In the current situation where S-rank was the highest, S-rank dungeons were known to be absolutely unconquerable.
The most common S-rank monsters were Ogres, and Balrogs were dark-type monsters that ranked among the upper tier of S-rank monsters.
And the top-tier S-rank monsters were typically Wyverns.
The Balrog Dungeon that Seong-jun’s party was attempting to conquer was a dungeon with considerable difficulty, as it belonged to the upper tier among S-rank dungeons.
And finally, they were face to face with the Balrogs.
“Kuuuoooooh!”
The Balrog’s massive roar carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Huh! The pressure is no joke. And its size seems to be about twice that of a Death Knight too.”
Despite displaying SSS-rank abilities and having fear removed by War Cry, the intense pressure was enough to make them flinch.
Furthermore, the Balrog was huge, easily twice the size of a Death Knight.
“Comparing it to A-rank is a mistake. So don’t let your guard down; focus on tanking.”
Seong-jun warned Gwang-taek to stay focused.
The higher the rank, the greater the gap. And for S-rank, the highest of them all, that went without saying.
It was clearly far more powerful than anything A-rank.
“I know. Anyway, four of them. The numbers seem manageable for now. Let’s go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gwang-taek charged toward the Balrogs.
“Chain of Light!”
Chwa-rara-rara-rak!
He pulled all four Balrogs with Chains of Light.
“Kuuuoooooh!”
“Kuwahaaaa!”
The battle properly began with Gwang-taek drawing them in with Chains of Light.
Swaeeeeeeak!
Bang! Ku-bang! Bang! Bang! Kwa-kwa-bang!
Though they could easily suppress even A-rank monsters, S-rank was clearly on a different level.
“Kugh! This is no joke?”
The attacks of the S-rank monster were truly on a different level, and for a moment, Gwang-taek seemed overwhelmed.
“Hyung! You okay?”
“I’m fine! Just got caught off guard by an unexpectedly powerful attack! This is still manageable!”
Gwang-taek had anticipated the strength of S-rank monsters to some extent, but the Balrogs’ attack power exceeded his expectations.
So he momentarily faltered in surprise, but quickly regained his senses and adjusted his stance.
Then he resumed stable tanking.
‘Summon!’
Seong-jun quickly summoned his soldiers.
However, he didn’t summon regular soldiers or elite soldiers—only boss-level soldiers.
He planned to replace all the non-boss soldiers with Balrogs, S-rank monsters.
But if any soldier died and was forcibly unsummoned, he wouldn’t be able to use it right away.
“Kuuuoooooh!”
The summoned boss-level soldiers began attacking the Balrogs.
At the same time, Seong-jun, Yuseon, and Chang-su began their full-scale attack.
Swaeeeeeeek! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Swaeeeeek!
Ku-bang! Thump! Ku-ku-thump!
Even as powerful attacks were unleashed one after another, the Balrogs only focused on Gwang-taek.
It wasn’t a sustained AoE aggro skill, but even single-target aggro skills were powerful enough that no matter how strong the attacks, aggro was not easily taken away.
‘As expected of an S-rank monster. Even using a mace made from a World Tree branch, they’re holding out quite well.’
The mace made from a World Tree branch had significantly increased the efficiency of his Divine Magic.
Yet they were still enduring like this; they were clearly on a completely different level from A-rank monsters.
But even so, the outcome was already decided.
“Keurrrrrr.”
Kuuuuung!
Under repeated attacks, the Balrogs began to fall one by one.
Koo-ung! Thump! Ku-u-u-ung!
Finally, all four Balrogs met their end.
“Phew! No joke. If I used Cry of Madness on these guys, I wouldn’t even be able to recover my bones. At this rate, I think I can handle about five or six at a time at most. Any more than that, and I won’t be able to hold.”
In fact, tanking five or six S-rank monsters was already an incredible feat.
Even top-ranked S-rank tanks could only tank about one at best.
With two, they definitely wouldn’t be able to tank properly.
But Gwang-taek was saying he could stably tank at least five to six.
“Is that so? Then Hyung handles up to six, and if there are more than six, I’ll act as sub-tank.”
“Guess we’ll have to do that. Anyway, does this mean I finally get S-rank summoned soldiers?”
