[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world":3,"chapter-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-523":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Level 4 Human in a Ruined World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1848537,2454,"Chapter 523","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-523",523,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 523: To the Edge of the Galaxy (6)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bundle of weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear this proposal had perfectly grasped Yeongwoo’s needs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had even specified it as a “bundle of weapons for Sword Mountain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…How the hell did that guy figure out I use Sword Mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Earth let out a long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『You’ve got some surprisingly sloppy sides. Your clan crest is literally using the Wedge of the Arsenal.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, yeah, but it’s not like we go around with our sails unfurled. How’d he figure out the crest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Well… when someone scans a planetary ship, the first thing that shows up is the owning clan’s crest.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was something Yeongwoo had never known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Every single merchant out there has already scanned us once. That’s only natural, given how massive this ship is.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earth then pointed at the reddish-brown warship on the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Anyway, you need to decide. Are you going to meet them? We don’t have much time, and we can only make a deal with one side.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earth added that in just a few minutes they would re-enter the relay zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo nodded without much hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They said it’s a bundle of weapons for Sword Mountain. Of course I have to meet them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever the word bundle meant in terms of actual quantity, it could only be useful to Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it were just ten blades, Twenty-Four Sword Mountain would become Thirty-Four Sword Mountain, and the first-level collection effect was nothing to scoff at either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Collection Effect: 10]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>| +1% damage per registered weapon\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘And once the number of registered weapons exceeds thirty, the third collection effect should unlock.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So there was no possible loss for Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s the trade conducted? Do I have to cross over to their side, like when I met Chancellor Herisa?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yeongwoo asked this, Earth shook its head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Back then we were the ones in the weaker position. This time it’s the opposite. If you wish, the deal can happen inside Earth.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, really?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a welcome thing to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Yeongwoo immediately designated the venue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then the Grand Assembly Hall is best. There’s plenty of space to lay out weapons, and if something happens, we can fight there too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『…Understood. I’ll make the docking channel connect directly to the Assembly Hall.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I can head down to the Assembly Hall with an easy mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yeongwoo left the bridge and entered the Assembly Hall, the room greeted him with a dimmer, more shadowy atmosphere than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time the ceiling was closed, and only the indirect lighting stretching out from the massive inner walls illuminated the interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Feels like some kind of black market.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo muttered, rubbing his arm for no real reason, Earth spoke to him through his consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>○ I’ve set the docking channel’s exit near the round table. Stand there and you’ll see the merchant appear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When’s he coming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>○ Now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Earth said this, a large portal opened in the air before the round table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merchant in question was entering the Assembly Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhhhhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ripples spread across the portal’s surface, and out stepped a hunched-over ratman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Another ratman? These guys really are everywhere in the galaxy.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most delivery couriers across space were ratmen, and even the assassins who had once visited as proxies for the Ship Management Bureau were ratmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as rats were common on Earth, so too in the galaxy, it seemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It is an honor to meet the Shipmaster in person! Please accept my greeting first!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ratman dropped flat to the floor, pressing his forehead down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was clearly trying to smooth over the fact that he had fired at them earlier just to get Yeongwoo’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You little bastard… You dare fire at the Earthship, and think one bow will wipe it away? Insolent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo let his hand rest casually on Bastard at his hip, the ratman’s fur trembled in fine shivers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It was but a pitiful greeting from this wretch! Please, forgive me with your vast generosity…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘His groveling act is galaxy-class.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo, however, had long since been certified by the System as a troublemaker, and had survived this far by reading people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew well this was just an act for business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the very fact he had dared fire ship cannons at a vessel tens of thousands of times larger than his own meant he was no ordinary creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Yeongwoo didn’t intend to dismiss him outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So then, what’s your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—They call me Pacha, the Cleaner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Cleaner?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo tilted his head, and Pacha carefully raised his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yes. I travel the galaxy’s battlefields collecting scrap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, so a battlefield cleaner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant, the bundle of weapons he mentioned earlier must have been scavenged from warzones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And the goods? Where are they?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pacha reached into the portal and dragged out a rectangular black steel chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clanggg!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then another chest, chained to the first, appeared halfway through the portal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just one crate of weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang, clanggg!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In total, Pacha pulled out six crates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Just how many swords did you bring?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo looked at the crates stretching across the floor, Pacha counted them off and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—120 blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—This is the entirety of my stock. Since you use Sword Mountain, I thought you’d need them all, so I brought everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo couldn’t help but ask:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I may be borrowing the Chairman’s Wedge crest, but how could you be so certain I wield Sword Mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Pacha glanced around the vast Assembly Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Well… you do command this colossal ship, do you not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—To operate such a vessel while borrowing the Wedge crest… that would be impossible without the protection of the King of Destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Pacha lifted his hand into the air and brought it down, continuing his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—So, if you are the owner of a ship of this magnitude, I naturally assumed you must have inherited Sword Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To “inherit Sword Mountain”… it wasn’t exactly wrong, but the nuance was odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded almost as if he had seen something similar before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not saying you’ve seen someone else using Sword Mountain while also wielding the Wedge Insignia, are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Of course. On the battlefield of Takikephal, I once saw a colossal Sword Mountain being unleashed. That person’s unique insignia also contained the Wedge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Takikephal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wherever that was, the important part was that another favored child of the Chairman had been there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally—Yeongwoo wasn’t the only one chosen by the Chairman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For that matter, even the space pirate Guppy could be considered someone “selected” by the Chairman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Still, I can’t imagine Guppy using Sword Mountain… so it must be someone else.