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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 320
"That guy Hoon... He's become a monster beyond comparison to last time."
From a distance, Jang Dae-Hwi muttered in disbelief as he observed.
Jeong-Hoon had taken down a Level 500 monster in an instant.
But the one in front of him now was on a completely different level.
Controlling cards was one thing, but space distortion and gravity control?
Seeing such things for the first time left Jang Dae-Hwi speechless.
Yet Jeong-Hoon dismantled those abilities without breaking a sweat and finished him off.
"Especially those translucent arms... What the hell are those?"
Each time Jeong-Hoon punched, the arms moved.
The four arms weren't moving awkwardly; instead, they coordinated seamlessly to deliver fierce attacks.
The opponent had to defend against a combined assault of Jeong-Hoon's punches, greatsword, dagger, and spear — a daunting task that exceeded his capabilities.
In an instant, the right arm wielding a scythe was severed.
As the scythe-wielding arm hit the ground, despair filled Byulang's face.
Next, the greatsword slashed across his waist, separating his upper and lower body in a fountain of blood.
As his body split apart, blood and entrails spilled out, a gruesome sight enough to make one nauseous even from a distance.
'But Hoon didn't seem fazed at all...'
As if he were used to it, Jeong-Hoon calmly placed his hand on the severed upper body and cast some kind of skill.
Not long after, he lifted his hand, marking the end of the battle.
"Hyung, are you alright?"
Jeong-Hoon had approached Jang Dae-Hwi before he knew it, and his question made Jang Dae-Hwi instinctively nod.
"Y-Yeah, of course."
"Um... Hyung, would you like to wait here?"
"Wait here?"
"Yes. It's already been 30 minutes. That means Earth has received three penalties."
"......"
Penalty.
What exactly was happening to Earth?
Was a meteor falling?
Or perhaps a massive volcanic eruption?
Nuclear bombs, which were once a human-made threat, had been wiped out when reality merged with this new system, so that could be ruled out.
No matter how hard he tried to think, nothing concrete came to mind.
"Think of it as if everything you're imagining is happening at once."
"W-What...?"
"The most terrifying one is the flash."
"The flash?"
Why would a flash be so terrifying?
"Everything exposed to the flash returns to nothingness. Existence itself is erased."
"That's insane... How is that even possible?"
"Hyung, the game became reality. What's there not to believe?"
That made sense.
"Anyway, from now on, I think it's better if I move alone."
Jang Dae-Hwi had joined the event for filming purposes.
But after the broadcast signal was cut off, and with the cameras going completely dead when crossing into the next zone, his role had effectively ended.
Right now, he was nothing more than a burden holding Jeong-hoon back.
How could he insist on moving together with him?
“…Alright. Then I’ll stay here in Zone G.”
“Sorry. I’ll finish up quickly and come back.”
With an apologetic expression, Jeong-hoon apologized and then used the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion to move to another zone.
* * *
Jeong-hoon rapidly completed the quests assigned by each zone.
If Zone F was for monster extermination and Zone G was for subjugating Byulang, the other zones presented nothing but tedious labor quests.
Stabilizing zones that were on the verge of going berserk.
Gathering fragments buried in the ground to create keys.
Because of that, by the time he had completed all the zone quests, 132 minutes had passed.
[You have completed all zone quests.]
[The event is ending!]
[Calculating rewards.]
“132 minutes……”
Thirteen penalties.
What had happened outside in the meantime?
‘Master, it shouldn’t be too severe…….’
‘Yeah. I’ve never heard or seen things collapse so suddenly like this.’
Although Mukho and Anima offered words of comfort, Jeong-hoon couldn’t hear anything.
Escanon, the symbol of the apocalypse, had moved.
A penalty delivered directly by him.
It wouldn’t be surprising if more than half of South Korea had been wiped out.
[An amazing achievement!]
[Final result: Ranked 1st.]
[The episode's completion rate has risen to 90%!]
[The collection will now auto-complete. Please choose the desired collection to complete it.]
The episode's completion rate had instantly reached 90%.
‘99% shouldn’t take long now…….’
He had planned to focus solely on growth for a few years, but now it seemed like he would have to completely revise that plan.
[You can now choose your reward.]
Alright.
From the top ranks onward, rewards were no longer fixed.
Instead, you could choose your desired reward directly.
“Dae-hwi hyung should be able to pick a reward too.”
While clearing the zones, Jeong-hoon had killed every incarnation he encountered.
That was because they had interfered with his quest progression.
So naturally, survivor Jang Dae-hwi would secure a high ranking.
[You initiated the event through the Dungeon Manager.]
[You have selected the bonus option ‘Reward Upgrade.’]
[Your chosen reward will be increased by 1.5 times.]
Before his regression, he had desperately wanted this.
Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon chose the Mark.
[You have selected the Mark of Fortune.]
There were five marks remaining to complete the creation of the Conqueror Titan.
The Mark of the Thief.
The Mark of the Mage.
The Mark of the Commander.
The Mark of Mana.
And the Mark of Fortune.
When New World became a reality, obtaining these marks became nearly impossible, pushing the task to the sidelines. However, with this event, the opportunity to gather the marks had returned.
The remaining marks were relatively easier to obtain, but that Mark of Fortune was known for its extreme difficulty.
‘It was said you’d need to use up all your lifetime luck just to have a chance at acquiring it.’
The one who had possessed the Mark of Fortune was his former comrade, the recorder Damien Loud.
He had acquired the mark purely by luck.
‘I remember him saying he got it by accident while hunting monsters.’
In fact, Damien Loud was the only known person to have ever obtained that mark.
In other words, it was a mark so rare that one might never acquire it even after a lifetime of hunting.
