Chapter 88
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Handling the Clones
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"Min-ji, let's each handle our own clones."
"Yes!"
Jeong Hoon deployed his movement technique and closed in on the clone.
The clone responded in kind, deploying its own movement technique as it threw a punch at Jeong Hoon.
Its motions were utterly efficient, the fist extending with razor-sharp precision.
Jeong Hoon deftly evaded the punch, inwardly marveling a bit.
Incredible. It can copy things this perfectly?
This time, Jeong Hoon threw a punch.
Myeongwang Fist Technique, 1st Star.
The clone dodged it with the bare minimum of movement.
The Clone A uses 'All Stats Increase.'
As Clone A activated its ability, its aura shifted.
Lv.206 Clone A
The thing's level jumped to 206 in an instant.
With that, it unleashed its fist technique once more.
Looks like it can't copy serendipitous gains.
If it could copy those too, it wouldn't just be throwing generic punchesit would've pressured him with the Myeongwang Fist Technique itself.
The pinnacle fist technique in existence.
Jeong Hoon dodged the technique while looking for an opening.
Then Clone A reached for its waist and whipped out something like a lash.
Danger!
Jeong Hoon rapidly deployed his movement technique to widen the distance.
A shortsword was clutched in Clone A's hand.
So it copies classes too?
From the looks of it, all skills learned through Unyielding Will could be used.
"If that's how you wanna play, I'll smash you with raw item power."
Was there any need to fight with pride on the line?
Black Field activates.
As he activated the skill, the ground around Jeong Hoon turned pitch black.
All stats are corrected by 1.2x.
Monsters intruding into the Black Field have all stats reduced by 3.
Jeong Hoon's stats rose by 1.2 times, while the clone's dropped by 3.
Smash it! Wreck that damn face!
'Damn face'?
Jeong Hoon furrowed his brow slightly.
The clone had his exact face.
No... I mean smash that sloppy imitation face.
'Got it. I'll smash you later too.'
I was wrong!
Mukho quickly surrendered.
Whoosh!
Even with Black Field active, the clone began pressuring Jeong Hoon.
"Sloppy."
The corner of Jeong Hoon's mouth curled up faintly.
The clone's fists couldn't even graze his clothes.
It was literally just a copy of Jeong Hoon's specs.
Copying the experience embedded within? Impossible.
All stats increase by 15.
Damage Reduction 20 applied.
Duration: '1 hour.'
The stat amplification ring on Jeong Hoon's finger.
Activating the ring massively closed the gap between him and the clone.
And that wasn't all.
The new Legendary skill he'd gained through Mukho this time: Vajra Indestructibility.
Defense doubles.
Evasion rate doubles.
With Vajra Indestructibility active, his defense and evasion skyrocketed twofold.
Shall we test it?
Jeong Hoon deliberately took a punch head-on without dodging.
Thwack!
Hm?
What was this?
It felt like getting hit with a cotton swab.
Item power was cheat-level, as expected.
'Myeongwang Fist Technique.'
This time, Jeong Hoon's fist smashed into the clone's face.
From there, it was a one-sided beatdown.
The more the Myeongwang Fist Technique unfolded, the more wrecked the clone got.
...Whoa, it really goes that hard on itself?
Jeong Hoon chuckled.
Why is that me?
It was so pathetic it didn't even deserve to be called a clone.
"You bastard!"
The clone, having taken a nonstop beating, glared with bulging eyes.
It deployed its movement technique to break away from Jeong Hoon and drew its sword.
But Jeong Hoon was a beat faster.
'Myeongwang Fist Technique, 3rd Star.'
The elevated 3rd Star Myeongwang Fist Technique slammed into the clone's gut.
"Kuhk!"
The thing screamed as it swung down the sword it held.
Whoosh!
Clone A uses 'Strike.'
A skill Jeong Hoon had learned through swordsmanship.
A downward chop dealing 150 damage.
But Strike didn't hit Jeong Hoonit smashed the empty ground.
Because he'd evaded with movement technique.
Its weaknesses are laid bare.
Before his regression, Jeong Hoon hadn't been the type to overwhelm with brute force.
