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Chapter 673: A Vast World (1)

The clash between the newly debuted 3rd-grade Architect, Lemu, and the established powerhouse, Quiad Mejo.

This match ultimately ended in Quiad’s victory, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that Lemu’s growth was only just beginning.

As Quiad himself had pointed out, Lemu had countless opportunities.

‘One of the traits of a thinking machine is learning. If nothing else, every time he fights the Chairmen, he’ll probably learn something.’

In fact, hadn’t Lemu said this himself the moment he sensed defeat?

『As expected of the master of the 11th Stellar System. With this body, I cannot possibly oppose you.』

Didn’t that statement imply that, with a different body, he might be able to fight?

“…….”

As Yeongwoo sank deep into thought about Lemu, Herisa, who was standing right beside him, tilted her head.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Behind her blinking eyes, the sprawling industrial district of the planet Maden stretched out endlessly.

As she had suggested, Yeongwoo and Quiad’s party were on their way to dismantle the Observation Tower.

The disc-shaped transport carrying the three of them was slicing rapidly through the skies above the industrial zone.

“Ah… President Lemu. I was just thinking that the next time we meet, he’ll probably come back much stronger.”

“Ah, Lemu.”

Herisa nodded in understanding.

Then, shifting her gaze outside, she continued.

“Facing a 3rd-grade being is something that’s hard to experience even once in a lifetime, and even then, you have to pay the price of death… but Lemu doesn’t have that limitation.”

“President Lemu is a machine, after all. So wouldn’t he be able to review his duel with Chairman Quiad?”

“He probably can. But if simply reviewing a battle were enough to overcome such an opponent, 3rd-grade beings wouldn’t be called ‘Great Ones.’”

“That’s true, but…”

As Yeongwoo scratched his cheek, Herisa suddenly asked, as if something had just occurred to her—

“By the way, why ‘President Lemu’?”

“…Huh?”

“I feel like you always call him that. Can’t you just call him Lemu?”

“Ah.”

At that, Yeongwoo swallowed hard.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t say the name.

However, because of the special effect of the ‘lightning rod’ Lemu had gifted him, he was deliberately avoiding the pronunciation of “Lemu” whenever possible.

【Seal of Lemu】

|Every time you pronounce ‘Lemu,’ you receive a tingling lightning damage and gain favor with machines.

He had no idea how far Lemu had thought things through when giving him that item, but as a result, Yeongwoo had become constantly conscious of Lemu’s name.

“Well… there’s a bit of a story behind it.”

“Really? A story with an Architect… As expected, not just anyone can become a planetary shipmaster.”

By then, the towering Observation Tower ahead had fully revealed itself, and before the moment passed, Yeongwoo quickly asked—

“By the way, Chairman, have you ever fought a 3rd-grade being before?”

At that, Quiad, who had been staring at the Observation Tower, slowly turned his head.

—It is not something that happens often.

“But you’re not exactly an ordinary person, Chairman…?”

As Yeongwoo slightly bent his upper body in a flattering manner and waited for an answer, Quiad shifted his gaze back toward the Observation Tower.

—I suppose there were about three instances that could be called duels.

Three times.

And this was Quiad, who must have lived for at least several hundred years.

‘The fight with President Lemu probably doesn’t even count as a duel, so that means he’s had three proper battles.’

And yet, despite those three duels, Quiad was still alive.

According to Herisa, the cost of a duel with a 3rd-grade being was death, which meant that Quiad must have defeated at least three 3rd-grade beings.

‘Chairman Quiad is strong, all right. But at the same time, it’s surprising he hasn’t had that many duels.’

If, over hundreds of years, there had only been three proper duels, then how exactly were rankings determined in 3rd-grade society?

“…….”

As Yeongwoo hesitated, unable to bring himself to ask, Quiad sensed it and spoke while keeping his gaze fixed on the Observation Tower.

—You seem to have quite a few questions.

“Yes. I don’t know when I’ll encounter another 3rd-grade being, and even if I meet another Chairman, the chances that they’ll be human are practically nonexistent.”

—A reasonable point. I have discovered quite a number of Earths and even ventured into remote regions of the universe, yet I have never encountered a human worthy of measuring strength against.

It seemed that Quiad, too, considered himself the strongest among all humans in the universe.

Of course, Yeongwoo knew of one more unknown Earthling.

That robber he had heard about from a cosmic delivery knight—the one said to operate along the boundary between the upper and lower universes.

“Then… what about the protagonist of that boundary rumor?”

—Boundary rumor?

When Quiad asked as if he didn’t understand, Herisa elaborated.

“It refers to a human from Earth who’s committing robberies along the boundary of the universe.”

—Ah, I have heard of it. But I have never met him.

At that, Yeongwoo quickly pressed further.

“Then isn’t there a possibility that he’s also a 3rd-grade human? The Chancellor seemed to think he was searching for a way to reach the upper universe.”

A strange figure who stops those crossing the boundary between the two universes, asks them questions, and if they cannot answer, strips them of all their possessions.

If he truly was searching for a way to reach the upper universe, then why would that be?

‘The upper universe only has Transcendents and Typesetter, doesn’t it…? Either way, the fact that he even dares to try entering it means he’s no ordinary being.’

As Yeongwoo thought this, Quiad stroked his chin.

