Chapter 189
Seoul, South Korea.
Countless people were standing on the streets.
Unlike usual, they were standing still, gazing up at the sky.
“What’s that?”
“120?”
Black letters were inscribed in the sky above.
Those black letters were ford from dark clouds.
And there wasn’t just one cloud.
At regular intervals, the number 120 was displayed in dark clouds, so everyone on Earth could see it.
“What the…”
“One would be fine, but so many of them?”
“What is it? Did soone deliberately create this?”
“It’s amazing.”
People tilted their heads in confusion.
The number 120 ford from dark clouds.
And above those clouds, new black letters were ford.
[Countdown starting.]
The letters were displayed in the most commonly used language in each country.
At the announcent that the countdown would start, people looked up at the sky with dumbfounded expressions.
-119:59:58
Then, the letters that were 120 scattered, and the countdown began.
The numbers engraved in the clouds started to decrease.
“What is that?!”
“What the… Am I dreaming?”
“Damn, I guess I’ve lived too long.”
People were instantly gripped by shock.
***
[Whisper/zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Hey! Did you see the sky?!]
Ha-Jin, who had logged out after the Siege War, logged back into the ga.
Then he imdiately sent a whisper to Jeong-Hoon.
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12: I’m in the middle of the ga, so I don’t know.]
[Whisper/zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Wow… Log out and check it out right now! Sothing unbelievable is happening!]
[Whisper/Hoon -> zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12: What’s going on?]
[Whisper/zl-Zone-Ha-Jin12 -> Hoon: Numbers appeared in the sky and they’re decreasing like a tir! Not in the ga, but in reality!]
Jeong-Hoon’s face hardened slightly.
‘It has already started.’
Was it inevitable?
Jeong-Hoon had entered New World relatively late and had been causing a ruckus since the beginner zone.
They must have judged that he would grow uncontrollably if this continued.
Thus, the countdown had started earlier than expected.
120 hours from now, New World would beco reality.
‘There’s no ti.’
Jeong-Hoon increased his speed and reached the northern end of Rease.
At the northern end, a huge portal was shimring, and an NPC was standing guard in front of it.
===
[NPC Information]
-Nickna: Haoz
-Level: 250
-Occupation: Rease Portal Guardian
===
“Where are you headed?”
“The Heavenly Hall.”
The Heavenly Hall was a secret the.
Only those who had gathered all of their Heavenly Energy could go there.
For reference, before his regression, no one had accessed the Heavenly Hall until New World beca reality.
In other words, Jeong-Hoon was the first to head to the Heavenly Hall while the ga was still running.
“Hmm? Where’s that? This portal isn’t connected to such a place.”
Even Haoz, the gatekeeper, didn’t know about it.
“Could you check it once?”
“…I don’t think it’ll be there.”
Haoz looked at the portal with a doubtful expression.
And soon, his eyes widened.
The Heavenly Hall, which shouldn’t have been there, was added to the list.
Jeong-Hoon smiled faintly.
“It’s there, right?”
“I-It is…?”
“Then I’ll move to the Heavenly Hall.”
“…Do you, by any chance, know where that is?”
“I don’t know. I’m just going to check it out.”
“I see.”
Haoz stepped aside without saying anything further.
“Thank you.”
Jeong-Hoon entered the portal.
[Teleporting to the Heavenly Hall.]
As he selected the Heavenly Hall, Jeong-Hoon’s body was sucked into the portal.
***
Earth Korea Headquarters.
CEO Yoon Jin-Ho checked the official docunt over and over again with a dumbfounded expression.
[Earth and Genesis will be disbanded as of today.]
-We express our gratitude to all the employees who have worked hard so far.
We, New World, have determined that there is no longer any reason to continue.
Therefore, we will proceed with the dissolution process quickly.
Please refer to the attached file below for detailed procedures.
This docunt was sent directly from the headquarters.
Furthermore, replies were prohibited, and it could only be viewed.
The content of the docunt stated that Earth would enter the dissolution process from the current ti, and Genesis would also disappear.