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if this person was active enough to stand out in an interstellar battlefield, their power must have been extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Yeongwoo, despite all he’d been through, had never fought in a war of that scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, though, what mattered was the deal at hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway, how do you even have 120 weapons in your possession?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo steered back to the point, Pacha opened the lid of the first crate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside were weapons of every kind, but all drained of their original color, nothing but ashen husks stacked together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some even had large cracks in their blades, or were snapped in half entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, they were battlefield scrap, broken beyond use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the—these are all just junk metal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yes, exactly. As I mentioned earlier, what I collect is scrap. A small fry like me couldn’t possibly strip weapons off people during a battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, these were spoils gathered from corpses immediately after the fighting ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Loot, but of the kind no one came looking for anymore—because their owners were dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some of these blades are straight-up broken. How are they supposed to be used?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo picked up one sword from the crate, but unlike normal gear, its tooltip was damaged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Roar of the Earth Dragon」 – Epic One-Handed Sword\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weapon’s original name and grade were still displayed, but its unique effects were gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, it was completely ruined—its lifespan exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Pacha didn’t flinch even as Yeongwoo’s face twisted in disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It may be scrap, but in the hands of Sword Mountain’s master, I know they still hold value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They become valuable in Sword Mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yes. Even in this state, they can still be registered in the catalog, and once in there, they can be summoned again through Sword Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although, the unique effects of each weapon would never return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning: they could only expand the scale of Sword Mountain and provide collection bonuses from the weapon catalog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Still, since the grade is displayed… their raw power should be intact.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not all weapons summoned by Sword Mountain had the same strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they all fell together in the Sword Mountain, their grade determined their destructive power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So—even if these were broken epics, once recycled through Sword Mountain, their raw might would still equal that of intact epic weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was exactly the point Pacha was emphasizing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—I’ve waited quite some time for someone who could revive these weapons’ potential. If you, the Shipmaster, buy them, I’ll sell them at 30% off the regular price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adding, this was his way of apologizing for having greeted him earlier with cannon fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Regular price? These are stolen goods to begin with. How can they even have a regular price? The number you name is the ‘price,’ isn’t it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Heh-heh, well, that’s true enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, what is this so-called price?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Of the 120 weapons, about half are relic-grade, and the rest are unique and epic. There are even a few legendary pieces mixed in. Thus, the price I set is 2 million apiece, for a total of 240 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two million for a piece of scrap? That’s steep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—But you’ll be getting 120 weapons all at once. Please also consider my labor in collecting this scrap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So with your discount, that would be…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—168 million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo understood: this was the real price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he wanted, he could haggle down further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But instead of saving a mere few million, Yeongwoo decided to look further ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. I’ll pay what you ask. But in exchange—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yes, what is it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you get more scrap in the future, contact me first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he added one more important clause:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And if these don’t work properly with Sword Mountain, I won’t be paying you a coin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, Pacha stepped back, and Yeongwoo reached into the crate of junk weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One hundred and twenty scrap weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could be registered in the catalog, their effect would be enormous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For starters, just the collection bonus alone would boost his damage by 120%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Collection Bonus: 10]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>| +1% damage per registered weapon\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surely, the collection bonus wouldn’t vanish even after being folded into Sword Mountain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, his current catalog count was only 24 weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But if all of these register, that number will jump to 144.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An explosive leap forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo stood before the pitch-black crate, a mix of anticipation and unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, placing his hand on the heap of weapons, he invoked catalog registration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Register weapons.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the inside of the crate shone brightly, and twenty weapons were sucked into Yeongwoo’s fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhhhhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wha—?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They really were registering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His catalog count jumped immediately to 44.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Weapon Catalog]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>〔44〕\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the weapons in the next crate began glowing too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One after another, the full 120 weapons were being registered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Unbelievable. So this is how the Chairman’s Hundred-Thousand Sword Mountain was built.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, he was called “the one born of battlefields.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must have registered every weapon left behind in all those countless battlefields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But to gather a hundred thousand like this… how many battles must he have fought?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo wondered, the last crate shone, pushing his catalog total all the way to 144.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Weapon Catalog]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>〔144〕\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, the notifications Yeongwoo had been hoping for flooded his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The third collection bonus has been unlocked!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The fourth collection bonus has been unlocked!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The fifth collection bonus has been unlocked!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",2052,"2026-06-09T07:04:10.527Z",1,"novelbin.me","23df8957261a14f36f9952b98a3dee6cceed584d3503cc41b5027db274924fad","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-524","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-522",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]