Chapter 317
Chapter 317
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 317
Chapter Title: 71. Cosmic Lobby (2)
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Besedell.
One of the cosmic royal families that birthed the Destruction King Dogo.
No one knew just how mighty the Besedell house had been in its heyday, but the fact that "Besedell" was incorporated into equipment grades proved it was a prestigious lineage recognized by the cosmic order.
'And yet, one of the examiners talked about Besedell like it was beneath him.'
Of course, the Besedell house no longer existed as a royal family, so it wasn't all that strange for it to become someone's punchline.
But in the cosmos, lesser beings couldn't even utter the names of higher ones.
In a place like that, the kind of existence that could mock a royal house...
'You'd need a presence on the Chairman's level, wouldn't you? And the Chairman's still active.'
A kind of hierarchy began to form in Young-woo's mind.
For starters, the Chairman's existence grade under cosmic law was 3rd class.
Right below the 2nd class beings whose names even average folks weren't permitted to mention.
So, had the Besedell royal house also been 2nd class?
'No, probably not. It was this bastard who toppled a Transcendent and forged a legend, so Besedell itself likely wasn't a top-tier house from birth.'
Then, should he peg Besedell as 3rd class too?
Sure, even among 3rd class, presences varied, so it was possible.
Moreover, as a royal house, Besedell would've been among the most renowned in the 3rd class.
'What about the examiners, then?'
This part was tricky.
On Earth, as long as they were both human, you could curse out anyone regardless of status, but the cosmos was different.
'Their ceiling's set, at least. No higher than 3rd class, max.'
But recalling one examiner's line...
—Hah, ancient Besedell history?
Ironically, that line carried a hint of fear.
"Ancient" implied that at least in the past, it had been formidable.
In other words, before the Besedell royal house fell, that examiner wouldn't have dared mock its name.
'So, the examiners are at best 3rd class, or maybe 4th or 5th.'
With that rough sorting, his mind eased a bit.
Even if he made a big blunder, as long as he didn't lose his head right here, he could patch things up somehow.
He'd already dealt with Chairman Dogo, after all—a 3rd class delinquent.
So, if these guys were 3rd class or lower, he could smooth things over with confidence.
'This is why people need diverse experiences.'
Flash!
Young-woo raised the commemorative coin higher, and the lighting illuminating him expanded nearly twentyfold.
Whoosh!
"……!"
Young-woo's eyes widened at this, and Song Ji-seon, watching from just behind, whispered ever so faintly.
—Hey, that's your cue to step out of the light. Better fall back.
Truth be told, this was a scene he'd seen plenty in external business or politics.
Deliberately prodding the opponent to move seats to show the gap in their weight classes.
But it wasn't mere showboating—it was a business tactic to shrink the opponent's psyche and cloud their judgment.
That said, if the weight class gap was truly vast, the weaker side had to yield gracefully as a political move.
—Come on out already?
Ji-seon pressed again, but Young-woo didn't budge an inch from his spot.
"Why? There's plenty of room here. We can share."
He knew exactly what to do in this moment.
—Standing your ground now won't get you anything. Just come out.
Young-woo shook his head.
"No thanks."
—Why?
"I'm curious. What happens if I stay put without giving up my spot. Aren't you, Mom?"
—...You crazy thick-headed bastard.
Coincidentally, the Achievement System had once pegged Jeong Young-woo07's disposition as "thick-headed."
"Even if this is a huge rudeness, they can't do anything to me. After all, I'm the one offering tribute money."
—......
Ji-seon had no retort.
She couldn't deny it was mostly spot-on.
—But that curiosity could jack up the lobby price. Don't forget—we put up a blank check as tribute.
"It's fine. Whatever shortfall there is, the Chairman will cover it."
—What the hell are you talking about?
"The Chairman's watching this scene right now."
As he said this, chin held high, Dogo's wedge emblem gleamed brightly on Young-woo's right shoulder.
The ad tattoo he'd inked on his upper right arm was projecting over the Besedell armor.
"What do you think lets a lowly thing like me stand tall before cosmic planetary examiners? Huh? Mom!"
Ji-seon shuddered briefly, then cautiously opened her mouth.
—B-Because of... Dogo? 'Dogo' is that incredible...?
She wasn't clueless.
She'd realized her son was doing some kind of product placement.
And right on cue.
Kwaaaaaah!
With that familiar eerie resonance, a sound like unlocking shackles echoed from within the sky-filling fleet.
Clank!
At last, the examiners began descending to Earth.
Kwaaaaa...!
The mechanical wail spread long once more.
The massive light around Young-woo flickered, and soon an uncanny presence poured down from above in the sky.
"...What is that."
It didn't feel like some huge-bodied being simply coming down.
More like something acrid, some kind of...
—Fuck, what the hell is that thing.
Sure enough, Song Ji-seon—who'd been holding her dragon head at a hundred meters up—shivered faintly.
She'd spotted the foe's form before Young-woo.
He tried peering at the sky with 'Heavenly Eye,' but there was no need anymore.
Ruuuumble...
By now, the examiners had descended close enough to see with the naked eye.
'...Those are actual civil servants?'
Young-woo's pupils dilated.
The aura wafting from them felt less like bureaucrats and more like demon lords.
Three examiners descending to Earth total.
All giants over twenty meters tall, but the one in the center stood out most.
■ ......
It wore a metallic mask, shrouded head to toe in a massively thick cloak. Its sheer bulk made even the cloak's heavy sway terrifying.
