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In a space shrouded in darkness, strange patterns were drawn upon the floor, and above them lay a third eye.
There, Pythia stood, her divine eye activated.
[The race ‘humanity’ has chosen the hidden bonus option, ‘Star Chaser.’]
‘That settles it.’
She smiled, seeing her prophecy fulfilled.
‘The future where Seong Jihan is killed by the Phoenix Spear is now postponed.’
Though Pythia couldn’t directly observe Seong Jihan’s future, she had various indirect methods. By observing the surroundings, she could glean glimpses of others’ futures.
‘I took care of Longinus’ request and also paid off my debt to Seong Jihan. Two birds with one stone.’
When Longinus, used as a spear by the Martial God, re-sealed himself in Tuseong to regain his power,
Before the sealing,
-Pythia. Can you see my future? I really… don’t want to live like this anymore. When will I disappear from this universe?
Longinus had inquired about his end.
-Give me some of your blood, and I’ll tell you.
-Here, Take it.
Pythia predicted his future in exchange for his blood.
-Your grave tomb is in most of the futures I’ve seen. There’s a Phoenix Spear next to it.
-The Phoenix Spear… that guy. Seems like he died too.
-But, when the Phoenix Spear wasn’t there, your tomb wasn’t either.
-Does that mean… I died?
-I don’t know that far. I only speak of what’s observable.
-Observing such a future is welcoming enough.
In most futures Pythia observed,
Longinus’ tomb was placed in Tuseong, and next to it, a Phoenix Spear identical to what Seong Jihan now wielded was planted.
She could infer from that.
‘Master… In most futures, disposed of Seong Jihan before he could grow further.’
The Martial God was cautious.
Even though he moved his star Tuseong, hunting Constellations mercilessly becoming the terror of the universe,
He avoided BattleNet’s ‘regulations’ almost entirely throughout the process.
It was possible by scrutinizing and eliminating potential issues meticulously.
‘I’m not sure what the master hopes to gain through Seong Jihan but… he’ll be disposed of immediately if seen even slightly as a threat.’
And Pythia instinctively realized Seong Jihan was on the verge of being disposed of at the moment.
Truly, Seong Jihan’s life was not a critical matter to her, but
‘If he dies, there’ll be no one to wake Gilgamesh.’
Pythia needed to awaken Gilgamesh to confirm the identity of the Martial God.
So, if Seong Jihan is to be disposed of by the Martial God right now, what should be done?
‘If I leave him as a target for the BattleNet’s central management, he’ll become untouchable for now.’
Among the BattleNet’s central management targets, the most representative case was the ‘Constellation Candidate.’
Once players become Constellations, BattleNet abandons them to a world of survival of the fittest.
Yet for Constellation Candidates, there was at least some safety mechanism.
-If Seong Jihan quickly becomes a Constellation candidate, it’ll be difficult for the Martial god, also a target of the BattleNet’s management, to dispose of him easily.
Pythia used all her knowledge to find the possibility for him to become a Constellation Candidate.
And she successfully concluded this work at the moment the Martial God sat on the throne, absorbing energy.
“Hehehe. Shall we now find the remnants of Brahma?”
“Now? What have you been doing until now?”
“Ugh…… Dongbang sak? What? Why are you here?”
As Pythia hummed a tune, Dongbang sak slowly revealed himself from the shadows.
“Master requests the remnants of the Brahma to be captured.”
“Because of the remnants, he is sending you too? It’s not that urgent, is it?”
“I thought so too…”
Swoosh!
Dongbang sak caressed his beard, his eyes sharpening.
“The master, he could not absorb that red lighting.”
“Red lighting? So, you were sent because of that?”
“It seems so.”
“Why can’t he absorb it? Is it that remarkable?”
To Pythia’s question, Dongbang sak stopped stroking his beard and opened his palm.
Crackle…!
Though not completely identical to Seong Jihan’s,
A red current combined with fire and thunder attributes fiercely rose from Dongbansak’s hands.
“…Indeed, Dongbansak. You’ve grasped it immediately.”
“Not entirely. It’s not exactly the same. I haven’t mixed the power of the void. The core of that red lightning seems related to the void. This is merely superficial.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. However, unlike me, who shouldn’t directly handle the void, the master doesn’t have such constraints. Yet, he couldn’t absorb it…”
“It’s strange for the master, who would grasp a Constellation’s power at first glance, to find this peculiar.”
“Right… it is very peculiar.”
Pythia thought of the essences of Constellations laid out in Tuseong and tilted her head.
Why is the Martial God unable to absorb only Seong Jihan’s power?
“By the way, did you do anything to Seong Jihan?”
“What sudden nonsense are you on about?”
“Humanity suddenly chose a hidden bonus, ‘Star Chaser’… Seong Jihan has picked the fastest route to becoming a Constellation Candidate.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Dongbang sak smirked.
“Be grateful the master was seated on the throne. Otherwise, he would’ve detected your rash action right away. Though for me, I’m actually pleased with your recklessness.”
“Pleased? You, as the Martial God’s most loyal devotee?”
Dongbang sak’s eyes dimmed sharply.
“Loyal devotee… I pay respect because he is the God of Nothingness. If he were merely replicating powers… would there be more reason for my loyalty?”
“Hmm. You’re saying this to me…. it seems you have some doubts?”
“It’s not a certainty yet. I need to watch a little longer.”
Recalling the Crimson Divinity Art he imparted to Seong Jihan, Dongbang sak pondered.
The Martial God, obscured by the battle with the Thunder Gods and Brahma, likely hadn’t seen Seong Jihan’s Crimson Divinity Art.
