Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 327: Negotiation (2)

‘Uh... Mother?’

Yeongwoo was stunned when he drew his first card.

It wasn’t just the name on the card that left him speechless.

[Mother Who Returned from the Heavens]

“Mother breathed her blue breath.”

| Card Grade: Legendary

| Power: 1,200

Strongest Mother

If the opponent’s card is a dragon type or mother type, power increases by 600.

‘Damn it, this is basically a card duel.’

The composition of the cards looked just like the ones in competitive card games.

‘We’re deciding the outcome of a war with this? Are they insane?’

As Yeongwoo wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, still unable to grasp the reality of the situation, Yuto across the table flashed a wicked smile.

"So? It seems you’ve drawn quite an impressive hand."

"...!"

When Yeongwoo looked up, he saw that his opponent, the duelist standing across from him, was completely naked.

He even held the elongated card between his fingers as though he were used to games like these.

‘Who the hell is this guy? Even the way he’s holding his cards is different.’

Swallowing hard, Yeongwoo caught sight of the card Yuto held between his fingers.

It reflected a faint, bluish light.

As explained earlier, until the terms of negotiation were confirmed, they couldn’t see each other’s cards.

"Have you played a lot of... games like this?"

Yeongwoo asked carefully.

Yuto, placing his massive, pale pecs on the table, clasped his hands together with a confident smirk.

"‘Games like this’... If you were an experienced player, you wouldn’t use that phrase. It’s clear that you’re a novice, Mr. Yeongwoo."

Yuto chuckled unpleasantly before switching to a cold tone.

"I won’t lie. To put it mildly, I’m a veteran duelist."

"...!"

"The fact that we’re each using a different deck version would disqualify this from official matches, but we have no choice. The whims of the universe are far beyond our control."

Listening to Yuto, Yeongwoo realized something.

This guy was just as insane as he was.

‘Judging by his attitude, he was probably a game nerd in his youth. And this lunatic is supposed to be Tokyo’s Sword Emperor? Japan’s in real trouble.’

Yeongwoo had momentarily forgotten that he himself had once been a gaming streamer.

"So, now that we’ve both drawn our cards… does this mean we should propose our negotiation terms?"

Yeongwoo looked back at the card he’d drawn for this round.

A legendary card with 1,200 power.

From the looks of it, 1,200 seemed to be on the high end of the power spectrum.

But this was only a guess.

Without more cards to compare, he couldn’t be sure.

‘Given that only monsters powerful enough to be called to the negotiating table are here, the average deck composition could be legendary.’

Yeongwoo reminded himself that this was a power struggle backed by extraterrestrial sponsors.

‘I have Bastard and Aratubank among my forces. With equipment at a mythic level, their card grades should be mythic too.’

On the other hand, “Mother Returned from the Heavens” was at the legendary level.

It was a powerful conditional card, but it might be relatively average if the condition didn’t match.

Yeongwoo hadn’t played a lot of card games, but he knew that conditional power boosts typically worked that way.

‘My mother’s power increases by 600—or 50%—when facing another mother or dragon.’

It was effectively a counter card.

Which meant its base power might have been intentionally set lower, assuming it would occasionally encounter matches in which it would receive a power boost.

‘So if I face the right opponent, I could potentially take down a mythic card. But since it’s only a counter for two types, its base power might be lower than average for a legendary.’

This was the best deduction Yeongwoo could make.

Now, he needed to figure out the strength of his opponent’s card.

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But he had no prior knowledge about this naked man, making any guess difficult.

‘Besides, in a world where even orphans can get mother cards… anything is possible from his side.’

Would he get a feel for things after the first round?

‘Let’s dive in.’

Resolving himself, Yeongwoo tightened his jaw, and Yuto squinted, noticing the change in his expression.

"Seems like your card is a bit underwhelming, huh?"

"...!"

Realizing his expression had been read, Yeongwoo widened his eyes.

‘Right. I should’ve kept a neutral face, even if I wasn’t bluffing.’

But it was too late to hide what had already been revealed.

So Yeongwoo turned the question back.

"What about you? Did you draw a decent card?"

Yuto, self-assured as a veteran, answered without batting an eye.

"Hmm... Legendary?"

"..."

Yeongwoo tried to stay calm, controlling his breathing, but his pupils betrayed him by widening slightly.

"Yeongwoo, that card’s legendary, right? Or maybe it’s epic, but you’re intimidated by legendaries."

