Chapter 74
Jeonsin visited South Korea secretly and as quickly as possible.
Although he arrived quietly at Incheon International Airport without informing anyone, it was already crowded with people waiting for Jeonsin.
“It’s Jeonsin!”
“Wow!”
“It’s really Jeonsin!”
Jeonsin, who came out of the gate with two members who appeared to be from the Unrivaled Guild, twitched his eyebrows at the cheers of the waiting crowd.
Someone in a suit ran over from afar, holding a picket.
“Hello. I’m Park Seong-cheol, head of the management department at the South Korean Adventurers Association. Welcome to South Korea.”
“How did you know?”
Jeonsin’s heavy voice made Park Seong-cheol flinch.
Just by looking around and listening, one could tell why Jeonsin was in a bad mood, so Park Seong-cheol put on an awkward expression.
“Well, knowing you were coming quietly, I only brought two people to escort you… but somehow, the crowd gathered…”
“I don’t believe I informed South Korea of my visit.”
“Ah! You may not know this, but the country you are heading to automatically receives information about your entry. Of course, each country has to periodically update its information requests.”
It was Jeonsin, no less.
The strongest man in the world, who had never relinquished the top spot, and whose lead over All Master, the second-ranked, was significant.
How could each country not welcome Jeonsin?
Twitch.
Was he that upset?
Jeonsin’s expression briefly distorted, and he called out to Park Seong-cheol.
“Did you say your name was Park Seong-cheol?”
“Yes, I was just about to create a route for you to leave quietly—”
“I’m going back to China.”
Park Seong-cheol, who had been scrambling for a solution, froze mid-sentence.
“Yes…? What do you mean…”
“I have urgent business, so don’t worry.”
“If it’s because of these people, I’ll call more personnel and make room right away.”
“No, how could I do that to the kind people who came to see me? I really do have urgent business. Please convey my regards to the higher-ups.”
Jeonsin smiled brightly and re-entered the gate he had come out of.
Following him, the two people who had accompanied Jeonsin also went back through the gate, and the atmosphere inside the airport immediately turned cold.
“What’s going on?”
“Did that person kick him out?”
“What happened? Why is Jeonsin going back?”
The people who had been waiting with joyful hearts all looked at Park Seong-cheol with dejected expressions.
Seeing this, a person holding a picket like Park Seong-cheol hurried over.
“What’s going on? Why is Jeonsin going back?”
Voices blaming Park Seong-cheol rose from here and there.
They’d thought they would meet Jeonsin in person, but it was ruined because of this guy—how he had to make a fuss—and how annoyed they were, to the point they wanted to beat him up.
Park Seong-cheol sighed and lowered his head at the complaints he couldn’t help but hear.
“He said he has urgent business.”
“Urgent business? With so many people gathered here?”
“I think he’s in a bad mood. He wanted to come quietly, but his expression darkened when he saw the crowd.”
People began leaving one by one.
Even so, the sharp words of those glaring at Park Seong-cheol stabbed into his ears.
“Hey! Don’t worry. He must really have something going on. But it’s funny, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“I mean, how urgent could it be? He’s leaving without even greeting the people who waited for him. What about the person who was preparing the pickup? Seriously, he’s just one of the strong adventurers—does it really have to be like this?”
Park Seong-cheol sighed and raised his head at the tone that seemed to blame Jeonsin.
“Sigh, Jeonsin is someone who deserves that.”
“Huh? He’s not a high-ranking Chinese official, just a regular adventurer, and you, a high-ranking official who also serves as head of the management department, are saying that?”
(T/N : Oh, so I thought he was Korean. Well if that is the case, then instead of Jeonsin, it should be Zhansen if we want in in Mandarin. Should we change it to Mandarin or keep the Korean)
“It’s not just me. Even the United States would have a high-ranking official come out to prepare the pickup.”
“Huh? Isn’t that going too far?”
Park Seong-cheol’s eyes, full of despair, stayed fixed on the gate Jeonsin had disappeared through.
Then he said to his friend, who knew nothing.
“Actually, when Jeonsin visited the United States last year, a U.S. Senator personally went out to pick him up. Why do you think that is?”
“Really? The U.S. does that too? Why is everyone doing that?”
“Jeonsin is the strongest adventurer in the world and the guild leader of the strongest guild, so they’re trying to maintain a relationship where they can ask for help when our country is in crisis. If Jeonsin can’t clear a [Dungeon], no one in the world can.”
As wealthy as his friend looked, he was quick-witted.
The moment he heard that Jeonsin couldn’t clear a [Dungeon] and the words “national crisis,” he made a face that said he understood right away.
