Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 74

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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 74 21. Karma (3)

 

‘This place isn’t exactly normal either.’

 

Seongnam, where the 31st First Sword was currently in office.

 

Young-woo couldn’t help but think of Gimcheon.

 

That city that had been ravaged by mutants due to the lack of a proper First Sword.

 

“….”

 

Young-woo frowned as he recalled Gimcheon from back then, when the First Sword title was automatically inherited by just anyone near mutants.

 

It was a perfect example of what would happen in this reset world if no one claimed to be strong.

 

‘But the same thing couldn’t have happened in Seongnam.’

 

Swish.

 

Young-woo’s gaze turned back to Seongnam’s regional status.

 

|You are currently staying in ‘Seongnam’.

 

|This area’s First Sword is ‘Lee Nam-hee101’. 31st generation, 1 defense.

 

Seongnam was a city attached right below Seoul, specifically below Gangnam District, the biggest commercial area.

 

Therefore, while Seongnam’s First Sword could be weak, it would be nearly impossible for mutants that fell in Seongnam to survive for long.

 

Because.

 

‘Seoul is already eyeing monsters in the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do. With the situation like this, would they have left Seongnam, the closest area, alone?’

 

Therefore, the dozens of successions of Seongnam’s First Sword were likely unrelated to mutants.

 

For instance.

 

‘High-level challengers kept appearing.’

 

It was hard for Young-woo to imagine with his common sense, but this was right below Seoul where 25 mutants appeared daily. Nothing would be strange.

 

‘I’ll know what’s going on once I go downtown.’

 

Current time, 11:15.

 

Young-woo was traveling along the highway just like yesterday.

 

However, even though it was the same highway, the atmosphere was very different from when crossing Chungbuk and the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.

 

Apartment complexes were already starting to line up on both sides of the road, and people could be seen near the complexes.

 

‘There are definitely more people near Seoul.’

 

Of course, this was the time when the active population was at its highest.

 

Wasn’t it over an hour since the day service had ended?

 

Both weak and strong people would be wandering the streets collecting daily necessities or solving daily quests.

 

‘Oh, come to think of it.’

 

Finally, Young-woo’s gaze moved to the quest section on the left side of his vision.

 

Then the daily quest list that had changed according to Seongnam, his current area, appeared.

 

[Daily] “Scout”

 

【Mission】 Approach until you are within 10 meters of a monster.

 

【Reward】 3,000 Karma

 

The first quest was the same one he’d always seen.

 

The mission that induced people to fight monsters.

 

‘This one’s fixed no matter which area you go to.’

 

This meant that from now on, everyone would have to consider whether to perform the Scout quest as soon as they woke up in the morning.

 

Of course, this applied more to the majority of people who were still close to ordinary citizens rather than skilled fighters with decent combat power.

 

Skilled fighters would naturally seek out places where monsters fell, but ordinary people had to avoid monsters instead.

 

But in this world, didn’t you need about 4,000 Karma daily even if you just breathed without eating?

 

The day rate for the smallest motel room was 3,000, and the basic tax was 1,000 Karma.

 

In other words, if you weren’t going to perform the Scout quest, you had to make 3,000 Karma by begging from others or providing some kind of service for wages.

 

On top of that.

 

‘For ordinary people, the second quest is also essentially mandatory. Taxes are a problem, but you can’t live without eating at all.’

 

Young-woo checked the second daily quest, which unlike ‘Scout’ varied by region and date.

 

Then his eyes widened.

 

“…!”

 

It was because a terrible quest he didn’t want to believe was displayed.

 

[Daily] “Helping Underprivileged Neighbors”

 

【Mission】 Find disabled people and give them Karma.

 

【Reward】 2,000 Karma

 

“What kind of bullshit is this…?”

 

Young-woo realized anew that the reset world wasn’t being managed by humans.

 

At first glance, this quest seemed like a mutually beneficial arrangement where you help disabled people and receive a reward, but it lacked understanding of context.

 

Where would this quest take place? In a merciless world where individual morality and conscience were no longer monitored.

 

Therefore, any decent human wouldn’t have made unspecified masses in such a world wander around looking for disabled people.

 

And they wouldn’t have dared to name such a quest ‘Helping Underprivileged Neighbors’.

 

“….”

 

Young-woo felt goosebumps rising on his arms and neck.

 

Who on earth had created such a quest?

 

Probably only a being with terrible malice toward humans, or conversely, tremendous misunderstanding, could create such a thing.

 

‘Either way, it’s not optimistic.’

 

While Young-woo was examining the terrible daily quest, the row of apartments that had been continuing on the right side of the road suddenly broke off, and his view opened up.

 

“…?”

 

When Young-woo turned his head in that direction, he saw two relatively low buildings passing by in succession.

 

“…Ah.”

 

Though it was momentary, Young-woo, who had read the writing on the upper part of the buildings, let out a sigh.

 

「Neulpureun Middle School」

 

「Neulpureun Elementary School」

 

So that’s what it was – schools.

 

Probably buildings that would no longer be used?

 

If most people who survived in this world were murderers, what could they teach children?

 

And even before that, whether children would continue to exist was uncertain.

 

‘Perhaps humanity will end with this generation.’

 

As Young-woo looked back at the two schools rapidly moving away, he noticed the patrol car behind them slowing down.

