Chapter 457

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 457: High-Growth Stock (1)

3 billion for taking a hit.

And 2 billion for the opponent’s pride.

After earning a total of 5 billion in just a few words of conversation, Yeongwoo finally realized something.

‘Wow, this is how you make money!’

If you want to earn big, you shouldn’t just offer simple labor—you need to sell value.

And through this deal, a provisional hierarchy between the Satral family and himself had been established.

After all, Bioto couldn’t name a pride price higher than Yeongwoo’s hit price.

‘If it were the Chairman, he would’ve named a higher pride price out of sheer pride alone. No—he probably wouldn’t have even offered a pride price to begin with.’

If the Chairman were in Bioto’s situation, he would've simply settled things with his sword.

In any case, the head of the Satral family, Bioto, decided to spend 5 billion Karma instead of risking three thousand years of peace, and Yeongwoo fully respected that decision.

“Alright, now punch me in the face. This is basically a 5 billion–won beating, so do your best.”

—…You’re really a head of a family?

Bioto looked at him in disbelief.

The vulgarity of this man was beyond what one would expect from the head of a noble house.

But then again, hadn't he also eventually given in to that vulgarity?

—Ugh…

Finally, Bioto closed his eyes tightly.

Then, clenching his fist, he spoke through gritted teeth.

—Here I come, you bastard.

One punch worth 5 billion.

“…!”

When Yeongwoo saw Bioto’s right shoulder pull back, he gritted his teeth and braced for the hit.

‘Yeah, I need to make this worth 5 billion. I won’t dodge!’

He didn’t know Bioto’s exact Prestige Level, but since they weren’t bound by any etiquette, it had to be within 2 levels of his own—either higher or lower.

Yeongwoo’s current Prestige Level was 38, so Bioto's had to be at least 36, at most 40.

‘Still, he doesn’t seem like a level 40. At best, 38 or 39.’

In other words, even if Bioto hit hard, it wouldn’t be lethal.

Of course, Bioto seemed to have different hopes.

—Dieeee!

His momentum was overwhelming.

Naturally—if he could kill Yeongwoo with a bare fist, he wouldn’t have to pay 5 billion.

SWOOOSH!

Bioto’s fist, infused with a murderous will, roared like a jet engine.

“Eek…!”

Yeongwoo shut his eyes tight, worried his eyeballs might burst.

SMACK!

With a nasty impact sound, Yeongwoo’s upper body snapped back violently where he stood.

‘This… this crazy bastard can actually hit!’

Even the fists of the solar system’s planets couldn’t sting this much.

He could feel his shattered cheekbone rattling as he whispered hastily to Bioto.

“Quick, draw your sword and pretend to slash me!”

—…What?

That wasn’t part of the original agreement.

But it’s not like Bioto had any reason to refuse a chance to swing his sword.

—Fine! Just die already!

Excited by the unexpected request, Bioto went in for a real slash, not a pretend one.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo immediately raised his guard with Bastard.

CLAAANG!

As their swords collided, the shockwave was strong enough to push back the Blue Knights surrounding the palanquin.

FWOOOSH!

Feeling Bioto’s brute strength through Bastard, Yeongwoo started simulating a real duel that might happen someday.

‘His power isn’t unmanageable. I could probably withstand a few dozen exchanges.’

Now, there was one last thing to confirm.

WHOOSH!

Yeongwoo suddenly stepped back to create distance.

Bioto, wearing a bloodthirsty expression, flinched momentarily.

—What now?

“Raise your guard. This is the final performance.”

—What?

Bioto blinked in confusion.

At that moment, Bastard sliced through the air like a lightning bolt.

SWOOSH!

Bioto, barely in time, managed to raise his guard and block the strike.

CLANG!

‘…Myth-grade!’

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened as his sword strike was blocked.

If Bastard was blocked, that could only mean one thing—the opponent’s weapon was also Myth-grade.

‘So Satral did have a Myth weapon, after all.’

As he stared at the blade locked against his own, Bioto’s expression hardened—he’d figured something out.

—You bastard… don’t tell me…

He finally realized it.

The second exchange had been a trap, designed just to confirm the rank of his weapon.

—Why you…!

Shocked, Bioto was about to say something when—

『Enough with the disgraceful behavior.』

A commanding voice, laced with immense Prestige, swept over both family heads.

FWOOOOOSH!

“…Ugh?”

—Kgh!

It felt like their bodies had cramped up—completely locked up in pain, unable to stand tall.

This was Etiquette.

‘Wh–Who…? Someone stronger than Bioto?’

It had to be one of the remaining four families.

One of the visiting family heads from Earth had a Prestige Level over 40.

“……”

Straining, Yeongwoo slowly turned his head.

He saw a pale-skinned man with long white hair flowing in the wind.

There were others standing behind him, but Yeongwoo knew instantly.

That was the one.

"That's him, right? The one you just mentioned."

When Yeongwoo asked this in a low voice, Bioto, who stood in front, nodded.

—That’s Emel, the Deputy-Head of the Shirach family.

“Deputy-Head? So, the son of the Head?”