“No… But why?”
Just a few days ago, they had successfully concluded a eting with other Earth companies.
It was a eting to brief them on the direction of the ga and discuss how to successfully manage it together.
But suddenly, the headquarters made the decision to disband.
Yoon Jin-Ho couldn’t understand it at all.
He picked up his smartphone and called soone.
[Yes, CEO.]
“Co to my office right now.”
[Understood!]
The call ended, and soon soone knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock.
“Co in.”
With Yoon Jin-Ho’s permission, the door opened and a man in his early 50s entered.
He was Executive Director Park Min-Soo, whom he trusted and relied on.
“Yes, CEO. You called for ?”
“…I have so bad news to tell you.”
“Bad news?”
Park Min-Soo tilted his head in confusion.
“It would be faster to show you than to tell you. Would you like to see this?”
Yoon Jin-Ho showed him the official docunt sent from the headquarters.
“What does this an…?”
After checking the notice, Park Min-Soo looked at Yoon Jin-Ho with a blank expression.
His eyes were asking for an explanation of what this notice was.
“It’s exactly as it says… They intend to dissolve both Earth and Genesis.”
“No, then what happens to New World?! What about our company’s stock price?!”
New World was still very popular.
Disbanding Earth ant neglecting New World, or even worse, terminating the service.
Suddenly abandoning a ga enjoyed by 2 billion people worldwide.
“I don’t know…”
“Ha… Could it be that soone hacked and spread false information?”
That sounded more plausible.
“I wish that were the case… but the possibility of that is zero.”
“…I see.”
Park Min-Soo nodded with a complicated expression.
“Besides, isn’t it noisy these days?”
Yoon Jin-Ho changed the subject for a mont, feeling frustrated.
“You’re right.”
Park Min-Soo nodded and looked out the window at the sky.
[119:24:32]
The numbers displayed in the sky.
Anyone could see that it was a countdown.
The sa numbers were counting down all over the world, giving birth to countless doomsday theorists.
‘The Earth will perish.’
‘That countdown is the ti we have left.’
‘We all need to prepare for death.’
And the majority supported their views.
It was inevitable, as no one could provide a proper explanation for the countdown.
As a result, all necessities, such as those in marts, convenience stores, and online shopping malls, had long been sold out due to panic buying.
“There are rumors that the countdown is related to New World.”
That’s right.
New World and that countdown.
Strangely, the countdown started shortly after the headquarters developnt team posted the notice.
[Hey, don’t you think there’s really sothing going on between New World and that tir in the sky?]
-Look at the notice. It says the countdown has started. I’m sure this is New World’s doing!
└ Be realistic lol
└ Seriously lol Even if they’re that advanced, controlling nature is too much, isn’t it?
└ But as the original poster said, the timing is too perfect.
└ We’ll find out once those 120 hours pass. What will happen lol
It was enough to raise suspicions, as the timing was too perfect.
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think that’s the case.”
However, Park Min-Soo didn’t believe such a ridiculous story.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. No matter how great New World is, it’s just a ga.”
“Yes, I agree with you on that.”
A ga is just a ga.
Otherwise, stats that surpass humans and flashy skills that you would only see in fantasy.
No matter how realistic a virtual reality ga is, it needs to be distinguished from reality.
***
[You have entered the Heavenly Hall.]
[You have explored the Secret The for the first ti.]
[You have been awarded 50,000 achievent points.]
Even though a long ti had passed since the launch of New World, Jeong-Hoon was the first to enter the Heavenly Hall.
However, the Heavenly Hall, which should have been a magnificent temple, had regressed to the level of an ancient civilization.
‘They said the hall would be completed when reality rged, right?’
This was because it was scheduled to be perfectly implented when reality rged.
In other words, he had co too early.
‘They didn’t make it easy to gather Heavenly Energy.’
As a result, no one among the world’s top rankers had obtained Heavenly Power.
If Jeong-Hoon acquired Heavenly Power here, he would beco the first to reach the Heavenly Realm since his regression.
