Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: 21. Retribution (1)
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“…….”
As Youngwoo picked up the fountain pen and stared at it intently, Jongsuk and dozens of female alliance members crowded around him.
The world had changed a lot in just a few days.
Strange spears turning up as loot were no big deal anymore, but finding a writing instrument was cause for astonishment.
“Hyung-nim, is that equipment too……?”
When Jongsuk asked, Youngwoo’s head nodded slowly up and down.
“Yeah. It seems so.”
Right now, Youngwoo’s vision showed a tooltip in the same format as any other piece of equipment.
The peculiar thing was that this fountain pen wasn’t a weapon.
「Wanted Poster」 - Narrative Script
【Looking for something.】
|Father
‘Looking for something? Similar effect to my compass?’
Youngwoo glanced at the teal snake coiled around his wrist, then shifted his gaze forward again.
‘Wait, what’s this? Father……?’
|Father
It was an abstract concept to Youngwoo.
Yet here it was, attached to the tooltip of this fountain pen that finds what you want.
“…….”
Lost in thought for a moment, Youngwoo suddenly felt a prickling in his ears.
The circumstances suggested this was a trace left by the fountain pen’s previous owner, the Gyeongbuk First Sword.
The guy had been heading to the capital from somewhere in Gyeongbuk, searching for his father.
While slaughtering countless people with his thorns.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Of course, in this world, killing was often unavoidable to survive.
But the fountain pen’s owner, whom Youngwoo had faced directly, harbored malice beyond mere survival instinct.
So Youngwoo didn’t pity him. If anything, he pitied the dead man’s parents.
‘Anyway, seeing “father” registered on this equipment means at least one parent was still alive somewhere.’
Youngwoo picked up the fountain pen, his orphan’s sentiments dry and detached.
Thud.
Instantly, an arrow pointing northwest appeared in his vision.
“Huh……?”
This was probably the direction of the target registered to the equipment—the father of the deceased Gyeongbuk First Sword.
Then.
Zzzt.
The arrow suddenly distorted, and a system message popped up.
「Data change detected. Update results?」
“……!”
Thump.
His chest tightened, and Youngwoo exhaled sharply.
What this message meant was essentially: shall we look for your father this time?
‘What happens if my fa… ther doesn’t exist? Does it just fail to update and get erased?’
With no positive experiences regarding parents, Youngwoo couldn’t stop the negative thoughts.
But it wasn’t like there was any downside, right?
‘Worst case, I just lose this arrow I’m seeing now.’
He had no intention of wandering around looking for someone else’s father, so there was only one conclusion.
‘A-alright. Update results.’
As Youngwoo permitted the update, the fountain pen in his hand—the ‘Wanted Poster’—glowed brightly.
Fwaaash!
The distorted arrow in his vision snapped back to normal.
Sss.
This time pointing due north.
“Huh?”
Youngwoo voiced his surprise at the unexpected result, and everyone around him, who had no idea what was going on, stepped back in unison.
“What’s wrong, hyung-nim?”
Amid all this, the only one to step forward was Jongsuk.
Youngwoo looked at him and murmured softly.
“Looks like he’s still alive somewhere—my father.”
Then he added.
“My mother’s dead.”
* * *
His mother was dead.
The basis for Youngwoo’s conclusion was an achievement.
Among the achievements he held, one was related to his parents’ survival.
[Complete Orphan]
|Eliminate your parents. (1/2)
A deranged achievement demanding he find and eliminate the remaining parent.
When he first saw it, Youngwoo learned that only one parent was alive.
And now, a few days later, he’d confirmed that the surviving one was his father.
‘Father.’
Youngwoo murmured the three-syllable word in his mind.
An existence he’d only known conceptually.
But realizing his father truly existed—and he might even meet him—stirred indescribable emotions.
Anticipation? Fear? Regret……? Maybe all three.
‘Then when did Mother… die? Was she already gone before the reset?’
Youngwoo recalled his original fate record from the first day of the reset.
[Father]: Grade 6 Extra
[Mother]: Grade 1 Supporting Character
According to the fate record, his father was Grade 6, while his mother was an impressive Grade 1.
Yet contrary to the grades, the one alive was his father.
What on earth had happened?
And why.
‘Why did you abandon me?’
Youngwoo lifted his hollow expression, and his eyes met Jongsuk’s worried face.
“Are you… alright now?”
“Ah.”
Snapping to at Jongsuk’s words, he looked around and sensed the situation settling down.
The female alliance members who had surrounded him moments ago were now heading back to the motel to clean up the bodies.
Of course, the culprit behind it all—the Gyeongbuk First Sword—lay abandoned with his head severed.
“Impressive, those people.”
As Youngwoo gazed at the bustling workers, Jongsuk shrugged.
“In this world nowadays, people dying isn’t anything special. And more than that.”
Jongsuk paused briefly before continuing.
