Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 295: New Capital, Seoul (5)

"Three kill records?"

Moreover, they were records that could be registered.

This meant they were records of defeating "legendary enemies."

Since no further text appeared afterward, Yeongwoo could only speculate.

"One must definitely be the Kim Jong-un family. Thanks to them, I even cleared an achievement."

The achievement "Black Legend," which was completed when he killed Kim Jong-un, was one that required facing legendary evil.

"Then who are the other two?"

There weren't many opponents worthy of being called "legendary," so Yeongwoo quickly thought of another one: Beijing's evil overlord, Im Dupyeong, who was once the President of China.

Even before the reset, he was the ruler of China, and after the reset, he dreamt of conquering the continent again by blocking three hundred million arrows.

How could he not be considered legendary?

"Then who is the last one?"

There were a few more candidates, but without certainty, Yeongwoo immediately mounted Negwig again.

Click!

Then he said to his father,

"I'm going to Sajikdan. I need to see how much the glory score increases per kill record."

"You're going to Sajikdan, leaving all these people behind?"

Jeonggu asked as he looked around at the people filling Gangnam District.

The business briefing time Yeongwoo announced was soon, and not only the Strongest Swords from various regions came, but also residents from various places poured in.

"Yes. The monument is there, so I have no choice. Let's hold the business briefing in front of the monument."

"…!"

At Yeongwoo's words, not only Jeonggu but also the residents in the hall were surprised.

"S-Sajikdan is in Jongno, isn't it?"

"And you want us to go all the way to Jongno now?"

As the hall grew noisy again, Yeongwoo gestured for them to calm down.

"The business briefing isn't anything grand, most of what you heard earlier here covers it. We will start the planetary conquest, with Metal Seoul as the base."

In fact, those who had arrived early were quite fortunate.

They were there when Yeongwoo unfolded the core and established Metal Seoul.

However, the residents didn't seem satisfied with just that.

"But isn't Gangnam Yeongwoo's district? Shouldn't the business briefing be held in Gangnam?"

"Yes, let's do it in Gangnam!"

As people clamored, Yeongwoo's brow furrowed slightly.

Originally, the business briefing was intended to be conveyed to the Strongest Swords representing each region, so it was enough if only they followed.

"But everyone came thinking the business briefing would be held at COEX... So it's understandable they'd feel wronged after making the trip."

Yeongwoo pondered for a moment.

The people gathered here were citizens paying the defense tax and potential voters who could wield influence in a possible future re-election.

He couldn't ignore them.

‘I can't just pretend I didn't take in millions in salary.’

Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to the city development module of Dogo to solve this issue.

Jeonggu tilted his head and approached Yeongwoo.

"Why? What are you looking for again?"

"I don't know. Something that might be useful right now."

If the Victory Monument was Metal Seoul's first building, theoretically, there should also be a second or third construction option somewhere in the module.

As Yeongwoo fiddled with the hologram interface of the module, he soon found a menu that caught his eye.

[Basic Facilities]

"Oh, what's this? Basic facilities?"

As soon as Yeongwoo pressed the button, new construction items appeared at the bottom of the menu.

[Relay Screen]

| Install relay screens throughout the city to allow the mayor to broadcast to the area. The screens only operate when the mayor is in the city.

*Base cost: 20 million karma

“…Base cost?”

“There’s a base price?”

Both Yeongwoo and Jeonggu reacted sensitively to the "base cost" at the bottom of the tooltip.

Because having a base cost meant…

[Angle adjustment: +10 million karma]

[Sound system upgrade: +10 million karma]

There were additional costs depending on the options chosen.

"These crazy people are really greedy."

Jeonggu immediately spat out a curse, and Yeongwoo shook his head at Dogo's method of recouping advertising costs.

Because...

Ping!

[Quest Complete - "Heavenly City"]

[Reward Issued]

|30 million karma

The timing couldn't have been better.

The Dogo quest was completed, and 30 million karma was credited to Yeongwoo, significantly increasing his wealth once again.

*Available Karma: 65,212,500

*Available Defense Fund: 78,967,105

His current personal fortune stood at 65 million karma, with an additional 78 million in defense taxes.

"Is it finally time to dip into the national treasury?"

Although he didn't like that the additional option prices were the same as the base price, the fact that it cost only 40 million karma to install screens throughout all of Seoul was practically a bargain.

"If we install it now, it'll be used almost permanently, right? I don't think it's an expensive price. They could have charged even more."

Ultimately, Yeongwoo was the decision-maker, so for the first time, he used public funds to purchase the "relay screen."

"Proceeding with the purchase, including both additional options."

Although the national treasury decreased to about 38 million karma, Titan screens appeared in the sky across all of Seoul, including Gangnam.

Zap!

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"Huh?"

"What’s this? In the sky...?"

As people widened their eyes, Yeongwoo's image appeared on the "relay screen."

Some citizens who were captured on the screen with him quickly covered their faces, and Jeonggu looked up at the sky with a sour expression.

