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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 270
The first time James Marcus met Jeong-hoon was in Seoul, South Korea.
At the time, James had traveled to Seoul to clear a dungeon. While scouting the outskirts, he spotted a man struggling desperately against monsters.
That man was Jeong-hoon.
===
[Player Information]
- Nickname: Hoon
- Level: 127
- Class: Intermediate Martial Artist (Second Advancement)
===
A mere Level 127 Intermediate Martial Artist.
Yet, James couldn't take his eyes off him—not because of his level, but because of the monsters he was fighting.
[Lv. 150 Black Bear]
Jeong-hoon was surrounded by four Level 150 Black Bears. Despite being unable to deal any significant damage to them, he persisted with relentless determination.
"Hmm."
James Marcus saw the fierce resolve in Jeong-hoon's eyes.
That wasn't just anger—it was hatred. A hatred that was singularly directed at the Black Bears.
And more than that, it was the potential within Jeong-hoon.
James had never seen such immense latent power before.
"How did I overlook someone like this...?"
It was as though all his repeated regressions had been leading him to this very moment—to meet this man.
"What’s the matter? You like that guy?"
Even Louis Verdan, who had accompanied James through countless regressions, noticed his interest and asked.
"Yeah. He’s incredible."
"Incredible, huh?"
"Yeah."
Without further explanation, James swiftly eliminated the Black Bears. At Level 150, they were mere nuisances to him.
"...Thank you."
Jeong-hoon, battered and exhausted, expressed his gratitude. He then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
James stopped him and asked Louis to heal his injuries.
That was the beginning of their connection.
From that point on, James put in relentless effort to recruit Jeong-hoon as an ally.
When Jeong-hoon finally surpassed Level 300, James Marcus made a decision.
He would entrust this regression to Jeong-hoon.
He was certain Jeong-hoon could achieve a different outcome than he ever could.
"Hey, Hoon, sit down."
Every night, James would call Jeong-hoon over as the day came to an end.
"Why?"
Every time, Jeong-hoon would try to leave with a reluctant expression.
Of course, James Marcus wasn’t the type to just let that happen.
He would make Jeong-hoon sit down and engage him in conversation.
James often boasted about himself on purpose. This was a strategy to prepare for when Jeong-hoon regressed, enabling him to seize fortuitous opportunities.
With Jeong-hoon’s perfect memory, he would undoubtedly claim those opportunities.
"Hey, James, do you think those fortuitous encounters were only meant for you?"
In response, their comrades joined in, sharing their own heroic tales.
Jeong-hoon focused intently, his ears practically twitching as if he didn’t want to miss a single word.
It was a very promising sign.
"James, don’t you think you’re shielding that guy too much?"
"I feel like our value diminishes when he’s around."
Naturally, maintaining that dynamic required considerable effort.
The strongest party had one flaw—an Asian martial artist.
Whenever such assessments arose, the comrades harbored extreme disdain for Jeong-hoon.
However, instead of breaking, Jeong-hoon only grew stronger, reaching celestial heights and earning the title "All-Master."
"...Not bad."
"What? Turns out James was right."
As Jeong-hoon continued to excel, the comrades gradually began to acknowledge him, while James Marcus observed with a satisfied expression.
And the moment drew near.
James Marcus made an absurd claim to Jeong-hoon and the others: that their powers would disappear.
"Once this game ends, our power will vanish."
He insisted that the game needed to continue.
"What nonsense!"
Naturally, Jeong-hoon opposed the idea.
After all, the reason he joined the party and achieved such rapid growth was to avenge his mother.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he wanted to end this game.
So when James suggested keeping the game going, opposition was only natural.
"Hoon, think carefully. Are you okay with losing your power now?"
"Why are you even asking? Say that again, and I won’t let it slide."
"..."
It was the expected response.
James Marcus gradually convinced the others and, finally, the day of the decisive battle arrived—the First Cataclysm.
"Hoon, you go."
At the critical moment of ending the First Cataclysm, James entrusted everything to Jeong-hoon.
"What? James, what are you talking about?"
"You’re sending Hoon alone?"
"Is that really okay?"
Feigning ignorance, the comrades questioned James.
Thanks to Louis Verdan's brainwashing, they had already agreed to follow James’s plan.
Jeong-hoon, unaware of the plan, nodded in agreement.
"Alright. I'll handle it and come back."
Without suspicion, Jeong-hoon entered to stop the Cataclysm.
When he successfully prevented it and returned, James Marcus and the others launched a full-on attack against him, cutting off his lifeline.
"Ha. Damn. So you’re justifying killing me now?"
Jeong-hoon cursed as he listened to the story.
At that, James Marcus fell silent.
"..."
"I get the gist. But why did you have to stab me in the back?"
"I thought the heightened sense of vengeance would be a plus..."
"Wow, this guy was insane even in theory, wasn’t he?"
Jeong-hoon couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Was this guy even serious?
In the end, unable to do it himself, James had not only marked Jeong-hoon as his proxy but also betrayed him in the most arbitrary way.
From James Marcus’s perspective, he might have hoped for Jeong-hoon to change the future.
But from Jeong-hoon’s point of view, he had been used.
Worse yet, according to James, Jeong-hoon hadn’t merely turned back time.
A parallel world.
Strictly speaking, he had returned to the past of another world.
"So, the me of this world was already killed by those bastards."
By the very people standing before him now.
He hadn’t even been able to exact revenge for his mother or see the game’s conclusion.
And the traitors who killed him were now just idly watching the Cataclysm unfold.
