Chapter 42
* * *
[This mission is Survival.]
Boom! Boom!
As the drum sound signaling the start of the Colosseum Map echoed, Seong Jihan smirked.
Fortunately, he landed on the Survival Map out of the options: Survival, Defense, and Dungeon.
‘I can verify the story Seah told me.’
– Ah~~~ landed on Survival
– LOL there’s nothing to watch. It’s going to be another massacre show.
– Isn’t that the fun part now?
– For real, getting destroyed by Sword King sucks, but this relieves my stress now.
When the Survival Map was selected, the viewers were sure that Seong Jihan would rank first.
Although he had been ranking first in Defense and Dungeon as well, there was no room for variables in the Survival map.
Perhaps that’s why the viewers were discussing the recent issue rather than the outcome of the soon-to-start game.
– Did Seong Jihan talk about the Korea-Japan match?
– Why would he talk about getting thrashed?
– Quickly reach Diamond and enact justice!!!!!
– Talking about justice to a Bronze? LOL, Seong Jihan hasn’t been on BattleNet for even a month now.
– Seong Jihan has a better Bronze record than Sword King, you know?
– Comparing a Bronze record LOL, seriously?
The conversation about the Korea-Japan match defeat naturally flowed to Sword King’s interview.
– Is Sword King’s interview even real? Saying he doesn’t have a daughter gave me the chills.
– He seems insane now.
– Was he always this rude?
– How dare you insult Sword King!!
– Sword King my ass, he’s just that Ito guy.
– ???: How can you call him “that Ito guy”! I’ll sue! Prepare the PDFs!!!!
– LOL, the fan club’s playing well.
– But everyone in Sword King Fan Club would’ve left after watching today’s match, right?
– I’m still here~
Before the game started, Seong Jihan, after skimming through the countless chats, could sense the noticeable decrease in Sword King Fan Club.
The image of Sword King crushing Korea on Independence Day was a clear shock to those who still had lingering hopes.
‘The chatroom atmosphere isn’t too bad.’
Having taken a clear stance by breaking the Sword King statue earlier, and with Ito himself claiming he doesn’t have a daughter, the audience was now more sympathetic towards Yoon Seah.
‘Of course, many subscribers in this channel are inherently supportive of me, but…’
The atmosphere was day and night compared to his previous life. Seong Jihan spoke with satisfaction.
“I won’t mention Ito on the broadcast. After all, it’s a personal matter. However, for those still holding onto him, I hope you come to your senses soon.”
He knew.
Even after hearing this, the die-hard fans wouldn’t change.
But he said this because…
‘I need the Sword King Fan Club to continue despising me.’
He aimed to consistently draw the aggression of the Sword King Fan Club towards himself.
– They won’t listen just because you say that.
– For real, my mom’s a hardcore Sword King fan. She cheered when he swung his dual swords against our country. My dad had an argument with her in the end.
– Worth fighting over.
– My dad was yelling like crazy LOL.
– Seems like there are crazies everywhere who are obsessed with Sword King.
Even after Sword King devastated the Korean team, there were still many who cheered for his actions.
It was unthinkable for Seong Jihan, who knew the future.
‘Can’t help the crazies.’
Naturally, not everyone can be convinced.
For the insane ones, you just let them be.
To shift the topic, Seong Jihan clapped.
“Now, let’s move on from Sword King. Starting today, I’ll begin a new challenge in the Survival map.”
– A new challenge?
– What more is there to do in Survival?
“Yes. It’s commonly referred to as… breaking the barrier.”
– Barrier? You mean… LOL
– Are you talking about that barrier in the audience seats?
Nodding, Seong Jihan recalled the story he had just heard from Yoon Seah.
“The initial candidates for the Shadow Queen were two.”
“Inherently, various elves are summoned randomly to the audience seats of the Colosseum.”
“While most elves were served by Dark Elves in a similar fashion, each elf looked slightly different in every game.”
“However, only three elves appeared the same in every game.”
“Firstly, commonly called the ‘Elf Queen’.”
“While most elves were accompanied by one or two Dark Elves, this Elf Queen was accompanied by four Dark Elves.”
“This Elf Queen… she is more lavishly adorned than any other elf. Given the clue ‘queen,’ she seems fitting.”
In the exact center of the northern part of the Colosseum, the Elf Queen sat with a bored posture. She was the first candidate Yoon Seah had pointed out.
“The next one is easy to find. Their roles are reversed.”
Role reversal. While elves typically served Dark Elves, there was a peculiar Dark Elf who was served by two white elves.
