The Return of the Legendary All-Master
Chapter 377

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 377

The participant list was finalized.

There would be 10 participants in the first round.

His mother, Yeo Sunwoo, Yeo Min-Ji, Jang Hajin, and Kim Bong-Goo.

That made five Koreans. Joining them were James Marcus, Amelie Reina, Louis Verdan, and Sophia Stephanie Agareth.

And finally, Damien Loud, who was currently serving as the Recorder. That made a total of 10.

“A week left until it begins.”

With the start of the tournament, the red portals had vanished, ushering in a brief moment of peace.

But peace didn’t necessarily mean everything was good.

[Murder in Mapo-gu, Seoul! A level 1,200 user brutally strikes down a level 700 user with a hammer...]

[Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province…]

The messages came directly to Jeong-hoon, the Master of the Dimension.

With a heavy sigh, Jeong-hoon pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Crimes happened even when people didn’t have powers…”

Society had been full of crimes even before the New World came into existence.

Now that people had power, the crime rate was bound to rise.

“The only silver lining is that we can suppress it quickly.”

With the passage of new laws, violent suppression had become permissible. If the perpetrator resisted too strongly, lethal force was now allowed.

In the old Republic of Korea, such a law would’ve been unimaginable. But now, with “level” creating a class divide, many were willing to support it.

<Why not just hunt down the rotten ones and get rid of them?>

<I agree with Tenebris. It’s best to prevent bad things before they happen.>

Jeong-hoon shook his head.

“That’s dictatorship.”

He could’ve gone along with what Tenebris and Baal said—but that wasn’t why he had taken up the authority of a Master.

Nor was he some benevolent soul trying to save everyone.

He was simply acting to protect this Earth—because his mother lived on it.

Knock knock.

“Hyung! I’m here!”

At Bong-Goo’s voice, Jeong-hoon opened the door.

“You’re the first one.”

“Ah, really?”

“Go wait inside. The others will be here soon.”

“Yes! Mother, I’m here!”

With his usual easygoing charm, Bong-Goo greeted her cheerfully.

“Oh, you came early?”

His mother, who had been in the kitchen, came out to the living room with a bright smile to welcome him.

She’d said she didn’t need to prepare any food, but it had been a while since she cooked for everyone, so she was working away with determination.

Soon after, Yeo Sunwoo, Yeo Min-Ji, and Hajin also arrived.

And then, the real guests of this gathering—the former comrades, led by James Marcus—entered.

“To think I’d ever invite these guys into my home…”

Since his regression, he’d spent every moment hunting down the traitors and planning to end the game once and for all.

"Uh… thanks for inviting me."

James Marcus awkwardly expressed his gratitude.

"Yeah, yeah. Just come in and sit down."

With so many people gathered, the living room felt incredibly cramped.

"Ah, the house is a bit small… I’ll clear out some space right away!"

His mother, who had been preparing food in the kitchen, began clearing everything unnecessary from the living room so everyone could sit more comfortably.

Even though she had already tidied up once, there still wasn’t enough room.

"Ma’am, I’ll help you."

Yeo Min-Ji stepped in to assist her, helping move things out of the way and then darted into the kitchen to help with the food.

"Wait, are all these people going to appear on HoneyTube…?"

James asked, curious. Jeong-hoon nodded.

"Yeah. As you can see, they’re all players who’ve completed the Sixth Advancement."

At Jeong-hoon’s words of praise, Hajin and Bong-Goo puffed up with pride.

They already knew who James Marcus was.

In New World, not knowing James Marcus was enough to get you labeled insane. That’s how much of a superstar he was.

So when a celebrity like him looked at them in admiration, how could they not feel elated?

"Ahem… I was just lucky."

"The Sixth Advancement is on a whole other level from previous ones, so yeah, it was a bit tough. Haha!"

Jeong-hoon barely managed to suppress a laugh at their humblebragging.

"Really amazing. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me how to begin the Sixth Advancement?"

James asked politely, clearly respecting Bong-Goo and Hajin.

"Uhm… That’s not really something we can explain."

"Yeah. The requirements for starting it are different for each person."

"Different?"

James tilted his head and looked toward Jeong-hoon.

Jeong-hoon nodded.

"Right. The conditions for triggering the Sixth Advancement vary from person to person. And since those conditions aren’t publicly known, you have to figure it out yourself."

"That’s… unreal."

Even the previous advancement processes weren’t easy. But now, the starting point itself was brutal.

"Tch. Look at these passengers acting all high and mighty."

Suddenly, an irritated voice broke into the conversation.

It was Damien Loud, the Recorder.

Apparently, he didn’t like what Jeong-hoon had said.

But that was typical for him—Jeong-hoon was used to it by now.

Hajin and Bong-Goo, however, were not.

Both frowned at his rude tone.

"What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?"

"Something you shouldn’t have? Are you f*ing kidding me right now?"**

Bong-Goo started to rise from his seat, but noticing Jeong-hoon beside him, he quickly restrained himself.

"Looks like I hit a nerve."

"Damien!"

James called his name in alarm, clearly flustered.

"James, there’s no need for you to walk on eggshells around those passengers."

“Tch. You’re yapping like hell.”

At Jeong-hoon’s blunt remark, Damien Loud turned his gaze toward him.

“…What did you just say?”

“If you’re so desperate to protect your pride, then get lost. It’s not like there’s a shortage of people better than you.”

“……”

“What? Want me to kick you out myself?”

Jeong-hoon’s cold words made the whole living room stir.

