Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Debut in the Martial World (2)
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"I'm heading to Seoul too."
When Gyeongbuk First Sword Jeong Young-woo07 said this, the two cops who had resolved to go to Seoul couldn't help but wear incredibly complicated expressions.
It was all because of the unusually special status of their interlocutor.
'...Gyeongbuk First Sword.'
Byeong-cheol's gaze cautiously swept over the golden glow above the outsider's head.
It was a fact he'd overlooked due to the shock of their intense first encounter, but in this world, First Swords were nine times out of ten gangsters or outright murderers.
It was structurally unavoidable.
The only ways to become a First Sword were to boldly commit murder on Reset Day to catch the system's eye or to kill an existing First Sword.
Even becoming a regional First Sword was that grueling a process—what must it have been like to unify an entire massive area like Gyeongbuk?
And now this guy of all people was heading to Seoul... In Byeong-cheol's eyes as a cop, it looked like a massive bomb rolling into a powder keg already ablaze.
"Ahem."
Byeong-cheol forced a calm expression and asked the standard question.
"If I may ask... what brings you to Seoul?"
"Well."
Young-woo scratched his chin and glanced at the Iron Horse Negig.
Telling them he was off to fight a master with over 3,000 total stats at an alien corporation's behest would only complicate things.
So the answer Young-woo chose was.
"I'm going to spread some money around."
"......?"
"Pardon?"
The two cops' faces twisted up immediately.
They had no clue what Young-woo was talking about.
"What does that......"
"You chose the 3 million karma monopoly, right? When you took down that mutant."
When Young-woo asked this, Icheon First Sword Kim Byeong-cheol139's eyes went wide.
"...No way."
He'd finally realized what this outsider was getting at.
≪Choice Reward≫
[3 Million Karma]
Or
[Distribute 30,000 Karma to All Residents in the Region]
The dilemma quest that only the one who slays the mutant receives: 'Take One or the Other'.
Byeong-cheol, as Icheon First Sword, had faced that very choice before. As a cop, he'd agonized over it but ultimately taken the 3 million karma monopoly.
Better for him to pocket the huge sum and restore order than hand cash to citizens of unknown moral character.
Of course, underlying that judgment was the raw survival instinct of wanting to save his own skin first.
Byeong-cheol was human before he was a cop.
"Yes. I went with the 3 million."
Byeong-cheol puffed out his chest to hide his conscience.
Young-woo nodded as if to say that was perfectly understandable.
"Not a bad choice. Of course, I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I suffered a bit."
"......!"
Byeong-cheol's face twisted in disbelief at Young-woo's follow-up.
"You picked the 30,000?"
To be precise, he couldn't believe that Young-woo had become Gyeongbuk First Sword even after forfeiting 3 million karma.
But the truly unbelievable statement came next.
"Yeah. A total of four times so far."
"Four times......?"
Byeong-cheol parroted Young-woo's words in a daze.
"No, that's just impossible. That means at least four mutants......"
Mid-sentence, following his train of thought, Byeong-cheol suddenly noticed Young-woo's bizarre outfit and fell silent.
He realized that getup was the result of those impossible feats.
"Wh-what happens if you pick the 30,000?"
Finally accepting the outsider's claim, Byeong-cheol asked vaguely.
But Young-woo had no commemorative coins left or any way to show his achievement log, so he pointed toward Seoul and gave the best answer he could.
"Golden rain falls. You'll understand quickest if you see it yourself."
"...Ah."
Golden rain.
An obvious point, but a sight no one alive had ever witnessed.
"But Seoul's First Swords won't want to pick the 30,000."
"The First Swords?"
Young-woo followed up when Byeong-cheol referred to them in plural.
"There are multiple Seoul First Swords?"
"Each district has its own. Of course, one might claim to be Seoul First Sword. Like how you're Gyeongbuk First Sword, Young-woo."
"Wow, so there really is a Gangnam First Sword."
Jong-su, who'd been listening in, chimed in.
A joke he'd once shared with Young-woo turned out to be real.
Seoul, composed of 25 districts total.
Each district held more people than a typical provincial city, so it made sense they'd each have their own First Sword.
"Ah, so if each district has a First Sword, then the mutants......"
Byeong-cheol finished Young-woo's thought.
"Mutants drop one per district too, probably."
"That's insane."
Twenty-five mutants falling from the sky every day. And twenty-five First Swords waiting for them.
"Bro, Seoul might be way scarier than we thought."
Jong-su shuddered, imagining the horror.
Young-woo felt a chill too, picturing twenty-five red pillars shooting down.
But what worried him more was.
'If twenty-five mutants drop each time... assuming no one triggered the golden rain, that's 75 million karma flooding the streets every day.'
Sure, the city might have been overrun by hordes of mutants and monsters.
But Young-woo didn't buy that for a second.
'They're even hunting monsters from Gyeonggi, so no. Seoul's processing every last bit of their quota right now.'
Meaning some of Seoul's First Swords had amassed insane amounts of karma.
"If you're really going to Seoul just to trigger that golden rain, you won't last long there, Young-woo."
