Chapter 118: Entry Examination
by fnovelpia
Episode 118
‘Huh?’
Kim Jinsung flew towards the source of the sound.
He soon saw two ships locked together.
More precisely, one ship had rammed into the middle of the other.
“Argh!”
“Kill them!”
**Bang! Boom!**
The sounds of fierce fighting came from the deck of the rammed ship.
Kim Jinsung descended a little to get a closer look at the situation.
‘…It’s a classic scene of pirates raiding a civilian ship.’
The attackers were all heavily armed, while the victims mostly looked like ordinary civilians.
They were collapsing helplessly under the attackers’ relentless assault.
‘Come to think of it, I did see an article about pirates targeting civilian ships heading to the New Continent.’
The New Continent, lacking in resources, always needed support from the mainland.
This had led to the emergence of numerous pirates targeting those ships.
“Argh!”
“You worthless pirate scum! …Ugh!”
“Damn it…! I’m going to die before even setting foot on the New Continent…!”
Sure enough, the sounds confirmed that it was a typical pirate raid.
‘In that case…’
Kim Jinsung, who had been watching silently, began to descend towards the ship.
More precisely, he was diving towards the spot where the pirates were most densely gathered.
“…Huh?”
“What’s that?!”
The pirates shouted in confusion as they spotted a carnivorous bird diving towards them.
But the bird was too fast for them to react.
**Boom!**
A massive explosion erupted at the point of impact.
The battle on the deck momentarily stopped due to the tremendous explosion.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned towards the source of the noise.
Soon, the smoke from the explosion cleared, and,
“……!”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
The pirates were lying on the ground in a gruesome state, and in the middle of it all stood a young Asian man.
“Who the hell is that?!”
“Kill him!!”
The pirates, cursing in various languages, charged towards Kim Jinsung.
Kim Jinsung picked up a sword that had fallen nearby.
He then charged towards the approaching pirates.
And a one-sided massacre began.
**Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!**
“Argh!”
“Ugh!
“Gurk…!”
Kim Jinsung swung his sword so fast that the people watching from the other ship couldn’t even see his movements clearly.
They only saw the pirates collapsing helplessly, spewing blood.
Nearly 20 pirates fell in an instant.
The pirates who had been following behind naturally hesitated.
“……!”
“Gasp…!”
The pirates began to back away in horror at the gruesome scene.
They instinctively realized.
The Asian man before them was a monster far beyond their level.
“…L-Let’s get out of here!”
“Everyone, back to the ship!”
They quickly began to flee back to their pirate ship.
Kim Jinsung watched them silently, not moving.
After all the surviving pirates had boarded, the pirate ship slowly moved away from the civilian vessel.
It was then that Kim Jinsung raised his sword high above his head.
He swung it down vertically with all his might, and a blue mana crescent was generated, flying towards the pirate ship.
**Boom!**
The pirate ship, hit by the mana crescent, exploded with a thunderous roar.
Kim Jinsung saw the fleeing pirates engulfed in flames, burning.
Some were screaming as they jumped into the sea.
Kim Jinsung briefly considered finishing them off, but he lowered his sword.
‘The monsters will take care of them.’
Sea monsters were rising from the depths, having spotted the humans.
They rushed towards the pirates who had jumped into the sea, their mouths open, revealing sharp teeth.
As screams filled the air, Kim Jinsung turned around.
“Yay!”
“@%$#&^@!!”
“Woohoo! $#$@!!”
The passengers on the civilian ship cheered as they watched.
Some collapsed to their knees, their legs giving way, while others pointed at the pirates being devoured by the sea monsters, shouting in an unknown language.
‘…Is that Spanish?’
As Kim Jinsung stood there, bewildered by the incomprehensible languages, a man nearby approached him and spoke.
“Where are you from? China?”
“…..”
“Hmm…”
The man pondered for a moment, then took out a magic stone from his pocket and offered it to Kim Jinsung, channeling mana into it.
The activated magic stone emitted a bright light, enveloping Kim Jinsung.
A notification appeared before Kim Jinsung’s eyes as he stood bathed in the light.
—
▶ You have acquired the ‘Translation’ trait.
▷ Translation: You can understand, speak, read, and write all languages of Earth.
—
“…Do you understand me now?”
The man asked again, and Kim Jinsung, now fully understanding, nodded and replied.
“Yes, I understand.”
As he spoke fluent Spanish, the man lowered the magic stone and exclaimed with a joyful expression.
“Thank you for saving our lives!”
“Thank you!”
“We’re grateful!”
Soon, all the surrounding passengers, with bright smiles, approached Kim Jinsung, expressing their gratitude.
* * *
Kim Jinsung’s assumption was correct.
The ship he had boarded was heading from Argentina to the Sselepoh New Continent.
“Everyone here is hoping to live in Sselepoh. Me included.”
Joel, the Argentinian who had cast the translation spell on him, explained kindly.
“These eight people here are my companions. They were all quite successful hunters in Argentina.”
The Argentinian hunters in hunter attire that Joel pointed to were looking at Kim Jinsung with friendly eyes.
“Especially this guy here, Rio, knows quite a few people in Sselepoh. He’s a hunter from the ‘Triunfo’ Clan, which is quite famous in Argentina, and there are many ‘Triunfo’ hunters currently active in Sselepoh.”
‘Triunfo… I think I’ve heard of them.’
