Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: 50. Unexpectedness (3)
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The Ledger.
Something that records all events unfolding in the universe in real-time.
Whether it truly took the form of a massive printing plate, as its name suggested, or something entirely different, there was no way to know.
But the important thing was.
‘Equipment exists that can interfere with the Ledger.’
Even he, a mere resident of a backwater planet on the fringes, had crafted gear capable of altering the course of fate.
So what about the high-value beings out there somewhere in this universe?
‘Could there be ones who weave their own destinies directly?’
In his dream, Youngwoo harbored a vague question.
And soon.
-Bwaaaaaah!
Pulled out of the dream by Popu Tenta’s aggressive trumpet blast.
“Huh?”
As Youngwoo opened his eyes, a red eyeball-shaped mark appeared immediately.
Then he saw his father, gripping a dagger in hand and debating whether to throw it.
“I’m up.”
“…Yeah?”
Rustle.
Youngwoo raised his upper body.
As he did, the system message that had been outputting while he slept reappeared in his vision.
「Starting now, [Anomalous Weather] metal dust will be generated.」
Current time: 11:01 PM.
‘Woke up right on time.’
Confirming the clock, Youngwoo got out of bed, draped on ‘Aerial Ethics,’ and received ‘Orphan’s Cry’ from the goblin.
In response, the golden trajectory standing motionless in the corner of the side room like a mirror hummed to life and followed Youngwoo.
Now, preparations for sortie were complete.
“You sure you’ll be okay? Barely getting any sleep like that.”
Jeong-gu, following Youngwoo into the living room, voiced his concern out of worry.
Even if his son looked like a total villain to anyone glancing his way, no one was immune to sleep deprivation.
“Nothing for it but to hope the dungeon wraps up early.”
As the top swordsman entering night dungeons daily, chronic sleep deprivation was inevitable.
‘Last night’s dungeon was so short, so maybe today’s won’t be long either.’
He tried to predict today’s dungeon layout, but it wasn’t easy.
If there was one common thread.
‘At least the last two were cooperative challenges.’
‘Iria’s Agony’ required one of three people to handle the rudder while the other two wielded harpoons, complementing each other to survive.
And the second dungeon, ‘Temple of Valor,’ split up to six participants into pairs to light the braziers.
So what would the third be?
With quiet tension building, Youngwoo opened the guest room door.
Click.
From behind, Jeong-gu’s voice waved him off.
“Come back alive! I can’t collect defense taxes or anything!”
* * *
11:04 PM.
Riding the elevator straight down to the hotel lobby, Youngwoo spotted Negig waiting at the main entrance.
-Kweeek.
Already shifted into horse form and awaiting its master, Negig swung its head wildly upon seeing Youngwoo.
As if urging him to hurry.
「Negig」 - Grade Unknown
【Adapts to any planet.】
An extraterrestrial iron horse that adapts to any planet.
It was enduring today’s anomalous weather—metal dust—just fine.
Youngwoo, on the other hand.
“Cough!”
The moment he stepped outside, his bronchi burned like fire, twisting his face.
Today, he wasn’t using anomalous weather immunity effects—just hemorrhage immunity gear activated—so he felt the full agony of the ‘metal dust.’
“No, this is insane! Hack!”
Youngwoo hurriedly mounted Negig and headed for Gwangjin-gu, the spot to summon the dungeon.
“Let’s hurry. I’ll cough up a lung at this rate.”
Not just Youngwoo—the golden goblin and Popu Tenta riding behind were covering their mouths and noses with tiny hands.
-Kweeeek!
At Youngwoo’s command, Negig bolted north at high speed, the metal dust turning Gangnam-gu’s scenery a uniform ashen gray receding rapidly behind them.
Whoooosh!
Blasting through Samseong-dong in an instant, Negig crossed Cheongdam Bridge into Gwangjin-gu.
Whooooosh…!
Gwangjin-gu, with most buildings destroyed, was a true ashen ruin, and lacking tall structures, a massive vortex of metal dust swirled in the distance.
‘This is a world truly fallen.’
Youngwoo halted Negig far enough from Cheongdam Bridge, coughing harshly as he dismounted.
“Cough!”
Then he instructed the goblin to place the orb on the ground.
-Kit!
Holding its breath, the goblin reached into the subspace pouch. The golden orb slowly shifted to black as it was pulled out.
Without hesitation, Youngwoo placed his hand on the orb and summoned the night dungeon.
“Hurry! Grahk!”
As Youngwoo lifted his hand, a gray wave burst forth, dyeing the surroundings ashen.
