Chapter 56

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 56

EP.56 Oh, Yesterday, The Child That Jeong-hyeon and I Made Was Born…!

Surviving for a week amidst constant swarms of monsters. To be honest, if Jeong-hyeon resorted to running away or using various tricks, surviving for a week wouldn’t be too difficult. However, clearing the trial that way wouldn’t leave him with much to gain.

‘I need to find a way that will actually help me grow.’

He wanted to continue training here, achieving as much growth as possible. With clubs striking him from all directions, Jeong-hyeon calmly sank into deep thought.

‘If that’s the case, I need a goal.’

Not just vague goals like raising skill levels or improving stats, but something concrete and clear—something he aimed to accomplish here. As he pondered over what that could be, a good idea struck him.

‘What if I kill all the monsters coming at me?’

The thought brought a smile to his face. If he could manage to take down all these monsters on his own, then, as he had once said, he would truly be able to level up on an entirely different level.

‘This is a great plan.’

Deciding he wouldn’t leave this place until he had defeated every last one of them, Jeong-hyeon grinned widely.

***

[You have died.]

[The Trial Chamber will reset.]

(Deaths: 7)

Achieving a different level required extraordinary effort and profound insight. It wasn’t something that could be achieved merely by determination. As Jeong-hyeon faced yet another death on the third day, he murmured a short reflection.

‘It’s clear that my basic skills are extremely lacking.’

While things might have been fine under normal circumstances, when a person was pushed into a corner, their basic skills were the first thing to be tested. Realizing that he wasn’t as capable at handling crises as he thought, Jeong-hyeon crossed his arms.

‘I guess it’s because I’ve never truly faced any real crises before, and I’ve never had a proper teacher to guide me. My weaknesses are now painfully clear.’

Recognizing that he had become too dependent on divine power, Jeong-hyeon decided to use this opportunity to improve his flawed habits. He massaged his shoulders, bracing himself for what was to come.

‘And since I’ve rarely faced real danger…’

Deciding to use this chance to experience and accumulate as much combat experience as possible, he charged once more towards the oncoming orcs.

[You have died.]

[The Trial Chamber will reset.]

(Deaths: 15)

The number of deaths was rising rapidly. Of course, it was significantly less than in previous trial chambers he had experienced. However, the intensity of each death was incomparable, making the experience within each death far more valuable than anything he had learned before.

‘As proof of my progress, my stats and skill levels have increased significantly, and I can now kill an orc with a single strike, something I couldn’t do before.’

Jeong-hyeon smirked as he swung his sword, decapitating the orc in one swift motion. He still had a long way to go—a neck strike was the only way to instantly kill an orc.

‘If I keep training…’

He had a gut feeling that he would soon be able to kill them with a single blow, no matter where he attacked. With that thought, he leaped forward.

[You have died.]

(Deaths: 31)

Fortunately, the growth elixir’s effects seemed to be tied to real-world time, not the training ground’s time. The icon indicating the active elixir was still visible in the upper right corner of his vision. He was glad he had chosen to use the elixir inside this trial chamber.

‘Maybe it’s thanks to the elixir, or perhaps it’s because I’m risking my life and throwing myself into danger, but my growth is definitely faster.’

He had managed to fight continuously up until the seventh day and could survive without much difficulty. The issue was that he hadn’t been able to achieve his initial goal of “defeating all enemies within seven days.” So, he kept choosing to die and restart from the beginning before clearing the trial chamber.

‘But I can see the end now.’

Previously, the orcs had swarmed him in such overwhelming numbers that it felt like there was no end in sight. Now, after surviving until the seventh day, he could tell there were fewer of them. If he managed to deal with the orcs at twice his current speed, he was confident he could achieve his goal.

‘Alright, so I just need to behead them faster.’

Determined to clear the trial next time, Jeong-hyeon gripped his sword tightly.

[You have died.]

(Deaths: 67)

With the elixir’s effects nearing their end, Jeong-hyeon realized this was his last opportunity.

‘The elixir is said to last for seven days. If I fail this time, I might as well just clear the trial chamber and move on.’

The reason was the upcoming ‘awards ceremony’ in the kingdom. Attending that ceremony was crucial for ensuring everything he had planned would proceed smoothly. He decided to kill all the orcs this time and exit the trial chamber with his head held high. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself.

‘Well, let’s get started.’

Staring at the orcs charging at him, Jeong-hyeon decided to use everything he had learned and improved upon. This time, he was determined to clear the trial.

‘First, check the movement routes.’

The key was figuring out the best paths to move along to eliminate as many enemies as efficiently as possible. With the right movements, a single sword swing could take down two or three enemies at once.

Jeong-hyeon swiftly slashed the necks of the orcs charging at him from behind, then plunged his sword into the skull of a nearby orc.

“Graaaah!”

The loud, familiar cries echoed simultaneously. Though he had heard them countless times and felt no particular emotion, the sounds helped him gauge their positions and numbers. He focused on the noise, then quickly recalculated his movement path.

‘Faster.’

To an outsider, his speed in taking down the orcs would seem astonishing, but it still wasn’t fast enough by his standards. He increased his pace, swiftly reducing the number of orcs charging at him.