It was a clan whose name occasionally appeared on the internet. Since even Kim Jinsung knew about them, they must have been quite successful in Argentina.
“So we’re all planning to rely on Rio’s connections until we settle down in the New Continent. Um… your name is ‘Jin’, right?”
As Kim Jinsung nodded, Joel asked in a suggestive tone.
“If you don’t know anyone in the New Continent, how about joining us until you settle down?”
“……”
When Kim Jinsung didn’t answer, Joel, assuming he was considering it, asked his companions.
“What do you guys think?”
“I’m in favor.”
“Me too.”
“There’s no reason to object, considering the skills we just saw.”
“Right! With that level of skill, he can definitely secure a spot in the clan! I’ll put in a good word for him as soon as we arrive!”
After hearing Rio’s confident answer, Joel looked at Kim Jinsung with an expectant expression.
Kim Jinsung, who had been watching them, replied.
“Let’s travel together for now and see how it goes.”
At his words, Joel and the others’ expressions brightened noticeably.
No hunter would dislike having a skilled individual join their group.
“Welcome, Jin! We look forward to working with you!”
“Me too!”
“Can we drop the formalities, Jin? I’m Maiko!”
As the hunters greeted him, Kim Jinsung responded with a smile and thought to himself,
‘It wouldn’t hurt to travel with them until I learn a bit more about the New Continent.’
Especially for Kim Jinsung, who knew almost nothing about the Sselepoh continent, traveling with someone like Rio, who had connections within the continent, would definitely be helpful.
‘And if it’s an Argentinian clan, they shouldn’t have any ties to the Daehan Clan.’
This was the most important reason.
As a Class 1 criminal in Korea, Kim Jinsung needed to be involved with a group that had absolutely no connection to Korea.
It was safe to assume that an Argentinian clan would have almost no connection to the Daehan Clan. They spoke different languages, were on different continents, and above all, their countries didn’t have any clan exchanges.
‘Of course, I’ll have to confirm this once I enter the New Continent.’
* * *
The ship Kim Jinsung was on arrived at the New Continent the next morning.
They arrived at ‘El Nacon’, the largest port on the eastern side of the Sselepoh continent.
As Kim Jinsung was preparing to disembark, a loud voice was heard.
“All entry applicants without a pass, please proceed to the Immigration Control facility ahead!!”
The man shouting wore armor with the word ‘POLICE’ written on it.
‘There are police in the New Continent too.’
Kim Jinsung, disembarking from the ship, headed towards the large building ahead with Joel and his group.
Upon entering the building, they were astonished by the sight.
“Wow… look at all the people.”
“There’s no room to stand!”
The vast interior of the building was packed with people.
“I heard that the Immigration Control facility has been crowded 24/7 ever since rumors spread about the New Continent being a land of opportunity…”
“But this is too much.”
Kim Jinsung, listening to their conversation, looked around and thought to himself,
‘These are all people of low social status.’
The contents of the text message Park Jinwoong had sent him the day before the finals came to mind.
You’re finally leaving for the New Continent. I should say goodbye in advance, just in case you never come back.
It is said that even those of low social status can achieve wealth and fame beyond anyone’s wildest dreams if they succeed in the New Continent. It’s also the continent where such people gather the most.
Based on what I’ve seen, Jinsung, you possess the talent to achieve great things in the New Continent.
Don’t be intimidated by the words ‘New Continent’. Just remember this: it’s just another place where people live.
Lastly, let me tell you one more thing….
‘…They definitely have a similar vibe to the contestants I met at Colosseum.’
Most of the Colosseum contestants were also ‘forced laborers’ who had committed crimes.
The atmosphere they exuded didn’t seem much different from the atmosphere emanating from the people gathered here.
“Attention everyone!”
A staff member shouted loudly from the front.
“Fill out your personal information on the cards we’re handing out! Do not write false information!”
Kim Jinsung received a card and a pen and began filling in the blanks.
As he finished writing, the staff member shouted again.
“Line up in a single file, starting from the front!”
A long line formed in front of the exit where a machine with a large monitor was placed.
As each person stood in front of the monitor with a camera,
Pass.
A mechanical voice announced.
Pass.
Pass.
Pass.
Maiko, watching this, asked Rio,
“What’s that?”
“It’s an immigration screening machine. It’s used to catch anyone who’s on the wanted list in the New Continent.”
“Everyone on the wanted list…?”
“People wanted in the ‘New Continent’.”
“Ah…”
Maiko seemed relieved for some reason.
The line moved faster than expected, and soon it was their turn.
Pass.
Pass.
Pass.
All the members of the group passed through safely and exited, and finally, it was Kim Jinsung’s turn.
As he was about to stand in front of the monitor,
“…Wait.”
The staff member standing in front of the machine stopped him.
Looking at the card Kim Jinsung had filled out, he asked,
“Are you Korean?”
“Yes.”
“Wait a moment, please.”
The staff member hurriedly went outside, then returned with two men in hunter attire.
Kim Jinsung’s eyebrow twitched.
‘Daehan Clan…!’
His gaze, which had been fixed on the Taegeuk mark on their chests, then shifted to the poster they were holding.
Kim Jinsung’s face was plastered on the poster, and below it were three lines of large text.
Name: Kim Jinsung
Class 1 Wanted Criminal
Bounty: 100 Billion
—
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