Chương 336: Chapter 336
"First, let's deal with this."
Following the Return of the Light, Seong Jihan managed to roll back time by one minute.
Despite having many questions about this martial art technique, he decided not to waste the opportunity.
Before the characters from the Sun King could reach the emblem on his chest, he went all out to stop it.
Sssshhh…!
The characters being inscribed on Seong Jihan's chest began to slowly disappear. Then,
-Wow, he's resisting it! :O
-To even overcome the mark of a Great Constellation…
-Uh… he must really be a Grand elf! He's wearing a mask!
-Grand elves don't disguise their planet of origin. He's definitely human.
Despite clearly seeing him use a mask earlier, the chat speculated again about Seong Jihan being a Grand elf.
While he had left the alien chats as a reference, Seong Jihan was surprised upon closer inspection.
He hadn't noticed before, but all chat messages within a minute had disappeared.
'Viewers of my BattleTube are located across various parts of the universe. Could it be… that their time also rewound by a minute along with mine…?'
Rather than a martial art, Annihilation God's Secret seemed like a collection of certain powers, among which Return of the Light's ability to rewind time was the most unique.
Rewinding time by one minute, if properly mastered, could make one virtually invincible?
'It doesn't seem to use any energy either.'
As Seong Jihan pondered this,
[Someone else used time reversal on the player's behalf.]
[As compensation for utilizing a sealed power, 6 Stat Red will be consumed.]
'What? 6? Status window!'
Upon reading the message, Seong Jihan instinctively opened his status window.
There, he found his Stat Red reduced from 17 to 11.
'No way…'
Stat Red, a hard-to-increase attribute, had reduced by 6 just because of a minute's reversal?
It wasn't he who used the power, but the price for this intermediary action was too high.
'…Of course, reversing time is an amazing effect, but the cost is too steep.'
He sighed, feeling dejected as he thought about all the remaining points he had invested in Stat Red.
Should he have just let the Sun King's report go through?
Why did he feel compelled to use Return of the Light then?
'It felt like I was being enchanted…'
Regretfully looking at his now-decreased Stat Red, Seong Jihan wondered why he made that choice at that moment.
The message mentioned 'someone' using the time reversal on his behalf.
Did Return of the Light mediate this?
'Then was my urge to use Return of the Light also influenced by someone's intention?'
Who could exert such influence?
While Seong Jihan lamented the loss of the 6 Stat Red and pondered, a message appeared.
[You have used all five of the Annihilation God's Secret techniques.]
[You break through the wall.]
[Martial Soul increases by 10.]
Stuck at 299, his Martial Soul jumped to 309.
The condition for exceeding 300 seems to have been using all techniques of Annihilation God's Secret, although the third technique, Return of the Light, felt more like it was used on him rather than by him.
Nonetheless, breaking through this limitation was a piece of welcome news.
'At least there's some consolatory gain.'
It was like exchanging 10 points of Martial Soul for 6 Red.
Honestly, losing Red felt more regrettable, but Seong Jihan decided to focus on the significance of breaking through the barrier rather than on the numerical loss.
Then,
Ssss…
As the arena, transformed into light, swirled with a black tornado,
[Did you just do something?]
The owner of the arena, with a universe for a face, emerged.
"Something?"
[I felt a massive flux for a moment…]
Twinkle!
The starlight within the universal face flickered, and the arena, previously obliterated by the little sun's explosion, was restored to its original state.
[Strange… I was certain it was here.]
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Seong Jihan decided it was best not to mention Return of the Light.
Though the arena's owner seemed friendly, he was still a being of the void.
There was no need to share the detail of rewinding time.
[Is that so… Perhaps it was my mistake.]
After scanning the surroundings and failing to pick up any clues, the arena's owner gave up searching.
[The match is not yet over. Please, conclude it.]
With that, he vanished.
'The match isn't over?'
Wasn't the Sun King's summon supposed to conclude everything with its self-destruction?
Seong Jihan looked around.
In the world restored by the arena's owner, there was no trace of the little sun.
Where could it be hiding?
'Even with my enhanced senses, I can't find it.'
Deciding it was futile to seek the little sun with his senses, Seong Jihan deployed an appropriate martial art for the situation.
Ssss…
Eclipse, summoned from Seong Jihan's arm, quickly froze over.
Fundamental Divine Arts, Annihilation God's Secret – Ice Sword Rain
As it ascended, Seong Jihan's domain above was entirely encased in ice.
With his power amplified, Ice Sword Rain became much stronger.
Giant ice swords sprung from all directions and,
Swoosh!
Instead of targeting the ground, the swords flew towards a point in the sky.
'It's escaped upwards.'
Following the direction of Ice Sword Rain, Seong Jihan ascended.
At a high point in the sky, there was a finger-sized red gem.
An object absorbing sunlight at a high altitude, where Seong Jihan sensed power slowly recharging within, reminiscent of the Little Sun's energy.
'It can't be left to fully recharge.'
Crack!
Grabbing the red gemstone, a system message appeared before him.
[You have acquired a fragment of the 'Crimson Sun Core.']
[You possess the Stat Red. Absorption is possible.]
[Would you like to absorb the 'Crimson Sun Core' fragment?]
Absorption was possible?
Although hesitant to consume something belonging to the Sun King,
'I've lost enough stats because of this thing.'
Seong Jihan decided to absorb it, especially mindful of the Red he had lost.
'But not now.'
During a BattleTube broadcast, watched by alien species, it was not the time to demonstrate the absorption of the Sun Core fragment.
