Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 122

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 122: Transition (5)

Woah!

As golden waves emanated from Yeongwoo’s body with his pupils turning golden, Kim Seonggu, the Strongest Sword of Kaesong, widened his eyes.

“This…!”

He knew it all too well.

The approaching golden waves were none other than the aura of the Strongest Sword.

Hence, he realized the identity of the man before him as the Strongest Sword of South Korea.

“Huhup!”

Kim Seongu also belatedly emitted the aura of the Strongest Sword in response, but the waves he produced couldn’t last even a second before crumbling.

…!

This meant that the aura of the outsider who dared to challenge him was much stronger.

‘What…? Is that bastar* tougher than me?’

Having experienced all sorts of battles in Kaesong since the first day of the reset, Kim Seongu knew relatively well how this ‘aura of the Strongest Sword’ worked.

The power of this technique was closely related to the prowess of the Strongest Sword themselves, but it primarily relied on internal strength.

In vulgar terms, it was called ‘spirit’, encompassing boldness, cunning, mental strength, and the like.

And this also applied to the ability to resist the aura.

So, even those who grew up like greenhouse flowers, despite having high equipment or stats, were greatly influenced by the aura, while those with strong inner selves could withstand the aura even when struck.

In other words, in a situation where two best swordsmen clashed with their auras, being overwhelmingly pushed back meant…

‘…Fuc*. Unbelievable.’

Being pushed back meant being relatively close to a greenhouse flower.

Eudeuk.

With wounded pride, Kim Seongu tried to extend his spear with a glint in his eye.

But.

Shwaaat!

Due to Yeongwoo’s golden waves shattering his aura and starting to demonstrate his skills, he couldn’t do it.

“Kkuh…?”

Suddenly feeling as if his heart was being squeezed, he couldn’t move properly.

This was true not only for Kim Seongu but also for about a dozen flying teenagers filling the audience seats.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Save us…!”

“Mister!”

The boys, who saw even their ‘king,’ Kim Seongu gripped by fear, begged for mercy from the man from South Korea who was also affected by the aura.

However, it was already after Yeongwoo began chanting “that.”

“This battle is supported by the interstellar weapon brand Dogo….”

A somewhat gloomy sponsorship announcement, unlike usual.

It made the listeners even more fearful.

“Mister?”

“W… What are you saying all of a sudden!”

“I am the human of Earth, the strongest in Gyeongbuk and Gangnam, Jeong Yeongwoo 07.”

Finally revealed, the reason for this man’s powerful aura.

Of course, despite him revealing the sponsorship, neither Kim Seongu nor the boys in this place could understand.

They couldn’t know what the man before them had experienced.

If Kim Seongu was a greenhouse flower on Earth, Jeong Yeongwoo of Gyeongbuk was close to a weed who came to see the universe outside the atmosphere.

No wonder Kim Seongu’s aura could never match Yeongwoo’s.

“This lunatic bastard.”

Finally breaking free from the influence of the aura, Kim Seongu thrust his spear straight towards Yeongwoo.

Shwaaat!

As expected from someone who had been through all sorts of battles, it was a decisive thrust that even felt poisonous.

However, since Kim Seongu utilized the Earth’s martial arts, “Kaesong Swordsmanship,” in his attack, to Yeongwoo, his thrust appeared merely as an honest attack.

‘It’s sharp, but the intention is clearly visible.’

On the other hand, Yeongwoo’s martial arts came from another realm.

【Rohm’s Bottom】

And the unconventional martial art proposed by Rohm’s prisoners offered a counter.

Kwig!

It involved receiving the opponent’s spear with the forehead, or in other words, the front of the helmet.

Due to the overwhelming defensive performance of the “Golden Oath” and the sensory advantage, Kim Seongu’s attack seemed incredibly slow to Yeongwoo.

Chit!

Ultimately, Kim Seongu’s spear couldn’t pierce through the front line and slipped sideways, prompting Yeongwoo to grab the tip of the spear with his left hand.

Thud!

Kim Seongu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What…?”

Next, Yeongwoo pulled the spear towards himself.

Hwaeaat!

Naturally, Kim Seongu was drawn closer to Yeongwoo.

…!

In fact, Kim Seongu was trying to narrow the distance with Yeongwoo.

Based on his combat experience so far, it was natural for the opponent to wield a sword in such a situation.

Wasn’t his center of gravity completely off?

And the Kaesong Swordsmanship was also advising him to approach the opponent’s right arm, near where he held the sword.

However, the next attack executed by Yeongwoo after fulfilling this was…

Pwoeeok!

A kick utilizing the recoil caused by pulling Kim Seongu in.

“Kkuh!”

Kim Seongu’s face contorted from the unexpected attack, but even in the midst of this, he kept an eye on the opponent’s blazing red sword.

He thought the sword would move next, anyway.

However.

Hwaeaeck!

What followed was a left body hook flying like lightning.

Pwoeeok!

“Kehk!”

A gasp escaped from Kim Seongu’s throat.

‘Why is this crazy guy using his fists when he has a sword?’

Is this how they fight in South Korea…?

While Kim Seongu was confused by Yeongwoo’s unexpected attack, finally, the “Dragon’s Legacy” began to move.

Ssweut.

From Yeongwoo’s perspective, after all, Dogo had ordered him to cut the throat.

“Ah…!”

Ironically, Kim Seongu felt relieved seeing his opponent finally resorting to using a weapon.

In a weapon-to-weapon duel, he had accumulated a lot of combat data, and he believed that a spear would have a significant advantage even in a close-range fight.

“You’re finished now.”

Thud!

So, as Kim Seongu instinctively leaned back.

Hwaeak!

With another ominous gesture, Yeongwoo’s right foot shot out swiftly.

