Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 5

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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 5 2. Gumi’s Greatest Sword (1)

‘So Sword Mountain was literally what it meant.’

Young-woo watched the weapons falling from the sky begin to pile up at tremendous speed, instinctively knowing that would soon become a ‘mountain.’

And he realized something else too.

‘This time, far more people will gather than at the Exchange Office.’

The basis for this reasoning was the enormous area that Sword Mountain occupied and the Geumoh High students moving in the same direction.

‘The fact that I, who started from Gongdan-dong, am now encountering Geumoh High kids means…’

Geumo High School is located in the heart of Gwangpyeong-dong.

In other words, unlike the Exchange Office that only involved dozens to a hundred people at most, Sword Mountain was calling people together by district units.

Therefore, Young-woo figured people would also be flocking from adjacent areas like Songjeong-dong and Sinpyeong-dong.

‘And some of them carrying Early Birds too.’

His palm holding the sword grew sweaty.

If someone with an Early Bird just like his came charging to steal coins or swords, what would be his chances of winning?

‘One mountain after another.’

While Young-woo was having these thoughts, Sword Mountain continued to grow larger.

It was already the size of a decent neighborhood hill, making it no different from a landmark, and seeing this, the Geumoh High students began to pick up even more speed.

With so many unarmed personnel, they judged they needed to grab weapons quickly first.

Even during this, weapons kept pouring down onto Sword Mountain, so the friction sounds of metal struck their ears like thunder.

Kwaaaaang…!

Young-woo shuddered as the air in the entire area vibrated, yet couldn’t take his eyes off the mountain peak.

Because every time the weapons falling from the sky collided with Sword Mountain and bounced off, he could briefly see the silhouettes of some weapons.

‘Swords… axes… is that a shield? There are shields too.’

While Young-woo was identifying weapon types, the Geumoh High students who had picked up speed early began entering the mountain’s outer perimeter.

Pit, piyut!

“…!”

It was then that the number 5 appeared above the students’ heads.

Then soon.

「4」

The number changed to 4, then changed again to 3.

‘…There’s a time limit for choosing weapons.’

This much was a variable within the expected range.

Young-woo watched the students frantically moving to find nearby weapon piles, then deliberately slowed down and ran diagonally to the side.

‘As long as I don’t approach a weapon pile, the timer won’t appear. So if I think about this in reverse… I can enter after finding the weapon I want.’

As he had confirmed earlier, Sword Mountain was full of not just swords but all kinds of military weapons like axes, hammers, and spears.

But the problem was that these countless weapons were piled up randomly.

Therefore, to pick out the desired weapon within 5 seconds, he had to find a spot where that weapon was already exposed on the outside.

And just now.

‘…Found it.’

The place Young-woo had been looking for appeared before him.

A spot where no one had entered first yet, and a ‘shield’ was exposed at the edge of a weapon pile.

Taat!

Young-woo immediately sprinted at full speed as soon as he spotted that location.

While doing so.

‘Could I possibly pick up more than one weapon within the time limit?’

Having this thought, he quickly scanned what weapons were around the shield.

Axes, spears… most were medium to large weapons, but occasionally thin silhouettes caught his eye too.

They were none other than daggers.

‘If I have time to grab one more, after the shield comes the dagger.’

However, Young-woo’s Plan B was not realized.

Paat!

Because as soon as he approached the weapon pile, the following message appeared.

「You have entered Sword Mountain.」

「Choose one piece of survival equipment within 5 seconds.」

‘…One?’

Then the choice was also fixed to one.

Young-woo pulled out the shield embedded in the weapon pile while staying alert to his surroundings.

Chareureu!

Then the timer immediately disappeared and an equipment tooltip appeared before his eyes.

「Steel Round Shield」 – Common Medium Shield

|Can also be used as a weapon.

‘Can also be used as a weapon… does that mean to strike opponents with the shield?’

The shield’s diameter was about 50 centimeters, but it had considerable thickness so it seemed like the weight wouldn’t be trivial.

And indeed.

Thud.

When he slipped his left hand into the handle inside the shield, a burdensome weight pressed down on his entire left arm.

‘Now I understand why it’s dual-purpose as a weapon.’

Young-woo’s shield appreciation ended there.

Because soon rough movement occurred from his rear flank.

Tatat!

‘An ambush?’

Every cell in his body grew hot as if burned by fire.

Young-woo covered between his torso and face with the shield, then turned around while taking a thrusting stance with his sword.

Hwat!

Then beyond the shield’s outline, he saw some boy.

“Ah… mister.”

A frightened voice with an expression that matched perfectly. It was a Geumoh High student.

A first-year at most? His face was young and his build quite small.

“What, you.”

Young-woo, who had been radiating murderous intent, only cautiously stepped back after confirming the opponent was unarmed.

Discovering the number above the student’s head came next.

「2」

Then soon.

「1」

“Uh.”

“…Ah.”

The moment Young-woo let out a single syllable, a sigh also flowed from the student’s mouth.

The time limit had run out before he could even choose a weapon.

Now there was no indication above the student’s head, and both his hands remained completely empty.

‘Damn.’