His experience from the battle against the little sun had taught him that keeping Red a secret was more beneficial for his safety.
"Inventory."
Opening his inventory, Seong Jihan stored the Sun Core fragment. With that sorted,
[The finals have concluded.]
[Victor: Seong Jihan]
The finals were, at last, finished.
* * *
-Aaaargh! My GP!!
-Is it really over? Is this how it ends…?
-How could a lowest-tier beat an alt of a Great Constellation? Is this even real…?
-To just gulp down an item of the Sun King like that? Isn't Seong Jihan afraid of the consequences?!
-Eh, would the Sun King, now in hiding, show himself over a piece of the core? He devoured it just fine.
-Seong Jihan led us to victory and now to our downfall…
The alien chat was plunged into despair.
Convinced that the Sun King's side would win and having bet everything on it, alien species were now crying out, unable to comprehend their loss.
And then,
-Gaaaah!
-Thank you, alien brethren, for the GP!
-Holding the odds down since match 2 and 3 of the arena, hahaha, but the finals' 10-fold return is insane, hahaha!
-Phew, trusted Seong Jihan but got nervous when he was engulfed in flames…
-Even being human, our faith in Mr. Seong Jihan was still lacking, haha.
-Imma be real, just bet on Seong Jihan's name without questioning. That's the way to turn your life around, yes, trust.
The human chat was filled with cheers, a stark contrast to before.
Though Seong Jihan had shown overwhelming strength from match 1, up to the semi-finals, his odds had fallen.
However, the final's 10-fold return brought many to immense wealth.
Next step in the process,
[A ceremony for the winner will commence.]
Flash!
Seong Jihan's body was summoned from the arena, to somewhere else.
A place shrouded in purplish smoke. Under Seong Jihan's feet, bones from numerous species piled up like mountains.
Standing atop this mountain of bones,
Zzzz…
the space in front of Seong Jihan warped, revealing a face with universe filled with stars.
[We meet again.]
The arena's owner, now a familiar face to Seong Jihan.
[As the Master League Arena winner, I, the owner of the arena, will personally award the prize.]
His declaration led to an outcry.
-The owner of the arena is awarding a Master League winner personally?
-Isn't this favoritism a bit too much…
-What's the relationship between Seong Jihan and the void? Explain!
-You're witnessing the cries of losers who've lost all their GP
-The complaints are loud when you're betting against the channel host, haha.
Alien viewers were up in arms, questioning the relationship between the two.
Previously singing Seong Jihan's praises when winning GP, they were now left with nothing but bitterness.
"So what if it's favoritism?"
With a chuckle, Seong Jihan told the arena's owner,
"Make sure the reward is worth it."
Responding with ease.
[As a standard reward, the Master League winner receives 5 trillion GP and the right to draw one item from the treasure cube… However, for you, I will replace the 5 trillion GP with an additional treasure cube draw, allowing you two draws.]
The arena's owner presented Seong Jihan with a choice between 5 trillion GP or another draw from the treasure cube.
-Obviously, it has to be the draw.
-Yeah, obviously. Who would want the GP now? The draw is the only way.
-Wow, even 'that' cube is valued at 5 trillion? It's expensive, haha.
-Hey, shh! You know how good the rewards from 'that' cube can be ^^
-If you're lucky, you can also get a race evolution bonus from there ^-^
Seeing the unanimous call for the draw from alien viewers,
-Maybe taking the GP is right?
-Lol if they're cheering for that, just going the opposite way would bring me back even, but…
-Aren't they just bitter because they bet poorly? Why is it our Jihan's fault? -_-
-Still, the thought of getting a race evolution bonus is tempting…
-Can't we gather 5 trillion GP on Earth and go for the draw?
Although opposing the alien's stance might guarantee breaking even, with the promise of a race evolution bonus included in the treasure cube, many expressed regret.
5 trillion GP or an additional draw?
'Considering I earned quite a bit from self-betting this time…'
Seong Jihan chose the latter.
"I'll go with the draw."
Upon Seong Jihan's response,
[An excellent choice. Now, I will present the cubes to you.]
Ssss…
Cubes started emerging from the universe-faced host, one after another.
'This is why it's called a draw, huh? Quite a number.'
When the first 10 golden cubes emerged from the universe's backdrop, Seong Jihan was nonchalant, but as the count reached 100, then over 500, his brow furrowed.
"…How long will this go on?"
[The Master League yields up to 1000 cubes.]
Arriving at a total of 1000 cubes,
[Now, honored winner, please select 2 rewards from these cubes.]
A voice from each of the 1000 cubes echoed the invitation.
-Hahaha, baited by the race evolution, haven't you?
-Wow, choosing from 1000 cubes only to select 2, not bad odds~
-Aren't 95% of those cubes duds? Hahaha.
-Ah, seeing him fall for it makes me feel better~
-You thought I'd let you walk away with 5 trillion GP after losing all mine? ^-^
The sight of the 1000 cubes had never made the alien chat as delighted as now.
'95% are duds…'
Seeing the messages in the chat, Seong Jihan turned to the host of the arena.
"Am I allowed to use some power to choose?"
[You may. However, if excessive force is applied, whether the cube contains treasure or not, it will break all the same.]
"I have no intention of breaking them."
Sss…
Eclipse appeared from Seong Jihan's left arm, quickly freezing over.
"I'm merely planning to use the sword for selection."
And then, in an instant, the Ice Sword targeted specifically a few cubes.
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