Chapter 19: Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

Jeong-hoon stood in front of the scarecrow dummy, waiting for his turn.

The event wasn’t very kind to the participants.

When it was your turn, the text on the wall would change, a 30-second timer icon would appear, and the countdown would begin.

The user would then unleash everything they had prepared to strike the scarecrow dummy.

‘An assassin appeared.’

The assassin was a rare-grade job change among the thief classes.

Normally, after completing the 1st job change, one would qualify as a Low-grade Assassin.

It was a basic job that involved hiding one’s presence and hunting monsters.

And the assassin was a higher-grade job change from that.

If you achieved excellent results in the job change quest, you could receive a special privilege from the instructor to become an assassin.

‘An assassin from the 1st job change… He’ll be scouted 100%.’

The reason rare grades attracted so much attention was because of their difficulty to obtain.

Of course, it became easier to upgrade your job grade through job change quests as you progressed to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th job changes, but obtaining a rare grade from the 1st job change?

This meant a high probability of upgrading to epic or unique grade in the 3rd and 4th job changes.

In other words, it was like proving your potential.

That’s why Genesis made jobs public.

‘It seems like my turn is coming soon.’

17,732 people in Korea alone.

It wasn’t a small number, but since each person was only given 30 seconds, there was no need to wait long.

‘Oh, a sharpshooter appeared too.’

A sharpshooter, not a low-grade rifleman.

Finally, a promising player appeared in the gunner class.

Perhaps because it was the first event in three years, two users with rare-grade job changes had already participated.

It was too early to be surprised.

‘Saber.’

Then a Saber appeared.

An epic-grade job change from the 1st job change.

Jeong-hoon immediately recognized who he was.

‘Is it Nine-Chang?’

The person who changed to Saber in the 1st job change quest and later became a Sword Master, a legendary grade, in the 4th job change.

He was someone that the Sword King, Jae-Hyuk Sa, cherished, so Jeong-hoon remembered him.

“I didn’t know Nine-Chang would participate in this event.”

If he didn’t remember it, it must not have been a very famous event.

[Destroy the scarecrow dummy!]

At that moment, the text on the wall of the training ground where Jeong-hoon was changed.

It was his turn.

The barrier surrounding the scarecrow dummy disappeared.

‘Shall we begin?’

Now was the time for the martial artist’s true worth to shine.

No other weapons or skills were needed.

‘I’ll finish it with Underworld King’s Fist Technique.’

The legendary Underworld King’s Fist Technique unfolded in Jeong-hoon’s hands.

Pow! Pow!

Jeong-hoon’s fists pounded relentlessly.

However, the scarecrow dummy’s HP was only decreasing by 0.01% each time.

This was due to the damage reduction effect caused by the significant level difference.

At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to reduce even 1% in 30 seconds.

Nevertheless, Jeong-hoon continued to strike the dummy with Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

[You have repeatedly hit the same area. Critical hit triggered. The scarecrow dummy’s HP decreases by 5%!]

This was a basic passive that most martial artists didn’t know about because it wasn’t explicitly stated.

New World had 1-2 hidden passives for each job.

Therefore, users had to discover them themselves, and nothing had been discovered for martial artists yet.

In the first place, it was highly unlikely that there would be a martial artist who could repeatedly strike with perfect precision, so it hadn’t been discovered yet.

The critical hit was triggered when the level difference with the opponent was 100 or less and the same area was hit 10 times in a row.

It would unconditionally reduce the opponent’s HP by 5%.

[Poison Attack triggered.]

Poison Attack also triggered, adding poison damage to the scarecrow dummy.

The cheat of this skill was that it wasn’t affected by the damage reduction effect due to the level difference.

Jeong-hoon’s fists continued to strike the center of the scarecrow dummy’s chest.

Once a critical hit was triggered, it would trigger again after only three more hits.

[You have repeatedly hit the same area. Critical hit triggered. The scarecrow dummy’s HP decreases by 5%!]

[Poison Attack triggered.]

The scarecrow dummy’s HP started to decrease rapidly.

Pow! Pow!

[You have repeatedly hit the same area. Critical hit triggered. The scarecrow dummy’s HP decreases by 5%!]

[Poison Attack triggered.]

Crack!

Finally, Jeong-hoon’s fist pierced through the scarecrow dummy’s chest.

