Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 14 5. Gumi First Sword vs Gumi City Councilman

「Iyaaaaa!」

Jang Seon-bok landed between Young-woo and the Sky Villa residents with a roar that shook the earth.

Kuuuung!

From whatever height he had jumped, the concrete floor cracked and dust scattered in all directions.

Hwaaaat!

The surroundings became hazy, and not only Jang Seon-bok but even Ye-chan and the Sky Villa residents disappeared from Young-woo’s sight.

‘Damn, if this continues…’

Young-woo unconsciously thought of the children the Sky Villa side had brought with them.

He thought the children would get hurt if Jang Seon-bok started rampaging with his vision obscured like this.

‘Shit, I don’t have time to worry about this.’

In the end, Young-woo shouted very loudly so everyone in the area could hear.

“Take the kids and run! He’s not an opponent you can handle!”

Then immediately.

Huuuuk!

A heavy presence stirred from inside the dust cloud.

Jang Seon-bok had followed the sound and attacked.

Of course, since this was a situation Young-woo had induced, he was already gripping his shield tightly.

The problem was.

Paeeeeeng!

The bastard’s strength was greater than expected.

‘Ugh, crazy!’

Young-woo felt his entire body lift into the air along with his shield.

And then.

Whiik.

He really bounced up into the air.

A height that seemed to be at least three or four meters.

But Young-woo was able to quickly regain his composure.

‘What?’

He realized he was unconsciously controlling his center of gravity.

‘Is this the effect of Sense?’

[Sense]

|Affects overall physical control abilities such as reflexes and balance.

Since he had raised his Sense stat from a mere 24 all the way to 100, it was natural that he could feel the difference.

Taat!

A strong wind blew toward Young-woo as he landed stably on the ground.

Kugung, kung!

The bastard was charging out from within the dust.

[Gumi City Councilman – Jang Seon-bok]

As expected, the first thing he saw was the bastard’s name tag glowing dimly in the dust cloud.

And soon after, the bastard’s body was revealed naked under the sunlight.

Kugung!

The first things that caught his eye were the red skin and muscles that looked ready to burst.

The goblins he had seen before were also ridiculously muscular, but Jang Seon-bok was…

‘Why is he so big again? Is there some kind of mutant premium?’

His height reached 3 meters, and his muscles were proportionally larger.

The large axes he held one in each hand were equally intimidating. The axe blades were almost the size of Young-woo’s torso.

But what was even more surprising was.

「Hoh?」

Jang Seon-bok also showed surprise upon seeing Young-woo’s appearance.

And it didn’t stop there.

「Gumi First Sword? What’s this about?」

He spoke human words from a goblin’s mouth.

‘He, he can talk?’

Young-woo alternately looked at the bastard’s cute twitching pointed ears and his fierce-looking mouth.

Then Jang Seon-bok, who had been standing tall, slowly bent his long waist and took a posture as if observing Young-woo.

「Are you the representative of these vermin? What the hell happened in the meantime?」

It seemed the ‘vermin’ he was referring to meant not just the people here but all the citizens of Gumi.

「What year is it now? I don’t know how long I was captured.」

Earlier he had swung his axe without warning, and now suddenly it was a barrage of questions.

‘What… does this bastard have no concept of time? No, more than that, he’s talking just like a human.’

Though it was a short conversation, Young-woo could be certain of at least one thing.

The Jang Seon-bok before him was a mutant… in other words, a monster, but the consciousness inside was human.

Also, judging by how he called the Gumi citizens ‘vermin’, he seemed to have all his memories from when he was targeted by the Reset.

“It’s Tuesday, June 10th, 2025. The first day since the Reset began.”

When Young-woo told him the date, confusion flashed momentarily in Jang Seon-bok’s gleaming eyes.

「First day? Then I came first? Ah, I see.」

Jang Seon-bok asked and answered himself, understanding something.

Young-woo quickly threw out a question.

“First? Where were you before coming here? Have you met other mutants?”

Then Jang Seon-bok, who had been lost in thought, smiled wickedly.

