Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: 23. Blockhead (1)
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“Are you seriously saying you don’t have what it takes to take on a mutated being by yourself? At this point?”
Jo Sang-ik’s face flushed bright red with fury.
“Then what about your title...? How did you become the Gyeongbuk First Sword?”
His voice was thick with bewilderment.
Even so, he was already shifting into a combat stance.
For him right now, killing the mutated being in this intersection mattered more than grappling with this lunatic First Sword.
Just a short distance away from here, residents of Gwanak District were carrying out the “Seoul Rotation.”
Even if cops doubling as monster hunters were leading the civilians, a mutated being wouldn’t care whether they were police or ordinary folk—they’d all be just as easy to crush.
Which meant his top priority had to be taking out the mutated being on the spot.
‘Kill the mutated being first. Deal with that bastard later.’
Jo Sang-ik repeated this to himself inwardly as he gripped his blade.
And in the meantime, the third-day mutated being that had been tearing through the sky slammed down into the center of the intersection.
BOOM!
“Ugh.”
The moment it landed, a pitch-black dust storm swept the area, forcing both First Swords to shield their faces with their hands and fall back.
Chunks of asphalt flew in every direction, just like a grenade going off.
Ting, ting, ping!
Strange metallic pings rang nonstop from the gear draped over Youngwoo.
Shards of pulverized asphalt drumming against the equipment’s surface.
Of course, any exposed skin had to tough it out bare.
Thwack, thump!
Even Youngwoo, whose durability had been boosted into the thousands, felt the sting—so a regular person standing here would’ve been torn to shreds.
“Let’s settle the mutated being first and talk after. We absolutely cannot let it escape this place.”
Jo Sang-ik’s voice carried through the dust cloud.
It was a reluctant agreement to cooperate, but with zero tolerance for civilian casualties.
In response, Youngwoo drew his sword and nodded.
“Fine by me. I don’t want innocent people getting hurt either.”
Of course, they hadn’t discussed the post-mutated-being dilemma at all.
So there was always the chance Jo Sang-ik might launch a surprise attack once it was dealt with.
‘But by then, my stats won’t be anything to sneeze at. I’ll wrap up Debut in the Martial World with this fight.’
The karma reward from the Debut in the Martial World quest was a whopping 5 million.
With that under his belt, he wouldn’t be at a huge disadvantage in a one-on-one with Jo Sang-ik.
‘Assuming I survive the mutated being, that is.’
As Youngwoo eyed the massive presence stirring within the dust cloud ahead, he rested his hand on another sword he hadn’t yet drawn.
Thud.
「Underdog」 - Mutated One-Handed Sword
【Deals 25% increased damage against targets larger than the user.】
Underdog.
The weapon he’d taken from the now-deceased Chungju First Sword.
Youngwoo had reached for this blade because anyone could see this mutated being outweighed him.
Crunch.
Amid an ominous grinding sound, something casting a huge shadow began emerging from the dust cloud.
Thud!
A heavy footfall conveying the opponent’s bulk.
Boom!
By the second step, both First Swords could make out the nameplate.
[Businessman-Kim Tae-jun]
‘Kim Tae-jun? No way, that Kim Tae-jun...?’
Youngwoo’s pupils dilated.
There was a celebrity he knew with that exact name.
Kim Tae-jun, founder and CEO of the major game developer VC Soft.
Better known as TJ.
Even people who didn’t follow gaming had heard of him.
Not just because VC Soft’s games were massive hits one after another, but because their monetization was notoriously ruthless, earning him infamy too.
‘Even so... enough to end up on the elimination list?’
Well, it was a popularity vote system—anyone racking up enough votes could make the roster, so it wasn’t impossible.
‘Never thought I’d run into Kim Tae-jun like this.’
Youngwoo had been streaming games from Seoul right up until he headed down to Gumi, so the encounter hit different.
And apparently, the man himself felt the same.
「Ahh... This feels weird.」
Boom!
With his third step, Kim Tae-jun fully emerged from the dust cloud, revealing his towering 3-meter frame.
Skin like pale gray granite.
Shoulders split impossibly wide, arms sculpted in even more exaggerated proportions.
His lower body looked sturdy enough, but it paled next to the mountain of a torso.
“G... golem?”
The words slipped from Youngwoo’s lips unbidden, and somehow Kim Tae-jun caught them, turning to stare.
He lifted his stone hand, inspected it, then widened his eyes.
「Holy crap. I really am a golem.」
“...!”
That line convinced Youngwoo he was facing the real “Kim Tae-jun.”
What mutated being in this world would marvel at turning into a golem?
