The Red Administrator.
Once on equal footing with the Green Administrator, but now fallen to an incomparable degree, having lost both his forces and administrator position.
However, the reason Yggdrasil remained cautious towards him was,
Because she had seen 'Hell', an infinite energy source.
If he completed this, he could surpass her and become a Permanent Administrator first.
'But he didn't seem that strong just earlier, so I thought Hell wasn't actually completed...'
So even when the Red Administrator poured out all his power at the end, she thought it was a final struggle.
His attack was undoubtedly powerful, engulfing heaven and earth in flames,
And instantly annihilating the elf forces led by the elders, but,
'That attack wasn't the problem. We just needed to input more.'
The planet turned into a fiery hell.
If forces entered here, they'd all burn to ashes the moment they came in,
But Yggdrasil didn't care about elf sacrifices.
She just needed to summon all of the World Tree Alliance's forces and push them in,
Until the opponent ran out of power.
Then, ultimately, victory would be hers.
That's what she thought until just now.
But.
Whoosh...!
When the Red Administrator stabbed his sword into the World Tree,
He instantly recovered the power he had just poured out.
No, even more than that.
[You... have you completed Hell?]
Instead of answering that question, the opponent moved his sword.
Then, the green portals all burst into flames at once.
The elf forces coming through burned and disappeared as soon as they emerged.
Sizzle!
Ultimately, most of the summoned portals were consumed by fire and vanished.
Except for one.
The massive green portal in the center of the sky.
Zing...
A World Tree pattern rose from the giant green portal.
[...This sword. It's unlike you.]
To use a sword that could annihilate countless summoned portals across the sky.
The Red one shouldn't have had such force.
As Yggdrasil harbored such doubts,
[Blue Administrator. Come to your senses.]
From inside that fiery pit,
The Red Administrator was warning Seong Jihan.
He had said he couldn't give advice if all the Red stat was used,
But after Seong Jihan absorbed the World Tree, he was still able to remain.
That was because,
[Red stat increases by 900.]
The S-rank World Tree showed a far superior increase compared to others.
This surpassed the 700 red that Seong Jihan had inwardly considered the limit.
As his ability grew excessively like that,
Seong Jihan was experiencing the side effects firsthand.
'So this is what it feels like to be drunk on power... This must be the sensation the Red Administrator talked about before.'
He recalled when he entered to seal HeavenNet.
-In here, every time the Red stat rises, you assimilate with HeavenNet. The feeling of unifying with the server is more intense than any pleasure. But... you seem fine.
That came up when he raised Red by 150 in HeavenNet.
Back then, Seong Jihan controlled it well through Blue.
But this time, as his ability jumped by 900 at once,
He felt an intense exhilaration unlike any before.
'Should I just undo the seal?'
Even slightly opening Blue-Red raised it by 900.
How much would it rise if fully opened?
If he kept using World Trees as fuel and continued accumulating this power,
It felt like there'd be no fearsome existence in BattleNet.
As this sensation intoxicated Seong Jihan,
The Red Administrator conveyed his will more clearly than before.
[Don't get drunk on power; quickly, use up Red. Do you intend to deviate from 'Seong Jihan' and unify with me?]
'I don't understand... Wouldn't that be good for you?'
[It's still too soon.]
Still, he said.
For the Red Administrator, this incident could be an opportunity, too.
But the picture he was drawing seemed to be looking further ahead.
'...Still, for now, our goals align.'
Right.
He couldn't merge with that Red guy, entranced by Hell's power.
Seong Jihan came to his senses and surveyed the sky.
Hiss...
Amidst all the vanished portals, Yggdrasil's pattern floated alone majestically.
Except for the color, it looked similar to the World Tree pattern that appeared on Earth's moon.
'Did Yggdrasil try to descend directly, then hesitate?'
It seemed she became wary after seeing him recover power with Blue and Red.
Seong Jihan decided to use the remaining Red towards that and come out.
However,
'I won't be able to inflict damage by pouring out Red like before.'
