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Chapter 564: Mountain of Swords (3)

-Wh… what do you mean by that? Giving you my catalog?

Venura Garn asked again with a truly puzzled expression.

In response, Yeongwoo tilted his head slightly.

“…Huh?”

-What.

“No, isn’t there something like that? A function that lets you hand over the weapons registered in your own catalog.”

-…That’s the first I’ve heard of it.

At the moment, Venura was completely overwhelmed by Yeongwoo’s presence, so the possibility that he was lying even now was extremely low.

He was both physically and mentally cornered.

“…Really?”

So Yeongwoo accepted the other’s reply without much doubt.

After all, they both owned weapon catalogs.

And Yeongwoo’s collection level was far higher anyway.

“Right. Come to think of it, I didn’t know whether that feature existed either.”

When Yeongwoo came to that conclusion, Venura finally showed a slightly frightened expression.

-You’re completely insane.

The most terrifying thing in the universe is unpredictability.

And right now, to Venura Garn, the nameless family head in front of him was unpredictability itself.

Because he had no idea what the hell was in that lunatic’s head, he couldn’t predict what the man’s next move would be.

-Giving away your catalog? There’s no way such an absurd function could exist.

As Venura shook his head, Yeongwoo scratched his chin and muttered softly.

“There’s no guarantee that such a function doesn’t exist…?”

-What?

“No, listen carefully. The chairman I serve possesses the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain.”

-You mean Dogo?

Even a member of the Twelve Sword Council knew that name well—Dogo.

“Yeah. But doesn’t that sound impossible? How could someone possibly collect a hundred thousand weapons?”

Then Venura Garn, a noble-born heir, rebuked Yeongwoo.

-You’re the kind of fool who looks up at the sky and wonders why there are so many stars.

“Hey, you bastard. Don’t twist it with fancy words. The stars in the sky are nature itself, but the chairman isn’t. He definitely had a time when he was a total nobody.”

But then, how on earth did he come to possess the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain?

The very title “owner of the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain” was one of the ways people referred to the chairman.

In other words, even by cosmic standards, the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain was an extraordinary realm.

“Just scavenging war leftovers wouldn’t be enough to reach the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain. That would take way too much time.”

So to reach that state, one would have to find a way to acquire a massive number of weapons in a short time—and repeatedly.

And in Yeongwoo’s opinion, that method was—

“I think there must be a way to meet someone who has the same type of catalog and receive equipment from them.”

-That’s just your assumption, isn’t it? And why would the owner of a catalog hand over his equipment to someone else?

“Because they lost in a duel…?”

-What.

“Besides, it just so happens I now have the perfect opportunity to test my hypothesis.”

When Yeongwoo’s eyes gleamed and he smiled wickedly, Venura’s face twisted in horror.

-If… if you kill me, both my Garn family and the Twelve Sword Council will pour all their strength into finding you.

“That sounds tempting, but if possible, I’d rather not spill blood today. I’ve already suffered enough in this dungeon.”

The best-case scenario was to steal Venura Garn’s Sword Mountain and also collect the dungeon’s overachievement reward before leaving.

Of course, if taking the Sword Mountain required killing the opponent, then he’d have no choice but to aim for the overachievement reward only.

“I always thought the chairman was amazing, but perhaps a little too full of himself.”

-……?

“But if the chairman’s Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain was actually built by crushing other Sword Mountains and taking them… then I really have no choice but to respect him.”

With those words, Yeongwoo activated his weapon catalog.

Flaaash—!

A list of weapons appeared before his eyes.

Then he ordered Venura Garn.

“Open your catalog too. Something might happen.”

At that, Venura, half-believing that something really might happen, shook his head violently.

-D… don’t talk nonsense. I’m a Garn. Do you think I’d ever bow to a threat from a man like you?

“Then you’ll die to a man like me?”

-…What?

Before Venura’s frown could deepen, Yeongwoo suddenly swung Bastard.

Shwaaaak!

He cut off Venura’s left leg.

-Kuaaaaaaagh!

As the now one-legged Venura screamed in agony, Yeongwoo spoke in a cold tone.

“Next will be your head.”

Of course, it was just a bluff.

But based on the courage Venura had shown in their earlier duel, Yeongwoo knew that unless he went this far, the man would never obey.

And anyway, he planned to reattach the leg later—before the next escape point appeared.

“Now, open the catalog.”

When Yeongwoo pointed Bastard at him and said that, Venura finally submitted.

-Damn it all.

In the end, he activated his weapon catalog as Yeongwoo commanded.

If he were to die here, both his life, his honor, and his chance for revenge would vanish forever.

Even so, Venura said—

-You… will regret this someday.

