Chapter 210
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Method?
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Method?
'What the hell is that?'
Upon failure, there's a 99 chance of destruction.
The way to prevent destruction is the 1 chance of preservation.
But there was another method besides that?
"Yeah."
A method to make the success rate of the Celestial Engraving Stone 100.
It involved processing the engraving stone.
'This is still an incomplete engraving stone.'
It was imprinted with Celestial power, but unstable, causing excessive backlash.
They said the success rate was 50, but in reality, it was around 40.
That meant only 4 successes out of 10 attempts.
It wasn't low per se, but considering a single failure meant destruction, it was a painfully risky probability.
'If I stabilize it, the success rate goes up, and the destruction chance drops to zero.'
A process that boosted success while nullifying destruction.
However, Jeong Hoon couldn't do the processing himself.
Only alchemists of truly exceptional skill could handle it.
If he'd obtained the engraving stone in the New World game, finding an alchemist would have been easy, but now it was incredibly difficult.
'Because everything's been wiped out.'
With the New World map offline, it had devolved into dungeons.
Just like the dungeon he'd entered to deal with that demon, which was set in Origin Village.
That said, not all NPCs had vanished.
Some were still surviving.
'In my memory, the alchemist should be in that dungeon.'
Not in Korea, but in a dungeon located in LA, USA.
Among the NPCs hiding there was an alchemist who could handle celestial energy.
To reach it, he needed to head to LA.
Jeong Hoon immediately sought out the NPC on the street.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Jin Se-jun
-Level: 100
-Job: Teleport Helper
An NPC tasked with helping players move instantly to other regions.
He'd worked for Genesis, a knight who traveled the country installing capsules.
"What can I help you with?"
"I'm heading to LA in the US."
"Round trip is 2,000 points, one way is 1,500 points."
"Round trip, please."
"Got it. It's a round trip, but the ticket expires after a week, so please return before then."
Super Express Round-Trip Ticket
-A ticket allowing instant travel to inputted coordinates.
-Must be used a second time within a week after the first use. Expires if deadline passes.
A round-trip ticket.
If not used within the time limit, it auto-destructed, requiring repurchase.
'LA, where James Marcus lives.'
The guy who'd offered to join as a companion.
But in the end, he'd stabbed Jeong Hoon in the back.
Jeong Hoon wanted to kill him right now, but before the betrayal, he'd been a good man striving for peace.
'Better to watch him for now.'
He might prove useful.
Of course, any hint of trouble, and Jeong Hoon wouldn't hesitate.
Jeong Hoon pulled out a disguise potion, altering his appearance and level.
He changed his nickname with an ID card too, so no surprises.
Fully disguised, he set coordinates for LA, USA, and used the ticket.
His body vanished in an instant.
A video titled The Legendary's Next Tier Appears?! went up on HoneyTube.
As Jang Dae-hwi predicted, views skyrocketed immediately, with dozens of comments flooding in every second.
It spread across national internet, news, and media worldwide, drawing global attention to HoneyTube.
What's the Celestial grade?
There's a tier above Legendary?
"Is this even possible...?"
Ha-jin and Bong-gu were gathered, watching the upload.
Just 6 hours since posting.
Views had blown past 100 million, hitting 150 million.
Spreading worldwide, it was expected.
"This is insane..."
"Yeah. Everyone's going nuts demanding the dungeon's location."
They wanted it revealed right away.
Some couldn't wait and were already moving, foreigners flooding into Korea from around the world.
Bzzz-
Then, a smartphone vibrated.
Caller: Yeo Min-ji.
Ha-jin answered quickly.
"Yes, hello?"
Ha-jin! Jeong Hoon isn't picking up. Is he with you?
"No. Hoon's off on something else."
We finished mining, was gonna say it's okay to reveal the location... Where the hell is he... Anyway, got it!
The call ended.
Same time.
A user in LA, USA, was watching the HoneyTube video.
"This is huge..."
He'd subbed after the demon dungeon clear video, caught the recent live stream too.
When the Celestial grade appeared, he'd yelped in shock.
Eyes turned his way, but he ignored them, glued to the stream.
"James, how many times you gonna loop that video?"
A man asked wearily.
"This is a massive discovery, Lewis."
"So you're going after that ore?"
"Not exactly, but it seems to unlock the secret of celestial energy."