—An interesting individual, but if he were truly a Great One, I would have heard his name in some form.

“But what if he’s just too far away in the universe for you to have heard of him?”

—Possible, but extremely difficult to realize.

“So it’s not impossible, then.”

Yeongwoo was, by nature, someone who lived surrounded by improbability.

So if even the slightest possibility existed, he believed it could be realized.

[Translator - Night]

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In other words, there could be another 3rd-grade human besides Quiad.

“No, but… you two have traveled through so many Earths and humans—why haven’t you gone to that boundary of the universe? The opponent should be a highly valuable human, after all.”

This time, Chancellor Herisa answered.

“That place lies adjacent to the domain of the Transcendents, so it’s dangerous, and since there are no coordinates, it’s difficult to explore. In reality, the only option is to hope you encounter him by sheer chance.”

A chance occurrence.

In other words, something that could also be called improbability.

“Then what if we bring a lot of improbability equipment? Would we be able to meet him then?”

At Yeongwoo’s simple-minded suggestion, Herisa let out a hollow laugh.

“Well… hearing it like that, it does sound plausible… but I’m not sure if improbability works in such a simple way.”

“On the contrary, you don’t know exactly how improbability works either, right?”

“The only one who would know that is Typesetter.”

When Herisa brought up Typesetter—the very mystery of this universe—Yeongwoo found himself with nothing more to say.

Of course, he still added a thought inwardly.

‘Is that really true? Maybe President Lemu knows something by now.’

However, he couldn’t dare bring up Lemu in front of Quiad, so he changed the subject.

“Then how do Chairmen determine their rankings? It feels like there’s no official ranking, but you all roughly know each other’s strength.”

At that, Quiad laughed loudly.

—We do not know.

“Excuse me…? You don’t know?”

—If you truly wish to know, you must cross blades yourself. Generally, those who do not avoid duels are stronger.

“…So it’s basically about momentum.”

Without realizing it, Yeongwoo pressed his forehead.

“But you acknowledged that Chairman Dogo is strong, didn’t you? Even though you’ve never crossed blades with him.”

At that, Quiad’s expression turned unusually serious.

—Dogo never avoids duels and possesses an immensely large power base. Thus, there are countless tales about him.

In other words, because Dogo was both a battle maniac and a violent tycoon, his record of duels was so extensive that his reputation alone was enough to measure his martial prowess.

There was no need to risk one’s life to fight him—simply recalling the reputations of the 3rd-grade beings he had cut down was enough to know the outcome.

—Many would name Dogo as one close to the pinnacle. Therefore, if you wish to become the pinnacle, you must prove it by dueling him.

The “many” Quiad referred to likely meant the Great Ones across the entire universe.

‘Damn… so the Chairman’s bravado isn’t actually bravado.’

As Yeongwoo glanced at the Dogo emblem engraved on his right shoulder, the transport came to a stop.

They had finally arrived near Lemu’s Observation Tower.

—In the end, it is thanks to you that I have been able to see that abomination with my own eyes. I will not forget this.

With those words, Quiad briefly glanced at Yeongwoo, then extended one arm toward the Observation Tower, dyeing it pitch black.

Fwoosh.

Astonishingly, the massive Observation Tower began to burn black from its midsection.

“W-what… how is that even possible?”

This wasn’t on the level of killing someone with killing intent.

It was no different from extending an arm and melting a mountain.

Yeongwoo, who had expected all sorts of heavy equipment to arrive for the tower’s demolition, could only gape in shock.

Kugugugugu……!

Soon, the tower’s midsection slowly collapsed, and it began to sink toward the ground.

Black soot spread both upward and downward from the center.

‘No… President Lemu fought a monster like this…?’

Right before Yeongwoo’s eyes, Lemu’s Observation Tower melted away at an unbelievable speed.

Did it take about two minutes for everything visible to completely disappear?

Chiiiiiiiik!

Now, only black smoke rose from where the tower once stood.

Having finished everything, Quiad withdrew his outstretched arm and looked toward Chancellor Herisa.

—The troublesome task is now complete.

“All that remains is to reorganize Maden. Though before that.”

Swish.

As Herisa turned her body to look this way, Yeongwoo lifted his chin, putting on a deliberately dignified expression.

“So, is it finally time to settle the remaining balance?”

“Yes. Well… it is, but.”

“…But?”

A very ominous nuance.

As Yeongwoo instinctively furrowed his brow, Herisa spread open her five-colored prosthetic hand.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have any money right now.”

“What?”

“The 50 billion we gave as the advance—that was all the liquid cash Bait possesses.”

“No, then shouldn’t you sell the space station or something to pay the rest? After all, thanks to me, Chairman Quiad was freed. Isn’t that right?”

This time, Yeongwoo even glared at Quiad.

If Herisa couldn’t pay, then at least he should.

At that, Herisa quickly stepped between the two and added—

“Instead, I’ll give you something else.”

“What is it? Are you going to give me a Myth?”

As Yeongwoo voiced what he had secretly been hoping for, Herisa let out a sigh.

“Not a Myth… but I’ll give you something that will greatly help you write one.”

“…What is it?” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As Yeongwoo showed curiosity, Herisa put on a resolute expression, as if making a major decision.

“I will give you all the artillery systems of my space station—the secret behind why we have never once been shot down.”

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