Chapter 110

[Another victory! Seong Jihan effortlessly conquers the TOP 100!]

[10 vs 90? Even if it were 1 vs 99, the outcome wouldn't have changed.]

[An unprecedented broadcasting accident on BattleNet! 'This scene cannot be viewed in the tutorial.' What on earth happened?]

[Want to earn money? Bet on Seong Jihan! Koreans laughing all the way.]

['Limitation – what does that mean?' Seong Jihan just 2 months after his debut.]

Korean portal sites were flooded with news related to Seong Jihan.

Even a day after the match, there was no sign of Seong Jihan-related articles diminishing.

"Wow. Uncle, it's chaos even overseas?"

"Probably because of the broadcasting incident."

Especially this time, due to the unprecedented broadcasting accident on BattleNet, foreign portal sites were no different.

The number of subscribers to Seong Jihan's channel surpassed 2 million just a day after this match.

And it seemed to be growing fast enough to aim for 3 million soon.

"Oh, by the way… Sophia is coming to Korea?"

"Sophia? What are you talking about?"

"Look at this."

Yoon Seah showed Seong Jihan a news article.

['I'm coming to Korea for a meal!' Sophia. Posts a photo taken inside an airplane.]

Sophia, making a V sign inside the plane.

Her expression was innocently cheerful.

"No… She didn't mention anything to me?"

"She did talk, during the match. She seemed really interested in you, judging from the broadcast."

Saying that, Yoon Seah narrowed her eyes.

"Also, Uncle, she's the same age as me, you know? 19."

"…She's a teenager?"

She was in her twenties the last time they met in his previous life.

Her appearance hasn't changed much since then, so he had no idea about her age.

"So, on the day you treat her, I'll leave the house. Just don't go out and sleep elsewhere. What if you get caught by the paparazzi?"

"Hey, what do you mean 'leave'? I'm not interested."

"Even though she's that pretty?"

Sophia had a face that perfectly matched the Western beauty standard, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

That's probably why she's enjoying superstar-level popularity even though she hasn't been in America First for long.

The same was true for her popularity in Korea.

– Wow, Seong Jihan is crossing lines again.

– Sophia is off-limits, dude!

– What's he doing bringing a teenager?

– She's the one coming, you know?

– If she's 19, isn't that fine?

– There's a problem! There just is!

The comments on Seong Jihan's articles felt different than usual.

"Being pretty and being interested are two different things."

"…Uncle, you don't happen to like men, do you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Do I have to doubt my own sexual orientation just because I said I'm not interested in Sophia?

Seong Jihan chuckled and shook his head.

"More importantly, let's check your Gift again."

"Ah, because of the upgrade conditions?"

"Yes."

Yoon Seah showed Seong Jihan her Gift, which had been upgraded to E-grade.

The effect of the upgraded Gift she showed was simple but powerful.

[Gift – Late Bloomer (Grade: E – Upgrade condition not met)]

[Upgrades the basic BattleNet system by one level.]

[F rank effect: Increase game participation by 1 per day

Natural status growth rate increased by 100%]

[E rank effect: Additional stat effect changed to +2]

[To upgrade the Gift to the next level, special conditions must be met.]

The additional stat changed from +1 to 2.

This was similar to Barren, who gained +2 stats through two status windows.

In the early stages, the difference isn't significant.

But once you reach over level 200, the gap in attainable stat points grows immensely, which was a tremendous benefit.

'If E rank is this powerful… I can't even imagine how it'll be later on.'

'Late Bloomer' seemed already bloomed.

It wasn't unreasonable for Seong Jihan to think so given its potential.

However.

[Conditions for Upgrade to D rank]

[Be the sole owner of the Late Bloomer Gift on the planet. (Currently 2)]

[Among the Late Bloomer Gift holders, be the first to reach the Gold Player rank.]

[One of the two conditions must be met.

When one person's Late Bloomer Gift is upgraded to D rank, the other person's Late Bloomer Gift disappears automatically.]

The upgrade conditions bothered him.

"I didn't know there was another person with the Late Bloomer Gift besides me. Who could it be?"

Yoon Seah spoke calmly while looking at the upgrade conditions.

However, Seong Jihan's expression hardened.

'Did Xin Youhwa already have Late Bloomer?'

In his previous life, Xin Youhwa from China had the world rank of #2.

Her rapid rise in the rankings was astonishing, and everyone was constantly worried about when she would surpass the #1, Barren.

Little information was publicly available about Xin Youhwa, so Seong Jihan didn't know much about her.

'I've heard rumors linking her with the Triad.'

The Triad, a criminal organization widespread in Hong Kong and the Chinese-speaking world.

Xin Youhwa was said to be the daughter of a high-ranking Triad member and played a significant role in the organization.

Although she strongly denied it and the Chinese government vowed to counter such rumors, the Triad connection was buried.

Still, unfavorable rumors about her persisted.

'Her skills weren't that great.'

Like the #1 Barren, the #2 Xin Youhwa wasn't exceptionally skilled.

As an archer, she felt overpowering because of her inflated stats rather than outstanding control.

In China, many believed Heavenly Demon Wang Lin was their true #1 player until his death.

'In my previous life, she must've easily met that condition after Seah died…'

With Yoon Seah, who had the Late Bloomer, dead, she would've satisfied the first condition.

Seong Jihan recalled the painful memories from that time.

It wasn't until about a year after Yoon Seah's death that Xin Youhwa became well-known in Korea.

