novelGlobal Chapter 702
Chapter 702
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 702: Basement Floor (7)
-Improve……? No, I said the promise wasn’t kept. If this is how it’s going to be, then shouldn’t you return my sword?
“Then that wouldn’t be an improvement. It only counts as an improvement if I get the sword and secure the catalog too.”
-Ah.
Only after hearing those words did Sevio Fonta finally realize it.
That bastard’s nonsense about “improving the deal” had been based solely on the other party’s perspective.
-Even so, you’re saying you’ll take me hostage? Is your mind broken?
Sevio Fonta.
A member of the Twelve Sword Council, and once the master of the One Hundred Twelve Sword Mountain.
Even on a universal scale, he was a considerable big shot.
There could be challengers seeking a duel with him, but someone trying to kidnap him was unbelievably rare.
Because the very idea itself was absurd from the start.
-You truly look down on me. It seems you’ve forgotten who I am!
As Sevio said this and sprang into the air, Yeongwoo immediately grabbed one of the man’s hind legs.
“Slow.”
Hwaeaaaaak!
Then he seized Sevio by the leg and slammed him into the ground, causing a pitiful groan to spill out.
-Ughhhk!
“I thought maybe you had some hidden trump card, but the best you could do was run away? What exactly were you thinking?”
-And what about you? You’re saying you’ll kidnap me? What exactly are you thinking?
“What do you mean what? I’m thinking about profit. Is there anything theoretically wrong with that? If I drag you around with me, the moment I run into another catalog owner, catalog enhancement becomes possible.”
Of course, that was assuming he could safely subdue that “other catalog owner.”
-You’re dragging me around just for your catalog enhancement? I am……!
The moment Sevio tried to invoke the name of the Twelve Sword Council again, Yeongwoo’s fist flew toward him.
Puh-eoeok!
-Ghk!
“The damn Twelve Sword Council again. Don’t you ever get tired of it? Twelve Sword Council or not, to me you people are nothing but walking weapon catalogs.”
As Yeongwoo said this while casting a massive shadow over him, despair finally appeared on Sevio’s face.
Because this was the first time he had encountered such an ignorant brute who did not so much as blink at the prestige of the Sword Association.
-I-If you harm me, even the Twelve Sword Council itself will set its sights on you.
“Who said anything about harming you? I’m just asking you to help me with catalog enhancement. Is that really so difficult?”
Kwaak.
Yeongwoo grabbed the back of Sevio’s neck and forcibly hauled him upright.
“And honestly, if you bastards start targeting me, that’d be great. Wouldn’t that just mean the catalogs come walking to me on their own?”
-You’ve completely lost your mind.
“If I were sane, I never would’ve become the captain of a planetary ship in the first place. Now walk.”
Yeongwoo lightly smacked Sevio on the lower back with his hand, then gestured toward Dots Salzeo standing in the distance.
“Hey, it’s all over now, so get over here!”
At that, Sevio stared at the strangely wriggling space and questioned Yeongwoo.
-Is he your companion? Why did that fellow hide himself without even attempting an ambush?
“Because he’s one of my products. You’re not the only one who got kidnapped.”
-…What?
By then, Dots Salzeo had cautiously approached close enough to speak from beneath the transparent cloak.
-W-What happened here? Did you two suddenly reconcile or something?
“Ah, say hello. He’s our new companion.”
As Yeongwoo said this and pointed at Sevio, Dots tilted his head.
-New companion……?
“From now on, this guy’s moving with us too. Come to think of it, this works out well. Since he’s an Underground Floor resident, he should know the roads around here, right?”
At Yeongwoo’s words, Dots Salzeo took a step backward with a frightened expression.
He had witnessed the kidnapper win the battle between the two, but even so, this Ratman was still supposed to be a high-ranking assassin.
And from the start, his appearance alone gave off a terrifying impression.
-Why do you keep causing trouble? This isn’t just anywhere, this is the Underground beneath the Black Zone.
“Yeah, seriously. Treasure blessings just keep coming to me on their own.”
As if no further conversation was necessary, Yeongwoo pointed Sasaeng-a toward the forest.
“All right, introductions are over. Both of you shut up and move. What was it called again? Anyway, we need to find that gray zone.”
* * *
Muro’s Roar.
A tavern located on the road leading to the black market.
According to Yenta, it was one of the few gray zones on the Underground Floor.
A kind of neutral territory that received goodwill from every faction.
Perhaps because of that, it was Sevio who expressed concern instead.
-You’re going to Muro’s Roar? This is going to become troublesome again.
“Why? You said it’s a gray zone. Doesn’t that mean it’s relatively safe?”
-It is merely a place where all forms of goodwill are accepted. Fighting itself is not prohibited there.
“Weren’t you backed by the Pit bastards anyway? Doesn’t seem like something you need to worry about.”
When Yeongwoo said that, Sevio hesitated.
-The Underground Floor is a complicated society.
“That sounds like there are factions even stronger than the Pit.”
-Depending on the situation, you could say that.
“Still, don’t worry. I’m not going to let just anyone lay a hand on my catalog.”
-…….
“All right, which way now?”
At this point, the forest path that had been a single road all this time split into three branches, so Yeongwoo asked Sevio.
Sevio immediately pointed toward the road on the right.
-You came in here without even knowing the way?
“I roughly know the direction. And originally, the plan was to ask directions from whoever we ran into along the way.”