Byeong-cheol let out a hollow laugh.
It was self-deprecating, really. His own situation wasn't much different.
Young-woo shrugged and broached the subject.
"That's why I'm saying this."
Stroke.
Young-woo patted the Iron Horse Negig's back, and it lifted its head, eyes gleaming.
"Since we'll both be hated in Seoul anyway... how about we team up?"
* * *
An alliance with Gyeongbuk First Sword Jeong Young-woo07.
For Byeong-cheol and Tae-young, who only had two bullets between them, it was an offer they had no reason to refuse.
At least this guy wasn't showing them hostility—better than Seoul's thugs, right?
Sure, no telling how ruthless this outsider might turn once turf wars kicked off...
'Still beats getting slaughtered the second we arrive. Second worst beats the absolute worst.'
And if worst came to worst, they could always put a bullet in Young-woo.
"......"
Byeong-cheol glanced at the pistol in his hand, then looked at Young-woo and nodded.
"Alright. Let's head to Seoul together."
Tae-young's face filled with worry, while Jong-su looked thrilled at how things were unfolding.
"Then we should get moving."
Young-woo checked his wristwatch and plotted their next route.
Current time: 8:49 PM.
The day-use service would start in about ten minutes.
'Isn't Yongin right next door? We just need to check in before 11, so we can make it easy.'
They no longer had a car, but they had an alien iron horse.
Perfect chance to test its performance?
"......"
Young-woo stared at the Iron Horse Negig, and Byeong-cheol—spooked again, wondering what now—asked him.
"...Any other problems?"
"No, not that, but it might be tough for all four of us to ride."
"You mean... that thing?"
Byeong-cheol pointed at Negig, then shook his head with a horrified look.
"We have a ride too."
He glanced at a patrol car parked in the corner of the lot.
They planned to roll into Seoul in that eye-catching beast.
'Word'll spread fast. "Weirdos incoming."'
Young-woo's eyes blinked wide.
Fair enough—they were planning to ride an iron horse north themselves.
"Whatever works. Key is getting to Seoul before 1 PM tomorrow."
1 PM. The mutant spawn time Young-woo had learned from experience.
Though who knew if that held for Seoul with its twenty-five districts.
"1 PM... We'll have to hustle."
Byeong-cheol had faced mutants as a First Sword, but hunting them in another region was a first, so he was tense.
And not just any region—Seoul.
The real obstacles would likely be the district First Swords, more than the mutants.
"Anyway... straight to Yongin, then?"
Byeong-cheol asked Young-woo, while Tae-young bolted toward the patrol car.
"Yeah. Safest to grab lodging around Yongin. No more mutants tonight anyway."
"Got it. You really planning to ride that thing? If it's slower than a car, we're screwed."
Byeong-cheol voiced concern at Negig.
Classic old-man worry.
Young-woo grinned at its gleaming black steel legs.
"Who knows. Your patrol car got a full tank? Might need to floor it all the way to Yongin."
"Haha, that so?"
Byeong-cheol chuckled at Young-woo's quip but quickly sobered up and ordered Tae-young to check the fuel.
* * *
「Day-use service has begun.」
「All buildings classified as 'residences' are now under day-use system influence and enter no-trespass status.」
9 PM on the dot.
No sooner had Young-woo's wristwatch beeped than the day-use messages scrolled.
「Anyone can pay karma to occupy a desired residence for a set time.」
「During day-use hours, you can control access to the space and even charge lodging fees.」
Same as last night.
So tonight would bring more of the same.
People pounding on doors after failing to secure a residence in time. And the anomalous weather sweeping up those left outside.
「Note: Tonight's weather is heat wave.」
「Beware extreme burns.」
'Heat wave, huh......'
The weather alert popped up, and by then, Young-woo's group had finished prepping and lined up on the road linking Icheon to Yongin.
Young-woo and Jong-su atop the Iron Horse Negig, Byeong-cheol and Tae-young in the patrol car.
"Ah... but what if that old man's right and this thing's not as fast as we hope, bro?"
Jong-su, glued to Young-woo's back, eyed the patrol car and Negig alternately.
Alien or not, could a horse-shaped thing outrun a car?
'Of course it can.'
Unlike Jong-su, Young-woo had zero doubts.
"If it couldn't outpace Earth's rides, Dogo wouldn't have stamped their logo on it. This is basically indirect advertising right now."
"...Advertising? Who's watching?"
As Jong-su tilted his head and scanned around, the patrol car signaled to start.
"You go first! We'll match your speed!"
The roughly 30-kilometer road from Icheon to Yongin.
Now an alien iron horse and an Earth patrol car would race side by side.
-Kreeee......!
Negig let out a shrill cry, excited at the road ahead.
Then.
Shrrk!
Black straps shot from its sides, wrapping around Young-woo and Jong-su's legs.
"Urk?"
"Huh?!"
These were doubtless.
"This has gotta be the seatbelt......!"
As Jong-su's eyes bulged and he shouted the truth, Negig rocketed off like a bullet.