[Seong Jihan, Mission Failure!]
[Is extinction inevitable for humanity? A rise in voices urging for the end of the world.]
[Humanity’s bleak future. After the broadcast, skeptics of BattleNet gain traction.]
[Among the final 10 countries, why was Japan included instead of Korea? An unacceptable list of surviving states.]
[Are Barren and Jack the biggest victims of this broadcast? Officials plead for the public to remember that the game is just a game.]
The special mission broadcasted globally starring Seong Jihan.
His BattleTube broadcast, which plummeted the ratings of the 25th-day promotion battles to an all-time low, sparked massive discussion across all communities.
-Was this not almost the first time we’ve seen Seong Jihan fail a mission?
-To be honest, it feels unfair, he even subdued the Abyss’s owner but still, humanity goes extinct, and he’s denied promotion lol
-But why does humanity face extinction after he subdued the Abyss’s owner? ㅡㅡ;
-So, shouldn’t we be boycotting BattleNet?
-As if you can just opt out of BattleNet because you want to haha
For Seong Jihan, having done all he could, the mission was nevertheless deemed a failure, with humanity succumbing to extinction.
Viewers felt the mission’s unfairness while also experiencing an unprecedented anxiety about humanity’s future.
-But it’s not really going to happen like that, right……?
-Come on lol, makes no sense for Japan to remain among the top 10 nations over our country. We’re the champs.
-But aside from our country, the last 10 were all according to the BattleNet rankings…….
-Supposedly Seong Jihan was 7th in the rankings. If he wasn’t as strong as he is now, would that future have transpired?
-It’s just a mission, no need to get too absorbed lol. Feel so sorry for Jack, he’s being carpet bombed by the Americans lol
-Jack but isn’t his girlfriend Chinese though…….
-Apparently, they broke up after this broadcast lol lol
As people argued between “it’s just a game” vs. “we need to be cautious” following the apocalyptic vision.
After logging out from the special mission, Seong Jihan was reviewing system messages.
[Your Level increases by 30.]
[Your BattleTube channel has advanced to the ‘Barely escaping obscurity’ rating.]
[You gain 50,000 Constellation Fame.]
‘Although there was no reward from the mission, a substantial amount of Fame was earned.’
The special mission ended in failure.
Yet, it was not without gains.
Having shattered the head of the stationary Abyss’s owner, his level increased by 30.
Thanks to the Tree Spirits’ debut, a surge of World Tree Elves as viewers elevated the channel’s rating, earning a considerable amount of Constellation Fame.
50,000 Fame was a significant amount to level up the Constellation Store.
Looking at it, the rewards weren’t too shabby for a failure, but Seong Jihan’s expression remained grim.
‘…To think I existed within the ‘Taiji’s Lost Soul.’
The overwhelmingly powerful owner of the Abyss, ‘Taiji’s Lost Soul.’
He never anticipated finding fragments of himself within it.
‘But why am I there in such large numbers?’
Many Seong Jihans had challenged the Taiji Swordsmanship, among which were ones who were without stats like Red and Eternity but had far more Void and Martial Soul.
Against the current Seong Jihan, despite having two fewer stats, those versions could have won.
‘This should be my first regression back in time.’
While contemplating about himself within the ‘Taiji’s Lost Soul,’ a knock came.
“Uncle! Mom has something to tell you!”
Yoon Seah knocked on the door outside.
“Sister?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m in front of Uncle’s room.”
As Yoon Seah entered and said,
Swoosh…
In front of her, a purplish energy wavered, revealing a miniaturized Seong Jiah in the form of a statue, tied up in several chains.
Though the chains binding her were fewer than before.
“The chains seem to have reduced?”
[The owner of the Abyss has loosened some of the chains binding me.]
Remembering his actions during the mission, Seong Jihan thought.
[Choosing the highest difficulty level for a mission would release three of the witch’s chains.]
Although he didn’t clear the mission, it must’ve loosened a bit because he landed an effective strike on the Abyss’s owner.
