Chapter 43
* * *
‘Is that the elf?’
The Dark Elf with black eyes.
Its eyes, devoid of any whites and entirely shrouded in blackness, seemed eerily spine-chilling.
‘Indeed… It looks extraordinary.’
However, her appearance was ordinary, at least by the standards of the elves.
She was just as beautiful as the other elves sitting in the audience.
“Let’s see…”
Seong Jihan aimed the Phoenix’s Arrow towards the barrier.
Even though he’s currently only in the Bronze league, Seong Jihan, who was at the pinnacle in his past life, knew the strength of this barrier.
‘It’s comparable to a barrier made by a Platinum… No, a Diamond Rank Support.’
The Diamond League was the highest tier, where the national representatives who participated in today’s match belonged.
Even though Seong Jihan had dominated the Bronze League ecosystem, the Diamond League was a world of a much higher caliber.
However,
‘That’s what makes it worth challenging.’
Seong Jihan, with a gleeful smile, felt his Inner Energy surge.
The power of the middle, upper, and lower dantians converged on the Phoenix’s Arrow.
Whooosh!
Flames erupted from the tip of the arrow, just like when the statue of the conqueror drew its bow. The Phoenix’s Arrow unleashed its immense firepower.
‘With this shot, I should be able to penetrate the barrier.’
The Phoenix’s Arrow, which had a limit of five shots, was incredibly powerful. Even the diamond-grade barrier should be penetrable by the blazing Phoenix’s Arrow.
However,
‘For now, I’ll use it as a spear.’
Nameless Divine Arts, Triad of Martial Mastery: Way of Immortals
Using the unification of the three Dantians, originally based on swordsmanship, Seong Jihan could wield any weapon.
The Phoenix’s Arrow was no exception. Its size made it usable as a spear.
Crash!
The flaming Phoenix’s Arrow collided directly with the barrier.
Screech!
From the pointed tip, an aura resembling smoke emanated, challenging the barrier’s strength. The bright white flames tried to push through the blue protective shield. But breaking through the Diamond Rank barrier seemed impossible.
– LOL, told you it wouldn’t work.
– Holy s***! If he breaks through, he’s gonna be insanely overpowered.
– Yep, he’s already crazy OP.
– Still, breaking the barrier is too much.
– Yeah, no matter how crappy the game is, that’s just impossible.
Viewers believed that the game still had some integrity seeing Seong Jihan’s spear being halted by the barrier.
No matter how he defeated the Flesh Golem in one blow and earned the Conqueror’s Statue’s recognition, that was just a boss-level monster in the game.
But this barrier was a system-enforced obstacle, surely he couldn’t break it, right?
The viewers assumed that Seong Jihan was trying something different for entertainment since the Survival Map was getting predictable.
– Eh, he won’t get through, right? LOL
– He’ll give up soon LOL
Yet, they expected Seong Jihan to give up soon. However,
‘I can’t break through?’
Seong Jihan withdrew the Phoenix’s Arrow and once again unfolded the skill ‘Way of Immortals’.
Screech!
Once again, flames rose against the barrier.
The target was the same as before. The barrier had slightly caved in from where he had struck it earlier.
‘It’s working.’
Boom! Crash! Bang! Boom!
Seong Jihan unleashed a series of thrusts.
With each thrust, the energy from the lower dantians diminished rapidly. The energy from the middle and upper dantians was also depleting quickly, but the speed of Seong Jihan’s attacks only increased.
– ???????????????
– What’s happening? How many times has he struck it? Why is he speeding up?
– He’s hit it like… 10 times…?!
– Who’s counting that?
– It’s 13 times! So fast, it’s insane.
On the 14th thrust of the ‘Way of Immortals’,
‘This is the last of my energy.’
With all the power from every dantians focused into that one thrust,
Poof!
The barrier could no longer withstand it and was pierced by the Phoenix’s Arrow.
Of course, it didn’t shatter completely.
Just a small hole, right where the Phoenix’s Arrow had persistently struck.
But even that was enough to astonish the viewers.
– Wow…
– He really pierced it? Really?
– At this rate, he should quickly move to Silver.
– What about Silver? He could go straight to Gold.
– How could a Bronze Rank player break a system-enforced barrier?
While they were amazed, viewers also felt a sense of disappointment.
-The hole is too small though.
-He won’t be able to meet the elf behind the barrier.
-LOL, if he had, the number of subscribers would’ve skyrocketed, right?
Though he pierced the barrier, the hole was not large enough for a person to pass through.
If only it was bigger, he could’ve approached the elves in the audience, the viewers thought with a hint of regret.
Meanwhile,
Seong Jihan smirked bitterly, noticing the elves in the audience showing no particular interest, even after he had pierced the barrier.
‘So, this doesn’t provoke them.’
Especially the target, the Dark Elf with black eyes, who kept staring at him with those eerie eyes, unchanged from before.
‘Hmm…’
Seong Jihan observed the hole he had made in the barrier.
It was just large enough to make direct eye contact with the Dark Elf, without the interference of the barrier.
Since he had exhausted all his energy, there wasn’t much else he could do.
He decided to look directly through the hole at the Dark Elf.
Swoosh!
As he pulled out the Phoenix’s Arrow, the barrier started to regenerate. But before it completely healed, Seong Jihan got a glimpse beyond it.
And then,
‘What is…!’
For the first time since his regression, he felt a chilling sensation run down his spine.
Beyond the pierced barrier was darkness.
