Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 738: White Rank (2)

-Ah.

The person who entered the interview room let out a brief sound.

Then, without even taking a seat, they spoke with obvious disappointment.

-You’re a rookie.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo was tilting his head at a strange sense of incongruity.

The silver mask covering the other person’s face felt less like a helmet and more like a disguise meant to conceal their identity.

That was because there was something extremely familiar about the person’s overall silhouette.

“Could you be Chancellor Herisa……?”

Herisa, head of the Bate family.

Although the clothing was different, the person standing before Yeongwoo gave off a remarkably similar impression to Chancellor Herisa.

Their builds were naturally similar, and even the way they stood seemed strangely human.

Of course, the loose-fitting grey clothing, which resembled a monk’s robes, was far removed from the white uniform Herisa wore like a second skin.

However, coincidentally, the black leather boots with hard soles looked very similar to the chancellor’s, and more importantly.

‘…The arms.’

The fact that both arms had been tightly wrapped in dark grey cloth was far too suspicious.

Could a crystal prosthetic arm be hidden beneath those wrappings?

However, the other person seemed to disagree completely.

-Chancellor Herisa? Who is that?

Now that Yeongwoo listened carefully, the voice was indeed nothing like the chancellor’s.

But surely something like that could easily be altered.

“You’re Chancellor Herisa, aren’t you? Why are you going so far as to hide your identity even from me?”

When Yeongwoo continued the conversation while practically treating the other person as Chancellor Herisa, the response he received was one of bewilderment.

-I’ve conducted countless interviews until now, but this is the first time I’ve seen a strategy like this.

They were saying this was the first time an interviewee had pretended to know them in order to keep them from leaving.

And by mistaking them for someone they had never even heard of, at that.

And that meant.

‘So having eleven white marks really does mean they’re high-level.’

This person had also been the one whose sleeve everyone clung to in other dungeons that began with this interview format.

Because everyone who entered the interview room wanted to form a team with them.

In any case, Yeongwoo could not easily dismiss the thought that had already become something close to certainty.

“You’re really not Chancellor Herisa? Then take off the mask. It’ll all be over as soon as you show me your face.”

-Don’t you think there must be a reason I wear a mask? Why should I take it off?

“You’re probably wearing it because you’re Herisa.”

-No, I’m……!

In the end, the unidentified interviewee lost their composure and snapped.

Then, barely regaining their calm, they let out a deep sigh.

-In any case, I’ll admit that you’re impressive for a rookie. You managed to make me waste my time on this idiotic conversation.

With those words, the masked person strode towards the table.

Even then, however, they showed no sign of sitting in the chair.

“Oh.”

They were not approaching the chair to begin the interview in earnest.

They intended to strike the table and summon the reroll button.

“What, you’re leaving already?”

-I’ll make sure to kill you someday.

After delivering that murderous line, the other person moved to strike the table, causing Yeongwoo to shout reflexively.

“Herisa! Don’t tell me you’re running away!”

-……!

The person, who had been raising their arm with a spring-like motion, flinched.

-Running away? That’s what you’ll be doing inside the dungeon.

“No, you’re really saying you’re not her? Then at least show me those arms properly. Chancellor Herisa has a prosthetic arm.”

At Yeongwoo’s request, the other person unconsciously looked at their own arms.

Then they shook their head slightly, as though troubled.

-Coincidentally, I also have a reason for concealing my arms.

“You bastard, even you think this is absurd, don’t you? Every piece of evidence is pointing towards you being Chancellor Herisa.”

-…….

This time, the Chancellor Herisa candidate did not even respond.

Instead, they immediately struck the table.

Thoom!

Just as it had with the fly-human earlier, the reroll button rose from the table, and upon seeing it, Yeongwoo sensed that the other person truly intended to leave.

Just as they had said, they had no intention of wasting any more time here.

“Wait, Chancellor Herisa!”

-Stop talking nonsense. If this weren’t an interview room, I would have taken your head off already.

In the end, when the other person twitched their shoulder as though about to press the button, Yeongwoo followed the fly-human’s advice and summoned Bastard, which he had hidden inside the Codex.

Fwaaah!

Then, almost simultaneously, he drew Bastard from his waist and slashed through the air above the table.

Fwoooooosh!

A dark crimson trajectory unfurled like a curtain alongside the chilling sound of displaced air, and upon seeing it, the other person’s mouth fell open beneath the mask.

Along with words even Yeongwoo had not expected.

-…Bastard?

“What?”

The other person had recognised Bastard at a glance.

And that was not all.

-That’s the Challenger’s Sword. No matter how I look at you, you’re certainly not the master of Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain.

The other person even knew who Bastard’s original owner was.

Although it seemed they had never personally met Chairman Dogo.

And through this, Yeongwoo could tell instinctively.

‘This bastard is the real deal. At the very least, they’re not some nobody.’

Hadn’t the fly-human, who had been able to see Bastard as soon as it entered the interview room, merely called it a “good sword”?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Yet the person before him had naturally recognised that the item was a myth, and had even remembered its name.

“You’ve never met our chairman, so how do you know about Bastard?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, the unidentified interviewee answered while keeping their gaze on the reroll button.

