***
***
When Seong Jihan heard the elf’s proposal, He judged that convincing the coach would be impossible.
Even He, the one with memories from previous life, was also slightly tempted when he first heard about the 1,000 trillion GP.
In the current human society going through turmoil due to the sudden change in GP exchange rates,
Rejecting that offer would be too irrational.
‘But reducing the enemy’s war potential is more important.’
The exchange rate of GP would be maintained if humanity kept steady in the league.
More urgent than that was reducing the war potential of one of the strongest enemies in the league, the World Tree Alliance.
Especially in the Space League,
There were various clashes with enemy species outside of official matches.
If they could eliminate core war potential like representative teams, that would be best.
That’s why Seong Jihan secretly infiltrated Ariel into Coach Davis’s shadow.
‘Ariel helped out well.’
He was able to get the result he wanted.
‘That aside, they’re trying to install the Golden Tree no matter what, like last time…’
In his previous life, there was a Golden Tree that had been installed on Earth. At that time, the elves proposed planting it on Earth, offering a condition of a 5% reduction in penalties, and Seong Jihan accepted it.
‘The exact function of the Golden Tree remained unknown until the end but…’
Considering they were willing to reduce punishment to plant it, it likely wasn’t beneficial to humanity.
Yet now they were offering to install it to maintain GP ratios.
The elves sure were crafty.
‘But I can’t just let that happen while I’m here.’
Flash!
The scene changed from the coach’s table where the Elven Coach was angrily making a fuss,
On the desolate wasteland, 400 elves stood expressionless.
“What…?”
“Is that the execution ground?”
“Oh, the penalty is really being enforced.”
“Why did the coach choose that? To be honest, it feels nice but…”
Players who joked about how could they fight such beautiful elves just before entering the game had completely changed their perception during the match. These elves had indeed tried to kill them.
Things like appearance no longer mattered.
“If it wasn’t for Seong Jihan, we might be standing there too…”
“That’s why it’s so horrifying to even think about.”
“Thank you for saving us, Seong.”
“That’s right. Come to New York once. I’ll buy you a meal.”
Foreign players approached Seong Jihan, giving a thumbs-up. Compared to the cold glances they sent when Seong Jihan first appeared in the representative team until the 4th game, the reactions now were like heaven and earth.
“Of course.”
Seong Jihan roughly accepted it and observed the execution of penalties.
The 400 elves with varying appearances.
However,
[Executing the death penalty.]
As this message appeared, all 400 elves with diverse appearances began to change into one single appearance.
“What…?”
“That appearance is the same as the transformed Elven Coach…!”
“That high elf had the same look too, right?”
“Seong! The elf that appeared in your game had that face too.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The golden-haired elf boasting unmatched beauty. They were all standing side by side with exactly the same appearance.
=What is this…?
=The elves’ appearances suddenly all changed! Even identical twins wouldn’t look this alike…!
=That’s right. It’s like they came out of the same factory!
=Ah, that green-haired elf who did well in the 4th match is among them too.
=You mean the elf who beat the Sword King barehanded? She was quite threatening but… with her dying like this, it’s favorable for humanity!
The high elf who couldn’t evade the 20% probability was now standing in the execution site.
Unlike the others with blank expressions, she had a frustrated smile.
“I didn’t think I’d die in a place like this.”
Kurururur…!
As the wasteland split open and flames erupted from within,
The elves started burning up one by one.
With no change in expression despite being engulfed in flames,
-They have no change in expression at all… it’s like they’re robots, man.
-They’re actually dying though, right? Does it not hurt while burning?
-That’s what I’m saying. Look, their bodies are regenerating???
-Seong Jihan showed an elf regenerating like crazy on his channel. Now we’re seeing it here too.
With their unique regeneration, the elves resisted the flames but
Whoosh…!
Once the color of the engulfing flames turned crimson, they could no longer regenerate and started turning to ash, disappearing one by one.
And the last survivor,
The green-haired high elf looked up at the sky before her death and said,
“Humans. Enjoy your short-lived victory. My sisters will have their revenge…”
Boom!
The high elf reached out and shattered her own head.
As her headless body was wrapped in crimson flames,
[The special penalty has finished being enforced.]
The elf execution ended with the high elf’s death.
* * *
“I will never forget what happened today.”
The Elven Coach, whose eyes were bloodshot after overseeing the execution, gritted her teeth as she glared at Coach Davis.
Meanwhile, as the execution finished, Coach Davis whose body could move freely again
‘Damn, why did my hand suddenly move on its own…?’
More than the reaction of the enemy coach flipping out, he was worried about the after-effects when they returned.
With a reward of 2,000 trillion GP, he executed the death penalty, forfeiting that immense prize. Perhaps because of that, he suddenly felt angry when the Elven Coach glared at him, blaming those elves for the current situation.
“What are you getting pissed at me for? You’re the ones who set that bullshit penalty in the first place. If you don’t like it then try to win next time. Losers should shut their mouths. And my hand moved on its own, pissing me off too. Where are you getting an attitude from?”
“Gah…!”
Bang!
As the Elven Coach slammed the table with a fierce look, leaving a clear hand-print and smashing it apart,
The human side’s table seemed to be spatially partitioned, as the impact didn’t transfer over.
“What, so what if you break a table? You think that scares me? Take responsibility for your dead 20% players. Playing tough when you’re just a coach. Tsk tsk.”
Feeling safe, Coach Davis was about to cuss the other out even more when
[The MVP for the opening match series has been selected.]
[Humanity’s player, ‘Seong Jihan’, has been selected as the MVP.]
At the end of matches,
A scene appeared of the system selecting Seong Jihan as the series MVP.
“Oh yeah, obviously!”
Seeing Seong Jihan, the savior who kept him alive appear, Coach Davis immediately gave a thumbs up.
