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Chapter 239

[This is as far as I can help you.]

With those final words, Sol\'s voice disappeared.

“...I still couldn’t scratch the itch this time either.”

Neither the Seven Deadly Sins nor Sol provided a definitive clue about the Architect.

‘It’s probably being deliberately controlled that way.’

Otherwise, there’s no way it would feel like being abruptly cut off in the middle of things.

Was it because this was still the early stage of the game?

Jeong-hoon checked the coordinates he received from Sol.

There was supposed to be an item there to help complete the Path to the Ultimate quest.

‘The next destination is set.’

Having obtained all the hidden arrangements from the theme, Jeong-hoon stepped out of the crystal orb.

[Master, there’s no time! Dig quickly!]

There was just over an hour left.

Jeong-hoon pulled out his pickaxe and began mining the EXP ores in a hurry.

Even though he had reached Level 431, his hunger for more remained unfulfilled.

[You have gained 2,000,000 EXP.]

[You have gained 3,200,000 EXP.]

[You have gained 1,900,000 EXP.]

[You have gained 4,000,000 EXP.]

..

***

With only 5 minutes remaining, Jeong-hoon returned to the entrance marked by the red line he had entered through.

At the entrance, Ha-Jin , Bong-Goo, Jang Dae-Hwi, and his mother were waiting for him.

“Did everyone do well with the mining?”

As he asked, Jeong-hoon checked their levels.

‘All of them are over Level 280.’

The power of the unique pickaxe was evident.

With mining made easy, even Jang Dae-Hwi, who hadn’t reached Level 200 before, had achieved Level 282.

Ha-Jin and Bong-Goo reached Levels 329 and 326, respectively, while his mother had risen to Level 330.

“Yes, thanks to you, I managed to reach Level 330.”

His mother smiled gently.

“That’s good to hear. It seems like everyone achieved solid results, which is a relief.”

“This place is amazing!”

“Brother! Is there no way we can leave and come back in again?”

Ha-Jin and Bong-Goo were thoroughly steeped in dopamine, completely exhilarated.

And no wonder—it was nearly impossible to gain even one level under normal conditions, yet they had experienced a surge in levels.

As they say, human greed knows no bounds.

Ending things here felt truly regretful.

But Jeong-hoon shook his head.

“No, we can’t enter again.”

“...Really? This golden opportunity is only available once...?”

“Such a shame...”

Even if it was regretful, there was nothing they could do.

If there had been no entry restrictions, Jeong-hoon himself would have entered repeatedly to surpass Level 500.

But for now, his level stopped at 433.

Despite mining for nearly an hour, Jeong-hoon’s level had only increased by two.

‘It’s fine. There will be plenty of opportunities to level up.’

Following the memories from before his regression, he was confident he could easily reach levels between 700 and 800.

Of course, it would take significant time to climb that high, but along the way, he would achieve the ultimate power and uncover clues about the Architect.

To end this accursed game, no matter what.

“I think the footage turned out well.”

Jang Dae-Hwi was thrilled not just because he had reached Level 282 but also because the filming had gone successfully.

“I couldn’t mine properly because of the filming... What should I do…”

Jeong-hoon’s mother spoke apologetically.

She had wanted to help, but Jang Dae-Hwi had insisted this was his specialty and adamantly refused her assistance.

Dae-Hwi shook his head.

“Not at all. Filming took priority over leveling.”

The reach of HoneyTube is beyond imagination.

Uploading low-quality footage to such a platform? Unthinkable!

“Thanks, brother,” Jeong-hoon said with a bright smile of gratitude.

“You won’t be disappointed. Ha-Jin , Bong-Goo, did you get any footage?”

“We did, but…”

“We were too focused on mining, so it’s a bit rough,” Ha-Jin and Bong-Goo admitted.

Both of them had surpassed Level 320, clearly prioritizing mining over filming.

Jang Dae-Hwi clicked his tongue as if he had expected it.

“Tch, good thing I handled it. Otherwise, it would’ve been a disaster.”

“Haha… brother, we’re counting on you.”

“Yes, please!”

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

It was clear that bringing Jang Dae-Hwi along had been an excellent decision.

“Let’s head out,” Jeong-hoon said, pointing to the exit portal.

