abcnovels
Chapter 224
Chapter 224
Chapter 224
As soon as he emerged from the dungeon, Jeong-hoon saw Yeo Sunwoo’s face.
“Are you unharmed?!”
Yeo Sunwoo rushed to him, clearly anxious.
Jeong-hoon nodded.
“Yes. Fortunately, I’m fine.”
The battle had ended rather uneventfully.
Despite having summoned both Fenrir and Michael, making thorough preparations, in the end, it was safe to say that the combined strength of Jeong-hoon and his mother alone had resolved the situation.
Fenrir and Michael wore visible expressions of disappointment, even as they returned.
‘I’ll make sure to give them more chances next time.’
The reason they had been able to dispose of Kaneda Shun and the other incarnations so easily was likely due to the “Rise in Level.”
The strengthened bodies granted through their contracts had been pierced instantly by the arrows.
“I didn’t do anything,” Yeo Min-Ji remarked, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“Hmm? They must have been rather skilled opponents,” Yeo Sunwoo replied.
“Yes, they had formidable spirit, but they just collapsed with a few arrows.”
“Heh…”
Jeong-hoon gave a slight smile.
“We were lucky. If my mother hadn’t been there, it would’ve been a tough battle.”
That was the truth.
The primary reason Yeo Min-Ji had not intervened was because of his mother’s shooting ability.
The Genesis Shot had sealed their powers.
Without it, close combat would have been inevitable.
“Then, are all the ones inside dead?” Yeo Sunwoo asked.
“Yes.”
“…I see.”
Yeo Sunwoo fell silent for a moment as he watched Jeong-hoon nod calmly.
They hadn’t killed monsters, but humans.
Yet, there was no visible shift in Jeong-hoon’s expression.
‘It’s almost like he’s killed many before.’
One could hardly react so calmly otherwise.
‘All incarnations must be eliminated. Those who collude with the Transcendents will eventually lead to the downfall of Earth.’
This was why he acted so decisively.
Though Yeo Sunwoo couldn’t fully understand Jeong-hoon’s certainty, he recognized that Jeong-hoon was firmly rejecting them.
And Yeo Sunwoo found himself on Jeong-hoon’s side.
‘Whatever the case, their targets were humans.’
If Jeong-hoon hadn’t killed them, he and his daughter would have been the ones to lose their lives instead.
Supporting his decision was natural.
—
When Jeong-hoon returned home, he went straight to his room.
[Open the box! Open the box!]
Left alone, Mukho eagerly urged him to open the box.
‘I’m curious too. What could possibly be inside?’
Anima felt the same.
The box awarded to his inventory was unlike any he had seen before—remarkably high quality.
However, it wasn’t good quality in a positive sense, but rather in a distinctly unsettling way.
A gloomy aura emanated from the box, so thick that it felt as though touching it might invite any number of curses.
[Box of the Seven Deadly Sins]
– Type: Box
– Grade: ?
– Contains one of the Seven Deadly Sins at random
– Filled with the energy of evil
– Opening the box recklessly could result in a fatal curse.
This box was indeed dangerous to open without caution.
“It won’t be an issue for me.”
Jeong-hoon’s Safeguard had been elevated to Legendary status following his fourth job advancement.
In addition, his level had reached the max within the Muhwang’s domain.
The curse from the Box of the Seven Deadly Sins should be something his Safeguard could handle.
[Would you like to open the box?]
[Warning: Once chosen, this action cannot be undone.]
The warning message emphasized the box’s inherent danger.
A slight smirk played on Jeong-hoon’s lips.
“Open.”
The box lid creaked open, and a dark light spilled out.
[Acquired Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth]
[You are cursed.]
[You are cursed.]
[You are cursed.]
The moment he acquired the item related to the Seven Deadly Sins, countless curses began to pour forth.
[Your life force is rapidly decreasing!]
[Your life force is rapidly decreasing!]
[Your life force is rapidly decreasing!]
His life force dwindled madly, making his vision spin.
