Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: 14. The Judge with the Longsword (2)
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‘3 kills, 2 defenses….’
Youngwoo closely examined the battle record of Chungju’s First Sword etched into the regional status window.
‘So after becoming the First Sword, he’s committed two murders. The low count suggests he’s not some reckless killer.’
A First Sword’s defense count doubled as their murder tally, so the more depraved they were, the higher that number tended to climb.
Conversely, anyone who avoided needless killing would naturally keep their defense count low.
‘This time the variable’s already dead… Hopefully it won’t come to a fight.’
Of course, variables weren’t entirely absent.
Youngwoo still needed to meet the merchant who’d come to Chungju.
But what if Chungju’s First Sword didn’t take kindly to outsiders mingling with the merchant?
“…….”
Youngwoo shifted his gaze to the notification blinking in the corner of his vision.
「You have 1 unclaimed achievement reward.」
「Claim the reward?」
It had to be the reward for the achievement earned by using the ancient writ.
‘Relic-grade achievement, right? Either way, can’t use it for trading with the merchant.’
Youngwoo smacked his lips in mild regret and approved the claim.
He immediately realized he’d misjudged.
Clink.
Suddenly, a familiar sound rang out in the empty space inside the vehicle.
‘Whoa, no way.’
Pop, pop!
Ten blue coins lined up in front of Youngwoo’s eyes.
Ten blue coins meant a whopping 500,000 karma. His eyes widened at the unexpected windfall—but something even more astonishing happened next.
-Keeek!
The golden goblin, which had been quietly huddled between Youngwoo’s legs, shot up like a bullet.
“……!”
It swept up all ten coins from midair in an instant, right before Youngwoo’s eyes, then landed lightly back in place.
“Uh.”
Even Myung-ae, who’d been wearing a grim expression, blinked in surprise. Jongs u, who’d somehow sensed the motion, stared back and forth between Youngwoo and the goblin with a dumbfounded look.
“Wh-what was that just now? I couldn’t even see it properly.”
Even if he’d turned around in time, he wouldn’t have caught the goblin’s movement fully.
Not even Youngwoo, Gyeongbuk’s First Sword, had tracked its path perfectly.
‘It even picks up money on its own. Makes sense, I guess.’
「Golden Goblin」 - Relic Slave
【Stores items in subspace.】
【Picks up valuables.】
Like a game pet with auto-loot.
Youngwoo watched the now-docile goblin for a moment, then gathered the bags he’d stashed around the back seat and placed them near it.
The goblin glanced at Youngwoo, then wordlessly opened its subspace pouch and scooped them up.
‘It doesn’t grab everything in sight. Prioritizes my clear possessions… and only collects other stuff on command.’
So what about something clearly someone else’s? Would it fetch it if ordered?
Youngwoo tested the idea right away by asking Jongs u.
“Jongs u-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“Got any coins on you? Any kind.”
“Oh, sure. Gotta carry cash…”
The moment Jongs u shrugged and pulled a crimson coin from his pocket, Youngwoo commanded the golden goblin.
“Get that.”
The goblin launched itself with explosive speed, just like before.
-Keeek!
It snatched the coin from between Jongs u’s fingers like lightning and zipped back to Youngwoo’s side before he even registered it.
“Huh?”
Jongs u reacted a beat late.
Youngwoo took the coin from the goblin and bounced it back to him.
“Sorry, just testing.”
“N-no, it’s fine. Just startled me a bit…”
Jongs u’s face was flushed. He’d been genuinely thrown off.
Who wouldn’t be, with some otherworldly creature lunging out of nowhere to snatch their money?
“The world’s… getting weirder by the minute.”
Myung-ho, who’d been observing the back seat via the rearview mirror, murmured softly, inserting himself into the exchange.
He then nodded toward something ahead.
“Chungju looks just as weird.”
“Huh……?”
Jongs u turned to look out the window at Myung-ho’s words, and Youngwoo peered between the front seats.
His eyes widened soon enough.
‘People……?’
People had been visible since the city entrance.
Sure, he’d run into that gang of elderly bandits at Sangju’s outskirts, but Chungju was on another level.
“Whoa, what’s that?”
Jongs u gaped in awe at the sheer number.
At least a hundred visible at a glance. They didn’t look like bandits, just scattered around aimlessly.
“Youngwoo-ssi… ever seen anything like that before?”
Myung-ho called the sight of all those living people “that.”
Meaning it was far from commonplace in this post-Reset world.
Youngwoo shook his head.
“Who knows. I’ve only seen bits of a few cities myself. Still, it’s unusual. So many people gathered like that.”
It probably tied into the lack of variables or monsters here.
Did the city proper have crowds like this too?
“Ease off the speed a bit. Let’s talk to someone by the roadside.”
At Youngwoo’s request, Myung-ho gradually braked.
People in the nearby fields and paddies started turning their heads one by one.
That’s when Youngwoo realized.
They weren’t greeting outsiders.
Even as they stared curiously at the SUV, their eyes kept flicking skyward.
‘They’re waiting for monsters. All here to make money.’
