Chapter 206

[Seong Jihan – Yoon Sejin Duo. The Korean national team with the world's top warriors.]

[Bettors are putting their chips on Korea for the 2021 Champions League win! They secure the fourth-highest odds.]

[What changes with the end of the tutorial? The Ban System is now introduced even in national representative matches.]

In the first half of 2021, the BattleNet Regional League began in Northeast Asia on February 1st.

Korea, which had struggled in the Northeast Asia League just six months earlier, had completely turned around its evaluations and was now a favorite for the championship.

-With Seong Jihan reaching Diamond and the return of Yoon Sejin, the lineup is insane.

-Last year, when Yoon Sejin left, our country had the weakest lineup, but now…

-Is Korea going to win the championship for the third time?!

The BattleNet Champions League.

Starting in 2010 and continuing for ten years.

There were only two countries that won the championship: the United States 7 times and China 3 times.

Although other countries made efforts in the Champions League, they couldn't overcome the formidable wall of these two superpowers.

However, the Korean national team this year had Seong Jihan, who emerged like a comet, and Yoon Sejin, the Sword King who regained his senses in Japan and returned.

Could Korea stand a chance against the United States and China this year?

Such sentiments were spreading among the public.

Of course, there were concerns.

-Introducing the ban system is a bit worrisome…

-If Seong Jihan and Sword King get banned, our true skills will shine, right? LOL.

-True skills? The skills that were at the bottom in Northeast Asia before Seong Jihan came? LOL.

-We need more talent for real.

-Indeed, Yoon Seah should join the national team.

└ Did Seah come?

└ Hey, Se-ah.

└ Level up more and come.

"Damn it, how did they know?"

Yoon Seah frowned as she saw the replies to her comment.

People are so harsh.

She even won in the TOP 100 promotion match.

There were no replies cheering for her inclusion in the national team; only comments asking if Seah came.

"Our archery lineup is the strongest, how would a Diamond newbie like you enter the national team?"

Seeing his niece's reply, Seong Jihan chuckled, eliciting an indignant response from her.

"Ah, I really got stronger! Late Bloomer raised to rank A, and even Void Arrow got stronger with my promotion to Void Analyst."

"Do you still only have the Void Arrow skill?"

"Uh… I can't add skills until I get Void stats."

"You don't have Void stats?"

"Nope. They said I'd get it once I complete my analysis of Void Arrow…"

"I have them."

Yoon Seah widened her eyes at Seong Jihan's words.

"Huh? Uncle?"

"Yeah, I got it when I finished the Constellation Quest."

"Wow… Uncle, there's nothing you don't have."

"Have you heard more about Void from your mom?"

"No, not really since I became an analyst."

While talking, Yoon Seah summoned Void Arrow.

Unlike before, three violet arrows were created and the size was also considerably larger than before.

'It has definitely gotten stronger.'

Void Arrow was an already overpowered skill.

Now that it had been enhanced, Yoon Se-ah felt confident that she could perform well even in Diamond League.

"Still, only having one skill is a pity now that I've reached Diamond. Mom is a constellation… why not give me a better skill?"

Yoon Seah fiddled with her Void Arrow, her mouth watering.

Although it was a good skill, she had been relying on it for too long.

"How can I get Void stats?"

"It's not that great, to be honest."

"Why?"

"Because you can only live until 70."

"… What do you mean?"

Seong Jihan explained what he knew about Void stats.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"So… instead of living long with artificially inflated physical abilities on BattleNet, you just live an average human lifespan?"

"That's right. Though it's not confirmed because it's from that guy."

"Uh… if it's true, isn't that a bit disappointing? It's nice to live longer. And if you live long with the abilities gained from BattleNet, wouldn't aging be delayed?"

"There are even cases where aging was reversed."

If you were Diamond, you were almost equivalent to virtual superheroes.

Among the elderly players, some were getting younger as time passed.

Considering such health, giving up the path to long life and accepting Void, which follows the original lifespan, seemed a bit regrettable.

"Ugh… maybe I shouldn't get Void."

"Right, you should aim for longevity. I'll absorb that power for you."

"What about you? Shouldn't you be giving it up?"

"I need more power."

As long as there was an inevitable battle with the Gods, avoiding it was impossible.

In such circumstances, age and longevity were not important.

He had to gather strength as best as he could.

Moreover…

'The secret shop and training ground obtained through Void are too good.'

A training ground where the flow of time changed proportionally to the Void stat.

When one Earth day passed, you could spend 5.5 days there.

'And it's not just time that makes the training ground valuable. I can also adjust the place.'

The default state of the training ground was a purple wasteland.

But by spending achievement points, he could call up environments from maps he had previously played.

Thus, Seong Jihan had been focusing on cultivating Martial Soul, and,

'I'm just a step away now.'

Seeing its completion just ahead, he couldn't abandon Void due to the consequences on lifespans.

"Well… I'll keep it for now. I have to be selected for the national team if I want to get Late Bloomer to S grade. I'll hold on to Void and aim for the national team."

She decided to keep her powers for the moment after a brief internal debate upon hearing Seong Jihan's explanation.

Her Gift went up to rank A after accepting the constellation.

To elevate her gift to S grade, she now had to be selected for the national team.

"Is being on the national team the condition now? How was the A-rank effect?"

"The Constellation boasts that the bonus increases threefold. But since I haven't received a bonus yet, I can't really tell."

There seemed to be some constraints.

Other than the advice given last time, the Witch of Void maintained silence.

"It hasn't been long since Jiah became a constellation. She'll give you something later."

"No, I don't need a bonus. Just having her as a constellation is enough."

