“Hello, Coach.”
Shizuru greeted with a smiling expression, and the Japanese coach felt his heart racing uncontrollably.
‘Her beauty is on another level.’
She was considered the most beautiful person in the world, and even though he had seen her on broadcasts, seeing her in person made him realize that videos couldn’t fully capture her beauty.
Not only the coach but also the staff members couldn’t help but gaze at Shizuru with admiration.
“Ahem.”
When Sword King uncomfortably cleared his throat, the coach finally regained his composure.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment.”
“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“Shizuru, I told you there was no need to come.”
“Hehe… Why not? It’s nice to go on a date with you after so long.”
Shizuru leisurely smiled as she accommodated the Sword King’s discomfort.
Unlike his normally overbearing attitude at the Japan BattleNet Center, the Sword King…
“Ugh, stop staring already!”
Couldn’t hide his restlessness when Shizuru drew attention.
‘The Sword King has completely fallen.’
It’s understandable… That level of beauty and charm.
‘If it were me, I might fall for her even without her trying.’
“You, stop that. You’re being rude towards the staff.”
“….Alright.”
And with Shizuru’s gentle words, the Sword King’s momentum quickly deflated.
Those who saw this exchange realized the whip was clearly in Shizuru’s hands.
“Sorry, everyone. He tends to be overprotective of me.”
“Ah, no, it was our fault for staring.”
“Hehe… He doesn’t like me being out for long either.I’ll be straightforward. I have a plan to subdue Seong Jihan.”
When Shizuru mentioned her plan, the Japanese coach’s eyes lit up.
“What is this plan you have in mind?”
“Well, it involves this item.”
Shizuru handed the coach a large nail that emitted a bright white light.
“A Sacrificial Nail.”
“Oh, I see… A Sacrificial Nail. It’s an item that sacrifices oneself to strengthen a teammate’s abilities, isn’t it?”
A Sacrificial Nail.
The Sacrificial Nail, graded as C, was an item that, when the player drove it into their own heart, triggered an effect that greatly amplified the abilities of a designated teammate. However, the buff effect was not substantial compared to the penalty of the player’s death, which made it an item that was rarely used.
“Yes, the Sacrificial Nail has been completely removed from the game… But this item is different. I personally modified it.”
“You modified an item? Can you do that with items?”
The Japanese coach asked with a surprised expression.
“Yes, I ‘edited’ it a bit.”
“I made the buff from the Sacrificial Nail stackable.”
Supporting Gift Edit, could she really modify items too? The Japanese coach inquired.
“In what way did you change the item?”
“I altered the stacking mechanism of the buffs that the Sacrificial Nail applies.”
“You mean…”
Shizuru explained, “What I mean is…Originally, whether one or ten people died, the ‘Sacrifice’ effect could only be applied once. But this nail allows stacking up to ten times.”
As she spoke, Shizuru looked at Seong Jihan displayed on the monitors in the strategy room.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on Seong Jihan’s data, and it seems that he doesn’t fully benefit from buffs even when he receives them.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Seong Jihan, even when given buffs, couldn’t fully utilize fully unleash the power of Martial Soul
The buffs from supporters didn’t have much effect on him.
“But Ryuhei, He’s different. He can fully use the buffs. With ten players starting by sacrificing themselves with the Sacrificial Nail, His power will be significantly enhanced. With that, he’ll be much stronger than Seong Jihan.”
“That’s true. He’s already stronger than Seong Jihan, and stacking buffs on top will certainly give him the advantage. However…”
The Japanese coach glanced at the Sword King.
He was frowning as he glared at the Sacrificial Nail.
“We could defeat Seong Jihan without using this… Couldn’t we?”
“Sir, I know you could. But just this once, please follow my advice.”
“Bu-But still…!”
“Ryuhei, please. Hand Seong Jihan an overwhelming defeat.”
Shizuru didn’t care about preserving the Sword King’s pride.
“Ugh… But…!”
The Sword King’s face flushed red with anger, but…
When Shizuru quietly stared at him with tranquil eyes,
“….Hah. Alright.”
Although Sword King was initially infuriated, Shizuru’s persistent gaze and plea made him reconsider.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
The staff in the Japanese strategy room couldn’t believe their eyes. Sword King, the top player, had just completely given in to Shizuru’s suggestion.
