Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Recognized by the Instructor
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Altio placed a hand on his pounding chest.
So far, only two trainees had completed his training.
But even those two had failed to pass this final trial.
So why was it that, looking at Jeong Hoon right in front of him, he felt certain this one would succeed?
'Just one hit. Land just one solid blow.'
If he did, this title would be yours.
Epic Quest: Altio Instructor's Final Training
-Restriction: Unchanged Martial Artist
-Reward: Title Recognized by the Instructor
-Description: Defeat Instructor Altio in a spar.
Jeong Hoon's eyes gleamed as he checked the reward.
Before his regression, he had succeeded in Instructor Altio's quest.
He hadn't met the excessive training requirements, but he'd pushed his body to the limit and earned the man's recognition.
Yet he'd failed the final training, defeated in under thirty seconds.
'This time, it's mine.'
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest.
"A fine choice."
Altio bared his teeth in a wide grin and stepped in front of Jeong Hoon.
'Good thing I learned the Myeongwang Fist Technique.'
His stamina was already at its limit.
One solid hit from Altio, and he'd collapse on the spot.
And yet, defeat simply didn't cross Jeong Hoon's mind.
NPC Information
-Nickname: Altio
-Level: 30
-Job: Martial Artist
Altio was level 30.
He'd one-shotted the level 31 low-tier warrior earlier, but the man before him was no easy opponent.
Even if their levels were similar, as an instructor who trained recruits, Altio brimmed with experience.
"Shall we begin, then?"
Truth be told, this quest had a 0 success rate.
It wasn't designed to be cleared in the first place.
"Hold on a moment."
With a quick apology, Jeong Hoon pulled a bottle of milk from his inventory and drank it.
Stamina recovers slightly.
Consumed repeatedly. Stamina will no longer recover.
To recover more stamina, wait 10 minutes before consuming again.
The quest didn't demand victory with rock-bottom stamina.
So recovering some shouldn't be an issue.
Of course, it was only a slight recovery, and he couldn't chain it.
Jeong Hoon immediately circulated his holy power.
He'd been doing it in his spare moments whenever cooldowns allowed, so it was about time for a skill.
Martial Artist exclusive skill, 'Unyielding Will' activates.
Acquire skill, 'Basic Healing (Normal)'.
Perfect!
He'd picked up a recovery skill at just the right moment.
Basic Healing
-Type: Active
-Level: 1
-Grade: Normal
-Consumes 1 mana to recover 2 stamina.
-Consecutive use on the same target reduces recovery by half or more and doubles mana cost.
Jeong Hoon cast it on himself, restoring stamina.
The trembling in his muscles eased as it recovered.
"What the?!"
Altio's eyes flew wide open.
Jeong Hoon, who'd been on empty, had somehow restored his stamina.
"I'm ready. Let's start."
The lower-leveled Jeong Hoon took the initiative.
Myeongwang Fist Technique, first star.
His fist shot out sharply.
"!"
Altio hurriedly stepped aside, barely dodging the punch.
Thud!
No, it was an illusionhe'd dodged.
The Myeongwang Fist Technique's greatest strength wasn't single strikes, but its chaining fluidity.
Jeong Hoon's fist flowed like water, slamming precisely into Altio's side.
"Urk!"
What monstrous power...!
Altio's mind went blank for a moment.
It was a blow that shattered rational thought.
Thud!
Jeong Hoon's fist now struck Altio's face.
"Gah!"
A heavy impact echoed as blood sprayed into the air.
What the hell is this?!
Altio couldn't accept the reality unfolding.
Every trainee who'd visited this hall had been useless.
Sure, some showed promise, but none could match him.
'Why?'
By level, by experience, he was superior.
Yet he couldn't counter that damned fist technique.
"Urgh!"
He'd acknowledge Jeong Hoon's skill, but he couldn't just roll over helplessly.
Regaining his senses, Altio threw a punch.
Whoosh
His dobok sleeve whipped through the air with a sharp whistle.
But the fist missed Jeong Hoon.
It wasn't over.
He shifted into footwork, closing in for a knee strike.
But even that knee was evaded as Jeong Hoon sidestepped perilously.
Thud!
Jeong Hoon's fist hammered his side once more.
The same spot as before.
"Kehek!"
Altio screamed and dropped to one knee.
"That should do it."
Jeong Hoon lowered his fist.
"...I see."
Altio accepted defeat gracefully.
Continuing would only make him look pathetic.
His level might be higher, but in pure body techniques, Jeong Hoon was leagues aheada fact he had to admit cleanly.
"Here."
Jeong Hoon extended a hand.
"Thanks."
Altio took it and rose.
At the same time, the question mark above his head flipped to an exclamation point.
Quest complete.
The instructors and users who'd been watching the spar.
The users had forgotten their own quests, staring blankly at Jeong Hoon and Altio's bout.
"Holy shit... he took down an instructor?"
"Is he insane? Level 11, right? Instructor's 30how'd he win?"
"It's not just winninghe dominated."
To them, it was a total rout for Jeong Hoon.
All his attacks landed solidly, while Altio's whiffed entirely.
"Level difference of 19... how is that even possible?"
"Did he fake his level? Even small gaps are obvious, right?"
In New World, levels were absolute.
