The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]@@novelbin@@

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 292

Jeong-hoon stepped forward using the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion.

In the blink of an eye, he reached right in front of Serion, causing Serion’s eyes to widen in shock.

“This is absurd…!”

He couldn’t even read the movements of a mere human.

How could this be happening…?!

Serion hurriedly swung his arm.

[Serion uses ‘Cold Friction.’]

As a result, freezing air clashed against itself, forming sharp blades of wind that rushed toward Jeong-hoon.

[Uses Barrier of Light.]

Jeong-hoon quickly deployed the Barrier of Light.

Upon reaching the pinnacle of mastery, the Barrier of Light had upgraded to the Celestial grade.

Because of that, Serion’s Cold Friction couldn’t even leave a scratch on it.

‘I'll finish this before the others step in.’

There was no benefit in dragging things out unnecessarily.

Jeong-hoon drew the Shadow King’s Spear and immediately activated ‘Shadow Crescent Moon.’

A massive spear strike engulfed Serion.

Swish—

“Kuaaaagh!”

With a horrifying slicing sound, Serion let out a scream.

The recent spear strike had severed his left leg.

Losing a leg, Serion lost his balance and collapsed on the spot.

“Now!”

Seeing an opening, Jeong-hoon signaled, and the rest of the group rushed at Serion.

“Humans! I’ll kill you all right here!”

Writhing in agony, Serion raised both hands high.

“Fall back!”

At Jeong-hoon’s command, everyone retreated.

[Serion uses ‘Cold Explosion.’]

Serion’s body glowed blue before a massive explosion erupted.

[Uses Barrier of Light.]

Kwaaaaaang!

Jeong-hoon expanded the Barrier of Light, shielding everyone from the explosion.

Following the explosion, a fierce storm swept toward Jeong-hoon.

However, the Barrier of Light remained unshaken.

Fwoosh—

As the intense storm subsided, the once-blurred vision gradually cleared.

In front of them, Serion stared in shock.

“Alright, let’s go again.”

Jeong-hoon shot toward Serion once more.

As he stepped with the Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion, Ultimate Aura surrounded his body.

Attack power and defense increased by 40%.

[Serion’s attack power and defense decrease by 20%.]

Additionally, Serion’s attack power and defense were reduced by 20%.

[The designated target receives a buff that increases attack power and defense by 15%.]

Additionally, the designated target is granted a buff that raises attack power and defense by 15%.

‘This should be enough.’

There was no need to use Black Field.

Jeong-hoon swung his spear wide.

[Activates Shadow Crescent Moon.]

The same spear strike as before once again engulfed Serion.

Swish—

This time, it severed Serion’s right leg.

The speed was too fast for him to defend against, leaving Serion helpless.

“Kuaaaagh!”

Serion collapsed forward, screaming in agony.

Bang—

At that moment, his mother’s supporting fire began.

She had precisely targeted the weak spot Jeong-hoon had pointed out, leaving Serion trembling without even being able to scream.

“It’s over.”

With those words, Jeong-hoon stabbed his spear into Serion multiple times.

“Humans… They will never forgive this….”

Serion struggled to speak.

“So what?”

Jeong-hoon smirked and placed his hand on Serion’s body.

Since his life force had dropped below 20%, he should be able to use it now.

[Uses Absorption Arts.]

As Absorption Arts was activated, dark mana began rising from Serion’s body and was drawn into Jeong-hoon’s hand.

[You have gained experience points.]

[All stats have increased.]

He absorbed both experience points and stats.

“Grrrgh…!”

Serion twisted his body, struggling in pain, trying to escape.

However, since Absorption Arts was already in effect, escaping was impossible unless someone interfered.

“What kind of skill is that?”

“It looks like he’s stealing power.”

Those who had been attacking watched in silence.

[The casting of Absorption Arts has completed.]

Once Absorption Arts ended, Serion’s life force had dropped to 0%.

It wasn’t just experience points and stats that were absorbed.

By draining his life force as well, additional stats and experience were gained.

[Absorbed experience: ‘3,983,431,223’.]

The absorbed experience was 3.98 billion.

[Your level has increased.]

[All stats +1.]

[Bonus stat +1 awarded.]

As a result, Jeong-hoon’s level increased from 517 to 519.

‘Lower than I expected.’

He had absorbed Serion, who boasted a staggering Level 520.

So he thought he would gain at least 10 billion experience, but it was only 3.9 billion.

‘Is it because the skill is Level 1?’

Jeong-hoon’s Absorption Arts was currently at Level 1.

Once the level increases, the absorption amount will likely rise significantly.

[Strength has increased by 17.]

[Agility has increased by 15.]

[Endurance has increased by 14.]

…

All stats had increased, mostly in the mid-to-high tens.

[Detailed Stats]

- Strength: 653(+65) → 718

- Agility: 639(+64) → 703

- Endurance: 600(+61) → 661

- Defense: 622(+62) → 684

- Wisdom: 581(+58) → 639

- Mana: 1,218(+121) → 1,339

- Divine Power: 839(+83) → 922

- Mental Power: 577(+60) → 637

Mana had barely increased, but overall, his stats had risen, pushing both Strength and Agility past 700.

Jeong-hoon nodded in satisfaction.

‘If I keep absorbing like this, I can push the rest past 1,000 too.’

Serion didn’t drop any items.

Was it because he had used Absorption Arts?

Well, since he had obtained the All-Things Statue, there was no need to be greedy.

“Hyung-nim, what exactly is that skill?”

Once Absorption Arts ended, Bong-Goo couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.

“Absorption Arts.”

