The Return of the Legendary All-Master

Chapter 145

When Jeong-Hoon opened his closed eyes,

He saw the familiar interior of the cave.

“The place where I first advanced to the first class.”

It was the cave where he had completed his first class advancement quest.

Jeong-Hoon walked forward slowly.

The waterfall poured down behind his back.

A place where no light entered, the walls were lit by flickering torches, and a familiar old man slowly appeared.

Kwon Hyun-Je.

He was still sitting in a chair, reading a book.

“Hm?”

Unlike the first time, however, he looked up from his book and looked at Jeong-Hoon.

“It’s been a long time.”

“……Why did you come so soon?”

Kwon Hyun-Je clicked his tongue at Jeong-Hoon’s growth rate.

When a stranger came to see him again, it was usually just before his potential exploded and blossomed.

It would take a considerable amount of time to reach that stage.

But Jeong-Hoon in front of him had reached that stage much faster than others.

“Is that so? I think I came a little slowly.”

“……That’s slow? You just did everything all by yourself, didn’t you?”

“Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”

Jeong-Hoon readily admitted it.

Since he had done so much, he had been able to grow so quickly.

“Puhaha! Well done! You did a great job!”

Kwon Hyun-Je even clapped his hands in delight.

He felt like running up and kissing that face right away.

Who said martial artists were in decline?

Look at this!

This is the true Martial Artist!

“Then, can I start my third class advancement right away?”

“Hmm…… The Martial Emperor class you currently handle has a certain limit, so it won’t be easy to remove that limit.”

“Yes, I know.”

While he had easily advanced to the second class through an event, the truth was that the difficulty of advancing to a hidden class was several times higher than that of a normal advancement.

Also, since this was the first time Jeong-Hoon had experienced the Martial Emperor’s advancement quest, he had to complete it without any future knowledge.

“The difficulty will be considerable. To remove the limit of the Martial Emperor, you will have to be recognized by a worthy existence.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

Seeing Jeong-Hoon’s serious gaze, Kwon Hyun-Je nodded.

“……Okay. That’s enough.”

Then he snapped his fingers.

A portal was created next to a pile of stones.

[Quest completed.]

[You can now proceed with the advancement quest: Trial (1/2).]

A question mark flickered above Kwon Hyun-Je’s head.

[Advancement Quest: Trial (1/2)]

-Restriction: Advancement Quest: Opening of Power Clear.

-Reward: ‘Advancement Quest: Trial (2/2)’ can be performed.

-Explanation: You are qualified. It’s time to unlock your dormant power.

Jeong-Hoon accepted the quest and said, “I just need to go through that portal?”

Kwon Hyun-Je nodded, “Good luck.”

“Yes.”

***

Jeong-Hoon entered the portal, and Kwon Hyun-Je closed his book and quietly stared at the portal like a statue.

And before long, the color of the portal turned black.

Kwon Hyun-Je’s jaw dropped at the sight.

“Oh… of all things.”

The color of the portal indicated the difficulty level.

White was easy.

Blue was normal.

Orange was a bit difficult.

Purple was difficult.

Red was very difficult.

And black was hell-level difficulty.

“……I wonder what kind of ordeal they’re making me go through.”

A black portal essentially meant that passing the test was nearly impossible.

It was designed to break a person’s spirit by targeting their deepest, most painful memories.

Even though he had unparalleled talent, could it be said that he had the mental strength to overcome his own trauma?

“I can only watch.”

I hope against hope that he succeeds in the advancement.

So that he can destroy all those bastards who point swords or spears at people.

Those despicable bastards who shoot arrows at a distance to annoy people.

Those sneaky bastards who use guns and brute force to crush people.

And those absolutely heinous bastards who use the strange science of magic to tear, burn, and melt people.

I desperately hope that Jeong-Hoon can destroy them all once he unlocks all his power… soon, they will perish.

Kwon Hyun-Je grinned, then suddenly tilted his head.