A chill finally prickled his arms.
Among the “line” ahead were boys who looked no older than middle schoolers.
“Uh… what’s the word? Creepy as hell.”
Myung-ho shuddered at the sight of armed people standing blankly in the fields, clearly unnerved.
Jongs u, on the other hand.
“They’re probably ready to jump any monster that shows.”
He’d reached the same conclusion as Youngwoo.
Makes sense—Jongs u was an Early Bird holder. A fighter from the Reset’s early days, so his read was natural.
“All those people out hunting monsters?”
Myung-ho tilted his head, still skeptical.
Jongs u shrugged it off casually.
“Hyung-nim… we’ll know once we see the results. They survived by fighting that aggressively.”
His right hand had already drifted toward the Early Bird at his waist.
With so many around, he was bracing for possible ambushes.
A few were even approaching the vehicle, turning the situation potentially dicey.
“Myung-ho-ssi, pull over slowly up ahead.”
Myung-ho stopped the car at Youngwoo’s cue.
People who’d only been watching from afar now swarmed the roadside, prompting Myung-ae to jerk away from the window in panic.
“Th-this okay?”
Her eyes trembled like they had facing the orcs.
“…….”
Youngwoo pondered how to reassure her, then pointed at her window.
“Check if your husband’s out there. Looks like Chungju handled this crisis well.”
As Myung-ae instinctively peered out again, Youngwoo opened the opposite door and stepped out.
Thud.
Chungju’s entry road was jet-black asphalt, making his bare skin stand out starkly against it.
Perhaps that’s why.
“Huh.”
“Whoa.”
Some of the locals encircling the vehicle reacted with surprise to his feet.
“That guy’s barefoot.”
“Seriously barefoot.”
A few asked what the big deal was, but most seemed to know.
Output exceeding a certain threshold made shoes impractical.
Which implied.
‘Chungju’s First Sword goes barefoot too.’
Flip it around: countless people had survived seeing the barefoot First Sword.
Youngwoo hid his own title as always, so nothing floated above his head, but the locals already pegged him as First Sword-tier.
“W-welcome!”
Someone in the crowd blurted an abrupt greeting.
Others followed with awkward lines.
“Welcome…!”
“Glad you’re in Chungju!”
“Nice to meet you!”
Finally, the boldest one nearby got to the point.
“But… mind if I ask why you’re visiting Chungju?”
The question silenced the haphazard welcome party instantly.
That’s what everyone wanted to know.
“…….”
Youngwoo scanned the surroundings before responding—not directly, but with a lead-in.
“Most cities I passed were ruins in a day. This one’s different.”
It could sound pretty ominous, depending.
Had this barefoot outsider personally turned those places to rubble?
The locals’ forced smiles stiffened.
“Well… everyone’s doing their best.”
The bold one answered again.
“We believe this’ll end someday. So we’re pitching in to normalize the city.”
City normalization… a forward-thinking phrase Youngwoo hadn’t heard since the Reset.
Whatever their secret, Chungju had swiftly planned and acted on Reset countermeasures, unlike other cities.
‘Really unique. Do all big cities do this?’
Youngwoo glanced at the distant black pillar beaming down.
He’d planned to just meet the merchant, but now meeting the First Sword seemed wise too.
|Current region: ‘Chungju’.
|This region’s First Sword: ‘Shin Youngju22’. 3 kills, 2 defenses.
Shin Youngju22. A rising powerhouse who’d slain the previous First Sword and claimed the title. Likely central to Chungju’s future plans.
Probably the most upstanding First Sword Youngwoo had encountered.
Made him want to ask.
How do you plan to live from here?
Even Youngwoo, Gyeongbuk’s First Sword, lacked purpose beyond survival.
But Shin Youngju22, overseeing this major city—maybe different?
“W-well, then…”
The bold one, noticing Youngwoo’s gaze on the black pillar, spoke uneasily.
Time to say why he was here.
Youngwoo looked toward the cityscape at the road’s end and opened his mouth.
“Came to see Chungju’s First Sword—”
“Aaah……!”
“Alert!”
Before he finished, the bold one and everyone else jolted in terror, then bolted toward the city en masse.
They’d assumed the outsider had come to claim the First Sword title.
And succession meant murder.
Thud thud!
A hundred Chungju citizens sprinting across the fields looked like gazelles fleeing a lion.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
Stunned by the unforeseen chaos, Myung-ho stepped out blankly.
Click.
Jongs u emerged from the passenger seat too, grinning like it was the best show ever—unlike Myung-ho.
“Man… this place is a full-on fortress already. Bet it was like this in the old days too.”
“Old days……?”
Myung-ho tilted his head, missing the reference, but Youngwoo got it and stayed quiet.
With nearly everything turned to stone now, no internet, no phones.
How to signal an emergency?
Runners.
People sprinting to spread the word—the only way.
Of course, it only worked if they reached their destination alive… but Youngwoo wasn’t here to fight, so no need to harm them.
“…Anyway, Chungju’s First Sword will head this way soon. Let’s go greet him.”