「Why does someone who’s about to die have so many questions?」

Buuuk!

It was then that the bastard’s axe came flying, tearing through the air.

‘Ugh, this bastard!’

It was a sudden attack that made every cell in his body stand on end, but the hologram that appeared in his vision soon comforted him.

A hologram that looked exactly like Young-woo himself, with his left shoulder completely pulled back and his right hand extended, holding Early Bird.

―Death Strike

The Gumi Sword Technique had begun operating again.

‘Gumi Sword Technique? It didn’t activate against monsters, so why now…?’

Young-woo followed the Gumi Sword Technique’s guidance, rotating his body to the side and thrusting forward with the Early Bird in his right hand.

Then.

Swiiish!

Jang Seon-bok’s axe blade barely grazed Young-woo’s left shoulder as he leaned back.

“…!”

Goosebumps spread across his entire body, but he had also attempted an attack, hadn’t he?

Swoosh!

Young-woo watched as the tip of his Early Bird headed toward Jang Seon-bok’s left chest.

And he also saw the black axe blade block the sword’s path, changing the mark from Death Strike to Void.

“…?”

Soon the Early Bird and axe blade clashed, letting out a sharp scream.

Screech!

「What the… you’re not just human.」

Against the backdrop of the friction sound, Jang Seon-bok’s confused voice flowed out.

Young-woo was equally surprised and ended up saying this.

“You… are you still human? Why can you use the Gumi Sword Technique?”

「What? You fucking bastard… you guys made me like this!」

While they exchanged incomprehensible words, the Gumi Sword Technique presented the next sword path.

―Break

‘Break?’

The character for ‘break’ meaning to shatter.

It was an instruction to twist the Early Bird from his current position locked with Jang Seon-bok and stab the creature’s opposite elbow.

Meanwhile, the hologram was even filling in a guard with the shield in his left hand.

‘Whatever the case, this must be the best option.’

Whoosh!

Strength 200 and Sense 100.

His execution ability was sufficient.

The sword tip that had been touching the axe blade twisted and shot out diagonally, soon piercing into Jang Seon-bok’s right elbow.

「Kraaaagh!」

The first scream he’d heard from the creature.

Soon after, guidance followed to smash the creature’s jaw that had dropped toward the elbow with his shield, but it was immediately canceled.

‘Oh.’

It was because the creature had started its attack one step ahead of Young-woo.

‘Too late…!’

No matter how optimal the path the Gumi Sword Technique presented, it was meaningless if the timing didn’t match.

Currently, Young-woo had to go through the process of recognizing, reviewing, and executing the guidance, so there was inevitably a delay time.

So when facing a formidable opponent like now.

「Die!」

He would take a lightning-fast knee kick.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The glutes and quadriceps of a 3-meter-tall goblin created truly explosive kinetic energy.

It felt like being hit by a car, and Young-woo couldn’t even breathe properly.

From the constant flashing before his eyes, it seemed the Gumi Sword Technique was giving the next instruction, but his entire body was nearly paralyzed from the unexpected physical shock.

Even in the midst of this, Jang Seon-bok was pulling back his right leg again for the next knee kick. Like pulling a rifle trigger.

「You bastard, why do you keep tormenting me like this!」

Sizzling malice and sadness mixed in Jang Seon-bok’s voice.

Crack.

An ominous sound was also leaking from Jang Seon-bok’s red calf that was firmly pressing against the ground.

Thud.

Just as the creature was about to fire a second knee kick toward Young-woo’s head.

Swish!

A thin but quite sharp sound of cutting through the air rang out.

From behind Jang Seon-bok’s torso.

「Gah!」

Young-woo heard Jang Seon-bok’s cry along with a familiar sound shooting out.

“Mister! I’m going to die after this! Hurry!”

A voice desperately calling out to him.

It was Ye-chan.

“Gasp.”

When he opened his eyes wide to regain his senses, he could see Ye-chan behind the crimson Jang Seon-bok.

The boy had stabbed Jang Seon-bok’s waist before the second knee kick.