Time continued to pass, and the orcs’ relentless attacks began to weaken. They no longer approached him in large groups but instead hesitated and stayed on guard. Glancing at the system message indicating it was already the seventh day, Jeong-hyeon assessed the remaining orcs.

‘About a hundred left.’

Approximately ten minutes remained. This meant he would need to kill ten orcs per minute. The problem, however, was that these orcs, unlike before, were beginning to flee.

‘Damn it, this is bad.’

Chasing after the fleeing orcs would consume more time, making it harder to meet the deadline. As he took down another orc, he pondered how to catch the remaining ones.

‘Damn it, there’s no way.’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a method to kill all those orcs within the time limit. Nevertheless, giving up wasn’t an option, so he continued to sprint and slay, though the word ‘failure’ began to creep more insistently into his mind.

‘There has to be a way… I need to find a way.’

He needed a method to gather and kill the scattered, fleeing orcs all at once. His tired mind struggled to come up with a solution, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

‘If only the clubs didn’t disappear after they were used, I could’ve thrown one at them… but no, they had to vanish…’

He couldn’t rely on the items the orcs had brought. Furthermore, his divine power, one of his greatest assets, was insufficient to launch sword energy waves… Wait a minute.

‘If I can’t send out sword energy, then why not just throw the sword itself?’

The simple thought struck him suddenly. Without hesitation, he infused his sword with a bit of divine power, securing it, and then hurled it forward with all his strength.

Whoosh!

The sword cut through the air, flying like a boomerang.

Jeong-hyeon watched as the sword he threw pierced through the orc’s head with incredible speed. With a tug on the divine power he had infused into the sword, he pulled the sword back into his hand.

‘Wow, shit, this actually works?’

He was impressed by the technique. Right now, he only had one weapon to throw, but if he had multiple, he could potentially throw dozens of weapons at once, retrieve them, and repeat the process. For now, he decided to focus on finishing off the remaining orcs using this newfound method.

One by one, he dispatched the orcs, until the last one fell with his sword buried deep in its skull. As soon as it dropped, messages began to appear in quick succession.

*-*

[You have achieved an incredible feat and hidden piece!]

– Eliminating all orcs in the second Trial Chamber.

[Calculating rewards…]

– The achievement is so significant that it will take a long time to calculate the rewards.

[Remaining time 71 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

*-*

[Congratulations! You have cleared the Trial Chamber!]

[Open the white door in front of you, and you will be able to level up properly!]

*-*

‘Wow shit, I finally did it.’

Jeong-hyeon collapsed onto the ground, feeling like he could barely breathe. He stared up at the messages floating above him.

‘I don’t care about the other messages, but the fact that the rewards are so massive they need extra time to calculate… What on earth are they planning to give me?’

He couldn’t help but grin, feeling that all his hard work had been worth it. With excitement bubbling up inside him, he decided to check his real rewards. He summoned his status window.

*-*

Lee Jeong-hyeon [Level: 2]

[Stats]

Strength: 72 Agility: 70 Health: 80 Magic: 6 Divine Power: ???

*-*

[Owned Traits]

1. 1. (Unrealistic Genius)

1. 1. (Unrealistic Luck)

1. 1. (Bloodstained Berserker)

1. 1. (Amplifying Rosary)

[Owned Skills]

1. 1. Advanced Swordsmanship Lv:7

1. 1. Advanced Sword Energy Lv:1

1. 1. Top Grade Tough Skin Lv:9

1. 1. Advanced Divine Power Efficiency Lv:1

1. 1. Domain Declaration Lv: 8

*-*

His level was still at 2 because he hadn’t left the trial chamber yet. What truly brought a smile to his face was seeing how much his stats had increased. And then, when he noticed the significant leap in his skill levels, he couldn’t help but break into a broad grin.

‘Unfortunately, due to the lack of divine power, the levels of Sword Energy and Domain Declaration didn’t increase much.’

Despite that, the other skill levels had skyrocketed, making him laugh uncontrollably.

‘I’m so damn happy.’

He thought that with his current state, he might be able to hold his own against a Sword Saint in a head-to-head battle. Feeling almost giddy with delight, he got up, his mind turning to his next move.

‘Now, the only thing left is to cause a scene at the awards ceremony.’

He was determined to get his revenge on the Second Princess, Karina. With this determination firmly in his mind, he decided it was time to leave the trial chamber.

***

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Based on your performance in the Trial Chamber, a new trait has been revealed!]

[Demon]

As soon as he stepped out, a message appeared, congratulating him on leveling up. Curious about this new “Demon” trait, Jeong-hyeon was about to check what it entailed when he heard Lucia’s urgent call.

“Jeong-hyeon…! L-look over here!”

Why was she calling him so urgently as soon as he came from the trial chamber? He was about to ask for some food, thinking it was a good opportunity, but Lucia beat him to it. She showed him a young girl with white horns cradled in her arms and shouted at him.

“Oh, yesterday, the child that Jeong-hyeon and I made was born…”

At those words, Jeong-hyeon felt his mind go blank. He could only blink in a daze, staring at her in stunned silence.