He hid his own openings as much as possible, striking at the opponent's gaps to seize victory.
To do that required total self-objectivity.
Overpowering someone like that with the exact same techniques was damn near impossible.
Whoosh!
Jeong Hoon's fist hammered the clone's face again.
The follow-up Myeongwang Fist Technique chain.
Pushing past 3rd Star to 4th, it pummeled the clone's body.
"Kraaagh!"
After a solid thrashing, the clone couldn't hold out and vanished.
Plink, plink.
As it dissipated, two gray crystals dropped to the ground.
Random Enhancement Stone
-Restoring the gray crystal will yield the enhancement stone slumbering within.
Random Enhancement Stones, huh.
Jeong Hoon pocketed the crystals in his inventory.
"Jeong Hoon! Are you okay?!"
Yeo Min-ji rushed over to him.
Her condition was awful.
Her face was a bloody mess, unrecognizable, and several pieces of her armor were completely shattered.
Aftermath of facing her own clone.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Min-ji?"
"Yeah. And did you see? I landed two critical hits just now!"
She boasted proudly.
"Nope. I was busy with my clone, so I missed it."
"...Oh."
Jeong Hoon added to her mumbling, dejected expression.
"But two is still impressive."
"You're just praising me 'cause I'm bummed out?"
"That obvious?"
"Totally."
Yeo Min-ji pulled a potion from her inventory and drank it.
Her battered face recovered a little, but that was it.
"Hang on a sec, Min-ji."
Jeong Hoon approached her and placed his hand on her.
Uses Intermediate Healing.
He cast Intermediate Healing on her five times in a row.
Her face returned to normal.
"Jeong Hoon, you can even use healing?"
Now fully recovered, Yeo Min-ji stared at him with blank eyes.
What he'd just used was healing.
"Yeah. I got divine power in the tutorial."
"In the tutorial...?"
"Yep."
"What kind of condition is that?!"
"Pick the beginner talisman and clear up to stage 3."
Beginner talisman.
Choose that talisman and clear the tutorial up to stage 3, and you get divine power.
"What?! How'd you clear stage 3 with just a talisman? Is that even possible?"
"I worked hard, and it happened."
"No way..."
Yeo Min-ji had picked Knuckles and couldn't even pass stage 2.
Facing high-level monsters at level 1 with zero experience was nearly impossible.
Yet he'd cleared stage 3 with no weapon, just a talisman?
What kind of person is he?
"More importantly, you should go help the guildmates over there."
Jeong Hoon pointed to the three guild members.
Their clones had used stat buffs, so they were getting wrecked.
"...Got it. You rest here. I'll go join them."
Yeo Min-ji hurried to link up with her guildmates.
At the same time, Yeo Sun-woo arrived in Rohais Territory with his executives.
He'd gotten there earlier than planned thanks to contact from Yeo Min-ji.
"Whoa, it's Yeo Sun-woo!"
"Yeo Sun-woo?"
"Hoyoung's guild master?!"
"Outta the way!"
"You outta the way!"
Yeo Sun-woo's arrival threw Rohais Territory into chaos.
Users shoved and jostled just to catch a glimpse of Hoyoung's guild master up close.
"Hoo, what a racket."
Yeo Sun-woo, on the other hand, wasn't enjoying the attention.
His mind was filled with worry for his daughter Yeo Min-ji.
"Guild Master, let's head straight in."
"Yeah."
Hoyoung guild members pushed back the users to clear a path.
Thanks to them, Yeo Sun-woo quickly reached Prunaum.
At Prunaum's entrance, he spotted his daughter sitting and resting.
"Min-ji!"
Yeo Sun-woo rushed to her side.
His beloved wife had passed early from illness, leaving him to vow he'd protect his daughter no matter what.
He trusted her, surebut what kind of father wouldn't worry?
"Dad... Sorry for making you worry."
Yeo Min-ji bowed her head, looking downcast.
"No, it's fine. More importantly, what happened here?"
"...Jeong Hoon saved my life."
She pointed at Jeong Hoon.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Yeo Sun-woo tilted his head.
No matter how skilled Jeong Hoon was, saving her life seemed unlikely.
