The dungeon conquest was proceeding at an astonishing pace.
Even though there was a one-hour cooldown, the situation was essentially four S-rank hunters and one with abilities above A-rank spreading out in all directions, sweeping through the dungeon.
They had completely devastated a B-rank dungeon.
They had entered expecting it to take at least two days, but they finished clearing it just a little past 10 PM.
Whoooosh!
Seong-jun’s group emerged from the portal.
“Wow! I thought we’d have to hunt until tomorrow, but we cleared the dungeon in less than a day.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not a day. We did the first assault the day before yesterday, remember?”
“Tch, who doesn’t know that? I’m talking about today alone. We already cleared about a third last time, so normally we’d have to hunt until at least tomorrow afternoon. That’s a huge cut down to just one day. That’s impressive.”
While Gwang-taek and Yuseon bickered, Seong-jun was thinking about something else.
‘As my skill level rose to 2, the max number increased from 10 to 12, and the duration increased by 10 minutes. Conversely, the cooldown decreased by 10 minutes. That means if I raise it to level 6, I can maintain it almost indefinitely, and at level 5 there’s only about a 10-minute gap. For now, I need to raise the skill level as much as possible.’
Since the title’s cooldown reduction rate was being applied, if he raised the skill level like this, at level 6 the duration would exceed the cooldown.
And even at level 5, the gap between duration and cooldown would be only about 10 minutes.
‘Before that bastard Grand Overlord arrives, it’ll be tough, but once he comes, I just need to take him down within an hour. If I can get to level 5, I should be able to handle A-rank dungeons without any issues.’
With the one-hour cooldown, he could still conquer A-rank dungeons, but it wouldn’t be that efficient.
But if he reached level 5 and reduced the gap between duration and cooldown to about 10 minutes?
From then on, it would be almost infinite.
Ten minutes would pass quickly while searching for monsters anyway.
Just then.
Ding!
A message arrived on Seong-jun’s phone.
“Huh? Choi Sangjin?”
Since it was from Choi Sangjin, Seong-jun immediately checked his phone.
[Grand Overlord Alexander will arrive in Korea in 4 days. Alexander’s class is known to be Assassin, the natural enemy of the Mage lineage, so be extra cautious. He is expected to begin full-scale movement one day after arrival.]
The message from Choi Sangjin contained the Grand Overlord’s arrival schedule and class information.
“Hoh, so he arrives in four days? Full-scale movement starts five days later? That should be enough time to adapt.”
With just this one hunt, Gwang-taek, Yuseon, and Chang-su had shown rapid adaptation to their new S-rank skills.
So with four days of leeway, they would definitely adapt thoroughly.
And by then, the Guardian of the Saint level would also rise.
Seong-jun’s muttering drew the group closer.
“What’s that? What’s this about four days and five days?”
At Gwang-taek’s question, Seong-jun showed him the message and said,
“That bastard Grand Overlord I told you about. He’s arriving in Korea in four days. Full-scale movement starts five days from now. We need to adapt to our new abilities by then, so we’ll have to push hard. Starting tomorrow, we’ll tackle three B-rank dungeons over four days. We won’t leave a dungeon until we fully clear it, so rest up today.”
At this pace, clearing one B-rank dungeon wouldn’t even take a day and a half.
In theory, that meant he could clear three dungeons in four days.
Of course, it would require non-stop, insane grinding.
“What? Three dungeons in four days? Isn’t that too intense? That means almost no sleep while hunting.”
“We need to finish adapting before fighting the Grand Overlord. We don’t have that much time. We’ll grind hard for four days, then rest for a full day. Then we take down the Grand Overlord.”
He didn’t know exactly what “Realm of Transcendence” meant, but it was probably more than just a little stronger than a typical S-rank.
In the worst case, his opponent could be far stronger than Seong-jun, so to survive, he had to adapt to his new abilities as much as possible.
“Haa, fine. If that Grand Overlord is that strong, we better adapt as much as possible even if it means staying up all night for a few days. Got it. I’ll think of it as stockpiling monsters for several weeks’ worth of trade.”
