[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 510: Earthling (7)

Killing two birds with one stone.

Throwing a single rock to catch two birds—it wasn’t an inaccurate analogy, considering the Earthship itself could be seen as a giant stone.

If they were going to shake down Koatu for a “donation” anyway, doing a stellar headbutt and leaving an impact scar at the same time would definitely save time and effort.

○ Aren’t you scared?

‘Don’t tell me you are?’

○ Of course I am. A mere planet about to headbutt a star?

‘You still don’t get it. Why are you calling yourself a planet? You’re not a planet anymore. You’re a planet-ship, the main character of the universe now.’

○ But I was a planet until yesterday. If your fundamental nature changes overnight, that’s what’s strange.

At that, Yeongwoo shook his head and shot back:

‘Of all the planets, you don’t get to say that. You’re the one who committed the crime of abandoning your orbit. You need to act boldly to make up for that.’

○ ……

This time, Earth had no retort.

It only sounded crazy because it came from Jeong Yeongwoo07, but he wasn’t wrong.

Now that Earth had become a planet-ship, it had to live life with agency.

Because there was no longer a fixed orbit.

If it didn’t move on its own, there would be no path to follow.

○ Still… why open a path involving a headbutt with a star?

‘Don’t you want to have a cool impact scar like Centaurus?’

○ I’ve never once wanted that kind of grotesque thing.

‘Unfortunate, but in this rough universe, you need one. It’s basically our best weapon and our bulletproof vest.’

Again, taken at face value, he wasn’t wrong.

Stellar impact scars were insanely durable armor in and of themselves, and when wielded by someone crazy like Yeongwoo, they could become powerful weapons.

Not many planet-ship owners throughout galactic history had probably used headbutting as an offensive tactic, but still.

‘We’re newcomers in this universe. If we don’t act bolder than anyone else, we’ll never catch up to the pioneers.’

○ …I can agree with that.

Still, trying to have a rational conversation with a madman was futile.

Earth gave up and changed the subject.

○ About what you asked earlier.

‘Oh… Koatu’s star, right?’

○ Yeah. Fortunately, it’s not that big. It’s worth attempting.

Then Earth added a condition.

○ But we’ll need to upgrade the shield system by two levels. Unless you want to lose all of humanity.

‘Let me guess—this’ll cost money again, won’t it?’

○ Of course. We’re talking about enhancing the shield that covers the entire Earthship.

The benefit, however, was that this would allow them to supply power across the entire planet continuously.

Not only would all services continue uninterrupted, but with steady resource input, they could even restart facilities like factories.

‘That actually sounds worth it. So how much?’

○ 4.2 billion for a two-level upgrade.

‘Insane.’

The amount made Yeongwoo pause.

‘How did the past owners even manage these ships? How’d they make money?’

○ Either with crazy methods like yours… or maybe they were already rich to begin with. Like royalty.

‘At this rate, even if someone gave me this for free, I wouldn’t be able to afford the upgrades to run it.’

Fortunately, he had enough cash.

And if he could “convince” the arms dealer Koatu, he’d come away with a lot more.

‘4.2 billion to power the entire planet…’

In the mid- to long-term, it would definitely help stabilize public support within the ship.

And it would give them the conditions to attempt the impact scar creation too.

‘Either way, if we’re seriously doing a stellar headbutt, upgrading the shield is non-negotiable, right? No other choice.’

○ If you want to make a name for yourself with headbutts, then yeah.

‘No way around it, then. Can we start the upgrade now?’

○ As long as we don’t get into battles with other ships, we can do the upgrade during interstellar travel.

Which meant the shield upgrade could proceed while Yeongwoo was asleep or exploring dungeons.

○ Plus, the planetary system where Koatu is based is way out there—we’ll be traveling a long while anyway. It’s stuck to the far edge of the upper galaxy.

‘Well, that works out. Let’s start the upgrade now.’

Yeongwoo paid for the shield upgrade immediately.

Paaah!

Then Earth, slightly flustered, commented:

○ That kind of reckless spending… is probably your greatest strength as a human. If any other Strongest Sword was in your position…

They’d still be agonizing over whether to reinforce the thrusters, let alone upgrade the shields.

‘I told you—unless we’re bolder than anyone else, we’ll never catch up to the ones who came before us.’

○ …I’ll let you know once the shield upgrade is complete. It should be done before we reach the target system.

* * *

11 p.m.

The hour when abnormal weather patterns began, and night-time dungeons could appear.

Yeongwoo was still lying wide awake on his bed.

‘Damn it.’

His heart was racing at the thought of flying to the northernmost edge of the galaxy to headbutt a star.

‘Even if the shields are fully upgraded… if I really go through with this, what’s going to happen? An earthquake at the very least, right?’

And where on Earth’s body would the impact scar appear?