"Doesn't this violate privacy?"

"I’m the special mayor of Dogo, so I’m practically a public figure. Just give up."

In Yeongwoo's gaze as he said this, there was a sense of the "weight that a mayor must bear."

「The purchase of relay screens from the company 'Dogo' cost 40 million karma from the defense fund.」

「This will be permanently recorded in the ledger and will be subject to voter evaluation.」

Yeongwoo was informed that the use of public funds would be tracked and recorded.

"Isn't this getting to be too much? I should get Mr. Kubu to handle some of this work."

Now that he had secured an announcement channel, the next step was to go to the Victory Monument and offer the legendary enemies as sacrifices.

Zap!

A small, palm-sized orb with a tiny lens appeared before him.

"Ah."

This was the angle adjustment device he paid an additional 10 million karma for—a sort of camera.

Swish.

Yeongwoo cleared his throat as he looked at the camera.

"Hello, citizens. I'm Jeong Yeongwoo, the special mayor of Dogo. It's nice to greet you, even if it's just through this screen."

Although he had done game streaming before the reset, this was his first time broadcasting to the entire city of Seoul, so he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Uh... The screen you're seeing now is the first facility purchased with the defense tax you paid..."

As Yeongwoo scrolled down the [Basic Facilities] list in the module, other facilities appeared beneath the "relay screen."

[Surveillance System]

[Guillotine]

[Prison]

"…!"

Even just reading the top few lines, he could tell they were ominous, but fortunately, the camera didn't catch them.

"Yes, there are many good facilities prepared for citizen welfare. Please look forward to them."

Zap!

Yeongwoo hurriedly closed the module screen and turned the camera toward the north.

"Now, let’s find out how close we are to elevating our status on this planet."

* * *

Sajikdan.

In the past, this was a place where people offered sacrifices to the gods of land and grain, praying for the nation's prosperity.

For a dynasty, it was as important as the Jongmyo Shrine.

In an agrarian society, the nation's wealth was directly tied to the harvest's success each year.

Therefore...

"This is quite ironic. This monstrous guy, who shouts about the prosperity of the nation, is going to Sajikdan to check his glory score."

Jeonggu, riding behind Yeongwoo on Negwig, couldn't help but feel a strange emotion.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Even in this situation, Yeongwoo was busy explaining to other citizens of Seoul, who couldn't attend the business report in Gangnam.

"In the future, we must absolutely..."

He explained how Seoul became "Metalized," how they would prepare for the upcoming war with the other two companies involved in planetary development, and he didn't forget to report the achievements made while running around the Earth and beyond.

"As I briefly mentioned earlier, the bonds we currently hold amount to 280 million..."

Finally, the Victory Monument, towering over the central part of Sajikdan, came into view.

"Can you see it? That is the Victory Monument! It's also the reason we must continue to face powerful enemies."

Yeongwoo turned the camera to capture the Victory Monument in front of him.

Swish.

The Victory Monument comprised two steel towers slanting towards each other, touching at the top.

Each tower began at the opposite ends of Sajikdan.

"Isn't that a bit disrespectful? Building something directly over Sajikdan, of all places."

Jeonggu said worriedly, but Yeongwoo wasn't bothered at all.

"Isn't it actually an honor?"

"...What?"

"The cosmic construction system recognized the significance of Sajikdan, so it chose this as the recommended construction site. It could have simply ignored it."

"R-Really...?"

Jeonggu scratched his cheek, finding Yeongwoo's oddly convincing argument persuasive.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo stopped Negwig in front of Sajikdan and jumped off toward the Victory Monument.

Thud!

This was a chance to inform everyone that the enemies he had defeated so far could also contribute to the planet's status elevation, so Yeongwoo had to show this scene to all of Seoul.

After all, gaining support from voters for the violent business he planned to carry out in the future was essential.

"So, this is why results are so crucial in politics."

Snap!

Finally, Jeong Yeongwoo, the first mayor of Seoul in this reset world—no, the special mayor of Dogo—stood before the Victory Monument.

As soon as he did, a vortex began swirling between the two towers, and soon the system displayed a message.

「There are 3 records eligible for inscription on the Victory Monument. Would you like to confirm them?」

When Yeongwoo silently nodded, the next procedure automatically began.

[Baekdu Bloodline]

|Upon the reset, Kim Jong-un unexpectedly encountered his father and grandfather. The two predecessors, drawn from the void, fought desperately to preserve the bloodline, but they were not strong enough to block the laser aimed at the planet…|

"Why does the ending feel so melancholic…?"

After Yeongwoo read all the elimination records, the glory points assigned to the Baekdu Bloodline were displayed below.

[The Baekdu Bloodline is a legendary evil! You will earn 100 glory points if you inscribe it on this monument.]

‘Ah… The base score is 100 points.’

Yeongwoo stroked his chin for a moment before moving on to the next item.

Zap!

The name of someone whose face and voice were still vivid in his memory appeared.

