Chapter 196
Ho-Yeong.
Yeo Sunwoo and Yeo Min-ji were hunting the demon in the dungeon.
The video Jeong-hoon uploaded.
By referring to that video, they could easily defeat the demon.
"Hah!"
Yeo Min-ji unleashed a Wind Fist technique, shattering the demon Barras's heart.
"Kuaaah! You damn human!"
Barras screamed.
But when Destruction Fist and Fire Fist followed, he couldn't withstand it and perished.
[You have cleared the dungeon.]
[The penalty in the current area will be removed.]
As Jeong-hoon said, the penalty in the current area was removed.
[You are the first to defeat Lv.??? demon Barras!]
[30,000 achievement points will be awarded.]
[5,000 dungeon points will be awarded.]
[Additional rewards will be given!]
[Unique Random Item or Experience]
The choice between a Unique item and 500 million experience points.
Yeo Min-ji chose experience points, as Jeong-hoon had advised.
[500,000,000 experience points will be awarded.]
[Level up!]
[All stats increased by +1.]
[Bonus stat +1 awarded.]
A whopping four level-ups.
At a level where gaining a single level was difficult, she gained four at once.
[Your remarkable performance has caught the attention of a Transcendent.]
<The 'Water Dragon from the Deep' gazes at you with intrigue. He says you're still lacking, but you have talent, and he will help you blossom.>
A Transcendent spoke to Yeo Min-ji.
"..."
[Min-ji, are you okay?]
Shortly after the countdown reached zero, Jeong-hoon contacted her.
He said he would be conquering dungeons and broadcasting the process, asking her to watch and clear dungeons herself.
He also advised her to ignore anyone who offered a contract.
'Everything is going as Hoon said...'
At first, she was skeptical, but seeing the Water Dragon speak to her, she was convinced.
"Dad! Did anyone try to talk to you?"
"You too? I've already been approached by two."
Yeo Sunwoo had also been contacted by Transcendents.
He was the Legendary-grade Shadow King, possessing far greater talent than Yeo Min-ji.
From the Transcendents' perspective, he was an incredibly tempting fruit.
"Absolutely not."
Yeo Min-ji shook her head with a hardened expression.
"I know. We have to ignore them."
He had also received a message from Jeong-hoon.
[You need to close the dungeons that have opened simultaneously. If you close those dungeons, monsters won't respawn.]
He knew that dungeons were appearing simultaneously.
But they couldn't move recklessly without information about the dungeons.
[I've contacted Min-ji. I'll start the broadcast soon, so please watch it and close the dungeons.]
"Understood."
Upon hearing that, Yeo Sunwoo and Yeo Min-ji didn't move immediately but watched the broadcast first.
And they couldn't help but be amazed.
Even through the screen, they could see that the unusual monsters were being killed with very simple methods.
Furthermore, the video was uploaded to YouTube in less than an hour, and the views had already surpassed 20 million.
"How could Hoon respond like this?"
With the realization, everyone was in chaos, but only Jeong-hoon remained calm.
He even offered a solution in the process.
"...It seems we've gained a powerful ally."
* * *
The origin.
It shimmered in the middle of a desert.
[Where is this?]
'There's nothing but sand around.'
The temperature was scorching hot.
However, as New World became reality, the abilities he had developed were transferred, so Jeong-hoon didn't sweat a single drop.
He also cleared away his accumulated fatigue with holy power.
'It's so good to have built up in virtual reality.'
He definitely felt that because he had played in virtual reality, his body's adaptation was faster.
If he only had the memories, it would have taken him a considerable amount of time to adapt.
Jeong-hoon looked at the portal in front of him.
It was a gigantic portal, incomparable to any portal he had seen before.
Also, the magic power emanating from it made every hair on his body stand on end.
[Lv.??? ???]
A dungeon with an unknown level and name.
"Entering."
As Jeong-hoon accepted, the portal sucked him in.
For a moment, everything went dark, and when he reappeared, he was in front of a massive gate.
The gate was stained black and studded with sharp iron spikes.
A huge torch blazed in front of it, and a knight stood guard.
[Lv.400 Hell's Gatekeeper]
The gatekeeper.
A knight tasked with guarding the gate.
"Who are you?"
The knight's piercing blue eyes, visible through his helmet's visor, stared at Jeong-hoon.
