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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 334
Jeong-hoon mightily swung the Overlord Titan.
Slice.
The blade of the Titan cut through monsters as easily as slicing tofu.
Even though they were armed with high-grade armor, it was useless.
Jeong-hoon had surpassed level 2,700, and on top of that, the Overlord Titan was a divine-class weapon.
[Activating Form 1: Heavenly Demon’s Blade Style.]
Each time Jeong-hoon swung his sword, another corpse was added to the pile.
“Guh!”
“Kiheeeek!”
As screams rang out, the captives quickly escaped the area.
Meanwhile, the injured groaned in pain.
“Are you all right?”
Jeong-hoon approached them and used Divine Healing.
[Using ‘Divine Healing.’]
Once he used Divine Healing, their wounds rapidly began to heal.
Even torn-off arms and legs regenerated, making their eyes go wide in shock.
“Wha… what is this?”
“Thank you so much……”
They expressed their gratitude while checking Jeong-hoon’s level and class.
What kind of level did one have to be to not only massacre monsters over level 800 but also heal their bodies so perfectly?
And when they saw Jeong-hoon’s level had surpassed 2,700, they were stunned.
“2,722……?!”
“Wow……”
Silence.
Jeong-hoon motioned for them to be quiet and approached the monsters.
[Activating Absorption Technique.]
[Gained experience points.]
[All stats have increased.]
He now enhanced his stats using the Absorption Technique.
At the same time, a faint but distinct force deep within his energy center began absorbing a strange power.
‘Is this the power of a Named?’
It was so faint that without focusing, one wouldn’t even notice it being absorbed.
Even after hunting so many monsters, he had gathered only a grain-sized amount.
‘Not bad.’
Honestly, he thought he would gather even less.
At this rate, it seemed he could gather enough before the second Annihilation—
—assuming he didn’t rest and kept moving constantly.
Jeong-hoon looked around and then left the area.
As he vanished in an instant, the survivors stared blankly at the spot where he disappeared and murmured.
“This is insane… To think there’s a monster like that in our country.”
“I’ve never seen a level with four digits before……”
* * *
At that moment.
Everyone, including Lee Na-Yeon, was busily gathering Celestial Energy.
[You have acquired 3% Celestial Energy.]
An additional 3% Celestial Energy acquired.
Having already gathered 7% just from this place, it was now time to move to another region.
“But… will the Annihilation be okay…?”
Ha-Jin glanced nervously toward the portal outside, worry all over his face.
Even though the first Annihilation had begun, they were still focused on gathering Celestial Energy.
On top of that, penalties were steadily piling up, making him feel uneasy.
“That’s exactly why we have to gather more energy.”
Yeo Min-Ji spoke firmly.
“What do you mean?”
Ha-Jin couldn’t quite understand.
“Since the renewal, every dungeon’s level has shot past 600–700. Especially the abnormal dungeons that impose penalties—they can go beyond level 1,000.”
“If we just move with Hoon, we can clear them all just fine.”
“And that’s exactly why we can’t.”
“Huh?”
“As levels go higher, Hoon will end up doing all the clearing himself. And we’ll just end up as bystanders watching from the back.”
“Ah……”
“Get it? In the end, Hoon is the one carrying all the burden.”
“…I understand.”
Even if only a little, they had to lighten the burden he carried.
That’s why they had no choice but to focus on gathering energy right now.
‘So that’s what it means to look at the forest, not just the trees.’
Of course, this couldn’t be called the absolute right answer.
While they were gathering energy, the penalties were still accumulating fast.
By the time they finished gathering, things could have already spiraled out of control.
But perhaps they didn’t need to worry about that.
“Hoon says he’s going to close all the abnormal dungeons starting now…”
Lee Na-Yeon, who had just finished a call with Jeong-hoon on her smartphone, spoke to everyone with a bewildered expression.
“What?”
“He’s going to close all of them by himself…?”
Bong-Goo asked in disbelief.
“Yes. So he told us to stop worrying and just hurry up with collecting energy.”
“He’s not pushing himself too hard, is he…?”
“He’ll be fine. Hoon just said he’s raised his level by a huge amount.”
“Again? Even from there?”
“Yes.”
“Wow……”
The last time they saw Jeong-hoon, his level was 795.
If it had gone up significantly from there, that meant he had reached level 900–1,000.
The higher your level, the harder it is to climb—but he just kept rising like it was nothing.
How could anyone not respect him after that?
Then right now, instead of worrying about Hyung-nim, they needed to focus on filling the Celestial Energy to 100% as quickly as possible.
“Min-Ji noona, where do we go next?!”
Bong-Goo shouted with determination.
His face was filled with resolve to move quickly and help his Hyung-nim.
“Alright. Let’s move fast.”
Yeo Min-Ji smiled faintly and led them to the next destination.
* * *
Slick.
“Graaagh!”
As the Overlord Titan was swung, the right arm of the Apostle-class Transcendent, Ganesa—boasting a level of 1,050—was severed.
Though powerful for an Apostle-class, she couldn’t deal even the slightest blow to Jeong-Hoon.
That was because Jeong-Hoon was now stronger than even a Sovereign-class.
“We’re short on time, so let’s finish this quickly.”
Jeong-Hoon had just gone for the neck, but one of her abilities allowed her to split her life into multiple fragments.
He had cut her neck, but losing her arm meant she sacrificed a body part in exchange for one of her lives.
“Shut up…! A mere mortal dares to kill me?!”
“Mortal? Do I look like a mortal to you?”
