***
***
‘The procedure to clear a demoted planet… A race annihilation battle, no less.’
A race annihilation was something Seong Jihan encountered before his regression.
At that time, his physical body was swallowed by the rising darkness, and all of humanity disappeared. Seong Jihan alone survived, able to return by the vote of certain beings.
With a vote of 3 to 1, he narrowly received a chance for a retry.
‘But now it’s saying players have to enforce it?’
Humanity was undoubtedly consumed by darkness. The ‘Blue Blood Demons,’ the target of this annihilation event, were facing invasion by the Void and Solar factions for some reason.
[Hmm. A race annihilation battle, huh. It’s rare for the fate of a demoted race to be put in the hands of a player. It’s unusual.]
Artemus too seemed to have noticed the system message. Hundreds of dwarves, with their arms crossed, concurrently tilted their heads in unison.
-A race annihilation battle?
-So if you’re demoted, you get annihilated…?
-Wow; Isn’t the penalty crazy?
-But… the annihilation… is done by the players?
Viewers of Seong Jihan’s channel were shocked upon hearing his and Artemus’s conversation. There had been various rumors about what happens upon demotion in BattleNet’s league, but this mission provided a definitive answer today.
“But the Blue Blood Demons look like they’re in the Silver League, right?… Shouldn’t they go to Bronze if they’re demoted? Why are they getting annihilated instead?”
“Bronze is a league only for beginners. Once you’ve reached Silver, you cannot fall back to the beginners’ league.”
“Hmm… those elves didn’t look like beginners at all.”
“Well, that’s because they have powerful backers.”
As Seong Jihan conversed with the dwarves, they collectively pointed upwards with a finger.
“I’ll have to choose the Solar faction then. What about you?”
“You plan to participate in the annihilation battle?”
“Of course. It’s a special mission.”
With that, the dwarves all revealed their intentions, laughing.
“Plus, if there are any good spoils, I must gather them. It’s the end of a race that reached Silver League. Surely there will be something of value.”
Artemus seemed to have no qualms about exterminating other races.
-Those dwarves are ruthless;
-Even if they’re from a different race, isn’t participating in an annihilation battle a bit much?
-This is like seriously not just a game anymore;
-Hey, why are those guys talking like moral textbooks? It’s not a game anymore, so like Artemus, you should gain loot and get stronger.
-That’s right. Where’s the space to worry about another planet’s well-being when Earth could end up in the same state?
While there was apprehension among viewers towards Artemus’s enjoyment of the annihilation, the overriding sentiment was a harsh realism.
And Seong Jihan also settled his heart, looking at Artemus’s attitude.
‘After all, that’s what BattleNet has always been about.’
A game where competing with other races for ranking and the lower ranks face destruction.
Why worry about the demise of races from other planets when even your own kind fight against each other? Artemus’s approach, looking to benefit his own kind, is probably the most sensible attitude.
“I…”
As Seong Jihan pondered which side to choose,
[If you choose the Void faction, an epic quest will appear.]
Another system message popped up.
An epic quest that isn’t offered to the Solar faction.
With that, the choice was obvious.
“I’ll go with the Void.”
“Got it. You’ll probably earn a lot of GP in the Void.”
Upon Seong Jihan’s decision, the dwarves waved as light shone from the sky and whisked them upwards.
Glancing at the ascended Artemus, Seong Jihan chose the Void faction, and then…
The land started to drench in purple shade, and darkness surrounded him swiftly.
In this shrouded world, a system message rose.
[By selecting the Void faction, an epic quest appears.]
[Epic Quest]
-Find the origin of the Blue Blood Demons and bring an end to them.
Reward – Increase the capacity limit of Void stats by +30
– Acquire the title ‘Void Executor’
Seong Jihan’s eyes gleamed as he saw the reward for the epic quest.
‘This is exactly the reward I need.’
Compared even with the ability of the Wandering Martial God, Martial Soul, the performance of the Void stats was not far behind.
However, this ability had a fatal penalty: the closer the stats get to 100, the shorter the lifespan becomes.
Relief from this penalty comes with an increased capacity limit of the Void stats.
‘With the ‘Summon the throne’, I’ve only managed to get a +5 limit each month… +30 is basically buying half a year’s time.’
The EX-grade skill obtained from the Brahma, Summon the throne.
This skill could give the power to surpass the limits of one’s race and also raise the capacity limit of Void stats.
The reward from the epic quest was akin to front-loading six months’ worth of effects, so it was imperative to Seong Jihan.
‘And I can’t ignore Pythia’s prophecy either.’
He remembered Pythia’s prediction concerning the Witch of Void.
[You’ll fight a terrifying being, attempt to save her, but due to the recoil of overusing the power of void, you’ll almost get pulled in. The Witch of Void, finally free, sacrifices herself for you.]
While prophecy did not affect Seong Jihan himself, it did work on people around him as told, suggesting the last moments of Seong Jiah.
The prophecy said Seong Jihan nearly got dragged into the void.
Increasing the capacity limit of the Void stats was imperative not just to prevent such an event but as a necessary move.
‘The problem now is finding the source of the Blue Blood Demons…’
There had never been an easy epic quest before, but none as daunting as this one.
How could he locate the source of the Blue Blood Demons?
Perhaps by leveraging the fourth Annihilation Technique, Ice Heaven Sword Rain he had recently gained…
‘But to recklessly use the Annihilation Technique, the range is far too vast.’
While Seong Jihan pondered possible approaches,
“Whoa! Look who it is if not the leader himself!”
