[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 716: Ransom (3)
Entrance qualification.
It was clear that Eroom Salzeo had, at the very least, passed the entrance ticket test.
He hadn’t been repelled from the inner garden, let alone the outer one, and above all, he had made Sezak bleed in just two exchanges.
“Then next is… power release? Or does he just pass as-is?”
When Yeongwoo muttered this, Dots tilted his head and turned toward him.
-What do you mean, power release? What are you talking about?
“I took that test too, remember? But after I hit the gatekeeper a few times, the bastard suddenly released his power.”
At that, Sevio, who had been quietly listening, flared his nostrils.
-Don’t tell me you used a weapon against him.
“Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”
-Well… because the only ways to see the gatekeeper’s second-stage power are either to break the rules or challenge a higher rank.
“A higher rank?”
-It means intentionally increasing the test difficulty. Though if you want a Class 3 pass, it’s something you absolutely have to do.
“What…? But I never applied for something like that.”
And yet hadn’t he still received a Class 3 pass?
At this, Sevio stroked his beard and replied.
-In the end, the security grade evaluation is at the gatekeeper’s discretion. To him, it must have looked like you succeeded in a higher-rank challenge.
“Really? Guess the bastard had a better eye than I thought.”
Even so, Yeongwoo still found it hard to accept.
After all, wasn’t the gatekeeper’s second-stage power release supposedly the benchmark for the Class 3 test?
Yet Yeongwoo himself hadn’t managed to endure even a single exchange against the gatekeeper after the power release.
The moment he got punched once by the bastard, he was instantly knocked flat.
‘It honestly felt like a test meant for beings above Class 4 to begin with.’
As Yeongwoo recalled the spicy taste of Sezak’s fist and looked back at the screen, he saw the gatekeeper and Eroom Salzeo talking about something.
“What are they talking about?”
-He’s probably asking whether he wants to challenge for Class 3. Surviving in the inner garden itself was already an easy success.
“Then for now he’s only secured a Class 4 pass? But Sezak’s already bleeding.”
-I don’t know the exact connection between injuring the gatekeeper and the entrance ticket rank. The only thing that’s certain is that anyone strong enough to force the gatekeeper into a power release gets a Class 3 pass.
“So if someone fights evenly against a power-released gatekeeper… does that make them Class 2…?”
Sevio shrugged.
-Who knows. Only those who’ve earned a Class 2 pass would know that. Still, there’s a pretty high chance your guess is correct.
Meanwhile, on the screen, Sezak finished the conversation and stepped back toward the center of the inner garden.
He was preparing to begin the mutually agreed-upon “power release.”
And finally.
-…Hhk?
Dots Salzeo unconsciously let out a groan as the gatekeeper’s pupils turned a blazing crimson.
At the same time, the two whisker-like tentacles hanging from his philtrum swelled and turned red as well.
-Is that the second stage?
At Dots’s question, Yeongwoo nodded.
“Compared to before the release, he feels at least twice as strong.”
-Twice…? Then how the hell are you supposed to beat something like that?
“Maybe it’s possible if you’re a Class 4 being.”
The instant Yeongwoo finished speaking, the gatekeeper whipped his crimson tentacles and charged at Eroom Salzeo.
Eroom, meanwhile, didn’t even blink as he assumed a fighting stance.
This time, the gatekeeper Sezak attacked first, firing off a high kick at a speed Yeongwoo could barely follow.
“Holy shit.”
Against most opponents, even if they raised an arm to guard, it looked powerful enough to shatter both the wrist and skull at the same time.
And then.
BBAAAAAK!
Along with the illusion that a strike sound had exploded, that familiar shockwave spread outward once more.
Unbelievably, Eroom had raised an arm and protected his head from the high kick.
Of course, the impact clearly wasn’t negligible, because Eroom’s body immediately collapsed downward.
-H-hyungnim!
Startled out of his mind, Dots nearly glued himself to the screen as he screamed.
Yeongwoo frowned and grabbed the back of Dots’s neck, pulling him away.
“Stop blocking the screen.”
-Ha… But my brother…!
“This is just an entrance test. So the gatekeeper probably won’t go so far as to kill the challenger. Besides, your brother is—”
Before he could finish saying, “a Class 4 being,” Eroom on the screen launched his counterattack.
It looked like he was about to collapse onto the ground after blocking the high kick, but then he suddenly snapped his arm upward and drove a lightning-fast uppercut straight into the gatekeeper’s jaw.
-What the hell is with that guy?
Even Sevio, who had experienced all kinds of hardships in the underground layer, stared at the screen in shock.
Meanwhile, Dots regained his momentum and clenched his fist tightly as he shouted.
-As expected! Among our family, my brother’s hand-to-hand combat skills are practically the strongest!
At that, Yeongwoo tilted his head and repeated Dots’s words.
“Practically? Then who’s the undisputed strongest?”
He figured this was a good opportunity to get a glimpse of the Salzeo family’s true power.
-…Huh?
“The phrase ‘practically the strongest’ means there’s someone else in contention, doesn’t it?”
-W-well, that’s true. Hyungnim’s martial skills are incredible, but still…
Dots mumbled awkwardly.
Then he mentioned a name even Yeongwoo had heard before.
-The Indomitable Jorax. If you had to pick the greatest fighter without question, wouldn’t it be Jorax?
“Jorax? The guy who supposedly passed the test without legs?”
