Chapter 428

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 428: Sole Candidate (10)

In truth, he had never once thought about it.

The perspective of Earth itself.

What would it feel like to exist as a planet?

And to a planet, what did its inhabitants truly mean?

‘Come to think of it, I don’t know a single thing.’

No one knew what Earth did throughout the day, what its usual concerns were, or how it spent its time—not even Yeongwoo or any of the planet’s original residents.

‘Well, I might find out this time.’

Meanwhile, the elevator was descending at an incredible speed.

But whether it was truly a physical descent, he couldn’t be sure.

After all, as soon as the elevator dropped below ground, the surroundings had shifted into a holographic display.

Thus, it was entirely possible that this was actually a separate space, connected like a wormhole.

‘So, just because I’m going to meet Earth, they’re mimicking an underground descent? How amusing.’

Inside the rapidly falling elevator, even the entrance and exit buttons were nowhere to be found.

Instead, faintly engraved on the wall near the doors was a single code.

[|l||I]

Earth’s unique identifier.

Just as human elevators had serial numbers, Earth had attached its own nameplate.

‘No, wait, this might not be Earth’s doing.’

Staring at the code, Yeongwoo quickly reconsidered.

‘Would Earth really refer to itself as |l||I? That’s clearly the code assigned by the intergalactic system to distinguish it.’

He recalled the message that had appeared when he was granted the meeting rights.

「The council has granted Jeong Yeongwoo07 the right to meet with Earth. |l||I shall comply with the appropriate authority.」

According to the interstellar delivery agent, there were many planets in the universe with the same name.

Earth was no exception, hence the need for a unique code and coordinates.

‘So, this elevator might not even belong to Earth?’

In fact, the entire space could be a massive relay zone.

Like when passing through a void during a portal jump into a dungeon.

‘Then, couldn’t there be elevators for other planets here as well?’

Curious, Yeongwoo pressed his face against the holographic wall, trying to peer outside.

Through the layers of holographic panels, he caught a faint glimpse of the area beyond.

At first, it seemed like nothing more than a sea of scattered, multicolored film fragments.

But as he focused—

“……!”

Everything in his field of vision was moving at incredible speed.

“Wha… what the hell.”

Hundreds, thousands—no, perhaps far more elevators were descending simultaneously within the holographic domain.

From the outside, each elevator looked less like an actual transport and more like rectangular pieces of colored paper cut out of reality.

“Hey, you! Look over here!”

Yeongwoo banged on the wall and shouted at a nearby elevator, but unsurprisingly, there was no response.

Of course not.

The individuals in those elevators were likely heading for their first-ever meetings with their respective home planets after a long and arduous journey.

There was no reason for them to pay attention to someone beyond their own capsule.

Unless they were a peculiar curiosity-seeker like Jeong Yeongwoo07, that is.

“These lunatics… Not a single one of them is looking outside.”

As Yeongwoo cursed under his breath and smacked the wall again, the elevator’s unique code suddenly began to flash.

[|l||I]

“Huh? Is that the disembark signal?”

It likely indicated that they had reached their destination.

And sure enough, an announcement sounded inside the elevator.

「You will soon arrive at your destination. Farewell.」

The sensation of acceleration grew stronger, confirming that they were indeed closing in.

Yeongwoo pressed his face to the wall once more.

It was then that he noticed something—the number of elevators had visibly decreased.

‘So, there is a sense of direction in this place. The longer we move, the more we disperse.’

And soon after—

Swaaaat!

“Ugh.”

The area beyond the wall was suddenly flooded with blinding white light.

In reality, Yeongwoo’s elevator had simply entered the light.

‘…Is this the destination?’

The elevator’s target.

The domain where |l||I—Earth—resided.

What form it would take, Yeongwoo had no idea.

Not that he felt any fear—he was fully armed, after all.

‘Even if there’s no atmosphere, it won’t be a problem.’

Currently, Yeongwoo was clad in armor that Earth could never produce—

the Vesedel Full-body Plate Mail.

「Authenticity」 - Vesedel Royal Armor

【Vesedel Royal Family’s Protection】

【Resilient Defense】

【Adapts to any planet.】

【Increases resistance to abnormal abilities by up to 5%.】

【--Empty Slot–】

【--Empty Slot--】

【--Empty Slot--】

◇ Dogo: Advertisement Space

Among its absurdly overpowered features was this:

【Adapts to any planet.】

In other words, as long as the domain was planet-based, he could survive.

Whether it was a fiery hurricane or a vacuum devoid of air.

Chiiiiaaak!

The holographic elevator gradually reverted to its original form.

The walls returned to solid metal, and entry and exit buttons reappeared by the door.

‘Can’t see beyond the wall anymore, huh.’

Feeling slightly disappointed by the now-sealed view, Yeongwoo turned toward the doors.

Chaaaak!

The elevator doors slid open.

And beyond them—

‘Huh? That’s unexpected.’

It was a dense forest.

