Ascending to Diamond (Part 2 Begins)

"No."

Let me catch my breath. Just for a minute.

Fighting five dragons in a row and then jumping straight into the next trial? Give me a break.

-Have not all your expended stamina and mana been fully restored?

"My mental strength hasn't."

-When was it that you boasted you could rampage for days and nights without end?

"It depends on the situation."

-This is quite the contrast to the way you constantly spoke of the era of apocalypse.

The words stuck in my throat.

Our goddess.

When exactly did you become such an eloquent speaker?

-My dear.

"Yes. This is Yu Jinho, whose mentality is as fragile as glass."

-Compared to your previous life, how much time have you shortened?

Hmm.

If we measure by overall specs, around fifteen years. By floor count, maybe ten.

-How long did you say it had been since your regression?

"A little over a year."

-You have advanced an enormous span of time.

Yeah. No kidding.

I didn't realize I'd manage this well. I never imagined that less than two years after returning to the past I would grow into the strongest player on Earth.

-Oh ho. You speak the word "strongest" with such confidence.

"Is there any other player on Earth who could defeat a Wyrm-class dragon besides me?"

This wasn't speculation. It was certainty.

After devouring Rene Davis, who had become a pawn of Klyphoth, my Fusion Qigong had reached perfection as well.

And that wasn't all. With even more diverse abilities added on top of what I possessed in my previous life, claiming the title of world's strongest was only natural.

-Now that you have been promoted, it is time to organize your ability systems.

"Yeah."

My path of growth had diverged significantly from my previous life. To be precise, various new abilities had been added onto the foundation I used before regressing.

"Status window."

-Heh. Are these truly the results you achieved in only three months?

"A lot happened."

I had crushed the conspiracy of the Klyphoth followers in Algeria. When I was dispatched to Germany, I cleared A-rank and S-rank gates one after another to prevent any Break events from occurring. And during the Great Collapse of France that Rene Davis triggered? I was beyond busy.

I never stopped slaughtering the demonic beasts pouring out from the other side. The fact that I reached max level so soon after hitting Platinum said everything that needed to be said.

-Even so, it remains an unprecedented growth rate, does it not?

"That's because I can still gain additional stats even after completely filling the essence predation effect."

This was exactly why I had needed the Key of the Netherworld. The essences that maximized the stat increase from Devour were located in the Tower's underground. It would have been an unreasonable schedule with my specs back then, but obtaining those synergy-granting essences in advance had accelerated my growth dramatically.

The stronger the enemy, the greater the stats I gained through predation. In terms of pure specs, I had recovered roughly forty percent of my prime.

"There just aren't any monsters with internal energy, so I can't obtain any through Devour."

-Be careful not to become so greedy that you give yourself indigestion.

Hey now. Shouldn't you refrain from lecturing me about greed when you've got an appetite like that?

"Three weeks of cotton candy. Confiscated."

-You insolent—!

"Instead of worrying about my stomach, take a look at yourself."

-Setting divine power aside, why is your internal energy uniquely so low?

"Because I can't invest bonus stats into it."

It was a stat that could only be raised through cultivation exercises. Thanks to steadily consuming the Moonview Stones I obtained during the tutorial stage, I had managed to raise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it this far.

"I've eaten about two-thirds of them."

There had been thirty-two elixirs I brought back from the tutorial. I absorbed them without missing a single dose every time the two-week restriction expired. Normally, repeatedly consuming the same elixir would diminish its effect, but Moonview Stones carried no such penalty. That was how I had been able to gradually increase my internal energy.

-With the power of the True Wish Pearl as well, the only burden is the total amount, is it not?

The point Nyx had pointed out also played a big role. The ability of the True Wish Pearl was to freely convert mana, seon energy, internal energy, and dark mana into one another.

"Thanks to that, I've been able to use far more varied abilities than in my previous life."

If I had to name the most representative one, it would be Seon Magic. Before my regression I had only used magic as support. I couldn't output the kind of high firepower I could now. After obtaining the Essence of the Dragon Soldiers from the Forgotten Temple and steadily raising my magic power, the snowball effect had been tremendous.

Martial arts — Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts

Body techniques — Explosive Demon Qi and numerous others

Magic — Solar Explosion, Avalanche, Eclipse

Dark magic — Ars Goetia and numerous debuff spells

Void category — Void Projection (summoning) / Void Mirror (transformation)

Dragonkin category — Dragon's Wings / Dragon Form

Special category — Fusion Qigong / Power of Polar Night

I hadn't been able to learn Seon Magic or void abilities at all before my regression. And I had only been able to perfect Fusion Qigong—which I originally obtained through a bet with a Constellation—by devouring it. All in all, I now possessed a far wider array of abilities than in my previous life.

"The direction of my physical evolution has broadened considerably as well."

In my previous life I had used magic strictly as support. Because of that, even after obtaining the Primordial Dragon's Factor, I had focused on maximizing the abilities of the primordial species. Now I no longer needed to give up one for the other. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Once I could fully manifest the Primordial Dragon's Factor—the origin of both the physically superior primordial species and the magic-specialized modern dragonkin…

-You have not forgotten the power of the Wish Pearl, have you?

"I was saving it for last. As if I'd forget."

The Power of Polar Night. It was the ability to control darkness granted to me by the Goddess of Night, Nyx. A perfect offense-and-defense style that could freely change according to the user's will. Aside from the drawback of being difficult to master because it was a conceptual-god level ability, it was flawless.

