– The Red Administrator…
– Why is that guy's hand here?
– Wow, what's happening now?
– Is this channel a special feature of administrators?
As soon as the name of the special boss appeared on BattleTube, the chat from extraterrestrial viewers exploded.
The Red Administrator.
Despite his term ending, he had not relinquished his position and had gone into hiding.
And.
'An administrator who seems linked to both the Martial God and Ashoka in some way…'
Initially, even those who had limited humanity were part of the Red's Tribe.
The Red Administrator,
'But if only his hand is remaining, it might've been cut off while he was fleeing and buried in the void.'
Seong Jihan observed the front while crossing his arms.
The vortex of the void gradually turned black.
Fwooooosh…!
From within, a burning hand emerged.
'It's clenched in a fist.'
Though the size of the hand was slightly larger than Seong Jihan, it was far less imposing compared to the overwhelming figure of the Thunder God.
Despite its appearance, Seong Jihan remained cautious as he slowly approached the Red Administrator's hand.
The hand had a peculiar texture, as if mixing human features with those of a reptile.
Scaly structures stood out prominently, blazing on the back of the hand.
– That's the hand of an administrator? Doesn't seem like much.
– The Red Administrator originally came from a giant race. Of course, after the administrators appeared, they renamed their species the Red's Tribe.
– Ah, I see…
– If it's staying still like that, can't he just attack and clear this mission too?
– As if beating an administrator's hand is that simple…
– Still, it's too quiet.
Viewers speculated as the seemingly lifeless, clenched hand did not move.
But.
As Seong Jihan got closer to the Red Hand.
Flash!
A light flickered on the back of the hand.
From there, characters emerged.
Though it wasn't any recognizable language, Seong Jihan could read the characters.
[Red.]
Swoosh!
As soon as the letter emerged, the hand opened out.
Inside the scarlet palm, hundreds of eyes were embedded.
Initially unfocused and dazed.
[Target.]
Wriggle. Wriggle.
As the eyes moved, they collectively fixed their gaze on Seong Jihan.
The numerous red eyeballs, brimming with life, trembled.
– Ew! What is that??
– Even with just a hand remaining, it's that powerful… it's definitely an administrator.
– To instill fear even through the screen…
The viewers who had earlier downplayed the hand's significance felt an overwhelming sense of intimidation just by looking at the eyes.
'Why are these seasoned fighters scared of such a gaze?'
Despite facing the eyes directly, Seong Jihan didn't flinch.
'Let's begin the inspection.'
Step. Step.
He walked toward the outstretched hand.
As he approached, the eyes focused increasingly on him.
Flames danced across the hand, then letters appeared again.
[Why am I here? The Black wouldn't have released me.]
"Who knows."
[Ah, got it. You are the bait.]
"…"
The red hand continued to answer its own questions, causing Seong Jihan to frown at the word "bait."
[Bait needed. Found the main body's location. If known, no bait needed. Currently in process of finding.]
The hand spoke in disjointed phrases, but Seong Jihan could roughly understand its meaning.
The Black Administrator had summoned the hand as a special boss intending to use Seong Jihan as bait.
'Is he trying to lure out the Red Administrator through me?'
The Red Administrator, who had vanished long ago.
However, his traces remained scattered on Earth, and recently, connections with the Martial God and Ashoka had surfaced.
As administrators were the absolute figures of BattleNet, they surely wouldn't be oblivious to this information.
Caught in the midst of the administrators' schemes, Seong Jihan felt like a pawn in their grand game.
'The one universal truth in BattleNet is that no one here is trustworthy. The administrators may seem friendly now, but they all have their own agendas using me as a means to an end.'
Remaining ever vigilant in observing the situation is essential.
As Seong Jihan mused,
[Detected. Playing along with intent. Main body needs my power. Bait will be tempting.]
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, flames surged from the Red Hand, extending towards Seong Jihan.
Swoosh!
Seong Jihan quickly dodged the flames, but…
Hiss…!
The tail end of the flames grazed his cheek.
'Even with all my buffs, I couldn't avoid it… so this is the power of an administrator's flame.'
[Constellation reaching level drops to Level 758.]
Despite having activated the Constellation Traits and wearing the mask, he still couldn't fully evade the small flame.
