December.
The latter half of the BattleNet regional league season had ended, and now the Champions League matches were in full swing.
At this time, the public's attention was focused on the Chaos Battlefield rather than the World Champions League as usual.
The rehearsal map that gives +7 stat points for reaching 10,000 points. People were interested in whether the Earth expedition team could obtain this tremendous reward.
-Are they finally forming a proper formation and starting for real?
-+7 stats… Only warriors and supporters are psyched.
-Hurry up and pick Wang Lin!
-They're still on about that? lol
-Will it be like this the whole December?
Despite this, China's resentment over Wang Lin not being selected showed no signs of subsiding.
"I have the sole authority over player selection. I've already discussed it with the World BattleNet Association."
Seong Jihan dismissed it in a single line, and proceeded with discussions with the World BattleNet Association.
"Please select reserve members in addition to the 479 already picked."
"Reserve members?"
"Yes, some players may have issues and need to be switched out. It'd be good to have ample reserves, around 300 extra."
"Understood."
In this uncertain world, reserves were essential to fill any vacant spots at any time.
That's how the expedition force was completed with reserves.
"Do not worry about the attack. Focus solely on defense."
"Warriors, gather in formation to get division buffs."
"Supporters, don't use the shield all at once. Use it sequentially from 1st Division."
Along with experts from the World BattleNet Association, the 500 worked hard on training to coordinate with each other.
The only one excluded was Seong Jihan, responsible for attacking.
And so, December 1st arrived.
Seong Jihan opened the rehearsal map and invited the promised players.
"Oh, finally…"
As people were summoned one by one,
Unlike the players Seong Jihan had matched randomly before,
They were surprised for a moment at being summoned, before quickly rushing to take their positions and getting into formation.
'This team will surely last long.'
Elite platinum-levels nearing 200.
Moreover, with a complete defensive posture of warriors and supporters, it seemed like they could easily withstand Hatchling's breath, even if it poured down.
'As expected, the Association handles these things well.'
Despite annoying issues with the Sword King, the World BattleNet Association was perfect for leaving miscellaneous tasks to.
If he tried to handle this himself with just his guild, he wouldn't have gathered such trained players.
Seong Jihan decided to make more use of the Association and looked upon the trained players with satisfaction.
Just as the forces were quickly getting organized,
"Oh! Seong Jihan! Long time no see!"
Barren appeared with a grinning face.
He had harbored a sense of inferiority toward Seong Jihan, but being selected unexpectedly seemed to have greatly relieved the accumulated emotions.
"To choose me… what an excellent judgment! Are you finally acknowledging me as your rival?"
"Rival?"
"Right, who else could be your rival but me!"
What a joke.
"It would be nice if you had said that after winning first place in the promotion match."
"Ugh… Your niece was cheating!"
"But isn't the result ultimately what matters?"
Yoon Seah walked up from behind Barren and spoke.
"Beat me first before calling yourself Uncle Seong's rival, Uncle Barren."
"Tch… Just you wait. I'll completely crush you in the diamond promotion match."
"Even though you didn't land a single hit."
"Ugh…"
Seeing Yoon Seah, Barren grit his teeth.
That behavior resembled how he acted towards Seong Jihan in the past.
Seong Jihan was already up in the heavens as his competitor.
However, it seemed that Barren had developed some emotions towards Yoon Seah, who had hindered him.
"Has your force control improved a bit?"
"Hmph, I'm not the old me. I can even write the alphabet with force now."
Saying so, Barren started carving letters into the ground.
Although lopsided like a toddler's scribbles, the ABCs could still be discerned.
"Oh."
Seeing that, Seong Jihan was impressed.
That clumsy Barren writing letters with Force?
It's better if Barren harbors that inferiority complex. Even though he practiced in my past life, his control skills didn't improve much. But this time, he seems to have received a lot of stimulation from the bitterness of defeat.
Barren's skill had improved remarkably, especially in force control, surpassing the Barren of his past life.
[Seah, he seems to have improved. Keep teasing him. It seems he thrives on that.]
Yoon Seah nodded slightly in response to Seong Jihan's message.
While Barren's skill was rapidly advancing, a new topic arose.
"Uncle, why didn't you pick Uncle Wang Lin? I keep getting asked that a lot lately."
Of course, Yoon Seah already knew the reason from Seong Jihan, but
'Need an occasion to explain before the rehearsal game starts.'
Just saying it's my choice as the selector wasn't enough for 1.4 billion citizens spewing malice.
Sensing Yoon Seah's intention, Seong Jihan casually answered.
"Ah, that? I was going to pick him, but a representative of the People's guild sexually harassed one of our guild members. So I decided not to."
