Chapter 90
The content of the video broadcast live on the Seong Jihan's Channel was covered in breaking news across news channels worldwide in no time.
[South Korea's Silver Seong Jihan beats Diamond.]
[From the beauty incarnate to an ordinary person. Who is Ito Shizuru?]
[Is the Sword King's woman Ito Shizuru? Is their shared last name a coincidence?]
[Special forces useless in front of players freed from the Golden Rule.]
The live broadcast left many in shock.
The hottest topic was, of course, the Silver Seong Jihan overpowering Akari, who was a Diamond ranker.
– How can a Silver beat a Diamond?
– This must be a setup!
– Player Seong has always been the top promising player in the world! Last time, he even played with a Gold Rank!
– Manipulating videos on BattleTube is impossible.
– That Asian appeared in the previous Top 100 match. They became famous by defeating Barren.
– Ah, the person who cost me $100,000! Has that monster grown so much already?
– What is AF doing, not recruiting him?
[TL/N: AF = America First]
People who didn't know about Seong Jihan or had only briefly seen the Top 100 match were all abuzz.
However, in Akari's homeland, Japan, she was criticized more for running away than for any other reason.
– Diamond running away from Silver… This video will be Japan's eternal shame.
– I knew it since she started her ninja otaku stuff.
– Akari is a disgrace to Japan. Don't come back and commit seppuku in Korea!
– Thank goodness she isn't representing our country. Lol!
– At least we're undefeated in national competitions, so no worries. Haha!
– Sword King Daisuke! Lol!
Akari was once Japan's promising Archer, but ever since she chose 'Assassin' as her special job, she had a negative image among the Neo Self- Defense Force fans.
When asked by a journalist why she chose the Assassin profession, she said she had been a ninja fan since childhood.
Just for that reason, she chose the worst Archer profession, the Assassin.
Even then, the opinion about Akari among the Self- Defense Force fans was not good.
Now, after Seong Jihan defeated Akari, the most discussed person was Ito Shizuru.
– But who is Ito Shizuru?
– Someone already clipped when she was in goddess mode, lol.
– Already added it in my downloads.
– That's yesterday's news now.
– Ito Shizuru's surname is Ito, and the Sword King changed his to Ito. Did she seduce him?
– I couldn't resist if she transformed and tempted me with that face. Lol!
Because Shizuru had the surname 'Ito', Koreans speculated that the Sword King would fall for her.
– Who is Ito Shizuru? Does anyone know?
– I'm not sure… But did she bring in the Sword King?
– A true Japanese.
– It would've been perfect if she brought in Seong Jihan too. Too bad.
– Aren't they taking too much from Korea? Lol!
– Please seduce players from other countries too. Lol!
Most Japanese didn't seem to know who Ito Shizuru was, but they praised her as a patriot for presumably bringing in the Sword King.
Both Korean and Japanese media prominently featured Ito Shizuru.
"Shizuru? Why her?"
It was natural for the Sword King, training at the Neo Self- Defense Force headquarters, to find out about this.
After watching Seong Jihan's video to the end, he left the headquarters with a stern face.
* * * * *
A massive mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Even in an area known as the rich neighborhood, the mansion that boasted the largest size belonged to Ito Shizuru.
After awakening her Gift 'Edit', she established herself as an unparalleled figure in Japanese political and economic circles.
The mansion was completed two years ago.
Recently, Sword King, Ito Ryuhei had moved in with her.
"Shizuru. Answer me."
With a cold expression, the Sword King approached Shizuru, holding up his smartphone.
On the screen was a video of Seong Jihan, paused at the moment Ito Shizuru's alter ego cast a spell, making her look like a goddess.
And her appearance.
"Ryuhei...."
The woman that the Sword King is looking at right now was identical.
The avatar, Joo Eunji, dispatched to Korea had an ordinary appearance.
But the Ito Shizuru in Tokyo had a beauty that was nothing short of perfection.
A harmonious blend of Eastern and Western ideals of beauty, the aura that enveloped her was irresistibly captivating.
The Sword King came in with rage, but upon seeing her face, he felt his anger melting away.
"This can't be...."
Even if he loved her, he should be angry.
The Sword King tried hard to suppress his anger, but his heart was already softened.
Just by seeing her face.
"What are you curious about?"
Ito Shizuru, seemingly reading the Sword King's mood, asked with a relaxed smile.
"Seong Jihan. Is it true that you went to Korea to recruit him?"
"Yes. That's right."
She calmly confirmed it.
His excitement at her calmness made the Sword King hesitate for a moment.
He stammered and shouted.
"…Why, why? I'm here!"
"I wanted an excellent player. The more talents, the better, right?"
"So, you used that… enchantment technique? Don't tell me. You, on me too…"
"Ryuhei."
Shizuru looked straight into the Sword King's eyes.
"What if I did?"
"What, what...."
"If so, what will you do?"
"...."
"Leave me and go back to Korea?"
"You...."
Swooosh!
Shizuru approached the Sword King with a captivating smile on her lips.
She had a unique fragrance.
A scent he couldn't catch even when he met numerous other women. A fragrance that drives people crazy.
No, rather than a particular perfume,
It was the unique scent of a woman named Ito Shizuru.
