Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: 36. Hot Stock (1)
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“No… No way!”
Yangju First Sword Choi Jong-seon actually had no idea.
Whether a sloppy line like that could really summon something.
But since it was that crazy orphan First Sword doing it, it somehow felt like it just might work.
The plan to find an alien willing to advertise on the tattoo he’d spent a whopping 3.4 million karma engraving.
“No, fuck off and do that shit in some other neighborhood!”
In the end, Mother First Sword Choi Jong-seon’s patience reached its limit, and she drew her sword.
She couldn’t tolerate anything that might threaten Yangju, if nothing else.
This city would one day be the home where the child in her arms would live their life.
“Get the hell out now, you crazy orphan bastard!”
Choi Jong-seon spat harsh words at the orphan while menacingly twisting her sword.
With her child’s safety as her top priority, she was fully capable of saying even worse.
However.
“I-I’m sorry. I got too excited and lost my head. I should’ve thought about the baby.”
“……?”
Instead, it was Choi Jong-seon who ended up feeling awkward, thanks to Jeong Yeong-woo’s unexpectedly reasonable reaction.
“I really… sometimes get tunnel vision like this.”
The strongest orphan north of the Korean Peninsula scooped up his gear from the ground with a genuinely apologetic expression.
“…….”
Choi Jong-seon watched him blankly for a moment before softening her voice to reassure him.
“…Take your time. I went a bit overboard with my words just now. It’s not like aliens are actually going to show up just because you call out to the sky.”
As Jong-seon said this, Yeong-woo gave an awkward smile and silently finished packing his gear.
“Huh……?”
For Choi Jong-seon, it was the kind of reaction that sent a chill down her spine, making her think, No way.
“Right…? The aliens aren’t coming, right?”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“Damn it. Then why the hell were you pretending to pick up your gear?”
Choi Jong-seon unleashed a torrent of vicious curses next, but they were drowned out by a massive roar from the sky, failing to reach Yeong-woo.
BOOOOOOM!
A cannon-like boom echoed from impossibly high above, followed by a crimson-black pillar of light crashing down into downtown Yangju.
At the same moment, the blackened midday sky rippled heavily like a dark ocean.
‘They’re pretty pissed off.’
Yeong-woo glanced up at the sky and wiped his nose.
The one he’d just thought of as “pissed off” was none other than…
―Yeong-woo……!
The shareholders of the pan-universal weapon brand Dogo.
* * *
KRAKABOOM!
Thunder roared violently from the pitch-black sky.
Then, an even more intense voice erupted from the tip of the crimson-black light pillar.
―Yeong-woo……!
Whether out of urgency or sheer rage, Dogo’s shareholders sent their voices ahead before even revealing themselves on Earth.
―Jeong Yeong-woo! Contractor of 「Dogo」!
In response, Yeong-woo waved his arms in front of the crimson-black pillar like he was directing someone into a parking spot.
“Yes! Right here!”
Then, as if it had just occurred to him, he turned to Choi Jong-seon.
“Wait, is the baby okay?”
Dogo’s shareholders were beings that no Earthling in their right mind could easily comprehend.
In fact, when he’d first summoned them in Icheon, Officer Kwon Tae-yeong had collapsed to the ground, unable to stand, vomiting uncontrollably.
That’s why the thought of the baby’s condition suddenly crossed Yeong-woo’s mind.
But surprisingly, Jong-seon’s child seemed utterly unaffected by Dogo’s overwhelming presence.
“Abbub!”
If anything, the baby was pointing at the crimson-black pillar with a finger and giggling.
“…My kid seems fine for now. But what are you going to do about this? The city’s about to get totally wrecked.”
Just as Jong-seon said, Yangju City was now complete chaos.
“Eek, eek!”
“W-what the hell is that?”
“R-run away!”
The sudden pillar of light— the first tornado-shaped crimson-black one anyone had seen since the Reset—had everyone fleeing the city.
And to make matters worse, salt in the wound.
Whooooosh……!
―Jeong Yeong-woo! We have arrived!
As Dogo’s shareholders finally appeared, wreathed in prismatic light, even the people who had stayed nearby trusting in the First Sword began to run.
The city was ruined in an instant.
“…….”
Yeong-woo glanced around at the now-deserted surroundings, then alternated looks between Jong-seon and the baby before speaking.
“So, how about moving to Gangnam while we’re at it?”
“W-what… did you say?”
“There are empty apartments all over Seoul. I’ll set you up with a nice place in Gangnam suitable for living with a kid, so commuting to Gwangjin-gu should be fine.”
“What the hell does that even….”
The conversation between the two First Swords cut off there.
―「Blank Space」, ours of 「Dogo」!
Dogo’s shareholders, now descending to the base of the light pillar, began voicing their anger even more fiercely.
As expected, Dogo had rushed over in shock after Yeong-woo put the “Blank Space” up for public bidding.
And understandably so.
[00:03:26]
A separate advertiser timer was already floating in Yeong-woo’s vision.
The ad-exclusive tattoo “Blank Space” he’d had engraved on his body must have summoned another advertiser.
‘Dogo’s already contracted with me, so they showed up on their own… Then who’s that timer pointing to?’
As Yeong-woo tilted his head and stared at the timer, Dogo’s shareholders intensified the light around the pillar and shouted.
―Jeong Yeong-woo07! Remember our 「Contract」!
Beings of the caliber of Dogo’s shareholders could compress vast amounts of data or emotions into a single word.
