0.
It was truly the middle of the night chaos.
Assistant Manager Lee Won-sang, despite having yelled out loud once already, didn’t seem to have calmed down. Clutching his head in frustration, he let out another shout.
“Three? THREE?! No matter how special the Almighty-grade compensation is, this is ridiculous!!!”
“S-sir, please calm down...!”
“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down?!”
There was nothing to calm down about.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
What’s worse, Seong had already triggered the “Unknown Power” twice since arriving at the Hall of Knights.
And now, three Legendary-grade skill books as a reward?
“This is a disaster... an absolute disaster!”
Even though the skill window couldn’t be checked while in the Hall of Knights, it wasn’t as if the items obtained as rewards—like the skill books—couldn’t be verified.
Since the skills could be activated just by knowing their names, once Seong used the skill books and saw their names, he could access them.
In fact, the concept was similar to the boxes Seong had received during the event. The only difference was that this time, only skills could be obtained.
The books allowed players to obtain skills from any category they wanted.
However, they couldn’t be traded, and any skill could be learned, even from entirely different classes like warriors or swordsmen.
“Why does it have to be now of all times?!”
Considering Seong was currently in the Hall of Knights, gaining such skills would make him insanely powerful.
Giving someone like Seong close-combat skills on top of everything else?
It was terrifying to even think about.
Assistant Manager Lee imagined the possibilities.
At least for now, Seong only had Helena’s powerful swordsmanship. But what if he obtained supportive skills for his swordsmanship or even additional offensive abilities?
The thought alone made his stomach churn.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit his gut.
“ARGHHHHHH!!!”
Lee Won-sang screamed in agony, causing junior employee Oh Jin-hyuk to gulp nervously.
Even Jin-hyuk, despite his usual lack of awareness, understood how serious the situation was.
Still...
“S-sir, didn’t you say he can’t even attempt the trial unless he clears those special conditions? Won’t it be fine? Maybe he’ll just get bored and leave...”
“Huuhhh... Huuuuhhh...”
Surprisingly, Jin-hyuk’s haphazard attempt at reassurance worked.
Lee paused, his breathing ragged, and nodded as if to agree.
Come to think of it...
“How many days has it been since Seong entered?”
“Huh? Oh! It’s been six days.”
“Six... not even a week...”
“Yes...”
Realizing this fact, Lee could feel his blood pressure rising again. But he reminded himself—there were special conditions.
No matter what Seong did, if he didn’t meet the requirements, he wouldn’t even be able to start the trials.
The conditions were brutal enough to discourage anyone.
Muttering to himself, Lee said, “The special conditions are nearly impossible to endure.”
“Oh? What are they?”
“You have to train for more than five hours a day for five consecutive days to even qualify for the trial.”
It was a truly vicious requirement.
Players needed to train their skill proficiency for at least five hours daily. But who in their right mind would play a game that way?
For someone like Seong, who essentially treated the game as a career, it was plausible. But even then, could he endure such repetitive grind?
“Even if he starts tomorrow, it’ll take him the same amount of time he’s spent on the game already. That’s tough.”
“Especially for promising players like him.”
“Exactly.”
“Considering he’s already reached level 115 in just six days, would he really stay in one place for five whole days?”
“True!”
Top players often grew restless if they fell behind even by a single day.
And now, they expected someone to stay in one place for five entire days, grinding skill proficiency without leveling up? It was practically torture.
Given Seong’s rapid progress so far, it was unlikely he’d stick around.
“Three days. At most, he’ll last three days.”
Confident in his judgment, Lee laughed quietly.
Jin-hyuk, on the other hand, couldn’t help but think, “But what if he actually sticks to it and trains diligently?”
He decided not to voice his thoughts. There was no point stirring the pot further, especially with the workload piling up.
As the night deepened, the lights in the E-World headquarters continued to burn brightly.
1.
When Seong headed to the living room for dinner, he couldn’t help but clear his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem.”
“Oh my,” his mother, Lee Na-gyeong, laughed softly.
“???”
“What’s with you?” his sister Mina and his father Yoo Gwang-jin both looked at him curiously.
Seong tried to brush it off.
“It’s nothing.”
“How dull.”
“Come on, everyone, let’s eat!” Na-gyeong smoothly diverted the conversation.
As the family sat down for a warm meal, the mood grew lighter.
At one point, Mina smirked and spoke up.
“Mom, Dad, guess what? Seong got first place again!”
“Oh?”
“Really?!”
“Again?!”
The entire family turned to Seong in surprise.
Having been through this before, Seong responded with his usual calm demeanor, though he nodded slightly more shyly this time.
Still, the subtle embarrassment didn’t go unnoticed. Both Gwang-jin and Na-gyeong looked at Seong with newfound admiration.
Although Mina had mentioned his achievement once before, hearing it again was still impressive.
“Wow, so our son is number one in the world’s most popular game?”
“Well, it was just for a specific event during a certain level range, but it’s still amazing.”
“Hahaha! Seems like both Mina and Seong have talent.”
“Oh, didn’t you say we should wait and see last time?”
“Ahem, well, I wasn’t wrong. Anyway, well done, Seong.”
“Absolutely! Our son is amazing for getting first place again!”
“Uh, no, it’s nothing...”
Overwhelmed by his parents’ sudden praise, Seong tried to brush it off, his face flushing red.
