***
***
‘Artemus. He participated in this game as well?’
The player who hailed from the dwarves, claiming to be the number one blacksmith in the universe.
Having been brainwashed by the Blue Blood Demons in a previous game, Artemus committed self-destruction against Seong Jihan.
-Hey… I’m sorry about last time. But, do you happen to want to buy any equipment? I’ll give you a special price.
He apologized and offered to sell items.
At first, Seong Jihan was interested in the deal because of the special price, however
-But, you know… The damage I suffered after that attack was too severe.
“The damage from the game should have been recovered, right?”
-Because it was a suicide performed while brainwashed, many items couldn’t be recovered… To resume the production process, we need to start with recovery.
“So what do you want?”
-Well… Could you invest some GP in me?
Artemus, who executed a suicide attack, was asking for GP investment. Nevertheless, Seong Jihan initially considered investing in the blacksmith to maintain their relationship, but…
-So, Are you investing? How about 1 trillion GP?
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
-Then, how about 990 billion GP…
“Nope.”
The asking price was too high, so Seong Jihan stopped communicating.
-Fine then… How about 50 billion GP?
Despite the lack of response, Artemus continued to send messages daily, slightly lowering his price.
-Alright! 30 billion. How’s 30 billion GP? You also need my smithy to return to normal to use that invitation you got from me last time! If you invest this time, I’ll even throw in a 10 percent discount voucher for my forge for the next 100 years!
Recently, he reduced his asking investment to 30 billion GP, stating it was a bargain.
Seong Jihan had not been responding to his messages,
‘I should ask him how he got into the Hall of Fame.’
Interested in completing the epic quest, Seong Jihan finally replied to Artemus.
-Artemus. How’d you get in the Hall of Fame?
-Finally you responded…But, the Hall of Fame? Me? Where?
“In the League competition, ‘Planet Colonization***.'”
-Oh, that map? Did I make it to the Hall of Fame there? All I did was colonize… Wait a moment.
Artemus paused his messages, then returned with a sales offer.
-Want to buy a [22nd Generation Dwarf Biosynthetic Robot]? It will help with colonization. I’ll sell it for 10 billion GP each.
“Is it useful?”
-It’s an older model, but it was heavily used during planet colonization. Since your race is similar to ours at the lowest level, the old model dwarf might be helpful.
Artemus, participating in BattleNet to further his dwarf kind’s evolution, seemed to be trying to clear out old dwarf robot stock.
Seong Jihan saw through his scheme, yet
‘Right now, clearing the epic quest is more important.’
Developing the soul was more urgent than any amount of GP.
“Give me 10 for now.”
-Got it. I’ll package the robots and prepare for transmission. It’ll take about an hour. Customer! I’ll open up the trade window then!
With that, the message window closed.
‘I shall proceed with the game in the meantime.’
Seong Jihan surveyed the surroundings.
While all players shared the mission to complete a colony,
“So… what do we do?”
“I don’t know. How do we construct a colony?”
“I doubt players are supposed to build it themselves…”
At that moment…
[Gather Planet Points by constructing a Base Camp!]
[Planet Points increase when you catch indigenous life forms or acquire valuable items.]
[The ‘Leader’ of the First Guild has the authority to use Planet Points.]
[Caution: If the Leader of the First Guild dies, the respective race will be eliminated from planet colonization.]
The system message guided the players.
“First, let’s gather Planet Points. Leaders of each guild, please return to your original guilds and scout the surroundings.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll go north. There seems to be something large over there. Let’s go earn some points.”
Human players looked at each other in acknowledgment.
The game of Planet Colonization ended if the leader died.
Ideally, the leader should stay in the safest place, but…
‘Who could possibly defeat Seong Jihan?’
‘And if any enemy capable of that appears, the game is basically over, right?’
Players who well knew Seong Jihan’s extraordinary strength didn’t even consider stopping him.
“Uncle, have a good trip~ Earn lots of points~”
“Yeah. You stay on scouting duty.”
“Sure. I want to be in the top 10!”
“Brother-in-law. Please take care of the Daegi Guild players while I’m away.”
“Will do. Take care now.”
Apart from the guild leaders, there were six participants originally from the Daegi Guild.
Seong Jihan and his brother in law Yoon Sejin,
and joining them were Akari, Masied, and Sophia.
“Jihan~ have you formally included me in the Daegi Guild now?”
“No, just needed a supporter.”
Originally, Lim Gayeong was supposed to be the guild member,
but she couldn’t participate due to her much lower level compared to other competitors, and also because a supporter was needed.
Sophia grinned at Seong Jihan’s response and looked to the side,
“Aww, just take me with you. American First also gave up on me~ Right, Guild Master?”
“Though Sophia is an excellent supporter, if Player Seong prefers her, we would gladly let her go. Feel free to take her.”
American First Guild Master, Oliver, also smiled agreeably from the side.
“Well, I’ll think about it. Then, I’m off!”
“Ooh. A positive answer! Jihan~ let me give you a buff before you go!”
Flash!
A white light shone on Seong Jihan’s body as the buff was applied. Initially indifferent,
Whoosh…!
As the light faded into an ascending flame, Seong Jihan widened his eyes in surprise.
‘The buff… is applied?’
After obtaining his Martial Soul, supporters’ buffs hadn’t worked on him.
Instead, he used the void to enhance his body, amplifying his power.
But Sophia’s recent buff, although not at 100 percent effectiveness, clearly bolstered him.
“Does the buff include the power of purification?”
