Chapter 78: Chapter 78

[Martial Artist’s Mark]

-Type: Material

-Grade: Epic

-It is a Martial Artist’s Mark.

It was a Martial Artist’s Mark.

And not just any mark, but a complete one.

‘As I thought… To obtain the restored mark, I had to be recognized by Khairos.’

Jeong-Hoon had originally obtained a Martial Artist’s Mark fragment after hunting the boss in the dungeon that had become the Mu Tower.

The boss of the dungeon at that time was not Khairos.

Nevertheless, he had obtained a Martial Artist’s Mark fragment, so he thought that if he was recognized by him, he could obtain the mark faster.

And that thought was perfectly on point.

“You are worthy of having this.”

“…Thank you.”

[You have acquired the Martial Artist’s Mark.]

[You can now undertake a new quest.]

A red question mark blinked above Khairos’ head.

A hidden quest!

‘Could it be that I can obtain the completed mark?’

To create the perfect Overlord Titan, he needed to collect all the marks.

Jeong-Hoon’s intuition was telling him.

That he had to do this quest.

[Hidden Quest: Completed Martial Artist’s Mark]

-Restriction: Those recognized by Khairos

-Reward: Completed Martial Artist’s Mark

-Description: Endure Khairos’ training.

“Of course, this mark is only half complete.”

“Is there a way to complete the mark?”

“Rather than a method, would it make sense if I said I have that mark?”

Khairos took out a new mark.

[Completed Martial Artist’s Mark]

-Type: Material

-Grade: Unique

-It is a complete Martial Artist’s Mark.

It was the Completed Martial Artist’s Mark.

“…Can I receive this?”

“Of course. But I can’t just give it to you. Return the Martial Artist’s Mark you currently have and endure all the training I give you, and then I’ll give this to you.”

“What if I can’t endure it?”

“Give up the mark and I’ll just give you a rare knuckle, so take that and go back.”

It was his intention to tell him to be satisfied with the Martial Artist’s Mark and go back if he was scared.

Of course, Jeong-Hoon had no intention of going back like this.

“Let’s start right now.”

Khairos burst into hearty laughter at his spirit.

“Good! Brace yourself!”

* * *

A week had passed since Jeong-Hoon and Lee Na-Yeon joined the guild.

Bang! Bang!

The mana bullet pierced the monster’s forehead.

“Kweeeek!”

The monster, its head pierced, died instantly.

Yeo Min-Ji couldn’t help but admire the perfect marksmanship.

“Wow… You’re really amazing.”

“Am I?”

The shooter was Lee Na-Yeon, who had recently joined Ho-Yeong.

Jeong-Hoon’s mother, she was focusing on leveling up with the support of Ho-Yeong.

As a result of her diligent leveling up for a week, Lee Na-Yeon was already nearing level 30.

“Yes! At this rate, you could definitely achieve at least a Rare class advancement.”

It wasn’t just flattery.

Yeo Min-Ji had met various gunslingers since she started New World.

Among them, Seo Eun-Soo, the national shooting champion, had outstanding shooting skills that she still couldn’t forget.

She thought no one could match his shooting skills, but today that thought was shaken.

‘Amazing… She’s still at this level even though it’s been over 20 years since she quit being an athlete.’

She was surprised when she first saw her, but a week later, Lee Na-Yeon’s shooting skills had improved explosively.

Or rather, she was regaining the skills of her prime.

Was this even possible?

“Hehe, thank you. But what brings you here today?”

“Oh, you’re about to reach level 30, right? So I came to help you with your class advancement!”

“Oh, really?”

Of course, Yeo Min-Ji wouldn’t be doing it herself.

Before coming here, she had bought out the entire field so that Lee Na-Yeon could proceed with the class advancement quest smoothly.

The method of buying out was simple.

She would find each user who wanted to use the field and ask them to leave in exchange for gold.

At first, the users looked displeased, but once she gave them 50 gold, they didn’t even come near the area.

“Yes. If there’s anything you don’t understand, please let me know anytime! And this is information on how to advance to the Rare grade. I brought it in case you need it.”

The process of advancing to the Rare grade in the class advancement quest was the same.

Clear the dungeon in the Gunslinger’s Hall within the time limit.

Yeo Min-Ji was confident that Lee Na-Yeon had the skills to advance to the Rare grade.

If she advanced to the Rare grade from her first class advancement, it could be considered a huge achievement for Ho-Yeong.

They would have recruited a hidden class martial artist and a gunslinger with unlimited potential.

‘I won’t interfere, so you take the lead this time.’

Yeo Sunwoo didn’t even show his face.

He had decided to leave this decision entirely to Yeo Min-Ji, so he would just watch for the time being.

“Oh, it’s okay. I already got something from Jeong-Hoon.”

“Really? That was fast…”

As expected of Jeong-Hoon.

He must have gone to the Mu Tower fully prepared.

But if it was a test, it should have been over a long time ago, so why hadn’t he contacted her yet?

She tried whispering to him a few times, but there was no response.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“No problem. I just did what I had to do.”

“What you had to do… I’m already so grateful for what I’ve received. Anyway, thank you for getting along with my Jeong-Hoon.”

“I’m the one who should be thankful!”

“Such a sweet talker. I wish I had a daughter like Min-Ji.”

Mother…

She had lived with her father since her mother passed away in an accident when she was very young.

Perhaps that’s why she felt a bit strange talking to Lee Na-Yeon.

Would it have felt like this if she had a mother?

She suddenly missed her mother, whose face she couldn’t even remember.

* * *

One week later.

Khairos had been training Jeong-Hoon very harshly for a week.

Morning training, afternoon training, evening training, and dawn training, without any sleep.

Of course, there were no meals, and he was told to quench his thirst with the river water nearby.

