Chapter 415

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Chapter 415: Cosmic (2)

—……?

“…Huh?”

At Yeongwoo’s remark calling them "lesser beings," the atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.

And then—

—What the hell is this crazy bastard saying?

Ssssshh!

Jiseon exhaled a cold, blue breath in anger.

However, unlike his wife, Jeonggu, who lacked courage, was already feeling the "presence" of his son.

“This… this brat… something is off…”

Looking at Yeongwoo in front of him gave him the same feeling as encountering a wild beast deep in the mountains.

In fact, considering the sheer pressure emanating from him, it was hardly surprising that the word "insignificant" had come out of his mouth.

“What the hell… did you do?”

As Jeonggu asked with a cold sweat dripping down his face, Kubu interjected before Yeongwoo could respond.

—Lord! Proper etiquette toward the ‘Roots’ must be observed!

At that moment, Yeongwoo, who had just been exuding arrogance, suddenly had a more human expression.

“Oh, is that so?”

—The Renaissance family was founded through ‘Root Restoration,’ meaning the family’s prestige and the status of its Roots are interdependent.

In simple terms, if Jiseon and Jeonggu, who were the fundamental pillars of the family, were not properly treated, the strength of the family itself would weaken.

‘How complicated.’

Yeongwoo scratched his chin.

It wasn’t an unreasonable concept.

Hadn’t Lemu once said it?

There were multiple ways to establish a prestigious family beyond just accumulating great achievements.

And right on cue, Kubu elaborated on the matter.

—The methods to sustain and strengthen a family vary depending on how it was founded.

“What? Then how does it work for us?”

As Yeongwoo asked, Kubu rolled his eyes around.

—Root Doctrine.

“What now?”

—Although you, Lord Yeongwoo, are the head of the Renaissance family, its birth was due to the reunion of the Roots.

“……”

That was an ominous prelude.

And sure enough, Kubu followed up with a dreadful statement.

—Therefore, the authority to dissolve the family also lies with the two Roots…

“What? Dissolution?”

As Yeongwoo flared up, an intangible wave of energy burst forth from him.

Whooosh!

—……!

Jiseon’s eyes widened as she realized her hair was momentarily lifted into the air.

And Jeonggu, who had already recognized that his son had truly become a "monster," discreetly shifted his body behind his wife.

Meanwhile, the administrative officer Kubu continued his explanation unfazed.

—It is an unavoidable aspect of the family’s structure. If the two Roots reach an agreement, they can dissolve the family.

It was, in fact, a logical conclusion.

After all, wasn’t a family fundamentally a community built upon its members?

Thus, if the two founding members of the family decided to cease being a family, the family itself would naturally cease to exist.

“Then… what about divorce? Or death?”

—This crazy bastard…

Jiseon placed her hand on the greatsword at her waist but soon let go.

She instinctively understood.

Her son’s martial prowess was no longer just at the level of being the strongest swordsman in the Korean Peninsula.

Besides, she was also curious about what would happen to the family in the event of divorce or death.

—In the case of divorce, it depends on the terms of the agreement, but generally, the family splits into two.

Immediately, Jiseon asked again.

—A division of lineage? Then what about the family’s power? Things like prestige and capital?

—The family’s prestige and capital are also divided, based on the divorce agreement.

A high probability that the family's strength would be split in half.

Then Kubu blinked rapidly.

—In the case of death, the remaining Root’s prestige is partially transferred to the family head, but the overall family prestige is downgraded.

“Oh… So for the sake of the family, death is a better option than divorce.”

Unless it was a strategic division of lineage through divorce, that was the case.

“Hm.”

Yeongwoo smirked wickedly.

Then he gestured toward the two "Roots."

“Mother, Father. Please bring me my eyes and spear.”

—……!

Jiseon was about to glow blue all over again, but Yeongwoo’s next words made her pause.

“I’ll give you 1 billion per person.”

—What?

“One… one billion?”

Jeonggu, who had been hiding behind Jiseon, peeked his head out.

“Yes. As Kubu said, it’s true that the two of you were instrumental in founding the family, and since the status of the Roots is directly tied to the family's strength… Think of it as a wedding gift.”

A total of 2 billion.

It was a huge sum, but considering it was the cost of preventing the loss of the family’s foundational members, it wasn’t too expensive.

Besides, it wasn’t a sunk cost; the money would essentially be absorbed into Jiseon and Jeonggu’s combat abilities.

“It’s a lump-sum Root fee.”

—You brat, if you’re going to give us money, just say so nicely.

As Jiseon shook her head in exasperation, Jeonggu was already retrieving Yeongwoo’s eyes and spear from the hammer-wielding attendants.

His old habit of tossing weapons to his son in dungeons hadn’t disappeared.

“Yeongwoo! Here, I got them!”

Tap tap!

As Jeonggu actually handed over the equipment, Yeongwoo’s gaze shifted to his current cash holdings.

“Huh, but how do I even send such a large sum? We’re not merchants, so we don’t have a payment system, right?”

Although he had created a family, he hadn’t yet developed the ability to generate an internal currency—like those black company cards.