The sound of birds could be heard from somewhere—it was a real forest.

Crunch.

As Yeongwoo stepped out of the elevator, his foot sank into damp earth and trampled over tiny weeds.

“……”

Pausing for a moment, he returned Bastard to his waist.

Clack.

Then, he removed the metal boots covering his feet and pressed his bare soles against the ground.

A mysterious sense of calm and serenity washed over him.

“…Shit, whatever this is, it feels pretty damn good.”

Beep-beep!

Right on cue, a bird chirped in the distance.

Ahead of him stretched a straight path cutting through the forest—a visitor’s trail, without a doubt—so Yeongwoo set his feet in that direction.

‘Wait a minute, why the hell isn’t that bastard here to greet me?’

Yeongwoo had expected to meet Earth the moment he stepped off the elevator.

Annoyed, he exhaled sharply through his nose and trudged along the unfamiliar forest path.

Crunch, crunch.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

After walking for about ten minutes, just as he was contemplating drawing his sword again, the forest path opened into a vast field.

Swoooosh…!

As the wind swept through, the golden reeds filling the field bowed in unison, creating a rustling sound.

And there, in the middle of the field, stood the one he sought.

“……!”

A man was painting at an easel, facing the direction Yeongwoo was approaching from.

“Are you Earth?”

The distance between them was well over 100 meters, but Yeongwoo spoke aloud, confident that the man would hear him.

And sure enough, the man gestured for him to come closer.

As expected, since this was Earth’s domain, even the faintest sound carried effortlessly to him.

Swish.

Yeongwoo instinctively glanced up at the sky.

“Hah.”

Above him was a quintessentially earthly sky—crystal clear, with white, lofty clouds.

Though the sun’s exact location was obscured, soft rays of light shone down from somewhere.

And in the midst of it all, a meteor streaked across one side of the blue sky.

‘A meteor in broad daylight… How poetic.’

Yeongwoo chuckled wryly and started walking toward the man—toward Earth.

As he did, he noticed the man at the easel waving more fervently.

‘Wait, is he painting me?’

Frowning slightly, Yeongwoo quickened his pace.

Then, the man—Earth—peeked out from behind the easel.

“……!”

He was younger than Yeongwoo had imagined.

And strikingly handsome.

Even with his slightly wavy black hair cascading down to his chest, it didn’t look the least bit out of place.

Finally, Earth parted his painted lips and spoke.

『You impatient bastard.』

“…What?”

『Slow the hell down. I haven’t even finished painting half of you yet.』

Swoooosh…!

Once again, the wind swept across the field.

Like before, the reeds bent in a synchronized wave, and Earth’s long hair fluttered in the breeze.

And so did Yeongwoo’s.

Shraaang!

He drew Bastard in a flash, casting a long shadow over the reeds.

“You’ve gotta be out of your goddamn mind.”

As golden light gleamed from Yeongwoo’s eyes, he ground his teeth together.

Yet, Earth didn’t even glance away from his painting.

He merely opened his mouth and said:

『If you’re so hell-bent on killing me, go ahead. It’s only gonna screw you over.』

‘What?’

Yeongwoo halted in his tracks for the first time.

In that brief exchange, he learned two things.

First, that he could indeed kill Earth right then and there.

Second—

“You’re saying it’d be my loss if you die?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, Earth once again peeked out from behind his canvas.

『Of course. Do you have a spaceship? Do you have anything at all? If I die, you’ll have nowhere to go. You won’t even be able to leave.』

“……”

Damn it.

Yeongwoo couldn’t find a single flaw in Earth’s logic.

Planets might not need their inhabitants, but inhabitants sure as hell needed their planets.

『Honestly, don’t you think this is a bit unfair?』

“What is?”

『Our fate. I’ve waited an eternity, only to end up with you of all people…』

“And what’s wrong with me?”

When Yeongwoo scowled and snapped back, Earth finally pulled his hand away from the easel.

『I didn’t expect my representative to be a saint or anything. But I was hoping for someone a bit more decent. Instead, they gave me some goddamn bandit. Isn’t that just cruel?』

It sounded like the lament of a parent disappointed by their child.

“Hey, asshole. You might wanna be careful with your words. Bastard here might take offense.”

Yeongwoo leveled the sword’s razor-sharp tip at Earth.

“And what about you? You think you’re so special? While I was busting my ass through the planet assessment trials, what the hell did you do for me? You’re just some outdated, bottom-tier planet.”

For the first time, Earth’s face twisted with anger.

『…Stop calling me bottom-tier. If you keep that up, you’ll be living on bottom-tier Earth forever.』

“…What?”

That was a loaded statement.

Yeongwoo’s instincts immediately sharpened.

“What the hell does that mean? You saying if I keep calling you bottom-tier, something else might happen?”

Yeongwoo’s tone flipped in an instant, now keenly interested.

Earth squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingers against his temple.

『Ah… Seriously, this bastard is all I’ve got?』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]