—The Shirach Head has no children. He’s the Head’s younger brother.

"Ah."

In other words, the Shirach family had sent the Head's proxy.

That’s why, despite his overwhelming presence, he had entered this planet with lower priority.

‘I should feel thankful he obediently followed our guidance.’

Yeongwoo stared silently at the face of Emel, the Deputy-Head, so pale that blue veins were clearly visible.

Then, at last, Emel began walking slowly toward the site where the issue between the new Head and Bioto had led to their swords crossing.

Clank, clank.

Emel, the Deputy-Head of Shirach, stood about 1.8 meters tall.

Even compared to Earthlings, his height wasn’t unusual, and his build and physique were also human-like.

No, if anything, his figure was so lean and sharp that it was almost unsettling.

His entire body, except for his head, was covered in black leather armor, and at his waist hung two swords, each about 1.5 meters long, strapped diagonally.

‘Just from his outfit, he looks like someone incredibly fast.’

From observing the equipment alone, Yeongwoo instinctively understood—this was someone he couldn’t defeat.

Just as the saying goes, “There’s always someone above the heavens”—this universe was indeed far too vast.

‘Well, trying to overcome millions of years with just two days of history is a bit much.’

What’s more, Emel was the only delegate from the visiting families who hadn’t brought a personal guard.

That meant he was confident enough in his combat prowess not to need one.

“Is the Shirach family the strongest among the neighbors? Also, what exactly counts as a ‘neighboring family’ anyway?”

As Yeongwoo watched Emel walk with ease, he asked again in a low voice.

Bioto frowned and snapped.

—You bastard… Am I your secretary? Why do you keep asking?

“Well, I’m a rookie Head. Can’t I ask my senior a few questions?”

When Yeongwoo used the word “senior” to flatter him a little, Bioto gave a slight grin through his bruised mouth.

—In terms of wealth and combat power, yes, the Shirach are the strongest in the lower part of the galaxy.

“The lower part of the galaxy? Wait, how can a galaxy even have an upper or lower part?”

Bioto then gave Yeongwoo a look as if he were the dumbest person alive.

—Relatively speaking, the heavier region is considered the upper galaxy.

“Heavier?”

—It has more massive stars. That’s the idea.

“But… stars in a galaxy orbit around too, right? So wouldn’t their weight-based positioning change in real-time?”

—Sure, by your logic, the upper and lower regions might flip someday—but will that happen within your lifetime?

“Oh.”

That, at least, Yeongwoo could understand.

For a human who might live only a hundred years at best, the current concept of galactic “upper” and “lower” was practically immutable.

Even in the Milky Way, our tiny Sun takes more than 200 million years just to orbit the galactic center once.

So how long would it take for the galaxy’s upper and lower parts to switch?

“…This must be why galactic families take so much pride in their long histories.”

—Exactly. You and we Satral are fundamentally different. No matter how many generations your family passes down, you won’t live to witness the changes in the universe.

“…….”

He wasn’t wrong.

The Satral family had a history of 1.2 million years.

In contrast, the Renaissance family had only existed for one day.

Naturally, as a family made up of humans, Renaissance couldn’t hope to witness grand shifts in the cosmos.

Meanwhile, the Satral family, having endured for over a billion years, might very well witness such an event in one of their generations.

And if there exists a family that’s persisted for tens of millions of years, they’ve likely already seen those universal transformations.

“Damn, these damn guys…”

Overwhelmed by the vast scale of the universe, Yeongwoo groaned and shoved Bioto aside.

Smack!

“Millions of years? How do you even wait that long? Isn’t it boring?”

—…What?

“We, you bastard, we’ve decided not to just sit around and wait—because we know we don’t live that long.”

Yeongwoo’s voice was loud enough that Emel, who was still approaching from the other side, stopped in his tracks and looked up.

—What do you mean by that? If you’re not going to wait, what will you do instead?

To that, Yeongwoo raised a finger toward the sky—no, toward space.

“Our Earth will soon become a planet-ship. So whether it’s the upper or lower galaxy, we’ll just fly there and see for ourselves.”

If life is too short compared to the timeline of the universe, then the solution is simple—move faster.

And in fact, Yeongwoo, a being living in mere moments, had managed to bring the 1.2-million-year-old Satral family under his fist.

An incredible rate of growth, no doubt.

“You all saw it, right? A lowly man like me trading blows with the great Satral family.”

His hand that had been pointing skyward was now clenched into a tight fist.

Then, slowly, his index finger lifted.

“So I dare say this: My single day is equivalent to your hundred million years.”

—What?

—The hell?

—……!

The room of family Heads gasped at the unbearably arrogant claim.

But Yeongwoo, showing no sign of shrinking back, continued.

“Which means, when today ends, I’ll have achieved two hundred million years’ worth of growth, right?”

—…….

An unbelievably ignorant claim.

And yet, no one could refute it—because everyone had seen the duel between Bioto and Yeongwoo.

At least for now, the new Renaissance family’s growth rate did seem close to a hundred million years per day.

Around that time, Yeongwoo licked his lips and swept a sly gaze across the family Heads.

“So… anyone interested in investing?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]