Chapter 318

=The World Tree elves' three planets. Their numbers are 71, 99, and 200.

=If all of these were to lose to humanity, then humanity wouldn't have to linger at the bottom.

=It's a pretty intriguing condition, assuming the promise is kept.

In the Bronze League, where humanity belongs, there were a total of three planets inhabited by World Tree elves encountered so far.

If all three were to lose to humanity, based on the information revealed so far, it could be assumed that all the World Tree elves in the league would be conceding defeat.

However,

"Are there only three World Tree elves placed in the Bronze League?"

"That is..."

"Feels like there might be more?"

Seong Jihan, speaking with certainty, was met with a moment of silence from the elf high priest before she responded,

"...There are two more."

"They aren't going to lose?"

"...Very well. If the Shadow Queen is returned, all five planets will concede defeat to humanity. Until the end of this Bronze League, we will yield victory to humanity."

The confession from the high priest revealed the number of World Tree elf planets within the league.

The revelation that there were as many as five planets left viewers astonished.

-Are you telling me there are five World Tree elves in one league? 😲

-Does it make sense for 1/4 of the 20 races to be them? Lol

-Actually? Looking at the scores, there were a few that seemed similar to the World Tree elves, so experts predicted there might be one or two more.

-But I never thought they were actually there…

-Wow, so the high priest tried to sneakily deal with just three.

-You can't trust elves with promises like these

-But still, getting free wins from 5 teams is too sweet…

-Right? Handing over the Shadow Queen and securing humanity's wellbeing is a total win. And she's not even human.

Viewers' reactions split, some questioning the trustworthiness of the elves' words while others considered the conditions too favorable.

Despite this, the chat room was ablaze even after the game had ended.

[5 teams… No, it's fine! Just like this time, you can win, right?]

'I wonder. They dragged it to 5 games this time because they planned to execute me. If they focus solely on banning me, we might have lost.'

[Is… is it that severe?]

[Queen, the level of humanity is even worse than you think.]

Had the World Tree elves not dragged out the matches to the fifth game and instead focused on banning Seong Jihan to secure a win, the game might have ended in the elves' favor.

Such was the stark difference between the World Tree elves and humanity.

[...Then, there's no helping it. A brief freedom, I was grateful for it.]

The Shadow Queen, having learned about humanity's level from Ariel, was ready to let go of her will to live.

Humanity's team would have also lost to the 20th place without Seong Jihan.

How beneficial the elves' offered condition was something the Shadow Queen, who had experienced the league, knew all too well.

'You don't have anything to offset that offer, do you?'

[To give… I am but a dethroned Constellation. The Shadow Elves have been annihilated by their hand, stripped of everything. All I possess is myself… but having suffered greatly at the hands of the elves, recovery will take some time. Do I hold that much value….]

The race was annihilated, and the dethroned Constellation.

Having been reduced to a void disposal tool by the elves and having lost most of her power, she undervalued herself.

However,

'But your experience as a Constellation shouldn't go anywhere.'

[That's true, but….]

'Help me and humanity until we're liberated from BattleNet.'

Seong Jihan's condition offered to the Shadow Queen was,

[Just… for that? You'd do better taking their deal for your goal.]

'I can't trust the elves' deal. Shall we verify?'

Swoosh!

Thereupon, Seong Jihan surrounded himself with the Eternity and Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit.

Then, the elf high priest's eyes trembled dramatically.

"Ah…! What are you doing! Is this why the great golems submitted to you…"

"Will you definitely keep your promise?"

"Of, of course. If you return the Shadow Queen, we will donate victory to you."

"What makes you trustworthy?"

"We can write a contract recognized by BattleNet."

"Is there no way to fool me in the contract?"

Seong Jihan asking the elf if there was a way to be tricked on the contract seemed like asking a scammer if there were ways they could be scammed.

-Would the elf even answer that question? Lol

-It'd be better to ask the Shadow Queen.

-Talking about the contract makes it even more suspicious.

-The deal sounds good but zero trust in the counterpart lol

While viewers wondered why Seong Jihan would specifically ask the elf these questions,

"That is..."

The elf high priest, directly addressed by Seong Jihan's question, couldn't immediately respond and looked around nervously.

If it were any other race, she would have confidently deceived them without batting an eye.

Swoosh…

But the emanating life force from him matched that of the World Tree, making it very difficult for her, an elf, to go against it.

"Of course, there's no way to fool someone in the contract…!"

"Really? So, if we just write the contract, there is a 0% possibility of it being violated?"

Initially attempting to deny Seong Jihan's point, she became disoriented under the intensifying life force.

"0%… isn't possible. If I write the contract and then after receiving the Shadow Queen, die…"

"Ah, so you plan to write the contract and die?"

"Yes, I must take responsibility for this incident. Ah, this… ah, no. Who wants to die!? If you hand over the queen, the contract will be maintained!"

Giving scattered answers to Seong Jihan's questioning, the high priest was shocked, attempting to retract her hasty words but,

-The elf plans to write the contract then die as responsibility? Wow.

-Expected of an elf Lol can't be trusted.

-Seong Jihan really did something? Suddenly she's speaking up lol

-With all the great golems kneeling in the game, must be similar abilities used here.

Now, even the viewers could clearly see the elf's intentions laid bare.

"I will decline the trade. We'll secure victory on our own."

"...Ha. How could humanity, of all, secure victory against us? We just need to ban you."

The high priest bit her lip and stood up.

