[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 5: The Best Sword of Gumi (1)
‘The term ‘Sword Mountain’ was quite literal.’
Watching weapons raining down from the sky and piling up at an incredible speed, Yeongwoo had a gut feeling that this would soon form into an actual ‘mountain.’
And he realized sothing else.
‘There will be way more people gathering here than at the currency exchange.’
His deduction stemd from the vast area occupied by the Sword Mountain and the students from Gumi High School moving in the sa direction.
‘I started from Gongdan-dong, and now I’ve encountered students from Gumi High School…’
Gumi High School was right in the heart of Gwangpyeong-dong.
So, compared to the dozens to hundreds at the currency exchange, the Sword Mountain was attracting people by neighborhoods.
Hence, Yeongwoo anticipated crowds gathering even from adjacent neighborhoods like Songjeong-dong and Sinpyeong-dong.
‘So of them even have the Early Bird.’
His hand holding the sword felt sweaty.
What would be the chances of winning if soone with an Early Bird like him, rushed in and tried to snatch the coins or the swords?
‘It’s one challenge after another.’
While Yeongwoo mulled over these thoughts, the Sword Mountain continued to grow in size.
It had already reached the scale of a substantial hill in so local mountains, now practically a landmark. The students witnessing this picked up their pace even more.
Clang! Clang! The thunderous sound of weapons colliding with the mountain echoed like roaring thunder in Yeongwoo’s ears.
Whoosh!
Yeongwoo shivered as the entire air seed to vibrate each ti the falling weapons collided and bounced, briefly revealing the silhouettes of so of the weapons.
‘A sword… an axe… is that a shield? There are shields too.’
While Yeongwoo identified the types of weapons, the students from Gumi High School, who had already increased their speed, began entering the outskirts of the mountain.
Pfft! Fizz!
“…!”
It was then that the number ‘5’ appeared above the students’ heads.
Soon after,
[4]
The number changed to 4, then swiftly to 3.
‘…There’s a ti limit for choosing weapons.’
This was a foreseeable variable.
Observing students scrambling to find the nearest weapon pile, Yeongwoo deliberately slowed down, running sideways instead.
‘As long as I don’t approach the weapon pile, the tir won’t appear. So, if I use this well… I can enter after locating the weapon I want.’
As observed earlier, the Sword Mountain held not just swords but also axes, hamrs, spears, and various other infantry weapons.
However, the issue was their random arrangent.
Thus, to select the desired weapon within 5 seconds, Yeongwoo needed to find a point where that weapon was exposed on the outside.
And just now…
‘…Found it.’
Ahead of Yeongwoo lay the spot he desired.
No one had entered first, and a ‘shield’ was exposed at the edge of the weapon pile.
Swish!
Yeongwoo imdiately sprinted towards it.
‘Is it possible to grab more than one weapon within the ti limit?’
He pondered this while quickly scanning the weapons around the shield.
Axes, spears… most were large weapons, but here and there, a sleek silhouette caught his eye.
It was none other than a dagger.
‘If I have the chance to grab one more, after the shield, it’ll be the dagger.’
However, Yeongwoo’s Plan B didn’t materialize.
Snatch!
As he approached the weapon pile, an announcent abruptly appeared.
[You have entered the Sword Mountain.]
[Choose one survival gear within 5 seconds.]
‘…One?’
This ant the choices were now limited to one.
Staying on alert of his surroundings, Yeongwoo pulled out the shield stuck in the pile of weapons.
Shhrrk!
Then the tir vanished instantly and an equipnt tooltip appeared in front of him.
[Steel Round Shield] – Ordinary dium-sized shield
|Can also be used as a weapon.
‘Can also be used as a weapon… Does that an I can strike opponents with the shield?’
The shield had a diater of about 50 centiters, and its thickness suggested it carried a considerable weight.
And indeed.
Thump.
Sliding his left hand into the handle inside the shield, Yeongwoo felt the weight press on his entire left arm.
‘Now I understand why it can be used as both a shield and a weapon.’
Yeongwoo’s admiration of the shield ended there.
Suddenly, from behind, a rough movent occurred.
Thud!
‘A surprise attack?’
Every cell in Yeongwoo’s body seed to ignite.
Yeongwoo covered his upper body with the shield and turned around, assuming a stabbing stance with his sword.
Whoosh!
Beyond the outline of the shield, a boy appeared.
“Ah… Mister.”
A facial expression that was perfectly in sync with the frightened voice. It was a Gumi High School student.
At most a first-year student, with a youthful face and a rather petite fra.
“What are you doing here?”
With a hint of agitation, Yeongwoo cautiously stepped back only after confirming the student was unard.
Then he noticed a number above the student’s head.
[2]
Soon after.
[1]
“Huh.”
“…Ah.”
As Yeongwoo uttered in surprise, a sigh escaped from the student’s lips.
Before he could choose a weapon, the ti limit had expired.
Now there were no indicators above the student’s head, and both his hands remained empty.
‘This.’
Observing the student’s crestfallen expression, Yeongwoo softened his tone compared to before.
