The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Seoul.

<Are you sure you won't be going back in?>

Tenebris asked, unable to fully hide his disappointment.

"You're asking me that even after seeing me come all the way to the Demon Realm?"

The reason Jeong-hoon returned to Earth was none other than Psyche.

Visiting the Demon Realm and meeting a God was fine.

But the problem arose when Psyche's puppet appeared as if it had been waiting for him, and in the end, the attempt to seize Jin's divine relic ended in failure.

<So you mean to strike where they least expect it!>

"No, that wouldn't mean anything."

<Wouldn't mean anything?>

"You think collecting more divine relics will allow us to defeat them?"

<That's…>

He realized that fighting with divine relics was nothing more than child's play in the eyes of the Nameholders.

After all, he had to use the Creation Machine just to deal with a single puppet.

"In the end, crossing over to the Divine Realm is the only way."

<Are you crazy? What difference will it make if you head to the Divine Realm now?>

"Divine Energy."

Thanks to Psyche, he had awakened the Creation Machine that had been sealed.

But that was as far as he got.

The amount of Creation Machine he could wield was even less than what he had received from Tenebris, and just the same, once used, it did not recover.

In other words, he was still not qualified to fully handle this Creation Machine.

'Only by awakening the power of the gods will I be able to wield the Creation Machine properly.'

Then where could he gather divine energy?

Obviously, it was impossible to collect it on Earth.

<Hmm, still, gathering divine energy won't be easy.>

"You know how to do it, don't you?"

<I do know, but…>

"Good. Then let's use that method to gather divine energy."

<It's impossible. They're lying in wait with their mouths wide open, and you're saying you're going to walk right in?>

"I'm not saying I'll go in right away."

<Then what?>

"First, I need to make them let their guard down."

<Don't tell me… You're not seriously thinking of trusting that damned woman's words, are you…?>

If what Psyche said was true, then Logos was surely planning for future invasions as well.

"I'm not fully trusting her."

What made Jeong-hoon hesitate was her attitude.

'It felt like she was testing me.'

And after overcoming death through the Creation Machine, she had readily offered to help, as if he had passed her test.

'You said Tenebris's memories aren't fully intact.'

Was this all an act of manipulation?

Or was there something else?

As Jeong-hoon quietly stared at Tenebris, Tenebris tilted his head in confusion.

<What's with that look in your eyes?>

"Still, it's worth taking a chance."

<It's worth it?>

"Baal, whose hands did the Demon Realm you once ruled fall into?"

When Jeong-hoon asked while looking at Baal, Baal quickly caught on.

<Ah, if Psyche had really intended to attack you, she would have descended directly.>

"Exactly. She knew I was planning to cross over to that Demon Realm."

Otherwise, there was no way she could have responded that quickly.

If it had been Logos, he would have claimed ownership of the Demon Realm and descended in person to forcibly capture Jeong-hoon.

But Psyche, despite having the power, did not do that.

<So now you're going to trust the very one who sealed me?>

"At this point, we have to make use of whatever we can."

This might be a warning.

That aiming for the Demon Realm is the wrong choice.

<I don't know either. Do as you like.>

In the end, even Tenebris had no choice but to yield.

It was irritating, but there was no counterargument.

He knew that this was the best choice under the current circumstances.

Still, the fact that he had to trust the very person who had betrayed him and sealed him away for so long—that was humiliating.

"I understand how you feel. But let's not forget this."

<What.>

"Our goal is to restore true peace."

<…Yeah. You're right.>

"Good. Then tell me how to gather divine energy."

<Alright. But you need to understand—just having the power of creation doesn't mean you can eliminate a Nameholder.>

Eliminating a Nameholder is an extremely difficult task.

Why else would the five Nameholders have failed to destroy Tenebris and only managed to seal him instead?

That's how close to impossible it is to eliminate beings who possess the power of creation.

"I get it, so just tell me already."

Why was he dragging this out so much?

<Ahem. Fine.>

Only then did Tenebris finally reveal the method to gather divine energy.

The first method was to obtain it through Divine Stones in the Divine Realm.

Divine Stones are stones formed when energy condensed during the creation of the Divine Realm.

Of course, they exist in extremely small quantities, making them as rare as plucking a star from the sky.

"What about other methods?"

<Simply put, by accumulating achievements.>

"Achievements?"

<You completed achievements while playing New World, didn't you?>

"Yeah."

Achievements.

While playing New World, he had completed countless achievements, and using the points he earned as rewards, he bought items and successfully carried out his plans.

So, those achievements exist in the Divine Realm as well?

<I don't know how many achievements you've completed, but there's an invisible cumulative gauge.>

To summarize Tenebris's explanation:

Every time an achievement is completed, an invisible gauge accumulates. When the gauge bar reaches 100%, it resets, and the process of filling it up to 100% repeats for the next stage.

When this process finally reaches a critical point, breaking through it will allow one to begin completing achievements in the Divine Realm.

"Breaking through that critical point—is that what it means to become a Transcendent?"

<Strictly speaking, you must become a God.>

"Oh? If that happens, won't other Gods come after your position?"

<That's why the divine relics are distributed—to maintain control.>

Divine relics are items imbued with the blessings of each Nameholder.

Naturally, the authority to control those divine relics remains with the Nameholders.

"So they're not given away freely, huh."

Jeong-hoon took out the three divine relics he possessed.

<Why do you think Thanatos had a divine relic? He didn't retrieve it because he wanted to keep it in case of an emergency, to maintain control.>

"Then why can't they control these divine relics?"