‘Right hand? Left hand? Forehead…?’

As Yeongwoo reached up to touch his own forehead, Earth, who had been silent until now, finally couldn’t hold back.

○ Stop spouting nonsense and get up. It’s 11 o’clock.

At the same moment, the system displayed a new message, signaling the arrival of the abnormal weather.

Paaah!

「Abnormal Weather Detected: Electric Tidal Wave」

“What the hell is that?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

○ Strong electric currents will constantly flow through the atmosphere. If you’re not completely immune to lightning, it’s best to stay inside—but you should be fine.

Yeongwoo was wearing the Vesedel armor, which adapted to any planetary environment.

And since abnormal weather was classified as planetary environment, he would automatically be immune.

“If we can only summon enemies at night, then we’re basically invincible.”

With a smirk, Yeongwoo got up from the bed and put on his armor.

As he stepped into the living room, Jiseon, who was standing there, glanced out the window and spoke.

—It’s not looking like a normal day, is it?

“The Earth forecast says I should be fine.”

—That might be true for you... but how do other people live on a planet like this their whole lives?

“That’s why I’m trying to do something about it.”

When Yeongwoo looked out the window, he saw exactly what Jiseon had meant—

the weather was definitely unusual.

The entire outside space was rippling.

“I’ll be back.”

After checking Bastard on his belt, Yeongwoo immediately stepped out of the room.

Current time: 11:03 PM.

By now, the night dungeon should be activated.

“I can’t even begin to guess what kind of dungeon it’ll be tonight. You feel the same way, right?”

He glanced down as he asked, and the golden goblin following behind him casually pulled out a sphere from its pouch.

-Kit!

“…Right.”

He couldn’t tell what exactly it was saying, but it likely meant it agreed.

Meanwhile, Pofu Tenta was trembling slightly, trumpet in hand—apparently afraid of the electrical surge.

-...Bat.

“Wait… is it gonna get electrocuted just by holding that thing?”

Realizing this only now, Yeongwoo sighed and reopened the guest room door.

“You go back. You can’t enter the dungeon anyway. Take the night off.”

-Bab-bat...!

Pofu Tenta bolted for the exit the moment the door opened, as if it had been waiting to clock out.

On the other hand, the golden goblin, who had a clear role to play in summoning the dungeon, stood tall and proud.

-Kit!

“You really are a founding hero, huh.”

* * *

11:05 PM.

After exiting the hotel lobby, Yeongwoo immediately climbed onto Negwig’s back.

-Kwiik!

When it came to planetary adaptation, Negwig was the original.

It charged ahead through the electric tide like it was nothing.

「Negwig」 - Unknown Grade

【Adapts to any planet.】

Clang, clang!

With the sound of Negwig’s iron hooves, the streets of Gangnam flew past,

and before long, the towering silhouettes of massive structures came into view—Gwangjin-gu rising in the distance like a fortress.

“From here, it looks like some demon lord’s castle.”

Thanks to the conference center and wedding hall, Gwangjin-gu hardly looked like it belonged on Earth at all.

Kwaang!

Negwig raced onto Cheongdam Bridge, heading toward Gwangjin-gu.

By then, the golden goblin had already taken the sphere out again.

“Don’t rush. The dungeon might not even open tonight.”

But if it did open—where should he summon it?

‘Next to the hall should work.’

Yeongwoo steered Negwig toward the empty space near the venue.

Clang, clack!

All the while, the electric tide continued to ripple across Gwangjin-gu.

“…Ugh.”

The spatial distortion was intense enough to strain his eyes.

Frowning, Yeongwoo jumped down from Negwig.

Thud!

The golden goblin followed and gently placed the golden sphere in the center of the clearing.

-Kit!

As if urging him to summon the dungeon already, the goblin pointed at the sphere—

and right then, the sphere’s color turned pitch black.

Fwoosh!

The transformation to a black sphere had completed.

But that alone didn’t confirm whether a dungeon would actually open tonight.

He had to touch it directly to find out.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.”

Without hesitation, Yeongwoo walked forward and placed his hand on the sphere.

Thmp.

The black sphere began to spin—then suddenly:

FWOOSH!

A wave of ashen energy erupted outward, halting the bizarre weather.

“…Huh?”

That was a clear sign of dungeon activation.

And sure enough—

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

A massive statue began rising from beneath the earth.

Its form was…

“…What the hell.”

It was a figure on horseback.

Or rather, since it was holding a massive bow—it looked more like a mounted archer.

Fweeee!

And then, as always, the dungeon tooltip appeared.

But this one was extraordinary.

[Poso Racetrack]

| Dungeon Grade: Heroic

| Difficulty: A

| Required Players: 6

| Recommended Players: 12

*Mounts are allowed in this dungeon.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]