Chapter 56

[You have won the Top 100 Promotion Battle.]

[You have received 1 million GP as a reward.]

[Your level increases by 5.]

…

[You have acquired the title 'King Among Kings – Bronze'.]

Upon returning from the match, a plethora of system messages awaited Seong Jihan.

'Indeed, that's how it should be for Top 100.'

The reward was substantial, fitting for the grand title of being the top player among all Bronze rankers worldwide.

As he went through the list of rewards, Seong Jihan took note of the new title he received.

[King Among Kings – Bronze]

[A title given to those who win the Top 100 Promotion Match.]

[In the Silver League, all attributes increase by +5, and experience gain is increased by 50%.]

It was essentially an upgraded version of the 'Dominator of the Bronze League' title.

'Finally, I can let go of the "Conqueror of the Tutorial" title.'

Seong Jihan switched his title and continued checking the system messages.

[You have placed first in the Top 100 Promotion Match.]

[You have cleared the special achievement, 'Winning the Top 100 Promotion Match'.]

[You have received 90,000 achievement points as a reward.]

[You have won in the Top 100 Promotion Match without any Gift.]

[You have cleared the special achievement, 'Rank 1 without a Gift'.]

[You have received 50,000 achievement points as a reward.]

'Should I be thankful to the Wandering Martial God?'

He had already earned 90,000 achievement points since the martial god took away his F-rank gift.

Particularly, the achievement of winning the Top 100 without a Gift was as impressive as the rewards from the Epic Quest.

This clearly showed how difficult it was to reach this point without a Gift.

'How should I use this…'

As Seong Jihan pondered how to utilize the pouring rewards,

Bang!

"Uncle!!!"

The door flew open, and Yoon Seah rushed in.

Her face was fraught with concern, her complexion pale.

"Uh, Seah, I just got back…"

"Let me see."

Before he could finish, she began inspecting him.

After ensuring he was alright, a relieved Yoon Seah asked him about what happened.

"I thought something major happened. The screen turned all dark after you broke the barrier… Are you okay?"

"Of course! I'm perfectly fine."

He had been cut by the shadow sword, but that was a common injury in Battlenet.

Moreover, since Battlenet was similar to an online game, there were no repercussions in reality.

"Look, even my shirt is intact."

Seong Jihan showed his hands.

While the right arm, which had used Thunderclap Flash, was restored with the shirt, the left arm that was severed by the towering dark sword…

"…Uncle, this part is cut?"

From the elbow, the shirt was gone, revealing bare skin.

"That's…"

Seong Jihan's eyes narrowed.

Did the cut from the Constellation have some effect even in the real world?

At least only his shirt disappeared, and not the entire arm.

But that relief was short-lived.

"Un-Uncle! Your arm, your arm! Why is it like that?"

Seong Jihan's left arm started turning a dark shade, eventually disappearing as if consumed by darkness. However, he could still feel his arm.

'It doesn't feel like it's gone. I think I can still move it…'

As he tried to move his left arm, suddenly,

Woosh!

Suddenly, from the midst of the darkness, his left arm emerged, seemingly unscathed.

"Wha-what? Your arm's back?"

"Yeah, it feels normal to me."

"Uh… Uncle? There's a strange tattoo on your elbow."

"A tattoo?"

Upon Yoon Seah's observation, Seong Jihan turned his arm and indeed, a black tattoo was engraved on his elbow.

On closer inspection, it was a pattern resembling a sun.

And its edges writhed as if alive.

During their silent contemplation of this unexpected development, an indecipherable sound emanated from the tattoo.

It was a language similar to what the Dark Elf with black eyes had spoken.

"…Seah, do you hear this sound?"

"Huh? What sound?"

"…"

It was a sound that only Seong Jihan could hear.

It was frustrating for him as he couldn't decipher the message.

Reflecting his sentiments, a system window appeared before his eyes.

[Shadow of the Sun (Curse)]

[Rank: ? (Cursed state)]

[A terminal of the Constellation 'Shadow Queen'.

