Chapter 56: Chapter 56

When Jeong-Hoon returned to the settlement area unscathed, Ling Ling was dumbfounded.

“I cleared it.”

“…This is impossible!”

Ling Ling denied the reality in front of her.

She looked over the dungeon records several times, unable to grasp whether this was a dream or reality.

But what could she do?

All of this was reality.

It took nearly 20 minutes for Ling Ling to finally accept reality.

The fact that the stranger had won the bet.

“I heard it was five times.”

“…I don’t lie. The promised reward will be given.”

Jeong-Hoon’s lips curled up into a smirk at those words.

“Thank you.”

“…And I’ll give you an additional reward.”

“Additional?”

Jeong-Hoon tilted his head.

In his past life, the NPC Ling Ling, who was in charge of the event, had never given out additional rewards to users.

So he was only expecting 10% of Heavenly Energy.

“Yes. Because you surprised me.”

Ling Ling was genuinely impressed.

The stranger’s chances of winning this bet were literally zero.

At first, she wanted to break his arrogance, but she was the one who ended up being surprised.

Even though he had a legendary grade, it was a result achieved under many restrictions.

Was that why?

She wanted to give an additional reward to the stranger who had won the bet fair and square.

“I’ll gratefully accept it if you give it to me.”

He was only expecting five times the Heavenly Energy, but there was no reason not to accept it if she was giving him an additional reward.

At that moment, Jeong-Hoon’s body glowed once.

[2nd Class Advancement completed.]

The reward was given, and he instantly completed the 2nd Class Advancement.

[‘Steadfast Will’ grade increases to ‘Unique’.]

[The grades of skills acquired through ‘Steadfast Will’ will be adjusted.]

Done.

With the completion of the 2nd Class Advancement, the grade of Steadfast Will increased.

As befitting a legendary grade, even though he was only 2nd class, the grade of Steadfast Will rose to unique.

Thanks to that, all the skills he had acquired through Steadfast Will were upgraded from rare to epic.

‘Amazing…’

Jeong-Hoon looked at the skills with a touched expression.

It was the ‘Steadfast Will’ that he had wanted to raise so much in his previous life.

He was already touched enough that it had risen to epic, but the difference between epic and unique was like heaven and earth.

It was natural for his emotions to be amplified.

That wasn’t all.

[You have acquired 10% Heavenly Energy.]

Heavenly Energy, the biggest achievement of this bet.

[You have accessed Heavenly Energy for the first time. 30,000 achievement points have been granted.]

The foundation for moving on to the next stage had been laid.

Additionally, he received 30,000 achievement points.

‘If I save up a bit more, I can buy that too.’

Among the newly renewed items in the achievement shop as its level increased, there was an item he absolutely had to buy.

Of course, it was an item that appeared only after raising the achievement shop’s level, so he couldn’t buy it yet, so he’d pass for now.

“Hmm, I’m wondering what to give you as an additional reward. Choose one and take it.”

Ling Ling presented two items: one item and one skill book.

The item was a pair of shoes.

===

[Nimble Air Shoes]

-Type: Armor

-Grade: Epic

-Defense: 75

-Evasion Rate: 3.25~3.75%

-Movement Speed: 4%

-Jump Height: 4%

-Remaining Durability: 100%

-Special Ability (1): [Active: Haste] Usable (Duration 3 seconds, Cooldown 300 seconds)

-Special Ability (2): Increases reaction speed by 2 when worn.

===

The shoes were epic grade.

As befitting epic grade shoes, the options were quite good.

Having those shoes would make moving around much more convenient.

Moreover, with the option of increasing reaction speed by 2, it was an item that could be of great help in close combat.

It would be perfect to enhance and use later.

Next was the skill book.

Jeong-Hoon’s eyes widened as he looked at the skill book.

===

[Skill Book: Fusion (One-Time Use)]

-Type: Skill Book

-Grade: Epic

-Using this skill book allows you to learn ‘Fusion (One-Time Use)’.

===

It was an epic grade Fusion skill.

The Steadfast Will that Jeong-Hoon possessed also had a fusion function, but it could only fuse skills designated by New World.

