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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 341
"Looks like everyone started moving after seeing the announcement."
Jeong-hoon looked down from the rooftop of a building with a satisfied smile.
Below, countless people were clearing dungeons and leveling up repeatedly.
"Nice! I just gained 21 levels in a flash!"
"At this rate, 200’s just around the corner!"
Those with low levels quickly shot past 200, even reaching 300.
That was only natural, since the level cap had been removed and EXP from all dungeons had been maximized.
And that wasn’t all.
"Huh? It says class changes happen automatically?"
"No way..."
"That hacker just saved us!"
"Whoaaa!"
He had even rewritten the code so class advancement would complete automatically, without quests.
That way, the time they used to waste on class changes could now be spent on leveling.
<Hmm, but I find that decision quite disappointing.>
Tenebris, standing beside Jeong-hoon and looking down, didn’t hide his discomfort.
"Why’s that?"
<Strengthening humans is pointless.>
"No, I actually think the opposite."
<The opposite?>
"They need to be strong to stop the penalties from kicking in."
Thanks to the modified code, no additional penalties would be applied for now.
But if a Named were to intervene, the code Jeong-hoon altered would definitely be restored to its original state.
If that happened, annihilation would return—and they needed people who could resist it.
If Escanon’s interference had hindered the players’ growth, then this code modification would break through that restriction.
<Well, fair enough. So what’s the next step?>
"Now we’ve got the third annihilation left."
<The third annihilation, huh… But there was nothing about that in the code.>
That was true.
While modifying the code, Jeong-hoon had also tried to prepare for the third annihilation.
But no matter how much he searched, there was no code related to the third annihilation.
"Yeah. The first and second both had code tied to them, but this one doesn’t."
<Could it be that it doesn’t exist?>
"That’s not it. The reward for the second annihilation was put on hold."
The reward from the second annihilation.
He had postponed distributing that reward and planned to combine it with the reward for the third annihilation.
So the third annihilation would definitely come.
<Then that’s strange. If it’s one of the annihilations the Architect set up, there should be code for it.>
"Hmm…"
<If my guess is right, the third annihilation will likely involve the Named.>
The code Jeong-hoon had modified was one Escanon could interfere with.
He had left untouched any code that only the Named could access.
So there were only two possibilities to consider.
One possibility is that Escanon hasn’t yet constructed the code for the third annihilation.
The other is that the code for the third annihilation is hidden so deep, it can’t be tampered with.
If it’s the latter, then the third annihilation will be triggered by a Named.
“That would be the worst-case scenario.”
Jeong-hoon frowned.
<No, it might actually be better that way.>
“Why do you say that?”
<Because it means the code’s already been created.>
The first possibility is unlikely, since while it was possible to modify the code using the Creator Device, it wasn’t possible to construct new code.
Which means Escanon can’t create new code either.
If that’s the case, then the system was set up so that once the episode reached 99% completion and the second annihilation was prevented, the code for the third annihilation would activate.
“Hm, but it’s still possible to modify it, right?”
<If that were the case, they would’ve tried to sabotage it. Why would they just stand by and watch?>
“…Baal, what do you think?”
Jeong-hoon turned to Baal, who had been quietly listening beside him.
<I think the same as Lord Tenebris. Those above tend to be more generous than expected. That’s likely why they’re giving Escanon endless chances.>
“So that’s how it is.”
From the second annihilation onward, everything was uncharted territory.
He couldn’t rely on future knowledge anymore, so it was wiser to make decisions based on a variety of opinions rather than acting alone.
What Tenebris and Baal said certainly made sense.
‘Still, I should prepare for the unexpected.’
After all, he had done something as absurd as modifying the code. It wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen in response.
Bzzzt—
At that moment, his smartphone vibrated.
When Jeong-hoon checked the caller ID, the corners of his mouth lifted.
‘Looks like she reached the Celestial Realm.’
That guess was right on the mark.
[Hun! I did it!]
Hearing his mother’s cheerful voice, Jeong-hoon burst into laughter.
“Congratulations! What about the others?”
[They all succeeded!]
After he modified the code, starting with his mother, everyone reached the Celestial Realm.
“That’s great. Did you happen to obtain the Ultimate Energy as well?”
His mother’s fifth advancement class was Sniper of Creation.
And by ascending to the Celestial Realm, she broke through the limit and became a Celestial.
Now she was qualified to receive the Ultimate Energy.
[Huh? How did you know?]
“I’ve already obtained the Ultimate Power myself.”
[Is that so? When I ascended to the Realm, they gave me 10%. I figured there had to be more after that.]
“10%?”
It was satisfying to know the system was correctly set up to allow full acquisition of the Ultimate Energy.
[Yeah. Once I gathered 10%, the quest ‘Path of the Ultimate (1)’ automatically skipped. I got the reward, too.]
The “Path of the Ultimate” quest becomes available upon reaching 8% of the Ultimate Energy.
At that time, Jeong-hoon had accessed the Heavenly Demon Cult through the Path of the Ultimate quest.
There, he had enhanced his skills by adding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
After Jeong-hoon modified the code, his mother was able to skip the Path of the Ultimate quest and immediately obtain the reward corresponding to it.
‘Good. Then before the third annihilation begins, I just need to raise everyone to the Ultimate Realm.’
He would also quickly raise their levels to over 1,000.
“Mother, please come home with everyone.”
[Home?]
“Yes.”
[Alright.]
* * *
“You son of a bitch! I’ll kill you with my own hands!”