"Sexually… harassed?"
"Yeah, until that person apologizes, I have no intention of picking him. If Wang Lin happened to leave the People guild, well, the opportunity is gone since I've already selected 20 people."
Seong Jihan calmly explained that he decided not to pick Wang Lin because of the insult from the People guilds representative. The huge influx of hate comments from the 1.4 billion population made the decision easy.
Barren, who listened to this, responded enthusiastically.
"Heh, if he lacks manners like that, not picking him was the right choice!"
More than just poor manners, Barren seemed to enjoy his real rival Wang Lin being excluded.
"That guy babbles a lot in front of you too. He's a guy without manners. Absolutely don't pick him!"
Giving a lecture when he's partially at fault too.
Seeing this, Seong Jihan pointed at the empty spot.
"Anyway, go to your position. If you keep wandering from your spot, I'll replace you."
"Ugh… I'm not the only one though? Your niece left her spot too."
"She's my niece."
"Fine, I'm going!"
"I'll go too, uncle!"
And so after Yoon Seah simply created an opportunity for an explanation, she left.
Seong Jihan chuckled.
'As expected.'
Who cares what malice other countries spew?
Having experienced hell after the tutorial ended, such things didn't affect Seong Jihan at all.
The focus should be on something else.
[The player recruitment is complete.]
[The game will now start.]
[Assigned map: Chaos Battlefield]
The 500 had assembled completely and the rehearsal game was beginning.
* * *
"The map's opening!"
"Get in defensive formation immediately!"
As soon as the game started, warrior leaders prepared their defensive positions. One of the first facts Seong Jihan confirmed through several random matches was that attacks would start pouring in as soon as the game began.
Hence why they were on guard.
[Finally opened huh.]
Swoosh…!
The Chaos Battlefield darkened as massive shadows enveloped it.
In the sky, 20 enormous metallic hands simultaneously smashed down at the humans.
"It's giants this time huh…!"
"I wore fire resistance armor expecting the Dragon hatchlings attack!"
The warriors groaned as they raised their shields toward the sky. Compared to the giant's enormous hands, the shields were no larger than fingernails. However,
"Shield Binding!"
When hundreds of warriors simultaneously used the Shield Binding skill, a massive shield of light rose above the expedition, resisting the giant's hands.
The "Shield Binding" skill strengthened as more people used it, and it became even more effective in countering the attacks that poured in right from the start of the game. Of course, the damage dealt by the giant's hands was considerable, and the shields made of light were showing signs of strain.
"Ugh…!"
"Heal…! Need heal…!"
Some of the warriors supporting the shields below had their bodies torn apart, and many suffered injuries, but compared to the breath attacks of the hatchlings, there were surprisingly few casualties.
If it continues like this, we can clear this map faster than expected.
"Just endure a bit more. I'll go cut their necks now."
Seong Jihan looked around.
10 metallic giants had surrounded them and were relentlessly pounding the shields with their palms.
Simple overhead smashes compared to breaths, but still very powerful done by metallic giants as tall as the sky.
'First…'
Whoosh!
Seong Jihan threw the Phoenix Flag into the sky.
Swish!
The palm of the giant's hand, which was in the trajectory of the Phoenix Flag, tore apart, and blue blood flowed out. The spear reached the sky, creating a massive space of bright light.
Nameless Divine Arts, Divine Thunder Decree – Celestial Judgment
From the gap in the light, a massive spear descended towards the ground.
"Oh, It's Celestial Judgment…!"
"Seeing this in person…!"
However, Seong Jihan's displayed martial art was different from usual.
"Huh…?"
"What, what is this? Another one is coming out?"
"This time, it's red?!"
From one hole, two spears fell. Moreover, compared to the usual light spears that fell, the crimson one exuded an even more intense aura.
[I'll try to block it.]
The metallic giant hit directly by the first light spear tried to resist. When the spear pierced through the top of its head, the giant gradually tried to pull it out.
Creak…
But when even its hand couldn't exert strength and turned black,
[An unknown attack. Damage irreparable. Retreating.]
After uttering those words,
Swoosh…!
Like a deflated balloon, the body shrank in an instant and disappeared.
Although the giant's form vanished like that, perhaps because of the retreat, the kill points for killing it were not added.
The second spear, filled with raging thunder, was different.
Piercing through the giant's head the moment it hit,
Whoosh…!
Crimson currents instantly flowed through the metallic body, then raging flames rapidly engulfed it.
Then, completely unlike earlier, it spoke in a different voice.
[Retreat is impossible. Control room down. NO.4212 Humanity. Data input required.]