"Me? I'm here to take down the owner of this castle."
Jeong-hoon said with a grin.
The gatekeeper drew his sword, his eyes filled with rage.
"Nonsense. A mere human dares to challenge our lord?"
His jet-black blade pointed towards Jeong-hoon.
Instead of a bluish aura, a black aura began to ripple.
[Master, be careful. That's not an opponent to be underestimated.]
'Level 400... He's quite strong.'
"It's okay. I can handle it."
Jeong-hoon also drew Leviathan and gripped it in his hand.
"You're a funny one. A mere level 293 dares to face me?"
The gatekeeper scoffed, and then his figure vanished.
Jeong-hoon swung Leviathan in a wide arc.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
The gatekeeper raised his sword to protect his neck.
His eyes, visible through the helmet's visor, trembled slightly.
"Too bad. I was hoping to end it in one strike."
"What the...?"
The gatekeeper couldn't help but be surprised.
A mere level 293.
But the sword strike just now was so fast that he could barely read it, and it even aimed for his neck.
If he hadn't stopped his footwork and raised his sword to block...
His head would be rolling on the ground right now.
'He's not an easy opponent.'
That's why he was able to reach the castle where his lord resided.
[Guard the gate with your life, no matter who comes.]
His lord's command was absolute.
So he wouldn't let him pass through the gate.
Even if it cost him his life.
Clang!
Jeong-hoon swung Leviathan once again.
This time, the sword strike aimed to cut through the gatekeeper's waist.
However, the gatekeeper swung his sword downward, parrying Jeong-hoon's attack.
A sharp metallic sound echoed once more.
[Blackfield activated.]
[All stats are increased by 1.5 times.]
[Due to the effect of Blackfield, all stats of monsters within the area are decreased by 10%.]
And Blackfield activated.
The ground turned black, and the gatekeeper entered Jeong-hoon's Blackfield.
He looked down at the ground with a bewildered expression and then swung his sword.
[Hell's Gatekeeper uses 'Blood Demon Mirror'.]
Blood Demon Mirror.
As he used his ability, the surrounding air turned red.
The air entering his lungs was incredibly stinging.
[Resisting poison.]
The stinging sensation meant that what was entering his body was poison.
A debuff applied when within the gatekeeper's area of effect.
[Hell's Gatekeeper uses 'Heavenly Dragon Sword Break'.]
He deployed his domain and immediately used a skill.
It was a skill called Heavenly Dragon Sword Break.
His jet-black blade slammed into the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook, and a massive dragon-shaped magical energy erupted, charging towards Jeong-hoon.
[Activating 1st Form: Initiation.]
Jeong-hoon activated Initiation, swiftly slashing left and right, splitting the dragon charging at him, allowing it to pass him by.
Crash!
"My Heavenly Dragon Sword Break...?"
The gatekeeper's eyes shook violently as the dragon was effortlessly split apart.
Jeong-hoon seized the opportunity and struck the gatekeeper's armor with Initiation.
Bang!
The gatekeeper stumbled momentarily from the impact, which was greater than he had imagined.
A sly smile crept onto Jeong-hoon's lips.
The mark had been imprinted, so it was time to move on to the next form.
[Activating 2nd Form: Devour.]
Jeong-hoon's Devour aimed for the gatekeeper's neck once again.
Bang!
[Hell's Gatekeeper uses 'Protective Aura'.]
An aura erupted from the gatekeeper's body, deflecting Jeong-hoon's Leviathan.
'He's quite skilled.'
It was Devour activated after the mark had been imprinted.
To think he could casually defend against Devour with his aura.
Whoosh-
As if waiting for the right moment, the gatekeeper counterattacked, his sword strike far sharper than before.
For a level 400, he was a very tricky opponent.
[Hell's Gatekeeper uses 'Meteor Chain'.]
Meteor Chain, similar to Jeong-hoon's Initiation.
That was the reason his sword strikes had become fiercer.
Clang! Clang!
But even with Meteor Chain, Jeong-hoon wouldn't be defeated.
"You damn rat."
The gatekeeper's face contorted as Jeong-hoon perfectly defended against his Meteor Chain.
Jeong-hoon parried his Meteor Chain and grinned.
"Let's finish this quickly."
He repeatedly unleashed Destruction Sword, and his Steadfast Will had also reached Legendary grade.
