The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 253

The history before the regression was changed.

Originally, they wouldn't have been able to even break the barrier, let alone touch Ursus.

But Jeong-hoon broke the barrier, awakening Ursus.

Not only that, but the NPC Rangrang significantly increased the difficulty, causing the difficulty of subjugating Ursus to skyrocket.

As a result, many users lost their lives, caught up in Ursus’s ability, Annihilation.

Among them was even a Chosen One.

“Amelie! Are you okay?!”

“Yes… I’m fine.”

James Marcus had narrowly survived.

If he hadn't embraced Amelie and fled the scene, he would have been caught in Annihilation and lost his life.

Amelie held her throbbing head and nodded.

“Whew, that’s a relief.”

“More importantly, what do we do about that…?”

Amelie Reina asked with a troubled expression.

The ability Ursus just displayed made the gap in power abundantly clear.

‘We can’t bring it down.’

No matter what they did, they wouldn’t even be able to scratch the Colossus Ursus.

Then, it happened.

Uwooooh—

The Colossus Ursus let out an incomprehensible roar.

Crack—

In front of it, Jeong-hoon had already destroyed one of its cores.

“In that short amount of time…?!”

James Marcus muttered in shock.

Jeong-hoon then moved toward the next core, stepping into True Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps.

Uwooooh—

Ursus roared and swung its fist at Jeong-hoon.

[The Colossus Ursus uses Convergence.]

Convergence.

At that moment, clusters of magical spheres formed around Ursus.

The spheres poured down toward Jeong-hoon.

‘Damn.’

Jeong-hoon frowned and continued moving with Heavenly Demon Lord's Steps.

There was no path to avoid them.

However, there was a solution.

True Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist Technique.

When the Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist Technique is activated, it grants invincibility for a set duration.

Determining that he couldn’t dodge, Jeong-hoon activated the Heavenly Demon Lord's Fist Technique.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless magical spheres fell in Jeong-hoon’s path, and deafening explosions resounded.

‘Now!’

In that instant, Jeong-hoon extended his fist toward the core that appeared beside him.

The difficulty increased, but Ursus's cores were essentially its weak points, so the second core was destroyed just as quickly as the first.

Uwooooh—!

Ursus let out another scream.

Having two cores destroyed inflicted unimaginable damage on it.

This caused a slight delay, and Jeong-hoon used the opportunity to step into The Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion and destroy another nearby core.

‘Let’s keep going like this.’

If this drags on, who knows what tricks NPC Rangrang might pull next.

Jeong-hoon needed to destroy the cores as quickly as possible and end this.

As Jeong-hoon relentlessly destroyed the cores, the Colossus Ursus couldn’t hold out any longer and fell to its knees.

“Everyone, attack the cores!”

Jeong-hoon shouted at the users behind him.

Only then did the dazed users, who had been standing idly by, start moving in a hurry.

‘There are traitors among them, but Ursus comes first.’

Recalling the betrayal he suffered before the regression, Jeong-hoon wanted to wipe them all out right here and now.

However, strictly speaking, they hadn’t betrayed him yet.

This was why he only punished those who had directly harmed him.

For Jeong-hoon, true revenge was about perfectly completing this "game."

“I’ll help!”

As Jeong-hoon destroyed a core and Ursus groaned in agony, the users figured out the strategy.

They pushed their bodies, overwhelmed by Ursus's presence, toward the cores.

Uwooooh…

With the consecutive destruction of its cores, Ursus could no longer stop them.

***

“No! No, this can’t happen!”

NPC Rangrang frantically manipulated the dungeon in desperation.

But Ursus, whose cores were being destroyed, no longer moved as Rangrang intended.

It was designed from the beginning to be defeated in this way.

“Ulyon, please! I beg you!”

He couldn’t stand to watch Ursus be taken down.

He had to somehow get Ursus back up and eliminate all those cursed creatures.

