Chapter 151
Chapter 151
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: 36. Hot Stock (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain.
When Yeong-woo heard that Dogo was the master of Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain, he couldn't help but recall the first day of the Reset, as if entranced.
It was a name that evoked the 'Mountain of Swords,' which had supplied weapons across the nation.
‘Could those weapons from back then have come from Dogo as well?’
It was entirely plausible, given that Dogo was a war weapons corporation.
Supplying weapons to a planet on the verge of opening its doors due to the 'Reset' was undoubtedly a boon for marketing purposes.
Rumble…!
Soon, thunder roared from the sky, signaling that something was about to happen, and Remu, having lost the contract bidding war, shot up into the heavens in a streak of light.
Piaaaat!
Dogo's shareholders jeered at Remu's receding cube as it sped away.
—Boo! Remu!
—Booo…!
—Reeeemu!
—Get lost!
‘Typical weapons company—fiercely belligerent.’
Yeong-woo shook his head.
Of course, the shareholders had every reason to be fired up.
They had nearly lost the bidding war, only to pull off a dramatic reversal thanks to the chairman's intervention, which naturally skyrocketed their morale.
‘Even these big shots turn into kids in front of the chairman.’
As Yeong-woo shifted his gaze back to the chairman, he saw the founder Dogo staring up at the sky.
Then.
Crack!
The exact same sound he had heard on the first day of the Reset rang out.
The sky tore open, and tens of thousands of blades rained down.
Rooooar…!
Countless armaments began piling up on the ground, producing a sound like a train rumbling over tracks.
The sight was identical to the 'Mountain of Swords.'
The difference was that the equipment stacking up here started at Unique grade at minimum.
“Ch-Chairman… this is.”
Yeong-woo stared wide-eyed at Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain, and soon Dogo slowly ascended to the top of the peak and spoke.
—What you saw was a product mimicking Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain.
Dogo's shareholders chimed in, elaborating on his words.
—It's also the standard item we provide to customers.
—To summon Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain on a Tier 4 contract world.
—Consider it an honor…!
“Ahh…….”
Dogo, the pan-galactic war weapons brand.
In truth, Earth was just one of countless customers to them.
‘That’s why Dogo detected my use of the Morning Star first.’
Given that this Earth was a Tier 4 contract world, the contract between Dogo and Earth must have been Tier 4 as well.
In other words, until Jeong Yeong-woo07 appeared, Earth had been a planet of little significance to Dogo.
‘Then… no, that board of directors must be the ones who contracted with Dogo?’
As Yeong-woo's thoughts reached that point, Dogo, now at the summit of Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain, extended his arm into the air.
Shhk.
A crimson glow erupted from within the mountain, and a single sword rose up amid the countless armaments.
‘Ah, that’s…….’
That was the Mythic-grade equipment the Dogo chairman had promised.
—Take it. With this, the first promise is fulfilled.
(Special Clause) [Myth's Owner]
-At the moment this contract is established, the head office must provide you with one piece of Mythic-grade equipment.
Special clause fulfilled.
Dogo flicked his finger, and the mysterious sword hovering above Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain shot toward Yeong-woo like an arrow.
Screeeeech!
“……!”
Naturally, Yeong-woo backed away, assuming the sword would embed itself in the ground.
Screech!
But in the blink of an eye, the sword came to a halt in midair before him, refusing to touch the ground.
“Huh?”
It hovered like a golden trajectory with an auto-combat function.
Shiiiing……
The sword, entwined in dark crimson demonic energy, had a bizarre appearance, as if woven from thorny vines.
‘It feels… incredibly sinister.’
Any expectation that Mythic equipment would exude dignity like the 'Dragon's Legacy' was utterly shattered.
Moreover, simply looking at this weapon didn't reveal its tooltip.
‘Do I have to touch it directly to read it?’
Or perhaps only the owner could access its functions.
It was Mythic-grade equipment, after all.
Swoosh.
Yeong-woo cautiously extended his hand, and the red auras enveloping the sword began gathering toward his fingertips.
As if being absorbed.
‘Huh?’
Yeong-woo watched in mild surprise as the demonic energy coiled around his fingers, but he stayed silent at the chairman's ensuing words.
—It is merely the sword detecting its new owner.
“I… I see.”
Was this how Mythic-grade equipment worked?
Having received his first piece of Mythic gear, Yeong-woo tensely watched the red energy seep into his body.
And finally.
「You have become the Myth's Owner.」
「You can maintain your splendor before Transcendents.」
「Your existence can no longer be shattered.」
Some incomprehensible process unfolded through system messages, beyond Yeong-woo's understanding.
“What is this?”
Yeong-woo looked up at the chairman, puzzled by the strange notifications, and Dogo gazed skyward as he replied.
—It means you can now display 「Dogo」 anywhere from this point on.
The explanation was vague, but the chairman seemed to consider his duties complete.
—If you desire a catalog, request it anytime. You shall have it within two days.
With those words from Dogo, the anchor that had descended upon Earth floated lightly back into the air.
The countless armaments forming the massive mountain rose back into the sky as well.
Rumble-crash!
Yeong-woo gaped at the bizarre sight, like rain in reverse, forgetting even to bid the chairman farewell.
Yangju First Sword Choi Jong-seon was no different.
Having witnessed so much in such a short time, perhaps.
Her astonishment had given way to outright fear.