<That's because of me. Of course, I can't block it completely.>

So, not only does Tenebris conceal their presence, but he also dulls the control authority over the relics.

"I see… Then maybe it's better not to use these relics."

<No, not necessarily. There's also a way to convert those relics into divine energy.>

"Really?"

<Of course, to convert them, you need to satisfy some tricky conditions…>

"What are the conditions?"

<That, I don't know.>

"Okay. Then I definitely need to cross over to the Divine Realm."

For now, focusing on stopping the invasion first, then looking for the right moment to cross over to the Divine Realm—that was the right approach.

'Master! Can you hear me?'

At that moment, as the seal on the Creation Machine was released, Mukho and Anima reappeared.

"Yeah, I can hear you."

'Ha, seriously, I thought I was going to die from frustration.'

"What on earth happened to you two?"

'I don't know. When you erased the Great Rift, everything went black, and I couldn't see anything around me. No one could hear me…'

'It was the same for me. I thought I'd be trapped there forever.'

It seemed that when Jeong-hoon became the Master of Dimensions, Mukho and Anima had been sealed along with the Creation Machine.

'But how did this happen?'

They couldn't understand it.

There had been no warning signs when Jeong-hoon received the Creation Machine from Tenebris. So what exactly had changed for the two of them?

'Nothing seems to have changed, though.'

Curious, Jeong-hoon checked Mukho and Anima's information, but he couldn't find any anomalies.

Even Tenebris seemed to have no idea, so the question was left unanswered for now.

"Anyway, I'm glad you two are back."

Moved by Jeong-hoon's welcome, Mukho and Anima teared up and sniffled.

'Ha, it really feels like I can breathe again now that I can talk to you, Master.'

'Same here. Even after living for so many years, this was the first time I experienced such fear.'

"Yeah. I really felt empty, too."

Now then, with Mukho and Anima back—

Jeong-hoon checked the invasion suppression rate.

But the joy was short-lived.

His previously relaxed expression hardened again, and the reason was that the suppression rate had dropped to 97%.

'I was just away in another dimension for a moment, and it dropped by 1%.'

His mother and Yeo Min-ji were holding the line together, but if the others could return after completing the sixth round, it would be a huge help.

'James Marcus's group seems to be scattered, holding off the invasion on different fronts.'

He wasn't someone with a dull head, so there wasn't much need to worry.

"Master!"

Thanatos called out to Jeong-hoon urgently.

"What is it?"

"The invaders' levels are starting to rise again!"

"Is that so?"

Then it's time to cut them back down again.

The upper races hadn't even launched their assault yet—allowing the suppression rate to drop here was unacceptable.

'I should try using the Creation Machine.'

This energy—far more freely wielded than the one he had received from Tenebris.

Just as Thanatos had said, the level of the entities invading Earth was rapidly increasing.

'The debuffs are still in place… but their amplification has reactivated.'

Jeong-hoon hesitated for a moment, debating whether to erase the amplification again.

It was obvious that the Logos faction had reactivated it—but would erasing it now really mean anything?

'Maybe I should actively use this instead.'

Jeong-hoon had grown deeply disappointed in people.

He had risked everything to interfere with the system code and grant them fortuitous opportunities, yet they failed to properly make use of them and ended up defeated by opponents weaker than themselves.

If that was the case, maybe it would be better to help them utilize it properly.

"Thanatos, modify their quest objectives."

"Modify them?"

"That's right."

* * *

At that time—

Ha-jin, who had set out to challenge the sixth round, returned to Seoul.

"Damn! It's finally over."

He had successfully completed the grueling sixth quest.

It had taken an incredibly long time.

"Good thing I succeeded…"

Ha-jin shuddered as he recalled the final quest. All the quests had been brutal, but compared to the last one, the others were like a walk in the park.

The final quest was one of the worst he had ever faced—it was to collect 50,000 souls.

It didn't matter whether they were from humans or monsters—he had to gather souls indiscriminately.

At a glance, it might seem like a simple collection quest, but only souls that had surpassed a certain threshold were eligible to be counted.

Just searching for souls that exceeded the required threshold had Ha-jin sweating, and even when he found them, the souls with intellect did not willingly allow themselves to fall into Ha-jin's hands.

'Let's see if you're worthy of taking me.'

The proud souls tested Ha-jin, and he had to pass their trials to obtain them.

Repeating that process fifty thousand times was pure agony, but Ha-jin eventually managed to collect all the souls and complete the sixth round.

'Death Lord.'

With that, he successfully advanced to the Death Lord, a class superior to the Dark Lord.

He also gained an enormous amount of experience, easily surpassing level 2,000.

"Heh, just imagining Hoon's surprised face is already making me laugh."

Could it be—am I the first one to complete the sixth round?

Considering the quest was infamous for its insane difficulty, it wasn't an impossible thought.

"But… something around here seems different…"

After letting his imagination run wild for a while, he finally took notice of his surroundings.

There was a familiar feeling—the once-collapsed Seoul had been perfectly restored.

Just in case, he rushed to his home, and the apartment building that had been swept away was standing tall as if nothing had happened.

"What the heck? Am I dreaming right now?"

Ha-jin stared blankly at the apartment, then quickly took out his smartphone.

There's no way… is my phone, which had stopped working, also back to normal?

Just to be sure, he called Jeong-hoon.

[Hello. Finished the sixth round?]

The call went through without any problem.

"Hu—Hoon! What's going on here?"

[Ah, it's a bit of a long story. More importantly—did you clear the sixth round?]

"I did, but…"

[Okay. Then listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you now.]

"Huh?"

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]