Level 4 Human in a Ruined World-Chapter 429

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Chapter 429: Fate (1)

『Haa…』

Earth let out a deep sigh.

And in the midst of this, Yeongwoo was peeking into Earth's inner thoughts.

‘This bastard… despite what he says, he doesn’t actually want to die.’

The reason was the paintings.

Now that he looked closer, there were countless easels set up beyond the field.

Each easel was filled with paintings depicting natural landscapes from all over the world and significant historical moments.

‘Of course… This guy must have witnessed all of human history.’

It turned out that Earth’s primary interest was humanity.

How long had it been painting?

The number of artworks easily reached the thousands.

Then just how many years had Earth spent in this place?

— Swoooosh —

As the wind blew again, flattening the reeds, the legs of the easels were fully revealed.

At that moment, Yeongwoo straightened his body, which had been cowering in humiliation.

"Let me take a look at your paintings."

『What?』

Earth twitched its eyebrows, sensing a sudden shift in Yeongwoo’s demeanor.

— Step. —

Yeongwoo had already moved closer, examining the paintings resting on the easels.

"…No offense, but they’re complete garbage. You’ve been painting for thousands of years, and you still haven’t improved?"

『You little…! Have you completely lost it?』

Then, without warning, Yeongwoo grabbed Earth by the collar and yanked it out of its chair.

"Hey, you bastard! Who’s really lost it here? You don’t even want to die, yet you dare to test me?"

『You…!』

Dangling in midair, Earth flailed but didn’t fight back.

"You weakling, put up a fight! Is this all you’ve got? Are you just going to dangle there if I actually try to kill you?"

Yeongwoo easily lifted Earth with one hand.

— Fwoosh! —

Seeing this, Earth grimaced and kicked Yeongwoo in the face with its bare foot.

— Thwack! —

However, what bent instead was Earth’s toes.

『Argh!』

Yeongwoo’s face, having surpassed the limits of human endurance, was harder than steel.

"Tch, you’ve never been in a real fight, have you?"

As Yeongwoo smirked and shook Earth’s collar roughly, Earth finally bared its teeth, glaring at him.

『You crazy bastard, do you have no respect for your own planet? Why the hell are you acting like this toward me?』

Yeongwoo seemed to be waiting for that question.

— Thud! —

Though he greatly restrained his strength, it was still enough to send the feeble Earth crashing to the ground.

"This is what happens when you have no power. Didn’t you see what Mara did at my wedding?"

『You… You’re completely insane. Mara isn’t like us! He’s a being on an entirely different level. How can you even compare yourself to him?』

"This bastard still doesn’t get it."

Yeongwoo raised his fist again in a threatening manner, but Earth didn’t even flinch.

Despite its weak physical strength, it had a surprising amount of grit.

"Mara directly interferes in my life, so why shouldn’t I compare myself to him?"

Of course, Yeongwoo knew well that Mara was akin to a force of nature, something beyond mortal reach.

But that didn’t mean he would just stand by and take it.

Anothis representative might accept it, but as Earth's only rightful owner, Yeongwoo would never allow it.

"So what? You’re just going to stay a low-tier planet forever, getting beaten down by stronger beings whenever they show up? What about us? Do you have no respect for your own people?"

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With his fist clenched tightly, Yeongwoo pressed the question.

『…99% of the universe consists of low-tier planets. That’s just how it is. That’s the natural order of the universe.』

In othis words, the representative Earth had been waiting for was someone who would maintain the status quo and keep the planet barely surviving—not some radical villain like Yeongwoo.

"The natural order of the universe? Then why do planetary promotions exist? Why do beings have the ability to ascend in rank? If that’s really the case, then why was the Chairman even allowed to lose to me?"

『……!』

Earth's eyes widened for the first time at Yeongwoo’s words.

The Chairman was assigned to prevent planets from facing such calamities.

But even the Chairman wasn’t invincible—if a "natural disaster" came from beyond the universe, the security could be breached.

However, the catastrophe standing before Earth hadn’t come from outside the universe.

『Th-Then…』

Earth’s mouth gaped open.

And then it uttered something Yeongwoo didn’t expect.

『You are the natural disaster! You’re the calamity!』

It sounded eerily similar to what the Chairman had said.

"Hah."

Yeongwoo let out a deep sigh and grabbed Earth’s hair.

— Crunch. —

"You idiot. In a way, you’re right—I am a natural disaster. But I’m a disaster for the sake of Earth."

『What… What?』

While Earth was struggling to understand, Yeongwoo glanced at the painting it had been working on.

"You moron."

The painting on the wooden board depicted a burning forest, with Jeong Yeongwoo 07 walking forward.

From head to toe, he was clad in Vesedel armor—the form of a Demon.

"……."

Yeongwoo stared at the painting for a while.

Then, suddenly, he swung his leg and kicked the painting.

— Crash! —

With a sharp shattering sound, the painting was destroyed into pieces, revealing Yeongwoo’s bare foot.

『Ah…!』

Earth’s eyes widened upon noticing the dirt covering Yeongwoo’s feet.

That meant he had walked through the forest barefoot.

『The… The reeds…』

Before Earth could finish saying, ‘They hid your legs, so I didn’t notice,’ Yeongwoo cut in.

"Is my legs the only thing you failed to see?"

『What?』

"I am Jeong Yeongwoo 07. Born on Earth. Earth’s guardian, you dumbass. So why the hell is the forest burning in your painting?"

Yeongwoo released his grip on Earth.

