

And he didn’t even need to look elsewhere for a source of lightning damage—simply pronouncing ‘Lemu’ would trigger it automatically.

【Lemu’s Seal】

| Every time you pronounce ‘Lemu,’ you receive a thrilling jolt of lightning damage and gain favor with machines.

‘This is basically just forcing me to call his name instead of our Chairman’s.’

But Youngwoo had no need to actually say ‘Lemu’ to take lightning damage.

Thanks to his second uncle, all of his attacks carried lightning damage, meaning he could simply harm himself instead.

Of course, there was no way Lemu, the one who had handed him this weapon, was unaware of that fact.

‘What exactly is he thinking? Not that I mind, but…’

As Youngwoo looked at Lemu with eyes full of uncertainty, the master of the Grand Machine Tower moved his gray jaw.

□ Do you like it?

“…Yes. I like it very much.”

□ That’s a relief. The "Lightning Rod" is both my wedding gift and an apology for my previous discourtesy.

“Ah.”

□ Of course, the moment you take possession of the "Lightning Rod," you’ll no longer be able to call my name so easily.

As expected, Lemu had already seen through what Yeongwoo had only thought in his mind.

“I’m sorry, but that’s true.”

When Yeongwoo responded confidently with a determined expression, Lemu let out a sly smile.

□ I will finally become someone you cannot speak of carelessly.

“……!”

Hearing this, Yeongwoo felt as if he had been struck on the back of his head and involuntarily opened his mouth in shock.

‘No way, what the hell?’

Technically, it wasn’t wrong.

Just as one couldn’t carelessly mention beings of Rank 2 or higher, Yeongwoo would now have to be extra careful when speaking about Lemu.

Moreover, from now on, whenever he talked about Lemu, he would have to think twice.

If he carelessly uttered Lemu’s name, not only would he suffer a "shocking" lightning strike, but he would also offend the Chairman.

‘This bastard… He really is a mastermind…!’

Yeongwoo could already feel his mind becoming completely preoccupied with Lemu.

He had stepped right into the trap set by this crazy machine.

But was he going to give up such an overwhelming weapon?

That was simply not an option.

‘This damn universe doesn’t have a single pushover.’

Reaching a conclusion of sorts, Yeongwoo placed the "Lightning Rod" back onto the gift stand and spoke as if he had no choice.

“Hmph… Normally, gifts at my wedding ceremony are at least Mythic-grade, but I’ll make an exception for you, President. After all, you said it was an apology.”

Besides, the Lightning Rod Lemu had given him was only classified as Legendary in rank, but in terms of appraisal and performance, it was undoubtedly comparable to Mythic-grade gear.

‘No, seriously, where the hell do you even find a Legendary weapon worth 1.6 billion?’

And that was just its base price.

If it were actually put up for sale, its market value would likely soar well beyond 1.6 billion.

“President, how do you even acquire such equipment? You didn’t make this yourself… But it has your seal on it.”

As Yeongwoo stared at the Lightning Rod on the gift stand and asked, Lemu raised a finger and pointed to the sky.

□ You’ll understand when you become a greater existence than you are now.

‘A greater existence than I am now….’

Following Lemu’s gesture, Yeongwoo also turned his gaze to the sky.

Contextually, Lemu must have been referring to reaching Rank 4, like himself.

In other words, under cosmic law, once one reached Rank 4, they gained the authority to imprint their seal onto existing equipment and alter them.

‘Is that even possible? Is Rank 4 really that high up?’

Having rapidly ascended to Rank 7 after catching the attention of Dogo, Yeongwoo couldn’t quite grasp the significance of Rank 4.

Though, considering how other aliens bowed their heads in front of Lemu, it was clear that Rank 4 was a prestigious status.

“President, if a Rank 4 being can alter existing equipment to such a degree, then… What about Rank 3?”

Rank 3.

To be honest, Rank 3 beings often just seemed like brutish powerhouses.

But what kind of status and authority did they actually possess?

As Yeongwoo thought of the most prominent Rank 3 being—the Chairman, Dogo—he was about to ask Lemu when—

A deafening roar echoed from beyond the skies of Metal Seoul.

—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—

A sound reminiscent of a massive ship’s horn.

The moment the noise rang out, Kobu, who had been bowing in front of Lemu, jerked his head up.

Then, without hesitation, he abandoned Lemu and dashed off somewhere.

At the same time—

—RUMBLE…!

The four great gates of Seoul rose up and transformed into extermination units, kneeling down as they turned their gaze skyward.

‘What the…’

Metal Seoul had activated its extermination units on its own—without an order from the Mayor.

‘No way…’

Sensing something, Yeongwoo quickly shifted his gaze back to the sky.

Then—

—WOOOOOOOOOO…!

A monstrous ship, shaped like a massive tombstone, emerged from the clouds with an endlessly trailing resonance.

The Chairman of Rank 3, Dogo, had arrived at the wedding venue.

“…Chairman!”

Just as Yeongwoo gasped in awe, Kobu, who had already dashed far ahead, cried out with all his might.

“The Lord of Hundred Thousand Swords, the King of Destruction has arrived…!”

At that moment, all lower-ranked aliens in the hall pressed their heads to the ground in reverence.

Even the Strongest Swords of Seoul, sensing the atmosphere, lay flat on the ground.

Among everyone present under Rank 3, only two beings remained standing tall—Yeongwoo07 and the mastermind, Lemu.

‘Lemu… You just love getting yourself beaten up, don’t you?’

Yeongwoo clicked his tongue and glared at Lemu.

But there was one more.

Someone else who had not bowed before Dogo.

—CLANK!

“Huh…?”

At the sudden metallic sound, Yeongwoo turned his head.

A floral wreath at the outskirts of the wedding hall’s lobby was unfolding its "head."

“…What?”

Realizing something crucial, Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

Then, the wreath sent by Mara aimed a laser cannon at Dogo’s ship and fired.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]