In China, a rising star named 'Xin Youhwa' emerged with the Gift, Late Bloomer!

Until then, it was widely known as the worthless Gift of Yoon Seah, the traitor's daughter.

But when a Chinese player with Late Bloomer suddenly rose to Platinum rank and rapidly moved up to Diamond, people were shocked.

– Wow, turns out Late Bloomer was a great Gift?

– Why did Yoon Seah commit suicide? Such a waste lol

– Must be regretting in the afterlife ㅠㅠ

– That's too harsh, someone died.

– The guy above used to trash talk Yoon Seah lol. Pretending to be nice now.

After seeing such comments on the news, Seong Jihan, filled with disdain for the public, stopped following news about Xin Youhwa.

If he knew he would reincarnate, he would've kept an eye out.

'This time, we need to keep Late Bloomer on our side.'

It would be better for Earth if Yoon Seah has it rather than Xin Youhwa, who's like Barren.

Thinking this, Seong Jihan told Yoon Seah confidently,

"You need to keep partying with me."

"Am I continuing to get carried by Uncle?"

"Yes. We need to reach Gold before the other holder of Late Bloomer. Play one round with me and another one solo. Let's go with this strategy for the next month."

"Got it. We can't lose the Gift!"

"Let's aim for the October promotion."

"Okay!"

At Seong Jihan's words, Yoon Seah nodded with determination.

'I wonder where Xin Youhwa is right now.'

Considering the previous life, Xin Youhwa probably wasn't at a higher level than Yoon Seah.

She started making her mark a few years later.

However, the variable was the broadcast that Yoon Seah previously did.

The broadcast revealed that the Gift 'Late Bloomer' had value, so if Xin Youhwa saw it, she might've started accelerating.

"If she's in Bronze, there's nothing to worry about, but if she's in Silver…."

No matter what it means, he had to prevent her from leveling up.

As Seong Jihan pondered, he hesitated.

He might not be the only one having these thoughts.

"I should also prepare for how the other side reacts."

Just like the rumors from his past life, if Xin Youhwa was related to Traid.

There was also a possibility that she might threaten Yoon Seah's life.

In preparation for such a situation, Seong Jihan opened his inventory and handed the Veil of the Void to Yoon Seah.

"…What's this?"

"It's an item called the Veil of the Void."

Due to the condition that one would be buried in the void if left unattended for a long time, Seong Jihan had refrained from giving it to Yoon Seah until he could determine more about it.

However, considering her gift attribute, it seemed like a good idea to have a refuge in case of emergency.

"Use it only when you're in danger in reality, not during regular game time."

"Eh, why would I be in danger in reality?"

"You never know. The other player with 'Late Bloomer' might target you."

"Oh… right."

"And for a month, try not to go outside. Be cautious. I'll handle shopping."

"No outings?… To that extent?"

"Just endure for a month."

Yoon Seah thought her uncle was being overly protective.

'It's just for a month.'

Right. There's no harm in being careful.

"Understood, uncle."

"Good. Starting today?"

"But what about Sophia?"

"Why mention Sophia here?"

"Don't I need to empty the house for her?"

When Yoon Seah chuckled, Seong Jihan playfully flicked his finger as if thinking of a good idea.

"Nonsense. Ah, right. Let's go eat together. I can't leave you alone."

"Eh, are you inviting me on your date? That's… weird."

"What date? Didn't I say I'm not interested?"

"But you're still buying her dinner."

"She came all the way to Korea, I can't just ignore her."

While there were no romantic feelings, there was still affection from the time they were guildmates.

It would be rude to leave a girl who came all the way to Korea hanging.

"I could just stay home alone…"

"What if someone targets you while you're alone?"

"What sort of attacker? And if I accompany you, what will Sophia think of me?"

"Let's just eat together. Otherwise, I'll tell Sophia we can't meet."

Upon Seong Jihan's insistence, Yoon Seah reluctantly agreed with a hesitant face.

"Sigh. Fine… Let's go. What an inconvenience."

* * * * *

In a building in Hong Kong.

In the Celestial Guild office occupying the entire 44th floor, a girl was reading a report.

With light makeup and a youthful face, the noticeably short and petite girl looked too young to be an adult woman.

"Is this report true?"

"Yes, young lady."

The subject of the report was Yoon Seah.

The report suggested that due to Seong Jihan's support, Yoon Seah was likely to be promoted to Gold in October.

The young lady smirked.

"That won't do."

"So…"

"Kill her."

"Kill, you say?"

Despite looking like an innocent teenager, she casually mentioned death.

"Yes. I don't think I can promote by October."

The owner of the 'Late Bloomer' Gift in China, Xin Youhwa, said with a bright expression.

"Do we really need to kill her? She's quite well-known. The focus will be on us…"

A bulky, menacing-looking man seemed more hesitant about the killing than she did.

"Then, kidnap her? That might be even harder than killing. Just ambush and kill her in one go."

"Uh…"

"Start immediately. Kill her before October 25th. Definitely."

"Understood."

"Then take the men and go."

Watching the man leave with his head bowed, Xin Youhwa tilted her head.

'Can they handle it?'

She felt uneasy about how uncertain the men were.

If she just left the assassination to those guys, it wouldn't suffice.

She picked up her phone.

"Daddy~!"

[Yes, dear. What is it?]

"Um, I have a favor to ask!"

She began the call with a voice full of playfulness.