“This Dark Elf is in the south of the Colosseum, directly in the middle, just like the Elf Queen mentioned before.”
Opposite the Elf Queen, in perfect symmetry, was the Dark Elf.
“I also consider this Dark Elf a candidate for the Shadow Queen. She leans more towards the ‘shadow’ clue…”
Both the northern Elf Queen and the reversed-role southern Dark Elf were consistently featured in every Survival game and were frequently captured by mixed-race camera enthusiasts.
Their images had even become popular memes online.
“But this information is easily found with a little search… so I looked for something unique.”
After endlessly reviewing a BattleTuber’s videos, Yoon Seah found another peculiar figure.
“There’s a Dark Elf among them… with black eyes.”
Dark Elves with black irises weren’t unusual, but the one Yoon Seah pointed out was distinctively different.
Not just the iris, but even the sclera was pitch-black.
“Her appearance changes every time, with different hair lengths. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes not.”
Seong Jihan, after reviewing the videos, saw a Dark Elf with entirely black eyes looking at the audience from the back row. And this was consistent for the first 5 minutes in every game.
“…What do you mean?”
“When players are first summoned, this elf always locks eyes with the eventual winner of the game.”
Seong Jihan was taken aback.
‘Predicting the winner in advance?’
“You checked all this from the recorded games?”
“Yes. A proper investigation requires this much.”
‘I only asked her so she would be bored but…’
Going beyond just identifying the unique elves in the audience, she even cross-referenced who the black-eyed elf was looking at.
‘She’s thorough, befitting a Student Council President.’
Thinking about the Elf Queen of the North and the Dark Elf of the South, they seemed like obvious candidates.
Both emitted a strong presence, and either could easily be the Shadow Queen.
‘If it were a simple quest, I would’ve guessed one of them.’
Sometimes, simple reasoning was the answer. But this was an Epic Quest.
Given the high rewards, even for a Bronze quest, the more concealed black-eyed Dark Elf seemed a more likely candidate for the Shadow Queen.
‘I need to see this black-eyed Dark Elf for myself.’
Seong Jihan looked at the audience from his summoned position.
Naturally, he would be the winner of this game.
His gaze was directed northeast.
Though quite far away, with his enhanced vision, he could clearly see the elves. However…
‘The top of the audience stands… is obscured.’
The top of the audience section looked as if it was shrouded in mist, making it indistinct.
Was this obscurity intentional?
A smile tugged at the corners of Seong Jihan’s lips.
‘I’ll have to get closer.’
As the game began, Seong Jihan closed the chat window and immediately pulled out the Phoenix’s Arrow and started sprinting.
“Ugh!”
“It’s… it’s Seong Jihan…!”
Players in his path tried to dodge upon seeing him, but the tip of Phoenix’s Arrow easily pierced through them.
“Damn… Such rotten luck…”
“We’re doomed…”
For the players participating in the Survival map of Bronze League Gangnam 1 Area, Seong Jihan was now considered a natural disaster.
An unavoidable calamity.
He was a monster among monsters that they hoped they would never encounter.
Seong Jihan’s kill count surged rapidly.
From 3 to 5, and then 5 to 10… The other players huddled together in fear.
‘That insane monster!’
‘Don’t come here… I said, don’t come here!’
‘May our divine protector shield us with eternal light and guide us with sacred wisdom…’
While BattleNet may be an unbalanced game, this was too much.
Everyone hoped that he would quickly reach level 25 and get promoted so that they never see him again.
That was the shared sentiment of all the current participants.
Meanwhile, after achieving an easy 10 kills, Seong Jihan halted his onslaught.
’10 kills should be enough.’
Statistically, 10 kills almost guaranteed a first-place finish, so further slaughter was unnecessary.
There was even a risk that if he killed too many, the game could end prematurely.
“Kurur… Human! Halt!”
As he approached the northeast, a group of orcs tried to block the solo charging Seong Jihan, but with a swift movement, he effortlessly crushed their heads.
Like stepping on stepping stones, he hopped over the heads of the orc horde.
“Kueh…?”
Seeing their comrades’ heads burst in an instant, the remaining orc leader, with wide eyes, realized Seong Jihan was not someone to be trifled with and discreetly dodged out of the way.
Even monsters classified as enemies avoided Seong Jihan.
He was an equivalent to a disaster in the Survival map.
‘Now, I can see her.’
Having reached the edge of the map, Seong Jihan was finally able to spot the Dark Elf with black eyes, his original target, beyond the barrier.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