Chapter 41
The Strange World (5)
"Where are you going?! Where are we going?!"
Myeong-ae completely broke down.
She clawed at her only remaining son's arms and shoulders in desperation.
"Woonho is still back there! We have to bring him back!"
Her eyes were bloodshot.
She truly believed her sons were abandoning Woonho.
But deep down...
Didn't she already know?
She had seen his head being cut off with her own eyes.
"Please stop, Mom... I'm barely holding it together myself."
Tears streamed down Myeongho's face as he gripped the steering wheel.
Unable to watch any longer, Yeongwoo grabbed Myeong-ae by both arms.
If this continued, Myeongho would lose control of the SUV and they'd all crash into the guardrail.
"Ma'am... I'm truly sorry. But now isn't the time—"
Before he could finish, Myeong-ae glared at him with hatred.
"You...! What were you doing?! My son was right in front of you! Why didn't you save him?!"
Yeongwoo silently endured her shaking grip.
She wasn't entirely wrong.
Part of Woonho's death was his responsibility.
If I hadn't let him charge ahead...
If I'd attacked the orcs first...
Maybe Jung Woonho would've survived.
But...
"Even then, he would've died eventually."
"Without me, every one of them would've died today."
With a conflicted expression, Yeongwoo looked out the window.
Then he spotted another volley of spears arcing into the sky.
"There."
At last, he had located the orc support unit responsible for the bombardments.
"Myeongho."
"...Yes?"
"You saw that, didn't you? I'm going to wipe those bastards out."
He checked the weapons hanging from his waist.
"While I'm gone, decide what you want to do. Wait for me or leave. If you choose to leave, unload my belongings first."
Myeongho's face stiffened.
With Woonho dead, the Jung family had lost nearly all of its fighting power.
There really wasn't another choice.
"...Where should I stop? I'll wait until you return."
Yeongwoo lightly tapped the driver's headrest.
"Here."
SCREEECH!
The SUV came to an immediate halt.
"The spears could come again at any time. Keep moving slowly if you can."
He opened the rear door.
His feet touched the asphalt.
Three hundred meters away...
The dark silhouettes of the orc support squad moved across the battlefield.
Yeongwoo kicked off the ground.
BOOM!
He shot forward like a spear.
The distance vanished almost instantly.
His rapid movement produced a shrill whistle through the air.
The orcs noticed him.
Without hesitation—
They hurled their spears.
「Perception temporarily increased from 100 to 134.」
「Perception temporarily increased from 134 to 168.」
「Perception temporarily increased from 168 to 202.」
Ironically...
By targeting Yeongwoo directly, they only made him stronger.
Every incoming spear became perfectly visible.
He could even predict each trajectory.
CLANG!
His sword knocked away the first spear.
By then, he was already close enough to clearly see the orcs' faces.
TING!
He deflected the second spear.
Now he could hear their panicked voices.
"W-What?!"
"A human?!"
"Kill him!"
There were six orcs in the support squad.
They stood among piles of spare spears.
Each held two long spears.
But...
None of them carried shields.
The moment Yeongwoo confirmed that—
He extended the black sword to its maximum length.
Then swung.
A massive black blade swept across their waists.
The impact transmitted directly through his grip.
Rather than slicing them...
It felt as though he had simply snapped them in half.
The six orcs collapsed in pieces.
Moments later—
Their bodies dissolved into light.
Red Karma coins scattered across the ground.
"..."
Only then did Yeongwoo realize something.
"I never collected the coins from the first group of orcs..."
"Seriously?"
"Do I have to bend over and pick up money after every battle?"
Like a farmer gathering grain, he crouched down and collected every coin.
Oddly enough...
The grief and tension crushing his chest moments earlier gradually faded.
The SUV slowly rolled up behind him.
"Are you alright?"
Myeongho asked cautiously through the driver's window.
Yeongwoo dumped a handful of Karma coins into his backpack before replying.
"How's your mother?"
"...She fainted."
"That's actually fortunate."
"...?"
"I still have to go back and pick up more money."
Adding the coins from the support squad...
Yeongwoo's total reached 280,000 Karma.
"So my total wealth is... 304,000."
That translated to 304 stat points.
If invested into appearance adjustments...
He could complete roughly fourteen percent of the body configuration recommended by his Combat Preset.
However...
Another option remained.
"The Day Two Mutant in Mungyeong is still alive."
Which meant—
"If I kill it... another Merchant will appear."