For instance, they could make even someone utterly ignorant of what “Dogo” was comprehend the new concept just through the voice or text transmitted.
That’s why, the moment Yeong-woo heard Dogo’s pronunciation of 「Contract」, the details of their previous agreement instantly sprang to mind in vivid detail.
Of course, he had memorized every single word of the contract back then anyway.
「Contract: Dogo-49523-IIIII_II-2Tier」
[2nd-Grade Ad Space Utilization]
- The company logo is printed along the weapon’s trajectory.
- Prior to major battles, must audibly announce that you fight with Dogo’s support.
[3rd-Grade Exclusive Quest]
- Receive bonuses upon completing exclusive quests.
[2nd-Grade Exclusive Quest]
- Ad payments disbursed in installments only through exclusive quest completions.
- Total ad fee executed increases approximately 40-fold.
#Base Ad Fee: Estimated 10 million karma per week.
#Base Contract Period: 4 weeks.
A contract worth up to 400 million karma per week max.
However, pay is obtained only through completing Dogo quests.
‘I’ve already exceeded the base ad fee, but I’m still far from that 400 million.’
After double-checking the contract details, Yeong-woo addressed Dogo’s shareholders.
“I appreciate you contracting with me, but the ad space we agreed on was the weapon trajectories and my ad lines, right? If you want to advertise on the tattoo too, you’ll need an additional contract.”
This was business, after all.
Yeong-woo stated it as firmly as possible without souring his relationship with Dogo.
―Ugh……!
Even so, it clearly pissed them off, as the ones among Dogo’s shareholders with pupils glared wide-eyed.
[00:01:13]
And in the meantime, Yeong-woo’s advertiser arrival timer had dropped into the one-minute range.
“A new bidder’s about to arrive soon. You should think about a contract offer. I’ll try to honor my ties with Dogo as much as possible… but if the terms differ too much, I can’t help it.”
As he said this, Yeong-woo hurriedly pulled on his pants.
Since the “Blank Space” was engraved on his right upper arm, he only needed to have his upper armor off.
Then, the Yangju First Sword’s baby crossed his mind again, so he turned that way.
Swipe.
There, the baby cradled in Choi Jong-seon’s arms was staring at Dogo’s signature prismatic glow with an even more excited face than before.
‘No way kids are completely immune to presences?’
This was a hypothesis with some basis.
Previously, when he’d unleashed a First Sword’s presence amid a crowd, only the children had been unharmed.
If that was really the case, why?
‘The system giving kids special treatment doesn’t make sense.’
In that case, the only plausible reason he could infer right now was.
‘…Karma.’
Children generally hadn’t accumulated any “karma” yet. So if they had no “retribution” to receive, it would explain why they were unaffected by many of the system’s threats.
‘Then what about Dogo? Do beings from other realms follow Earth’s rules to some extent?’
It was somewhat convincing that a First Sword’s presence bypassed children because they lacked significant “karma.”
But beings from beyond Earth like Dogo were a different story, weren’t they?
‘I don’t get it. Maybe a First Sword’s presence and the auras from otherworlders are fundamentally the same. There were no First Swords on Earth originally, after all.’
The moment Yeong-woo’s thoughts reached that point, the advertiser timer in his vision dropped below 10 seconds.
[00:00:09]
9 seconds until the “Blank Space” bidder appeared.
“Shareholders, do you have the contract ready?”
Yeong-woo asked his first advertiser in an excited voice.
Another color was overlaying the pitch-black sky that had been painted by Dogo.
Kweeeee……!
Along with an ominous aura, the sky began shifting to turquoise.
A new company’s signature color was being painted over the space Dogo had blackened.
―……!
Dogo’s shareholders raised dozens of their heads toward the sky, showing clear signs of alarm.
―Remu!
―Remuuu!
―Vile Remu!
―Remu! Filthy things!
They began shouting the name “Remu” in unison.
From their reaction, Yeong-woo instantly intuited that Remu, the turquoise-loving company, wasn’t one with ordinary financial power.
Otherwise, Dogo wouldn’t be so shaken.
‘What the hell is Remu that they’re freaking out like this? They clearly have bad blood with Dogo.’
Since Dogo wasn’t deliberately revealing the meaning of “Remu,” Yeong-woo had no choice but to wait quietly.
Five more seconds.
[00:00:05]
‘They’ll reveal themselves any moment now.’
As Yeong-woo gazed at the increasingly intense turquoise sky, a very thin laser guide line shot down from beyond the clouds.
Piiiing!
About 100 meters away from Dogo’s emergence point.
‘What’s this, super precise?’
It was the complete opposite of Dogo, which had announced its arrival with a massive light pillar.
And finally.
[00:00:00]
As the timer hit zero, a change came over the turquoise sky.
CRACK-BOOM!
With a massive tearing sound, space ripped open near the guide line.
Then, from within.
Shuuuwaaa!
A brightly glowing pure-white cube slid down smoothly.
‘That’s… Remu?’
Unlike Dogo’s shareholders, “Remu” gave off the vibe of an object rather than a living being.
Like a television with all six faces as screens.
Flash!
The cube in question flickered, then projected massive letters into the air.
Resembling hieroglyphs, these served as Remu’s logo and, at the same time.
「Remu」
A company pamphlet extended to Yeong-woo, who was seeking his second advertiser.
‘These bastards… they’re a pan-universal obscene material production company……?’