While the two of them were talking about Seong Jiah,

Bzzzzz…

Seong Jihan's phone rang.

[Mr. Seong Jihan, We have arrived.]

"Okay, I'll come down."

It was a call from Manager Park Yoonsik, who came to pick up Seong Jihan for the national team match.

Usually, players would gather at the BattleNet center beforehand for training and coordination rather than on the match day.

But this time, Seong Jihan asked the coach for a special favor to focus on the Void training ground.

-Personal training to do? Ah, of course. Feel free to do it. Just come to the center on the day of the game. I'll send a limousine.

Coach Noh Youngjun responded gently to such a request. If it were any other player, they would never have allowed such special treatment. However, for Seong Jihan, who rescued the Korean national team from last place and brought back the Sword King from Japan, Coach Noh was not so unyielding.

He wasn't heartless enough to immediately tell Seong Jihan to come to the center immediately.

"I'll have to watch the game from home today. Good luck, Uncle~"

"Sure. Take a rest."

Seong Jihan waved lightly to Yoon Seah and stepped into the elevator.

* * *

=The 2021 Northeast Asia League, first-half season finally begins today!

=The first game kicks off with a match between South Korea and Russia!

=Although the Space League has started, the regional leagues continue as usual, right?

=Yes, of course. Depending on the national rankings, dungeon portals are created, just like in the main game!

A league one step higher.

As the Space League emerged and humanity had to join forces, some speculated whether the importance of national competition might decrease.

However, as humanity went from joint first place to falling into the middle rankings, those voices quietened down.

The disappeared dungeon portals began to reappear at a rapid pace. The standard for countries where portals were created, which was in the bottom 10% during the tutorial, rose to the bottom 12-13% as soon as they settled in the middle rankings.

=Ironically, with the entry into the main game, performance in the regional league has become even more important than before. If the ranking in the Space League drops, more dungeons will be created in various countries!

=That's right. Now, the league ranking has become a directly related issue to visibility. However, there is really good news for us in the South Korea! The Sword King has returned!

=The hero who ended his brief wandering and returned! And Seong Jihan, who appeared like a comet…! How destructive will the combination of these two be, making Korea rise to 4th place in the betting odds for the Champions League of gamblers!

=4th place…! Oh, after the United States, China, and India! It's almost similar to India. Perhaps it could rise further depending on the future results!

With a powerful player pool built on an enormous population, India is evaluated as one of the top 3 countries in the world. Competing with them was unthinkable just a year ago for Korea.

=If there was only one, Russia would have used ban cards intensively on one player, but fortunately, that didn't happen.

=I heard the Ban System applied in regional leagues is a bit more limited than in the Space League?

==Yes, it decreased by one. Top 1-10 players can be banned by two, and top 1-20 can be four cards.

=And… you can also specifically designate one player!

Whether to ban random top-ranked players or to pick one and prevent them from participating in the game. With the entry of BattleNet into the main game, team managers can now make strategic decisions with bans and selects.

-If only Seong Jihan were there, he would have been completely sniped by bans.

-LOL, thank goodness we have the Sword King too.

-Russia will probably use a ban card on one player, right?

It's safer to pick one and make sure they can't participate in the game than randomly ban two players from the top 10.

People expected Russia to use a ban card on one key player, so their interest shifted to…

-Who will be banned first?

It focused on which of the two, Seong Jihan or the Sword King, Russia would choose to ban.

-Probably the Sword King?

-But Seong Jihan seems stronger now that he got promoted to Diamond, right?

-Still, the Sword King has experience, right? Last time, Seong Jihan was slightly struggling against him.

-What are you talking about? He intentionally pretended to be struggling to bring him to his senses. And besides, Seong Jihan has grown so much since then…!

-Why are you all fighting? LOL We have both of them, after all.

└└ This is a really important issue.

-Can't compromise for sure.

-Why are fans fighting each other -_- The Russian coach will handle it anyway…

While Russia is the one doing the bans, the Korean fans are the ones fighting. And the national team players were also interested in it.

"Mr. Jihan, how do you think the ban will go?"

"I don't know."

Ha Yeonjoo, the archery team leader who approached Seong Jihan, wore a playful smile.

"Didn't your premonition dreams tell you anything?"

"Well, whoever they might ban, we're going to win. There's no need for predictions for things like this."

"If I were them, I'd ban my brother-in-law. I might have considered otherwise in the past, but brother-in-law right now seems unbeatable."

Unlike Seong Jihan, who arrived late at the BattleNet center to coordinate with the team,

Yoon Sejin, who had also been prepping with the team, admitted so nonchalantly that he thought he was weaker than Seong Jihan.

"If you say so. I think Russia will ban my brother-in-law too."

"Instead of such modesty, tell me honestly."

"Honestly? Honestly, I think I'm the strongest on Earth."

"Wow… Straightforward! Impressive."

"That's how a brother-in-law should be."

Seong Jihan nonchalantly claimed he was the strongest on Earth.

As Ha Yeonjoo watched this with a mix of amusement and disbelief,

The TV in the waiting room showed the Russian coach pulling out a ban card.

=Russian coach!

=Bans player Yoon Sejin!

"They banned me?"

Yoon Sejin slightly tilted his head and smiled.

"They banned me while leaving the strongest on Earth. It seems the name of the Sword King still holds some weight, brother-in-law."

"That's right. Let's go show them our true strength."

Seong Jihan shrugged and stood up.

Whether it was Seong Jihan or the Sword King, it didn't matter who got banned. The Korean national team could easily win with just one of them.

'But banning my brother-in-law first… How annoying.'

I'll make sure they ban me next time.

With that determination, Seong Jihan participated in the first game.