However, this Fusion skill allowed for the fusion of skills not designated by New World.

It meant that users could create new skills themselves.

Of course, since it was creating something new out of nothing, New World had placed some restrictions.

If the synergy of the skills wasn’t over 50%, a worse skill than before would appear.

‘I can use it for archery.’

Naturally, New World had hidden a few cheats in this fusion as well.

One of them was a skill related to archery.

‘This is what I was going to buy with achievement points.’

The item he was going to buy with achievement points.

It was this skill book.

An item that could only be purchased at Achievement Shop Lv. 4.

Rare grade Fusion (One-Time Use).

And this skill book was an epic grade skill book, one level higher than that.

“I’ll take this.”

Jeong-Hoon chose the skill book without hesitation.

“Good choice. You definitely have a good eye.”

Ling Ling grinned as she watched his choice.

[Settlement complete.]

[Would you like to reveal your nickname and level to be included in the ranking?]

[If you choose to remain anonymous, only your class will be displayed.]

[The blind system will be maintained.]

It was the same method as the previous Genesis event.

If you didn’t reveal your nickname and level, only your class would be displayed.

Jeong-Hoon entered the blind system and reset his class.

‘The first place is a unique class, so…’

Thus, he changed from Lower Martial Artist (1st Class) to Martial Arts Master (2nd Class).

Jeong-Hoon, like last time, chose to remain anonymous.

[Nickname and level will not be revealed.]

* * *

At the same time.

A new notice appeared on New World.

===

[New World Event Results Notice!]

-Hello! This is the New World development team.

We are posting this notice to share some exciting news with you!

We are sharing the results of the 2nd Class Advancement event.

[Ranking]

Click the link below to see the ranking of the users who participated in the event.

We will continue to prepare events that will be helpful to users.

Thank you!

-New World Development Team

===

As soon as all users finished settling their rewards, the rankings were announced.

Guilds and individual users rushed to click on the post link.

The link led to a new homepage, where the event results were recorded.

And World Com was in an uproar over the results.

[Wow… What? Did a martial artist win first place again?]

-If it’s Martial Arts Master, that’s it, right? Unique grade.

└Yeah, it’s unique.

└Damn, that means there are two unique grade martial artists in South Korea?

└Yeo Min-ji, the unexpected loser lol. I heard she worked like a dog to get the unique grade.

└Some people struggle for years to get the unique grade, while others get it in one event lol.

└That’s not the important thing… The timing is strangely coincidental. People seem to think that this martial artist is the same person as the one from the last event.

└Is there anyone who doesn’t know that? The problem is that no one can find him.

Most users believed that he was the same martial artist who won first place in the capsule event.

This was because the method of not revealing the nickname and level, but only the class, was the same.

Then who in the world was this martial artist?

While everyone was curious, Jeong-Hoon was leaving the square.

“Huh? Isn’t that the martial artist?”

A few users who spotted Jeong-Hoon’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

But 10 seconds was enough for the curiosity in their eyes to disappear.

“Ah, it’s not him.”

“He’s an intermediate martial artist.”

[Intermediate Martial Artist (2nd Class)]

The class name displayed when a martial artist completed their 2nd class advancement as a normal grade.

Jeong-Hoon, who came out of the settlement area, immediately adjusted the blind system and changed it to Intermediate Martial Artist (2nd Class).

Thanks to that, he was able to easily leave the square.

He had completed his 2nd Class Advancement and surpassed level 100.

He had obtained all the items he needed to get from Idenharc, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

It was time to move on to the next village.

Of course, after resting for a day or two since the event was over.

As he was leaving the square, a familiar figure approached Jeong-Hoon.

“You’re still the same!”

It was Isaac, who had left the Desolate Dark Street first.

Was he originally from Idenharc?

“Why are you here?”

“I don’t know either. When I came out of the portal, I was here.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve never been to Idenharc before. So I was wondering what to do when I saw you passing by.”

As he said that, a red question mark was blinking above Isaac’s head.

A hidden quest here?

[Hidden Quest: Isaac’s Return]

-Restriction: Isaac’s Trust Max

-Reward: ? (Reward will be determined based on completion.)

