Chapter 39
The Strange World (3)
Jang Chun-yong, Rank 16, Generation 1, Defense Record: 96 wins.
The moment the information about Mungyeong's First Sword appeared, Yeongwoo immediately sensed a surge of killing intent inside the car.
It was because Woonho, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke in an aggressive tone.
"Rank 1? Doesn't that mean he's insanely strong?"
Myeongho kept his eyes on the road as he replied,
"Without question. We'd better avoid going into the city if possible."
It wasn't just concern—it sounded as though he was already making contingency plans.
As for Woonho, if circumstances demanded it, he looked ready to challenge the First Sword himself.
Watching the brothers, Yeongwoo found himself reassessing their strength.
"They might be stronger than they look."
Their equipment appeared extremely modest.
Myeongho carried only a sword that he had likely taken from the Mountain of Swords. Woonho possessed nothing more than a one-handed axe.
Their mother, Myeong-ae, who sat in the back seat with Yeongwoo, didn't even have a weapon.
Nor did they possess any of the distinctive Early Bird equipment that usually marked powerful survivors.
"Still... maybe they awakened late. Once they realized their mother's life depended on them becoming stronger..."
Their mother was undoubtedly the driving force behind their growth.
Yeongwoo imagined the two brothers charging into monster-infested Exchange Stations with their mother safely protected behind them.
He turned to Myeongho.
"Have you ever met a First Sword before?"
"Huh? A First Sword?"
Caught off guard, Myeongho shrugged.
"No. Never have. Don't really want to, either. Besides, there's only one per region. It's not like you can just run into one."
He laughed awkwardly.
After quietly listening, Woonho asked Yeongwoo instead.
"What about you? Ever met one?"
Yeongwoo stared into Woonho's fiery eyes before turning to look outside.
"No. If I had, I probably wouldn't still be alive. A First Sword is the strongest person in that city."
"Tch. Boring answer."
Unlike Woonho, who immediately lost interest, Myeongho began glancing repeatedly at Yeongwoo through the rearview mirror.
The more he thought about it, the stranger his mysterious passenger seemed.
At first he'd thought Yeongwoo was simply a weirdo.
His bizarre appearance.
His unbelievable strength.
And above all...
"He had several Early Bird items."
Clunk.
That was powerful evidence.
Unless he'd killed other powerful people and stolen them, how could someone carry several of those incredibly rare items?
"Could I actually be driving another region's First Sword?"
And he was sitting right beside his mother.
The thought startled Myeongho enough that the steering wheel wobbled, causing the SUV to swerve.
"Hey! What was that?"
Woonho complained after nearly hitting his head against the window.
Still gazing at the sky outside, Yeongwoo spoke again.
"The First Sword isn't the biggest problem right now."
"What?"
Following Yeongwoo's gaze, Myeongho looked upward through the windshield.
Then he saw it.
"...!"
Far above Mungyeong, countless blue pillars of light were descending.
"I thought monsters always appeared at one o'clock... Is the timing different in each region? Or..."
Maybe the monsters that had appeared an hour ago simply hadn't been cleared yet.
"But there are far too many light pillars for that. Is this region's First Sword weak? No... if that were true, Rank 1 would've died long ago."
It made no sense.
A Generation-1 First Sword was still alive here.
So why hadn't the monsters been eliminated?
Then...
"Good grief..."
As they drew closer to the city, Yeongwoo noticed red pillars of light as well.
That meant the Mutants were still alive too.
"What on earth is the First Sword doing?"
He frowned.
This wasn't like Gimcheon, where the First Sword's position had constantly changed because no one qualified.
Here, there was a First Sword capable of fighting the Mutants.
Yet that person wasn't doing their job.
It was now 2:11 PM.
Yeongwoo checked his watch and tilted his head.
It was deeply strange.
Meanwhile, the SUV carrying the Jung family continued toward Mungyeong.
The engine roared louder.
Myeongho looked into the rearview mirror.
"If we run into monsters, we'll have to get out and fight. We can't afford to lose the car."
The comment was clearly directed at Yeongwoo.
Yeongwoo could run nearly as fast as the vehicle.
The Jung family couldn't.
Especially with their non-combatant mother, the SUV was as precious as life itself.
Yeongwoo nodded.
"That's fine. But..."
After a brief pause, he asked,
"How about you two? Have you fought many monsters?"
He asked only because he worried about Myeong-ae, whose survival depended entirely on her sons.
But Woonho interpreted it as an insult.
"What? Think we can't even handle a few monsters ourselves? We've survived just fine without your concern."
