[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 497: The Chaotic Universe (4)

This kind of fight—

It could also be called a battle between a puppy and a tiger.

After all, it was a fight between a mere state representative from the U.S. and a planetary representative.

And the current representative of Earth was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo07, a man who once beat up planets of the solar system with his bare fists.

So, technically, Utah should’ve been thankful to have such a powerful planetary representative, but reality was far from it.

“Let’s see what you’ve got. Being a planetary representative means you’re the strongest in the world, doesn’t it?”

What Utah was implying was—how could Yeongwoo claim to be the world’s strongest without even fighting all the top American fighters?

Cheok!

Utah struck a dramatic pose and took up a fighting stance.

Though he talked big, he wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate his opponent.

『……』

Earth, who had been standing between the two, shook its head and quietly stepped aside.

『Humans…』

For some reason, the stronger humans were, the more insanely stubborn they became.

Which meant that this representative from Utah was clearly not going to back down.

Not until he felt the gap in power with his own skin.

And Yeongwoo, well aware of this, placed his hands on his hips, preparing to accept the fight.

“I already said I’m the planetary representative, and yet you're bringing up ‘the whole world’? That's just sad.”

Planetary representative—a title earned only by those capable of facing the universe itself.

Of course, if Utah understood that, he wouldn’t be standing here now, so Yeongwoo didn’t bother explaining.

“Come on. Let me show you the dignity of a planetary representative.”

He then motioned toward Utah’s twin swords with a nod of his chin.

“The tuition fee will be one of your swords. You’re challenging a planetary representative, so I trust you brought your best gear.”

“What?”

Utah furrowed his brows at once.

But being the strongest in a major region, he didn’t lose his composure.

On the contrary—

“Talk big after you draw your weapon. Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you can ignore etiquette.”

He demanded a fair and proper fight, expecting Yeongwoo to show some respect.

『…That’s kind of romantic.』

Startled, Earth opened its eyes wide and looked at Yeongwoo, who now returned Utah’s gaze with a surprisingly approving expression.

“You’ve got a point. Even if I don’t have to be polite on a cosmic level… this is Earth. So fine.”

But still, Yeongwoo didn’t draw his weapon.

“If I fight with a weapon, you’ll die for real. So I’ll just use my hand sword.”

Hwoosh!

With those words, Yeongwoo raised his hand into a knifehand position, causing Utah’s face to contort with rage.

“This is the worst-case scenario. Someone like you is the representative of this planet?”

『I’d have to agree with that.』

As Earth chuckled at Utah’s remark, Utah finally made his move.

Fwoooosh!

In that moment, yellow lightning burst from under Utah’s feet, and what followed was a flash of movement so fast, only two beings in the arena could even track it.

Kwa-chit!

Utah had fused with the lightning itself and launched forward like a bullet.

“Whoa.”

Impressed by Utah’s unexpected speed and lightning-based combat style, Yeongwoo was thrilled more than anything.

‘To think someone like this was holed up in the middle of nowhere?’

If someone this strong was protecting Utah, Yeongwoo could feel more at ease renting the place to space refugees.

Still, it wasn’t enough to even graze Yeongwoo’s toes.

Kwa-tschut!

A lightning-fast twin sword thrust aimed right at Yeongwoo, but he easily blocked it with a simple cross of his hand swords.

Screeech!

As the swords clashed with Yeongwoo’s bare hands and produced a metallic screech, Utah’s eyes widened in shock.

“What the…?”

No matter how wide America was, he’d never seen anything like this—someone stopping swords with bare hands.

No, more than that, his swords weren’t even cutting flesh.

And then Yeongwoo spoke.

“Sword Immunity.”

“…What?”

“This is the basic qualification for a planetary representative.”

Then, faster than lightning, Yeongwoo’s knee struck Utah’s abdomen.

Thwack!

“Guh…!”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors circulating around Lake Ontario? Folks there should know very well what kind of person I am.”

Yeongwoo asked, but Utah was too busy clutching his stomach and collapsing to the floor to answer.

Except for his first day post-reset, this was the first time he’d ever experienced such a barbaric beatdown.

Yeongwoo scratched his cheek and nodded to himself.

“Well… I guess distance does matter.”

He then pointed to the still-glowing yellow sword in Utah’s hand.

“That’ll be your tuition fee, like I said.”

The reason Yeongwoo’s eyes had widened at Utah’s “lightning mode” was because he himself was partially specialized in lightning.

He had received an item called “Lightning Rod” from President Lemu, which had the effect of doubling lightning damage.

【Lightning Fire】

| Doubles the lightning damage you possess.

On top of that, thanks to his uncle currently being interred in a coffin, Yeongwoo could maintain lightning damage continuously.

【Thunder Dragon in the Coffin】

| Gain 20% additional lightning damage to final attack power.

“You look like a lightning man. So you’ve gotta be kitted out in lightning gear, right?”

Honestly, Yeongwoo wanted to strip Utah of all his gear and toss him out naked, but he barely restrained himself.

