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The second Space League Game concluded with a resounding 3:1 victory for humanity, creating a festive atmosphere among the human ranks.
[The decisive battle against the Orcs ends in victory!]
[Humanity leaps to 7th place in the league rankings.]
[Seong Jihan, having subdued the Great Chieftain twice, becomes the series MVP.]
[Coach Davis’s strategy hits the mark.]
Highlighted across global media, A series MVP interview was conducted.
“Player Seong Jihan!”
“Congratulations on becoming the series MVP!”
Inside the representative team’s waiting room prepared within the BattleNet game, the commentators, with excited faces, handed over the microphone to Seong Jihan.
“You showed a considerably more powerful form this time, especially in the battle against the Orc chieftain, it was like a natural disaster happened!”
“The sky froze over and fell! Not even the greatest mages, not even Oliver, could manifest such a phenomenon. It was truly overwhelming!”
“How do you manage to grow so rapidly?”
“You need to join the Daegi guild for rapid progress.”
“Ha! With the TOP 200 in a frenzy to get in, the competition will be more intense than ever!”
Laughing, the commentators engaged in light-hearted banter with Seong Jihan. They also touched on one of the key factors that led to the 3:1 game result:
“The Great Chieftain of the Orcs mistook Player Seong Jihan for the top player and used his ban card under that impression.”
“It was a reasonable assumption! In the third game when number 1 was banned, Player Seong Jihan didn’t appear.”
“The strategy was highly effective today, but we wonder what will happen in the next Space League game…”
“What do you think will happen to your rank next time?”
To the commentator’s question, Seong Jihan responded immediately.
“It’s impossible to stay at rank 11.”
“Of course… that makes sense.”
“Yes. My hidden boss provides me with a lot of experience. If I stop growing, I won’t be able to handle even stronger enemies that may emerge later. However.”
With that, Seong Jihan unfurled his index finger.
“I’ll get to rank 1 at my own pace.”
“Going for rank 1…!”
“Yes. As you saw with the Great Chieftain, it’s logical for the enemies to think I’m humanity’s top player, right?”
If any other player had made that statement, it would have been deemed arrogant.
“That’s right!”
“The Great Chieftain’s choice, though laughed at by us, was technically the right one.”
“After being so decisively beaten by Seong Jihan, of course, they would think that way!”
Coming from Seong Jihan, the comment held more weight.
-For real lol, the Great Chieftain just made the obvious choice.
-Who knew rank 11 could be that strong lol
-Today answered ‘Seong Jihan vs Sword King: who would win?’
-These days, except die-hard Sword King fans, everyone thinks Seong Jihan will win lol
-But man, once Seong Jihan hits rank 1, that’s going to be trouble.
Everyone naturally accepted that Seong Jihan was humanity’s strongest and his rank 1 status was inevitable. They worried about the future from this common-sense baseline.
-What if the enemies only ban the 1st rank?
-From what we saw, We lose when Seong Jihan isn’t present…
-Yep, even the Sword King lost to the Great Chieftain; if it wasn’t for Seong Jihan, the score might have been 3:1 in reverse.
-The Orcs aren’t even a strong race; they were the lowest-ranked…
-We can’t get complacent because we won this match; other players need to become stronger, too. Once Seong Jihan is first, he’s almost guaranteed to be banned.
Humanity’s excessive reliance on Seong Jihan was evident in both games.
The coaching staff, led by Coach Davis, knew this better than anyone so after the MVP interview, in the subsequent winning coach’s interview.
“We won this game easily thanks to Player Seong Jihan, but this strategy won’t work forever. As evident from the third game, the human representative team has much to improve on. Until Seong Jihan reaches rank 1, we will do our utmost to strengthen our forces.”
-The other players should step up, not just rely on Seong Jihan.
-Coach Davis looks reliable.
-He will likely continue as the national team coach.
-Right. Even the execution against the elves, when seen in light of reducing enemy power, was the right choice, wasn’t it?
Ending in victory, the second Space League game brought joy to humanity but also highlighted the need to resolve the excessive dependence on Seong Jihan.
Meanwhile,
“Phew…”
Having logged out and returned to the Sword Palace,
Yoon Sejin went to the liquor cabinet and started bringing out several bottles of whiskey into the living room.
“Dad! Why are you taking out liquor…?”
“Ha! The barrier of the universe is indeed high.”
“… Is it because of the Great Chieftain?”
“That and even during the match against the elves, I was powerless.”
Sigh!
Yoon Sejin let out a deep sigh and tipped back the bottle.
It would usually be a cause for celebration to have his position as humanity’s strongest warrior usurped by his brother-in-law, but,
“I can’t believe I couldn’t manage to help at all…”
He found himself appalling for losing crucial games.
“Brother-in-law… What are you doing?”
“Feeling pathetic for facing consecutive defeats.”
“The Great Chieftain… he was an opponent out of the ordinary specifications, harnessing power from other Orcs.”
Gulp! Gulp!
Seong Jihan offered words of comfort to Yoon Sejin, who was gulping down whiskey like water,
“In the third game, when all other players fell, you fought alone resolutely. There’s no reason for self-blame.”
“… Still, the youngster managed to win.”
Sigh!
Yoon Sejin sighed deeply again, gazing at his palms.
