Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 123

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 123: Territorialism (1)

“Hey…!”

Stigma, territorialism.

Exposed for the crime of plundering North Korean assets to the Strongest Swords of the opposing side.

Yeongwoo felt unjust, but he couldn’t help but accept it because there was nothing wrong with what was written in the tooltip.

First, the title of the Strongest Sword of North Korea, Kaesong Strongest Sword, was plundered?

‘It’s true. I admit it.’

Second, then is that really a sin?

‘Regardless of the reason, it’s a sin because someone was killed. Of course, strictly speaking, what the system judges as a sin is not murder… It seems to be the act of taking away a foreign title.’

『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.

Anyway, no matter how Yeongwoo felt about this stigma, the predetermined outcome could not be reversed.

Therefore.

‘…I lost.’

He is now the top priority fugitive in North Korea.

Moreover, since the sentiment between the two countries was not particularly good, it was obvious that an unfortunate incident would occur due to this incident.

‘It wouldn’t be strange at all if a war broke out because of this.’

Moreover, wasn’t it said that outer cities were being abandoned due to the shortage of supplies in North Korea anyway?

So, there was no telling whether a large-scale invasion operation would begin with this opportunity.

Dozens of North Korean Strongest Swords crossing the military demarcation line to find the South Korean trash that took away their country’s title…

“….”

As Yeongwoo imagined the terrible scene, he shook his head.

Then, he noticed a golden goblin digging through corpses on the other side.

-Tsk tsk! Tsk!

‘Yeah. It’s not like this is the only crisis. I have to find a way to survive somehow.’

Eventually, the golden goblin rushed to Yeongwoo with a handful of coins and equipment that Kaesong Strongest Sword had.

-kit!

Then, as if reporting to Yeongwoo, he spilled coins and equipment in front of him.

“You had quite a lot of spare change.”

After checking to see if the goblin had missed any valuable items using the Serpent of Greed, Yeongwoo picked up the loot piled on the floor.

‘For now, the coins… 34.’

34,000 karma.

Since he had poured all the money he had at the time into his stats to survive in the dungeon, such cash was welcomed no matter how much it was.

‘There are three pieces of equipment.’

The loot obtained from Kaesong Strongest Sword consisted of a spear, a ring, and a bracelet, totaling three.

Considering that they were all mutant-grade, it seemed that the karma he had gained so far had been invested in his stats and body.

‘Well, his size was unusually big.’

As Yeongwoo picked up the spear on the ground, the equipment tooltip appeared immediately.

「Armor Cutter」 – Mutation Spear

【Ignore 50% physical damage reduction rate.】

‘Oh, it’s more terrifying than I thought.’

This would have been suitable as one of the main weapons, but due to the nature of the spear, it couldn’t be tucked into the belt, so one of the three existing weapons had to be entrusted to the goblin.

Dullahan’s sword, which extends up to 6 meters.

Underdog, which increases its power against large enemies.

And the Dragon’s Legacy, which becomes stronger when fighting targets of rank 2 or lower.

‘There’s nothing to throw away. If anything, it would be Underdog.’

Although Dullahan’s sword was also considered, the maximum reach of up to 6 meters was an irreplaceable characteristic.

“Hmm.”

Yeongwoo, who was pondering for a moment, suddenly remembered something and asked the golden goblin.

“Hey.”

-Tsk!

“Do you understand what I’m saying well enough?”

-Ket!

“If a fight breaks out, can you wait nearby and throw me the weapons I ask for?”

Then, the goblin suddenly closed its mouth.

-……

It seemed like it could, but it didn’t want to.

“Since I don’t have a weapon encyclopaedia right now, you’ll have to play the role of a squire for now.”

After unilaterally informing it, Yeongwoo handed Underdog to it.

“Just looking at it, if the opponent is bigger than me, I’m preparing to throw this.”

-…Kiik.

The goblin made an incomprehensible sound as it received the Underdog.

Nevertheless, it obediently put Underdog into its spatial pocket.

Because it was a ‘slave,’ it had to fulfill the orders as much as possible.

“Fortunately, the rest of the equipment is accessories, so I can just put them in the encyclopaedia.”