At that, Ha-Jin and Bong-Goo turned pale and asked, “We’re not going to have to climb down a cliff, are we?”

“Come on… Surely not.”

Jeong-hoon smirked mischievously.

“Why not? If you climbed up, you’ve got to climb down too.”

“Agh…”

“Oh, God…”

A cliff.

Climbing up had been difficult enough, but climbing down essentially meant jumping off.

If only they’d thought to bring parachutes.

“Don’t worry. I brought parachutes for everyone.”

“Hah, that’s… actually reassuring…”

“Or, if you don’t like that, you can hang on to me and I’ll take you down.”

“Hang on to you?”

“Yeah. I learned the Fly spell.”

“What…?!”

***

After receiving a message from Jeong-hoon, Yeo Min-Ji also gathered a group of five, including Yeo Sun-Woo, and arrived at the volcano.

“We have to climb this cliff…?”

Staring up at the dizzyingly tall cliff, Yeo Sun-Woo’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

“What’s wrong? Think you can’t do it?”

“Of course I can. We have In-Tae with us.”

Yeo Sun-Woo pointed to Park In-Tae, who was standing behind him.

Park In-Tae, the Magician of Insight, possessed one of the hidden classes in the mage category. While his combat abilities were somewhat lacking, his unique magic created unpredictable opportunities, making him a valuable asset.

“Yes. Please give me a moment. I’ll check if this is indeed the right cliff.”

“Alright.”

Park In-Tae snapped his fingers, conjuring a dove out of magic.

The dove, formed entirely of mana, flapped its wings as though alive and flew up the cliff.

Before long, good news arrived.

“Guild leader! This is the place!”

“Oh, as expected.”

“If what Hun said is correct, it seems we can explosively increase our levels here.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Park In-Tae cast another spell, and soon everyone’s bodies began to lift off the ground.

It wasn’t quite like the Fly spell. In an instant, their bodies disappeared, and they reappeared at the entrance to a dungeon portal.

‘Spatial Movement.’

Park In-Tae had transformed the dove into a marker and placed it near the portal. Using this marker, he teleported the entire party to the designated location.

“This is the place.”

As the party leader, Yeo Sun-Woo signaled their intent to enter the dungeon, and everyone’s bodies were pulled into the portal.

***

[Hun! We just finished mining as well!]

After receiving Yeo Min-Ji’s message, Jeong-hoon signaled to Jang Dae-Hwi.

“Okay, just give me a bit more time to finish editing,” Dae-Hwi said as he reviewed the edited video.

“Wow, brother, you’re seriously amazing at editing,” Ha-Jin , who had been watching from the side, expressed his admiration.

It was just a mining video, but from its attention-grabbing opening to the detailed editing, it was constructed in a way that kept the viewer hooked.

The opening phrase, highlighting the discovery of a “honey pot” to rapidly boost experience, was particularly enticing.

“I think this will do,” Jeong-hoon said, nodding in satisfaction as he watched the video.

However, Jang Dae-Hwi replayed the video with a slightly dissatisfied expression.

“Not yet. Give me a bit more time. I think it’s still missing something.”

“Upload it when you’re satisfied, brother.”

There was no need to rush. No matter when the video was uploaded, its impact would undoubtedly be massive.

Jeong-hoon checked the coordinates displayed in the message once more.

‘Time to head there.’

[Path of the Ultimate (1)]

Before starting that quest, he needed to find the place Sol had mentioned.

“Hmm? Hun, where are you off to?”

As Jeong-hoon pulled out a ticket, Ha-Jin tilted his head and asked.

“There’s somewhere I need to visit for a bit.”

“Really? Want me to come with you?”

“No, I’ll go alone.”

“Hah, you’re always so busy.”

“Cut me some slack. I’ll bring back another honey pot next time.”

“Okay! While you’re gone, I’ll wrap up my fourth advancement.”

Ha-Jin had already qualified to take on his 4th class advancement quest.

“I’ll finish mine by the time you’re back too, brother!”

Bong-Goo was also ready to proceed.

Their mother had already left to complete her own 4th class advancement quest, so she’d likely finish before the two of them.

“Alright. Make sure you succeed.”

Jeong-hoon chuckled softly as he tore the ticket.

***

The coordinates pointed to Jeju Island.

“That’s surprisingly close.”

