Chapter 268: Chapter 268

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 268

["Your Fate will not change. Accept the fate given to you."]

Fate cannot change, huh.

What an utterly unpleasant phrase.

Baal gazed at the words with satisfaction in his eyes.

No matter how remarkable humans may be, altering their predetermined Fate is an impossibility.

"How amusing."

Jeong-hoon’s frown softened, his expression now calm and composed.

"Yes. I’m entertained at the thought of proving this damned crystal ball wrong."

How incomprehensible.

That crystal ball is meant to divine Fate.

Unless one is a transcendental being of a Demon King-level or higher, not even Baal himself could defy the Fate foretold by the orb.

How could a mere human possibly do so?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Such arrogance is precisely what this is.

"Yes, it’s wrong. I will change this cursed Fate."

Jeong-hoon closed the book that contained the phrase.

[What kind of Fate could provoke such anger in you?]

‘Master, calm down. Just ignore whatever nonsense that crystal ball says.’

No.

After perfectly vanquishing the Grim Reaper, he gained a broader perspective on the future.

The assertion that Fate cannot be changed?

‘It must mean I can’t end this goddamn game.’

Jeong-hoon’s ultimate goal.

The termination of New World.

To bring peace to the world in the process.

But the crystal ball declares such a thing impossible.

‘Then I’ll prove it wrong.’

It won’t be an easy path, but it’s the only one he’s been running toward.

Even after regression, his resolve hasn’t wavered.

If ending New World is possible, he’s ready to do whatever it takes.

For that, he’ll need even greater strength.

How could he end this game if he’s incapable of dealing with even a single monarch-level transcendent?

[Rewards are being calculated.]

[An unbelievable result!]

[You’ve earned the highest reward possible!]

[Please select one reward of your choice.]

The rewards were tallied.

Before Jeong-hoon, a list of five items appeared.

‘There’s no need to hesitate.’

After all, he had even bet against Baal.

Jeong-hoon's purpose for coming here was, above all, the restoration of the pocket watch.

"Divine Blessing."

There was no need to even glance at the other four items; his choice was clear.

[You have obtained ‘Divine Blessing.’]

It was done.

With this, he successfully acquired the Divine Blessing.

Unlike the Ultimate Restoration Potion, the Divine Blessing was a small, stone-shaped item.

‘An item I couldn’t even dream of touching before regression.’

===

[Divine Blessing]

- Type: Consumable

- Grade: ?? (Grade Undetectable)

- Description: A mystical stone imbued with the power of a god.

- Effect: Restores the functionality of broken items.

===

With the Divine Blessing, he could finally restore the broken pocket watch.

Jeong-hoon took the pocket watch out of his inventory.

[You can restore the ‘Broken Pocket Watch.’]

A message appeared.

Jeong-hoon’s lips curled into a grin so wide it almost reached his ears.

"Baal, it looks like I’ve won, don’t you think?"

"Let’s talk more after the restoration is complete."

For now, restoring the pocket watch came first.

[Restoring the ‘Broken Pocket Watch.’]

[Materials required: ‘Divine Blessing,’ ‘Ultimate Restoration Potion.’]

[Materials will be consumed.]

The Ultimate Restoration Potion and the Divine Blessing dissolved and were absorbed into the pocket watch.

The previously broken pocket watch began to tick again, its hands moving once more.

===

[Psyche’s Pocket Watch]

- Type: Watch

- Grade: ???

- Description: A watch imbued with the power of Psyche, the Goddess of Fate.

- Effect: Allows the user to travel to a time based on their memories (maximum duration: 120 hours).

- Additional Info: Not restricted by dimensions. The item disappears after a single use.

===

A truly insane item.

An artifact capable of time travel.

Jeong-hoon wasn’t sure what Mist had wanted, but it was evident he desired to use the watch to travel into the past.

This watch allowed its user to move to any desired time in their memory.

‘This is incredible…’

While Jeong-hoon was absentmindedly fiddling with the watch, a barrage of new messages flooded in.

[You have restored an item containing Psyche’s power.]

[You have achieved an unprecedented level of accomplishment.]

[You have been awarded 1,000,000 points.]

[Achievement Points: 1,000,000 have been awarded.]

[The Temple of Fate has been renamed to Psyche’s Temple.]

So that’s how it is.

The owner of this temple is Psyche.

Psyche—one of the five Named Gods and the overseer of Fate.

I didn’t expect this temple to belong to her.

Baal let out a sigh.

“So, this is the secret of the pocket watch you mentioned?”

Even Baal couldn’t casually utter her name.

“Then you owe me a reward for our wager, don’t you?”

The agreed reward from the wager was to fully replenish Jeong-hoon’s depleted Ultimate Energy.

“It won’t, but it’ll make me stronger than I am now.”

Despite reaching celestial-level power, Jeong-hoon still couldn’t defeat a single Sovereign-class being.

However, if he attained Ultimate Power, things could change.

He planned to approach it step by step without haste.

Gambling often leads to ruin.

“Be more careful next time,” Jeong-hoon quipped with a smirk.

A message appeared before him.

[Your Ultimate Energy has been fully replenished.]

[You have qualified to attain Ultimate Power.]

[To claim Ultimate Power, you must complete all Ultimate Path quests.]

It was done.

Now, by completing the Ultimate Path quests, he could claim Ultimate Power.

But before that, there was something else he needed to address.

‘I need to investigate the force that sent me to the past.’

The unknown power that had sent him back.

