Chapter 374
-Yggdrasil itself is making the proposal…
-I didn't realize the main figure of the World Tree Alliance would take action personally.
-I've heard that Yggdrasil is the Green Administrator.
-It acts independently, though, rumors say it's fundamentally the same entity.
The World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Said to be the true identity of the 'Green Administrator,' it leads the mighty World Tree Alliance , one of the most formidable forces in the universe.
Such was the stature of its presence, that when its messages started appearing in Seong Jihan's chat, the extraterrestrials who were previously slandering elves fell silent.
-Is that Yggdrasil? I thought it was just a tree-shaped sun in the elf solar system?
-Is there really an entity named Yggdrasil?
-Woah, gotta see this 😮
Even those who hadn't come for the High Elf explosion video tuned in now, boosting the viewer count higher than when the Star Buff was previously activated.
[The total viewer count exceeds the threshold.]
[The 'Star' Buff is upgraded.]
[The viewer rating has reached the 'Slightly Known' level.]
[With the activation of the Star Buff, all attributes are amplified by 40%.]
With the increase in the overall viewer rating, the Star Buff effect escalated from 20% to 40%, and additionally,
[A general achievement, 'Talk of the Cosmos (1)', has been unlocked.]
[Constellation Fame has increased by 20,000.]
'20,000, quite substantial.'
Gaining fame and clearing an achievement that was only achievable with a significant number of extraterrestrial viewers was a significant boon for Seong Jihan.
The arrival of Yggdrasil had seemingly benefitted him considerably.
However,
'It might even be the Green Administrator…'
Reading the chat from the viewers, Seong Jihan became more wary of Yggdrasil.
He had considered the potential connection between the Green Administrator and the World Tree, but if it were truly the Administrator itself, it meant attracting the attention of one of BattleNet's highest beings.
"What are the chains of the enemy?"
As he asked, a screen automatically popped up over Seong Jihan's channel.
In the top left, a screen with a green background marked with the World Tree symbol appeared.
There, a human figure was displayed.
[With humanity's recent evolution, traces of the 'Red Administrator' — previously obscured — have been minutely detected.]
With the evolution, certain individuals among humanity underwent minor physical changes: some developed elf-like ears, others had pronounced fangs emerge.
Ancient experiments conducted by the blood of enemy races on humans.
Had the World Tree Yggdrasil been watching over the evolution of humanity and discovered this?
Knowing about the past yet feigning ignorance, Seong Jihan asked.
"The elf-like ears in humans, aren't those your traces? What does this have to do with the Red Administrator?"
[All species have limits to their evolution. Humanity alone has no set limits.]
[So far, it was thought that this was engineered by the enemies' race… but the species' evolution has minutely revealed the involvement of the Red Administrator.]
[PR/N: Enemies race is referring to Red's Tribe/Clan. Green admin is calling Red admin's species as enemy.]
Ssssss…
The image of the human faded and transformed into a translucent, ghostly form in the screen.
Between these spectral forms, a flash of red appeared.
The red signal was so small that it would have been difficult to notice if it hadn't shimmered.
[This is the chains of the enemy. As long as humanity bears this, it is considered to be in collaboration with the Red Administrator.]
[The Red Administrator is a renegade of BattleNet, refusing to relinquish control even after its term has ended.]
[Depending on the level of collaboration, humanity might also face corresponding sanctions.]
[However,]
While threatening severe sanctions due to humanity's supposed alliance with the Red Administrator, Yggdrasil proposed:
[If you, Seong Jihan, join us, the human race can be spared.]
Now comes the persuasion.
[You will become part of Yggdrasil's clan.]
With a flash!
The image of Seong Jihan submerged in radiant light transformed into an elf-like figure while retaining his distinct features, an evolutionary elf version more aesthetically advanced.
-Wow… Elf Seong Jihan :O
-Doesn't look like a regular elf copy, does it?
