Chapter 372: Chapter 372
=That's Seong Jihan's vortex! Is he trying to catch all the fleeing werewolves?
=But the opposing players are already far away, fleeing at an incredible speed. Even with that dark vortex, it seems unlikely he'll catch the wolves…!
The Dark Soul Vortex, now a familiar sight to the commentators.
This massive shadow vortex was one of Seong Jihan's frequently used techniques, well-known enough that viewers could roughly gauge its range.
-The speed at which he's dispatching the wolves is no joke;
-Will it reach them…?
-Looks difficult? They're fleeing too fast.
-Guess he needs to chase them down one by one
To onlookers, Seong Jihan's Dark Soul Vortex seemed slightly off in timing.
The werewolves, fleeing at full speed, were likely not to be caught given the vortex's delayed activation.
However.
=Ah… Seong Jihan's skill looks a bit different than usual!
=It used to be a completely dark vortex, but now it's mixed with white light!
Initially, the Dark Soul Vortex was solely black.
But as strands of white light began to intertwine differently than usual.
"Grrr…rr…rrr"
The bodies of the fleeing wolves began to float lightly.
Being sucked into the swirling vortex of black and white.
And not just the wolves were being pulled in.
Thud-thud-crack!
The grass that covered the plains of the Great Plains was being ripped off.
Even the soil, which rooted the grass, was dragged along.
[Wha, what…]
[How is it reaching this far…!]
Swoosh!
The wolves and the land itself were sucked into the vortex.
Incapable of resisting, they were shredded inside.
=Seong Jihan's skill! Has it been upgraded?
=Its range is much broader than usual…! Even the players representing their race can't withstand the vortex's suction!
=Now, the black-and-white vortex seems about to swallow the entire map!
=Ah, our base has also been destroyed!
The Dark Soul Vortex, now mixed with white, had evolved utilizing some techniques from the Taiji Swordsmanship, harnessing tremendous power, it even tore the steel scarecrows from the ground.
[3 of 'humanity's' bases have been destroyed.]
Seong Jihan himself had destroyed three bases like this.
However.
[Ugh… this, isn't this far stronger than their warnings…]
Before any more bases were destroyed, the last wolf was sucked into the vortex.
The blue-furred wolf, who also acted as the coach for the opposing team.
The furthest to flee, he was eventually dragged into the Dark Soul Vortex and dissipated into dust.
Then.
[All opposing team players have been annihilated.]
[Match 2 concludes.]
[Humanity wins.]
['Seong Jihan' is selected as MVP of match 2.]
The game concluded swiftly.
Seong Jihan looked beyond the message window, gazing at the still-rotating black-and-white Dark Soul Vortex.
'I'm getting used to mixing life force with void. Thanks to Taiji Swordsmanship.'
The key to advancing his Dark Shadow Technique was using life force alongside void.
Yet, operating these inherently antagonistic powers synergistically was no easy feat, regardless of practice.
But with recent significant growth in his 'Eternity' stat and handling of the Taiji Swordsmanship, he found clues for its development.
'Though the Taiji Swordsmanship itself does not use the void…'
Dongbang Sak, who lived eternal, hadn't wielded the void.
Even though his Taiji Swordsmanship wielded power akin to the void.
Knowing even the surface of Taiji Swordsmanship's mechanism made it easier to handle both Eternity and void.
'Is there a connection to what the Arena's Master had said?'
The Arena's Master, who seemed to know about the Taiji Swordsmanship, hinted that a human alone couldn't have 'created' it without full control of his powers.
'When I reach Level 500, and the Void Training Room upgrades, I must delve deeper.'
Right now, without a place to practice, Seong Jihan couldn't utilize the Taiji Swordsmanship.
Thus, he retracted the Dark Soul Vortex while pondering the sword.
* * *
In the Space League's coach's office.
"…"
The blue-furred werewolf sat, staring blankly with a vacant expression.
The second game on the Great Plains map.
A map that, from the werewolf's perspective, was almost guaranteed not to lose.
But given the unforeseen encounter with a monster, the game ended abruptly.
"Aren't you going to draw a card?"
"What's the point of drawing if we're going to lose anyway…"
To Davis's question, the werewolf looked utterly defeated, his fur flopping down.
-Why give up on the game so early lol.
-If you were crushed like in the second game, giving up makes sense.
-Haven't seen Seong Jihan's vortex expand that much, when did it evolve?
-But every time you see it, it's wider. With their racial evolution, it's not strange they've become stronger.
-Yeah, other people run around while he flies.
Seong Jihan's continuous advancement.
Was it due to racial evolution?
To the spectators, this time appeared much stronger than usual.
If they felt this way, imagine the opposing team seeing Seong Jihan for the first time.
"…Sigh."
Still, the third game had to proceed.
The werewolf coach sighed and finally pulled out a ban card.
Banning the number one rank.
=Ah, it seems the VIP option didn't work this time!
=Seong Jihan has been banned!
For the werewolves, fortunately, Seong Jihan was banned.
But they couldn't choose the map they wanted.
=This time the map is Southgate!
=With alternating defensive and siege battles, the werewolves' mobility will be completely blocked!
=If they play like in the first game, there's a high likelihood of victory in this match!
"Southgate, huh… Is that monster banned?"
"Check during the match."
"…Alright."
The blue-furred werewolf, after being stymied by Davis' response, left the coach's office.
And the third game began.
=The human representative team… Overwhelming the opposition!
