Chapter 301

[South Korea Advances to the Finals!]

[The Sword King, now equipped with the Mage class, becomes the hero leading South Korea to the finals.]

[With their weaknesses gone, the South Korean team is now facing the United States as their final opponent.]

-Wow, never thought I'd see our country make it to the finals in my lifetime…

-Exactly. Even with Seong Jihan, I thought it'd be tough to win past the semi-finals if he gets banned…

-Except for the loss to U.K, we've won every match LOL 😂

-If we beat the USA with a 3:0, does that make the U.K the second strongest in the world?

-How'd we beat the USA 3:0 though 😭 Stop daydreaming.

Except for the match against U.K, the South Korean team has swept through the semifinals with a 3:0 victory.

However, their final opponent, the United States, proved to be a formidable opponent.

-The BattleNet interface and language are in English because of the United States, lol.

-We won against India even without the Sword King, but against the U.S…

-Wasn't Sophia, our hope, stolen from the U.S.?

-No, she couldn't get in due to her level. If she joined the U.S. supporters, she would have been in the top three.

-Top three… So the U.S. has at least three supporters like Sophia? Damn.

After beating China 3:1 in the semi-finals, the USA's sheer power overshadowed Korea's.

Objectively, the USA's overall strength heavily outweighed Korea's, aside from their warrior lineup and the bolstered archer squad with Yoon Seah's addition.

And even with these classes, it wasn't a guarantee they could beat the USA.

The mage and supporter classes were noticeably weaker by comparison.

Experts predicted a gallant fight from South Korea but an eventual win for the USA.

However, the finals could bring an unforeseen variable.

-If only Seong Jihan doesn't get banned…

-We might actually have a shot at winning.

Indeed, Seong Jihan was the variable.

In the recent guild mission, he had shown a significant difference from the current rankers, proving to be a game-breaking cheat code as long as he participated.

-If we win just one game in the first and second matches and his ban is lifted in the third, fourth, and fifth matches, we'll win.

-Ah, but he's been banned too well up until now. Just one appearance against India in the 3rd match.

-That's all to stack up for the finals.

-For real, now he's going to dodge bans like a ghost and become the MVP of the finals, lol.

Until the quarterfinals, the Seong Jihan had only played once.

So, South Korean fans were hopeful, thinking it might be a clever strategy.

Of course, American fans felt just the opposite.

-Seong… seems to have bad luck in this tournament. Let's just wish for his misfortune to last only until tomorrow.

-Yeah, after tomorrow, he can't afford to have bad luck. He's also got a showdown with the World Tree Elves.

-Even excluding Seong Jihan, South Korea is a strong team, but still, they won't beat us.

They wished for Seong Jihan's streak of bad luck to carry over to the final match.

"Wow, the United States… They're too strong."

At the BattleNet Center's power analysis room, Yoon Seah sighed while watching the semifinal match between the United States and China.

This match, which gathered attention as a preview of the finals, saw both the United States and China bringing out all their hidden cards and employing their strategic tactics to put on a spectacular show.

Although the score was 3:1, the power gap seen here was much larger than the score indicated.

"The U.S. was a bit complacent in the second game."

"That's right. Mage Barren made a critical error. Without that, the US would've dominated 3:0."

"Why does Barren, who has two status windows, make such mistakes… When will he get out of his comfort zone?"

"Probably never."

Seong Jihan commented while glancing at the replay.

Being nervous in crucial matches was Barren's trademark.

"We really need Uncle to step up for the final match."

"If the ban lifts, I can definitely finish it easily. But I don't know about luck in the finals."

"It's time for it to be lifted! We'll win one game for sure. Just get two wins!"

"Yeah, keep your hopes up."

Seong Jihan nodded, gazing into the air.

His demeanor was like he was reading system messages.

In the strategy room, as Yoon Sejin threw a question at Seong Jihan who was vigilantly monitoring USA's gameplay,

"Jihan, what are you looking at? Got another quest or something?"

"Oh, I was just browsing the BattleNet market."

"The market? What is Uncle looking for?"

"It turns out that an alien race uploaded their training video on the market."

Seong Jihan recalled what happened a few days ago.

* * *

Class: Heterogeneous Martial Resolve.

After deciding to utilize this class he'd switched to but hadn't really used,

Seong Jihan, examining the effectiveness after employing the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods against the former avatar of the Succubus Queen, pondered further usage.

-What about exploring the experiences of other races on the BattleNet Market?

Ariel, who had remained silent in Seong's arm for quite some time, suggested a way forward.

-Do they sell such things on the market?" Seong Jihan inquired.

-If you search for 'video downloads,' you'll find all sorts of things. Most of it is useless data, but if you're curious about how other races wield their power, it could provide some indirect insight.

Thus, Seong Jihan ventured into the 'video downloads' section of the BattleNet Market.

As Ariel hinted, the keywords unearthed all manner of content.

"Ah, so that's why Uncle has been gazing into space lately. Alien races training videos… Are they helpful?"

"Most of the videos available for download are trash. More than half of them are interracial mating scenes"

"Ma…mating?"

