Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 277
Chapter Title: 62. Strongman's Plea (3)
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“…What?”
“That guy… he’s up?”
Just moments ago, the man had been sitting in a wheelchair, unable even to lift a finger. Now he’d suddenly stood up, and everyone in the room gaped in shock.
It was astonishing enough that he’d snapped a sword barehanded, but his build was far larger than they’d expected.
Especially.
“Y-Youngwoo-ssi?”
Otavio, the conservative from Sicily, looked more stunned than anyone.
He knew better than anyone that this man had truly been fully paralyzed.
“But why suddenly…?”
If he’d planned to leap up like this from the start, what had been the point of pretending to be so weak earlier?
“…….”
While he wore a confused expression, Yeongwoo hoisted the participant who’d attacked him moments ago with one hand and slammed him into the wall.
Thud!
“Even if you’re ruthless, isn’t targeting the guy in the wheelchair first a bit too dirty?”
He followed up with a knee strike aimed at snapping the man’s neck.
“U-Ugh…!”
But seeing his opponent had already lost the will to fight, Yeongwoo changed his mind.
It wasn’t just the overwhelming advantage in combat that gave him this leisure. More than that.
‘Damn. Come to think of it.’
On second thought, he wasn’t exactly in a position to demand fairness from others either.
[Morality Score: 5]
The morality score glaring in the corner of his vision was proof enough.
‘Well, there’s no one dirtier than me in this dungeon.’
As someone affiliated with Dogo, the dungeon’s designer, he’d been receiving blatant biased judgments.
Of course, he’d ended up in that wheelchair because of the company’s schemes in the first place, but the fact that he could rampage like this now was thanks to Dogo’s absurd quest rewards.
In other words, this wasn’t power he’d earned fairly.
Especially since using it right away to torment other participants felt like dancing to the company’s tune, which pissed him off for some reason.
‘Those bastards need a good beating in a line someday.’
Having thought that far, Yeongwoo released his grip on the man’s head.
‘And hey, it’s a dungeon, not like I can’t stab a few people.’
That said, letting him go scot-free didn’t make sense either.
Whoosh.
Yeongwoo took a step back and scanned the man up and down.
“Want to die here?”
“……?”
The opponent blinked blankly for a moment, then slowly pried himself from the wall, glancing warily at Yeongwoo.
“W-Well, if possible, living’s better.”
“Right? Then let’s make a deal and you walk out alive.”
“W-What kind…?”
Naturally, with the man responding, Yeongwoo held up three fingers.
“Thirty million. Next time we meet, you hand over thirty million karma.”
At those words, not just the man he’d made the offer to, but Otavio and the two other participants who’d been clashing with him all dropped their jaws.
“…What the hell are you doing?”
Otavio’s face now twisted in outright fear.
“What do you think? No one in this place can kill me anymore. So instead of pointless bloodshed, I’ll make some money.”
“……?”
Jung Yeongwoo spoke with utter seriousness, plunging the four remaining participants into confusion.
Of course, Otavio was the only one to speak up bluntly amid it all.
“You’re… insane.”
“Choosing death over accepting this deal—that’s the real insanity.”
Without a hint of hesitation, Yeongwoo shot back and turned his head to face his mark again.
“Thirty million. Pay up, and you’re free.”
“B-But how do you expect to collect the money….”
“Tell me your name and where you live. I’ll come get it at a convenient time.”
The man blinked, speechless at Yeongwoo’s words.
Because.
“I’m… in India.”
The one Yeongwoo was trying to collect a life-debt from on credit was Indian, of all things.
Of course, he knew the Pangea incident had connected all continents, but India was a massive country.
Plus, the land was linked, but national borders hadn’t opened.
So he was questioning whether Yeongwoo could actually track him down.
But Yeongwoo didn’t care.
“Yes, where in India?”
“India… Assam state.”
“And your name?”
“…Anu Bawa.”
“So, Anu Bawa, living in Assam, India?”
Yeongwoo repeated back, and Anu Bawa nodded.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now you owe me thirty million. I’m Jung Yeongwoo from South Korea. Also your benefactor.”
“…….”
A thirty-million debt born from a single swing of the sword.
Anu Bawa from India stared blankly for a moment.
Then.
“…A-Alright. Got it.”
He nodded reluctantly.
Anything was better than dying like a dog in this dungeon, and he was betting this Korean wouldn’t actually come hunting him down for the money.
And in the meantime.
“Eek!”
With Otavio’s startled shout, the two participants who’d been facing him bolted away.
Thud thud!
Toward the opposite end of the corridor.
“Y-Youngwoo-ssi! Those guys are running!”
Otavio quickly snitched on the escapees, and as Yeongwoo turned to chase them.
Splat!
The two fugitives were struck by something and sprawled face-first on the floor.
“Huh?”
“What….”
Yeongwoo, Otavio, and even Anu Bawa—who’d halted at the unexpected turn—all widened their eyes.
Then, soon after.
Clank!
From the intersection beside the corridor the escapees had just entered, a knight clad head to toe in armor appeared.
“Chai…!”
