Chapter 257: Chapter 257

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 257

After Jeong-hoon left, the hall remained silent.

The one to break the stillness was Audon, a warrior who assisted Lattin.

“Chief, do you think they’ll be able to gather the materials?”

Lattin pondered for a moment before nodding.

“You saw it earlier, didn’t you? How easily he subdued me.”

A formidable aura that could be felt even at a glance. Just meeting his gaze was enough to leave one paralyzed.

The ambush wasn’t for malice but to gauge his strength.

However, the ambush ended before it could even begin.

The moment Lattin swung his sword, Jeong-hoon had seized his wrist.

“That grip wasn’t human.”

Lattin glanced at his wrist, which Jeong-hoon had held earlier.

Though it had been healed and looked fine, the memory of the searing pain lingered vividly in his mind.

It was the pain of having his wrist nearly crushed.

“That’s true, but… the amount of materials is enormous.”

Mutant Ogre tusks.

Mutant Owlbear claws.

1,000 of each.

It was by no means a small amount.

On the other hand, the ones who had volunteered to help were just six people.

Audon was concerned about their safety.

“It’ll be fine. If my instincts are correct, they’ll definitely succeed.”

Lattin saw a glimmer of hope.

The monsters they were up against, each over Level 300, were overwhelmingly strong—beings so fearsome that even considering fighting them seemed absurd.

The only reason the city had managed to survive so far was that the monsters hadn’t yet crossed into the City of Warriors. However, the constant fear of their possible invasion was unbearable.

To make matters worse, their equipment was in poor condition, making combat nearly impossible.

In the midst of such dire circumstances, Jeong-hoon had appeared.

‘Please, return safely.’

Lattin silently prayed with all his heart.

***

[Mutant Owlbear Claws: 1,000/1,000]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It took about two hours to collect all the claws.

Despite relentless hunting, the drop rate was low, making the task take longer than expected.

“Let’s head back now.”

“Whew, this is exhausting.”

“Hyung-nim, can we rest for a bit before heading back?”

Unlike Jeong-hoon, the rest of the group was visibly exhausted.

They had hunted Mutant Ogres, immediately followed by Mutant Owlbears—three hours of nonstop combat.

The physical and mental toll was unavoidable.

“Sure.”

Jeong-hoon scanned the surroundings and soon found a cave nearby. He began moving toward it.

Luckily, there were no monsters visible inside the cave.

As they sat down to rest, Yeo Min-Ji spoke with a serious expression.

“This quest appears to be one about clearing paths. In other words, to reach the Death Knight, we’ll likely have to visit every single city.”

The Death Knight.

That knight could only be summoned through a special ritual. Naturally, the ritual required materials, which could only be obtained by completing quests.

“We’ll gather them quickly.”

To do so, they needed to act as swiftly as possible.

After resting for about 30 minutes, Jeong-hoon resumed their journey back to the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

Even during their return, they encountered monsters, but thanks to Ha-Jin, they managed to break through with ease.

As expected, sheer numbers were a cheat code.

“You’ve brought everything?!”

Lattin welcomed Jeong-hoon’s return with a face full of excitement.

“Yes.”

Jeong-hoon handed over the materials he had collected.

Upon receiving all 2,000 items—1,000 of each—an exclamation mark began blinking above Lattin’s head.

[You have completed the quest.]

[You have gained 10,000,000 experience points.]

[You have acquired the ‘Orb of Death.’]

[You may now proceed to the next quest.]

Ten million experience points.

It wasn’t a small number, but relative to Jeong-hoon’s level, it wasn’t particularly impressive.

Since he already knew he wouldn’t receive extraordinary rewards here, it wasn’t disappointing.

The Orb of Death.

This was a material required to summon the Death Knight. Once additional materials were collected and fused with this orb, the Perfect Orb of Death would be completed.

“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, we can now forge new equipment!”

