Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: 22. Let Them See Gwanak (2)
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“Huh?”
“Gasp…….”
As Tae-young and Jong-su both flinched at the realization they were now setting foot on Seoul soil, Young-woo up ahead also slowed Neugig down and turned his gaze to the sky.
Even for Young-woo, the presence of the Seoul region's First Sword was overwhelming.
‘…Choi Nam-hee.’
Seocho First Sword, Choi Nam-hee11.
As expected, this First Sword's ID number was also an early one.
Meaning he was the 11th Choi Nam-hee nationwide to make contact with an exchange.
|This region's First Sword is ‘Choi Nam-hee11’. 4 victories, 3 defenses.
‘Was there a scramble for the seat on the first day? Four victories, no less.’
And even after ascending to the rank of 4-victory First Sword, he had fought off three more challengers.
That meant there had been plenty of rivals.
‘Well, Seoul has the biggest population, after all.’
So what kind of person could climb to First Sword in a place like this?
Since they had now entered Seoul, it was someone Young-woo would inevitably cross paths with sooner or later. He stared at the name Choi Nam-hee with eyes mixed half expectation, half apprehension.
Of course, the issue facing Young-woo wasn't limited to Seoul's First Sword.
Sst.
The moment he entered Seoul, the arrow floating in his vision had darkened in color.
‘…….’
This was the mark from the epic fountain pen ‘Wanted Poster’, obtained after defeating the Nameless Gyeongbuk First Sword (True).
It pointed to whatever its owner desired.
And right now, the target Young-woo was tracking with the Wanted Poster was... his father.
Though it was the previous owner's setting, it had let Young-woo learn that his father was still alive.
In truth, up until then, he had no real concept of his parents at all, so without the Wanted Poster, he wouldn't have even thought to search for them.
But now he knew.
His father had been out there all this time.
Father, Grade 6 Extra.
The man who had a relationship with his mother, a Grade 1 Supporting Character, and created him...
So why had he abandoned them?
Young-woo recalled the question he had asked himself as a child.
Was life too impoverished?
Or... had he never wanted him in the first place?
‘…….’
Of course, he still had no answer.
But now he could go find the man who held it.
‘The arrow darkening means the distance is closing.’
The Wanted Poster was still pointing north.
Meaning his father was likely somewhere in Seocho, or perhaps Gangbuk.
‘I hope he’s not living too close by. I can’t go looking right now.’
It was far too risky to scour the neighboring Seocho district while Gangnam First Sword was surely scouring the area for him with fire in his eyes.
‘Still, how has he managed to survive this long? So many must have died in the Reset.’
Young-woo vaguely pictured the father who still felt like just ‘some man’, then gripped Neugig’s reins tight.
The once-empty road was gradually filling with buildings.
Soon, a road sign appeared indicating the direction to Gwacheon and Yangjae.
They were truly in Seoul now.
Was it his imagination, or did the air feel different?
“Hoo.”
Young-woo took a deep breath.
And all the while, the iron horse Neugig kept shoving the ground behind them.
Thud, thud thud!
Neugig’s steel hooves rang out noisily with each step, but the surroundings remained eerily silent.
‘Seoul’s population is huge... How can there be no one around? Even right before the monsters appeared…….’
It was a stark contrast to other regions on the outskirts, where bandits or traveling merchants roamed.
Young-woo tilted his head in puzzlement but let Neugig keep charging north.
Thud!
After another ten minutes or so, landmarks finally appeared.
It was the Seocho Comprehensive Gymnasium and the rest area ‘Seoul Meeting Plaza’ at the edge of Yangjae.
‘No ants here either.’
Some cars in the parking lot had shattered bumpers and turned to stone, but the pristine rest area building suggested it was just remnants of the chaos on Reset Day One.
Meaning no monsters had rampaged all the way here.
In other words, at least all the monsters in southern Seoul had been slain within the city.
‘Did Seoul respond especially quickly?’
Young-woo couldn’t quite gauge what had happened in Seoul.
Seoul wasn’t easy to compare to other cities—it was the capital of South Korea, after all.
The city housing the nation’s key administrative offices and the Blue House.
Even if the president’s head had flown off on Reset Day One... that alone wouldn’t have toppled the government.
Surely the remaining bureaucrats had scrambled to manage the crisis?
‘Though of course, it wasn’t the kind of crisis effort could fix.’
As Young-woo sank into thought, his surroundings emptied out again.
They had passed the rest area and entered the Yangjae Interchange.
To head to Sadang, Young-woo needed to switch roads here, so he scanned ahead for the upcoming highway exit.