'Ah....'
His rage was gone, and only his longing for her remained.
He knows it.
Getting calm just by looking at her face, getting excited by smelling her scent.
He knows that this isn't a normal reaction.
But knowing it, he still falls for it.
Because it was blissful.
She had a more intense addiction than any drug.
"Ryuhei. Why are you so unsure of yourself?"
"I am...."
"Seong Jihan is nothing more than a useful slave to me."
"That, is it...?"
"Of course. I only love you."
Shizuru approached the Sword King and stroked his cheek.
With that one touch, even his resolve to be angry vanished.
Rather,
He felt a deep guilt for having angered her for no reason.
"I'm, I'm sorry… Shizuru. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up."
"It's okay. Rather, I feel so sorry… Being with you makes me feel ashamed."
"No, no! Don't leave my side. I was wrong. So please...."
The Sword King felt his heart sinking.
The idea of Shizuru leaving his side?
The mere thought was terrifying.
"What did you do wrong to me? It's all my fault."
"No, no. Didn't I get angry at you?… I did something wrong."
"Getting angry? Is that the only thing you did wrong?"
"Then?"
Swooosh!
Shizuru pulled the Sword King's face closer and sealed his lips with hers.
And as a passionate kiss ensued, the Sword King's eyes became dazed.
"You doubted my love, Ryuhei."
"Ah...."
"I told you that you're the only one I love."
"I- I'm sorry."
"So, for the next 3 days, you'll have to sleep in the annex."
"What…!"
Some might say it's just three days, but for Sword King, who was with her every night, it was a painful sanction.
However.
"I have to recreate my avatar, too. You understand, right, Ryuhei?"
"…Fine."
He couldn't defy Shizuru's words.
"Then, please leave."
"Alright… I'm sorry about today."
Shizuru, having lightly toyed with the angered Sword King, sent him off.
A smirk formed at the corner of her mouth.
'He's such a nuisance.'
When casting a spell, she should have incorporated Submission and Blind Devotion.
With those traits, anyone would believe and follow whatever Shizuru did.
However, Sword King, Ito Ryuhei, due to his Obsession and Dependency, was constantly troublesome.
'If it weren't for Ganjang and Makya…'
Sword King's twin swords, Ganjang and Makya.
Both the blue and red blades held S-class value on their own.
However, when used together, their rank surged to SSS-class, possessing a unique characteristic of the twin swords.
And these two swords had a feature called 'The Defiant One', which made them immune to the statuses of Submission and Blind Devotion.
'But I can't give up those swords.'
Currently, the only SSS- class twin swords available were Ganjang and Makya.
Unless a replacement weapon appeared, she had to keep using them.
Thud! Thud!
As Shizuru walked to the annex, she exchanged calls with numerous people.
"Oh, Prime Minister. It's nothing. You trust me, right?"
"Minister of Defense, can I help with something? I'm fine. I just need to take it easy. What about Takeda? Oh… You'll handle it? Thank you."
"Chairman, you're investing again? It's fine… Just three pages of Akashic Records. It's not a big deal for me. Oh, you've already transferred it? You're always in such a hurry."
High-ranking officials from the Japanese political sphere were concerned about the incident involving her.
In Japan, her influence remained undeterred despite the incident.
In fact, high-ranking officials competed to support her.
'I'll recover the Akashic Pages I used up in no time.'
After ending her calls, she opened the door to the annex.
She could replenish the Akashic Pages with donations, but there was still a crucial problem.
'The next avatar should be crafted more carefully.'
Joo Eunji, the avatar she sent to Korea, was poorly made since it was her first attempt.
Due to her inability, she failed to control Seong Jihan and inadvertently exposed her existence to the world.
This time, she had to select a better body for her duplicate.
'For that… There's a perfect body available.'
She thought of Akari.
After completely sacrificing her duplicate body to unlock the Tutorial's Golden Rule, the ninja who disgracefully lost to Silver and fled.
Akari was no longer of use to Shizuru.
"Come quickly, Akari."
Her eyes turned cold.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, after returning home and waking up, Seong Jihan saw:
[You achieved 1 million views in 24 hours.]
[Achievement 'World's Attention(1)' cleared.]
[Achievement point 10,000 obtained.]
[You achieved 5 million views in 24 hours.]
[Achievement 'World's Attention(2)' cleared.]
[Achievement point 20,000 obtained.]
[You achieved 10 million views in 24 hours.]
[Achievement 'World's Attention(3)' cleared.]
[Achievement point 30,000 obtained.]
[Channel subscribers exceeded 1,000,000.]
[Achievement 'Subscriber Gathering (4)' cleared.]
[Achievement point 50,000 obtained.]
Blinking, he checked the flood of achievement notifications.
What on earth happened?
'Over 10 million views? What the?'
He had expected some attention, but 10 million in 24 hours was astonishing.
On top of that, subscribers reached a million.
Seong Jihan had promised to reveal his status when he reached a million subscribers.
'I earned 110,000 achievement points overnight.'
It hadn't been long since he decided to gather 70,000 points to add the Archer class.
He had already achieved his goal.
'Alright, let's immediately add the fourth class.'
Seong Jihan opened the Achievement Store.