—Transactions within the family can be conducted via direct cash transfers, without additional processing.

“…Oh?”

A question flashed through Yeongwoo’s mind.

“Then what about transactions outside the family? If we don’t have the ability to process currency, does that mean we have to hand over billions entirely in coins?”

—If the transaction partner does not have remote collection abilities, then yes.

“That’s complicated. Then when can we acquire the processing ability, Administrator?”

Yeongwoo’s question made Kubu blink.

—Since your family has just been established, there are still some ongoing administrative procedures.

Then, Kubu looked up at the sky.

—Once the Family Court evaluates the scale, influence, and primary industry of our Renaissance, certain functions you desire will be granted.

In simple terms, it meant they had to wait until the Family Court finished its work.

“Is there any way to speed that up? Why does this damn universe love ranking systems so much?”

—There is a way…

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“Huh? What is it?”

—You can induce a faster judgment from the Family Court by interacting with other families.

“Interaction…?”

It was a rather vague term.

—Yes. The tendencies and outcomes of interactions with other families can influence the ranking assignment.

“What? So basically, if a family is violent, they’ll start beating up other families on sight and get a high violence score, while weaker families will get counterattacked and lose points?”

At Yeongwoo’s summary, Kubu paused for a moment and blinked again.

—Yes. It is somewhat similar to what you said, but for example, families belonging to the benevolence category…

“No, well, we’re not a benevolence-type family anyway. I get the point.”

Of course, that didn’t mean they were as ruthless as Mara’s faction either.

Due to his previous "karma," he couldn’t afford to accumulate too much evil karma.

[Burning Ice]

|Ensure that the total amount of evil karma does not exceed twice the amount of good karma you possess.

‘Hmm, interaction with other families, huh…’

If they had a ship, they could visit the planets of Aldo and the three fools, but that wasn’t an option at the moment.

“Then, for now, we’ll just have to wait for our neighbors to come to us.”

More precisely, it would be the neighbors who would be alarmed upon hearing that a band of outlaws had moved in next door.

—If you’re waiting for contact with other families… then yes.

For some reason, Kubu sounded worried.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo motioned for his father to hand something over.

“Give me that.”

Jeonggu hesitantly stepped forward, holding the clan leader’s new eyeball and spear.

“This really looks like an eyeball… Are you sure it’s okay?”

As Jeonggu handed over the two items, Yeongwoo’s pupils dilated instantly.

“Oh…”

A gasp, almost like a groan of admiration.

Yeongwoo was shocked solely because of the tooltip of the “Ominous Eye.”

「Ominous Eye」 – Void Eyeball

【Insight ability increased by 50%.】

【Sensory stats increased by 40%.】

【Ashen Gaze】

【Ashen Gaze】

|You can see through the void.

‘A 40% increase in sensory stats? Why didn’t I realize how incredible this was before?’

He had thought the option was good before, but now that his total stats had reached 4 million, his perspective had completely changed.

Only after reaching the "end" did he truly gain the eyes to see the value of equipment.

‘Right now, my sensory stat is 1 million, so if I increase it by 40%…’

Just like the strength boost he had seen earlier due to blood loss, the increase would be directly reflected, raising his sensory stat to a staggering 1.4 million.

‘Is this how President Toma and the Chairman boosted their combat power too?’

His heart pounded with excitement.

As Yeongwoo picked up the ominous eyeball, he felt a slimy texture and a sharp, acrid energy creeping up his fingers.

Shhhhhh…

However, unlike when he had replaced his heart or spine, no message appeared saying surgery was required.

‘Why?’

Yeongwoo tilted his head.

‘Is it something I have to consume, like the mutation disguise? No, it’s an eyeball, so that wouldn’t make sense.’

Then how was he supposed to use it?

“……”

After a moment of thought, Yeongwoo raised the eyeball to his face and directly pressed it into his right eye.

Squelch!

At first, he felt his eye socket tighten, then the “Ominous Eye” turned semi-gaseous and wrapped around his own eyeball.

—Ugh, shit.

Seeing his son’s bold approach to inserting a new eye, Jiseon let out a disgusted noise.

Jeonggu also took a step back, reaffirming why Yeongwoo was truly the head of the family.

“You’re one crazy bastard.”

Fwoooosh!

As soon as Yeongwoo equipped the Void Eyeball, a gray mist swirled violently around his body.

Flash!

『Character: Jeong Yeongwoo 07』

[Strength] 1,000,000

[Endurance] 1,000,000

[Durability] 1,000,000

[Perception] 1,400,000

At that moment, his display showed that his perception had skyrocketed to 1.4 million, but something even more important caught his attention.

「Your existence attribute has been updated to include 'Void.'」

‘What the hell?’

Holding his still uncomfortable right eye, Yeongwoo widened his left eye.

Then, a new message appeared before him.

「Existence attribute update: +0.3」

「Prestige Level has increased to 38!」

「You no longer have to show 'courtesy' in battles against Prestige Level 40 opponents.」

“Courtesy? What does that mean? That I can challenge higher-ups now?”

As Yeongwoo frowned and muttered to himself, Kubu closed his eyes as if resigning himself to reality.

—Yes.

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