Chapter 135

'The formation is showing… 200% efficiency?!"

Usually, they were only between 125% and 140%, which was extremely low compared to other top-tier national teams, which hovered somewhere between 160% and 180%

In fact, the Korean team's record of 140% only appeared sometimes during practice. It was normally closer to 130%.

'200% is the highest efficiency ever recorded in this game!'

Clap-!

YeongJun slapped his own cheek and hastily shouted, "A-again! Let's try again!"

Could it have been an error? How could the efficiency rise so dramatically due to just one player?

Then…

"It's still 200%!"

"Woah… From what I know, only America's national team has ever achieved this level of efficiency. Is this for real…?!" YeongJun was filled with joy.

Though they'd managed to match the American team's efficiency, they couldn't necessarily fight them, but…

'When you consider the state of our team, this is huge!'

The Korean team was never able to withstand relentless offensives, but if they could achieve such defensive efficiency, then they would be able to properly hold formation.

"200%. It's 200%!"

[Really?]

[Come on, coach. There's no way. All because of one player?]

"Come see for yourself!" Coach YeongJun excitedly shouted to the Warriors.

The Warriors who'd made the formation logged out of the game looking confused, and when they saw the replay, they all gave JiHan astonished looks.

"Woah… What??"

"It's really 200%?"

JiHan tilted his head in confusion.

'What? Doesn't everyone start with 200%?' He wondered.

Even small countries would be able to display maximum formation efficiency in the future, so he couldn't understand why they were so surprised about achieving a maximum of only 200%.

"Wow… JiHan… That was really your first time holding a shield, right?"

"Yes."

"You really are a prodigy."

"For real. I'm glad he's Korean."

The two players were even friendlier before. Not only that, but the other Warriors also clamored to talk to him.

'He's really on a whole different level. It's like watching the Sword King.'

'I have to somehow become friends with him.'

'He doesn't seem as haughty as I thought he would be.'

Though they were last in the East Asian League, they were still the country's top players and could quickly grasp JiHan's potential.

He was on the level of the Sword King… No, he could potentially go even beyond that. He was on a whole different level.

"JiHan, I've been following your streams for some time!"

"Woah! I was surprised. How was it 200%?"

The Warriors surrounded him, desperate for his attention.

"Alright," the coach said, "let's save the small talk for later and continue training!"

Clap, clap-

"Ah, it can't be helped."

"I'll have to greet him properly during the welcoming party later."

The Warriors regretfully returned to their original positions.

"Mr. Sung…"

"Yes?"

"Other than taking the role of a Warrior… can you also shoot arrows and cast magic?"

"Please, speak casually with me."

"Hmm, alright. I saw in your other streams that you could play in different positions."

"Yes. I can play all four classes," JiHan said.

Although he'd gone all-in as a Warrior with Master of One, he still had the foundations of the other classes.

'I did it all for this.'

He didn't need other classes when he was solo, but they would be useful for strategic purposes in national games.

Coach YeongJun quickly caught on. "So you can play any role?"

"Well… I can only show 100% effectiveness as a Warrior."

"Hmm… So I can still put you in other positions based on their importance on each map."

It was a sort of loophole. In South Gate, the Warrior played the most important role, while the Archer was comparatively less important. If he placed JiHan as an Archer and just used him as a Warrior instead, he could effectively have 31 Warriors instead of 30.

After he tried a few tests…

"Hmm… So the formation's efficiency falls to 185% when I place you in a different role."

"You have to decide which is better, the 15% extra efficiency or the extra Warrior," JiHan said.

"We'll have to practice more to see what's better." YeongJun, pleased with his dilemma, gave JiHan a fond look through the screen.

Even though he was placed as an Archer and holding a shield, the formation was 50% more efficient than before he'd joined the team!

'I'll be able to keep my position as coach with this.'

YeongJun was known to be a great coach in the past, but criticism piled up after the Sword King left for Japan and Korea was unable to win a single game. People went so far as to say he only had a successful career thanks to the Sword King.

Most predicted he would be dismissed from his coaching position before the year ended…

'To think such a blessing would fall from the sky.'

YeongJun decided to make full use of the gift he'd received from the heavens in the form of Sung JiHan.

"Then, let's summon the opponent now," he said.

They proceeded with a mock battle. Unlike actual matches, the opponents were replaced with monster waves.

"We held our position until after the 14th wave!"

"Ooh. Wasn't 10 our limit last time?"

"Yes. We definitely felt the difference that the increased efficiency and JiHan's Phoenix Flag buff made!"

YeongJun nodded to the excited strategy analyst.

Before the wave started, JiHan had planted the Phoenix Flag and provided everyone with its buff, which had shown great results.

'We won't be steamrolled by Russia if it's like this!'

Although it was only one player, they felt the huge difference in strength, and those in the actual game were even more aware than people like Coach YeongJun and the staff members.

