Level Up
A single post that appeared on the community forum sent ripples through the previously quiet space.
Tracking was classified as a hunting skill, so Kim Jehyun's demonstration didn't create much of a stir on its own. The reactions were lukewarm at best: What can't Kim Jehyun do? As expected of him. Impressive.
But once it came out that he'd clashed with the black-clad figures there, the true identities of those figures—and the ones behind them—sparked a massive backlash.
"......"
Lee Hyunwoo, having read through the community posts, fell silent. He set down the tablet in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
Tap.
With a snap of his fingers in that position, ♪♬♩♩♪♪♪♬.
A large speaker on the desk began playing soft classical music.
'It's... all over.'
Lee Hyunwoo murmured inwardly with his eyes shut.
The situation had reached its worst.
With Kim Jehyun taking down both Hwanma and the black-clad figures, evidence linked them both to the Black Snake Clan.
As a result, allied clans that had maintained friendly ties began shunning them. They were even expelled from their regional federation.
The various interests they'd held were torn apart and fell into the hands of clans they'd opposed.
Cold-blooded severance.
That was the situation in a nutshell.
'Where did it all go wrong...'
Lee Hyunwoo replayed events in his mind until a throbbing headache hit him.
Kim Jehyun.
That guy was the problem.
He was the starting point for everything going wrong—from the initial quagmires to the catastrophic end.
Bang!
"Vice Clan Leader!"
Shin Daeil burst into Lee Hyunwoo's room. He would normally knock without fail, but he looked too frantic for that.
"......What is it?"
Lee Hyunwoo asked, staring at Shin Daeil with a deflated expression.
"B-big trouble. The Superhuman Association just sent a summons. They say non-compliance means forced arrest......"
"......Hah."
Lee Hyunwoo sighed, his face saying it had to happen eventually.
"Fine. Guess we have to go."
With that, he rose from his chair.
There was no escaping it anyway.
At this point... facing the Superhuman Association head-on might unexpectedly open a path.
And it wasn't all doom and gloom.
The VIPs.
Their influence reached the Association. Maybe he could find a way out through their aid.
'I want to believe that.'
As Lee Hyunwoo murmured with hollow eyes—
"Where do you think you're going looking like that."
A deep, gravelly voice came from beyond the door Shin Daeil had burst through.
Lee Hyunwoo and Shin Daeil's heads turned naturally toward the voice.
Piercing eyes.
Skin pale as if it had never seen sunlight.
And a gleaming bald head shining like a night pearl.
Lee Hyunwoo's eyes widened at the man's appearance.
Pale skin and bald... He looks just like the Clan Leader in his youth.
It was a familiar face.
For a moment, he wondered if it was the Clan Leader's son.
But the Clan Leader had no children.
"What are you standing around for? Still got that dumb look."
As the man spoke again, Lee Hyunwoo's eyes shook violently.
The man before him wasn't just someone who resembled the Clan Leader in his youth.
It was the Clan Leader.
Himself.
"Cl-Clan Leader."
Kang Sihoo, the Black Snake Clan's leader who had entered secluded training.
He had broken out of seclusion, appearing with a dramatically younger visage.
[Entering the Training Room.]
A message appeared before Kim Jehyun's eyes, and he stepped into the Training Room.
'Two Dragon God Temple entry tickets. Gotta max out levels this time.'
Gazing at the hourglass floating in the air, Kim Jehyun spoke.
"I've got one more Dragon God Temple entry ticket. Can't use it ahead of time?"
[Possible. Extend Training Room entry time using Dragon God Temple entry ticket?]
"Yeah."
Kim Jehyun nodded, and another hourglass of the same size appeared beside the first.
Seeing that, he stretched and prepared for battle.
"Summon all spirits, summon Gui. And... Princess Sayo, summon."
Spirits, Gui, and Princess Sayo appeared one by one at his side.
Just their presence shifted the atmosphere around Kim Jehyun dramatically.
A reassuring force that filled him with confidence at a glance.
"Alright, let's go wild."
Kim Jehyun said, eyeing the horde of monsters approaching from afar.
Princess Sayo stepped forward.
Aiming her Saga Staff at the oncoming horde, she unleashed her power.
Formless Poison.
Light flickered in Princess Sayo's eyes, and the Saga Staff spewed mana.
The odorless, invisible poison spread stealthily toward the charging monsters.
"Kek?"
"Kyaaak......"
The effects were immediate.
Some monsters froze in place, others collapsed and writhed on the ground.
"Whoa. That's some serious effect."
Kim Jehyun let out a short exclamation.
With debuffs like this, taking them down would be a breeze.
He unleashed a wide-area spell, and the poisoned monsters were wiped out in an instant.
Bringing Princess Sayo into the Training Room was a brilliant move.
Not just Formless Poison—petrification, confusion, morale debuffs, and more.
With every kind of debuff in play, the monsters fell far more easily.
'Dark Staff's the real deal too.'
He could tell now that he'd tested it properly.
The destructive power was visibly greater even with the same mana output.
