Dungeon Predator (WN)

The God of Creation had made extensive changes to the continent as a whole.

Volcanoes surged from the ground, rivers flowed through the land, the ground itself would disappear, and never-before-seen forests would appear out of nowhere.

What's worse, the Devil's Sea had transformed into the Western Sea.

However, Kang Oh, who was still in the Great Temple of Destruction, couldn't feel the effects of the change.

The only reason he knew about it was because Deborah told him.

"Maya has finally done his duty."

'I wonder how it's changed.'

Though he wondered how the continent had changed, there was a more pressing issue: receiving his quest reward.

He glanced at Sephiro; his passionate gaze mirrored his own.

There was a tacit understanding between them. Although his reward was nowhere near as great as his, it was still quite substantial.

"Supreme One," Kang Oh said politely.

"Ah, that's right. Good work, Kang Oh. Thanks for convincing Maya for me."

"I only did my duty," Kang Oh said humbly, which was so unlike him. "What about my reward?"

"You completed my quest admirably. You deserve a suitable reward for your efforts."

Kang Oh nodded his head. 'Keep going!'

Then...

"Deborah, your business here is finished, so get going," the God of Destruction said.

"Understood."

The Goddess of Death's purple veil began to disappear.

Kang Oh, Sephiro, and Cyndia's bodies were surrounded by light.

The landscape before them changed. In the blink of an eye, they had been transported to the Great Temple of Death.

The purple veil fell, concealing the Goddess of Death's statue once more.

"I will give you your reward."

"Thank you," Sephiro quickly yelled.

"You're first, Kang Oh. You can pick among three different rewards. Do you remember what they are?"

"Yes. I'd like you to break my limitations."

Getting a reward would always put you in a good mood! Kang Oh opened his chest and spoke without hesitation.

Deborah nodded her head.

Whir.

A sphere that resembled a glittering star was sucked into Kang Oh's body.

[The Primordial Goddess, she who manages death, has granted you her blessing, allowing you to break the limitations of your species.]

[You have acquired the title, Superman.]

[Your body allows for explosive growth.]

[You no longer have a level cap. Henceforth, you will gain four times the amount of experience.]

[The experience required to level up past 500 has increased significantly.]

[You may become a Grandmaster.]

[Mastered skills or spells will grant significantly less experience or proficiency. In other words, you cannot obtain much proficiency from hunting at that point.]

['Enlightenment' is now possible. Creative usage, adaptation, or an increase in fundamental knowledge will grant you 'Enlightenment', which greatly increases your proficiency.]

Kang Oh read each and every line.

Humans had a level cap of 500. However, Deborah's blessing had completely eliminated said cap.

Moreover, he was given an unexpected bonus. His experience gain was increased fourfold!

On the other hand, the proficiency he received for mastered skills/spells from hunting would be reduced. So much so that the system message stated that the reduction was 'significant'.

Which meant that killing monsters over and over again wasn't the way to become a Grandmaster.

In exchange, he gained 'Enlightenment'.

To become a Grandmaster, one needed to deeply study a skill/spell, and improve one's abilities.

'Whatever the case, I have to become a Grandmaster.'

Becoming the strongest was Kang Oh's goal. He needed to become Numbers rank 1!

Thus, he needed to become the first player to reach the realm of Grandmaster. Only then would he be able to pull Dukeram down from his throne.

Although Dukeram had become the first Master, Kang Oh would become the first Grandmaster.

This he vowed!

"Kang Oh," Deborah said.

"Yes?" Kang Oh bowed his head.

"I will grant you another reward for a job well done."

'I hit the jackpot!'

"Thank you!" Kang Oh yelled immediately before she could change her mind.

'I wonder what she'll give me. I hope it's some amazing item...'

Kang Oh's eyes glimmered.

After learning Weapon Bombardment, there was little point for him to use Throw Projectile. Thus, he wanted to switch out his Fire Bomb Belt.

So if she was going to give him something, then he'd prefer a belt!

However, Deborah gave him something completely unexpected.

"I'll allow you to enter the underworld just once."

"The underworld?"

'What would I even do there? Plus, I can only go there once.'

Kang Oh sported a dubious expression, so Deborah started to explain.

"The underworld will be your greatest trial. And this trial will make you even stronger."

Kang Oh was quick on the uptake, so he realized the value of the underworld.

'Seems like it's a hunting ground. An extremely high difficulty hunting ground at that.'

Moreover, he would be the only one allowed access to it. After all, Deborah had only given him permission to enter it.

"Thank you. When I'm ready to explore the underworld, I will let you know."

'Just not right now.'

"Got it."

Now that she'd given Kang Oh her reward, she turned her attention to Sephiro.

"Sephiro, I'll reward you with equipment that contains my power. Choose one item among these three."

Float!

Three pieces of equipment appeared in the air.

There was a beautiful black bow, a glittering metal belt, and giant armor too large for a human to wear. It felt like... it was meant for a warhorse.

"May I take a closer look at them?" Sephiro asked, his voice trembling.

"Take your time."

Sephiro began to look them over immediately.

Kang Oh stood beside him too.

The black bow was an SS-rank weapon called the Harbinger of Death. It possessed incredible abilities, especially the 'Rain of Death' ability.

The Belt that Evades Death was also amazing. Not only did it possess a 'Resurrection' ability, but it also possessed two other abilities.

