Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: 5. Gumi's Greatest Swordsman vs. Gumi City Councilor
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「Iyaaaaaah!」
Jang Seon-bok let out a roar that shook the ground as he landed between Young-woo and the Sky Castle residents.
Boom!
The concrete floor shattered from the height of his drop, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.
Whoosh!
The air turned hazy white, and Young-woo lost sight of not just Jang Seon-bok, but Ye-chan and the Sky Castle people as well.
‘Damn it, this is bad…….’
Unconsciously, Young-woo’s first thought went to the kids the Sky Castle side had with them.
If Jang Seon-bok started rampaging with his vision blocked like this, the children would get hurt.
‘Shit, no time for that.’
In the end, Young-woo shouted as loud as he could so everyone in the area could hear.
“Get the kids out of here! You can’t take this guy!”
At that moment.
Fwoooosh!
A heavy presence stirred from within the dust cloud.
Jang Seon-bok was chasing the sound of his voice with an attack.
Of course, this was a situation Young-woo had baited, so he had already gripped his shield firmly.
The problem was.
Claaaang!
The bastard’s power was stronger than expected.
‘Ugh, insane!’
Young-woo felt his body lift off the ground along with his shield.
And then.
Whoosh.
He was flung into the air like he’d been launched.
At least three or four meters high.
But Young-woo quickly regained his composure.
‘What the.’
He realized he was unconsciously controlling his center of gravity.
‘Is this the effect of my Sense stat?’
[Sense]
|Involves overall physical control abilities such as reflexes, balance sense, etc.
Having raised his Sense from a measly 24 all the way to 100, it was only natural he’d feel the difference.
Thud!
Young-woo landed steadily on the ground, and a fierce wind blew in front of him.
Boom, thud!
The bastard was charging out from the dirt cloud.
[Gumi City Councilor-Jang Seon-bok]
As expected, the first thing that appeared was the hazy nameplate glowing within the dust cloud.
Soon after, the monster’s flesh was laid bare under the sunlight.
Boom!
The first things to catch the eye were his red skin and bulging muscles ready to burst.
The goblins he’d seen before were absurdly muscular too, but Jang Seon-bok……
‘What the hell, why’s he so huge? Mutated Being premium package?’
He stood three meters tall, with muscles proportionally massive.
The large axes, one in each hand, were intimidating as well. Each blade was nearly the size of Young-woo’s torso.
But even more surprising was.
「Hoh?」
Jang Seon-bok looked shocked at the sight of Young-woo.
And it didn’t stop there.
「Gumi’s Greatest Swordsman? What the hell is this?」
A goblin spouting human speech.
‘He, he talks?’
Young-woo glanced back and forth between the goblin’s cute twitching pointed ears and its vicious maw.
Jang Seon-bok, who had been standing tall, slowly bent his long waist into a posture as if observing Young-woo.
「Are you the representative of these vermin? What the hell happened while I was gone?」
It seemed the “vermin” he referred to included not just the people here, but all of Gumi City’s residents.
「What year is it now? No idea how long I was captured.」
He’d come swinging axes without a word earlier, but now he was firing off questions.
‘What’s with this guy… Does he have no sense of time? No, more than that, he talks just like a person.’
From their brief exchange, Young-woo could confirm at least one thing.
The Jang Seon-bok before him was a Mutated Being… a monster, but the consciousness inside was human.
From calling Gumi residents “vermin,” it looked like he retained all memories up to the moment he was sniped during the Reset.
“It’s June 10, 2025, Tuesday. The first day the Reset began.”
When Young-woo told him the date, bewilderment flashed in Jang Seon-bok’s gleaming eyes.
「First day? So I’m the first one here? Ah, I get it.」
Jang Seon-bok muttered to himself, seeming to come to some realization.
Young-woo quickly fired back a question.
“First one? Where the hell did you come from? Have you seen the other Mutated Beings?”
Jang Seon-bok, lost in thought, grinned wickedly.
「Why’s a guy about to die so damn curious?」
Swoosh!
That’s when his axe tore through the air toward him.
‘Ugh, this fucker!’
The sudden attack put every cell in his body on edge, but a hologram appearing in his vision soon comforted him.
A hologram of himself, left shoulder pulled fully back, right hand extended with Early Bird thrust out.
―Kill
The Gumi Swordsmanship had reactivated.
‘Gumi Swordsmanship? It wouldn’t trigger on beasts, but now……?’
For now, Young-woo twisted his body sideways per the Gumi Swordsmanship guide and thrust out Early Bird with his right hand.
Then.
Screeeeech!
Jang Seon-bok’s axe blade narrowly grazed past Young-woo’s left shoulder, which had been pulled back.
“……!”
Goosebumps erupted across his skin, but he’d launched his own attack too.
Shiiing!
Young-woo watched the tip of his thrust Early Bird head for Jang Seon-bok’s left chest.
And the black axe blade blocking the sword path, turning the “Kill” marker into “Feint.”
“……?”
Soon, Early Bird and the axe blade ground against each other with a shrill scream.
Kiiiiing!
「What are you… not just some human.」
Jang Seon-bok’s flustered voice emerged against the grating sound.
Young-woo was just as shocked and blurted out.
“You… are you still human? Why’s the Gumi Swordsmanship…….”
「What? You little shit… You guys did this to me!」
As they traded incomprehensible words, the Gumi Swordsmanship presented the next sword path.
―Break
‘Break?’
The “Break” meaning to shatter.