“Ahh, staying up all night is bad for my skin. Oppa, can’t you make a holy water that improves skin yet?”
“Haa, Yuseon. In my opinion, your skin already looks bad enough. What more could go wrong?”
“Ah! What did you say? Why are you picking a fight again, Gwang-taek? You wanna fight?”
Gwang-taek and Yuseon were still bickering cheerfully.
“Haha, since my level is still low, I don’t have that kind of holy water. Maybe later when my skill level is higher. Anyway, everyone head in. When you come tomorrow, bring plenty of hunter-style combat rations. I’ll handle Seon-hwa noona’s share. Please bear with the hard work for a few days. Once this is over, I’ll do my best to ensure you can focus on your research.”
He wanted to create an environment where Seon-hwa could research freely, but that was impossible right now.
Since the Grand Overlord’s arrival was confirmed, everyone had to work together until the immediate threat was eliminated.
“Anyway, there’s still plenty of time before serious experiments. It’s just about securing samples for now, so there’s no rush. Don’t worry. I’ll help as much as I can.”
For her own experiments, she absolutely needed Seong-jun.
During experiments, internal organ problems could occur, and only Seong-jun could fix them.
That’s why Seon-hwa had to protect Seong-jun at all costs, even if it meant delaying her own experiments.
“Dungeon summoning—release.”
As Seong-jun released the summoned dungeon,
Whooooooom!
The portal began to close slowly.
A portal created outside would naturally disappear after 24 hours of conquest.
But a dungeon summoned using the Dungeon Creation Device could be closed immediately by releasing it.
Since they had already confirmed no ruins remained inside and stored all monster corpses and mana stones in subspace, he simply released the summon.
“See you tomorrow morning, then.”
With that, Seong-jun left the hideout.
Gwang-taek, Yuseon, and Chang-su also left one by one.
Seon-hwa, left alone, came up from Basement 2 and headed to Floor 5.
The remodeling wasn’t completely finished, but since it was in its final stages, her living space was over 90% done.
—
Back home, Seong-jun showered and went straight to bed.
Since he might have to stay up for three days straight starting tomorrow, he wanted to get plenty of rest in advance.
But his wish didn’t come true.
Just past 3 AM,
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
A loud noise assaulted Seong-jun’s ears.
“Ugh, what’s all that noise… Huh! W-wait! This sound!”
Startled awake by the sudden noise, Seong-jun felt a sense of familiarity and snapped his eyes open.
“Y-yes! It’s the Dungeon Creation Device!”
The source of the noise was the Dungeon Creation Device.
He urgently checked it.
[The exclusive solo privilege dungeon [Second Hall of Trials] for the Dungeon Creation Device holder has opened.]
[The solo privilege dungeon can be summoned in addition to the currently summoned dungeon.]
[If not summoned within 1 hour, it will disappear from the list. Do you wish to summon the privilege dungeon? Yes/No]
As expected, a notification appeared saying the privilege dungeon had appeared.
“That’s right! This is it! This is why I kept the Dungeon Creation Device on me instead of storing it in subspace!”
Having gained a lot from the privilege dungeon before, Seong-jun had always carried the device on him, thinking it might open again.
And today, it finally paid off.
Especially since it opened right before the battle with the Grand Overlord, it felt even more significant.
“Instead of standing here, I should summon it quickly. Let’s go to the living room.”
He went to the living room and immediately summoned the privilege dungeon.
[Summoning the solo privilege dungeon [Hall of Trials].]
Whooooom!
Just like last time, a privilege dungeon portal materialized in the center of the living room.
A golden portal, big enough for one person, appeared before Seong-jun.
“Hoo, shall we go?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Seong-jun entered the portal.
Whoooosh!
As he entered the portal, a pitch-black void unfolded before him, just like before.
[You have entered the solo privilege dungeon [Second Hall of Trials].]
[Class identified as Healer. A trial suited to your class will be prepared.]
‘What kind of trial will it be? A defense-type trial like last time? Or a completely different concept this time?’
