Chapter 322
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Fist Saint Advancement
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You have completed the quest.
You have ascended to the Realm.
You have advanced to Fist Saint (5th Class).
All stats increase by 200.
All skill damage increases by 20.
Achievement unlocked! You have completed the 'Realm' achievement. 200,000 achievement points have been awarded.
The rune equipping limit has increased to a maximum of '12'.
You have acquired 10 Celestial Energy.
Phew, it's over.
Yeo Min-ji wiped away the cold sweat mixed with blood and collapsed onto the ground right there.
She was so exhausted she couldn't stand on her own two legs.
"I never imagined you'd claim the qualifications for Fist Saint. Why go so hard for it?"
In front of her sat an NPC known as the Nameless Martial Artist. He stared at Yeo Min-ji with an expression of utter disbelief.
Having seen the potential in her while she undertook the job change quest, the Martial Artist had made one proposal.
Wouldn't she like to grow even stronger than she was now?
Yeo Min-ji, whose stamina was nearly depleted, accepted without hesitationand in the end, she claimed the power of Fist Saint.
"I need to get stronger than I am now..."
She answered, breathing heavily with effort.
"What's the reason you crave power so desperately?"
"...There's someone I want to catch up to."
It was a power she never could have obtained without that goal.
"Hoo, is that so? Does that guy walk the same path?"
The Nameless Martial Artist rested his chin on his hand, looking intrigued.
"Yes."
He frowned at how she nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"That's strange. As far as I know, there's no one stronger than you."
He was the NPC overseeing the 4th and 5th advancements.
That meant he tested Martial Artists who had reached the 4th class.
Even they weren't that numerous, so he remembered most of their faces.
And among them, Yeo Min-ji was the only one who had completed the 5th.
There was no one superior to her among those walking the same path.
"There is."
"Ridiculous. Who could possibly be better than you?"
Yeo Min-ji tilted her head.
'That's weird. There's no way he doesn't know Hoon.'
A powerhouse who made her feel ashamed even to compare herself.
A being far beyond human limits, casually facing entities she couldn't even meet eye-to-eye with.
How could he not know Jeong Hoon?
"Ah, could it be that he ascended to the Celestial Realm?"
"Celestial?"
"Yeah. If he reached the heavens before starting the 4th class, it's only natural I wouldn't know."
"......"
The Celestial Energy she gained upon completing the 5th class.
Was it related to that energy?
"If that's true, he'd be one impressive human. He'd have reached Legendary grade before even beginning the 4th class."
"How do you ascend to the Celestial Realm?"
"How? You got a bit of that energy just now by finishing your advancement to Fist Saint, right?"
"Yes."
"Once you gather 100 of it, you'll qualify to challenge the heavens."
"Qualify?"
"Yeah. Succeed in the challenge, and you can claim the power."
Yeo Min-ji somewhat understood how Jeong Hoon wielded such immense strength.
He had been walking a path one dimension higher all along.
'I'll definitely catch up.'
She clenched her fist tightly, vowing to herself.
She would ascend to the Celestial Realm that Jeong Hoon had reached.
"What if you fail?"
"You stay put. Your energy resets to 0."
"...So failing means a huge setback."
"Exactly. Gathering 100 is an ordeal in itself."
"What are some ways to gather the energy?"
She had only 10 so far.
90 more to go, and she already felt daunted by where to get it.
"Look for the right NPCs. There are definitely some who can hand it over to you."
"NPCs... Got it."
"That's all I can tell you. Now go back."
"...Yes."
She had more questions, but the Martial Artist clamped his mouth shut, clearly done answering.
In the end, she left that place and returned to Earth.
'What the...'
Yeo Min-ji, back on Earth, was speechless at the sight before her.
Every building around her apartment, including it, had been swept away, leaving only traces behind.
'Wait a second.'
Yeo Min-ji hurriedly checked her messages.
Notice Regarding Event Changes
Damage has exceeded 30.
The dungeon will be renewed.
Renewal completion in progress... (98)
From the notice about event changes to exceeding 30 damage.
Dungeon renewal.
She had skimmed over them while focused on her job change...
Yeo Min-ji pulled out her smartphone to contact Jeong Hoon.
"Why is this happening now...?"
The smartphone was dead.
"Min-ji!"
Just then, Yeo Sun-woo's voice reached her ears.
When she turned her head, he was running toward her.
"Dad!"
Seeing her unharmed father made her eyes well up.
"Gods above. Thank you."
Yeo Sun-woo pulled Yeo Min-ji into a hug and let out a sigh of relief.
Father and daughter embraced, sobbing for a long while.
"Sniff... What the hell happened?"
Once time passed and Yeo Min-ji pulled away from his arms, she asked.
She wiped her damp eyes with the back of her hand and looked around.
"You probably saw the messages, but it's all because of the event."
When Yeo Sun-woo emerged after his own job change, Seoul was already in ruins.
He had been utterly panicked.
He tried contacting guild members to gather them, but communications were down, making it impossible.
Fortunately, he met some guild members including Park In-tae and Park Jin-hyuk who had evacuated to a nearby shelter, and learned the details of the event.