[Lv.100 Scarecrow Dummy]

[HP 0%]

The scarecrow dummy’s HP had reached 0%.

And the remaining time was…

[1.84 seconds]

There was still 1.84 seconds left on the clock.

[Congratulations!]

[You are the first to defeat the scarecrow dummy!]

[Would you like to reveal your nickname and level to be displayed on the ranking?]

Jeong-hoon touched the X without hesitation.

‘It will only hinder my plans.’n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He didn’t mind being in the spotlight when it was unavoidable, but he had no intention of begging for it.

On the contrary, being known to many would restrict his movements.

There was no need to create an opportunity for future plans to go awry.

[Nickname and level will not be revealed.]

[You have achieved 1st place on the Korean server.]

[Please enter the address where you would like to receive the capsule.]

[Your address will be deleted as soon as the capsule is delivered and will not be disclosed to the public.]

From the moment he defeated the scarecrow dummy, first place was already Jeong-hoon’s.

* * *

At the same time.

Yeo Min-Ji was sitting around in the Hall of Martial Arts.

It had already been several weeks of this nonsense.

“…Wow, she’s still here today.”

“Who is she waiting for?”

The martial artists who visited the hall glanced at Yeo Min-Ji in the corner while receiving training from the instructors.

“Isn’t she the owner of the video uploaded on World Com?”

“The video owner?”

“You know, the one who defeated the instructor.”

“Ah.”

The martial artists’ gazes turned to Instructor Altio.

He was harshly training three users.

“Ugh… This is so hard.”

“I got the rare skill, but what is this?”

“Crazy… Stop pushing us so hard!”

They were beginner martial artists visiting the Hall of Martial Arts for the first time.

“Ha, how absurd. You’re collapsing from just this much?”

Altio scoffed.

Perhaps because he had recently taught a martial artist who exceeded his imagination, his standards had risen.

As a result, the martial artists gave up on the quest before even reaching the halfway point.

“Screw it, I’d rather not get the rare skill.”

“F*ck off. I’m not doing it!”

They cursed at Altio and turned to other instructors.

Like most martial artists, they followed the same path.

“Tsk, they’re so pathetic.”

Yeo Min-Ji, who was watching the martial artists’ training from the corner, clicked her tongue.

She still couldn’t accept the fact that martial artists were inferior to other classes.

The martial artist was the only class that could maximize its potential depending on how it was trained.

The reason why such a charming martial artist class received poor evaluations was because of those unmotivated users.

‘If we want to be at least as good as other classes, we have to push our bodies even harder.’

The strength of the martial artist lay in their ‘Steadfast Will’.

This Steadfast Will allowed them to obtain normal-grade skills if they exceeded certain conditions, and these skills could be strengthened later on.

However, due to the extremely difficult process of obtaining skills, most martial artists couldn’t properly utilize this Steadfast Will.

‘If only they could follow even half as much as that martial artist… then the martial artist class wouldn’t be treated so poorly…’

That user was invited to a 1:1 duel with Instructor Altio.

And Yeo Min-Ji was the first user to receive a 1:1 invitation from Instructor Altio.

Of course, she had been soundly defeated by Altio at that time.

Her stamina was already depleted, but even if it had been fully recovered, she would have lost to Altio.

That’s how clear the difference in skill was.

But that user had confidently won against Altio.

[Whisper / In-Tae -> Minzi: Ma’am! I think I found the martial artist!]

At that moment, a whisper arrived.

Yeo Min-Ji’s lips curled up as she checked the whisper.

[Whisper / Minzi -> In-Tae: As expected, they participated in the event, right?]

[Whisper / In-Tae -> Minzi: Yes! I’m not sure, but an un-job-changed martial artist took first place in this event.]

Yeo Min-Ji was convinced that the martial artist was the protagonist of the video.

[Whisper / Minzi -> In-Tae: Oh, really? So what’s their nickname and level?]

[Whisper / In-Tae -> Minzi: That’s… it’s private.]

[Whisper / Minzi -> In-Tae: I see… Alright. Then I’ll have to stay here a little longer.]

[Whisper / In-Tae -> Minzi: Ma’am…]

[Whisper / Minzi -> In-Tae: Don’t try to stop me. Bye.]

