Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: 11. Alien (2)
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‘A merchant has appeared? Where the hell did this merchant come from?’
Youngwoo felt a sudden chill of foreboding, but his attention was quickly stolen by the event unfolding before him.
Kwaaaang!
A deafening roar like the sky itself being torn apart rang out, and a pitch-black pillar of light shot down from between the clouds.
“……!”
Unlike the markers indicating the positions of monsters or mutants, this was on an entirely different scale, sending chills racing across his skin.
‘Is that the spot where the merchant appears?’
The black pillar had come down several kilometers northwest of his current position.
Youngwoo turned toward it, and text related to the Sangju Merchant’s defeat filled his view.
「Mutant eliminated.」
「Please select your reward to complete the process.」
≪Fixed Reward≫
「Dullahan’s Sword」 - Mutant One-Handed Sword
【Blade length proportional to user’s height.】
≪Choice Reward≫
[3 million karma]
or
[Distribute 30,000 karma to all residents in the region]
‘Weapons as rewards now, huh.’
This was the first time a weapon had dropped as a mutant elimination reward.
And since it was mutant-grade gear, it was a step above the hero-grade Early Bird.
‘Like Kim Hyun-ho said, I should be able to extend the blade.’
For the first time, he felt an urge to claim the reward right away.
Youngwoo quickly selected the second option from the choice rewards to wrap things up.
Paat!
[30,000 karma distributed to all residents in the region]
As usual, a golden orb spun rapidly before shooting into the sky, exploding in a shower of golden rain.
Swaaaa…!
《Gyeongbuk First Sword ‘Jeong Youngwoo07’ has given up exclusive claim to 3 million karma and gifted 30,000 karma to all Sangju residents.》
《30,000 karma will soon be distributed in the form of commemorative coins. Prepare yourselves.》
His third golden rain.
Youngwoo snatched three commemorative coins amid the downpour of golden light, then opened his achievements window.
Pat.
[Golden Flood]
|Summon golden rain in 5 or more regions. (3/5)
‘Just two more regions, and I’ll knock out one achievement.’
Three others remained.
[Night Planet]
|Spend a night outside your residence.
[Jeweler’s Touch]
|Equip two hero-grade or higher rings on both index and middle fingers. (2/4)
[Perfect Orphan]
|Find and eliminate your parents. (1/2)
But none had obvious solutions, leaving them in a stalemate.
To refresh the achievement list, he’d need to complete existing ones to free up slots, so for now, moving to the next city was the best course.
‘Of course, I should check out that merchant first.’
The moment Youngwoo thought that far, a sharp whoosh cut through the air from above, and a black sword came whistling down to embed itself in the ground.
Swaeaeaeak, ping!
A scene reminiscent of when he first received Early Bird.
It was the mutant-grade one-handed sword, ‘Dullahan’s Sword.’
‘…….’
Amid a strange sense of déjà vu, Youngwoo pulled the black sword free.
Pit.
A blade about a meter long extended from the hefty hilt.
‘Definitely longer than Early Bird… but how do I make it even longer?’
He swung it through the air like the Sangju Merchant had, but nothing happened.
So.
‘G… grow longer?’
He willed the sword to extend mentally.
Shuriririt!
“Euk?”
The blade really shot out, stabbing into the air as it rapidly lengthened.
‘How long did it get? About 5 meters?’
By eye, the black sword’s maximum blade length was roughly 5 meters.
「Dullahan’s Sword」 - Mutant One-Handed Sword
【Blade length proportional to user’s height.】
‘It said the blade length is proportional to my height…’
Youngwoo’s height was mid-170s.
Meaning Dullahan’s Sword could extend to about three times the user’s height.
‘So if I grow taller, this sword will get longer too.’
And that height was probably.
“…….”
Youngwoo silently pressed one commemorative coin to his lips.
A translucent dotted outline traced his body’s contours, and a settings menu appeared in his view.
「Character Settings Change」
|Appearance
|Stats
‘I can probably adjust my height in the appearance settings.’
He’d never bothered opening it before, too busy scheming just to survive.
Paat!
Selecting ‘Appearance’ flashed his vision, unleashing a flood of info far more extensive than expected.
‘Wha… what’s all this?’
Even if he’d peeked early, the sheer volume would’ve been pointless.