If that happened, the penalty would reach its highest level, and Earth would smoothly proceed toward destruction!

<Additional orders have been issued.>

At that moment, a voice that brought salvation to Rangrang resounded.

It was Maroon, a Demon King-Class transcendent under Ulyon’s command.

To Rangrang, even Maroon was an immensely superior being.

“Please give me your orders!”

<I will grant you full control over Ursus. However, if you fail to eliminate them, you will not face obliteration but eternal torment.>

Rangrang’s body trembled violently.

Eternal torment.

Obliteration would be better than that.

But Ulyon’s orders were absolute.

And if Rangrang succeeded in fulfilling this command, he could finally become the transcendent he had long desired to be.

“I will succeed without fail!”

<Good.>

With that, Maroon’s voice faded away.

“...I’ll modify the settings so it doesn’t collapse from core destruction.”

Rangrang began altering the configuration, glaring at the humans leading the attack on Ursus.

***

Wooong—

Ursus’s body began to vibrate slightly.

The beast, which had been kneeling, slowly rose again.

Unlike before, destroying its cores no longer elicited any reaction.

‘Don’t tell me they changed it again.’

Jeong-hoon’s expression hardened.

The previously straightforward strategy of core destruction had now become useless.

[What the hell? What’s wrong with it now?]

Mukho shouted in alarm.

“It means that simply destroying all the cores won’t bring it down anymore.”

[What?! Then there’s no way to take that thing down?!]

“There is, so don’t worry.”

The strategy still existed, and Jeong-hoon was the only one who knew it.

‘It’s the same as the one I faced before regression.’

Jeong-hoon dug into his pre-regression memories.

It was a slightly different type of golem compared to the Colossus Ursus, but the strategy was the same: destroy all the surrounding cores to incapacitate it, then completely obliterate the core inside its body.

However, that enemy didn’t just sit idly by while its cores were destroyed.

It resisted by gathering all its energy in one place and unleashing a massive explosion.

During that incident, 23 allies who joined the raid lost their lives.

Even those who survived were in terrible condition, despite the area being structurally more escapable than the current Great Cavern.

Just as before, Ursus was now absorbing all of its remaining energy into the internal core.

‘Not a pleasant memory, but I didn’t think I’d have to use it now.’

Jeong-hoon stepped into True Heavenly Demon Lord's Dominion and approached Ursus.

Then a new barrier formed around Ursus.

It was the same as the one that had originally sealed Ursus.

At the same time, Ursus crouched, accelerating the rate at which energy was accumulating.

‘It’s planning to blow up the entire Great Cavern.’

There was no exit from the Great Cavern.

If Jeong-hoon and the others died, it would result in a full wipeout, and the dungeon raid would fail.

Failure would trigger the highest-level penalty.

‘I won’t let that happen.’

Jeong-hoon placed his hand on the barrier.

The same spot he had previously disrupted to break the seal.

However, Ursus’s movements had shifted its position.

‘Stay calm.’

Jeong-hoon maintained his composure as he meticulously searched the barrier’s magic formula.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to locate the formula, and using his lens, he swiftly disrupted and shattered the barrier.

This allowed him to reach Ursus’s feet.

Wooooong—

The creature was too preoccupied with gathering energy to stop Jeong-hoon’s approach.

Extending his hand toward Ursus, Jeong-hoon unleashed a torrent of his mana and divine power.

The rapidly accumulating energy within Ursus went haywire, resulting in a catastrophic internal explosion.

Boom!

The tremendous blast sent violent shockwaves rippling through the cavern, engulfing Jeong-hoon and the other players.

Although the explosion originated from within Ursus and spared the Great Cavern from total destruction, the impact alone inflicted significant damage.

Even so, Jeong-hoon didn’t falter. Continuing to channel divine power and mana, he carefully inspected Ursus’s core.

Had he only used mana, the energy might have continued rampaging after the explosion. But the addition of divine power kept it in check.