Fwoosh!
Of course, the area was already blanketed in dust, but there was a clear difference.
“Ha.”
Finally, the excruciating bronchial pain stopped.
This meant Youngwoo had entered the subspace where the dungeon would soon spawn.
「You cannot bring vehicles or slaves into this dungeon.」
Next came the restriction notice, followed by a massive tombstone rising about 20 meters ahead.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“What the?”
Resembling Chairman’s airship in shape, Youngwoo flinched involuntarily.
“Is that the entrance?”
No giant pyramid or towering spire this time.
Just the large tombstone after contacting the orb.
So Youngwoo headed toward it.
Clank, clank.
Quiet.
The only sound was the metallic scrape from ‘Mirage’ encasing his feet.
Step!
Reaching right before the tombstone, a familiar interface appeared before Youngwoo.
Flash!
It was the info window for this dungeon.
[Bartum’s Gambling Den]
|Dungeon Grade: Rare
|Difficulty: C
|Recommended Personnel: 20
“Bartum’s… Gambling Den?”
Dungeon names usually tied closely to the actual proceedings.
Thus, ‘Gambling Den’ implied some gambling element in the challenge.
‘Tombstone and gambling den… what the hell are they making us do?’
And the recommended number was a whopping twenty.
Clearly the largest-scale dungeon since the Reset.
‘Well, already used the orb, so no backing out now. But where’s the entrance?’
As Youngwoo fiddled with the info window by hand, a vortex swirled before the tombstone, opening a portal.
[17/20]
Inside the portal, participant count showed 17/20.
Seventeen already inside the dungeon.
Then, moments later.
Flash!
[18/20]
Now eighteen in the dungeon.
‘Hesitate more and it might fill up.’
No turning back once committed.
Youngwoo stepped straight into the portal without delay.
Swish.
In that instant, the air shifted, revealing a spacious waiting room floored with marble.
“Huh? What’s this.”
As Youngwoo marveled at the unexpectedly pristine interior, a number tag attached above his head.
Pop!
《19》
Number 19. Assigned by entry order.
Then, the eighteen masters already in the waiting room from around the world turned their gazes to Youngwoo.
“Looks like a veteran.”
“What’s with that cloak?”
“Quite a few Asians, huh.”
Everyone was busy scanning the new participant up and down.
Youngwoo furrowed his brow briefly, then spotted the floating guide text and pieced it together.
「Voting begins when participants reach 20 or the time limit expires.」
「You will select 1 expected to be the strongest and 1 expected to be the weakest among participants.」
「Choose carefully, as this ties directly to upcoming ‘bets.’」
‘Up to their usual bullshit again.’
That’s why everyone was eyeing each other to gauge who was strongest and weakest here.
Of course, Youngwoo would have to vote too.
‘Means I should scout ahead. Figure out who seems strongest and weakest.’
Clank, clank.
As Youngwoo slowly advanced to the center with metallic sounds, surrounding participants scanned him intently while cautiously making way.
His bizarre gear made him look far from harmless.
But not exactly overpowering either.
“Why no armor?”
“Maybe can’t equip it.”
“No helmet either…?”
On Reset Day 5’s night dungeon, most here had exceptional gear farming progress.
And not just that—their valor far exceeded average, true powerhouses.
So their confusion at Youngwoo’s light gear was natural.
Even Youngwoo thought.
‘Oops, forgot the helmet.’
He’d deliberately skipped the top, but the helmet was pure oversight.
It hindered sleep too much and barely aided vision, so it stayed in his codex.
“…….”
Standing in the waiting room center, Youngwoo slowly surveyed the surroundings.
About 30% white.
Another 30% black and Hispanic.
The remaining 40% Asian and Middle Eastern.
If it wasn’t an illusion, the space was subtly divided by race.
‘No clue how this’ll play out.’
As Youngwoo tilted his head and glanced back, a portal opened from the opposite side, admitting the next participant.
《20》
The last, number 20, was a balding middle-aged European man.
“Huh?”
His face reminiscent of Otavio from Sicily in the first dungeon, Youngwoo reflexively lit up, then widened his eyes.
“Huh, wha—!”
Number 20 stumbled forward right after exiting the portal.
Startled by the sudden space shift post-portal, it seemed.
Skreech!
He didn’t fall disgracefully, but in that moment, the nineteen masters realized.
‘That guy’s a dungeon newbie.’
And soon.
「Participants have reached 20.」
「Now, select the two who will be your betting targets.」
The dungeon system announced the true start.