Chapter 100

The snowy mountain landscape changed. Soon, in front of my eyes were the training grounds that seemed to have been hit by a heavy storm.

Looking at it, I took a deep breath. The vivid smell of blood brushed the tip of my nose as littered corpses caught my eyes.

It was only then that I felt I was back.

“Huu…success.”

To my side, Shirahui had also returned safely. Although she was unconscious on the ground, her breath was alive and well.

It seemed she couldn’t withstand Zeus’ pressure and had fainted at the last moment.

“Well, as long as she’s back.”

Soon, pleasant messages began to appear in front of my eyes one after another.

[ Gained achievement title ‘Mythology Explorer.’ ]

[ Next selectable skill will vary depending on your achievements. ]

{ Mythology Explorer }

Tendency: Feat

Description: Truly surprising! I salute you for exploring the lands of the Gods! Your name will be recorded in the history pages of the Gods.

“Oh?”

It had been a while since the last ‘feat.’ The reason was self-explanatory at a glance.

What kind of skill will appear to reflect this achievement? The description was rather grand, so I expected something quite good.

By the way…

What the hell was this?

[ Gained an additional achievement title ‘One Who Defies Fate.’ ]

{ One Who Defies Fate }

Tendency: None

Description: Always be cautious so as not to be swallowed by xxx.

Has there ever been such a description? I felt as if I was being warned of danger.

What the hell was I supposed to be cautious of?

If you’re going to warn me, at least do it properly. The part covered by the x’s for some reason gave me a troubling feeling.

However, there was no way of knowing what it was at the moment.

Well…I would find out when the time came.

As such, I shook off my discomfort. Right now there was something more important than such an unanswerable question…

[ Completed Challenge ‘Eighth Layer Hell (2).’ ]

[ Gained 1x Unknown. ]

(TN: The reward was a high-grade box originally in chapter 82, but the author must have forgotten.)

Finally…!

The very exhausting Challenge was completed.

In fact, it had only been a few weeks since my preparation for the school festival, but perhaps because I had suffered so much this time it had felt like it had taken more than a few months.

It would have been hard to hold back my anger if the Challenge had another part.

However, the reward was sweet enough for me to forget the hardships.

{ Perennial Snow Ginseng }

Classification: Material

Grade: S

Description: In a snowy field beyond human reach, an immemorial herb that had grown for over 10,000 years absorbing pure energy.

I never imagined I would get such a reward…

A truly amazing thing had come into my hands.

The most common ingredient used to make elixirs by people from murim were the millennial ginsengs.

However, the Perennial Snow Ginseng that was awarded this time was an excellent material incomparable to those millennial ginsengs. It was something that would only appear in the legends of murim.

“Hehe…this was more like it.”

As expected, life was a game of luck.

Elixirs were necessary for me to undergo metamorphosis. The result would certainly be really good if one was created with the Dragon Heart from earlier and the Perennial Snow Ginseng I had obtained this time.

However, if there was a problem, it would be finding a master who can use such materials to make the elixir.

The wise man of the East, Jabir. The medical saint siblings. The plague doctor, Yansen. And so on…

Looking back on the first round, there were a few people that immediately came to mind, but there was no way to find them at the moment.

In Jabir’s case, he was so mysterious that I had never even seen him in person.

Meanwhile, it had been at least five years since the last sighting of the medical saint siblings, so there was no clue where they were now.

And in the case of the plague doctor…

Hmm…Maybe it was too much to ask that drug addict.

Yansen was the director of the secret research laboratory belonging to the World Government. I remembered it was quite troublesome dealing with the heroes in the first round as a result of all the advancements he had made.

Naturally he had died in my hands.

Anyway, with the World Government keeping an eye on me right now, it was absolutely impossible to ask him.

“Huu…I can’t even eat such good ingredients.”

However, that didn’t mean I could ignore the elixir forever. In particular, as I proceeded with this Challenge, I felt the need even more.

In any case, I didn’t expect it would be that one-sided…

Zeus and Turbak. The self-proclaimed Gods I came to know for the first time after the start of the second round.

I thought I had enjoyed everything this world had to offer, but it seemed there was still hidden content.

Surprisingly, there was a huge gap between me and them that I couldn’t possibly close. Even compared to me in the first round.

I had resisted with all my might, but the result was, at best, stopping one of Zeus’ attacks.

So honestly, I could only say that it was sheer luck to have run away and be alive like this.

Come to think of it, how long has it been since I had run away from someone?

It felt like I was back to the time when I was a low-level villain in the first round.

I, who was no different from a newbie at the time, experienced numerous defeats, and each time I had chosen to run away from the heroes who came after me.

Ah, of course, that didn’t hurt my pride or anything. In any game, as a newbie, the basic strategy was to hit and run.

However, I had also craved greater power. Not overwhelming power but just enough to hunt head-on.

When was the last time I had felt a thirst for that kind of power?

A motivation for growth. For a while I had forgotten such a feeling.

I had relaxed without realizing it.

Objectively speaking, even now my growth was still fast enough.

No, I had grown this much in less than a year, so it could be said to be unprecedented.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

***

Maybe that was why I was quite satisfied with myself.

A judgment that it was enough. The conceit of knowing everything about this world.

Frankly, I was careless.

Unlike the previous round, the situation in the second round had already deviated too much. The future that had changed by my actions. It was no longer easy to predict what would happen next.

In fact, this sudden Challenge was due to the butterfly effect of my actions…

I didn’t know what would emerge in the future.

Which meant there was no telling when or if something like today would happen again.