Jeong-hoon quickly activated his Safeguard.
[Using Safeguard.]
But even one use of Safeguard wasn’t enough to dispel all the curses.
He had to activate Safeguard repeatedly—eleven times in total—before he could finally break free from all the curses.
“Whew… that was intense.”
Sweat dripped down Jeong-hoon’s forehead.
Although it was the first time encountering an item like the Box of the Seven Deadly Sins, he’d thought his Legendary Safeguard would be more than sufficient.
Especially with his maxed-out level.
And yet, it had taken considerable effort to lift all the curses.
If his Safeguard hadn’t been at Legendary…
‘I’d rather not imagine it.’
In any case, it was time to examine the outcome.
“Hmm, it’s certainly a curious sight.”
The item labeled as the Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth looked oddly like a sea urchin.
In simple terms, it was a black orb bristling with numerous spikes.
[Would you like to awaken the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’?]
A message appeared above it.
“Awaken it?”
Was it an item with a will of its own, like Mukho or Anima?
After a moment’s thought, Jeong-hoon decided to awaken it.
[The ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ awakens.]
[Currently, ‘1’ out of the ‘7’ Deadly Sins has gathered.]
[As a result, the Seven Deadly Sins is not fully awakened.]
The incomplete awakening of the Seven Deadly Sins resembled that of a snail.
A caterpillar was squirming around, using a shell that looked like a sea urchin.
‘Is this what the Seven Deadly Sins is like…?’
====================
[Seven Deadly Sins]
– Type: Sloth
– Level: ?? (Grows by absorbing abilities)
– Grade: Rare
[Detailed Stats]
– Strength: 50
– Agility: 50
– Stamina: 50
– Defense: 50
– Wisdom: 50
– Mana: 50
– Willpower: 50
=====================
This creature was a pet that could be summoned and commanded, much like Fenrir and Mihael.
“How underwhelming…”
After all the curses he had endured to acquire this sin, its stats were dismally weak.
At least it was fortunate that it had the potential to grow, though the exact method for that was unclear.
“Well, I can take my time figuring it out.”
Jeong-hoon reached out a hand toward Sloth.
As if responding, the creature retracted its spines, making itself easier to touch.
Thanks to that, he could pet it, even if it felt a bit rough.
“Kiing.”
It seemed incapable of speech, letting out a beastly cry instead.
A snail making such sounds was an odd image.
It didn’t quite match up, but nevertheless, a new successor to Fenrir had been born.
Jeong-hoon summoned Fenrir in a smaller size.
“Yes, Master.”
“Fenrir, you have a new successor.”
“A successor?”
Fenrir tilted his head, turning to look at Sloth.
At that, Sloth’s gaze wavered, as if it recognized something.
“Do you know what that is?”
“…Yes. That’s a Demon Beast.”
“A Demon Beast?”
“Yes. Although it’s a young one, it’s definitely a Demon Beast.”
Demon Beasts.
They are entities in direct opposition to Divine Beasts.
Unlike typical monsters, they can be viewed as a race that demons command.
The Seven Deadly Sins was essentially the leader among such Demon Beasts.
‘I’m not sure why Mandora possessed this box of the Seven Deadly Sins, but regardless, they had obtained a leader-class Demon Beast.’
Its small size was likely due to the lack of collected sins.
To fully develop it, they would probably need to gather all the remaining sins.
“Anyway, since it’s your successor, take good care of it.”
“Successor…”
Fenrir’s expression soured.
It was understandable; Fenrir had an extreme aversion to Demon Beasts.
“Kii…”
In contrast, Sloth seemed frightened of Fenrir and attempted to burrow into Jeong-hoon’s arms.
“Don’t scare it.”
“…Understood.”
Fenrir nodded but continued to glare at Sloth.
It seemed difficult for Fenrir to accept it immediately.
“Alright, go back in.”
Jeong-hoon sent Fenrir back.
“Kiiing…”
Sloth seemed unwilling to go back and hid inside its shell.