Yuto skillfully probed, observing Yeongwoo’s reaction.

‘This guy’s not just a duelist; he’s a gambler. He’s way too good at mind games.’

Yeongwoo’s impulse was to skip the cards and snap Yuto’s neck, but he had no choice.

"Let’s get this over with. Propose your terms."

Refusing further mind games, Yeongwoo insisted on moving to the next step, and the system displayed a new message.

《Both parties have confirmed their cards, and negotiations will now commence.》

Then, three yellow coin icons appeared above each of their heads.

Flash!

《Each agent has three negotiation points per round.》

《Negotiation points can be used to propose or reject terms.》

‘This… feels like karma points.’

The rule felt familiar.

Just as karma points could be used offensively or defensively, negotiation points were resources for attack and defense at this table.

‘Making the first proposal will cost one point… so in practice, we can each use only two negotiation points.’

Realizing this, Yeongwoo quickly deduced one key rule about the game.

That rule was simple.

‘If you’re the first to refuse, you’re at a disadvantage.’

In this game, rejecting an opponent’s proposal immediately deducts a negotiation point.

If one side keeps rejecting while the other continues proposing new terms, the side that started rejecting will eventually run out of points and lose.

‘It’s all about order. If you refuse twice in a row, you’ll have no points left, while the other side, after two refusals, can still propose a final term. Since we each start by proposing a term, the side doing the rejecting will be cornered.’

Though the proposed term stays in effect for both sides, this isn’t the same as winning.

The side that has been rejected twice can propose a final term that the opponent can’t refuse.

In other words, as soon as you begin rejecting and implying your hand is weak, you fall into your opponent’s pace.

To avoid this, one could either charge forward blindly, confident in the strength of their hand, or set a deliberately absurd condition to provoke the opponent’s refusal.

‘But if they accept your absurd term and win the round, that would be suicidal.’

Yeongwoo realized this game was more complicated than it appeared.

But at the same time, he thought:

‘If the card is strong enough, that solves everything, right? If I knew I’d win 100%, it wouldn’t matter what terms I propose.’

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

People aren’t robots, after all; psychology plays a huge role.

《Please propose your terms now. After voicing the desired conditions, touch the negotiation points above your head to submit your proposal.》

‘The game has begun.’

What should he propose in this first round?

Without absolute certainty of victory, he had to prepare for the worst.

He had to assume his conditions could backfire on him.

‘Suicidal terms or offering equipment… those are out.’

He wasn’t here to gamble away his life or legendary equipment.

Even if he was in a card battle, his life wasn’t a game with extra lives.

"...."

As Yeongwoo deliberated over his first proposal, Yuto broke the silence.

"Let’s start with something peaceful. How about it? Something low-stakes for both sides."

"What do you mean by ‘peaceful’?"

“There are still four rounds left to determine the outcome of the war. Shouldn’t we make choices for the people we are responsible for?”

“Hah…”

For the first time, Yeongwoo saw the person before him as a ‘human being.’

Perhaps he wasn’t as indifferent to life as he initially thought.

“Are you talking about something like prohibiting attacks on civilians?”

“Something similar. We could also prohibit large-scale weaponry to preserve residential areas.”

“…”

Large-scale weaponry.

He was probably referring to something like laser cannons.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“You want us to fight with only melee weapons?”

“Victory will ultimately depend on which side’s main forces are annihilated first, won’t it? There’s no need to cause unnecessary civilian casualties.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

It made sense, yet Yeongwoo’s side had Toma’s laser cannons, eight anti-aircraft guns from Metal Soul, and four decimators disguised as the city’s four gates.

‘No large-scale weapons? That’s nonsense.’

Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t have alternatives.

“How about this?”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s designate a battlefield. Somewhere between Korea and Japan.”

As Yeongwoo suggested this, a map showing Korea and Japan in their current ‘Pangea’ state popped up.

Pop!

“If we evacuate civilians in advance and restrict the fight to that area, there won’t be any unnecessary civilian casualties.”

“That makes sense.”

Yuto nodded.

But Yeongwoo could tell he wasn’t entirely on board with the idea.

‘This guy… he only made that suggestion to gauge whether I have large-scale weapons or not.’

And further, if needed, he intended to ban large-scale weapons to secure an advantage.

‘So, does that mean Japan doesn’t have artillery weapons? Even if that’s the case, with Lemu backing them, they’re bound to have something.’