Could he learn that sword technique now?
The swordsmanship that Jeong-hoon had failed to learn before his return.
One of James Marcus's one-hit kill techniques.
'Thousand Swords Windfire'
The movements were even rougher than Destruction Sword.
He quickly unleashed Initiation, Devour, and Destruction, pressuring the gatekeeper.
"This won't be enough!"
The gatekeeper roared, parrying Jeong-hoon's sword strikes.
If he were an ordinary level 400 monster, he would have been killed long ago, but the gatekeeper's swordsmanship was beyond imagination.
And then it happened.
[Martial Artist exclusive skill, 'Steadfast Will' activated.]
[Skill, 'Ten Swords Windfire (Unique)' acquired.]
He had succeeded in acquiring it, even if not perfectly.
'Alright. I've obtained the skill I couldn't learn no matter what.'
At that moment.
[Celestial's unique ability activated.]
[Skills automatically grow based on the proficiency of each weapon.]
[Ten Swords Windfire (Unique) evolves into Hundred Swords Windfire (Unique).]
Ten Swords Windfire instantly evolved into Hundred Swords Windfire.
Jeong-hoon's eyes trembled slightly.
'Crazy... Hundred Swords Windfire.'
With this, he could quickly raise it to Thousand Swords Windfire.
Jeong-hoon activated Initiation and swung his sword.
Clang! Clang!
"I won't fall for the same trick twice!"
"Is that so?"
Jeong-hoon grinned and unleashed a new skill.
[Using Celestial Aura.]
The Celestial Aura he had been saving.
A starlight aura bloomed from Jeong-hoon's body, enveloping him warmly.
[Attack and defense increased by 20%.]
[Decreases Hell's Gatekeeper's attack and defense by 10%.]
With the addition of Celestial Aura, Jeong-hoon's momentum became even fiercer.
And then.
[Hundred Swords Windfire activated.]
The activation condition was to swing the sword a certain number of times.
And he had just met that condition through Destruction Sword.
Countless sword energies erupted from Leviathan, taking their positions in the air.
"What the...?!"
Hell's Gatekeeper was shocked by the sight.
"Here I go."
[Activating 3rd Form: Annihilation]
Jeong-hoon raised his sword and thrust it towards the gatekeeper's chest with Annihilation
The gatekeeper couldn't react to the increased speed.
The tip of Leviathan pierced through the gatekeeper's armor.
"Gah!"
The sword energies floating in the air swirled and engulfed the gatekeeper, and his body, touched by the sword energies, started to burn fiercely.
"Uaaah! Aaaah!"
He couldn't bear the pain and screamed.
But the sword energies continued to torment him, and soon the gatekeeper collapsed.
"It's over."
Jeong-hoon approached the fallen gatekeeper and pierced his neck with Leviathan, ending the battle.
[Acquiring the gate key.]
[You can now enter the gate.]
[Acquiring 25,000,000 experience points.]
[Level up.]
[All stats increased by +1.]
[Bonus stat +1 awarded.]
[You are the first on Earth to defeat 'Hell's Gatekeeper'. Acquiring 'Gatekeeper's Will'.]
Rewards were given.
The experience points awarded were 25 million.
With this, Jeong-hoon's level became 294.
[Wow... That was a really tough win.]
'If the gatekeeper is this strong, how tough will it be inside...'
As Mukho and Anima said, the battles ahead would not be easy.
"That's true."
Jeong-hoon checked the Gatekeeper's Will he had obtained as a reward.
He was curious about what kind of reward it was.
[Gatekeeper's Will]
- Type: Consumable
- Grade: Legendary
- The will of Hell's Gatekeeper, Carnos.
- Can only be used on items containing the power of a divine beast.
- Upon use, can partially restore lost power.
'Oh.'
Jeong-hoon let out a short exclamation.
He hadn't expected the gatekeeper to be a humanoid divine beast.
No wonder he was so powerful for a level 400.
'The items I have that contain the power of a divine beast are Fenrir and the headpiece.'
Jeong-hoon fiddled with the headpiece he was wearing.
With this will, he could partially restore the headpiece.
However, Fenrir had also lost its power and couldn't yet display its true strength.
He only had one will.
It meant he could only restore one of the two.
'Hmm...'
Jeong-hoon pondered for a moment before making a decision.