“They don’t have the power to choose otherwise. So focusing on damage control is their best bet, right?”
“……?”
Youngwoo tilted his head, then understood.
Jongsuk meant the power to pick a fight over it.
Strictly speaking, the casualties on the female alliance’s side were as good as caused by Youngwoo.
If he hadn’t stayed at this motel, the Gyeongbuk First Sword wouldn’t have come here.
But as the recent battle showed, a First Sword’s prowess defied imagination.
That’s why the female alliance couldn’t even demand an apology despite losing so many comrades to Youngwoo.
Ruining relations with a First Sword—especially the Gyeongbuk First Sword—might cost them the few survivors they had left.
“…Hah.”
Having sorted his thoughts thus far, Youngwoo gave a wry smile.
He’d never been an object of fear to anyone in his life, so he didn’t know how to act in this situation.
Then Jongsuk, who’d been among the strong in the previous world, offered his own solution.
“What’s done is done. How about taking the surviving officer and getting out of here?”
Swoosh.
As he spoke, he pointed to where Officer Kwon Taeyoung was indeed slumped on the ground.
The dark silhouette before him was likely the body of Icheon First Sword Kim Byungchul.
At this, Youngwoo stood and walked toward the motel.
The female alliance members handling the bodies there began glancing at him one by one.
“…….”
The first emotion transmitted was fear, followed by barely concealed anger.
“Leaving now?”
Seong Yerin, spotting him, stepped out to greet him, blocking her comrades’ gazes with her body.
But this was also a farewell.
“Being a First Sword doesn’t seem easy. Where are you headed?”
Her opening remark suggested she wanted him gone quickly.
“To Seoul.”
“Seoul? Heading to an even more dangerous place. You know I can’t cheer you on, right?”
Seong Yerin spoke her true feelings under the guise of a joke.
Youngwoo knew full well the motel behind her was a sea of blood, so he bowed deeply.
“It might be meaningless at this point, but… I sincerely apologize.”
Seong Yerin’s eyes widened slightly as she stepped back.
“Enough. It’s not like that’ll bring the dead back.”
Youngwoo agreed.
So he had one more thing in mind.
That was.
Clack.
The weapon most soaked in the blood of Cheoin-gu’s female alliance members: the ‘Ashen Thorn’.
「Ashen Thorn」 - Mutated Spear
【Piercing power greatly increased.】
“This isn’t an apology. As you saw, I couldn’t have won alone. So this belongs to all of you.”
“Oh, this is…….”
Seong Yerin’s reaction was different this time.
Unlike a fleeting verbal apology, this was tangible compensation that would aid their survival going forward.
Snap.
She snatched the thorn from Youngwoo’s hand, perhaps a bit too eagerly.
“We really appreciate this. Honestly, you didn’t have to from your position.”
Meaning, with his skills, he could’ve killed everyone here and had no need for extra gestures.
Of course, Youngwoo wasn’t bearing an unreasonable loss.
As mentioned, the alliance’s intervention had turned the tide, and he had plenty of weapons already.
He already had two mutated weapons, leaving no room on his belt.
“I don’t like owing debts. But this time, I really owe you one.”
Youngwoo bowed once more to Seong Yerin and her comrades.
Swoosh.
Then something unexpected happened.
Flash!
An achievement completed.
[Achievement Unlocked: Idealist]
|Achievement Grade: Narrative
|Achievement Rank: First
「Gift relic-grade or higher equipment to another unconditionally within one week of reset.」
‘What…….’
A full Narrative-grade achievement.
It had triggered when he handed the thorn to Seong Yerin.
‘In a world like this, you have to do something you’d never do to unlock achievements.’
Since this wasn’t on the recommended list, it was a major gain.
「You have 1 unclaimed achievement reward.」
「Claim reward?」
The notification followed, and Youngwoo claimed it immediately.
‘Claim.’
Fwaaash!
As soon as he approved, the messages vanished from his sight, replaced by a clear chime in the air.
Ting!
A ring materialized and dropped.
“Eek.”
Seong Yerin gasped in surprise upon seeing it, but Youngwoo swiftly caught the ring.
Clack.
「Idealist」 - Narrative Ring
【+100 to all stats per owned achievement】
‘Ah……!’
Seeing the tooltip, Youngwoo nearly cried out but clamped his mouth shut.
This was equipment perfectly suited to him, with his stat disadvantages.
And true to the system-certified ‘maverick,’ the achievements Youngwoo held numbered.
〔Your achievement alignment is “Maverick.”〕
||Completed Achievements: 5
‘Five… this one ring nets me 2,000 stats.’
Unbelievable.
And indeed, absurd stat increase notifications scrolled by.
「Strength increased from 700 to 1,200.」
「Stamina increased from 350 to 850.」
「Durability increased from 550 to 1,050.」
「Senses increased from 100 to 600.」