Now, he needed to locate the core where the energy had converged among the countless others.

Following the energy’s trail, Jeong-hoon moved swiftly, soon pinpointing its location—Ursus’s left flank.

Having completed his search, Jeong-hoon retreated while readying Anima. Drawing the bowstring, he activated every buff skill and item at his disposal.

‘Ultimate Arrow.’

Jeong-hoon loosed the Ultimate Arrow, aiming for Ursus’s left flank.

Caught off-guard by the explosion and still reeling, Ursus couldn’t defend itself. The arrow struck true, piercing its flank and shattering something vital inside.

Crack!

Jeong-hoon’s lips curved into a satisfied smirk.

‘Got it.’

With a victorious grin, he watched Ursus crumble instantly.

The once-indomitable colossus fell far more easily than expected, leaving the surviving players in stunned silence as they stared at Jeong-hoon.

[What the hell? Did it end that easily?]

‘How did he even do it?’

Mukho and Anima were just as astonished.

“Its defenses plummeted after the explosion,” Jeong-hoon explained.

When Ursus’s core energy disperses, it triggers an explosion, temporarily rendering the creature groggy.

Jeong-hoon had capitalized on this vulnerability to locate and destroy the core before Ursus could recover.

Had he hesitated even slightly, Ursus would have regained its footing, prolonging the battle and making victory uncertain.

[You have defeated the Colossus Ursus.]

[The Forced Penalty has been removed.]

[All survivors are awarded 1,000,000,000 EXP.]

[A remarkable feat has been accomplished! The player who destroyed Ursus is awarded 100,000 Achievement Points.]

[An extraordinary performance! The player who destroyed Ursus is awarded 300,000p.]

[You can plunder an item from the dungeon creator.]

[Please select the item to plunder.]

[This is an exclusive privilege for the player who defeated Ursus.]

A list of items Ursus possessed appeared before Jeong-hoon.

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon made his selection.

“The Box of Seven Deadly Sins.”

[You have plundered the 'Box of Seven Deadly Sins' from the dungeon creator.]

The Box of Seven Deadly Sins—this acquisition marked the collection of four out of the seven artifacts.

[You have exceeded 90% contribution.]

[As a result, you randomly plunder an item from NPC Rangrang’s inventory.]

But the rewards didn’t end there.

[You have obtained the 'Fragment of Memory.']

‘Hmm?’

Jeong-hoon tilted his head in curiosity.

“What’s this item used for?”

Though intrigued, he decided to investigate it later.

[You have achieved first place in contribution.]

[You have obtained a 'Legendary ~ Celestial Grade Item Box (Random) – 50:50 Chance.']

Along with claiming the top contribution spot, Jeong-hoon secured Rangrang's prized item box as well.

***

“Aaaaaaagh!”

Rangrang screamed in anguish.

He had planned to eliminate all the humans in the Great Cavern using Ursus.

The ‘Massive Explosion’, which concentrated the core’s energy for a catastrophic detonation, was his ultimate weapon.

Although it required a brief charge time to activate, he hadn’t anticipated Jeong-hoon exploiting that moment to destroy Ursus.

‘Damn it! If only I had used another strategy!’

But regret was futile now.

The dungeon had been cleared, its master Ulrion stripped of his prized item.

Even worse, Rangrang himself had lost an item to that human and now faced the punishment of Eternal Torment.

Desperate, Rangrang fell to his knees.

“Please, grant me just one more chance!”

He didn’t want to disappear.

He had ambitions to rise and take the title of Apostle.

But no response came.

The silence was a clear denial.

Rangrang, pale with dread, repeatedly bowed his head.

“Please, I beg you. Please….”

Still, no answer.

At that moment, an unbearable pain surged through Rangrang’s body as he began to burn.

His screams echoed throughout the dungeon.

“Aaaaagh!”

Rangrang’s agony continued until his body was completely consumed by the flames and he vanished into nothingness.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]