Certainly, this special boss was formidable.
Seong Jihan took a cautious step back, keeping his guard up.
[? Bait. Why dodge. Fulfill your role.]
"And become a sitting duck?"
Seong Jihan retorted upon reading the altered letters.
Fwoosh…
The flame that had scorched his cheek rose momentarily before dying out.
[Stat Red increases by 2.]
As a message displayed the stat increase, Seong Jihan hesitated.
'…Raised by 2 just from a brief touch?'
The Red stat, challenging to increase, had risen by 2 from just a tiny flame.
What would happen if he absorbed the entire flame?
'…Should I consider playing the bait?'
Seong Jihan briefly considered it.
[Resistance pointless. Will switch bodies. Will become bait.]
However, the message promising to take over his body made him draw his weapon.
Letting his body absorb the flames for the stat increase risked conceding control to another entity.
Then.
[Futile defiance.]
Swoosh…
The hundreds of eyes merged into one large eye.
The eye emitted light, creating letters.
[Stop.]
Next to this command, another set of letters appeared.
'That's… a domination code.'
Designed to enforce control through his language.
However.
'My body's moving fine.'
The command to stop had no restrictive power over Seong Jihan.
[Will consume.]
Convinced he had halted, the Red Hand began to extend the flames slowly, contrary to the previous rapid surge.
The flames expanded outward, forming a wide ring to encircle Seong Jihan.
– Why is he staying still?
– As expected, you can't defy an administrator's power.
– It's the Red Hand. Defiance is futile.
– Shouldn't we get refunds?? He even beat the Thunder God, but now an administrator's hand appears? I bet so much money, but the Arena is playing tricks like this?
As Seong Jihan stood still, angry bettors momentarily rioted.
– Oh! I just checked, they're acknowledging it on Arena and giving automatic wins for the special boss appearance.
– Really? Recognized as 1st place?
– Yeah, win or lose, bettors on Seong Jihan get their GP.
– So we win?
– Nice! Seong Jihan, handle the Red case however you want. Made some good money!!
The guaranteed refund by Arena turned the sentiments of bettors.
'Gamblers will be gamblers… Looks like I made 70 times my GP too.'
GP obsession transcends species and is a universal truth across the cosmos.
Taking his eyes off the gamblers, Seong Jihan watched his opponent.
The Red Hand, encircling him in flames, seemingly ready to consume him in one go.
'Retaliation was always an option.'
Striking a distracted enemy had always been easy for him.
But he had decided to wait, considering the previously increased stat.
Raising the Red by 2 from mere contact.
'Need to extract maximum benefit without getting dominated.'
After some time, Seong Jihan saw his chance.
* * *
The red flames completely encircled him.
Expending a lot of power to create the circle, the flames within the Red Hand weakened.
Furthermore, the large, merged eye had significantly dimmed.
'This is sufficient.'
Swoosh…
Seong Jihan re-activated the Dark Soul Vortex.
[?? Bait? How?]
Questioning, the hand watched as Seong Jihan continued.
Disregarding the message, he thrust Eclipse into the Dark Soul Vortex again.
[…Trying that again?]
"Didn't it work well earlier?"
[There was something to learn from your sword…]
"Then let's learn again."
Immediately after the Shadow Queen finished speaking, Seong Jihan caused the void within the vortex to explode.
[Void decreases by 5.]
As the void message appeared, the sword took shape, and he withdrew the blade from the vortex.
Fundamental Divine Arts,
Dark Shadow Technique:
Shadow Divine Blade
Upon witnessing the Shadow Divine Blade, which had dispatched the Thunder God in one move,
[That's…! The void's core…]
The once still eye now trembled in surprise.
[You're not bait, but the Black's blade…]
Swoosh!
The red hand began to touch the erupting darkness.
However, unlike the Thunder God who had been entirely engulfed,
Sizzle…
The hand resisted, emitting smoke as the darkness contacted it.
[No, it's different. Weaker than the Black's blade.]
"What's the Black's blade?"
[You're imitating an administrator's blade and don't know?]
This is imitating an administrator's blade?
Seong Jihan blinked.
This was an alternative he created as he couldn't reveal Dongbang Sak's Taiji Sword.
"Oh. I didn't know."
[So, did you craft this yourself?]
