Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: 52. Eulsa Japanese Invasion (2)
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Sleep.
No matter how superhuman Youngwoo was, even he couldn't stay awake forever.
Of course, whether this was just a lingering habit from his "pure human" days or if even sky-high stats required sleep for recovery time was anyone's guess.
Especially since he'd already broken free from the need for food through his alien disguise.
So being immune to sleep wouldn't have been strange at all.
'No way they've got gear for sleep too, right?'
Even if such equipment existed, he had no desire to be liberated from sleep.
In this absurd world, the only escape available right now was a good night's rest.
"Urgh."
The moment he arrived at the lodging, Youngwoo was swept away by overwhelming drowsiness and headed straight for his private room.
He was so out of it that he didn't even manage a nod to his father, who opened the door for him. Jeong Gu simply followed his dungeon-returned son without a word.
"You managed to survive again, huh."
"Yeah. Today's dungeon was pretty dangerous."
"...What?"
Jeong Gu flinched at the unexpected response.
"How so?"
"Totally no joke."
"I mean, details..."
While Jeong Gu pressed for more explanation, Youngwoo was already dumping his gear onto the floor of the private room.
"I've got no headspace to explain right now. Gotta crash first."
Plop!
Youngwoo dove onto the bed like he was being sucked in.
Jeong Gu started to say something but switched to a different line instead.
"You know today's the Pangea, right?"
According to the system announcement, Pangea—the third stage of the reset—would begin at exactly 8 a.m.
All continents and islands would merge into one.
So he'd figured Youngwoo must have some plan for it and wanted to check before the kid conked out.
At that, Youngwoo—who'd just rolled his eyes back and was drifting off—bolted upright.
"Oh, right! Pangea!"
"You scatterbrain. You must really be wiped."
"If it weren't for you, Dad, I'd have blown an achievement. You really came through big time this round."
It was the first time Youngwoo had ever sincerely praised his father.
If he'd dozed off like that, he'd have slept straight through the morning call announcing the end of the disaster period.
Which meant he would've missed witnessing the continents merging at exactly 8 a.m.
'The Pangea achievement would've gone to waste.'
[Pangea]
|Witness the movement of continents directly at the moment of tectonic shift.
Youngwoo shuddered for a split second.
Then he called out to his father, who was leaning casually against the doorway.
"Wake me at 7:30."
"Huh?"
"Be my alarm clock."
"7:30? That's like three hours from now. When do I sleep?"
"It's a one-day sacrifice for your son. Worth more than your nap, isn't it?"
"......?"
Jeong Gu shot him a dumbfounded look, but Youngwoo had already closed his eyes and was drifting off.
He needed to hurry and catch some shut-eye with time running short, but more than that, he was genuinely exhausted.
"......"
True to form, Youngwoo was out the instant his head hit the pillow, sleeping soundly for three full hours right in front of his watching father.
And Jeong Gu?
"Damn brat."
He stood in the doorway, muttering curses while glaring wide-eyed to stay awake.
As the kid said, his three hours weren't worth the same as the Supreme Sword of Joseon's, so the request kinda made sense.
More importantly, he didn't want to disappoint Youngwoo.
Crazy son or not, this was a bond ordained by the universe itself.
'Parent and child are bound by heaven's law, they say. If that's true, then heaven's got some nerve. A punk like this... my son.'
Jeong Gu's gaze settled on the peacefully sleeping Jeong Youngwoo's face.
The boy had been monstrously strong from the moment they met—like the entire cosmos was backing him up. Even asleep, sneaking up on him was impossible.
It put his mind somewhat at ease, truthfully.
No matter how much filial impiety he committed, he wouldn't outlive his own child.
"......"
Jeong Gu checked the clock on the wall, pulled a crimson coin from his pocket, and tossed it toward Youngwoo's chest.
Swoosh!
"Hey, idiot. Time's up."
And in a spine-chilling display,
Snap!
Youngwoo snatched the coin mid-air without opening his eyes, then slowly cracked them open.
"Already 7:30?"
"Feels like a dream, huh?"
"......"
Ignoring him this time, Youngwoo geared up. Jeong Gu scratched his chin and peered out the window.
"So, what's the plan now? What happens when the land merges?"
"Dunno. Gotta clear the achievement first, so nearest coast it is."
"Where's that?"
"Incheon, I figure."
Incheon.
The port city with a high chance of a chunk of the Chinese mainland slamming into it.
And the closest shoreline to Seoul in a straight line.
"Incheon... You sure that's safe?"
"Why not?"
"Heard it's pretty rough there."
"Yeah? Then it's perfect."
"What?"
"Incheon's the new western border now. And facing China, no less... Only the toughest can even psych each other out."
"Th-that so? Kinda makes sense when you put it like that."
Fair point—Youngwoo wouldn't get jumped by Incheon's top swordsmen, so hoping for powerhouses there made sense if it came to clashing with China.
"Gonna go say hi to Incheon's First Sword while you're at it?"
"Yeah, kill two birds if possible. Chinese might try passing through Incheon to nab me."
Never forget the territorial sovereignty mark from China.
Their martial artists were probably getting his location in real-time right now.
Click.
Finally geared up, Youngwoo exited the private room and crossed the living room.
Jeong Gu called after his son's back, his tone laced with concern.
"So we just stay put in Gangnam for now?"
"Yeah. I'll be back before mutants show up. Incheon's purely for the achievement."
Of course, China wouldn't be the only neighbor post-Pangea.
Japan—with the worst relations—was in the mix too.
But he couldn't leave Seoul to the mutants, so checking Incheon's situation was the best move for now.
'Japan... Busan'll meet 'em first. Hope that's okay.'
Busan.
The largest city in the south.
