HBWnovel Chapter 396
Chapter 396
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 396: Big Hand (6)
The axis of the body.
While there was some hope that the "big shots" might bless him with high-end equipment, he had never expected them to replace parts of his body.
‘Eyes, arms, legs? Can't they just give me some ridiculously powerful necklace or something...?’
Though Yeongwoo found it unsettling, he wasn’t oblivious.
His opponent was the embodiment of tyranny itself.
There was no way negotiation or flattery would work on someone like this.
‘This bastard... If he gets the slightest bit annoyed, he’ll probably throw a fit and act like his nonexistent eyeballs are rolling back again. Better to just go along with it quietly.’
Even the most infamous troublemaker in the universe was forced to take a step back in front of this overwhelming presence... The true king of the Thousand Demons, indeed.
「You think too much for a mere insect. Do not make me wait.」
As expected, Mara urged Yeongwoo to make his decision.
His temper was as foul as his personality was impatient.
“...I just choose one, right?”
「.......」
Of course, Mara didn’t answer.
Yeongwoo could only furrow his brows.
‘Shit... What the hell am I supposed to choose?’
Eyes, arms, legs.
Each option likely had completely different effects.
His first instinct was to go with an arm, but after thinking it through, he realized that was a mistake.
‘I need to consider the effects of bodily loss. If worse comes to worst, I might have to cut it off again. An arm is too valuable to waste on a blessing like this.’
「Body Deficiency」 - Epic Breastplate
【Power increases up to 80% depending on the degree of limb loss.】
Then what about a leg?
‘Same problem. Losing a leg is troublesome. If, for some reason, it gets taken away, that would be the most annoying to deal with.’
Losing an arm might still be manageable, but losing a leg would be much harder to overcome.
That left only one option.
‘...An eye? I really wanted to avoid this.’
Replacing his eye with something gifted by the master of the Void... It was a deeply unsettling thought.
Even just wearing a transformed lens cornea had given him chills all over his body—what would happen with an eyeball born from the Void itself?
‘And what if it gets taken away? Do I just go blind then?’
Thinking this far, Yeongwoo carefully asked,
“If I choose an eye, do I get both?”
Mara stared at him with that eerie face.
「Do you wish for both? If your body can endure it, I will grant them.」
“N-No, one is enough.”
That was actually a relief.
No more hesitation was needed.
“Then... I'll take the eye.”
The moment Yeongwoo made his choice, Mara moved a single finger in the air.
Swoosh.
A void opened over the blessing platform, and from within, a small object wrapped in smoke dropped down with a soft plop.
‘W-Wait, is that...?’
No matter how he looked at it, it was the size of a human eyeball.
As Yeongwoo instinctively moved toward it, Mara gave a nod, signaling his approval.
「Your curiosity is only natural. Go and see for yourself—the power of the Void’s gift.」
“M-Master Mara!”
With official permission granted, Yeongwoo rushed to the blessing platform and carefully picked up the smoke-wrapped eye.
Squelch.
“...Huh?”
Contrary to its appearance, the eye was incredibly hard and cold.
Almost as if it were made of metal.
Yeongwoo lifted it, disbelief written all over his face.
“This... This is...”
It was impossible to know.
The only way to find out would be to ask the chairman directly...
“Ah.”
But that didn’t seem possible at the moment.
Because, as soon as the top ranking changed, the Iron Throne that had been supporting Chairman Dogo vanished.
Pop!
— ...Unbelievable.
For just a brief moment, Chairman Dogo’s body lost balance under the pull of gravity, and Mara, noticing this slip, pointed a finger at him and laughed.
「Look at that! Dogo is floundering!」
Then, pressing a hand against the newly materialized Iron Throne in front of him, Mara turned to look at Yeongwoo.
「Today, I have given you a new eye, and now you get to witness something precious.」
His voice was still chilling, yet his tone carried an unfamiliar kindness.
Mara was truly enjoying himself.
‘...These guys, if I push them just a little more, they might start throwing money around like crazy.’
As Yeongwoo teetered on the edge of an epiphany, Mara settled himself onto his own throne.
Then, passing above Dogo, who was now lower in altitude, Mara entered the ceremonial hall first.
Inside, a grand virgin road stretching hundreds of meters and rows of guest seats awaited, with Lemu seated in the third-place seat at the far end.
「Ah, Lemu. Cleverly seated in the third-place spot, I see.」
Mara tapped his chin with a long finger as he spoke.
In response, Lemu rose from his seat and bowed toward the King of Ten Thousand Demons.
□ I did not expect the Void himself to make an appearance.
「Dogo essentially summoned me. That bastard provokes me, does he not?」
He was referring to the competition for Earth’s development rights.
Originally, Mara would have overwhelmed the other companies with sheer force, but the unexpected arrival of Dogo, another Rank 3 entity, had complicated matters.
Meanwhile, outside the ceremonial hall, Dogo, now throne-less thanks to Mara, was watching Yeongwoo from above.
— The time for the dowry breakthrough is approaching. Do you have anyone to assist Jiseon and Jeonggu?
Yeongwoo tilted his head in confusion.
“Huh...? Assist them?”
— Many guests will try to obstruct the dowry breakthrough.
“Well, that makes sense...”
— But some guests may choose to assist. Do you not have such people?
“Guests... helping with the dowry breakthrough? You’re saying that some guests might fight off the ones interfering?”
— Exactly.
Simply put, even the guests could engage in physical combat.
Of course, considering Yeongwoo’s long history of accumulating bad karma, it was unlikely that any of his guests would willingly forfeit their chance to reclaim their registry contributions.
“Ah... Unfortunately, I don’t think I have any crazy guests like that...”
Just as Yeongwoo was reflecting on his guest list, filled with nothing but bad karma—
Bwoooong...!
A deep, resounding ship horn echoed powerfully from far away.
“W-What is that?”
Even Yeongwoo, the host of the event, looked puzzled at this completely different type of entrance.
And for good reason—along with the horn’s blaring, the sky itself began to turn golden.
Fwaaah!
Though it didn’t fully push back the dense void matter covering the sky, it managed to carve out just enough space for a ship to appear.
That alone was impressive.
Bwoooong!
The same sound rang out again.
It carried a strangely reverent aura, prompting some of the guests already inside the venue to step outside for a look.
And then, finally—
Fwaaaah!
From within the golden waves that had taken over a portion of the sky, a massive, porcelain-like white ship emerged.
“...What.”
Yeongwoo’s eyes widened in shock as a booming voice resounded from the ship.
「Prince Aldo of the Shelbir Royal Family has arrived...!」
[Translator - Night]
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