***
***
“Kill Gilgamesh?”
“Yes.”
Seong Jihan furrowed his brow.
Gilgamesh, the fifth disciple of the Martial god and the Constellation known as ‘The King of Humans’.
Outwardly, he had been amiable towards Seong Jihan.
He had warned about Longinus and even taught him Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit and Enkidu.
Of course, his true intentions were unknowable, but Seong Jihan couldn’t oppose him based solely on the Arena owner’s words.
Seong Jihan slowly opened his mouth.
“…So as long as Gilgamesh lives, even if I clear BattleNet, invitations will keep coming?”
“That’s correct.”
Zzzing…
The face of the Arena owner, now formed of the universe, transformed again.
This time, the face revealed was…
[Inviting Earthlings to BattleNet.]
It was an invitation from the year 2010, the one humanity received from BattleNet.
“Humanity is pathetically weak. Sending them a BattleNet invitation means extinction for the race. We are cautious because of this. Humanity as a species must far exceed our set threshold before an invitation is sent.”
“And you’re saying Gilgamesh crossed that line? But he’s from a long time ago. Shouldn’t the invitation have been sent sooner?”
“He had not been detected until now. Hiding from the eyes of the Void, he lay in concealment. Now that his existence and role as a traitor are confirmed, the invitations will continue.”
“If you want to catch the traitor that badly, why not go to where Gilgamesh is instead of attacking Earth?”
“Where Gilgamesh is…”
The face of the Arena’s owner then transformed into that place.
Looking at that barren planet where numerous Constellation weapons floated.
Seong Jihan realized that the Arena owner was also aware of that place.
“We cannot intervene there. ‘The Wandering Martial God’, the owner of that place, has an agreement with a higher being – one which even we do not know.”
“So you’re targeting Earth?”
“Yes. Gilgamesh’s foundation is ultimately humanity of Earth. If humanity is eradicated, he will lose his base and weaken.”
“…How do you know all this?”
Rustle!
In response to Seong Jihan’s question, purple chains emerged behind the Arena’s owner.
They didn’t carry the life force like the chains of Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit, but the chains exuded a far more potent power of the Void.
“‘The Void’s Binding Chains’. I gave this ability to Gilgamesh. It’s the original, altered for him. With such a connection, I am somewhat aware of him.”
“So you’re from the Void’s Faction.”
“That’s right. I am quite high-ranking, managing the Arena, after all.”
The Arena owner introduced himself as a high-ranking official of the Void.
Seong Jihan thought of his sister, Seong Jiah.
“Then, do you know how the ‘Witch of the Void’ can return to her original state?”
“The Witch of the Void?”
Taken aback by the sudden shift from Gilgamesh to the Witch of the Void, the Arena owner, after a moment’s silence, changed his face again.
It was the petrified form of Seong Jiah.
“The Witch of Earth… Quite a talent. With her caliber, she would be held in high regard even in the Void.”
Swoosh!
The Arena owner extended his hand, and a purple key materialized out of the air.
“If you take down Gilgamesh for us, I will give you this key with my authority.”
“This key?”
“Yes. Unlock the witch’s lock, and she’ll return to her original state.”
‘An unexpected lead to free my sister.’
Seong Jihan stared quietly at the key.
Freedom for humanity and his sister’s return.
The rewards for dealing with Gilgamesh were substantial.
However,
‘The question is, can I trust his words?’
The words of entities from the Space League should always be sifted with caution.
Especially the Arena’s owner, whose face was like a space itself, seemed too suspicious to fully trust.
Seong Jihan thus maintained a reserved stance.
“I am merely a player ascending from Diamond to Master League. It’s too soon to confront him.”
“Heh. Of course I know that, I’m not asking you to kill him immediately. Even with your abilities, you wouldn’t be able to.”
Step! Step!
The Arena’s owner nodded and stepped back.
“Just remember it if you desire to free humanity from BattleNet and wish to restore the Witch of the Void to her original state.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Not blindly trusting. That’s a good attitude.”
Ssshhh…
The owner’s figure gradually blended into the darkness.
“And while I will overlook this… Be cautious about revealing the Red administrator’s abilities. If you attract the attention of Great Constellations, you might face great distress.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“No problem at all. I hope you remain a ‘variable’ for a long time to come.”
With those final words, the Arena’s owner vanished.
[The promotion battle is ending.]
[Player Seong Jihan is being promoted to Master League.]
[Logging out.]
* * *
[First Master, Seong Jihan.]
[The result of training is fire ability? Seong Jihan’s abilities were different from before.]
[Seong Jihan’s promotion match, where more than half of the game footage was not visible.]
[Why isn’t there any translation? Viewers of Battletube are raging with complaints.]
News everywhere covered Seong Jihan’s ascent to Master League following his solo promotion battle.
An incredible spotlight, almost unbelievable for one player.
Yet when considering the immense role Seong Jihan plays in humanity’s BattleNet forces, the attention was justified.
-Why’s the screen keep going blank?
-Every time some transcendental beings show up, the broadcast gets cut.
-Is it Seong Jihan pausing it?
-I don’t think so. It must be his opponents who are blocking the videos.
-Even the conversation with that fireball wasn’t translated.
-Lol been so used to automatic translations, that alien language was something else.
“This promotion match was quite intense.”
Even Yoon Seah, who meticulously reads Seong Jihan’s news, nodded while reading the replies.
“What’s up?”