Escanon shouted profanity as he shot up from his seat.
<Hey! Escanon, what the hell is going on?>
Even Abaddon, who had been watching Earth with interest, couldn’t hide his shock.
“Someone tampered with the code.”
<You mean the code you designed? Is that even possible?>
“How… I set it so no one but me could modify that code.”
<Could it have been done by the one under protection of the Named?>
“……”
A thick murderous aura rose from Escanon’s body.
<Calm down. Don’t tell me you’re having some crazy thoughts?>
“I can understand offering protection. But ruining my design—I absolutely cannot tolerate that.”
<So you’re going to fall for a human’s trickery?>
“Then are you saying I should just sit back and watch even in this situation?”
Before the third annihilation began.
Escanon had been sitting quietly, waiting for the human.
Then he sensed an anomaly in the code and hurried to check it.
As a result, he discovered that all the code he had designed was in complete disarray and immediately began trying to restore it.
However, the code had already been blocked off and could no longer be modified.
<Hmm, this might actually be the Named’s intention.>
“What?”
<Granting the authority to modify the code means they want to place that human on the same level as us—one way or another.>
“……”
<If you make a move now, you’ll just be doing exactly what they want.>
“So what are you trying to say?”
<I’ll help you.>
“You’ll help me? And what do you gain from that?”
<Didn’t I say this before? I don’t want you stepping down.>
“……”
Escanon narrowed his eyes.
That guy never acts unless there’s something in it for him.
There’s no way someone like him would help out of pure intentions.
He must want something.
<You're quick on the uptake. I like that.>
Abaddon laughed heartily.
“What is it you want?”
<The Seven Deadly Sins. Hand over all the sins you currently possess.>
“Hah.”
Escanon let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
<Why not? That guy’s under protection strong enough to even modify the code. It’d be hard for you to handle him alone, right?>
“Let’s assume the Named is protecting him. Do you think if I’m defeated, you’ll be safe?”
<Do you take me for someone like you?>
Abaddon’s cold voice echoed around.
Even among the Gods, there were ranks.
If Escanon was a lower-tier God, Abaddon was of the mid-to-upper tier.
Since he belonged to the mid-upper ranks, his position wouldn’t be taken, but that didn’t mean he’d be free from repercussions.
If Abaddon’s words were true, the Named intended to replace him.
That meant helping Escanon would be going against the Named’s will.
‘That must mean he desires the Seven Deadly Sins that badly.’
Right now, most of the sins had passed into the human’s hands because of Baal’s betrayal and alliance with the human.
That made it even more impossible to give up the remaining sins.
‘Might be better to hand them over to Abaddon instead.’
If all the sins were gathered in one place, things could get very troublesome.
“Alright, let’s hear the details.”
<Heh, now we’re speaking the same language.>
* * *
Upon ascending to the Celestial Realm, 10% Ultimate Energy acquired.
And with the automatic completion of Path of the Ultimate (1), an additional 5% energy obtained.
The remaining energy could be gathered through dungeons.
After gathering everyone, Jeong-hoon headed straight to the dungeon.
“Kiieeek!”
Jeong-hoon’s Overlord Titan slashed the boss monster’s neck cleanly.
The boss monster, weakened to about Lv.100, died without being able to put up much resistance.
“As you can see, the dungeon’s difficulty has dropped significantly.”
“It’s true… How the hell did you even hack this?”
A notice had gone out to them as well.
So, the explanation about the difficulty reduction could be skipped.
“More importantly, how much did the energy increase?”
“0.1%.”
Jeong-hoon nodded.
He had modified the code so that energy could be collected from all dungeons.
Even though it was set to Max, the energy gain was quite poor.
Only 0.1% was gained per dungeon clear.
‘Maybe that’s actually a good thing.’
On the other hand, a large amount of experience points were coming in, and levels were increasing by 1 or 2 with each dungeon clear.
At this rate, by the time 100% of the Ultimate Energy is gathered, everyone will easily surpass Level 1,000.
“Then I’ll give you your task. Keep clearing dungeons without rest.”
“You mean we need to gather 100% of the Ultimate Energy, right?”
“Yes. The deadline is before the Third Destruction begins.”
The Third Destruction.
There’s no information about it yet.
That’s why they need to grow stronger and prepare as much as possible.
“Understood.”
Yeo Min-Ji nodded and exited through the portal.
It was to start gathering energy as quickly as possible.
“Then, I’ll see you later.”
Yeo Sunwoo followed her and exited as well.
“Alright, you two head out as well.”
Jeong-hoon looked at Hajin and Bong-Goo as he spoke.
“Got it.”
“We’re heading out!”
Bong-Goo responded energetically, full of discipline, and left with Hajin through the exit.
Now only his mother remained.
But her expression was unusual.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Son… this notice… was it you?”
“Yes.”
“My god… How on earth?”
“I’ll explain everything later. You have to reach the Celestial Realm before the code is restored.”
That was why Jeong-hoon was in such a hurry.
Once the code is restored, ascending to the Celestial Realm would become practically impossible.
“Hmm… alright. Let’s talk about everything else after I return.”
Lee Na-Yeon finished thinking and nodded.
She had a lot to say, but she respected her son and chose to wait.
“Yes. Thank you for understanding.”
He wanted to move as a group, but it was necessary to scatter so as to divert Escanon’s attention.
Now that even his mother had gone out to gather energy, Jeong-hoon, left alone, quickly moved on to the next phase of his plan.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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