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“It’s fascinating. To be able to log back into the game like this…”
The temporary space prepared by the Thunder God, Brahma.
Seong Jihan, accepting Artemus’s proposal, entered this location. Despite being busy with planet colonization,
-Please… if it continues this way, my forge will be completely destroyed! I won’t be able to make a comeback! The glory of the dwarf tribe will turn to bubbles.
-That’s truly unfortunate.
-Yes, right. You’re doing planet colonization… This time I’ll provide you with the latest and efficient biobot models. Of course, for free! And I’ll add three more forge usage vouchers.
-We’ll see.
After Artemus offered several incentives and pleaded for a moment of his time, Seong Jihan ultimately accepted the proposal.
[You are currently participating as the ‘leader’ in the league competition ‘planet colonization.’ If you do not log back in within 2 hours, humanity will be disqualified.]
In the game within the league competition, upon being summoned to another space, a system message popped up urging him to log back in quickly.
While non-leader players were free to log out, leaders were central to planet colonization and therefore had a 2-hour restriction.
‘I’ll just listen to the story and leave.’
Seong Jihan thought this as he looked around.
A space similar to where the Brahma’s Throne was located, although the most important throne itself was absent.
Then,
Zzzzz…
[You’re here…!]
At the center of the summoned space, a current of red electricity flowed, revealing the figure of the red lion.
Despite its immense size, the leader of the thunder gods appeared riddled with holes.
Seong Jihan gazed at it before speaking.
“Your body is in tatters, Brahma.”
[The Martial God’s disciples pursued me fiercely. Especially Dongbang Sak, he was incredibly powerful…]
“Why is the Martial God’s disciples tribe after you?”
[Probably because of the crimson thunder. The Martial God absorbed all of the Thunder God’s powers except for that one.]
“Haven’t you absorbed the crimson thunder yet?”
[That’s why they are chasing me so madly…]
Seong Jihan tilted his head, finding it peculiar.
He had thought it strange that the Martial God hadn’t absorbed the crimson thunder during their last encounter, and now even after possessing the Brahma’s throne, it still hadn’t been absorbed.
‘Maybe Dongbang sak’s imparted Crimson Divine Art wasn’t mastered either.’
If he hasn’t acquired Crimson Divine Art,
Seong Jihan could speculate that the Martial God hadn’t been able to replicate powers associated with him.
“Well then, what is it you want from me? I only have 2 hours, so be quick.”
[Retrieve the crimson thunder you gave me.]
“You want me to take it back? After you gave me an EX-grade skill for the crimson thunder?”
[Yes… I don’t need it anymore.]
The leader of the thunder gods spoke wearily.
[Survival comes first. I will eventually be caught by the Martial God’s disciples. It’s better not to possess the crimson thunder, which they are targeting.]
“I don’t mind, but doesn’t that mean you’ll perish?”
Originally, to stand against the Martial God, he had accepted the crimson thunder to exist as an independent concept.
But what would all his actions amount to if he now gave up the crimson thunder?
However, Brahma dismissed that question with a shake of his head.
[I’ve managed to escape, for now. My primary objective, at any rate, was successful. As the leader of the thunder gods, I am not bound to the Divine throne until death.]
“Then why don’t you just give up the crimson thunder? Is there really a need to pass it on to me?”
[Since I’ve become one with it, I can’t separate it myself. You, as the source, must take it back.]
“Hm…”
This offer isn’t bad at all.
Seong Jihan thought so.
Thunder God held powerful energy within the crimson thunder
Successfully absorbing it would greatly enhance the power of his Lightning attribute.
But,
‘There might be underlying intentions. I should be prepared.’
Seong Jihan did not completely trust the words of Brahma.
If it were such an advantageous proposal for Seong Jihan, Artemus wouldn’t have bothered with the threats on his spaceship.
And Artemus, who was quietly listening nearby, interjected with a comment about the proposal.
[Taking the Crimson thunder back sounds good… but can the customer handle it? Absorbing the power of the Thunder God is no small feat.]
[You’re talking nonsense. He’s the originator, so he can handle it however he wants.]
[But…]
[Stay out of this, third party.]
As the leader of the Thunder God discharged currents towards Artemus, he fell silent.
[What will you do? Will you take it? If you accept it, when I become the constellation again, you’ll be richly rewarded.]
“How can you become that again if you perish?”
[Even though the Thunder God constellation has vanished for now, it will eventually reappear. The concept of venerating the heavens’ lightning as a divine power won’t disappear. In the meantime, I will exist as a lightning spirit, waiting for the opportunity. If I survive, chances will undoubtedly come…]
Even if the divine throne was taken away and the collective of the Thunder God was annihilated, the concept of the Thunder God didn’t disappear, so it could resurrect again.
Seong Jihan carefully listened before retorting.
“When will that ‘someday’ be?”
[That is…]
“I want something I can receive right now.”
[Aren’t you taking the crimson thunder?]
“Well, I’m also taking on the risk. How can a human like me safely reabsorb divine thunder? There must be compensation for such a risk.”
[Really… this tiresome being! Why so many demands?! Even after seeing my current state, you want to take more from me!]
“I’m not in a leisure situation either.”
In order to counter the Martial God, Seong Jihan had to become stronger by any means necessary.
Even if dealing with a fleeing leader of the Thunder God, he was not so free as to be charitable.
[Gah… I’ll give 1 trillion.]
“1 trillion GP?”
[Yes…! Be satisfied with this amount. I can’t give more than this. I need to recover after passing the Crimson Thunder!]
“Hmm. Anything else besides GP? Like skills or items?”
[None. There’s none!]
Even if he received GP, Seong Jihan didn’t have much use for it.
‘It’s all just piling up money.’