"Ah, right. You said you're at 28 already?"
"Yeah."
America's top warrior in the rankings.
Pro offer to WFT team launched him, sweeping tournaments to superstardom.
James Marcus.
Legendary job with hidden class Paladin.
Collecting celestial energy bit by bit, now at 28.
But its meaning was unknownuntil this video.
'Energy at 100 lets you ascend to Celestial grade.'
Thanks to Celestial surfacing.
"Impressive... I'm barely at 2."
Lewis Verdant also had Legendary grade and hidden class.
Divine Judge.
America's top priest.
Also in WFT with James, contributing to victories.
"Lewis, this guy's pretty good, right?"
James Marcus pointed at Honey1 in the video.
"Huh? Honey1?"
"Yeah. You know it too. New World's not just a game anymore."
"..."
Capsules dead, game became reality, character stats carried over intact.
"Time to gather allies."
"Allies?"
"Yeah. Still lacking, but I'll recruit high-potential ones and move as a unit."
"Does it have to be that extreme?"
Lewis Verdant couldn't grasp it.
James wasn't a superstar just for being a Paladin.
His genius mind, leadership, and decisiveness built him.
They'd never questioned his orders before, but this didn't compute.
Why bother recruiting allies the hard way?
"Penalty. Someone cleared the last one, but it'll surely be Earth-destroying level."
New World becoming reality let monsters ravage the surface once.
Definitely penalty-related.
Intensity would ramp up, conditions harsher.
James planned an elite force to maintain Earth's peace.
LA, USA.
Jeong Hoon appeared in the city center.
"Been a while here too."
Monsters had trashed it, but no penalty meant quick recovery work.
Whoa, vibe's different here.
Muk-ho seemed to like LA's scenery.
'Hmph, if I knew it wouldn't break, I'd have done it first...'
Anima still grumbled about her choice.
Scared of destruction, she'd delayeddidn't expect a no-destruction method.
"You'll both upgrade soon, so hang tight."
Muk-ho maybe not, but Anima truly shone at the higher tier.
Impressive now, but Lee Hwarang wielding Celestial Anima? Awe-inspiring.
'Then...'
That's when it happened.
"Hey."
Five men approached, surrounding Jeong Hoon.
Smoking cigarettes, acting thuggishclassic punks.
'Disguised at 160, and trouble finds me instantly.'
All around level 200.
Jeong Hoon deployed Sky Vault Steps, subduing them with fists in a flash.
"Urk!"
"Gah!"
They crumpled without resisting.
Under 10 seconds, stunning onlookers who'd watched quietly.
"What!"
"Whoa... really level 160?"
Jeong Hoon glanced at them, then headed to his target dungeon.
A green portal not far from LA downtown.
No one around it.
"Good, no fights."
He entered straight away.
Enter Lv.160 Alchemist Street?
Only Lv.161 and below allowed.
Alchemist Street.
But entry barred over level 161.
Jeong Hoon was at 160 via disguise potion.
'Potions getting rare for this reason.'
For some reason, green portals accepted disguises.
Green portals were special dungeons with monsters and NPCs.
Meaning, dungeons to find surviving New World NPCs.
'Entering.'
Intent confirmed, his body sucked into the portal.
Alchemist Street
The street was utterly demolished, no trace left.
Hard to imagine anyone living here.
People here?
'Damn... it's bad.'
Even Muk-ho and Anima were speechless at the sight.
"Yeah."
Originally, even in Leas, this was an alchemist city.
Some NPC villages persisted as special dungeons.
Though time would see them vanish one by one.
This one wouldn't last a year.
Vanishing when NPCs died.
Ongoing monster attacks whittled them down.
Jeong Hoon strode forward.
He spotted some alchemists.
One familiar face.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Raigriner
-Level: 210
-Job: Alchemist (Enhancement)
Leblanc's disciple, huh.
Past ancient recipe decoding, got help from Leblanc.
Earned Transcendent Enhancement skill that way.
"Huh...? You!"
Raigriner, staring blankly at the sky with dilated pupils, spotted Jeong Hoon.
His eyes lit up.
"Long time no see."
At Jeong Hoon's greeting, Raigriner scrambled from rubble, rushing over.
"Hey! You're alive?!"
"Yes."
"Please! Help us!"
A red question mark blinked over the wailing Raigriner's head.