Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Earth Korea Management Team.

Oh Jin-soo was alone, looking at the monitor after everyone had left work.

Although they couldn’t watch the event and see how it unfolded, they could see the results afterwards.

-1st Place: Unrevealed/Unrevealed/Martial Arts Master (2nd Class)

“As expected, he took first place.”

Oh Jin-soo burst out laughing.

Since they couldn’t watch, they had no choice but to watch the users come out after the event, and most of them hadn’t completed their 2nd Class Advancement because they weren’t satisfied with the rewards.

That meant the event was quite difficult.

So he was even more curious.

Whether that martial artist had taken first place as expected.

And that expectation was perfectly met.

‘Martial Arts Master.’

Martial Arts Master was a unique class among martial artists.

It could be seen as having laid the foundation for advancing to legendary, and if obtained in the 2nd class, it meant that the opportunity to advance to legendary would be given from the 3rd class onwards.

Of course, class advancement was like reaching for the stars.

But Oh Jin-soo knew.

That user was the first hidden class of martial artist to appear in New World.

That must also be disguised by the blind system.

‘What could it be?’

Nothing had been revealed about the martial artist’s hidden class yet.

Even the only user who had completed the advancement was hiding his hidden class somehow.

So there was no information.

Not even the true grade of that user.

“But what the hell is that NPC?”

That wasn’t the only shocking thing.

The user who returned to Idenharc met an NPC and headed to Autobahn with him.

An NPC using a portal to go to another village?

It was information Oh Jin-soo had never heard of before while working at Earth Korea.

And according to New World information, there was no NPC named Isaac in Idenharc.

In other words, he went to Autobahn with an NPC that shouldn’t exist.

“Is that even possible…?”

What in the world was happening?

* * *

Whoosh-

The capsule door opened, and Jeong-Hoon came out.

As he opened the door and came out, his mother was watching TV while eating fruit.

“Mom, what are you watching so interestingly?”

When Jeong-Hoon showed interest in the TV, his mother snorted.

“I thought you were so engrossed in the game that you weren’t interested in anything else, but I guess not?”

“Ahem.”

When he was doing what he had planned, he lost track of time.

But he had a promise with his mother, so he always came out at dawn and slept.

Of course, this time, he had started the event and even made a bet with NPC Ling Ling, so he ended up staying up all night.

“Is the game going well?”

Fortunately, his mother didn’t say anything else.

Feeling a bit sorry, he resolved to keep his promise as much as possible and said,

“Yes. I won first place in this event too.”

His mother was slightly surprised to hear that he won first place.

“Really? Do they give you anything for winning first place?”

“Yes. It’s not a real prize like the capsule… but I received a game item.”

“I see. By the way, is that you playing on the TV?”

His mother nodded and pointed at the TV screen.

The TV was showing the New World game.

“Ah, yes. That’s me.”

As a game loved worldwide, the e-sports industry was also dominated by New World.

Various contents of New World were professionalized, and numerous leagues were held every year, with very effective promotional results.

Last year’s finals live broadcast even set a record with a whopping 1.2 billion viewers.

‘Even being a decent New World pro gamer, you can easily earn an annual salary of 5 billion won.’

And top pro gamers reportedly received nearly 50 billion won in annual salary.

Jeong-Hoon couldn’t take his eyes off the user being shown on the TV screen.

‘James Marcus.’

The user the camera was capturing.

In his past life, he was Jeong-Hoon’s comrade and the strongest paladin in the Americas.

And the bastard who betrayed and trampled on him in the end.

Jeong-Hoon clenched his fists tightly.

“Jeong-Hoon? What’s wrong?”

Jeong-Hoon came to his senses with a start at his mother’s question.

“It’s nothing.”

“…You looked like you were about to kill someone.”

Lee Na-Yeon felt a chill down her spine at Jeong-Hoon’s fierce eyes just now.

Her son, who had been gentle and rarely cried since he was a baby, had grown up well without ever going astray.

It was the first time she had seen such a look in his eyes.

“…I guess I was envious.”

Jeong-Hoon scratched his cheek with an embarrassed face and tried to smile as brightly as possible.

“Really?”

Her son’s face had returned to normal.

Was it just her imagination?

“Yes. By the way, mom, is there anything you want?”

Jeong-Hoon quickly changed the subject.

His mother’s birthday was coming up in a few months.

In his past life, he had been studying at university and had saved up little by little to give her a gift certificate worth 1 million won.

Even then, it wasn’t a small amount, but now he wanted to give her a gift more expensive than 1 million won.

‘I need to cash out some gold.’

The gold in New World could be converted into cash.

If he cashed out that gold, there would be no problem buying a birthday present for his mother.

“No, I don’t need anything. What could I possibly need?”

His mother hurriedly refused, afraid that her son might spend money.

But Jeong-Hoon wasn’t one to back down.

“Mom, your bag is quite worn out… Should I buy you a new one?”

“Bags are so expensive… Your heart is enough.”

“…No, I’ll definitely buy you one later.”

Jeong-Hoon nodded inwardly, deciding on a bag as a gift.

“Okay. By the way, how good do you have to be to get into something like that?”

His mother pointed at the TV screen and asked.

“A competition?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… You have to be a ranker, right?”

Most of the people who appeared in the competitions were rankers.

They evaluated the game comprehensively, considering level, class, status window stats, achievement points, etc., to determine the rankings, and if you were within the top 10,000 in each server, you were recognized as a ranker.

