Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: 10. Villain War (2)
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6,000.
The karma Youngwoo had seized from the gang of old robbers in Sangju City amounted to just 6,000.
There had been six of them, meaning each carried a single crimson coin.
'Just enough money to scrape by for tonight.'
No, more precisely, just enough to pay tonight's tax collection.
When night fell, the bizarre weather would roll in, and to avoid it, you'd have to shell out for an overnight stay.
Unless some Good Samaritan threw open their room for free—which wasn't happening—simply scraping together tax money didn't guarantee survival.
'So those old guys were robbing people just to afford an overnight stay.'
He felt a twinge of guilt.
But what could he do? This was humanity's new normal.
Unless someone showered commemorative coins every day, the system was rigged so you'd always come up short.
And if you were short on cash, high odds you'd die that day.
'No miracle where every Greatest Swordsman in the country rains down gold, right? Which means people dying every day is inevitable.'
Youngwoo spotted more corpses by the roadside.
Unlike in Gimcheon City, these didn't look like monster kills.
'No bite marks. This was human-on-human.'
The ragged cuts and multiple wounds suggested it wasn't the work of some skilled fighter.
Probably folks on the same low level tearing into each other, or a robber pack like those old men sweeping through.
'Are all cities across the country like this? Totally nuked, or turned into lawless hellholes?'
As Youngwoo paused to inspect the bodies, something twitched in the corner of his vision.
"......?"
He whipped his head that way, and the culprit—a man who looked in his forties—freaked out and bolted in the opposite direction.
The guy was lugging way too many bags. At least ten, by the look of it.
"What the hell is that?"
The bizarre silhouette from all those bags in his hands was too weird to ignore.
Their paths matched anyway.
"Hey!"
Youngwoo called out in the softest tone he could muster as he gave chase.
Naturally, the distance closed in seconds, and the man spun around in panic.
"W-what do you want!"
The guy was terrified.
Proof: the tip of the clumsily brandished knife trembled like a leaf.
"What do you mean? You took off running first, so I followed."
Youngwoo raised both arms slightly to signal no intent to attack.
Sure, he had a shield on his left arm, but Early Bird and the dagger were sheathed peacefully.
"......"
The man's fear didn't budge. His eyes were glued to the Early Bird at Youngwoo's waist.
'What the hell did the Early Bird owners around here do to make him like this?'
Youngwoo followed the man's gaze to his own sword, and finally, the guy spoke.
"N-need a bag? I'll give you one if you want—just don't kill me."
"Huh?"
The man thought Youngwoo was a robber.
"No plans to hurt you, but why are you hauling around so many bags?"
Youngwoo nodded at them with his shield's edge, and the man flinched back a step.
"F-for... selling."
"Selling? You just said you'd give one away if I needed it."
"...Better than dying."
The man eyed Youngwoo warily again.
"So you're saying you're in the bag-selling business right now?"
"Y-yeah... something like that."
But only to customers weaker or about equal in fighting strength.
If he ran into a powerhouse who didn't look like they'd play fair, he'd bolt or toss the bags to save his skin....
'A seriously shaky business model.'
With no government or law left, safe trades weren't guaranteed. Made sense.
'This guy's the unusual one. Chose selling over robbing to make money.'
Of course, no clue if he lacked the heart or the skill for crime.
Either way, he'd picked a decent niche the honest way.
'Bags don't turn to stone, so he could scrounge stock even without startup cash.'
Probably raiding empty houses or roadside corpses.
"So everyone in Sangju lives like this? Robbing or selling like you?"
"No. Truth is, most sellers like me are dead already...."
What came next blew past Youngwoo's expectations.
"Most... sell their bodies."
"What?"
Youngwoo scowled, and the man clamped his mouth shut in fear.
"No, finish what you were saying. What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly that. Nothing left to sell but their bodies, so that's what they sell. Like slaves."
In fact, they sell their bodies too, he added in a mumble.
"No way."
Now Youngwoo looked horrified.
"It's only reset day two. And you're saying people are buying and selling other people for karma?"
"Less 'for karma' and more 'in exchange for not dying.' No money really means death."
The man looked grim, then continued.