Of all the countries in the world, it led him to South Korea—specifically, Jeju Island.

It was surprising, but not entirely unexpected.

“Jeju Island is practically crawling with dungeons.”

Portals were so abundant that you could spot a new dungeon after just a few steps. Jeju had been described as a collapsed land, a fitting metaphor for its current state.

Most residents had long since fled to other cities, leaving only dungeon raiders to roam the island, clearing one dungeon after another. With dungeons available for all level ranges, it was an inevitable phenomenon.

“Whoa… Level 433?”

“No way! There’s a martial artist with a level that high?”

“I thought Yeo Min-Ji was the top-ranked player.”

Jeong-hoon wasn’t hiding his nickname or level, so it was no surprise that he was drawing attention.

While his job class was concealed, his astonishing Level 433 was clearly visible.

“Look at these guys, gawking.”

“Well, it’s only natural when you’re this high level.”

Everywhere he walked, eyes followed him. A few people even trailed him persistently.

“What a hassle.”

Eventually, Jeong-hoon unfolded the Sky Steps scroll, effortlessly shaking off the pursuers.

His destination was a green portal—specialized for a unique type of dungeon where even NPCs coexisted with monsters.

“It’s not in my collection, so it should be fine to go in.”

As Jeong-hoon approached the portal, a prompt appeared:

[Lv. ??? Would you like to enter the Cult of the Heavenly Demon?]

Cult of the Heavenly Demon?

Has a special dungeon like this existed before?

[To enter, you must accept the quest: “Path of the Ultimate (1).”]

It seemed to be a dungeon that required accepting a quest before entry.

"I was planning to investigate further before starting."

He hadn’t expected to be forced into starting.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Jeong-hoon accepted the quest.

[Starting “Path of the Ultimate (1).”]

[Lv.??? The entrance restriction to the Cult of the Heavenly Demon has been lifted.]

Entering.

Jeong-hoon declared his intent to enter, and his body was quickly pulled into the portal.

***

Meanwhile,

Ha-Jin and Bong-Goo had finished preparing to undertake their 4th class advancement quest.

“Brother, let’s meet up after finishing the 4th advancement.”

“Yeah. Be sure to succeed and come back as the Dark King.”

The Dark King.

If the Dar Spirit was of unique grade, then the Dark King was of legendary grade.

Bong-Goo flinched and waved his hands in denial.

“I barely managed to advance to Dark Spirit. Legendary is out of my league.”

“There’s no limit. We’ve come this far, so you should at least try for legendary.”

“…I’ll try my best.”

Bong-Goo said this as he accepted the advancement quest.

“Good.”

Ha-Jin also accepted the quest, silently promising to successfully complete it so he could catch up to Jeong-hoon, even if just a little.

***

[Cult of the Heavenly Demon]

Jeong-hoon found himself inside a mansion.

It was a small room, enough for one person to stay in.

“What is this?”

Jeong-hoon heightened his senses and surveyed his surroundings.

He could feel a lot of energy around him, so he cautiously opened the door and stepped outside.

In front of him, a teenage NPC in his mid-teens was sweeping the yard.

---

[NPC Info]

- Nickname: Ki Tae-hyeok

- Level: 50

- Job: Low-level Convert

---

“Is he a newly initiated member?”

Ki Tae-hyeok was a low-level convert.

A question mark flickered above his head.

[Path of the Ultimate (1): Ki Tae-hyeok]

- Restriction: Entry to the Cult of the Heavenly Demon

- Reward: ??

- Description: You are currently an intruder. Lure him out and succeed in your infiltration.

An intruder.

Jeong-hoon chuckled.

“You! Who are you?”

Ki Tae-hyeok pointed his broom at Jeong-hoon and shouted.

His eyes were filled with suspicion.

“Who the hell is this? A newbie who doesn’t even know the difference between up and down?”

Jeong-hoon glared at Ki Tae-hyeok and summoned his magic.

Ki Tae-hyeok’s face went pale, and he immediately knelt, bowing his head.

“S-Sorry! I’ve only just joined, so I was rude!”

“Fine. I’ll overlook this mistake just once.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

An exclamation mark blinked above Ki Tae-hyeok’s head.

Since he was a newly initiated member, deceiving him was easy.

“Alright, now let’s move on to the next step.”