Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 52

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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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Chapter 52 14. The Judge Who Holds a Longsword (5)

‘Ugh.’

Sensing an ominous light in Shin Young-ju’s eyes, Young-woo unconsciously moved his hand toward his scabbard before quickly stopping.

However, since Shin Young-ju had clearly seen that movement, an awkward silence fell.

“….”

“Ah, did I stare too obviously? I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable. There’s just so much equipment I’ve never seen before.”

Shin Young-ju quickly delivered a smooth line to change the atmosphere.

Then she looked at the Jung Family’s SUV and changed the subject.

“You said you came to Chungju to help those people find their family, right? So are you planning to stay here until then?”

“Ah, well.”

Young-woo’s gaze touched his wristwatch before moving to the timer at the top of his vision.

Current time: 4:10 PM.

|Time until advertiser arrival: 03:56:31

‘There’s not much time left. The great failure will start again from 9 o’clock.’

Since Chungju City’s personnel check was scheduled for 7 PM, if he wanted to witness the Jung Family’s reunion, he would have no choice but to spend the night here.

Of course, since Chungju maintained good order, a peaceful night would be guaranteed, but…

‘The problem is those advertiser bastards. They’re probably monsters from outer space.’

Young-woo didn’t want to drag Chungju City into the ominous event called the advertiser visit.

Whatever disposition and appearance the advertisers had, their mere appearance would certainly cause great chaos in Chungju City.

Also, the fact that Shin Young-ju was subtly coveting the equipment he wore bothered him.

Well, since she was responsible for many people, wouldn’t her desire for power also be great?

So in the end, Young-woo chose to continue heading north as originally planned.

“No. I’m planning to move immediately. I want to reach the next city before the great failure begins.”

“…I see. That’s a shame. I had quite a few things I wanted to ask since you seem to have more worldly experience than me.”

The ‘worldly experience’ Shin Young-ju mentioned probably referred to the world after the reset.

In reality, Young-woo’s experience level was much higher than hers, who had no choice but to stay in Chungju City.

“If I had the time, I would have learned a lot from you, Judge. But we’ll probably meet again someday.”

As Young-woo said this and started to leave, Shin Young-ju pulled out the Early Bird she had stuck in the ground earlier and asked.

“You don’t have any other business? I actually thought you came here to meet the merchant since you have so much equipment.”

“Ah… I was actually going to ask about that.”

Since he hadn’t expected her to bring up the merchant first, Young-woo looked at the black light pillar inside the city with a somewhat flustered expression.

“Would it be alright? If you permit it, I’d like to meet the merchant.”

“Of course. I’ve already bought everything I could, and if I leave it like this, it’ll disappear tonight anyway.”

It was the first time he learned that merchants also had a set duration of stay.

Young-woo thought for a moment before bowing his head toward Shin Young-ju.

“Then I’ll ask for your help.”

“Good. But there’s one condition.”

“A condition…?”

* * *

4:31 PM.

The Jung Family’s SUV, which had finally passed through the toll gate and entered Chungju City, was still packed full.

This time, instead of a police officer, Chungju First Sword Shin Young-ju had joined them in the back seat.

The condition Shin Young-ju had proposed was that she accompany them until the transaction with the merchant was completed.

Young-woo had no reason to refuse since he expected to be under the First Sword’s surveillance while staying in Chungju anyway, and for the Jung Family, it was even an honor.

Unlike Young-woo, they were in a position where they had to make Chungju their home from now on.

And lastly, Jong-su.

“Uh… doesn’t this mean I don’t need to stay with Myeong-ho hyung anymore? This place has already achieved peace and prosperity, hasn’t it?”

He tried to use this opportunity to escape from his promise with Young-woo.

“Isn’t that right, big brother? If you’re going to live here permanently, you don’t really need a bodyguard, do you?”

When Jong-su pressed him, Myeong-ho nodded with a bewildered expression.

But this was also half sincere.

Even before Chungju being safe, Jong-su himself was burdensome.

His large build, excessive pushiness, and the intimidating presence that made him feel like a thug despite calling himself a younger brother… there wasn’t a single manageable aspect about him.

“That’s right, isn’t it? What do you think, Young-woo hyung?”

After confirming Myeong-ho’s nodding, Jong-su now looked at Young-woo.

However, the fierce look he had when looking at Myeong-ho was nowhere to be found. No, far from fierce, there was even something close to reverence in his eyes.

“…Hmm.”

Of course, even from Young-woo’s perspective, Myeong-ho didn’t have the fortitude to handle Jong-su.

But that didn’t mean he could let Jong-su so easily abandon his promise like this.

Moreover, his words about not taking anyone who would be a burden as a companion were also sincere.

“If it’s something you two have agreed on, I don’t care how you decide, but I won’t be taking Jong-su with me either. Having companions creates many restrictions when moving.”

When Young-woo said this decisively, Jong-su looked very dejected and mumbled.

And during that time, a heavy rectangular building appeared beyond the car window.

It was none other than Chungju City Hall.

“That’s City Hall Plaza over there. If your husband is still in Chungju, he would have set up somewhere around here.”

When Shin Young-ju pointed to the spacious open area in front of the city hall building, Myeong-ae scanned City Hall Plaza with very complicated eyes.

Even though it wasn’t assembly time yet, there were quite a few people in the plaza.

However, unlike those in the fields at Chungju City’s entrance, most of the people here were sitting or lying on the ground.

“Oh, are they waiting for monsters here too?”

Jong-su in the passenger seat muttered while looking at the people gathered in the plaza.