“For support requests~ Ah~ I see… Ah…”
“The highest-ranked [Dungeon] that has appeared so far is [SS-rank]. Experts predict that [SSS-rank] may exist, and that we’re living in an era where [Dungeons] above that level may also exist. Living in such an era, can each country really treat Jeonsin carelessly just because he’s an adventurer?”
“It wouldn’t be easy… Then isn’t it a very bad situation that Jeonsin left like that?”
“That’s right. It’s not good.”
Both Park Seong-cheol and his friend couldn’t take their eyes off the gate Jeonsin had disappeared through.
= = =
On the way back to the private jet.
One of the Unrivaled Guild members assisting Jeonsin approached and asked.
“Guild Master? Didn’t you come urgently because of the [Legendary Title Holder]? Why are you going back…”
“Was his name Bang Hyuk-min?”
“Yes, the name of the second [Legendary Title Holder] was Bang Hyuk-min.”
“That guy isn’t here right now.”
“Yes?”
Jeonsin boarded the private jet again, leaving the guild member tilting his head in confusion.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, the guild member followed and pressed again.
“How did you know? More than that, Korea wouldn’t stand by while a [Legendary Title Holder] crossed over to another country.”
“I don’t know the method either. But one thing is certain. That [Legendary Title Holder], Bang Hyuk-min—he’s not in South Korea.”
One of the remaining guild members, who had been listening quietly, finally snapped and grabbed the question-asking guild member by the back of the neck.
“Did you eat your eyes with your ass? The Guild Master wants to rest. Get back to your seat.”
“Ah…”
Only then did he realize it. After glancing at Jeonsin, who had his eyes closed, he bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry…”
“Get lost already.”
“Okay.”
After all the guild members had returned to their seats.
Jeonsin opened his eyes and stared out the window, muttering quietly to himself.
“As expected, it’s that [Legendary Title Holder]…”
= = =
[Upgrade complete.]
[Consciousness has been restored.]
Light entered the dark world.
He jumped up, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.
“You’re awake?”
The slightly brighter sky was tinged with purple, as if sunrise was near.
“You couldn’t sleep, could you?”
No Death, who had been keeping watch all night, yawned and finally sank into a chair.
As if he was about to doze off, No Death narrowed his eyes and looked at Hyuk-min.
“You’re staring into space again. Is there something wrong with the system?”
No Death rose at the sight of Hyuk-min going dazed again.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s gone…”
“What’s gone?”
“[Regression Mode]… it’s gone.”
It was like a bolt from the blue, but judging by Hyuk-min’s expression, it didn’t seem like a lie.
Only then did No Death turn serious.
“What are you talking about? It’s not like a [Skill] or an item—it can’t just disappear.”
But Hyuk-min, as No Death knew him, wasn’t someone who would joke about this.
As the weight of it sank in, No Death stepped in and requested [Status Window Sharing].
“Accept it.”
[The other party has requested to share the Status Window.]
[Would you like to accept? Y / N]
The [UNLIMIT Status Window] activated, and what he had seen before losing consciousness—and the countless changes that had occurred while he was out—flashed before his eyes.
Click.
The moment he pressed ‘Y,’ the white [System Status Window] Hyuk-min was looking at appeared in front of No Death as well.
And after checking it, No Death exclaimed in shock, just like Hyuk-min.
“What, what did you do!?”
Hyuk-min’s [Status Window], visible to both of them.
==========
[Skills]
No [Unique Skill].
[Party Skill]:
[Armament-Choi Hyun-jung] = [Gun Mastery] [Railgun] [Mana Bullet]
[Armament-Jang Bokdong] = [Curse of the Dead] [Deception of the Dead]….
==========
No [Unique Skill].
No Death couldn’t accept what he was seeing.
He was beyond shocked that [Regression Mode] had truly disappeared, and the seriousness of the situation hit him like a wall.
Just as he was about to check the [Stats] window for the cause—clinging to the idea that maybe the [Status Window] itself was bugged, even though it made no sense—
‘Huh…?’
He saw something even more unbelievable than the disappearance of [Regression Mode].
Something so shocking that every thought in No Death’s head froze.
No—if this was true, then it was so absurd he almost felt like [Regression Mode] might not even be necessary anymore.
“What!? What did you do!? Wh-why are the numbers like this…?”
==========
[Name]: Bang Hyuk-min.
[Class]: #@@$@$%@! User.
[Stats]
Strength: 381.
Agility: 412.
Intelligence: 319.
Stamina: 340.
Mana: 327.
==========
Level 223.
Not 100 or 200, but average [Stats] in the mid-300s.
He hadn’t seen the [Stats] of the top rankers, but No Death was so stunned he wondered if these numbers had already surpassed South Korea’s top rankers.
And the thought that naturally followed—
“Is this real? You didn’t awaken some kind of system-manipulation [Skill], did you?”