-It's Seong Jihan, he's special!
-Definitely worth collecting, LOL
While the human viewers marveled at this transformation, an ordinary human appeared on the screen.
[And humanity will become elves.]
Flash!
The slightly elf-eared humans' ears grew longer, and the rest of ordinary humans began showing small protrusions of ears, reflecting a similar evolutionary pattern.
-Wow… elf transformation…
-Doesn't look mass-produced like normal elves, isn't that good?
-Do you believe in the World Tree? LOL
-Setup like this, they're just getting brainwashed to be slaves to the World Tree Union.
While a few human viewers showed interest in becoming elves, most distrusted the World Tree Alliance.
And Seong Jihan himself did not trust the Alliance either.
"That's enough. So, you just want to make us slaves in the end."
[I swear on the World Tree Yggdrasil to grant autonomy for 10,000 years.]
"After ten thousand years, descendants are doomed to be slaves."
He waved his hand in dismissal at their proposal.
Honestly, how his descendants would live after ten thousand years was not his concern.
'Can't trust them even if they promise a ten thousand years autonomy.'
The World Tree Alliance he knew could reverse their words at any time.
Even if it was the World Tree Yggdrasil making the promise, how much less could its underlings be trusted?
Upon Seong Jihan's refusal, the World Tree Yggdrasil responded.
[The World Tree Yggdrasil states that this proposal is always valid.]
[However, actions that damage the trust can lead to the withdrawal of this offer at any time.]
Then, briefly, an image of a half-mask appeared on the green screen before vanishing.
This.
It's telling me not to reveal the Void Processing Facility?
"Trust relations… got it. Well then, everyone."
Seong Jihan picked up the mask slowly.
"How about we learn about the Ancient Elf item, the Void Processing Facility?"
And then.
['The Owner of the Arena' welcomes your choice.]
[He offers to provide tools for analysis.]
[Would you like to receive it?]
This time, a figure from the void side showed itself.
* * *
-Even the Arena's Owner is showing up… what is this channel??
-At first I thought it was just another channel about a lower-tier race, but this?
-With the Red Administrator, and the Green, and now the Arena Owner… how far does this connection go?
-Could it be time to pay attention to humanity as a whole?
Previously complaining about the lack of content, the extraterrestrial viewers had a complete about-face in attitude after this broadcast.
With revelations involving Yggdrasil, the Arena Owner, and traces of the elusive Red Administrator, the channel had become a focal point for several unresolved mysteries of the BattleNet world.
Meanwhile, Seong Jihan,
"Is this how you do it?"
Holding the 'Lens of the Void,' which the Owner of the Arena had provided for analysis,
He focused on the Void Processing Facility.
Zziiing…
The purple-hued lens emitted light, scanning the half-mask continuously.
'An analysis tool, but it's just shining a light.'
Though it extracted a small amount of void from Seong Jihan's body,
For him, it was such a trivial amount that he would have preferred it took more.
After a few moments of scanning,
[The total viewer count exceeds the threshold.]
[The 'Star' Buff is upgraded.]
[The viewer rating has reached the 'Recognized' level.]
[With activation of the Star Buff, all attributes are amplified by 60%.]
Despite merely holding the lens,
News of the cosmic beings appearing on the channel had drawn in viewers, clearing the next level of channel achievement.
[A general achievement, 'Talk of the Cosmos (2)', has been unlocked.]
[Constellation Fame has increased by 60,000.]
'With this alone, today's broadcast has been a huge success.'
Thanks to the appearance of both Yggdrasil and the Arena Owner, what started as a dilemma significantly boosted Seong Jihan's Star Buff.
And then,
[Analysis complete.]
[The Void Processing Facility has been identified as a 4th-degree facility.]
[A new stage has been revealed.]
-4th degree? Is that significant?