Then.
Beep, baaaang……!
The moment he looked, a horn blared from up ahead.
“……?”
What came into view was a patrol car parked brazenly in the middle of the road.
Since the petrification was lifted, that horn had clearly come from it.
“Huh.”
Young-woo glanced back at Tae-young’s patrol car trailing him, then turned to the one ahead.
Now he saw there were several people behind that patrol car as well.
They were blocking the highway exit leading to Gwacheon and Sadang.
‘What’s this? Some kind of toll gate?’
He had seen something similar even in Chungju, which had its own system in place.
The difference was that this was Seoul, where 25 districts were packed right up against each other.
Swoosh.
Young-woo first signaled for those behind to slow down, then gently pulled back on Neugig’s reins himself.
-Kreeeek!
As Neugig let out an eerie cry and began decelerating, the people on the Yangjae side seemed to sense something off.
Beep, baaaa……
The blaring horn suddenly weakened.
They had clocked the outsider—Young-woo—approaching the interchange as anything but ordinary.
Click.
Soon, the doors of the patrol cars blocking the road began opening one by one to either side.
Out came uniformed police officers stepping onto the ground with utmost caution.
Young-woo tensed, wondering if they might be armed.
Clack.
But the officers who emerged didn’t even have guns, let alone Early Birds.
“P-Please... hold up for a moment.”
One officer approached with both hands outstretched, sword still sheathed.
Young-woo raised his own hands slightly in response, signaling no intent to fight.
“Yes. What’s the matter?”
Young-woo adopted the friendliest attitude possible.
After all, he had no reason not to respect these uniformed officers on duty.
But the officer’s next words were strangely off.
“Are you coming from out of region?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Then... are you a current First Sword, or perhaps planning to challenge one?”
“……?”
Even in this bizarre world, to hear a question like that from a police officer on duty...
Young-woo stared blankly at him for a moment.
The man—and even the plainclothes folks blocking the distant highway exit—still hadn’t drawn their swords.
No, most of them looked downright terrified.
‘They have zero intention of subduing me by force. If anything…….’
If anything, they seemed to want Young-woo to hurry past.
The officer facing him was fidgeting his fingers, betraying his nervousness.
“Does my answer change anything? I don’t even know why you’re blocking passage.”
As Young-woo alternated glances between the officer and the blocked exit, the stiff officer waved his hands frantically.
“Ah……! No, no! We’re not restricting passage or anything—we’re just out here to guide visitors to Seoul.”
“Guide……?”
As Young-woo cocked his head, Tae-young’s patrol car pulled up behind him.
The waving officer looked slightly startled but pressed on with his explanation.
“Currently, Seoul has a civilian-government pact in place to minimize loss of life.”
“Civilian-government... You mean there’s something like a government here now.”
Civilian-government.
A term encompassing private citizens and public offices.
Meaning a civilian-government pact implied...
“Yes. That’s right. The Republic of Korea government endures.”
* * *
The Republic of Korea government endures.
The officer said it with considerable resolve, but Young-woo couldn’t easily accept it.
Hadn’t he encountered some thugs from Seoul just hours ago?
If the government truly endured and public authority functioned, the people of Gyeonggi wouldn’t be trembling at ‘Seoul folk’.
And besides.
‘How could the government possibly endure? Power no longer resides in the nation.’
Not just judicial power.
The reason citizens had followed the nation’s ‘rules’ was fundamentally for survival.
To maintain their jobs and current lives.
But the Reset had utterly changed the rules of survival.
Survive against monsters and mutants.
And secure thousands of karma daily to handle taxes and residency.
Could the government help with that?
Of course not.
In a world where even bullets turned to stone, what power did the government have to control monsters, mutants, and rampaging sword-wielding citizens?
“What exactly do you mean by this civilian-government pact? There’s no way something like an army still exists. Just looking at you all…….”
He didn’t need to add that they had no means of enforcement.
The officer nodded with a wry smile before Young-woo even finished.
“Yes. I understand exactly what you mean. And it’s true.”
But the real story came next.
“However... the true driving force behind this civilian-government council isn’t the ‘government’—it’s the ‘civilians’. The nation’s strongest citizens, the First Swords, are lending their power to the government.”
“Wha... what?”
Young-woo’s eyes widened at the unbelievable claim, and the officer glanced at his watch before getting to the point.
“We’ll be pulling out soon. But before that, there’s something we absolutely must tell you.”
Then the officer’s gaze swept over Young-woo’s head.
“If you’re a current First Sword or possess comparable skill, we strongly advise you attend the First Swords’ assembly.”