Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: 7. The Dignity of the First Sword (2)
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The First Sword was furious.
Everyone could feel it in their hearts, a sharp sting.
In fact, the moment the 'First Sword's Aura' was unleashed, everyone clutched their chests without exception.
“Huhk!”
“Urk...!”
Amidst it all, Young-woo spotted three golden wedge patterns floating amid the crowd.
It was such a straightforward sight that Young-woo immediately understood.
Those were the victims of sensory hijacking—the ones who had tried to stab them in the back while their side faced off against the mart owner.
“Out of the way.”
Subconsciously classifying everyone around him as potential ambushers, Young-woo pushed through the crowd with a cold voice.
There was the first ambusher he found.
A man in his forties, dressed in a suit.
His fear-stricken pupils gleamed golden under Young-woo's gaze.
As Young-woo twisted his blade threateningly right in front of the man's nose and asked his question, the man's pupils dilated even further.
“No family? Well, that's a relief at least. No one else will have their lives ruined because of you.”
“Hii, hiik...”
The man's body trembled at Young-woo's tone, thick with murderous intent, and soon after.
Slash!
A silver-white trajectory slashed diagonally, severing the man's head from his body.
Decapitation.
Thanks to his immensely heightened strength, Young-woo could cleave through the opponent's neck with a single swing.
Gurgle, spurt...!
The headless man spewed blood from his neck, sounding like a broken pump.
“Kyaa, kyaak!”
“U, uaak, you madman!”
“Please spare me...!”
As the headless corpse collapsed into the crowd, the entire place descended into full panic.
Yet no one had the mental fortitude to shake off the First Sword's Aura instantly, leaving them all forcibly seated.
Unable to bear it any longer, Ye-chan barely escaped the aura and squeezed out his voice.
“Mister! The others are innocent! And the kids...!”
“...?”
Young-woo, about to put a hole through the second assailant, flinched at Ye-chan's words.
Only then did he realize how extremely agitated he had been.
Whoosh...
It was at that moment the First Sword's Aura was lifted all at once.
“Uwaaak!”
“Spare me!”
The crowd of over a hundred bolted into the darkness, each seeking their own escape.
Of course, the two remaining assailants, still intact, joined the fleeing masses as well.
But they couldn't evade Young-woo's lightning-fast pursuit.
Swoosh, splat!
They met their ends one after another.
In the end, those left in front of the mart were.
“Hmm...”
“This is awkward.”
Just Ye-chan and the Sky Residence group again.
Plus the mart family as a bonus.
Step, step.
Soon, Young-woo returned from the darkness with heavy footsteps.
The early bird he had just seen blood through was flushed red, and Young-woo's face, still tense, was darkly flushed as well.
“Hoo.”
Young-woo let out a heavy breath.
He could feel the subdued atmosphere in front of the mart.
It was the first time Young-woo felt uneasy even after acting in self-defense.
Over a hundred people.
A tiny fraction of Gumi City's total, but still—they would live the rest of their lives recognizing that face on the commemorative coins with terror.
“...”
Young-woo looked bitterly at the spot where the people had fled.
Then, glancing at the Sky Residence kids hiding behind their parents, he asked Ye-chan.
“Were the kids...”
Exposed to the First Sword's Aura?
The parents answered instead of Ye-chan.
“Ah... doesn't seem like it. If they were affected, they'd be crying up a storm.”
The parents forced smiles to show they were fine.
But aside from the aura, they had witnessed plenty of ugliness, so Young-woo still felt sorry.
To live properly as the First Sword—one who scattered golden coins and commemorative currency—he himself had to be a proper human being.
Becoming strong is easy, but becoming a hero is hard. Especially in these chaotic times.
Swoosh.
Young-woo looked at the mart family with somber eyes.
The mart owner handed the early bird to his wife and suddenly dropped to his knees on the ground.
“I... I apologize. I must have gone mad for a moment. I'll accept any punishment, so please spare my family.”
He must have overheard Young-woo earlier talking to one of the assailants about family.
Young-woo thought for a moment, then pointed toward the inside of the mart with his finger.
“As I said earlier, take as much as you can carry and go. More people will come soon.”
“Yes...?”
“I said go.”
“...!”
A glint appeared in the mart owner's eyes.
For reasons unknown, the First Sword was showing a welcoming whim.
Practically a miracle.
Thud!
Without a word, the mart owner sprang up and dashed into the mart.
His family hurriedly followed.
And Young-woo.
Clink.
He fiddled with the coins recovered from the assailants he had just dealt with, waiting for the mart family.
Nine commemorative coins and sixteen regular coins.
“Huff, huff.”
The three, once owners of the mart, reappeared about five minutes later, panting heavily.
But their appearance was.
“Ah...?”
“Oh my god.”
“W-what is that? Is that even allowed?”
The Sky Residence group widened their eyes and covered their mouths.
The mart family had gathered far more items than imagined.
They had taped together over ten shopping baskets from inside the mart, piled them high with goods like towering rice mounds, and carried the whole things out.
There were even three such 'towers,' one per person.