“Nowadays, I feel doubtful. Twin Sword Mastery. Am I truly evolving this power well? Or am I just a lucky fool who received an SSS-rank Gift…”
Seong Jihan watched Yoon Sejin lamenting and lifting another bottle,
Twin Sword Mastery
That Gift was an area even Seong Jihan knew little about.
The power’s evolution ultimately rested in the player’s own hands, so advice wasn’t his to give.
‘If I recall from my previous life…’
The Sword King, who was beguiled by Shizuru and used as her pawn, continued to develop as a warrior after moving to Japan.
It was, after all, his usefulness that prompted Shizuru to charm him in the first place.
‘Toward the end, the number of swords decreased.’
The Sword King, who used to summon white swords, Over time, he actually reduced the number of swords he used.
In the end, wasn’t it about 20 swords?
Seong Jihan suggested to the inebriated Yoon Sejin.
“Instead of diffusing power among a hundred blades, what if you reduce the number of swords?”
“Reduce the swords…?”
“Yes. While a hundred swords are an effective area of attack against average foes, it doesn’t work in the Space League. It seems better to refine each individual sword and cultivate its potential, making it more powerful.”
“Hmm… Thus, reduce, not multiply the blades…”
Having emptied a bottle already, Yoon Sejin fell deep in thought.
Seong Jihan’s solution was simple but represented a complete shift for Yoon Sejin, who had been increasing the number of blades in pursuit of evolving the Twin Sword Mastery.
Tap! Tap!
He tapped on the empty bottle, then decisively stood up.
“Alright. I’ll give it a try. Thank you for the advice, Jihan.”
He got up and walked toward the training room.
“Daddy! Swinging swords after drinking; what are you doing!”
“It’s fine. This is nothing!”
Sauntering off with a wave while reeking of alcohol, Yoon Sejin disappeared.
Yoon Seah watched him unbelievably then gave Seong Jihan a thumbs up.
“Uncle, you were amazing today. You led the team to victory all alone.”
“I was just playing in the first match.”
“Ah… you were advancing forward when the game ended. That was just a warmup because their mages were so weak!”
She then raised her hand triumphantly,
“But hey! Did you know? Coach called me today.”
“Coach? Who? Davis?”
“No… Coach Davis was picking cards earlier. I’m talking about Coach Noh Youngjun.”
“Ah. Yeah. What did he say?”
“He asked if I could participate in the next Korea-Japan match! Finally! I’ve been selected for the national team!”
Bouncing with excitement, Yoon Seah clinched her fist.
Surprised inwardly, Seong Jihan asked her,
“The national team’s archer line is tough to crack… They let you in?”
“It’s all thanks to the Artemus Bow! It’s amaaaaazing!”
“Did it earn back its price?”
“… Not yet.”
“Well, you’ll make it worth in time.”
“Uh. Even so, 200 billion GP is…”
Mentioning the 200 billion GP value, Yoon seah’s hands became careful with the Artemus Bow.
Seong Jihan chuckled at her reaction.
“I won’t ask you for money; use it as you wish.”
“Eek! How could I? It might be the most expensive bow in the world…”
“Anyway. Then three of us will participate in the Korea-Japan game.”
“Yep! Hehe. I’ll make my debut successful, and next I’ll aim for the Space League match!”
“Hmm. For that, do you have more skills in addition to Void Arrow?”
“Ah. Well, I’m practicing something but…”
As her voice became softer at the suggestion she lacked skills, she suddenly got hyped up.
“Ugh. Enough! I have to develop a new skill, too! I can’t stay idle if dad is practicing!”
Suddenly she excitedly declared her intention to gain new skills and sprinted off to the training room.
“Good. Try to get yourself banned too.”
“Got it! It won’t be just you getting banned, uncle!”
Waving back to Seong Jihan, Yoon Seah entered the training room.
Seong Jihan smiled faintly at her departure, then heard Pythia’s voice.
[Now… have you finished with your tasks?]
Voice lowered, Seong Jihan engaged with Pythia.
“Yep, Pythia. How was my power from your perspective?”
[Ice Heaven Sword Rain… was the skill you used earlier, right?]
“Correct.”
[I realized something from watching it… I truly was deceived by the Martial God.]
The voice of Pythia, convinced that she had been misled by the Martial God, was unexpectedly calm.
“You sound like you expected it.”
[I have always carried a degree of skepticism about him. I can’t discuss it in detail here… Are you participating in the game against Japan next week?]
“I will.”
[Then speak with me in BattleNet then. My avatar, the one you saw… is Japanese.]
The woman from the hotel intrusion… She was Japanese.
“Understood. I’ll see you then.”
[Good. Until then… There is one thing I realized about that Ice Heaven Sword Rain you used earlier…]
She whispered her newfound understanding.
[Its true intention lies in reconnaissance.]
With that, she halted further communication.
Seong Jihan pondered her words.
“…Reconnaissance?”
Ice Heaven Sword Rain, the overwhelming fourth Annihilation technique that froze and dropped the sky…was intended for reconnaissance use?
While the idea didn’t come easily, it must be relevant to her powers and was no idle notion.
“…I should head to the training room, too.”
When understanding eludes you, the only option is to keep practicing.
On the victorious day in the Space League, instead of popping champagne,
Seong Jihan headed for the Void training room.
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