At that, Seong-jun picked up the Mana Stones and immediately cast Dark Enlightenment.
Then he brought the purified Mana Stones to the Balrogs.
Hwaaaaaaah!
The Balrogs’ corpses turned white and were registered as summoned soldiers.
“Done. Summon!”
He summoned the four enlightened Balrog soldiers.
Wuuuuuung!
The Balrogs appeared, their size and pressure rivaling that of boss-level monsters without any loss.
“Wow! Even if they’re not as good as A-rank bosses, they’re still reassuring as hell! S-rank monsters as summoned soldiers.”
“I’ll replace all the rest except the bosses with Balrogs today, so everyone know that and let’s go hard.”
Currently, the total number of boss-level summoned soldiers was nine. That meant he planned to replace all thirty-one soldiers with Balrogs.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
And so, Seong-jun’s party began their full-scale assault on the Balrog Dungeon.
It was a little past 9 PM.
Hwaaaaaaah!
—
Having completed the dungeon raid, Seong-jun’s party emerged from the portal back to the hideout.
“Whew! That was seriously no joke. But it was manageable for this level. At least it’s much better than when we first went into an A-rank dungeon.”
When Seong-jun’s party first entered an A-rank dungeon, Seong-jun was A-rank.
On top of that, they didn’t have Guardian’s Authority and had to rely only on Seong-jun’s buffs, so even tanking one monster was tough.
In comparison, now they had Guardian’s Authority to use SSS-rank abilities, and the buffs were far more efficient than back then.
No matter how tough an S-rank dungeon was, compared to that time, it was naturally easier.
“But for being manageable, aren’t the numbers we hunted too few? We only hunted a bit over two hundred sixty today. At this rate, it’ll take over ten days to clear the dungeon.”
Unlike A-rank dungeons, where they would hunt over a thousand each time they entered, in S-rank dungeons they only managed to hunt just over two hundred sixty.
That showed how powerful S-rank monsters were.
When Yuseon said that at this rate it would take over ten days to clear, Seong-jun replied.
“This is an S-rank dungeon we’re talking about. If we can clear it even in ten days, that’s fortunate. I haven’t faced the elites or the boss yet, so I can’t tell exactly how strong they are, but we have Debuff Potions, so it doesn’t seem impossible.”
This was an S-rank dungeon that other hunters couldn’t even dare to enter.
Just being able to conquer it was an incredible feat.
What was a mere ten days?
“That’s true. But when are you planning to go to Switzerland? After completely clearing the Balrog Dungeon?”
Yuseon asked when he intended to go to Switzerland.
After all, they still had to go to Switzerland to deal with Revolution.
Seong-jun shook his head and said:
“For now, I’m setting it for about a week from now. There’s no need to rush, but it’s not good to be too relaxed either.”
Seong-jun had set the departure for Switzerland a week later.
Since he had upgraded his summoned soldiers to S-rank, he didn’t feel the need to finish the boss raid first, but he also judged that rushing things wouldn’t be good.
“A week later? That seems like enough time, but what if the Revolution branches move first? If the branches spread across the world simultaneously blow up A-rank or higher dungeons, it could cause an even worse crisis than the current situation. And if worse comes to worst, they might set off S-rank dungeons. Wouldn’t it be better to move before that?”
They could cause forced Dungeon Breaks using Dungeon Break Devices.
That meant they could blow up dungeons to their liking, and naturally they might target the highest-ranked dungeons, A-rank and above.
In the worst case, they could make S-rank dungeons their main targets, so Yuseon asked whether it would be better to strike Revolution before they made a full move.
“That could happen. But when we strike, we have to do it decisively. I’m talking about the so-called Master of Revolution. If we miss him this time, it might be hard to catch him again. So rushing too much isn’t good either.”
If they couldn’t catch the one at the very top, they might buy time for now, but eventually the same thing would just repeat.
So Seong-jun intended to thoroughly eliminate even the Master, the Dark Elf, when hitting Revolution.
“If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is. Then let’s plan to go to Switzerland a week later. I’ll try to make sure Oppa can clear the dungeon within that time. Now that you’ve upgraded all non-boss soldiers to S-rank, maybe it’s possible.”