He sent everyone including Park In-tae to the shelter and lingered near the collapsed apartment, waiting for his daughter to return.
She would return here upon successfully completing her job change.
But as time dragged on, she didn't appear.
All sorts of anxious thoughts tormented himhad something gone wrong?until confirming she was safe washed away every worry.
Renewal completed... (100)
The dungeon renewal was finished.
Before heading to the Alliance Headquarters, Jeong Hoon went to the apartment where Yeo Sun-woo lived.
He was worried since there was no contact.
'The damage here is severe too.'
As expected, their residential area had taken heavy damage.
No intact buildings in sightit was so devastated it was hard to believe this was Seoul.
"Any survivors?"
Jeong Hoon looked around.
A few who had survived by evacuating to shelters were wandering outside.
But no sign of Yeo Sun-woo or Yeo Min-ji, no matter how hard he searched.
'...Could it really take this long?'
Had something happened during the job change quest?
Jeong Hoon furrowed his brow and grabbed passing people to ask.
"Excuse me, have you seen a Martial Artist over level 500?"
"Martial Artist...? Oh, you mean Yeo Min-ji?"
"Yes."
"She's probably at the shelter. I just came from there."
"Thanks."
Jeong Hoon hurried off to the shelter.
Users stared blankly at his figure vanishing in an instant.
"Wow... How is he that fast?"
"He's level 795, right...?"
"I didn't see the level?"
Jeong Hoon reached the shelter quickly and soon spotted Yeo Min-ji.
'She's safe.'
She was just emerging from the shelter at that moment.
"Huh? Hoon!"
She spotted him and waved.
Jeong Hoon stepped with Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon, arriving before her in a flash, and quickly scanned her up and down.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine, luckily. Sorry I couldn't contact you right away."
"It's okay. What about the shelter?"
"Oh, just chatting with the guild members for a bit. I was about to go find you."
"I see."
Jeong Hoon nodded and checked her info.
Fist Saint (5th Class).
Before starting the 5th class, she had been a Fist Law Masterand through the 5th, she successfully advanced to Fist Saint.
'That explains why it took so long.'
Unlike other jobs, Martial Artist was notoriously hard to upgrade ranks.
The long time made sense because she went through the upgrade to Fist Saint.
"You've advanced to Fist Saint. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Yeo Min-ji beamed at Jeong Hoon's congratulations.
"Is the Guild Master safe?"
"Yes. He's inside the shelter right now."
"Good."
"What about the others?"
He was asking about his mother, Ha-jin, and Bong-gu.
"Everyone finished their 5th classes and is waiting at home."
"The houses are intact?"
Yeo Min-ji looked slightly surprised.
From her apartment to all surrounding buildingseverything was gone.
She had assumed other places were the same.
"Yes. Luckily, we were free from the penalty."
"That's a relief..."
"If you'd like, you can head to our place. Mom would be happy to see you."
"What about you, Hoon?"
"I have somewhere to be briefly."
He had confirmed everyone was safe.
Now he needed to head to the Alliance Headquarters, collect the marks within the time limit, and wrap up the episode.
"Oh, wait! Could I ask about Celestial Energy?"
Completing the 5th class granted 10 Celestial Energy.
For Yeo Min-ji now, the next goal was ascending to the Celestial Realm.
Jeong Hoon recalled from memory and pulled out a notepad, starting to write something.
"Simply put, think of it as the process to claim Celestial power."
"What kind of power exactly?"
"It transcends equipment grade limits. You have Celestial gear now, right?"
"Yes."
"It's the sameupgrading a Legendary-grade job to Celestial."
"I-Is that even possible...?"
"Yes."
Jeong Hoon nodded and handed her the densely filled notepad.
"What's this?"
Yeo Min-ji looked at him questioningly, and Jeong Hoon smiled.
"I've listed places where you can gather Celestial Energy. If possible, while I'm gone, you can all move together to collect it."
The notepad detailed locations for acquiring Celestial Energy.
Since they were post-renewal spots, finding them shouldn't be hard.
Gathering the energy wouldn't be easy, of course, but everyone having completed the 5th class meant they could manage.
"...Got it. I'll gather as much as I can while you're away."
Yeo Min-ji nodded with a resolute expression.
"Yes. Here, take this too."
Jeong Hoon pulled out two potion bags bought with points and handed them to her.
They contained countless potions.
"Wow, so many potions?"
Yeo Min-ji checked them and exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes. This should cover you while gathering energy."
"...Thank you for always looking out for me. I'll repay this favor someday."
Yeo Min-ji bowed 90 degrees in gratitude.
"I'll hold you to it. Say hi to the Guild Master for me."
"Yes."
Portals to the Alliance Headquarters had spawned across every region worldwide.
In Seoul, there were three in total, one at Mapo Station.
A portal was installed on the stairs leading down to the stationthat was the one connecting to the Alliance Headquarters.
It looked no different from a regular dungeon portal on the outside.
Jeong Hoon stepped into it.
Would you like to enter the Alliance Headquarters?
Alliance Headquarters.
'Enter.'
As he confirmed his intent to enter, Jeong Hoon's body was sucked into the portal.