"Yes. I fail to grasp why these aliens broadcast their reproductive acts. And the number of egg-laying scenes…"

Remembering the discarded videos, Seong Jihan scrunched his brow.

While pondering the alien's diverse power use, he again questioned the universe's perversion.

"Those 1GP videos were definitely of that sort."

"Is that so? Then… the remaining 5%?"

"Those had some usefulness."

For Seong Jihan, the alien race training videos were like pearls in the mud. Although most were superficial and lacked in-depth training methods, the sheer novelty of how other races wielded their power was captivating.

'The sheer foreignness of the alien race's power application was a fresh jolt.'

Barred from participating due to bans, Seong Jihan dug through the market, making use of Class: Heterogeneous Martial Resolve.

"I wonder if I'd find any training videos useful too?"

"Hard to say; it benefited me due to class effects, but to others, it may offer nothing. Sensations like manipulating wings or detaching one's tail to escape… won't inspire ordinary players."

"Ah, I see…"

"Curious? I can show you one."

"Sure, let me see."

"Why not me too?"

Seong Jihan nodded, pulling out an alien training video for the curious duo.

"How do we play this?"

"Touch it and say 'play,' and it'll project almost like VR."

"Ooh… BattleNet's innovations."

Toggling the object, not unlike a wizard's crystal ball, the pair exclaimed, "Play," in a setup that resembled VR viewing.

"…Learning to fly further? What's with the wing movements?"

"Navigating breath fire seems utterly non-applicable…"

Shortly after starting, they returned the device, baffled by the incomprehensible content.

Even for these two, excelling in their respective classes, Warrior and Archer, the videos offered little takeaway.

'Without Heterogeneous Martial Resolve, these count as junk after all. It's like a VR documentary for different races.'

To an average player, buying such content was akin to tossing money into the wind.

However, for Seong Jihan, possessing Heterogeneous Martial Resolve, these videos were proving quite beneficial.

'After watching these videos, my martial soul has already increased by five.'

With spare time, given his bans, the gain was significant.

Resolving to keep diving into alien videos while he had the chance, Seong Jihan dived back into the BattleNet Market.

Just then, Yoon Sejin, who was in the power analysis room with Seong Jihan, gestured for a private conversation outside

"Shall we talk outside for a moment?" He suggested, motioning toward the rooftop.

Seong Jihan closed the BattleNet Market window and nodded in agreement.

"Sure."

***

On the rooftop of the BattleNet Center,

"It's a nice day."

Yoon Sejin launched their small talk by gazing skyward,

'The gold light is deepening.'

Throughout the tournament, Yoon Sejin's golden aura had gradually intensified, and at this moment, it was shining most brightly.

"The King of Humans asked if you found his help useful."

"Reaching the finals owed much to brother-in-law's assistance. Tell him it was greatly beneficial."

"Is that so? I'm glad. Well then…"

Flash!

Light erupted from Yoon Sejin's eyes as a golden shield formed, isolating the two of them and the surrounding space.

"Since he aided you, may I ask a question."

"Is it about the quest?"

"That's right."

"What's your question?"

"What's your quest reward?"

Seong Jihan chuckled at the unexpected focus on quest rewards.

"Didn't expect you'd be interested in something so trivial."

"I've never heard of a quest being offered for winning a competition within the same race."

"Is that so? I received one though."

"So, what is the quest reward? It doesn't matter what it is, however…"

Cutting himself off, Gilgamesh, who had descended, got straight to the point.

"If by any chance, becoming a confirmed constellation candidate is part of the reward… I would recommend not clearing it right away."

"If I become a Constellation candidate, I'll be a 'variable' just as you want, right?"

"That's right... However, there is an order to things. You must survive at the hands of Longinus before you can become a constellation candidate. You must defeat him. Only then can you become a true variable. You can awaken the 'third'."

As he said this, Gilgamesh glared at Seong Jihan.

"This is the only way to oppose the Martial God. For the sake of humanity, you and I must follow the planned order. Child, engrave my advice in your heart. Obey my words."

When Gilgamesh called Seong Jihan a 'child'.

Seong Jihan found himself nodding his head involuntarily, about to submit to his will.

Gilgamesh's words, which seemed like something a 'human' should naturally listen to.

However, the Martial Soul in his body squirmed in rebellion.

As the experiences of the other races he had experienced so far came to mind.

"For the sake of humanity... What a lofty cause."

Seong Jihan was able to rebel against the absolute 'royal command' given to humans by the "Human King".

"But if you don't convince me, I can't follow those words."

And Gilgamesh, who saw this, opened his eyes slightly in surprise.

"...Hoo. To defy my words so perfectly. Good. That's how you should be as a 'variable'."

He laughed, rather pleased.

And yet,

"Nevertheless, I must prevent this deviation… I won't allow you to win this time."

Gilgamesh spoke in a commanding tone to the very end.

* * *

And the next day,

=The 1st match ban and select finally begins...!

=What...The US, they are not banning player Seong Jihan....

An unexpected turn of events occurred from the first match of the finals.