Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: 22. Let Them See Gwanak (1)
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Once the trip to Gwanak was decided, no one was busier than the Golden Goblin.
-Kee-it!
It had to frantically dart around among the fourteen corpses at Young-woo's command.
-Kee-kik!
The goblin picked up anything that could fetch money in the area.
It rifled through the clothes of the dead to find coins, and even gathered up every last weapon that had been flung far away.
Of course, not much of it was actually useful.
The standard-issue weapons were nothing more than junk to Young-woo.
So in the end, the substantial gains from this fight were.
‘Five Early Birds, and 72,000 karma.’
It was a meager haul for killing fourteen people.
At least the son of the Gangnam First Sword had yielded a hefty amount of cash, but the rest of these losers were in truly dire financial straits.
‘They were way poorer than they looked.’
These were people who couldn't even join monster hunts in Seoul, let alone in the mutations, so they'd come all the way down to Gyeonggi Province.
Sure, they were better off than the vast majority of citizens scraping by on daily quests and handouts, but they weren't exactly well-off either.
‘They probably poured every karma they'd earned into their stats. They had to survive today's monster hunt just to hope for tomorrow.’
But at least one of them was in a different league.
“…….”
Young-woo stared at the headless corpse sprawled on the ground.
The only son of the Gangnam First Sword.
Why was someone with such a standout background even here?
Why come all the way to Gyeonggi Province instead of hunting monsters in Gangnam District, where his father held sway?
Just some personal rebellion?
‘No. If he wanted to rebel, he'd have done it in Gangnam. Why come all the way out here?’
And he wasn't even skilled enough to wander around recklessly like this.
‘Which means…….’
There was only one possibility left.
‘Even as the son of the Gangnam First Sword, he couldn't touch the monsters in Seoul.’
Even the ones showing up in Gangnam District—his own father's turf.
“…….”
Young-woo's brow furrowed even deeper.
What the hell was it?
What could have driven even the son of the Gangnam First Sword out of Seoul?
“Mm.”
Young-woo cut his pondering short at that point.
He wouldn't know for sure until he went to Seoul himself.
Swoosh.
He turned his head back, spotting Jong-su and Tae-young still standing there with tense expressions.
Young-woo tossed an Early Bird to Tae-young.
Whoosh.
“…Huh? W-what's this?”
Tae-young's eyes went wide at the sudden handout.
Young-woo pointed at his belt and said.
“I noticed only you were still using a basic sword, Officer.”
“Ah.”
Hearing that, Tae-young glanced at Jong-su beside him.
There gleamed an Early Bird in his scabbard.
“This is valuable… I didn't do anything. Is it really okay for me to just take it?”
“It's not that precious to me anymore, so no need to feel burdened.”
Young-woo replied, glancing at the Golden Goblin.
It actually had four more Early Birds in its pouch.
He'd given one of the new five to Tae-young, so he had a total of eight now.
It might still be valuable somewhere else, but to Young-woo, it was practically junk.
“And Jong-su, take this.”
Finally, Young-woo pointed at Jong-su's feet, and the goblin scampered over, dumping out a pile of coins.
Clatter!
72,000 karma.
He was returning the money Jong-su had lent him to buy the vanguard squad and the mirage, plus a bit of interest.
“Hyung-nim… Like I said last time, you can give it back super slowly.”
Jong-su waved it off again, but Young-woo wanted to settle the debt right then.
“We're heading into Seoul soon. If I die there, you'd be stuck with the debt forever…….”
“Hyung-nim… Why talk like that?”
Jong-su scratched the back of his head at the unexpected reason, then reluctantly started gathering the coins.
Seeing that, Young-woo finally looked relieved.
“Alright, that settles the basics.”
Young-woo gestured in the air, and Negeugg, who had been waiting off in the distance, trotted over, thudding its steel hooves against the ground.
Clank, clank.
It would likely be the second-biggest factor in Young-woo's Seoul life after the Gangnam First Sword.
Just as the Gangnam First Sword's son had taken an interest in Negeugg, the other powerhouses in Seoul would too.
‘And Young-woo isn't the type to compromise easily…….’
It already reeked of blood.
Tae-young shot Young-woo a worried look as he climbed into the patrol car.