‘This is the world I have to live in from now on……?’
It was also the world her child in her arms would have to navigate.
Whoooosh…!
Finally, the massive 'tombstone' that had carried the Dogo chairman began to rise slowly, snapping Yeong-woo back to reality.
“Chairman!”
Yeong-woo called out to Dogo, who had already slipped inside the tombstone.
Dogo seemed to glance back ever so slightly before closing the door.
“…You’re really leaving.”
Yeong-woo watched the tombstone ascending far into the distance with a tinge of regret, and Dogo's shareholders offered him parting words.
—Jeong Yeong-woo07!
—Glory be unto you!
—Myth's Owner……!
Then, enveloped in a burst of radiance.
Boom!
They vanished into the sky with a deafening roar, sucked upward.
Once all the otherworldly beings were out of sight, Yangju First Sword Choi Jong-seon unleashed a torrent of curses at the heavens.
“You crazy bastards!”
Unaware, of course, that countless cosmic entities might still be listening.
“…Ma’am, I’m terribly sorry for the imposition.”
Yeong-woo belatedly bowed to Jong-seon once more.
She scanned the utterly devastated city center with a look of disbelief, then pointed at the sword still hovering before Yeong-woo.
“That thing looks way too ominous—take it or do something with it already.”
“Ah.”
Grasping the handle of the grotesquely shaped sword at her words, the tooltip for the Mythic-grade weapon finally appeared.
Flash!
「Bastard」 - Mythical One-Handed Sword
【Authority Interference】
【Contempt for the Weak】
【Challenger】
“Oh…….”
Every unique effect exuded an ominous aura.
Detailed tooltips for each followed.
【Authority Interference】
|Weakens the authority of Transcendents.
【Contempt for the Weak】
|Attacks from this sword can only be blocked by Mythic or higher equipment.
【Challenger】
|Combat abilities greatly increase when fighting beings of higher rank than yourself.
‘Insane. Mythic grade transcends the concept of ordinary equipment.’
‘Contempt for the Weak,’ which forbade even clashing blades, was a mad effect, but ‘Authority Interference’ drew even more attention.
‘The notifications said you need Mythic gear to maintain splendor before Transcendents… But this sword is made to fight those Transcendents, isn’t it?’
Yeong-woo’s mind raced.
Because Dogo had deliberately selected this sword from Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain.
No matter how rare Mythic equipment was, surely the chairman didn’t possess only this one?
‘It’s right to assume he had others but chose this one specifically.’
So what was the reason?
‘I’ll have to ask next time we meet.’
One special clause remained unfulfilled, giving Yeong-woo an excuse to summon Dogo again.
(Special Clause) [Expensive Droplets]
-「Dogo」 will procure one catalog of the type you select within two days.
-Failure to meet the deadline results in a penalty payment of 100 million karma from the head office.
He could request the catalog procurement immediately, but Yeong-woo had other plans.
‘I’m heading to the dungeon again tonight anyway. I can check what catalogs drop there first before making the request.’
Thus, his tasks for the rest of the day were.
‘Meet the merchants in Seoul and Paju to gather more equipment, and track down my birth register.’
That would be his main focus until entering the nighttime dungeon.
Sss.
The tracking marker in his vision still pointed south—toward Uijeongbu.
‘If Uijeongbu is that lawless… better find my father first. He might end up a corpse before we even meet.’
As Yeong-woo pondered southward alone, Choi Jong-seon approached cautiously.
“You’re really leaving now… no, heading out, right?”
Jong-seon had thought she was finally seeing him off, then corrected herself.
The orphan First Sword had summoned all sorts of chaos to Yangju, reducing the city to something no longer worthy of the name.
“About Gangnam you mentioned earlier. That’s for real? You’ll give me a house and a job if I go there?”
“Yes. Of course.”
To reassure her, Yeong-woo temporarily changed his title to ‘Gangnam First Sword.’
“Seoul is quite different from what you might imagine. Very systematic… and political.”
But that structure made it trivial for someone like Yeong-woo—Gangnam First Sword—to arrange accommodations for an acquaintance in Gangnam.
“I’ll set your residence in Gangnam. For work, head to Gwangjin-gu at variant emergence times. I’ll handle Gangnam’s variants and come right over, so it won’t be that dangerous.”
The ‘danger’ Yeong-woo mentioned referred to the appearance of enhanced variants in Gwangjin-gu.
As long as she survived while he cleared Gangnam, he could handle whatever showed up in Gwangjin-gu.
“R-Really for sure?”
It was hard for Jong-seon to believe, but her current situation left no alternatives.
She couldn’t raise a child in this ruin.
And while the orphan before her was clearly insane, he seemed to have some sense of honor, which helped her steel her resolve.
“…Alright. Let’s do that.”
“Yes. You won’t regret it.”
“So, we’re heading to Gangnam now?”
Gazing south with visions of a comfortable future, Jong-seon tilted her head at Yeong-woo’s response.
“I told you from the start—I’m on my way to Uijeongbu to find my birth father.”
“What are you talking about? No way.”
“It’s the same route anyway. I’ll just make a quick stop to meet my father.”
“But that’s Uijeongbu……?”
Entering the worst lawless city with a baby in tow.
Jong-seon grimaced in horror, but Yeong-woo lifted ‘Bastard’ to reassure her.
“I promise you. Not a drop of blood will touch the baby.”