Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Radar Confirmation
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As usual, the sight of the second-floor room in the mansion brought a sigh of relief from Yusung.
‘Dodged it again this time.’
If things kept going like this, there wouldn’t be much need to fear the monsters.
‘Though it does interfere with scouting.’
Still, he couldn’t be sure whether gathering all the nearby tech and embarking on an expedition far enough to require sleep would end with mere interference.
‘At least I don’t have to head out on one of those right away tomorrow.’
For now, he decided to worry about the aftermath later.
‘But I did confirm what I needed to.’
It was a fact he didn’t want to accept, but humanity’s weapons truly didn’t work against monsters, just as the rumors said. That was bad news.
‘But that thing showed up on the radar.’
He’d worried that monsters, not being beasts, might not register on radar. But it did detect the monster. Not just detect it, but distinguish it from beasts as well.
‘Monsters show up as blue dots.’
It was the fact Yusung had risked his life, allowing the monster to get dangerously close, to learn.
This greatly reduced the chance of being ambushed by a monster.
‘Time to head down.’
Yusung moved to go downstairs as always.
Thud!
The foot of his powered exoskeleton hit the ground with a heavy sound as he stepped forward. At the same time, the two robots beside him moved to follow.
It was a different scene from before.
Yusung had come here mostly empty-handed. It hadn’t been long since he’d started bringing items to sell.
But now, he had arrived in this world with a powered exoskeleton and two robots.
It was thanks to the new item unlocked by this week’s reputation increase.
Items carried during world travel included (1,000 kg).
Thanks to that item, he could bring a full ton of weight to this world. That was why he’d been able to plan the operation to retrieve the robots and exoskeletons this time.
‘Couldn’t do it before.’
With just 100 kg, he couldn’t even bring one powered exoskeleton. But with the limit jumping tenfold, it became possible to transport two exoskeletons and two robots.
‘Though that meant I couldn’t bring the car parts properly.’
Recovering the powered exoskeletons and robots was more than enough.
However, since they came from the Purchase Window, they weren’t free.
‘Still, five million gold isn’t bad.’
It was exactly ten times the price of the 100 kg version. The weight had increased tenfold, so it felt like a fair price.
Items worth tens of millions of gold were starting to appear, so his sense of money was getting a bit numb.
In the past, he’d have been shocked regardless of cost-performance, but now he could nod along to five million gold if it was useful.
But it wasn’t without burden.
Especially the fifty million gold spent on the new robot had hurt deeply. Because of that, he hadn’t bought most of the new items to keep some spare funds.
‘Gotta hustle and make money.’
Fortunately, he had a reliable place.
Yusung led the robots down to the living room.
[Welcome back.]
“Yeah.”
Receiving the familiar greeting from the Strategy Guide, Yusung dismounted from the powered exoskeleton.
“Can I sell these too?”
Yusung tapped the robot standing beside him and the powered exoskeleton it carried.
He’d already extracted and handed over plenty of data on the robots from the factory server where he’d found them. But real items were different, weren’t they?
[Of course. Both robots and powered exoskeletons are sellable.]
This confirmed he could sell items bought from the Purchase Window. There were still a few unsold ones among the purchasables, so selling them all would cover the gold.
[For bulky items, please place them next to the box.]
“No, hold on.”
But there was something to clarify first.
“You’re valuing the robots at over fifty million gold, right?”
If they valued it even a penny less, he wouldn’t sell. Same for the other items.
There was no reason to sell if they paid less than what he’d bought them for from the Purchase Window. Unless he somehow got a bunch of powered exoskeletons or robots in his own world.
[Of course.]
With the Strategy Guide’s firm assurance, Yusung finally placed the items next to the box without worry. Not just the robots and exoskeletons.
Weapons like the NK-4 and railguns were confirmed sellable too, so he dumped them all. Naturally, he got assurances they’d pay more for those as well.
‘Who’d have thought items from the Purchase Window could be sold for gold. You can sell them for gold but can’t bring those items here yourself, huh?’
It was strange if you thought about it. But the Purchase Window, Strategy Guide, and world travel were strange to begin with. No point dwelling when he didn’t even understand the mechanics.
‘Guess my world and this one are more strictly separated than I thought.’
Crossing worlds defied common sense to begin with.
‘The common point is just the Arc, I suppose.’
And the Strategy Guide.
Just in case, he’d chosen a robot buried in debris among the ones to sell. The powered exoskeleton was naturally a worn one.
He’d been using that exoskeleton since before he knew about the Arc, and the robot was obtained after a fierce battle with the invisible beast.
One might expect some sentiment or attachment built up, but Yusung decided without hesitation.