If the sun were slanting low right now, their shadows would blanket the entire area.
They looked just like... dung beetles.
The insects rolling dung balls several times their own size.
“Is that okay, mister?”
Ye-chan unconsciously gripped his spear shaft as he stared at Young-woo.
Young-woo was just as baffled.
'Crazy bastards, for real.'
Carrying that much would have required the whole family to invest their strength beforehand.
Those baskets and tape were probably stones reverted using karma.
What was even more astonishing was that they had planned and executed all this in just five minutes.
Truly a merchant family.
“...”
Young-woo silently watched as the dung beetles carefully lined up in front of the mart, bearing their oversized loads.
Snap.
Once they seemed settled, the head of the family asked Young-woo.
“We... we've got everything. Can we go now?”
A strange silence fell.
Even Ye-chan and the Sky Residence group no longer looked at the mart family with pity.
“...”
Young-woo nodded as if to say hurry up and go, after eyeing their bizarre forms.
“Th-thank you. Truly.”
The mart owner bowed with difficulty.
Then, without looking back, he gathered his family and vanished into the darkness.
“Hmm. Well then...”
In any case, the mart was completely emptied, so now it was their turn to shop.
Young-woo made an awkward gesture, ushering Ye-chan and the Sky Residence group inside.
If not for the sudden alarm blaring.
'What the hell is this now?'
[Achievement Unlocked: Forgive Your Four Enemies]
|Achievement Rank: Hero
|Achievement Level: 46
It was an achievement not on the recommended list.
'No way, just for letting those people go?'
Young-woo glanced in the direction the mart family had disappeared.
Then, new text crossed his vision.
「You have 1 unclaimed achievement reward.」
「Would you like to claim the reward?」
'Hero rank... item-wise, early bird level.'
As Young-woo approved the reward claim, the text vanished in a burst, accompanied by a sound.
Clink.
“Huh?”
What happened next was entirely predictable.
Flash!
Six coins materialized in midair.
'Six?'
Young-woo's current sense stat was a whopping 100.
Pinpointing the six coins' positions and snatching them before they hit the ground was child's play.
Tap.
Young-woo swiftly pocketed all the coins and opened his hand.
Blue coins this time.
The obverse had four vertical lines and one horizontal line.
So, how much were they worth?
As Young-woo tilted his head, a tooltip appeared.
「Blue Coin」 - Regular Currency
|Worth 50,000 karma.
'So blue coins worth 50,000 karma exist.'
That meant this achievement reward was 300,000 karma.
'Money piles up faster than I thought.'
Of course, it helped that he had looted the dead. In truth, killing was the fastest way to gather cash.
'So now my wealth is... 450,950. In stat terms, 459 points.'
Young-woo decided to buy what he needed from the mart, then pour the rest into his stats.
* * *
He still didn't know what time it was.
Even the clock in the mart had turned to stone.
The interior lights were petrified too, so Young-woo and the Sky Residence group had to grope in the dark for flashlights and batteries first.
“Those people from earlier seem impressive now that I think about it. The mart owners.”
Ye-chan, having finally gathered all the prep items and turned on his flashlight, spoke in admiration.
“They must have known the layout of the goods like the back of their hand.”
Soon, Young-woo borrowed Ye-chan's flashlight and found batteries.
After that, things proceeded smoothly.
They found petrified plastic baskets, released the petrification, and began sweeping up the essentials.
“So, do we have to go out looking ridiculous like them?”
“Who knows. I don't really want to.”
Besides, how long would the tape hold?
Not even a few hours, let alone a day, before everything spilled.
For Young-woo, who had to head to other areas for achievements, being inconspicuous was best.
“We have bikes. Let's find decent bags and ropes to tie stuff on them.”
Worst case, snag a car... but that meant constantly sourcing fuel.
“Honestly, with strength, we'll never starve no matter what.”
Ye-chan spoke with surprising cynicism.
And he was right.
Petrified food didn't rot, and eating it cost karma.
Compared to typical apocalypse scenarios, food preservation rates were inevitably high.
So, as long as you had the power to take from others, starvation was extremely unlikely.
“Um... First Sword, sir, if I may... may we start eating first?”
“Yes?”
Someone asked politely, and when Young-woo turned, the Sky Residence couple stood side by side, waiting.
They had apparently found food early.
“Ah, yes. Don't mind me. You don't have to call me First Sword...”
“Thank you.”
At Young-woo's approval, the couple swiftly moved away.
Young-woo stared at their retreating backs before turning to Ye-chan.
“You should eat too. I need to replenish calories myself. I'm sure today won't end like this...”
Beep!
His premonition hit.
Young-woo's trailing words were drowned out by the sudden shrill warning tone.
「Night falls.」
“Night?”
What nonsense was this now.
Young-woo held a can to a coin and awaited the next message.
Sure enough.
「To guarantee your right to sleep, Dayrooms will begin in 1 hour.」
Something bizarre was about to happen again.
Enough to disconcert even Young-woo.
“Dayrooms...? You don't mean what I think you mean, do you?”