“Hmm, I guess I should keep it summoned for a while.”
If he sent it back like this, he didn’t know what Fenrir might do.
For now, he needed to learn more about this Demon Beast.
‘I’ve never seen one like this before the regression.’
Before the regression, there had never been an appearance of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Perhaps that was why he was even more curious.
—
Seoul, South Korea.
Seoul had turned into a lawless land.
With the New World becoming a reality, power was suddenly thrust upon the people.
This power plunged the entire world into chaos, and it wasn’t long before a period of adaptation took place.
Afterward, there were no longer any means to control them, and so-called power became the law.
“Ugh!”
A man in his early thirties was knocked over as he was struck by a blunt object from behind.
“Lucky! I just took down a level 89 user!”
A teenager in his late teens grinned while wielding the blunt weapon.
Three other students, seemingly his friends, surrounded the fallen man.
Their levels were around 150.
These were kids who had secretly leveled up in capsule rooms without their parents’ knowledge, now enjoying their power as school bullies.
“Okay, let’s see how many points you have.”
The method for robbing a user’s points was simple.
If they inflicted a fatal wound that brought the target’s health below 10%, they could forcibly steal their points and items.
Of course, since this system was created after the reality shift, not many people knew about it.
“Wow, only 220 points?”
“Ha, what the hell. You’re level 89 and only have 220 points?”
“What a broke loser. Let’s grab some other items.”
The students rummaged through his inventory and collected all usable items.
“Let’s get out of here before someone sees us.”
They carelessly tossed the bloodied and unconscious man into an alley and prepared to leave.
At that moment.
“Wow. Looks like there are already some guys committing crimes?”
Someone was walking toward them.
He was an East Asian man in his early twenties, using the nickname “The Reversed Skywalker.”
“What do you want?”
One of the students drew his sword at him.
“Level 160? You’ve leveled up a bit, huh?”
“Oh! You’re even higher level than us?”
“Heh heh, but what will you do? There are four of us.”
Even though their levels were relatively low, there were four users around level 150.
In a 4:1 fight, it was obvious that the majority would win.
At that moment, The Reversed Skywalker vanished.
“Ugh!”
The student who had drawn his sword screamed and was sent crashing into the wall.
“Sang-su!”
“What the hell!”
Their faces filled with shock as their friend went down in an instant.
Then he stood before another student.
“Now it’s your turn.”
“Ugh!”
With that, the student was also slammed against the wall with a scream.
The remaining two met the same fate.
It took just about 40 seconds to take out all four of them.
“Tsk.”
Jeong-hoon clicked his tongue as he approached the fallen man.
The time was 7:50 AM.
From his attire, it seemed he had been attacked on his way to work.
Jeong-hoon reached out to him.
[Using Advanced Healing.]
As the Advanced Healing took effect, the man slowly opened his eyes and began to rise.
“W-where is this…?”
“They were trying to rob you.”
Jeong-hoon gestured toward the students, who were knocked out against the wall.
“Oh, I see.”
Only then did the man realize he had fainted from a strong blow to the back of his head.
Yet for some reason, his injured head felt fine.
He felt no pain at all.
“I’ve healed your injuries, so you don’t need to worry.”
“T-thank you. I don’t know how to repay this kindness…”
The man continued to express his gratitude.
If it hadn’t been for Jeong-hoon, it would have been a serious situation.
“You’re fine, so just go quickly.”
“Y-yes!”
The man hurriedly left, almost fleeing the scene.
“Kiiing!”
Then Sloth wiggled out from Jeong-hoon’s arms and slowly crawled toward the students.
Its movements were so slow that Jeong-hoon felt like yawning.
Nevertheless, he carefully observed Sloth’s every movement.
Before long, Sloth reached the feet of the fallen student.
[Absorbing stats.]
‘Huh?’
Jeong-hoon’s eyes widened.
With the stat absorption message, Sloth’s stats began to rise gradually.
“So that’s how it works.”
———-