"It's not entirely original; I adapted it from something learnt."
[…A lie? But some truth. Not strong enough for void's proxy…]
Psfffff…
The flames around the hand weakened.
[If you were the void's proxy, resistance would be futile. On the contrary, to protect my true form, acceptance might be wise. Bait, however…]
The eyes kept rotating, continuing to draft letters.
[Your blade is a vital talent for my true form.]
"I told you, I didn't craft it."
[Realizing is talent.]
"Oh, really?"
Seong Jihan smirked.
Ashoka often criticized his ambiguous talents, and now even the Red Hand deemed it valuable.
Regardless, flattery meant little now.
'Time to end this.'
Without the domination code's failure, the Red Hand would overpower him.
He needed to finish it while still in a superior position.
As Seong Jihan poured more power into the Shadow Divine Blade,
[Close but not quite the Black's. Definitely bait.]
[Moreover, a vital bait for my true form.]
Resistance diminishing, the hand finally accepted Seong Jihan as bait.
"Enough with the bait talk."
Such talk was unpleasant.
As he intensified the dark power, the Red Hand's defenses significantly weakened.
[Decision.]
Whoosh!
The hand caught fire and vanished.
Thud…
Leaving behind a single eye, significantly reduced in size, on the ground.
Originally enormous, now human-sized.
[If consumed, talent might be lost.]
[Thus, will be eaten instead.]
The eye's message read.
Changing plans from consuming Seong Jihan to offering itself.
"…Eat you?"
[Yes. Eat me.]
The red eye squirmed vilely, expanding blood vessels.
Eating a living octopus seemed more appealing.
'Should I just crush it?'
As Seong Jihan contemplated,
[Minimum Red increased by 500.]
The eye provided an added incentive.
An increase of 500 in the Red stat…
'This translates to 5000 in residual points.'
In the past, increasing the Red stat by just one point required investing over 20 residual points.
Although it had become slightly more efficient, needing only 10, the Red stat was still incredibly difficult to raise.
Offering a guarantee of at least 500…
'I'm tempted for a moment.'
Even if the promise to raise the stat by 500 was true, allowing such a thing inside his body presented a significant risk.
Once inside, it wouldn't simply sit idle; it would attempt to seize control of his body, just as initially intended.
– No way… has even the Red Administrator's hand been subdued?
– Wow… that's just insane…
– This seems unbelievable.
– Isn't he just a constellation candidate? Wasn't he the one who couldn't even summon players?
– Is that really an administrator's hand? Hard to believe.
– Would the Arena deceive us?
On the other hand, viewers who thought Seong Jihan had subdued the administrator's hand were stunned.
It was known he was strong, but to subdue an administrator's hand so easily was beyond imagination.
He had shown many amazing feats before, but this was beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
– But that eye… is it an administrator's remnant?
– Seong Jihan!! Bring that to me, and I'll pay 100 trillion GP!
– You think 100 trillion is enough? You'll have to spend more.
– You're trying to get it for nothing.
When one of the viewers suggested 100 trillion GP for the eye, the others criticized the low offer.
[Dragon Lord has donated 1 billion GP.]
[Give me the eye. If you do, I will give you 1 quintillion GP and the authority to command the Dragon race for 100 years.]
[Sun King has donated 1 billion GP.]
[Offer me the eye. In return, I will turn both you and your planet into stars.]
Two Great Constellations associated with the Red Administrator donated 1 billion GP each, asking for the eye.
– Dragon Lord and Sun King…!
– 1 quintillion GP? Ok, maybe that's fair.
– Even that seems cheap. But shouldn't you take the offer when a Great Constellation demands it?
– The Sun King is revealing himself? Wasn't he missing too??
– Wow, this channel is like a reunion of missing figures…
– Truly a channel worth the buzz.
– In my 300 years of watching BattleTube, I've never seen a channel with such explosive events.
– I've been here for a thousand years.
The appearance of the Great Constellations, especially the long-absent Sun King, caused an explosive reaction in Seong Jihan's chat window.
'What chaos…'
True, the emergence of the Red Administrator's hand was expected to cause a stir, but Seong Jihan hadn't anticipated the appearance of two Great Constellations.
He looked at the donation messages.
'Commanding the Dragon race might be fine, but turning me into a star… isn't that a death sentence?'