Swoosh…!
Unlike the giant who shrunk and disappeared earlier,
This one melted away into a clump of molten metal.
And its disappearance added 100 kill points for humanity.
-Oh, 100…!
-It's the same as Hatchling.
-Hatchling died with one hit, but this one seems tougher. Shouldn't we get more points for this?
-They fly around instead. They're hard to catch. It's all the same.
-True, it's because it's Seong Jihan. He makes it look easy.
Metallic giants, evaluated as being equivalent to Hatchling. They all emitted mechanical sounds simultaneously when one of their comrades died.
[How did a lower species come here?]
[So you had a hidden sword.]
[Perhaps a constellation candidate. Retreating.]
They stopped striking with their palms and all turned around at once.
Rather than seeking revenge for their comrade, they seemed more focused on maintaining their strength.
'These guys… Are they not gonna fight back?'
Seong Jihan quickly approached to dispatch the rest, but
Whoosh…!
Like balloons losing air, the giants' bodies rapidly shrunk in an instant.
Then they completely disappeared without a trace.
"There are all kinds of species… Check the scoreboard."
Since they faced them, they should be able to identify what species they were.
Seong Jihan opened the scoreboard.
However, the species names that came out were completely unexpected.
1st place – NO.113 Pillar of The World Tree – Kill Points 8782
2nd place – NO.456 ?? – Kill Points 3321
…
9th place – NO.3491 ?? – Kill Points 930
10th place – NO.4212 Humanity – Kill Points 100
'Pillar of The World Tree?'
I thought it was just one of the giant races but…
Pillar of The World Tree?
Seong Jihan asked Ariel, a World Tree expert.
"Ariel, do you know anything about the Pillar of the World Tree?"
[Pillar? Why do you ask?]
"The giants just now mentioned a pillar."
[What?!]
Surprised by Seong Jihan's question, Ariel, instead, asked him in return.
[Th-that's impossible… That giant was a pillar? Are you sure?]
"It appeared like that on the scoreboard."
[Well… It must be certain…]
Looking flustered by Seong Jihan's question, she maintained her silence for a moment before answering.
[…I will contact the Queen to ask. That giant as a pillar…]
"Yeah. Do it quickly."
[It can only be done after the game ends. Let's talk when we go back.]
"Alright."
Seong Jihan nodded and ascended into the sky. To the east, there was a rift in the land where chimeras emerged. To the west, in the distance, a space enclosed by a giant circular barrier came into view.
'I don't need to go straight to the chaos rift.'
Since they only gave up to 2000 points anyway.
"Let's go west."
Seong Jihan led the expedition team towards the barrier.
A vast space enclosed by a giant barrier. As the expedition team arrived there, they could understand why attacks had been pouring in from the beginning of the game.
"Ah...."
"We could see everything from the outside."
Inside the barrier, several pig-faced creatureswere summoned, moving around chaotically.
Their appearance resembled the random matching that Seong Jihan experienced when he first played on the chaotic battlefield.
While inside, they were unaware of what was happening outside, simply marveling that they had been assigned to a new game.
But the race already participating in the battlefield could see those enemies and prepare to attack in advance.
'The difference between rehearsal and the official map is evident here.'
In the official games of Space League, all races start simultaneously when the game proceeds officially. Since the rehearsal map had different rules for the expulsion and entry of races, such differences seemed to arise.
"Seong Jihan, what do you plan to do?"
Seong Jihan carefully observed inside the barrier in response to the question.
Orcs numbering close to 500.
They seemed to be the lowest-ranking race, treated with only 1 point, similar to humans.
"It looks like the barrier will open soon, so let's wait."
"Yes!"
Although told to wait, the expedition's main team could only maintain a defensive stance.
But it was different for Seong Jihan, who was the damage dealer.
'I have time to prepare properly.'
Glug!
In front of the enemy's barrier, Seong Jihan inserted the Shadow Sword Eclipse.
Swish swish...
Then, the shadows seeped into the ground, spreading widely and completely surrounding the area around the barrier.
[With this coverage, powerful attacks may not be possible.]
"It's okay. I'll handle the central area, so just take care of the scattered enemies."
[Understood.]
Eclipse was installed to deal with fleeing enemies. The main attack would come from above in the sky.
"Summon Lightning Cloud."
Riding the cloud, he ascended into the sky.
'We're not the only ones here.'
In addition to humans, Seong Jihan could see two races approaching the barrier from afar.
Apparently, attacking newly summoned races was the easiest way to inflict damage.
'They all look like bugs.'
One of the incoming races was a swarm of winged gargoyles, while the other was a giant ants, each exceeding 10 meters in size.
