ALL NOVEL Chapter 31
Chapter 31
4.
Assistant Manager Lee Wonsang woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a long while.
It felt like he might have had a pleasant dream, though he couldn’t recall exactly what it was.
The lightness in his body made him curious, so he glanced at the clock—and, to his relief, he wasn’t late for work.
“Is this what it feels like to shed all your fatigue?” he mused, smiling as he exchanged greetings with his colleagues before settling into his desk to begin the day.
His task was to analyze gameplay videos from users, organizing various situations that stemmed from player actions and preparing responses for any possible outcomes.
Of course, his primary duty since yesterday had been keeping a close eye on one particular user.
While the User Management Team usually focused on top-tier rankers—those capable of generating significant gameplay variables—this user, Yoo Seonghyeon, had proven himself to be on another level.
No, he wasn’t just creating variables comparable to the rankers. He was outright breaking the game.
Watching him was now a key responsibility for Lee.
“Let’s hope today is uneventful,” Lee thought as he began his work.
What had happened yesterday had been an anomaly.
Clearing so many hidden objectives within a single day of logging in and obtaining an Almighty-grade job—it was unheard of.
Sure, it could happen once.
But two days in a row? That was impossible. Or at least it should be.
With this thought in mind, Lee turned his attention to Seonghyeon’s gameplay.
Seonghyeon, still level 15, was diligently grinding mobs.
“He really is remarkable,” Lee muttered to himself.
Not only did Seonghyeon possess an Almighty-grade job, but even his undead minions displayed an AI sophistication far superior to anything Lee had seen before.
It was as if they were alive.
“Is that… normal?”
Lee Wonsang, who worked at the heart of the Eternal World development team, wasn’t even sure.
He’d have liked to consult someone about it, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Team Leader Ji Hyejeong, especially after making her cancel her day off yesterday.
As Seonghyeon swept through a goblin village, Lee marveled at the AI’s capability.
“When he stole Vegron’s undead last time, they weren’t nearly this advanced.”
For now, though, it seemed Seonghyeon was just hunting in peace.
“Yes, keep it calm like that,” Lee thought, watching Seonghyeon with a composed expression.
But then, things took a strange turn.
Seonghyeon marked the second village, Sekan, as his next destination.
Pausing briefly in thought, he walked to the center of the village and sat on a bench.
“Is he taking a break?” Lee wondered.
That would make sense. It wasn’t unusual.
But then—
[『Seonghyeon』 has permanently increased stats through ‘Unknown Power.’]
This felt ominous.
Lee Wonsang blinked rapidly, staring at the video feed.
And then—
“Why is he going there?”
The second village, Sekan, housed something most players didn’t know. It was the resting place of the fiendish creature sealed by Hero Hindel: the monstrous Barfur.
Barfur was supposed to play a key role in a future event—a large-scale raid planned by the developers.
But its seal hadn’t been broken yet, so it wasn’t in its raid form.
Still, how did Seonghyeon know about this place?
Now that he thought about it, Seonghyeon never went anywhere blindly.
Lee recalled the details of Barfur and let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew, at least there’s that.”
Seonghyeon was only level 20, while Barfur’s phantom had a level of 35.
Even with an Almighty-grade job and Seonghyeon’s exceptional control, defeating Barfur’s phantom was unlikely.
The gap in their levels was just too significant.
“Yeah, he can’t beat it,” Lee murmured confidently.
Not to mention, Barfur’s undead-summoning attacks wouldn’t work on Seonghyeon due to his Death Aura skill.
Still, the level gap was insurmountable.
“This is where he hits a wall,” Lee thought smugly.
He watched in anticipation, ready to witness Seonghyeon’s first real failure.
Then it happened—
[『Seonghyeon』 has brought Barfur’s phantom under his command using ‘Unknown Power.’]
“???”
“Why… why is that working???”
Lee Wonsang’s eyes bulged as he stared at his monitor, utterly baffled.
Meanwhile, his junior colleague, Oh Jinhyuk, who had been quietly working at his own desk, glanced over and tilted his head.
“What’s going on, senior?”
Curiosity piqued, Oh Jinhyuk peeked at Lee’s screen.
“Huh? Isn’t that Barfur? The same Barfur we were going to use for the second village raid? How did that happen!?”
Hearing this, Lee chuckled bitterly.
“It’s ruined.”
“What?!?”
