Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 77

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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 77 22. Show Them Gwanak (1)

 

Once the trip to Gwanak was decided, the Golden Goblin became busier than anyone else.

 

-Kiiit!

 

Following Young-woo’s orders, it had to frantically run around among the 14 corpses.

 

-Kikit!

 

The goblin collected anything that could be worth money from the area.

 

Not only did it thoroughly search through the clothes of the deceased to find coins, but it also gathered up all the weapons that had been flung far away without leaving anything behind.

 

Of course, not many of them were actually useful.

 

The basic issued weapons were nothing more than junk to Young-woo anyway.

 

So as a result, the actual income gained from this fight was.

 

‘Five Early Birds, and 72,000 Karma.’

 

It was rather meager for war spoils obtained from killing as many as fourteen people.

 

It was only this much thanks to the large amount of cash found on Gangnam First Sword’s son; excluding him, the financial state of the other deceased was absolutely terrible.

 

‘They were much more impoverished than they appeared.’

 

Well, these were people who couldn’t even participate in hunting monsters, let alone mutants in Seoul, so they had come down to Gyeonggi-do.

 

Their situation might be better than the absolute majority of citizens whose income sources were at best daily quests or begging, but they didn’t have much leeway either.

 

‘They probably invested all the money they earned into ability stats. They had to survive today’s monster hunting to hope for tomorrow.’

 

But at least one person’s circumstances were somewhat different, weren’t they?

 

“….”

 

Young-woo looked at the corpse lying face down without its head.

 

Gangnam First Sword’s only son.

 

Why was he, who had such a different background, here?

 

Why had he come down to Gyeonggi-do instead of hunting monsters in Gangnam District where his father was?

 

Simple personal rebellion?

 

‘No. If he wanted to rebel, he would have done it in Gangnam. Why bother coming all the way down to Gyeonggi-do.’

 

Moreover, he didn’t even possess the martial prowess to wander around so carelessly.

 

‘Then….’

 

There was only one remaining possibility.

 

‘It can only mean that even being Gangnam First Sword’s son, he couldn’t touch the monsters in Seoul.’

 

Even if those were monsters that appeared in Gangnam District, his own father’s territory.

 

“….”

 

Young-woo’s brow furrowed even deeper.

 

What could it be?

 

What on earth could have pushed even Gangnam First Sword’s son outside of Seoul?

 

“Hmm.”

 

Young-woo cut off his thoughts at this point.

 

After all, he wouldn’t be able to know anything for certain until he went to Seoul himself.

 

Swish.

 

When he turned his head back, he saw Jong-su and Tae-young still standing with tense expressions.

 

Young-woo threw one Early Bird to Tae-young.

 

Whoosh.

 

“…Huh? Wh-what is this?”

 

Tae-young’s eyes widened at the sudden distribution.

 

Young-woo pointed to his belt and said to Tae-young.

 

“I noticed only Officer Tae-young was using a basic sword.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Hearing Young-woo’s words, Tae-young glanced at Jong-su beside him.

 

Then he saw the Early Bird glinting in his scabbard.

 

“This precious thing… I haven’t done anything, can I really just accept this?”

 

“It’s not very precious to me anymore, so don’t feel burdened.”

 

Young-woo answered this way while looking at the Golden Goblin.

 

Indeed, there were four more Early Birds in that creature’s pouch.

 

Since he gave one of the five newly obtained ones to Tae-young, Young-woo currently had as many as eight Early Birds.

 

They might still be precious weapons somewhere else, but to Young-woo at least, they were now close to junk.

 

“And Jong-su, please take this.”

 

Finally, when Young-woo pointed to Jong-su’s feet, the goblin ran over there and poured out a heap of coins.

 

Clatter!

 

None other than 72,000 Karma.

 

He was returning the money he had borrowed from Jong-su when purchasing Vanguard and Mirage, along with some interest.

 

“Hyung-nim… As I said last time, you can pay me back very slowly.”

 

Jong-su waved his hands again this time, but Young-woo wanted to settle this debt at this opportunity.

 

“We’re going into Seoul soon. But if I happen to die there, I’d be in debt forever….”

 

“Hyung-nim… Why are you saying such things again.”

 

Jong-su scratched the back of his head at this unexpected reason, then reluctantly picked up and pocketed the coins.

 

Seeing this, Young-woo finally showed a relieved expression.

 

“Well, now the basics are roughly sorted out.”

 

When Young-woo gestured into the air, Negwig, who had been standing far away, approached while tapping the ground with its steel hooves.

 

Clank, clank.

 

This would probably be the factor that would greatly influence Young-woo’s life in Seoul, second only to Gangnam First Sword.

 

Just as Gangnam First Sword’s son had shown interest in Negwig, other strong individuals in Seoul would likely do the same.

 

‘Moreover, Young-woo is not the type to compromise easily….’

 

It already seemed like the smell of blood was vibrating in the air.

 

Tae-young looked at Young-woo with worried eyes as he got into the patrol car.

 

* * *

 

12:03 PM.

 

Lee Jang-ho, who had escaped from the scene of 14 murders, stopped running when he reached the outskirts of Seongnam City.

 

“Hik, heek…!”

