Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: 22. Let Them See Gwanak (4)
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“Eek!”
“Ah……!”
The young men in jumpers, along with Young-woo himself, all shifted their gazes skyward as if entranced.
Squeeeeeal!
The pillars of light tearing through the empty air as they descended were none other than monster markers.
Swish!
Before long, a timer appeared before the eyes of everyone staring up at the sky.
[00:06:11]
Six minutes and eleven seconds.
The time remaining until monsters and mutants appeared on this land.
‘The timing of the timer’s appearance changes every day, too.’
Young-woo recalled the monster timers he had seen in the past.
On the first day in Gumi, it was 25 minutes; on the second day in Sangju, a mere 10 seconds; and on the third day today… six minutes.
‘What’s the difference? Purely random?’
While Young-woo pondered the timer, the murmuring young men in jumpers gradually turned their attention one by one to the monster astride the iron horse.
“Um…….”
Eventually, someone spoke up.
Young-woo turned his head toward the voice, spotting a sturdy young man standing there with his facial muscles tensed tight.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
As Young-woo urged the man to finish his interrupted sentence, the crowd stirred once more.
“Huh?”
“A real person.”
“Then what’s that……?”
The ‘that’ someone in the crowd referred to was undoubtedly the iron horse Negri.
Young-woo’s appearance, laden with all sorts of gear, was already unusual enough, but above all, the otherworldly Negri made it impossible for anyone to gauge his true nature.
“I’m Kim Dae-won, affiliated with Seoul National University. I’m out here to block the monsters appearing nearby. If I may ask… what brings you here, sir?”
The sturdy young man chose his words with extreme caution as he looked up at Young-woo.
Thanks to being mounted on Negri, Young-woo was genuinely elevated.
But the young man seemed equally powerless. The others in the crowd instinctively sensed it as well.
“…….”
Despite their overwhelming numbers and monsters about to pour down from all sides in six minutes, not a single one drew their sword.
“As expected of Seoul National University folks.”
Young-woo nodded, taking another look at the jumpers worn by the young men before him.
As anticipated, everyone present was wearing the ‘Seoul National University hoodie.’
“So, does Seoul National University have a monopoly on Gwanak District’s monsters? I heard that in Seoul, you even need permission to hunt monsters.”
When Young-woo asked based on the information from the patrol officer he’d met earlier, Kim Dae-won’s rigid expression softened just a fraction.
‘Not from Seoul, but… at least someone who’s heard the briefing.’
Dae-won’s eyes quickly swept over the tips of the two swords sheathed at the outsider’s waist.
Fortunately, there was no blood.
Unless he’d deliberately cleaned them, it meant he hadn’t cut down any patrol officers on the way here.
“We only handle monsters near our campus, and we’ve left scouting operations to the Gwanak Police Station.”
Scouting operations.
It seemed to refer to the monster business the patrol officers had mentioned.
“So, it would be trouble if I got involved with Gwanak District’s monsters.”
Young-woo spoke as politely as possible since the other side was maintaining such decorum, but Dae-won and the Seoul National University students couldn’t help but tense up.
After all, the man was a monster who’d just arrived from out of town.
‘Knowing our rules is one thing—accepting them willingly is another. Especially when he’s decked out in gear like that…….’
Dae-won’s gaze shifted from Negri to the array of equipment Young-woo wore.
From the crude helmet pulled over his head, to his hands protected by golden gauntlets, to the living serpent coiled around his wrist.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of this world’s structure couldn’t help but think the same upon seeing this monster.
‘He’s killed monsters, mutants, everything without discrimination on his way up. Probably crossed a few merchants, too.’
Thus, it was only natural that Young-woo’s question about whether touching their monsters would cause trouble sounded like a veiled threat.
“Hmm, for now… with my authority, I can cooperate on monsters around here.”
“…Ah.”
But in reality, Young-woo had no intention of stealing their rice bowl.
“I wasn’t asking to fight over monsters. So, does the Gwanak First Sword handle mutants solo?”
“……!”
Mutants, and Gwanak First Sword.
The moment the two terms left Young-woo’s mouth, the atmosphere in the area turned icy cold.
“Sir, is the reason you’ve come here to eliminate a mutant?”
A far sharper tone than before.
Young-woo stared steadily at the man.
“That’s right… but it seems the Gwanak First Sword is affiliated with Seoul National University, too.”
He half-expected a blade to fly at him any second.
That’s how it had been in most regions Young-woo had passed through so far.
Yet Kim Dae-won and the Seoul National University students showed no killing intent to the end.
The golden flash sensory theft alarm hadn’t triggered, after all.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Dae-won said this and bowed his head politely toward Young-woo.
“I don’t have the qualifications to represent the university, but even so, I must ask: please leave Gwanak District.”
“…….”
