Chapter 217
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: The One Who Resists Fate
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His blackened vision returned.
Bzzz
Merhen's Guardian resonated even more strongly.
The guardian hanging from Jeong Hoon's ear shook violently.
"Where is this?"
Jeong Hoon looked around.
The surroundings were shrouded in thick black mist, with nothing visible.
Only the space directly in front of him shone brilliantly.
The reason was the single ornament floating serenely right before him.
Merhen: The One Who Resists Fate
- Type: Necklace
- Rank: Unique
- Special Ability (1): None
- Special Ability (2): None
That was it.
The ornament that would unlock the set options for Merhen's Guardian.
A question mark blinked above it.
Episode Quest: Saving Merhen Kingdom (4)
-Restriction: Complete Saving Merhen Kingdom (3) quest
-Reward: ??
-Description: Acquire the ornament.
The quest was straightforward.
Simply acquire the ornament.
'It won't be that easy.'
Of course, Jeong Hoon didn't see the quest as simple.
Quests to acquire items were usually high difficulty.
'Still, I have to do it.'
He absolutely had to take that ornament.
Only then could he successfully complete every episode of the Merhen Kingdom.
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest.
Bzzz
The ornament in front of him began to resonate.
Then, a man stepped forward toward him.
"Pass."
"Yes?"
"Feel free to take the ornament."
Contrary to his expectation of high difficulty, the man pointed at the ornament with a hearty laugh.
"...You're just giving it to me like this?"
Jeong Hoon furrowed his brow.
It was too simple for the final quest.
"I had a feeling you might be able to change something."
Now he had an idea who the man was.
"Ah, you're the ornament itself?"
"Bingo."
The man clapped with a smiling face.
The necklace communicating in human form of its own will.
Meaning, the owner of this space was the necklace right before his eyes.
"...Did you make the episode dungeon too?"
"Yeah. It's a device I prepared by pouring everything I had into it. Lost all my power in the process, though."
"Why go that far? You could've just waited quietly, and someone would've taken it."
Jeong Hoon spoke with a regretful expression.
Thanks to the device the thing prepared, its performance had dropped to zero.
Of course, he was satisfied with this, but losing its original power was a huge shame.
"I wanted to show it. The world perishing."
"Is that the final memory of the Merhen Kingdom?"
"Yeah. It collapsed just like that."
It was a different history from the Merhen Kingdom used in the episode.
Unlike the history where they bought time by contracting with demons, including Kaiserk V, the memory the necklace showed was one where the kingdom crumbled in an instant due to the penalty.
'That's probably what really happened.'
The setting of enduring by offering souls to demons was likely twisted by the Transcendents to let Earth players tackle the episode.
"So, why show that to me?"
"...I didn't want it to repeat."
"I see."
Jeong Hoon nodded.
No more words were needed.
Their intentions aligned.
"One last question."
"Go ahead."
"Can you change this damned fate?"
The man ground his teeth as he spoke.
"Yeah. I'll change it, no matter what it takes."
Jeong Hoon nodded solemnly.
"...Good answer."
With those words, the man turned to smoke and vanished.
An exclamation mark blinked above the necklace.
You have completed the quest.
You have acquired 'Merhen: The One Who Resists Fate.'
Episode Dungeon clear progress reaches 100.
You have cleared the Episode Dungeon.
You have gained 40,000,000 experience points.
Your level has increased.
All stats 1.
Bonus stat 1 granted.
With the Episode Dungeon clear, he completed the Merhen's Guardian ornament set.
Jeong Hoon exited through the portal that appeared in front of him.
Palesman Barony.
Karyan paced the mansion, venting his anxiety wildly.
"Baron, are you alright?"
The head butler approached cautiously and asked.
"Ah... I'm fine, don't worry."
What worried him more was the outsider who had entered the Cursed Forest.
Karyan had seen with his own eyes the forest's barrier disappear.
He didn't know why His Majesty entrusted the key to this outsider, but there must be a reason.
"...He'll bring back good results."
The butler spoke as if hypnotizing himself.
And rightly so, for the outsider heading to the Cursed Forest was theirnay, the Merhen Kingdom'sonly hope.
"Uwooooh!"
At that moment, the monsters that had quieted down began pouring out again.
"What!"
Karyan's face turned pale.
It hadn't been long since he cleared the monsters, yet they were appearing again already.
"Baron!"
"Get to the mansion!"
At Karyan's command, the butler hurried inside.
'The cycle is speeding up... We can't hold out like this.'
Karyan drew his sword.
The blade was badly chipped from cutting down countless monsters.
He had a gut feeling this battle would be his last.
The oncoming monsters were Lv. 270 Iron Orcs.
They wore iron armor and swung massive axes.
Even Lv. 300 Karyan couldn't handle that many.
'If there is a god, please protect our kingdom.'
He prayed to the heavens and charged forward.
Pewww!
Then, an arrow shot from somewhere and struck the neck of the Iron Orc in front of Karyan precisely.
Arrow rain followed.
"Kuwoooo!"
The Iron Orcs collapsed under the arrow barrage.
"Wha... What's this?"
Karyan turned his head.
Jeong Hoon stood there.
"Are you alright?"
