Chapter 315
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 315
Chapter Title: Ultimate Mastery
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Countdown complete.
You are forcibly ejected from the library.
As soon as the timer hit zero, his vision went black, and he found himself back in the Hall of the Ultimate.
Jeong Hoon held a single book in his hand.
Got it.
Ultimate Mastery
He hadnt taken the book containing Asura, but hed acquired something even more valuable.
What would come of this one?
He was already looking forward to it.
Looks like you got something good.
Hariel, whod been watching from behind, took interest in the book.
Yes. But I have one question.
Jeong Hoon stowed the book in his inventory as he spoke.
What is it?
Did you rig it?
What?
Hariels face stiffened for a moment.
Jeong Hoon nodded at the sight.
As I thought.
H-Hold on! What do you mean as I thought?
It shows. You rigged it.
Ahem!
Unable to come up with an excuse, Hariel cleared her throat awkwardly and averted her gaze.
Baal, huh?
Hariel wouldnt have acted on her own. If she were going to interfere, she wouldve sabotaged his fifth job change quest too.
Someone had clearly intervened through her.
And the most likely culprit was Baal.
But why give him something even better instead of sabotaging?
There must be a reason.
Baal wasnt the type to act without one.
Whats Baals angle?
Hariel grimaced at Jeong Hoons question.
No idea.
Is that so?
As Jeong Hoons eyes narrowed, Hariel hurriedly added,
Im serious! All I know is that my lord took an interest Ngh!
As if realizing shed said too much, she clamped a hand over her mouth.
But it was too late.
Jeong Hoons mind raced.
I see. Hes interested in me, is he?
The bastard designer of this cursed game.
Escannon of the Apocalypse.
Hes handing me power on purpose, just to plunge me into deep despair later.
Even standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Baal, Escannon saw him as little more than a pup.
Jeong Hoons lips twitched.
Fine. Ill gladly take it.
Hed make him feel that complacency lead to defeat firsthand.
Jeong Hoon turned and left the Hall of the Ultimate.
Remaining HP: 54.75
Yeo Min-ji panted as she put distance between herself and the puppet in front of her.
I hit it that hard and its not even down halfway.
The first stage of the fifth job change quest.
A duel against the NPCs puppet.
Lv. 500 puppet.
A high level, but shed surpassed 500 alongside Jeong Hoon, with all her stats greatly improved.
Shed entered the duel full of confidence, but as time dragged on, anxiety crept onto her face.
Not enough time.
Her HP and MP were already depleting from the endless barrage.
She was managing with potions, but the 60-minute limit was the problem.
Forty minutes had passed, and the puppets HP was still over half.
At this rate, shed fail the fifth job change quest.
Is there another way?
Realizing brute force wouldnt work, she scrambled for alternatives.
The puppet thrust a sharp fist at her abdomen.
Boom!
But it still couldnt pierce Yeo Min-jis protective aura.
Seizing the opening, she twisted her body and whipped her right leg like a flail at the puppets temple.
Blazing Wind Kick.
A kick skill upgraded after her fourth job change.
Remaining HP: 54.73
Even with a clean hit, it only shaved off 0.02.
Thats how tough it was60 minutes was too short.
As the puppet staggered, Yeo Min-ji drove her fist into its solar plexus.
Annihilation Fist.
Fourth Form: Ruinous Strike.
A fist technique channeling mana into the fist, compressing it for devastating power.
The punch landed, unleashing a shockwave.
Boom!
Remaining HP: 54.64
An additional 0.09 gone.
Yeo Min-ji bit her lip.
Even her fourth-form Annihilation Fist only did 0.09.
Whoosh
The puppet swung back in retaliation, but Yeo Min-ji dodged, then drove her elbow loaded with her body weight into its solar plexus again.
Fourth Form: Ruinous Strike.
Remaining HP: 54.55
Remaining HP: 54.55.
Still a long way to go.
The fourth form could be used three times total.
As she prepared the final Ruinous Strike
The special ability of the Gauntlets of the Annihilation God activates.
Yeo Min-jis eyes widened.
Legendary-grade gear acquired in Darvis.
Jeong Hoon had enhanced it for her, and shed upgraded it to Celestial in the City of Enhancement.
Annihilation God descends.
The seal on Ultimate Annihilation Fist is temporarily released.
Using Ultimate Annihilation Fist will automatically trigger Price of Ruin. (Penalty)
A cheat-level option with a 0.01 proc rate.
Low odds, but if it triggered, no enemy could easily defeat her.
It could instant-kill monsters far below her level, massively drain HP from peers or superiors.
Of course, such a cheat came with heavy penalties.
Accepting the Annihilation God imposes constant strain, right?
It also drained her HP, and each use of Ultimate Annihilation Fist demanded equivalent life force as payment.
High risk, high reward.
She could refuse when it procced.
But not now.
Ill definitely complete the fifth job change.
Even playing casually in a capsule, Jeong Hoon had seemed unreachable.
