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Chapter 233

[By completing two hidden episodes, the ‘Memory’ system has been unlocked.]

“Memory?”

Jeong-hoon tilted his head in confusion.

Did such a system even exist?

[Memory]

- You can view the memories of episodes registered in the collection.

Currently available episodes for viewing: ‘Edenharc’ and ‘Riadolf’.

So, there really isn’t any useless episode.

It seems it doesn’t just boost the episode completion rate.

“Thank you so much!”

“We’re so sorry for the misunderstanding!”

The Crawford Guild members bowed their heads deeply toward Jeong-hoon.

“We apologize sincerely… We had no idea there was such a profound purpose.”

Valderian did the same. Unlike earlier, he showed respect as he expressed his gratitude to Jeong-hoon.

Jeong-hoon shook his head, smiling slightly.

“It’s all right. Anyone would’ve been frustrated in that situation.”

“…May I ask why you chose to keep it hidden?”

“I couldn’t allow even the slightest disruption to the plan.”

Jeong-hoon responded to the expected question.

Valderian nodded, looking deeply moved.

“I see.”

“In any case, Soverion is now liberated and will recover swiftly.”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to you.”

Valderian and all the guild members once again expressed their gratitude to Jeong-hoon.

---

A portal leading outside.

However, Jeong-hoon did not take that portal.

“Let’s check it out.”

With the completion of two hidden episodes, the memory system was now accessible.

[Would you like to open the memory of ‘Riadolf’?]

“Yes, open it.”

His vision faded to black, and then a familiar scene appeared.

[Nothing has changed at all?]

“What is this supposed to be?”

Just as Mukho and Anima had mentioned, the central fountain of Riadolf lay before Jeong-hoon.

People passed by, pulling carts, parents strolled with their children… It was an utterly ordinary scene.

“What kind of memory is this?”

Then, suddenly—

Boom!

With a tremor, knights appeared from somewhere, frantically rushing by.

Jeong-hoon, as if in a trance, followed behind them.

Ahead, monsters were running rampant.

The knights gathered together to fend off the countless creatures, and soon, a siege began.

“Stop them from advancing!”

“It’s no use! The level of these monsters is unlike anything we’ve seen before!”

“Damn it!”

Before Jeong-hoon could react, the scene quickly shifted.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

The once-peaceful Riadolf was now ravaged by monsters.

And looming above, flaunting its might, was a demon—none other than Baramuth, the archdemon Jeong-hoon had once dealt with.

‘I awakened Baramuth earlier due to the episode progression, but normally, he wouldn’t have emerged until much later.’

Monsters began to swarm toward Jeong-hoon.

He readied himself to wipe them out but then abruptly relaxed his stance.

The monsters passed right through him, unaffected.

Since he was merely observing a memory, he couldn’t exert any influence.

‘So I’m just here to watch.’

Jeong-hoon frowned.

“It is time!”

With that cry, a massive meteor shower rained down upon the land.

“Aaah!”

“Nooo!”

Screams erupted amidst the deafening blasts.

Jeong-hoon’s face hardened as he recognized the familiar scene.

‘This is the catastrophe triggered by stacking penalties.’

Penalty stacking.

He’d heard that Riadolf had fallen before its dimension was ultimately destroyed, but perhaps that wasn’t the case?

He needed to watch a bit longer.

The scene shifted once more.

Now, devastation stretched as far as the eye could see.

[Completely obliterated.]

As Mukho had mentioned, only ruins remained of Riadolf.

Yet, monsters continued searching through the rubble for any survivors.

And above them all was Baramuth, reveling in his newfound freedom.

After being trapped for so long, how much he must be enjoying this.

Jeong-hoon’s mouth twisted into a sneer.

“You damned demon!”

“We will bring you down!”

Suddenly, an expedition team began cutting through the monsters, heading straight toward Baramuth.

‘These are those who defy fate.’

Watching them, Jeong-hoon felt a sense of familiarity.

He quietly observed the scene.

“If we kill that bastard, we can finally end this cursed game!”

“We can finally complete the episode!”

Then, Jeong-hoon heard words that made him question his ears.

‘Complete the episode?’

The only key to ending the game was to complete all 100 episodes.

In other words, these people had reached 99%.

“Do you really think mere mortals can put an end to this?” Baramuth sneered, reaching out his hand.

Lightning struck from the sky, engulfing them.

“Barrier!”

But the lightning was rendered ineffective as a mage cast a barrier, perfectly blocking the strike.

[The Archdemon Baramuth uses ‘Enhanced Judgment of Death.’]

With a sinister grin, Baramuth unleashed the Judgment of Death, as if waiting for this moment.

“Hmph, do you really think such power can make us yield?”

A middle-aged man, appearing to be a warrior, swung his sword forcefully.

Immediately, the Judgment of Death afflicting his allies vanished.

‘Ah, a Paladin who’s ascended to the Celestial Realm.’

A Paladin at this level could dispel any debuff, but to remove that many in one go suggested he was at the pinnacle of celestial power—perhaps even beyond.

‘The others are just as capable.’

None of them fell short compared to the warrior.

Yes, only a team of this caliber could have come this close to completing the episodes.

Together, they overwhelmed Baramuth, rendering even his special abilities useless.

Soon, Baramuth crashed to the ground.

“It’s over.”

The warrior approached the fallen Baramuth, raising his sword.

Baramuth grinned, spitting out blood.

“!@$#!!”

Jeong-hoon frowned.

He could no longer make out Baramuth’s words.