You needed levels for stats, and stat gaps were glaring.
That's why every user obsessed over leveling.
They came to the Hall of Martial Arts for skills, sure, but also for training, experience, levelsand ultimately, first job change.
"I got it on video. Gotta upload to Wallcom right now."
Wallcom was the community run by New World users.
"I recorded too! With that level gap, how'd he pull it off? Gotta know."
Players all had smart lenses, a system for on-demand recording.
That's why Wallcom guides came with videos, not just texteasy to follow.
"Alright, everyone, focus!"
"Training starts now!"
The quest-giving instructors jumped to regain control.
It wasn't their own loss, but an instructor had fallen.
A blow to their pridethey had to stop users fixating on Altio's defeat.
'Altio went down that pathetically...'
'Unbelievable.'
'He's the strongest among us... what the hell...'
'A monster? Trained to the point of collapse, then knocks out Altio? Possible?'
They were just as baffled.
Hiss
The capsule door slid open as Jang Ha-jin emerged.
"Damn, he's really into it."
The capsule next to his showed no sign of opening after hours.
Jeong Hoon's, of course.
Since first entering the capsule room, Jeong Hoon had sunk 20 hours a day into it, barring 4 for daily life.
Virtual reality or not, it couldn't erase physical fatigue entirely.
He needed real-world rest, but Jeong Hoon lived in that capsule like it was urgent.
"Should I drag him out?"
WhisperzlJangHaJin12 - Hoon: Hey, log off and let's go home. Grab some spicy pork skewers.
WhisperHoon - zlJangHaJin12: Sorry, busy now. Let's eat later.
With a recent whisper like that, forcing him out was pointless.
Ha-jin tidied up and headed outside.
The capsule room owner, Lee Hyun-woo, was out there puffing a cigarette.
"Hey, Ha-jin. Ending early today?"
Lee Hyun-woo spotted him and struck up a chat.
"Raid failed. Feeling down, so heading out."
"Yeah? Your friend?"
"Still grinding hard."
Ha-jin jerked his thumb at the room and pulled out a smoke.
"At this rate, he might need his own capsule."
Capsule rooms ran 5,000 won per hour.
Jeong Hoon was burning nearly 100,000 won daily on it alone.
Even raiding his savings, two months max.
No wonder people splurged on personal capsules.
Long-term, they paid off.
"No way. Capsules cost a fortune."
Cheapest model hit 20 million won.
Top-tier neared 90 million.
Only the loaded bought them.
Ha-jin and Jeong Hoon, early-20s guys, didn't have that cash.
"Yeah? Hmm... how about checking this out?"
Lee Hyun-woo handed over a flyer.
"What's this?"
"Know Genesis Corporation?"
"Yeah. They make the capsules."
Earth developed New World; Genesis specialized in capsules.
Hence, Genesis stock shadowed Earth's.
"They're running an event for beginner users."
"Oh yeah? First prize is a 30-million-won capsule? Whoa..."
Base capsules at 20 million; next tier around 30.
And that was the prize.
"Right? Might be worth a shot."
"Hmm... first place is a stretch."
Eligibility: level 50 or below beginners.
Even with 20-hour grinds, Jeong Hoon hitting 30 was tough.
With 40-50s joining en masse... no shot at first.
"Just ask around. Even participating gets you starter items."
Free New World gear for signing up? No downside.
"Sure... these would help early on."
He wanted to power-level Jeong Hoon himself, but high-level help on lowbies triggered penalties for abnormal play.
Jeong Hoon needed at least 100 to accept help.
Until then, he had to solo.
Genesis items would bridge that.
Ha-jin hopped back in to tell Jeong Hoon.
Epic Quest completed.
-Acquired 'Title Recognized by the Instructor'.-
Achievement unlocked! 'First to Clear an Epic Quest' completed! 5,000 achievement points awarded.
Achievement points reach 15,000!
Achievement Shop unlocks.
Perfect. Not just the materialshe'd cleared a first-ever Epic Quest, stacking 15,000 points to open the shop.
First Epic Quest ever.
This achievement could be claimed once per Epic Quest type.
Meaning Jeong Hoon was the first to beat Altio's spar quest.
Opening the shop pre-first job change? Wild.
'Great start.'
And the Hall of Martial Arts' greatest prize: Hall of Martial Arts Honorary Trainee.
Recognized by the Instructor
-Type: Unique Title
-Grade: Rare
-Martial Artist passive skills 3
-Martial Artist active skills 3
C-grade, but only obtainable by first victory over Altio.
Low 3, but stackable, and essential material later.
'I was challenging for the material anyway.'
Beyond Mark of the Perfect Beginner, tons he'd missed due to unmet conditions.
Two already nabbed that he'd failed pre-regression.
Extremely satisfying.
Ding-!
WhisperzlJangHaJin12 - Hoon: Hey, whatcha doing?
A whisper from Ha-jin.
The guy who'd gone home... why message?
WhisperHoon - zlJangHaJin12: Doing quests in Hall of Martial Arts.
WhisperzlJangHaJin12 - Hoon: Got killer news for you.
WhisperHoon - zlJangHaJin12: Killer news?
WhisperzlJangHaJin12 - Hoon: They're doing a capsule event for beginners!