Chapter 195
"Keuhk!"
The monster, which was transforming, let out a scream and vomited blood.
"After breaking the jewels, aim for its heart while it's evolving. Then you can finish it quickly."
He could have waited for the pattern to start and then shown them, but this wasn't a game.
If he made a mistake, he could lose his life, so he revealed the pattern that could be skipped quickly.
- Wow...
- Is it over?
- It ended way too easily, right?
The viewers were also dumbfounded.
[You have cleared the dungeon.]
[The penalty for the current area has been removed.]
Done.
The penalty for the current area was removed.
[You have defeated the Lv. ??? Demon Baruda for the first time!]
[30,000 achievement points are awarded.]
[5,000 dungeon points are awarded.]
30,000 achievement points and 5,000 dungeon points.
He was familiar with achievement points, but dungeon points might be a bit unfamiliar.
However, these dungeon points would play a very important role in the future.
Unlike achievement points, these dungeon points could even be used to take care of food, clothing, and shelter.
[Additional rewards are given!]
[Unique Random Item or Experience Points]
The reward for clearing the dungeon was a choice between a Unique grade item or experience points.
'Unique items are good, but experience points are more beneficial here.'
Jeong-Hoon chose experience points.
This was because the experience points given were beyond imagination.
Right now, leveling up through experience points was more important than Unique grade items.
[500,000,000 experience points are awarded.]
When he chose experience points, he was given 500 million experience points.
[Level Up!]
[All stats increased by +1.]
[Bonus stat +1 awarded.]
And with that, his level became 293.
- The experience points are crazy
- He defeated it so easily, and they give 500 million...?
- This is insane... Should I go close dungeons too?
The viewers' admiration didn't cease.
"Please make sure to close the dungeons. Closing the dungeons will prevent monsters from respawning on the streets. That's all for the broadcast."
With those words, Jeong-Hoon ended the broadcast.
[The Transcendent Beings are interested in your amazing performance.]
Then, a different message from before appeared.
The interest of the Transcendent Beings.
They weren't the main culprits who brought New World into reality.
They could be seen as the ones right below the main culprit.
The Heavens that Jeong-Hoon had ascended to.
They were composed of those who had reached the path of the Heavens early on.
'They started actively intervening after the reality merge.'
As if manipulating chess pieces.
<The 'Irredeemable Annihilator' gazes at you with intrigue. He offers to help you grow stronger and proposes a contract.>
<The 'Fallen Apostle of Light' observes with a puzzled expression. He seems incredibly curious about you. He offers to grant you power in exchange for a contract.>
Two Transcendents have shown interest in us.
From Earth's perspective, it's still the very early stages.
The fact that they've already revealed themselves means the demon Baruda must have been effortlessly defeated.
Originally, Baruda would awaken from his slumber, and the surrounding jewels would resonate, granting him several times his current defense.
Furthermore, demonic monsters, confident in their invincibility, would pressure people to prevent them from accessing the jewels, significantly increasing the difficulty of clearing the dungeon.
'You're next.'
Jeong-hoon didn't view the Transcendents favorably either.
They would form contracts with humans they found interesting, reaping various benefits.
And if they deemed someone to have lost their value, they would impose penalties and mercilessly take their lives.
Those who contracted with them would gain immense power, but it also meant the Transcendents could control every aspect of the contractor's life.
"Hun... someone's watching us? They even said they'd give us power if we make a contract with them."
Ha-jin approached Jeong-hoon with a grave expression.
It seemed they had approached not only him but also Ha-jin, Bong-Goo, and his mother.
Transcendents could have an unlimited number of contractors, so they were trying to contract them all at once.
"Ah, don't ever make a contract with them."
"You're saying not to make a contract?"
"Yes."
Jeong-hoon's words startled the Transcendents.
<The 'Irredeemable Annihilator' says he can't understand you. He asks why you refuse.>
They continued to chatter, but Jeong-hoon simply ignored them.
He then knelt on one knee and placed his hand on the ground.
[You can permanently destroy the dungeon. Would you like to destroy it?]
A message appeared before Jeong-hoon's eyes.
"Destroy it."
[The dungeon will be destroyed.]
With the destruction, the dungeon began to crumble.
<The 'Irredeemable Annihilator' is shocked.>
<The 'Fallen Apostle of Light' is speechless. He wonders how a human could have stepped into the realm of the divine.>
Dungeon destruction.
With this, the dungeon was completely erased.
"Let's get out of here."
<The 'Irredeemable Annihilator' tells you to stop immediately.>
<The 'Fallen Apostle of Light's' face reddens.>
From Jeong-hoon's perspective, they weren't entities granting power but merely enemies.
They didn't welcome the idea of the game ending.
Therefore, if a contractor moved towards ending the game, they would hinder them by imposing conditions and creating obstacles.
"Get lost."
Jeong-hoon gave them the middle finger and left through the portal.
<The 'Irredeemable Annihilator' spews curses.>
<The 'Fallen Apostle of Light' vows to not let you go unpunished, no matter what it takes.>
* * *
"What the hell is this guy...?"
Jang Dae-hwi stared blankly at his smartphone.
The broadcast ended way too quickly.
The guy who said he'd conquer the dungeon had succeeded in hunting the boss monster in an instant.
