Chapter 127

After the test ended with JiHan beating just about every single one of them with a single punch, the interview began. The original plan was to have them all gather, but the national team was too shocked to participate, so JiHan ended up standing alone in front of the camera.

"First of all, Sung JiHan, congratulations on passing the test!" The announcer said.

"Thank you."

The woman's eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at him.

"Many experts were expecting it to be difficult for you, but you shattered those thoughts with your overwhelming performance! Is there a secret to your strength?"

"I also believed I would have a difficult time against level 225s up until two days ago," JiHan said. "Thanks to all the training I did during that time, I was able to show off what you saw today."

"Ah! I heard that you usually train when not playing on Battle Net, so all of that training paid off after all!" The announcer praised him as if he embodied hard work.

'I wouldn't go that far.'

In truth, rather than the training he'd done, it was mostly thanks to his stats. He thought the announcer was overdoing it a bit, but the public had a different image of him.

Most people believed he was a genuine player who focused solely on training and didn't covet the public spotlight compared to others.

"What you showed us today was incredible… I look forward to seeing you represent our country!"

"I haven't joined the team yet. The selection is up to the Administration. I'm just satisfied with having competed against the national team's Warriors."

"The Administration surely saw the results. There's no way they won't pick you! Now, please, tell us your goals!"

"Right now… I could wound the Sword King as I am right now," JiHan confidently said, "And by next year, I'll be able to take his head."

"Ah. H-his head?"

The interview concluded after that final statement.

- That's the spirit!

- Obviously! He's already beaten the national team. He'll definitely be able to beat the Sword King by next year!

- He's looking down on the Sword King too much ^^ He's getting full of himself just because he's beaten the weakest national team ever~~ ^^ I hope he gets a reality check in the match against Japan!

- Oh, does the Sword King Fan Club still have members left?

- How could they still be in his fan club after what he did to our country?

- That's a real fan, hahaha.

Though there was still a lingering member of the Sword King Fan Club who climbed out of the woodwork, most of the online reactions were positive.

When they considered how overwhelmingly strong he was as a Gold, they thought he really might be able to beat the Sword King in a year.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan…

"Hmm…" Ito Shizuru watched JiHan's test with great interest. Although it was happening abroad, a Gold going against a national team was unprecedented, so it was also being broadcast on the specialized Japanese Battle Net channel.

'How did he suddenly get so strong…?'

He hadn't been that strong against Akari, a Diamond Leaguer. He'd been able to push her back with skill, but she'd had more raw strength. What she saw in the Administration test, though, was something entirely different.

Not only did he manage to overwhelm full-strength Diamonds, but you could even say he crushed them.

"You bastard…!" the Sword King shouted from her side, his eyes bulging with fury.

"Ryuhei, what do you think?"

"That fool! He says he'll take my head next year? I'm going to go kill him right now…!"

"Ryuhei, please calm down and tell me what you objectively think," Shizuru coldly said.

The Sword King bit his lip. "I can definitely beat him right now, but…"

"You think that could change in a year?"

"Yes." The Sword King's fist trembled as if he found the situation shameful, but he had to follow her wishes and deliver the facts. "He's growing at an unbelievable rate. Only a month has passed since he fought the Akari, yet he's grown much stronger. I think I could struggle to beat him in another year at this rate."

"I see…" Shizuru calmly nodded as if she were already anticipating the answer.

Her gaze went back to the television, where JiHan was meeting up with Sae-ah.

"Ryuhei, do you miss your daughter?"

"I… only need you."

"I think we can bring her over now."

"What…?"

She'd asked the Sword King to leave Sae-ah behind in fear that the Enchantment would break, but things had changed since then, and her Enchantment on him was more stable.

'She also has a unique Gift.'

She might not have been as strong as JiHan, but her Gift was quite rare.

'She's JiHan's only current weakness.'

Even if she used Akari, there was no guarantee of her Enchantment working on JiHan, so she had to go straight for his weakness.

"What are you planning to do with Sae-ah…?" The Sword King asked her.

"I plan to raise her like my own daughter," Shizuru nonchalantly replied as she looked at Sae-ah on the TV, whom she wasn't much older than. "In Japan."

"Uncle, the news is already spreading!"

"Shouldn't you have gotten used to that by now?" JiHan asked.

"The article was so rushed that there's even a typo. They wrote 'Shung JiHan'! I'll ask them to correct it!"

They were taking the elevator back up to the penthouse, and JiHan chuckled at his niece, who was excitedly commenting on news articles.

She somehow seemed more excited than he was.

"Uncle, should we have a party to celebrate you being chosen for the national team?"

"A party? Also, I haven't been chosen yet."

"Come on! You might as well have been! I'll prepare things, so return to your room and rest for a bit!" With that, she nudged him off the elevator while still looking at her phone.

'That aside, Ariel has been weirdly quiet.'

He'd left her in his arm while he fused the three elixir fields, so she'd also been summoned with him to the Fight Star. He thought she would have something to say about the constellation, but she was oddly silent.

JiHan looked at his left arm, where shadow energy was condensed near his elbow. It'd been restricted to his arm before everything was combined into Martial Soul.

Tap!