Then, the scene faded, and once again, Riadolf, where he had performed the episode, appeared before him.

“Ha.”

Jeong-hoon ran his hand through his hair, clearly annoyed.

He’d been curious about what might happen with the final episode, only for it to cut off at the most crucial moment.

[Check the other one, too!]

‘Right. There might be some clues there.’

Having reviewed Riadolf, it was time to look at Edenharc.

Jeong-hoon immediately opened Edenharc’s memory.

But again, the final part was cut off, yielding no useful information.

---

‘In the end, I might just have to complete all the episodes.’

Jeong-hoon’s expression hardened.

Before his regression, he’d been convinced he could end the game because the episode completion rate had been at 99%.

Completing all episodes was supposed to end this cursed game.

But after seeing the memories of Edenharc and Riadolf through the memory system, he began to think that perhaps it wasn’t just about completing the episodes to end the game.

‘Please, don’t let it be as bad as I’m thinking.’

As Jeong-hoon muttered to himself, a rift appeared before him.

<…You never cease to amaze me.>

Within the rift, Baal’s eye appeared, curving like a crescent moon.

“Only eight remain.”

Eight dungeons left.

<Yes. But you don’t seem in a good mood. Is something troubling you?>

There was a reason Baal seemed pleased.

Even though Jeong-hoon had cleared the dungeon, his expression remained unsatisfied.

“There’s been… a lot going on.”

He forced a faint smile.

<Heh, is that so? Now I’m curious to hear all about it.>

“Oh? If I ask, are you going to tell me?”

<As long as you’re willing to pay the price for answers.>

“Then forget it.”

He’d find out on his own.

<Heh heh, fine. I’ll let you know about the next dungeon in a few days.>

“Has it not shown up yet?”

<I’m putting thought into my selection. After all, I need to ensure you fail somehow.>

“Don’t worry. Things won’t turn out the way you’re hoping.”

Jeong-hoon was confident he’d clear them all.

<Is that so?>

With those enigmatic words, Baal disappeared.

Left alone, Jeong-hoon used a ticket to return home.

---

After Jeong-hoon left, Arundi and Aditya were still waiting outside.

“This is taking a while.”

“Yes, it is.”

Despite retrieving all the bodies, they remained at the spot, waiting for the man who had entered the dungeon to clear it. They intended to guide him back to land once he returned.

But no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of him.

“Aditya, could you watch the boat for a bit?”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to check the situation inside.”

“…In that case, let me go with you.”

“Together?”

“Yes. I had sensed a faint magic aura before, but it suddenly vanished.”

“Oh?”

Aditya’s keen senses rarely missed anything, and Arundi had come to fully trust his instincts.

“Let’s head in, then.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Aditya led the way, with Arundi following closely as they stepped through the portal.

But once they arrived, there was nothing.

The green portal that had been swirling before them had completely vanished.

“Huh…?”

“What the…?”

At that moment, they realized the dungeon had been cleared.

“Where did our benefactor go?”

“…Could he have used a ticket to return?”

“Oh, right. He had a ticket.”

For some reason, the man had left without a word.

“We didn’t even get a chance to thank him.”

“Indeed… Looks like he went ahead, so we should head back, too.”

“Let’s do that.”

Back at home, Jeong-hoon finally remembered Arundi and Aditya, who had been waiting outside.

“They probably headed back on their own.”

With the dungeon now cleared and the magic aura dissipated, they likely realized it was over, especially with someone as perceptive as Aditya around.

Jeong-hoon took out the mysterious box he’d obtained after defeating Baramuth.

[Mysterious Box (Sin)]

- ???

- Luck Effect X

- Requires Mysterious Key (Sin) (Not in possession)

The box’s description provided little information, but Jeong-hoon had experience with these types of boxes before. The last time he opened one, he received the stat-boosting ring he still wore—a crucial item despite only being Epic grade.

“The problem is… how to get this key.”

Ordinary mysterious keys were available in the Achievement Shop, making them easy to acquire. However, the Mysterious Key (Sin) was not sold there.

“Kyi-ing.”

Just then, Sloth, nestled in his arms, began to wriggle free.

“Hm? What’s this?”

He let Sloth crawl out. It slowly made its way over to the mysterious box and climbed atop it. A dark glow started radiating from Sloth’s body.

[Would you like to create the Mysterious Key (Sin)?]

[Note: Sloth’s abilities will decrease if you proceed.]

So, this was how the key could be made.

“……”

Jeong-hoon considered his options. Creating the key would mean lowering Sloth’s hard-earned stats.

‘But I have no choice.’

Sloth could regain its stats over time, but without the key, the box couldn’t be opened.

“Create it.”

With his decision made, the light from Sloth’s body faded, and it spat out a single key.

[Mysterious Key (Sin)]

- A key capable of unlocking the Mysterious Box (Sin).

“Kyi-ing…”

Exhausted from the effort, Sloth retreated back into its shell.

---

[Seven Deadly Sins]

- Type: Sloth

- Level: ?? (Grows by absorbing abilities)

- Grade: Unique

[Detailed Stats]

- Strength: 128

- Agility: 125

- Stamina: 124

- Defense: 127

- Wisdom: 125

- Mana: 126

- Mental Power: 124

---

All of Sloth’s stats had decreased by a whopping 40 points.

‘At least the grade didn’t drop.’

The Unique grade remained intact.

Jeong-hoon picked up the key that had fallen in front of Sloth. Now, he could finally open the Mysterious Box (Sin).