“Only the parts where Uncle sweeps away the mobs were visible. Towards the end, there’s hardly any footage available. Plus all that fireball spoke wasn’t translated.”
“At first I couldn’t hear what it was saying either.”
The language of the Fire God was only audible to Seong Jihan after absorbing its power.
Seong Jihan realized viewers had continued to hear its untranslated language.
He quickly played back the BattleTube footage.
The moment the remnants of the Fire God revealed their true form, the video was entirely deleted.
And atop the dark screen were words etched secretly in purple.
[Video deleted by the owner of the Arena.]
Seong Jihan asked Yoon Seah beside him.
“Do you see those letters?”
“Huh? Letters on a black screen?”
“It’s concealed by the power of the Void, but take a closer look.”
“With the power of the Void? Oh. Wait a sec. Inventory.”
Yoon Seah took out her bow, drawing upon the energy of the Void she possessed.
The energy felt certainly stronger than before.
‘She’s gotten quite strong.’
As Seong Jihan noticed his niece’s growth, Yoon Seah summoned all her strength.
“Ah!”
She finally seemed to see the letters and was startled.
“It says ‘Video deleted by the owner of the Arena’? Wow, was this hidden text here all along?”
“Yeah. Without Void powers, you wouldn’t be able to see it.”
“That’s amazing… Huh?”
As Yoon Seah looked curiously at the letters on the black screen, her eyes suddenly widened.
“Mom’s asking if Uncle met with the owner of the Arena?”
“I did. He selected me as the Rookie of the Space Arena.”
“Oh… ‘The owner of the Arena. He is an absolute being who handles an axis of the Void cycle. I hope you didn’t offend him?’ she asks?”
The Arena owner – an absolute entity with that much weight in the Void?
Seong Jihan considered telling Seong Jiah about her potential liberation but thought,
‘It’s still too early.’
If he tells her now, it’s clear she’ll just object saying there’s no need.
And,
‘More facts about Gilgamesh need to be uncovered first. Can’t reveal hostility without confirming he’s an enemy.’
First impressions of the Arena owner cannot be fully trusted.
In a situation where allies and enemies are indistinguishable, one must wait and watch.
So, he brought up something else instead of discussing Gilgamesh.
“Why would I upset the owner of the Arena? He simply selected me as a rookie for the Space Arena?”
“Rookie? What’s good about being a rookie…? Ah. Mom says participating in the Arena is cheaper as a rookie.”
Arena participation discounts.
Is that all?
‘For an Epic Quest reward, that’s pretty lackluster.’
The reward is a 100-day reduction in being a Constellation Candidate and selection as the Rookie of the Space Arena.
No tangible increase in power; rather, the true reward seemed to come from absorbing the Fire God and boosting the Red stat.
Still, Seong Jihan had believed there would be at least some peripheral benefits to the Epic Quest reward.
But just a participation discount?
“That’s a bit stingy, isn’t it?”
“Mom’s asking how much is the Space Arena fee?”
Seong Jihan checked the system window.
There, a new Space Arena item had appeared.
Upon opening the Space Arena item,
[Do you wish to participate in the Space Arena?]
[You are the Rookie of the Space Arena. You’ll receive rookie benefits.]
[Space Arena Rookie Benefits.]
– A free use ticket granted every 100 days, exclusively for players.
– A constant 30% participation fee discount.
– One-time exemption from the defeat penalty, but the player will lose the rookie status if defeated.
These details emerged in the message, revealing the rookie benefits.
No stat or growth bonuses, simply benefits related to Arena participation.
‘If they’re exclusively for players, I can’t sell them.’
Seong Jihan initially questioned if these conditions were truly favorable, but then noticed.
‘The participation fee is…100 billion GP?’
Stunned by the cost, equal to the price of the Succubus Queen’s Palace of Pleasure entrance ticket.
Even with a 30% discount, it’s 70 billion GP per game.
Why is it so expensive?
“…What’s the benefit of participating in the Arena?”
“It offers rapid growth. In some cases, you get special abilities. However, there’s a high chance of tough adversaries, so be cautious”
Tough adversaries.
Seong Jihan recalled the recent match.
While each opponent was significant in their own worlds, They were simply consumed by Seong Jihan’s fire, insignificant foes.
‘At least the remnants of the Fire God put up some resistance.’
But even those were turned into abilities when it tried to consume Seong Jihan.
Either way, the Arena’s opponents were just average game mobs to him.
‘The opponents aren’t a burden, but the fee is.’
Seong Jihan, once possessing formidable wealth from pillaging the Thunder God’s GP,
Didn’t have as much GP remaining after clearing out the Battle Market’s fire-attribute items to raise his Dragon Flame stat.
“I’ll have to check out the Arena when the free pass arrives.”
“How much is the fee?”
“100 billion GP.”
“…100 Billion GP?”
“Yeah. After the discount, it’s 70 billion.”
“Let’s just go with the free pass, Uncle.”
Reeling from the exorbitant fee, Yoon Seah quickly reached a conclusion.
Seong Jihan nodded, closed the Space Arena window, and examined the newly added item below in the system.
[BattleNet Community]
Community – a function that had been locked since humanity belonged to the Bronze League.
Now partially unlocked after clearing the 5th round of the Space Arena, Seong Jihan asked Yoon Seah.
“Do you have a community function in your system?”
“What’s that?”
“Open your system window.”
“I don’t have it.”
Was the community function exclusive to him after clearing the Arena?
‘Might as well check it out.’
Seong Jihan pressed on the BattleNet Community.
***
***