True to his duelist noble blood, he glared at Yeongwoo, hinting at future vengeance.

But Yeongwoo’s reaction was nothing like what Venura expected.

“Really? If you bring me more swords next time, I’ll be delighted. The road to the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain is long, and I’ll need help from the entire universe.”

Then he reached out to touch the faint light that had been shimmering above Venura’s head.

“Could this be the weapon catalog?”

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At his touch, light flared from Yeongwoo’s fingertip, and a rectangular holographic window appeared before both their eyes.

A dedicated interface existed for situations like this.

-Huh?

Venura’s mouth hung open in shock at what he was seeing, and Yeongwoo, as if he had expected it all along, said excitedly,

“See? I told you there’d be a hidden function.”

Though rather than “hidden,” it was probably more accurate to call it “little-known.”

After all, it was rare for two weapon catalogs to be activated in close proximity.

Piiiiiing!

Then, messages appeared before both catalog owners.

「An adjacent catalog has been detected.」

Soon, a new set of options appeared.

「If the cataloges are opened, the following special functions can be used.」

[Catalog Trade]

| Exchange the selected catalog with the opponent’s catalog.

[Catalog Transfer]

| Transfer the collection progress of your catalog to another catalog of the same type.

“Oh…….”

The entries made Yeongwoo’s eyes widen.

As expected—when two catalogs were activated simultaneously, it was possible to exchange catalogs or transfer progress between them.

But that wasn’t all.

Piiiiiing!

[Catalog Enhancement]

| Consume three catalogs of the same type to enhance one catalog of that type.

“…What.”

The final function was catalog Enhancement.

“Three catalogs of the same type…?”

Yeongwoo blinked rapidly.

At first glance, it seemed that simply gathering three of the same type would suffice—but that wasn’t true.

The special functions accessible through catalog linking didn’t include “duplicate collection.”

Even if he met another owner of the same weapon catalog, the only available actions were exchange or transfer of collection progress.

At no time could one possess two weapon catalogs simultaneously.

‘…Which means.’

This meant that in order to perform catalog Enhancement, three other owners of the same catalog would have to gather.

Including the one to be enhanced, four catalog owners would have to agree to the process in order to enhance one.

“How is catalog Enhancement even possible…?”

Yeongwoo gaped in disbelief.

Then Madam Kanaph spoke.

-What’s going on? What is it?

“It’s the catalog. To enhance it, people with the same catalog—three of them—have to agree to destroy theirs.”

-…Huh?

Finding the explanation complicated, Madam Kanaph tilted her head and asked again.

-So you’re saying the catalog is extremely valuable, but you sacrifice three of them to strengthen one?

“Yes. Sacrifice three just to enhance one.”

Then Madam Kanaph made a suggestion that Yeongwoo hadn’t even considered.

-Then… those three must be family, right?

“What do you mean?”

-For something that serious, it would have to be family. Maybe even a few extremely loyal retainers.

Always talking about her older brother, Madam Kanaph’s faith in family was clearly absolute.

“No, no matter how close the family, who would shatter their own catalog and hand it over? Madam, you don’t seem to understand how valuable a catalog is…”

As Yeongwoo began to explain its worth, Madam Kanaph waved her hand as if she didn’t need to hear it.

-It doesn’t matter what it is. It’s not more important than life, is it?

“That’s true.”

-Then it’s entirely possible. I’d gladly give my life for my brother.

“…….”

When she said that so earnestly, Yeongwoo had nothing left to say.

If that was truly how she felt, then yes—she could definitely sacrifice a weapon catalog.

“But Madam… this universe is strange. People that selfless usually aren’t the strong ones.”

And catalogs were, for the most part, possessions of the strong.

In other words, someone might be willing to die for family—but the odds that such a person also owned a catalog were extremely low.

“You love your brother deeply, Madam, but you don’t have a catalog of your own.”

-That’s true.

Madam Kanaph agreed instantly.

Then she said something that made Yeongwoo’s mind go blank.

-Then isn’t that an overachievement too? You said it takes three people like you to be sacrificed for one catalog to be enhanced?

“Ah.”

Overachievement.

The only way to acquire catalogs in a dungeon.

Now that he thought about it, Madam Kanaph was right—the very method of catalog enhancement was itself an overachievement.

Because by natural means, it was practically impossible to achieve.

‘Then by unnatural means…?’

True to his nature as the master of a planetary ship, Yeongwoo’s eyes rolled once.

Then his gaze settled on Venura—the dueling prodigy of the Garn family and a member of the Twelve Sword Council.

“You there, Twelve Sword Council!”

-……?

“Do they, by any chance, have twelve weapon catalogs?”

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