Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: 14. The Judge Grasping the Longsword (6)
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Hoping there’s something worthwhile left… Yeong-woo mulled over Shin Young-ju’s words as he walked toward the pillar of light ahead.
The total karma he currently held amounted to 871,000.
‘With this much, I could snag some unique-grade gear.’
Of course, nine times out of ten, Shin Young-ju had probably already claimed the best items, but Yeong-woo still had an ace up his sleeve: his main broker, Kubu.
‘There’s a variable, though. The merchant here has already completed one transaction.’
The perk provided by Yeong-woo’s broker, Kubu, was showing him the list of merchants who had bid on the trade, allowing him to pick his preferred one directly.
But what if Yeong-woo contacted a merchant who had already finished bidding and completed the deal?
Would Kubu still show a new list of merchants and let him choose, in that case?
‘I’ll find out now. As long as nothing crazy happens, anyway.’
He glanced quietly behind him and saw Shin Young-ju following at a proper distance, moving slowly.
Her expression was utterly serene, and the golden flash detected no killing intent from her whatsoever, but Yeong-woo couldn’t let his guard down.
He kept thinking that if he were Shin Young-ju, he wouldn’t let this outsider leave alive.
‘No eyes on us… Perfect spot for a secret citizen kill. If she strikes during the trade, my reaction time would be sluggish too.’
She’d figured out his low stats during their run here together, so if she just set aside her morals, this situation would be the perfect growth opportunity for her.
And with that newfound power, she could defend Chungju City even more solidly.
But if she still didn’t strike from behind right up to the end…
‘Then I’d have to admit it. That I’ve been seeing the world too darkly.’
Even as he thought this, Yeong-woo drew the black sword and Early Bird from his belt and thrust them into the ground.
Crunch!
Just in case Shin Young-ju tried a backstab—he could summon the swords for a counterattack.
Seeing this, Shin Young-ju asked with a puzzled look.
“What’s that, all of a sudden?”
“It’s my own way of showing respect. Feels off if the guy here to trade is armed, right?”
“……?”
Leaving the baffled woman behind, Yeong-woo resumed walking toward the pillar of light.
‘Roughly twenty meters, huh.’
The distance from where he’d planted the swords to the pillar was about twenty meters.
Rustle.
Touching his chest pocket, he felt the dagger he’d stashed there.
If Shin Young-ju moved faster than expected, he’d clash with her before the grounded swords could return.
And if things got that dire, he planned to draw the dagger and buy time.
‘If the blade even grazes her a little… I’ve got a solid shot at winning.’
「Golden Punishment」 - Legendary Bracelet
【Inflicts agony on the enemy.】
【Cumulative Golden Ratio: 4】
Despite his clear stat disadvantage, what Yeong-woo banked on was the immense pain Golden Punishment would deliver.
It had even crippled enraged mutants, after all.
“Whew.”
By the time Yeong-woo had steeled himself completely, the distance to the black pillar of light had shrunk to about ten meters, and the merchant’s form began to emerge.
-Kirrrk.
Sensing Yeong-woo’s presence from afar, it let out an alien screech, followed soon by…
“Ugh…”
Even Yeong-woo, seasoned through countless ordeals, froze for a moment at the grotesque abomination protruding partway from the pillar.
Swoosh.
It was none other than…
‘That… that thing’s a merchant?’
A massive cockroach.
The common earthly kind, that is.
The difference? Its body was at least five meters long.
Unable to fully exit the pillar, its antennae—which should have been straight—curled upward along the pillar’s surface.
“My God.”
As Yeong-woo muttered in disgust, Shin Young-ju spoke softly from behind.
“I still can’t get used to it, no matter how many times I see it. Scares me every time. Who knows what else is coming… You can’t predict stuff like this.”
For the first time, Yeong-woo caught a hint of fear in Shin Young-ju’s voice.
“But you managed to trade with it anyway. What’d you buy from the judge?”
At Yeong-woo’s question, Shin Young-ju stared blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“‘That thing,’ you say? I’ve noticed it before, but Yeong-woo, you’re really one of a kind. Must be the youth.”
She pointed at the cockroach-shaped merchant.
“See for yourself. It’s not bad.”
-Kirrk.
The merchant cockroach cried out right on cue.
Yeong-woo took a deep breath and stepped toward the pillar.
Moments later, the space between him and the pillar split open, revealing the broker Kubu.
Ssslrp.
—Honored to see you again, human of Earth, the strongest in Gyeongbuk, Jeong Yeong-woo07!
—I am Kubu, lord of the Tenta clan and guardian of Daro, here to broker this transaction.
Kubu’s usual greeting.
Next, it blinked its eyes twice and began scanning the surroundings.
This was the first time Kubu had rolled its eyeballs to inspect the trade site so thoroughly.
In other words, something was off.
And rightly so—the previous two trades had featured Yeong-woo as the first buyer.
This time, however…
—Someone’s already been here. Transaction records exist.
Noting the trouble in Kubu’s voice, Yeong-woo asked.
“Trade still possible, right? Or does the fee change or something?”