* * *
12:03 p.m.
Having escaped the fourteen-murder scene, Jang-ho finally stopped running on the outskirts of Seongnam City.
“Hic, haaack……!”
He'd run with everything he had, but he couldn't go any farther.
His lungs burned, and his legs were numb—he couldn't move.
Probably hit his stamina limit.
He regretted not investing more in endurance.
“Hoo, fuck.”
Panting raggedly, Jang-ho looked back.
Just like the past twenty minutes, no pursuers in sight.
Had Jeong Hyun-sik bought him more time than expected?
‘No, the guy might just be searching the wrong area.’
Sweat poured down as the image flashed of the outsider slicing through a dozen men in one go.
“…….”
The skill he'd shown was First Sword level.
If that guy pinpointed their location, closing the distance would be child's play.
‘I have to get to Seoul fast, no matter what.’
Once in Seoul, he figured he'd get some kind of help.
Monsters like that were everywhere in Seoul.
Especially in Gangnam—no contest.
Plus, any outsider with a brain wouldn't keep chasing once the region status switched to Gangnam.
‘Seoul… no, Gangnam is my way out.’
As Jang-ho gritted his teeth and tried to will his heavy legs forward, a dream-come-true sound echoed from the opposite road.
Vroooom…….
An automobile engine.
‘Fuck yeah. Guess I'm not meant to die young.’
Jang-ho reached for his scabbard, planning to seize the car.
Swoosh.
Of course, caution was needed since it was coming from Seoul.
‘…Please.’
If the car entering his view was a high-performance beast that guzzled fuel like crazy, he'd have to let it go.
In this world where even fuel cost karma, driving something with shit mileage meant you had resources to burn.
But if it was a mid-size sedan like the old world's common ones……
Vroooom!
The engine grew louder, and a dark shape appeared at the road's far end.
“……!”
Jang-ho's brow narrowed.
Then a gray Avante came into view.
Shing!
Without hesitation, Jang-ho drew his sword and approached the roadside.
* * *
At the same time, Young-woo's group was passing the junction from Seongnam to Seocho District along the Gyeongbu Expressway.
The plan was to skirt inside Seocho, circling via the Gangnam Loop Road from Yangjae through Sadang and into Gwanak.
As always, Young-woo led on Negeugg, but Jong-su and Tae-young couldn't help feeling scared.
This was Seoul, after all.
And they had to punch through Gangnam turf in a row.
“…Not a single rat in sight.”
Tae-young, gripping the wheel with a stiff face, said this, and Jong-su, peering out the window, nodded.
“Monster spawn time, probably.”
In about fifty minutes, monsters would rain down across Seoul.
So anyone who needed to hide had already done so, and the hunters had taken their positions.
In other words, they were heading straight into a battle-ready Seoul.
“…….”
Seeing Jong-su's anxious eyes, Tae-young cautiously spoke up after a glance.
“Worried, huh? It's basically walking into the lion's den.”
Jong-su nodded, staring at Young-woo's back ahead.
“I'm in a position where dying anytime wouldn't be weird, but hyung-nim isn't… Feels like a waste.”
“A waste?”
Tae-young tilted his head as he asked back, and Jong-su looked at the road behind.
“You might not get it as an officer, but to me, among the First Swords, hyung-nim Young-woo is the closest to a normal person.”
“Normal how, exactly…….”
“Selfish enough, but not a full villain. Right now, hyung-nim could kill anyone in sight and take their money. Even worse stuff. But he still holds to a bare minimum line.”
“Ah. If that's what you mean.”
Tae-young slowly nodded.
Of course, he couldn't agree Young-woo was normal.
The recent brawl with those ‘Seoulites’ had ended in blood, after all.
To an ex-cop like Tae-young, Young-woo was a blood-soaked killer.
He just lacked the authority or power to arrest him anymore, so he was turning a blind eye. Hell, he'd even indebted his life to him.
‘By the book, I'm an accomplice to murder.’
As Tae-young's face twisted in confusion, the region status in the corner of his vision updated with the zone change.
Flash!
|You are currently in ‘Seocho’.
|This region's First Sword is ‘Choi Nam-hee11’. 4th place, defended 3 times.
They'd finally set foot in Seoul proper.