Chapter 7

Chapter 7

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 7: The Strongest Sword of Gumi (3)

Gulp.

Without realizing it, Yeongwoo swallowed hard, a heavy lump forming in his throat. It was the premonition of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or danger looming ahead.

‘The Strongest Sword of Gumi... The moment I get this title, I’ll become the target of all the strong ones.’

Logically, refusing this opportunity would have been the right thing to do. Eventually, he’d encounter adversaries with comparable equipment but superior physical abilities.

‘But this isn’t just a simple title.’

Yeongwoo knew well that the tooltip in front of him meant more than just a “title.”

[Gumi’s Strongest Sword] – Unique Title

[Authority of the Strongest Sword]

[Gumi Sword Technique]

Because he already possessed an item with the same format.

[Early Bird] – Hero’s One-Handed Sword

[Extremely Lightweight]

In other words,

‘A title is also a type of item. The next two lines are special attributes.’

The Authority of the Strongest Sword, Gumi Sword Technique. Their exact effects weren’t immediately clear, but they seemed to have a significant impact on combat prowess.

Especially the “Gumi Sword Technique.”

Even just the “Extremely Lightweight” attribute of the Early Bird sword had a remarkable effect. What then could be expected from an option labeled “Sword Technique”?

“...”

As Yeongwoo pondered, the countdown began abruptly.

–Would you like to become the Strongest Sword of Gumi?

...The acquisition privilege will disappear in 5 seconds.

...4.

...3.

‘Damn it, they’re not giving me time to think.’

As time dwindled, Yeongwoo quickly reassessed the assets he had secured.

He now had a total of 133,000 Karma, including what he’ll receive from Yechan. On top of that, there’d likely be more coins in the pockets of the attackers scattered on the ground.

Additionally, the equipment dropped by the raiders, such as spears, axes, and hammers, were also types of assets.

So, in this situation, what would be the wiser choice: becoming stronger and attracting more enemies or avoiding attention to oneself?

‘No, the latter wasn’t possible from the start.’

Yeongwoo’s gaze fell on the silver blade of the Early Bird sword.

And just as the countdown reached one second, Yeongwoo hastily accepted the position of the Strongest Sword of Gumi.

‘I’ll do it, the Strongest Sword of Gumi...!’

Worried that he might have been too late, he widened his eyes. Soon, not only Yeongwoo but everyone in Gumi City witnessed the announcement.

[The Strongest Sword in the Gumi region has been chosen!]

[The current Strongest Sword of Gumi is ‘Jeong Yeongwoo07,’ 1 unit, 0 defenses.]

[Once you become the Strongest Sword, you can experience overwhelming growth.]

[Anyone can ascend to the Strongest Sword position through duels, the method of succession being ‘killing.’]

‘‘Killing’ is the method of succession...’

Yeongwoo felt a chill down his spine as these words echoed, and a colorful light gathered above his head.

And then—

Ping!

It created a single string of characters.

[The Strongest Sword of Gumi.]

It was none other than the title. As Yeongwoo expected, they affixed it above his head for everyone to see.

“Um... Mister.”

Yechan, who had been watching the scene in a daze, called out to Yeongwoo.

Turning his head towards Yechan, Yeongwoo soon realized the reason and fell silent.

‘This...’

As he saw it with his own eyes.

|Current region ‘Gumi’.

|The current Strongest Sword of Gumi is ‘Jeong Yeongwoo07,’ 1 unit, 0 defenses

The small text in the upper right corner of the field remained unchanged over time.

Essentially, anyone could now instantly check the region’s Strongest Sword’s name and battle records in real time.

‘A defense count of 0 likely means I haven’t defeated any challengers yet. Looks like there might be a constant stream of challengers for a while.’

In other words, it was currently a vulnerable period.

So, how many defense victories would need to be stacked up before more challengers stop appearing?

“...”

No matter how much one thought about it, it seemed like an insurmountable mountain.

With a somewhat gloomy feeling, Yeongwoo glanced at the shining title above his head.

Then, Yechan approached him, rattling something.

“Mister, what do we do about this?”

Curious, Yeongwoo looked over and saw Yechan awkwardly holding three weapons close to his chest, remnants collected from the assailants.

“What about the coins?”

“...Huh?”

Seeing Yechan’s confusion, Yeongwoo searched the bodies without saying anything and retrieved the coins.

7,000, then 4,000, and finally, the last person had 5,000.

“Even if I run away, won’t I just face those people again and end up dying? Now that I have a weapon too, I’ll help in any way I can.”

Yechan gripped his spear so hard that his hands looked as pale as a corpse.

Meanwhile, the imposing figure in the distance was closing in with a large shadow.

Thud!

Simultaneously, from the side, the sound of two men’s shoes kicking the ground was heard.

Almost simultaneously, a joint attack took place.

‘It’s do or die.’

Thud.

Yeongwoo pushed Yechan aside as a signal to keep a distance and pulled his shield close, taking a defensive stance.

He planned to withstand the initial assault somehow and deal with them one by one.

However, the opponents were not letting their guard down and scattered Yeongwoo’s attention by attacking from three directions.

Shwaaat!

“...!”

In the blink of an eye, they closed the distance. The pressure was different from the previous opponents.

‘You damn...!’

With no time for tactical considerations, Yeongwoo instinctively made a decision.

“Huaaah!”

While guarding the left side with the shield, he swung the Early Bird to the right.

Hwaaeaaat!

A silver streak cut through the air.

Then, in quick succession...

Paaah!

Around Yeongwoo, a golden shockwave erupted.

“...?”

“Ugh?”

Even the three challengers, who were about to attack Yeongwoo, stopped in their tracks. It was because a sudden intense pain erupted, as if their hearts were about to burst.

“Ugh...!”

The same was true for Yechan, who looked at Yeongwoo to see what was going on, but immediately stiffened.

The eyes of the Strongest Sword were glowing in a golden hue.

“What...?”

Not knowing what this strange phenomenon was, Yeongwoo shook his head, and the golden glow left a dizzying trace in the air.

“Is this?”

Only then did Yeongwoo realize what it meant.

He looked up, and as usual, titles and tooltips appeared.

[The Strongest Sword of Gumi] – Unique Title

[Authority of the Strongest Sword]

[Gumi Sword Technique]

‘The Authority of the Strongest Sword, could it be...’

As Yeongwoo’s eyes widened, the large man swung his axe again.

Just barely managing to escape the influence of the Authority, Yeongwoo moved his body.

“Get lost!”

Hwaeaaack!

The axe blade flew with a heavy presence.

However, Yeongwoo wasn’t focused on that.

‘What is this...?’

Right in front of him was a hologram identical to himself, standing with his sword tilted at an angle.

And it didn’t take him more than a moment to realize that it was in a defensive posture.

Hwaeaat!

Youngwoo quickly copied the posture following the hologram.

Precisely at the moment when the axe blade hit the exposed edge of the hologram, it slid down to the side.

“...?”

Squish.

For a moment, the large man’s body shifted to the side.

And in accordance with that, the hologram pierced the edge of the man’s neck.

—Kill

The character ‘kill’ appeared at the point of impact.

‘Ah...!’

Without missing a beat, Yeongwoo quickly followed the hologram’s movements.

Hwit!

Under the weight of the axe blade, the previously tilted blade of the hologram sprung up with elasticity, and using that force, it pierced through the opponent’s neck like a lightning strike.

Fwish!

“Uh.”

“Huh.”

The attack was so fast that both the person who had stabbed and the person who had been stabbed had no idea what had just happened.

And then...

Kwoong.

The bulky figure of the large man collapsed to the ground.

[Translator – Peptobismol]