Chapter 122
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Hero of Merhen
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An exit had formed next to the entrance they had come through.
Jeong Hoon slipped out of the gate through that exit.
The gate then completely lost its power and vanished.
Th-the gate disappeared?
Is that for real?
The top of the ramparts was packed with people staring at the scene in stunned silence.
A moment of perfect quiet swept over them.
Its really gone! The wave is completely over now!
Someones shout shattered the silence, unleashing a thunderous roar of cheers.
Wooooaaah!
Woooaaah! Its the hero! Hes a hero!
The cheers dwarfed anything the Illion tribe could muster.
Even from this distance, they made his skull vibrate.
They waved frantically at Jeong Hoon and jumped up and down.
Caught up in the frenzy, Jeong Hoon raised his hand in response.
Wooooaaah!
The cheers grew even louder.
Thats right. Cheers are supposed to sound like that.
Youre telling me.
Mukho and Anima seemed pleased with the volume.
Hoon! You okay?!
Ragan came rushing down from the ramparts, out of breath.
Jeong Hoon nodded with a grin.
Yeah. Luckily, they werent too dangerous.
Really? That gate looked big enough for some seriously tough ones.
Ragan was rightthis bunch had been pretty strong.
If Jeong Hoon hadnt tried closing the random gate, the next wave would have started, and Illions dark golems wouldve poured out.
The royal city definitely wouldve taken heavy damage.
No, I handled them all on my own without a scratch.
Is that so? Well, Im just glad you made it back safe.
Thanks.
Jeong Hoon returned to the palace, treated like a hero by everyone.
Ooh! The hero himself! Cassandras words hit 100 again!
Kaiserk V reacted the same way.
An exclamation mark blinked above his head.
You have completed the quest.
Quest complete.
Perfect success, even in the route where contribution reached 80.
Jeong Hoon bowed politely and replied humbly.
Just got lucky.
Lucky, you say? No need to be so modest.
Kaiserk V smiled kindly.
If luck alone could do it, the gates that had plagued them from generations past wouldve vanished long ago.
That gates destruction required nearly 90 contributionan outlander achievement only Jeong Hoon could pull off.
No one could object to granting Merhens treasure now.
Incredible. I didnt think hed actually succeed.
Even Luke had to admit it.
The random gate was gone.
The endless waves tormenting the kingdom would never happen again.
The citys forces had defended successfully so far, but the accumulating damage was indescribably severe.
Knights hed just spoken to returned as cold corpses; cheerful mages developed panic disorders from wave trauma. The military toll was massive.
Luke wanted that damn wave gone just as badly.
Merhens protecting treasure.
Thats why hed obsessed over it.
Bring peace to Merhen.
But now that the waves were truly gone
Maybe the real treasure protecting Merhen wasnt the bauble, but this outlander.
Luke approached Kaiserk V cautiously.
Your Majesty, Ill go fetch Merhens Guardian.
Oh, no need. I already have it.
Hed grabbed Merhens Guardian ahead of time, just in case of objections.
Kaiserk V revealed it in his hand.
It was an earring shaped like a golden lion roaring in the center, wrapped by wings.
Ooh Merhens Guardian.
To think itd end up in someone elses hands
Someone else? Its going to Merhens hero.
Jeong Hoons heart pounded.
Thats Merhens Guardian.
He didnt know exactly how great it was. No one had claimed it before his regression.
And now it was about to be his.
Come here.
Kaiserk V beckoned Jeong Hoon.
Yes.
Jeong Hoon stepped forward at his call.
He knelt on one knee and carefully received Merhens Guardian from the king.
You have acquired Merhens Guardian.
You are the first to acquire a guardian accessory! 50,000 achievement points awarded.
Done.
Merhens Guardian.
Merhens Guardian
- Type: Earring
- Grade: Epic
- Special Ability (1): When channeling the earrings mana, designate one of your attack skills to increase its activation chance by 4 for 1 hour. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
- Special Ability (2): When channeling the earrings mana, increases wearers attack power by 4. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
- (Grade increases and hidden abilities unlock when the accessory set is completed.)
Whoa It gets stronger when set-completed.
Attack skills meant skills that trigger additionally on attacks.
A flat 4 boost on top of base activation.
And as a set, the earring would unleash even greater power.
Its grade would rise too.
The rewards didnt end there.
Title Hero of Merhen acquired.
Hed earned a title for protecting Merhen.
A rainbow question mark also blinked above Kaiserk Vs head.
This evolves it to stage 2.
Secret Quest: Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 2)
- Requirement: User who has acquired Title Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 1) Title Hero of Merhen
- Reward: Title Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 2)
- Description: Upgrade Title Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 1) to Title Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 2).
The stage 1 title hed finished.
Beginner region went up to Merhen, so Hero of Merhen was the evolution trigger.
Jeong Hoon evolved the title immediately.
Title Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 2) acquired for the first time. 30,000 achievement points awarded.
Done.
The title had evolved once more.
Hero of a Beginner Region (Stage 2)
- Type: Evolving Title
- Grade: Epic
- All attack power 3.
- All skill damage 3.5.