“As expected, it’s fun.”

I felt as if my blood was boiling again after a long time.

The World Government watching me. Eighth Layer Hell after me for some reason. And the Gods.

As the enemy’s level had suddenly risen to such a degree, I also needed to restore my strength from the first round as soon as possible.

Honestly, I had been living like a casual gamer thinking I could take it easy in second round…It seemed it was time to return to being a hardcore gamer.

Well, for that, I would have to settle my account first.

I opened my status window and checked the gains from today.

[ 2x Random Box (High). ] 

Two beautiful boxes shone before my eyes. Watching it, the thought of today’s hardships melted like snow.

Hehe…nothing was better than gacha boxes when it came to growing stronger in a short time.

I opened the boxes without delay.

[ Used 2x Random Box (High). ]

The boxes floated up into the air and began to spin.

And as if to reward me for my hardships, the boxes were stained with bright lights.

“Oh…?!”

It meant they were both at least A-Grade.

I thought maybe I would hit the jackpot with both boxes, but I didn’t want to jinx it for no reason, so I held my breath and kept my mouth closed.

After an unknown time, along with bright lights, the fruits of my hardship were finally revealed.

{ Object Control }

Classification: Ability

Grade: A 

Description: Objects within your field of vision can be moved to your will.

*As the distance or weight of the object increases, the mental energy consumed increases. 

*Inapplicable on living objects. 

*Cannot be strengthened.

“Yes!!!!”

I raised my arms and screamed.

An A-Grade ability. It also looked to have a high versatility.

Should I test it right now?

I looked at someone’s sword on the ground and activated the skill.

{ Object Control }

As if someone was lifting the sword, it rose into the air. The sensation was so natural, like an extension of my body.

Swiik–

The sword in the air had neatly cut a nearby corpse.

“Amazing…”

So what was the maximum distance? With the sword in the air, I sent it flying the furthest I could see.

Woosh–!

The sword shot forward in an instant as if it was an arrow.

It went further and further, and then as if I was holding onto the end of a long pole, my mental energy was exhausted exponentially.

Eventually, I felt a throbbing headache and the skill was canceled.

There were some restrictions, but…I didn’t expect it to work this smoothly.

Countless thoughts on how to use this skill to my advantage began to come to mind.

Hehe…this was certainly going to be helpful in the future.

I was really lucky from the get-go. However, the second reward wasn’t any worse.

{ Air Step }

Classification: Mortal

Grade: A 

Description: Walk on air using mana.

*Cannot be strengthened.

“Kya!! This is it!!!”

This was a skill I had in the first round. Therefore, I knew the effectiveness of it better than anyone.

Anyway, I had also been feeling like I was lacking mobility.

Gathering mana at the tip of my toes, I stepped into the air. I quickly moved as if there were invisible footholds.

Rushing up, kicking back, and accelerating my descent.

Keuh…It had been a long time since I felt this sensation.

This skill was simple, but the effect couldn’t be any more perfect.

{ Object Control } and { Air Step }. The gacha this time was a complete success.

In particular, I liked that both skills could be used as my strengths immediately.

Huu…that was enough for now. Next was my overdued stats.

I opened my status window with a satisfied smile.

{ Level 69 (+6) }

Body: 5.52

Dexterity: 5.31 

Mana: 5.41

Spirit: 5.34 

*6 Fragments of Growth

Level 69…

Until just a while ago, I was satisfied with my growth, but to deal with those rude bastards this was far from enough.

It was best to go back to the basics and improve my body first.

I invested every fragment I had into Body without regret.

{ Level 69 (+6) }

Body: 5.52 -} 6.04 (+0.52)

Dexterity: 5.31

Mana: 5.41

Spirit: 5.34

My Body stat finally exceeded 6.0. As a result, all of my senses used to feel the world became clearer than before.

A small grain of sand rolling around the playground. The direction of the wind that brushed against my skin. The sound of Shirahui’s breath.

And…

It was very faint, but even the sweet smell of perfume.

Hmm…What was this?

It was certainly a perfume I had smelled somewhere before. Where was it?

I turned my head in the direction of the smell. A place not too far from me.

Obviously, there was nothing in the air. However, with my senses gained from the genes of different races and stats, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that there was something there.

Shiik–

I immediately drew my sword and pierced forward. Then…

“Kyaak!”

Black feathers fluttered in the air, revealing Samaria in a black clergy uniform.

As expected…it was her.

I had suddenly lost sight of her the moment Shin Cheonho attacked me. It seemed she had hidden herself somewhere and watched.

“What are you doing there?”

“Th-that’s…haha.”

With a flushed face, she turned her head. After a while, as if nothing had happened, she tidied her clothes and spoke gracefully.

“Choi Noah. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“No.”

She was hiding by herself when I was in danger. So why was she pretending to be close now?

I rejected her and immediately turned around. However, she hurriedly reached out her hand.

“H-hold on! Wh-what I’m about to tell you will certainly be of help!”

“What now?”

Turning back in annoyance, I suddenly saw her begin to take off her clergy uniform.

“Can you take a look at this?”

Woosh–Pa.

After her clergy uniform fell to the ground, her naked body in only her underwear was revealed.

“Hmm?”

Winding around her navel was a geometrical tattoo.

What the hell was I looking at? The moment I had my doubt,

“This is a seal that binds me.”

All of a sudden the tattoo began to glow red, and then it began to emit light.

“And…what I’m going to say is, maybe by now, the Gods you’re curious about.”

“?!”

Along with her words, a halo like that of an angel shone brightly above her head.