Chapter 396
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 396
Chapter Title: Shadows in the Orphanage
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You have completed the quest.
"Thank you so much! Without you, the stress would've been unbearable."
"Yes. Take care."
Jeong Hoon traveled across Atlas, completing quests.
As a result, he managed to finish 37 of them.
'Whoa, Master... Isn't this way too grindy?'
'Is there no other way to get to Arandis?'
Not at the moment.
The only way to reach Arandis was to build trust with the residents of Atlas, unlock a top-secret quest, and complete it.
To do that, he needed to hit 80.
"Not much left."
'Doesn't it feel like more than half is still undone?'
"It's only half left."
Thinking positively, he could wrap it up quickly.
Unlike before his return, he had plenty of time, and at this rate, he'd open the path to Arandis in just a few days.
"Excuse me, could we talk for a moment?"
Jeong Hoon turned at the familiar voice.
"James Marcus...?"
Jeong Hoon muttered softly, and James Marcus grinned.
"Yes. I'm James Marcus."
"...Why are you here?"
This was inside the game.
Since it wasn't materialized, he figured they wouldn't meet unless it was a unification event.
Had the divine realm taken over and merged the servers?
Or had they added server transfer functionality?
"I'm just visiting the Korea server for a bit."
"Ah, server transfer?"
"Yes, exactly."
"So why'd you approach me?"
Jeong Hoon tilted his head.
"Oh, I was wondering if you've seen that level 1,000 user."
"That's why you came?"
"Yes."
Someone must've screenshotted him wandering around and posted it on the forums.
That said, didn't this guy check info?
Jeong Hoon's level was well over 2,000 right now.
Anyone could tell it was him just by reading the details.
"It's me."
Just in case, Jeong Hoon said it straight.
"Pardon? What... Your level's 320, though?"
But James Marcus tilted his head like he had no idea what that meant.
"320?"
"Yes. Martial Artist, level 320. Are you messing with me right now?"
What the hell was going on?
Was it because of the Seven Stars Transfer?
"...Really?"
"Yes. If you haven't seen them, just say so."
Jeong Hoon thought for a moment, then spoke.
"I told you, it's me. That was a glitch."
"A glitch...?"
"Yeah. Who's world rank one?"
"Me."
"Right. Even rank one's only around 500, so where's this level 1,000 coming from?"
"500, huh."
James Marcus was smiling, but he seemed annoyedmana began roiling inside him.
"You gotta pick your targets."
Jeong Hoon placed a hand on his shoulder and released his mana, pressing down lightly.
Boom
Overwhelmed by the aura, James Marcus staggered and dropped to one knee.
His pupils shook wildly.
'Wh-what...'
The sheer power left him speechless.
He could barely breathe, and his vision blurred.
"Did I go too hard?"
Jeong Hoon lifted his hand from James's shoulder.
"Hah! Hah!"
Freed, James Marcus gasped for air.
His trembling wouldn't stop, so Jeong Hoon approached and used Divine Heal.
The shaking stopped like magic, his breathing steadied, and his rattled emotions calmed.
"You okay? What kind of rank one's this fragile?"
"Wh-who the hell are you?"
"Told you. I'm that level 1,000 you saw."
Jeong Hoon grinned.
'Master! Was it necessary to say that?'
Honestly, Mukho was rightit wasn't necessary.
But James Marcus had also tried to protect Earth through countless regressions.
Appreciating that effort, Jeong Hoon figured he'd give him a little push to grow beyond his current level.
After that incident.
James Marcus wouldn't leave Jeong Hoon's side.
"Ah, the quests have all changed. Looks like that method won't work anymore."
"...How long are you gonna follow me?"
"Until you tell me how you got that strong."
"You're annoying."
"I'm good at being annoying. Haha!"
"Is that so."
Jeong Hoon chuckled dryly and accepted a quest.
"Whoa... what?"
"Why's James Marcus hanging out with that random player?"
Wandering the village for quests meant running into other Atlas players inevitably.
They glanced back and forth between Jeong Hoon and James Marcus, baffled by the pairing.
It was only naturalthe world rank one sticking with some no-name.
"But how are you hiding your level?"
James Marcus was convinced Jeong Hoon was level 1,000.
Otherwise, pinning him down like that would've been impossible.
The issue was how he was masquerading as level 320.
There were plenty of ways to fake levels, but James had eyes that could pierce through them.
Yet he couldn't read Jeong Hoon's.
"Didn't really mean to hide it."
"You weren't trying to hide it?"
"Otherwise, why would I pull aggro as level 1,000?"
"...Fair point."
Even he couldn't see through it.
If Jeong Hoon had really wanted to hide, he'd have stayed disguised as 320 and avoided attention.
"Curious?"
"Huh?"
"About the secret to my rapid growth."