Yeongwoo’s gaze fell on the remaining two accessories of Kaesong Strongest Sword.

「Firestop」 – Mutation Ring

【Fire Resistance 10%】

「Contemplation」 – Mutation Bracelet

【Sense increased by 500.】

“Oh…?”

Yeongwoo, checking the tooltip of the new loot, widened his eyes.

The bracelet that increased perception was undoubtedly welcome, and it was also the first time he had acquired flame-resistant equipment.

Planning ahead for battles with dragons, Yeongwoo intended to gradually collect elemental resistance equipment as well.

Shiaat!

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

As Yeongwoo registered both accessories in the encyclopaedia, the number ’16’ briefly appeared before his eyes.

〔16〕

It was the current number of equipment registered in the accessory encyclopaedia.

Now, with four more, the second effect of the accessory encyclopaedia would be activated.

‘Ah… I want all the other encyclopaedias too. It’s so fraudulent.’

But to do that, he would have to enter the insanely difficult nighttime dungeon again, and for that, he had to stay alive until tonight.

From the mutants in Seoul who were scheduled to come at 1 p.m., and the potential assassins from North Korea who could strike at any moment.

‘Life is becoming more and more dynamic.’

Yeongwoo finally checked his current stats.

It was because a new notification had appeared in his vision since he registered the mutant ring “Firestop” in the encyclopaedia.

「Resistance indicator has been added to the stats.」

‘Resistance indicator? Is it because I’ve started wearing resistance items?’

When Yeongwoo opened the stats window, he noticed that resistance values began to be displayed at the bottom.

『Character: Jeong Yeongwoo07』

[Strength] 3,100 (19+3,081)

[Endurance] 2,548 (21+2,527)

[Durability] 3,048 (13+3,035)

[Sensation] 1,400 (24+1,376)

|Fire Resistance: 10%

|Ability Resistance: 10%

* Available Karma: 34,000

‘There might be more monsters breathing fire in the future, but I still don’t know what ability resistance is.’

While Yeongwoo tilted his head, he also thought that he should collect ability resistance equipment whenever it appeared.

‘There’s no reason for resistance concepts to exist for nothing. You have to be prepared in advance to make use of them at crucial moments.’

After finishing up, Yeongwoo straightened his waist and looked up at the sky, where the sun had risen higher than before, shining down on him.

“Whew.”

With a deep exhale, Yeongwoo took out the Unique Ring Wave.

「Wave」 – Unique Ring

[Voice transmission to the Strongest Sword of the acquisition area.]

| Area: Seoul

He then cautiously spoke into the ring.

《Can… can you hear me?》

Naturally, since this was a one-way transmission device, there would be no response, and after realizing this a moment later, Yeongwoo brought the ring to his mouth again.

《Today’s meeting will be held in about 40 minutes at 11 a.m. in front of Paju City Hall. There are urgent matters to discuss, so please attend if possible.》

After saying this much, Yeongwoo was about to head straight to Paju City Hall, but he felt something was missing and added a few more words.

《I’m on my way back from North Korea. Please make sure to come and listen.》

* * *

Seoul buzzed with excitement at the meeting announcement hosted by the newly appointed Gangnam’s Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo.

The fact that this meeting place was outside Seoul was unusual, but the meeting time unilaterally set by Jeong Yeongwoo was about 40 minutes from the announcement.

This meant dropping everything and rushing over.

―No, if he’s unilaterally calling for it, can he be so shameless? Asking us to come within 40 minutes is like telling us to run barefoot.

So, some expressed great discomfort, but still, they couldn’t dare refuse the call.

Because.

―North Korea…?

―Coming back from North Korea?

―What kind of bullshit is this again?

―There’s never a quiet day.

It was because Yeongwoo had thrown the topic of “North Korea” at the end.

In a world after the reset, where famous individuals, including all sorts of chaebols, were scheduled to return as monsters one after another.

Amidst everyone living in such a world, how could anyone just sit back and ignore Gangnam’s Strongest Sword promising to unravel the “story” of his visit to North Korea?