At that exact moment, a meteor streaked across the clear sky, trailing a long tail.

— Fwoooosh! —

And only then did Earth finally realize—

That an extraordinary event, one that naturally felt like a disaster, had come upon it.

That crazy bandit was, as he himself declared, the guardian of Earth.

He was also a colossal calamity, one that had even taken down the Chairman dispatched for the defense of the grand universe.

In othis words, Jeong Youngwoo 07 was both a catastrophe powerful enough to shake the planet and, paradoxically, an existence meant for Earth's sake.

"You bastard, it's because I’m this kind of monster that I managed to make it this far. Frankly, if Prince Aldo had been born on this planet, do you think he could've survived even a single day of reset?"

『……』

Earth had no counterargument.

"A representative fitting for this planet’s nature has emerged, that’s all. You’re the one failing to adapt to the universe’s flow."

With that, Yeongwoo tossed something at Earth’s face.

— Toss! —

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『Ugh…!』

Caught off guard, Earth grabbed the object that landed on its face.

A system message popped up.

「Slime Core」 - Mutation Bracelet

【Regenerative power increases dramatically.】

『Uh…?』

“Stop whining and get up. We need to negotiate now.”

『Negotiate?』

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo was looking around.

But since there were no othis chairs, he dragged the one Earth had been using and sat down.

“I only want one thing from you.”

『…What’s that?』

“A planetary ship.”

『……!』

The moment Yeongwoo saw Earth’s fingertips trembling, he tilted his head.

“Is it really something to be that scared of? Anyway, I’ll be the one fighting in the actual battle.”

Then, Earth threw the slime core back at Yeongwoo and said,

『It’s not that simple.』

“Why? The fighter is ready, and I’ve gathered a lot of money.”

『You idiot.』

This time, Earth hit Yeongwoo.

『Money isn’t the problem. Well, money is a problem, too.』

Then Earth looked up at the sky.

『Didn’t you feel something strange in my sky?』

“What?”

Yeongwoo tilted his head again.

Then he looked up at the sky.

In the clear sky, meteors kept falling.

It was a peculiar arrangement, but it seemed too obvious to be referring to that.

‘Then what is it?’

The sky on this peaceful midday.

As Yeongwoo followed the clouds drifting very slowly with his eyes, he soon realized.

‘That’s right. I felt it when I first came here.’

There was no sun in this sky.

Clearly, there was light coming from somewhere, but the source could not be seen directly.

“Is there… no sun?”

When Yeongwoo cautiously asked, Earth, keeping his gaze fixed on the sky, took a deep breath.

『That’s right. There’s no sun.』

“Why?”

『They don’t even allow making a replica of the sun.』

“What.”

『What do you think a planet is? Just like humans have their places in society, a planet has its position in the universe. And my position is…….』

Swoosh.

Earth slowly raised his hand and pointed to his sky.

『I’m a subsidiary of the sun. I must orbit the path assigned to me.』

It was at that moment that the previously clear sky suddenly turned pitch black.

Fwoooosh!

“Wh-what…!”

As the universe unfolded above them in an instant, even the bold Yeongwoo couldn’t help but hesitate.

“What is that?”

What Yeongwoo was looking at was a faint line stretching across the dark space.

『That’s the path I’ve been maintaining my entire life, the orbit of the planet you’re standing on.』

“Orbit……”

What could Earth’s orbit really mean?

For Yeongwoo, who had lived as a planet’s resident his whole life, it was hard to understand.

『Becoming a planetary ship means declaring that I will deviate from that orbit. But the problem is.』

Ssshhh.

Suddenly, the angle of the ceiling that Yeongwoo and Earth were looking at tilted.

And in an instant, the entire field of view was filled with yellow light.

“…Fuck.”

Without needing furthis explanation, Yeongwoo understood what it was.

The enormous mass of energy, appearing far too large in comparison to the angle, was the sun.

『I’m part of the sun. To be exact, I’m part of the many orbits the sun holds.』

“Th-that’s right? We’re a planet in the solar system.”

If each planet is seen as a giant organism, the solar system could also be seen as an ecosystem.

Various planets orbiting around the sun like an ecosystem.

『So, to become a planetary ship, I would have to damage the sun’s integrity.』

In simple terms, the moment Earth deviates from its orbit, the solar system would no longer be ‘the solar system.’

That is, it would be a great offense to the sun.

『But I neither have the authority to do that, nor the will.』

“Considering that you’re not even allowed to keep a replica of the sun in your room, that makes sense.”

Then Yeongwoo asked,

“No, but if you don’t have the authority, why don’t you have the will?”

『Because it’s impossible.』

“…Why?”

『Where would I get the enormous energy required to deviate from my orbit? From birth, I’m inherently dependent on the sun.』

“Ah.”

As someone who knew the universe’s principles far better than humans, Earth couldn’t help but see the grandiose plans of this planet’s representative as mere delusions.

‘The chairman’s mention of Icarus was actually quite relevant.’

Since Earth, as a planet in the solar system, was inevitably bound to the sun, the idea of turning it into a planetary ship was realistically impossible.

But for Yeongwoo, a human, the whole concept of the universe’s order and planetary ships was all unreal.

So, he posed an idea.

“No, then why not have the sun orbit around Earth instead?”

『…What?』

Earth lost his expression for a moment due to Yeongwoo’s bizarre suggestion, which skipped several pages of meaning in one leap.

『Would… would that work?』

“What’s the problem? I’ll talk to my in-laws about it.”

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