Combined with Princess Sayo's debuffs, his amplified spells melted the monsters like ice cream.
The spirits unleashed relentless attacks too.
Gui, standing guard, had nothing to do.
'At this pace, no idea how many I can take down total.'
Kim Jehyun glanced at the hourglass, pondering.
At this rate, by the time both ran out, he'd rack up at least thousands.
'How many levels will that give...'
As he murmured excitedly—
[Challenge Your Limits]
Put your enhanced power to efficient use and push to the brink.
Achieve 100,000,000 monster kills before Training Room time expires.
📍 Quest: Kill 100,000,000 Training Room monsters (1,203/100,000,000)
🎁 Duration: Until Training Room entry time ends
🎁 Rewards: Ellen's Treasure Chest+7, 300,000 points
'100 million?'
Kim Jehyun blinked at the quest details.
Hey, 100 million?
Even for him, that was...
If it were the stage 5 monsters, sure.
No time limit then, and they were much weaker than now.
But the time constraint here made 100 million in the limit seem impossible.
'Still... gotta try, right?'
Kim Jehyun steeled his resolve.
Success meant not just rewards, but enough exp to potentially hit stage 7.
He turned to Gui, standing blankly.
"Gui, what're you doing? Go sweep 'em!"
At his shout, the spirits and summons went all out.
[Training Room entry time is up. Exiting Dragon God Temple.]
As he cast a wide-area spell at the visible monster horde, his level rose—and he was booted from the Dragon God Temple room as time expired.
'Already... over?'
That was Kim Jehyun's first thought upon ejection.
He'd lost track of time, entering a trance as he battled monsters.
He'd squeezed every drop of mana he had.
Every stat point from level-ups went straight to mana.
To cast just one more spell.
—Huh, looks like you really pushed it.
Alkasha murmured in surprise, eyeing Kim Jehyun with steam rising from his body.
Kim Jehyun looked down at himself and thought.
'How many levels did I gain? Did I fail the sudden quest?'
Then a system message appeared.
[Sudden quest completed.]
[Acquired 300,000 points.]
[Acquired Ellen's Treasure Chest+7.]
'I did it!'
Kim Jehyun's face lit up.
100 million—an absurd number—and he'd somehow pulled it off.
Getting Princess Sayo and entering the temple was divine intervention.
'Status window.'
Feeling the overflowing power, he opened his status.
*Willpower cannot be raised with stat points.
Remaining Stat Points: 5 | Points: 327,300
Abilities:
[Hatchling's Basic Mana Art(S) Lv. 9], [Subspace(A) Lv. 5], [Alkasha(EX) Lv. 6], [Clarity(S) Lv. 6], [Ifrit's Provisional Contractor(SS) Lv. 6], [High Elf Spirit Arts(S) Lv. 6], [Spirit Magic(S) Lv. 6], [Rollin's Provisional Contractor(SSS) Lv. 3], [Raidoo's Provisional Contractor(SSS) Lv. 3], [Soul Collect(SS) Lv. 2]
Dragon Body:
1. Dragon Eye (29.31%)
2. Dragon Heart (29.1%)
3. Dragon Scale (35.3%) - 'Dragon's Rage(SS)'
4. Dragon Blood (29.9%)
5. Dragon Bone (27.8%)
Authorities:
1. Dragon Fear (29.2%)
*Proficiency over 30% allows body and authority enhancement.
*Primary authority enhancement available at acquisition site.
"Oh."
An exclamation escaped Kim Jehyun's lips.
Level 59.
The second wall—the infamous one for 7th Circle.
He was right on the cusp, and not even twenty yet.
'Dragon Blood's proficiency is almost at 30% too.'
Dragon's Rage, from his first authority enhancement on Dragon Scale, was his trump card.
Another was within reach.
A satisfied smile curved his lips.
—Huh, I half-doubted it, but you really hit 59.
Alkasha murmured in amazement at his level.
As expected. Jehyun always exceeds expectations.
But Alkasha had even predicted this level of achievement from him now.
—Heh heh heh. Now the real grind begins. Repeat after this body.
"Why?"
—Because level 60 isn't just about piling up exp.
The towering wall to stage 7 wasn't one you could brute-force with exp alone.
—'Tis a realm reached only through long-tempered self-forging and insight born thereof.
At last, the time has come for this body to provide proper guidance.
This body shall personally lead thy path to stage 7. From now on, address me as tea—
As Alkasha excitedly poured out words—
[Second Gateway to Greatness]
Surpass the wall to stage 7.
Yet the conventional path would take ages.
Thus, system privilege activates.
The system bestows the heir with a growth blessing.
Now, shatter the wall with specific spirit elixirs.
📍 Quest: Acquire and consume Millennium Tree's Millennium Fruit
🎁 Duration: Until stage 7 promotion
🎁 Rewards: Stage 7 breakthrough, 2,000,000 points, Ellen's Treasure Chest+10, S-grade Rare Core
"Uh...... like this?"
—......
Alkasha, mid-rant at the quest details, fell speechless.