Even when he consumed 500 Red stat and set the whole world ablaze,
And after absorbing the World Tree, when he swung his sword intoxicated,
Yggdrasil's portal that hadn't taken any damage at all.
To damage that, a more precise attack was needed.
Whoosh...
The Phoenix Flag rose above Seong Jihan's head.
Infinite Annihilation God
Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire,
Crimson Thunder cannon
The flames spread across the planet and began gathering inside the spear.
The Phoenix Flag didn't just release power recklessly but gathered it into one.
Though the spear contained the flames of heaven and earth,
Crackle...
It just flashed red electricity a few times, without growing any larger.
Compared to the flames that had spread across the sky and earth,
It looked truly insignificant.
However,
[To gather that immense power into a single point... Have you absorbed Blue's martial arts, too?]
Yggdrasil knew this was more threatening.
And also that the original Red Administrator could never do this.
The doubt she had when seeing the sword earlier,
Now, it had become a certainty.
And,
Whoosh!
As the Phoenix Flag containing crimson thunder stabbed into the portal with Yggdrasil's pattern,
Crackle...!
The green portal was instantly filled with red lightning.
Then, the portal that hadn't budged to any attack,
Began collapsing all at once.
[...This is troublesome.]
The brilliant rainbow colors faded, and Yggdrasil's pattern crumbled into pieces.
From within, her voice echoed, cracking.
[You shouldn't be good at combat, too.]
With those final words,
Crackle...!
The portal vanished, engulfed in crimson thunder.
As Seong Jihan reached his hand towards it,
The Phoenix Flag returned to him.
[300 Red stat is consumed.]
So this was how much ability was consumed using Crimson Thunder Cannon.
'I thought more would be used, but rather the consumption decreased as the Red value rose sharply.'
When the red value jumped up, he should had been more careful when pouring out power.
Seong Jihan felt his senses come back under control as he looked at the Red stat set to 600.
[So this is how to use power...]
The Red Administrator muttered, seemingly impressed by how the Phoenix Flag collapsed Yggdrasil's portal.
'This guy, is he sticking around just to see how martial arts are used?'
Didn't he reject the golden opportunity to take over the body earlier?
Thinking that, Seong Jihan asked him a question.
"By the way, how did you become a BattleNet administrator when you're not even good at combat?"
[Hah. The standard of me not being good at combat only applies to administrators. Lower constellations are easy.]
"But you were beaten by Dongbang Sak."
[...That's because that guy possessed administrator-level martial prowess.]
Well, that's true.
Dongbang Sak should be considered an exception.
Thinking that, Seong Jihan looked around.
The planet that had been lush with greenery,
Was now wholly transformed into black ashes.
This resulted even with Seong Jihan gathering the flames with the Phoenix Flag.
If left alone, wouldn't fire have eventually covered the entire planet?
'Well, I've become an arsonist on a planetary scale.'
Seong Jihan smiled bitterly as he prepared to return.
He came to dangle bait for the White Administrator but encountered Yggdrasil too.
It was quite a mess.
[It would be best to only absorb up to A-rank for a while.]
"Right. I should be careful until I can control Blue and Red more precisely."
[Then I'll be going back...]
As the Red Administrator said that and sank into Hell,
Seong Jihan soon returned as well.
* * *
The next day.
On the official member board of the BattleNet community,
A notice was posted.
[At the request of the World Tree Alliance, we are taking down the 'World Tree Alliance Territory Update' post.]
Since the creation of the official member community,
This World Tree Alliance territory notice had always been pinned at the top.
As this useful post that prevented other players from recklessly entering dangerous areas was taken down,
Players became curious.
-??
-Why are they suddenly taking it down?
-Wasn't the Alliance just tolerating it?
-Yeah, I heard they left it up to keep random people from causing trouble by entering.
-So now that it's down, we can cause trouble?
-Try it if you want to die lol
As discussions about the Alliance directly requesting the notice removal were ongoing,
-I heard this is related to a terrorist attack?