“Huh? Come to think of it, was it my imagination that I saw traces of him using other weapons?”

…

No, it can’t be.

Just the other day, he confidently declared that he would walk the path of true martial arts.

There’s no way he would have handled a sword or bow.

Jeong-Hoon is a disciple of the Mingwang, the successor of the Mingwang Kwonbeop.

He momentarily regretted suspecting him of being a disciple of Dokgojun.

***

He passed through the portal.

There was a vast plain.

Woo-woo-

In the center, instead of his clone, a green stone was floating in the air, vibrating slightly.

“……What’s that?”

Jeong-Hoon approached the stone.

An exclamation point was blinking above the stone.

[Quest completed.]

[You can now proceed with the advancement quest: Trial (2/2)].”

The first stage of the quest was surprisingly simple.

At the same time, Jeong-Hoon’s face stiffened slightly.

“[What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?]”

‘Things seem to be going too smoothly… isn’t that right?’

Mukho and Anima asked, seeing Jeong-Hoon’s expression.

“Yeah. Usually, if the first stage is easy, the second stage is incredibly difficult.”

New World never gave easy quests.

Especially since the hidden class advancement quest was known to be extremely difficult, the fact that he was breezing through it meant that the final stage would be incredibly hard.

“[Is it true that the advancement process for hidden classes is different?]”

– So, you’re doing the quest without any guides?

└ Yeah, that’s what I heard.

└ That’s crazy… Just because you got a hidden class, it doesn’t mean it’s over.

└ It’s just gambling, lol.

Martial Emperor was a hidden class that even Jeong-Hoon was experiencing for the first time.

Therefore, he couldn’t know what kind of quest would appear.

A question mark blinked above the stone again.

[Advancement Quest: Trial (2/2)]

– Restriction: Advancement Quest: Trial (1/2) Clear.

– Reward: 3rd Class Advancement

– Explanation: You are qualified. It’s time to unlock your dormant power.

How would it proceed?

As Jeong-Hoon accepted the quest, his vision went dark.

And when it brightened again, Jeong-Hoon was standing in a familiar space.

‘Where is this?’

Before his regression, Jeong-Hoon had successfully completed his third class advancement after a long battle with his clone.

In the process, he had achieved excellent results and even reached the Epic grade.

But this Martial Emperor trial was completely different.

The place where Jeong-Hoon was standing was the school library.

“[This is a strange place?]”

‘Master, where is this place?’

This familiar place was the library where Jeong-Hoon had studied while attending school.

“The library of the school I attended.”

“[School? What is that place?]”

‘Ha, you’re so stupid. I’m talking about the sect.’

Jeong-Hoon chuckled and went down to the first floor via the library stairs.

A fake world created by bringing unconscious memories to the surface.

Yet, there was no sense of incongruity.

‘Huh?’

As he went down the stairs, he saw a familiar man on the first floor.

“[Hey, isn’t that the master?]”

Mukho recognized the man at a glance.

It was none other than Jeong-Hoon.

‘That’s right. Even though the aura is different, it’s definitely the master.’

Even Anima agreed that he looked exactly like Jeong-Hoon, and he was waiting for the elevator.

“Ah, I think I know what kind of test this is.”

The corners of Jeong-Hoon’s lips turned up.

When he advanced to the Martial Emperor class, his level of Steadfast Will increased.

This will is the mind.

In other words, the system had presented a test to examine Jeong-Hoon’s “mind” in order to lift his limit.

And the message appeared in front of Jeong-Hoon.

Originally, this message was supposed to be sent through all electronic devices worldwide.

‘Ha.’

Kugoong! Kugoong!

And a huge vibration echoed repeatedly from outside.

Jeong-Hoon quickly left the library.

And he could see.

“Aaaah!”

“Help!”

“It’s a Black King Tiger?! Why is it here?!”

People screaming and running away, and

“Human! Kill them!”

“Kill them!”

Monsters resembling tigers chasing those people.

