The ‘Top 100’ promotion match was referred to as the ‘Battle of the Stars’, but it didn’t hold any significant meaning for JiHan.
For him, the promotion match was merely a means to complete the epic quest related to the Shadow Queen, but he hadn’t even thought that would be hard to do.
He’d believed that, once his Martial Power reached 30, he would be able to receive support from ‘Wandering Martial God’, which would make clearing the epic quest a breeze.
‘The situation has changed.’
Nameless Divine Arts was passed down in an imperfect form, and his Gift was gone.
He wasn’t able to obtain the ‘Martial God’s Successor’ title, so the only ones he had were ‘Ruler of Bronze’ and ‘The One Who Conquered the Tutorial.’
‘The One Who Conquered the Tutorial’ only gave him a +1 in all stats during the promotion match, and ‘Ruler of Bronze’ wasn’t that impressive either.
[Ruler of Bronze]
– A title given to a player who has completely dominated the Bronze League.
– While in Bronze and Silver, all of your stats will increase by 3, and your experience will be increased by 30%.
He’d spent a lot on an extra title slot, but all he gained was a mere +3 in his stats.
Of course, that wasn’t a small boost, but for JiHan, who’d been waiting to get the ‘Successor of the Martial God’ title, it was a bit lackluster.
‘That’s why I’ll have to put my all into this promotion match.’
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Drums announcing the start of the battle echoed through the Colosseum.
After organizing his thoughts, JiHan took out an item he’d stored in a corner of his inventory.
[Crystal’s Fragment]
Rank: B
– Grants the player a single-use Divine Blessing.
– This item can only be used in Bronze and Silver.
Divine Bless was a top-tier buff that increased all of your stats by 50%. Although he could use the item in Silver League, JiHan decided to use it right then.
[Will you use the ‘Crystal’s Fragment’?]
“Yes.”
[‘Divine Bless’ has been applied to the player for this match.]
[‘Crystal’s Fragment’ has disappeared.]
As the Crystal’s Fragment disappeared, JiHan’s body was enveloped in a brilliant rainbow light.
Fwoosh-
A golden crown appeared on top of his head and faded away. After the effect faded, JiHan stretched his body and tested it.
As expected of Divine Bless…
‘The effects are great.’
A 50% increase in stats was impressive.
‘So that guy’s Sung JiHan.’
‘He came to the promotion match in a shirt. Is he out of his mind?’
The players around JiHan looked at him with shining eyes due to how shabby his equipment was.
He was wearing a white shirt and black slacks. It was as if he wasn’t wearing any armor.
‘He might be strong, but he’s too careless.’
‘He’s just a player in a mid-tier League. Where does he get his confidence from?’
Whenever JiHan appeared on a survival map in Gangnam 1, everyone busily tried to escape from him, but the players taking part in the ‘Top 100’ promotion match were skilled individuals. Rather than running, they saw it as an opportunity.
Tap, tap-
The players cautiously approached JiHan.
“Let’s take that guy down first.”
“Okay.”
They might have been enemies, but they exchanged glances and agreed to take down the top contender first.
Seven of them quickly surrounded him. Each one was a skilled player who had been chosen to be in the ‘Top 100’ and had proven they couldn’t be underestimated, but…
“There sure are a lot of kind people.” JiHan smiled at them. He was irritated by how people escaped from him in Gangnam 1, so having them come to him was quite convenient.
The energy of the three elixir fields gathered in the Phoenix Arrow, which was quickly covered in a white flame. Seeing that, the surrounding players went into battle mode and started to charge.
“He’s doing something! Defend!”
“Kill him before he uses that technique!”
JiHan swung the Phoenix Arrow in a full circle. It was a simple movement that made it seem as if he were warming up, but the effects were far from light.
“Ah…”
As JiHan swung the Phoenix Arrow, all seven players were split in half.
Nameless Divine Arts Three Talents Technique: Thousand-Soldier Sweep.
Despite its grandiose name, it was, in reality, just a horizontal slash.
Even so, the power of what unfolded from JiHan’s attack lived up to its original name.
“M-my S-rank armor…” One of the Warriors attacking JiHan stared at his split chest in despair. His S-rank armor was split like paper, and what was even more shocking was that his body was turning into light.
He was defeated in less than a minute after the game started.
“This… can’t be…” As the Warrior uttered those words and vanished, JiHan quickly looked around.
There weren’t any other players nearby. In that case, the next hunting spot should be…
Fwoosh!
A huge flame erupted on the opposite end of the Colosseum.
Fire magic that was so intense that it was hard to believe it came from a Bronze-level Mage could be seen in the distance.
‘Could it be Baron?’
Even if his control sucked, his firepower was impressive, as was befitting someone who used to be ranked 1st in his past life.
‘If I don’t suppress him quickly, he might take the most kills title.’
Magic was indeed more efficient for mass slaughter, especially since Baron’s firepower was almost beyond Gold-level in terms of strength. He could lose the most kills despite finishing 1st if he didn’t do anything.
“I should go.”