-Someone posted images of a burned Alliance planet, one of the 'Roots of the World Tree' planets that was attacked.
-Huh? But you can't observe that area, it's blocked.
-The jamming system collapsed, so you can see it now.
-Whoa, it's true, you can see it now. OMG.
News spread on the board that one of the World Tree Alliance's planets had fallen.
And it was one of the founding planets that had been with the Alliance from the beginning.
Known as one of the 'Roots of the World Tree', news of its terrorist attack set the previously quiet board on fire.
-I'm a mercenary who was driven out after the Alliance took my planet... This is so satisfying lolol.
-Be careful; you might get identified.
-Nah, it's fine, there are tons of constellations like that lol
-Which noble soul is fighting against the Alliance's tyranny? I wish I could support them if BattleTube was on...
-Rumors say the Red Administrator has been resurrected? The completely burned traces match the authority of fire.
-What? Really?
-That guy really keeps coming back to life lol
With the traces of the burned planet,
The Red Administrator was most frequently named as the suspect for this attack.
While the board's opinion was that it was good the World Tree Alliance was getting hit
The prevailing view was that it would ultimately be suppressed.
After all, the World Tree Alliance held the largest share of power in the current BattleNet,
While the Red Administrator was just an individual without forces, who had recently escaped being sealed on Earth.
-But I don't understand... What's the point of fighting the World Tree Alliance? There are plenty of easier targets.
-For real, it doesn't seem like Red; Red isn't that stupid.
-If it's the Red Administrator, maybe he came up with a way to fight the Alliance.
-Anyway, it's nice to have a huge topic drop on the quiet board lol
As the previously quiet official member board was buzzing with activity,
At the core of the World Tree Alliance,
An emergency meeting of the highest level was being held in the Council of Elders.
At the head seat of the meeting room,
An elf with completely green hair,
Yggdrasil sat with her legs crossed.
Crackle...
She gazed with interest at her left hand, where red electricity was rising.
"It's still remaining."
The final blow dealt by the Red Administrator.
Not only did it shatter the portal, but it even affected part of Yggdrasil's body as she was trying to manifest.
Even after a day, the crimson thunder still flashed on her body.
Of course, if Yggdrasil really tried to extinguish it, she could,
'But then I couldn't analyze it.'
The traces left by the opponent.
She needed to figure it out for certain.
"After analyzing the video data of the Blue Administrator, Seong Jihan."
"The spear form shown by the Red Administrator at the end matches the Blue spear, Phoenix Flag."
"The sword strike that cut the portal is also related to the basic techniques used by the Blue Administrator or the former Martial God."
"I see..."
The Red Administrator.
Did he devour Seong Jihan and obtain his martial arts too?
'If Hell is activated on top of that, he's invincible.'
Possessing an infinite energy source,
And being able to use it effectively as the Red Administrator.
There was no answer even if they tried to overwhelm him with their forces.
Instead, he would keep growing stronger while using World Trees as nourishment.
But,
'Why isn't he doing that?'
If all those conditions were activated,
He should have done it as soon as he was freed.
Why did he only blow up one S-rank this time and disappear?
As Yggdrasil was pondering the opponent's actions,
Crackle...
The red electricity began eating away at her hand again.
The crimson thunder that wouldn't easily disappear.
Seeing that, Yggdrasil thought.
'This is also a trace of the red... I should test what we've prepared.'
She opened her mouth.
"How much is Earth's Blue Sword prepared?"
"Still... 25 percent is the maximum, I've heard."
"Is that so? We have a long way to go."
She replied like that and raised her left hand.
"Let's experiment to extinguish this crimson thunder with the Blue Sword."
"Then..."
Snap.
As she detached her hand at the wrist,
She smiled.
"Send this to Earth."
Seong Jihan returned home and checked his body condition.
'There's still some aftereffect.'
The impulse that boiled up as Red surged.
Ironically, the Red Administrator had blocked this, but,
The exhilaration from that time was still hard to forget.
Seong Jihan took out Blue and Red.