A string of surprises.
Young-woo found himself at a loss for words as he stared at the top of Dae-won’s head.
It was essentially ‘Get out of our turf,’ but this was the first time since the reset that such a ‘get out’ had been delivered so courteously.
‘Seoul National University…….’
According to what the briefing patrol officer had said, Seoul National University had devised the Seoul rotation system and was effectively acting as the government’s leadership.
So, turning their area into a bloodbath warzone with outsiders would indeed cause all sorts of problems.
However.
[00:04:11]
Only four minutes remained.
It was a bit late to head to another district, and Young-woo absolutely needed to deal with a mutant today.
[Golden Flood]
|Summon golden rain in 5 or more districts. (4/5)
[Doggo] “Debut in the Martial World”
<Mission> Duel a target with total stats over 3,000 for 1/2 times.
<Reward> 5 million karma
<Special> In this duel, you must disclose the fact of Doggo’s support.
He was on the verge of clearing both ‘Golden Flood’ and ‘Debut in the Martial World.’
Putting off mutant hunting in this situation, where he didn’t know when he might run into the revenge-blinded Gangnam First Sword, would be outright suicidal.
“…Sorry. I can’t give up the mutant, or I’ll be in trouble. That said, I have no intention of harming anyone else, so let me talk directly to the Gwanak First Sword.”
When Young-woo ultimately rejected the offer, the faces of those from Seoul National University drained of color.
“First Swords fighting in the city is strictly forbidden. Violate it, and you’ll be hunted by the other First Swords.”
“…….”
Hunted by the other First Swords.
Young-woo sensed ‘Seoul’ once more in Dae-won’s words.
“It’s already happening.”
“What do you……?”
Leaving the bewildered Dae-won behind, Young-woo turned toward the tunnel.
There, the pitch-black depths of the tunnel were gradually brightening.
Tae-young and Jong-su were finally emerging from the tunnel.
“Bro!”
Jong-su thrust his massive upper body out from the patrol car arriving amid engine roars.
His eyes widened upon spotting the dozen or so Seoul National University swordsmen arrayed before Young-woo.
Of course, the Seoul National University side was equally shocked.
Anyone could see that Tae-young behind the wheel was a genuine cop.
[00:03:21]
Meanwhile, the remaining time had dwindled to three minutes.
“Are Gwanak District’s police part of security forces, too? I’m asking if my group might get attacked by people first.”
Dae-won shook his head with a reluctant expression.
“At least in Gwanak, that won’t happen.”
A peculiar answer.
But for now, it was enough, so Young-woo gripped the reins once more.
* * *
He learned that the end of Bongcheon Tunnel was adjacent to Seoul National University’s main gate only after leaving the standoff with the university swordsmen.
Glancing back as he departed the scene, he spotted the landmark at the university’s main entrance in the distance.
Beyond it, an even larger crowd than the hoodie-wearing students from earlier was bustling about.
‘What’s that? Looks like hundreds.’
Perhaps that was Seoul National University’s main force.
However, he had no time to confirm with his own eyes.
[00:02:42]
Two minutes and forty-two seconds until the mutant appeared.
Young-woo bade farewell once more to Tae-young and Jong-su, who had closed quite a bit of distance in the interim.
“I’ll have to head to the mutant first, it seems. At this rate, I won’t make it in time.”
Jong-su, in the passenger seat, pointed toward the red pillar of light visible far off and replied.
“Don’t worry—go on ahead. We’ll follow slowly!”
“Right. And if possible, avoid clashing with the locals.”
Jong-su had a somewhat provocative personality, but with Tae-young—the cop to his bones—along, it should be fine.
Young-woo conveyed a silent request to look after things to Tae-young with his eyes, then immediately slapped Negri’s flank.
-Kweeeee!
Receiving Young-woo’s signal, Negri momentarily lowered its head before accelerating in place.
Crunch!
Its steel hooves slammed into the asphalt road, sending black fragments flying everywhere, and the scenery Young-woo was watching began receding rapidly behind him.
‘Impressive. How much faster can it go?’
Young-woo gazed at the red pillar still quite distant.
[00:02:20]
“Only two minutes left. Can you get to that red spot as fast as possible?”
At Young-woo’s words, Negri assumed a posture as if turning back to look at him for the first time.
-Kwee.
As if to say it was possible, but was he sure?
So Young-woo gripped the reins tightly instead of answering.
Then.
Tssssss!
Steam erupted fiercely from all over Negri’s body, just like when it first appeared.
“Huh? W-Wait……!”
Feeling uneasy for some reason, Young-woo tried to pull back on the reins, but.
-Kweeeee……!
Negri had already begun its full-throttle sprint.
Boom!
A thunderous roar like a bomb exploding.
The realization that everyone around must have heard the sound didn’t come until much later.