“Absorption Arts?”

“Yeah. A skill that lets me absorb experience and stats.”

“Wow…”

“It came from the All-Things Statue. This was my first time testing it.”

“I wish I got something like that too…”

“You already got a Legendary-grade skill, so what are you complaining about?”

“But that one looks even better…”

Of course, it did.

Bong-Goo’s Dark Side was Legendary-grade.

Meanwhile, Absorption Arts was Ultimate-grade.

With a two-tier difference, the performance gap was as vast as the sky and the earth.

“Well, anyway, let’s head back.”

It was time to wrap up the ongoing episode quest.

* * *

Delphos Grand Duchy.

The barrier had been broken, but the extreme cold remained.

“No one’s here?”

Just as Ha-Jin said, they hadn’t encountered a single person on their way back to the capital.

“The barrier was broken. They were probably told to stay inside.”

Yeo Min-Ji answered Ha-Jin’s curiosity.

“Well… with the barrier gone, everyone must be incredibly worried.”

As she said, an evacuation order had been issued across the entire Grand Duchy.

Most of the territory’s residents had likely fled in a hurry, while those without the means to escape were probably hiding in their homes, trembling in fear.

“Evacuating won’t help.”

Monsters that even a Sword Master couldn’t handle were pouring in.

They might buy themselves a little time, but in the end, they were surrounded on all sides—it was only a matter of time.

“Well, at least the immediate danger has been dealt with.”

With those words, Jeong-hoon headed toward the castle.

Two knights were standing guard at the gate.

They were knights who had been stationed behind Commander Jiron, so they recognized Jeong-hoon’s face immediately.

“The hero has arrived!”

“Are you unharmed?!”

The two knights welcomed Jeong-hoon enthusiastically.

He had set out to finish clearing the dungeon, but quite some time had passed without his return, and they had begun to worry.

Now that he had returned safely, it was proof that the dungeon had been successfully cleared.

They couldn’t be happier.

“Yes. For now, the immediate crisis has been dealt with.”

There were still dungeons left uncleared, but those would have to be taken care of through the ongoing episode quest.

“Understood! Please wait a moment!”

“I’ll report your return to His Grace the Grand Duke immediately!”

One of the knights hurriedly ran into the castle.

It wasn’t long before he returned, running back out.

Following behind him were Grand Duke Delphos and Commander Jiron of the Seivro Knights.

“Oh! You must be the hero who saved this land! I sincerely thank you for what you have done.”

“I only did what needed to be done.”

Jeong-hoon smiled lightly.

It was part of completing the quest, so he was simply doing what was required.

Unaware of that, Grand Duke Delphos nodded, looking deeply moved.

“Doing what needed to be done… truly, you are a hero.”

Above his head, a question mark flickered.

[Episode Quest: The Darkness Over the Grand Duchy (2)]

- Requirement: Complete ‘The Darkness Over the Grand Duchy.’

- Reward: Next quest progression available + Experience points.

- Description: Enter the designated dungeon and eliminate all monsters. (Quest succeeds when extermination reaches 100%.)

- *You must move with the Seivro Knights.

As expected, this quest also required him to clear a dungeon and exterminate all monsters.

After accepting the quest, Jeong-hoon spoke up.

“There’s still an uncleared dungeon. If you permit it, I’d like to close all of them.”

At those words, Grand Duke Delphos widened his eyes.

"Didn't you just return? You should take a proper rest first."

Jeong-hoon shook his head.

"No. If we wait, it’ll be even harder to deal with the monsters pouring out of the dungeon."

"That may be true... But how about deploying the knights instead?"

At the grand duke’s words, Jiron immediately responded.

"Yes. That sounds like a good idea."

As a knight sworn to protect Delphos, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

'I’d rather move alone if possible.'

He wanted to refuse.

It was simple—these knights wouldn’t be much help in battle.

However, the quest required him to move with them, so he had no choice.

Jeong-hoon had no choice but to nod.

"Alright."

Jiron, as if he had been waiting for this, added,

"Do you have any knights you’d like to take with you?"

"I want to keep the numbers as low as possible. Ideally, no more than five."

"Th-that few?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... In that case, I will select the five most skilled knights."

Jeong-hoon nodded.

With that many, they wouldn't get in the way.

* * *

"Kweeeh!"

The boss monster, Ancient Laudon, collapsed onto the ground.

It was a monster boasting a level of 550.

Ancient Laudon’s belly had been torn open by Jeong-hoon's spear strike, spilling its entrails as the stench of blood filled the air.

[You can permanently erase the dungeon. Would you like to proceed?]

"Erase it."

[The dungeon will now be erased.]

As the dungeon disappeared, it began to collapse.

After erasing it himself, Jeong-hoon turned around.

"Alright, let’s move on to the next dungeon."

"Y-yes!"

Knight Commander Jiron had been watching in a daze and snapped back to his senses.

This was already the eighth dungeon.

Even though he had accompanied Jeong-hoon, he hadn’t participated in a single battle.

More precisely, he couldn’t participate.

'Is he really human?'

A monster over level 500 had been utterly helpless before Jeong-hoon's spear strikes.

Judging by level alone, he should have struggled. But… how was this even possible?

To Jiron, Jeong-hoon seemed far beyond the limits of a human.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain it.

"Kieeeh!"

Jeong-hoon’s one-man show continued.

Every time he swung his spear, monsters' necks, arms, and legs were severed, while the rest of the knights naturally finished off the dying creatures, continuing the subjugation.

'Finally, light is coming to Delphos.'

Jiron gazed at Jeong-hoon, overwhelmed with emotion.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]