Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: 35. Innate (4)
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Kubu probably knew.
The cosmic legal grade of Joseon First Sword Jeong Yeongwoo07.
It didn't make sense that he wouldn't know what level of being the one he'd made a deal with was.
And no matter what answer came, Yeongwoo was fine with it.
The Jeong Yeongwoo who'd been shocked by his original fate record no longer existed.
'It probably isn't that high... even rock bottom is fine. Just as long as it's not "I don't know."'
Curiosity.
The question Yeongwoo had thrown out was purely out of curiosity.
He'd heard the legal grades of cosmic beings one by one—why wouldn't Yeongwoo be curious about his own?
"You're curious too, right, ma'am? What grade the Earth's First Sword is from a cosmic perspective."
When Yeongwoo asked Choi Jong-sun, she hesitated for a moment.
He kept calling her "ma'am" from earlier, but they were about the same age, so it felt awkward hearing that from him.
Anyway, Jong-sun reluctantly nodded.
"Ah, yes... I suppose I am curious."
Then she glanced at Kubu and added a trailing remark.
"But wouldn't that be a difficult question for him...?"
But Yeongwoo was already pressing the pitiful broker before Jong-sun could finish.
"You know, don't you, Kubu? My grade. Saying you don't would be an outright lie."
―...That's correct.
In the end, Kubu confessed.
As expected, he knew what cosmic grade his trading partner was.
"So, what grade am I?"
Yeongwoo asked in a voice full of anticipation.
Internally on Earth, he was an innate 4th-grade extra. Before the reset, he hadn't even had an ID number like 07.
In other words, among Earth's countless humans—and even among those named 'Jeong Yeongwoo'—he was an unspecified being.
So, like Pegyua's potter who was so lowly born he didn't even have a name, there was a high chance he was 11th grade or lower by cosmic standards.
'Well, that's to be expected.'
Yeongwoo humbly awaited Kubu's answer.
And then.
―The grade of Earth's human, the strongest in Gyeongbuk, Gangnam, and north of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo07, is...
Finally, Kubu gave his answer.
―Initial grade: 12th.
"Huh...?"
Yeongwoo tilted his head at Kubu's first words.
'Initial' grade meant it was different now, right?
"So, what about now? Has the grade changed?"
As Yeongwoo urged the next line, Kubu blinked his large eyes once more.
―Yes. Under universal law, Jeong Yeongwoo07's current legal grade is 7th.
"7th grade?"
This time, Choi Jong-sun let out a surprised sound.
Hadn't she heard Kubu's grade earlier too?
Kubu, master of the Tenta clan and guardian of Daro, was 9th grade.
But no matter how much he was Joseon First Sword, he was essentially just an Earth resident at heart—7th grade? And he'd started at 12th, no less.
"Are you sure? We only met him a few days ago at most, and you're saying he rose from 12th to 7th in that time?"
Yeongwoo also pressed in a tone of disbelief.
"No, it's a cosmic legal grade, but what kind of promotion system is this..."
As Yeongwoo continued, something suddenly flashed through his mind, and he shut his mouth.
Kubu added an explanation as if he knew exactly what he was thinking.
―Jeong Yeongwoo07's current trait classification is Advertising Agent, Surging Stock.
"Ah."
Of course.
Yeongwoo opened his mouth wide.
'My grade shot up starting from that Dogo brand ad.'
Then what was "Surging Stock" next to the "Advertising Agent" trait?
Yeongwoo was about to ask about surging stock, but Kubu beat him to it.
―All transactions complete. Returning!
He hurriedly closed his eyelids.
Sssrrrp.
The horizontal line slicing through the air vanished, completely erasing his presence.
And then.
-Grrruk!
The nameless one, Pegyua's potter, abruptly lifted his head and disappeared beyond the sky in a pillar of black light.
Whoosh!
The two otherworlders had clearly fled from sight.
Thanks to that, Yeongwoo and Jong-sun, left alone in their place, could only stare at each other with dumbfounded faces.
"...What the hell just happened?"
At Jong-sun's question, Yeongwoo shrugged.
"Thanks for introducing me to the merchant."
"......"
Choi Jong-sun wore an incredulous expression.
Meanwhile, the Yangju citizens gathered watching this bizarre event began to disperse one by one.
It seemed they figured since the two First Swords weren't going to fight and the merchants had all left, the "show" was over.
But for Yeongwoo, the real big event.
'Ah, finally.'
Was just beginning.
Swish, swish!
The tattoos bought from the potter had finally arrived, alternating waves of cold and heat rippling across his body.
Then, tooltips appeared in front of Yeongwoo's eyes alongside the forms of each tattoo.
Pop, pop!
「Brand of Endurance」 - Relic Tattoo
【All resistances max value increased by 1%.】
「Night's Protection」 - Unique Tattoo
【Gain 15% damage reduction at night.】
「Blank Space」 - Narrative Tattoo
【Allocate ad space on body.】
The Brand of Endurance was a circular design a bit smaller than a palm, with another circular pattern centered inside.
It seemed it would be etched onto his body exactly that size and shape.
'Ah... it shows the design before tattooing it on? Pretty user-friendly since I bought it myself.'
The only tattoo currently on Yeongwoo's body was the 'Stealth Mark' received as a reward for unlocking the Golden Ratio achievement.
「Stealth Mark」 - Relic Tattoo
【Can conceal titles.】
This spiral flame-shaped tattoo was embedded on his left chest, and he hadn't been able to choose the spot.