Jeong-Hoon’s face twisted grimly as a murderous aura burst forth.
Ganesa’s face went pale as she took that killing intent head-on.
“H-How can a human have this kind of power…?”
“Go wait there. I’ll send the rest of your lot after you.”
Slice.
Slice.
Every time Jeong-Hoon swung his sword, Ganesa’s arms and legs were cut off.
Only after all seven pairs of arms and three pairs of legs were severed did her head fall to the ground.
“Killing a Transcendent really does yield a lot of stored power.”
Even after slaughtering a massive number of monsters, the power stored was barely a single grain of sand. But from Ganesa, he gained the equivalent of six grains.
‘Let’s focus only on the abnormal dungeons.’
Even putting aside the second Annihilation, penalties were still being triggered by the abnormal dungeons.
So targeting abnormal dungeons, hunting Transcendents, and steadily storing power was the most reliable method.
[Activating the Absorption Method.]
[You have gained experience points.]
[All stats have increased.]
The Absorption Method had reached Lv.10 before he knew it.
As a result, the absorption speed had become absurdly fast—he could absorb all experience and stats in about 10 seconds.
‘That brings me to 2,751.’
After absorbing the Sovereign-class Transcendent Dis Pater, he reached 2,722.
Then he reached 2,724 through slaughtering monsters.
And by absorbing the Apostle-class Transcendent Ganesa, he gained 27 more levels, reaching 2,751.
<Every time I see it, it truly is an astonishing power.>
Baal couldn’t hide his amazement.
‘Master, at this rate, won’t you hit 3,000 even before the Second Annihilation happens?’
‘If you raise your level a bit more here, it feels like you could actually stand against the Architect.’
Yeah.
This isn’t just about breaking Tenebris’s seal.
It’s part of the process to stand on equal footing with the Architect, Escanon.
“Alright, let’s head to the next one.”
Jeong-Hoon quickly moved on to the next abnormal dungeon.
Normally, portals aren’t visible on the surface, making them hard to locate—but that didn’t apply to Jeong-Hoon.
‘Is it because of the Spirit Lord? I can see exactly where the abnormal dungeons are hidden.’
Exactly.
To Jeong-Hoon’s eyes, the portals of hidden abnormal dungeons were clearly visible.
So all he had to do was send out his mana to draw out the concealed portal and enter it.
Just like before, an Apostle-class Transcendent was lurking in this abnormal dungeon.
An Apostle-class Transcendent boasting a level of 900.
A beastkin named Arandal.
<That one… he’s an Apostle affiliated with the 92nd Demon Realm.>
The 92nd Demon Realm.
While the 96 Demon Realms ruled by Baal are filled entirely with demons, the 92nd consists of various races.
It’s for cases like Jeong-Hoon—mortals who lived as humans and were then chosen to become Transcendents.
“Oh? A human? How did you find where I was hiding?”
His massive body, nearly 5 meters tall, was truly intimidating.
But to Jeong-Hoon, it didn’t even register.
‘Too weak.’
Stepping with the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, Jeong-Hoon instantly appeared before Arandal.
At the same time, he swung the Overlord Titan and activated a skill.
[Form 1: Activating Heavenly Demon’s Entry Style.]
Heavenly Demon’s Entry Style.
“Graaagh!”
Under the overwhelming force of the slash, Arandal was torn apart without even a chance to resist.
[Activating the Absorption Method.]
[You have gained experience points.]
[All stats have increased.]
Jeong-Hoon calmly activated the Absorption Method and absorbed Arandal.
Now it was time to move on to the next dungeon.
But then, a strange portal wavered before Jeong-Hoon.
“What’s this?”
Jeong-Hoon furrowed his brow.
It wasn’t just that a portal had appeared in a cleared dungeon—what was truly unusual was the amount of mana leaking from it.
<…Looks like Escanon is searching.>
Baal spoke with a grim expression.
“Escanon? There should still be some time before I get close to him.”
He needed to stop both the Second and Third Annihilations, and reach 100% progress while proceeding through the final episode to gain access to the Architect.
<It’s probably because you’re growing at a breakneck pace.>
“So he’s getting impatient.”
<Yeah. It’s best to ignore it and walk away. There’s still time, so it’s better to keep building your strength.>
“You’re right.”
There’s no need to play along with his tempo.
I’ll build more power and, once I’m able to wield it fully through Tenebris, I’ll take you down.
Jeong-Hoon turned his body.
And just like that, the portal that had been wavering moments ago disappeared rapidly.
<…Damn it.>
Baal let out a curse.
With Arandal dead, the master of the abnormal dungeon was gone, and Escanon began to intervene and take control.
“So it’s come to this in the end.”
Jeong-Hoon let out a sigh.
He really wanted to delay the encounter with Escanon, somehow.
<You can’t go. It’s a gamble right now.>
Now is the time to accumulate strength.
Going to Escanon now would be a gamble.
“Then do I have any other options?”
Jeong-Hoon stared at the portal.
The exit was gone, and only the portal leading to Escanon remained.
<That…>
“There aren’t any, are there?”
<…>
There was only one choice left.
‘I wanted to wait until things were more certain before going to him.’
Jeong-Hoon hesitated briefly, then stepped into the portal.
At that moment, the power of Tenebris within his lower abdomen began to stir.
‘Huh?’
Jeong-Hoon, confused, brought his hand to his lower abdomen.
‘It’s focusing in my legs?’
Regardless of his own will, the energy flowed from his core into his thighs, calves, and down to his feet.
Then, a startling transformation occurred.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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