The Return of the Legendary All-Master

“How did it go?” he asked.

“Ahem, I put in a lot of effort… Can’t you just tell me?” she replied playfully.

“Well, do you need anything?”

“An iced Americano. That’s all I need.”

Jeong-Hoon chuckled at her offer.

He couldn’t let her off the hook that easily.

“No. Instead, if you need any enhancements, leave them to me. I’ll take care of enhancing your items from now on.”

“Really…?”

“Yes. As long as you have the enhancement stones, I can enhance your items up to Unique grade, so you won’t have any inconvenience with item enhancements in the future.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Yeo Min-Ji expressed her gratitude with a touched expression.

Even fully enhancing Epic equipment was quite expensive.

And Unique?

Since Legendary equipment couldn’t be enhanced yet, top rankers were aiming for fully enhanced Unique equipment, and creating even one fully enhanced Unique item required a tremendous amount of money.

Even Yeo Min-Ji, a ranker, didn’t have a single fully enhanced Unique item.

“If you have any Unique equipment right now, you can leave it with me. Even if I have many requests, I’ll prioritize yours.”

“Th-Then, can I ask you to enhance my knuckles and cloak?”

“Yes. But before that, you need to tell me the result.”

“Ah! Yes. I got permission, for now.”

“For now… you say?”

That meant it was conditional permission.

“Don’t worry too much. If we fail, we’ll just get scolded and that’s it.”

Yeo Min-Ji shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

However, Jeong-Hoon knew that the guild wouldn’t easily allow this.

‘She must have bet something with high risk.’

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to persuade the guild members.

That’s why he felt even more grateful to Yeo Min-Ji.

“I’ll definitely take first place in the first round. Just watch.”

Jeong-Hoon smiled brightly.

* * *

===

[New World Event Additional Announcement!]

– Hello! This is the New World development team.

We are making an additional announcement regarding the event!

[Guild War Event]

– First Round: Consisting of users below level 250 (3rd class advancement)

– Second Round: Consisting of users above level 250 (3rd class advancement)

[1st Round Theme]

– Survival

– 2-player teams move around a single map, surviving until only one team remains.

The first round is a survival match!

Two members from each guild will form a team and participate, and the team that survives until the end will be the winner!

[2nd Round Theme]

– Tournament

– The tournament will be conducted in a random draw format, determining the final winning team.

– Each team will consist of 2 players, and the matches will be turn-based.

– From the New World development team

===

Myth Guild.

Lee Hwa-Rang returned to the guild headquarters, his face filled with frustration.

Seeing this, Lord Knight Park Jin-Hyeok approached him, patted his shoulder, and asked,

“What’s wrong again?”

“I’m busy as hell trying to find an item, and then you call me back.”

What a persistent guy.

Park Jin-Hyeok clicked his tongue at his dedication.

He hadn’t even dreamed that Lee Hwa-Rang was still searching for the Red Dragon Bone Bow.

Well, with that, he could complete the Red Dragon full set, so it was understandable that he couldn’t give up.

He had set out to search again less than six hours ago, but Sword King Sa Jae-Hyeok’s summons forced him to return to the guild headquarters, so it was natural for him to be annoyed.

“It’s probably because of the event.”

“The event? The guild event?”

“Yeah.”

The new event announced by New World.

It wasn’t an event for individual players, but for guilds.

Especially with the rewards, including fame and contribution points.

The guild’s ranking was determined by those fame and contribution points.

It was an event they couldn’t afford to miss.

“Tsk, so you’re saying you and I have to participate?”

“Probably.”

The 2nd tournament, where users above level 250 could participate.

Sa Jae-Hyeok was planning to select Lee Hwa-Rang and Park Jin-Hyeok for the 2nd tournament.

“He’s determined to win for sure.”

Lee Hwa-Rang and Park Jin-Hyeok entered the guild leader’s office.

Two guild members were already there.

