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***
‘It’s a pity.’
Seong Jihan looked up at the pitch-black sky and smacked his lips.
The game had stopped, saying the map was collapsing.
However, in his eyes, he could still see the sapling of the World Tree that hadn’t completely disappeared yet.
‘Is it giving up on maintaining the map because it seems like it’s going to break…?’
The darkness that exploded out from the Shadow Sword had engulfed the entire map.
The shadow energy coming from the Eclipse didn’t disappear over time, rather it became increasingly more violent.
The sapling of the World Tree, which had been resisting, seemed to realize that it too would disappear if it kept holding on, so
It decided to collapse the map itself.
The heavenly Elysia, a paradise floating in the air like an island.
It was possible because the driving force behind maintaining this paradise was the World Tree sapling.
[…So this is the Shadow Divine Blade…]
“Yes.”
[Master’s power… Was the power of shadow energy that flowed endlessly from the master’s hands always this strong? Even I, a Shadow Elf, was concerned about losing my sense of self.]
“No, it would not have been possible with only my power. Ariel, don’t you understand now that you’ve experienced it with your own body?”
[What?]
“The interaction with the vitality.”
The World Tree sapling’s vitality had complex properties that even Seong Jihan, who had no flaws, couldn’t fully comprehend.
Among them, the most difficult to understand was the harmony with the shadow energy.
When two forces that would normally push each other apart exceeded a certain threshold, they amplified synergistically beyond comprehension.
The Shadow Divine Blade that had just engulfed the world was also like that.
It was possible because, using the vitality spewed out by the sapling of the World Tree as fuel, the shadow power spewed out endlessly.
[I experienced it with my own body but still can’t understand it at all. The World Tree is the enemy of us Shadow Elves. And the power it wields completely clashes with ours…]
“I still don’t know the reason why either but… I got the feeling. When the two powers combine, they’ll amplify endlessly.”
[…You must have strong instincts to even consider that. Truly Remarkable.]
“Who knows? Was it because of the enlightenment effect of the ‘Wandering Warrior’ class?”
The ‘Wandering Warrior’ class, Increases the chances of inspiration/enlightenment during martial arts research.
Despite not hesitating to infuse Eclipse to the point where it exploded, spewing vitality at first.
It was because of his class he even thought of doing such an absurd thing.
.
[…Master. Can I report this fact to the Shadow Queen?]
Seong Jihan nodded at Ariel’s question.
‘The enemy’s enemy is a friend.’
The World Tree Alliance that had trampled on humanity.
If he could keep them under control, he could reveal information about the Shadow Divine Blade to the Shadow Queen from afar.
“But it won’t come free. Claim proper compensation from the Queen.”
[I understand. Now that the tutorial has ended, the Queen will also begin to show more interest.]
“Yeah.”
Seong Jihan ended his conversation with Ariel like that.
[The 5th match has ended.]
[‘Humanity’ side wins.]
[Seong Jihan is selected as MVP for the 5th match.]
[You have achieved the special achievement ‘Space League Match MVP’.]
[You have gained 1,000,000 achievement points.]
[Seong Jihan is selected as the MVP for the opening match series.]
[You have achieved the special achievement ‘Space League Series MVP’.]
[You have gained 2,000,000 achievement points.]
[You have achieved the special achievement ‘Map Collapse’.]
[You have gained 3,000,000 achievement points.]
The system messages appeared in the darkness.
6 million achievement points earned in just one game.
He was already given 2 million points as the series MVP.
‘Obviously, it had to be me.’
The 5th game the elves had worked the hardest on.
He had completely overturned it, so who else could they give MVP to?
Seong Jihan had a cold smile on his lips.
‘Now it’s time for the execution.’
He recalled the opening match of the previous life.
Humanity without Seong Jihan.
The Platinum Support summoned in the 5th game was a promising young female Italian Supporter.
She came to Heavenly Elysia trembling with fear and got swept away by the elven Supporter trained as a warrior.
– 99 left.
It didn’t end with just dying once.
She continued resurrecting, dying, and repeating.
Later, the opposing elf found the human supporter too boring to deal with.