"Wow…"

"Something feels different this time."

The other roles were also surprised at having been able to make it past the 14th wave.

Especially because…

"JiHan… survived on his own."

"He kept defending until the end, even after the formation collapsed."

"We might have made it through the next wave if the monster corpses hadn't fallen through the entrance…"

"Right? Why did the game end just because a monster's head fell through? It's weird."

The Warriors started to die off by the 11th wave, but JiHan remained firm. If it wasn't for the rule of not allowing a single monster to enter, he might have even been able to defeat the next wave himself.

"How insane…"

"Phew. We're finally going to get criticized less."

The atmosphere in the training room was lively.

They'd faced a lot of criticism for not being able to win a single match after the Sword King's departure, so the day's practice match filled them with hope.

"Okay, let's end the practice here for today."

Their first training session with JiHan was very successful.

Click! Click-!

The national team's press conference room was even more crowded with reporters than usual.

"The results from the first training session were very promising."

"The 14th wave… Is it possible to exceed the previous record by four just because JiHan joined…?" The journalist conducting the interview tilted his head in confusion.

"Is that even possible…?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Although he's strong, he's still just one person."

"Isn't the 14-wave record similar to China's?"

"Yes. I heard Russia managed to complete up to the 13th."

"I heard Japan's Sword King went up to the 18th by himself."

"He's an exception."

Those in attendance were completely shocked as they discussed how other countries usually did.

How could Korea's national team, which had barely reached 10 waves in the past, suddenly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with China due to a single player?

"The results make me wish I could release the practice footage," the coach said.

"So can we expect a victory in the upcoming match against Russia?"

Coach YeongJun looked at JiHan, who was sitting beside him. "Yes. He'll be the key to our victory."

"Ooh…"

YeongJun enthusiastically praised JiHan and gave a positive review on his integration into the team.

"Sung JiHan! Coach YeongJun doesn't usually praise people so much. It seems that he has great expectations for you. Please, share your thoughts on the match against Russia!"

JiHan looked toward the journalist he'd overheard before and said, "Did you say the Russian Warriors made it to the 13th wave?"

"Yes."

"In that case, it'll be an easy win. We only failed because a monster's head rolled through the entrance."

He held up three fingers. "If that's all Russia can do, it'll be a three-to-zero victory for us.

"Three… Three to zero?"

"Yes."

Western players were usually stronger than Eastern ones, but that didn't mean the Eastern teams could be taken lightly. The strongest countries in the East Asian League were China and Japan, while Russia was somewhere in the middle.

Most of the world considered Taiwan and South Korea to be the two weakest, and if the Eastern Russian team somehow moved to another regional league, they would still be considered strong.

It was unbelievable for him to say they would crush such a team without a single loss.

'I'll have to include this statement!'

'As expected of JiHan. What a crazy way of provoking the enemy!'

The journalists hurriedly typed out his bold statements for the headlines, and the photo of him holding up three fingers was soon posted prominently on every news site's main page.

- 3:0???

- Against Russia…??

- Did South Korea's automatic doors reach the 14th wave? They need to release the practice video, hahaha.

- Why would they release that? How would that benefit our country? Just believe.

- Please. Even 3:2 would be great…

- Are we finally going to get one victory?

- Beating Russia just because JiHan joined doesn't make sense.

- It's possible~ It's Sung JiHan, after all~~

The public reacted in a frenzy. They were especially interested because it was only his first match after joining the team. When they heard they'd cleared the 14th wave and that JiHan was confident in a three-to-zero win, it became a trending topic.

After the interview, Dong-woo and YunGi read the real-time responses on their smartphones with smiles on their faces.

"Wow, what an amazing reaction."

"I've never seen the national team featured on the news without malicious comments in the articles."

Usually, the national team received heavy criticism whenever they were featured in the news, but not a single curse was in the comments after the record and JiHan's provocation.

"JiHan, you grabbed every headline. Thanks."

"Well, I just said the obvious."

"Three to zero?"

"Yes."

"But those Russian guys are crazy berserkers. They always come in swinging their axes with their eyes rolled back."

"Then I just have to take them down," JiHan replied as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

'He reminds me of Sae-jin… No, the Sword King.'

Whenever Dong-woo lamented how difficult their opponents were, the Sword King would always reply with a simple:

- We just have to beat them.

'No matter how I look at him, he seems to have even more potential than the Sword King.'

Not even the Sword King was so strong in Gold.

'I need to get closer to him.'

Fortunately, he didn't seem to be prickly…

"JiHan, the Warriors prepared a small welcoming party… What do you think? Do you want to have a drink tonight?"

He glanced around in a sly manner and whispered, "We also invited a few celebrities and news anchors. There are even some top idols. They all took time out of their schedules to see you."