The Return of the Legendary All-Master

———

Chapter 23

In New World, hidden classes existed

Hidden classes were rare and could only be obtained with a slim chance after choosing a base class and through specific actions.

Due to the vast number of players, many hidden classes had emerged.

Their grades ranged from Common to Unique.

Therefore, it was crucial to know both the hidden class and its grade.

However, there was one exception: the Martial Artist class.

No hidden classes had emerged for Martial Artists yet.

This was one of the reasons why Martial Artists were often undervalued.

Even on a global scale, no hidden class for Martial Artists had appeared until just before Jeong-Hoon’s regression.

And now, such a hidden class had appeared before Jeong-Hoon.

‘I reached a level playing field with them just through a normal class advancement.’

If he started with a hidden class…

The possibility of changing the future would increase even further.

Without hesitation, Jeong-Hoon accepted the quest.

The question mark above the old man’s head disappeared, replaced by new text.

[Lv. 60 A Fragment of the Soul]

Simultaneously, the old man threw a punch.

Jeong-Hoon swiftly sidestepped, dodging the fist.

‘So, defeating him is this quest.’

The old man was level 60, a full 20 levels higher than the Martial Artist: A Jeong-Hoon had faced before.

It wasn’t just the level difference.

Even as a fragment of the Fist King, he was a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle.

Even a fraction of his power contained decades of accumulated inner strength.

Was that why?

While Kwon Hyun-Je’s summoned Martial Artist was easily subdued, the Fist King was different.

Each of his attacks was sharp, and he showed no openings.

Thud! Thud!

The exchange of blows continued.

Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 1st Form.

“That’s?!”

The Fist King’s eyes wavered as Jeong-Hoon unleashed the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

Seizing the opening, Jeong-Hoon swiftly followed up with the 2nd Form, pressuring the Fist King.

Bam! Thud!

But the Fist King’s guard wasn’t easily broken.

‘He’s incredibly strong for a level 60.’

As expected of a hidden class quest, the difficulty was beyond imagination.

Once again, Jeong-Hoon and the Fist King’s fists clashed in a continuous exchange.

The Fist King, with his higher level, allowed some weaker attacks to land while simultaneously striking Jeong-Hoon’s openings.

Thud!

The Fist King’s damage was brutal.

[Health is rapidly decreasing.]

[Using Lowest Grade Healing.]

[Lowest Grade Healing level increased.]

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ activated.]

[Skill, ‘Tanking (Normal)’ acquired.]

[‘Steadfast Will’ merges with ‘Indomitable Body’ and ‘Tanking’.]

[‘Indomitable Body (Normal)’ level increased to ‘7’.]

[Underworld King’s Fist Technique level increased.]

However, Jeong-Hoon was growing in real-time.

Having faced countless stronger opponents before his regression, Jeong-Hoon continued the confrontation with the Fist King, skillfully utilizing his skills.

‘Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 3rd Form.’

Until recently, he could only unleash up to the 2nd Form due to his insufficient level, but the recent level-up had enabled him to reach the 3rd Form.

The Underworld King’s Fist Technique was a combo skill.

It progressed from the 1st Form to the 2nd Form, and then to the 3rd Form.

Having only reached the 2nd Form until now, this was his first time achieving the 3rd Form.

A darker aura gathered around Jeong-Hoon’s fists.

Woosh!

In that instant, Jeong-Hoon deflected the Fist King’s punch with the back of his hand.

The Fist King’s posture faltered, albeit slightly.

Jeong-Hoon, seizing the opening, struck the Fist King’s side with a gleam in his eyes.

“Ugh!”

The Fist King grimaced, clutching his side.

The damage was significant, but that single blow was enough to disrupt the Fist King’s balance.

As Jeong-Hoon struck the Fist King’s side, he stepped on his left foot and simultaneously grabbed his wrist with his right hand.

Thud! Thud!

Jeong-Hoon relentlessly pounded the Fist King’s side.

The Fist King tried to shake him off with his free right hand and leg, but Jeong-Hoon didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he pressed his attack even more fiercely.

[Lowest Grade Healing level increased.]

The damage was so severe that Jeong-Hoon would have been declared dead if he hadn’t continuously used healing.

“This brat…!”

The Fist King’s face flushed red with pain and humiliation.

How shameful it was for him, known to have reached the pinnacle of martial arts, to be struggling against a mere challenger.

‘This is strange… strange… He should have let go by now.’

No matter how much he was pummeled, Jeong-Hoon showed no signs of giving up.

The pain in his captured wrist only intensified.

Inwardly, the Fist King was impressed by Jeong-Hoon’s determination and the look in his eyes.

He had seen such a look before in his lifetime.