He knew what kind of person Bang Hyuk-min was, and how extraordinary he could be.
But even so, this went beyond belief and straight into suspicion.
“The [System Window] you’re looking at—there’s definitely only one, right? White background, blue border.”
“Of course there’s only one. Are you crazy? More than that, tell me if this is real first.”
Hyuk-min was in shock too.
But his shock was different.
‘It’s certain the white [System Window] and the [UNLIMIT System Window] aren’t shared or compatible.’
He had accepted [Status Window Sharing], yet the [UNLIMIT System Window] currently open didn’t seem to be visible to No Death.
‘More than that…’
What shocked Hyuk-min wasn’t just the numbers on the white [Status Window].
It was the two different [Status Windows] before him, and the single truth they confirmed.
‘The two [System Windows] weren’t completely incompatible…’
More precisely, the truth the numbers in [UNLIMIT] were telling him.
And that truth was the biggest shock of all.
‘The two [Status Windows] aren’t measuring different [Stats]—they’re…’
==========
[Name: Bang Hyuk-min]
[Level: 5]
[Class: One Who Seeks to Challenge]
[Requirements: 5 / 10]
[Stats]
Strength: 38
Agility: 41
Intelligence: 31
Stamina: 34
Mana: 32
==========
‘They were displaying my current [Stats] with different numbers!’
Roughly one-tenth of the numbers in the current [Status Window] were shown in the [UNLIMIT Status Window].
The reason the numbers had been different before seemed to be that the errors were corrected properly during linking.
Then one question naturally followed.
‘Are those [Stats] real?’
Just like No Death, the absurd numbers made Hyuk-min doubt them.
It felt as if every [Stat] from [Regression Mode] had been added onto his present-day [Status Window].
Nonsense, right?
‘I can’t trust numbers alone.’
Hyuk-min’s eyes hardened.
To confirm it for sure—
There was only one way.
“No Death.”
“Can you hear me now? You crazy bastard!”
“Why? What did you say?”
“Are you possessed? You ignored me for almost a minute, you son of a bitch.”
“Ah, sorry. I was concentrating.”
“Ha. Unbelievable.”
“More than that…”
Hyuk-min held out his palm toward No Death.
“What’s this?”
No Death frowned at the strange behavior.
Hyuk-min stared at him seriously.
“Hit me.”
“Huh? Hit you?”
“I’m trying to check if those [Stats] are real.”
“What, you don’t know either? Why your [Stats] shot up? Or is it related to you fainting yesterday? Is this a joke!”
“Don’t ask. Just hit me.”
“Would it kill you to explain? Sigh. Fine.”
Hyuk-min didn’t see it, focused only on No Death’s fist pulling back.
That the corners of No Death’s mouth were curling upward.
‘I’ve got you.’
Maybe because Hyuk-min had been ignoring him lately—always buried in things to focus on—
‘It’ll sting a little.’
No Death planned to vent some stress while he had the chance.
“Ready?”
“Hit me as hard as you can.”
“You told me to hit you like that? Don’t blame me. You—”
No Death, after a light warm-up, put his entire upper body into it and swung straight in.
“You son of a bitch!!!”
Bang!!
A loud crash echoed, so loud it was hard to believe it was just fist meeting palm.
The burst of wind was enough to make the blankets inside the lodging flutter.
‘How is it, you bastard.’
No Death knew his own power better than anyone. Smiling, he lifted his head.
He could tell without even checking.
If Hyuk-min was in his current state without [Regression Mode], that punch should have hurt badly enough to need a potion.
“Ah, sorry, I couldn’t control my strength?”
He looked at Hyuk-min, laughter leaking out even as he tried to hold it back.
And the sight of Hyuk-min perfectly fine erased No Death’s smile.
“Don’t joke around.”
Hyuk-min’s words were the opposite of what No Death expected.
“Do it properly.”
“What…? What did you just say?”
“I’m telling you to do it properly instead of joking around. Hit me twice as hard as you just did. I want to check.”
No Death had expected him to be clutching his palm in pain.
Instead, Hyuk-min was fine—and telling him not to joke around.
“What, twice as hard? Don’t be ridiculous…”
He had already punched with everything he had.
That was why he wanted to tell him to stop saying stupid things and just admit it hurt.
But as No Death looked at Hyuk-min’s expression—too steady to be acting, too serious to be a joke—his face stiffened.
“If you can, do more than twice. Hit me. Stop screwing around.”
Hyuk-min looked genuinely weak.
And in that instant, the unbelievable [Stats] in Hyuk-min’s [Status Window], hovering at the edge of No Death’s vision, slammed into him.
‘This… was real?’
No Death’s mind went blank.
“Hit me. I need to check!”
Hyuk-min, watching No Death freeze, still thought he was joking.