“Yes, that’s right! It depletes my divine power once used… but I paid attention! Hehe.”
“This is good.”
With Seong Jihan’s praise, Sophia’s eyes widened, and soon a smile formed on her lips.
“To receive such praise from Jihan… It’s worth all the training I received from the constellation!”
“Well, let’s see how effective this buff is.”
Swoosh!
Seong Jihan brandished his sword northward with the buff containing the power of purification.
Not long after his departure,
screeeek!
A giant scorpion emerged from the sandy ground, blocking his path.
‘Time to earn some points.’
Swoosh!
Eclipse materialized in Seong Jihan’s left hand, and with a simple sword slash, he split the giant scorpion.
Chiiiik!
As the divided scorpion fell onto the sandy ground,
ssss…
A huge swarm of ants burst forth from below, eager to consume the giant scorpion—the cleanup crew.
‘Perfect timing.’
Seong Jihan drew out his Phoenix Flag and cast it towards the sky.
Fundamental Divine Arts, Divine Thunder Decree – Celestial Judgment
Following that, round portals began to open in the sky,
and from them, giant spears charged with crimson lightning appeared.
Zzt! Zzt!
The celestial spears crashed to earth—
destroying not just the ant swarm but all the hidden native creatures beneath the sandy surface.
[You have obtained 1121 Planet Points.]
[Base Camp construction is now possible.]
With a single attack, Seong Jihan had gathered enough points to build a camp.
-This isn’t planet colonization, it’s a massacre.
-Wasn’t it supposed to be just one spear popping out of the sky? When did it upgrade to five?
-Yeah, Seong Jihan has grown rapidly…
-Originally, the leader is supposed to be protected in planet colonization, but he’s just sweeping everything by himself. lol
-Protection? It’s fortunate if 499 people don’t grab Seong Jihan’s ankle.
-I wish we could keep watching him from the same side. Is this what ‘comfort’ feels like?
While subscribers watched the scorched earth with awe, thankful for having Seong Jihan on their side,
Seong Jihan himself looked dissatisfied at the burnt ground.
‘Even with the buff, five is the limit. The gap with the Martial God is still vast.’
The power shown by the Martial God during the invasion of Brahma’s Throne.
For Seong Jihan now, it was a scale utterly out of reach.
Even though he hadn’t incorporated the crimson thunder into Celestial Judgment, just the difference in the number of summoned spears was significant.
‘The journey is still long.’
He might be rank one among humanity, but
compared to the Martial God with whom he had to vie over Martial Soul, the gap was still as wide as heaven and earth.
‘Well, let’s try raising the Celestial Judgments to six.
Though he had earned enough points to build the Base Camp, Seong Jihan continued to press forward, intent on training.
[You have obtained 1006 Planet Points.]
[You have obtained 1377 Planet Points.]
Alone, gathering points as he charred the earth, Seong Jihan eventually encountered,
[You have entered the territory of the competing race, the Zojin Tribe.]
* * *
The Zojin Tribe.
With avian heads and wings attached, the humanoid Join Tribe were regular customers in the lower ranks alongside the orcs, grinding humanity down. While they lacked physical strength compared to orcs and finesse compared to humans, their exceptional flying ability kept them from being relegated to the bottom.
‘Their flight capability was quite effective.’
With the ability to fly at high speeds, they strategically chose suitable maps for their victories.
Even humanity had lost frustratingly to them multiple times due to poor map draws.
Whiff! Whiff!!
As Seong Jihan continued undeterred, recalling old memories.
The Zojin flew overhead, observing him.
“Humanity…”
“Are they the 4th rank race?”
“They don’t seem that strong at first glance.”
“At first glance? After being treated like that by the elves, are you still falling for appearances?”
Currently in the 20th rank, the Zojin Tribe harbored no complacency,
even though they saw Seong Jihan’s mere appearance.
‘It’ll be annoying to have them around. I better dispose of them now.’
Seong Jihan, resolving to obliterate the Zojin as he headed north, caught sight of a system message.
[Caution: Pioneer Protection Period.]
During the pioneer protection period, powerful debuffs will be triggered if you intrude into the territory of a rival race. At the same time, the intruded race will be granted a ‘protection’ buff.
[The pioneer protection period is in effect until the third day after the start of the game.]
The pioneer protection period was a mechanism to prevent clashes between pioneer races during the initial stages of the colonization.
“Kiik! Kiik!”
“Pioneer protection?”
And this message appeared not only to Seong Jihan, but the movements of the Zojin Tribe around him also began to change provocatively.
Squeak! Squeak!
“An inferior race without wings!”
“You can’t even do this? Come on! Start!”
Splat! Splat!
Precisely aimed liquids flew toward Seong Jihan in the sky.
“Hehe, hehehe! Urine attack!”
“Refreshing!”
Relying solely on the pioneer protection period, the Zojin Tribe collectively hurled filth at Seong Jihan.
Whether they got hit and ran away, it would embarrass the opponent. Engaging in provocation and then retaliating would trigger the buff-debuff mechanism, allowing them to dominate the opponent.
Either way, it was a gain.
The Zojin tribe rejoiced while they continued their assault,
“It’s still as vulgar as ever.”
“Ki…eek?”
Before they could react,
Chiiiik!
Along with the thrown filth, the Zojin Tribe flock flying in the sky burst into flames.
“You lot should just stay at the bottom.”
While the Zojin’s provocation might have been a reasonable choice,
They’ve picked the wrong opponent.
***
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