—If it’s North Korea… Kim Jong-un is probably on the mutant list, nine times out of ten.

—If he’s been to North Korea and urgent news has emerged…? I’m very uneasy.

—This lunatic, what trouble has he caused this time?

Especially those who had attended the last meeting, having witnessed Yeongwoo “unboxing” the corpse of Jeong Hyunsik and swallowing the mutant parasyte, even felt fear at the mention of urgent matters.

I was wondering what was so serious that that monster would use the expression urgent.

So, as soon as most people received Yeongwoo’s announcement, they immediately left their respective areas and headed to Paju.

—Gangnam’s Strongest Sword is quite something. Is he trying to make us run barefoot?

—But why Paju, of all places? And at this hour.

Anyway, they had to arrive by 11 o’clock at the latest.

Because of this, Strongest Swords from distant regions had to give up their dignity and rush barefoot at high speed.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo, the source of this commotion…

Clippity-clop, clippity-clop!

He was hurrying to leave Kaesong City, riding on an iron horse’s back.

The distance between Kaesong and Paju City Hall was as far as the distance between Seoul and Paju, so he had to hurry.

Clippity-clop!

He had scheduled the meeting for 11 o’clock purely based on the appearance time of the mutants.

After the meeting, everyone would need enough time to return to their respective areas.

‘And since we don’t know when someone will come down from the North, we can’t have the meeting in Yongsan.’

Of course, Yeongwoo thought that the Strongest Swords of North Korea would also have their own areas, so they wouldn’t move recklessly in the morning.

If they were to come down to reclaim their titles, it would likely be around three or four in the afternoon after the mutant problem had been resolved.

‘By the way, if the top title in North Korea is Joseon Strongest Sword… what about South Korea? Would it be something like Daehan’s Strongest Sword?’

As Yeongwoo pondered these thoughts, the end of the Gyeongui Line railway appeared in the distance.

He had returned to the outskirts of Paju in South Korea.

Pop!

|The current area you are in is ‘Paju’.

|There are no Strongest Swords in this area.

Shortly after the area status of Paju, which he had seen last night, appeared, as he went further in, he saw the railway laid over the Imjin River.

‘Well, I’ll arrive soon…’

Just as Yeongwoo was about to cross the river via the railway…

-Meow.

Along with a small vibration from Yeongwoo’s embrace, the cry of a cat echoed out.

“What’s this?”

Yeongwoo asked, but he was already looking around.

The vibration just now was probably…

「Fearful Cat」 – Epic Compass

【Indicates a threatening target.】

【Strength increases by 25% when bleeding.】

It was undoubtedly the alarm of the Fearful Cat, the threat detector.

“Wait a minute. I don’t see anything yet. Why is the cat meowing?”

Sensing something amiss, Yeongwoo pulled on the reins of Negwig and halted just as he was about to continue forward.

Kwiing…!

From somewhere, a very peculiar sound of breaking through space echoed, and Yeongwoo’s vision was engulfed in a deep purple.

It was his legendary martial art, “Rohm’s Bottom,” delivering a powerful warning.

‘Huh!’

At the same time, the hologram in front of him suddenly pulled Negwig’s neck backward.

‘What?’

But it couldn’t have been an act without reason.

With a sense of doubt, Yeongwoo immediately pushed Negwig’s neck backward.

*Squelch!*

Suddenly, where Negwig’s forehead had been just moments ago…

*Squealing!*

A single beam of light shot down at an incredible speed, piercing the ground.

Kwaak!

‘That’s insane…!’

It was none other than an arrow.

A silver-colored metallic arrow.

‘It’s a sniper.’

There would undoubtedly be further attacks.

*Thump!*

Yeongwoo hastily noticed that the Fearful Cat in his arms was already looking northwest.

“…!”

As Yeongwoo turned his head in that direction, he saw a woman holding a bow on a distant hill.

And the title above the woman’s head.

『Hwanghae’s Strongest Sword』

“Hwang…!”

Before Yeongwoo could fully comprehend the opponent’s title, the troublesome sound echoed again.

*Squealing!*

“You son of a bastard! Hand over your head quietly and leave!”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]