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* * *

One day in 2010.

-Invite Earthlings to Battle.net.

An invitation from outer space has completely changed the way people live.

"Did you see the game yesterday?"

"I saw it. Mexico won easily though."

"The Sword King swept it all away. They're weak as tanks, so they're not good for us."

A global Battle.net league.

Survival.

Invade.

Defense Defense.

Dungeon Dungeon.

A battle game with 4 types.

It made all professional sports disappear, including the Olympics and the World Cup.

Children who used to wear soccer balls in the alleys of Brazil began to make friends with swords.

Prospective players in the US baseball team were busy throwing daggers instead of baseballs.

It was a strange change in perception that occurred less than a year after Earth was invited to Battle.net.

10 years have passed since then, 2020.

[Battle.net tutorial season ends this year.]

[From 2021, humanity will belong to the Space League – Bronze League.]

The time when mankind could stay in the cradle has come to an end.

* * *

Spacious and colorful living room.

Seong Ji-han, who was lying on the sofa, opened her eyes.

'here is… … .'

My head hurts like it would break, and the smell of alcohol vibrates from my mouth.

Typical hangover symptoms.

This was an experience Sung Ji-han hadn't had in years.

But he was very happy with this feeling.

"Really, it's back to when we first entered the league."

opportunity for re-challenge.

I didn't really believe it would come true until I saw the last system message.

It really goes back to the past.

He jumped up from the couch and looked around.

Living room big enough to kick a ball in.

It was a very familiar place to him.

sister's house.

And Yoon Se-jin's house.

Until this time, Seong Ji-han was living in this house.

'and… … .'

Even the countless bottles of liquor on the table in front of the sofa.

'That's right. That time.'

at that time.

It was a life-changing period, and it was the first time he entered the Bronze League as a 2nd level.

-Then once again, Sword King Yoon Se-jin… … Listen to the press conference.

Meanwhile, a somber voice rang out from the TV.

When Seong Ji-han turned his gaze toward it, a video of a man's press conference was playing on the TV that filled the entire wall.

– Fellow citizens.

As soon as Sung Ji-han heard the voice, he gnashed his teeth.

Video of the press conference.

It is a scene that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

31 July 2020.

I even remembered the date perfectly.

-I, Yoon Se-jin, myself.

Sword King Yoon Se-jin.

Seong Ji-han's brother-in-law and the strongest player born in Korea.

Ranked 3rd among the world's top 11 players, it was said to be the strongest among the warrior classes.

He was the pride of Korea and was called a national treasure.

Inside the screen, he stood with a confident expression.

-About the rumors floating around, I'm here to reveal the truth today.

He continued speaking confidently.

-First, let me tell you about the rumor that you are transferring to Japan's New Self-Defense Force.

-That part is true.

'As soon as I came back to the past, I saw that bastard's face.'

Yoon Se-jin's press conference.

The starting point that shook Korea and made it fall.

His transfer to Japan had a cascading effect, and Korea's league rankings fell sharply.

'And our country… … It perished.'

Seong Ji-han contorted his expression as he thought about the future.

The reporters on the screen raised their hands in a scramble for a moment before putting on a dejected expression.

– Mr. Yoon Se-jin. Sejin Yoon!

-Transferring to the New Self-Defense Force! Is that really true?

– It's true.

-The New Self-Defense Forces are a guild directly under the Japanese government! It is known that only Japanese nationality is accepted because it is where the league's national team is selected.

-Well, maybe… … ?

– He knows that too. The New Self-Defense Forces accept only Japanese.

click. click. click.

The press conference hall was enveloped in silence.

Only the sound of the flash continued to resonate.

-So, I, Sejin Yoon… … I changed my name to Ryuhei and decided to naturalize as a Japanese. From now on, please call me Ryuhei Ito.

agitated. agitated.

The sound of the reporters agitated could be heard over the TV screen.

– What, what ?! Sejin Yoon!

-What is this… … Sword King!

– Naturalization to Japan!

– Are you saying that the national team is also retiring!

-yes. I am Ryuhei Ito. From now on, I will be participating in the World Champions League as the Japanese national team. Let's see then. then.

Yoon Se-jin, who said she would become Japanese, even had a cool smile on her lips.

A cold expression that made many reporters flinch.

He has been called a Korean hero so far, and he was a completely opposite figure from the usual him who was popular with a soft image.

-Sleep, wait a minute!

– Mr. Yoon Se-jin! Is it something that has been negotiated with the Korean government!

– Even changing the name… … .

Reporters tried to gather around Yoon Se-jin.

Soon, a black shadow shimmered from him and swallowed his body before he knew it.

-what… … what?

– Where did you go ?!

And the transition screen.

A large headline was written under the screen that illuminated the gloomy atmosphere of the forum.

[Departure of the Sword King. What will be the league ranking of Korea in the future?]

