Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: 21. Karmic Retribution (5)
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Gangnam First Sword, Jeong Hyun-sik04.
Anyone living not just in Gangnam but anywhere in Seoul would have heard that name at least once.
It wasn't only because he was the First Sword of Gangnam, the epitome of wealth and status. Even before that, he was the man who had rallied most of Seoul's First Swords.
So, even if people didn't know his face, hearing that name should provoke some kind of reaction.
Especially from the one who had messed with his son.
"You really don't know Jeong Hyun-sik?"
Jang Ho asked again, instantly sensing that the guy was some backwater bumpkin clueless about Seoul's situation.
He figured it was a hotshot from the provinces strutting into the capital after throwing his weight around locally.
Truth be told, it was a pretty common occurrence in Seoul, where all sorts of people flocked.
The problem was that this particular hotshot's skills seemed legit enough to hold up even in Seoul.
"......"
Jang Ho's gaze fell on the scattered corpse chunks littering the area.
'Damn it. What the hell am I supposed to do now?'
Confusion reigned.
This out-of-towner was definitely something else.
He might even rival some of Seoul's top First Swords.
But no matter what, could he stand up to the Gangnam First Sword?
'No way in hell.'
Jang Ho snapped himself out of it.
Then, as common sense dictated, he positioned himself next to Jeong Hyun-sik's one and only son, Jeong Gyu-sang.
Thud!
"Th-this is enough. If you push it further, you'll make enemies of all of Seoul. We'll back off quietly, so......"
As Jang Ho said this and glanced at Jeong Gyu-sang, the kid nodded.
He knew full well they couldn't deal with the out-of-towner right now.
But Young-woo's position, the one holding the knife, was completely at odds with the two Seoulites.
"Whether that guy's your dad or whatever isn't my business. You tried to kill me anyway, right? If I'd been weaker, I'd actually be dead."
As Young-woo said this and his eyes flashed, Jeong Gyu-sang, who had kept his mouth shut until now, clenched his molars and bowed his head.
"Shit... sorry about that. But we don't need to blow this up more, do we? Like you heard, my dad's the Gangnam First Sword. If you kill me, you won't get away with it."
"......"
Young-woo glanced around dryly.
"The only witnesses are you two. How would anyone know who the killer is?"
"......!"
Kwon Tae-young, the on-duty cop who had been listening, wore a very subtle expression.
But regardless, things kept moving forward.
"And even if your dad finds out, it's unavoidable. Guys who deserve to die should die. I'll handle the fallout, so don't worry about it."
At Young-woo's final-verdict-like line, Jang Ho launched himself first.
Toward the direction behind Jeong Gyu-sang, away from the out-of-towner.
He planned to use the kid—likely the enemy's top priority—as a shield to buy time to escape.
Thump!
"You bastard!"
Jeong Gyu-sang freaked out and yelled as his sole ally fled, but Jang Ho's back just kept getting farther away.
On the other hand.
"That guy wouldn't have helped you anyway."
Young-woo, now looking like a deranged murderer in Gyu-sang's eyes, had stepped one foot closer.
"W-what do you want? Killing me gets you nothing."
As Gyu-sang begged, sensing his end, Young-woo countered.
"What about you?"
"...What?"
"Why do you swing your sword recklessly? I didn't do anything to deserve death from you."
"Th-that's......"
Gyu-sang, at a loss for words, just stared wide-eyed, and Young-woo poured words over him like cement on his head.
"You're not the first punk like you has tried to kill. There were plenty before, and there'll be plenty more."
With that, Young-woo shifted his gaze south, toward Jeong Gyu-sang's original destination.
"So killing you now would be like saving countless people, wouldn't it?"
"......!"
"Not that I'm doing it for some noble reason. Guys like you just shouldn't keep living. Call it your karma."
Having heard this much, Gyu-sang felt the world go dark.
This bastard was a true madman with no backup.
Or he had no clue how strong a First Sword really was.
"You fucking retard! If you kill me, you're done for......!"
As reason shattered and more curses poured from Gyu-sang's mouth, Young-woo's shoulder twitched, slicing a black arc through the air.
Slash!
In the blink of an eye, he severed Gyu-sang's neck.
"Uh?"