– How can someone who participated in BattleNet be this weak? I should dissect her and take a look.
Right in front of all humanity,
He committed brutal human experimentation on his opponent.
Although quite a lot of brutal scenes occurred in BattleNet,
Using a person like this to play with had never happened before.
Many people who watched the broadcast that day suffered trauma.
The female supporter who died 100 times that day suffered tremendous mental shock and later retired from the BattleNet industry.
There were even stories that she eventually committed suicide.
‘That’s not all. Many top rankers died here too.’
Including America’s #1, Barren.
Countless players were executed after the game ended from the lottery drawing.
Humanity, already struggling in the harsh Space League games,
Failed to escape relegation with reduced troop capacity.
The only reason they didn’t get relegated from the league was because they were rookies.
Every time the season ended, they barely avoided demotion while taking tremendous penalties,
Until the final 10 countries remained and
They lost to the Orcs in the relegation match and perished.
‘I won’t let that happen this time.’
And to do that, he had to be as ruthless as necessary.
Seong Jihan made that resolution as he logged out.
* * *
“……”
The Elven Coach watched the map collapse with a blank expression.
Heavenly Elysia.
This map was an elf-only map made by the ‘Higher Beings’ of the World Tree Alliance.
Due to the absurdly biased map settings, if they didn’t make it to the 5th game
And have 4 select cards, it would never get randomly picked.
‘Even the top-tier races completely collapsed there, yet…’
So far, no race had emerged that had escaped Elysia’s trap.
The enhancement of elemental powers given by the sapling of the World Tree combined with the class limitation of Platinum Supporters was just that fraudulent.
To think such ridiculous things could happen at the hands of inferior races…!
‘And the mother’s power was definitely handled there…’
The World Tree’s vitality.
That was a power only the chosen ones could wield.
Yet to think someone from such an inferior race would use it…!
The thoroughly trained Elf Supporter called him ‘mother’.
It meant the power was utilized perfectly.
Just what kind of existence was that human?!
“The penalty should be interesting.”
At that moment, across the coaches’ tables.
Coach Davis smiled brightly as he chuckled.
Nearly having put 20% of his players on the chopping block as the worst coach,
Seong Jihan completely reversed the situation, making him feel like he was floating on air.
Staring at the exhilarated coach with sunken eyes, the Elven Coach slowly opened her mouth.
“Let’s negotiate.”
“What negotiation? You have to take responsibility for the penalty you set. Go obediently to your execution.”
Coach Davis had no intention of listening to the words of the elf.
Now that he realized just how much of a monster their opponents were through this game,
He couldn’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to slash the enemy’s forces by 20 percent.
However,
“I’ll pay 1,000 trillion GP.”
“What… 1,000 trillion?!”
Coach Davis was struck speechless by the condition presented by the Elven Overseer.
-…1,000 trillion GP?
-Wasn’t $1 equal to 1 GP? That’s a quadrillion dollars?
-It’s $2 now, It even went up to $2.5 when it looked like we were gonna lose.
-If that much gets supplied at once, wouldn’t it make the exchange rate even cheaper than before?
-Yeah, that’s why it’s so volatile right now
“On top of that, we’ll stabilize the exchange rate of GP.”
-Whoa, they’ll adjust the exchange rate too? Does that mean it’ll be like the tutorial again?
-They must reaaaaally not wanna die.
-Freaking b*stards. Why propose a penalty if you’re gonna be like this ??
-GP became even more useful when entering the main game of BattleNet.
If they could stabilize the volatile exchange rate while receiving compensation from them, it was quite an appealing offer that tickled their fancy.
“Ummm…”
“GP is a necessary resource when taking part in the Space League. Stabalizing it would be more valuable than executing our players, whom you will not see very often this season.”
The Elven Coach spoke in a calm, gentle voice to the coach.
=Coach Davis… is hesitating!
=Personally, I would choose the Penalty, just to stick it to these Annoying elves. But the reward is also very good!
=In the Space League games, a race competes with another twice per season. Even if you execute them, you’ll only meet those guys one more time this season.
=For self-interest, it may be better to receive the GP…
=Ah, Coach. Please request a timeout to confer with the Association.