Jeong-Hoon walked briskly towards the temple door.
The door only had a fra, and the inside was clearly visible.
And in front of it, an NPC was floating.
===
[NPC Information]
-Nickna: ??
-Level: ??
-Occupation: Guide of the Heavens
===
An NPC with no nickna or level displayed.
The NPC was looking up at the sky with a bored expression.
Jeong-Hoon approached the NPC.
“Excuse .”
At his question, the NPC slowly lowered her head and t Jeong-Hoon’s eyes.
Then, the NPC’s eyes widened.
“A stranger? How did you get here…?”
“I was able to co because I t the qualifications.”
“…Qualifications?”
“Yes.”
She tilted her head and scanned Jeong-Hoon’s body.
Then her pupils trembled violently.
“No… You filled up your Heavenly Energy?!”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible… How? Heavenly Energy shouldn’t be able to reach 100%.”
That’s right.
The reason why no one could reach the Heavenly Realm.
It was because a limit was set so that no one could gather 100% Heavenly Energy.
“I was lucky.”
Jeong-Hoon smiled faintly.
Originally, he wouldn’t have been able to gather 100% Heavenly Energy until much later after the reality rge, but thanks to the bet with Ling Ling, he had achieved 100% in an instant.
“It’s not sothing that can be solved with luck.”
“Is that so? Anyway, I’ve t the qualifications, so I want to obtain Heavenly Power.”
“Is that so?”
The NPC slowly landed on the floor.
Then, the surrounding environnt changed instantly.
From the temple to above the clouds in the sky.
The hot sun was beating down, and although they were clouds that shouldn’t be able to be stepped on, they were as soft as a bed.
It was a familiar feeling, as he had experienced it before his regression.
A question mark that wasn’t there before was blinking above the NPC’s head.
It was a rainbow-colored question mark.
[Secret Quest: Heavenly Power]
-Restriction: 100% Heavenly Energy achieved
-Reward: New power
-Description: You have obtained the qualification to reach the Heavens. Complete the quest given by the NPC to acquire that power.
‘It’s here.’
Jeong-Hoon accepted the quest.
“What’s the quest?”
“It will be a difficult challenge.”
“I know.”
The countdown had begun.
Ti was running out, and there was no room for dawdling.
“Is that so? Then I’ll give you the first quest.”
The NPC snapped her fingers.
A list unfolded before his eyes as a hologram.
[Gather the materials.]
– 10 Laplanta Seeds
– 10 Harmaind’s Will
– 1 King Laust’s Axe
“You want to gather these?”
“I like that you’re quick on the uptake.”
The NPC grinned.
It seed like there weren’t that many materials to gather, but the reality was different.
First, Laplanta.
Laplanta was a level 240 boss monster.
When Jeong-Hoon challenged for Heavenly Power before his regression, he was already over level 500.
So he had to hunt Uranok, a level 520 boss monster, instead of Laplanta.
In other words, the level was adjusted according to his level.
Of course, there was a common point.
It was that the drop rate of the materials was extrely low.
‘Was the drop rate 1%?’
1%.
It ant a 1 in 100 chance of dropping.
If you were lucky, it might drop within 10 attempts, but if you were really unlucky, there were many cases where it wouldn’t drop even after 100 attempts.
The sa was true for Harmaind’s Will.
‘The problem is King Laust, right?’
As expected, the probability of King Laust dropping the axe would be 0.05%.
It was an absurdly low drop rate, even when he looked at it again.
With this kind of drop rate, even if they repeatedly attempted to defeat them, they wouldn’t be able to gather them all in 5 days, let alone 10.
However, Jeong-Hoon had already gone through this quest once.
In the process, he also knew a way to drastically reduce the ti.
“So I just need to gather these?”
“Yes. If you bring them, I’ll give you the next quest.”
“Okay.”
“…Well, good. If you go out through that portal, you’ll see a few dungeons. The monsters listed here will be there.”
“Okay.”
———-
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