[He said it’s a reward for increasing ‘his own’ control, thanks to you.]
“The owner of the Abyss?”
[Yes. Do you understand what that means?]
“Well.”
He did, of course.
Within the ‘Taiji’s Lost Soul,’ Seong Jihan’s influence had strengthened.
‘Did undertaking this mission also strengthen the Seong Jihans within the soul…?’
It’s hard to tell whether this is good or bad.
Seong Jihan forced a smile and said.
“If he wanted to give a reward, he should have released you.”
[No. He has no intention of letting me go. Instead, he proposed something else. To help create a refuge.]
“A refuge?”
[Didn’t I tell you about it before?]
Zziiing.
A blue hologram floated in front of Seong Jiah.
A spherical, circular object.
Remembering the refuge, Seong Jihan recalled that overly strong Void abilities meant one couldn’t board it.
Meanwhile,
Yoon Seah looked amazed,
“Mom. What’s this?”
[It’s a means for you and Jihan to escape Earth. Even if humanity perishes, the two of you must survive.]
“Eh, just me and Uncle? What about everyone else?”
[Anyone else… Who else would you bring?]
“Dad……”
[He can’t come.]
“Ah, maybe Uncle’s girlfriend then.”
[Seong Jihan has a girlfriend? Really? Who is she?]
“There isn’t, there isn’t.”
Seeing Seong Jiah interested in whether he had a girlfriend or not, he quickly shut it down.
Her expression turned to one of disappointment.
[Still none? Maybe it’s time you started seeing someone. You’re 28 now.]
“Mom, Uncle said he’s dated a lot of girls?”
[Dated a lot, my foot.]
“He seemed really laid-back when he told me.”
[He was just showing off in front of his niece.]
“Really?”
Yoon Seah grinned at Seong Jihan, who frowned in response.
“Enough. I’ll think about it after we escape from BattleNet. Now’s not the time.”
[That’s just an excuse. During the Korean War, people still had kids.]
“Sister… When was the last Korean War?”
[The owner of the Abyss said he would expand the refuge for us. That way, after you two enter, there might be room for a few more people. So, both of you should find partners before the extinction.]
“…What is this, Noah’s Ark?”
Yoon Seah retorted with a skeptical expression and continued.
“Mom… Isn’t it too definitive to say humanity will go extinct?”
[You’ve seen the future in the special mission.]
“That’s just a mission….”
[No, think of it as reality.]
Seong Jiah sternly spoke to Yoon Seah, who hoped it wasn’t true.
Then, shifting the topic to Seong Jihan,
[I’m planning to support Seah more from now on.]
“Oh? Weren’t you cautious because of the Void?”
[I was. But now that some of the chains are loosened, I can control the power of the Void along with you. Plus, the condition set by the owner of the Abyss was exactly this. To ensure you’re well-protected.]
Well-protected.
Humanity’s extinction seemed inevitable.
If the family was going to evacuate anyway, he aimed to make them as strong as possible…
That’s what the owner of the Abyss must be thinking.
“That’s harsh… I’m among the top archers in humanity.”
[Think according to the extraterrestrial standard. Being the top of humanity doesn’t mean much.]
“Yeah, that’s true…”
Even being top among humanity’s players was nothing more than a minor achievement.
Yoon Seah agreed with Seong Jiah swiftly.
[Well then, Jihan. Please take care of Seah. And just in case… don’t challenge the owner of the Abyss for my sake.]
“Do you know who that guy really is?”
[The owner of the Abyss? Isn’t he the giant with red eyes?]
“…Right.”
Perhaps he hadn’t revealed his identity to her.
He nodded at Seong Jiah’s words.
“I don’t plan to challenge him right away anyway. I need to grow stronger first.”
[…Sigh. Alright, I understand. Just don’t overdo it.]
With that, Seong Jiah disappeared.
Seong Jihan, having listened to her words, wore a complicated expression.
‘…So, thanks to him, I have some insurance now?’