Yet he was supposed to forgive them?
"Don’t make me laugh."
Jeong-hoon wasn’t magnanimous enough to forgive the ones who killed him.
"James, you still need to die."
As he pulled Leviathan from his inventory, an arrow came flying toward him.
"A Storm Arrow, huh."
It was even a Celestial-grade arrow, a level above Legendary.
Jeong-hoon spun his body, deflecting the arrow with Leviathan.
Even so, the Storm Arrow, carrying heavy destructive force, continued flying and lodged itself in the wall.
Crash!
The wall couldn’t withstand the impact and crumbled, revealing a massive portal outside the window.
Jeong-hoon’s gaze followed the source of the arrow.
Lee Hwa-Rang.
In the parallel world, he had become an Avatar and met his end at Jeong-hoon’s hands.
"Hey, calm down. I don’t know how you ended up here, but monopolizing fortuitous encounters after regressing doesn’t sound like a bad outcome, does it?"
The veins on Jeong-hoon’s forehead bulged.
"Shut up. I don’t plan to stop at killing James."
Jeong-hoon ran his hand down his chest to his abdomen.
"I remember every sensation of your attacks on me. No matter what happens, none of you are leaving here alive."
"Hoon, calm down! Do you think we felt good about it?!"
Louis Verdant unleashed Light Bind toward Jeong-hoon, aiming to immobilize him.
"You're spouting nonsense."
However, Jeong-hoon evaded it with Heavenly Demon Ruling Steps.
Before his regression, exhausted from preventing the Cataclysm, he had been caught in that very bind. He hadn't even been able to resist properly before their full-on assault ended his life in an instant.
That memory only fueled Jeong-hoon's rage.
"If you keep this up, we won’t stand idly by!"
Yi Hwarang shouted, drawing his bow and preparing Hellfire Shot.
Should Jeong-hoon be thankful it wasn’t an Arrow of Annihilation?
Grinning, Jeong-hoon activated a buffing skill. To handle so many opponents, boosting his stats was necessary.
With Celestial Aura emanating from him, Jeong-hoon launched into the techniques of the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword while utilizing Heavenly Demon Ruling Steps.
Clang!
James Marcus urgently intervened, raising his shield.
The clash of Leviathan and the shield resounded with a sharp metallic ring.
"Hoon, if you must kill someone, let it be me! I orchestrated all of this!"
"That’s not going to happen. A reason doesn’t justify murder, does it?"
"Please... "
"Then I’ll repay you in kind."
Jeong-hoon smirked and resumed his assault with the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword.
Clang! Clang!
But James Marcus could barely defend against the onslaught.
Despite their levels exceeding 1,000 and possessing various fortuitous encounters, none of them could match Jeong-hoon.
[3rd Form: Heavenly Demon Annihilation Technique activated.]
Leviathan pierced through James’s thigh as it sliced past.
"Gah!"
James groaned in pain, and just then, a flaming spear flew toward Jeong-hoon.
It was the Spear of the Fire Demon.
Jeong-hoon twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the spear.
At the same time, Hellfire Shot targeted his heart, but Jeong-hoon dodged it with Heavenly Demon Ruling Steps.
Whoosh—
However, he couldn’t completely avoid it; the arrow grazed his chest, igniting flames where it passed.
[‘Divine Healing’ activated.]
Jeong-hoon quickly healed the wound with Divine Healing.
"We were wrong! Please stop this!"
Liu Xiaolong, who had thrown the spear, shouted desperately.
"Stop? After you just threw a spear at me? Doesn’t that seem a bit hypocritical?"
Jeong-hoon's lips curled into a twisted smirk.
[Debuff: Mana Seal applied.]
[Debuff: Attack Power Reduced Applied.]
[Debuff: Defense Reduced Applied.]
[Debuff: Shackles of Darkness Applied.]
...
At that moment, 14 debuffs had been applied to Jeong-hoon.
His gaze shifted toward Sophia, the Debuff Master.
All these debuffs were her doing.
It reminded him of before his regression, when he’d been similarly overwhelmed by her debuffs.
Light Bind, Spear of the Fire Demon, debuffs—nostalgia wasn’t quite the right word for it.
Why had he been so powerless back then?
[Holy of Glory activated.]
Holy of Glory.
It consumed 20% of his mana to purify everything.
Against Sophia, whose debuffs were heavily darkness-aligned, simple cleansing skills like Safeguard weren’t enough to remove them completely.
"This... this is impossible..."
Sophia muttered blankly.
She couldn’t believe all those debuffs had vanished in an instant.
"What’s wrong? Upset I’m not just taking it like before?"
"...."
"Fine. I’ll concede you had your reasons for killing me. But why did you stand by and watch Earth’s destruction?"
"Because!" James, being treated by Amelie, shouted in panic. "We told you we couldn’t stop the second Cataclysm no matter what we did!"
"So what you’re saying is, you dumped it all on me because you were too scared to die and had no confidence to change anything."
"...."
"Are you even human? If you had a shred of decency, you wouldn’t have stood by idly, would you?"
"...."
Under Jeong-hoon’s furious reproach, James and the others were rendered speechless, as if their tongues had been tied.
"Hah. Do you even have the will to atone?"
"Of course we do!" James stammered.
"Then go in."
"What...?"
"Go in. Into that dungeon. Stop the second Cataclysm yourselves."
Jeong-hoon pointed to the massive portal swirling ominously outside. Its oppressive presence was enough to make anyone hesitate, let alone approach it.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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