[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 388

Hajin let out a sigh as he looked at the message he had just received.

"Geez, why is he making me do so much?"

The sender: Jeong-hoon.

[Hajin, I’m heading to Atlas first. That means you’ve got to grow fast too, right?]

That was just the opening. After that line, Jeong-hoon had listed out everything in detail — all of it related to leveling up and acquiring fortuitous encounters.

And Hajin wasn’t the only one who got the message.

“Hyung… Hyung Jeong-hoon told me to do all this too.”

Bong-Goo had also received a message.

He had shown up when summoned, only to be turned away. Now he was in a capsule room with Hajin, making instant ramen.

It was during that time that they got the message from Jeong-hoon.

Just like Hajin's, Bong-Goo's message included a detailed growth guide tailored to his current condition.

“If we don’t do it, he won’t let us off easy, will he?”

“Probably not…”

“Then should we just go do it right away?”

“Uh, but the ramen just finished cooking.”

The ramen had reached the perfect state — any longer and the noodles would get soggy.

“Hmm, then I guess it’s better to eat first?”

“Yes! I think it’s best we eat quickly and then go!”

“…Okay.”

Hajin and Bong-Goo began devouring their ramen.

Lee Hyun-Woo, who had been sitting at the counter, saw them and rushed over in surprise.

“Hey! You think someone’s chasing you or something? Eat slower or you’ll get indigestion.”

“Hyung, Jeong-hoon told us to do something.”

“Well, then it can’t be helped.”

“We’ll just eat this and then use the capsules.”

Ever since Hajin received a capsule as an event reward, he occasionally visited the capsule room.

He didn’t need to — he came to see the owner, Lee Hyun-Woo.

Because of that, every time Hajin visited, Hyun-Woo always threw in a little extra service.

“Alright. I’ll give you as much time as you want, so go for it. You too, Bong-Goo.”

“Thank you!”

Thanks to Hajin, Bong-Goo was also benefiting from the extra service.

He gave Hyun-Woo a deep 90-degree bow and shouted his thanks.

“Hey, okay, okay. But don’t shout, will you…?”

Looking flustered, Hyun-Woo glanced around and waved his hand.

Thankfully, the place was empty.

Whenever Bong-Goo got loud like this, all the attention would zero in on them — and that was always awkward.

“Ah, sorry about that.”

“Bong-Goo! If you’re done eating, let’s go!”

“Yes!”

Hajin and Bong-Goo ran toward the empty capsules.

* * *

At that same moment…

Yeo Sunwoo and Yeo Min-Ji also received a message from Jeong-hoon.

“Guildmaster, where are you going?”

As Yeo Sunwoo cautiously stood up, Park In-Tae noticed immediately—like he had a sixth sense.

“Ahem, I have a quick errand to run.”

“Pardon? Right now?”

“Yes.”

They were currently in the Atlas Branch Office.

Once the timer in Earth’s sky disappeared, Yeo Sunwoo felt relieved and logged into the game.

He had been catching up on postponed guild tasks when Jeong-hoon contacted him right on cue.

[Guildmaster, I discovered an incredible opportunity in Atlas. I don’t need it, so you and Min-Ji should go and seize it.]

An incredible opportunity?

This wasn’t just anyone—it was Jeong-hoon saying it.

That alone made it worth taking action.

“Wait, Guildmaster! If you leave now, what about all this paperwork?”

Park In-Tae pointed anxiously at the piles of documents.

As expected from a major guild, the paperwork was stacked like mountains.

Yeo Sunwoo coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze from the documents.

“You… can handle it, right?”

“What? What kind of crap—?”

“I’m counting on you!”

Yeo Sunwoo dashed out of the guildmaster’s office like he was fleeing.

One of Korea’s top seven powerhouses.

As the King of Darkness, once he ran at full speed, no one could stop him.

Park In-Tae collapsed into his chair in shock.

“Guildmaster… why are you doing this to me…”

Click.

At that moment, the door opened again.

Thinking the guildmaster had returned, Park In-Tae quickly turned toward the door—but it wasn’t Yeo Sunwoo. It was Yeo Min-Ji.

“Where’s my father?”

“Ah… the Guildmaster said he had an errand and left.”

“Oh, really? That was fast…”

“Well, actually, this is perfect timing. Since the Guildmaster’s not here, could you please help me out instead?”

“Sorry. I’ve got something to take care of too.”

“That can’t possibly be more important than the guild, right?”

Park In-Tae forced a calm smile as he tried to appeal to her with the importance of the guild.

“That may be true, but…”

“Miss Min-Ji.”

“…Phew, fine. Then I’ll bring my father back here.”

“Is that possible?”

“I’ll make it possible, no matter what.”

Only then could she peacefully go off in search of the opportunity Jeong-hoon had mentioned.

“…You’re not just saying that and then going to disappear too, right?”

“Of course not. I’ll be back soon—just wait a little bit.”

Yeo Min-Ji left after saying those words.

Park In-Tae, now alone, stared at the door with suspicious eyes before turning his attention to the documents.

“Aigo, what kind of fate is this…”

* * *

Atlas.

A mechanized city more advanced than any place they’d passed through so far.

Everything in the city was automated, running on a fully mechanized system.

“They said the map was designed to represent a vision of the future.”

It was built with the idea of what the 22nd century might look like.

In fact, there were even more advanced places in other dimensions, so this was likely made with some reference to those.

“Hey, is this your first time in Atlas?”

The station manager, Pleu, spoke to Jeong-Hoon.

He was the type of NPC who initiated conversation with first-time visitors, and if the player responded, he would help them begin a quest.