Unlike when disguised as the Red ones, a noble blue sword shone brightly.
Blue still blocked the red light inside and couldn't exert power, but,
'If I release the seal, it would spread instantly...' VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)c𝒐m for new 𝒏ov𝒆l𝒔
He couldn't unleash this on Earth.
If he invaded another World Tree Alliance planet and undid the seal,
It would quickly devour the World Tree and instantly recover Hell's power.
Then, a much more intense sensation than before would rush in.
'But then my life as Seong Jihan would end.'
After coming this far, he couldn't let that happen.
He quietly watched the red light in the sword, then brought Blue and Red back to his neck.
The sword seeped into the back of his neck, becoming a tattoo.
'Let's forget that sensation.'
Thinking that, Seong Jihan recalled his original purpose.
He clashed with the World Tree Alliance more than expected, but,
The initial purpose of going there was to act as bait for the sealed White Administrator.
After causing such a commotion, that side probably noticed too.
'Well, will White take the bait?'
Since it was a seal imposed by the Black Administrator,
He might not react immediately.
If he kept dangling the bait and White still didn't come out of the seal,
'Then I'll just smash the World Tree Alliance as is.'
Though S-rank might be too much to feel that sensation again,
He could keep attacking planets with A-rank World Trees.
'Of course, I can't face Yggdrasil head-on right now.'
Even breaking her portal with Crimson Thunder Cannon earlier was just a trace of Yggdrasil.
He still lacked the power to face her main body properly.
'If I used all of Blue too, I could probably fight, but I'd be disadvantaged in a prolonged battle.'
Compared to their side receiving infinite support, Seong Jihan's Blue and Red,
The 700 Red limit quite restricted it.
If he got caught up in impulses while recovering power like before,
He might win the battle but transform into the Red Administrator.
Moreover,
'Then the Black Administrator would intervene. He said he wouldn't allow unsealing Blue and Red.'
The most powerful being in BattleNet was the Black Administrator.
If he started intervening, it wouldn't be easy even if Hell's seal was undone.
By that point, Seong Jihan, who unsealed it, wouldn't be Seong Jihan anymore, but a being unified with the Red Administrator.
It would become someone else's business even if he died.
Anyway, facing the Green Administrator with his current power had slim chances of victory.
'I should steal the Blue Sword the Alliance is making after all.'
If he developed Blue to SSS-rank,
Not only would his current martial prowess increase, but the Red stat limit would rise too.
The easiest path was still to steal the completed Blue Sword.
Thinking that, Seong Jihan watched Kim Jihun sitting blankly on the bed watching TV.
'The Sacred Flame is certainly effective.'
Since he could be summoned to the Hall of Swords if left to sleep,
Kim Jihun's body was set to watch TV on purpose.
Not knowing how long it would take, he left continuous drama episodes playing, but,
He was only watching the middle of episode 2.
'I need to make this body attract more attention.'
The World Tree Alliance already managed Kim Jihun as a growing male half-elf.
Going beyond that,
He needed to firmly establish himself as the preeminent existence among male half-elves to be used as an important material in completing the Blue Sword.
Then, he would observe the situation and take the sword.
Thinking that, Seong Jihan entered his body again.
Then,
Hiss...
The body rapidly weakened, adjusting to Kim Jihun.
'If I sleep now, I'll be summoned to the Hall of Swords.'
He wondered if any High Elves who came on business trips died earlier.
Seong Jihan turned off the TV and closed his eyes.
And,
'...What, no summons?'
The next morning,
He slept soundly without interruption.
* * *
'Is it because of yesterday's incident?'
Well, he did wipe out a lot of elf forces.
There was one Ancient Elf and elite High Elves in each portal.
They seem to have taken quite a severe blow from that.
'I should go to the guild and level him up.'
He also needed to work hard regularly to become the best among male half-elves.
As he thought that and got up in Kim Jihun's body to prepare to go out,
Hiss...
The ceiling turned purple and
Whoosh!