The raid event had been rendered irrelevant even before its announcement.
Of course, there would be consequences in the upcoming report.
But that wasn’t the biggest problem now.
The phantom of Barfur being taken was manageable. After all, Barfur’s true strength lay in its physical form, not its spirit.
There was no way Seonghyeon could take the body, too.
“There’s no way he can drag that body into the Netherworld.”
“Uh, senior? He’s doing it.”
“…???”
“He’s really doing it. It’s going in.”
Lee Wonsang stared blankly at the spectacle on his monitor.
At that moment, he seriously contemplated quitting, not because of Seonghyeon—but because of his overly enthusiastic junior.
5.
At the end of the cave, a corpse larger than an elephant lay still, a sword embedded in its chest.
The fact that such a colossal creature was subdued by a single blade was remarkable enough.
Even more astounding was that the body remained intact, as though alive.
But any awe Lee felt quickly dissipated.
The monstrous form vanished into nothingness before his eyes.
“Wow. It actually worked,” Seonghyeon murmured.
Though Death Aura allowed interaction with Barfur’s spirit, Seonghyeon’s level wasn’t sufficient to contain its body.
—Hehe. Since it’s my body, I can let it go wherever I please, Barfur’s ghostly voice echoed.
With the phantom’s help, Seonghyeon managed the impossible.
[Through ‘Unknown Power,’ you have accomplished something beyond your current level. Strength +5, Vitality +3 permanently increased.]
Seonghyeon absorbed Barfur’s memories and experiences, learning how to manipulate the massive corpse.
Thanks to Barfur’s guidance, he successfully transported its physical form into the Netherworld.
In addition, his stats increased yet again.
As the body disappeared, the sword that had been embedded in Barfur fell to the ground with a crisp clang.
Clang! Clang—
The blade, which had pierced Barfur’s flesh for centuries, shone with an ethereal radiance.
“It’s beautiful,” Seonghyeon muttered, picking it up.
“So this is a hidden piece, huh?”
What a Windfall!
Not only had Seonghyeon subdued a phantom and acquired a new title, but he had also leveled up.
As much as he wanted to inspect the sword immediately, his habit of saving the best for last prompted him to check the titles first.
“Let’s take a look,” he thought.
Starting with the ‘Exalted Leadership’ title:
『Exalted Leadership』
→ 《Epic》
→ Granted to users who subdue summons, subordinates, or undead at higher levels than themselves.
→ Increases allies’ loyalty and morale.
→ When commanding allies, all allies’ movement speed increases by +5%.
This title’s effect stacks with the effect of Sovereign (君主).
“Hmm,” he mused.
It was good, but it felt like a lower-tier version of the Sovereign title.
Still, since the effects stacked, it wasn’t bad. A different effect might’ve been better, but this wasn’t something to complain about.
Next up was ‘The Patient One.’
『The Patient One』
→ 《Epic》
→ Awarded to users who gather 100 stat points without allocating them.
→ Permanently increases mental strength by +100.
Percentage-based stat increase effects apply.
No additional titles are granted for gathering more than 100 points.
“Oh?!”
Mental strength was a vital stat for maintaining resistances and sustaining skills.
Getting a flat increase of 100 points was already incredible.
On top of that, percentage-based effects applied.
With the ‘Omnipotent’ title boosting all stats by 10%, this title effectively added 110 points instead of just 100.
“This is insane,” Seonghyeon muttered, momentarily stunned.
Even he, a relative newcomer to Eternal World, couldn’t help but marvel at his status window:
【Status Window】
『Seonghyeon』
『Lv 25』
『Job』
→ 『Overlord』
『Titles』
→ 『Sovereign (君主) (Legendary)』… and 18 others.
『Stats』
→ 《Strength: 20 (18+2)》《Agility: 17 (15+2)》
《Vitality: 15 (13+2)》《Intelligence: 23 (20+3)》
《Wisdom: 28 (25+3)》《Mental Strength: 133 (120+13)》
《Dexterity: 7 (6+1)》
『Additional Stats』
→ 《120》
“This is… ridiculous,” he muttered.
It wasn’t a status window that matched a mere level 25 player.
And on top of that, he still had 120 unallocated stat points.
“It’s about time to start using these,” he thought.
There wasn’t much to gain by hoarding them any longer.
Deciding how to distribute them, though, was the real challenge.
“Hmm…”
As an Overlord, his job clearly leaned toward dark magic, meaning Intelligence and Wisdom were the logical priorities.