It was poison.

But he had never seen such intense poison before.

What kind of life had this young man led to have such eyes?

Suddenly, Jeong-Hoon released the captured wrist.

‘He’s reached his limit.’

Even with only a fraction of his power remaining, it was more than enough to overpower Jeong-Hoon.

In such a situation, a head-on confrontation would naturally lead to Jeong-Hoon’s defeat.

“Hmph.”

But Jeong-Hoon hadn’t collapsed.

The Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 3rd Form, wasn’t over yet.

Twisting his body, he drove his weight into a punch aimed at the Fist King’s abdomen.

“Gah!”

The Fist King’s waist buckled as he was sent flying backward.

The damage seemed considerable, as he struggled to get back on his feet.

“Ugh, I’m dying. You pass…”

There was no need for further confirmation. The Fist King had been defeated.

“Thank you for your time.”

Only then did Jeong-Hoon deactivate the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

The dark energy surrounding his fists dissipated.

“Phew, truly… I didn’t expect you to unleash the 3rd Form of that technique.”

The Fist King slowly rose to his feet.

Both Kwon Hyun-Je and the Fist King seemed to be familiar with the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

“You know it well?”

“Of course. The only person I couldn’t defeat was Dokgo Joon.”

“I see.”

It seemed the Fist King had personally fought against Dokgo Joon.

That must be why he earned the nickname “Underworld King.”

“…Dokgo Joon, for the first time, I envy you.”

The Fist King muttered with a bitter expression.

Above his head, the question mark had changed to an exclamation mark.

The quest was a success.

‘It’s a good thing I only used fist techniques.’

Jeong-Hoon had solely relied on the Underworld King’s Fist Technique during the fight.

He calculated that to gain recognition from the pinnacle of martial arts, it was better to focus entirely on fist techniques rather than using other tricks.

And that calculation had paid off.

‘I went easy on him a few times.’

If the Fist King had been serious, Jeong-Hoon would still be struggling.

The Fist King’s skill was genuine.

To think that this was just a fraction of his power…

It was impossible to fathom the level of power the Fist King possessed in his prime.

[You have completed the Hidden Class Advancement Quest.]

[Please select your desired hidden class.]

[1. Fist Saint: Legendary]

[2. Martial Emperor: Legendary]

There were two hidden classes for Martial Artists.

The first was Fist Saint.

“Fist Saint is a class that leads you to become a master of fist techniques. If you continue to grow steadily, you can one day stand on equal footing with me.”

The Fist Saint class was Legendary.

Legendary at the first class advancement?

This meant he could potentially aim for even higher hidden classes in the future.

However, Jeong-Hoon didn’t want to choose Fist Saint.

He had already reached the pinnacle as an All-Master in his previous life.

Fist Saint focused solely on fist techniques and was far removed from the path of an All-Master.

“What about Martial Emperor?”

“… Martial Emperor represents infinite possibilities. However, I wouldn’t recommend it. Most humans can’t even reach the peak of a single path. Pursuing many things at once is more likely to lead to ruin.”

No, that was precisely why he had to choose Martial Emperor.

Jeong-Hoon didn’t seek to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, but rather the pinnacle of the game.

To quickly achieve the All-Master state and aim for even higher realms, he had to choose Martial Emperor, not Fist Saint.

“I choose Martial Emperor.”

“… Do you have no regrets? Choosing Fist Saint would surely lead you to the peak.”

The Fist King was disappointed.

Someone capable of such fist techniques was choosing the path of the Martial Emperor instead of the Fist Saint.

Even though both were Legendary, the growth difficulty was like night and day.

“No. I have no regrets.”

Seeing his firm resolve, the Fist King finally nodded.

“Very well.”

[You have chosen ‘Martial Emperor’.]

[Advancing to Martial Emperor (1st Class).]

[Skills are being categorized.]

Categories.

Martial Emperor was a class that led to becoming an All-Master.

Therefore, skills were categorized based on weapon types.

Knuckles for fist techniques.

Swords for sword techniques.

And so on.

At first glance, this might not seem like a significant benefit, but Jeong-Hoon thought differently.

‘It makes categorization easier.’

As an All-Master, he could learn countless skills and needed to use them appropriately depending on the situation. Having skills categorized would make organizing them much easier.

Of course, it might not be immediately useful for Jeong-Hoon, who remembered all his skills, but it was better than nothing.

[Hidden Class benefits are being granted.]

[Now you can use Blind System. When activated, your class name will be displayed as ‘Low-Grade Martial Artist (1st Class)’.]

[You are the first to advance to a Martial Artist hidden class.]

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked! You have received 20,000 achievement points. Please check your achievement rewards.]