Naturally, it was a constant battle for rankings, with positions changing daily.

Anyway, to participate in such leagues, you had to have the qualifications of a ranker to compete with other users.

In that sense, the ones who dominated the leagues were the top players among the top players, like James Marcus.

‘You can’t ignore the difference in experience.’

As befitting a competition, the balance was adjusted.

But the reason the top players dominated was because of their experience and talent.

Rankers competed with other users every moment.

It wasn’t just about leveling up, but about strategizing every day and seeking the fastest path to growth.

Even if everyone was given the same amount of time, the ranking was determined by how efficiently they moved.

It was natural for the top players among the top players to be ahead in competitions.

“I see. Then our son can’t participate.”

Even in Lee Na-Yeon’s eyes, the user’s gameplay on the screen was extraordinary.

The observer program for the competition was developed directly by Earth headquarters, allowing even ordinary people to observe the user’s gameplay in detail.

That’s why even Lee Na-Yeon, who had never played the game, could clearly see the user’s gameplay.

No matter how many times Jeong-Hoon had won first place in events, it would be impossible for her son, who had just started, to participate in such a competition.

‘Hmm, it seems like you started too late?’

‘Those guys have been playing since the beta. And they’re geniuses. No matter how talented you are, it’s impossible to make up for that lost time.’

Jeong-Hoon had also heard such words quite often in his past life.

‘Not anymore.’

But with Jeong-Hoon’s current abilities, participating wasn’t impossible.

Even though he was only level 102, he had a wealth of real combat experience.

However, he had no intention of participating in such a competition.

Even if he didn’t try to participate, a similar event would be held soon under the guise of an event.

***

After a day of rest and reorganization, Jeong-Hoon logged back into New World.

The place he logged in was still Isaac and Charlotte’s house.

He tidied up the bedding and went outside, and Isaac was already prepared to go out.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you, I rested well.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Where are you going?”

“Ah, to the lord’s castle. I need to report to the lord since I’m back. He’ll be very happy when I return.”

He had been trapped in the Desolate Dark Street while on duty.

Since he had returned safely, he was going to report to the lord’s castle.

And a question mark was blinking above Isaac’s head.

[Normal Quest: Knight of Autobahn]

-Restriction: Trust with Isaac 80% or higher

-Reward: Entry to the Ogre King subjugation quest

-Description: Accompany Isaac to the lord’s castle.

Jeong-Hoon’s eyes lit up.

One of the things he had to do in Autobahn was the Ogre King subjugation quest.

Of course, like before, it was a quest that could only be started after raising the trust of the residents through village quests and letting the rumors reach the lord’s castle.

If he could bypass such a tedious quest, he would save at least 1-2 weeks.

“Can I go with you?”

“You too? You’re not a knight, are you?”

“I came all the way to Autobahn, so I thought I’d take a look around the lord’s castle.”

“Hmm, you’re the benefactor who saved me, so I guess that’s possible. Alright! Let’s go together!”

* * *

Autobahn Lord’s Castle.

Blaine, the lord of Autobahn, was racking his brain over a recent problem.

A week ago, the Lv. 190 Ogre King settled in the northern part of Autobahn.

With him at the helm, his minions were wreaking havoc in the surrounding area.

That wasn’t all.

A few days ago, they tried to invade the territory, leading to a confrontation with the soldiers.

Many people were injured in the process.

“How many victims are there?”

“Three deaths in total. And over twenty injured…”

“This is driving me crazy.”

The devastation that had occurred in just a week.

He wanted to drive the Ogre King out, but Autobahn’s forces alone couldn’t handle him.

‘I’m not going.’

‘I won’t do it.’

Even the outsiders who visited Autobahn turned their backs.

“How about recruiting the outsiders?”

“Where are we going to find outsiders over level 150?”

The reason they refused was none other than the Ogre King’s level.

The outsiders were terrified and didn’t accept the request.

A few outsiders said they would accept the request, but it fell through because they demanded absurd rewards.

“If only Isaac were here at a time like this…”

If you were to choose the strongest knight in Autobahn, you would choose Isaac without hesitation.

A level 160 Saber.

He was far stronger than other knights, never stopped practicing swordsmanship every day, and was a true knight who didn’t hesitate to give advice to his juniors.

But Isaac hadn’t returned for over two weeks.

Where in the world was he and what was he doing?

“My lord! Isaac has returned!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

At that moment, good news arrived.

“Really?! Bring him in quickly!”

Isaac had returned.

Blaine jumped up from his seat at the news.

But it wasn’t just Isaac who entered the lord’s room.

‘An outsider?’

There was a stranger standing next to Isaac.

“Knight Isaac, I apologize for the late return.”

“Where the hell have you been?”

Being happy to see him was one thing, but he had to reprimand what needed to be reprimanded.

He had disappeared during a reconnaissance mission and only returned after more than two weeks, so he needed to hear the details of what had happened.

“Well, that’s…”

What came out of Isaac’s mouth after that shocked Blaine.

“So… you’re saying you were trapped in some dungeon and it took a long time to get out?”

“Yes… That dungeon was different from other places. I was there for eight years, but only a little over two weeks had passed here.”

“Huh…”

It was a hard story to believe.

However, Isaac’s face was severely damaged compared to the last time he saw him.

The face that looked 10 to 15 years older was enough to dispel Blaine’s doubts.

“And this is the person who helped me get out.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

Blaine’s gaze turned to the stranger next to him.