Chapter 147: Chapter 147

Lv.250 Clone S.

But don’t underestimate him.

‘At that time, I was obsessed with growth.’

In other words, once he bit into something, he would never let go.

[Wow, look at that fierce gaze…]

‘The current master has become much gentler.’

Of course.

Unlike now, when he was correcting himself, back then he was frenzied with revenge.

[Blackfield activated.]

[All stats are boosted by 1.2 times.]

[All stats of monsters that invade the territory under the influence of the Blackfield decrease by 3%.]

Jeong-hoon unfolded the Blackfield.

All stats increased by 1.2 times.

And the Clone S’s stats decreased by 3%.

[All stats increase by 15%.]

[Damage is reduced by 20%.]

[Time limit is ‘1 hour’.]

He also used the Stat Amplification Ring he had been saving.

And he used the Guardian of Märchen as well.

[Wearer’s attack power increases by 4%.]

[Specify skill.]

The skill is Poison Attack.

It increases the activation rate of Poison Attack, which rarely activates, by 4%.

[The activation rate of ‘Poison Attack’ is additionally increased by 4% for 1 hour.]

The activation probability of both hit and being hit became 4%.

‘I’ll finish this quickly.’

Having finished all his preparations, Jeong-hoon stepped forward with his movement technique and approached Clone S.

“…!”

“Come on, give it your best shot.”

Jeong-hoon grinned.

Then Clone S pulled his right foot back slightly, raised his left arm to guard, and extended his right fist.

It was a rough but sharp fist that had been honed in real combat.

Jeong-hoon twisted his body and narrowly dodged the fist.

Then he unleashed the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

Even though he counterattacked without a slight delay, Clone S pulled his left elbow towards his chest and blocked the punch.

Thud!

With a dull sound, Clone S scrunched up his face.

Although he had successfully guarded, he felt considerable damage.

[No way, he blocked it? Just die quietly.]

‘He’s enduring it well. He should just die quietly and become nutrients. Tsk tsk.’

It won’t be easy.

The malice in his eyes was no joke.

‘Was I like that?’

Jeong-hoon chuckled and unfolded the Underworld King’s Fist Technique again.

He stepped forward briefly and punched towards the empty side.

Thud!

However, this time as well, Clone S attached his right arm to his side and guarded.

Then he thrust his left arm towards Jeong-hoon’s face.

Jeong-hoon twisted his head, dodging the fist once more, and quickly grabbed his wrist with his right hand.

A look of surprise crossed Clone S’s face.

“It would be no fun if we just kept blocking and dodging.”

Jeong-hoon grinned and punched him in the face.

Thud!

As if in considerable pain, Clone S’s face twisted, and blood splattered from his nose and mouth.

Nevertheless, Clone S turned his head back to its original position and thrust his right hand towards Jeong-hoon’s face.

Jeong-hoon twisted his head again and narrowly dodged the fist.

Thud!

And Jeong-hoon’s fist once again landed on the opponent’s face.

At first, I thought I would let him hit me and heal him to tease him, but I didn’t want to get hit when I could avoid it.

“This bastard…”

Clone S opened his mouth for the first time.

Since punches weren’t working, he tried to move to use his legs.

However, his legs wouldn’t move properly.

Clone S’s eyes looked down.

Jeong-hoon’s right foot was firmly stepping on his right foot.

Thud!

“Cough!”

A punch landed squarely on his nose, breaking it.

Clone S’s face was instantly covered in blood.

“I told you not to give me an opening.”

“…Damn it, you’re right.”

Although I teased him a bit, instead of losing his composure, Clone S grinned.

In an instant, Clone S regained his composure and a sword was now gripped in his left hand.

Before his regression, when he was level 250, his main skill was swordsmanship, not fisticuffs.

[Clone S uses a movement technique.]

[Clone S uses a continuous slash.]

Before he mastered the Extermination Sword.

