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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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“Mara!”
“Revenge!”
“Maraaa...!”
While Yeongwoo and the orcs chanted Mara’s name with voices filled with madness, Choi Moonsoon, the only one maintaining her sanity, sensed a swift presence in the sky.
Swooosh!
“What is that…?”As she tried to call out to Yeongwoo, the Strongest Sword, upon sensing the sudden threat, Yeongwoo, who had seemed half out of his mind until now, suddenly reached up into the sky.
Swish!
With his fingers, he grabbed a pitch-black metal card that had appeared out of nowhere.
Snap!
‘This bastard? He was in his right mind all along?’
Choi Moonsoon gaped in shock.
Yeongwoo had returned to his dry, emotionless gaze in an instant.
She finally realized that the Strongest Sword had been playing along with the orcs all this time.
“We’re in the middle of a very important ceremony, so play along, will you?”
Yeongwoo whispered quietly to Moonsoon, then raised his arms back into the air as if nothing had happened.
“Marrraaaa...!”
Moonsoon had no choice but to join in, raising her weapon to the sky along with the surrounding orcs.
“Mar, Mara!”
In her 47 years of life, Moonsoon had never experienced anything like this before.
After all, when else would she ever swear a bloody vengeance mingling with orcs on the Australian continent?
Meanwhile,
‘It’s been properly deposited.’
Yeongwoo checked the metal card that had come down from the sky.
[50,000,000]
A metal object containing a whopping 50 million in cash.
This was the reward Dogo promised for the completed quest.
[Quest Complete - “Finally, Global Village”]
[Reward Granted]
| 50,000,000 Karma
Thanks to this, Yeongwoo’s balance was nearing the billion mark.
* Available Karma: 98,492,500
‘The money isn’t decreasing at all?’
98 million Karma.
Although he had to pay taxes tonight, it was still more than enough money.
‘It’s perfect timing since I have to clear the night dungeon tonight...’
Feeling generous due to his ample funds, Yeongwoo decided not to collect the welcome tribute for the first time.
“Chief Bang, I won’t be collecting today’s tax. For now, bringing in more brothers is more important.”
- What? Of course, for today...
Bantubangtong started to argue but closed his mouth to avoid causing any trouble.
Especially since the Strongest Sword of Jeju had gestured for him to be quiet.
- Then... how do we break through that path?
As Bantubangtong got to the main point, Yeongwoo handed him something as if he had been waiting.
Thump.
It was a hologram cube.
Since the ‘super-high-speed transit route’ was constructed using multiple spacers, the design and construction video could be shared with others.
“Seeing it yourself will be quicker, Chief Bang.”
Yeongwoo was quite nervous at this moment.
If Chief Bang decided to nullify all agreements after watching the insane road construction video, there would be nothing Yeongwoo could do.
- Huh.
Eventually, as Bantubangtong reached the ‘spacer launch’ scene, he opened his mouth wide in astonishment and took a deep breath.
Then, he gave feedback that was beyond Yeongwoo’s expectations.
- Indeed... the path of revenge, which will witness countless bloodsheds, must also be opened with blood.
“Ah, Chief Bang...!”
- Mara! Is Mara really beyond that darkness?
Bantubangtong asked, pointing to the considerably darkened northern sky, and Yeongwoo nodded vigorously.
“Yes! With high probability...!”
This also meant there was low probability, but Bantubangtong, the lord of the Red-footed Orcs, was already rallying his brothers, pointing north.
- Finally, it’s time to open the path of revenge! Brothers! Open the path to become the stars in that sky! We will extract a thousand times the blood we shed from Mara!
Amazingly, thousands of orcs in the area responded by thrusting their weapons into the air.
- Stars!
- Let’s become stars!
- Open the path of revenge!
Then something even more astonishing happened.
Swoooosh!
As if on cue, a pillar of white light shot down from the sky's edge.
“Dogo...?”
Seeing countless Dogo symbols mixed in the light pillar, Yeongwoo immediately understood.
It meant that Dogo had been observing all the scenes so far, and seeing that the ‘spacers’ were ready, the company had begun the actual construction.
Shhhh!
Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the pillar of light that struck down on the Australian land left behind a massive tower before it disappeared.
The tower, resembling a very tall lighthouse, had intricate engravings of Dogo’s wedge symbols on its metallic surface.
- What is that?
Soon, Bantubangtong approached the tower's base, touching the surface with his hand and flaring his nostrils.
“This is probably the first step to the highway… no, the path of revenge.”
- First step?
“Yes. To become a star… you have to climb very high first.”
As Yeongwoo said this and looked up to see the top of the tower, the orcs around him followed suit and lifted their heads.
- What is that…
- It’s really high.
- It might really reach the stars.
The orcs spoke poetically about stars, but to Yeongwoo, the tower seemed only about 700 to 800 meters tall.
Still, it was excessively high for an elevated road.
‘Orcs are supposed to build the road up there? What on earth…’
Even though it was his doing, Yeongwoo found it absurd.
Creeeak.
The side of the tower slowly opened, forming an archway.
Entering it would likely lead to the top of the tower.
Yeongwoo wanted to proceed before the excitement died down.
“Who wants to become a star first?”
But this wasn’t the way orcs communicated.
Unlike with Bantubangtong earlier, there was no response this time.
- Hmph.
As expected, Bantubangtong snorted and grabbed his chest with his right hand.
- You still can’t speak with your heart.