Now, he was farther than ever.
She admired him, but jealousy gnawed at her too.
Shed worked insanely hardwhy was he soaring while she stagnated?
Always receiving help, never giving it.
I wont be dead weight.
Shed gone to the demon world with him but felt like mere scenery.
Just standing there, watching.
No different from a baby bird fed without effort.
Jealousy and fury at her own powerlessness burned.
That fire fueled her fifth job quest.
Dont falter. I have to succeed.
Yeo Min-ji steeled herself and accepted the Annihilation God.
Entering Annihilation God mode.
All stats instantly increase by 50.
20 HP offered as sacrifice.
Sacrificed HP cannot recover until Annihilation God mode ends.
20 HP burned away, dazing her momentarily.
Gritting her teeth, Yeo Min-ji closed in and unleashed a fist.
The puppet raised its arms to guard.
Crack!
Her fist shattered bone on impact, breaking through the guard to smash its face.
Ultimate Annihilation Fist.
Remaining HP: 47.73
HP that barely budged before dropped nearly 7 from one punch.
Throb
Yeo Min-ji winced.
Landing Ultimate Annihilation Fist cost her 4 HP.
And equal pain.
Just 4, but the recoil shook her balance.
Ill succeed no matter what.
No stopping now.
Yeo Min-ji hammered the puppet relentlessly with Ultimate Annihilation Fist.
Its HP plummeted.
At that moment.
Jeong Hoon returned home from the Hall of the Ultimate.
He pulled out his smartphone to check for messages, but nothing from those away on fifth job quests.
I finished too fast.
Reaching the ultimate realm jacked up quest difficulty exponentially.
Even Jeong Hoon, whod completed it pre-regression, felt the hike.
But once he matched Lord-class power, difficulty meant nothing.
Nothing could hinder him.
My explosive growth in the demon world was huge.
Even he hadnt expected this.
Without the five Sins, hed have struggled.
Master! Open it already!
Im dying to know. Whats Ultimate Mastery?
Mukho and Anima nagged, frustrated he hadnt opened the book yet.
Wait.
Before using Ultimate Mastery, he opened the Sin Box first.
Open the box?
Once chosen, it cannot be undone. Proceed with caution.
Open.
The box creaked open, black light spilling out.
Acquired Seven Deadly Sins Core: Pride.
Cursed.
Cursed.
Cursed.
Countless curses flooded in with the core.
HP rapidly decreasing!
HP rapidly decreasing!
HP rapidly decreasing!
Jeong Hoon casually used Curse Removal.
Curse Removal used.
Previously, hed need multiples; now, one sufficed.
All curses vanished in a puff.
Seven Deadly Sins Core
-Type: Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, Pride
-Level: ?? (Grows by absorbing stats)
-Grade: Celestial
Four of seven collected; the core evolved a stage.
Not just grade or statsits very form advanced.
Hahaha, Escannon! You damned bastard! Ive already regained over half my power! See that?!
The Seven Deadly Sins Core bellowed at the sky outside.
Its lips grinned wide, but rage beyond words laced its voice.
Naturallyit had been split and sealed into seven by Escannon.
Seven Deadly Sins Core.
It turned at Jeong Hoons call.
Yeah?
Any more memories?
With four united, it had recovered more.
Yeah. I remember the bastard pretty well now.
Good. Tell me about his power.
Hmm. One things sure: if you go after him now, you die 100.
No hesitation in its answer.
Exactly as expectednot surprising.
Fine. Tell me everything you know.
Got it.
The Seven Deadly Sins Core finished explaining.
About Escannon.
About this game.
Surface-level, as anticipatedno major insights.
Getting Escannon intel via Baal was huge.
Everything on Escannon was in Jeong Hoons hands now.
Without it, even scraps wouldve been gold.
Anything else youre curious about?
The core eyed him, begging for praise.
Nope. Go back.
Thats it?
Ill feed you something good soon.
Promise!
Satisfied, it grinned and vanished.
Finally!
That demons so obliviousit was killing me.
Come on, pull out the book.
I cant wait to see whats inside.
Mukho and Anima, bored during the talk, lit up.
Jeong Hoon chuckled and retrieved the dormant Ultimate Mastery book from his inventory.
Ultimate Mastery
-Type: Skill Book
-Grade: Ultimate
-???
No clue what it was until used.
Wonder whatll come out.
Jeong Hoon used the skill book, face slightly tense.
A hologram appeared before him.
Acquire one skill from the list.
Select desired skill.
Acquire from the list?
Not randomhe could choose.
Jeong Hoon scanned the skills one by one.
So many, he had to scroll.
Master! Pick one from these?
Mukho peered curiously.
Which ones good? Cant inspect closer?
Unfortunately, no.
Only skill names visiblechoice demanded caution.
Hmm. What to do.
Scrolling slowly, pondering
Huh?! Whats this doing here?
A skill caught his eye.