"Today's events… you will regret them. Humanity… I will ensure your extinction."

As she tried to leave with a menacing atmosphere,

"Hey, before you go, tell me what's inside those glass bottles."

"That is… ugh. Lo, logging out!"

Stumbling at Seong Jihan's question, the priest hurriedly left the monitoring room.

'Unlike the great golems, she still puts up some resistance.'

Would she have been more cooperative if my Eternity stat was just 10000 higher?

[PR/N: What even is that number ☠️]

I'll have to check out what's in those glass bottles later.

As Seong Jihan lamented,

[I'll look into it!]

The Shadow Queen, whose voice had notably brightened since earlier, volunteered herself for the task.

"You're quite proactive."

[I owe it to you for my survival! I'll do my best until your race is liberated from BattleNet. But what's considered liberation… to Gold League promotion?]

"Nah, just escaping Bronze is enough."

[Bronze…. You are satisfied with just that? Advancing to a higher league would evolve your race far more significantly.]

Just like during the last planet colonization map, if they move to a higher league and play the games, would humanity as a species become healthier and possess greater strength?

However, Seong Jihan's conclusion was firm.

"I have no intention of staying in BattleNet longer than necessary. Escaping Bronze is all that's needed."

[Got it. Escaping Bronze should be easy!]

With a player like Seong Jihan, even if humanity was weak, escaping Bronze should be a breeze.

Even then, the Shadow Queen was confident.

[Then, I shall bind myself to Eclipse until promotion. Let's merge, Ariel.]

"Entering Eclipse?"

[Yes. Once your race is liberated from BattleNet, the power granted by the system to you will also disappear… Unlike them, I will keep promises with certainty.]

Swoosh…

The two beings that had mingled but not completely fused within the shadow sword Eclipse began to merge.

Before him, system messages started to pop up.

[The Constellation 'Shadow Queen' is temporarily bound.]

[You have placed a Constellation under your command as a candidate.]

[A rare achievement, 'Inverted Rank,' has been cleared.]

[You receive 10,000 Constellation fame.]

'10,000?'

Unlike before, instead of achievement points, Constellation fame is given for completing the achievement.

If I received 100 earlier, is 10,000 considered high?

[Constellation Fame – 10,100]

As Seong Jihan looked at the newly appeared Constellation Fame section in his status,

[Constellation Fame points exceed 10,000.]

[The Achievement store has been upgraded to the Constellation Shop.]

The Achievement store that had been used extensively vanished, replaced by a new store.

* * *

On the Star of the Martial God, as Gilgamesh awoke, within the Tower of Babel that had risen from the barren land inside the golden tower,

[...The time has come.]

Cracks started to appear on Enkidu's blood-red armor.

And then,

Crash!

Fragments of steel scattered in all directions.

Within them, Longinus revealed himself.

"I've helped you, but your recovery is faster than expected, Longinus."

Watching him with his arms crossed, Gilgamesh remarked,

"Still, I wish you had come out a bit earlier. What a pity."

Looking at the screen displayed on the wall, he shook his head slightly.

"A pity? Why so?"

"Your target, Seong Jihan… has become stronger again. Plus, he's obtained a Constellation."

"He obtained a Constellation? Him?"

"Yes. Of course, it'll be difficult for him to wield the power of a Constellation just yet. But given time, he will recover."

Gilgamesh smirked bitterly.

"This is surprising… Utilizing my power, to wield 'Eternity' like that. Perhaps I nurtured him too much."

Originally, Gilgamesh had intended to dominate Seong Jihan using the 'modified roots of the World Tree'.

But having never anticipated he could write a 'Code', Gilgamesh inadvertently gave him the stat 'Eternity.'

Contributing significantly to Seong Jihan's recent growth, And so Gilgamesh suggested,

"Delaying your descent to Earth until you're fully recovered might be best."

"Delay it?"

"Yes. If you descend now, you won't be able to fully utilize your power. Better to be thoroughly prepared."

"..."

"And he's a Constellation candidate. Causing a wrong move with a candidate could bring severe restrictions from BattleNet. Even for a race belonging to a martial god, the consequences could be severe."

"No, I will go now."

However, Longinus immediately refused Gilgamesh's proposal.

"He has obtained a Constellation, hasn't he? Delaying will only strengthen his forces."

"That's true but."

"And the power that destroyed your tower…"

Longinus remembered when Seong Jihan had demolished the tower.

Writing a symbol on the ceiling made the entire Tower of Babel vanish.

This power resembled the authority held by the Spear of Judgement.

"Seeing that, I cannot just sit idly. I must prove myself superior to him, even if it is by a day."

"And if he is superior, what then?"

Swoosh.

At Gilgamesh's question, Longinus merely smiled.

"Then, finally, I can welcome death… That would be good too."

Winning or losing did not matter.

Hearing that, Gilgamesh nodded,

"I'll open the path for you."

"You will?"

"Yes. The restrictions for targeting a Constellation candidate. I'll share them."

"I wasn't expecting you to be so considerate… Understood."

Surprised by Gilgamesh's proposal, Longinus eyed him somewhat wider but,

In any case, he had nothing to lose, so he nodded shortly.

"Then, I'll make the final preparations and return."

"Alright. Come back here when everything is done."

As Longinus left,

'You've chosen wisely, Longinus.'

Gilgamesh looked at his back, slightly lifting the corners of his mouth.

'Become the sacrifice necessary to awaken the third'