Chapter 525

'This is… what I bestowed upon humanity.'

During his time as an administrator,

To erase the Red factors present in all of humanity, Seong Jihan used administrator mode to universally grant Stat Blue.

This use of administrator authority was possible because Blue's grade was FFF.

Since then, Blue had existed as 1 in every human's status window.

'Is that what the World Tree Alliance was after?'

He had wondered why they bothered making humanity a colony, but now it seems they coveted Stat Blue.

As Seong Jihan's gaze deepened,

Zing…

A green message window appeared before his eyes.

[Player 'Kim Jihun' obtains Stat 'Blue'.]

[Stat 'Blue' increases by 1.]

[Class changes to 'Blue Knight'.]

'Blue Knight… Is this the official class name for male Half-Elves?'

Male Half-Elves were known to have a unique class.

The 'Blue Knight' class seemed to be forcibly assigned rather than chosen.

As 'Kim Jihun's' class changed, additional messages appeared.

[Gain 1 Stat 'Eternity'.]

[Blue and Eternity combine, upgrading the grade of 'Blue'.]

[Body undergoes changes.]

'Blue and Eternity are fusing…'

As Seong Jihan widened his eyes at this message,

Thud. Thud thud…

His flesh twisted and then,

Pop pop pop!

It began to burst all at once.

"…!"

Blood vessels and flesh exploded instantly.

The space inside the tree was quickly covered in blood and flesh.

Kim Jihun's body was soon left with only the head, and then,

Pop…!

Even that burst immediately.

Only the brain remained.

As his physical body completely disappeared,

Flash…!

A green light rose inside the tree space,

And his body slowly began to reconstruct.

Into the male Half-Elf form that people so desired.

And inside that body,

Blue, merged with Eternity, moved actively, regenerating the body.

'Blue combined with Eternity… This is quite different.'

Although Seong Jihan had raised Stat Blue to SS rank,

Blue merged with Eternity felt completely different from the Blue he had developed so far.

This could be quite informative in its own way.

As Seong Jihan tried to thoroughly analyze the Blue merged with Eternity,

[Stat Blue increases by 9.]

[Stat 'Blue' grade rises to E.]

Messages about increasing stats kept appearing.

'Ah, right. I should adjust it. Soon.'

At this rate, it seemed poised to absorb all the Blue.

This would far surpass the current record of 25 percent.

'It seems my hair color has already changed quite a bit… I should restrain myself now.'

The Blue merged with Eternity was so intriguing that he kept accepting it,

Seong Jihan ended up absorbing more stats than originally planned.

He decided to restrain himself now and refused the entry of more Blue.

In fact, what he had gained so far was enough for researching this stat.

Then,

Hiss…

Several times, blue smoke rose inside the tree space, trying to push in more Stat Blue, but,

'If I take any more, my hair will be 100 percent dyed.'

As Seong Jihan continued to completely block this,

Whoosh…

Finally, the smoke gradually subsided.

And then,

The space inside the tree slowly opened.

Seong Jihan stepped towards the bright gap.

Then,

"Wow…"

"A, a Half-Elf… Another one!!"

"After three months…!"

Everyone in the waiting room stood up at once, looking at 'Kim Jihun' with surprised eyes.

And,

They were soon even more surprised by Kim Jihun's hair.

"That, that hair color…"

"Could it be a new record?!"

"It seems to be over 20 percent…"

Part of Kim Jihun's hair had turned sky blue.

The proportion clearly looked over 1/4.

"…Player Kim Jihun. We will proceed with a detailed examination."

The High Elf Priestess, who had shown little interest no matter how many female Half-Elves appeared,

Hurriedly approached Kim Jihun and examined him.

"Scan."

Zing…

With the High Elf Priestess's magic, a green beam of light quickly scanned Kim Jihun's body.

"…Scan."

After seeing the results, the High Elf Priestess tilted her head and used scan once more.

Then,

"Hmm."

Comparing Kim Jihun's hair with the scan results,

"Unlike what we see, the test result is 20 percent… I see."

She announced the result with a puzzled expression.

* * *

-20 percent?

-So it didn't break the existing record?

-Disappointing, I thought we'd see a new record from Korea;

-But it clearly looks like over 1/4 is dyed…

-The High Priestess's scan should be accurate after all.

-20 percent is still amazing lol Isn't this a new record for Korean Half-Elves anyway?

Despite the hair dye level appearing higher, the actual scan result came out lower.

Still, most viewers reacted as if this was quite an achievement.

20 percent was the highest among Korean male Half-Elves and ranked among the top globally.

'Good thing I adjusted hastily at the end.'

Meanwhile, Seong Jihan was satisfied with the 20 percent result.

If he had absorbed more Blue earlier, he would have certainly set a new record,

But it probably would have come out at least 50 percent or higher.

That would have drawn too much attention.

'Well, even this appearance will make daily life quite inconvenient.'

Swish.

Seong Jihan touched his ears.

Ears that protruded like an Elf's.

Touching his face, he found that 'Kim Jihun's' features, which he had made somewhat blunt,

Had changed to be quite similar to Seong Jihan's original appearance.

'I'll need to look in a mirror later to see how I've changed.'

As Seong Jihan was thinking this,

"…"

The High Elf Priestess compared the scan results with Kim Jihun's face, then,

"Player Kim Jihun. After the tutorial ends, come directly to the Colonial Government in Namsan. A detailed examination seems necessary."

She told him to come directly to the Colonial Government.

"Understood."

He was planning to go there anyway, so this worked out well.

As Seong Jihan nodded readily, the High Elf Priestess looked around and clapped once.

"Then, we will conclude the aptitude test for Zone 1."