The emergence of a hidden class excited the entire world.

In response, New World added a new option.

‘Blind.’

The Blind System allowed users to hide their true class from others.

Those who enjoyed attention might not activate it, but Jeong-Hoon didn’t want unnecessary attention as he moved forward.

‘Let’s use it.’

[Activating Blind.]

With this, Jeong-Hoon’s class name became Low-Grade Martial Artist.

A hidden class, yet a Low-Grade Martial Artist.

Anyone would think he had just undergone a normal class advancement.

In fact, it didn’t feel like a hidden class because, unlike Fist Saint, the 1st Class Martial Emperor didn’t unlock any special skills.

So, for now, he seemed similar to a regular Martial Artist.

However, over time, the gap would widen immensely.

The reason for this was ‘Steadfast Will’.

[‘Steadfast Will’ grade increased to ‘Epic’.]

[The grades of skills acquired through ‘Steadfast Will’ are being adjusted.]

With ‘Steadfast Will’ reaching Epic grade, the skills he had obtained were upgraded from Normal to Rare.

And ‘Tenacious Defense,’ which he had already raised to Rare, remained the same grade but reached max level.

‘Good.’

Usually, when a Martial Artist advanced, they would unlock passive and active skills related to martial arts.

However, ‘Steadfast Will’ showed no signs of advancing from Rare.

This was the reason why high-level Martial Artists considered ‘Steadfast Will’ to be garbage.

Jeong-Hoon had also tried everything to raise the level of ‘Steadfast Will,’ but to no avail.

Therefore, he had no choice but to painstakingly raise the grades of skills acquired through external means, but that was no longer necessary.

Martial Emperor was the only class that could raise the grade of ‘Steadfast Will.’

Jeong-Hoon clenched his fists.

“Congratulations. You have successfully advanced to Martial Emperor.”

The one and only class that allowed one to master everything related to martial arts to the extreme.

This was Martial Artist’s hidden class.

A rainbow-colored question mark appeared above the Fist King’s head.

‘What’s that?’

Curious, Jeong-Hoon touched the question mark.

[Secret Quest: Guardian of the Starting Village]

-Restriction: Obtained Hidden Class + [Title] Contributor of the Starting Village
-Reward: [Title] Guardian of the Starting Village
-Description: Upgrade the [Title] Contributor of the Starting Village to [Title] Guardian of the Starting Village.

‘An unexpected plan has been added.’

Jeong-Hoon grinned.

Not only could he upgrade his hidden class, but he could also upgrade the title he had obtained to find the alchemist.

[Secret Quest completed.]

[[Title] Contributor of the Starting Village has been upgraded to [Title] Guardian of the Starting Village.]

[You are the first to acquire the [Title] Guardian of the Starting Village. You have received 10,000 achievement points.]

Originally, the only effect of the ‘Contributor of the Starting Village’ title was a 1% increase in health and mana…

[Guardian of the Starting Village]

-Type: Evolving Title
-Grade: Rare
-Increases health by 2%.
-Increases mana by 2%.
-Increases all attack power by 2%.
-Increases experience gained by 1%.

Additional options were added to the Guardian of the Starting Village title.

Of course, it wasn’t a title with incredibly powerful effects.

It was just a Rare grade title.

However, it was an evolving title.

As he moved on to other villages and evolved the title, it would eventually become a title with tremendous effects.

‘I didn’t expect a hidden class for Martial Artist, so it wasn’t in my plans.’

This meant another path to becoming stronger had opened up.

Jeong-Hoon clenched his fists again.

“There is no right answer in the path of martial arts. Don’t be hasty, and follow the path you believe in.”

The Fist King’s eyes were warm.

It was the gaze of a loving mentor towards a cherished disciple.

“Yes, thank you.”

Jeong-Hoon nodded and left the mansion.

‘It’s time for me to go now.’

Left alone, the Fist King emerged from the bedchamber and wandered through the long-ruined mansion, gazing at it with a wistful look.

Fist King Nak Jincheon.

A man who had lived his entire life obsessed with martial arts, ultimately achieving the title of Fist Saint.

However, blinded by his obsession with martial arts, he failed to see anything beyond them. He helplessly watched as his legacy crumbled due to infighting among factions and his supposed successors being manipulated by their underlings.

Of course, no one else would see him in this light, but that was how he judged himself.

‘I have a feeling you can reach heights I could never achieve.’

This mansion was a place he couldn’t leave, despite being worn down and eroded by his relentless pursuit of martial arts.

Now that he had seen his successor, he had no lingering attachments.

‘I leave the rest to you.’

After taking one last look around the mansion and the garden, Nak Jincheon vanished without a trace.

————