But Seonghyeon’s playstyle wasn’t limited to magic.
He fought using memories and experiences inherited from ghosts, like Drill Instructor Eddie and Hunter Apik.
Given the potential future memories from other ghosts, a balanced distribution seemed more prudent.
Even Helena, whose memories he had already explored, was adept in physical combat.
After some thought, Seonghyeon decided:
“I’ll prioritize Intelligence and Wisdom first.”
Intelligence directly enhanced the power and duration of magical skills, while Wisdom boosted mana capacity and regeneration.
With 120 points to spend, he allocated 30 each to Intelligence and Wisdom.
The remaining 60 points were divided equally among Strength, Agility, and Vitality, adding 20 points to each.
The results were immediate:
【Status Window】
『Seonghyeon』
『Lv 25』
『Job』
→ 『Overlord』
『Titles』
→ 『Sovereign (君主) (Legendary)』… and 18 others.
『Stats』
→ 《Strength: 42 (38+4)》《Agility: 39 (35+4)》
《Vitality: 37 (33+4)》《Intelligence: 56 (50+6)》
《Wisdom: 61 (55+6)》《Mental Strength: 133 (120+13)》
《Dexterity: 7 (6+1)》
『Additional Stats』
→ 《0》
“Whoa,” he exclaimed.
The moment he distributed the points, he felt a tangible change in his body.
His mana capacity had more than doubled, giving him enough reserve to simultaneously summon goblins and Barfur’s phantom without significant drain.
Previously, just maintaining Barfur’s phantom had been taxing. Now, he could sustain all his summons at once.
“Looks like I’ll focus on Intelligence and Wisdom going forward,” he decided.
As for Strength, Agility, and Vitality, he planned to rely on stat boosts from absorbing ghosts.
Finally, it was time to inspect the sword.
The blade, bathed in a radiant glow, looked more understated than flashy. Its graceful curves and the faint blue aura emanating from its surface gave it an air of quiet elegance.
Even with limited knowledge of swords, Seonghyeon could tell this was no ordinary weapon.
Recalling Drill Instructor Eddie’s memories confirmed it—this was a rare masterpiece.
『Hindel’s Apprentice Sword』
→ 《Unique》
→ Used by Hero Hindel during his days as an apprentice, this sword was later employed to seal the powerful fiend Barfur.
→ Despite the centuries spent containing Barfur, its blade remains as sharp and powerful as ever.
→ However, prolonged exposure to Barfur’s energy has infused it with a sinister aura.
→ Cutting Power: +10%
→ Attack Power: +5%
→ Absorbs the corrupted energy of entities it cuts.
“Wow, this is…”
It was a Unique-grade item—the highest grade Seonghyeon had ever obtained.
Unlike the recommendation letter for the Elite Dark Mage Training Center, this was an actual combat asset.
With boosts to cutting and attack power and no restrictions on level or job, the sword was perfect.
“If I ever sell this, it’ll fetch a fortune,” he thought.
But for now, he was eager to test it.
“Steel Sword?” He chuckled. “You’re getting sold.”
Before moving to the next hunting ground, Seonghyeon’s thoughts wandered to Helena.
Her absence felt strangely noticeable.
Though he was used to her not being around, there was a sense of emptiness.
“She did say she’d need time to recover,” he mused.
While earning money was his main goal in Eternal World, the memories and experiences from the ghosts made the journey unexpectedly enjoyable.
Among them, Helena’s memories had inspired a new goal:
To reach the pinnacle of the Overlord’s power—the realm Helena herself had failed to attain.
And another, more personal aspiration lingered:
To trace the footsteps of Hero Hindel.
Sadly, Barfur’s memories didn’t reveal much about Hindel’s journey.
Just that he had departed after the sealing.
“Guess I’ll figure it out eventually,” Seonghyeon thought.
For now, his immediate task was clear.
“Time to test my new phantom.”
Barfur’s phantom had once been a fearsome foe. Now, it was his ally.
How could he resist trying it out?
With plans to meet Yoo Mina later in the afternoon, he decided to make the most of his time until then.
“Oh, right,” he remembered.
From the second village onward, party play was far more efficient.
Many dungeons, areas requiring multiple players, were scattered throughout.
“I guess I’ll need to form a party,” he decided.
Recalling the village chief, Gwen, he headed back to the village square.