Seong Jihan smacked his lips and nodded.
“Fine. I’ll take the GP, and then retrieve the crimson thunder.”
[Hah. Much appreciated.]
Having thriftily extracted even the GP,
“Now, I’ll take it back.”
He absorbed the crimson thunder from Brahma.
With a 2-hour limitation, he initially wondered if he had to go back and forth,
Zzzzz…
The body of the red lion, full of holes, shrank rapidly,
and the crimson thunder was absorbed by Seong Jihan in an instant.
[The rare stat ‘Thunder Seal’ has been replaced with the unique stat ‘Crimson Thunder’.]
[The value of the Crimson Thunder stat has reached 200, reaching the player’s limit.]
[The remaining Crimson Thunder will remain in the body and will be reabsorbed when the stat limit increases.]
‘Crimson Thunder is separated into stats… and 200 is the limit?’
The Crimson Thunder, previously almost bound to the void, was now branded on Seong Jihan’s hand after taking it back from Brahma, replacing the ‘Thunder Seal’ stat.
And,
Ssshh…
The formidable presence of the red lion deflated like a balloon,
shrinking to a size similar to Seong Jihan.
[…It’s done. Now I shall retreat again.]
Flash!
With those final words, the leader of the thunder gods vanished.
Simultaneously, a message appeared.
[The world will close in 1 minute. Prepare to logout.]
The transfer of the crimson thunder from the Thunder God was neatly concluded within two hours.
Looking at the results, it was a transaction filled only with gains for Seong Jihan.
Apart from receiving money and crimson thunder from the Thunder God,
[Hey, um, After receiving 1 trillion GP… could you possibly invest in our forge? The Thunder God wrecked it even more……]
“Then, send over some more new bio-robots. Offer them at a reasonable price.”
[Of course! I’ll go pack them right away!]
“I’ll also give you the Dragon Heart later.”
[Definitely!]
Since Seong Jihan was able to obtain more resource-gathering robots from Artemus, he was quite satisfied. However, just before logging out…
“Hmm…”
Seong Jihan’s face grew cold as he examined the crimson thnder flowing within him.
Although the part of the current absorbed into the stats was under his control,
‘The movement is subtle.’
It was irritatingly tickling his senses.
* * *
= The planet colonization has already reached its 13th day!
= Ah, it’s coming to an end now. Truly regrettable! We’ve gained a lot during this time, haven’t we?
= Indeed. When Seong Jihan restocked the bio-robots, the entire Earth cheered!
As the planet colonization was nearing its end, humanity was in a celebratory mood.
-Already ending? That’s too bad…
-Seriously, these few days of benefits feel more significant than years of training.
-Still, the vitality increase hasn’t been that much lately. It seems like there’s been more focus on player abilities, right?
-Yeah, these past few days, there’s been a huge increase in gift appearance rates.
Life vitality resources haven’t been appearing as much after a certain point, but instead, resources directly related to BattleNet activities, like increased gift appearance rates, GP exchange rate boosts, and experience point boosts, were becoming more prevalent.
While regular folks lamented the scarcity of these resources,
-In comparison with other races, humanity’s level is too low.
-It’s not good to keep relying on Seong Jihan alone.
-Eventually, if more people get gifts, won’t the players’ levels go up? This should be welcomed.
Those with even a slight interest in BattleNet welcomed them as a means to enhance humanity’s overall power.
Meanwhile, at humanity’s base camp,
“Ugh… I want to rest. I want to sleep, I want to bathe.”
Yoon Seah lamented with utter exhaustion.
Day 13 of planet colonization.
Yoon Seah had not logged out once, catching little sleep within the game, and continuously hunting indigenous species.
“Your face looks clean, though?”
“Sophia used a cleansing magic spell on me… Her divine power flashes and cleans the body. I appreciate it, but I wish for a bath to soak in, not just magic.”
“Why not just log out for a while and take a break?”
“I can’t. I need to stay within the top 50.”
“Why?”
“The BattleNet Association will award hefty prizes to players in the top 50, sponsored by major guilds.”
“Why does a Sword Palace landlord care about prize money?”
“It’s not just about money; it’s about honor! And they said they’ll give items too!”
To employ the bio-robots, Dwarves had to capture indigenous creatures, a task that required human players to eliminate them. To motivate human players participating in planet colonization, Earth leaders offered substantial prizes and SS-grade items along with the prize money, creating a fierce competition.
“So, what rank are you in?”
“Me? 25th. Haha… I’m going to push into the top 10. But what about the Elves? They’ve been invisible since the 10th day.”
“That’s right, They’ve completely disappeared.”
“They’re still earning points every day, though. They might be at sea.”
Elf remnants vanished after day 10.
But they weren’t annihilated, still earning planet points daily in the ranking competition.
Although their numbers paled compared to humanity, who controlled the colonization game,
Elves earned not insignificant Points.
“Even after searching near the coast, I found nothing.”
“Where could they have gone? Aren’t they planning something big on the last day?”
“I wonder…”
As Seong Jihan conversed with Yoon Seah, a message arrived from a player scattered across the area for hunting…
-S-Seong Jihan! Here, on the east coast… something’s not right. The seawater is shooting up into the sky!
“It’s not the last day, but the day before that they’re causing trouble.”
Seong Jihan rose from his seat.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
“I’ll go check it out.”
“What… what’s happening?”
Zzzzzzz!
As Seong Jihan summoned all the Crimson Thunder, now fully under his control with a stat of 200, there was still a lingering buffer in his body.
Even after several days, the power remained beyond his complete control.
Given the power reliant on his soul, it was indeed daunting.
‘The Thunder God wouldn’t have just given it back for no reason. Still…there’s a place to utilize it all.’
With a meaningful smile, he headed eastward.
***
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