But now that they had an Underground resident traveling with them, there was no need for that anymore.
Of course, there was still the possibility that Sevio might guide them toward a trap.
“I may not know the road, but unlike you, I’m not blind. So if you try anything funny, you’ll lose your head.”
-Hah. So you thought I was blind.
“…You aren’t? Then why are your eyes covered?”
-My eyesight is too good, so in places with light, I intentionally restrict my vision.
“What? Then you can still see everything right now?”
As Yeongwoo said this and flipped him off right in front of his face, Sevio flared his nostrils.
-If I couldn’t see, I wouldn’t have been able to immediately point out the correct direction at the fork in the road.
“True enough. So you can see in places without light as if it were broad daylight?”
-That’s right. If you had met me in a dark room, it would have been you who lost your weapon.
“Hmm. Maybe that would’ve happened.”
Yeongwoo himself acknowledged that Sevio’s swordsmanship was extremely impressive.
“But you seemed to lose a bit in the battle of pressure. So even if we’d fought somewhere without a single ray of light, I probably still would’ve won in the end. It’s not like you have Prestige Reduction, right?”
-Prestige Reduction? A pointless thing.
“Pointless? If you gather enough of it, you can beat up people with higher status than you all you want.”
As Yeongwoo said this, he had already secured a reduction rate of sixty percent.
Meaning that even against opponents who could forcibly impose courtesy upon him due to an overwhelming difference in prestige, he could still fight to some extent.
However, Sevio seemed to think differently.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
-A vast difference in aura ultimately means that the other party has gone through that many battles and that much growth. In the first place, they are stronger than you even without the effects of Prestige.
“That’s usually true, but… there are always exceptions, aren’t there? Someday I’m going to ignore prestige altogether and beat the hell out of everyone.”
-A mindset perfectly suited for dying on the roadside.
While Sevio mocked Yeongwoo with twitching lips, the pitch-black trees surrounding them gradually began to thin out, and in the distance, something resembling a streetlamp came into view.
“What’s that supposed to be?”
-A boundary marker.
“A boundary marker?”
-From there onward is Muro’s territory. Meaning the gray zone.
“Ah, so Muro was someone’s name.”
-If you were to name the strongest swordsman of the Underground Floor, Muro is the only one that would come to mind.
“Hey, you’re from the Twelve Sword Council. Are you even allowed to say something like that?”
-In this place, strength itself is virtue. Regardless of affiliation, it’s something you have no choice but to acknowledge.
“Then since you lost to me, shouldn’t you be acting a little more obedient?”
-And that’s why we made it here safely, isn’t it?
“That’s true.”
Quickly accepting the logic, Yeongwoo nodded and walked past the streetlamp in question.
“So what happens now? We’ve entered the gray zone, right?”
-It’s not much different from before. The Thousand Pits will still be hunting you, and if things go wrong, fights can break out with anyone. However.
“However?”
-In this place, all goodwill is accepted. If you possess sufficient goodwill, most problems can be resolved.
“Goodwill like this, you mean.”
Sseuk.
Yeongwoo pulled three Black Horn coins and six Pit coins from inside his clothes, causing Sevio’s beard to twitch.
-Yes. Not bad for a brat.
“Then how much does a non-brat like you have?”
-What?
The moment Sevio frowned and asked back, Yeongwoo’s fist smashed into his protruding belly.
Ppaaaaaak!
-Kyak! You crazy bastard, what the hell are you doing?!
And in that instant, Yeongwoo rummaged through Sevio’s clothes and looted five oil-made coins from him.
Tuduk.
But among the five coins, only three were Pit coins, while the remaining two bore symbols he had never seen before.
“What’s this, a trumpet?”
-Yes. The goodwill of Kormsan.
“So it’s another faction. Why the hell are there so many factions on this damned Underground Floor?”
After stuffing the coins he stole from Sevio into his clothes, Yeongwoo shifted his gaze toward the gray-white building visible in the distance.
“That’s obviously Muro’s Roar.”
Muro’s Roar, which looked as though it had been carved from stone, possessed an unusual appearance as well.
Buildings normally took rectangular or tower-like forms, but this place literally resembled a massive boulder.
Still, it did have an entrance, making it easy to identify which side was the front, and it was also immediately obvious that someone who looked like a gatekeeper was standing there.
“I heard there’s an entrance fee.”
-No matter which faction it comes from, one goodwill token is required.
“Then once you get inside, do you receive all services for free?”
-Ordinary services, yes.
Then what exactly counted as extraordinary services?
Just as Yeongwoo was about to ask, the entrance to Muro’s Roar swung wide open and a troll came flying out.
Kuuwoong!
-Ughk!
Then immediately afterward, a figure appeared from inside the doorway that sent chills crawling down the back of Yeongwoo’s neck.
Cheolkkeodeok!
The distinctive footsteps of machinery echoed from the tavern entrance.
“…Fuck. Why is that bastard here?”
The opponent was none other than the mechanical swordsman Mohir.
The strongest machine that had suffered a “transaction accident” at Yeongwoo’s hands.
“W-We’re screwed.”
The moment Yeongwoo instinctively tried to snatch Dots’s transparent cloak, Mohir—who had been looking down at the troll—turned his head.
Seuk.
And the instant he spotted Yeongwoo, he produced an energetic grin utterly unlike a machine.
-Ah, well if it isn’t you. Just for today, I suppose I’ll have to agree that fate is truly magnificent.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]