—Trade is possible. Fee remains unchanged, but switching merchants is…
As Kubu continued, eyes fixed on Yeong-woo, it suddenly rolled its eyes toward somewhere else.
Then…
—Be careful.
Kubu uttered an unexpected line.
But Yeong-woo could guess why.
“……!”
It was then that the silent golden flash output a warning.
「Sensory stat temporarily risen from 100 to 866.」
‘Shit.’
Sensory stat boosted by a whopping 766.
Meaning the ambusher’s sensory stat was 1,532.
And in this area, the only one with stats like that was…
Whoosh!
Turning his head back, he saw Chungju’s Greatest Swordsman Shin Young-ju22 charging with golden light blazing from her eyes.
According to the Gyeongbuk Swordsmanship hologram guide, her blade tip had already reached his neck.
“……!”
The hologram recommended pure evasion over counter—no chance for retaliation—so Yeong-woo twisted his body accordingly.
Swish.
Shin Young-ju’s thrust pierced the spot his neck had occupied by a hair’s breadth.
“Judge…!”
Yeong-woo rolled backward to create distance, but it was futile. Shin Young-ju was far faster.
“Sorry.”
In the blink of an eye, she closed the gap, her silhouette black against the sun at her back.
And right after…
Screeech!
Before Yeong-woo could even draw his dagger, Shin Young-ju’s sword cleaved the air.
“Gah!”
Agony exploded in his abdomen.
Yeong-woo instantly knew something was gravely wrong.
Even without the pain, his upper body was pitching forward against his will.
‘No way.’
No need to look down.
The sharpening pain and floating sensation explained it all.
That single strike had bisected him.
Small mercies: the stolen sensory from her hadn’t faded yet, his arms might still move (though uncertain), and his mind was intact enough to think this far.
“Aaagh!”
Letting out a scream or kiai—he couldn’t tell—Yeong-woo summoned the two swords planted twenty meters away.
Simultaneously, he whipped out the dagger from his pocket.
Whish!
His head was already slamming into the ground, so it only swept near her ankle, but Yeong-woo’s desperate last struggle proved effective.
“Wh-what…?”
It succeeded in diverting Shin Young-ju’s attention, if only briefly.
Just enough to delay her noticing the two swords hurtling from behind like arrows.
Shrieeek!
“Huh.”
Shin Young-ju belatedly grasped the meaning of the hologram cluttering her vision.
Gyeongbuk Swordsmanship urged unconditional evasion, but she was already swinging to bat away Early Bird.
Pure reflex.
Early Bird had caught the sunlight, flashing and drawing her eye.
Thus, inevitably…
Kwang!
She hadn’t spotted the pitch-black blade that had just pierced her chest.
“Hah…!”
Having suffered major bodily harm for the first time, Shin Young-ju stared in panic at the blood gushing from her chest.
“Y-Yeong-woo!”
So flustered that mere seconds after bisecting him, she called for his help.
But Yeong-woo was too fixated on the bizarre sight of the black sword returning to its sheath after its task.
Her lower half, sprawled over there, bleeding out.
“…So close.”
His mind stayed unnaturally clear, letting him feel excruciating pain and burning frustration simultaneously.
Only after Shin Young-ju collapsed, unable to support herself, did Yeong-woo refocus on the mess.
“J-Judge. You’re not dead yet, right?”
Her legs were trembling visibly, prompting the question, but no reply came.
Perhaps the agony from Golden Punishment left her no strength to speak.
Realizing this, Yeong-woo felt genuinely sorry.
“Sorry. If I had the strength, I’d have put you out of your misery quick. I’m done for too—my arms won’t move.”
Looking closer, Shin Young-ju’s trembling had weakened. She was truly dying.
“Whoever passes by next hits the jackpot.”
Muttering his final quip before death, he tried to open his inventory when a small silhouette appeared in his distant view.
-Keeit….
None other than the relic-grade slave golden goblin.
It had fled the battlefield swiftly at the fight’s start, watching from afar.
“Huh? Here, over here!”
-Keeit?
It confirmed Yeong-woo was conscious but just poked around nearby, offering no aid.
“…Well, yeah. You’d be free if I die. Anyway, I’m screwed.”
So this was it.
Maybe a top swordsman from a 4th-grade human just couldn’t last long.
“Couldn’t even make it two days. Without the reset, I’d have lasted three years.”
|Name: Jeong Yeong-woo
|Role: 4th-grade Extra
|Function: Background, Repair Material
|Creation: April 8, 1992, 11:41 PM, by semi-intentional tampering.
|Extinction: November 7, 2028, 8:36 PM, beaten to death by a drunk on the way home.
Yeong-woo let out a hollow chuckle, recalling his fate log—which once felt revolting.
As he slowly closed his eyes…
Baaaaang!
A car horn blared from somewhere, snapping him awake.
“……?”
Not far off.
Even the ground vibrated with the distinct rumble of an engine.
Too drained to turn his head, he didn’t need to see to know who it was.
“Hyungnim? Where are you?”
Jong-su, who’d ditched the Jeong clan, was heading this way.