[Hey, can you edit this as fast as possible?]
Jeong-hoon called right after the dungeon ended.
"Yeah, alright. But what the hell is that demon's level?"
The demon Baruda's level was ???.
The fact that the level wasn't displayed meant it was an incredibly powerful foe, so how could he have been defeated so easily?
[Well, I don't know either.]
"Ah, right."
He thought Jeong-hoon might know the level since he knew the patterns, but it seemed he didn't.
[Anyway, please upload it as soon as possible.]
"Okay, trust me."
The call ended there.
Jang Dae-hwi looked out the window.
The number of monsters remained the same as before, but the difference was that casualties were starting to occur.
"Ugh..."
"I'm going to die like this! Please come quickly!"
"What the hell! What kind of bullshit is it that you can't come because of the monsters?!"
The ground had long been devastated by monsters.
No matter how many people enjoyed New World, those who didn't were powerless.
Most people trembled in fear at home, believing the world was ending, but there were also many who ignored the warnings and roamed around, causing unimaginable damage.
"Human! Food."
The monsters also attacked the evacuees without hesitation, biting into them to satisfy their hunger.
"Damn it..."
Jang Dae-hwi hurriedly started editing the video.
* * *
The editing was finished sooner than expected.
He usually paid attention to the quality of the video to increase views, but there was no time for that now, so it was a quickly compressed video.
But that was enough.
As soon as the video was uploaded, the views surpassed 1 million, then 2 million, 3 million.
It started to skyrocket like crazy.
"Hun, there are too many dungeons!"
Jeong-hoon was going around closing dungeons.
The change that occurred when the dungeon was destroyed.
It was that the monsters that used to respawn around it no longer did.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
"But we have to do it."
There was no other choice.
Jeong-hoon closed dungeons without rest, and he had already destroyed 20 of them.
Unfortunately, he didn't receive any additional experience rewards.
The rewards for clearing were a one-time thing.
And the effects of the video started to gradually appear.
"If you break the jewel, the demon will appear immediately. Then, after casting the Frozen Curse of Ullr and piercing its heart, it's done."
"We can do it!"
"Let's close the dungeon and save Earth!"
Experienced New World players gathered, formed parties, and entered the dungeons.
'Good.'
Jeong-hoon's lips curled up slightly at the sight of them forming parties to conquer the dungeon.
The first demon dungeon to open after his return.
Originally, it was a dungeon that wouldn't be closed because no one knew the patterns, but now that he had revealed them, many dungeons would be cleared.
[20 dungeons have been destroyed!]
[You have achieved a record-breaking feat!]
[10,000 additional points will be awarded.]
[The cumulative number of dungeon clears within the time limit has reached 40.]
[Among the 40 clears, the party with the highest number of clears will receive a benefit. They will gain the right to proceed to the dungeon's origin.]
He thought the dungeons opened simultaneously.
But there was an origin to these dungeons.
Jeong-hoon had destroyed 20, and other parties had cleared 20, revealing the origin.
[A portal that allows you to move directly to the origin will open.]
Heading to the origin was simple.
A portal appeared in front of Jeong-hoon.
By passing through this portal, he could reach the dungeon that was the origin.
"The origin...?"
"It's not dangerous, is it?"
Ha-jin and his mother looked at the portal with worried faces.
"I'll go alone."
[Master, no! It smells dangerous!]
'It would be better to lead as many people as possible.'
Mukho and Anima sensed something ominous from the magic power emanating from the portal.
But Jeong-hoon had no intention of leading people in.
He knew the dungeon patterns because he had heard about them before his return.
However, nothing was known about the origin.
It was because no one had cleared enough dungeons within the time limit before.
'If I'm alone, I can handle whatever happens.'
He didn't know what dangers lay ahead, so it was right for Jeong-hoon to go alone.
"That's not happening. How can you go alone?"
Of course, his mother objected.
With the realization, the game became distant from reality.
He had rescued over 500 people while clearing dungeons.
Those rescued were the weak who hadn't played New World.
Some of them had already been eaten by monsters, leaving only parts of their bodies behind.
Since it had become reality, not a game, it was natural for his mother not to let her son go alone.
But Jeong-hoon couldn't compromise on this either.
"It's okay. It's better for me to go alone."
"Why...?"
"The difficulty is too high."
"That's even more reason to go together."
If the difficulty was high, it was best to send in as many people as possible.
That was common sense.
Jeong-hoon shook his head.
"You need to be at least Legendary grade. And I'm telling you this now... I've surpassed Legendary grade."
"... Surpassed?"
"Yes."
Jeong-hoon explained about the Celestial grade.
The Celestial grade, about which nothing had been revealed until now.
Hearing this, his mother, Ha-jin, and Bong-Goo's faces were filled with shock.
"Th-that's possible?"
"Wow..."
Jeong-hoon nodded.
"So I'll go alone."
"...But take this with you."
Seeing her son's stubbornness, his mother finally surrendered.
Instead, with a worried face, she handed him an artifact.
It was a pager that could be purchased from the achievement shop.
It meant she would join him anytime if a dangerous situation arose.
"Don't worry too much. There won't be any danger."
Jeong-hoon took the artifact and walked into the portal.
[Moving to the origin.]
Then, Jeong-hoon's body was sucked into the portal.