“You’re welcome. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, really, you’ve already done so much for us. How could we ask for more…”

“It’s fine. Just tell me.”

Fulfilling Lattin’s requests was necessary to unlock the path to the next city, the City of Thieves.

The way forward was currently blocked, making it impossible to progress further without completing this step. Reaching the Death Knight would otherwise be out of the question.

“Well… if you’re okay with it, could you gather a few more materials?”

“As many as you need.”

Jeong-hoon smiled and accepted the quest.

***

At the same time.

Jang Dae-Hwi was checking his HoneyTube channel alone.

“Amazing.”

It hadn’t been long since his subscriber count surpassed 100 million, and it was already nearing 150 million.

The growth was unprecedented and insane.

“Ah… what a shame.”

Because of this, he deeply regretted not being able to join the raid on the Death Knight for his next content.

Was it because of the thrilling cliff-climbing experience he had during the Xian Volcano content?

Or was it the insane leveling he achieved by gaining a massive amount of experience points?

Jang Dae-Hwi couldn’t tell.

He wanted to participate this time as well, but failing to reach Level 301 meant he was ineligible to join the raid.

“I should’ve focused on farming experience instead of filming back then...”

He muttered to himself before shaking his head.

“No, if I had, the views might not have skyrocketed like this.”

[Views: 2,411,765,480]

The Xian Volcano video had surpassed 2.4 billion views.

The view count was rising so rapidly in real time that its eventual total was impossible to predict.

While he felt a pang of regret, the sheer numbers on the screen made him grin uncontrollably.

“What kind of reaction will the audience have when Hoon brings in the next video?”

The hunt for the 1,100-level Death Knight.

Originally Level 250, the Death Knight had jumped to a staggering 1,100. Most wouldn’t even consider attempting such a feat. But Jeong-hoon had declared he would prove the raid wasn’t as difficult as it seemed.

If that turned out to be true...

“This video is going to break every record.”

There was no doubt about it.

***

On the fifth day since entering Rease.

After completing a series of repetitive quests, Jeong-hoon finally managed to unlock access to the City of Fighters.

Like the Warrior’s City, the City of Fighters was also populated solely by NPCs.

“I just want to escape this cursed world...”

“We’re alive only because we can’t die…”

The atmosphere upon entering the City of Fighters was even bleaker than in the Warrior’s City.

Their leader, Paul, was only a Level 150 Fighter.

Most others were of similar or lower levels, far weaker than the NPCs Jeong-hoon had encountered elsewhere in Rease.

‘It’s because those above deliberately set it this way.’

To ensure there was no chance of these people resisting against the monsters.

As a result, they were merely scraping by, barely surviving.

Still, thanks to Jeong-hoon’s help during quest completions, their expressions had noticeably softened since his first visit.

“Thank you so much. I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”

Paul bowed repeatedly, a full 90 degrees each time, expressing his gratitude.

“It’s nothing.”

With this latest quest completion, Jeong-hoon had gathered all the necessary materials to summon the Death Knight.

He purchased a fusion potion from the achievement shop and applied it to the collected materials.

[You have acquired the ‘Perfect Orb of Death.’]

The Perfect Orb of Death.

All that remained was to use it at the altar where the Death Knight slumbered.

The location of the altar was at a portal on the border of the City of Fighters.

“Please, clear out the monsters near the border.”

Monster extermination.

Among those monsters, the Death Knight awaited.

“Yes.”

Jeong-hoon accepted the quest once again and immediately set out for the borderlands with his party members.

The problem was the unusually high levels of monsters around the City of Fighters.

Upon reaching the borderlands, the monsters' levels peaked at an astonishing 420.

[Lv. 420 Mutated King Wyvern]

A massive flying monster patrolled the skies above.

“Wow... How do we even take that thing down?”

Ha-Jin gawked at the King Wyvern in disbelief, clicking his tongue.

“It’s fine,” Jeong-hoon reassured.