From their current locked-weapons stance, it instructed him to twist Early Bird and stab the opponent’s opposite elbow.
The hologram even showed filling a guard with his left-hand shield.
‘Whatever, this has to be the best option.’
Whoosh!
Strength 200, Sense 100.
His physical capabilities were more than sufficient.
The blade tip, pressed against the axe, twisted and shot out diagonally, soon embedding into Jang Seon-bok’s right elbow.
「Gaaaaah!」
The bastard’s first scream.
A guide followed to smash his slightly lowered jaw with the shield, but it canceled immediately.
‘Uh-oh.’
Jang Seon-bok had started his counterattack a step ahead.
‘Too late……!’
No matter how optimal the Gumi Swordsmanship paths were, timing had to match or it was meaningless.
Right now, Young-woo had to recognize, review, and execute the guide, inevitably creating a delay.
So against a formidable foe like this.
「Dieee!」
He ate a knee kick fast as lightning.
Baaam!
“Guhk!”
The three-meter goblin’s glutes and quads generated explosive kinetic energy.
It felt like getting hit by a car; Young-woo couldn’t even breathe properly.
His vision flashed repeatedly with what seemed like the next Gumi Swordsmanship instruction, but the unexpected physical shock had nearly paralyzed his body.
On top of that, Jang Seon-bok was pulling his right leg back for another knee kick, like cocking a shotgun trigger.
「You fuck, why are you tormenting me like this!」
Rage and sorrow sizzled in Jang Seon-bok’s voice.
Crack.
An ominous sound leaked from his red calf pressing hard into the ground.
Thud.
Just as he was about to launch the second knee kick at Young-woo’s head.
Shiiing!
A shallow but sharp sound sliced through the air.
From behind Jang Seon-bok’s torso.
「Khek!」
Young-woo heard Jang Seon-bok’s gasp followed by a familiar sound.
“Mister! Kill me after this! Hurry!”
A desperate voice calling out to him.
It was Ye-chan.
“Hup.”
He forced his eyes wide to snap to attention, spotting Ye-chan behind the crimson Jang Seon-bok.
The kid had stabbed Jang Seon-bok’s waist just before the second knee kick.
「You damn……!」
As the enraged Jang Seon-bok whirled around in fury, the Gumi Swordsmanship displayed two markers over his body.
The first was.
―Kill
The usual “Kill” character.
It clung to the back of his neck, reachable only with a leap.
And the second.
―Spare
The “Spare” to preserve life.
Like the previous “Break,” it was a new marker, attached to his Achilles tendon.
But why?
Why were “Kill” and “Spare” options appearing together?
“M-Mister!”
Hearing Ye-chan’s second plea for rescue, Young-woo realized.
This “Spare” wasn’t about sparing Jang Seon-bok—it meant an attack to save another life entangled in this fight: Ye-chan.
“Get out of the way, you idiot!”
Young-woo bellowed at full volume, just like when he’d yelled for the kids.
Meanwhile.
Shiiiing!
He thrust his sword with all his might at Jang Seon-bok’s Achilles tendon.
Flash!
Early Bird. The hero’s one-handed sword whose only merit was its lightness.
But light meant low presence and high speed.
Stab!
The bolt-like Early Bird tore through Jang Seon-bok’s red skin and brutally pierced his Achilles tendon.
「Gaaaaah……!」
Jang Seon-bok, just about to pounce on Ye-chan, froze in place with his lower back trembling violently the instant his tendon was stabbed.
Then he turned back toward Young-woo.
―Kill
The marker shining clearly on his throat.
The moment Young-woo laid eyes on it and unleashed his killing intent, Jang Seon-bok tried to say something.
Slash!
But Early Bird had already pierced his neck.
「Kk.」
A gasp too vague for a final line.
With that sound, the light faded from his pupils.
Next.
Fwaaaash!
A pure white beam shot up from beside his head, like a soul departing.
‘Does this mean the Mutated Being is dead?’
Young-woo watched the beam rise until it vanished from sight.
If that was Jang Seon-bok’s soul or consciousness, where was it being summoned? Or rather, who was summoning it?
Shimmer.
Finally, Jang Seon-bok’s red corpse melted into the air like the other beasts.
But there was one difference.
‘Is that the reward?’
A golden orb had been left where the corpse had been.
The watermelon-sized sphere hovered about a meter off the ground, slowly spinning.
Step, step.
As Young-woo approached the orb, Ye-chan looked at him worriedly, and the Sky Castle residents who’d fled far off began cautiously returning.
“Mister… what, what is this?”
“Probably a device to decide the reward recipient. Most likely.”
He said that, but Young-woo was certain. Whoever touched the orb first would claim the Mutated Being kill reward.
[Epic] “One or the Other”
<Mission> Track down the Mutated Being and eliminate or send it back.
<Reward> Mutated Being gear, massive amount of Karma.
Confirming the Epic Quest still showed as incomplete in his vision, Young-woo placed his hand on the orb Jang Seon-bok left behind.
Tap.
Sure enough, the moment his hand touched the surface, a new interface appeared.
「Epic Quest “One or the Other” completion authority granted.」
「Select your reward to finalize the quest.」
‘What……?’
Young-woo’s jaw dropped.
He’d never had to choose a reward in advance, and the options were unprecedentedly generous.
≪Guaranteed Reward≫
「Furious Goblin」 - Mutated Ring
【Strength +100 daily】
【--Empty Slot--】
≪Choice Reward≫
[3 million Karma]
or
[Distribute 30,000 Karma to all residents in the area]