Chapter 162

"Hello, Coach," Shizuru said. 

'Her beauty is truly on a different level.' The Japanese coach felt his heart pounding after she smiled and greeted him. Even through a stream, she'd been so beautiful that he couldn't help but think about her for days afterward. In person, he could see what made her the world's most beautiful woman.

It wasn't just him who thought so, either. Every other member of the strategy team, regardless of gender, was mesmerized.

"Ehem…" The Sword King coughed uncomfortably from next to Shizuru. 

The coach returned to his senses. "Ah, I'm sorry for losing my train of thought…"

"No, it's okay. I'm used to it," Shizuru said.

"Shizuru, that's why I said you didn't need to come," the Sword King complained.

"Fufu… Why? I enjoy going out with you. It's been a while." Shizuru calmly ignored the Sword King's complaint, the very Sword King who usually maintained an aloof attitude in the Japanese Battle Center.

"Can you stop staring?" The Sword King said to the others as Shizuru visibly dragged attention.

'He's still smitten.'

'That makes sense… She's using both her beauty and Enchantment on him, right?'

'I think I'd fall for her even without that.'

"Darling, stop being so rude to the staff," Shizuru gently said.

"Okay…" The Sword King dropped his aggressive demeanor.

Everyone watching knew who held the reigns in the relationship.

"I'm sorry, everyone. He's overprotective of me…"

"N-no. It's our fault for staring."

"Fufu… He doesn't like me being outside for too long, so let me get straight to the point… How we're going to suppress JiHan."

The Japanese coach's eyes lit up at the mention of a secret plan. "May I ask what that strategy is?"

"It's this." She handed the coach a big nail shimmering with a white light.

"This is…"

"It's the Nail of Sacrifice."

"Ah, I know about the Nail of Sacrifice," the coach said. "It's an item you can use to sacrifice yourself for the sake of strengthening your allies, right?"

The Nail of Sacrifice was a C-rank item that activated after you impaled it into your own heart. You'd instantly die after use, but your designated ally's abilities would be greatly amplified.

Despite its effects, it was rarely used because the buff wasn't great and it required a player to take themselves out of the game.

"I understand that it's usually a worthless item…" she said, "but this one's different. I modified it myself."

"You modified an item…?" The coach asked.

"Yes. I used 'Edit' on it."

"What did you change?" The coach asked in surprise. It was incredible that she could even modify items.

"I made the buff stackable."

"That means…"

"It originally couldn't be stacked, but this one can be applied up to 10 times." Shizuru looked at JiHan's image on one of the display monitors. "I've also looked at JiHan's data. It seems that he doesn't benefit from buffs."

"Yes, that's correct."

JiHan wasn't able to fully unleash the power of Martial Soul, so buffs weren't effective on him.

"Ryuhei is different. He can take full advantage of any buffs he's given. If we start with 10 players sacrificing themselves, he'll be able to easily overwhelm JiHan."

"You're right. He's already stronger than JiHan, and with the buffs, he'll definitely have the upper hand, but…" The Japanese coach glanced at the Sword King, who was frowning at the Nail of Sacrifice. "I think that, even without this, the Sword King should be able to beat JiHan."

"Yes, Shizuru. What would happen to my reputation if I needed to fall back on this?"

The Sword King was ranked 3rd in the World and was the top Warrior. If he used the Nail of Sacrifice against JiHan, who was in Platinum, he'd be the subject of public criticism, even if he won.

"I'm the strongest Warrior in the world. Believe in me." The Sword King tried to argue, but…

"Ryuhei, I trust you, of course, but please just go along with my plan this time."

"Haa… But still…"

"Ryuhei, please… Crush JiHan." She didn't care about protecting the Sword King's pride.

"Ah… But still…!" The Sword King's face reddened with anger, but he calmed down when he looked at her face. "Ahh… Understood."

The Japanese staff were surprised by how submissive he was to her.

'This is an issue of the Sword King's Pride. It's hard to believe he'd submit so easily…'

'Is Enchantment that strong?'

'The Sword King's completely Shizuru's pawn.'

"Then, Coach, I will prepare 30 Nails of Sacrifice. You can win all three matches with that, right?"

"Ah… Yes! If we eliminate JiHan, the Sword King can annihilate the rest of the Korean team by himself."

"I'll leave it to you." Shizuru smiled. 'Your pride isn't what's important here, Sword King. I need an overwhelming victory.'

Shizuru had been manipulating Japan from behind the scenes, but her iron grip over the country began to wane after the Akashic pages soared in price. 

She wasn't able to maintain her widespread Enchantment any longer and had to assert herself as the 'Sword King's Master'. That way, even if everyone else was released from her Enchantment, they wouldn't dare touch her.

'I'm sure the Sword King will easily stomp JiHan in the upcoming game.' She had to maintain her influence by showing off the Sword King's overwhelming power, and the Nails of Sacrifice would make him seem stronger than ever.

There was simply nothing for her to worry about

Inside a limousine heading to the Battle Net Center…

"Ahh, the Battle Net Center almost feels like home these days," Sae-ah said.

"Well, the international games are almost over since we won't be going to the Champions League."

The International League ended in November, and the 1st and 2nd-place teams would advance to the Champions League. South Korea had accumulated too many defeats before JiHan was brought in, so they couldn't qualify.

