Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: 2. Gumi's Greatest Swordsman (1)
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‘So the Mountain of Swords really means a literal mountain of swords.’
Youngwoo could tell that the weapons falling from the sky were piling up at an insane speed, destined to become an actual ‘mountain’ soon enough.
And he realized one other thing.
‘This time, way more people will show up than at the exchange.’
The basis for this hunch was the massive area the Mountain of Swords had claimed, plus the Geumo High students heading the same way.
‘The fact that I left Gongdan-dong and ran into the Geumo High kids means…’
Geumo High School sat right in the middle of Gwangpyeong-dong.
In other words, unlike the exchange that had drawn in maybe a few dozen to a hundred people at most, the Mountain of Swords was pulling in crowds by the thousands.
So Youngwoo figured people were converging from nearby places like Songjeong-dong and Sinpyeong-dong too.
‘And some of them are probably early birds, just like me.’
Sweat slicked his sword-gripping hand.
If someone else with an early bird advantage came charging to steal his coin or sword, what were his odds of winning?
‘One mountain after another.’
Even as these thoughts raced through Youngwoo’s mind, the Mountain of Swords kept swelling.
It was already the size of a decent neighborhood hill, a full-on landmark now, and the Geumo High students picked up their pace upon seeing it.
With so many unarmed, they’d decided they needed to grab weapons first and fast.
All the while, weapons kept raining down onto the mountain, their metallic clashes thundering in his ears like lightning.
Kwarung…!
Youngwoo shuddered as the air itself vibrated, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the peak.
Every time a weapon from the sky slammed into the pile and bounced, he caught glimpses of their shapes.
‘Swords… axes… is that a shield? Shields too, huh.’
While Youngwoo sized up the weapon types, the Geumo High students—who’d ramped up their speed early—began reaching the mountain’s outskirts.
Ping, piing!
“……!”
That’s when a ‘5’ popped up over the students’ heads.
Then right away.
「4」
The number switched to 4, then to 3.
‘…There’s a time limit to pick a weapon.’
This was within his predicted variables.
Youngwoo watched the students scramble toward the nearest piles, deliberately slowing his pace and veering off at an angle.
‘As long as you don’t approach a weapon pile, no timer appears. Flip that around… and you can spot the weapon you want first, then enter.’
As he’d confirmed earlier, the Mountain of Swords brimmed not just with swords but axes, hammers, spears—all sorts of armaments.
The catch? They were stacked randomly.
To snag the right one in 5 seconds, you had to find a spot where it stuck out on the edge.
And just then.
‘…Found it.’
The spot Youngwoo wanted appeared ahead.
No one had entered yet, and a ‘shield’ was exposed right at the pile’s edge.
Taat!
He locked eyes on it and broke into a full sprint.
Even as he did.
‘If there’s time within the limit, can you grab more than one?’
He quickly scanned the weapons around the shield.
Axes, spears… mostly medium-to-large stuff, but slimmer silhouettes dotted here and there.
Short swords.
‘If I can grab a second, short sword after the shield.’
But Youngwoo’s Plan B didn’t pan out.
Paat!
The moment he neared the pile, a message appeared.
「Entered the Mountain of Swords.」
「Choose one survival item within 5 seconds.」
‘…One?’
That locked his choices down to a single pick.
Youngwoo stayed alert to his surroundings and yanked the shield from the pile.
Chwaruruk!
The timer vanished instantly, replaced by an equipment tooltip.
「Steel Round Shield」 - Common Medium Shield
|Can also be used as a weapon.
‘Can be used as a weapon… meaning bash them with it, huh.’
The shield’s diameter was about 50 centimeters, but its thickness promised serious heft.
And sure enough.
Thud.
Slipping his left hand into the inner grip, a heavy strain clamped down on his entire arm.
‘No wonder it doubles as a weapon.’
That was the end of Youngwoo’s shield appraisal.
A rough presence stirred from his flank.
Tat!
‘Ambush?’
Every cell in his body burned hot.
Youngwoo raised the shield to cover his torso and face, assumed a stabbing stance with his sword, and whipped around.
Hut!
Beyond the shield’s rim, a boy came into view.
“Ah… mister.”
A voice thick with fear, matched by his expression. A Geumo High student.
Probably a freshman—baby-faced and small-built.
“What’re you, kid?”
Youngwoo, who’d been radiating bloody intent, confirmed the boy was unarmed and eased back cautiously.
That’s when he spotted the number over the student’s head.
「2」
Then immediately.
「1」
“Uh.”
“…Ah.”