"Uncle! Uncle! What kind of accident did you cause?!"
Yoon Seah stuck her head upside down.
"Hey, will you pop out like a ghost while I'm changing clothes?"
"Hehe. An elf's body isn't much different from a human's inside. But there's a World Tree mark on the chest."
Landing on the floor, she stared intently at the World Tree pattern, then,
Quickly nodded.
"It has functions like location tracking and biological monitoring. But no real-time surveillance, so I can come here as much as I want."
"Oh, you know quite a bit?"
"I may not look it, but I'm a high-ranking member of the Void."
"My, aren't you impressive."
"No matter how hard I try, I'm no match for you, Administrator. Who caused a major incident yesterday."
Yoon Seah answered with a smile but suddenly changed her expression when mentioning the incident.
"Ah, right. The incident! That was you, uncle, right?"
"What?"
"Annihilating a Root of the World Tree planet!"
"What's a Root of the World Tree? Well, I did destroy one S-rank World Tree."
"Wow...!"
As Seong Jihan spoke casually as he had just went on a simple business trip,
Yoon Seah looked at him incredulously.
"The Roots of the World Tree are places Yggdrasil ruled even before becoming an administrator. They've been with the World Tree Alliance since the beginning of its history, and you destroyed such a place?"
"How should I know about that? How do you know so much anyway?"
"I researched the Alliance when they said they'd make Earth a colony."
"Is that so? Then if you know any Alliance planet coordinates, hand them over."
"Ah, wait a moment."
At those words, Yoon Seah opened the BattleNet community.
With familiar hand movements, she entered the official member board.
'...I already captured that.'
Seong Jihan was about to say that, but left her be.
His niece was trying hard in her own way, so he should show the virtue of indulgence.
But then,
"If you look at the notice here... Huh? It's gone? What, this notice."
[At the request of the World Tree Alliance, we are taking down the 'World Tree Alliance Territory Update' post.]
Yoon Seah showed him the new notice and frowned.
"Did they take this down because of you, uncle? What should we do?"
"It's fine. I already captured the coordinates there."
"What, really? Then you should've told me earlier when I was trying."
"Well, you seemed to be working hard. So I just watched."
"Aw... What's with that? I thought I could be helpful this time."
She pouted while looking at the board post, then made a worried expression.
"But uncle... This rumor spread way too much in just a day. The constellations are not to be underestimated."
"How did you find out about this information? It doesn't seem to be from the board."
"Me? The messenger told me. It said, 'Root of the World Tree destroyed. Being presumed to be the Red Administrator appeared.'"
Yoon Seah said this while showing Seong Jihan a purple message window.
This must be the Void's system window.
The message was there like some news headline.
"No other messages besides this?"
"Hm? Nope."
"Then it seems even Black doesn't care about using that power level."
"Unless that seal is completely opened, he won't care at all. Rather, if you suppress the World Tree Alliance, you'd be doing our job for us, so it's good."
Suppressing the World Tree Alliance was doing the Void's job?
Come to think of it,
"Why does the Void leave the World Tree Alliance alone? Shouldn't they clean up those guys first, rather than ambiguous species?"
"Well... I don't know either. I'm just a newbie who joined recently."
"Hmm... I don't understand the Void's standards."
If living eternally was the problem and needed to be eliminated, wasn't the World Tree Alliance the biggest cancer?
Seong Jihan frowned, thinking about the Black Administrator who always showed an ambiguous attitude, but,
'If Seah says that much, they won't intervene for now.'
Even if he used some of Hell's power,
It was somewhat productive to learn that the Void side has no intention of getting involved in this matter.
Then, until White reveals himself,
He just needs to deal with Yggdrasil's side.
As Seong Jihan was organizing the situation like that,
Flash. Flash...!
Light burst out from the World Tree pattern on Kim Jihun's chest.
Then,
[Blue Knights are being urgently summoned to the Hall of Swords.]
[Lie down in a safe place and prepare for the upcoming summons.]
[Once again, to all Blue Knights.]
