The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 288

When Jeong-hoon returned to Darvis, Yeo Min-Ji and Yeo Sunwoo had also returned.

“Mr. Hoon! You’re safe!”

Yeo Sunwoo brightened upon seeing Jeong-hoon.

Jeong-hoon smiled.

“Yes. I heard you achieved results.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Hoon.”

Yeo Min-Ji also seemed pleased, her face filled with a bright smile.

“I believed you’d be safe.”

Despite her words, he had heard that she had been quite worried.

“Thank you. Then shall we move now?”

“No! You need to rest! You just got back, and you’re already trying to move?”

Yeo Min-Ji frowned and made an X shape with her index fingers.

Jeong-hoon smiled.

“I’m fine. I’ve already rested enough.”

[Oh? Master, your nose is going to grow longer if you keep lying.]

‘Rest? What rest? I’ve been struggling the whole time. That human woman is right. Taking a break sounds like a good idea.’

Mukho and Anima strongly urged him to rest, but Jeong-hoon remained firm.

‘If I rest now, I might lose my chance.’

More than two months had passed since he arrived in Darvis.

So far, no one else had crossed into Darvis, but soon, a party led by James Marcus would arrive.

The only party with a chance of subjugating the Ultimate Knight was James Marcus’ party.

In his previous life, James Marcus’ party was the first to enter Darvis.

And they had swept up all the fortuitous encounters.

As a result, the already massive gap had widened even further.

‘I have no intention of handing over the fortuitous encounters to them, regardless of this being a parallel world.’

That meant he had to claim as many as possible.

“Hm, wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit, as Min-Ji suggested?”

His mother agreed with Yeo Min-Ji.

But Jeong-hoon was resolute.

“I’ve spent the last two months traveling around Darvis. In the process, I discovered additional clues about fortuitous encounters.”

Fluent lies flowed from his lips.

“There are more fortuitous encounters…?”

Yeo Min-Ji asked in disbelief.

Everyone here had already acquired two fortuitous encounters each.

Even finding just one was remarkable, yet over ten had already been discovered.

And now, he was saying there were still more left?

Jeong-hoon nodded.

“Yes. I deliberately left them untouched so we could all go together.”

“I see….”

She could understand why he was in such a hurry.

But she didn’t want Jeong-hoon to overexert himself just to obtain fortuitous encounters.

Jeong-hoon quickly caught on to her thoughts and added,

“If you’re concerned about me, then you should move now.”

If they refused to go, he would take only those who agreed and depart.

“…Alright.”

After a moment of hesitation, Yeo Min-Ji slowly nodded.

“Then let’s head out.”

***

Northern Darvis.

Grand Duchy of Delphos.

Darvis was a vast empire.

Most of its land was controlled by nobles with hereditary titles.

The Grand Duchy of Delphos lay even further north than the Duchy of Niobe.

“Wow… People actually live in a place like this?”

Ha-Jin clicked his tongue.

The farther north they went, the harsher the cold became.

It was an environment unfit for human habitation.

“It’s because of the barrier.”

Jeong-hoon gave a brief explanation.

A barrier.

As soon as they left the Duchy of Niobe, they were assaulted by extreme cold—that was the reason.

“Huh? Why a barrier?”

“To prevent monster attacks.”

A barrier.

The Grand Duchy of Delphos housed numerous dungeons.

Each of those dungeons contained monsters exceeding Level 500.

Only a handful of individuals had the strength to constantly suppress them.

In the end, a few mages, including an Archmage, had erected a massive barrier centered around the grand duchy.

However, as a side effect, the region was engulfed in relentless cold all year round.

Even then, it wasn’t enough to stop Darvis from being completely destroyed in the end.

The land Jeong-hoon now stood on existed solely as a recreation for the humans of Earth.

“Oh, I see….”

“Will our Earth be pushed this far too?”

At Yeo Min-Ji’s question, Jeong-hoon gave a bitter smile.

“…Who knows.”

Silence followed his words.

Jeong-hoon walked without another word, and the rest followed behind him.

Eventually, they reached the capital of the grand duchy.

The capital was filled with people wearing thick fur coats.

“Since their levels are high, they can withstand the cold.”@@novelbin@@

“Yeah. We probably don’t even need fur coats.”

The ones wrapped in thick clothing were all below Level 200.

It was only natural that the common people of the grand duchy had low levels, but there were a few NPCs above Level 300.

Those individuals were clad in armor and headed toward the castle.

Jeong-hoon approached one of the NPCs with a blinking question mark.

[Episode Quest: Investigate the Barrier of the Grand Duchy of Delphos]

- Requirement: Entry into the Grand Duchy of Delphos

- Reward: Progress to the next quest + Experience

- Description: The barrier of the Grand Duchy of Delphos may collapse. Please assist in investigating it.

An Episode Quest.

To obtain the fortuitous encounters of the Grand Duchy of Delphos, he needed to complete this quest.

Of course, this episode was also part of the collection, meaning he could unlock a Hidden Episode.

‘I’ll be meeting the Architect soon.’

The more episodes he completed, the closer he got to facing that being.

Jeong-hoon had already gained the Ultimate Power.

Once he completed 99% of the episodes, he would face the three calamities of destruction.

He wasn’t ready yet, but if he gathered enough fortuitous encounters to surpass Level 1,000 and max out his stats, he would have a fighting chance.

‘Just wait.’

He would change this damned fate.

With firm resolve, Jeong-hoon accepted the quest.

[The first episode is starting.]

[EP.1 The Darkness Descending Upon the Grand Duchy of Delphos]

As soon as he accepted the quest, the NPC looked at him expectantly.

“Hm? Who might you be?”