The Sun King must have some screws loose.
As Seong Jihan thought this, he shifted his gaze downward.
Wriggle. Wriggle.
[Depending on talent, could offer up to 1000.]
Failing to devour, the eye now appealed to Seong Jihan, suggesting it could increase the Red stat by 1000.
However, hearing this only made Seong Jihan less inclined to consume it.
'First, let me retrieve the remaining flames.'
Fwooooosh…
He moved to retrieve the flames that hadn't been absorbed by the Eclipse, located behind him.
[Red stat increases by 1.]
[Red stat increases by 2.]
Gradually, the hard-to-increase Red stat began to rise rapidly.
After recovering all the flames, the final increased Red stat was 50.
'…Feels like a waste of those invested points.'
Recalling the vanished residual points evoked a sense of regret, though he suppressed the feeling, knowing he couldn't have increased any other stats except Red all that while.
Instead.
'Even if I don't completely absorb the eye, maybe the blood vessels will suffice.'
Ssssss…
The red veins expanding from the eye contained power within.
Absorbing the eye might risk control by another force, but the veins should be safe.
'Let's try this.'
Swoooosh.
Seong Jihan lifted his blade.
[What are you planning…]
"Let's cut the veins."
[Veins?..]
"Yeah."
Fundamental Divine Art,
Triad of Martial Mastery:
Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep
Slice!
Executing the ultimate horizontal slash, Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep, Seong Jihan cut the veins.
Touching the severed veins,
Fwhoooosh…!
flames rose from his hand.
[Red stat increases by 1.]
Which immediately increased his Red stat by 1.
"Oh."
A golden goose?
Swipe. Swipe.
Seong Jihan, employing Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep, began to harvest the veins.
[What are you doing? Eat me. Eat me. Eat me.]
"It's alright. Can't cut open the goose that lays golden eggs."
[I… am a goose?]
"Yes."
Sizzle!
As Seong Jihan harvested the veins, his Red stat continued to rise.
When the Red stat reached 60,
'Hmm… Now I can feel a distinctly different sensation.'
Seong Jihan felt the acquired power starting to exceed his control limits.
Before entering here, his Red stat was around 30.
Now, having risen to 60 through the Red Administrator's hand.
The internal flames began resisting his commands.
'It's time to stop. Controlling the internal flames comes first.'
Ssss…
The veins continued to generate,
but Seong Jihan decided to stop cutting them further.
[What are you doing? Why not consume more?]
"Too full. Overindulging leads to trouble."
[…You have talent. Certainly.]
The gleaming Red eye saw Seong Jihan maintaining restraint and did not seem disheartened despite failing to dominate him.
Seong Jihan, staring at the watchful eye asked,
"Can I store this in my inventory?"
Addressing the air, he requested confirmation.
Thereupon,
Sssss…
The space in front of him distorted,
"As expected, I thought you wouldn't eat it."
the Arena Master appeared.
* * *
At the outskirts of Tuseong, On the star of marital god.
[…Huh.]
The Wandering Martial God let out a small sigh while watching Seong Jihan's channel.
The Red Administrator's hand.
He hadn't expected to see it there.
'…Bait. Yes, it's bait.'
From the letters on the administrator's hand.
It clearly referred to Seong Jihan as bait.
Bait.
Prepared to lure the Red Administrator.
It was clearly a trap.
Attempting to take it would give the two absolute administrators, the Black and the White, ample justification.
No matter how much power he had amassed, this would end in annihilation.
But.
'If I retrieve that… the great task will be complete.'
The Martial God's gaze grew deep.
Even knowing it's bait, it was extremely tempting.
The hand severed by the Black Administrator.
It held a significant amount of the original power of the Red Administrator.
Retrieving that would immediately complete the great task the Martial God had pursued for so long.
'The safe path is to turn the Golden Wheel…'
Using Ashoka's Golden Wheel to turn back time.
Through it, the Wandering Martial God had steadily amassed power over extensive periods.
All for achieving the great task of surpassing the administrators.
The infinite treadmill perpetually turned.
The Martial God had endured within it.
But.
'This time, circumstances have drastically changed.'
The absolute figures of BattleNet, the Black and White Administrators, had noticed something.