“Yes.”

When Jeong-Hoon nodded, Pleu, as if expecting that answer, handed him a note.

The note kindly explained who he needed to find.

“Start by heading there. It might help you out. You won’t lose anything by doing it.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

Jeong-Hoon took the note and exited the station.

‘Master, why did you take the note?’

Mukho asked with curiosity.

“This is my first time entering Atlas.”

‘Your first time?’

“Yeah. After the world became real, Atlas completely disappeared.”

‘Ah, so that’s why you accepted it.’

“You never know. Completing a quest might help with my recovery.”

‘Then let’s hurry over there!’

The location indicated on the note was a factory that produced robots.

AI robots were a huge help to NPCs in their day-to-day functions.

It wasn’t uncommon to see robots on the streets, and most of them were produced in this massive factory.

Jeong-Hoon approached an NPC standing at the entrance, puffing on a cigarette.

There was a blinking question mark above the NPC’s head.

[General Quest: Technician Theo’s Concern]

- Requirement: Visit to Atlas

- Reward: 10,000,000 Experience + Random Item Box

- Description: Help resolve Theo’s concern.

Seeing it like this really made it feel like he was in a game.

“Ten million experience? That’s stingy.”

Compared to the experience values he’d seen before his regression, it was a small amount—but Jeong-Hoon didn’t care.

He was only doing the quest to aid his recovery anyway.

After accepting the quest, Jeong-Hoon spoke to Theo.

“Do you have something troubling you?”

“Oh, a stranger, huh? It’s nothing much, but a problem came up…”

“If there’s a problem?”

“I left something with the guy downstairs—Raparo—and asked him to pass it along, but no matter how much time has passed, there's been no word.”

“Hmm, I see?”

“The item is important, but it’s more than that. That diligent guy wouldn’t just go silent like this without reason.”

A quest to find a missing person?

“Should I look into it?”

“Oh! Would you? I’d really appreciate it. I can’t leave this factory, and I desperately needed someone’s help.”

“Understood.”

Theo explained that the man named ‘Ross’ had headed to Raparo’s lab.

“If you’re unsure about the location, use this map.”

What he handed over was an old, worn-out map.

Several X marks were drawn on it, and beneath them were small red letters.

“It’s pretty far, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yeah. The lab is located in a rather remote place.”

The lab was at the far western edge of Atlas.

A wasteland untouched by mechanization.

“Is there no means of transportation?”

“Of course there is! I’ll contact the garage for you, so how about taking a vehicle?”

“…No need. I’ll just go on my own.”

“Alright then. I’m counting on you.”

Theo stubbed out his cigarette on the wall and went back into the factory.

“Well then, let’s go hunting.”

To the western edge.

To get there, he would have to cross countless fields.

Even with a rough estimate, the number of monsters he would need to hunt along the way was over 3,000.

Jeong-hoon stepped westward, following the steps of the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

* * *

[Breaking News! A Level 1,000 has appeared in Atlas!]

- A Level 1,000 showed up lololol (photo)

A post with a photo attached was uploaded on Welcome.

└Fake, lol nice Photoshop

└James Marcus, the global #1, is level 543 lol. What kind of nonsense is this “level 1,000”?

└But in that photo, it clearly shows Level 1,000?

└Anyone can tell it’s edited. Even if we accept the 1,000 level thing, what’s this “6th class advancement” crap lol

└Tsk tsk, trying to bait attention with this kind of junk…

The reaction was overwhelmingly negative.

A clean number like 1,000 and the fact that the character had even completed a 6th job advancement.

Because of that, most users immediately dismissed it as fake and rushed to insult the poster.

[Ha, unbelievable.]

—I’m telling you, I saw it with my own eyes!

The original poster followed up with a rebuttal post, but no one believed him.

[Doesn’t seem like a bug to me.]

“I worked hard to film this, okay? Take a look at this. (Video)”

A post appeared not long after.

Rather than a screenshot, the post contained a video clip. It was only 26 seconds long.

But those 26 seconds were more than enough to send chills down viewers’ spines.

└ Whoa… what the hell is that?

└ Isn’t that thing Level 380? Why did it go down in one hit?

└ Since it’s Atlas, yeah, that’s a Mechanized Orc for sure.

└ How did he wipe them out in an instant like that?

└ Holy crap, is that guy seriously Level 1,000?

└ Even James Marcus probably couldn’t pull that off. Damn.

└ That’s it. I’m heading to Atlas right now.

└ Low-level users are crying right now… ㅠㅠ

* * *

It took just 30 minutes to reach the spot marked with an X on the map.

Jeong-hoon didn’t care about the stares from other players; he was completely focused on hunting.

As a result, a few users tried to follow him, but none of them could keep up with his overwhelming speed and were left behind.

“So this is the place.”

Comparing the map with the terrain, Jeong-hoon arrived in front of an old building.

A two-story structure in the middle of a wasteland.

It was crudely built and looked like it could collapse at any moment.

‘Master, I can see signs that someone’s been here!’

‘Yeah. There are footprints.’

As Mukho and Anima pointed out, the inside was empty. But beneath the thick layer of dust were footprints about the size of an adult male’s.

Those footprints led to a staircase descending underground in a hidden corner.

‘Looks like Los did visit this place.’

Jeong-hoon slowly descended the stairs.

[You have discovered a new area.]

[Part of your level has been restored.]

[Part of your stats have been restored.]

With that, his level partially recovered, reaching 1,200. Each of his stats increased by 250 points as well.

“Oh, at this rate, I’ll be fully recovered in no time.”

Jeong-hoon descended the rest of the stairs with a satisfied smile.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]