Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 311: Noble Family (3)

— We’re going to space with those people’s money?

Song Jiseon showed interest in her son’s words for the first time since their reunion.

She was starting to get curious about exactly what her son was doing in this unusual city.

“Yes. While we’re collecting taxes legally now, we used to receive defense fees.”

— Defense fees? You mean payment for using your combat abilities?

As expected from a former businesswoman, Song Jiseon grasped the situation quickly, making it easier for Yeongwoo to explain.

“Well... something like that. I actually prefer to call it a life fee. At one point, all of the city’s Strongest Swords were in competition with each other.”

— Hmm. So even if it weren’t for you, they’d be too busy fighting amongst themselves to choose a leader.

“Yes. Through that process, they selected a person capable of handling abnormal beings like you.”

When Yeongwoo subtly praised his mother by referring to her as an “abnormal being,” she remained silent inside her helmet.

— …….

However, Yeongwoo was sure of one thing.

His mother was likely feeling quite proud of herself at the moment.

— So, are those over there... the normal kind of mutants?

Jiseon pointed toward the Strongest Swords and the mutants behind them as she asked.

Yeongwoo nodded.

“For the most part, yes. Those are your typical mutants.”

Typical mutants.

Even so, these were formidable beings—powerful enough that the renowned Strongest Swords of various regions couldn’t handle them on their own and were forced to retreat.

And among them was the exceptionally powerful Song Jiseon, the “abnormal” being.

— Hmm.

Jiseon made a sound of satisfaction before quietly raising her massive sword.

Sliiide.

— You said I shouldn’t kill any humans, right?

“Yes. Think of it as reducing our travel funds by 5% for each person you kill. You can’t afford to make mistakes.”

This comment was partly due to the upcoming re-election vote that might take place, but Yeongwoo kept that part to himself.

— I have no reason to kill them anyway. But if they get caught in my attack by accident, that can’t be helped.

“…What did you say?”

As Yeongwoo’s brow furrowed in frustration, Jiseon raised her ice greatsword high.

Whoosh.

Upon seeing this, Yeongwoo immediately shouted toward the Strongest Swords.

“Run! You’re all going to die…!”

He had momentarily forgotten that his mother used to be a corporate tycoon just a short while ago.

Given that she was still upset from losing the power struggle with her son, she wasn’t in the mood to care about such “trivial” matters.

— You’re telling me those little guys hold a 5% stake each? Either your math is wrong, or we’re riding in a total junker.

“What the hell?! I was just estimating!”

As Yeongwoo’s eyes widened in disbelief, Jiseon’s body became enveloped in a glowing blue aura.

Fwoooosh!

She was beginning to transform back into a massive ice dragon.

“Ah, come on!”

This time, even Yeongwoo had no choice but to retreat, and the Strongest Swords, realizing that a major catastrophe was about to hit Gwangjin District, hurriedly turned around.

In fact, they even ran in the direction of the mutants who had been chasing them.

“What the hell is going on?!”

“What is that…?”

The ball of light radiating from Jiseon had already risen over 100 meters into the sky.

Unaware of the situation, the Strongest Swords instinctively realized that the mutants they had been running from were safer than whatever this massive thing was.

“Yeongwoo! What have you done this time?!”

One of the Strongest Swords had astutely guessed that this was Yeongwoo’s doing, but before he could hear a response, a deafening roar blanketed Gwangjin District, drowning out everything else.

— If you don’t want to die, move aside!

At the thunderous warning, the Strongest Swords, who had been facing off against the mutants blocking their escape, looked around in confusion.

“Move?”

“…Which way is ‘aside’?”

Jiseon had told them to move “aside” from her perspective, but her body was so enormous that the Strongest Swords couldn’t tell which direction was considered “aside.”

Meanwhile, Jiseon, having re-formed her ice dragon body, opened her massive maw wide.

— Mooove!

As she unleashed a forward breath attack, the massive ice shards shot out, narrowly missing the Strongest Swords who had correctly guessed the direction to dodge.

BOOM!

However, some of the Strongest Swords who had moved in the wrong direction were not as lucky.

