The Return of the Legendary All-Master
Chapter 378

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 378

[Did you see the Survival League roster?]

– The system just opened and the list came out—five of them are Korean?

└ There has to be Honey1 in there. Please let it be.

└ Who is it? Kim Bong-Goo? Jang Hajin?

└ Wasn’t Yeo Sunwoo and Yeo Min-Ji part of the Hoyoung Guild?

└ It can’t be random. So what’s really going on?

The community was in an uproar over the Survival League.

And for good reason—being eliminated from the Survival League meant Earth would be erased. That absurd-sounding risk was very real.

[I’m counting on James Marcus…]

– If it’s James Marcus, I think he’ll be able to hold his own in the League.

└ True.

└ No one’s ever performed as flawlessly as James Marcus.

└ Shut up. Honey1 is still the best.

└ Honey1 is practically a celestial being.

└ Isn’t James Marcus in the celestial tier too?

└ Against Honey1, James is just another mortal.

They weren’t wrong.

As impressive as James Marcus was, he couldn’t hold a candle to Jeong-hoon.

But still—Jeong-hoon…

You said this battle would be dangerous, so…

Why aren’t you participating?

“What’s going on…”

Jang Dae-Hwi muttered with a grave expression.

They said if they lose in any round, Earth would be wiped out. So why isn’t Jeong-hoon on the list?

Something was definitely off.

There’s no way things would turn out like this otherwise.

Dae-Hwi hurriedly called Jeong-hoon.

[Yes, hyung.]

"Jeong-hoon, are you busy right now?"

[I am, but it’s fine. Go ahead.]

"It’s nothing urgent… It’s just—your name isn’t on the roster."

[The Survival League?]

"Yeah."

[Ah, I didn’t sign up for that on purpose.]

"On purpose?"

[It’s a long story… Let’s just say I had something else to do.]

"Are you sure about this? You’re okay with sending just them?"

[Hyung… even without me, that group is more than enough to hold their ground.]

"Really?"

[Why are your standards so high all of a sudden? Everyone on that list is around level 2,000—they’re top-tier players from Earth.]

Jeong-hoon had a point.

His mother, Lee Na-Yeon, his friend Hajin, his younger brother Bong-Goo, Ho-Yeong Guild Master Yeo Sunwoo, and Sunwoo’s daughter Yeo Min-Ji—all had surpassed level 2,000.

As for the other five, their exact levels weren’t known, but anyone who’d played New World would recognize their names—they were all famous figures.

No—that is,

everyone except Damien Loud.

"Alright… I’ll trust you and try to stay calm."

[Just don’t relax too much. Nothing’s ever guaranteed 100%.]

"C’mon, don’t scare me now."

[I’m serious. And if something goes wrong… please don’t blame me.]

"……"

[I’m busy right now, so I’ll call you later.]

And with that, the call ended.

Jang Dae-Hwi slowly set down his phone and stared blankly out the window.

"…It’ll be okay, right?"

* * *

At that same time—

"Damien."

James called Damien Loud aside privately.

"……"

Unlike earlier, Damien now looked completely deflated, unable to even lift his head properly.

"Sigh… What the hell happened back there?"

"I’m sorry."

"No, I already heard your apology. What I want to know is why you acted that way."

Damien Loud didn’t like people.

Even so, he had never acted this out of line before.

"I got too angry."

"Angry?"

"James, are you really okay with this? Can we really call this a partnership?"

"…What are you talking about?"

"How are we supposed to trust these Koreans?"

Sure, Damien acknowledged Honey1—Jeong-hoon.

He had surpassed level 10,000 and gained overwhelming fame through HoneyTube. That kind of strength and reputation couldn’t be denied.

That’s why Damien had accepted this arrangement without hesitation.

But when he actually saw the list, Honey1 wasn’t even participating.

Instead, half the team was made up of Koreans who had been carried by him—at least, that’s how it looked to Damien.

The fact that they strutted around acting like they were something special despite probably having reached the Sixth Advancement thanks entirely to Jeong-hoon made his blood boil.

That’s why he snapped at them on impulse.

He realized too late what a mistake it was—but by then, he’d already earned Jeong-hoon’s wrath.

"They’ve all completed the Sixth Advancement. Could someone without skill really manage that?"

"We can’t know that for sure. They might’ve completed it with that monster’s help."

"We already heard the plan. All we need to do is stall for time in Round 1. Jeong-hoon will join us starting from Round 2."

"Right. So that means you’ve accepted it, haven’t you?"

"‘Accepted it for now,’ you mean? Tch. You basically just disrespected the Koreans we’re supposed to be working with."

"Fine, whatever. Then I’ll judge for myself. If they really prove themselves, I’ll formally apologize."

"You just promised. Don’t forget it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Though Damien responded irritably, James decided to let it go—for now.

The Survival League was about to begin.

If James scolded Damien now, it would only hurt morale before the match even started.

In a situation where they’d been asked to hold out for as long as possible, that kind of tension was a major setback.

James patted Damien on the shoulder and spoke gently.

“Thanks. As the Recorder, you need to set the tone right from the start. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of just standing by and watching Earth disappear.”

Damien Loud brushed James’ hand off his shoulder and walked away.

“Whew… this isn’t easy.”

Left alone, James sat down on a bench and gazed up at the sky.

“You’re doing great.”

Amelie Reina came to comfort him, sitting beside him.

“Not really… but what about the others?”

“They seem to have cooled off. Though… their opinion of Damien hasn’t improved.”

“As Hoon said, we need to drag this round out as long as possible. This situation makes that harder.”