- EXP gain 2.
- Passive: Heros Resolve always active.
Slight boosts to attack power, skill damage, EXP, plus a new passive.
Heros Resolve
- Type: Passive
- All stats permanently 2. (Detailed stats not shown)
Oh Nice.
A permanent 2 to all stats would shine more over time.
Earth Korea Management Team.
They stared at their monitors, speechless.
He quelled the mana storm.
Then soloed a theme dungeon that seemed impossible to clear.
They watched, wondering what insane play hed pull this time.
As Oh Jin-su predicted, the user cleared the theme dungeon solo.
Wow He just stabbed and pinned it with his sword?
Breaking super armor like that?
His movements are so beautiful
The staff were instantly mesmerized by his swordplay.
It was that perfect and elegant.
He bulldozed the boss Illion with nothing but a swordno martial arts or bow.
Who the hell is this guy?
Theyd seen him wield a sword before, but never this flawlessly.
Why hadnt he used swordplay like that until now?
The real issue was the reward.
The user returned to the Illion tribe and received a rune from them.
The Rune of Annihilation!
Rune of Annihilation?
What kind of rune is that?
Team leader, know anything?
The staff looked to Oh Jin-su.
He nodded.
Yeah Thats no ordinary rune
He vaguely remembered hearing about runes early in his career.
You know you can get runes after level 201?
Runes? What are those?
Items that fuse to gear and amplify power. Auxiliary items, basically.
Ah.
Runes have grades by color, and abilities by letter.
Rune-A: attack power boost.
Rune-B: defense boost.
Rune-C: damage boost.
New World sorted specific stats by alphabet like that.
Runes graded by color: red for unique, purple epic, blue rare, black normal.
Got it. Uniques the best, then.
Yeah. And named runes None yet, but theyre total jackpots.
A vividly red rune.
Not just lettersit had a proper name.
Jackpot, huh
Oh Jin-su swallowed dryly, tense.
Same time.
Jang Dae-hwi logged into his HoneyTube channel to read comments on the latest video.
- This place supposed to be the reinforcement spot?
- For real, everything succeeded when I left it here lol
- Cant go to any other reinforcer Gotta be JH now
- JHs initials for Honey 1, right?
- Seems like it?
Most users raved, satisfied with the results.
- This is busted
- Unreal lol just burned my cash!
- Shouldve gone elsewhere. Trusted him and half blew up?
- What kinda honey is this? Poison. Straight venom.
- Even pufferfish poison aint this bad.
And about 1 hate comments.
Jang Dae-hwi figured they were from rival reinforcers.
Deleting them would just bring more whining about censorship.
Just leave em.
He decided to let them stay.
More importantly, had Ha-jins secret gotten out?
Why no more videos?
Plenty of time since the reinforcement upload, but no new streams.
- No more honey?
- Kinda weird if its constant, but still disappointing.
Comments about no uploads were piling up.
Jang Dae-hwi felt frustrated.
Even without tips, reinforcement footage alone had endless content potential.
But no word from Ha-jin, and calls didnt connect.
Where the hell was he?
Merhen castle training grounds.
Ha-jin rolled desperately across the field.
Hed trained so hard his shabby armor was caked in dirt.
Enough.
Karyan called it, and Ha-jin stopped mid-roll, scrambling up in a panic.
Stamina recovery greatly reduced.
The shabby armor he woreidentical to Karyanswas special material that slowed natural recovery.
With recovery hampered, catching his breath was tough.
Huff! Huff!
Tired? Feels like dying? Just give up. Its easy.
Karyan said flatly.
I cant stop here! I have to learn this no matter what!
The day Ha-jin brought the Dark Lords memoir.
Karyan had planned to brush him off coldly.
But the desperate kneeling earned him a shot.
Fine. Survive my training then.
That started it.
But soon, Ha-jin hit his limit repeatedly.
Just a gamewhy so exhausting?
Potions in his inventory tempted him sorely.
Using one ended training instantly.
Huff! Huff! I-I can do it!
No quitting.
Jeong Hoon had saved his ass with this.
Priceless item, handed over freely.
Quitting now? Too shameful to face Jeong Hoon.
Better to die.
Dying fire reignited in Ha-jins eyes.
Hmm?
Karyan murmured, impressed.
This outlander was at his limit.
Eyes glazed; one tap and hed drop.
Yet suddenly, life returned to them.
Mental fortitudes top-tier.
Body had broken long ago.
Mind barely held it togetherthats how he endured.
Karyan swung his wooden sword at Ha-jins head.
Ha-jin raised his to guard.
The guard shattered; the wooden sword cracked his skull.
Gahk!
Ha-jin screamed and collapsed, knocked out.
You pass round one. Come find me when you wake.
Karyan left the grounds.
Jeong Hoon, watching from afar, smiled.
Hang in there.
He turned away.
What? No heal? Gonna leave him like that?
Normally, Jeong Hoon wouldve healed first, but he quietly left.
Nah. No heal.
The Dark Lord path was just beginning.
Earning Hidden: Dark Lord depended solely on Ha-jin.