[Zone 1 Test Results]

[Qualified: 5]

Thus, the test for Zone 1 ended,

With 5 out of 30 passing.

* * *

The results of the Zone 1 aptitude test held on March 1st,

Koreans focused their attention on the first appearance of a Half-Elf with 20 percent compatibility in Korea.

-Wow, a player with over 20 percent compatibility finally appears in Korea.

-I turned off BattleTube thinking this person wouldn't make it since he didn't prepare at all…

-For real, he didn't even get plastic surgery lol

-I heard he didn't even pre-contract with a guild, he must have hit the jackpot.

-They say overseas guilds are sending negotiation teams to contract him.

-Ah, why from abroad again? They already have many Half-Elves over 20 percent.

-They want more… They need to look good to the Colonial Government after all.

-Gun definitely needs plastic surgery lololol

Player Kim Jihun, about whom the public knew nothing,

But once it became known through his conversation with Lee Muyeol that he wasn't affiliated with any guild,

Negotiation teams from top guilds were all moving to contact him.

And,

In the Guild Master's room of the Daegi Guild,

Lee Hayeon narrowed her brows as she looked at Kim Jihun's face on BattleTube.

"Kim Jihun… Could it be that person?"

"…It does seem to be the person we saw in front of the elevator last time."

"Right…"

The ordinary-looking man that Lim Gayeong had mistaken for a paparazzi.

Certainly, the man who passed the aptitude test had that face.

Back then, she had told Lim Gayeong to apologize for mistaking an innocent person for paparazzi, but…

"First impression, worst case… Will recruitment be difficult?"

"Miss, I'll go up to that floor and kneel until that person comes out."

"Ah, forget it. That person won't come to our guild anyway."

Lee Hayeon pointed at the 20 percent compatibility figure.

"At 20 percent, even American First will come with a lot of money. How can we compete?"

"Can't we appeal to the advantages of the Daegi Guild?"

"Our advantage is just the nurturing effect… Male Half-Elves level up even without playing the game. They get huge bonuses too."

Male Half-Elves received a 10x bonus by default and levelled up even while sleeping.

Most of them didn't play the game enthusiastically to level up.

Rumors even said they could grow just by praying to the World Tree.

"Then, should we just give up?"

"…"

As Lee Hayeon couldn't bring herself to answer that question and was just pressing her temples with her fingers,

Knock knock.

"Ma, Master!"

"Yes?"

"Um… Mr. Kim Jihun, who became a Half-Elf yesterday, is here."

"Eh, here…?"

"Yes, shall I show him in?"

As Lee Hayeon quickly nodded, the male Half-Elf entered the room.

Unlike the female type, the male type had East Asian features.

They all looked similar, but,

Ordinary people often unconsciously thought this when looking at male Half-Elves,

That they vaguely resembled 'someone'.

'But compared to other Half-Elves, Kim Jihun somehow feels more… complete.'

Kim Jihun's features were more pronounced compared to other Half-Elves.

As she, who knew the previous face, looked at this face with curiosity,

"Hello, we've met before, right?"

Kim Jihun spoke first.

"I was treated as a paparazzi."

"Ah, I'm, I'm sorry."

"We were very rude last time!"

Thud.

Lim Gayeong immediately knelt beside him.

Kim Jihun waved his hand.

"Ah, there's no need to kneel. Instead, could you give me a ride?"

"A ride…?"

"I need to go to the Colonial Government, but I'm too conspicuous."

He said, pointing at his face.

Lee Hayeon's eyes lit up with interest.

Most people couldn't wait to show off after becoming male Half-Elves, but this person was quite unusual.

"And, while we're at it, I'd like to hear about the Daegi Guild's contract terms."

"Are you… considering joining our guild?"

"I used to be a fan of this guild."

A fan?

Blinking at the unexpected answer, Lee Hayeon was at a loss for words.

"Oh, since I'm here, could I take a tour of the guild?"

"A tour… Yes, yes! I'll guide you myself."

Lee Hayeon stood up herself to show Kim Jihun around the guild.

"That person… Is he really the one who passed the aptitude test yesterday?"

"Yes. Wow, I thought he definitely wouldn't come here…"

"From what I heard earlier, he came on his own?"

"…Huh? Why on earth?"

"Our guild can't afford him."

As Lee Hayeon personally guided Kim Jihun,

The guild employees watched from afar, whispering in confusion.

Given the Daegi Guild's poor situation, it would be difficult to match the contract terms for a Half-Elf with 20 percent compatibility.

"Maybe it's because my ears have grown longer, but I can hear everything."

Tap. Tap.

Kim Jihun pointed at his ears while looking at them.

"…Everyone, return to your positions."

Lim Gayeong approached the onlookers with a stern face and dispersed them.

'The guild employees have become lax compared to before. They don't seem to have much work either.'

When Seong Jihan was active, the Daegi Guild attracted only the best talent, even for the working staff.

The guild five years later clearly didn't have the same quality of human resources as before.

'Actually, if it weren't for the guild certification, they wouldn't be this financially strained.'

He wondered why they needed to do the certification, he should take a look.

Swish.

Seong Jihan, inside Kim Jihun's shell, removed the Sacred Flame from only his left eye.

Then,

[Do you want to return to the Guild Owner's position?]

[The guild certification process will be completed when you authenticate the guild's symbol flag, the 'Red Cloud Phoenix Flag'.]

[The cost for maintaining the guild buff effect will disappear.]

A message appeared saying that the guild certification process would be completed if he brought out the Phoenix Flag.

The Phoenix Spear, which was once almost synonymous with Seong Jihan, though he rarely used it later.

At the message to bring it out, Seong Jihan's gaze slightly lowered.

'This won't do.'