Chapter 543

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 543: Black Customers (6)

The accident rate for transactions in the Black Zone: 58%.

Since that figure applied to deals between criminals, it was a surprising number for Yeongwoo.

At that level, isn’t it practically a market of trust and loyalty?

However, the vault-keeper Napua didn’t seem ready to accept that point.

「If it’s 58%… that’s a majority.」

“Yeah, that’s true. But in the villain world, that’s actually a really low number.”

Yeongwoo figured the machine simply lacked “villain-sense.”

And right about then—

○ You lunatic, is this really the time to be chatting with the vault-keeper?

Earth’s voice came through, urgent.

○ Only 30 seconds left. Did you grab everything?

‘…What? Oh, right! There was a time limit, wasn’t there?’

But thanks to talking with the vault-keeper, he’d gotten the chance to pick up an extra 7.5 billion in cash.

‘Can’t you buy me a little more time? I’ve got the essentials, but it’d be a shame to just leave.’

As he said this, Yeongwoo was hurling Katangdal ingots to the golden goblin.

The goblin swept the ingots into its pocket-dimension pouch, and Napua could only watch as the vault was plundered before his eyes.

「Is there anything else you’re looking for?」

“Oh, good line. What’s the most valuable item in this vault right now?”

「Among the items currently accessible, the most…」

“No, I mean the most valuable item in the entire vault. I carry the Seal of ‘Lemu,’ so give me your best answer.”

The moment Yeongwoo pronounced ‘Lemu,’ a sting of lightning damage hit him, and white sparks jumped from Napua’s mechanical arms.

[Zap!]

「Ah—so you’re a brother.」

Lemu’s seal worked on the vault-keeper without fail.

The red light in his eyes turned white, just like the gargoyles at the vault’s main door.

「I should only present it to Lord Koatu, but just this once, I will show you.」

“Blood ties are the best. But hurry—I’m short on time.”

At Yeongwoo’s prompting, Napua brought out a storage case from the innermost part of the vault.

「This is the weapon classified as the top grade among those stored in the central vault.」

“Oh… a weapon?”

Well, this was an arms dealer’s secret vault.

So picking up a weapon here would be good manners.

“Open it, quick. We’ve got 12 seconds left.”

Yeongwoo tried to pre-activate his Return Stone as he said it, but no teleportation functions worked inside the central vault.

“Damn it. So I have to get out first.”

This was why Koatu had warned him he’d have to push through the self-destruct sentries.

Meanwhile—

[Whirr-r-rk!]

Napua’s mechanical arm undid the case’s locks.

[Bang!]

Yeongwoo shoved his hand into the case without hesitation.

Napua, who had literally intended only to “show” the item, let out a flustered sound.

「Uh…?」

“Thanks, brother. I’ve got to run—the ship won’t wait.”

Without even checking what he held, Yeongwoo bolted for the exit.

[Smack!]

Napua—still attached to the ceiling by a single mechanical arm—finally started to move.

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「P-please wait! That item can only be checked out by Lord Koatu!」

“Got it! I’ll go get his permission personally—so you stay right there!”

As Yeongwoo tossed that over his shoulder, an unexpected sight snagged his eyes.

“Huh?”

Napua emerged from the darkness of the ceiling to follow—and his silhouette looked like a spider.

[Clack, clack!]

With eight mechanical arms bracing against the walls, his figure was downright terrifying.

“Jeez, for fuck’s sake! What the hell has Koatu been keeping in this vault?”

Only then did Yeongwoo’s eyes drop to the so-called “top-grade weapon” in his hand.

He’d noticed the grip felt strange, and with good reason.

“Wha—?”

What he’d pulled out wasn’t a weapon, but a mechanical arm.

「Gambler」 — Legendary Right Arm

【Right-Handed】

【Overload】

【Machine Synergy】

“What is this? A prosthetic…?”

A mechanical prosthetic arm, the Gambler.

The peculiar gear’s detailed tooltip filled Yeongwoo’s view.

[Flash!]

【Right-Handed】

| The power of gear held in your right hand increases by 20%.

【Overload】

| For 5 seconds, Attack Power doubles; when Overload ends, the Gambler detaches from your body.

【Machine Synergy】

| Gain 2% damage reduction for each equipped #mechanical piece.

‘Good lord.’

As soon as he read the Gambler’s tooltip, Yeongwoo realized it.

He had just walked off with Koatu’s treasure.

‘Not all “legendaries” are equal. This one’s practically mythic.’

True Mythics were a different class altogether, but in terms of raw offense, the Gambler could rival them.

‘This isn’t something to just hush up and keep moving. I should report it to Koatu.’

The moment Yeongwoo stepped past the central vault’s exit—

[Thoom!]

A black shadow fell over everything, and Napua blocked the way.