===

[Player Information]

– Nickname: Lucascas

– Level: 241

– Class: Guardian Swordsman (3rd Advancement)

===

[Player Information]

– Nickname: Ashbling

– Level: 244

– Class: Walker of the Abyss (3rd Advancement)

===

They were the Hidden Class members that the Myth Guild was carefully nurturing.

Lee Ji-Seok, the Guardian Swordsman who had completed his 3rd advancement, was Epic-grade.

Similarly, Lee Yeon-Soo, the Walker of the Abyss, was also Epic-grade.

‘He’s really determined to crush them completely.’

Lee Hwa-Rang looked at Sa Jae-Hyeok.

Sa Jae-Hyeok was stroking his chin while touching the hologram.

He closed the hologram and looked at Lee Hwa-Rang.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

“Participate in this event.”

“I don’t have time for that.”

Lee Hwa-Rang flatly refused with an indifferent expression.

“Because of the Red Dragon weapon?”

“Yes.”

“Give up on that. Too much time has passed since it was discovered.”

The Red Dragon Bone Bow, found by another player.

“I refuse. I’ll find it and buy it no matter what.”

He was confident he could match any price the owner asked for.

He was even willing to pay 10 billion won or more in a lump sum.

But whether it had ascended to the heavens or sunk into the earth… the player who had taken the Red Dragon Bone Bow had not appeared yet.

“Sigh, first place. Take first place in the second round.”

“And if I do?”

“Myth will mobilize all its resources to help you search for the Red Dragon Bone Bow.”

Lee Hwa-Rang wasn’t particularly thrilled about Myth’s help.

They hadn’t offered any assistance when he was desperately searching for the Red Dragon Bone Bow, and now they were making a conditional promise?

But it was too tempting an offer to refuse.

‘I can’t do it alone.’

He had realized that while searching.

The person who had the Red Dragon Bone Bow had no intention of selling it at the moment.

So he had to find them and make a deal, and to do that, he needed to know who that user was.

‘If Myth joins in and conducts a wide-scale search, it will shorten the time.’

It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Are you sure?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

Sa Jae-Hyeok wasn’t the type to make empty promises.

If he set a condition, he always fulfilled it.

Even Lee Hwa-Rang acknowledged that.

“…Alright. Then I’ll participate.”

“What about Jin-Hyeok?”

“If Hwa-Rang is going, of course I have to go too.”

Lord Knight Park Jin-Hyeok shrugged.

“Good. Remember, Myth must take first place in both the first and second rounds. Understand?”

“Yes!”

Lee Ji-Seok and Lee Yeon-Soo replied energetically, and Lee Hwa-Rang and Park Jin-Hyeok nodded in agreement.

* * *

Before the event started.

Yeo Sunwoo met Jeong-Hoon offline.

The list his daughter had recommended.

‘First place for sure!’

It was confirmed due to Yeo Min-Ji’s bombshell declaration, ‘If Jeong-Hoon doesn’t take first place, I’ll step down as an executive.’

“Have you finished preparing for the event?”

“Yes. We’re ready to go anytime.”

“I see.”

Yeo Sunwoo nodded.

He had no intention of dissuading Jeong-Hoon from participating in the event.

‘He must have a plan.’

Unlike him, his daughter had been watching Jeong-Hoon from close by.

She had even staked her position as an executive to recommend Jeong-Hoon and his mother, Lee Na-Yeon.

There must be a good reason for that.

Yeo Sunwoo decided to trust Yeo Min-Ji’s judgment.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

“Yes. I came to ask if you’re in good condition and if you need anything else.”

Jeong-Hoon said, looking surprised.

“I thought you would try to dissuade me.”

“…It would be a lie if I said I didn’t think about it. But if I dissuade you here, it would be the same as not trusting my daughter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I want to see with my own eyes the reason why my daughter recommended you so strongly.”

He was a truly decent person.

From anyone’s perspective, the chances of Jeong-Hoon taking first place in the first round were zero.

Normally, in this situation, he would try to send someone else instead.

But he allowed Jeong-Hoon to participate.

“Thank you.”

Jeong-Hoon expressed his gratitude.