===

[NPC Information]

- Name: Jiron

- Level: 395

- Class: Commander of the Seivro Knights

===

The Seivro Knights.

They were the order that safeguarded the Grand Duchy of Delphos and were responsible for inspecting the barrier outside the duchy.

“We came from the imperial capital.”

“The imperial capital…?”

Jiron furrowed his brows.

They did not have a favorable opinion of the empire.

After all, the empire had sacrificed the Grand Duchy of Delphos under the pretense of protecting people from the dungeons.

So there was no way they would welcome Jeong-hoon, who had come from the imperial capital, with open arms.

“Do you dislike the empire?”

“Hah, I don’t know what business you have with me, but if you’ve come to the duchy, just stay quiet and leave when you’re done.”

With those words, Jiron turned to leave.

“Oh really? I came because the barrier is in danger.”

At that, Jiron stopped in his tracks.

“…I don’t know how you found out about that, but our knights will handle the problem.”

“Hm, I doubt that.”

“What?”

“The barrier is going to break soon.”

The barrier was already at its limit.

The moment Jeong-hoon accepted the quest, a minuscule crack had formed in the barrier, and it would only continue to grow at an accelerated rate until it finally collapsed.

Once that happened, an enormous wave of monsters would flood into the duchy.

‘The fortuitous encounter lies in that dungeon.’

One of the dungeons that would appear during the Grand Duchy’s questline.

Within that dungeon was the fortuitous encounter Jeong-hoon sought.

“Hun… is the fortuitous encounter really here?”

Yeo Min-Ji asked cautiously.

She had assumed that since they had found it, they would be able to reach it right away. But contrary to her expectations, the NPC giving the quest was full of hostility.

“I told you, I found a clue. This is the place.”

Jeong-hoon smiled.

Apparently, that smile didn’t sit well with Jiron, who drew his sword and aimed it at Jeong-hoon.

“If you keep running your mouth, you won’t be leaving here alive.”

“Wow, do you actually think you can lay a hand on me with your level?”

Despite the murderous threat, Jeong-hoon continued provoking him.

“You sure talk nonsense.”

Finally reaching his breaking point, Jiron kicked off the ground and charged at Jeong-hoon.

‘Someone like him… needs to be shown through force.’

He must have already checked Jeong-hoon’s level.

And yet, he was still acting so aggressive—likely to confirm his own strength.

Then Jeong-hoon would make it clear.

Just how overwhelming the difference between them truly was.

Jeong-hoon drew Leviathan.

There was no need to summon his shadow equipment.

[Form 1: Activating Heavenly Demon Blade Technique.]

The moment the technique was activated, Jeong-hoon's fierce sword strike overwhelmed Jiron.

“Ugh!”

Jiron hurriedly swung his sword in an attempt to deflect the attack, but it was useless.

Clang!

He couldn't even block a single strike, and his sword was sent flying to the ground.

Having lost his weapon, Jiron fell to his knees.

It had all happened in an instant.

Jeong-hoon swiftly halted the Heavenly Demon Blade Technique and pointed Leviathan at Jiron's neck.

“Do you want to continue?”

“…I’ve lost.”

Jiron admitted defeat without hesitation.

“I'm glad you're quick to acknowledge it.”

Jeong-hoon returned Leviathan to his inventory.

“This is absurd…”

“The commander lost that easily?”

The knights watched in disbelief.

“This outcome was inevitable.”

Jeong-hoon extended his hand toward Jiron.

“Inevitable, huh…”

Jiron grasped Jeong-hoon's hand and stood up.

“Will you believe me now? The barrier is going to break soon.”

“…I know. I was on my way to report that to His Grace, the Grand Duke.”

Jiron finally nodded with a grim expression.

The barrier had been intact during their last patrol, but cracks had suddenly appeared.

That was the reason the knights had returned earlier than planned.

“Then lead the way.”

“To the barrier?”

“Yes. I plan to check it myself.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“And yet you say that after witnessing my strength?”

“……”

“You don’t need to worry. Nothing will happen to me.”

“…You're not from the empire, are you?”

Even the empire’s Sword Masters wouldn’t stand a chance against Jeong-hoon.

Jiron quickly realized that Jeong-hoon was not from the empire—he was an outsider.

Jeong-hoon smiled.

“Took you long enough to figure it out.”

* * *

Northern Grand Duchy.

At the northernmost edge, a barrier stood, and beyond it, massive monsters roamed.

Each one was over Level 500.

“As you can see, there’s a crack in the barrier.”

Jiron pointed at the barrier.

A faint but visible crack had formed, and its size was gradually increasing.

“For now, let’s wait here.”

“Wait here?”

“Yes. As soon as the barrier breaks, I’ll hunt down all those monsters.”

“All of them…?”

“Yes.”

That was the only way to enter the dungeon where the opportunity awaited.

‘This is doable.’

Despite their levels, the monsters didn’t possess any particularly threatening abilities.

Even James Marcus’ party could handle them without much difficulty.

Which meant that, to Jeong-hoon, they weren’t much of a threat at all.

“For now, let’s return to the Grand Duchy. There’s no telling when the barrier will actually break, so waiting here is pointless.”

Leaving an outsider behind wasn’t an option.

Now that they had confirmed the situation, they needed to return to the castle, report to His Grace, the Grand Duke, and reorganize their forces to prepare for an immediate response around the barrier.

“No. I don’t think we have enough time for that.”

“What?”

“Look.”

Jeong-hoon pointed at the barrier.

Crack—

Unlike before, the cracks were spreading at an alarming rate.

“T-This is bad!”

Jiron’s face turned pale.

Crack—

Crash!

The cracks rapidly expanded, and before long, the barrier could no longer hold—it shattered completely.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]