“It’s alright. They’re on Hoon’s side. We just need to do our part.”

“Yeah. No need to overthink it… we’ll just do the best we can.”

“Right.”

[The Survival League Round 1 will begin shortly.]

[All registered participants must enter the portal within the time limit.]

Portals to the League arena had opened across the country.

Only those registered on the roster could enter them.

“Hyung.”

Standing before one such portal, Bong-Goo whispered to Hajin beside him.

“What.”

“Honestly… I’m still pissed.”

He had decided to let it go, but every time he saw Damien Loud’s face, rage welled up again.

Calling someone who had completed the Sixth Advancement a “passenger”? The nerve.

Sure, without his hyung’s help, Bong-Goo wouldn’t have made it this far.

But still—he had pushed himself to the brink to cross the threshold, had fought like hell to reach this level.

To have all that effort dismissed in a single comment?

He genuinely wanted to kill the guy for it.

A guy who hadn’t even completed the Sixth Advancement dares to look down on him?

“Let it go. Hoon already put him in his place.”

“Yeah, but still…”

“You need to hold it in. The League’s starting now. You know we need to work together if we’re going to survive Round 1.”

“…Yeah. Got it.”

If cooperation hadn’t been necessary, he’d have already beaten Damien half to death.

Suppressing his anger, Bong-Goo stepped into the portal.

[Entering League Arena 1.]

League Arena 1.

The map was modeled after a colosseum—

but not limited to the structure alone; the entire continent served as the battlefield.

And this colosseum?

It was just the starting point.

[This area has been set as your base.]

[Defend against enemy occupation.]

[Survive until the end to win the round.]

“Just like Hoon said—it’s an occupation match.”

James Marcus and his team had arrived.

Excluding Damien Loud, the other four had all been top-ranked players since the New World era.

James Marcus in particular was a renowned professional gamer, widely recognized as the strongest Paladin in the game’s history.

That’s why the occupation format felt so familiar to him—

and thanks to the briefing they’d received from Jeong-hoon on how Round 1 would unfold, they were able to remain calm and collected.

"There’s a 99% chance it’ll be an occupation match."

It wasn’t 100%—because there was always that 1% chance the intel was misleading.

But still, 1% was a very slim margin to be wrong.

James Marcus raised his shield and stepped forward.

“We were told there’s a checkpoint outside—let’s move there first.”

“Got it.”

Since James spoke bluntly, Hajin responded just as curtly.

Their role was to circle the perimeter and observe enemy movement.

Meanwhile, Yeo Sunwoo, Yeo Min-Ji, and Bong-Goo were to escort Damien Loud toward the forward checkpoint and use the power of the Recorder to activate defensive structures.

Sofia would lay traps near the colosseum, and Amelie would assist her by cloaking any visible debuffs to avoid detection.

Lastly, Lee Na-Yeon would prepare for sniping from atop the colosseum.

This meant the battle strategy would be reactive—not striking first, but rather striking as enemies came in.

First checkpoint.

It was located roughly 500 meters from the base colosseum.

“Everyone stop here.”

Damien ordered the three escorts to halt and crouched down.

Strange glyphs—letters none of them had seen before—covered the checkpoint stone.

By deciphering them correctly, a barrier would automatically activate.

It was a hallucinatory barrier, useful for defending against enemy infiltration.

The closer a checkpoint was to the base, the stronger its barrier effect.

“Hurry it up.”

“…Shut up. I need to focus.”

At Bong-Goo’s impatient push, Damien shot him a glare and began decoding the script.

“Tch… damn bastard.”

Bong-Goo clenched his fists, aching to punch that smug face—but with Round 1 in progress, he had to hold it in.

“Let’s wreck him after the round ends.”

Yeo Min-Ji approached Bong-Goo and whispered quietly.

Bong-Goo’s eyes widened slightly.

“After the round?”

“Yup. Hoon will be back once Round 1 ends. That’s when we pound that guy into the ground.”

“…You think hyung will let us?”

“If we say it’s for educational purposes, he might.”

She had a point—if it were framed as “discipline,” Jeong-hoon might very well approve.

“That’s… actually a great idea.”

Bong-Goo’s eyes sparkled as he nodded eagerly.

“Right? So just hold it in for now. Let’s help Hoon succeed.”

Yeo Min-Ji winked playfully with one eye.

She didn’t like Damien Loud either, but for now, they were in a cooperative alliance. She was trying her best not to stir up trouble.

Because that was the only way to ensure Jeong-Hoon’s plan succeeded.

“…I’m embarrassed.”

Bong-Goo scratched his head, blushing slightly.

“Alright, it’s done. Let’s move on.”

Just in time, Damien Loud stood up, having finished the decoding.

[Checkpoint activated.]

With the activation, a circular barrier spread outward from the base at the colosseum.

The barrier was invisible to the naked eye, so even they couldn’t see it—but it would trigger the moment any external enemies tried to cross through.

“…Fast, I’ll give him that.”

Bong-Goo muttered under his breath as he resumed escorting Damien.

While Sophia Stephanie Agaret and Amelie Reina were circling the colosseum base, Lee Na-Yeon held perfectly still, already in position.

More precisely—she was in a deep state of focus.

‘So that’s the Harpha race…’

Thanks to her long-range vision, she had spotted the Harpha descending below.

Their average level: 3,000.

A full 1,000 levels higher than their group, who had just crossed 2,000.

‘Then… let’s begin.’

Lee Na-Yeon slowly adjusted her aim—

and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]