Jeong Hyeon-su took the Elixir first.
At a glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a translucent liquid, but the Elixir was the potion with the finest healing power.
‘How pathetically weak.’
Jeong Cheol had not missed the fact that although Jeong Hyeon-su looked fine on the outside, he had suffered severe internal injuries in the fierce battle against Ling Wehao, along with damaged joints and torn muscles.
It was due to a lack of training. His vessel had not been honed enough to endure each time he wielded tremendous power.
Even so, he could not grow impatient.
Rest and recovery had to be taken when they were necessary.
After all, if Earth had not been driven to the brink of destruction, and if not for the accumulated fatigue from the invasions of other races, Jeong Hyeon-su would not have been defeated so vainly by Seon Woo-hyeon.
‘A Champion Trophy. It has been quite a long time since I received one.’
When one climbed the Tower, trophies were awarded depending on the grade achieved beyond a certain level.
Collecting trophies granted special privileges, and the highest-grade trophy was the Champion Trophy.
A Champion Trophy, something one usually could not even dream of obtaining on the lower floors of the Tower, and which appeared only occasionally from the middle floors onward.
‘If I continue pushing forward like this, I will be able to grow even faster.’
Jeong Hyeon-su’s gaze next turned toward the new Trait displayed in his Status Window.
[Name: Jeong Hyeon-su]
[Stats: Vitality (17), Strength (15), Technique (18), Mental Strength (33), Endurance (20)]
[Skills: Five Kings’ Martial Arts - Heavenly Tyrant Ghost King Art (6 Stars), Illusory Heaven True Energy (10 Stars), Tyrant Heaven Energy (9 Stars), Existence Engraving, Naming Art]
[Traits: Overlord’s Talent, Mountain-Uprooting Strength, World-Overturning Spirit]
His basic stats had steadily risen, and the level of his Five Kings’ Martial Arts had also deepened further.
The ninth star of Tyrant Heaven Energy could be considered a truly astonishing result.
It was the result of a rapid level-up he had obtained by facing his future self, the Dark King who no longer existed, with all his might at the price of death.
‘Overlord’s Talent.’
[Overlord’s Talent]
[Granted to one who possesses the quality to inherit the name of a certain forgotten king.]
[A Quest granted by the forgotten king will be bestowed.]
[If you abandon or fail this Quest, all power you have received will disappear.]
A strange light settled in Jeong Hyeon-su’s eyes.
‘A Quest?’
He had never heard of the existence called a forgotten king, nor of a Quest. He had once placed even Haomun beneath his feet, along with Hongryeon.
The mere fact that he, who had been evaluated as surpassing even the Hunter Association in information-gathering and espionage, did not know about it was enough to spark his interest.
‘No, even aside from that, this Trait can never be abandoned.’
The Trait: Mountain-Uprooting Strength, World-Overturning Spirit.
[When Tyrant Heaven Energy is used, the Status Abnormality: Oppression is activated.]
[The power of the Heavenly Tyrant Ghost King Art is amplified. Currently increased by 10%.]
It was an effect that could only make one’s jaw drop.
‘A ten percent increase in power?’
What fool would give up a Trait that automatically increased the power of the Heavenly Tyrant Ghost King Art, which he had no choice but to use constantly?
[A Quest has been bestowed.]
[Will you begin?]
In the first place, this was not a situation where he could refuse.
“I accept.”
[The forgotten king’s Quest has begun.]
[Defeat another possessor of Overlord’s Talent.]
[Time Limit: 30 days]
For a moment, Jeong Hyeon-su’s expression twisted.
‘What is this?’
It told him to defeat another possessor of Overlord’s Talent. As far as Jeong Hyeon-su knew, the only one who had wielded the Overlord’s power was Ling Wehao from his previous life.
Yet another possessor of Overlord’s Talent existed?
But it did not even tell him who that was. Even if that were not the case, it had suddenly imposed a time limit of one month.
It was absurd. At the same time, however, it also stimulated his competitive spirit.
‘Since it is such a fraudulent Trait, it will not simply be given to me for free?’
No wonder he was a forgotten king.
If a king was this petty, it made sense that no one remembered him.
But Jeong Hyeon-su had no intention of sitting around and doing nothing.
He had no intention of letting the reward of Overlord’s Talent be taken from him so easily either. Once something entered his hands, he never let it go.
That was Dark King Jeong Hyeon-su.
Then, Jeong Hyeon-su’s eyes noticed an unfamiliar object placed on one side of the training hall.
The Black Heaven Return-to-Origin Art.
