Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: 23. Blockhead (5)
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As Young-woo approved the reward claim, his upper body immediately began to glow brightly.
Flash!
“Huh?”
It was such an intense light that even Jo Sang-ik, who was watching, was startled. Moments later, something enveloped Young-woo's upper body.
Clank!
It was gleaming golden armor.
The third reward item from the Golden Rain route was a breastplate.
「Golden Oath」 - Legendary Breastplate
【Enemy's attack power reduced by 50%.】
【Cumulative Golden Rain: 5】
*'Golden Flood' privilege.
‘Attack power...? Not power or strength, but attack power?’
Item tooltips in this world were never written carelessly.
For example, Underdog's tooltip read: 'Power increased by 25% against targets larger than the user.'
So if the Golden Oath simply reduced the destructive force of the opponent's attacks, it would have said 'power.'
‘Then attack power must mean something more complex?’
Of course, even if it were purely a power reduction, it was still an absurdly powerful piece of equipment.
‘Completely defensive gear. It’s basically useless when I’m striking first.’
It might be perfect for someone walking the Golden Rain route, though.
In this era where every powerhouse chose to monopolize the 3 million, going around spreading karma alone was just asking for hatred.
“Vice Minister, is there some kind of hierarchy among the First Swords attending the council?”
“Yes?”
Jo Sang-ik looked puzzled at the sudden question.
Still, he answered.
“It’d be a lie to say there’s no hierarchy at all… but since we’ve never directly clashed, I can only say there’s an unspoken one.”
“Then where do you rank in that? I know it’s rude, but I need to ask.”
“......”
Jo Sang-ik hesitated at Young-woo’s words.
Then he glanced northward—probably toward Yongsan Park.
“Well… middle of the pack, I’d say?”
A very defensive answer.
‘So not in the lower ranks, at least.’
Young-woo thought.
Jo Sang-ik had said he’d never seen Golden Rain before, so he must have chosen to monopolize 3 million karma for the past two days.
That meant he had at least 6 million karma total. In stat points, that was 6,000.
‘Judging by the lack of standout gear besides the curved sword, he probably invested most in stats…’
A simple calculation put Jo Sang-ik’s estimated average stats at around 1,500.
That was a full 300 higher than Young-woo’s highest stat among his four main ones: strength.
『Character: Jeong Young-woo07』
[Strength] 1,200 (19+1,181)
[Stamina] 850 (21+829)
[Durability] 1,050 (13+1,037)
[Senses] 600 (24+576)
In other words, the gap would be even wider when comparing different stats.
Having thought this far, Young-woo nodded and faced Jo Sang-ik squarely.
“Then, would you mind attacking me once?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Attack me like you mean to kill me. Just once.”
“Because of that armor’s ability?”
As expected, the sharp Jo Sang-ik.
Young-woo nodded again.
“Yes. Even so, I won’t die in one hit.”
At worst, his body would split open.
Sure, it’d hurt like hell, but it would knit back together after a while.
‘I need to properly test what this new gear does.’
Once Young-woo was mentally prepared and signaled with his eyes, Jo Sang-ik lifted his curved sword with a reluctant expression.
“You’re really okay with this…? I couldn’t help much in the mutant fight, but one-on-one is different. Don’t forget who I am.”
Meaning, don’t overlook that the one swinging the sword was a First Sword.
“Yes. I’ve considered that fully. Let’s begin.”
With Young-woo’s repeated approval, Jo Sang-ik nodded.
Then.
Swoooosh!
He truly swung the curved sword.
Swoosh!
「Senses temporarily increased from 600 to 1,360.」
“......!”
Through Sense Theft, Young-woo confirmed Jo Sang-ik’s senses were around 1,400.
A fitting level for Seoul’s First Sword.
However.
‘What is this…?’
The attack, now visible to his eyes, felt incredibly slow.
Slow enough that he could block it even without Gyeongbuk Swordsmanship.
No matter the Sense Theft, could it really be this slow?
And wasn’t attack speed a matter of strength to begin with?
Yet this wasn’t the speed from strength of at least 1,500.
Thud.
In the end, Young-woo dodged with a simple movement, and the tip of Jo Sang-ik’s long curved sword sliced through empty air.
Swoosh!
“…Huh?”
Jo Sang-ik sensed something off, just like Young-woo.
Young-woo prompted again.
“Once more. This time, for real—with killing intent.”
“Yes.”
A sharp glint of murderous intent entered Jo Sang-ik’s eyes, slightly wounded in pride, and without warning, his blade cut through the air.
Shiiiing!
This time, a diagonal slash harder to evade than a straight one.
He was serious.
However.
‘Still slow.’
Jo Sang-ik’s attack still felt agonizingly slow.
‘It’s not just power. Attack power reduction means…’
Having reasoned this far, Young-woo swung his black sword to parry Jo Sang-ik’s blade.
Clang!
Then, something even Young-woo hadn’t expected happened.
“Urk…!”
Jo Sang-ik’s face, gripping the curved sword, twisted in pain.
“A-Are you okay?”
Startled, Young-woo rushed over, and Jo Sang-ik rubbed his wrist as he spoke.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I didn’t expect your strength to be this much, so I let my guard down. My wrist’s tingling.”
“My strength is high?”
Young-woo echoed in surprise before clamping his mouth shut.
He hadn’t told Jo Sang-ik, but his own strength was actually far lower.
And even if he’d been careless, he’d drop the weapon before his wrist would take strain.
So this outcome meant.
‘It’s not my strength going up. The vice minister’s strength and durability dropped momentarily.’
【Enemy's attack power reduced by 50%.】
Young-woo finally understood what this tooltip meant.
