Chapter 192
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: The Final Trial
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Liseroph uses Chains of Extreme Cold.
As the second pattern began, pitch-black iron chains erupted from the ground in thousands of bundles.
What the hell is all that...?
Chains of Extreme Cold.
They looked like they would be scorching hot on the surface, but that was an illusion.
These chains were so frigid that merely touching them would freeze anything solid.
Even Jeong Hoon, decked out in Legendary defensive gear, would be out instantly if they got him.
Ching!
Countless chains stretched toward Jeong Hoon.
'Leviathan's got to hold up.'
Jeong Hoon unleashed his movement technique while swinging Leviathan in a wide arc.
A few chains clashed against it and bounced away.
The deflected chains sank back into the ground as if they'd lost their momentum.
But there were still far too many left to count.
Ching!
The endless chains swarmed, surrounding and lunging at Jeong Hoon.
First Form: Entering Stance activated.
Jeong Hoon triggered Entering Stance and spun his body in a grand rotation.
He swiftly batted away the incoming chains.
Of course, this alone wasn't enough to block them all.
He had no choice but to employ an additional method.
It wasn't a specific skillanyone who could control their mana could use it.
But without mastery, you couldn't regulate the amount, so only experts bothered with it.
The released mana could offer faint protection against external attacks for a split second, but if the timing was off even slightly, it wasted mana without defending at all.
Because the compressed mana dispersed into the air.
It was essentially a technique for veterans only.
And Jeong Hoon was a veteran.
He'd done anything and everything to climb from his weakest days.
"Hup!"
Jeong Hoon emitted a thin layer of mana outward.
Ting! Ting!
A few chains collided with the mana, their speed slowing.
The mana that had briefly shielded Jeong Hoon's body scattered away.
First Form: Entering Stance activated.
Seizing that fleeting moment, Jeong Hoon quickly reset his stance and smacked the chains away with Leviathan.
After repeating this for what felt like ages, the second pattern finally ended.
"You damned human...!"
Liseroph glared at Jeong Hoon with bloodshot eyes.
With the second pattern over, it had depleted all its mana.
Its energy source destroyed, it couldn't recover.
Jeong Hoon dashed forward with his movement technique and brought Leviathan crashing down on Liseroph.
Slash.
A cutting sound rang out, and Liseroph let out a scream.
Jeong Hoon didn't let up, chaining Extinction Sword strikes to press the assault.
The creature's health dropped from 70 to 40.
Liseroph enters secondary frenzy.
Now for the third pattern.
Jeong Hoon fell back with his movement technique.
The third pattern could be skipped, but he'd spotted a slight difference from the second.
Gambling on a skip and failing meant instant death.
That would force a 24-hour logout.
No way he'd secure the Power of the Heavens in the remaining time then.
"I'll kill you!"
Attacks of every variety poured from Liseroph's arms.
Keeping his distance let him dodge some, but for the rest, he relied on iceberg formations to endure.
Whoa... look at that barrage. Where's it getting that energy?
Where else?
Frenzy refilled its depleted energy to full.
The third pattern was evading attacks until that energy ran dry.
Just like before, a single hit would deal one-shot damage.
'Is this the last pattern?'
Jeong Hoon shook his head at Anima's question.
"It has four patterns total."
So many?
'They really didn't want it cleared.'
Exactly.
They'd cranked the difficulty to hellish levels to block access to the heavens.
Yet plenty of humans had pierced that hell and reached the Power of the Heavens.
"Grr! Hiding won't save you!"
Liseroph extended an arm toward the iceberg shielding Jeong Hoon.
Unlike the others, this arm was mechanical.
A breath weapon blasted from it, melting the iceberg entirely.
"Keep blasting like that and you'll hit something?"
But Jeong Hoon dodged even the breath.
Frustrated by constant misses, Liseroph stomped in rage.
"Take a hit! That's an order!"
"Bullshit."
Jeong Hoon toyed with Liseroph, dodging every which way as he waited for it to tire.
After endless attacks, Liseroph started panting.
Its frenzy-refilled energy had run dry again.
As the third pattern ended, Jeong Hoon surged forward with his movement technique and attacked.
The creature's health plummeted, down to 5, when a gleam entered Liseroph's eyes.
The fourth pattern was about to start.
"Okay. Time to finish this."
Jeong Hoon splashed the pre-purchased potion 'Burning Curse of Asda' onto it.
Smoke billowed from Liseroph's body as it tried to frenzy, unleashing a scream far more agonized than before.
"Gaaahhh!"
This potion melted anything, making it devastating against the ice-attuned Liseroph.
That's how he skipped the fourth pattern.
Jeong Hoon swapped to Anima, drew the bowstring, and released.
Ultimate Arrow.
The arrow flew straight for its heart and pierced dead center.
"Gurk..."
Blood poured from its nose and mouth as its massive body crumpled.
You have defeated Liseroph.
Liseroph (130)
One count up with Liseroph subjugated.
Mukho and Anima were floored.
That grind, and you still have 29 more?
'This is seriously bad...'
Still, Jeong Hoon was plenty satisfied with this clear.
"It's fine. The next ones will go faster."