Karma could tweak not just build, but facial features, body hair distribution and color—everything.
* * *
Youngwoo kept eyeing the appearance interface as he headed toward the black pillar.
‘Crazy… I can even shift the default iris position.’
Skin tone and texture were adjustable too. He could stretch his nose Pinocchio-style or protrude a forehead spot into a horn if he wanted.
Of course, limits existed.
The top guide warned that straying from human norms incurred penalties.
-Standard range for each appearance category is ‘human.’
-Exceeding standard in any category sharply increases karma cost for that category.
‘But with absurd amounts of karma, I could probably go beyond human limits.’
Youngwoo pictured a 4-meter giant with horns and red skin.
Theoretically, an era where becoming such a monster was possible had dawned.
‘Well… doesn’t seem designed for that right now.’
Youngwoo eyed the ‘Presets’ below the guide.
「For user convenience, three types of preset collections are provided.」
|Combat
|Charm
|Special
‘What’s this now.’
Selecting ‘Combat’ from the presets opened a translucent box on the left side of his view, displaying dozens of body samples.
‘Heuk?’
All nude, these were human-form bodies the system deemed optimal for combat.
2-meter heights, near-perfect upper-lower body balance.
‘Pick one and match it exactly?’
How could a normal person tweak dozens of categories manually to find the ideal?
Presets were textbook guides to avoid wasting karma.
Focusing on each sample showed detailed stats per category, even comparing to his current ones.
‘…My legs are definitely short. Upper body frame isn’t great either.’
A bitter realization, but encouraging too.
Longer arms meant reach; longer legs meant stride… mobility.
“…….”
Selecting his favorite sample auto-calculated the karma needed to match it.
[2,116,000]
2.116 million karma.
Cost for a born 4th-grade human like Youngwoo to gain peak physique.
As current Gyeongbuk First Sword, it felt attainable—but not for the masses.
‘Spending that much here slows stat growth… most wouldn’t dare.’
Youngwoo had his doubts too.
2.116 million karma could buy 2,110 stat points.
With max strength at just 600, was ditching over 2,000 points wise?
‘Tough call.’
His gaze shifted to the next preset, ‘Charm.’
Another translucent box opened, revealing a staggering array of face samples.
Dozens for ‘Combat,’ but hundreds—no, thousands—here.
‘…Beauty types collection.’
With enough karma, handsome or beautiful was possible.
The merchant’s position neared, leaving no time to browse every face.
Youngwoo closed ‘Charm’ and selected the last, ‘Special.’
Paat!
“……!”
Another box with samples, but utterly unlike the previous two.
‘Th-this is…’
What he saw were grotesquely modified samples, borderline abominations.
Arms far longer than height, irises matching sclera so eyes felt sightless, etc.
Each had notes on bodily strain from such forms—clear warnings.
Near-limitless possibilities, but lousy cost-performance.
‘Even looking at them is horrifying.’
Closing ‘Special’ brought a cautionary message before changes.
「All appearance changes are permanent. Some elements may be inherited by the next generation upon creation.」
‘What? Inherited…?’
Youngwoo blinked in disbelief.
The world reset, but parental grade and settings still influenced offspring.
Meaning.
‘Birth grades didn’t vanish. It was a true reset. Current survivors are just Generation 1.’
And their lifetime achievements would shape their kids’ grades.
“…….”
Like his first glimpse of the Fate Ledger, nausea churned in his gut.
But this bizarre world offered no respite.
Piuung!
A ejection sound from the sky, and something plummeted along the distant black pillar.
‘Is that the merchant?’
The ‘merchant’ shot from somewhere beyond the heavens.
Before, mere context would’ve scared him off, but now’s Youngwoo was a far cry from pre-reset.
‘Obviously not human, that merchant guy.’
Youngwoo narrowed the gap, staring at the black pillar up close.
「Sangju’s second mutant eliminated. Basic welfare now applies to this region.」
Per the earlier system message, this merchant was part of mutant rewards—basic welfare.
Youngwoo focused less on its origins, more on what it sold.
Wherever it came from, it’d offer something useful to survivors, right?
However.
Papat!
Finally spotting the ‘merchant,’ Youngwoo.
‘……!’
Had to admit his arrogance.
First encounter with an ‘alien.’
Youngwoo instinctively drew his sword.