"...I see. That's good."
Yeongwoo said nothing more.
Soon enough, he'd witness their abilities firsthand.
"Day Two monsters aren't like Day One monsters. If they haven't increased their stats enough, they may not survive."
He wasn't worried only about the brothers.
He was worried their mother might be slaughtered before their eyes.
Still...
He couldn't stay with this family forever.
All he could do was hope they were strong enough.
"Ah..."
Myeongho suddenly sighed.
The SUV screeched to a violent stop.
Screeech!
"...Damn it. What's that now?"
Woonho drew his axe with a grim expression.
Yeongwoo leaned forward to look ahead.
Immediately, he saw them.
The Day Two monsters occupying the highway leading into Mungyeong.
"...Orcs?"
he muttered unconsciously.
Beside him, Myeong-ae asked nervously,
"Orcs? What's an orc?"
Before Yeongwoo could answer, Woonho did.
"Just monsters from games. Don't worry too much."
Myeongho shifted into neutral.
"They're just fodder monsters... We should be fine."
But would they?
Yeongwoo wasn't convinced.
The goblins he'd encountered on the first day had already stood over two meters tall.
"If goblins were that dangerous... are orcs really just cannon fodder?"
Perhaps.
Compared to dragons, goblins and orcs were generally considered low-level monsters.
Still...
These creatures were no longer part of games or novels.
They were real.
Woonho gripped his axe and stepped out of the passenger seat.
Myeongho remained behind the wheel.
Yeongwoo asked,
"You're not going with him?"
"...I'd only get in the way. Besides, if something happens, one of us has to survive to protect our mother."
"I see..."
Yeongwoo nodded.
In other words...
The Jung family's only combatant was Woonho.
If he died, Myeongho's job was simply to reverse the SUV and flee with their mother.
"Concentrating all your stats into one fighter does make sense."
Yeongwoo glanced at Myeong-ae before opening the rear door himself.
He didn't particularly like Woonho.
But he couldn't ride for free.
The moment his bare feet touched the asphalt...
Woonho turned around.
"...What?"
"I'm here to help. This is your first time fighting these things, isn't it?"
"...You're not doing it for the sixty Karma?"
As expected, Woonho remained hostile.
Yeongwoo understood why.
Protecting his mother meant gathering Karma.
Still...
He wasn't a saint.
"If I really wanted your Karma, I'd have killed all of you first. Then the car would've been mine too. Stop testing my patience."
His cold gaze shifted toward the SUV.
Only then did fear appear on Woonho's face.
"W-What are you saying? That's..."
"So show some basic respect."
Yeongwoo looked past Woonho's shoulder.
The scattered orcs had already formed orderly ranks and were marching forward.
About one hundred meters away.
"What...?"
Something felt wrong.
Unlike the previous monsters, they weren't charging wildly while screaming.
They maintained formation.
Carefully.
"Those guys are..."
Just as Yeongwoo tried to warn Woonho—
Woonho charged.
"They're moving! We have to stop them before they reach the car!"
The orcs remained perfectly calm.
Instead...
Clack! Clack!
Each one removed a massive square shield from its back and raised it into formation.
Like trained soldiers.
"...?"
Both Woonho and Yeongwoo froze.
"This feels like a trap."
And they were right.
Fwooo!
An orc at the far right blew a war horn.
A distant whistling sound followed.
"W-What the hell is that?!"
They looked up.
More than ten black dots appeared high in the sky.
Then they came crashing down.
Spears.
"So that horn was calling for artillery fire."
The long spears were clearly visible.
Yeongwoo immediately raised his shield.
His Perception was now 100.
Yet despite the rain of spears, Sense Theft never activated.
Because they weren't targeting him specifically.
"Damn..."
He instantly covered his head.
Even with 100 Perception, he couldn't deflect dozens of spears falling from the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fortunately, the bombardment was wildly inaccurate.
Most spears slammed into the ground nearby.
Only one struck his shield.
BANG!
A tremendous shock traveled through his arm.
Without the shield...
He would've been impaled instantly.
Then what about Woonho?
Yeongwoo raised his head.
About ten meters away...
Woonho was still standing.
His legs trembled violently.
Around him, countless spears had embedded themselves into the earth.
He had survived through nothing but luck.
"Ridiculously lucky... but there'll be another volley. And next time, even I'll be in danger..."
Just as Yeongwoo decided he had to eliminate the orcs before another bombardment—
The orcs moved first.
They lowered their shields in perfect unison and shouted.
"All units—CHARGE!"