Chapter 404
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 404
Chapter Title: The Seven Virtues Complete
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chastity.
It was a trial one had to endure to purge all impurities from the body.
Immense pain accompanied the purification process, and one could only pass by remaining conscious throughout.
Yet the agony was so overwhelming that losing consciousness seemed inevitable. Knowing full well what failure would entail, he somehow endured it and passed the trial.
Next came Humility.
The trial to acquire Humility, symbolizing diligence and sincerity, was meant to wash away past misdeeds.
It resembled Chastity in some ways, but this one weighed all prior actions on a scale, rendered judgment, and required "tasks" to atone for any shortcomings.
No matter how one looked at it, six hours was woefully insufficient for such a trial, yet Jeong Hoon passed it with ease.
'Whoa... How did not a single thing stick?'
'That's weird...'
Mukho and Anima voiced their bewilderment, but Jeong Hoon offered no explanation.
To be precise, he couldn't.
'Is it because of the spirit energy rooted in my body?'
He didn't know the reason, but acquiring Humility brought no suffering. Much like Temperance, he simply stepped onto the scale that materialized before him and earned its approval.
In any case, with Humility swiftly obtained, only two boxes remained.
Jeong Hoon opened the next one.
The timer hit zero.
Gabriel, who had been waiting in the divine realm, returned to his seat. The sight before him left him speechless.
"You opened all of them?"
Every box had been unsealed.
He had intended to hand them all over from the start, but he never imagined Jeong Hoon would open every single one in just six hours.
He had even prepared to extract him if he got trapped inside one.
"Ah, perfect timing. I just acquired Charity."
You have acquired 'Charity.'
The acquired Virtue is imprinted on your soul.
You have acquired Primordial Fragments x2.
The timing was impeccable.
The moment the six hours ended, Jeong Hoon received the final Virtue's approval and claimed Charity.
Now all seven Virtues were his.
'But why no transformation like with the Seven Deadly Sins?'
When the Sins' seals fully broke, their power returned.
Yet even with all Virtues gathered, nothing had changed.
"Six hours should have been nowhere near enough... How on earth did you do it?"
Gabriel was intrigued yet puzzled.
In left-to-right order: Temperance, Patience, Chastity.
Succeeding with even those three would be a monumental achievement, but Jeong Hoon had claimed Charity tooall of them.
How had he opened all six?
"I just stayed conscious, and it worked."
Jeong Hoon answered simply.
"You stayed conscious?"
"To be exact, I blacked out only on the first one. I endured the rest."
"Huh..."
The first Virtue, Humility, had been given by Michael.
Humility granted approval immediately to anyone who could wield spirit energy upon opening its box.
That made it relatively easy to acquire, unlike the others.
Failing their trials bound the soul mercilessly, trapping it for a set duration.
Escape was impossible without an Archangel's direct intervention.
The trials also grew exponentially harder from left to right.
Yet he struggled with the easiest, Temperance, then stayed conscious through the rest?
'He only got one spirit pill from Michael...'
Gabriel held six spirit pills.
He had received them alongside the boxes from all the Archangels.
His plan was to pull Jeong Hoon from the boxes, then provide extra pills for the lighter trials.
At minimum, five pills were needed to claim the final box, Charity.
'But he got approval for all with just one.'
That meant the human was a monster.
No wonder he had unlocked the gates to the divine realm.
He was a being beyond common sense.
"Now, hand them over."
Jeong Hoon extended his hand toward Gabriel.
Even the perceptive Gabriel couldn't hide his fluster this time.
"What...?"
"What else? The spirit pills."
"Ah."
"I've opened all the boxes. With the pills on top, we can take down those demon realm bastards, right?"
"...Fine. But promise you'll draw the holy sword."
Even with all Virtues and pills consumed, they were at a disadvantage without the holy sword.
It was the only divine weapon capable of striking the demon realm forces.
"Sure."
"Really?"
Gabriel's eyes flickered with suspicion at the ready nod.
But refusing wasn't an option.
Acquiring all Virtues proved his worth.
There was no reason to withhold power from him.
Gabriel produced all his spirit pills.
Six in total.
They were handed over to Jeong Hoon.
"You sure it's okay giving these before I even draw it?"
"You've already claimed all the Virtues. I trust you won't lie."
"Is that so?"
Jeong Hoon had never planned to draw the holy sword.
He was sick of being manipulated.
But acquiring the Virtues changed his mind.
You are recognized as the Master of the Holy Sword.
As the complete Master, you can freely control the Holy Sword.
Claiming the final Virtue, Charity, had automatically recognized him as its master.