– Um, looking at it again… … It's a disturbing scene. The government side said it was a story that had not been discussed in advance, right?

-yes. The government is in a position to find Mr. Yoon Se-jin and calmly persuade him, but his whereabouts are currently unknown.

-The Sword King is going to Japan… … .

There was also a moment of lament over the departure of the Sword King.

A panel of Battle.net experts started talking about the future.

-The best thing would be for the Sword King to come back to Korea… … .

– Even if he doesn't come back. We expect our league standings to be stable.

– Since the Northeast Asian League is so fierce, the rankings will drop right away… … Still, if you look at the overall ranking of the country, it's at the top.

-that's right. 'Dungeon' is a phenomenon that comes from the bottom 10 percent of countries.

"joy."

Seong Ji-han snorted as soon as he heard the word 'bottom 10 percent'.

'It still turns the happiness circuit.'

Why Battle.net's league rankings matter.

This is because ranking is directly related to national security.

'If a dungeon appears, it's over. Even looking at North Korea, I don't know.'

To be precise, it was because of the phenomenon that dungeons that were only seen in Battle.net games happen in reality.

And the country that was directly hit by this dungeon phenomenon was North Korea.

Concerned that it would be fatal to the regime, North Korea banned the development of players and completely boycotted participation in Battle.net.

As a result, North Korea, which ended up at the bottom of the league rankings, was devastated by dungeons that appeared all over the country.

-Still, Korea is still in the top 20.

-you're right! Even if the Sword King is eliminated, it will not go below 30th place.

-Rather, Japan must have paid an exorbitant price to convince the Sword King. This will eventually come to their detriment.

Okay. can survive

Rather, Japan suffered a loss.

pick-

Upon hearing the panel's mental victory, Seong Ji-han became annoyed and turned off the TV.

'Is Japan losing money? It's ridiculous.'

Seong Ji-han remembered the future.

'With his joining, Japan was able to proudly remain one of the last 10 countries.'

Sword King Yoon Se-jin.

Aside from personal morality, his talent is unrivaled if we only look at his ability.

Of course, the price Japan paid was certainly not insignificant.

At the time, there was a lot of criticism about why we were carrying such a burden to recruit a player.

'But less than three years later, that evaluation was completely overturned.'

After the Earth's 'Tutorial' ended and the world fell into hell, the sword king's recruitment came to be called a divine move.

'but… … .'

Seong Ji-han got up from the sofa and walked towards the picture of Yoon Se-jin's family hanging on the wall.

older sister and younger nephew.

And a family photo with Yoon Se-jin smiling brightly.

bang!

Yoon Se-jin's face was crushed by his fist.

'It won't be like that this time.'

Because he came back after seeing the end of this game.

* * *

After Earth was invited to Battle.net.

All human beings over the age of 18 have awakened as 'players' who have been given the right to play games on Battle.net.

-Play, a player… … !

-I see the status window!

When the status window popped up, as seen in games or novels, great chaos arose on Earth for a while.

It wasn't just this change.

-uh?! Channel 0… … Was there anything like this?

– Have you ever installed a program like this?

On TV channel 0, a Battle.net broadcast came out.

Regardless of whether or not there is an Internet connection, all computers and mobile phones have Battlenet-related programs installed.

-I heard you were invited by a space civilization… … .

-Is it true?

People couldn't hide their surprise at the strange thing that happened overnight.

And, of course, there are people who are curious about this mysterious phenomenon.

– Battlenet… … where to try

One peculiarity was that almost everyone had access to this Battle.net system.

In fact, it was common to be extremely careful about the sudden appearance of Battle.net… … .

People in 2010 did not.

because it was so

'People who joined Battle.net were supposed to accept this game without questioning it.'

Seong Ji-han recalled the facts revealed in the future for a while and then recited in a calm voice.

"Status window."

Name: Holy

Level: 2

Affiliation: Bronze League – Gangnam 1 Area

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 5

Stamina: 5

Horsepower: 5

class: jobless

Gift: Wanderer's Eye (Grade F)

– Knows other players well.

title: none

Achievement Points: 100,000

Sung Ji-han sighed lightly.

'It's disastrous.'

The lowest stat is 5, and the class is jobless.

Even though there is a gift, a talent that is given to a small number of humans.

'At this time, I thought that gift was useless, so I got addicted to gambling.'

The ambiguous ability of 'determining the opponent'.

However, because it was effective beyond the screen, Seong Ji-han made good use of the gambling system that existed in Battle.net.

'But that wasn't the true value of this gift.'

Sung Ji-han, who thought it was just a gift useful for gambling, had a sudden change in his life due to an 'incident'.

Because an F-class gift will completely metamorphose.

'However, there are no conditions for gift awakening right now.'

Leave this gift alone for now.

Sung Ji-han decided to look into something else.

And there was one figure that caught his attention.

At the bottom of the status window, it was 100,000 achievement points.