The armor resembled Chairman Dogo’s in parts, so Yeongwoo reflexively nearly shouted “Chairman!” before clamping his mouth shut.
A nameplate floated above the knight’s head.
「Besedel Royal Guard」
“…Royal Guard?”
The knight then cleaved both escapees’ necks in one stroke with the massive sword in his hand.
Splurt!
And Yeongwoo could tell at a glance.
Not just the assassins infiltrating Besedel Castle—the guards protecting it were all dungeon monsters too.
“Better fall back a bit.”
Otavio backed away, eyeing the headless bodies on the floor, but Yeongwoo stepped forward toward the knight instead.
“No. That’s how you rack up points in this dungeon.”
「Ways to acquire morality score: Killing other participants, defeating elite monsters, concealing castle exits, etc.」
According to the dungeon’s rules, defeating elite monsters granted morality score too.
In other words.
‘If it can one-shot participants, it’s gotta be an elite monster.’
Beating that knight meant he could gain points without killing innocents.
Step step!
Yeongwoo advanced two steps decisively, and the guard pulled his greatsword toward his body, eyeing him.
-…….
The weight emanating from it was no joke.
It reminded him of how the chairman might have looked in his youth, making Yeongwoo’s hands itch even more.
‘No way the chairman was a Besedel royal guard too?’
Not an impossible story.
The armor styles matched closely—that was key evidence—and the mythical weapon “Outlaw” the chairman had given him being Besedel’s ultimate weapon lent credence.
‘No regular guard could wield a royal ultimate weapon… Captain of the guard, maybe?’
Whatever the case, this dungeon was clearly designed based on the chairman’s memories—or nightmares.
Clank!
The Besedel Royal Guard fully assumed combat stance.
As Yeongwoo clenched his bare fist to charge, Otavio tossed him his weapon from behind.
“Not like you’ve got two lives, right?”
“Ah, thanks.”
Clang!
Catching Otavio’s sword, Yeongwoo rushed the guard.
Thud thud!
The guard swung in a wide arc, just like when he’d cut down the two participants.
Whoosh!
The power felt like it could test if you could even block it.
But Yeongwoo had no intention of clashing head-on like an idiot.
His reach was far longer than the opponent’s to begin with.
「Dullahan’s Sword」 - Mutated One-Handed Sword
【Blade length proportional to user’s height.】
When Yeongwoo swung, the supply sword stretched to six meters, instantly whipping the guard’s side.
Clang!
-……!
His face was hidden by the helmet, but the guard clearly showed signs of surprise.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo was already launching his second strike.
Clang!
This time to the left shoulder.
The guard’s pauldron crumpled deeply, and for the first time, it stepped back.
“Not invincible after all, huh? Durability’s dropping bit by bit?”
Yeongwoo called out excitedly to the guard, and Anu Bawa—who’d been about to slip away—chimed in slyly.
“Sh-Should I lend you my broken sword too? Two weapons might make it…….”
He’d finally realized the safest survival strategy in this dungeon.
Stick behind that monster, and he’d make it out alive.
“Nah, we’re good now!”
The moment Yeongwoo shouted that, the cornered guard desperately swung its sword.
Whoosh!
And almost simultaneously.
Crunch!
Yeongwoo’s lightning thrust pierced the front of the guard’s helmet.
After all, this was just a dungeon—conquest wasn’t impossible.
Boom!
The guard crashed backward, hole in its helmet, spewing white smoke.
Hiss!
「Problem solved.」
「You solved the problem faster than any other participant, so you receive 1 bonus morality point.」
With that, Yeongwoo’s morality score rose by 2 more points.
Elite monster kills were worth 1 base point.
“Wait!”
Yeongwoo hurried to check the fallen guard’s face, but it was pointless.
The armor and everything inside had already vanished.
Instead.
“Huh?”
A small blue orb lay where the guard had fallen.
Whoosh.
Yeongwoo picked it up, and something utterly unexpected happened.
Flash!
A wide holographic map unfurled above the orb.
“…This is.”
“The castle map, right?”
Otavio and Anu Bawa, who’d crept up behind, pointed excitedly at the hologram.
It detailed the orb’s current position and the full Besedel Castle layout, complete with notes.
“Guess we’re on the west side of the castle now. This hall and all.”
Otavio tapped the hologram’s west side.
A blinking blue dot—the orb’s position Yeongwoo held—was marked there.
“And this is probably… the exit?”
Now his finger went to the far east edge.
A door icon marked one spot on the east wall.
According to the map, reaching the east exit meant crossing the great hall and gardens.
“Even by map, that’s pretty far in reality, right? We gotta hurry.”
With royal guards roaming that could one-shot participants made of each nation’s top fighters, Otavio and Anu Bawa wanted out, scores be damned.
But the real boss, Yeongwoo’s eyes.
“…….”
Were fixed not on the exit, but somewhere else entirely.
“Y-Youngwoo-ssi? What’re you looking at?”
Otavio shook his head and followed Yeongwoo’s gaze.
Then a wedge-shaped icon came into Otavio’s view.
One stamped on a large room further west from here.
And beneath it, in small text:
—Guard Captain, First Prince Dogo Besedel.