JiHan crouched for a moment and then leaped forward.
Nameless Divine Arts Footwork Technique: Lightning Thunder Step.
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He emitted light and then flashed away.
* * *
Although Channel 0 mainly focused on Baron, it occasionally shifted to JiHan.
= Player Jihan! He used Divine Bless…? Was it possible to use it in Bronze?
= It’s expensive, but it’s possible. It seems like Mr. Sung has a lot of money!
= But isn’t his equipment too shabby for that…? He came to the promotion match wearing a shirt! If he had the money to use Divine Bless, he should’ve bought some armor!
= I agree. It looks like a slight touch of Baron’s flame will turn him into charcoal! Maybe he wants to grab attention?
= But the white spear that he’s holding looks impressive. Maybe he invested all of his money into that weapon instead of buying armor.
= Ah! That’s not a spear, but an arrow! It’s called the Phoenix Arrow! It’s a weapon Mr. Sung got from a hidden dungeon’s quest the other day!
= Cristoph, you sure know a lot!
= Haha…! I happen to be a fan of his!
For someone claiming to be a fan, commentator Cristoph had been mocking JiHan earlier. He knew about the Phoenix Arrow because he’d researched JiHan in advance, not necessarily because he was a fan.
= Then… Mr. Sung is fighting with an arrow? Hahaha!
= Yes. He’s fighting without a proper weapon!
= I can’t believe it…! Korea really mistreats its players!
While the American commentators continued their banter, they started to laugh again as JiHan spun the arrow above his head.
= Is he trying to intimidate the seven players?
= He looks like a hedgehog desperately raising its quills!
However…
After the seven players were split in half, silence followed.
What had they just seen…?
= P-player JiHan! He’s taken seven kills!
The commentator barely managed to get a hold of himself and announce JiHan’s score.
= Christoph! What did he do?
= I… I’m not sure…
Christoph, who’d declared himself a fan, could not comment on JiHan’s move. It was something that didn’t make sense to him. Was he really a Bronze? No, not even a Gold should’ve been able to do that…
= I… I can’t believe it… Among the seven players, there was a Warrior wearing S-rank armor.
= To think he’d cut the seven down from a distance in one strike! Is Divine Bless that significant?
= N-no. Player JiHan doesn’t belong to a guild. Since he hasn’t received a guild buff, Divine Bless shouldn’t be that effective!
= What?! A player like him doesn’t belong to a guild?!
= Yes!
The screen switched back to Baron, but the commentators were still talking about JiHan.
= No guild…?! Maybe he has been planning to move abroad from the start?
= That’s possible!
= Oh, my God… he’s going to start getting offers from everywhere.
= Yes. Mr. Sung’s clearly showing himself to the world!
= While we were talking, Mr. Sung got more kills! He’s already at 10 kills!
= Baron’s using ‘Fire Wave’… but he’s behind with 6 kills!
The scoreboard appeared next to the broadcast screen.
– 1st: Sung JiHan – 10 kills
– 2nd: Baron – 6 Kills
= Baron incinerated the urk squad with Fire Wave and has added three more kills! Now he’s at 12!
= Mr. Sung’s spear technique… what’s that? Just one swing is enough to split everyone apart! He’s at 15 kills!
Before long, only Baron and JiHan were receiving attention. Other players were merely pawns that served to increase their kill counts. They were either torn apart by JiHan’s spear or incinerated by Baron’s Fire Wave.
Although JiHan was leading the kill score, Baron was slowly catching up. The two of them were dominating the Colosseum.
At that rate, Baron could catch up to JiHan, but you could still feel the tension in the voices of the American commentators.
= Baron’s rapidly catching up to JiHan’s kill count…
= Cristoph! Look at the direction JiHan is running in! It seems like…
= Yes. He’s rushing toward Baron!
= He’s running at an unbelievable speed! He looks like lightning!
= Baron needs to prepare quickly!
JiHan was located in the southwest section of the arena while Baron was in the northeast.
Baron had remained where he was summoned and just kept using Fire Wave. Due to how much the skill overlapped, the flames turned the area around him into something that resembled hell.
If he kept using his magic that way, the entire arena would soon be engulfed in flames.
“Ugh…!”
Most players were desperately trying to escape that blazing hell. Who could possibly withstand flames that soared more than 10 meters high? Even players in the ‘Top 100’ were at a loss when it came to countering it and just decided to escape instead.
After all, staying alive was more important than anything else in ‘survival’.
“Woah, this is insane…!”
“f*ck… is he really a Bronze?”
“Ack. Ackk. R-run!”
Monsters and players alike were frantically trying to escape from what looked to be a volcanic explosion.
There was a single exception. JiHan ran directly toward the epicenter of the flames.
‘As expected.’ He smirked as he watched the overwhelming magical power pouring down on him. ‘He still doesn’t know how to control his power.’
He swung the Phoenix Arrow horizontally.
Nameless Divine Arts Three Talents Technique: Thousand-Soldier Sweep.
The flames that seemed to be about to devour the world were split in two.