-Yeah. How do you know that name?
“Well… the crippled Salzeo proudly told me about him.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
-Ah.
He was referring to Neheren Salzeo.
So Dots quickly understood and nodded.
-Right. To guys like Neheren, he’s basically a living myth.
“You’re an incomplete Salzeo too, though. One-armed, and you failed the test.”
-But to me, hyungnim himself is a myth.
Dots was the child of a prestigious family; there was no way he wouldn’t know what the word “myth” meant in the universe.
Which meant this was proof of just how immense his reverence for Eroom Salzeo truly was.
“Anyway, that means your brother’s probably around second strongest in the family when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.”
-Or maybe the strongest. Hyungnim and Jorax have never sparred even once.
“Why not?”
Yeongwoo asked, but by this point Dots closed his mouth.
He had finally realized he’d already said far too much to an outsider planetary ship master.
-You’re going to meet my brother soon anyway, aren’t you? If you’re that curious, ask your superior directly.
“You bastard, looks like your brain’s finally starting to work properly.”
By now, Eroom Salzeo had entered a full-scale counteroffensive, naturally drawing everyone’s attention back to the screen.
-As expected of the Salzeo family. Their reputation truly isn’t undeserved.
Watching Eroom land his third clean hit on the gatekeeper already, Sevio clicked his tongue in admiration.
In terms of raw strength, Eroom seemed clearly inferior, but in speed and precision of movement, Eroom appeared slightly ahead.
What’s more, despite exchanging monstrous blows against Sezak, Eroom had not been pushed back from the inner garden even once.
“How the hell does some young master from a prestigious family fight that well?”
-Well… because we’re Salzeo.
At Yeongwoo’s remark, Dots showed a faintly conflicted expression.
Salzeo.
A family that acknowledged only the strong as true members.
So while he felt proud seeing the brother who came to rescue him display such overwhelming strength, it also made him feel all the more ashamed of himself.
-Ah!
At last, Eroom Salzeo smashed a blow into the gatekeeper’s jaw, and for the first time since the battle began, the gatekeeper’s firmly planted legs staggered backward.
For the first time since the duel started, the gatekeeper had been pushed onto the defensive.
-No way.
At the unbelievable sight, Sevio’s eyes widened.
Immediately after, Eroom planted a hand on one of the gatekeeper’s shoulders and leapt into the air.
“What?”
In such close-range combat, it was an incredibly daring movement.
In fact, from a common-sense perspective, it was recklessly foolish.
“What the hell is he trying to do?”
The moment Yeongwoo muttered this, the gatekeeper predictably grabbed Eroom by the thigh and tried to slam him into the ground.
‘Stupid bastard. What an absurd mistake….’
But the scene that followed was astonishing beyond belief.
As if he had anticipated it from the start, Eroom brought his elbow crashing down onto the gatekeeper’s crown.
‘Don’t tell me he deliberately baited him into grabbing him… just to bind his hands?’
Of course, Eroom’s legs were still firmly caught by the gatekeeper.
But even then, he never stopped attacking the gatekeeper’s face.
In that brief instant alone, his seventh strike was already crashing into the gatekeeper’s face, and purple blood had long since stained the creature’s white skin.
“At this rate… he might even pass the second-stage test. Then what, does he get a Class 2 pass? Or maybe even a Class 1?”
As Yeongwoo asked with his mouth hanging open, Sevio absentmindedly stroked his beard.
-I-I don’t know. How would I know? Still, if someone can do that much against a second-stage gatekeeper, then a Class 2 pass is practically guaranteed.
Then Sevio added another remark.
-But if that bastard really comes back with a Class 2 pass, it’ll practically be a disaster for you.
“What? Why?”
Yeongwoo’s brows instantly narrowed, and this time Yenta answered instead of Sevio.
-The trading qualifications of a Class 2 pass holder… are far above those of a Class 3 holder.
“Well, obviously.”
-Yes. So even if a Class 2 pass holder enters an already prepared trading venue, they can still reset the trading method.
“What?”
In other words, if the Class 2 holder didn’t want “Stone Toss,” he could simply change the trading method into something else.
“No, then shouldn’t that bastard collapse on the floor right this second? For the sake of our fair trade, obviously!”
As Yeongwoo pointed at the screen and shouted, the gatekeeper finally slammed Eroom into the ground before coughing up blood and stepping back.
“What? Why’d he stop fighting?”
-He’s probably seen enough of his opponent’s ability. Look there—the gatekeeper isn’t white anymore.
Just as Sevio said, Sezak, who had once boasted pure white skin, was now entirely stained purple.
But even so, he still wasn’t opening the path.
“…….”
After confirming that the gatekeeper and Eroom were talking again, Yeongwoo unconsciously wrinkled his nose.
“Don’t tell me…”
The current situation looked extremely similar to when Eroom had challenged the second-stage test.
Then the gatekeeper returned once more to the center of the inner garden and hunched his body over.
-Ah?
Realizing the situation wasn’t over, Dots Salzeo turned pale with fear again.
And Sevio, too, stared at the broadcast screen with a face full of disbelief.
-Good heavens… There’s a third stage?
Indeed, the gatekeeper’s entire body was swelling as mottled red patterns spread across it, causing Yeongwoo to instinctively clutch the screen and desperately shout.
“E-Executive E! Please stop right there! We’ve seen enough…! Let’s just do the trade already!”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter