Chapter 131: Chapter 131

Märchen Royal Palace Training Grounds.

Ha-Jin was sprawled in the center of the training grounds, gasping for breath.

“Tsk, that’s enough for today. Be prepared for even harder training tomorrow.”

“Yes…!”

“Hmph, at least your response is spirited.”

Caryan tidied up his wooden sword and left the training grounds.

Hidden: Dark Lord.

To obtain it, he needed to receive a quest from Caryan, but he was still pushing him hard without giving him the quest.

‘Why won’t you tell me about the memoir?’

Whenever he asked out of curiosity, the answer was always the same.

‘What?! You want to approach the Dark Lord with that rotten potential? You must be out of your mind!’

And then the intensity of the training increased even more.

“This isn’t easy…”

Ha-Jin sent a whisper to Jeong-Hoon.

[Whisper/zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Hey, what are you doing? Did the video turn out well?]

But there was no reply.

Wasn’t this guy logged in?

Was he that busy?

He didn’t know. He needed to rest for a bit.

Ha-Jin, exhausted, couldn’t maintain the game any longer and logged out immediately.

To train on time the next day, he needed to get some sleep quickly.

Buzz- Buzz-

Before lying down on the bed, he turned on his smartphone, which he hadn’t used in a while, and was bombarded with notifications.

Most of them were from Jang Dae-Hwi.

“What’s this? Why did Dae-Hwi contact me so much?”

Ha-Jin was exhausted, but he called Jang Dae-Hwi anyway.

The call connected quickly.

[Hey! Why haven’t you been answering?]

“Ah… I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy lately…”

[Why does your voice sound like that? Are you sick?]

“I haven’t been sleeping well…”

He felt like his eyes would close any minute.

[You… Don’t be surprised. Do you know how many subscribers HoneyTube has now?]

“How many…?”

He guessed it might be around 200,000 to 300,000 at most?

The enhancement skill Jeong-Hoon had acquired was sensational, even in his eyes.

It was a skill that could definitely attract attention.

[900,000.]

At the mention of 900,000, his eyes didn’t exactly shoot open, but they did open halfway.

He was surprised, but he truly didn’t have the energy to fully open his eyes.

“…Really?”

[I’m telling you! He just melted the raid boss… What on earth is your friend?]

“Melted the raid boss… Huh.”

‘Hoon, what kind of trick did you use this time?’

He was an amazing guy, as always.

[It’s going crazy right now! There are tons of comments, and there’s even a famous guild that wants to scout all of you!]

Jang Dae-Hwi’s voice was filled with excitement.

“Oh, by the way, Hoon already has a guild, so he’s out.”

[Huh? He has a guild? Which one?]

“Ho-Yeong.”

[Huh… Ho-Yeong? Ah, that’s why Ho-Yeong wasn’t interested.]

“Ugh… Anyway, I’m going to sleep. I’m so tired.”

He needed to sleep quickly.

Only then would he be able to endure Caryan’s training tomorrow.

[Hey! I haven’t told you the really important stuff yet…?]

“What is it? Advertisements…? If it’s something like that, I’m going to reject them all, so you don’t have to try to persuade me…”

[What? Why?! Hey! This is really important!]

“I’m going to reject them anyway… Our channel is for honey tips only. It’s not a channel for making money…”

[But… even so…]

“I’m hanging up. I’m really about to pass out…”

Ha-Jin hung up the phone and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Something was strange.

Birshin couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.

“Wait a moment.”

He finally stopped Jeong-Hoon, who was walking ahead.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is strange. It wasn’t this spacious when I came in before.”

Even though it was a year ago, he remembered it clearly.

The mine wasn’t this big.

They had already cleared three traps and moved forward.

If it were as he remembered, they should have reached the Celestial Ore by now.

“Let’s keep going for now.”

“…Alright.”

Birshin nodded with a complicated expression.

[What’s wrong with him?] Mukho asked.

‘He seems to have a lot on his mind,’ Anima replied.

‘It’s probably because the mine has changed.’

The Celestial Mine.

This mine wasn’t simply revealing hidden traps.

When Birshin entered back then, 90% of the mine was deactivated, which was probably why he could reach the Celestial Ore so quickly.

However, when he touched the tombstone, the traps were activated, and the buried parts of the mine were revealed, making it 100% active.

‘There are 5 more traps ahead.’

Opening the entrance door was just the beginning.

The second trap was a pitfall with arrows shooting out, and the third one almost suffocated them by narrowing the walls.

But there were still five more traps left.

[Resisting poison.]

That’s right.

The next trap was poison.

A slightly sour scent filled the air, and that scent was the poison.

‘This is a trap you can’t avoid, no matter what.’

While Jeong-Hoon’s Poison Resistance kicked in, allowing him to endure the effects, Birshin, a mineral researcher, was not so fortunate.

“Cough! Cough!”

Suddenly, Birshin, who was following behind, clutched his throat and groaned in pain.

His eyes were bloodshot, his lips turned purple, and foam formed at his mouth.

“Are you alright?!”

As Jeong-Hoon tried to approach Birshin, the latter waved his hand frantically.

He then took out a bottle filled with a transparent liquid from his bag and hurriedly drank it.

[Oh, he looks like a fool but carries an antidote?] Mukho remarked.

‘Indeed, he’s more prepared than he looks,’ Anima agreed.

They were right.

Who would have thought he’d be carrying an antidote?

“Cough! The antidote isn’t working… S-Save me…!”

Nevermind, they take it back.

[Physiognomy is science!] Mukho exclaimed.

‘That’s right. You can’t ignore science,’ Anima added.

Ignoring Mukho and Anima’s carefree chatter,

Jeong-Hoon rushed to Birshin and checked his condition.

He was in critical condition, as if he could die at any moment.

Fortunately, before leaving the capital, he had stopped by the Alchemist’s Street and purchased a few antidotes.

He had prepared them, thinking it was better to be safe than sorry in case of traps, and it turned out to be the right decision.

‘An Intermediate Antidote should do.’

He quickly gave Birshin an Intermediate Antidote.

Soon after, Birshin’s breathing slowly returned to normal.

Jeong-Hoon carried Birshin on his back and left the area.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Gasp… Gasp… Thank you. Thank you so much…”

Birshin seemed to have lost all his strength and couldn’t even stand up from where he was sitting, repeatedly expressing his gratitude to Jeong-Hoon.

“We need to keep going, so please get up.”

[Using Intermediate Healing.]

Jeong-Hoon used healing on Birshin to help his exhausted body recover a little.

“Phew, thank you.”

He had somehow managed to endure the first three traps.

But when he was poisoned by the fourth trap, he truly thought he was going to die.

He had fully experienced what it felt like to be on the verge of death.

However, he couldn’t give up.

With the determination to see the Celestial Ore again, Birshin struggled to his feet.

* * *

The traps that followed were quite diverse.

There was a place where they had to find the differences in pictures to open a closed door and pass through.

Another place where various magic spells rained down from all directions.

And a curse that would instantly kill them if they couldn’t dispel it within 10 minutes.

Of course, all those traps were overcome by Jeong-Hoon.

[Using Dispel.]

He used Dispel to remove the curse from himself and Birshin.

“Wow… You’re truly amazing. To think you could even dispel a curse.”

Birshin now looked at Jeong-Hoon with undisguised admiration.

[NPC Birshin’s trust has greatly increased.]

At the same time, an exclamation mark blinked above Birshin’s head.

[You have completed the surprise quest.]

[You have won the bet.]

[You have acquired Unique Enhancement Stone x22.]

‘He hasn’t even cleared all the traps yet?’

Jeong-Hoon was surprised, but Birshin quickly acknowledged his defeat in the bet and handed over the Unique Enhancement Stones.

“Are you sure you want to give these to me already?”

“You’re going to clear the next trap anyway, aren’t you?”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Then I’ve lost. That’s it.”

“…”

“Are you disappointed that I gave up so easily? Then how about we make another bet? If you reach the Celestial Ore, I’ll give you something even better.”

A new question mark blinked above Birshin’s head.

[Surprise Quest: Bet with Birshin (2)]

– Requirement: User recognized by Birshin

– Reward: ??

– Description: Reach the Celestial Ore.

‘He really likes making bets, doesn’t he?’

Jeong-Hoon didn’t accept the quest immediately and looked at Birshin, asking,

“Then what should I bet?”

“You don’t need to bet anything. If you reach the Celestial Ore, you win; if you don’t, I win. That’s all.”

“Is that so?”

“Will you accept the bet?”

If that was the case, there was no reason not to accept the quest.

Jeong-Hoon immediately accepted the quest.

“I accept.”

Now there was only one trap left.

But he couldn’t let his guard down.

[Lv.200 Ancient Guardian]

The last challenge was to defeat a level 200 Guardian.

In the vast cavern stood a Guardian, about the size of an adult male.

But he couldn’t be careless.

[The Ancient Guardian begins to activate.]

[The Ancient Guardian uses Scan.]

[The Ancient Guardian attempts to copy the abilities of user ‘Hoon’.]

[The Ancient Guardian copies ‘Underworld King’s Fist Technique’, ‘Movement Technique’, ‘Block’, and ‘Blackfield’ from user ‘Hoon’.]

The Guardian’s ability was to copy all of its opponent’s abilities, which was absurd.

He was so surprised when a mere level 200 creature copied his abilities..

When he discovered the Celestial Ore in his previous life, Alessandro’s level was well over 500.

But even the experienced Alessandro couldn’t help but be surprised when the Ancient Guardian copied his abilities.

[Activating Blackfield.]

[The Ancient Guardian uses Blackfield.]

[All stats are increased by 1.2 times.]

[Due to the effect of Blackfield, all stats of monsters that enter the area are decreased by 3%.]

[Abilities are nullified.]

As Jeong-Hoon activated Blackfield, the Guardian also activated its own Blackfield.

As a result, the Blackfields canceled each other out and disappeared.

This was the problem.

The Ancient Guardian’s copying ability could even nullify the user’s abilities.

That’s why defeating it required relying on items.

[All stats are increased by 15%.]

[Damage reduction of 20% is applied.]

[Time limit: 1 hour.]

Jeong-Hoon used his stat-boosting ring.

However, the Guardian couldn’t activate its ability.

“Rooooar!”

Enraged by the use of the item, the Guardian charged at Jeong-Hoon.

[The Ancient Guardian uses Underworld King’s Fist Technique.]

The Guardian’s fist was imbued with the aura of the Underworld King.

‘Oh?’

A smirk crept onto Jeong-Hoon’s lips.

It was somewhat clumsy, but it was definitely the Underworld King’s energy.

[Wow, look at it copying. Isn’t that cheating?] Mukho commented.

‘What’s cheating?’ Anima asked.

[It means secretly copying someone else’s work.] Mukho explained.

‘I see. I learned a good word.’

Jeong-Hoon drew Anima and used his movement technique.

[The Ancient Guardian uses Movement Technique.]

The Guardian also used the movement technique and closed the distance to Jeong-Hoon.

Then, the Guardian’s Underworld King’s Fist Technique surged towards Jeong-Hoon’s side.

‘Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 1st Star.’n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jeong-Hoon countered the Guardian’s fist with the 1st Star of the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

Their abilities canceled each other out, and the Underworld King’s energy dissipated into the air.

Crack

Although they used the same technique, the Guardian was overpowered.

“This is unbelievable…!”

Birshin was shocked.

The stranger, whom he had considered to be around his level, was not only on par with the Guardian but was even gaining the upper hand.

‘No, wait. It makes sense.’

Birshin quickly shook his head.

Considering the performance the stranger had shown since entering the mine, it wasn’t that surprising.

Thump.

At that moment, Jeong-Hoon jumped, placing his foot on the Guardian’s shoulder, then leaped back, drawing and releasing his bowstring.

The arrow flew and hit the Guardian between the eyes.

[The Ancient Guardian uses Block.]

Block.

Yes, he had anticipated that the Guardian would use the copied Block skill at this timing, having seen it skillfully use the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

But that was over now.

“Rooooar!”

[The Ancient Guardian uses Movement Technique.]

The Guardian once again used the movement technique to rush towards Jeong-Hoon.

Jeong-Hoon put Anima back into his inventory and responded with the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

[The Ancient Guardian uses Underworld King’s Fist Technique.]

The Guardian countered with the same Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

Jeong-Hoon pulled his shoulder back and threw a powerful punch, striking the Guardian’s face. The Guardian mirrored the move, aiming its fist at Jeong-Hoon’s face.

However, the Guardian’s fist missed its target.

Jeong-Hoon had subtly tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodging the attack.

“Whoa?”

Thud!

While the Guardian was momentarily stunned, Jeong-Hoon’s Underworld King’s Fist landed a blow to its abdomen.

“Rooooar!”

The Guardian swung its copied Underworld King’s Fist Technique again.

Its target was Jeong-Hoon’s abdomen.

Jeong-Hoon guarded with his left arm and extended his right arm, striking the Guardian’s Adam’s apple.

[Using Intermediate Healing.]

He instantly healed the damage to his left arm with Intermediate Healing.

The fierce exchange between Jeong-Hoon and the Guardian continued.

As time passed, Jeong-Hoon remained unscathed, while the Guardian’s condition gradually worsened.

Jeong-Hoon no longer bothered to dodge the Guardian’s punches.

[Using Intermediate Healing.]

Every time he was hit by the Guardian, he immediately used healing and continued to pummel the Guardian with the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

In the end, it was the Guardian who fell to its knees.

“Uoooooh…”

The relentless exchange of blows came to an end.

Jeong-Hoon drew Leviathan and struck down at the Guardian’s core, embedded within its heart.

Crack.

The core shattered, and the Guardian’s form crumbled.

———