‘Shizuru’s influence on him is unbelievable.’
‘Was her charm that powerful?’
‘Sword King has become completely submissive to Shizuru.’
‘Even though this plan completely tramples on Sword King’s pride’
Shizuru continued with a smile, “Thank you, Coach. I’ll edit thirty Sacrificial Nails for you. Can you win all three games with them?”
“Ah… Yes! If we eliminate Seong Jihan, Sword King alone can sweep the Korean team!”
“Great, then please make sure to win this match.”
Shizuru smiled warmly.
‘Sword King, your pride doesn’t matter this time. I need an overwhelming victory.’
After the Akashic Page’s price skyrocketed, cracks had appeared in Shizuru’s dominant position in Japan.
Her extensive influence couldn’t be maintained any longer by just using charm.
Now, she had to demonstrate to the entire world that she was the owner of the “Sword King” and ensure that even the influential figures whose charm had been weakened couldn’t touch her.
‘This plan is only for domestic use. Seong Jihan will be easily defeated by the Sword King’s overwhelming power.’
By showing the Sword King’s overwhelming power, she could maintain her shaken influence as some brainwashing wore off.
Her interest had always been there.
As for Seong Jihan, if only the Sacrifice effect stacked, he would be easily defeated. She had no worries about that at all.
* * *
Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah were in a limousine on their way to the BattleNet Center.
Seong Jihan commented, “The BattleNet Center feels like home now.”
Yoon Seah replied, “Well, the national team matches are almost over. We can’t make it to the Champions League.”
The national team league would conclude in November, and the top two teams would qualify for the World Champions League. However, South Korea’s chances of making it were slim due to previous losses.
Since Korea already had accumulated losses before Seong Jihan joined, even winning out now wouldn’t qualify them for the Champions League.
If they had won against China, there would’ve at least been a sliver of hope while exploring possibilities, but…
After that loss, possibilities for this season disappeared.
Yoon Seah added, “It’s a pity that Uncle didn’t become a national team member a bit sooner.”
Seong Jihan chuckled, “Back then, I was just Bronze and Silver. Even the country wouldn’t have picked me.”
Yoon Seah asked, “So, have you prepared a plan to fight against Dad?”
“He is pretty strong.”
Over the past few days, Seong Jihan had intensively analyzed the Sword King’s gameplay and coolly judged…
‘I’m a bit inferior at my current level.’
Despite reaching Platinum and gaining 20 levels, His actual important Martial Soul hadn’t risen.
So with his current strength, he could barely hold his ground against the Sword King, but it would be difficult to overwhelm him.
“Well, Dad is still ranked 1st in the world. So what, You can beat him next time!”
“Don’t determine my defeat already. I do have something prepared.”
Yoon Seah asked, “Oh, so what’s the plan, Uncle?”
At Yoon Seah’s question, Seong Jihan recalled the Space League Promotion Match.
The sword held by the high elf, a World Tree branch.
It had suppressed the Avatar of the Constellation of the Dead Star by cutting it in half, but…
It had shriveled up and disappeared after being swept up by Karlein’s power of death as he unleashed it.
‘I briefly saw the force composing the sword before it disappeared.’
Seong Jihan explained, “Well, during that battle, I felt the power of the Branch of the World Tree. One part is the life energy of the World Tree. It was similar to the power inscribed in the seed of the World Tree. If I extract it, I can recreate a similar power and the other was ….”
Yoon Seah asked, “what’s the other?”
Seong Jihan said, “I had a hunch about it but wasn’t sure. I need to practice more.”
Swish!
Seong Jihan summoned the shadow energy from his left hand.
“Shadow Elves,” the recoil created by disposing of any beings that didn’t conform to the ‘Elf’ standards set by the World Tree, and the ‘Shadow Elves’ were born. Their shadow energy became intensely visible just before the Branch of World tree was destroyed.
However, Seong Jihan needed to be cautious because he was dealing with the power of life energy and shadow energy, and a mistake could have disastrous consequences.
Unlike Crimson Thunder where he fused Phoenix Flame and Divine Thunder,
This was an even more difficult task.