It was an ominous, lightless void, reminiscent of the eerie black eyes of the Dark Elf.
‘Was that the true nature behind the barrier?’
Swoosh!
As the barrier regenerated, the scene beyond reverted back to the usual audience of elves.
The Dark Elf being served by another elf, and the one in the far back, staring at Seong Jihan with those dark eyes.
But having seen that void, Seong Jihan felt a cold sweat run down his back.
‘…That power is beyond what I anticipated.’
The darkness beyond the barrier, even by his standards from before regression, was terrifyingly powerful. Was this the level of power expected of a constellation?
– Why did he suddenly react like that?
– It’s the first time I’ve seen Seong Jihan surprised. LOL
– What did he see?!
– He peeked through the barrier at the elf, but… all he saw was…
-Shush!
The viewers watching Seong Jihan’s broadcast were puzzled.
They had only seen Seong Jihan look surprised when he peeked through the hole, but they hadn’t perceived the darkness themselves.
Only Seong Jihan had observed that incomparable force.
[50 survivors remain.]
[Survival Map ‘Colosseum’ concludes.]
Seong Jihan’s eyes dimmed as he read the message.
‘I’ll test the other directions as well…’
North and south.
While the two elves that looked every bit like queens were obvious targets, Seong Jihan was already half-convinced that the dark-eyed elf and the darkness he saw were related to the ‘Shadow Queen.’
[You have achieved 1st place in the survival game.]
[Your level has increased by 1.]
[For achieving 1st place, your experience and GP gain rate increases by 50%.]
[You’ve earned 1,500 GP.]
Seong Jihan quickly dismissed the now-familiar system messages.
‘A level up in just three games.’
As his level had now reached the 20s, the pace of leveling up had slowed.
‘This isn’t enough.’
Seong Jihan clenched and unclenched his fist with a sigh.
For the first time, he felt dissatisfaction with his growth rate.
To confront that intense darkness, to provoke the Shadow Queen, he needed more power.
Therefore, he decided to finally use the achievement points he had accumulated so far.
‘I’ve accumulated 75,200 achievement points until now.’
He had already completed all the major in-game Achievement Quests.
[Your channel has surpassed 50,000 subscribers.]
[You have completed the achievement ‘Subscriber Gathering (2)’.]
[Earn 3,000 achievement points as a reward.]
From level 16 to 22, by completing minor quests including subscriber quests, he had managed to gather achievement points.
‘It’s time to use them.’
Seong Jihan opened the achievement store and spent 50,000 points to upgrade the store.
[The Achievement Store has upgraded to LV.5.]
[Now, the limit for lower upgrade items is up to LV.2.]
[The ‘Additional Constellation Slot’ item is now available.]
Seong Jihan nodded while reading the system messages.
Additional Constellation Slot.
‘I knew it would be available eventually, but it’s come earlier than expected.’
Another system message popped up.
[Currently, Earth is in the tutorial season. Even if you purchase the ‘Additional Constellation Slot’ item, it will not be visible in the status window.]
‘Of course, the concept of a constellation doesn’t exist yet.’
Seong Jihan opened the upgraded store to see its contents.
[Achievement Store LV.5]
[Achievement Store Upgrade – 100,000P
Status Window Expansion LV.1 – 10,000P
Additional Class Slot LV.2 – 50,000P
Inventory Expansion LV.1 – 10,000P
Additional Title Slot LV.1 – 10,000P
Emergency Recovery (Item) – 10,000P
Additional Constellation Slot LV.1 – 50,000P]
The prices made him frown involuntarily.
‘It’s expensive…’
Upon reaching level 5 of the store, the cost of items had drastically increased. Both the Additional Class Slot LV.2 and the Additional Constellation Slot required 50,000 points.
‘The store’s effects are incredibly beneficial, so this cost is expected.’
Yes.
Hadn’t the Achievement Store provided effects that could distort the very foundation of the system?
Seong Jihan rationalized the costs, reflecting on the problem at hand: the power to oppose the ‘Shadow Queen.’
‘For now, adding a class is impossible.’
He had 25,200 achievement points left. To add another class, he would need 50,000 points. Based on his experience, it didn’t seem likely that he’d gather the remaining points by the next promotion.
‘I don’t need an inventory or status window expansion right now.’
Both would be nice to have, but neither would immediately add to his current power. Among the available upgrades, the only one that seemed useful was…
‘The Title Slot.’
Seong Jihan examined the title he currently held.
[Tutorial Conqueror – Bronze]
[A title granted to the player who ranks first in the tutorial.]
[In the Bronze League, all attributes increase by +1, and there’s a 20% experience gain effect.]
It was a basic title, but it was quite useful.
‘And when I reach level 25… I can obtain another title.’
Level 25.
The highest level achievable in Bronze, and the level at which promotion battles become available.
But one doesn’t simply get a title for reaching the level cap in Bronze.
‘But I’m different. My Martial Power is now at 30.’
Martial Power of 30.
This was the ‘requirement’ to obtain the Nameless Divine Arts.
And if he successfully acquires the Nameless Divine Arts here…
‘I’ll obtain the [Successor of Martial God] title.’
The title, [Successor of Martial God], was a high-performance title that Seong Jihan had used up until his death in his previous life.
Equipping it would greatly boost his abilities.
He decided to purchase the ‘Additional Title Slot’.
[You’ve purchased the Additional Title Slot LV.1.]
[10,000 achievement points have been deducted.]
As he finished his purchase…
Knock! Knock!
There was a knock at his door.
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