‘Oh?’
Nothing remained there but a single Secret Manual, but Jeong Hyeon-su immediately realized that it was his father’s gift.
***
Jeong Cheol, the guild master of Garam Guild, was sunk in thought.
“Guild Master. We have received contact from the Asia Branch.”
“Tell them I will contact them myself later.”
It was because of his son, who had made a brilliant debut like a comet on a global scale.
‘SSS-Rank.’
Although it was only the lower floors of the Tower, he had achieved results that no one else had ever produced.
And because even the sneers about it being the lower floors had vanished after the video of him suppressing the Chinese wanted criminal Ling Wehao was released, public interest in Jeong Hyeon-su was truly explosive.
When one dug a little deeper into the incident, it was also a story that could make one’s heart sink.
Jeong Hyeon-su had appeared to save his own younger sister, who had fallen into desperate danger.
Knock, knock, knock.
Perhaps one could not even think of a gentleman without him appearing.
“Father, it is me.”
“Come in.”
Jeong Cheol silently stared at Jeong Hyeon-su, who had suddenly come to visit.
“What is it?”
“Does a son need a reason to visit his father?”
“You always have.”
“Uh, well…”
When his conduct from his previous life was mentioned, Jeong Hyeon-su was briefly left speechless.
“Did you really just come to pay your respects?”
“To be honest, that is not exactly it.”
At Jeong Hyeon-su’s words, Jeong Cheol gave a faint smile and took something from a drawer before casually throwing it.
Jeong Hyeon-su reached out toward the object flying at him.
“Your realm in Tyrant Heaven Energy is deeper than I thought.”
“Father, that is rather harsh. Could you not just give me Garam’s badge? Even at a time like this, you are testing me.”
As Jeong Hyeon-su grumbled, Jeong Cheol’s eyes returned once more to their characteristic indifference.
“I was simply curious how far you had gone, given how recklessly you were rampaging without knowing the world.”
“Even so, the sixth star? If it were an ordinary fellow, his whole wrist would have been blown off.”
Jeong Cheol’s gaze changed subtly.
The power he had placed in the badge was the sixth star of Tyrant Heaven Energy. To notice it immediately meant that his son had indeed changed.
Of course, everyone knew that since it was only a test, Jeong Cheol had no real intention of bursting Jeong Hyeon-su’s wrist, but no one bothered to point that out.
“Devote yourself to training. From now on, you have chosen a path that will draw the attention of many.”
“Yes, well, my phone has already been on fire.”
Immediately after his regression, his smartphone had received nothing but the occasional spam message. Now, an enormous flood of contacts was pouring in, to the point that he could not even turn it on.
“Think calmly and act with gravity.”
Even in this situation, Jeong Cheol was telling him not to become excited, but to think coolly.
“Yes. Speaking of which, Father, may I enter a Gate this time? I would like to go alone.”
“Alone?”
“Yes. It will also serve as a check of my ability, and well… I think it could be good publicity for the guild as well. It serves several purposes.”
Apart from searching for another Overlord candidate, Jeong Hyeon-su already had a plan he had established.
‘The Magic Revolution that will arrive soon.’
It was the point at which monster byproducts, along with Mana Stones produced from the Tower and Gates, would be transformed into perfect alternative energy and cause a tremendous upheaval.
At present, Garam had overwhelmingly fewer Mana Stone ores compared to the other Ten Great Guilds. But that was not why he wanted to secure Mana Stone ore.
‘I need to bring in the person who will bring that revolution.’
The genius scientist who had originally researched the perfect alternative energy use of Mana Stones and the person who enjoyed that achievement were separate individuals.
The one who ultimately stood at the center of the Mana Stone Revolution was Seon Woo-hyeon.
‘But the research was originally accomplished by that bastard’s disciple.’
Jeong Hyeon-su wanted to save, no matter what, the genius mage whose research had been stolen and who had been murdered while trying to reveal the injustice.
For that, he needed several items and skills. One of them, and ultimately something necessary to oppose Seon Woo-hyeon, was the ANP that was the objective of this Gate.
Arcane Null Pulse.
The fraudulent item against Archmages known as the magic-nullification pulse was the very core of the rescue operation.
It would display tremendous power against the combat mages whom Seon Woo-hyeon had secretly nurtured.
“Did I not tell you? I believe I told you to think more carefully.”
And immediately after hearing those words, he was saying he would go on a solo Gate clear?
“It is not a particularly dangerous place. It is merely a moderate F-Rank Gate.”
“Is that true?”