「Brother, that one cannot be taken out. Put it down.」

He meant the Gambler in Yeongwoo’s hand.

Without hesitation, Yeongwoo shifted his grip on Bastard and charged straight at Napua.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Out of the way! I don’t want to kill you!”

As his eyes flared gold and his Prestige surged, Napua’s eight grasping arms began to convulse.

“Huh. So even machines are affected by Prestige.”

He’d only ever met one high-grade machine—Lemu—so he’d never had a chance to test it.

「P… please wait!」

“You wait. Be glad your arms are still attached.”

Leaving Napua with his limbs twisted at odd angles, Yeongwoo slipped past and reached the central vault’s outer zone at last.

‘Time? How much is left?’

○ 4 seconds.

‘What? I told you to buy me more time earlier.’

At the same moment, he triggered the Return Stone.

[Wheeee—!]

○ You burned through even the extra time we got you. We’re departing.

“What the hell? You’re taking off without the captain?”

While Yeongwoo barked aloud, Earth’s Prestige in his mind began to recede.

○ The captain’s right here, though.

Meaning Acting Captain Mantero.

“You absolute maniacs.”

○ If we’re lucky, the Return Stone will finish before the distance grows too large.

Then Earth added,

○ If we’re unlucky—see you sometime, maybe never.

“W-wait!”

As Yeongwoo parroted Napua’s earlier line, the Return Stone in his hand flared with blinding light.

[Flaaaash!]

Finally, the return function engaged.

“Hey! The Return Stone’s working! Give me one second!”

○ What are you talking about? We’re already exiting Gadoa.

“…What? You’re kidding, right?”

Almost at once, filaments wrapped around Yeongwoo and the golden goblin.

[Shaaah!]

-Keek?

At nearly the same instant, his vision—washed out white—snapped back to normal, and he felt space settle around him.

“Ugh!”

He lost his center of balance and pitched forward.

[Thud!]

The metallic texture of the floor pressed against his cheek.

“…!”

He was back in the Earthship’s helm.

“So you were joking about leaving me behind, right?”

Yeongwoo glared as he pushed himself up.

Outside the forward screen, the dead star Gadoa was shrinking fast.

“Huh…?”

So Earth had been telling the truth.

“You were seriously leaving me?”

When Yeongwoo stared at Earth in disbelief, Earth shrugged and glanced at Acting Captain Mantero.

『When you’re not here, isn’t Mr. Mantero the captain? We simply followed the captain’s orders.』

“What?”

Mantero, seated in the captain’s chair, glanced down while piloting.

-It was an unavoidable decision.

“Unavoidable?”

-If we had remained anchored near the vault for two more seconds, we would have collided with a star fragment. Had that happened, the ship you were to return to might have ceased to exist.

In short, they’d chosen the lesser evil over the worst outcome.

-In ship operations, swift and correct judgment is as important as piloting skill.

And in Mantero’s view, this time the right call had been to leave Yeongwoo behind at the vault.

“I mean—that’s just…”

Yeongwoo moved to argue, but Koatu cut in first.

-…Huh? Wait. What’s that in your hand right now?

Because he’d surrendered his prosthetic leg, Koatu was still lying on the deck, and had caught a glimpse of the prosthetic arm Yeongwoo held along with his shield.

Yeongwoo took a small step back, feeling exposed.

“…Sorry? What is?”

-The thing you just hid behind the shield.

“The prosthetic? Ah, I should return this.”

As Yeongwoo said it and held the prosthetic out, Koatu fixed him with a deeply disappointed look.

-Ah… please don’t do that. Don’t tell me you stole my prosthetic arm?

Prosthetic arm.

Realizing the man had seen the item clearly, Yeongwoo steeled his expression.

“Stole it? I brought it out.”

-Then hand it over. It’s my property, isn’t it?

“But… that prosthetic is a bit too powerful for you, don’t you think?”

-…Excuse me?

“You knew that, which is why you kept it tucked away in the vault, right?”

-I set it aside for emergencies. One never knows when one might land in prison.

“And in the end, you were imprisoned—and thanks to me, you’re free again. So freeing up one arm seems fair. Call it a thank-you gift.”

As Yeongwoo spouted nonsense, Koatu’s brow furrowed.

-What are you even saying? If you wanted a jailbreak fee, you could’ve taken it when you went down to the vault.

Given how potent the item was, Koatu clearly had no intention of yielding so easily.

So Yeongwoo had no choice but to rest his hand on Bastard at his hip.

“Mr. Koatu.”

-…?

“Give me this prosthetic as a gift. Otherwise, I’ll have to be a robber.”

-Why, you thug of a man.

“Honestly, a thug would make better use of this arm anyway. In exchange, I’ll let you rent a room on our Earthship at a discount.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]