It was exactly the same scene Jeong-Hoon had seen in his previous life.

[A part of the desperate situation in your memory is being implemented.]

[The first test begins.]

The trial for the third class advancement was simple.

Perform a mission in a setting based on a terrible memory.

What a truly devilish fellow.

[Wow… A devil even worse than the master has appeared!]

‘To dig up his terrible memories and make him face them… he’s using really dirty tactics.’

Mukho and Anima clicked their tongues at the content of the trial.

Everyone has terrible memories they don’t want to remember.

If you were to dig up those terrible memories and face your trauma again, who could easily challenge it?

It was a difficult task even for Jeong-Hoon, who remembered everything.

[Do you give up?]

[If you give up, you cannot re-enter for ‘7’ days.]

Once you give up, you can’t challenge it for seven days.

And you have to perform the same task again.

‘I can’t do that.’

He was trying to gain strength to change these terrible memories, so the option of giving up didn’t exist in his mind.

Jeong-Hoon checked the time.

It was 2 PM.

The building where his mother worked must have been attacked as well.

He didn’t have time for this.

[Lv.155 Black King Tiger]

[Eliminate all Black King Tigers.]

[You must eliminate all monsters to proceed to the next area.]

However, to pass through here, he had to eliminate the Black King Tigers.

“Ha, damn it.”

Jeong-Hoon cursed and took out Anima, drawing his bow.

Fsssh!

An arrow shot out, piercing the Black King Tiger right between the eyes.

“Keeaang!”

The Black King Tiger, struck in a vital spot, died instantly.

For Jeong-Hoon, who had reached level 203, it was an all-too-easy prey.

“Krrrr! Human!”

“There’s a human using power here!”

“Kill him!”

Instantly, the target of the Black King Tigers shifted from the numerous humans to Jeong-Hoon alone.

The Black King Tigers changed direction and swarmed toward Jeong-Hoon like bees.

Jeong-Hoon put down Anima and prepared the Mingwang Kwonbeop.

“Krrrr!”

One Black King Tiger bared its fangs and charged recklessly at Jeong-Hoon.

Jeong-Hoon then drew upon the energy of the first level of the Mingwang Kwonbeop and uppercutted the beast’s jaw.

“Keeaang!”

The beast screamed and flew into the air before crashing to the ground.

And so, the slaughter began.

The level 155 Black King Tigers couldn’t stand against Jeong-Hoon as he moved with incredible speed and struck them down one by one.

Before a cup of instant ramen could even be finished, all the Black King Tigers were cold corpses.

[All Black King Tigers have been eliminated.]

[You can proceed to the next area.]

There was no time to waste.

“Wow… What was that?”

“That’s amazing… He just toyed with the Black King Tigers!”

“Hey, what’s going on…? Am I dreaming right now?”

“Hey? My status is opening!”

“What?! It’s real? Why is the New World system…?”

The people who had been running away were now mesmerized, watching Jeong-Hoon fight.

But nothing registered in Jeong-Hoon’s eyes.

All he could think about was moving on to the next area.

He quickly used his movement technique and moved forward.

However, before long, a barrier blocked Jeong-Hoon’s path.

A portal was shimmering in front of it.

“I guess I have to go through the portal?”

Quickly making up his mind, Jeong-Hoon stepped through the portal.

He arrived at a small park near his mother’s company.

“It’s good that they only implemented a part of it.”

If they had perfectly replicated it, it would have taken much longer to reach his mother’s company.

Jeong-Hoon looked ahead.

[Lv.221 Corrupted Black King Tiger]

In front of him were more ferocious monsters than before.

[Eliminate all Corrupted Black King Tigers within 5 minutes.]

[If you fail, the test will automatically end.]

A new mission was given.

And this time, he was given a time limit of 5 minutes.

“5 minutes? I’ll finish it in 2.”

Leviathan was already in Jeong-Hoon’s hand.

[Activating 1st Form: Initiation.]

———