Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 406: Gift Breakthrough (10)

"What... What the hell…? So we just need to get there now?"

Jeonggu asked in a doubtful voice as he gazed at the wedding gift altar, now within reach.

They had made their way here by feeding reinforcements to the guests targeting the gift box, yet it still didn’t feel real.

And Yeongwoo felt the same.

"According to the rules, once the breaker reaches the altar, the guests can no longer interfere. So…"

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo looked ahead.

"From now on, no matter what happens, Father, you must keep moving forward."

"What? What’s going to happen now?"

Jeonggu asked, fear creeping into his voice, but Yeongwoo remained silent, staring straight ahead.

Because—

Clank!

At the final passage leading to the wedding gift altar stood three enormous figures.

They were—

□ Hoo.

The master of the Machine Tower, Lemu.

—This ceremony is certainly quite rowdy.

The president of the heavy weapons manufacturing company, Toma.

And lastly…

—Yeongwoo.

The master of Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain, Chairman Dogo.

"……."

Seeing who made up the final gatekeepers, Yeongwoo felt as if his chest had tightened.

Even if Chairman Dogo wouldn’t step in himself for the sake of his dignity, how were they supposed to break through the other two?

Yeongwoo had seen Chairman Dogo fight Lemu before, so he knew how strong Lemu was.

And Toma was someone the Chairman himself acknowledged as an exceptional warrior.

‘There’s no need to test the waters when the difference is this clear. And besides, Toma is a Rank 4 being.’

As Yeongwoo furrowed his brows in frustration, the Chairman finally spoke.

—With your abilities, you will never reach that altar. It simply means you have set up a ceremony beyond your capacity.

A roundabout way of saying he had put too much money into the congratulatory offering.

Hearing this, Yeongwoo massaged his aching temples before slowly opening his mouth.

"From the moment you placed Bastard in my hands, I realized that your capacity was as vast as the universe, Chairman."

—……?

"In that case, what kind of ceremony would be fitting for someone worthy of hosting such a vast universe?"

Then, Yeongwoo looked up at the sky.

"I merely gathered every universe I knew to honor the Chairman, whose greatness spans the cosmos. Naturally, such a ceremony would be beyond my own capacity!"

In other words, the level of the ceremony wasn’t for himself—it was set to match Chairman Dogo’s grand stature.

—…….

Chairman Dogo glanced down at the throne beneath him, and Yeongwoo seized the moment to add one last plea.

"Chairman! The success of this ceremony depends on your generosity! Will you once again allow this insignificant being to be held within your vast universe?"

Yeongwoo shouted valiantly, pulling his father forward.

Chairman Dogo responded succinctly.

—Someone, shut that brat up.

"…Shit!"

Realizing that negotiations had failed, Yeongwoo grabbed his father and sprinted forward.

A dark shadow loomed over the two.

Rumble.

It was none other than Toma’s shadow.

Following Dogo’s command, he had stepped forward to silence Yeongwoo.

Clatter!

As he stood up, towering at a height of seven meters, the chain cloak draped over his shoulders rattled with a loud metallic clang.

Then—

Clang!

From within those chains, a massive, muscular arm and an immense, brutal-looking greatsword emerged.

‘What… What the hell is that?’

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened at the sight of Toma’s weapon.

The crude blade, resembling a guillotine, was nearly five meters long.

"……."

The thought that such a monstrous weapon might have once rampaged across some battlefield in the universe sent chills down his spine.

But the real problem was that this monster was now aiming at him.

—This is the most entertaining ceremony I’ve ever attended!

"Wait, aren’t guests forbidden from lethal combat? Why are you drawing a sword?!"

Seeing Toma’s arm muscles twitch in preparation, Yeongwoo shoved his father aside and drew his own sword, Bastard.

Swoooosh!

As if waiting for that very moment, Toma’s guillotine blade sliced through the air.

KAAAAANG!

A terrifying sound of cutting wind filled the space as a gray arc shot straight for Yeongwoo’s head.

Instinctively, he twisted his body and swung Bastard in response.

Flash!

The moment Bastard clashed with the incoming blade—

KA-THAAAANG!

A tremendous impact rang out at the point of contact.

But the most surprised person wasn’t Toma—it was Yeongwoo.

"What the…?"

【Contempt for the Weak】

|This sword’s attacks can only be blocked by weapons of Mythic grade or higher.

If his attack had been blocked, it meant that Toma’s greatsword was at least Mythic grade.

‘That crude-looking thing is Mythic? What kind of legendary feat did it take to forge that weapon?’

There was no time to dwell on the thought.

Toma's sword was already moving again.

Swoooosh!

This time, a horizontal slash—aimed straight at Yeongwoo’s torso.

There was no hesitation in the movement.

For a brief moment, Yeongwoo forgot that this was supposed to be a wedding ceremony.

"A… Are you seriously trying to kill me, President Toma?!"

Yeongwoo leapt into the air to evade the swing, but Toma was already predicting his trajectory.

A massive fist shot forward to intercept him midair.

BAM!

‘Shit. I don’t stand a chance.’

If the fight had gone on this long, it was probably because Toma had been holding back.

But that restraint was over.

Toma’s fist landed cleanly on Yeongwoo’s body.

CRAAASH!

"Urgh!"

The overwhelming force sent Yeongwoo crashing into the ground.

BOOOOM!