It was none other than a front kick.

Pwoeeok!

Yeongwoo’s front kick, extended like a thrust, directly hit Kim Seongu’s abdomen, causing him to reflexively bend over in pain.

“What…?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

He felt something was seriously wrong.

With his upper body bent and his neck stretched out, this posture was definitely…

“Oh, no!”

Ideal for decapitation.

And indeed, at that moment, Yeongwoo was wielding the “Dragon’s Legacy” with both hands and swinging it towards Kim Seongu’s back.

Ssguk!

The “Dragon’s Legacy” traced a dazzling trajectory without any deviation.

“…!”

“Uh…!”

“Oh my god…!”

Everyone in the audience, including Yeongwoo, saw the Dogo’s wedge pattern pierce through Kim Seongu’s neck and touch the ground.

Then.

Thud, thump!

The head of Kim Seongu, the Strongest Sword of Kaesong, fell to the ground.

* * *

10:02 AM.

Although the sun had already started to rise quite high, still not a single person appeared.

Just as the first impression suggested, Kaesong City was indeed a ghost town.

The only ones stationed here were Kim Seongu and his gang, in this abandoned city.

‘Well, now this place’s fate will remain in a neglected state.’

Yeongwoo, amidst the scattered bodies of boys, calculated the round-trip time between Gangnam in Seoul and Kaesong.

‘At 1:00 PM, deal with the mutants appearing in Gangnam as quickly as possible… Then move to Gwangjin-gu. If I can handle the mutants in Gwangjin-gu in time, it should be around 1:30 PM.’

And from then on, high-speed travel from Seoul to Kaesong.

He didn’t know if he could arrive in Kaesong around 2:00 PM if he could wrap up things in Seoul a little faster.

Of course, even this was a plan that could be achieved because Yeongwoo was the owner of iron horse Negwig.

‘It’s a really absurd idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely impossible. And this way, I can almost complete my achievements in just one day.’

[Golden Journey]

|Summon a golden rain in the next region.

|Domestic (2/3) |Foreign (0/2)

The fact that North Korea’s climate was different meant that at least the world system was considering the North Korean region as a foreign jurisdiction.

Therefore, there was a very high probability that he could fulfill the additional condition of summoning a golden rain in two foreign regions.

‘Let’s go with that plan for now. Now that I know Kim Jong-un will return as a mutant, we need to keep an eye on North Korea.’

Then, how would the Strongest Swords of the Seoul Federation react to this news?

Yeongwoo was about to transmit this information through the ring ‘Wave,’ but he hesitated as he saw the system message that appeared before him.

-Would you like to merge or merge Kaesong Strongest Sword?

… The merger authorization will disappear in 5 seconds.

… 4.

… 3.

“What?”

He momentarily forgot about the assassination of the Strongest Sword, a long-awaited event.

It meant the ability to absorb titles from other regions.

‘Ha, approval for the merger.’

When Yeongwoo decided to acquire the title of Kaesong’s Strongest Sword, the regional status in the corner of his vision immediately changed.

Whoosh!

|The current location is ‘Kaesong.’

|There are no Strongest Swords in this area.

Then, a familiar but slightly different merger notification appeared.

「Acquired Kaesong’s Strongest Sword!」

…Reached 1 title in possession of North Korean regions.

‘…North Korean regions.’

However, the really important information followed next.

[Kaesong Strongest Sword] => Merged with a large region 2 or more times.

= [Joseon Strongest Sword (Advanced)]

“Huh…?”

Although it was a format he had seen before, the content was completely different.

This is because the example of title merger that Yeongwoo had seen before was not a merger between large regions, but the process of becoming the Strongest sword of a large region, which was the previous step.

[Gumi Strongest Sword] => Merged 2 or more times.

= [Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword (Advanced)]

On the other hand, the example that appeared this time…

‘Wait… Isn’t the Joseon Strongest Sword a superior version of a large region?’

A title that could only be obtained by integrating large regions such as South Hwanghaenam Province, Hwanghaebuk Province, Pyongyang Directly Governed City, and North Hamgyeongnam Province, probably the highest-ranking title in North Korea.

‘But why am I getting this notification now that I’ve only acquired one title in North Korea…?’

Could it be because I obtained large region titles from South Korea?

‘Then wouldn’t the genealogy of titles in North Korea become more complicated? I don’t think it will work like that.’

Considering various hypotheses, Yeongwoo finally arrived at a very plausible conclusion after much contemplation.

That was…

‘Ah… Could it be because Kaesong is a special city?’

Special City of Kaesong.

In fact, in terms of scale alone, it was just an ordinary city with a population of 370,000, but due to its unique location and administrative characteristics, Kaesong was classified as a special city within North Korea.

In other words, unlike other cities, it was an independent area not belonging to any ‘province.’

Therefore, if the regional classification system accepted this straightforwardly, the status of Kaesong’s Strongest Sword could have been placed on par with titles like Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword or Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword.

‘If that’s really the case, it’s a kind of flaw, albeit not an error.’

And most importantly, Yeongwoo himself became the main beneficiary of this flaw.

Of course, since two more large region titles were needed in North Korea, the probability of Yeongwoo becoming the Joseon’s Strongest Sword, while he had his main base in South Korea, was extremely low.

No, he had been thinking that way until just now.

Until the warning message of the title system popped up, that is.

「As you have acquired titles from regions not belonging to your country, the stigma ‘Territorialismr’ will be created.」

“What did you say?”

As Yeongwoo voiced his confusion, a tooltip appeared before him along with a conspicuous blade mark, something he had never seen before.

『Territorialism: North Korea』

|You have plundered assets from North Korea. To atone for this sin, all Strongest Swords in North Korea will be informed of your location.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]