“Huh?”

“W-wait!”

They were immediately caught in the breath attack before they could react to the absurd scale of the assault.

Of course, the mutants who had been chasing the Strongest Swords weren’t spared either.

— Huh?

— Is that… a dragon?

— What the hell is that thing?

Even the highly dangerous 7th-day mutants, who had been specifically sent to this world in their enhanced states, were bewildered by the sight of a dragon over 100 meters tall.

And soon...

BOOM!

The mutants, who had been staring in disbelief, were also swept away by Jiseon’s breath.

— You’re telling me these guys are my peers? How ridiculous.

Jiseon, looking down proudly at the battlefield she had cleared with a single breath, noticed a black streak running toward her.

Thud!

It was none other than Yeongwoo, rushing toward the scene while holding a slime core.

“Are you out of your mind?! I told you not to touch the humans!”

Luckily, none of the Strongest Swords had died from the breath attack.

They had managed to perform evasive maneuvers just in time, avoiding full exposure to the breath attack.

Still, most of them had lost limbs or had their lower bodies completely shattered, leaving Yeongwoo frantic with frustration.

“I-I’m sorry.”

When Yeongwoo approached the Strongest Sword closest to death, Lee Hanwook, the man, terrified and barely clinging to life, let out a nonsensical scream.

“Ugh, ugh! Ughhhh!”

“Stay still! I’m here to save you!”

Since a single slime core wasn’t enough for a quick recovery, Yeongwoo had no choice but to use his “Unfair Trade.”

Shiiing!

「Unfair Trade」 - Unique One-Handed Sword

【Inflicting wounds on enemies, increasing wearer\'s recovery rate.】

「Slime Core」 - Mutation Bracelet

【Regenerative power increases dramatically.】

After placing the Unfair Trade sword in Hanwook’s one remaining hand, Yeongwoo had him stab his own shoulder.

Thud!

“Huh?”

“This will heal you quickly.”

Just as Yeongwoo had promised, Hanwook’s body began to recover rapidly, and as soon as Yeongwoo was sure the man was out of danger, he moved on to the next person.

“Yeongwoo! You bastard!”

The next swordsman in line was coincidentally Jang Jeongho, the Strongest Sword of Dongdaemun.

“Shut up, I’m saving you. I never thought I’d be the one saving lives.”

Yeongwoo once again had Jang stab him with the Unfair Trade, allowing his recovery.

“This is what you call the Sword of Life.”

As Yeongwoo watched the man’s legs regrow quickly, Jang gritted his teeth and asked,

“What the hell is that thing? What did you bring this time?”

Naturally, he was referring to the ice dragon, Song Jiseon, and though Yeongwoo knew this could hurt him in the next election, he couldn’t help but answer.

“She’s my mother.”

Now, Yeongwoo, Jeonggu, and Jiseon were “family.”

“Your mother? That’s your mom?”

Of course, Jang’s jaw dropped, and he pointed toward Jiseon as if asking if Yeongwoo was serious.

In response, Yeongwoo calmly lowered his hand and warned him.

“Don’t provoke her. If you don’t want to die.”

“……”

Song Jiseon was one of the very few people Yeongwoo couldn’t subdue in an instant.

At least, among those from Earth.

If she ever decided to actually kill one of the Strongest Swords, Yeongwoo wouldn’t be able to stop her in time.

For the first time, Yeongwoo now had a serious problem to deal with.

“I\'m sorry. But things will get better moving forward. As a gesture of apology, I\'ll make sure the spheres here are returned to each region.”

At that, Hanwook, who had been lying far away, screamed in shock.

“What do you mean, \'moving forward\'? What does that imply? Don\'t tell me that\'s…!”

Then he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut with one arm, which had yet to fully heal.

It was because he realized that Song Jiseon, the Ice Dragon, was staring down at him.

—How is he still alive? It seems they’re not completely incompetent, after all.

She then raised her head and upper body, looking down at Metal Seoul from hundreds of meters in the air.

She was enjoying this wide and high view.

—Is one mutant dropping into each district? Then the areas we haven’t heard from must have handled it on their own.