If anything, it'd be the other way around.
But Yeo Min-ji's ensuing explanation plunged Yeo Sun-woo into shock.
The listening executives were equally stunned.
"A... a trap where you couldn't log out...?"
"Yes."
Yeo Min-ji nodded.
The trap was a mazeone with no correct path, the worst kind.
The only way out was smashing straight through the walls, and Jeong Hoon had punched through them one by one.
"...Is that true?"
To verify, Yeo Sun-woo called over the trapped guild members.
Even in their mentally shaken state, their statements matched Yeo Min-ji's exactly.
Once done, the executives arranged for them to log out quickly.
Physical rest came first.
"Guild Master... We need to file a complaint with New World HQ."
"We do."
Yeo Sun-woo's face was murderously cold.
Their screw-up had nearly killed people.
No way they'd let that slide.
From the New World Development Team.
-Hello. This is the New World development team.
First, our apologies to the users caught in the error.
New World is gearing up for some fresh winds of change, and an error cropped up in the process.
We'll do our utmost to prevent this from happening again.
-New World Development Team
"End?"
Yeo Sun-woo burst out laughing, then his face hardened icily.
His daughter had nearly died.
And they thought a few sorrys would cut it?
"What a fucking game."
They thought they were the bosses, huh?
Quit if you don't like itthat's what it meant.
"...Should we quit?"
"No way!"
Executive Lee Chang-baek, who'd overheard Yeo Sun-woo's mutter, shouted urgently.
A founding member who'd built Hoyoung with him and still served as his right-hand ranker.
"I know. After all the work building Hoyoung, you think I'd quit?"
"Please don't scare us like that..."
Lee Chang-baek genuinely respected Yeo Sun-woo.
Hoyoung rising from nothing to this point was all thanks to him.
Without Yeo Sun-woo, Hoyoung would lose its shine.
"Prunaum search status?"
"We searched after, and luckily no more traps found."
"Good. Looks like they handled it properly."
"Yes."
The lone apology had pissed him off royally, but at least they'd cleaned up the mess.
"And set up a separate meeting with guild member Jeong Hoon."
"With Jeong Hoon?"
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon.
The benefactor who'd saved Yeo Min-ji and the guild members.
Repaying that debt was only natural.
"Schedule it 1-2 weeks out. I wanna draw up a reward list."
"1-2 weeks...? Understood."
Longer than expected.
Meant the payback would be thorough.
Hoyoung Guild Training Grounds.
"Miss! No more traps detected."
"Really?"
Yeo Min-ji's face lit up at the guild member's report.
"Yes!"
As Hoyoung searched Prunaum, users stationed in Rohais leaked info to Wallcom.
Hoyoung found traps?
-For real, gave me chills. I was in Prunaum a few days ago.
But isn't it kinda weird?
Only Hoyoung members went missing.
A dungeon swarmed by tons of people, and only that many got trapped?
Yeah... Something's off.
Exactly.
Prunaum had been open for ages, yet trap victims could be counted on one hand.
'It was an error,' they say?
The New World dev team's apology.
Yeo Sun-woo was furious, and so was Yeo Min-ji.
How does a game played by millions have such a fatal bug?
And they wrap it with a simple sorry.
...Ha, but mass media isn't covering it at all?
Hoyoung was a major, named guild.
Even after they got hit, things stayed quietsomeone must've hushed it up.
Wallcom posts got deleted fast and faded away.
"Miss..."
"...It's fine. We're all safethat's what matters."
Everyone survived, and that was a blessing.
"Understood."
"More importantly, did you get the camera I asked for?"
"Yes! Here!"
He handed her a camera.
Cameras weren't common.
All users had smart lenses.
Wallcom guides were all smart lens footage.
Cameras existed for massive events like the League.
New World cameras outperformed smart lenses, so they were pricey and rarely used outside tournaments.
Why get one?
'Wanna film some footage.'
Jeong Hoon's request.
'...Suddenly?'
Weird ask, but it was Jeong Hoon.
'Please.'
How do you say no to your lifesaver asking seriously?
She'd grant bigger requests.
Yeo Min-ji quickly whispered to Jeong Hoon.