And as the complete master, he could control it freely.
With this, there was no worry of being puppeted by the divine realm.
That was why he had accepted Gabriel's demand so readily.
"Alright, then. They probably know your every move in the demon realm."
"As expected."
"But now you can relax. With all Virtues, they can't read you anymore."
"So that's why the rush."
"Something like that."
"They've probably got all their senses sharpened, waiting for me. Right?"
"Why? What are you planning?"
Jeong Hoon grinned and turned away.
All levels have been restored.
All stats have been restored.
Done.
He consumed all six spirit pills from Gabriel and used every Primordial Fragment from the Virtue boxes.
As a result, he fully restored his levels and stats.
'Good thing I waited until I had all the Virtues.'
The recovery speed was on another level.
With all Virtues acquired, his restorative power had doubled.
Thanks to that, using the Primordial Fragments brought him back to his original level. In turn, his divine energy exploded, reaching its maximum.
Your divine energy has reached Max.
Could he ascend to demigod now?
Heavenly power.
Ultimate power.
He had broken through the limits via secret quests.
So divine power came from the Supreme God?
As the question arose, a new message appeared.
You meet the qualifications.
Will you ascend to demigod?
Qualifications met?
Jeong Hoon tilted his head.
Had acquiring all Virtues fulfilled them?
'I accept.'
His body glowed once, then vanished amid a flood of messages.
You have ascended to demigod.
The rank of Heavenly Martial God Emperor is adjusted to God.
You awaken spirit power. You can now control spirit energy.
The Supreme God's blessing descends upon you, who has shed human form. The Supreme God's Blessing is permanently fixed.
The will of Invincible Martial Emperor upgrades to God.
'One Who Reached God' upgrades to 'Demigod.'
As expected, controlling spirit energy required another power.
That was spirit power.
Jeong Hoon closed his eyes and gathered the spirit energy in his body into his right hand.
Unlike before, it obeyed his will perfectly.
The spirit energy amassed in his right hand and released.
It created a scene of pure white powder scatteringvisible only to him, as others lacked the spirit eyes awakened by his spirit power.
"With this power, I can crush those named bosses, right?"
The named bosses who had brought him misery.
He would end them with his own hands.
Muran.
With all seven Virtues acquired, Jeong Hoon could freely traverse the entire New World. He arrived at the final zone, Muran, in an instant.
Muran, the unfinished city devoid of NPCs or monsters.
A colossal tree flourished there.
"That's it?"
The massive core Gabriel had mentioned.
Through it, the demon realm monitored everything despite losing New World's authority.
Even Gabriel had failed to destroy it directly.
Jeong Hoon drew the holy sword Arsias.
'Why the hell did you drag me into this!'
Beside him, former holy sword master Harnion nonstop grumbled.
No wonderJeong Hoon had forcibly bound him to Arsias, preventing his ascension despite reclaiming the sword.
"You spent ages with this holy sword. You must know its ins and outs."
'Figure it out yourself while swinging it!'
"I don't want to waste time."
'You call that talk right now!'
"No time for bickering anyway."
Destroying that core was the top priority.
'Damn it, destroy that thing and let me ascend!'
"I'll handle it once everything's done."
'Hah...'
"Alright, shall we?"
Jeong Hoon stepped forward with Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon.
Shiiik
Tree branches whipped toward him like lashes.
Faced with countless attacking branches, Jeong Hoon raised the holy sword and unleashed spirit energy.
In that instant, every branch lunging at him disintegrated into powder.
'So that's how you wield it.'
As expected, spirit energy resembled creation energy.
Far more potent than creation energy, which shaped something from nothing.
Jeong Hoon set it to annihilate anything it touched, swinging the holy sword and unleashing spirit energy freely.
The innumerable branches dared not approach.
Jeong Hoon easily reached the core, shaped like a tree.
Bwoong
He swung the holy sword at it without hesitation.
Kwang!
But it failed to cut the trunk, bouncing off instead.
'Looks like physical destruction won't work.'
Harnion, watching from the side, pointed to the tree's top.
A small hole there could fit one person.
"No, we'll end it here."
Jeong Hoon shook his head and swung again.
It bounced off identically.
'Didn't you say you didn't want to waste time?'
"Exactly."
Why waste time?
He now held all seven Virtues.
Giving up because Gabriel failed would be foolish.
If he couldn't destroy this, facing named bosses was impossible.
He needed to test if he could.
Jeong Hoon amplified his spirit energy and swung.
'Disintegrate.'
Vast energy erupted, clashing with the core.
Crack
A splitting sound echoed from within, and the massive tree toppled sideways.