-What, are these bug-like creatures also races?
-Do we fight against such beings in the Space League…?
-It seems that the only races similar to humans inside the barrier are orc-like ones.
Viewers who caught sight of the enemies in Seong Jihan's gaze realized that various races had participated in the rehearsal.
When the Space League opens, we'll be fighting guys like them too.
-Ah, fighting against bugs is so annoying.
-For real, why are they so bigㅡ
-The orcs are angels compared to them....
While viewers fully expressed their disgust towards the insect race,
While viewers openly expressed their disgust towards insect races, Seong Jihan, who had already played Space League once, calmly assessed the enemy's numbers without much enthusiasm.
'The swarm gargoyle race, around 150 in number. They don't seem to be a particularly strong race.'
It wasn't clear what level they started with, but if they were still around 150, it meant the race itself wasn't that powerful.
'Gotta wipe out all the approaching ones.'
Seong Jihan was determined to earn a massive amount of points here.
"Lighting cloud, spread out here."
The Lightning cloud, which had been a flying vehicle so far, could also become an excellent attacking tool.
In the sky above the barrier, the widely spread Lighting cloud received Seong Jihan's power and prepared to pour down lightning.
'That takes care of that.'
With the Lightning cloud's attack preparations finished, Seong Jihan faced the approaching gargoyle race and kicked off.
[Kee! Enemy numbers over 400! Lowest-ranked race!]
[Two preys at once!]
[Let's hunt before the giant arrives!]
The gargoyle race enthusiastically flew in after determining the humans' low numbers and lowest rank race status through the BattleNet translator.
Upon seeing the number of humans, they quickly determined them as the lowest-ranking race and energetically flew towards Seong Jihan.
Despite their broad spread, they aimed to crash into the humans all at once.
[One of them is approaching!]
[The speed is... no wings either...!]
[Deal with that one first!]
While they hastily prepared to deal with the rapidly approaching Seong Jihan, they couldn't prevent his spear from moving horizontally in the distance.
Nameless Divine Art, Triad of Martial Mastery – Total Annihilation
Swish!
The gargoyles were split in half in an instant. Despite being spread widely in the sky, dozens of individuals fell to the ground, torn apart..
And through the gap created, the flames of a phoenix burned everything, leaving no remains even of the corpses.
The enemies were shocked.
[What… what's this?]
[Their exoskeletons split instantly…?]
[Scatter, scatter!]
They were planning to spread widely and avoid attacks, but Seong Jihan realized that these creatures could be easily dealt with using basic attacks.
Once Seong Jihan assessed the enemy's level with just one attack, he jumped straight into the fray.
The Phoenix Flag, slashing horizontally for the seventh time.
With each movement of the spear, more than ten enemies were incinerated.
[What is this, why is there such a monster here?]
[There's not even 20 percent of the numbers left!]
[Wasn't this supposed to be a map only for Platinum participants?!]
The enemy's reactions vividly transmitted through the BattleNet translation device were very similar to those of Earth's players facing Seong Jihan.
-Lol the alien races are no different huh?
-Just like Japanese, even they falls with a single blow
-You Koreans... were keeping this joy to yourselves.
-Let's share the good stuff, alright?
-I hated him the most during international matches but he's the most reliable here....
The viewers from not only Korea but also the countries of the Northeast Asia League, who had suffered from Seong Jihan's usual mass slaughter antics, were also enjoying the spectacle. Despite being the most annoying opponent in national competitions, Seong Jihan, as the representative player of Earth, was a reliable force.
[Retreat...!]
As the swarm race swiftly retreated, the next target was the giant ants. Seong Jihan immediately changed direction and flew towards the approaching giant ants.
"Be careful of the ground!"
"Create a barrier on the ground. The ants are digging!"
"Uh, what is this? Tentacles?"
"Save meee!"
The attack of the giant ants turned the human forces into chaos. Nevertheless, with a combination of warriors and supporters, they managed to withstand the attacks from the underground enemies quite well.
'Since their numbers are small, they should be stronger.'
Around 40 giant ants were seen. Seong Jihan infused more energy into the Eclipse, which was embedded in the ground.
Nameless Divine Arts, Dark Shadow Technique – Dark Soul Vortex
Swooosh…
Shadows permeated the earth, and the color of the ground turned completely dark. From there, a deep shadowy aura intensified.
"Oh..."
"The enemy's offense has stopped...."
The movements of the giant ants, which had been vigorously attacking the human forces from the ground, simultaneously came to a halt.