 

He had run with all his might, but he could no longer continue running.

 

Not only was he out of breath up to his chin, but his legs were numb and his body could no longer move forward.

 

He had probably reached his limit in terms of ability stats.

 

He now regretted not investing much in stamina.

 

“Phew, damn it.”

 

Jang-ho panted heavily as he looked back.

 

Just like the past 20 minutes, there was still no sign of a pursuer.

 

Had Jung Hyun-sik bought more time than expected?

 

‘No, that guy might just be searching in the wrong place.’

 

The scene of the outsider cutting down more than ten people at once flashed through Jang-ho’s mind, drenched in cold sweat.

 

“….”

 

The martial prowess that guy revealed at that moment was truly First Sword level.

 

Therefore, if that guy figured out his location, closing the distance would be nothing.

 

‘I absolutely have to get into Seoul quickly.’

 

Jang-ho thought that once he entered Seoul, he could somehow get help.

 

Wasn’t Seoul a place where monster-like individuals were scattered everywhere?

 

Needless to say if it was Gangnam.

 

Also, if the outsider had any brains, he surely wouldn’t continue the pursuit even after seeing the regional status change to Gangnam.

 

‘Seoul… no, Gangnam is my lifeline.’

 

Just as Jang Ho gritted his teeth and tried to move his heavy legs again, the sound he had only dreamed of came from the road across.

 

Vroooom….

 

It was none other than the sound of a car engine.

 

‘Wow, damn. I guess I wasn’t destined to die young after all.’

 

Jang Ho placed his hand on his scabbard, thinking to steal the car.

 

Swish.

 

Of course, since it was a car coming down from Seoul, he needed to be careful.

 

‘…Please.’

 

If that car about to come into view was a high-performance vehicle that didn’t give a damn about fuel efficiency, he’d have to let it pass quietly.

 

Given the nature of this world where even gas had to be bought with Karma, choosing to drive around a fuel-inefficient vehicle meant a lot.

 

On the other hand, if a compact-level vehicle that was commonly seen in the old world appeared….

 

Vroooom!

 

Soon the engine sound grew much closer and a dark shape appeared at the far end of the road.

 

“…!”

 

Jang Ho’s brow furrowed.

 

Then a gray Avante appeared in his field of vision.

 

Shing!

 

Jang Ho drew his sword without delay and approached the roadside.

 

* * *

 

At the same time, Young-woo’s group was passing through the junction from Seongnam to Seocho District along the Gyeongbu Expressway.

 

The current plan was to not enter Seocho itself, but to go from near Yangjae along the Gangnam Ring Road through Sadang to Gwanak.

 

As always, Young-woo riding Negwig was keeping the lead, but Jong-su and Tae-young couldn’t help but feel scared.

 

This was none other than Seoul.

 

Moreover, they had to break through Gangnam area districts one after another.

 

“…I don’t see a single rat.”

 

When Tae-young, gripping the steering wheel, said this with a tense face, Jong-su, who was similarly scanning outside the window, nodded.

 

“It’s probably because it’s monster appearance time.”

 

In about 50 minutes, monsters would pour down like rain throughout Seoul.

 

Therefore, people who needed to hide had already hidden themselves, and monster hunters had already taken their positions.

 

In other words, they were currently heading toward Seoul that had entered combat readiness.

 

“….”

 

As Jong-su had an anxious look in his eyes, Tae-young, who had been glancing at him, carefully opened his mouth.

 

“You’re worried too, aren’t you? We’re essentially entering a deathtrap.”

 

Jong-su nodded to this and stared at Young-woo’s back visible ahead.

 

“I’m in a position where it wouldn’t be strange if I died anytime, but hyung-nim isn’t… so I feel it’s a waste.”

 

“A waste?”

 

When Tae-young tilted his head and asked back, Jong-su looked at the road behind them.

 

“Officer-nim might not relate to this… but in my view, among the First Swords, Young-woo hyung-nim is closest to being normal.”

 

“By normal, you mean exactly what kind of….”

 

“Someone who’s sufficiently selfish but not quite evil. Young-woo hyung-nim could kill anyone in sight and steal their money if he wanted to right now. He could do worse things too. But he’s still maintaining a minimum line, isn’t he.”

 

“Ah. If you mean it that way.”

 

Tae-young’s head moved up and down slowly.

 

Of course, it was hard to agree with Jong-su’s claim that Young-woo was normal.

 

After all, hadn’t the recent disturbance with the ‘Seoul people’ also ended in bloodshed?

 

Therefore, in the eyes of Tae-young, a former police officer, Young-woo was also a murderer with blood all over his hands.

 

It’s just that he no longer had the authority or ability to arrest murderers, so he was just watching. No, actually he was beyond watching and even owed his life to Young-woo.

 

‘Actually, if we’re following the law, I’m also aiding and abetting murder.’

 

Just as Tae-young was about to show a confused expression, the regional zone he was staying in finally changed and the regional status in the corner of his vision was updated.

 

Flash!

 

|You are currently staying in the region ‘Seocho’.

 

|This region’s First Sword is ‘Choi Nam-hee11’. 4th generation, 3 defenses.

 

They had finally begun to set foot on Seoul soil.

 

4th-Class 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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