Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 34: Alien (2)

“Merchant appearance? Where is this merchant supposed to appear?”

Yeongwoo felt a ominous premonition, but soon his attention was diverted by what happened next.

Kwaaaang!

A column of light shot down through the clouds with a thunderous noise, as if tearing the sky apart.

“…!”

It was different from the markings that pointed to the location of monsters or mutants, and it sent shivers down his spine.

‘Is that where the merchant appears?’

The black column of light descended a few kilometers northwest of the current location.

As Yeongwoo turned towards that direction, follow-up messages related to the defeat of the Mayor filled his vision.

「Eliminated the mutant.」

「Please choose your reward for completing the process.」

?Confirmed Reward?

「Dullahan’s Sword」 – Mutant One-Handed Sword

【The length of the sword is proportional to the user’s height.】

?Choice Reward?

[3 million Karma]

Or

[Grant 30,000 Karma to all residents in the area]

“Now there’s a weapon reward too.”

Getting a weapon as a reward for defeating mutants was a first.

Moreover, it was a mutant-grade equipment, surpassing the Early Bird, which was a hero-grade.

“I can probably expand the influence of the Sword Master like Kim Hyunho did.”

Yeongwoo quickly chose the latter in the reward selection and completed the process.

Pahat!

[Grant 30,000 Karma to all residents in the area]

Then, as usual, the golden sphere rapidly spun and soared into the sky, showering golden rain along with a splendid explosion.

Suaaaaa…!

《Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword ‘Jeong Yeongwoo 07’ gave up his monopoly on 3 million karma and gifted 30,000 karma to all Sangju residents.》

《Soon, 30,000 Karma will be paid in the form of commemorative coins. Get ready.》

Yeongwoo grabbed three commemorative coins amid the raining golden glow and opened the achievement window.

Pot.

[Golden Flood]

|Summon golden rain in five or more locations. (3/5)

‘I can tidy up one achievement if I visit two more places.’

There were three more achievements remaining.

[Nocturnal]

|Spend a night outside the residence.

[Jeweller’s Touch]

|Wear two rings of Hero grade or higher on the index and ring fingers each. (2/4)

[Complete Orphan]

|Find and eliminate parents. (1/2)

But none of them had a clear strategy, and he was in a deadlock.

Moreover, to update the achievement list, he had to achieve existing achievements and clear slots, so it was best to continue moving to the next city for now.

‘Of course, I’ll have to meet that merchant or whatever it is.’

As Yeongwoo had this thought, a sharp sound echoed through the air, and a mysterious sword plunged into the ground.

Ssshaeaak, ping!

A scene reminiscent of the first time he received the Early Bird’s sword.

It was the Mutant-grade one-handed sword, “Dullahan’s Sword.”

“….”

Yeongwoo pulled out the problematic black sword with a strange sense of anticipation.

Splat.

Then, rising from the sturdy handle, a roughly one-meter-long dark blade became visible.

‘It’s definitely longer than the Early Bird, but how can I make it even longer here?’

Although he swung the sword in the air as the Mayor did, nothing unusual happened.

So.

‘G… Get longer?’

Internally demanding the sword to lengthen.

Shiriririt!

“Huh?”

The black sword actually pierced through the air, rapidly extending.

‘How much longer is it? About five meters?’

Upon close examination, Yeongwoo estimated that the maximum length of the dark blade was approximately 5 meters.

「Dullahan’s Sword」- Mutant One-Handed Sword

【The length of the sword is proportional to the user’s height.】

‘Since the length of the blade is proportional to my height….’

Yeongwoo’s height was in the mid-170s.

In other words, Dullahan’s Sword could grow up to approximately three times the user’s height.

‘Then if I get taller, this sword will get longer too.’

And that height probably…

“….”

Yeongwoo silently placed one commemorative coin against his lips.

Then, along the outline of his body, translucent dotted lines appeared, and the settings appeared in his field of view.

「Change character settings」

|Appearance

|Stats

‘I can probably change the height in the appearance settings.’

Opening the “Appearance,” a plethora of information poured out, much more than he expected.

‘What… What is all this?’

The range of appearance changes that could be made using Karma was not limited to just physique but also included facial features, distribution and color of facial hair, and more.

* * *

As Yeongwoo moved towards the black column of light, he continued to explore the appearance interface.

‘This is insane… I can even change the default position of the pupils.’

Even the skin color and texture were changeable.

If desired, he could elongate his nose like Pinocchio or protrude a specific part of the forehead to create a horn.

Of course, it wasn’t completely unrestricted.

According to the guide at the top of the interface, penalties were imposed for appearance changes beyond the human category.

-The standard range for each appearance item is ‘human.’

– If a specific item deviates from the standard range, the Karma requirement for that item increases significantly.

‘But if you have an absurd amount of Karma, it might be possible to deviate from the human category.’