-Description: Help Isaac return to Autobahn and reunite with his family.

Autobahn was one of the 28 villages, the next destination after the beginner zone.

Unlike the beginner zone, there weren’t over 100 villages, because the difficulty of leveling up increased significantly.

‘Am I lucky?’

Coincidentally, the village Jeong-Hoon had chosen as his next destination was also Autobahn.

In other words, they had the same destination.

“That’s great. The place I was going to was also Autobahn.”

“Then can you come with me?!”

Isaac’s face brightened.

He didn’t know exactly how long he had been away from Autobahn, but it must have been a long time.

Even if he returned, his place wouldn’t be there anymore.

But there was one reason why he wanted to go back.

His family at home.

The vow he had made shortly after his knighting ceremony.

He had whispered that he would protect her by her side forever, but he couldn’t keep that promise because he was trapped in the Desolate Dark Street.

“Yes, let’s go together.”

“Thank you!”

Isaac had never been outside of Autobahn.

He was trapped in the Desolate Dark Street while carrying out his duty of guarding the border.

That’s why he didn’t know the way back from Idenharc to Autobahn, and the biggest problem was that he didn’t have a single penny.

If he hadn’t met his benefactor here, the situation would have been quite desperate.

“Yes.”

“…I’ll be sure to repay you when I get back!”

* * *

To leave the beginner zone, you had to use the portals at the ends of each direction, and to head to Autobahn, you had to use the portal located in the southern region.

[Recommend me the next village]

-I finished my 2nd Class Advancement, where should I go now?

└Autobahn ㄱㄱ (Go for Autobahn)

└Actually, it doesn’t really matter where you go lol, but Autobahn has good hunting grounds, right?

└It’s a decent place. I recommend coming!

Unlike Idenharc, Autobahn had a very good reputation.

Among the 28 villages, the hunting grounds were relatively simple, making hunting easier, and the experience rewards from quests were the most generous.

Therefore, users who wanted to level up flocked to Autobahn.

Nearly 30 users were waiting in front of the southern portal.

They were all users who had finished their 2nd Class Advancement in Idenharc and were trying to move on to the next village.

“Oh… Is this the portal to Autobahn?”

Isaac looked at the portal with curious eyes.

“Is this your first time seeing a portal?”

At that question, Isaac’s ears turned slightly red.

He coughed a couple of times and hurriedly started to make excuses.

“It’s not that… It’s my first time seeing a portal that connects villages.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I used other means of transportation, not portals.”

Apparently, portals existed, but they were the exclusive privilege of nobles.

Now, with the influx of a large number of outsiders, they had become the main means of transportation used by them.

As a mere knight, Isaac had no opportunity to use the portal.

“Then why don’t you try it this time?”

The users left one by one, and soon it was Jeong-Hoon’s turn.

===

[NPC Information]

-Nickname: Iliago

-Level: 100

-Job: Idenharc Southern Portal Gatekeeper

===

The portal gatekeeper, Iliago, blocked the way.

“Wait, you can’t just pass through there.”

He was pointing at Isaac, not Jeong-Hoon.

Jeong-Hoon, as a player, could freely enter and exit as long as he met the level and 2nd Class Advancement requirements, but Isaac was different.

Therefore, he had to pay a price to use the portal.

“How much is it?”

Jeong-Hoon asked instead.

“1 gold.”

1 gold to use the portal once.

In Korean currency, that would be 10,000 won.

Not a bad price.

“1 gold?! What the…”

Isaac’s face also turned pale.

His monthly salary as a knight was 1 gold and 5 silver.

It meant that he had to spend his entire month’s salary to use the portal once.

“I’ll pay.”

Jeong-Hoon took out one gold coin from his inventory.

“…Thank you so much. I will definitely repay this kindness.”

Isaac’s eyes widened at the sight of the gold coin, and then his face turned apologetic.

“1 gold confirmed. You may pass.”

Iliago, after confirming the gold coin, finally stepped aside.

“Let’s go then.”

Jeong-Hoon entered the portal familiarly.

Isaac followed behind him.

The destination was Autobahn.

[Moving to ‘Autobahn’.]