Youngwoo let out a sharp gasp just as a sigh escaped the boy.
The time limit had run out before he could pick a weapon.
Now nothing hovered over the student’s head, and his hands hung empty.
‘Damn.’
Seeing the boy’s crestfallen face, Youngwoo softened his tone a bit.
“Why’d you come all the way here? Stick with your friends.”
The boy glanced back, murmuring low.
“…He’s not my friend.”
“What?”
“Not everyone from the same school’s a friend, right?”
Fair point.
And it fit the situation too.
‘Yeah, the timing doesn’t match. Those guys got to the mountain before me.’
Plus, this spot was dozens of meters from where the Geumo High group had been.
Meaning this kid had been moving solo from the start, separate from them.
‘Guess I’m solo too.’
Youngwoo shifted his gaze away, only to twitch his brow at something he noticed.
The student’s uniform name tag was badly scorched.
‘Looks like someone burned it with a lighter.’
As Youngwoo stared at the half-charred tag, the boy caught on and tossed out a distraction.
“Um… mister.”
“……?”
“Could I maybe grab a weapon now?”
“A weapon?”
Youngwoo glanced around warily as he echoed the question.
Silhouettes flickered in the distance, but no one was closing in yet.
“Fine. Go for it.”
Truth was, Youngwoo was curious too.
What happened if you touched a weapon after the timer expired?
Step.
Youngwoo took another step aside, and the boy clenched his fists, tense.
He reached toward the same pile where Youngwoo had pulled the shield.
Swipe.
The weapon he wanted was a spear.
Small build, so he’d gone for something that kept enemies at range.
Thud!
He gripped the shaft with both hands.
“Urgh……!”
But that was it.
No matter how hard he strained, the spear wouldn’t budge.
“Th… this…! Urk!”
The boy’s face twisted in agony.
Eventually, he burst into tears.
He knew it too. In a world crawling with monsters, he was now defenseless.
‘Yeah, time’s up means no dice.’
Youngwoo didn’t feel great watching it.
But what could he do?
“Sorry it turned out this way. Anyway, don’t stick around too long. People’ll swarm soon.”
All he could manage was some half-hearted advice laced with unease.
As he checked the arrow at his feet.
Thump!
The boy, who’d been sobbing face-down, suddenly grabbed the edge of Youngwoo’s shield.
“Ah… mister!”
“……?”
“Take me with you? I’ll die if I’m alone like this—people’ll beat me to death.”
That’s when Youngwoo realized what the boy truly feared: not monsters, but other people.
This kid knew full well how brutal the world was to the weak.
Judging by the exchange chaos, that hadn’t changed even now.
But what use was a small, weaponless boy?
‘Lucky if he doesn’t stab me in the back eventually.’
Steel himself to shove the kid off.
If he hadn’t glimpsed the number on the boy’s right hand.
‘What? Did I see wrong?’
Youngwoo tilted his head, and the boy, catching it, spread his hand.
“Ah, this……!”
“Huh?”
Youngwoo’s eyes went wide in an instant.
There really was a number.
A whopping.
「17」
17 karma points.
That converted to a full 170,000 karma in coins.
“How do you still have this? Didn’t you hit the exchange on the way here?”
The boy flinched at Youngwoo’s heated tone.
“Couldn’t exchange. Too many people…….”
“What?”
Youngwoo’s disbelief shifted as he quickly pieced it together and asked again.
“What’s the quest name you’re seeing right now?”
“N-New Life.”
“God help us.”
[Main] “New Life”
<Mission> Follow the arrow to the nearest exchange.
<Reward> Basic living funds
<Special> First-come-first-served bonus
In other words, this kid had skipped the exchange entirely and come straight here.
“How’d you find this place?”
“The kids with knives cleared the path. I snuck behind them.”
He meant the Geumo High group Youngwoo had seen en route to the mountain. Early birds, likely the front-runners.
‘So weapon selection triggers just by arriving at the Mountain of Swords, even without the quest?’
A glitch, almost. Exploiting a loophole in this world.
Either way, the key fact: someone with 170,000 karma was begging for rescue.
Problems remained, sure.
‘Can’t go back now, so we’d need a new exchange. No guarantee it’d work right, though.’
But his gut screamed not to pass up a haul this big without trying.
The basic funds from the first main quest had been 3,000 karma.
‘170,000 is over 50 times that. If 3,000’s a day’s wage, this puts him two months ahead of everyone else.’
Youngwoo double-checked the boy’s palm, then made a serious offer.
“Your whole fortune’s 170,000 karma right now. How much of it are you offering for your life?”