"Oh, are you gonna tell me?"
Jeong Hoon nodded.
He wouldn't have let him tag along if he hadn't planned to.
"Remember the places I've been."
"Huh?"
"There were two opportunities hidden in them."
"What...?"
"Anyway, I told you. Find the rest yourself."
"You're messing with me right now, aren't you...?"
James had chased Jeong Hoon everywhere and hadn't spotted a single opportunity spot.
So he figured Jeong Hoon was spouting nonsense to shake him off.
"If that were the case, I wouldn't have let you follow me from the start."
"Th-that's true, but... then why didn't you take the opportunities yourself?"
Opportunities placed in New World.
They were cheat keys to skyrocket a player's growth.
If he knew where they were, wouldn't hogging them solo be best?
He'd never seen anyone hand them over freely while playing New World.
"I don't need them."
"You don't need them...?"
"Anyway, if you don't take them, I'll give them to someone else. What'll it be?"
"I-I'll take them."
If they really existed, he couldn't let anyone else have them.
"Let's go, then."
"W-wait. You're sure there are still opportunities left in Atlas?"
James Marcus was one of the rare few who'd conquered Atlas and moved to Arandis.
Meaning he'd scoured the whole place for opportunities.
And found zero.
Yet Jeong Hoon had found two in that short time?
"Don't believe me? Your call."
"O-okay!"
James Marcus hurried back to where they'd first met.
With James Marcus gone, Jeong Hoon tried to continue his quests.
But players who'd been watching from afar swarmed him the moment James left, curious. They saw him as a level 320 Martial Artist too.
'Master, just shake 'em off by force.'
'Really annoying.'
Mukho and Anima were rightit was a hassle. But this was a sight he couldn't see after materialization, so he responded kindly.
A game was a game.
How precious was that?
Of course, he brushed them off politely and refocused on quests.
Your level has partially recovered.
Your stats have partially recovered.
His level rose past 3,000 with the bonus, and quests hit 50 completion.
Just 30 more, and he'd meet the first condition for Arandis.
This quest involved taking orphanage kids to the chapel.
Help them attend the event and have funthat was the content.
"Welcome."
Roel greeted Jeong Hoon with a forced smile.
"You're showing your reluctance a bit too obviously, aren't you?"
"When did I? Can't you see I'm smiling?"
"Kids are here, so manage your expression."
"I am..."
"Anyway, are you giving this quest's reward?"
"Huh? Why?"
"It has Fragments of Origin."
Spending time at the chapel with kidsthat seemed to be it.
But the reward was a whopping two Fragments of Origin.
Meaning it wasn't just a simple time-killer.
'What the hell are they testing to hand out two Fragments of Origin?'
A chapel-related quest.
"R-really? There can't be Fragments of Origin left to spare...?"
Roel seemed clueless about the quest.
"Two of them."
"Two?!"
Seeing Roel's shock confirmed it.
This quest had nothing to do with him.
"Um..."
Then, a small kid who looked about six fidgeted with her fingers and looked up at Roel.
"Yes? Something to say?"
Roel knelt to meet her eyes.
Reassured by his kindness, she slowly spoke.
"Actually... Teacher Lucas has been weird..."
"Weird how? Can you explain properly?"
"He screams at night... Makes weird noises that keep us awake."
The other kids nodded at her words.
"Yeah. Teacher wasn't like that before... He's been weird lately."
"Teacher's scary."
"Last time, he took Aru and Hugo... They haven't come back. He said they went to a better place and not to worry."
Jeong Hoon nodded slightly as the kids poured out their story.
'Not a simple quest after all.'
That explained the two Fragments of Origin.
Lucas was probably the orphanage director.
The Lucas Jeong Hoon had seen seemed incredibly kind.
You could feel his genuine love for the kids and his pride in the orphanagea solid middle-aged man.
"Ahem, yeah, that does sound off."
Roel agreed, and the kids nodded eagerly.
"Right?!"
"Please make our teacher normal again!"
"Teacher Lucas used to be super nice!"
Roel straightened up and looked at Jeong Hoon.
"You heard that?"
"Heard what?"
"What? You said two Fragments of Origin are on the line. Go fix it now."
"Go together?"
"Huh?"
"You're the expert on this stuff, right?"
"What... I can't handle evil spirits or anything."
"Evil spirits? You sure?"
Were there evil spirits in New World?
"Just a guess. Based on their habits, it fits."
"Hmm. They say the divine realm took over New Worldwhy are there evil spirits?"
"...Beats me."
"Oh? Kids, he says he won't help you."
Jeong Hoon said to the children.
"Huh? Why?"
"Why won't you help...?"
The kids started to tear up.
"Haha... No, of course I'll help!"
Roel panicked and soothed them.
"You'll help? See, kids? All good?"
Jeong Hoon smiled down at the children.