Even his mother and Yeo Min-Ji, who had been preparing food in the kitchen, turned and looked at him in shock.

“…Judging from your reaction, I guess it is true, huh?”

Despite the warning, Damien fearlessly tried to provoke Jeong-hoon again.

‘Master, who the hell is that guy?’

‘Arrogant to the core.’

Mukho and Anima’s reactions were completely understandable.

Damien had developed a deep aversion to people due to a bad experience in the past. That’s why, even before the regression, he never got close to anyone.

They had always had a strictly transactional relationship—nothing more, nothing less.

While some might call this kind of behavior a defense mechanism, the real problem was that Damien had never acted this disrespectfully before.

“How amusing.”

Jeong-hoon let out a dry laugh, then began releasing killing intent that bore down on Damien Loud.

Faced with an overwhelming power gap, Damien was instantly consumed by terror, losing even the will to resist.

His face turned deathly pale.

Amelie Reina, seeing this, quickly stood up in a panic.

“P-please. Could you stop it here?”

“No can do. That guy stepped out of line and insulted my people. So—”

“Son! That’s enough!”

In the end, his mother, who had been watching from the kitchen, stepped in.

“…Understood.”

At her word, Jeong-hoon immediately withdrew his killing intent.

“Cough! Cough!”

As the pressure vanished, Damien began coughing violently and gasping for air.

“Damien… what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

James shouted in fury.

He’d poured everything into acting and finally managed to build some kind of rapport with Jeong-hoon—was Damien really trying to ruin that now?

His anger was mirrored in the eyes of Sophia and Louis, who stared at Damien with visible contempt.

“Let me make this clear one more time. If we fail to survive in the League, Earth ends that very day. We’re not teammates—we’re collaborators. Keep that in mind. If you can’t, say so now.”

“Cough! Cough! …Got it.”

Damien gave a reluctant nod, still trembling from the fear carved into his body—even though the killing intent was gone.

“That it?”

There had to be some accountability for ruining the mood.

If someone was that rude the first time meeting others, the bare minimum was an apology.

They had to work together to fight upper-ranked species. If things were already getting messy, that spelled trouble.

“…I-I’m sorry.”

Damien Loud, not entirely oblivious, gave a straightforward apology.

"I also want to apologize to everyone! Damien’s careless remarks were deeply regrettable. I sincerely apologize to all of you."

James bowed deeply in apology.

While it was Damien who was in the wrong, it was only natural that his leader took responsibility for the actions of a teammate.

"And if he crosses the line again?"

"I’ll make sure that never happens."

"What does everyone else think?"

By now, Damien had been thoroughly put in his place.

Unless he was completely brainless, he should’ve realized that acting up again would be a terrible idea.

"What does everyone else think?"

Jeong-hoon looked to the others as he asked.

"Ah, it’s fine."

"Since you’ve already stepped in, hyung, I won’t dwell on it any further."

Hajin and Bong-Goo replied with smiles.

Yeo Sunwoo didn’t speak, but nodded in agreement.

His mother and Yeo Min-Ji, watching from the kitchen, also mouthed the words: That’s enough.

After confirming everyone’s responses, Jeong-hoon walked up to Damien and used Divine Healing.

Damien, who had been struggling, quickly regained his composure.

"Damien."

Flinch.

At the sound of his name, Damien visibly shuddered.

Reading the room, he fell to his knees and slammed his forehead to the ground.

"I’m sorry!"

Now that a proper apology had been made, Jeong-hoon finally gave a nod.

"Then let’s get to the main topic."

"Thanks, Hoon."

James and his companions let out sighs of relief.

Because of Damien Loud’s outburst, what should’ve been addressed long ago had been delayed.

"Alright. First, let’s talk about the location of Round 1 and the race we’ll be facing."

This was the real reason they’d all gathered.

To share critical information about the Survival League.

Round 1 was the most crucial part—knowing the details could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

"But… why are we stalling for time?"

They had information about the opposing race.

They had the map personally created by Logos.

All of that was fine.

But Jeong-hoon had also asked for something strange: drag out the first round as long as possible.

The longer it dragged on, the more both mental and physical stamina would deteriorate.

"Because there’s something I need to do during that time."

"Something you need to do?"

"Yeah. Something very important."

He had no choice but to stress just how crucial it was.

Because only if the others drew attention long enough would Jeong-hoon be able to stay in the Divine Realm.

* * *

"Can’t we just crush them directly?"

Ulion still wasn’t happy with the format of the Survival League.

Even if the idea was to make sure the target was eliminated, it felt far too considerate toward Earth’s human.

"Why? Then why don’t you go catch him yourself?"

"…Tch."

Truthfully, everyone present wanted to descend to Earth and eliminate that human themselves.

But the massive penalties that would be enforced the moment they set foot on Earth were far beyond what even they could endure.

Right now, this was the best plan available.

"Psyche, are you sure this will work?"

The Survival League was Psyche’s idea from the beginning.

"The human who doesn’t have Tenebris at his back has already defied fate more than once. I can’t guarantee anything. But do you have a more reliable method right now?"

"She’s right. And personally, I’m enjoying this."

Beelzebub grinned slyly.

Just imagining the one who had humiliated him thrashing around in desperation—it already made his blood race with excitement.

"We have to catch him this time. If we let him slip away again, things will get really complicated."

Logos, too, bore nothing but hostility toward the human.

To think he had the audacity to delete the Great Rift and steal from their dimension?

It wasn’t just Tenebris who would be annihilated.

The human would suffer to such an extent that he’d beg to be killed.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]