Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 155

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 155: Father (4)

The giant monster is asking about the age.

That’s right.

“……”

Kim Jeonggu glanced at the lifeless body of Uijeongbu’s Strongest Sword, split in half.

“So, you say I can’t be your father…? You must have made a serious mistake.”

As seen before, revealing one’s age often leads to death.

But not revealing it didn’t seem likely to save him either.

‘What should I do? It seems like he really thinks of me as his father.’

The opponent was a skilled fighter, unstoppable by force, as seen earlier, fleeing from him was impossible.

‘How did I end up meeting such a lunatic?’

Cold sweat trickled down.

Yet Jeonggu desperately calculated the age difference between himself and the giant.

‘Ah… How old did he say he was earlier? Thirty-four?’

And Kim Jeonggu is 58 years old this year.

So if we subtract the giant’s age from Jeonggu’s age…

‘…Twenty-four.’

What happened then?

It was so long ago that I really couldn’t remember.

‘No, is he claiming I had a son at such a young age?’

As Jeonggu stood there with a face that could burst into tears at any moment, Joseon’s Strongest Sword impatiently prompted him while gripping the evil sword menacingly.

“Age, please tell me.”

“W-Why does that matter at all? You’re going to kill me anyway once you hear my age!”

“……”

At this, Yeongwoo looked at the sword ‘Bastard’, which had already been covered in blood once.

“That’s still under consideration.”

“What…?”

Kim Jeonggu, who was starting to feel terrified by the opponent.

In contrast, Yeongwoo was serious.

“He was killed because he was the Uijeongbu’s Strongest Sword. His notorious reputation has spread from Cheorwon to this area.”

Then Yeongwoo scratched his chin with Dragon’s Legacy, thoughtfully.

It was an unconscious action due to holding swords in both hands, but to those who saw it, it was a threat of murder in itself.

“Of course, even if he claimed to be my father, I would have killed him. Considering he was kept in prison until the reset day, he must have been a level 6 human… It would’ve been right to erase him as a son.”

Yeongwoo muttered his inner thoughts.

Of course, most of the people present didn’t properly hear his words, but Kim Jeonggu, the Dobong Strongest Sword, was different.

“Level 6…?”

Kim Jeonggu’s mouth fell open involuntarily.

Then Yeongwoo said as if he had expected it.

“Father, you’re a level 6 human, right? Am I right?”

“Uh… Yeah?”

Dobong’s Strongest Sword was visibly flustered.

What are the chances of guessing the internal grade of a person you’ve never seen before?

It was clear that the giant knew in advance his self-proclaimed father’s level.

And coincidentally, the internal grade of the ‘father’ Kim Jeonggu pointed out by the giant was.

‘Me, me… It’s true that I’m a level 6.’

Shivers ran down his spine, and a vague sense of terror arose.

Could it be that everything the giant had been saying so far was true?

‘Did my own child grow up without my knowledge?’

Chuk.

As Kim Jeonggu retreated in confusion, a woman’s voice could be heard from somewhere behind.

“She could have given birth alone. Anyway, what he said might not be entirely wrong.”

The owner of this voice was Choi Jongseon, the Yangju Strongest Sword, who was riding on an iron horse with a baby in her arms.

“W-Who are you…?”

Kim Jeonggu looked at Jongseon and was surprised.

Could she be his daughter-in-law?

『Yangju’s Strongest Sword』

‘Fuck, what am I thinking right now?’

He shuddered and turned his head back towards the giant, only to see the madman approaching from behind.

“…Ugh!”

“It’s probably hard to admit it right away. Since it doesn’t feel real.”

Yeongwoo shrugged his big shoulders as he looked down at ‘father’.

“But I feel the same way. This person as my father…? I don’t really know because I’ve never had a father in the first place, but it feels a lot different than I expected.”

Kim Jeonggu, 58 years old.

Other than the title ‘Dobong’s Strongest Sword’ attached to his head, he didn’t seem particularly special.

At 165 cm, he wasn’t tall, and his innate skeleton wasn’t good either.

If we only consider physical specs, it would be easy to agree that he was a ‘level 6’.

But.

‘But still, he became the Strongest Sword. How on earth? How could a level 6 human become the Strongest Sword, surpassing tens of thousands?’

The reason Yeongwoo couldn’t dare to stab this man with his sword was because of this.

Although there wasn’t a movie-like incident where he instantly felt like he was looking at his father as soon as he saw this man, there was still some kind of connection visible.

Despite being born as a 4th level, Jeong Yeongwoo rose to become the Strongest Sword of the Gumi region.

And despite being born as a 6th level, Kim Jeonggu became the strongest in Dobong, one of the 25 regions of Seoul.

Can we use the term “illegitimate child” here?

Anyway, this man was as extraordinary as Yeongwoo.

More precisely, his achievements after the reset were what mattered.

‘Originally, I thought what my father had created was not me as I am now, but someone who died on the street. But I was wrong.’

Finally, Yeongwoo’s gaze shifted from Kim Jeonggu’s relatively small title to his.

『Dobong’s Strongest Sword』

‘It’s true that this man has partially made me who I am now. Something that produces results higher than the original grade came from this man.’

Then what did he receive from his mother, whom he still didn’t know at this point?

“……”

Yeongwoo closed his eyes tightly, and to his surprise, an achievement window appeared in his pitch-black field of vision.

Pop!

Whether it was a system malfunction or whether Yeongwoo unconsciously summoned the achievement window, it was unclear.

What mattered now was…

“…Ah.”

The fact that the ‘Complete Orphan,’ who had been guarding the achievement list the longest since the opening of the achievement system, appeared, as if waiting.