He had some leeway since encountering the Arc, but that was compared to before—he still wasn’t that comfortable.
‘Immediate tasks are done.’
Now it was time to look around this world.
Last time he’d come, he’d panicked at the monster’s appearance and hadn’t enjoyed it properly.
‘Thinking back, that’s a shame.’
But now, with countermeasures in place, it wasn’t as heavy.
[Will you go out?]
“Yeah.”
[Then please mind your appearance.]
Yusung looked down at himself. The clothes he wore were the ones the Strategy Guide had prepared long ago. But they couldn’t be intact.
Even just wearing them for days would dirty them, and the environment he’d been in was incomparably harsher than Earth.
Naturally, his clothes and shoes were filthy.
“Got it.”
Time was precious. With his funds drastically reduced, he hadn’t bought the new item to extend stay time in this world, making it even more so.
But he followed the Strategy Guide’s advice obediently.
He washed up and changed into clothes the Strategy Guide had prepared in advance. Then he stepped outside.
[Where to today? For reference, I’ve secured a few more bases.]
“Bases?”
[Yes.]
Yusung recalled the travel point setting. The item to set arrival points when crossing worlds. But changing arrival points required bases, and the Strategy Guide was saying it had prepared them.
“Where are they?”
[In the capital and major provincial cities. If there’s a region you want, I can add it.]
He knew the Strategy Guide wasn’t entirely trustworthy, but things like this confirmed how essential it was to him.
‘Finally, I get to see a city!’
To Yusung, a city was a massive concrete nest teeming with countless beasts, extremely dangerous.
But originally, cities were where many people lived. To see the original state of those enormous ruins he’d only glimpsed from afar.
He wanted to head there immediately. But Yusung shook his head.
“No, later.”
[Why?]
“Probably requires spending most of my time in this world to move to those bases, right?”
[Yes.]
“Then we’re good.”
He regretted the time wasted last time thinking up monster countermeasures. He didn’t want to waste this visit on travel and miss enjoying the world.
‘Next time, buy the stay extension and go.’
Once the money from selling the powered exoskeletons and robots came in, he could buy items to extend stay time and reduce world travel cooldown. He could travel then.
“Also, just to ask—do you have a way to transport my powered exoskeleton and robots? The car I used before might not have enough space.”
To take the powered exoskeleton and robots back, they needed to be near him before departure. So moving bases meant bringing them too.
[I’ll prepare for next time.]
“Okay.”
Putting off the base move, Yusung stepped out of the house.
[Shall I take you downtown like before?]
“No, this time I want to just walk around nearby.”
[Understood.]
Yusung stepped out the front gate and onto the street. It was his second outing outside the house, but his first on foot.
He walked along the nearby roads. Not fast, not slow—just strolling. No worry of getting lost, with the earpiece for communicating with the Strategy Guide snug in his ear.
He walked the pleasant road. Mountains surrounded him, all covered in lush green trees, leaving Yusung deeply satisfied.
‘Flowers!’
Even someone sentimental might glance once and move on—a nameless small flower. But to Yusung, it was an incredibly beautiful sight.
He squatted down and stared at it for a long time. Just watching it sway in the breeze felt timeless. Then a butterfly fluttering nearby landed gently on the petal, and his mouth fell open.
It was so, truly so beautiful.
But he couldn’t stare forever. He felt he could watch it for days without tiring, but there was still so much more to see.
Yusung started walking again. Then he spotted an elderly man coming the opposite way.
‘A person.’
But he didn’t startle or panic. He’d gone to a hair salon and gotten a haircut, after all. Meeting one more real person now wouldn’t faze him.
Thud!
‘Huh?’
But when the old man suddenly collapsed in front of him, even Yusung couldn’t help but be startled.
“W-What?”
Maybe he’d been attacked by something. Yusung looked around.
‘This world shouldn’t have monsters or beasts, right?’
Or attacked by some other dangerous creature harmful to humans? Or illness?
Unlike people in this world—who, through education or media, at least knew roughly what to do when someone collapsed—Yusung, who’d survived alone in his world, found the situation more bewildering than a beast charging from afar, radiating killing intent.
[What’s happening?]
Sensing something, the Strategy Guide asked.
“A person just collapsed in front of me.”
[I see.]
But neither showed worry for the man in their exchange.
Yusung, having lived alone in a world close to death, felt no pity for a fallen stranger. Just confusion at the sudden event.
And the Strategy Guide went without saying.
[What will you do?]
“What do normal people do in this situation?”
[Call an ambulance to transport the patient to the hospital. Shall I call one?]
“Yeah. Do that.”
And so, Yusung unexpectedly halted his stroll and, for the first time in his life, ended up going to a hospital.