Meanwhile, the Elven Coach across the table was looking at the series MVP display with a serious expression.
“What the… why does it look like that…?”
It was clear who had been selected as MVP.
The one who completely swept the 5th game the elves had worked the hardest on.
Who else could it be besides that player?
The Elven Coach wanted to accurately identify through this MVP window the player who had ruined the World Tree Alliance’s plans, and
Give him eternal pain.
However…
Since Seong Jihan was in hidden status, his figure wasn’t clearly visible in the MVP window either.
‘His figure was blurry during matches too. Could it be…!’
In the 5th match where he had swept the game.
Unlike the human side’s view,
His appearance didn’t show clearly from the elven perspective.
His face and entire body appeared blurry, making it difficult to clearly identify who the opponent was.
Yet even in the series MVP window he appeared like this…!
“Could it be… premium membership…?”
Among BattleNet players, it was a premium membership qualification only an extreme minority possessed.
To think the human player had that…!
‘I need to find out who he is no matter what.’
If left alone, this player could become a variable that ruins this entire Space League.
‘Variables need to be swiftly removed.’
The Elven Coach looked at Seong Jihan’s blurry figure with eyes full of killing intent.
* * *
After the end of the opening match,
“Alright everyone!”
“The hero of today’s victory, the series MVP! We will have an interview with Seong Jihan, who showed an amazing turnaround!”
The American commentators in charge of Channel 0 approached the summoned Seong Jihan in the waiting room.
“First, please say a few words of greeting to the viewers!”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Player Seong Jihan.”
“You showed an outstanding performance today! The entire 20% of the representative team was in danger of execution, but you, Seong Jihan, single-handedly turned the situation around!”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to me that we won the game.”
Instead of the typical humble response about the team’s help,
Seong Jihan nodded as if it was a matter of fact.
The players watching this from near the waiting room all whistled and cheered loudly.
“That’s right, that’s right!”
“We survived thanks to Seong Jihan!”
“We were almost sent to the execution site!”
“I’ll say this now, but when I saw that penalty earlier I pissed myself!”
The waiting room had become a party mood with all of humanity united.
The cameras captured the genuine delight on the faces of world-class players.
-Pissed himself lol?
-It’s understandable since they almost got dragged to death row ?
-All the stress from the 3rd and 4th matches is completely gone, lmao.?
-Does this mean the other side will face the death penalty?
-Yes, yes, it’s a manual for handling newcomers. Let the elves experience it.?
“As expected…! So full of confidence! Truly Seong Jihan!”
“In fact, after seeing the list in today’s game, there was a lot of talk. Since the participation condition was Diamond League or higher, there were many pointing out why he takes up a spot on the roster.”
“But! At the very moment a spot opened up, it happened to work out. There’s even talk among the public that Seong Jihan is a prophet!”
Commentator Christopher winked at Seong Jihan with an excited face.
Thanks to Seong Jihan’s boastful remark, he had bet $10,000 on him getting MVP. He had hit the jackpot, getting extremely lucky.
“Ah, I have these dreams sometimes. Maybe because I’ve been hitting the mark several times. This really felt like a prophetic dream.”
“Prophetic dream… you say?”
“Today, I dreamed of a defeat in the fifth game, where many players died. So, on purpose, I went to the gallows, prepared for criticism, and asked for a favor from my brother-in-law .”
“Ah…! A prophetic dream indeed…!”
“Is your amazing performance related to that dream?”
“Yes, it helped.”
If it was someone else, they would’ve reacted with “what kind of bs”, but
Since it was Seong Jihan who had been showing such astounding performances so far.
Many people seemed inclined to believe it.
-If it’s Seong Jihan, he might’ve really dreamed of a prophecy. Everything he said turned out right.
-I see, that’s why it sounded so absurd.
-Wow, then he probably knows lottery numbers too,
-Hey, why lottery, Seong Jihan is a billionaire already lol?
-But doesn’t he succeed in all BattleNet betting too?
-From now I’m betting everything on Seong Jihan no matter what…… I’m serious.
“Well, well! It seems I shouldn’t stand opposite Seong Jihan!”
“Yes, so from now on, please follow what I say. Everything will lead to good results.”
“Haha! Of course!”
Thus, the interview ended with Seong Jihan and Christopher engaging in a friendly conversation.
However, In the next interview with Coach Davis, the atmosphere was a bit serious.
“Coach, just what on earth happened?”
“Back when the agreement for 2,000 trillion GP was made, we couldn’t help but be amazed by your negotiation skills. Yet the elf’s execution was enforced?”
“That’s… my hand… suddenly moved on its own!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“No matter how much we were wronged by the elves, giving up on such tremendous profits and actually enforcing it…”
-What kind of excuse is this? Did the Coach’s cat type it in a hurry? LOL
-2,000 trillion GP, what a waste..
-Could it be that the coach had a ton of GP stockpiled? Worried the value would crash if 2,000 trillion entered the market?
-Yeah it’s suspicious. Shouldn’t we look into his account?
-Seriously, is that the only reason?
-Coach, I love you ^-^ I went all in on GPs, and it almost crashed. Phew~
On the Coach Davis side where people wondered why he didn’t accept the elf’s offer when disaster was imminent, Seong Jihan left the waiting room after retrieving Ariel.
‘Let them take the verbal abuse.’
It felt nice pushing it onto someone else instead.
And so after the end of the opening match,
[The match is over, and the rankings in the Space League have been announced.]
[It’s a tie for first place. Dungeon portals will disappear on a large scale.]
As the league rankings rise, society is once again undergoing changes.
“Brother-in-law… Can you help me out a bit?”
The Sword King, who was planning to re-explore the North Korean dungeons, asked Seong Jihan for help.
***
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