Despite all his defenses—the elasticity shield of the Vesedel Armor, the passive effects from his equipment collection—his vision flickered from the sheer impact.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

【Elastic Defense】

|30% of the damage received is distributed over three seconds.

[Collection Bonus: 20]

|Chosen equipment’s effects increased by 50%.

【Enemy’s Attack Power Reduced by 75%】

‘This… This is the power of a Rank 4?’

It almost felt as if Chairman Dogo was deliberately demonstrating the authority of a Rank 4 being.

Swooosh!

Hearing the air rip apart once more, Yeongwoo immediately rolled to the side and blew the whistle hanging from his neck.

Fweeeeeet!

There was no other reason.

The only reinforcements he could call now were—

"My friends."

RUMBLE!

A sound like thunder echoed through the air.

The ceiling of the ceremony hall turned semi-transparent.

"……?"

And from the Returnees' Chamber, Yeongwoo’s summoned friends began to descend through the ceiling, dropping straight into the ceremony hall.

—Uwaaaaaah!

—Iyaaahhh!

—Co... Congratulations on your marri—!

Before Kim Taejoon, the CEO, could even finish offering his congratulations, Toma’s blade sliced through the air and cleaved his body in two.

Kwak!

—Huh?

—C-Ceo Kim?

—Sir…!

As Kim Taejoon's eyes lost focus and his body split in half, the remaining three friends were left in utter shock.

It was then that they realized this battleground was on an entirely different level from the previous ones.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo kicked Jeonggu’s back and shouted.

“H-Hurry! Hurry up, Dad!”

“…Those guys won’t be able to buy much time, will they?”

“It’s already almost over.”

Just as Yeongwoo spoke, a golden flower that had been soaring through the air was sliced in half.

—Gaaah!

—G-Geumhwa, noona!

—Miss Geumhwa!

Of course, their efforts hadn’t been entirely fruitless.

Thanks to Geumhwa drawing Toma’s attention, General Kim Younghyeom and Yeongtae were able to get close to him.

—Whatever it is, do it fast! We can't hold out for long!

General Kim clung to Toma’s back, shouting urgently.

Toma swung his long arms, instantly slamming the general away, but in that brief moment, Yeongtae grabbed onto Toma’s waist with all his strength.

—D-Damn it…! He won’t even budge!

And for good reason—the opponent was a 4th-class entity under cosmic law.

For mere insects like them, even getting close enough to touch such a being might have been considered an honor.

Of course, that honor wouldn’t last long.

—Still struggling till the end, I see.

Toma bent his knee and flicked Yeongtae away with a powerful snap.

Then, without missing a beat, he spun his massive body at tremendous speed and rushed toward Yeongwoo and Jeonggu.

Kwakwakwakwang!

The thunderous footsteps rapidly closed in.

—Hiiiek!

Jeonggu turned his head, sensing Toma right behind them.

Sure enough, a dark silhouette was swinging its massive fist straight at them.

Hwaeeeaek!

—Y-Yeongwoo!

Jeonggu instinctively shouted his son's name like a magic spell.

Hearing him, Yeongwoo immediately grabbed his father’s arm and threw him backward.

Hwaeeeaek!

Jeonggu was flung all the way near the altar at the other end.

Then—

Shaaah!

Yeongwoo braced himself, raising his guard to the maximum.

‘Shit, let’s see what taking a 4th-class punch feels like!’

The overwhelming pressure was already crushing down on him, and he clenched his teeth in response.

Grit!

At that moment, the chairman of the Dogo Group, who had been seated on the throne, suddenly shot to his feet.

—Enough!

A line no one in the wedding hall had expected to hear.

—……!

Toma, who had been moments away from striking Yeongwoo directly, froze in place.

The only one still making any noise was Jeonggu, gasping for breath.

—Huff, huff!

He was already sprinting full speed toward the altar ahead.

Then—

Taah!

At last, he placed his ceremonial offering onto the altar.

“D-Did I make it?”

Jeonggu gasped for air as he looked up at the sky.

The altar suddenly lit up, and a system message appeared.

「Kim Jeonggu11, ceremonial offering complete.」

“…Oh?”

The wedding system had actually recognized his success.

In essence, the Dogo chairman had shown mercy at the last moment.

“C-Chairman…!”

Yeongwoo collapsed onto the ground, attempting to bow in gratitude, but the next phase was already beginning.

「The second ceremonial offering will commence immediately. Bride, take your position.」

“…What?”

Yeongwoo, still with his forehead pressed against the floor, lifted his head.

There was no break for cleanup—the second ceremonial offering would start right away.

That meant his mother had to fight through the chaotic, war-torn virgin road alone.

‘Wait, then… what happens now?’

Confused, Yeongwoo turned to look behind him.

Far off at the starting point of the virgin road, something flickered.

The bride had been placed at the ceremonial starting position.

Then—

「Ceremonial offering, commence.」

With the system’s start signal, a massive silhouette rose like a raging storm in the distance.

Kwoooaaah!

—H-Huh?"

A deep blue shadow surged high into the sky before swiftly plunging toward the virgin road.

Seeing it, Yeongwoo instantly realized what was happening.

“Mother!”

Song Jiseon had transformed back into her true form—a 250-meter-long ice dragon.

Kwoooaaaaaang!

With a shockwave that shook the very ground, Jiseon landed on the virgin road with all four legs.

She had covered the entire 250-meter path in a single transformation.

—If you don’t want to get trampled, get out of the way!

And then, she charged forward.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]