Skipping to the third pattern would allow quicker clears.
Jeong Hoon exited the dungeon, then re-entered the Extreme Cold Liseroph Dungeon.
16 hours later.
"...You finished?"
Jeong Hoon returned to the NPC after taking down all 30.
The NPC could only gape in shock.
He'd cleared the nasty Liseroph in just 16 hours.
Impossible.
"Yes. What's the next quest?"
"...Take a break first?"
The NPC urged rest, but Jeong Hoon shook his head.
"I'm good."
"No... I'm not..."
"Then hand over the Power of the Heavens now."
"That's even more..."
Clear reluctance to give it up.
Which meant it knew about the countdown.
"Then give me the third quest."
"...Hah, fine. No helping it."
The NPC snapped its fingers with a quiet sigh.
Pass the Trial.
- Defeat NPC ???
The final quest: face off against this very NPC.
"That's too unfair."
"Hm? What's unfair?"
The NPC asked with a relaxed smile.
"Our levels are different."
"Ah, levels will be matched exactly."
"Stats?"
"...Why so suspicious?"
"Isn't it weirder not to be?"
"...Fine. Stats matched to level 226 too. Happy?"
"Can you promise that?"
"Yes! Break it, and I hand over the Power of the Heavens right away! Good?"
Jeong Hoon nodded.
"Please keep your word."
The final duel with the NPC.
Just like before regression, when he'd claimed the Power of the Heavens.
No matter how much it hated giving it up, it would honor its words.
"But fail, and I'll take all that heavenly energy."
"Yes."
"Good."
In that instant, the NPC vanished.
Whoosh
Wind battered Jeong Hoon's face.
He turned his head aside.
A fist grazed past his ear.
'Pretty fast.'
Even matched to level 226, the NPC's speed was hard to track.
That dodge had been pure instinct.
Thud!
The immediate counterattack.
Jeong Hoon's fist slammed into its side.
"Urk!"
It let out a small grunt.
"Doesn't look like I'll be losing any energy."
Jeong Hoon grinned.
The NPC's face flushed at the smirk.
"You little shit?"
Whoosh!
Another fist flew.
It thought it could overpower the Martial Artist the same way.
'Danger.'
This punch was far faster and sharper than the last close call.
No dodging ithe raised his guard in haste.
Thwack!
Defense held, but a numbing shock jolted through his body.
'It said stats matched to 226.'
Clearly not perfectly matched.
Jeong Hoon unleashed Myeongwang Fist Technique for a counter.
A fist brimming with Myeongwang's aura hurtled at its face.
It scoffed, pivoting on its left foot to pull back its right shoulder and slip away easily.
Thwack!
Anticipating the dodge, Jeong Hoon whipped his extended fist rightward and nailed its jaw perfectly.
"Urk!"
The NPC's head snapped left.
It ground its teeth and smashed a right hook into Jeong Hoon's gut.
"...!"
Jeong Hoon's eyes widened slightly at the heavy blow.
He grabbed its collar and headbutted its nose.
The brutish strike whipped its head back, blood spraying from its nose.
"Argh!"
Jeong Hoon's forehead reddened too, but he healed it fast with Advanced Healing.
"Still a ways to go."
"Damn it!"
Jeong Hoon kept the collar gripped.
His left hand started slapping its face.
Naturally, the NPC fought back with hands and feet.
A pure contest of durability.
But over time, the NPC's movements slowed.
'What... what the hell is this!'
Damage accumulating, it seemed ready to drop any second.
'Weird... I set stats to level 330?'
The level 226 promise was a lie.
Anything to avoid handing over the Power of the Heavens.
Should've set it to 400 if he'd known.
The NPC bit its lip and backhanded Jeong Hoon's face.
His head turned, then he smashed its jaw again.
"Cough!"
"Still a ways to go."
Jeong Hoon hammered the same spots relentlessly.
"You bastard! Cut it out already!"
"Nope. All the way."
A chilling phrase, and Jeong Hoon's lip curled up.
The NPC's shoulders trembled at the grin.
Panic colored its face.
'Did I just flinch...?'
Unbelievable.
Flinching at a mere human.
Its pride shattered.
"Fine! Let's go all the way!"
Time passed since the fight began.
The NPC's face was a messno unbruised spot left.
Collar still gripped, its body shook as it raised both hands.
"S-Stop... I lost..."
What an annoying bastard.
No thought of releasing the collar.
At this rate, it'd really die.
"Really?"
Thwack!
Jeong Hoon said it while punching its face once more.
The Myeongwang aura in his fist was a whopping 8 stars.
Terrified by the absurdly powering-up Myeongwang Fist Technique, the NPC screamed.
"Stop! You fucking dog!"
"Got it."
Thwack!
Jeong Hoon smashed its jaw again.
"Aaagh! Shit!"
"Shouldn't have lied. If you'd set stats to 226 properly, I might've gone easier."
"...What, you knew?"
"Did you think I wouldn't?"
Jeong Hoon grinned at its mangled face.
"...Hah. Fine. My bad."
"I win?"
"Yeah... so please stop."
A rainbow exclamation mark blinked over the NPC's head.
Only then did Jeong Hoon release the collar.