Chapter 202
Before departing, Jeong-Hoon took out the two reward boxes he had received.
- Unique~Legendary Grade Rune Box (Random)
- Unique~Legendary Grade Item Box (Random)
These were the rewards for defeating Rakandra.
'It says Unique to Legendary, but in reality, it's basically a Unique box.'
That's how probability-based items usually work.
The probability of getting a lower grade is over 95%, and the probability of getting a higher grade is less than 5%.
Even if you open several at once, with good luck, you might barely get one higher grade item.
But since there's only one box, it's better to expect a Unique item rather than hoping for a Legendary.
Of course, Jeong-Hoon had no intention of opening it normally.
[Absolute Potion of Luck]
- Type: Consumable
- Grade: Unique
- Greatly increases the probability of a one-time draw.
This was the Absolute Potion of Luck he had used in the past.
It was an expensive potion worth 30,000 achievement points each.
Jeong-Hoon quickly consumed the potion.
[Would you like to open the Unique~Legendary Grade Rune Box (Random)?]
'Open.'
[You have acquired the Rune of Counterattack (Legendary).]
The corners of Jeong-Hoon's mouth turned upwards.
He never expected to get a Legendary grade item from the very first box.
Moreover, it was a rune, not just any other item.
Runes are designed to be unobtainable above Unique grade through any other means.
This is because acquiring a Legendary grade rune is harder than finding a needle in a haystack.
Even with the Absolute Potion of Luck, they rarely appeared, so he didn't have high expectations. He was surprised to see it actually happen.
'Rune of Counterattack, huh...'
[Rune of Counterattack]
- Type: Rune
- Grade: Legendary
- Attack Power increased by 5%
- Additional Damage increased by 5%
- Counterattack
As expected of a Legendary grade item, it possessed stats that were incomparable to Unique runes.
And Counterattack...
[Counterattack]
- The power to retaliate against everything.
- When the rune is used, it absorbs all attack power for 5 seconds and then returns 45% of the damage.
At first glance, it seemed like an ability similar to reflection.
"Not bad."
The reason it could only return 45% of the damage was because it hadn't been enhanced yet.
He wanted to enhance it immediately, but to do so, he needed an item called '[Legendary] Rune Enhancement Scroll'.
This scroll couldn't be purchased from the achievement shop and was a rare drop from random boxes, making enhancement difficult.
[Would you like to open the Unique~Legendary Grade Item Box (Random)?]
Jeong-Hoon drank another Absolute Potion of Luck and opened the box.
[Supreme Reward Acquired!]
Instead of an item, a message appeared before his eyes.
"Huh?"
Jeong-Hoon's eyes widened.
Sometimes, when the highest reward emerges from a box, this kind of message appears before the item is revealed.
Then, when you touch the confirmation icon below the message, the item appears.
With trembling hands, Jeong-Hoon touched the confirmation icon.
[You have acquired a Fully Enhanced Enhancement Scroll (Legendary).]
A Fully Enhanced Enhancement Scroll.
Using this scroll would instantly enhance any Legendary grade item, be it equipment or a rune, to its maximum level.
"This is insane..."
Even Jeong-Hoon was seeing this item for the first time.
'Legendary enhancement.'
He had many Legendary equipment pieces, but none of them were fully enhanced.
That's how difficult it was, and he couldn't believe it appeared here.
[Oh! Does that mean I can get stronger?!]
'Don't be ridiculous! Use it on me!'
Mukho and Anima saw the scroll and started appealing to him.
"Sorry, but I won't be using it on you guys."
As he poured cold water on their hopes, Mukho and Anima slumped.
[What... Why not me?]
'I acknowledge your archery skills, Master, but good equipment allows those skills to shine even brighter.'
Jeong-Hoon chuckled.
"I know, but you guys can be enhanced with Legendary Enhancement Stones."
Although he wasn't enhancing them yet due to his lack of Enhancement Skill proficiency, Jeong-Hoon planned to fully enhance Mukho and Anima eventually.
The same went for his other equipment.
However, runes were different.
The only way to enhance runes was with scrolls, and who knew when he would gather enough Legendary scrolls?
Jeong-Hoon had already decided how to use the scroll the moment he saw it.
[Don't tell me... on the rune you just got...?]
'Ah...'
He couldn't help but express his disappointment.
[Would you like to use the Fully Enhanced Enhancement Scroll (Legendary) on the Rune of Counterattack (Legendary)?]
[Once selected, this cannot be reversed. Please choose carefully.]
A Legendary Fully Enhanced Enhancement Scroll.
Without hesitation, Jeong-Hoon used the scroll.
Flash-
The scroll flashed brightly and then permeated into the rune.
[Achievement Unlocked! You have completed 'First Successful Legendary Rune Enhancement'. 50,000 achievement points will be awarded.]
[Achievement Unlocked! You have completed 'First Legendary Rune Fully Enhanced'. 100,000 achievement points will be awarded.]
There it was.
[Rune of Counterattack (+20)]
- Type: Rune
- Grade: Legendary
- Attack Power increased by 25%
- Additional Damage increased by 25%
- Counterattack (+20)
With this, the 45% counterattack damage jumped to a whopping 110%.
'Shall we go?'
Extremely satisfied with the result, Jeong-Hoon's steps became lighter.
* * *
Abnormal Dungeon.
Finding the dungeon's portal was no easy task.
Unlike normal dungeons, Abnormal Dungeons didn't have a visible portal.
To reach an Abnormal Dungeon, one had to pinpoint the hidden location of the portal.
"So we have to clear the Abnormal Dungeon to avoid the penalty?"
"I guess so... The problem is, where is it?"
It was frustrating wanting to take on the challenge but not knowing the location.
'Is it here?'
Meanwhile, Jeong-Hoon stood in front of a seemingly ordinary commercial building.