 

Jong-su and Tae-young had definitely been captivated by the sight of the schools too.

 

’11:23.’

 

Young-woo looked at his wristwatch and pulled on Negwig’s reins to slow down.

 

He had time to wait for his companions to indulge in sentiment.

 

According to the pattern so far, monsters and mutants appeared at 1 PM.

 

‘I should either wait here and catch a mutant before leaving, or go straight up to Seoul.’

 

It was a crossroads.

 

The advantage of choosing to wait in Seongnam would probably be monopolizing the mutant.

 

Since there wouldn’t be as many competitors as in Seoul, he could stably monopolize the mutant, right?

 

On the other hand, Seoul had many powerful competitors but also many mutants.

 

And most importantly.

 

‘If I enter Seoul before 1 o’clock, I can immediately see how things are operating there.’

 

In this world, 1 PM is now the ‘hottest’ time of day.

 

Because that’s when the most money circulates in the market.

 

First Swords move around searching for Mutants, while other skilled individuals busily rush about trying to catch at least some Monsters.

 

However, what makes Seoul special is that this phenomenon occurs simultaneously across 25 adjacent districts.

 

‘Going to Seoul would be right, wouldn’t it? From what I can see, this person who’s my father seems to be in Seoul too.’

 

Young-woo saw that the arrow on the ‘wanted poster’ was still pointing north.

 

Of course, since he only knew it was north from Seongnam, his father might be staying in Uijeongbu or Dongducheon rather than Seoul.

 

Anyway, once he entered Seoul, he would naturally find out.

 

Everything from his father’s whereabouts to the situation in Seoul, this country’s largest population center.

 

And also who the strongest First Sword in this country was.

 

“….”

 

Just as Young-woo’s thoughts reached this point and he felt an unexpected tension, noise came from ahead on the road.

 

Vroooom…!

 

‘Engine sound?’

 

Even as Young-woo questioned himself, he was already certain.

 

It wasn’t a sound commonly heard that could be confused with something else.

 

Clank.

 

When Young-woo pulled the reins once more and brought Negwig to a complete stop, the patrol car following behind him also came to a halt.

 

“Boss, what’s the matter?”

 

Soon Jong-su opened the passenger door and asked this, then closed his mouth after spotting the object that began appearing on the other side of the road.

 

Vroooom!

 

Because some cars were approaching in a line along the highway.

 

No, more precisely, Young-woo’s group was in the direction the cars were trying to go.

 

Of course, since the adjacent lane was empty, they weren’t obstructing traffic.

 

“Uh… wait, this.”

 

Tae-young, recognizing that the vehicles over there were moving quite fast, made a worried sound.

 

He thought they would be startled upon seeing Young-woo and slam on the brakes.

 

And for good reason, since Young-woo was currently sitting on a jet-black iron horse, his entire body adorned with gleaming equipment.

 

And sure enough.

 

Screeech!

 

When the distance between both sides narrowed to about 40 meters, the lead vehicle began emergency braking.

 

However, the problem was.

 

Screeeeech!

 

They were so shocked by the iron horse that they jerked the steering wheel as well.

 

So ultimately, a major disaster occurred.

 

Screeeech!

 

When the lead vehicle lost control and spun in place, the cars behind crashed into it one after another, causing a chain collision.

 

Crash, bang!

 

A total of six cars had crashed into the vehicle ahead and the guardrail before stopping right in front of Young-woo’s group.

 

“Gasp….”

 

Jong-su and Tae-young could only let out bewildered breaths at the sudden unexpected situation, but Young-woo’s response was a bit different.

 

Thud!

 

He leaped down from Negwig’s back and simultaneously.

 

Swoosh!

 

Drew his Black Sword.

 

Current time: 11:28 AM.

 

Six vehicles traveling from the north toward Seoul, crossing through Seongnam heading south at this awkward time.

 

In Young-woo’s opinion, these couldn’t be ordinary people.

 

Just having cars meant they were handling considerable amounts of cash, and such people moving in groups likely meant they were a cartel with some purpose.

 

Like the ‘Seoul People’ that those chasing cattle in Yeoju feared, or those self-proclaimed ‘Hunters’ who had apparently visited Icheon as well.

 

“B-Boss?”

 

Clank, clank.

 

Young-woo left Jong-su’s somewhat puzzled voice behind and approached the lead vehicle that had crashed head-first into the guardrail.

 

Then he could see a man in the driver’s seat holding his forehead.

 

“Damn it… what the hell.”

 

He seemed shocked by the unexpected accident, but as Young-woo expected, there were no injuries on his body.

 

He was a superhuman-level driver whose body wouldn’t be damaged by a mere car accident.

 

“Are you okay? I’m sorry. It seems like the accident happened because of me.”

 

When Young-woo spoke in a tone that wasn’t sorry at all, the man who had been holding his forehead looked back at him with angry eyes, then quickly calmed his gaze.

 

He had swiftly recalled what had startled him.

 

The opponent’s extraordinary equipment condition.

 

And most of all.

 

“Wh-what is that thing.”

 

The man who confirmed Negwig again was horrified.

 

He hadn’t seen it wrong earlier.

 

However, the other drivers behind, unaware of this situation, kicked open their crumpled doors and burst out of their cars.

 

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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