Their military strength was still shrouded in mystery.

“…”

Yeongwoo studied the map provided by the system and pointed to a region between Geoje Island and Yamaguchi Prefecture, specifically an area that used to be an island.

“How about here? It wasn’t heavily populated to begin with, and there aren’t many buildings left for habitation.”

Yuto’s eyes widened as he confirmed the spot Yeongwoo indicated.

“That place…”

“It’s Tsushima.”

“…!”

Yuto’s poker face slipped for an instant.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo immediately touched the coin by his bedside and shouted.

“The Korea-Japan war will be fought solely on Tsushima!”

A negotiation draft instantly appeared between the two of them.

Ping!

[The battle between the Dogo and Lemu factions shall be conducted solely within Tsushima.]

“This…!”

Yuto looked slightly flustered at the sudden negotiation draft, and Yeongwoo added a few more words.

“If you don’t like it, you can exercise your veto.”

“…”

But Yuto knew well enough that the first side to use their veto usually ended up at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, he hadn’t even proposed his own negotiation terms yet.

≪The representative of Lemu, please present your negotiation terms.≫

The system prompted Yuto, who finally slammed the table with his right hand and grasped the coin with his left.

Thud!

“Like me, strip off all your clothes. Let’s both fight in the nude.”

“…What?”

Yeongwoo’s eyebrow twitched as Yuto’s proposal appeared below his own on the screen.

Ping!

[The representatives of Dogo and Lemu shall engage in combat in a completely naked state.]

“You… you bastard…”

First, he was all about making choices for the people, and now he was demanding a nude fight?

What was this nonsense?

“You said you don’t lie! Don’t you want to make choices for the people?”

Yeongwoo pointed accusingly, but Yuto closed his eyes quietly.

“You asked me why I was naked.”

“I… I did.”

“This is the reason.”

Clunk.

Suddenly, Yuto stood up, revealing his entire body.

“Ah, damn it.”

Yeongwoo cursed, squinting in disgust, while Yuto slowly opened his previously closed eyes.

“Everything I do is recorded by Lemu’s cameras.”

“…What?”

“What I gave to Lemu in exchange for immense power was humiliation.”

“…?”

“The more humiliation captured on camera, the greater the national benefit. So if I can strip the representative of Dogo as well… it will benefit my country immensely.”

“What, what the hell are you talking about?”

As Yeongwoo instinctively reached toward his sword, Yuto stretched out his right hand in a gesture to stop him.

“Representative of Dogo, Jeong Yeongwoo! Please strip. We have already prepared 200 naked warriors!”

“…!”

Yuto’s pale flesh reflected in Yeongwoo’s wide eyes.

Yuto then approved Yeongwoo’s negotiation terms.

Ping!

Now, if Yeongwoo accepted Yuto’s proposal, the real battle would begin.

‘Damn… if I lose here, I’ll have to fight naked? And for free?’

Could this all have been part of Lemu’s grand plan?

Was this some roundabout way of taking revenge after losing the Dogo publicity model?

“You, do you have any idea how crazy this is? Dogo and Lemu…”

Yeongwoo was about to explain the interstellar power dynamics when Yuto interrupted.

“Then just decline it.”

“What?”

“Exercise your veto. Isn’t that all you have to do?”

“You bastard.”

It wasn’t exactly wrong, but it wasn’t entirely right, either.

He’d likely fall into the opponent’s pace when he exercised his veto.

And after two vetoes, he could be met with an even more humiliating proposal.

Maybe it would be better to gamble everything on winning here.

‘If I can overpower his hand with my card, then I just need to win… but is this the right move?’

Lowering his gaze, Yeongwoo looked at the card he held firmly in his hand.

[Mother Who Returned from the Heavens]

“Mother breathed her blue breath.”

| Card Grade: Legendary

| Power: 1,200

Strongest Mother

If the opponent’s card is a dragon type or mother type, power increases by 600.

Could this card possibly defeat the crazy hand that man would reveal?

‘Mother, you’re strong, right? I’ll trust you this time.’

There was no choice but to go all in.

Yeongwoo opened his eyes wide, then slammed the table as he accepted Yuto’s nudity proposal.

Bang!

“Fine, reveal your card! If I lose, I’ll strip as much as you want! But if I win…”

A glimmer of madness flickered in Yeongwoo’s eyes.

“I’ll make you realize why I’m known for going after all my opponents’ money.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]