“How could I lie about something like this? You would find out everything if you looked into it, Father.”
The detailed truth was that it was a D-Rank Gate disguised as F-Rank, but Jeong Hyeon-su thought there was no need to tell him that.
“It is the Palbongsan Gate in Hongcheon.”
“Hm.”
The Palbongsan Gate was fairly famous.
It was difficult and complicated despite its F-Rank grade, but its clear rewards were not very good, and the mobs that appeared there were exceedingly troublesome. Hunters who valued efficiency did not even glance at it.
There had also been Treasure Hunters and eccentrics who visited, thinking there might be hidden rewards concealed in such a place.
In the end, however, they had discovered nothing, and it had remained the most useless F-Rank Dungeon.
Occasionally, rookies visited it to prove their skills, so it had not been completely destroyed. Strangely, it was also a place where a Break never occurred.
It was a Gate with the position of being a place where eccentrics sometimes entered to challenge it, failed, and never returned.
Even though Jeong Hyeon-su said he would go to such a place, Jeong Cheol’s expression did not change much.
No, rather, he accepted it.
“Very well.”
“Yes. Then I will go.”
“Do you have any thoughts of appearing on broadcasts?”
It was clearly one of the countless proposals that had come through Garam. There was no way broadcasting stations, which loved issues, would let this pass.
“Does the guild need it?”
“Garam stands firm.”
That pride meant there was no need for publicity through broadcasts. That, too, was the flavor of Garam.
Jeong Hyeon-su smiled faintly and said, “Then I am fine as well. I absolutely hate grinning while smelling the scent of cosmetics on my face.”
Jeong Cheol wondered whether this was truly the same son who, until just recently, had been obsessed with women and desperate to stand out.
But no matter how one looked at it, he was not acting to make himself look good. Seeing that he sincerely found it repulsive, his son’s change seemed firm.
“Very well. Go.”
“Yes, sir.”
For a while, Jeong Cheol watched the back of his son, who suddenly seemed to have grown much taller.
[Regarding Cooperative Mutual Prosperity Between Garam and Hanul Guilds]
Jeong Cheol placed the report that had come up back into the drawer and began his work.
***
After finishing his morning training along with a meal, Jeong Hyeon-su stepped outside for a while.
It was because he thought his own strength alone would not be enough to track down another Overlord candidate.
After turning a corner in an alley and arriving at a secluded outskirts where there were no people, Jeong Hyeon-su stopped walking.
“Come out.”
Then a man walked out from within the shadow of a tree. It was none other than Kim Chun-sik, the branch manager of Blood Union.
“As expected, you truly are the rising star drawing the world’s attention. I thought I had hidden my presence fairly well.”
“I do not particularly like being tested. I did not tell you that last time, so I will let it pass once.”
Kim Chun-sik’s expression, which had been joking lightly, became awkward.
“Did you think I would not know? You were testing whether I could find you or not by scattering your aura bit by bit, tantalizingly, in subtly different directions.”
Kim Chun-sik could not help but feel a stab of guilt.
There was no doubt about Jeong Hyeon-su’s ability, considering that he had defeated Ling Wehao, but contrary to appearances, Kim Chun-sik was a powerhouse who could defeat someone like Ling Wehao with great ease.
Then just what level was Jeong Hyeon-su’s ability, if he could see through the essence of a test that Kim Chun-sik had deliberately hidden himself to conduct?
‘What a fascinating fellow.’
Jeong Hyeon-su had suddenly changed as a person. The more Kim Chun-sik investigated him, the more astonishing that change became, and his information network was also strange to an uncanny degree.
“Edward Farrington has been captured, but you seem curious about the whereabouts of the royal treasure of the British royal family that he smuggled away.”
Jeong Hyeon-su saw straight through the purpose of his visit.
“I certainly know where it is.”
“We will pay a sufficient price.”
“You will have to. However, because you tested me this time, I will be the one to set the condition first.”
“By condition, you mean?”
“I will make the same demand of Haomun.”
To Kim Chun-sik, it was enough to make him feel suffocated.
However, he had already tasted the accomplishment of perfectly crushing Haomun in the information war, as well as the recognition of the higher-ups.
“…What do you require?”
“Gather everything related to the Overlord from the Tower, Gates, and ancient documents, and send it all to me.”
Kim Chun-sik did not ask again.
“Also, be aware that I am giving you a little more time out of consideration for our previous transaction, Branch Manager.”
Because the moment Jeong Hyeon-su finished speaking, Kim Chun-sik had to activate Blood Union’s information network.