He nocked an arrow on Anima, aimed at the sky, and drew the string.

Fwoosh!

The arrow whizzed through the air, following a precise arc, and struck the King Wyvern squarely in its body.

“Kieeehhk!”

With a piercing cry, the wyvern lost its balance and plummeted to the ground.

“Finish it.”

“Yes!”

At Jeong-hoon’s command, Bong-Goo dashed forward and plunged a dagger into the wyvern’s neck, delivering the killing blow.

“Mother, please aim for the wyvern’s heads,” Jeong-hoon instructed.

“Understood.”

From here on, his mother’s prowess was essential.

Bang!

Each gunshot reverberated through the air, and with every shot, a wyvern fell from the sky.

The rest of the team quickly dispatched the fallen wyverns.

Jeong-hoon supported his mother by using Anima to bring more wyverns down, and their numbers dwindled rapidly as time passed.

While new wyverns respawned to replenish their ranks, the quest's count of 1,000 wyverns continued to climb steadily.

After nearly two hours of relentless hunting, the party finally met their goal.

“Let’s move on to the next area!”

Jeong-hoon led the way, cutting through the remaining wyverns, and advanced to the next section. Awaiting them there was a swarm of mutated King Tigers.

[Lv. 450 Mutated King Tiger]

These beasts were a daunting Level 450.

“...If this keeps up, the Death Knight’s level will really be astronomical, just as Hoon said,” Ha-Jin remarked nervously.

“Don’t worry too much. It’ll be over quickly,” Jeong-hoon replied with a grin.

With a burst of speed, he launched himself forward using Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps.

In his hand, Leviathan gleamed ominously as he unleashed Heavenly Demon Lord's Annihilation Blade, cutting through the mutated King Tigers in a rapid and ruthless onslaught.

***

Mutated King Tigers.

Mutated Black King Tigers.

Corrupted Nameless Soldiers.

Corrupted Nameless Knights.

The party fought their way through waves of these monsters until they finally encountered the Death Knights guarding the way forward.

Clearing the required number of Death Knights, Jeong-hoon and his party pressed onward, eventually reaching the farthest edge of the City of Fighters' borderlands.

At the end, a portal shimmered.

It was the dungeon where the Death Knight lay in wait.

“Wow… it really is 1,100.”

As Jeong-hoon had said, the dungeon level was indeed 1,100.

“Are you ready?”

Before entering the dungeon, Jeong-hoon asked his party members.

“Yes.”

“Let’s go!”

As they neared the Death Knight, Jeong-hoon had advised everyone.

When the Death Knight appears, do not approach it under any circumstances.

This battle was something he would finish on his own.

Recalling the performances Jeong-hoon had shown so far, the party nodded obediently.

His mother, though worried for her son, decided to follow his wishes after continued persuasion.

“Then, let’s go in.”

As Jeong-hoon expressed his intention to enter, everyone’s bodies were pulled into the dungeon.

Inside the dungeon, it was extremely dark.

“It’s so dark.”

Yeo Min-Ji squinted, looking around.

She had already defeated the Death Knight before.

But she had never encountered a place this dark.

There was even a chilling energy that made her hairs stand on end.

They hadn’t even summoned it yet, and it already felt this ominous...

Could Jeong-hoon really take it down 1v1?

Looking at him with worried eyes, Jeong-hoon smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry.”

The battle will be over soon.

Jeong-hoon took a step forward, and torches lit up, slowly brightening the surroundings.

Ahead, there was a pedestal where the Death Knight lay dormant.

- Legend, resting here.

In front of the pedestal stood a stone monument.

As the inscription on the stone read, the legend referred to the title of the Death Knight.

‘Shall we begin?’

As Jeong-hoon had said beforehand, no one moved except him.

Now, it was a 1v1 battle between Jeong-hoon and the Death Knight.

Jeong-hoon took out the "Completed Orb of Death" from his inventory.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]