That was Gyu-sang's last, feeble utterance. No more sounds came.
Then.
Thud.
The headless body and head hit the ground one after another.
"My... my God."
Tae-young covered his mouth, succinctly summarizing the scene.
He scanned the gruesome site in disbelief.
Fourteen murders in an instant.
One victim was the son of the Gangnam First Sword, a pillar of Seoul society.
Even if Jeong Young-woo killed all witnesses as he claimed, would this really not affect what came next?
"If he finds out his son went outside Seoul and never came back... the Gangnam First Sword won't sit still. Without a suspect, he might just slaughter every out-of-towner. Parents who lose kids go insane."
Tae-young was genuinely worried.
He'd expected Young-woo to face big trouble in Seoul, but this was too massive.
No matter how strong Young-woo was, he couldn't beat a renowned Seoul First Sword.
Plus, unrelated people might suffer too.
"You're right. He won't just sit there if he doesn't know the killer."
Young-woo nodded at Tae-young's concern.
Then he looked toward Seoul.
"So... I'll have to let him know who killed his son. That way, at least he won't lash out at the wrong people."
"Yes......?"
This time, Jong-soo and Tae-young both gaped.
It was an absurd option neither had considered.
Wasn't that basically suicide?
"You're going to confront the Gangnam First Sword directly? Even for you, brother, that's......"
Suicide, Jong-soo's unspoken tail end hung in the air.
Of course, Young-woo knew winning against the Gangnam First Sword would be tough.
He hadn't even overwhelmed the Gyeongbuk First Sword (True) he'd met that morning.
So.
"I won't go to him directly. But I'll make sure he can find me."
"What does that......"
Tae-young mulled it over and realized belatedly.
"Ah."
The man who had fled after abandoning the First Sword's son was still alive.
As the sole survivor, he knew Young-woo's face and had glimpsed his power level.
Believing Young-woo was chasing him, he'd head straight to the Gangnam First Sword.
Thus, exposing Young-woo would direct the grieving First Sword's rage properly.
"You'll end up fighting the Gangnam First Sword anyway."
Tae-young said darkly but acknowledged no better alternative.
If Young-woo stayed hidden, massive bloodshed was almost certain.
"If luck's on my side, I might face Seoul's first mutant and clear it. And if so......"
Young-woo's gaze shifted to the quest window in his view.
[Doggo] "Debut in the Martial World"
<Mission> Duel 1/2 times against a target with total stats over 3,000.
<Reward> 5 million karma
<Special> In this duel, you must disclose Doggo's support.
"If that happens, I might actually have a shot."
Young-woo planned to complete "Debut in the Martial World" as fast as possible in Seoul.
The morning's bloodbath had already counted as one duel against a 3,000+ stats target; he just needed one more.
And that target.
'Doesn't have to be human. I think this quest works on mutants too.'
His basis was the quest text.
<Mission> Duel 1/2 times against a target with total stats over 3,000.
Not "human" with 3,000+ stats, but "target."
'Target' is a broad term.
Coincidentally, mutants had "stats" too.
The golden flash of sense theft activating against them proved it.
"Brother, then we shouldn't head straight into Gangnam from here, right?"
Jong-soo, having listened throughout, looked at the northbound road.
The Gangnam First Sword would face mutants in his district, Gangnam-gu, so avoid it.
Tae-young chimed in.
"If we turn now, we can reach Seocho or Gwanak easily."
Current time: 11:41 AM.
Mutants appeared around 1 PM per the pattern.
They had about an hour to move.
Young-woo checked his watch and pondered.
'Mutants drop in every district, so a First Sword will be waiting wherever we go.'
Conflict with him was highly likely.
He'd need to hoard karma to hold his turf too.
'Skip Gangnam first... Seocho or Gwanak like the officer said.'
He didn't want to judge districts as an outsider, but Gwanak seemed easier than Seocho.
Beyond old-world biases, Seocho bordered Gangnam First Sword's turf, Seoul's strongest.
Its First Sword, if any, would be a powerhouse not cowed by Gangnam.
Gwanak, less favored than southern districts even before, was farther from Gangnam.
Its main claim? Seoul National University.
Useless in this reset world.
Young-woo decided quickly.
"To Gwanak. We'll hunt the mutant there and figure out next steps."