The original goal of Seong Jihan was to save his family and escape humanity from BattleNet to restore the original world.
However, if things went awry, he wanted to somehow save at least his family.
And within the ‘Taiji’s Lost Soul,’ the ‘Seong Jihan’ whose influence had expanded was already preparing to evacuate his family to outer space, presuming the chance of humanity’s escape from BattleNet was zero.
If the situation was unbeatable, was this the realistic approach?
Nonetheless,
‘…The powers he didn’t possess. Red and Eternity need more research.’
Rather than considering defeat in advance, Seong Jihan decided to focus on the possibilities unique to him.
“Seah, I’ll head out for some training.”
“Okay, Uncle. But just a few days until the league match.”
“Is that so? Who’s the opponent?”
“It’s Mecan. That mechanical race from last time.”
The mechanical race, Mecan.
In the previous life, they were a faction that consistently maintained a mid-tier ranking.
It was a formidable opponent to leave to just humanity.
‘I should see some benefits from the VIP membership this time around.’
Seong Jihan recalled the options of his VIP membership.
-Possessing a VIP membership gives a 50 percent chance to be omitted from the opponent team’s ban list.
Last time, he hadn’t activated the ban avoidance effect of the membership he had.
This time, with a 50% chance, it should be different.
Against the owner of the Abyss, against Dongbang Sak,
Confronting overwhelmingly strong foes had made even the prospect of meeting a Bronze League race a breath of fresh air.
‘Time to take a break for once.’
Thinking of the Mecan race, a smile formed on Seong Jihan’s lips.
* * *
August 1st.
As the month changed, humanity’s Space League match commenced.
=What a way to welcome the first day of August with a Space League match!
=Today humanity faces the ‘Mecan’ race!
=Mecan… Currently ranked 14th in the league, positioned in the lower-middle tier.
=We, humanity, have previously encountered this race.
=Yes, that’s right. The tournament where Seong Jihan participated, the Diamond promotion match… the ‘League Competition,’ wasn’t it?
During the League Competition, humanity played against races like the World Tree Elves, Mecan, and Orc.
Channel 0 was replaying scenes from those matches.
The bipedal robot race, Mecan.
They hadn’t impressed humanity much.
-That’s the robot race from back then. I remember them not being much of a threat…
-Yeah, they didn’t just bombard us with heavy weaponry or anything.
-Lol, they were doing melee combat with cutting-edge technology hahaha
Mecan, who engaged in close combat with steel bodies without using any significant weapons.
Some robots used magic, surprising robotics experts with what seemed like a hybrid anomaly.
-Seong Jihan just needs to avoid the ban, and it’s a guaranteed win, right?
-VIP membership option was a 50% chance to avoid ban, right? It’s totally overpowered lol
-Got to milk the membership’s benefits before it expires.
-Please win this time so we won’t see humanity’s extinction scenario, please.
-Honestly… I want to live longer ㅠㅠ
Following the humanity extinction scenario, people became even more sensitive to wins and losses.
Viewers anxiously watched whether Seong Jihan could avoid being banned.
And during the entrance of both teams into the first game,
[Welcome, humanity’s coach.]
Across the table in the coach’s office,
A steel bipedal robot of a similar size to a human bowed in greeting.
“Indeed. A pleasure to meet you as well…”
[The World Tree Alliance told us. Humanity’s number 1 is extremely powerful.]
The World Tree Alliance… Did they even contact other races to ban the number 1?
“Isn’t the number 1 usually strong in any race?”
Though Coach Davis casually shrugged his shoulders, the robotic coach was decisive,
[Therefore, we ban.]
Without hesitation, the robotic coach banned the number 1 player.
Banning the number 1 player seemed to become a basic strategy against humanity.
However,
[Player number 1 is ommitted from the ban list.]
[‘Oliver’ has been banned.]
“Oh …”
Coach Davis received an unexpected message.
The VIP membership’s ban avoidance feature, activated immediately in the first game.
‘Off to a good start.’
Coach Davis smirked.