It's cursed and imprinted on your body.

Until the cursed state is lifted, it will absorb the user's GP and experience points.]

''Shadow of the Sun?' Was it brought in when my arm was severed?'

Just by the description, it was a terrible curse absorbing the user's experience points and GP, which are the foundation for any player.

It was unclear how the curse would change once the absorption was complete, but he didn't want to lose his experience and GP at this crucial time.

And he couldn't just cut off his arm.

He tried sending his divine power to the elbow, but the dark sun merged with his energy, unaffected.

'Hmm…'

Seong Jihan reviewed the previous message again.

The format of the message was similar to item descriptions.

So, he deduced that the 'Shadow of the Sun' was treated as an item.

'Then, can I use the emergency restore?'

He bought and used the emergency restore from the achievement store.

As expected, the Shadow of the Sun was activated in the emergency restore list.

'Good.'

He had many achievement points from this round, so he could afford to spend 10,000 on this.

"Emergency restore."

[Restoring the 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)'…]

[The 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' is too strong; only a portion has been restored.]

'One time won't do.'

Unlike the Oriental Brush or Hermes' Monocle, it wasn't completely restored with one use, given this was a curse from a Constellation.

He decided to try again, purchasing and using another emergency restore.

[Restoring the 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)'…]

[The 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' is too strong; only a portion has been restored.]

Seong Jihan frowned.

'…One last time.'

He had already spent twice, but he didn't want to give up.

Thinking of this as the last attempt, he used the emergency restore again.

[Restoring the 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)'…]

[The curse of the 'Shadow of the Sun' has been lifted.]

[Shadow of the Sun]

[Rank: SS]

[A terminal of the Constellation 'Shadow Queen'.

Maintains a connection with the Constellation, enhancing shadow control abilities.

Can be transformed into the shadow sword, 'Eclipse'.

Through the power of the Constellation 'Shadow Queen', its rank can be increased.]

[In the tutorial period. The 'Terminal of the Constellation' feature is restricted.]

Seeing the newly revealed item description, Seong Jihan's eyes settled.

Its rank was SS, and it had the potential to rank up with the powers of the Constellation.

At a glance, it looked like a valuable item, but…

'It's a half-baked item.'

Using this item was contingent on the utilization of the shadow control ability.

And to obtain the shadow control ability, a connection with the Constellation was essential.

But the 'Terminal of the Constellation' function was restricted during the tutorial period.

'I might have to wait until next year.'

If that was the case, there was no need to spend 30,000 achievement points immediately.

As Seong Jihan pondered this while looking at the black sun, a voice echoed.

"…What did he just do?"

The language of the Dark Elf, which had been incomprehensible so far, was suddenly translated automatically.

["Hmm?"]

["Huh…? You can hear me?"]

Meanwhile, in the broadcast room for the Bronze League's Top 100 Promotion Match, chaos ensued.

"There's a black screen!"

At some point, the broadcast screen was engulfed in darkness, and transmission ceased.

"Even when we switch to the first-person view of the player, it's still like this…"

"This is unprecedented in BattleNet broadcasting! What is happening?"

"It shouldn't be possible. The BattleNet system should be overseeing this…"

The commentators' voices echoed, but the screen remained dark, showing nothing.

"Christoph! With the screen like this, what will happen to the match results?"

"I… I don't know! This is a first."

Elsewhere, Lee Hayeon, who was watching from home, was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Ah! What's happening?"

She had bet a significant sum on Barren.

And with Barren's downfall, Seong Jihan had to win to recover at least some of the money!

But now, she had no idea what was happening inside, making it impossible to predict the game's outcome.

'He could have ended the game!'

Why did he save other players and leave them in the shadows? Did he not intend to win?!

Unaware of Seong Jihan's epic quest, Lee Hayeon couldn't understand his actions.

As she stared blankly at the black screen, minutes seemed to pass.

[The last survivor – Seong Jihan]

Suddenly, a brief system message appeared on the dark screen.

Whatever had transpired in the darkness, Seong Jihan had emerged as the victor.

