Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: 14. The Judge Grasping the Longsword (1)
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‘What the hell is this?’
He had just achieved the ‘Ad Model’ accomplishment, and now a timer had appeared announcing that the advertiser was on their way as a follow-up.
So what did that mean?
‘The real ad? Then the certificate I used earlier…’
Youngwoo recalled the ancient certificate ‘Morning Star,’ which had now vanished without a trace.
It was a horrific thought, but no matter how he looked at it, the circumstances suggested that ‘Morning Star’ referred to a rising star in the advertising world.
In other words, crushing that certificate moments ago had somehow advertised him somewhere. Like announcing there was an amazing model here looking for advertisers.
“……”
Caught off guard by this unintended development, Youngwoo knew from experience that there was no turning back now that the timer had appeared.
‘After dealing with alien merchants, what’s one more ad…’
He tried to psych himself up inwardly, but he couldn’t stop his fingertips from trembling faintly.
This was a completely different kind of unfamiliarity and fear from all the obstacles he’d overcome so far.
Ads… If even cosmic entities ran ads, who was advertising what, and why?
And how would they want to do it? Through a single human, no less.
“……”
Youngwoo stopped his futile worrying here and checked the timer.
|Time until advertiser arrives: 04:28:19
The advertiser would arrive in about four hours and twenty-eight minutes.
‘No marker this time either. Does that mean the advertiser’s coming straight to me?’
Youngwoo scanned the clear sky this way and that.
Of course, with an arrival time four hours away, it didn’t make sense for the advertiser to show up right where he’d used the certificate.
No, it couldn’t happen that way.
He wasn’t in a position to leisurely stick around here anyway.
“……”
After a moment of deliberation, Youngwoo beckoned to Myeongho.
“Myeongho, start her up. Let’s head to Chungju for now.”
* * *
Vroooom…!
Inside the vehicle speeding along the road toward Chungju.
Myeongho kept his eyes fixed ahead, pretending to focus on driving as usual, while Myeongae stared blankly out the car window with lifeless eyes.
And the newcomer in the vehicle, the tall man.
“…Um, Youngwoo-ssi.”
Unable to bear the silence that had dragged on for several minutes, he finally spoke up.
Youngwoo, who had been looking at the goblin at his feet, turned to him.
“You can just call me Youngwoo.”
“Ah, yes. Youngwoo.”
“Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet.”
“Ahh…! Right?”
The man’s expression relaxed a bit, as if he felt relieved hearing Youngwoo’s words.
“Sorry, things have been so hectic. As you know, I’m Jeong Youngwoo, and…”
Youngwoo trailed off here and glanced at Myeongae, who was pressed tightly against the opposite side of the back seat.
“……”
A cold wind was blowing, as expected.
Given the situation, he couldn’t expect a cheerful introduction from her.
“This is Choi Myeongae… and the one driving is her son.”
As Youngwoo gestured alternately between Myeongae and Myeongho, Myeongho quickly caught on and greeted him.
“I’m Jeong Myeongho. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yep. I’m Kim Jongsu. Andong native, twenty-nine this year.”
Kim Jongsu. Despite the intimidating presence from his massive build, he was the youngest in the group.
“How old are you two…? You’re both older brothers, right?”
Jongsu asked cautiously, stretching his neck forward.
It was hard to believe they were having such an everyday conversation, each with a sword at their waist.
“I’m thirty-four.”
“Whew, as expected, you’re the hyung.”
When Youngwoo revealed his age, Jongsu sighed in relief.
Then, Myeongho, who had been glancing around awkwardly, belatedly shared his age.
“Ah… I’m a bit older. Thirty-seven.”
“Oh man, you’re the big hyung.”
Jongsu cracked a joke about driving being the youngest’s job, trying his best to lighten the mood.
Having essentially staked his life to join this party, he was doing everything he could to become an official member.
So Youngwoo couldn’t help but ask.
“Jongsu, why’d you come with us? Things weren’t looking bad back with your group.”
At Youngwoo’s question, Jongsu’s ever-bright smile froze for a moment before returning.
“Ah, that.”
Then he broached a strange topic.
“Are we in the middle of collapsing?”
“……?”
The sudden remark made everyone in the car, including Youngwoo, twitch their eyebrows.
But Jongsu continued undeterred.
“Realistically, we’re pretty much collapsed already. Half of humanity’s gone on day one, right? And most of the rest turned to stone.”
Day one.
The day of the vote, when they dragged out celebrities and turned on each other with remote killings.
Myeongho, who had been silent until now, chimed in.
“But half are still alive.”
A nuance of lingering hope.
Jongsu shook his head, though.
“It’s less than half now. Most died to monsters or bandits.”
“…So? You’re saying the remaining half will all die eventually.”
“Up until recently, yeah, that’s what I thought…”
Jongsu looked at Youngwoo as he said this.
“But after seeing you, Hyung, I changed my mind. The world isn’t collapsing—it’s just changing.”
“Changing?”
Myeongho echoed, but Jongsu’s gaze remained fixed on Youngwoo.