‘All stats used for attacking.’
Strength to swing the weapon, durability to support that power in the body, and even the stamina and senses used in small amounts for endurance and accuracy.
It crippled every stat that made up an attack.
‘This item is insane. At least on defense, I can…’
He could now match not just Jo Sang-ik, but any other First Sword in Seoul.
‘Some have already killed mutants, so they’re way stronger than the vice minister, but now I have 5 million too. I can match their level anytime.’
As Young-woo reached for the card in his pocket loaded with a fortune, all his stats began increasing by 100 each.
「Strength increased from 1,200 to 1,300.」
「Stamina increased from 850 to 950.」
「Durability increased from 1,050 to 1,150.」
「Senses increased from 600 to 700.」
The 'Golden Flood' achievement Young-woo completed had synced to his achievement window, triggering the Narrative Ring 'Idealist' to boost all stats by 100.
‘Oh my god, I hadn’t even thought of that.’
Opening his achievement window belatedly, Young-woo saw the completed achievements had increased from 5 to 6.
〔Your achievement trait is “Blockhead.”〕
||Completed Achievements: 6
‘Still a Blockhead, huh.’
Young-woo chuckled at his trait.
It reminded him of the first Golden Rain incident that made the system label him 'Blockhead.'
‘I wonder if Ye-chan’s doing okay.’
Thinking of the first Golden Rain naturally brought up Ye-chan, who’d been next to him then.
He considered using the fountain pen to check the guy’s location but decided against it.
There was a far more pressing issue right now.
‘Completing Golden Flood should’ve unlocked a new achievement.’
The recommended list maxed at 4, and completing one opened a slot for a new one.
So with Golden Flood done, a new recommended achievement should’ve appeared.
‘High chance it’s another Golden Rain route… Next won’t be sprinkling rain in 10 regions, will it?’
He’d already started down the Golden Rain path, so a completely different type would be a problem.
‘Let’s check it out.’
The final task from this mutant battle.
Young-woo opened the recommended achievements with half excitement, half worry.
Flash!
[Nightwalker]
|Spend a night outside your residence.
[Jeweler’s Touch]
|Equip two Hero-grade or higher rings each on your index and middle fingers. (3/4)
[Complete Orphan]
|Find and eliminate your parents. (1/2)
[Golden Journey]
|Call Golden Rain in the following regions.
|Domestic (0/3) | Foreign (0/2)
* * *
Thud.
…
…
Thud!
…
Boom, thud!
‘Who the hell is making that noise?’
Tae-jun grimaced in his sleep, then jolted awake in shock.
“Huh!”
A chillingly white ceiling filled his vision.
“Wh-What?”
He reflexively sat up and touched the floor, realizing its texture was off.
“…Eek!”
Sure enough, the floor was made of the same unknowable white material as the ceiling.
Not just that—the walls surrounding him and the small doorknob on one wall…
‘Th-There’s a door!’
Spotting the doorknob in this bizarre space, Tae-jun instinctively rushed to it.
Tap-tap!
The room was about 3 pyeong, so it took only a few steps to grab it.
Thud!
He yanked open the door embedded in the white wall without hesitation.
Creak!
But before he could step out, he fell flat on his butt right there.
“Huh…?”
Because outside the door was nothing but endless white space.
Unlike the room with walls and a ceiling, the outside had no walls or ceiling—like an infinite void.
Just an endless expanse of white.
With no points of reference for up or down, he couldn’t even tell if what he saw was floor or empty air.
“Wh-What the hell…? Where is this?”
It was then that Tae-jun spotted another man squatting outside his room.
“Gah!”
Tae-jun screamed again at the sight, and the man broke into a hugely welcoming grin.
“Hyung! I’ve been waiting forever!”
“…Yes?”
“It’s me! Can’t you tell?”
A man who looked early twenties, with a goofy expression.
He wore what seemed like white pajamas, making him look bizarre.
“......”
Tae-jun blinked for a moment, then unconsciously covered his mouth.
“No way.”
“Looks like you nailed it.”
“You’re that beast from before?”
In his disorientation, Tae-jun called it 'beast' instead of 'Nol,' but the other didn’t mind.
“Yes! It’s me, Hong Young-tae!”
Hong Young-tae.
Friend—no, prisoner—of Gyeongbuk’s First Sword, Jeong Young-woo07.
So this place was…
“Damn it.”
Tae-jun spat.
He’d thought it was just a long dream.
“This is that prison.”
As Tae-jun muttered, Young-tae sniffed and forced a smile.
“It’s not so bad now that you’re here, hyung. Before, there wasn’t even this.”
Young-tae gestured at the infinite space outside as he said 'this.'
“That… wasn’t here before?”
“Yeah. Until you arrived, the only thing here was my room.”
“......”
My room. So there was another one like this.
Tae-jun felt dizziness coming on.
“Come out already, hyung! There’s nothing in there anyway.”
Young-tae waved excitedly, beckoning him.
Tae-jun hesitated a long time before stepping out.
Tap.
Then he spotted another rectangular white building far off to the left.
And Young-tae, thrilled for some reason, was already hopping away toward it.
“Wh-What’s in that room…?”
Tae-jun asked, scanning the vast white expanse that still looked endless.
Young-tae’s voice came back, farther away.
“There’s an hourglass!”
“An hourglass…?”
“And a menu!”
“......?”
“Next, I’ll save up for a TV!”
Young-tae’s voice faded even more.
But the word 'TV' rang clear.
“TV? There’s a television here?”
As Tae-jun called back, Young-tae was already leaping into his room.
“......”
In the end, Tae-jun too.
Flash!
Began running after Young-tae.