No other words were needed.

All he had to do was prove it with results in the next Guild War event.

* * *

[The first round of the Guild War begins.]

[Invitations have been sent to the users who applied for participation.]

Jeong-Hoon logged in and waited, and soon an invitation arrived.

[You are a registered participant.]

– Nickname: Hoon

– Level: 173

– Guild: Ho-Yeong

Upon receiving the invitation, his vision went dark, and then a room painted entirely white appeared.

But Jeong-Hoon was alone in this room.

No one else had entered.

[Whisper/Yeo-Na -> Hoon: Son? I received the invitation and entered a white room, but I’m alone.]

A whisper from his mother arrived.

It seemed she had also entered alone.

[Whisper/Hoon -> Yeo-Na: I’m alone too. It seems like we’ll be able to meet when the event starts.]

[Whisper/Yeo-Na -> Hoon: Really? We need to strategize, but now we can’t.]

[Whisper/Hoon -> Yeo-Na: We’ll be able to meet soon after it starts, so don’t worry too much.]

Although they were a team of two, the waiting room was designed for individual waiting.

And a familiar NPC appeared in front of Jeong-Hoon.

===

[NPC Information]

– Nickname: Ling Ling

– Level: 700

– Occupation: Event NPC

===

“Long time no see!”

Ling Ling, whom he was seeing for the third time since the previous events.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“It’s good to see that you’ve gotten much stronger in such a short time.”

As expected of a level 700, Ling Ling could see through Jeong-Hoon’s level at a glance.

Jeong-Hoon shrugged in response.

“By the way, are you in charge of the entire event, or are you just responsible for South Korea again?”

Ling Ling had been in charge of the South Korean server during the previous siege event.

And it was the same this time as well.

Ling Ling smiled brightly and nodded.

“Bingo! I picked you because I had a feeling you’d be here again.”

“I see…”

“Hehe, then we should make another bet, shouldn’t we?”

“A bet?”

“Yes! How much Heavenly Energy do you have now?”

“15%.”

15% Heavenly Energy obtained from two events.

At this rate, he might be able to aim for an even higher grade at 4th advancement.

“Wow, that’s amazing! Then, shall we make a bet with Heavenly Energy again this time?”

“No. Let’s bet something else.”

“Hmm? What do you want to bet?”

“I’ll bet all 15% of the Heavenly Energy I’ve accumulated.”

“Ooh?”

Ling Ling’s eyes sparkled.

What kind of bet was he going to make that he was willing to bet all of his accumulated Heavenly Energy?

“I will take first place in the first round.”

“Hmm… Just first place? That’s a bit bland.”

“Additionally, I’ll personally kill at least 10 teams.”

It wasn’t just about winning first place, but also personally hunting down at least 10 teams to achieve the final victory.

‘I need to clear the traps.’

To clear the traps, he needed to move all over the map.

It was inevitable that he would encounter other users in the process.

Ling Ling’s smile widened to the point that it almost reached her ears.

“Oh! That sounds good! Then what should I bet?”

“The same 15%.”

Jeong-Hoon smirked.

“Hmm, 15%… That’s a bit too much, even for me.”

Ling Ling hesitated to accept the bet readily.

“Then let’s forget about it.”

Jeong-Hoon’s goal was to clear the traps.

Not to make a bet with Ling Ling.

“No! Wait a minute! How about 10% Heavenly Energy and a significant level boost up to the 3rd class advancement?”

“Level?”

“Yes!”

Jeong-Hoon’s current level was 173.

If he won the bet, he could immediately proceed with his 3rd class advancement.

But it felt a bit lacking to accept it as it was.

“Let’s change the rules a bit. Please raise the levels of my teammate and my summoned creature as well, along with mine.”

“Teammate? Ah, you mean the Genesis Sniper?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Okay! Then I’ll raise everyone’s level by 20!”

“30.”

“…Hmm, deal! If you kill at least 10 teams and take first place, I’ll do it!”

With that, the bet was settled.

———-