A victory against China would have given them a tiny bit of hope, but any possibility of making it vanished after that defeat.

"If you joined the team a bit earlier," Sae-ah said, "it might have been different. What a pity."

"I was only in Bronze or Silver at the time. Even I would have gotten beaten up."

"Hehe, so do you have a plan in mind for beating my dad?"

"He's certainly very strong." JiHan had been analyzing the Sword King's videos and made a cool-headed judgment. 'I'm slightly outmatched.'

Even though he'd gotten to Platinum and his level had increased by 20, his Martial Soul had stayed the same. He could stand his ground, but overpowering him would be difficult.

"Well, Dad's still the top-ranked Warrior. I'm sure you'll be able to defeat him next time!"

"Are you already accepting defeat?" JiHan asked. "I have a trump card."

Sae-ah's eyes widened. "Oh. What is it? Is there a way to beat him?"

JiHan recalled the 'Top 25' promotion match and remembered how the high elf's wooden sword, a weapon made from one of the World Tree's branches, had been able to pressure the Dead Star until being snapped in half.

It'd vanished after Kallein unleashed his deathly authority, but…

'I witnessed the powers coursing through the sword back then.'

He'd felt the World Tree's life force, which was similar to what he'd already gained from the Seed of Life, and he'd also felt a different power…

'I thought it might be this, but…' He sent some of his shadow power through his left hand. The shadow elves had been created from the World Tree's discarded life force, and he'd felt a similar energy from the wooden sword before it vanished.

'It's difficult for me to complete the picture with just this. Can the powers of life and shadow be fused?' It'd be harder than combining lightning and fire, and the Life Energy could scatter if he mishandled it on Earth, so he could only practice within the games.

'If I could just manifest the wooden sword, I could easily feed the World Tree's leaf to the Sword King after hitting him once or twice.' There was such a power gap that it wouldn't be easy to casually force-feed him the leaf, but he might be able to gain a moment of opportunity if he could manifest the wooden sword.

"What do you have in mind?" Sae-ah asked.

"I'm still preparing it."

"Ah… That's too bad."

He couldn't quite grasp how to manifest the wooden sword. Rather than dwelling on it, it might be better to refine the Red Lightning Technique and raise his Martial Soul.

There were only five days left until the Korea-Japan game, and it was time to make a decision.

"Uncle, are you going to play before training?"

"No. I'm going to focus on training."

The games resumed in November, but JiHan decided to put a pause on leveling up and instead focus on training.

'I need to stay in Platinum until December, so I can use the upcoming Korea-Japan game as an excuse to stop playing games for a bit.' His leveling speed was insane thanks to his continuous 1st-place record, so he could do with a break.

Upon entering the Battle Net center, JiHan immediately sought out the coach. "Coach, can you exclude me from team training? I have to prepare something against the Sword King."

"Ah… Really? Okay. Do what you think is best." The coach wouldn't have allowed it with another player, but JiHan was an exception. After all, even in team training, he was overly dominant.

'The most important thing in the upcoming game is the one-on-one match against the Sword King.'

Both Korea in Japan focused on that, and the rest of the Warriors might as well have just been extras. The coach wasn't sure what JiHan was preparing, but…

'He always does well on his own.' He had immense trust in the man.

In contrast, Warriors Kim Dong-woo and Lee YunGi had a little chat. 

"Ah… Just thinking about getting beaten up by the Sword King is killing my motivation."

"Seriously, why did the Sword King go to Japan and make us suffer?"

"Well, Ito Shizuru's pretty, isn't she? I really want to see her in person. Will we see her if we go to Japan?"

"The Sword King would kill you first."

"Really? That's too bad. Wow, look at this; a goddess has descended into the Japanese strategy room!"

"Woah… She's really pretty."

They were casually looking at a picture of Shizuru on a phone.

'Ahh, it's frustrating that nobody could replace them if I wanted to cut them from the team,' the coach thought. Was Korea's entire Warrior talent concentrated in JiHan and the Sword King?

Coach YeongJun sighed and clapped. "Okay, let's resume training."

"Yes~"

For the next five days…

- It's November, but JiHan hasn't been streaming.

- I heard on Sae-ah's channel that he's been training behind closed doors. It seems like he's just staying in his room. According to her, he's preparing something.

- Oh… Preparing something? Does he have a trump card against the Sword King?

Rumors were spreading in both Korea and Japan, but unlike JiHan's solitary training…

- According to rumors from Japan, they think it's already game over. They say that Ito Shizuru visited the strategy room and prepared an incredible item.

- Yes, I heard that too. After that, the Sword King's odds shot up. There are a lot of Japanese businesses betting on him.

- Mr. Sung, stop this futile resistance. Japan's going to earn some GP. 

There were more positive rumors on the Japanese side, especially since Ito Shizuru had appeared in person. Maybe that's why almost everyone in the world bet their GP on the Sword King, even Korean people.

- The difference in the odds is crazy. I guess this is normal…?

- Who cares? He just has to win next time!

- Right. JiHan's still in Platinum!

- He'll likely fight well but still lose, hahaha.

Korean Battle Net fans already accepted defeat by the time the day of the match arrived.