[The summons will begin in 1 hour.]
Messages appeared all at once before his eyes.
Especially unlike the other messages, the very last one,
'The summons will begin in 1 hour'
Even the button to close the message window had disappeared.
"An urgent summons... Is it because the Red Administrator appeared?"
"Seems so. Their reaction is quite fast."
"Uncle, you're going, right?"
"Yeah. Gotta see what this is about."
"You've really become an inside spy."
Hiss...
Yoon Seah stretched her hand toward the ceiling.
"Then I'll go since you need to prepare too. Tell me what happened later~"
"Alright. Take care."
Whoosh!
As Yoon Seah disappeared like that,
Seong Jihan lay back down on the bed and picked up his smartphone.
'This is breaking news.'
Urgent summons for male half-elves.
This wasn't just a message to them,
It was breaking news on all media outlets.
Did the Colonial Government issue a separate directive?
-What's going on that they're doing this?
-Urgent summons for male half-elves... Something big must be happening OMG.
-This is the first time since the Colonial Government was established, I hope it's nothing serious...
People showed mostly anxious reactions seeing the breaking news.
-But it says to just lie down within an hour, is sleeping their job? These half-elves.
-It said they're summoned to the Hall of Swords, idiot. They'll do their work there.
-For real, they may look like slackers on the outside, but they do their main job in the Hall of Swords.
-They probably do grueling training there? They level up after sleeping.
'They really are slackers.'
Seong Jihan smirked, seeing people defending male half-elves like it was their own business.
They were being used as elves' swords to exploit humanity's Blue.
Because the Colonial Government gave them top treatment, people followed suit in revering male half-elves.
'Even if it's an urgent summons, will I just become a sword again?'
Thinking that, Seong Jihan tried to sleep once more.
Hiss...
Unlike last night, he was summoned to the Hall of Swords this time.
Unlike his first entry,
He didn't even sit in the audience seats this time, but was suddenly transformed into a sword stuck in the ground.
'The intro is over, I see.'
As Seong Jihan waited quietly in sword form,
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Ancient Elves appeared one by one from thin air.
These masked figures looked at each other with uniformly gloomy faces.
"...There are many empty seats in the Council of Elders."
"Senior, he's not coming either...?"
"That Red Administrator bastard... We must have revenge."
"If there were any of his kin left, we would have exterminated them. It's a shame there's only one target for revenge."
The Council of Elders and elf forces suffered significant losses last night.
They were mourning their comrades and expressing their desire for revenge against the Red Administrator.
Though they didn't care much about the sacrifices of High Elves,
The Ancient Elves seemed incredibly close to each other, with many shedding tears.
'You shouldn't have started it in the first place.'
Seeing this, Seong Jihan felt no particular emotion.
If you're attacked, you must take revenge.
That was his basic mindset.
After the Council of Elders gathered and finished mourning their comrades,
"... She's coming down now."
"This sword must have meaning."
"If it's useless, let's just exterminate humanity. Aren't they a race created by the Red Administrator too?"
"Even if they're useful, we were going to discard them after absorbing all their Blue anyway."
"I want to do it... faster."
"Be patient. That time isn't far off."
The Council of Elders and,
The High Elves who arrived after each drew a Blue Sword and went outside.
"We are ready."
As the Ancient Elves holding the best Blue Swords looked up at the sky,
Whoosh...!
A green portal appeared there.
And just as a rainbow-colored World Tree pattern was reflected on it,
[My children.]
Whoosh...
Soon, an object fell from the portal and rolled on the ground.
'... That's a hand, isn't it?'
A snow-white hand wrapped in red electricity.
Could that be part of Yggdrasil's body that Crimson Thunder Cannon hit?
As Seong Jihan quietly observed this,
[From now on.]
The palm split open and
Rumble...!
The ground shook as it transformed into a massive tree trunk.
And the trunk wrapped in crimson thunder,
It stretched endlessly upward, to the sky.
Reaching the portal.
[Verify the Blue Sword.]