And above all, these things hailed from the cosmos.
No guarantee whatsoever that what lurked beneath that mask and cloak resembled a human.
It could be packed full of grotesque tentacles like some abyssal horror, and that'd be par for the course.
'That bastard. The one who dared mock Besedell.'
No introductions yet, but Young-woo knew instantly.
The cloaked one was him.
Swooo...
Soon the examiners reached a hundred meters overhead, and that's when the crowd started showing symptoms one by one.
It started with Jeong Gu.
"Y-Young-woo!"
His father called urgently; Young-woo turned to see Jeong Gu half-kneeling, sprawled on the ground.
"What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"C-Can't... breathe...!"
Young-woo grasped the situation and rifled through his accessory catalog.
He fished out an earring and tossed it to his father.
「Bear's Heart」 - Mutated Earring
【You grow bold.】
"Hang in there a bit longer. When else are you gonna meet things like this?"
But Jeong Gu wasn't the only issue.
"...Hng!"
As the examiners drew nearer the ground, Ye-chan slammed his spear into the earth.
Thud!
"You too?"
Young-woo eyed Ye-chan's trembling grip on the shaft; the guy nodded.
"We should fall back. It'll get way worse if they come closer."
Ye-chan's "we" meant himself and Jeong Gu.
Jeong Gu had caught a breather with the Bear's Heart, but he was still shaking violently all over.
"Then Mom..."
Young-woo glanced back to see his mother abandoning her dragon form, shifting to swordswoman shape.
Shiiiing!
—Guess these really are the examiners, huh?
Ji-seon's voice trembled too, but it was still impressive.
Unlike Ye-chan and Jeong Gu, she had no resistance gear.
Of course, Young-woo—who'd given the Bear's Heart to his dad—had no more boldness-related equipment either.
All he had left was Aratubank's 'Invulnerability' effect.
【Invulnerability】
|This shield cannot be destroyed and blocks most non-physical damage and mental attacks.
But the examiners overwhelming the crowd now wasn't a mental attack—it was purely the pressure from their sheer existence.
A kind of intimidation.
So Young-woo had to endure their presence with nothing but the boldness he'd built up.
'Fuck, these bastards could kill with just their breath.'
Totally different vibe from the Chairman.
Where the Chairman felt like forged steel, these exuded a razor-sharp arrogance laced with menace.
Only now did he grasp how much the Chairman restrained himself daily.
'Chairman...!'
Young-woo inwardly called to him again, gazing skyward—but the navy warships they'd brought blotted out the view.
And finally.
Boom!
The three examiners touched down on Earth's soil.
To the left of 'the cloaked one' floated a massive blob of water—another examiner.
A single eyeball, maybe ten meters across, glared at Young-woo from within.
The water orb encasing it was thirty meters wide, giving the illusion of being plunged into deep waters whenever he looked.
'...The Chairman's on par with these freaks—or higher?'
By contrast, the one hovering in the air to the cloaked figure's right had a most welcome form.
Emaciated like a spider, sure—but two legs, two arms, and a head like a human's.
Its whole body wrapped tight in pitch-black fabric, it even resembled a man in a suit.
'Oh, that guy's...'
Young-woo blinked.
The right-side examiner resembled someone he knew.
Long, pale face top to bottom; eyes, nose, mouth in familiar spots.
Naturally flat skin sans nasal bone, with two prominent nostrils. And black pupils sans whites.
Minus the twenty-meter height, it looked just like the registry clerk Giajol from the tax office.
'Giajol's kin. One of the successful ones!'
Delighted inwardly, Young-woo blinked happily—until 'the cloak,' spotting the client still in the same light pool, spoke for the first time.
■ This spot isn't for you. Step back.
An immense pressure swept the venue like a gale; nearby Jeong Gu, Ye-chan, and even Ji-seon hastily retreated.
-Small... feet!
Only Young-woo and Bang Dae-hyeop remained rooted.
Young-woo's heart felt ready to burst, but he gritted his teeth and held.
'Fuck, with all the money I'm gonna rake in, sharing a table's the least I can do?'
The cloak, sensing his defiance to the end, leaned down slightly to peer at him.
Groooan...
Its colossal frame cast a grand shadow engulfing Young-woo's back entirely; under the amplified presence, even Bang Dae-hyeop finally stepped away.
Step.
Unable to withstand the pressure, he fell back.
But in that instant, Young-woo's mind cleared instead.
'These fuckers cast shadows too?'
He'd just noticed the shadow draping his area.
These examiners were substantially affected by Earth's physical laws.
Cosmic grade far above, sure—but fundamentally, stab-able, smash-able foes.
In other words...
'Someday, I'll beat the shit out of these bastards too.'
The moment that thought hit, the squeezing pressure vanished; the cloak, sensing it, let out an incredulous laugh.
■ Hah, do you even know what you're doing?
"I'm entertaining you lords, aren't I? You have no idea how thrilled I am to serve."
Young-woo raised the commemorative coin again as he spoke; the cloak shot back.
■ Your insolence borders on the insulting. Have you prepared tribute worthy of sparing your life and this planet?
A sloppy tribute meant extermination on the spot.
Young-woo pointed at the sky hidden by the fleet.
"I wouldn't know."
■ Why?
Suddenly, Young-woo drew his cursed sword, the Bastard, and thrust it skyward.
Slash!
"Because this lobby is sponsored by the pan-cosmic weapons brand 「Dogo」...!"
■ Dogo!
Young-woo had finally begun testing his sponsor's limits.