Then Shin Young-ju shook her head.

“No. Most of the people gathered here are just… killing time. From my perspective, they’re time bombs.”

“Time bombs?”

Myeong-ae asked with wide eyes.

She had been scanning the crowd with her eyes, wondering if her husband might be among them.

“Yes. Most of Chungju’s citizens are trying their best to earn more karma even at this hour. They risk their lives hunting monsters, challenge daily quests, or go around picking up useful items.”

Shin Young-ju explained that a temporary market opened together with the daily 7 PM assembly time, and useful items could be traded even in petrified state.

“Then the people over there right now…”

When Myeong-ae pointed at the crowd in the plaza, Shin Young-ju’s expression turned cold.

“They’re people who aren’t implementing even minimal self-help measures. When their money runs out, they’ll have no choice but to die, but will they accept it quietly? Those people could turn into robbers at any moment.”

Shin Young-ju added that while some people did perform daily quests, that alone wasn’t enough.

For now it wasn’t a big problem, but daily quests alone couldn’t solve anything beyond lodging fees and taxes.

Things like food, for example.

“It’s been almost two days since the reset started. In other words, most people have been starving for two days already.”

“Then how does Chungju manage food? There should be food stockpiled in places like marts or department stores, right?”

This question was asked by Young-woo.

He had seen people fighting in front of a mart in Gumi before.

At this, Shin Young-ju’s gaze went up to the sky.

“There’s nothing to manage. During the 1st First Sword’s time, it became a mess and everything was looted from marts and whatnot.”

“…Ah.”

When Young-woo sighed, Shin Young-ju gave a bitter smile.

“However, even if you have food, you can’t eat it without karma, so in the end you have no choice but to bring it to the market.”

“But since petrified food can also be traded for karma, the people who robbed during the 1st First Sword’s time ended up getting the biggest benefit.”

At Young-woo’s observation, Shin Young-ju closed her eyes tightly.

“I hate to admit it, but it’s the truth. It’s a realistic limitation. And if we forcibly confiscated all the food individuals possess, that would cause even greater chaos. Perfect recovery would be impossible from the start anyway.”

In any case, this would be nothing short of a disgrace for Shin Young-ju.

And indeed, she wanted to talk about something else.

“Well, shall we end this conversation here? Now that we’ve arrived at the plaza, if you don’t mind, let’s go see the Merchant right away.”

With these words, as Shin Young-ju opened the back seat door, the bustling sounds of the plaza rushed into the vehicle.

“You’re really parting ways like this? I feel a bit wronged…”

Jong-su turned around with a voice that sounded bewildered, and meanwhile Young-woo got out of the car following Shin Young-ju.

Then Myeong-ho also quickly got out of the car and bowed toward Young-woo.

“Th-thank you for everything.”

“What is there to thank me for? It wasn’t all good times, and I’m the one who’s indebted to you and your mother.”

“…”

“By the way, are you really okay without Jong-su? At this rate, he seems like he’ll really just go his own way.”

When Young-woo glanced at Jong-su who was just starting to get out of the car, Myeong-ho smiled awkwardly.

“It should be fine here. And Jong-su is ultimately a stranger. It was a relationship that couldn’t last long anyway.”

Then Myeong-ho’s gaze turned toward the inside of the vehicle.

When Young-woo also looked that way, he saw Myeong-ae in the back seat giving a silent farewell bow.

“…”

“Take care of your health, ma’am. I’m deeply indebted to you.”

This would probably be the last conversation with the Jung Family.

After Young-woo politely greeted Myeong-ae, he chased after Shin Young-ju who had already taken several steps toward the Black Light Pillar.

* * *

4:52 PM.

Not long after leaving City Hall Plaza, Young-woo felt something strange.

Tap tap tap!

This was because Shin Young-ju, who was running ahead, wasn’t matching his tempo but was running at her own pace.

Of course, now that there were no other companions and only two people with First Sword status, it was perfectly understandable to move at high speed, but…

‘Even so, I’m an outsider and formally a guest, yet she’s running ahead so recklessly like that?’

Therefore, in Young-woo’s opinion, no matter how he looked at it.

‘Could she be trying to gauge my ability stats?’

Given the circumstances, that was the only way to interpret it.

And if that was really the case, Young-woo was completely showing that his ability stats were remarkably low for a First Sword.

Whenever Shin Young-ju picked up the pace even a little, he would quickly fall behind.

“Is it too fast? We’ve almost arrived though… shall we go a bit slower from here?”

Sure enough, Shin Young-ju glanced back with a worried tone.

Young-woo forced a smile and looked at the Black Light Pillar that had gotten considerably closer as she said.

“No, it’s fine. We’re really almost there now.”

Looking around, he also noticed that unlike near City Hall, there were no people here at all.

Perhaps the area near the Merchant was some kind of restricted zone that even people trying to hunt monsters couldn’t approach?

‘Well, since the Merchant only sells goods on a first-come-first-served basis… it wouldn’t be strange if they issued an access prohibition order with First Sword authority.’

Then why did Shin Young-ju readily allow an outsider to trade with the Merchant?

Whoosh…

Soon the Merchant’s characteristic sense of unease was felt through the air, and the view that had been blocked by large and small buildings suddenly opened up.

They had finally arrived at the intersection where the Merchant had set up.

And right on cue, Shin Young-ju, who had only been leading the way until now, stopped firmly in place.

Stop!

Then she raised her hand and pointed at the Light Pillar ahead.

“I hope there are some useful items left.”

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

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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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