「Which little…!」

As the enraged Jang Seon-bok turned around with agitated movements, the Gumi Sword Technique displayed two marks on the creature’s body.

The first was.

―Death Strike

It was the familiar character for ‘Death Strike.’

This was attached to the creature’s nape, which could only be reached with a leap.

And the second was.

―Life

The character for ‘life’ meaning to preserve life.

Like the previous ‘Break,’ it was a mark he was seeing for the first time, and this was attached to the creature’s Achilles tendon.

But why?

Why did the options to kill and to save appear together?

“M-Mister!”

Young-woo heard Ye-chan’s second plea for help and realized.

This wasn’t ‘Life’ in the sense of saving Jang Seon-bok, but an attack meant to save another life involved in this battle—namely, Ye-chan.

“Get away quickly, you idiot!”

Young-woo shouted with all his might, just like when he had yelled loudly on behalf of the children.

And then.

Swish!

He thrust his sword with all his might toward Jang Seon-bok’s Achilles tendon.

Slash!

Early Bird. A hero’s one-handed sword whose only advantage was its lightness.

But being light meant it made little noise, and its speed was fast.

Thunk!

Early Bird shot out like lightning and immediately tore through Jang Seon-bok’s red skin, ruthlessly piercing his Achilles tendon.

「Graaahhh…!」

Jang Seon-bok, who had just been about to pounce on Ye-chan, stopped in place as soon as his Achilles tendon was pierced, his back trembling violently.

Then he turned back toward Young-woo.

―Death Strike

The mark glowing clearly around his neck area.

Young-woo saw this and unleashed his killing intent, and Jang Seon-bok tried to say something, but.

Slash!

Early Bird had already pierced through his throat.

「Guh.」

A single sound too ambiguous to call a line.

With this sound, he lost the strength in his pupils.

Next.

Whoosh!

A pure white beam of light shot up from his head. As if his soul was escaping.

‘Does this mean the mutant has died?’

Young-woo watched until the end as the beam of light rose so high it disappeared from view.

If that was Jang Seon-bok’s soul or consciousness, where was he being called to? No, who had called him.

Shimmer.

Finally, Jang Seon-bok’s red corpse also melted away into thin air like the other monsters.

However, there was one difference.

‘Is that the reward?’

That was the fact that a golden sphere remained where the corpse had been.

This watermelon-sized sphere was floating about a meter above the ground, slowly rotating.

Step, step.

As Young-woo approached the sphere, Ye-chan looked at him with a worried expression, and the Sky Villa residents who had fled far away also began cautiously returning.

“Mister… what, what is this?”

“It’s probably some kind of device for determining who receives the reward. Most likely.”

Though he said this, Young-woo was certain. Whoever touched that sphere first would receive the reward for defeating the mutant.

[Epic] “Either Or”

【Mission】 Track down the mutant and either eliminate or send it back.

【Reward】 Mutant Equipment, massive amount of Karma.

Young-woo confirmed that the Epic Quest was still showing as incomplete in his vision, then reached out to touch the sphere that Jang Seon-bok had left behind.

Touch.

Sure enough, as soon as his hand made contact with the sphere’s surface, another new interface appeared.

「You have been granted authority to complete Epic Quest “Either Or.”」

「Please select your reward to finalize Quest completion.」

‘What…?’

Young-woo’s mouth fell open.

Being asked to select the reward in advance was unprecedented, and the reward content itself was also unprecedentedly extraordinary.

≪Confirmed Reward≫

「Angry Goblin」 – Mutation Ring

【Daily Strength increase of 100】

【–Empty Slot–】

≪Selection Reward≫

[3 Million Karma]

or

[30,000 Karma distributed to all residents in the area]

Grade 4 Human of the Ruined World (Serial)

Author │ Oetu

Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong

Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.

Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok

Address │ 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul City, Room 204 (Guro-dong, Daeryung Post Tower 1)

Email │ [email protected]

Website │ www.jayplemedia.com

ⓒOetu2023

※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and no part of the content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from our company and the author.

Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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