It made sense for Kim Tae-jun, who’d coded games himself back in the day.
Grind.
Next, Kim Tae-jun craned his neck to survey the cleared-out intersection.
Then.
「So this is my raid spot, huh.」
He summed up the situation in one simple sentence.
「More importantly, where’s everyone else? How long since the Reset?」
The passage of time—a question every mutated being inevitably asked.
But Kim Tae-jun was going further, asking about the others’ whereabouts too.
From the nuance, it didn’t sound like he was hunting for victims.
“It’s only Day 3 post-Reset. Everyone else is safe and sound. It’s just us here to greet you, Tae-jun-ssi.”
At Youngwoo’s explanation, Kim Tae-jun’s expression brightened.
「Three days...? For real? Where are the people?」
Jo Sang-ik immediately cut in with a stiff tone.
“Why are you looking for people? You’re not leaving this place anyway. What do you think we’re doing out here?”
To Gwanak First Sword Jo Sang-ik, Kim Tae-jun was both a walking karma jackpot and a disaster threatening civilians just by existing.
In other words, a target that had to die right here.
Kim Tae-jun saw it differently.
「It’s only been three days, so my family’s gotta be alive somewhere. I don’t plan to hurt anyone—just let me find them.」
“...Ah.”
Youngwoo grasped the situation the instant he heard it.
He’d seen a similar case back in Mungyeong.
Jang Dae-myung, who’d returned as a mutated being purely to reunite with his father.
‘Right. From a mutated being’s perspective, they’ve been ripped from their families in an instant. The urge to check on their loved ones could outweigh any revenge.’
Even Youngwoo, an orphan his whole life, had sought out his father the moment he learned of him.
So imagine someone who’d always had that family safety net.
Youngwoo felt a pang of sympathy.
But Jo Sang-ik’s response wasn’t wrong either.
“Yeah, I get what you’re saying, but it’s just not feasible. Even if I let you go, you think the other First Swords would sit still? Hell, with that body, how would you even find your family when you don’t know where they are?”
Kim Tae-jun, who’d been listening quietly, suddenly bristled, his face twisting.
「My wife and kids know I’d come back as a monster. So if I just let them know I’m here, they’ll find a way to me.」
“...!”
Those were words born of unshakable faith.
Amid this absurd exchange, Youngwoo was the only one moved.
Yet as he watched Kim Tae-jun’s granite body hunch with rising fury, he sensed the conversation nearing its end.
“Tae-jun-ssi.”
Youngwoo interjected calmly between them, and Kim Tae-jun replied in a tone far rougher than before.
「What?」
“Like he said, finding your family in your current state is next to impossible. There are dozens more First Swords in Seoul besides us.”
Naturally, Kim Tae-jun would just say he’d slaughter them all to reach his family.
So Youngwoo quickly added.
“But there’s another option. Not one you’ll love, though.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Jo Sang-ik’s face hardened as he shot back, while Kim Tae-jun perked up with interest.
「What is it?」
Youngwoo held out his right hand, palm up.
“A handshake.”
“...A handshake?”
Jo Sang-ik looked baffled, while Kim Tae-jun’s face subtly brightened.
「Handshake... I heard to use it if I regretted coming back as a mutated being. But how’s that a solution?」
Kim Tae-jun’s right hand glowed blue, projecting a door-shaped icon onto his palm.
“What the...”
As expected, Jo Sang-ik gawked at the unprecedented sight, while Youngwoo, glimpsing a sliver of hope, extended the pumpkin-colored whistle toward Kim Tae-jun.
“If you shake with me... uh, well, you could become like a genie in this whistle. A fairy thing.”
That was the best explanation Youngwoo could manage.
“It’s not forever, but I could summon you twice a day. Usually for backup in fights... but I could call you when we find your family too.”
By Youngwoo’s measure, Kim Tae-jun wasn’t a criminal.
He hadn’t returned as a mutated being to kill, nor committed major crimes as a human.
So no lies to lure him in.
Just as he’d said—hardly an appealing deal for Kim Tae-jun.
「In other words... trust some total stranger to find my family and lock myself away meekly.」
“That’s about the size of it. But there’s no better option. Even if you kill us and break out, you’d have to fight more First Swords. The whole world would come after you.”
「I already know that from experience. Anything else?」
Kim Tae-jun drew the line.
Negotiations had broken down, as expected.
Youngwoo nodded as if conceding, then spoke gravely into thin air.
“...No helping it, then. This battle is brought to you by intergalactic weapons brand Dogo.”
“...Huh?”
「...？」
“I’m a human of Earth, the strongest in Gyeongbuk, Jeong Youngwoo07.”