abcnovels
Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Event day.
Jeong-Hoon waited in the village square to participate in the event.
The square was bustling with countless users.
They were all users who had surpassed level 80 but hadn’t completed their 2nd Class Advancement, gathered to participate in the event just like Jeong-Hoon.
“Hey, did you see the event? It’s a colosseum. Colosseum!”
“Yeah. This is our chance. We have to get into the top ranks and achieve a rare class advancement.”
“Who do you think will be in the top 20?”
When the event was revealed, a giant colosseum appeared.
That’s right.
The event would proceed by putting users inside the giant colosseum, having them fight in a survival match, and displaying their rankings.
A total of 15 rounds were scheduled, and the final ranking would be determined by advancing to higher rounds by meeting the conditions presented in each round.
The winner would immediately obtain a unique class job, 2nd to 20th place would immediately change to an epic class job, and 21st to 200th place would immediately change to a rare class job.
“Isn’t the event reward too stingy?”
“Yeah… It seems like there will be at least ten thousand participants.”
Even though it was limited to users who were level 80 or above and hadn’t completed their 2nd Class Advancement, New World was a game that captivated the entire world’s population.
Even if limited to South Korea, there would be tens of thousands of users participating in the event.
A fierce battle was likely to ensue.
“Damn, there’s even a level 100?”
“That one over there is level 107.”
Achieving a higher-grade class advancement was like reaching for the stars.
As a result, there were many users who stayed at level 80 for months without completing their advancement.
In the process, they continued leveling up without rest, so there were occasionally users in the 100s.
“Wow, there’s even a lower martial artist.”
“Yeah. His level is 101.”
Naturally, Jeong-Hoon, who was over level 100, was also a spectacle.
A lower martial artist (1st Class) at level 101.
Of course, compared to other classes, there was almost no wariness towards him.
“This is an easy win.”
“Yeah. lower martial artists barely have any combat skills, right?”
The negative perception of martial artists played a role.
No matter how flashy Jeong-Hoon’s actions were as an anonymous martial artist, it was a very special case.
The evaluation from users was still harsh.
‘Talk all you want.’
Jeong-Hoon simply ignored their attention.
After all, the top spot in this colosseum would be his.
Just because he had already achieved a legendary class advancement didn’t mean he could skip the 2nd Class Advancement.
It would be easier than others, but he still had to complete the quest and be recognized by the instructor to move on to the 2nd class.
Naturally, even if he performed well in the class advancement quest, there were no benefits related to higher-grade class advancements.
But the event was different.
The fact that rewards were given based on ranking in the event also applied to Jeong-Hoon.
If he took first place, he would be given a clue to proceed to a higher-grade class advancement.
That alone was enough reason to participate.
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: Ah… They said observation isn’t allowed.]
At that moment, a whisper came from Yeo Min-ji.
‘It can’t be.’
Unlike other events, this Colosseum event didn’t allow spectators.
Naturally, Yeo Min-ji’s plan to watch the event went up in smoke.
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: Is that so?]
Jeong-Hoon, who already knew the future, replied with a nonchalant attitude.
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: I’m so frustrated… I even prepared a gift!]
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: You can just send it by mail.]
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: But that’s meaningless…]
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: It looks like it’s about to start. This is my last reply.]
Jeong-Hoon closed the whisper window.
[The event NPC will be generated shortly.]
A system announcement appeared in the New World general chat.
It was a general chat visible only to users who had applied for the event.
Soon after, an NPC was generated in the middle of the square.
It was a panda NPC hanging on a bamboo tree and eating bamboo shoots.
===
[NPC Information]
-Nickname: Ling Ling
-Level: 700
-Job: Event NPC
===
“Wow… The NPC’s level is 700.”
“Crazy… The world’s number one player just reached level 543, right?”
The world’s number one player was James Marcus, who had recently reached level 543.
The level difference between James Marcus and the NPC was a whopping 157.
The users were speechless at the enormous gap.
“Users participating in the event should talk to me. For reference, those who talk to me late will be sent to a colosseum with a higher difficulty.”
Ling Ling said while eating bamboo shoots.
“Gasp! I need to hurry.”
“Me first! Get out of the way!”
At those words, users started talking to Ling Ling one by one and disappeared on the spot.
They were transported to the event venue, the Colosseum.
When almost all the users had disappeared, Jeong-Hoon approached Ling Ling as a latecomer.
“Hmm? Wait a moment.”
But Ling Ling, who had been sending users through without hesitation, suddenly stopped Jeong-Hoon.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes. You’re out of the norm.”
Ling Ling saw through Jeong-Hoon’s class at a glance.
The first place in the Colosseum was a unique class advancement.
And Jeong-Hoon was a legendary, one level higher than the first place.
There was no need for him to participate in the event and change his class.
“Then am I unable to participate? Even though I meet the requirements?”
“No, it’s not that. I stopped you to tell you that you’ll be given a different reward instead.”
“A different reward?”
“That’s right. But you have to get first place.”
The condition Ling Ling offered was first place.
If he won first place, he would be given another reward accordingly.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“Then good luck.”
As Jeong-Hoon agreed, his body was transported to the Colosseum.
* * *
Earth Korea Management Team.
Before starting the event, they activated the program to check the Colosseum.
[You do not have permission to run the program.]
But unlike usual, the program did not run.
“No permission to run?”