Young-woo saw the student’s dejected expression and spoke in a somewhat softer tone than before.

“Why did you come all the way here? Instead of staying with your friends.”

The student glanced back briefly, then answered quietly.

“…They’re not my friends.”

“What?”

“Just because we go to the same school doesn’t mean we’re all friends.”

That was true.

And it was also a story that made sense given the circumstances.

‘Right. Even the timing of our encounter was off. Those guys entered the mountain before I did.’

Moreover, this was a spot dozens of meters away from where the Geumoh High students had been.

In other words, this student had been moving separately from the Geumoh High group from the beginning.

‘Well, I’m traveling alone too.’

Thinking this, Young-woo was about to look away from the student when he suddenly noticed something and his brow twitched.

The student’s school uniform name tag was severely damaged.

‘No matter how I look at it, it seems like someone burned it with a lighter.’

As Young-woo stared intently at the half-burned name tag, the student noticed and quickly brought up a different topic.

“Um… mister.”

“…?”

“Could I try drawing a weapon now?”

“A weapon?”

Young-woo asked this while surveying the surroundings.

Though silhouettes of people flickered in the distance, no one was currently approaching this way.

“Alright. Give it a try.”

Actually, Young-woo had been curious about this too.

What would happen if someone touched the weapons after the time limit had passed.

Step.

As Young-woo took another step back, the student clasped his hands together with a tense expression.

Then he reached toward the pile of weapons where Young-woo had drawn his shield earlier.

Swoosh.

The weapon the student wanted was none other than a spear.

Probably because of his small build, he preferred a weapon that wouldn’t require close contact with opponents.

Thud!

Finally, the student grasped the spear shaft with both hands.

“Nngh…!”

But that was as far as it went.

No matter how hard he struggled, the spear wouldn’t come out.

“This…! Urgh!”

The student’s expression grew increasingly miserable.

Eventually, he burst into tears.

He knew it himself. That he would have to survive in a world full of monsters without a single weapon.

‘So it really doesn’t work once time runs out.’

Young-woo’s heart wasn’t comfortable watching this either.

But what could he do.

“I’m sorry this happened. Anyway, don’t stay here too long. People will start flocking here soon.”

All Young-woo could do was offer advice that wasn’t really advice with an uneasy heart.

Just as he was about to check the arrow at his feet.

Grab!

The student who had been lying down crying suddenly grabbed the edge of Young-woo’s shield.

“Ah… mister!”

“…?”

“Could you please take me with you? If I travel alone like this, people will beat me to death.”

Only after hearing this did Young-woo realize that what this boy feared wasn’t monsters, but other people.

This kid also knew well how harsh the world was to the weak.

Judging from the chaos at the Exchange Office, that would be the same even now that the world had turned upside down.

But what use would a boy without weapons and with a small build be.

‘I’d be lucky if I don’t get stabbed in the back at some point.’

Young-woo steeled his heart and was about to reject the student.

If only he hadn’t caught a glimpse of the number written on the boy’s right hand.

‘What’s that, did I see wrong?’

As Young-woo tilted his head, the student noticed and showed his right hand.

“Ah, this…!”

“Huh?”

Young-woo’s eyes widened instantly.

There really was a number there.

And it was actually.

「17」

17 Karma Points.

Converting this to coins, it was a whopping 170,000 Karma.

“How do you still have this? Didn’t you come here after stopping by the Exchange Office?”

When Young-woo asked in an agitated voice, the student looked frightened.

“I couldn’t exchange it. There were too many kids…”

“What?”

Young-woo made an incredulous expression, then quickly organized his thoughts and asked again.

“What’s the name of the Quest you’re currently viewing?”

“New, New Life.”

“Good lord.”

[Main] “New Life”

【Mission】 Follow the arrow to find the nearest Exchange Office.

【Reward】 Basic living funds

【Special】 First-come-first-served additional rewards

In other words, this student had come here while skipping the Exchange Office section entirely.

“How did you find this place?”

“The kids who got swords cleared the path. I secretly followed behind them.”

He seemed to be talking about the group of students he’d seen on the way to Sword Mountain. Since they had Early Bird, they were probably Geumoh High’s vanguard.

‘So weapon selection activates just by reaching Sword Mountain, even without the Quest?’

Should he call it a kind of bug? It felt like glimpsing a loophole in this world.

Anyway, the important fact now was that someone with 170,000 Karma was requesting rescue.

Of course, it wasn’t without problems.

‘We can’t go back now, so we’ll have to find a new Exchange Office. But there’s no guarantee the exchange will work normally there either.’

However, he had a gut feeling it was too much money to give up without even trying.

Hadn’t the basic living funds provided through the first main Quest been 3,000 Karma?

‘170,000 Karma is over 50 times the basic funds. Even if 3,000 Karma is equivalent to daily wages, it’s money that could put me nearly two months ahead of others.’

Young-woo checked the student’s palm again, then made a serious proposal.

“Right now your entire fortune is 170,000 Karma. How much can you give me as payment for your life?”

Humans of the Ruined World (Ongoing)

Author │ Oetu

Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong

Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.

Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok

Address │ 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 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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