The Black Administrator had even pulled out the Red Hand he had kept in the void's depths.
Though they hadn't fully identified Tuseong yet, further evidence would prompt their intervention.
'Using the Golden Wheel now risks failure even if it's turned back.'
With the Black and White Administrators tightening their net,
if the Golden Wheel's movement was intercepted, all plans would be ruined.
'However, if I use the Golden Wheel now… the failure rate is less than 1%.'
Using the Golden Wheel before their net tightens means this 'cycle' becomes an experience,
allowing a fresh start.
Yes.
If you ignore the 1% failure rate, it could work.
But.
'If Seong Jihan dies by the Abyss Owner, the failure rate is 0%.'
So if Seong Jihan is defeated and disappears,
the Black and White Administrators will lose many ways to intervene in this world.
This would make using the Golden Wheel entirely risk-free.
'Moreover, I can take in his achievements…'
The previously straightforward pursuit of the great task,
now faced a significant butterfly effect caused by Seong Jihan.
Choosing whether to start anew with the Golden Wheel or let Seong Jihan die,
'…I didn't intend to take risks, but.'
Faced with two choices,
'If he dies, the benefits to me are too great.'
he chose to wait for Seong Jihan's death.
* * *
The Arena Master in a fedora hat.
His head, appearing as a cosmic expanse with glowing stars serving as eyes, uttered,
"The Red Administrator was the most outstanding among term administrators."
Watching the wriggling red eye on the ground, he continued,
"He advanced the BattleNet system and developed numerous codes. At one point, there were suggestions of making him a permanent administrator… but he didn't meet the standards for a permanent role, so he retired after his term."
[Nonsense. Meeting standards for full-time impossible. Black and White never relinquish authority.]
The Red Eye quickly countered the Arena Master's words with letters.
Unfazed, the Arena Master ignored the message, continuing,
"But he had no intention of retiring quietly. The administrator who excelled beyond anyone else had prepared to smuggle out his authority. He disappeared, taking with him the Red's administrative powers."
[…]
"Of course, the pursuit team formed with the cooperation of the Black and White Administrators managed to reclaim much of it… but the most crucial part remained hidden…"
"The most crucial part?"
"It's not the right time to discuss it…"
The Arena Master trailed off, changing the subject.
"You asked if you could store it in your inventory, right?"
"Yes."
"He could escape the inventory easily. He's the one who upgraded the inventory system. But."
Snap.
With a snap of the Arena Master's fingers, a black box appeared in midair.
"It's a sealing box personally crafted by the Black Administrator. Put the eye inside, and it will be safe in your inventory."
"Hmph."
[Inventory safe. Just store it. Storing it there delays vein generation. Red replication slows.]
The eye tried to discourage him by rapidly generating messages.
Unperturbed, Seong Jihan floated it into the sealing box.
[You'll regret…]
Snap!
Before the message could finish, the box sealed itself.
Seong Jihan checked the box's description.
[Black's Sealing Box]
Grade: EX
– Crafted personally by the Black Administrator.
– No being can escape before the box opens.
'It's an EX grade but seems like it's just for storing the Red Hand.'
What a waste of the grade.
After putting it in his inventory, the Arena Master bid him farewell.
"May your wishes come true."
"Achieve my wishes… you're telling me to become enticing bait?"
"Hehe, no need for such a negative outlook. The Administrator merely wishes to give you and humanity a chance."
"A chance?"
"Yes."
The Arena Master's form began to vanish.
"Make good use of this final opportunity…"
As he disappeared,
[Cleared Boss Rush.]
[Finished all General Quests.]
[Completed Epic Quest.]
Messages declaring the completion of all quests and Boss Rush appeared.
Looks like taking out the special boss cleared all mission quests.
[Level increases by 2.]
[Level increases by 2.]
…
The explosion in levels from clearing General Quests was significant, but.
'Final opportunity….'
The Arena Master's last words weighed on him more than the rewards.
However.
[You have been given a special reward for clearing Epic Quest.]
'That's different.'
Although there were no stated rewards for this Epic Quest, they hadn't left him empty-handed.
The system mentioned a special reward.
'Probably not as significant as acquiring the Red Hand…'
Thinking this, Seong Jihan examined the reward.
The background of the special reward message shone in a pure white light.
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