“Yeah. From now on, instead of going to work, we’ll hunt monsters for money.”
“…….”
Myeongho couldn’t easily respond.
He lacked even the combat ability to face monsters, so he couldn’t accept that idea.
By Jongsu’s logic, Myeongho was an incompetent who couldn’t earn money.
“Th-that’s…!”
As Myeongho bristled to retort, Jongsu quickly cut in.
“That’s reality. Starting tomorrow, when taxes really kick in, people without skills will have to scrape together money somehow. Begging or becoming someone’s slave.”
It was a grim outlook, but Youngwoo had to agree with Jongsu.
No need to look far—just today in Sangju City, people were packaging and selling their own services.
“But I didn’t think that way. I figured I could handle most monsters. Then today, seeing you, Hyung, I realized one more thing.”
“…What’s that?”
Youngwoo asked this time, and Jongsu’s eyes quickly scanned him up and down.
“I’ve got the skills to make money, sure, but just like office workers have bosses, monster hunters need a boss too.”
Then Jongsu pointed at Youngwoo with an exaggerated sly gesture.
“Experts who smash not just monsters but mutants too—the First Swords are the ultimate bosses. You could even threaten someone like me, Hyung. In my eyes, you’re a real power holder.”
“…….”
Threaten someone like me… At this point, Youngwoo figured Jongsu had either threatened others before or been threatened by a First Sword himself.
That’s why such ideas came naturally to him.
‘Come to think of it, we met in Mungyeong, but he’s an Andong local.’
Andong was two cities away from Mungyeong.
Meaning Jongsu had gone through his own ordeals traveling from Andong to Mungyeong.
“Well, as you know, there’s one First Sword per city, so in other words…”
He meant to say he was just one of dozens, but Jongsu’s sparkling eyes stopped him.
“Exactly! There are only maybe dozens of First Swords at best, right? Plus, you’re the guy who casually does business with aliens without blinking. You’re no ordinary First Sword.”
“…….”
It was true, but felt oddly twisted.
As a flustered Youngwoo just opened and closed his mouth, Jongsu spoke up instead.
“So I decided I had to follow you even for just a day to learn. I think you’re gonna make it big, Hyung.”
In a world where all humanity was dying off, what praise could top this? But Youngwoo had already glimpsed the cunning in Jongsu’s eyes, so it didn’t sit entirely well.
“Even for a day… We’re parting ways in Chungju.”
As Youngwoo shifted his gaze to the front windshield, Jongsu blinked for a moment before taking a deep breath.
“No, Chungju? Aren’t we heading there right now?”
Just then, a sign for Chungju appeared on the road, and Myeongho at the wheel confirmed it.
“Yeah. My dad’s there… and Youngwoo said he’d come along to Chungju.”
“You fuck…”
Jongsu barely swallowed a reflexive curse, then hurriedly asked Youngwoo.
“Anyway, so you’ve got time until you finish up in Chungju, right? Finding Myeongho Hyung’s dad and… other stuff. Yeah?”
Youngwoo mentally reviewed what he had to do in Chungju.
‘First, find and kill the mutant. Probably run into Chungju’s First Sword along the way. Then wait for the merchant and make contact…’
He didn’t have much karma left, but depending on Chungju’s situation, he could sweep monsters for more.
‘Myeongho’s dad… hope he’s alive. Can’t scour the whole city together, so if we don’t reunite right away, my part ends there.’
Having sorted his thoughts, Youngwoo opened his status window.
『Character: Jeong Youngwoo07』
[Strength] 600 (19+581)
[Stamina] 350 (21+329)
[Durability] 550 (13+537)
[Sense] 100 (24+76)
* 1,000 karma consumed per stat point.
* Available karma: 371,000
Contrary to Jongsu thinking he was the top First Sword, Youngwoo was covering relatively meager stats with gear and ‘Gyeongbuk Swordsmanship.’
Meaning he could die anytime against a real powerhouse.
‘370k left… Even with the merchant, not much I can buy.’
So maybe invest in stats or appearance first this time?
“…….”
While Youngwoo pondered, Myeongho from the driver’s seat tilted his head and reported.
“Uh… We’re almost at the Chungju entrance.”
There was a hint of trouble in his tone.
Then Jongsu in the passenger seat peered out and reacted with confusion.
“Huh, what’s that?”
By now, Youngwoo was also peering at Chungju’s distant skyline through the window, so he understood their odd reactions.
Current time: 3:46 PM.
Not a single light pillar had fallen on Chungju.
‘Monsters aside… even the mutant’s been taken out?’
If so, Chungju had adapted to the ‘reset’ world somehow.
As Youngwoo watched the scenery with inexplicable excitement, a light pillar previously hidden by distance came into view.
“Ah.”
It was black.
The black light pillar marking the merchant’s location.
Chungju truly had no mutant. Someone had already killed the Day 2 mutant and summoned the merchant.
And that someone was probably.
Flash!
As the vehicle approached Chungju’s entrance, the regional status updated.
|You are currently in ‘Chungju.’
|This region’s First Sword is ‘Shin Youngju22’. Rank 3, Defense 2 times.