It was the same power he had encountered when he prevented Earth’s destruction in the past.

With this pocket watch, uncovering its nature wouldn’t be too difficult.

‘And revenge.’

He had no lingering attachments to the past.

After regression, he succeeded in protecting his mother, who had become a formidable Sniper of Creation.

The only unresolved matter was dealing with the traitors, led by James Marcus, who had brought him to ruin.

‘But exacting revenge on their current selves won’t be true revenge.’

For Jeong-hoon, true revenge meant ending the game itself, erasing their power entirely.

The reasoning was simple—their current selves, strictly speaking, weren’t the traitors yet.

The ones in the present haven’t yet become comrades, nor have they killed him.

That’s why he only punished them thoroughly when they crossed the line.

However, if he could pinpoint a moment from his past and travel there, the situation would be different.

Returning to the moment of betrayal to eradicate them once and for all.

“Hey, Baal.”

“What happens if I use this?”

“I’m asking if you can interfere.”

As expected.

In that case, he could use it without worry. At the very least, no one would realize that he was a regressor.

Jeong-hoon imbued the pocket watch with his mana.

As he did, his vision darkened, and a holographic message appeared in front of him.

Everything around him was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything else.

[Select the point in time you wish to return to.]

The point in time he wanted to return to.

Strictly speaking, Jeong-hoon wasn’t aiming to return to the past but to the future.

And that future existed vividly in his memory.

[Using Psyche’s Pocket Watch.]

As the pocket watch activated, Jeong-hoon’s body was swallowed by a radiant light.

***

When his vision returned, an unfamiliar landscape unfolded before him.

“…Where is this?”

Jeong-hoon looked around.

If he had arrived at the right point in time, this should be Seoul.

Seoul, which had once been reduced to rubble but later successfully rebuilt.

However, there wasn’t even a trace of that Seoul now.

“What… is this?”

Not even ruins remained. It was as if the city had never existed in the first place, completely erased.

“Damn bastards… In the end, they couldn’t prevent the destruction.”

Jeong-hoon clenched his fists tightly.

The traitors who had betrayed him for the nonsensical reason of wanting to cling to their power.

At first, they had rallied around the goal of ending the game. But when he found a way to actually do it, they spouted absurdities about preserving it instead.

And this was the result of their choices?

Before his regression, he had been on the verge of completing 99% of the game’s episodes.

They had betrayed him to ensure he couldn’t reach 100% and confront the Architect.

If that was their decision, they should have at least managed to prevent the destruction.

But instead, they left everything in shambles?

“Bastards.”

Of course, even reaching 100% didn’t guarantee that the game would end.

It only granted an opportunity to confront the Architect.

However, having been betrayed in a situation where he didn’t yet know the full picture, Jeong-hoon’s fury reached its peak.

“I wanted to return to the point where I could have prevented the destruction, if possible.”

Regrettably, it seemed he had failed to pinpoint the exact moment.

“Huh? Who… are you?”

At that moment, a small voice reached his ears.

Jeong-hoon instinctively turned his head.

Two men were cautiously approaching him.

“Quiet.”

With a single step using the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Steps, Jeong-hoon appeared directly in front of them in an instant.

“Gah!”

“Sorry, but could I take a look at your watch?”

The New World Watch.

At this time, all communication systems were integrated into the New World Watch, a system created by transcendents to monitor everything.

“W-Wait, shouldn’t we figure out who you are first?”

The man’s wary eyes were filled with suspicion.

“Don’t you recognize me?”

Jeong-hoon pointed at his own face with his finger.

At this time, he was famous as the All-Master.

He had even personally stopped an apocalypse once. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know him.

“Wha—?! Are you… Jeong-hoon?”

“Hold on, but you look way too young for that…”

The two men activated their watches and searched for Jeong-hoon.

Although he looked noticeably younger, he was still recognizable.

Furthermore, the nickname he often used was unmistakable.

Even if the levels were different, the nickname Hoon was unique to Jeong-hoon alone.

“There are some circumstances behind my appearance, but yes, I am the Jeong-hoon you know.”

After verifying the nickname, the men nodded.

“O-Oh, I see… but what about the watch?”

“I just need to check something quickly.”

“Ah, understood.”

With that, one of the men handed his watch to Jeong-hoon.

The first thing Jeong-hoon checked was the date.

It had been six months since he had stopped the apocalypse.

“Only six months…”

Right before he regressed, Seoul had been intact.

In other words, in just half a year, South Korea’s capital had been completely destroyed.

“What happened in those six months?”

At Jeong-hoon’s question, the man’s expression darkened noticeably.

“The All-Master went missing… and consecutive apocalypses struck. As a result, Seoul was wiped out.”

Jeong-hoon furrowed his brows.

Just as he had expected.

"More importantly, did you hear that I went missing?"

"Yes. James Marcus announced it publicly."

"Is that so..."

That bastard.

He betrays me and then boldly declares that I’ve gone missing?

"Then where exactly have you been, All-Master?"

"It's a long story. Where are the other survivors?"

"Ah, we’re from Namyangju. We’re here conducting inspections for reconstruction efforts."

"At least it’s good to know that area is still intact."

"Yes, the situation is bleak, but we’re doing our best to hold on. Have you met up with your comrades?"

Jeong-hoon’s lips twitched.

Comrades.

No, those treacherous bastards.

The misaligned timeline meant he had to give up on the mysterious power he sought, but vengeance still remained.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]