Though the S-rank dungeon conquest schedule was estimated at about ten days, now that Seong-jun’s summoned soldiers were more powerful, it might be possible to shorten the time.
“It’s not urgent anyway. Even with just these summoned soldiers, it should be more than enough to deal with Revolution. Besides, if necessary, we might need to go support other countries again, like this time, so clearing the dungeon in a week is practically impossible.”
Korea and Taiwan were completely resolved, and Japan was nearly finished, but there were still many countries where Dungeon Breaks were ongoing.
And they were sending SOS signals to Korea every day.
So depending on the situation, Seong-jun’s party might have to move.
Considering that, clearing an S-rank dungeon within a week was practically impossible.
“Anyway, great work today. See you tomorrow.”
With that, Seong-jun’s party left the hideout and went their separate ways.
—
Holy Emperor’s Korean Branch.
After leaving the hideout and parting with his companions, Seong-jun came to the Holy Emperor’s Korean branch to treat Karl Buckman.
“It seems like not much time is left now.”
Karl Buckman’s arm had regenerated from the elbow to about the middle of the forearm.
Moreover, the level of God’s Miracle had been steadily increasing, so at this rate, full recovery might be possible within a week.
But Seong-jun intended to drastically shorten that period.
“Yes, that’s right. But from today, the pain will be a bit more intense than before.”
At Seong-jun’s words that the pain would intensify, Karl Buckman looked puzzled.
“Hmm? Why?”
“I recently acquired an ability that amplifies skills. I plan to use it on God’s Miracle to amplify it. That way, the treatment will be much faster, but the pain will likely be greater as well.”
Indeed, Seong-jun intended to use Amplification Authority to amplify God’s Miracle.
If so, the treatment speed would naturally skyrocket, but the pain was also likely to increase.
“Hah! You have such an ability? Anyway, if the treatment can be sped up, I can endure a little pain.”
Perhaps because the end of his healing was now in sight, Karl Buckman was growing more impatient.
When the period was long, he had resigned himself and wasn’t particularly hasty, but now that he thought he could soon regain a complete arm, he was growing more restless.
And now that he was told the treatment could become even faster, what was a little pain?
‘Amplification Authority! Target! God’s Miracle!’
Seong-jun cast Amplification Authority on God’s Miracle.
Then, having amplified God’s Miracle, he slowly brought his hand to Karl Buckman’s arm.
“I’m starting.”
Then he immediately activated the skill.
‘God’s Miracle!’
Instantly, an immense pain unlike anything before struck Karl Buckman.
“Kugh! Keugh! M-mi, crazy! W-what kind of pain… kuh!”
Before, he had been able to receive the treatment with relative composure, but this pain was several times greater than the previous pain.
Perhaps that was why, even though he was an S-rank Dealer, he couldn’t help but cry out.
“See? The speed of regeneration is incomparably faster than before. It might even be possible to finish the treatment today. Just endure a little more.”
This was an authority that amplified the effect by a full 500 percent of the original efficiency.
That meant he could achieve in one day what would normally take five days of treatment.
So the regeneration speed was truly astonishing.
“Kuh! I-it really is! W-weugh! B-but the pain… keugh! D-dammit!”
Seeing Karl Buckman in pain, Seong-jun asked carefully.
“If it’s too painful, should I stop for a while?”
At that, Karl Buckman shook his head violently.
“D-don’t stop! Kugh! J-just keep going!”
No matter how painful, if his arm could heal even a little faster, he could endure it.
“Haha, understood. Then I’ll continue.”
Seong-jun continued the treatment.
About thirty minutes passed.
“Kuuuurrrgh!”
With immense pain, the treatment came to an end.
“Haha, I thought it might work, and sure enough, the treatment is finished in one go. Look. Even the fingers are perfectly regenerated.”
Karl Buckman, drenched in cold sweat from the extreme pain, raised his hand, now perfectly regenerated down to each finger joint.
“Khuh, i-it really has! Haha! Finally, my left arm is perfectly regenerated!”
Having regained his left arm at last, Karl Buckman had completely forgotten the previous pain and wore a joyful expression.