Mina, ever the tease, grinned mischievously.
“How about we throw a celebration party?”
“What celebration party?!”
Seong protested immediately, but the atmosphere had already shifted.
His parents exchanged knowing glances, their eyes gleaming with agreement.
Seong turned to them, his wide eyes pleading for help, but Mina’s grin only grew wider.
“This time, Mina’s right,” said Gwang-jin.
“D-dad?!”
“Oh my, Seong, when else would we celebrate like this?”
“M-mom?!”
“Exactly as planned,” Mina murmured with a sly smile.
Seeing no way out, Seong hung his head in defeat.
After all, there was no reasonable way to refuse their desire to celebrate his achievements.
Despite the embarrassment, he couldn’t deny that it felt nice.
Even as his face burned red, the warmth of the moment wasn’t lost on him.
“Let’s eat out tomorrow,” Na-gyeong suggested with a smile.
“Sounds great. I’ll make sure to leave work early,” Gwang-jin agreed.
“Same here. I don’t have any plans, so I’ll be free early too,” Mina chimed in.
“Then it’s settled. Dinner tomorrow!” Na-gyeong declared cheerfully.
“...Sigh.”
For a family as loving as his, they never missed a chance to celebrate.
Seong sighed but eventually smiled.
Even though he was embarrassed, he couldn’t help but feel deeply content with the lively, affectionate conversation.
2.
The next day.
After a good night’s sleep, Seong woke up to a hearty breakfast prepared by his mother, Lee Na-gyeong.
“Don’t forget about dinner tonight, everyone~” she reminded.
“Mom, come on. Who’s going to forget?” Mina grinned.
“Ahem, indeed,” Yoo Gwang-jin, Seong’s father, chimed in.
“Haha...” Seong laughed awkwardly.
“Make sure to take care of yourselves while doing all this, both of you,” Na-gyeong added.
“Yeah, I’ve heard about gamers suffering from health issues lately~” Gwang-jin said.
Everyone seemed in good spirits, well-rested and energized.
After finishing breakfast, Gwang-jin left for work, Na-gyeong attended to house chores, and Mina headed straight to her room.
Seong, too, returned to his room after the bustling family breakfast and stood in front of his capsule.
For a moment, a strange thought crossed his mind.
“Is this normal?”
Usually, if a son and daughter spent so much time gaming, parents would nag them with questions like, “When are you getting a job?” Yet his parents had just told him to take care of his health.
It was a sight that would have been unimaginable in the past.
But now, it had become a familiar scene.
To someone as traditionally minded as Seong, it still felt a bit odd.
“Something about this feels off.”
But then again, this was his job now.
Shrugging it off, Seong logged into Eternal World.
[Welcome to another world, the eternal world, Eternal World.]
[May luck be with you, Player ‘Seong.’]
The familiar message, which he hadn’t seen in a while, greeted him as he logged in.
But almost immediately, another set of messages flooded his view, overwhelming him.
“What’s this all about?”
He quickly scanned the notifications.
[We apologize for sending this message, Player ‘Seong.’]
“Huh?”
The opening line sounded oddly familiar.
Could it be...?
Seong continued reading.
[The Almighty-grade Overlord-exclusive skill, ‘Transcendent Death,’ has been adjusted.
Originally, the Legendary-grade skill, ‘Add More,’ could only summon skills up to Legendary grade. However, due to an exceptional case, it was applied to the Lightning Anemore and Thunder Anemore.
From now on, the Overlord-exclusive Almighty-grade skill, ‘Transcendent Death,’ can no longer be triggered by ‘Add More.’
As an apology, compensation and a letter have been sent to your inventory.
We sincerely apologize once again.]
“Hmm.”
He had expected this to happen.
Still, it was surprising how quickly they patched it.
Not that it bothered him much—it was understandable. After all, Anemore and Kalisha were brokenly overpowered.
If anything, the adjustment made sense. He wasn’t even disappointed.
What he was curious about, however, was the compensation.
“This might actually be a good thing.”
With that thought, Seong opened his inventory to check the items.
At the same time, the elven ghost knights, noticing his presence, began gathering from all directions.
—“Hey! The esteemed guest is here!”
—“Ohhh! Are you feeling better, my lord?”
—“You seem fine to me, my lord!”
Despite their fussing, Seong didn’t think much of it.
After all, when weren’t they making a fuss?
Having grown accustomed to their antics, he ignored them and focused on the compensation.
Finally, he opened the items.
[‘Random Skill Book’ × 3]
→ Legendary
→ A box containing a random skill from the category of your choice.
→ All items obtained from this skill book are Legendary grade.
→ This skill book allows you to learn skills from categories outside of your class.
→ Note: This skill book is non-tradeable.
“Oh?!”
Three Legendary-grade skill books?
Was this because they had adjusted the Almighty-grade skill?
Either way, it was an incredibly generous reward.
For Seong, this was excellent news.
Still, this changed his immediate plans.
“I was planning to train my swordsmanship first...”
But how could he resist opening the skill books?
Even though he couldn’t open the skill window to check their full effects,
“Once I obtain the skills, their names will appear.”
He figured he could make use of them, even if only roughly.
With that thought, Seong decided to choose skills from close-combat categories. He used all three skill books without hesitation, eager to see what they would yield.
Anticipation bubbled within him as he awaited the results.