With those words, Jeong Hoon closed in beside him in an instant.
A movement too fast for the eye to follow.
"Yeah... How was the forest?"
"Yes. Very successful."
Jeong Hoon grinned and fiddled with his necklace.
"What's that?"
"A necklace I got from the forest."
Merhen's Guardian.
Merhen: The One Who Resists Fate.
Merhen's Guardian
- Type: Earring
- Rank: Legendary
- Special Ability (1): When drawing out the earring's mana, designate one of your attack skills to increase its activation chance by 4 for 1 hour. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
- Special Ability (2): When drawing out the earring's mana, increase the wearer's attack power by 4. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
- Set Option Activated (1): Triple the effects of special abilities.
- Set Option Activated (2): 'Passive: Guardian of the Kingdom' auto-activated
With both ornaments united, Merhen's Guardian's rank rose to Legendary.
The set options activated.
Guardian of the Kingdom
- Type: Passive
- Eliminates all that harms the Merhen Kingdom. (All stats increased by 1.5x)
Jeong Hoon drew his bowstring again, aiming at the Iron Orcs.
"You can relax now."
He reassured Karyan and released the string.
It wasn't just completing the set.
He had fulfilled the condition to finish the episode too.
'Clearing this episode means gathering the ornaments and eliminating 1,000 monsters.'
Jeong Hoon spread his Sky Bow and exterminated the monsters.
With the set effect, the 1,000 filled up in a flash.
Exactly at 1,000, the swarming monsters vanished all at once.
He completed the final puzzle of the episode.
"This should hold for a while."
Jeong Hoon muttered, looking where the monsters had disappeared.
Since he hadn't perfectly ended the game, he couldn't say he saved the Merhen Kingdom.
He didn't know when something might happen again, but for now, this was the best.
'Time to go back.'
Now to claim the remaining rewards.
Jeong Hoon prepared to return straight to the palace.
"Thank you so much. Truly, thank you."
Karyan, saved from the Iron Orcs, expressed his gratitude to Jeong Hoon repeatedly.
Monsters he couldn't have withstood with his dulled sword.
If Jeong Hoon hadn't arrived in time, he surely would've died.
"It was something I had to do."
"Had to... So that's your knightly honor."
Karyan's lips curved into a smile.
As a child, he too had dreamed of being a righteous knight.
Of course, reality's walls had slowly distanced him from that sense of justice.
"I'll be going now. Stay well."
"Take care."
Karyan kept smiling to the end.
But Jeong Hoon could tell it was forced.
'With his territory's people nearly wiped out, it's no wonder.'
Having just received his barony, he'd faced the worst crisis.
Jeong Hoon left the barony and headed straight for the palace.
Knights patrolled the streets searching.
"Hoon!"
Ragan, leading the knights, spotted the returning Jeong Hoon and shouted loudly.
He rushed over frantically to check on him.
"I'm fine, so don't worry too much."
"Fine...? Does that mean...?"
"Yes. The monsters tormenting the kingdom won't appear anymore."
"Is that true?! How?!"
"Thanks to this necklace."
Jeong Hoon pointed to the one around his neck.
"What's that necklace...?"
Ragan seemed clueless about it.
Understandably so.
This necklace was an item revealed after materialization.
"It's an item that sets with Merhen's Guardian."
"Gasp!"
Ragan inhaled sharply in shock.
Jeong Hoon continued calmly.
"Without it, it would've been impossible."
"I-is that so...!"
"Yes. Where is His Majesty?"
"He's inside right now! Waiting anxiously for your return."
"Got it."
As Ragan said, Kaiserk V waited anxiously for Jeong Hoon.
Upon hearing of his return, he hurried out barefoot to greet him.
"Hoon! I've been waiting!"
Jeong Hoon smiled at the sight.
"Yes. I've safely completed it and returned."
Proving it, an exclamation mark blinked above his head.
Episode: Merhen Kingdomall completed.
Episode Collection system opens.
Included in Episode Collection.
The episode's rank is 'S.'
Episode registered in collection.
Synergizes with Monster Collection.
Synergy Stage 1 applied.
All stats 2, damage 2, all skill damage 2
Synergy Stage 1.
With few episodes in the collection, the options were lackluster.
But as collections piled up, the synergy would strengthen, adding key options.
'Cleared Merhen Kingdom, so the rest are easy wins.'
Clearing the most important Merhen Kingdom meant achieving the top priority plan.
'Leaving already?!'
Kaiserk V regretted Jeong Hoon's departure deeply.
But with the Merhen Kingdom driven to the brink of ruin, they couldn't even dream of a feast.
'Yes, I have things to do.'
With Jeong Hoon having business left, there was no reason to stop him.
'I see... Then when will you come again?'
'Who knows. Not sure yet.'
With the episode wrapped up.
What remained depended on the Merhen Kingdom survivors.
Jeong Hoon bid farewell to Ragan and the knights too, returning to the alchemist district.
To check the status of the Celestial Engraving Stone he'd left with Raigriner.
"You're back?!"
Yet Raigriner, who should have been focused on stabilization, greeted him with a beaming smile.
"Looks like good results?"
"Yes! Come see right away!"