To Jeong-hoon, the swordsmanship seemed too crude.

‘Terrible. Was I that weak?’

The shortcomings of the past that became visible only after reaching a higher level.

Jeong-hoon unfolded his movement technique and gripped Leviathan.

Clang! Clang!

And with Leviathan, he easily blocked Clone S’s continuous slashes.

Although the level was high and the attack power was considerable, the problem was that the sword path was too simple.

With that, if he encountered a monster even slightly higher in level, he would be immediately killed.

[First Form: Initiation is activated.]

Jeong-hoon activated a higher-level stance and swung Leviathan.

With the irregular sword path, Clone S’s face was filled with bewilderment.

He tried to block with his sword, but Jeong-hoon’s swordsmanship continued to exploit his weaknesses.

Wounds began to appear one by one on Clone S’s body, and his condition rapidly deteriorated.

And with the added poison damage from Poison Attack, Clone S was about to collapse.

“Cough! Ugh!”

Then he screamed and unleashed a new ability.

[Clone S uses ‘All Stats Up’.]

All stats up.

‘I’ve never used that ability before?’

The Sword King.

Is he planning to drive him into a corner somehow?

But it’s a pointless endeavor.

Jeong-hoon’s lips curled up in a sneer.

[Lv.300 Clone S]

The opponent’s level increased by 50, reaching 300.

[Clone S poorly imitates the 1st Form: Initiation Stance.]

Suddenly, the opponent’s sword path changed 180 degrees.

[Crazy, he’s trying to copy what he saw just once?]

‘…So the master is truly the master.’

Mukho and Anima clicked their tongues.

Jeong-hoon, on the other hand, remained calm.

‘If it were me, I would have done at least that much.’

How else did I manage to level up to all-master?

I learned everything by watching others.

Copying something after seeing it once is a piece of cake.

However, it’s difficult to fully internalize it and make it your own.

[2nd Form: Engulfment activated.]

Jeong-hoon’s sword changed.

A sword strike that deals 200% damage in succession to a marked target.

Clone S, who was marked, couldn’t keep up with the sudden change in Jeong-hoon’s sword path.

Slash

Jeong-hoon slashed Clone S’s waist.

200% damage.

[Leviathan’s Wraith activated]

[Ignores defense for 10 seconds.]

And Leviathan’s Wraith activated as well.

“I’ll finish you off.”

The final extermination technique.

[3rd Form: Extermination activated.]

Jeong-hoon unleashed the Extermination technique, his body disappearing and instantly piercing through Clone S’s neck.

“Cough, cough!”

With the previous accumulated damage, ignoring defense, and the 350% damage of the Extermination technique with the mark… It was damage that even a hardened warrior couldn’t withstand.

Clone S collapsed on the spot and vanished.

“Huh… You… What…”

The Sword King, who had appeared out of nowhere, was filled with astonishment.

He had said he would walk the path of the Martial Emperor, but he never dreamed that Jeong-hoon would have mastered the sword.

‘He’s an extraordinary fellow.’

The Sword King was able to glimpse a bit of Jeong-hoon’s life through him.

And he also saw how fiercely Jeong-hoon had lived.

When he first saw Jeong-hoon, he somewhat understood why he had such mature eyes for his age.

“Have I passed?”

“…Yes. With this, I have no more reason to stop you.”

Nak Jin-Cheon smiled.

[Class Advancement Completed.]

[Advancing to Martial Emperor (3rd Class).]

[Achievement Unlocked! ‘Limit Released’ completed. 10,000 achievement points awarded.]

[Rune equipment limit increased to a maximum of ‘6’.]

[Relic content unlocked.]

[Legendary: You have achieved the 3rd class advancement. You have acquired the ‘minimum qualifications’ to approach the Heavenly Energy.]

And he finally underwent the long-awaited 3rd class advancement.

[Steadfast Will has been upgraded to Legendary.]