After all, he needed to maintain a decent relationship with him if he wanted to lease Utah’s lands to space refugees.

Ta-at!

Yeongwoo snatched the sword from Utah’s hand, and just as expected, a tooltip with lightning attributes appeared in his view.

「The Fifth Sword」 – Legendary One-Handed Sword

【Lightning Resistance +25%】

【Lightning Damage +25%】

【Lightning Step】

‘Lightning Step?’

Undoubtedly, it was the final effect that caught Yeongwoo’s attention.

An additional tooltip then appeared below.

【Lightning Step】

|Dash quickly forward, becoming temporarily immune to lightning damage.|

‘What… immunity to lightning damage?’

Even if there was a cooldown for this ability, it was clearly a powerful effect.

For someone like Yeongwoo, he could counter an opponent’s ultimate lightning skill using Lightning Step.

‘If I ever come across a guy whose ultimate technique is lightning-based, I have to beat him.’

After reviewing all the tooltips, Yeongwoo immediately registered the ‘Fifth Sword’ into his armory.

With that, his weapon collection count updated to “22,” and Yeongwoo’s sword rank also became the “Twenty-Two Sword Mountain.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

[Weapon Catalog]

〔22〕

[Collection Effect: 10]

|+1% damage for each registered weapon|

[Collection Effect: 20]

|Sword Mountain|

‘Man, at this rate, how am I ever going to reach the Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain? I need some sort of breakthrough method.’

Just as Yeongwoo was about to turn his gaze skyward again, ‘Utah,’ who had collapsed at his feet, slowly began to rise.

“…This is ridiculous. You didn’t even have to draw your sword.”

“You’re not thinking about a round two, are you? I should remind you—there’s a separate fee for that.”

Utah looked up at Yeongwoo with an expression full of dismay.

“You said something about the Great Lakes earlier… Did you pull the same stunt over there?”

“I’ve never actually been to the Great Lakes. Back then, I just beat up the representatives they sent.”

And as a result, the conqueror of the Great Lakes ended up owing Yeongwoo a debt of one billion won—with daily interest.

“Still, better than dying, right? I used to kill everyone, you know.”

“……”

At Yeongwoo’s remark, Utah had nothing to say.

Even though he had been humiliated by a knee kick, forced to kneel, and had his main weapon stolen, it was still better than being killed.

That much was true.

“Anyway, you recognize now that I’m the planetary representative, right? You got the ‘challenge’ you were asking for.”

“…I can’t deny it.”

Eventually, Utah admitted defeat by force, and a wide grin spread across Yeongwoo’s face.

“Then from now on, the state of Utah is officially part of this planet.”

“…?”

“So have the land surveyed and send someone to Seoul by tonight. I’ll open the route ahead of time.”

When Yeongwoo said this and pointed toward the distant high-speed transit route, Utah asked with a worried look,

“W-What do you mean? A land survey?”

“We’re going to use uninhabited land to house space refugees. They’ll pay monthly rent.”

“What……?”

Space refugees?

Monthly rent?

The bizarre combination of words made Utah’s nostrils flare.

“Space refugees… What are you even talking about?”

“I’m saying I’ll take aliens in as tenants.”

“…!”

“This doesn’t require your approval or understanding. It’s a project under the planetary representative’s authority.”

At this, Utah shouted in a flustered voice, mouth agape.

“Even so, how can we give our land to aliens?! This is Earth!”

“What are you talking about? Technically, we’re no longer a planet. This is Earthship.”

“…?”

Could Utah even understand the difference between Earth and Earthship?

“We’re not a normal planet anymore, which is exactly why the rental business is possible. If you want a more detailed explanation, ask Earth yourself.”

With that, Yeongwoo turned his gaze away from Utah.

“Quite the crowd today.”

The reason Yeongwoo said this was because he already sensed two swift presences approaching from afar.

“So, who’s supposed to be here today?”

He was referring to those who were practically based in Las Vegas.

Utah blinked and began folding down his fingers one by one.

“Nevada, Oregon, California.”

“Then one of them still hasn’t arrived.”

“They’ll all gather eventually. They’ve all been disgruntled with the planetary representative anyway.”

Maybe it was because he’d taken the beating first?

Utah’s face looked strangely at ease.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo glanced between Utah and the newcomers in the distance and said,

“I hope the rest of them can feel just as relaxed as you soon. But before that…”

Whoosh.

Yeongwoo gestured toward a golden goblin crouched far away.

He was signaling it to bring over the golden sphere.

“There’s one more reason I came here today.”

“…What is it?”

“The Golden Ratio.”

At that moment, the golden goblin darted across several dozen meters and arrived in front of Yeongwoo.

– Keeek!

As a seasoned slave, the goblin already had the golden sphere raised above its head, and upon seeing it, Yeongwoo immediately placed his hand on it.

Tap.

Then, with a whirring sound he hadn’t heard in a while, golden letters filled Yeongwoo’s vision.

『You have reached the end of the Golden Achievement!』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]