Song Jiseon was learning this world at an astonishing speed.

Suddenly, as if something occurred to her, she turned her head far off to a distant place outside Seoul.

—What about the others?

“What? Who exactly?”

—What’s happening overseas? Do you even know? What\'s the point of being a thug only in this country?

“Oh.”

Of course, the head of Jinhyeon Group, a global corporation.

Yeongwoo thought that even if his mother had been reset as a human instead of a mutant, she would have survived just fine.

“Overseas, it’s a mess there too.”

—Really?

Song Jiseon made a sound of surprise.

It seemed unexpected to her that her brute of a son was aware of the situation abroad.

—Have you been overseas? Have you fought there? Have you competed with the extraterrestrials?

Song Jiseon narrowed her large eyes and asked, to which Yeongwoo wiped his nose and shrugged.

“If someone aims to touch the universe, wouldn\'t they have at least visited abroad?”

Yeongwoo wanted to boast that he owned billions in foreign bonds, but explaining all that would take too long, so he held back.

Besides, he hadn’t fully dominated the entire world yet.

“Of course, I haven’t been to every single country, but I’m pretty sure of this: I’m the strongest on this planet.”

When Yeongwoo made this bold claim, Song Jiseon gave him a skeptical look.

—The world is bigger than you think.

“That’s exactly what I want to say.”

Just as Yeongwoo and Jiseon were about to start another argument.

Fiiiing!

A sharp signal sound came from the distant sky.

—What now? Is someone else coming?

Song Jiseon opened her mouth again, preparing to unleash her breath into the sky, while in the meantime, Yeongwoo caught sight of a beam of light rising from the west.

Something from the west had just communicated with something beyond the sky.

“Oh, the west! That’s where it is!”

—What? What’s there?

“The Victory Monument!”

As Yeongwoo remembered the significant structure to the west, a system message appeared in everyone\'s view within Seoul.

「In one hour, Promotion Inspectors will arrive.」

「Prepare a gift in return.」

“Huh? What the hell?”

As Yeongwoo’s eyes widened with a sense of déjà vu so strong it tingled his scalp, Song Jiseon closed her mouth, which had been aimed at the sky.

—What’s going on?

It seemed she hadn’t seen the system message.

So Yeongwoo stomped his feet and shouted.

“The planetary inspectors are coming! In one hour!”

—What? Inspectors?

Song Jiseon would now be able to witness a part of the \'universe\' she had longed for.

The problem, however, was—

“We have to prepare a gift in one hour! The kind of people who receive these are incredibly high-ranking!”

For instance, that had been the case with the shareholders of Dogo.

When they first met, the system had kindly informed him to prepare a gift for these distinguished guests.

—What the hell. You’ve got such important visitors coming, and you’re just now thinking about the gift?

Song Jiseon snorted in disdain, her blue breath puffing out, but then Yeongwoo suddenly lifted his head as if struck by a brilliant idea.

“Mom!”

—...?

“What would be a good gift?”

—How should I know, you reckless idiot?

The sudden use of the term \'Mom\' caught her so off guard that Song Jiseon forgot to be angry and took a step back.

Then, as Yeongwoo glanced at the guest timer that had appeared in his view, he spoke again.

“You were the owner of Jinhyeon Group, right? A global hospitality genius! So, if you were me, what would you give to the planetary inspectors?”

—...What is this kid even talking about?

In reality, wasn’t her son the real genius of hospitality?

Song Jiseon felt a strange pressure closing in on her.

After her son had just praised her as a hospitality genius, standing there saying nothing would make her look foolish.

—Well, I don’t know. What exactly did the system say?

In the end, Song Jiseon reluctantly took on her son’s assignment, and Yeongwoo grinned wickedly before climbing onto Negwig.

“Then I’ll just make a quick trip to Gangnam while you think it over! I’m a little busy today!”

—What?

By the time Song Jiseon realized she’d been tricked, Metal Seoul\'s mayor, Jeong Yeongwoo, had already left the outskirts of Gwangjin-gu.

Crash, crash…

—That little punk dares to subcontract the job to me?