The first floor was currently vacant, and Jeong-Hoon had forced his way through the closed doors.
An empty space with nothing inside.
However, the Abnormal Dungeon was hidden right here.
'They said the portal reacts to the flow of mana, right?'
Finding the portal wasn't difficult.
All he had to do was release his internal mana near the portal's location.
As Jeong-Hoon extended his hand and let his mana flow, a small portal appeared on the empty floor.
The portal gradually grew in size until it was large enough to enter.
'There it is.'
Jeong-Hoon stepped into the generated portal.
[Enter Lv.??? Demon Baal's Cradle?]
[Difficulty: 'Hard'.]
The difficulty had been lowered from Hell mode to Hard mode.
This should be manageable enough to clear.
'Enter.'
His vision momentarily went dark before brightening again.
[Baal's Cradle]
Baal's Cradle.
Nearly a hundred people were already present in the Cradle.
Users gathered not only from Korea but from all over the world.
Among them, he saw some familiar faces.
'Sa Jae-Hyeok... He's here as expected.'
Sword King Sa Jae-Hyeok.
And even Lee Hwa-Rang was beside him.
Finding the dungeon portal so quickly must mean he had also made a contract with a Transcendent.
Clench-
His fist clenched unconsciously.
<You have arrived.>
Just then, Baal's voice echoed.
Thanks to that, the anger directed at Sa Jae-Hyeok shifted towards Baal.
"...Yes."
<Huhu, then shall we begin right away?>
Baal's voice was slightly excited.
The long-awaited wager was about to begin.
"Hey."
At that moment, Lee Hwa-Rang approached Jeong-Hoon.
He maintained a poker face, but in Jeong-Hoon's eyes, he looked like he was barely suppressing the urge to tear him apart.
"It hasn't even been a year, and you already broke your promise?"
Jeong-Hoon smirked.
At that smile, Lee Hwa-Rang's face became contorted.
"Shut up! Do you even know why I dropped in the rankings because of you?!"
"I guess you don't know the meaning of 'you reap what you sow'?"
If Lee Hwa-Rang hadn't provoked him in the first place, Jeong-Hoon wouldn't have bothered with him.
He needed to focus on his growth and prioritize finishing the game.
He believed that perfectly completing the game was the true revenge.
However, he responded mercilessly to those who crossed the line.
And that wouldn't change even if New World became reality.
"Don't bullshit me. If you had just handed over the Red Dragon Bone Bow, none of this would have happened!"
"What's wrong with saying I didn't have something I didn't have?"
"This bastard!"
Lee Hwa-Rang tried to pull out the bow from his inventory.
But Jeong-Hoon's demeanor changed.
"You'll die if you pull that out."
"...!"
Lee Hwa-Rang flinched.
'W-What...?'
He hurriedly checked Jeong-Hoon's information.
"Crazy! Level 315?!"
The last time he saw him, Jeong-Hoon was level 203.
Yet, in less than a year, Jeong-Hoon's level had soared by 112 levels to 315.
Only 32 levels away from his own level of 347.
In other words, if he attacked now, he would face certain death.
"Want to try it? Or will you back off quietly?"
Jeong-Hoon gestured with his chin.
"Damn it... I will kill you for sure."
Gnashing his teeth, Lee Hwa-Rang retreated.
<'Demon Baal' appears.>
Just then, a rift opened in the air, revealing a crimson eye.
The appearance of the giant red eye instantly overwhelmed everyone in the dungeon.
The Avatars' legs gave way, and they collapsed, their words becoming stutters as they struggled to speak.
'It's natural for a Monarch to make an appearance.'
Moreover, that eye wasn't even Baal's true form.
If his true form appeared, just looking at it would cause them to faint, and in severe cases, even lead to death from a heart attack.
<Tsk, how boring.>
Baal clicked his tongue.
Then, a holographic window appeared before Jeong-Hoon's eyes.
[1. Devil's Temptation]
- Hunt 100 demons that have spawned outside the Cradle.
- Time Limit: 120 minutes
- Failure results in death.
The first task was to hunt demons.
Four portals shimmered in the four cardinal directions within the Cradle. The objective was to defeat 100 demons existing on the other side of these portals within 120 minutes.
'It's structured to prevent free-riding.'
If the condition was to defeat all the demons, then someone could simply annihilate them all, allowing everyone to pass the task effortlessly.
However, Baal didn't allow that.
He gave each individual a task, designed to make it difficult to fulfill the conditions.
[Devil's Deal activated.]
[The difficulty of the task has increased.]
Of course, it didn't end with 100 demons for Jeong-Hoon.
[1. Devil's Temptation]
- Hunt 200 demons that have spawned outside the Cradle.
- Time Limit: 120 minutes
- Failure results in death.
'This is still fortunate.'
Hard mode was two steps down from Hell mode.
If it were Hell mode, he would have been tasked with hunting 500 demons.
200 demons in 2 hours was a manageable number.
<Now then, let's see you entertain me.>
The crimson eye curved like a crescent moon.
"You'll regret this."
Jeong-Hoon unfolded Heavenly Steps and exited through the eastern portal.
[Barren Land]
Outside the Cradle was a barren land.
A giant red moon hung in the sky, and the air was thick and heavy.
Black smoke rising from the cracked earth obstructed his vision, but spotting the demons wasn't difficult.
Countless red eyes glowed amidst the smoke.
[Lv.320 Greater Demon]
A Lv.320 Greater Demon.
In Hell mode, it would have been filled with the highest-ranking demons and named demons.
It had been downgraded to Greater Demons because of the Hard difficulty.
'Let's begin.'
Jeong-Hoon unfolded Heavenly Steps and began slaughtering the Greater Demons.
The energy of the Underworld King condensed around his fists.