“As I said before, just because the arm is fully regenerated doesn’t mean it’s over. To use it at your previous level, you’ll need to focus on rehabilitation for a while.”
The arm was perfectly regenerated, but to use it as before would require considerable rehabilitation effort.
“Of course! Thank you so much! And I’m really grateful! I never thought the day would come when I’d get my left arm back. This is literally a miracle!”
He could now exert his full abilities again, and more importantly, he no longer had to be called a half-rate S-rank.
He might not be able to perform at his previous level right away, but depending on Karl Buckman’s efforts, that period could be shortened.
For now, just getting his lost arm back made him endlessly happy and grateful.
“If you’re that happy, please do me one favor.”
At Seong-jun’s unexpected request, Karl Buckman looked puzzled.
“What? A favor? Haha! Just say it! I’ll do whatever it is!”
As someone who had regained his arm, Buckman was willing to grant Seong-jun any request.
Looking at Karl Buckman, Seong-jun handed him a thick stack of documents.
“I need you to move the Holy Emperor.”
Karl Buckman took the documents and tilted his head, looking at Seong-jun.
“What is this? And what do you mean, move the Holy Emperor?”
Then Seong-jun said with a serious expression.
“Do you know about the organization called Revolution?”
What was this out of nowhere?
“Revolution? First time I’ve heard of it. What do they do?”
“The devices I handed over to Holy Emperor—the ones that gathered monsters and forcibly closed dungeons—were all the work of an organization called Revolution. And Revolution has branches not only in Korea but also in countries all over the world.”
At Seong-jun’s unexpected words, Karl Buckman’s eyes widened.
“What? That device that gathers monsters and forcibly closes dungeons came from an organization called Revolution?”
“Yes. And on top of that, they also possess a Forced Dungeon Break Device that forcibly triggers Dungeon Breaks. Their ultimate goal is…”
Seong-jun began to explain what Revolution ultimately sought: to simultaneously trigger dungeons across the world, cause an Apocalypse, and use it to conquer the world.
However, he hadn’t yet figured out how they intended to control the monsters that would be released.
He told Karl Buckman everything he knew.
“Is that true? Crazy! If that really happens, how many people will die? And there are that many people joining such an insane plan?”
“Well, everyone has their own reasons. Or they’re simply out of their minds. Anyway, the important thing now is not that. Revolution is in a considerable hurry for some reason. They’re willing to reveal their existence to accelerate their plan. And to do that, it seems they intend to carry out simultaneous tests at all their branches worldwide.”
When Seong-jun said that simultaneous tests would happen all over the world, Karl Buckman was shocked again.
“Wait a minute! You said those Revolution bastards have a Forced Dungeon Break Device! Doesn’t that mean Dungeon Breaks could occur all over the world at the same time, like this time?”
“Yes, and they won’t target low-tier dungeons. At least A-rank, maybe even S-rank are their targets.”
If A-rank dungeons worldwide exploded, the world would fall into chaos.
But if S-rank dungeons exploded? That would be a catastrophe.
“Dammit! So? What do I need to do?”
When Karl Buckman asked with a serious expression, Seong-jun pointed to the documents.
“In there is a list of current Revolution members active in various countries. They operated very covertly, so due to time constraints, I could only find out that much. It’s unavoidable. Hand that over to Guild Master William Craft, and have him share it with the super-giant guilds of each country to find the Revolution branches.”
Seong-jun planned to strike Revolution Headquarters in Switzerland a week later, but since they might take action in the meantime, he intended to use Holy Emperor to mobilize the super-giant guilds of each country.
“I see. Got it. For such a matter, I’ll step up.”
“There’s no time. Please understand that if we don’t act within a few days, they might move first.”
The key was to strike before the Revolution branches moved.
So they had to hurry as much as possible.
If, by any chance, Revolution moved first, an incomparable chaos would engulf the world—far beyond the current crisis.
—
I Became an EX-Class All-Round Priest Chapter 146
e-book publication date: 2025.11.14
Author: Kim Hyeon-jun
Publisher: Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by: Poten
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Phone: 02-6320-8500
Fax: 02-6320-8585
ISBN: 9791175302167
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© Kim Hyeon-jun 2025
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