For now, all Youngwoo could do was hope for a freak like himself there.
Too strong a rival domestically would suck, but better than getting steamrolled by Japan.
"Heading out. Catch you around lunch."
As Youngwoo waved over his shoulder while leaving, Jeong Gu half-seriously advised,
"Don't kill too many people. You'll get karmic payback...!"
* * *
7:52 a.m.
Eight minutes until the end of the anomalous weather and the official start of Day 6.
Having left the hotel and bolted west nonstop, Youngwoo had already reached Incheon's outskirts.
No one was outside thanks to the anomalous weather, so he'd let Negrig run wild.
'Doesn't look any different... City's spotless.'
Youngwoo scanned Incheon's hazy, metal-dust-shrouded streets—eerily quiet—and headed for the port.
With no souls in sight, it didn't feel much different from Seoul, so he figured his dad had worried needlessly.
Most buildings visible were pristine, without a scratch.
No rampaging monsters or mutants had survived long here.
'Huh... So it is rough in a way.'
Maybe Incheon was hell for monsters and mutants to survive in, Youngwoo mused.
Either way, his first impression of Incheon—despite the reset—was a bizarre city untouched by destruction.
'What the hell? This place seems fine...'
Just as his father's warnings started nagging at him, tall shadows rose beyond the gray haze.
Cranes, dotting Incheon Port.
He'd arrived at the harbor.
Clop, clop!
7:57 a.m.
Despite Negrig's thunderous hooves, no signs of life nearby. Youngwoo pressed into the port.
Far off, a massive cargo ship sat docked at the pier's edge.
'Gotta witness continental movement... Staying near the pier should do it.'
Youngwoo steered Negrig to the opposite side of the ship's pier.
Soon, another empty pier stretched straight toward the sea.
'Just wait here? Kinda anticlimactic.'
No other options, though.
Pangea was unprecedented in human history, so even at the pier, it didn't feel real.
Would the land really merge?
If continents collided as announced, wouldn't tsunamis or quakes come with it?
"......"
Even Youngwoo—who'd signed cosmic paperwork—fell into Earthling doubts at times like this.
Guess he was still more Earthling than cosmic.
Then, finally.
Beep.
His wristwatch chimed 8:00 a.m.
"Oh."
The metal dust blanketing the area vanished without a trace, and soon,
«Your strength has permanently increased by 100 due to the Furious Goblin.»
«The Pumpkin Whistle's uses have been recharged.»
The renewing items pinged their activations.
Day 6 of the reset had truly begun.
'So... now the land merges?'
Youngwoo spotted a thick dotted line marking the pier's edge at his feet.
And right away,
«Greetings. This is an announcement from the Board of Directors.»
The Board's notice from yesterday morning reappeared.
Slightly different this time.
«As of 8:00 a.m. on June 16, 2025, Reset Stage 3 begins now.»
Then the ground started shaking.
Rumble rumble...!
"These maniacs are actually smashing the continents together."
Before Youngwoo could finish,
Kwaaaaa!
The waters around the pier churned violently, and the impossible happened.
Yeongjong Island—visible across the sea from the pier—began closing in.
"...Huh?"
Soon, the Yeongjong Bridge linking Incheon Seogu and Yeongjong snapped with a deafening roar.
Crack!
"N-No way."
Unprepared for such a brute-force merge, Youngwoo backpedaled a few steps from the pier.
By then, Yeongjong Island loomed much closer.
'Feels less like land moving and more like a battleship charging.'
Grrrrrind!
No tsunami as he'd feared—instead,
"Sl-slow down! Yeongjong...!"
The island hurtled straight at Incheon Port without slowing.
Even at just 200 meters away.
'This is gonna be a disaster.'
Even if Pangea defied physics, no way the pier survived a landmass at that speed.
"Retreat! Go, go, Negrig!"
Seeing Yeongjong breach the 100-meter mark, Youngwoo mounted up and ordered a pullout.
The goblin and Popu—who'd been gaping at the island—clambered onto his legs and up onto Negrig.
And that instant,
Kagagagang!
Yeongjong's eastern face slammed into the pier where Youngwoo had stood moments ago.
Shraaaash!
"What the fuck? Don't they know what tectonic plates are?"
Youngwoo watched a whole pier get sucked under Yeongjong into the seawater.
A surreal scene blurring dream and reality.
Then the crumpling port base—dragged underwater—suddenly heaved up onto land, halting Yeongjong's inland push.
Boom!
"Hah, huff."
Fleeing on Negrig from the mad island, Youngwoo felt the vibrations stop and halted.
Yeongjong sat there like a wrecked car crash, the Incheon pier half-smashed.
"Is this... merged?"
More crashed than merged, but the Yeongjong charge seemed over.
However.
'The achievement hasn't cleared?'
[Pangea]
|Witness the movement of continents directly at the moment of tectonic shift.
It still sat untouched in his achievement list.
He'd seen an island move, not a continent.
'Uh-oh. Wait a sec, then.'
As Youngwoo grimaced toward Yeongjong, the ground quaked massively again.
Boom!
"......!"
Then,
Rumble rumble rumble!
Now the Incheon land under Youngwoo's feet was moving.
Along with the newly abutted Yeongjong.
"Wh-what? Where's it going?"
Sensing something weirder than expected, Youngwoo whipped Negrig around and crossed the boundary—now a low mountain range—of Incheon Port pier and Yeongjong's east.
Currents along Yeongjong's coast flowed toward Incheon.
Meaning Incheon—or maybe the whole peninsula—
'No way we're heading to China?'
Probably spot on.
Not China coming here, but the Korean Peninsula charging toward China's mainland.
Just like Yeongjong had rammed Incheon Port.