[Complete Orphan]

| Find and eliminate parents. (1/2)

An achievement that would complete Yeongwoo’s core element ‘Orphan’ engraved in his internal settings.

This was also one of the initial achievements recommended by the system, defining Yeongwoo as a ‘stubborn’ person.

In other words, although he didn’t know what it meant, it implied that the reward for this achievement would likely enhance Yeongwoo’s unique traits.

‘But to do that, I have to kill my father.’

Swish.

As Yeongwoo stared silently at Kim Jeonggu, Choi Jongseon, who had been observing the scene from the other side, suddenly widened her eyes and shouted.

“You madman! No way, right? You’re not an orphan anymore…!”

Then Kim Jeonggu, swallowing dry saliva, spoke to Yeongwoo.

“Y-You must be very angry. But am I really your father? Even if… by some chance I am, how could I, who has lived my whole life without knowing of my son’s existence, become a father who abandoned his son…!”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Kim Jeonggu’s defense was full of injustice.

Nevertheless, when Jeong Yeongwoo didn’t even bat an eyelash, Kim Jeonggu suddenly slammed the sword he was holding into the ground.

Clang!

Then he knelt on one knee and looked up at Yeongwoo.

“Fifty-eight.”

“……?”

“I’m Fifty-eight. That’s my age. So if I really were your father, it would have been around when I was twenty-four.”

Then this time, Yeongwoo said something.

“Involuntary intention.”

“Huh?”

“It’s called an involuntary intention adjustment. It’s in the destiny record.”

“……”

Could Kim Jeonggu possibly counter that line?

He continued to kneel with a bewildered expression.

“Anyway, if you want, you can kill me anytime.”

A son who had become a general… no, something excessively terrifying had come to find him.

By this point, Kim Jeonggu could no longer deny it unconditionally.

As mentioned earlier, if what the giant claimed was true…?

“If, by some chance, I’m wrong, then I must have committed a great sin against you. In the terms of this world, it would be ‘karma.’”

A 6th level human, Dobong Strongest Sword Kim Jeonggu, gazed with a complex expression.

Although he still considered it unbelievable, he couldn’t rule out the very low probability that he might be wrong.

Above all, it felt extremely eerie that the opponent had guessed his grade so accurately.

“Just as we voted to eliminate people and mutants came looking for us, perhaps you might be a mutant for me.”

As if urging him to strike with the sword, Kim Jeonggu extended his neck and uttered a profound line.

If this was a penalty for his achievement, he would accept it.

‘…Why did he suddenly become so detached?’

Yeongwoo, rather perplexed by the sudden change in the opponent’s attitude, then thought to himself.

‘Is this guy a con artist? He seems to be acting somehow to escape.’

A ‘stubborn’ person certified by the system.

Yeongwoo raised the mythical one-handed sword ‘Bastard’ into the air as soon as doubt arose in his heart.

Swish.

“If you think that way, I’m very grateful. In fact, I have an achievement to find my parents and kill them.”

“…What?”

At Yeongwoo’s unexpected confession, Kim Jeonggu, who had been stretching his neck, widened his eyes.

“W-What did you say?”

“Soon, if I strike at your father’s neck, you’ll know. If we really are father and son, the achievement will be completed.”

“Wait a minute!”

“Even if you say no, since there might be some achievement, please accept the penalty, Father!”

Hwaaaaah!

“Bastard,” had begun to swing towards Kim Jeonggu’s neck.

Everyone, including Choi Jongseon, closed their eyes tightly.

“Ugh evil!”

“Is he really crazy?”

“Aaaah!”

No one wanted to witness another scene where a human body was torn apart in real time.

However…

Swish!

What people expected didn’t happen at all.

Initially, Yeongwoo had no intention of striking Kim Jeonggu’s neck.

Therefore, the blade of the “Bastard” stopped before touching Kim Jeonggu’s neck.

But Kim Jeonggu…

“Ah…”

He was performing a big motion that everyone in the audience stand couldn’t miss, rolling sideways.

Swoosh!

He even managed to pull out a dagger hidden in his bosom while rolling.

His speech about accepting fate just now was purely a ruse.

“This bastard?”

As Yeongwoo’s eyes blazed with astonishment at the unexpectedly clever move, suddenly his vision flashed, and a system prompt appeared.

Ping!

[Dogo] “Paternal Confirmation”

[Mission] Spend 3 days with ‘Kim Jeonggu11.’

[Reward] 20 million karma.

[Special] Kim Jeonggu11 must remain alive during the mission.

This was none other than a Dogo quest.

‘Ah.’

This was the first request he received after meeting with the chairman.

‘Spend three days with that bastard?’

The advertiser didn’t want to go so far as to demand his death.

After all, Dogo had criticized the production company Lemu for being vulgar.

Considering that Dogo was a group with strong ideals, it couldn’t just stand by while its own advertising model killed his father.

‘What about the achievement then? The conditions seem to imply that I can kill him after three days.’

[Complete Orphan]

|Find and eliminate parents. (1/2)

Actually, Yeongwoo originally didn’t have the intention to kill the man in front of him, but after seeing that amazing roll just now, his killing intent surged.

But how could he refuse the 20 million karma that would come rolling in with time?

“……”

After calming his mind for a moment, Yeongwoo spoke to Kim Jeonggu, who had hidden the dagger again.

“I’ve changed my mind. I won’t kill you, Father. Instead, there’s a condition.”

“A c-condition…?”

“Convince me within three days. If you’re really not my father, you’ll have to prove it somehow.”

Then Kim Jeonggu, unsure of himself, asked a negative question first.

“…What happens if I fail?”

“Then I’ll truly become a Complete Orphan.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]