[The Great Villain of Beijing]

|The sins committed in the previous world became an enormous debt in the reset world. Faced with the rain of deadly attacks, Im Dupyeong decided to take on a massive debt in exchange for a second chance. However, he never imagined that a greater evil than himself would come for him…|

‘These bastards are subtly mocking me, aren’t they?’

[The Beijing Archfiend is a legendary evil! You will earn 100 glory points if you inscribe it on this monument.]

By this point, it wasn't hard for Yeongwoo to infer that he, too, might have some glory points allocated to him.

‘But I haven't been taken down yet.’

With confidence, Yeongwoo opened the next record.

Zap!

[The Titan of Kromonius]

|The rebel Gameta registered as a temple keeper to escape the pursuit of the Vesedel royal family. However, it seems he couldn’t escape the cycle of karma. Found dead in the temple, his body bore clear marks of a brutal beating and the blade of Vesedel…|

‘Ah, poor Gameta.’

The last legendary enemy was the Titan Gameta.

[The Titan of Kmonis is a legendary traitor! You will earn 165 glory points if you inscribe it on this monument.]

"What? 165?"

It was a strangely uneven score.

The previous two enemies were exactly 100 points each, so why was this different?

"Oh."

Blinking, Yeongwoo soon figured it out.

‘A base score of 150, plus a 10% bonus from Sajikdan.’

[Sajikdan]

|When an enemy not native to Earth is inscribed, you gain an additional 10% glory points.|

This was why additional points were granted for beings not from Earth.

‘Cosmic entities have different base scores to begin with.’

If he inscribed all three elimination records on the monument…

"We'd have 365 points for Seoul’s glory score."

When Yeongwoo said this, alternating his gaze between the camera and his father, Jeonggu’s eyes lit up.

"Oh, really? Then how many more points do we need to undergo the upgrade evaluation?"

Yeongwoo turned back to the Victory Monument and inscribed all three records.

"Let’s find out."

Swoosh!

The Victory Monument, now receiving the elimination records, began to burn white, shooting a pillar of light into the sky.

Boom…!

And soon, an announcement was broadcasted across all of Seoul.

―Mayor Jeong Yeongwoo07 has inscribed 3 legendary elimination records.

―The current glory score for Dogo Special City, Metal Seoul, is 365 points.

"And?"

As Yeongwoo waited for the next message, the system soon provided the desired response.

―The required glory score for this planet to undergo the upgrade evaluation is 635 points.

"What?"

"Huh? They want us to reach 1,000 points?"

This time, both Yeongwoo and Jeonggu stood with their mouths agape in identical expressions.

Despite all the havoc Yeongwoo had wreaked, he hadn’t even gathered half the required points.

Moreover…

"……."

The announcement had just been broadcasted across all of Metal Seoul.

In other words, a significant portion of voters in the Korean Peninsula had just witnessed this outcome.

After choosing status elevation for the city’s development instead of preparing for civil war, they had failed to achieve their goal.

Of course, given enough time, they could eventually gather the remaining points, but it was obvious that public opinion would turn hostile immediately.

"Th-This is bad, isn’t it?"

Even Jeonggu, not entirely oblivious, subtly pushed the camera beside Yeongwoo away and asked in a small voice.

At that moment…

"……."

Yeongwoo, blinking rapidly in a way he never had before, quickly scanned the system messages in his field of vision.

Then.

You have 48 hours from the construction of the monument to inscribe enemies not eliminated in the name of the city.

[Time remaining – 47:51:37]

His eyes landed on the time limit given for the retroactive application of elimination records.

‘Enemies not eliminated in the name of the city can also be inscribed….’

As Yeongwoo silently blinked, unable to speak, Jeonggu finally broke the silence.

"First, let’s just turn off the broadcast for a while…"

"No."

"Huh?"

"We haven’t finished the business presentation yet."

“…What are you talking about? We’re already in Metal…"

As Jeonggu stared blankly at the Metalized Seoul, Yeongwoo picked up the camera in the meantime.

Swish.

He then turned the angle to point at the timer displayed on the Victory Monument.

"I’m now announcing our new business for Metal Seoul. The business is called 'The Legendary Invitation Exhibition!'"

"……?"

Had he finally gone into a panic and decided to spout nonsense?

Jeonggu thought he had to stop his son before things got worse, but unexpectedly, Jeong Yeongwoo’s eyes were sharp and clear.

"Over the next 47 hours, I’ll invite the world’s strongest to stand before the monument!"

"What?"

"At least some of them will have legendary elimination records. And I’ll add one or two more during that time."

In simple terms, he planned to receive elimination record offerings.

The only problem was that the method was essentially…

"Y-Yeongwoo, isn’t this practically kidnapping, threatening, and assaulting people? If you really go through with this…"

There was no need to finish the sentence by saying he’d become an irredeemable villain.

Jeong Yeongwoo was already exuding an aura more fitting of a demon king than a mere villain.

"Are we villains? We are…!"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]