-Continue to train diligently.

"Easy for you to say."

Honestly. It was already difficult to master even one field, yet I was handling several at a main-specialty level. There was no way I could slack off on training. I had no intention of letting any of them slip. To defeat the high gods, I needed to become even stronger.

Knock, knock, knock—

"When are you coming out?"

A clear voice came from beyond the door.

"Is that you, Jiyoung? What's up?"

"You passed your promotion test, didn't you? We have to throw a party!"

Good grief.

I was trying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to maintain some gravitas here, and she wants to throw a party?

I shook my head and was about to speak when Nyx pressed her tiny finger to my lips.

-Let us go. It seems they have prepared a celebratory feast in honor of your victory.

Hmm. Should I?

"This isn't just because you want cotton candy, right?"

-Do not slander this goddess's thoughtful consideration as mere gluttony.

"You're telling me there's not even one gram of that motive in there?"

-…It would not be unacceptable to have a taste.

Since she had been honest, I decided to reward her.

"What are you waiting for? Manifest already."

-Ah. Of course.

Nyx summoned the homunculus body she was synchronized with. She shook her black hair that reached down to her waist and smiled brightly. Did snacks really make her that happy? I let out a small sigh and opened the firmly closed door.

* * *

Bang! Bang!

"Congratulations on your Diamond promotion!"

"It is only natural for my master. Still, congratulations."

"Promotion. Congratulations."

The lobby had been filled with food and desserts, and decorations that hadn't been there before the promotion test now covered the walls. I had only been in my room for less than an hour. When did they prepare all this?

"We knew Master would win, so we got everything ready in advance."

"Preparation. Jiyoung did it all."

Karla added in her usual emotionless voice.

"Hey, everyone helped too."

"It was annoying, so I had no choice. Woman."

"I told you to call me by my name, Ping Lei."

"Hmph."

Why are you two fighting again?

Anyway. If Jiyoung had prepared this entire party, then…

"That outfit is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your handiwork too, huh."

"Ugh… uuuu."

A boy was huddled in the corner, face bright red and letting out tiny groans. The future Machine Monarch, the slaughterer who had once stood above the Mechanical Army and opposed all of humanity—Enrique—was wearing a cone-shaped party hat and an exaggerated clown-like outfit that looked like it belonged at a cosplay event.

"I didn't want to wear this!"

"Enrique. You were the one who said you wanted to congratulate Master on his promotion."

"B-but I didn't say I wanted to wear something this embarrassing!"

"You should call her Big Sis."

"…Big Sis."

To think I'd see the future Machine Monarch looking so utterly deflated.

No matter how many times I saw it, the sight never got any less surreal. And that wasn't all. The Wall of Lamentation, a heavyweight from the Chinese underworld, and someone who had left after receiving a summons from a Constellation were all gathered in one place. A combination I could never have imagined in my previous life!

A luxurious dream team with two Monarchs and three High Rankers right before my eyes.

"Guild Master, have a drink."

Ah, Yunsu hyung was here too. In my previous life he had been the indomitable commander who protected the European front with his leadership. Now he was serving as the strategic core of our guild.

Seeing old connections and old grudges mingled together like this made me realize just how much I had changed the future since my regression.

"Where did everyone else go?"

"They gave us the room so the founding members could spend some time together."

What considerate people.

I let out a small chuckle and accepted the champagne glass Yunsu hyung offered. After glancing at the gently swirling liquid, I slowly scanned the group gathered in the lobby. Everyone was watching me, waiting to hear what I would say. When they looked at me like that, I felt like I had to say something.

Maybe it was because I had just finished the Diamond promotion test, but all sorts of thoughts kept rising and fading.

"A lot has happened lately."

The Klyphoth follower incident in Algeria. After being dispatched to Germany, I spent an entire month clearing A-rank and S-rank gates. During the Great Collapse of France caused by Rene Davis, I had been incredibly busy. In the otherworld, I had fought without rest against the demonic beasts that emerged. We even discovered traces of Klyphoth in several gates after expanding our operations across Europe, and I had managed to extract a confession from Nadia Cassel, vice-master of the Arme Rouge guild.

"Master, can I ask a question?"

"No."

"Come on, please?"

"You were going to ask how I persuaded Nadia, weren't you?"

"Hehe. Just tell me already."

"Trade secret."

The real Nadia Cassel had drawn her last breath in Algeria. There was no way I could tell them that the one who appeared at the press conference was a fake. In any case, after the insider's exposé, Europe's strongest guild, Arme Rouge, had remained silent for nearly two weeks. Rene Davis then used World Severance to isolate France and swallowed the entire country.

"At the time, I really thought it was all over," Yunsu hyung sighed deeply.

The Yeokcheon Guild had stood at the forefront, entered France, and resolved the crisis by defeating the mastermind, Rene Davis.

"Why are you bringing up a story we all already know, Master?"

"Kid, don't kill the mood. Come on."

Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll skip the extra training just this once.

"Just… there will be even more things ahead of us. I hope you'll continue to support me."

I raised the champagne glass in my right hand high.

Many things had changed since my regression. Some things remained the same. But one thing was certain.

We were definitely moving in a better direction.

"Congratulations on your promotion once again!"

"Congratulations!"

At Jiyoung's lead, the rest of the group shouted in unison.