"Phew…"

Lee Hayeon finally let out a sigh of relief.

She was saved.

Fortunately, she had at least recovered some money.

The American commentator's voice then caught her attention.

"Um… We don't know what happened, but player Seong Jihan has emerged as the winner of the Top 100 and graduated from the Bronze League! Given that he's not affiliated with any guild and has shown such strength, there's bound to be a fierce recruitment race for him."

"Yes. I'll bet my 5-year commentary career on this: We need to recruit this player in the US, regardless of the cost. I hope the government will take action!"

"Our negotiation team probably left to approach him the moment the game ended! Let's wait and see!"

In an instant, Lee Hayeon's expression hardened.

Now that she had secured some money, her mindset shifted back to that of the Guild Master of Divergent Guild.

'Come to think of it, Jihan did a promotional stunt on a global scale.'

A player who could overpower Barren, who has an SSS-grade gift, and even pierce the arena barrier?

And at this point, when countries are scrambling to recruit top players for next year?

Considering Seong Jihan's value…

Lee Hayeon felt dizzy.

'Can Divergent Guild… recruit him?'

Divergent Guild was respectable domestically, but on a global scale, there were limitations.

'It's going to be tough…'

And as she feared, BattleNet departments from various countries, having watched the match, were now hustling to reel in the big fish, Seong Jihan.

Leading the charge was Japan, which had shown interest in him from early on.

* * * * *

In the executive meeting room of the Japanese Neo Self-Defense Force:

"What do you think?"

In the meeting room filled with the top members of the Neo Self-Defense Force, Takeda Kazuo, the Recruitment Manager of the new Self-Defense Forces, passionately put forth his perspective.

"Even though he hasn't revealed his status window, he has proven his capabilities in the Top 100."

[The Last Survivor – Seong Jihan]

As Takeda pointed at the displayed message on the monitor, a murmur of agreement spread through the room.

"I reiterate! For Seong Jihan! Even without his status data, we should use 'that method'."

"Certainly, he's a remarkable talent."

"But I think we should wait. If we recruit someone who hasn't revealed their Gift and he doesn't grow as expected, what will we do?"

"I agree with that. And 'that technique' should be used for a player who can become an immediate force. Like the Sword King."

"Ah… I believe Takeda is right. At a glance, that player's potential is tremendous. He surely possesses a talent equivalent to the Sword King."

"No, he's just in Silver League now! Isn't it too wasteful to use 'that method'? Just throw money at him!"

"Heh. Do you think we can outbid the Americans in a money war?"

A heated debate ensued among the leaders of the Neo Self-Defense Force.

The sentiment was divided, a stark contrast to earlier when they dismissed the idea of using 'that method' without seeing Seong Jihan's status window.

Takeda, watching the debate with a pained expression, turned his gaze to the most senior individual in the room.

"Defense Minister, what are your thoughts?"

The Defense Minister, Japan's equivalent to Korea's Minister of National Defense, after silently observing the discussion, dropped a bombshell.

"As soon as the match ended, I received a message from 'The Goddess'."

"The Goddess…?"

All eyes were on him.

The special technique they were referring to was under the purview of The Goddess.

"She mentioned her connection with Sword King and said she would send an avatar to him."

"Oh… I see."

"Then there was no need for this debate."

"Exactly."

"But for The Goddess to take the initiative without our request…"

The Neo Self-Defense Force leaders tilted their heads.

The Goddess they knew wasn't this proactive.

It was rare for her to make the first move.

'Does he… hold such value?'

It was unclear what The Goddess saw in the Korean player, but it was certainly unusual.

While the officers were reevaluating their stance on Seong Jihan, the Defense Minister spoke again.

"Takeda."

"Yes!"

"While he's active in Korea, prepare to welcome The Goddess. Even if it's just an avatar, she's still a deity. Ensure everything is done respectfully."

"Yes, understood!!"

Takeda bowed deeply, his voice filled with excitement.

'With The Goddess stepping in, it's settled…!'

Takeda's eyes sparkled with intense anticipation.