As he was filled with anticipation for the new trial,
Whoooosh!
Terrain features began to materialize in the empty darkness.
“Palisades and pillars? So it’s a defense trial like the first one!”
The second trial was also a defense-type trial, just like the first.
“But there are six paths leading to the palisade? That’s two more than last time.”
Everything else was identical to the first trial, except for the number of paths to the palisade.
Unlike the first trial, which had four paths, this one added two, making a total of six paths.
That meant monsters would charge in from six paths.
“Since it’s the second trial, it must be different from the first. Still, just adding two paths shouldn’t be too hard? Compared to back then, I’ve gotten much stronger.”
During the first trial, Seong-jun was A-rank.
Now he was S-rank, and he had gained powerful new skills.
Most importantly, he now had the special authority of the Guardian of the Saint, which could raise knight-level figures or mages to S-rank if necessary.
All skill cooldowns had been significantly reduced, giving him a huge advantage over the first trial.
A while later,
Ziiiiing!
Above the pillars, crystal spheres that emitted a faint light were installed.
‘It’s beginning. The wounded soldiers will appear now.’
As expected, the moment the spheres were installed, wounded soldiers began to be summoned inside the palisade.
Woong! Woong! Woong! Woong!
“Ughhh.”
“Cough! Cough.”
“Argh! Aaah!”
“Eek! Cough!”
In the first trial, all the wounded had external injuries.
But perhaps because this was the second trial, some had internal organ damage.
In particular, a knight-level figure had internal injuries, so if there was no skill to treat internal damage, future progress would be extremely difficult.
Of course, that wasn’t an issue for Seong-jun.
[The second trial for Healers has opened. Treat the wounded, support them, repel the incoming monsters, and protect the Crystal of Light.]
[Divine Power consumption varies by soldier rank. Common Soldier [1000 consumed] / Senior Soldier [8000 consumed] / Knight [100,000 consumed]
[The trial will begin in 10 minutes. The trial consists of 20 stages. The higher the stage, the higher the reward tier.]
Seong-jun smirked after reading the notification.
‘The Divine Power consumption more than doubled compared to last time? Well, that shouldn’t be a problem…’
Before, common soldiers cost 500, senior soldiers 3,000, and knights 50,000.
But for the second trial, common soldiers and knights had doubled, while senior soldiers nearly tripled.
Still, with a total of over 200 million Divine Power from his base and additional reserves, it was a trivial amount.
“Alright, should we begin? Divine Healing! Wide Area Mode! Healing Light! Wide Area Mode!”
He first healed all external wounds with Divine Healing, then cast Healing Light.
Then he approached the knight.
“Perfect Recovery.”
Whoooosh!
He healed the knight’s internal injuries with Perfect Recovery.
“Huh! P-priest? Where is this, and who are you, Priest?”
“Just a moment. There are still people with internal injuries, so let me finish healing them before we talk. I also need to treat those with physical damage.”
Not only the knight, but some senior and common soldiers also had internal injuries.
And as expected, many had missing or severed arms or legs.
Since every common soldier was a valuable asset in the early waves, he intended to save them all without a single death.
Whoosh! Whosh! Whoooosh!
He healed internal injuries with Perfect Recovery while regenerating damaged body parts with God’s Miracle.
“Ooh! Th-thank you!”
“Cough! M-my body is healed?”
“P-Priest! Thank you for saving my life!”
Those who survived after Seong-jun’s treatment all expressed their gratitude.
‘The number of troops is the same as the first trial. 90 common soldiers, 10 senior soldiers, and one knight. It’s definitely tougher than the first, but still manageable.’
Although the number of summoned soldiers was the same, there were two extra monster approach routes.
That meant fewer soldiers could be assigned to each path compared to the first trial.
But since Seong-jun had grown that much stronger, it more than compensated.
Once he finished treating all the soldiers, the knight approached him again.
“By the heavens! Being able to treat internal injuries is something only very high-ranking priests in the Holy Kingdom can do. I know that. And the ability to regenerate lost body parts, as far as I know, only a select few among high-ranking priests can do that. May I ask your name, sir?”