As soon as he touched the energy…

[W… What? Why did you seal me?] Ariel asked in a surprised voice.

"Seal you?"

[Yes… Aren't you still sealing me?]

"I never meant to do that. Come on out."

The shadow energy tried to emerge from his arm but remained firmly stuck in place.

[Are you teasing me? To think you'd seal me and then ask me to come out… How rude.]

"…?" JiHan examined his own body and realized that she could no longer move through his body at will. In other words, everything related to his body was firmly under his control.

'I should allow her to move up to the left arm.'

He created a space for her, and she was finally able to move again. Black smoke rose from his left arm and transformed.

[Haa… Finally.]

She looked taller than usual. In fact, she was almost the same height as JiHan.

[Huh? I'm almost back to my original proportions. What's this…? What's up with this power?]

Ariel's eyes widened in surprise when she sensed the power flowing from JiHan. [Your energy keeps flowing into me… What did you do? Shadow Sword should still be low.]

"It's the result of the training. Didn't you see what happened?"

[Are you suggesting a lowest species manages to fully merge their mana? I was sealed away just when I was about to see the results.]

Ariel looked at him. [You aren't a mid-species anymore… Upper class? No, something beyond? To think that someone from the lowest species would come this far… You've surpassed the elves and could be compared to a dragon at this point.]

"What class would you consider a dragon?"

[They're upper-class. I don't really know what's above that. There are demi-gods somewhere up there, and then above that are the constellations. That's all I know.]

'It seems she isn't aware of what happened in the Fight Star.'

He'd originally been planning to question her based on the premise that she'd seen everything, but there was no need to tell her the entire story if she'd been sealed. Instead, he decided to only bring up things she might know about already.

"Ariel, do you know anything about the Wandering Martial God's slaves?"

[Slaves? Aah… You're talking about his servants.]

"Servants, huh?"

[There are five known beings serving the Wandering Martial God, and stars tremble in fear wherever they go as messengers.]

"What do those bastards do?"

[It's simple. They ask constellations whether they would like to die alone or have their star die with them.]

"You seem to be well informed."

[The Wandering Martial God is like a cosmic disaster. Everyone is always on alert for news related to him, but how do you know about his servants?]

"I met one while you were sealed away."

He told her about Dongfang without going into much detail.

Ariel nodded. [The Cosmic Heavenly Demon.]

"The Cosmic Heavenly Demon…? he asked."

Dongfang had many nicknames, but he seemed to prefer 'Heavenly Demon' the most.

[Yes. That's what he calls himself. Do you remember how I said he poses a question to the constellations he visits?]

"Yes. He asks if they want to die with their star or die alone."

[Right. Well, if the constellation decides to fight with their star, the Cosmic Heavenly Demon kidnaps them in the name of avoiding unnecessary sacrifices.]

"Can Dongfang fight toe-to-toe with constellations?"

[He's weaker in terms of strength, but I heard he has a mysterious capturing technique.]

JiHan recalled Dongfang's symbol during the battle. If the Wandering Martial God hadn't helped, he also might have been trapped in the star.

"I see… I understand."

[But how did you encounter the Cosmic Heavenly Demon?]

"It's hard to explain." He gestured as if to tell her he was done speaking of it.

Swish–

Ariel rolled her eyes. [You only called me out to ask questions.]

"Isn't that the benefit of being the master?"

[Okay, I'll be going.] With that, Ariel left the room.

"A-Ariel?" Sae-ah asked. "Why did you grow so much? Should I call you my older sister?"

[Forget it. Given my age, you could even call me 'grandmother.' Speak to me as you always have.]

"Okay. Then… do you want to cook with me?"

[I'll taste whatever you make.]

JiHan checked his changed abilities as the two talked in the other room.

'Martial Soul is at 100.'

There weren't many changes besides his Martial Power and Force merging together into 'Martial Soul'.

'As for Nameless Divine Arts…'

He had his suspicions and opened his skill window to take a look.

'Nameless Divine Arts' shone with a golden light.

[Nameless Divine Arts]

Skill-rank: SS

- Contains only a fragment of Nameless Divine Arts.

- Since you've acquired the foundation of the Nameless Divine Arts, Martial Soul, a reintegration process is underway.

* If you can modify the 3 Divine Techniques to better suit yourself or discover the true name of the 'Nameless', you can fully awaken the skill.

[Would you like to attempt to guess the skill's true name?]

[The name consists of (2) words.]

[Attempts Remaining: 3/3]

'The rank increased, and there's more in the description.'

It would be easier to use, but what caught his attention was the message at the end.

'I can try to guess its name?'

Guessing the name would be much easier than modifying each of the Divine Techniques, but it seemed impossible because he had almost no clues.

'Nameless Divine Arts is, in the end, the Wandering Martial God's martial art.'

He thought about it briefly before trying to guess the name. He didn't think it could be 'Martial God's Divine Arts' because it sounded awkward to have two words referring to divinity.

"Martial Soul Divine Arts?"

[Incorrect.]

[Attempts Remaining: 2/3]

So it wasn't that.

'I'll have to save an attempt for later.'

He decided to test a suspicion he had after visiting the Wandering Martial God's Fight Star.

"JiHan's Divine Arts…?"

He tried inserting his own name.