Yeongwoo imagined himself with a height of 4 meters, horns on his forehead, and bright red skin, resembling a giant.

‘A new era has opened where theoretically becoming such a monster is possible.’

‘Well… it doesn’t seem like they made it for us to do such things right away.’

Yeongwoo looked at the “Presets” that appeared below the guide text.

「For user convenience, we provide three types of preset collections.」

|Combat

|Charm

|Special

‘What’s this again?’

When Yeongwoo selected ‘Combat’ among the three presets, a translucent window opened on the left side of his field of view, revealing dozens of body samples.

‘Huh?’

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

All of these samples, all in a nude state, represented body shapes within the human category considered advantageous for combat by the appearance system.

With a height of up to 2 meters and near-perfect upper and lower body balance.

‘Am I supposed to choose one and follow it exactly?’

After all, how could an ordinary person meticulously modify dozens of appearance items one by one to find the optimal model?

The concept of presets provided a textbook guide to prevent Karma from being wasted.

As Yeongwoo focused on each sample, detailed numerical values for each appearance item appeared, comparing them to his current details.

‘…My legs are definitely short. The upper body skeleton isn’t that great either.’

It was a bitter realization, but there was also a reassuring aspect.

In any case, if the arms got longer, the reach would increase, and if the legs lengthened, the stride… in other words, the mobility would also improve.

“….”

As Yeongwoo chose one of the samples that he liked the most, the total Karma required to make his current body match the preset was automatically calculated.

[2,116,000]

2.116 million Karma.

The cost for Yeongwoo, a born 4th-grade human, to obtain the best body conditions.

For the current Yeongwoo, it felt like a reasonable amount, but it wouldn’t be the same for the majority.

‘The more money you spend here, the slower your ability growth will be… I probably won’t be able to afford it unless I have a lot of courage.’

Yeongwoo also had his concerns.

With 2.116 million Karma, he could allocate more than 2,110 points to his stats.

Considering that his highest stat, strength, was only 600, was it really wise to give up on more than 2,000 stats?

‘It’s difficult.’

Yeongwoo’s gaze turned to the next preset, ‘Charm.’

Then, just like before, a translucent window opened, revealing an enormous number of face samples.

‘Probably a collection of handsome and beautiful faces by type.’

If you had enough Karma, becoming a handsome or beautiful person was also possible.

Since the location of the merchant was getting closer, there was no time to examine all these ‘faces.’

After closing the ‘Charm’ window, Yeongwoo chose the last category, ‘Special.’

Pahat!

“….!”

Once again, a window appeared with several samples, but this time, it was completely different from the previous two cases.

‘T-this is…’

What Yeongwoo saw were samples so grotesquely altered that they could be called deformities, even when referred to as modifications.

Arm lengths much longer than the height, or pupils with colors resembling the whites of the eyes, making it impossible to discern the gaze, and so on.

Each sample had information about the physical burdens associated with these special forms, and it was undoubtedly a warning.

“Everything imaginable might be possible, but the cost-effectiveness won’t be good,” warned the message.

‘Just looking at this is horrifying.’

When Yeongwoo closed the special window, a cautionary message appeared before any external changes.

‘All appearance changes are permanent, and some elements may be inherited when the next generation is created.’

‘What? It’s inherited…?’

Upon reaching this section, Yeongwoo began to doubt his eyes.

Despite the world being reset, the system where the parents’ grade and settings influenced the child was still intact.

In other words, the born grade hadn’t disappeared; it had simply been reset.

The people currently surviving were just the first generation.

And the achievements they accomplished during their lifecycles determined the grades of their offspring.

“….”

Yeongwoo felt a nauseating feeling in his stomach, similar to when he first checked his fate log.

However, this bizarre world didn’t give Yeongwoo the luxury of calming down.

A sound similar to some kind of emission came from the sky, and something fell along the black column of light on the other side.

‘Is that the merchant?’

A ‘merchant’ falling from somewhere outside the sky.

In the past, just witnessing such a situation would have terrified him, and he would never have dared to approach.

But the current Yeongwoo was a completely different existence from before the reset.

‘Obviously not a person, it’s the guy called a merchant.’

Yeongwoo stared at the approaching black column of light, narrowing the distance little by little.

「The second mutant in Sangju has been eliminated, so basic welfare will be applied to this area.」

According to the system message he saw earlier, this merchant was also a source of basic welfare, a reward for defeating the mutant.

Yeongwoo, based on this, was focusing more on what this entity was selling rather than its identity as a merchant.

‘Regardless of where that guy came from, he’ll probably offer something helpful to the survivors.’

However.

Faput!

Gradually, as Yeongwoo caught the sight of ‘merchant’ into view.

“….!”

He had to admit that he was arrogant.

The first encounter with an ‘alien.’

Unconsciously, Yeongwoo drew his sword.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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