In the Holy Kingdom, high-ranking priests were at least Counts in terms of rank.
And those who could regenerate body parts were at least Marquises.
Meaning he was not someone a mere knight could treat lightly.
“Haha, just know me as a priest serving the Goddess of Light, Hemeias.”
“The Goddess of Light, Hemeias! So you are indeed a priest of the Holy Kingdom! Either way, thank you for saving my life. But where is this place?”
On the continent, there were many gods and many religious orders, but the one with the most influence across the continent was the Church of the Goddess of Light, Hemeias.
Since Seong-jun said he served Hemeias, the knight naturally assumed he was a high-ranking priest of the Holy Kingdom.
“May I ask which kingdom you belong to?”
When Seong-jun instead asked which kingdom he was from, the knight hastily replied.
“Ah! I have committed a discourtesy to the priest. I am a low-ranking knight of the 3rd Corps of the Kingdom of Yutria, Baron Jeff.”
It was a completely different kingdom from the one in the first trial, so Seong-jun asked out of curiosity.
“Then do you know the Kingdom of Karhen?”
“The Kingdom of Karhen? Of course. It’s a kingdom bordering ours, across the Forest of Darkness. They are also in the middle of a war with monsters. Come to think of it, I heard that a few months ago, a unit and several knights and mages who were believed to have been annihilated suddenly returned and greatly contributed to the war against the monsters. Thanks to that, the tide turned from being pushed back, and they recovered a lot of lost territory.”
From what he heard, it seemed those who cleared the first trial with Seong-jun had returned to their original world and contributed significantly to the monster war.
“I see. Actually, the same thing happened before this. Soldiers, knights, and mages of the Kingdom of Karhen who were on the brink of death were summoned here, and they overcame the trial with me. This place is a Hall of Trials created by the gods to test us. As the trial progresses, those of higher rank and ability will be summoned here. And when you overcome the final trial, you will return to your original world intact.”
At Seong-jun’s words, the knight’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“The Hall of Trials? And if we overcome the final trial, we can return to our original world? Hmm, so that’s why the supposedly annihilated forces of Karhen Kingdom suddenly appeared and turned the war around—because they overcame the trial.”
“If you’re with me, you can do the same. Survive here, return to your world, and save your kingdom from crisis. To do that, you must follow my words absolutely. I’ve already experienced this trial once, so I know how to overcome it.”
Going through the trial before, he had experienced what choices to make and when to build walls and palisades.
Of course, when knights or mages with titles appeared, he would seek their advice, but even without it, he had no problem conquering the trial.
“Don’t worry, Priest. I will faithfully carry out your orders.”
In this unfamiliar place, not knowing what was going to happen, trusting the judgment of someone who had already been through it once was only natural.
“Now, the waves are about to begin, so let’s move quickly. First, we need to deploy troops at each path. There are six paths in total, so Sir Jeff, please command the soldiers and place them where they’re needed.”
Seong-jun only needed to make appropriate decisions based on the situation and relay them to the highest authority.
He didn’t have to personally command every soldier.
“Understood! Monsters will be coming soon! If we survive here, we can return to our original world! So everyone, give your all to stop the monsters! I will deploy forces to each path. Follow my orders and move quickly!”
Low-ranking knight Baron Jeff quickly issued orders and deployed troops.
The soldiers followed the orders, swiftly moving to establish defensive lines.
I Became an EX-Class All-Rounder Priest Chapter 119
E-book publication date: November 14, 2025
Author: Kim Hyeon-jun
Publisher: Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by: Poten
Address: 10F, 11-gil 8, Yeonmujang, Seongdong-gu, Seoul [04783]
Phone: 02-6320-8500
Fax: 02-6320-8585
ISBN: 9791175302167
Price: 100 won
© Kim Hyeon-jun 2025
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It is published under contract with the author.
Unauthorized reproduction, duplication, distribution, or sharing is prohibited without written consent from both parties.