He was aware of the potential dangers of mishandling the power of life, as it could potentially release seeds into the world that could have catastrophic consequences. So, he approached the task with caution, focusing on in-game practice.
If only I can implement the Branch of world tree. When the Sword King hesitates and stops, I can feed him the leaves of the World Tree.’
At the moment, there was a slight gap in their power, so it wasn’t the right time to casually feed the leaves.
However, if he could implement the Branch of World Tree Sword, it would temporarily clear his brother-in-law’s mind, and feeding him the leaves would completely break the spell.
But there was a problem.
“What’s the method?”
“It’s still under preparation.”
“Ah… that’s disappointing.”
The implementation of the Branch of the world tree was still elusive.
Rather than clinging to this, would raising Crimson Thunder to increase his Martial Soul be better?
With only about five days left until the Korea-Japan match, it was a critical time. This was the time for choices and focus.
“Uncle, are you going to play BattleNet after training?”
“No, this time, I’ll only focus on personal training.”
Starting from November, they could participate in BattleNet matches again. However, Jihan had decided to temporarily halt his level-up and dedicate himself to personal training until the Korea-Japan match was over.
‘I still have to be Platinum by December.’ Using the Korea-Japan match as an excuse to refrain from playing games for now.
With continuous #1 ranks, his leveling speed was absurdly fast, so he needed a break.
Entering the BattleNet Center, Seong Jihan immediately spoke upon seeing Coach Noh.
“Coach, can you give me some time off from team training for the upcoming match against the Sword King? I have something to prepare.”
“Ah… is that so? Understood. You can train independently.”
If it were any other player, such a proposal would never have been accepted. However, since the one making the request was none other than Jihan, Noh Youngjun accepted it without hesitation.
Anyway, even if they were going to have team training, Jihan was so dominant on his own that he often played separately.
‘The 1 on 1 match against the Sword King is the most important game.’
For both Korea and Japan,
The other warriors were just extras compared to the clash between the two.
He didn’t know what preparations Seong Jihan mentioned, but…
‘He’s the type who does things well on his own.’
Coach Noh had endless trust in Seong Jihan.
On the other hand…
“Ah, hyung… I’ve lost my motivation just thinking about getting beaten by the Sword King again.”
“Ah, well, it’s hard to say. Why did the Sword King have to go to Japan to give us such a hard time?”
“Ito Shizuru is quite attractive, isn’t she? I really want to see her in person. If I go to Japan, will she meet me?”
“Do you want the Sword King to kill you?”
“Is that so? Haha, too bad. Hey, look at this. A goddess descended upon the Japanese strategy center!”
“Wow… She’s f*cking gorgeous.”
The warriors, Kim Dongwoo and Lee Yoongi, were leisurely evaluating Shizuru’s face on their phones.
‘Ugh, it’s truly depressing there are no other raisable players…’
Hasn’t Korean warrior talent focused too much on Seong Jihan and the Sword King?
Coach Noh deeply sighed and clapped his hands.
“Alright, let’s start team training.”
“Yes~”
And so for 5 days…
-Jihan hasn’t been playing BattleNet even though it’s November.
-I heard that he’s currently in closed-door training. He doesn’t leave his room, and he’s only inside the game. He says he has something to prepare.
-Oh… preparation, you say. Do you think he has a card to play against the Sword King?
Rumors were rampant in both Korea and Japan. However, there were more positive rumors coming from Japan than from Jihan, who was training alone.
-According to the rumors in Japan, they already consider the game to be over. After Ito Shizuru visited the strategy center, they say they’ve prepared tremendous items.
-Yes, I heard the same rumors. After that day, the Sword King’s odds dropped sharply. Japanese investors bet heavily on the Sword King.
-Jihan should stop making meaningless provocations. We’ll earn some GP in Japan.
More positive rumors circulated in Japan where Shizuru had personally made an appearance.
Perhaps due to this…
It seemed like a lot of money had already been poured into the Sword King, and GP from all over the world was now focused on him.
-The odds difference is insane;; Is this even normal…
-Well, you can just win next time!
-Right, Seong Jihan is still Gold!
-If he loses but fights well… This is the scenario lol
While Korean BattleNet fans were half accepting their defeat before the Korea-Japan match even took place, the day of the match was fast approaching.
*****
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