It was a harsh schedule that even the martial artists of the Mu Tower couldn’t endure.

Nevertheless, Jeong-Hoon went through the schedule without a word of complaint for a week.

‘What a monster.’

Every day that Jeong-Hoon endured, Khairos was filled with astonishment.

“Can you do more…?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then begin.”

At Khairos’ command, Jeong-Hoon dragged a 1,000kg rock and climbed the mountain.

He had gone back and forth on this mountain 42 times in a week.

Yet, Jeong-Hoon’s speed didn’t slow down at all.

‘Is this even possible?’

His training was originally aimed at pushing mental strength to the limit.

To do that, he had to push his body to the limit, but no matter how he looked at it, Jeong-Hoon’s body hadn’t reached its limit.

‘Who the hell is this guy… How can he endure this?’

Khairos felt a shiver run through his body.

Before he became the master of the Mu Tower, he had heard the legend of ‘Mu’ from the previous tower master.

[When the descendant of the gods appears, everything will be set right.]

The descendant of the gods.

It was a prophecy that they would appear in a chaotic world and bring peace.

At the time, he had dismissed it as nonsense, but seeing Jeong-Hoon, for some reason, the legend kept coming to mind.

“I’m back.”

It took three hours to complete the round trip.

Jeong-Hoon still hadn’t exceeded that time.

“…Aren’t you tired?”

“No. I can do more.”

Jeong-Hoon could still endure.

This was because he was constantly recovering his body with divine power.

He compensated for the lack of divine power by buying potions from the achievement shop, and he used divine power to prevent his health from decreasing and to eliminate the debuff caused by fatigue accumulating in his body.

However, his mind had already reached its limit.

Jeong-Hoon’s real body was in the capsule. If he played the game for a long time, he had to come out and rest, but he had been training for a week without rest.

He had been exhausted for a long time.

If he continued training here, he would surely collapse.

But he couldn’t give up the Martial Artist’s Mark.

“…Alright. That’s enough for the first training session.”

Fortunately, Khairos ended the first training session.

The first training schedule was originally for a week.

“What’s the second training?”

Jeong-Hoon was ready to start the second training right away.

But Khairos shook his head.

“Rest for three days. Your body may be fine, but you seem to be mentally exhausted, so you need to rest. Rest is also a form of training.”

He had tried not to show it, but it seemed Khairos had already seen through him.

Jeong-Hoon nodded obediently.

“…Alright.”

“Good. Then come out to the training ground here in three days.”

Khairos left those words and went back into the tower.

And soon after, Marthen approached.

Marthen clicked his tongue at the sight of Jeong-Hoon standing perfectly fine after enduring a week of training.

“You’re really tough… Follow me. I’ll guide you to your quarters.”

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon followed him to the quarters and immediately threw himself onto the bed.

After that, he had no memory.

***

How much time had passed?

Jeong-Hoon slowly opened his eyes.

He was on his bed.

Not in the Mu Tower’s quarters, but in his own room.

‘I don’t remember anything after lying down in the quarters.’

He didn’t remember, but it seemed he had logged out and passed out as soon as he got out of the capsule.

Jeong-Hoon took out his smartphone.

“…A day has passed.”

Looking at the time, it seemed he had slept for almost 28 hours.

It was natural, considering he had endured a week without any sleep.

Jeong-Hoon dragged his stiff body out to the living room.

“You’re up?”

His mother was in the living room, eating fruit.

Next to her was a familiar face.

“Hmm? Min-Ji? Why are you here?”

It was none other than Yeo Min-Ji, eating strawberries with a fork.

Yeo Min-Ji, making eye contact with Jeong-Hoon, smiled awkwardly and greeted him.

“Um… I’m sorry for coming suddenly.”

“Don’t be sorry. I invited her. It’s too lonely being alone.”

It seemed that his mother had actively invited her, so she had no choice but to visit.

His mother wouldn’t just send someone who had shown kindness back.

“I see. Then don’t mind me and continue eating.”

Jeong-Hoon briefly went to the bathroom and then came back to his room.

Yeo Min-Ji carefully knocked on his door.

“Can I come in for a moment?”

“Yes.”

After Jeong-Hoon’s permission, Yeo Min-Ji entered the room.

“I have some surprising news to tell you.”

Her face and voice were full of excitement.

“Surprising news?”

“Yes. Your mother has completed her first class advancement!”

“Is that true?”

“Yes!”

Perhaps it was because she was playing with Ho-Yeong’s support?

Her leveling speed was certainly fast.

This was the reason why guild support in the early stages was important.

‘It’s a good thing I got an extra capsule.’

He was happy that his mother seemed to be enjoying the game.

It was fortunate that she was adapting to New World in advance.

If things continued like this, it would be much easier to protect his mother in the future.

“So what was the result?”

If Yeo Min-Ji was saying this, it meant that his mother’s class advancement result was very satisfactory.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had already seen his mother’s shooting skills once, so he had expected it to be more than just a normal grade.

The question was whether it was Rare or Epic grade.

“Don’t be surprised… It’s a hidden class! A hidden class! And it’s even Epic grade!”

“Is that really true?!”

Jeong-Hoon’s eyes widened at her answer.

He had expected Epic grade to some extent, but he hadn’t expected a hidden class at all.

‘How did she do it?’

Only one hidden class appears.

And as far as he knew, all the gunslinger hidden classes had already been revealed.

That’s why he couldn’t give his mother information about hidden classes, so how did she get a hidden class…?

“Yes! I was so surprised when I first heard it too.”

“What’s the class name…?”

“Genesis Sniper.”

Genesis Sniper.

He had never heard of that class before.

That meant that a hidden class that hadn’t appeared before his return had now emerged.

‘My mother’s past has changed.’

And perfectly at that.

———