Shuuuuu…
The shadowy aura that had stained the ground rose into the sky, forming ten black pillars in an instant. Within each pillar, a giant ant was trapped, unable to even struggle.
[Crunch… Crunch… for a diamond to come here....]
[This is Beyond diamond!]
[NO.4212… Do not approach them…]
[They violated the rules of the game. We should protest to the Battle Net…!]
The giant ant, leaving a warning not to approach humans, disappeared. In an instant, ten entities were annihilated.
Kururur…
The giant ants that had been rushing towards humanity withdrew along the same path they had come.
[Mas… Master. Was your power at this level? When did you advance so much?]
"This is just it. I used Dark Shadow technique after a long time, and it unfolded below my expectations."
[…This is below your expectations?]
Seong Jihan expressed regret that the Dark Soul Vortex didn't work as well as he hoped compared to his Martial Soul. Ariel found this incomprehensible.
As the attack of the ants concluded, a giant was spotted approaching from the west, the same one that had retreated when the barrier opened.
"Ah, there's that giant from earlier…!"
Thud! Thud!
[It's those guys from before.]
[Retreat.]
Seeing the human expedition team, or more precisely, Seong Jihan. He quickly retraced his steps.
"The giant is... leaving...."
-Lol, that big giant is running away.
-This is… the might of humanity…
-Humanity??Seong Jihan handled it all alone lol
-Entering the chaotic battlefield, he defeated three races right away
-He's like a one-man army, just like on Earth.
Perhaps because the map was limited to Platinum participants, there was no race that could withstand Seong Jihan's overwhelming power.
"Oh, the barrier is opening!"
At that moment, the barrier opened.
[So this is the rehearsal map!]
[Kruk, kruk! Orcs, let's dominate this battlefield!]
The pig-faced Orc race, number 500, came out from the barrier vigorously but
"Lighting cloud, begin."
Tziziiziz...!
Lightning rained down from the Lightning cloud already spread wide in the sky.
[How easy. Yes, this is the level of the lowest-ranking race.]
As the Eclipse raised shadow swords from the ground to slice the Orc' necks.
[What, what was that...?]
[Attacking as soon as the game started, this is cheating...!]
The enemy race collapsed instantly.
"Looking at this, it reminds me of when humanity first played rehearsal."
"Back then we got hit with Dragon Breaths at the start too and were confused as well."
"Wow, the points are accumulating quickly… We've already surpassed 1,000."
"7th place? We might be able to break through this time!"
Including Orcs, they had already encountered four races, but relying solely on Seong Jihan, the human expedition easily defeated them all. If things continued like this, aiming for 10,000 points didn't seem impossible. Most people were delighted with this situation, but there were those who couldn't smile.
* * *
"Cap, Captain. Could this be, are we finishing today?"
"Uhm, umm...."
The Platinum warriors formerly of the People's guild 2nd Division looked at each other.
The way the game was progressing seemed too smooth, whether it was dealing with giants or repelling giant ants.
'Seong Jihan really is insane.'
'No way, he's a Platinum player....'
'It doesn't make sense.'
From defeating giants, ants, and even Orcs, Seong Jihan seemed inhuman. If they continued like this, clearing the game seemed possible.
The People's guild warriors thought.
'…Stats points are tempting, but we have to follow orders from above.'
The People's guild was not a simple guild.
It was an organization representing China, established and led by the country.
They could not defy orders from there.
'440 people are remaining....'
The People's guild captain checked the number of people.
Despite the expectations of many deaths due to the ant attack, Seong Jihan's response was so quick that there were still a considerable number of survivors.
'We have about 50 people on our side. Even if we withdraw, we can maintain about 10% of our strength.'
Maintaining 10% was crucial; falling below that would result in elimination from the game. Strangely, the remaining force seemed quite solid. If this continued, the game would end just like that.
"Um... should we just commit suicide now?"
"No, wait. That would be too obvious!"
"But if the game ends like this, won't we be kicked out of the guild?"
"Not necessarily. Wait for an opportunity. We've only earned about 1,000 points!"
'Oh-ho'
The Chinese warriors whispered to each other in hushed tones, trying not to be heard. However, Seong Jihan, who had expanded his senses to their maximum to detect the enemy's position in the Chaos Battlefield, could hear them from above.
'I never expected the People's guild to back out so easily in the first place. So that was their intention.'
The Earth's representatives deliberately ruining their team in a Space League game?
'These guys... can be helpful.'
Seong Jihan smiled.
The game was progressing far too easily with defensive personnel.
I wondered if we might clear 10,000 points before exploration ended, but....
'I'll have to make good use of them.'
Seong Jihan decided to prepare a flamboyant place for them to die.