“Why did you co here alone instead of being with your friends?”
To this, the student glanced briefly over his shoulder before answering softly.
“…They’re not my friends.”
“What?”
“Just because we go to the sa school doesn’t an we’re all friends.”
That was true.
It was also a believable story given the circumstances.
‘That’s right. The timing of our encounter doesn’t fit. Those guys entered the mountain before .’
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Moreover, this spot was several ters away from where the Gumi students were.
In other words, this student had been moving separately from the Gumi group from the start.
‘Well, I’m in the sa boat, traveling alone.’
Thinking this, Yeongwoo glanced away from the student for a mont, but then he suddenly noticed sothing and his brows flinched.
The student’s school uniform na tag was severely damaged.
‘No matter how you look at it, it looks like soone burned it with a lighter.’
Yeongwoo stared fixedly at the half-burnt na tag. But before he could speak, the student quickly brought up a different topic.
“Um… Mister.”
“…?”
“Is it okay for to try and grab a weapon now?”
“Weapon?”
While questioning this, Yeongwoo remained vigilant of the surroundings.
Although there were distant silhouettes, nobody was currently approaching their location.
“Sure, go ahead.”
Truthfully, Yeongwoo was curious about it as well.
He wanted to know what would happen if soone tried to grab a weapon after the ti limit had ended.
Thud!
Stepping back one more step, Yeongwoo watched as the student nervously raised both hands.
Then the student reached into the pile of weapons where Yeongwoo had earlier taken the shield from.
Swish!
The weapon the student desired turned out to be a spear.
Because of his small stature, he probably preferred a weapon that didn’t require him to be close to the opponent.
Thump!
The student grabbed the handle of the spear with both hands.
“Ugh…!”
However, that was the end of it.
No matter how hard the student tried, the spear wouldn’t co out.
“This…! Ugh…!”
The student’s expression turned increasingly miserable.
He knew it too—that living without a weapon in a world inhabited by monsters was challenging.
‘Guess it won’t co out after the tir runs out after all.’
Yeongwoo’s heart wasn’t at ease watching this, but what could he do?
“I’m sorry that this happened. But don’t stay here for too long. People will gather soon.”
All Yeongwoo could do was offer awkward advice with an uncomfortable feeling.
Then, as he glanced at the arrow at his feet.
Thud!
The student, who had been crying while facing down, suddenly grabbed the edge of Yeongwoo’s shield.
“Ah… Mister!”
“……?”
“Could you please take with you? If I stay alone, they’ll definitely kill .”
It dawned on Yeongwoo then that this boy wasn’t afraid of monsters but of other people.
He knew how cruel the world could be to the weak, as evidenced by the chaos at the currency exchange booth, it would be the sa even now that the world had turned upside down, if not worse.
But what could he do with a boy without a weapon and such a small stature?
‘I think I’ll be lucky if I don’t get hit in the back of the head at so point.’
Yeongwoo, with a steeled heart, intended to push the student away.
Only if he hadn’t seen the number on the boy’s right hand.
‘What, did I see it wrong?’
Yeongwoo tilted his head, the student who noticed this, stretched out his right hand.
“Oh, this…!”
“Huh?”
In an instant, Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.
There really was a number.
And it was none other than…
[17]
17 Karma Points.
Converted to coins, it would be a whopping 170,000 Karma.
“How co you still have this? Didn’t you co here after visiting the currency exchange?”
With an agitated voice, Yeongwoo asked again, and the student appeared frightened.
“I couldn’t do the exchange. There are so many people there…”
“What?”
Yeongwoo, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face, quickly gathered his thoughts and asked again.
“What’s the na of the quest you’re seeing right now?”
“It’s… ‘New Life.'”
“Oh my god.”
[Main] ‘New Life’
[Mission] Follow the arrow to find the nearest currency exchange booth.
[Reward] Basic living funds
[Special] Additional rewards on a first-co, first-served basis
In other words, this student was here without passing through the currency exchange section.
“How did you find this place?”
“The kids who got the swords cleared the way. I followed them secretly.”
It seed like he was referring to the group of students Yeongwoo had seen while coming to the Sword Mountain. Probably the top students of Gumi since they had Early Birds.
‘So, does the weapon selection get activated as soon as you arrive at the Sword Mountain, even if there is no quest?’
Was this kind of bug? It felt like he had discovered a loophole in this world’s system.
Anyway, the crucial fact now was that soone with 170,000 Karma was pleading for help.
Of course, there were issues.
‘I can’t go back now; I need to find a new currency exchange. But there’s no guarantee the new currency exchange will proceed properly .’
However, he had a gut feeling that it was too much money to give up without even trying.
Wasn’t the basic living fund given through the first main quest 3,000 Karma?
‘170,000 Karma is more than 50 tis the basic living fund. Even if 3,000 Karma is the equivalent of the daily wage, it’s enough money to lead soone almost two months ahead of others.’
Yeongwoo rechecked the student’s palm again and made a serious proposal.
“Right now, your entire wealth is 170,000 Karma. How much are you willing to give in exchange for saving your life?”
[Translator – Peptobismol]
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