However, Sephiro made his decision and shouted before Kang Oh could look at the final piece of equipment.

"I'll choose this one." Sephiro pointed at the giant armor. Kang Oh hadn't gotten the opportunity to look over its specs yet.

"Got it."

Sephiro accepted the black armor.

"Yahoo!" Sephiro beamed.

"What kind of armor is it?" Kang Oh asked.

"It's armor for Waryong."

He'd thought it was way too large for a human. Indeed, it was never meant for human use; it was meant to be worn by a wyvern.

Was it better than the Harbinger of Death or the Belt that Evades Death?

"How good is it?" Kang Oh asked.

Sephiro merely gave him a thumbs up.

He'd be able to ascertain how good the armor was by observing Waryong.

Rather than pestering him, Kang Oh just nodded his head.

"Cyndia." Deborah's voice rang out.

"Yes, Supreme One," Cyndia said reverently.

"I will leave you with my stigmata. I want you to continue to lead the church well."

"As you command." Cyndia deeply bowed her head, and a black ring appeared on her forehead.

This was both Deborah's symbol and her stigmata. It was also the mark signifying who the High Priest of the Church of Death was.

The vacant High Priest position had just been filled.

"Eder worked really hard too," Kang Oh said.

"I'll lift the curse."

With this, Eder was a free man.

Kang Oh's lips curled upwards.

'The 30,000 gold is mine.'

In order to receive the goddess's forgiveness, Eder needed to complete her quest. At the time, he asked Kang Oh to help him, luring him in with the promise of 30,000 gold as a reward.

Kang Oh hadn't forgotten about that. He had kept the contract they'd signed safe too.

"Now, get going. To the continent that Maya has changed."

Kang Oh, Cyndia, and Sephiro left, and the purple veil disappeared by itself.

Their long journey, which involved killing the Mayanes and reviving the God of Creation, had finally come to an end.

* * *

It was chaos.

The continent had suddenly changed, and never-before-seen animals, plants, monsters, and species had appeared.

"Did you see the volcano that appeared in the Catron Plain?"

"Phew, that's nothing. A basin suddenly appeared in my city. To top it all off, there are underground ruins underneath it."

"They say that there are rivers running through the desert now."

"Isn't this amazing? As expected of the best game out there!"

When players gathered together, they would usually be talking about the great change enacted by the God of Creation.

There were a ton of posts on Arthtory or other community sites regarding the 'Great Change'.

[The appearance of the new Arth]

[Does the island that appeared in the Southern Sea belong to whoever claims it first?]

[The Devil's Sea before and after]

[A brief study of the new Fishmen in the desert, the Nergal.]

[The new species that appeared in the western grasslands. What kind of effect will they have on the non-humans that already live there?]

...

People were also curious about why this had suddenly happened.

They typed away in the chat channels all day.

- There are way too many quests in the Adventurer Guild. Investigate new areas, make contact with new species, hunt new monsters, trade with the north, etc.

- If this is an update, then it's probably the largest update to date for a virtual reality game.

- According to a Dreamgate employee, 'It's not an update. It's an event.'

- An event... Someone did something, didn't they?

- Who do you think it was?

- It's either the 4 great guilds or someone in the Numbers.

- I think it's Kang Oh.

- Why?

- Take a look at how the 4 great guilds are acting. They seem completely taken aback. Which means that they have no idea what's going on. Thus, it can't be anyone that's part of the 4 great guilds (Dukeram, Jegal, Raon, Hernandez, Arthand). That money grubbing Wang Seo Rim would've formed a plan in advance to cash in on this event if they'd have known about it. So we can exclude them too. The only ones left are Bart, Helena, and Kang Oh. Considering the scale of the event, it has to be Kang Oh.

- The one who arrested Red, destroyed Red Moon, brought the large guilds to their knees and started the Dungeon Liberation Movement!

- Agreed.

- Even if the networks don't show the associated quest, their viewership ratings will probably hit 10%.

- I'll watch it no matter what. I wonder what he did to get the entire continent to change. Aren't you curious?

- I'll definitely watch it.

- Me too.

- What are the networks doing!? Do your jobs!

The people were quite sharp.

There were a ton of people who assumed that Kang Oh was the cause of this change.

Of course, there were a few people who knew for certain and moved accordingly.

The GBS Producer, Park Jin Cheol, and TGN Producer, Shin Hye Rim.

* * *

When Hye Rim had negotiated with Kang Oh for his Despia footage, she had heard a little bit about the goddess's quest. Thus, she knew exactly what had happened.

"This is your work, isn't it, Mr. Jae Woo?" Hye Rim asked over the phone.

"It is."

"Let's meet!"

'Right now!'

"I'll text you the time and place."

"Understood."

At that moment...

Jin Cheol, who'd already spoken to him, was speaking with his superior.

"Get it no matter what," the director yelled.

"Please provide me with plenty of ammo," Jin Cheol said.

"We've never lost when it comes to money, have we?"

"Never." Jin Cheol grinned.

VG approached Kang Oh after TGN and GBS. Lee Han Cheol, the producer of the Ranking Show, called him. It was because Kang Oh had shown up on the show just a short while ago.

But compared to TGN or GBS, he didn't have a long relationship with VG. Which meant that they were two or three steps behind the other networks.

Thus, Han Cheol prepared a secret weapon: a blank check!

With this, the battle among the three networks over the rights for the goddess's quest footage had begun.