“……?”
When Yeongwoo expressed confusion, Bantubangtong looked up at the sky, still clutching his chest.
- The bravest one, the first brother to become a star, will shine the brightest even in the heavens.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Then he swung his hand that was holding his chest and struck the alien tower.
Boom!
- Who will light up the sky first? Who will be the first milestone on the path of revenge? The bravest one, step forward and proclaim your shining name!
‘Indeed, a lord.’
Yeongwoo felt a surge of emotion, clutching his own chest.
And at that moment,
Thump!
Every orc stepped forward, casting heavy shadows on the tower.
- Today, we all become stars!
- There will be no night. Countless stars will light up the sky.
- The brave ones, step forward!
- Forward!
As the orcs, each shouting a word, rushed towards the tower entrance, the tower flashed white and shot white beams to the top each time.
That was probably it.
“Are the orcs… ascending?”
As Choi Moonsoon, her mouth covered, spoke in a dazed voice, Yeongwoo shook his head.
“Don’t call them orcs. They are brothers. And now… they are becoming stars and shining.”
Yeongwoo pointed somewhere far up in the sky.
Then,
Piaat!
With a faint popping sound, a barely visible light beam shot out from the top of the tower, towards somewhere in the northern sky.
It wasn’t the brightest star in the sky, as the orcs had claimed, but it still looked like a star.
“Wait, just now?”
Seeing this faintly, Choi Moonsoon looked at Yeongwoo with a puzzled expression, and at this moment, Yeongwoo,
“……”
Trembled slightly at the fingertips and bit his lips tightly.
“Strongest Sword…?”
Moonsoon closely examined Yeongwoo’s contorted face.
“… Are you crying?”
Then the Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo, shook his head again.
“No, that’s not it. I was just thinking about how I must kill Mara.”
“Okay.”
Moonsoon didn’t press the Strongest Sword further.
She had already seen enough.
The faint twinkle in the corner of this madman’s eyes, like the starlight she just saw.
* * *
「The lodging service has begun.」
「From now on, all buildings classified as ‘residences’ will be under the inviolable state influenced by the lodging system.」
「By the way, tonight’s weather is black fog.」
「Be cautious of physical loss.」
By 9 PM, despite the start of the lodging period, not a single orc who had gone up the tower had returned.
Indeed, they were all becoming stars in the night sky, paving the way.
And still, countless orcs, or brothers, were lined up at the tower's entrance.
“How many more brothers must we send before the path is fully opened?”
To his surprise, Bantubangtong responded,
“Isn’t that something I should be asking? You’ve grown soft, human.”
“I have no honor. I realized that after seeing those starlights.”
Bantubangtong laughed heartily, his throat fully visible.
“Ha ha! Honor is not something one can claim for oneself. If you want to reclaim your honor from us, ensure those stars shine forever.”
Though the last statement was somewhat ambiguous, Yeongwoo soon understood its meaning.
“I will definitely kill Mara.”
“If that time comes, you will be our true leader.”
“Hah.”
Yeongwoo wasn’t sure if this red-skinned otherworldly being truly understood the implications, but he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Bring the red!”
Bantubangtong ordered his brothers to bring a large inkstone.
“If you wish to take revenge with us, first become a Red Foot.”
He pointed to the red liquid in the inkstone, instructing Yeongwoo to step into it.
The message was clear: they couldn’t allow someone with white feet on the road they had paved with their stars.
“……”
Without hesitation, Yeongwoo submerged both feet in the inkstone.
Bantubangtong approached roughly, grabbing Yeongwoo’s neck and shaking his body in the inkstone, making sure his feet were thoroughly stained red.
“It is done! Now you are our brother, and we are yours.”
Bantubangtong struck Yeongwoo’s chest hard.
Thud!
And at that moment,
Piaaaat!
Unlike before, the tower glowed with multicolored lights, drawing bright lines on its lower surface.
Swaaah, shiaaaah!
It looked as if lines were connecting constellations.
“…Ah.”
It was a kind of route map.
A high-speed transportation route map.
Beneath the brightly shining lines, the outline of New Pangea was engraved.
According to the map,
“Th-the path to Seoul is already open?”
The high-speed transportation route that the brothers had opened stretched from Australia to Seoul.
Judging by the intermittently flickering dots,
‘…Those are towers. They’re like stations.’
By looking at the map, Yeongwoo could tell how the high-speed transportation route would function.
The travel between towers would be almost at the speed of light.
The way the brothers opened the path was likely to move rapidly to the tower left by the previous stargazer and then launch themselves from there.
Then, a tower would remain where they disappeared as stars.
“Is this your city?”
As Yeongwoo stared intently at the engraved Seoul, Bantubangtong pointed it out with his stubby finger.
“Yes.”
“Then what are you hesitating for?”
“……?”
“Time is up. Go.”
It was then that Yeongwoo noticed the night had grown much darker.
The time for tax collection was approaching, and soon, the night dungeon would come with abnormal weather.
Swish.
Bantubangtong was already pointing to the entrance of the tower.
“Master Bang…!”
As Yeongwoo bowed deeply in gratitude, Negwig quickly ran up from a distance, realizing it was time to leave Australia.
Thump!
Once Yeongwoo mounted Negwig, Bantubangtong traced the white route extending from northern Australia to Seoul with his finger.
“Go up and follow our brothers. I hope the brightness isn’t too blinding.”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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