He could trade with the extraterrestrial merchants once again.
Thanks to his special contract with Kubu, he could even preview every merchant participating in the auction before choosing one.
"I'd better save as much Karma as possible."
Who knew what incredible merchandise would appear next?
The Karma recovered from Woonho's battlefield totaled 160,000.
Current Region: Mungyeong
First Sword: Jang Chun-yong 16
Generation 1 — Defense Count: 96
Yeongwoo glanced again at the status window.
"Where is he...?"
"Did Mungyeong's First Sword leave the city?"
The red pillar marking the Mutant was now very close.
Whether by car or on foot...
They'd reach it within ten minutes.
"Are you sure about this?"
Yeongwoo turned toward the waiting SUV.
Myeongho flinched.
"...What do you mean?"
"I'm going to kill the Mutant."
He looked straight at him.
"I don't know what kind of enemy it'll be. I can't guarantee your or your mother's safety."
Naturally...
He left out the part about real aliens appearing afterward to conduct business.
Myeongho stared blankly.
What else could he do?
The Reset itself was already beyond belief.
Then he'd watched Yeongwoo hold a conversation with living orcs.
Reality had completely collapsed.
Finally, he answered.
"We have to go with you."
"We don't have another choice."
He glanced at his unconscious mother lying in the back seat.
As the eldest son...
As the head of the family...
He had lost everything.
All he could do now was cling to the mysterious man named Jung Yeongwoo.
Even his surname wasn't certain.
If Yeongwoo could defeat the Mutant...
Then at least he and his mother might survive.
His life now rested entirely in someone else's hands.
The Reset hadn't merely reset the world.
It had reset everyone's fate.
Was this really where his new destiny began?
He thought back to the ordinary life he'd once lived.
If a new Book of Fate were being written...
How would today's events be recorded?
And how would it end?
CRACK!
The sound of breaking glass interrupted his thoughts.
Looking up in surprise—
He saw Yeongwoo pulling a spear from the passenger-side window.
"...Wait."
Yeongwoo frowned.
"These spears belong to us."
"...What?"
"They aren't the orcs'. They're weapons distributed to humans from the Mountain of Swords."
He yanked another spear free.
If they had belonged to the orcs...
They would've disappeared when the orcs died.
"Invaders using our own equipment..."
The thought irritated him.
After removing the remaining spears—
Yeongwoo climbed into the front passenger seat.
Myeongho looked confused.
"...?"
"I don't think your mother likes me very much anymore."
"Lock the rear doors."
Without a word, Myeongho obeyed.
"So... where now?"
He pointed toward the distant red pillar.
Yeongwoo nodded.
The SUV accelerated once more.
After a long silence—
Myeongho finally asked the question he'd been holding back.
"...You're a First Sword, aren't you?"
Yeongwoo kept looking out the window.
Then answered calmly.
"That's right."
"...I see..."
Silence returned.
Gathering his courage, Myeongho asked another question.
"Have you fought other Mutants before?"
His own life...
His mother's life...
Everything depended on Yeongwoo's experience.
Yeongwoo deliberately gave an answer that would reassure him.
"Yes."
"I killed one."
"The other..."
He never finished.
The words "...is trapped in another world waiting for the whistle to sound" remained unsaid.
Because—
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion echoed ahead.
Buildings collapsed.
"...?"
The SUV had just turned into the city.
Both men saw it at the same time.
Dozens of orcs were charging in one direction.
"Don't be afraid!"
"Keep pushing!"
"Attack!"
Dust filled the streets.
Buildings lay shattered everywhere.
"W-What is this...?"
Myeongho instinctively slammed on the brakes.
Yet...
Not a single orc looked their way.
Because the orcs were already facing something far more terrifying.
"ROOOOAAARRR!!"
A gigantic blue-skinned orc swung its weapon wildly, roaring as it tore through dozens of orcs.
It towered over the others.
The ordinary orcs looked like dwarfs beside it.
"Don't tell me..."
"Is that the Mutant?"
Yeongwoo widened his eyes.
But moments later—
He realized why.
The Mutant wasn't the only one fighting.
"Ha!"
Near the enormous blue brute...
Another figure darted gracefully across the battlefield.
A lean body.
Dark, tanned skin.
Snow-white hair.
"...Impossible."
Yeongwoo's eyes trembled.
There—
Fighting side by side with the Mutant—
Was Mungyeong's First Sword, Jang Chun-yong 16.