[Your reward has been set to 1.5 times.]
[You have obtained the Completed Mark of Fortune.]
It worked.
By claiming the mark with the 1.5x upgrade, the mark had been enhanced into a completed version.
[Completed Mark of Fortune]
- Type: Material
- Grade: Unique
- A fully intact Mark of Fortune.
After confirming the mark, Jeong-hoon turned around.
There was no time to celebrate.
He had to return immediately and check the state of Earth.
* * *
[The event has ended.]
[No penalties will be applied.]
This message was sent to all the living survivors.
With that message, the deafening explosions ceased.
“It’s over……”
Ha-jin, who had evacuated outside, sighed in relief as he read the message.
Unfortunately, a meteor had struck nearby, causing most of the surrounding buildings—including his home—to collapse entirely.
Fortunately, thanks to Baal’s warning before the meteor struck, he had managed to escape in time.
Had it not been for that warning, he would have undoubtedly been caught in the impact.
<Hoho, I didn’t expect the event to end this quickly.>
Baal's eyes curved like a crescent moon, as though he was genuinely amused.
“…Whose side are you even on?”
At Ha-jin’s incredulous remark, Baal's gaze shifted toward him.
Flinch.
Ha-jin’s shoulders trembled briefly.
He thought he had grown accustomed to it, but whenever he faced those eyes, a chilling fear still gripped his entire body.
<Why? Are you curious?>
“…No, not that curious.”
<If you’re curious, we can make a bet. The price will be your life.>
“N-no thanks?”
Hoon, please, hurry up and get back.
The event’s over now, so come back and do something about these crazy eyes already!
Just as Ha-jin was desperately pleading in his mind—
“Ha-jin!”
The voice he had been longing to hear rang out.
Ha-jin turned his head toward the sound.
“H-Hoon!”
Jeong-hoon, who had raced over using the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, appeared right in front of Ha-jin in an instant.
“You’re safe, right?!”
His face was full of concern as he scanned Ha-jin from head to toe.
“Yeah. Thankfully, I’m fine.”
“Whew… When I saw the whole area blown away, I thought you were caught in it too.”
“Oh, I almost was… but this guy warned me in advance.”
Ha-jin gestured to his side with his hand.
“Huh? Who’s ‘this guy’?”
“Who else? The demon you made a bet with… huh?”
The crimson eyes he had been conversing with just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
“Baal came looking for you?”
Jeong-hoon tilted his head in confusion.
“Yeah… He warned me when the event was changing and told me things were getting dangerous.”
“Really?”
Honestly, it was hard to believe.
Why would Baal—of all beings—go to Ha-jin instead of him?
Even if he had helped his friend, Jeong-hoon couldn’t bring himself to trust Baal.
How could he, after all the times that demon had sabotaged him just to win their bets?
“Anyway, that guy said his master was the one who changed the event.”
“I know. It’s Escanon’s doing.”
“Escanon?”
“It’s a long story. Are you the only one who finished the fifth wave?”
“I’m not sure…”
His mother wasn’t home.
Even though the event had ended, the communication network was still down, making it impossible to reach her.
From what Jeong-hoon remembered before his regression, the damaged network wouldn’t be restored anytime soon.
Smartphones, computers, satellite communication—every network would remain cut off, plunging the world into chaos.
The financial system would collapse, and news and broadcasts would be completely halted.
And that wasn’t all.
With cities paralyzed, society's systems would crumble, halting supply chains and causing panic-buying and looting to become rampant.
‘That’s what they’re aiming for.’
Life as it once was would no longer be possible.
An era where points mattered more than money had arrived.
“What are you going to do? Your house is damaged, so do you want to come to mine?”
Once his mother completed the fifth wave, she would automatically return home.
Whether it was luck or not, the area where Jeong-hoon lived remained intact.
“Oh, it’s okay. I’ll head home.”
Ha-jin intended to go straight back to his family’s house.
He was worried something might have happened to his family.
“Alright. If anything happens, come straight to my place.”
Jeong-hoon handed him a smartphone that he had purchased with points.
“A smartphone?”
“Yeah. This one doesn’t rely on regular communication networks. People registered with unique magic can contact each other directly.”
“There’s something like this?”
“Yeah.”
Before the regression, when civilization collapsed, smartphones like these became widely distributed.
While they couldn’t connect with unregistered users, they allowed family members and allies to stay in touch.
“Thanks.”
* * *
When Jeong-hoon returned home, his mother was already back as well.
However, her condition was far from good.
“Mother!”
Startled, Jeong-hoon quickly scanned her body.
Her face was pale, and her body was covered in numerous small cuts.
Most concerning was a deep stab wound on her side.
“Hoon… Sorry, but could you heal me…?”
Jeong-hoon hurriedly used Divine Healing on her.
Her wounds closed rapidly, and her complexion returned to normal.
“Are you alright?”
“Whew… Thank you. I couldn’t heal myself because I ran out of potions.”
“You ran out of potions?”
He was certain he had given her plenty of potions.
“The quest was just too hard. I had to keep using potions nonstop just to survive.”
His mother was the Sniper of Genesis.
Compared to ordinary gunners, her quests were bound to be much more challenging.
It was inevitable that she would have gone through a lot of potions to complete it.
Thinking about how much she must have endured made his chest tighten.
“…You went through a lot.”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I managed to finish it successfully.”
“That’s my mother for you.”
Her talent was far beyond imagination.
That’s why Jeong-hoon had believed she would successfully complete the fifth wave class advancement quest without a doubt.
“But… could you explain what’s going on right now?”
His mother pulled out her smartphone and showed it to him.
“Um… well…”
How should he explain this?
Jeong-hoon took a moment to organize his thoughts before starting to speak.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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