"Not everyone, but that's how it is in the city center. Most supplies are there, so anyone with money flocks there. People desperate to live as slaves head there too."
"......"
Youngwoo couldn't help being shocked.
This was a whole different level from tangling with two-meter goblins.
Sure, even in Gumi under the golden rain, similar stuff happened.
People robbed of their commemorative coins, left broke, setting up shop at marts and convenience stores.
'Some sold their labor back then too. Offered to carry loads, stuff like that.'
But what if hauling luggage didn't cut it for cash anymore?
If you had to scrape money by 10 p.m. or die, and normal gigs couldn't earn enough because money's value skyrocketed?
Would people really offer themselves as slaves?
'Fuck, they'd go that far to survive? Might as well...'
Youngwoo's thoughts hit the old men from Sangju's outskirts.
'...kill themselves or others. No middle ground.'
You couldn't even target slave buyers. Spending money on others screamed "strong."
"Most slave buyers are the ones who've succeeded at monster hunts, right?"
"Probably."
"So people must've objected to this crap. Human trafficking and all."
"There were, but they're all dead."
"......?"
"It started when Sangju's Greatest Swordsman began buying people with karma."
"...Ah."
Youngwoo glanced at the regional status unbidden.
|You are currently in 'Sangju.'
|This area's Greatest Swordsman is 'Dogosehwan01.' 2nd gen, 147 defenses.
He'd pegged the guy as nuts from first sight, but masterminding slave trading? That took the cake.
"Rumor has it he controls monster hunts too. Probably to keep money from circulating in Sangju."
"Variants too, then."
"Variants? Whether controlled or not, only a Greatest Swordsman could take one down, right?"
The man chuckled at Youngwoo like he'd spouted nonsense.
Youngwoo eyed the northern road and asked,
"Anyway, you know this area's situation inside out."
"Yeah, lived here my whole life... and customers tell me all sorts."
Most were city folk who'd fled for their own reasons, he added.
"One last question, then."
"Sure, shoot."
"Where do I find the slave traders?"
"The buyers?"
"Yeah, buyers."
"Near city hall. Call it the trading district."
Trading district. Weird term, but it fit.
The old men he'd killed said head to city hall for the Greatest Swordsman too. Cross-verified.
"Thanks for your time. Gotta head to city hall now."
"Why bother... Wouldn't another city be better?"
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"Shouldn't you have moved to another city? You could drop dead here any second."
The man looked blank at Youngwoo's words, then countered.
"You think other cities are different? At least here I know the lay of the land...."
"Anywhere's better than here."
Youngwoo stepped toward the city hall road, then turned back.
"You know killing a variant rains money on everyone, right?"
"What...?"
The man looked flustered at the non sequitur, then nodded.
"Ah, yeah. I know."
Even if the killer hogged the full 3 million, the alert still popped.
"I'm killing a variant today. If I succeed, I'll rain karma on everyone."
"...If you don't mind me saying, variants...."
The man started repeating himself. Only Greatest Swordsman level could challenge one.
So Youngwoo.
Clang!
Flashed his title before the guy finished.
『Gumi's Greatest Swordsman』
"G-Gumi... Greatest Swordsman?"
The man squinted at the title, then shuddered at the end.
"You're Gumi's Greatest Swordsman?"
Finally, his eyes took in Youngwoo's odd getup.
Gold-tinted gloves and bracelet, mystery whistle, bare feet.
At first, he'd clocked just the Early Bird and figured out-of-towner badass.
Now the clues piled up.
"What brings you here?"
The man instinctively hunched low.
Ready to grovel.
Given what Sangju's Greatest Swordsman was, totally normal reaction.
"Came to kill a variant and rack up achievements... but looks like I can't stop there."
Youngwoo checked the regional status again.
The man followed his gaze.
Sangju Greatest Swordsman, 147 defenses.
"No way he'll let me snag a variant easy. Gotta fight that guy."
"Perfect timing anyway. Need to collect Greatest Swordsman titles, and he's a villain to boot? Music to my ears."
With that, Youngwoo set foot on the road.
"If I win, golden rain falls. Grab the commemorative coins and get out."
"W-what if no rain?"
"Then I'm dead. Head somewhere else. Personally recommend Gumi."