=Well done. It’s not something you can decide alone!
With a heart wanting to return what was designed against them until the 5th game,
The reward the elves presented was too big for humanity to refuse outright.
“This is…”
“Wouldn’t it be better to accept the offer?”
“Even if we execute them, how many more times will we meet that opponent?”
“With GP being extremely volatile right now, wouldn’t getting a stable supply be better?”
The BattleNet Association officials also seemed tempted by the elf’s offer and were about to let it slide, when
Seong Jihan, who had finished the game match and logged out, walked towards Coach Davis.
“Coach. Do you remember what I said?”
“…I remember. You insisted the execution be enforced no matter what.”
“Yes. But you seem to be hesitating now.”
“I wanted that too. But the conditions they presented are… too good.”
Seong Jihan scoffed.
“But I clearly said ‘no matter what conditions come’ before the game started.”
“That’s… true, but I’m just a messenger for the Association. I can’t decide alone.”
“Is that so?”
So this is why the reaction is different when going in and coming out.
Seong Jihan briefly glanced around at the BattleNet Association officials nearby.
“We want to execute them too, but…”
“The compensation reward is exceptionally large. The Association is obligated to stabilize the GP exchange rate…”
“Player Seong Jihan’s contribution will be rewarded separately by the Association.”
As if pierced by his gaze,
The Association officials who were scrambling to speak up
“Ha.”
He smiled coldly and turned his back.
“I understand.”
That one line marked his departure without any lingering affection.
Coach Davis felt apologetic seeing that but,
‘I want to kill them too, but I have no choice. This is for the good of humanity…!’
The Coach couldn’t go against the BattleNet Assosiation’s decision alone.
Coach Davis returned and spoke to the Elf Coach instead.
“I’ll accept the conditions if it’s 2,000 trillion GP.”
“…Alright.”
Even though the amount was increased twofold, the Elf Coach readily agreed without any hesitation or bargaining.
It seemed crucial for them to save themselves from the penalty.
“Well, then, I’ll change the penalty.”
Before the Elf Coach could finish speaking, a system message appeared in front of Coach Davis.
[Would you like to change the penalty?]
[The penalty previously set for the ‘human’ side would be canceled.]
[The World Tree Elves will compensate humanity with 2,000 trillion GP and plant a golden tree on Earth.]
“A golden tree…”
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s a tree necessary for stabalizing the GP value.”
“On what basis is the GP market value determined?”
“That’s a bit complicated to explain… It’s best to inquire with the system, given that you’re dealing with enemies, right?”
The Elf Coach spoke to the director with a gentle voice and a smile.
Coach Davis felt uneasy, but decided to follow the Assosiation’s decision…
‘Huh?’
He suddenly found himself unable to move his fingers when he tried to press ‘Yes’ to change the penalty.
‘Wh-What’s wrong with my body?’
As if paralyzed,
What the hell was going on at such a crucial moment?!
Then.
Swoosh…
His hand which was headed towards ‘Yes’, slowly moved towards ‘No’ instead.
“Coach…?”
Seeing that, the Elven Coach’s expression hardened as if thinking ‘Could it be’.
But Coach Davis’ finger slowly pressed ‘No’, and…
[Penalty change has been canceled.]
[Will you enforce the penalty?]
“You…! What do you think you’re doing…?!”
The Elven Coach got up from her seat, losing her composure.
At that time, the coach’s finger then pressed Yes.
[The penalty will be enforced.]
[1/10 type will be enforced.]
[According to the map settings of the 5th game, the penalty has doubled.]
[20% of World Tree Elves: World Tree Elves -71]
“This inferior race…!! How dare you make fun of me…?!”
The blood vessels in the Elven Coach’s eyes stood out as she glared at Coach Davis.
=Wh-What is going on……!
=No, Coach. Have you gone crazy…….
=After wanting to collect double the compensation, you’re enforcing the execution?!
The commentators were also at a loss with confused expressions, broadcasting the current situation.
Watching this from the waiting room, Seong Jihan raised the corners of his mouth.
‘Where do you think you’re running off to?’
Shadow energy was rippling in his left hand.
***
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This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