=Is it the fallout from the second game? The morale of the werewolves seems depleted, barely mustering any strength!
=And from the werewolves' perspective, the map inherently doesn't suit them well! It's not fit for siege battles!
=I'm not sure who will take MVP this time! All players are performing evenly!
The human representative team crushed the opposition.
An even more decisive victory than the first game.
Viewers watching the match were in a festive mood.
-Whoa… I woke up and we turned into a strong team…
-Is this… the power of evolution?
-The opposition might be weak, haha.
-Weak? Remember, we lost to the Zojin Tribe…
-Right, never underestimate the 18th rank.
Meanwhile…
In an extraterrestrial chatroom on Seong Jihan's channel.
A few aliens gathered to watch the human games.
-Humanity has indeed become stronger since becoming a lower-tier race.
-Even without Seong Jihan, they won't get relegated now.
-If the race continues to grow from here, they'll be quite competitive in BattleNet.
-Right. Humanity has incredible numbers, doesn't it?
Aliens, displaying newfound interest in race 'humanity', shared opinions while watching the game played by Seong Jihan.
Seong Jihan silently observed the chat, then spoke up.
"Strength in numbers, huh… Are other races not as populous?"
-Are you reading the chat?
-Are there races with more numbers than humanity? Not none in the Space League, but it's rare for a race to have so many players.
-That's why it's absurd sometimes to see this viewer count. Didn't expect BattleTube could be accessed by this many…
"Isn't every individual supposed to be a player?"
It's a matter of the gift.
Doesn't every adult in BattleNet system receive it?
But the aliens responded as if they didn't understand what that meant.
-Every individual… what are you talking about?
-Only a part of each race can be players;
-I mean, there's no race where everyone can play. But that would only be possible with admin connection.
-Yeah, that could be possible. Otherwise, it seems unlikely.
Seong Jihan tilted his head, asking the Shadow Queen.
"Weren't all shadow elves turned into players?"
[No. Like your race, every one of us became players. Our race was directly or indirectly connected to the Green Administrator.]
"A connection with the administrator dictates who becomes a player?"
[I don't fully understand the causal relationship myself. It's just a guess.]
"Hmm… that's unexpected."
Always thought humans were abundantly numbered, but it turns out, it's not easy for other races to even access BattleNet.
'If it's related to an administrator… could it mostly be the Red Administrator for humanity?'
Considering the World Tree was planted, a connection with the Green cannot be dismissed.
So many are involved with humanity.
Seong Jihan pondered about both red and green while frowning.
Ding.
-What channel is this that's been marked a topic of the month?
-Human origin… evolved from the lowest-tier to lower-tier?
-How did the Bronze League evolve…
As the chatroom slowly filled with aliens drawn by the 'topic of the channel' tag,
The regulars initiated the chat.
-Did BattleTube mark this as this month's topic?
-Ah, it's supposed to start from the lower-tier.
-Topic? Compared to when he won by turning the tables in the Arena, it's rather dull nowadays haha.
-With the viewership generally starting from lower-tier and up, suddenly we see a surge of newcomers.
-Take advantage of the incoming tide.
-Let's go to the Arena one more time!
Following the upgrade to a lower-tier and becoming a topic of the month, Seong Jihan drew considerable attention.
He opened the main screen of BattleTube.
Channels swamped not only from aliens but also from myriads of other sources.
Among them, on the very top was the tab for the topic of the month.
'My channel seems to be at the very end here…'
Swiftly scrolling through numerous channels, finally, Seong Jihan's channel appeared modestly tucked away at the back.
Even if being at the back, being included here seemed to draw more aliens wondering what was happening.
'Becoming a lower-tier brought some unexpected side effects.'
Seong Jihan, noting the increase in alien participants, was energized.
Clearly, as seen earlier, it was time to row when the water floods.
'To advance the Star Buff, I do need to increase alien viewers…'
More alien viewers meant the activation of the Star Buff.
He couldn't rest on the current capabilities of the Star Buff but needed continuous upgrades.
'I should consider ways to keep rowing.'
Seong Jihan watched as the BattleNet connector opened and delved deep into his thoughts.
* * *
On the bottom of the West Sea, within the drawn Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
"Hmm…"
The translucent form of Dongbang Sak scrutinized it intently.
While his physical body remained intact elsewhere.
Part of his spirit, sent for exploration, now observed the degraded Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, darkening his gaze.
'Why is this here?'
The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams under the sea.
He had no recollections concerning this.
Surely, upon seeing the formation, he was certain he had drawn it.
But Dongbang Sak could not remember why it was there.
'It's like the related memories have been deleted.'
He recalled what Gilgamesh had said.
When asked why he pursued immortality, he couldn't give a clear answer.
Together with this reason, parts of his memories, particularly those related to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, were clearly missing.
'Will the memories resurface if I dismantle this formation?'
If the formation were intact, his spirit alone couldn't destroy it.
But this damaged formation seemed potentially dismantlable even by his spiritual form.
The wholly vanished past memories.
Dongbang Sak wondered if dismantling this would bring them back, as he slowly reached out.
However.
Whoosh!
Before his hand could touch it.
Suddenly, fire ignited on the beard of his counterpart in his physical location.
"Hm!"
Thump! Thump!
Annoyed, Dongbang Sak quickly patted out the flames.
Of all things to touch, why the beard?
As he looked around for the culprit.
[Stop.]
"…You?"
Surprised by a voice he had never heard in the physical realm.
His eyes widened.
"…Could it be the Third Disciple?"
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