-I didn't even know that mask was a Void Processing Facility lol
The extraterrestrial viewers, clueless about the significance of the Void Processing Facility,
Shuuuooo …
Seong Jihan watched as the Lens of the Void, now autonomously burning, continued its task.
Then soon,
[This constitutes a clear violation of the treaty.]
[The Arena Owner demands that the World Tree Yggdrasil pay the consequences for this treaty breach.]
In a dramatic turn of events, the Arena Owner, a significant authority within the void, was now requesting reparation from the highest leader of the World Tree Alliance.
'Feels like shrimp caught between two whales fighting.'
Thankfully, more like a shrimp watching from a safe distance.
Seong Jihan observed the chat carefully, wondering how things would unfold.
And then,
[The World Tree Yggdrasil acknowledges the treaty violation.]
[It states it will personally handle the consequences.]
[The World Tree Yggdrasil will now self-destruct.]
'What?'
The ID of Yggdrasil, alone shining green in the chat, started to fracture and quickly vanished.
And as Yggdrasil disappeared, so did all its proposals to Seong Jihan in the chat.
-Whoa…
-Did Yggdrasil just die??
-Can it die just like that? What kind of treaty was that?
-Wow, saw everything today lol
-Who said this was a boring channel? lol
-Came to see a High Elf dying and ended up watching a world tree perish ^_^
With the death of Yggdrasil, the chat turned into a mixture of confusion and celebration.
The extraterrestrials, harboring considerable resentment towards the World Tree Alliance.
-So does this mean the World Tree Union dissolves now?
-Given that the Green Administrator isn't disappearing, they must not be the same person.
-Their leader died, doesn't mean they'll disappear… probably just weaken a bit.
They speculated about how the union's forces would reorganize following this event.
However,
['World Tree Yggdrasil – 2' has entered the chat.]
['The Green Administrator' uses its administrator rights to change the name of the participant.]
['World Tree Yggdrasil – 2' has been renamed to 'World Tree Yggdrasil.']
-??
-What is going on now?
-I mean, what?
-Are they joking?
-Is it even legal for an administrator to act like this?
Barely a minute after its demise, Yggdrasil 2 returned as the original Yggdrasil, highlighting the close but convoluted relationship between the Green Administrator and the World Tree.
[The Arena Owner acknowledges that reparations have been made.]
[It passes this time, but warns that in the next version, the Will of the Void will awaken directly.]
[The World Tree Yggdrasil accepts this.]
Though the disappearance of Yggdrasil 1 seemed to have impacted the World Tree Alliance, the Arena Owner accepted the situation and moved on.
['The Arena Owner' tells you that he will reward you later for this incident and departs.]
['The World Tree Yggdrasil' states that the autonomy period has been reduced to 1,000 years, but the offer remains valid as it departs.]
"Ah, yes."
That endless autonomy talk.
Seong Jihan smirked lightly, responding in a casual manner.
"Both grand visitors have left. I guess that concludes today's broadcast."
Beep.
As Seong Jihan ended the livestream,
Lee Hayeon, who had been watching from a distance, approached with a weary expression.
"Why such a long face?"
"All these incredible beings talking about enemy chains, administrators…"
"What's to worry about? They just fought among themselves and boosted our channel in the process."
"Really… it seems that having the right guests is crucial for rapid channel growth."
"Guests, huh."
"Like, if we're comparing to Earth, it's as if both the US President and the Chinese President came on the channel to decide on sanctions, isn't it?"
When compared to the struggle between the void and the World Tree Alliance, that did make it easier to understand.
"It's less crowded than expected for such a big fight between the two."
"Ah! Maybe the broadcast was too short. If they had fought a little longer… Anyway, I'll try to edit this one well!"
"Alright. Thank you."
Seeing Lee Hayeon reinvigorated and burning with resolve, Seong Jihan offered a slight smile.
'Hmm?'
Noticing a message appearing before him, his expression quickly turned serious.
[Come to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation.]
The message sender was Dongbang Sak.