But if he did and still can’t grasp it, suspicion will take a more solid form.
“Act with caution from now on. It’s time to seek out the remnants of Brahma.”
“Got it~ You mean the small Red Lion, crafted from the red lighting, right?”
“Yes.”
Flash!
Light illuminated the patterns on the floor.
“He’s run far off. Even remnants are still Thunder God, I suppose?”
“Found them already?”
“Roughly. Let’s go.”
Flash!
Pythia and Dongbang sak’s figures vanished, wrapped in bright white light.
* * *
[Did Seong Jihan already have a plan? The hidden option ‘Star Chaser’ revealed right before his speech.]
[Star Chaser unanimously passed.]
[The efficiency of Star Chaser? For Bronze players, it’s ten times a national bonus. Even the second rank gains a remarkable effect, doubling their scores.]
[Yet, 1st place Seong Jihan isn’t affected. Some experts express concern.]
“I’m back.”
Returning to Sword Palace from New York, Seong Jihan faced Yoon Seah, who popped up watching the news.
“Uncle, what about my future?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“How did you precisely hit the hidden bonus option? The Premonition ability sounds too creepy.”
“You’ll thrive, eating well and living well. Aren’t you the owner of Sword Palace?”
“Well, that’s obvious. Who’s my future husband?”
“Such trivial details don’t appear in foresight.”
“Geez. You call that trivial? That’s too much.”
“Isn’t it less trivial than the future of humanity?”
Seong Jihan’s foresight ability made a critical contribution to maintaining humanity’s rank.
Yoon Seah, pouting her lips, shifted topics.
“But Uncle, this buff effect is too good. What if you lose the 1st place quickly? Especially for players like me who play games twice a day, we’ll catch up soon.”
“Please catch up. Seah, did you survive the 1st match against the Dragons?”
“No. I was swept away by their breath.”
“Not just you, but all the rankers were swept away by the dragons. Now that I’m the 1st rank, I’ll be targeted for bans, so other players need to grow quickly and do their part. So please, Seah, don’t worry and just grow steadily.”
“Ugh… I got it.”
Until now, humanity had been sucking up Seong Jihan’s honey. But now that he had become the 1st rank, he couldn’t benefit as before. It’s certain that other races who tasted Seong Jihan’s power will ban the 1st rank.
“But uncle. Can’t you still play cards with the unknown “??” races since they don’t know you? I don’t think they’ll ban the 1st place from the first match.”
“For now, that’s correct.”
“Now? Oh… Do you have another premonition?”
“Maybe.”
Seong Jihan grinned and waved his hand to Yoon Seah.
“First, I’m off to level up.”
Connecting to BattleNet straight away.
Seong Jihan spent an entire week gaming every day.
During that time, he played normal BattleNet games with players of Space 4.
-Is the survival map really that big? LOL.
-It’ll take ages for normal players to get there.
-Still, Space 4 players can’t beat Seong Jihan. It’s just ridiculous, right?
Only a few selected players could enter Space 4 Area.
And those who had teamed up against Seong Jihan before failing to suppress him had no chance in a regular game.
[The hidden boss… I thought the rumor that ‘the real thing’ is so much stronger was false!]
[Why the hell is he in Space 4?!]
Even on the survival map.
[He’s coming…]
[Gather around quickly, block him first!]
[Hmm? You guys are scared of such a little guy?]
[Disappointing. Those who aspire to be Constellations… Oops…!]
And on the invade map.
[Why does the opposing team keep racking up kills so quickly? It’s unreasonable guarding against the same enemy, isn’t it?]
[At this rate, it’s not defending but rather invading to increase kill counts…]
[…Looks like ‘that one’ is there.]
[‘That one’? Ah… The hidden boss?]
[I’ve encountered him three times already… Wish he’d just move up to Space 3 now.]
Even on the defense map.
Whatever map came up, Seong Jihan easily subdued his opponents.
Though other players were remarkable in their own worlds,
They also failed to draw out The Crimson Divinity Art from Seong Jihan, who subdued them effortlessly.
-Ever since Jihan became a ‘Constellation Candidate,’ he’s been playing games more often. It’s great, haha.
-He must firmly keep the 1st rank to become a Constellation LOL
-But if Seong Jihan becomes a Constellation, does humanity end up ruled by him?
-He’s already earning us tons of points, hopefully keeps ruling until the end of BattleNet…
-The daily point acquisition is on a different level. It’s because Seong Jihan plays every day.
-The gains from Star Chaser’s buff seems significant. Other players are leveling up incredibly fast too
Humanity, which had risen to 2nd place in the Space League.
After 10 days, it dropped to 4th place, but they were still satisfied seeing the increased daily point acquisition rate.
If before, the daily acquisition rate was in the lower tier, now it’s risen to the middle-lower tier.
-For the first match against the remaining 16 races, since they don’t know Seong Jihan, wouldn’t strategizing be difficult for them?
-Right. Not exchanging information within the same league is advantageous for us.
-At first, I was like, “What’s this??” but lol, it turned out to be a good thing.
Before the match, the Space League’s policy doesn’t even disclose the names of the races.
Humanity, with the overwhelming player Jihan, greatly benefited from this policy.
They hoped this would continue.
However, when April 15th came,
[For two weeks, the League Competition ‘Planet Exploration’ will be held.]
[This competition allows participation on a guild basis.]
[The opponents in the competition will be matched primarily among races that have not encountered in the league.]
Another league competition involving all Space League races was announced,
The four races that had been “??” until now were suddenly revealed.
And among them, the one that caught the eye first was,
-No way…
-The World Tree Elves. They are here again?
It was the World Tree Elves, the third race to be revealed in the league.
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