After sending the whisper, she closed the window.

The notifications kept ringing, but she didn’t care.

‘He’s a smart person.’

It was an event for users under level 50.

If a martial artist took first place, it meant they had leveled up to 50 without changing jobs.

Because to get a rare-grade 1st job change as a martial artist, it would be safer to do it at level 50.

If it was the fist technique she had seen, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to take first place.

‘Then that means he’ll be here soon, right?’

* * *

[Crazy, someone destroyed the scarecrow dummy.]

-They destroyed it 100% and took first place. I participated in the event this time and shaved off 9%, but damn.

└Stop lying lol

└Where are you lying lol

└There’s a user who defeated a Lv.100 scarecrow dummy in 30 seconds in an event for users under level 50?

└What are they talking about lol

└Anyway, 100% is impossible. Even if it’s a scarecrow dummy, the damage reduction is severe if the level difference is more than 50… Shaving off 20% in 30 seconds is already amazing.

This was the testimony of a beginner user posted on World Com.

However, no one believed it.

But the situation took a turn when Genesis announced the rankings along with the amount of HP reduction of the scarecrow dummy.

[I told you!]

-They destroyed the scarecrow dummy 100%…

└It’s real, crazy

└A martial artist? lol;;

└And even an un-job-changed martial artist lol

└Insane… Who is it?

└This is just a guess, but there was a martial artist who defeated the instructor at the Hall of Martial Arts before. Could it be that person?

Not only was defeating the scarecrow dummy surprising, but even more surprising was that it was achieved by an un-job-changed martial artist.

Martial artists were shunned worldwide.

Because of their poor performance compared to the effort required.

There was no reason to choose a martial artist, who required grinding, over other classes that could achieve high efficiency with little effort.

But a martial artist, who was considered weak, appeared and not only took first place but also destroyed the scarecrow dummy.

[It’s going crazy overseas too lol]

-If you look at the website, there’s only one Korean user who shaved off more than 40% of the scarecrow dummy’s HP, but they completely destroyed it 100% lol

└The whole world is confused lol

└The Genesis website is flooded with complaints from users lol

└An un-job-changed martial artist took first place, not even a rare-grade job change, let alone an epic one lol

└Seriously lol Anyone would think it’s strange.

└But how did they really do it…?

The Genesis event was heating up the world.

But Genesis dismissed it with just one sentence.

[The event was conducted fairly, and we will not disclose any further details.]

“How did you really do it…?”

Ha-jin’s voice trembled as he shoved World Com in Jeong-hoon’s face.

He had rushed over as soon as he heard that Jeong-hoon had won first place.

“What?”

Jeong-hoon tilted his head in confusion.

“You’re level 24, right? How did you destroy the scarecrow dummy!”

“Sit down, you’re being loud.”

Ha-jin, who was quick-witted, quietly sat down.

“…So, how did you do it?”

“With the passive.”

“Passive?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong-hoon explained the basic passive that martial artists had.

Ha-jin’s expression turned blank after hearing it.

“So… if you keep hitting the same spot repeatedly, a critical hit will occur?”

“That’s right.”

“And you have to hit it without any deviation?”

“You understood correctly.”

“No, f*ck! How is that even possible?”

A person isn’t a machine, how can they hit the same spot repeatedly without any deviation?

He must be talking nonsense.

But the result was right there in front of him.

Jeong-hoon, a martial artist, had defeated the scarecrow dummy.

“What’s the point of telling you?”

“Who would be able to hear that and take it calmly?”

“Anyway, go home soon. The capsule is coming soon.”

“Capsule?”

“Yeah, it’s coming in an hour.”

“…I’m so jealous.”

Ha-jin was genuinely envious of Jeong-hoon.

He didn’t have a capsule at home and had to use capsule rooms.

Capsules were too expensive.

But his friend, who had entered New World late, won an event and got a personal capsule.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t jealous, but it was earned through Jeong-hoon’s own skill rather than luck, so he had to admit it.

‘I’ll be able to focus more on leveling up instead of commuting.’

Jeong-hoon grinned, thinking about the capsule that would arrive.

And next was the job change quest.

He hadn’t achieved a rare or higher grade job change in his previous life, but this time would be different.

Jeong-hoon frowned at how loud Ha-jin’s voice was.

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