The management team staff went to Oh Jin-soo with puzzled faces, but Oh Jin-soo was also perplexed.
It was the first time he couldn’t run the monitoring program while working in the management team.
“It seems like the headquarters blocked it.”
“Could it be because we always monitor the same user…?”
“I don’t think so.”
Judging from the situation, it seemed like the same was happening in other Earth branches as well.
In other words, it was like saying that the headquarters would be in charge of this event thoroughly.
How was this event going to be run that they were so concerned about security?
“That user must have participated, right?”
The newbie who always hit the jackpot.
He was about to undergo his 2nd Class Advancement, so he must have participated.
“Probably.”
It was still quiet for now, but once his performance surfaced, it would definitely cause a syndrome.
But with such tight security, it seemed like it wasn’t time yet.
* * *
Colosseum Arena.
Unlike ordinary colosseums, this arena was state-of-the-art.
Structures that couldn’t be seen normally and high-tech equipment floating in the air.
It was definitely a place created by Earth headquarters.
‘I must get a rare class!’
Level 98.
Hong Jin-soo, who still hadn’t escaped from the lower warrior (1st Class), made a resolution inwardly.
He had endured since level 80 with the sole determination to get a rare class job, but he had failed the quest every time.
‘Prove yourself as a descendant of the great warrior.’
To meet the conditions required by the instructor NPC, he had to clear 10 dungeons located in the beginner zone, and the conditions were incredibly tough.
Some dungeons had to be cleared within 2 hours with a 2-person party, and even mini-dungeons had to be cleared alone within 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The problem was that most of them focused on the clear time.
To meet the clear time, he had to calculate and clear the shortest route.
Classes capable of wide-area damage had it relatively easy, but for melee classes like him, it was an extremely disadvantageous condition.
Nevertheless, he had reached level 98 and succeeded in clearing 8 out of the 10 dungeons.
It was a long journey that took eight months.
But the remaining two dungeons seemed hopeless no matter how hard he tried.
No matter how much he researched, he couldn’t find a solution.
That’s why Hong Jin-soo was desperate.
‘So I have to get it here.’
Within the top 200.
Within that ranking, he could complete a rare class advancement.
They said that once a warrior reached the rare grade, they could almost certainly advance to the epic grade in the 3rd and 4th classes, so he had to achieve it.
‘But that martial artist seems to be in a similar situation as me.’
Hong Jin-soo’s gaze turned to the right.
A martial artist was summoned about 20 meters away.
He was a lower martial artist at level 101.
Although there was only a 3-level difference from his own level of 98, the amount of experience required as you approached level 100 was unimaginable.
He must have been staying here longer than him.
Honestly, a martial artist had to be in a much harsher environment than a warrior.
Was that why?
Hong Jin-soo felt that the martial artist was a kindred spirit.
‘I should avoid provoking him if possible.’
[Welcome to the 1st Colosseum.]
[Each colosseum has been assigned 200 users.]
[From now on, advance to higher rounds through each round.]
[Only 200 people can enter the final colosseum.]
It meant that as long as he entered the final colosseum, he could definitely achieve a rare class advancement.
As expected, the difficulty was not easy.
[Round 1 begins.]
[Entering combat mode now.]
[Round 1 will end when 40 people are eliminated.]
40 people would be eliminated in the first round.
Hong Jin-soo quickly raised his shield and looked around.
At that moment, he saw two users rushing towards the level 101 martial artist.
They were warriors in their early 90s, just like Hong Jin-soo.
‘Oh no…’
No matter how high his level was at 101, a martial artist with lower stats than other classes wouldn’t be able to withstand a group attack.
Hong Jin-soo was convinced that the first person to be eliminated would be the level 101 martial artist.
But then.
“Keuk!”
“W-What?!”
It wasn’t the martial artist who was knocked down, but the warriors.
Even though it was a 2 vs 1 situation.
“Huh…?”
Hong Jin-soo’s eyes widened as he watched.
* * *
Two warriors rushed in as soon as the round started.
Jeong-Hoon had expected them to attack from the beginning.
As soon as they were summoned, they were staring at him like they had found prey.
Of course, there was no need to be cautious.
Their approach was obvious, and their sword swings were clumsy and wide.
They were the type who relied on brute force through skills, with no real ability.
In his previous life, as a newbie, this type was quite troublesome, but to Jeong-Hoon now, they were easy opponents that made him yawn.
He used his movement technique to easily dodge their sword strikes and used the first form of the Underworld King’s Fist Technique to strike their vital points, instantly ending their lives.
Thanks to the potions, the power of the Underworld King’s Fist Technique was indeed lethal.
“Wow… what’s this?”
“Crazy, retreat!”
Like the warriors before them, they had targeted Jeong-Hoon as an easy mark.
However, after seeing the two dead warriors, they seemed to have changed their minds, stopping their approach and changing their target to somewhere else.
Thanks to that, Jeong-Hoon was able to survive the first round by only hunting down two warriors.
[Round 1 has ended.]
[The number of survivors is currently 160.]
[The next round will begin.]
There was no break time.
[Survive as long as possible.]
[Round 2 will end when there are 50 survivors.]
Round 2 was also about survival.
But this time, it was a different kind of survival.
It was survival from monsters.
[Lv. 120 White Fang]
Countless Lv. 120 White Fangs were summoned and were pouring into the Colosseum.