Ssssh!
Amidst the purple-hued world, a black skull revealed itself, its face protruding from the darkness.
* * *
“Already participating in a race annihilation battle… You really are extraordinary, Leader.”
Clack! Clack!
The black skull clicked its teeth, making a fuss.
Seong Jihan frowned at the skull circling around him.
The Constellation of the Dead Star, Karlein.
He didn’t expect the being, who was also his supporting constellation, to participate here.
“You’re also participating… Is this your avatar?”
“No avatar I’d say! This time, as a constellation, I’ve been dispatched as one of the invasion commanders for the Void faction.”
“Really? Then you would have some information on the Blue Blood Demons?”
At Seong Jihan’s words, the black skull nodded.
“Of course, I do!”
Ziiiiing!
Karlein’s eyes emitted a purple glow, projecting a vast screen.
It showed creatures with blue skin, four arms, and two heads.
“The Blue Blood Demons… They’re not very powerful. At best a mid-to-low tier? No wonder they were demoted from Silver.”
“Is that enough to get demoted?”
“There are some who hang in there, but most are demoted. You need to be at least mid-tier to hold onto Silver League. Unless there’s an irregular player like you.”
-Humanity is the lowest grade; how will we survive? lol
-But why is that skull being so chummy with Seong Jihan?
-Why did it call him ‘Leader’?
-There were times when his BattleTube stream suddenly went off… Did they meet during that?
Viewers unfamiliar with Karlein wondered why the skull was acting buddy-buddy with Seong Jihan.
But they were more focused on the words it spoke.
After being assigned to the special invasion map, race annihilation battle, sophisticated information about the fate of BattleNet’s worlds flowed forth.
“So, when demoted, other players launch an invasion to annihilate the race?”
“Nah~ Originally, they just summon the Apostles of the End and eventually incinerate them in the Void. Oh, by the way, leader… Is BattleTube on?”
“Yeah.”
Clank! Clank!
Then, the black skull clicked its teeth and gave a chilling smile.
“Ladies and gentlemen of humanity~ If you can’t maintain your ranking, I’ll execute you on the spot~ Ah! But if our dear leader joins my rank, maybe I’ll make an exception?”
“Stop the nonsense.”
“Woof woof!”
“……”
Seeing Karlein transform from a human skull to a dog’s head and start barking, Seong Jihan was momentarily speechless.
-Wow…
-It’s really insane, isn’t it? Haha!
-Why is it madness everywhere today?
-Fr, one demands global unification and suggests spreading seeds, and the other’s asking to become a leader of something haha
-And we’re supposed to be annihilated by such beings if we didn’t maintain our ranking…
The viewers, who responded energetically to the dog-headed being, saw it then.
Ssssh!
It shifted back to its original skull form and spoke as if nothing odd had occurred.
“Anyway, back to the main topic! There’s a specific reason why players participate in this annihilation battle.”
“What is it?”
“The Blue Blood Demons have a special ability to possess others.”
Flash! Flash!
A shimmer of red light flashed in the eye sockets of the skull.
“Like so, the Blue Blood Demons flash their blue eyes at times. If you see that, there’s a chance of possession. But it’s completely random. It might not work even on the lowest-tier species, while even Dragonkin can fall victim to it.”
“Possession…”
“The higher-ups in BattleNet want more data on this possession ability. That’s why players were allowed to participate in this annihilation.”
“So players are meant to get possessed?”
“Right! There’s no need for players to be involved in wiping out a mid-to-low-tier race.”
Seong Jihan nodded.
Things seemed a little different from the annihilation he’d known in his previous life, so there was some hidden reasoning behind it.
“I’m a bit anxious about the possibility of being possessed too… But you. Will you still participate?”
“Of course.”
“Alright. Then, as the commander, I’ll assign you an easy route! There’s a civilian residential area among the attack routes. Those folks aren’t players and haven’t awakened their possession abilities, so you can easily sweep through there!”
Karlein, exercising his commander privileges, offered Seong Jihan an easy route, but Seong Jihan immediately declined.
“No. Give me the place with the strongest resistance.”
“Why? Because they’re civilians?”
Sigh!
Karlein’s laughter turned bitter at Seong Jihan’s refusal.
“Head, if that’s the case, it’s disappointing… To survive in BattleNet, one must become utterly ruthless. If you harbor such tender-hearted sentiments, you’ll be used by someone eventually.”
“Are you not the one who wants to exploit me the most?”
“Hehe. Yeah. I’m just telling you because I don’t want someone else to take you away.”
At Karlein’s words, Seong Jihan let out a chuckle.
“If I was going to be swayed by that, I wouldn’t have participated in the race annihilation battle to begin with.”
“Then why?”
“To find the origin of the Blue Blood Demons.”
“The origin…”
Clink! Clink!
As the word ‘origin’ hung in the air, Karlein’s eyes blazed with intensity.
“The origin of the Blue Blood Demons… What an interesting thing to say. The origin… and the Blue Blood Demons’ unique possession might be related.”
“So, will you send me to the place with the strongest resistance?”
“… Well, Okay.”
Zing!
Purple light erupted from the skull’s eyes.
Eventually, a massive portal was formed.
“If you think you’re going to get possessed, call me anytime. I’ll drop everything and rush over!”
“That won’t happen.”
Immediately dismissing Karlein’s offer, Seong Jihan stepped into the portal.
And then,
“Intruder…!”
“Capture him!”
As soon as he entered the world beyond the portal, hundreds of blue eyes stared at him, flashing with light.
***
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