-Because it’s the Challenger’s Sword. It’s in your hands right now. Don’t tell me you don’t even know what that sword represents?

“What the sword represents? What is it?”

-I feel as though I’m being strangled.

Another deep sigh escaped from beneath the mask.

-Bastard is a weapon forged by killing a Transcendent. It stands apart from ordinary myths.

“What……?”

Of course, Yeongwoo had already heard the story surrounding Bastard’s creation from the Giant Titan Gameta.

―Only one who writes their own myth can leave that achievement behind as a tangible legacy. Vesedel killed a Transcendent and gave birth to Bastard.

And having encountered a Transcendent for the first time in his life not long ago, Yeongwoo now understood at least a little of the weight carried by the words “killed a Transcendent.”

-Bastard is proof itself that even a Transcendent can be annihilated. That is why everyone calls it the Challenger’s weapon.

“Now that I think about it, that makes sense.”

Ssk.

Yeongwoo’s gaze turned towards Bastard anew.

Forged by killing a Transcendent, Bastard’s actual effects were also filled with abilities intended to challenge Transcendents once again.

Aside from “Contempt for the Weak,” the other two abilities were clearly designed to target Transcendents.

【Authority Obstruction】

|Weakens the authority of transcendents.

【challenger】

|Combat abilities increase dramatically when fighting beings of higher rank.

“So, you’re saying you won’t form a team with me, the owner of such an incredible weapon?”

When Yeongwoo raised his head as he said this, he saw that the other person had already taken their eyes off the reroll button and was now looking at him.

-What exactly is your relationship with the master of Hundred Thousand Sword Mountain? Does he no longer possess Bastard?

“I suppose that’s how you’d put it. I’m now the undisputed owner of Bastard.”

And the owner of the Earthship as well, but Yeongwoo chose to hold his tongue for now.

Wasn’t the fact that the other person had begun wasting more time here proof that their mind was slowly changing?

“Well? Have you changed your mind a little?”

The other person brushed Yeongwoo’s words aside by asking another question.

-What is your relationship with Dogo?

“I’m not sure about that myself. I suppose you could call me a favoured advertising model.”

In truth, he had promoted the company so rarely lately that even the expression “advertising model” felt unfamiliar.

Still, simply wearing Vesedel’s armour and carrying Dogo’s emblem on his shoulder was tremendous advertising in itself.

-Advertising……? I see.

Only then did the other person notice the wedge-shaped emblem embedded in Yeongwoo’s shoulder.

They then placed both hands on the table and leaned their upper body slightly towards Yeongwoo.

-Once we enter the dungeon, what can you do? Is there even one thing you’re good at?

“…….”

At that moment, Yeongwoo’s animal instincts sent him a warning signal.

‘This bastard isn’t Herisa.’

And at the same time, he realised something else.

‘They’re planning to kill me and take Bastard.’

Yeongwoo was not the only one who had reached that conclusion.

× …….

The grip of Obstruction of Official Duties, whose fingers were spread wide as it held Yeongwoo’s shoulder for the sake of its disguise, tightened slightly.

The creature was also giving him a silent warning.

And so, Yeongwoo shrugged his shoulders and said.

“What am I good at? Honestly, I survived all the way here by living off nothing but my ability to read the room. In the end, you’ll have to handle half the fighting.”

-Half? Ridiculous. Judging by combat contribution, I doubt you’d even account for twenty percent.

“Either way, isn’t this a game about gathering tokens? If your share is larger, that ultimately benefits you too. You can take the tokens from anyone you kill.”

-That is already guaranteed by the system.

Before they knew it, the two participants were discussing the rules inside the dungeon.

Then the masked person straightened their upper body and looked into the empty air.

-Fine. There won’t be anyone in the dungeon capable of matching me anyway, so I may as well use this as an opportunity to see how strong the owner of Bastard is.

At this, Yeongwoo sheathed Bastard at his waist and said.

“Then is the team confirmed?”

-In exchange, I’ll be the one receiving the tokens.

They were telling Yeongwoo to begin with only two tokens.

And so, Yeongwoo readily nodded.

“Fine. Then I’ll get to see how well a participant with eleven marks handles the dungeon.”

-Don’t regret it once we enter. This decision cannot be reversed a second time.

After saying this, the masked person touched their own tokens, causing a system message to appear above the table.

「A team formation request has been issued. Would you like to confirm the team with the current members?」

「If the participant who will expend the tokens strikes the table twice, the team will be formed immediately.」

“Simple enough.”

After checking the instructions, Yeongwoo placed his hand on the table and asked the other person.

“By the way, what should I call you? Should I call you Herisa?”

-Call me “Ban.” If you spout any more pointless nonsense after we enter the dungeon, I’ll cut your throat immediately and find a new partner.

“Ban? That’s a strange name. It’s an alias, isn’t it?”

When Yeongwoo said this, Ban raised their chin, gesturing for him to hand over the tokens already.

“Aren’t you curious about my name?”

-Not particularly.

“You should hear it anyway. My name is Jeong Yeongwoo. If you make it out of this dungeon alive, it’s a name you’re certain to hear again someday.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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