'But purchased ones seem different.'
Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to the next tattoo, 'Night's Protection'.
This one was larger than the Brand of Endurance.
A pitch-black cloud shape big enough to cover one side of his chest.
'Not easy. At this rate, my whole body will be covered in ink soon.'
Next, he looked at the last tattoo, 'Blank Space', but there was nothing there.
"......?"
More precisely, he could feel the space allocated, but nothing visible to the eye.
Literal blank space. This was a tattoo to be filled later.
'The ad content will be decided by the advertiser, I bet. Expected that much.'
The instinctively felt size of the 'Blank Space' tattoo was roughly the front of his abdomen.
'Back, stomach, or maybe near the shoulder. If I can choose the position, that is.'
Once Yeongwoo confirmed all three tattoo designs, a new system message appeared.
「Please designate positions for tattoo etching now.」
[Warning] After this procedure, tattoo positions cannot be changed arbitrarily. Please consider carefully.
'Of course. I'll think it through.'
After reading the system message twice, the next guide appeared.
「Drag the displayed design with your hand and apply it directly to your body, or place it on the human model to the left.」
'Whoa, why is this so systematic?'
Yeongwoo marveled at the hologram model of his exact build appearing to the left of the tattoo designs he'd been viewing.
'At this point, they should have a tattoo catalog too.'
Swipe.
Following the guide, Yeongwoo dragged the 'Brand of Endurance' design with his finger onto the human model, and saw it resize to match the model's proportions.
'This is a functional tattoo, so.'
As hidden as possible.
Yeongwoo debated between his armpit and inner thigh—groin area—then settled on the inner thigh.
'Armpit might show occasionally when swinging a weapon, but groin is harder.'
And for intentionally showing ads, armpit was far better than groin.
In terms of motion difficulty, dignity, everything.
'From now on, functional tattoos go to the lower body as much as possible, ad tattoos to the upper.'
With his placement principle set, Yeongwoo dragged the second tattoo, 'Night's Protection', and placed it opposite the Brand of Endurance.
Thud!
Now the groin area looked a bit flashy.
'Then the last one.'
The most important: Blank Space.
「Blank Space」 - Narrative Tattoo
【Allocate ad space on body.】
This too could be dragged as an intangible design and placed anywhere on the body.
'Ad space, so... needs to be visible.'
But he didn't want front abdomen or back.
He didn't know the cosmic ad ecosystem well enough yet to sell those spots.
Was allocating ad space on the body limited to this method?
Especially since.
'It definitely said surging stock earlier.'
He didn't know exactly what it meant, but one thing was clear.
His stock was high right now, so whether body value or legal grade, there was room for ongoing rises.
Therefore.
'Save the prime real estate.'
But as this was his first 'body ad', it needed sufficient meaning and promo effect.
So the spot Yeongwoo chose after much deliberation was.
Swipe.
None other than his right upper arm.
From right shoulder to elbow.
'My dominant right arm, and great exposure.'
Of course, with the ad space wrapping shoulder and upper arm, the visible area was narrower than back or abdomen.
'But it's always exposed front or back, and especially eye-catching in combat. Plenty of merch potential.'
For these reasons, Yeongwoo allocated his right upper arm as the first body ad space.
Thud!
The tattoo interface then asked for final confirmation.
「Tattoo design placement complete. Proceed as is?」
'Yes. Let's go.'
Yeongwoo nodded, and burning pain hit his groin and right upper arm.
Tssst...!
"Argh!"
The tattoos etched simultaneously with placement confirmation.
"A-are... you okay?"
Choi Jong-sun, who'd been watching the orphan gesture at the air this whole time, asked with eyes half worried, half fearful.
Yeongwoo looked at her as if he'd forgotten she was there, then tossed the black raincoat covering his shoulders to the ground.
"Ma'am, if you're okay with it, mind if I take off my shirt for a sec..."
"Not okay. Have you lost your mind?"
* * *
Joseon First Sword Jeong Yeongwoo.
In Choi Jong-sun's eyes—who'd explored this world from the bottom up—that orphan was somehow different.
Like his colors didn't match this world.
'Or maybe the art style doesn't fit.'
Right now, she clutched her baby tight, watching the orphan—who was about to head to Uijeongbu to find his father—strip off his clothes.
He had to check because he'd bought a 3.4 million karma ad tattoo, or so he said.
"......"
She'd seen that absurd tattoo during her own deal with the merchant, so she reluctantly accepted.
Why the orphan had to strip to check his body.
'Well, 3.4 million isn't pocket change.'
Still, watching him keep peering at his own groin was irritating for some reason; she couldn't keep watching.
"Uh... could you stop looking down there? You didn't tattoo that spot too, did you?"
"Yes, I did, but sorry. It's hard to see, so I keep checking."
"...I suppose."
Choi Jong-sun sighed, staring at the ground.
It wasn't bad having a rare murder-free chat, but she was starting to wish this First Sword orphan would leave soon.
Because if left alone, he'd cause another incident any minute.
Call it intuition honed from barely surviving this harsh world.
"Um, you're done now, right? Merchants are gone, so let's wrap this up..."
The moment Jong-sun made up her mind, hugging her baby and looking up.
Swish.
The half-naked Joseon First Sword was staring at the sky, yelling something bizarre.
"Advertisers for Blank Space! Looking for clients...!"