[The rank of skills acquired through Steadfast Will has been adjusted.]

Also, upon completing the 3rd class advancement, Steadfast Will was upgraded to Legendary, and all skills acquired through Steadfast Will were upgraded to Unique.

* * *

Jeong-hoon exited the cave through the portal.

The first thing he saw was Kwon Hyun-je waiting in front of the cave.

“You’re already done?” Kwon Hyun-je asked with wide eyes.

“Yes.”

“Huh… This test must have been different from the last one.”

“It wasn’t that difficult.”

When Jeong-hoon shrugged nonchalantly, Kwon Hyun-je let out a dry laugh, looking dumbfounded.

“You’re really something.”

“Then I’ll be going back.”

Now that he had completed the 3rd class advancement, it was time to move on to his next plan.

Then Kwon Hyun-je changed his expression and grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait. Let’s confirm one thing.”

“What is it?”

“You… didn’t happen to use any other weapons or anything like that, did you?”

Doubt lingered in Kwon Hyun-je’s eyes as he asked that.

“Yes, I did.” Jeong-hoon replied casually.

“What…?”

Kwon Hyun-je seemed so shocked that he staggered and sat down on a chair.

“Are you that surprised?”

“Of course I am. I thought I had found a child who would carry on the spirit of the martial artist.”

“By the way, I never once said i would only use fistfighting.”

Despite seeing him in such shock, Jeong-hoon couldn’t just leave it at that.

“I believe that true martial arts is about protecting, not fighting.”

“…Protecting?”

“Yes. To protect, I’ll do anything. That’s the spirit of my martial arts.”

Protecting?

Kwon Hyun-je still couldn’t understand him, but as he looked into Jeong-hoon’s determined eyes, his heart softened slightly.

“…You’re a funny guy. Well, let’s see how well you protect.”

“Yes. Please take care of yourself.”

“Take care? …Are you trying to pour salt on a dead man?”

“No, it’s not like that. I won’t be coming back here.”

Kwon Hyun-je only introduced the 1st and 3rd trials.

There were only two.

From the 4th trial onward, there were different ordeals waiting.

“Then promise me one thing before you go.”

“A promise?”

“Yes. Promise me that you will never let the Myongwang Kwonbeop disappear.”

Kwon Hyun-je’s eyes had turned serious.

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Jeong-hoon replied with a promise to try instead of a definite answer.

“Try… Ugh, just get out of here.”

Kwon Hyun-je seemed to be in a bad mood and turned his attention to a book.

Jeong-hoon chuckled and left the cave.

* * *

The next place he was going was the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

It was the place to carry out Jeong-hoon’s next plan.

Whoosh

But before that, he logged out and stepped out of the capsule.

When he opened the window and looked outside, it was very peaceful.

It was a peace possible only because the New World hadn’t invaded reality yet.

When he went to the living room, his mother was resting on the sofa.

Seeing his mother’s healthy lower body, his eyes welled up.

“Huh? Hoon, why are you about to cry?”

His mother was startled, and Jeong-hoon shook his head with a smile.

“It’s nothing. By the way, have you been to the Tower?”

“Yes. I went there to do some quests, and this person who introduced themselves as the Tower Master came.”

As expected.

The Tower Master must have recognized his mother’s talent.

“So?”

“They asked if I would like to be their disciple… I told them I’d think about it.”

“You should definitely do it!”

“Huh?”

At this point in time, the Tower Master of the Tower should not have appeared yet.

The Tower Master would appear a year from now.

If he became a disciple of the Tower Master, it would be a golden opportunity to gain levels, class advancements, various skills, and titles.

‘It would be much faster to level up than by hunting monsters.’

The quests offered by the Tower Master were all packed with experience.

“You have to believe me!”

“Hmm… Alright, I guess I’ll give it a try.”

“Yes!”

At Jeong-hoon’s strong recommendation, his mother soon nodded in agreement.

——–