‘What’s going on…?!’ Baron couldn’t believe what was happening.
– 1st: Sung JiHan – 20 Kills – No Affiliation
– 2nd: Baron – 17 Kills – America First
‘Am I in 2nd place..?’
After obtaining Force, he’d never missed finishing 1st, not even once!
He should’ve been showing off his glorious skill in that ‘Top 100’ promotion match. He never imagined that some Asian guy would push him back. No, he’d been briefed about him, but he didn’t know that he’d be so strong.
– Baron, this is data on the only player that could threaten you during the promotion match. Please, take a look when you have time.
When the guild’s manager tried to show him data on JiHan…
– Pf. Are you saying that someone from a mid-tier League could threaten me? Manager, you’re underestimating me. Put this away and bring the Nike advertisement contract.
– Understood…
Baron remembered how he’d waved away JiHan’s information. He never thought he’d hear the name again, but…
‘He’s above me…’
Baron thought maybe he should’ve taken a closer look at him.
‘No!’ Baron ground his teeth. ‘I’m Baron Williams. A chosen, great Mage with an SSS-rank Gift. There’s no need for me to be wary of such a guy!’
That’s right. That feeble mindset wasn’t suited for him.
“Fire Wave!”
Massive flames erupted from his fingertips, completely engulfing the map in flames.
Although JiHan might be dominating at the moment, there was no way he’d stand a chance against the combination of Fire Wave and Force. It was inevitable. Once he burned down all of his enemies, securing 1st place would be easy.
That’s what should have happened, but…
“Wh-what the?!”
Slash-!
His flames were cut by a single strike. It wasn’t just the Fire Wave that was split. The space around Baron, even the space under his Force control, was completely sliced through.
“Ugh-!” The shock lasted only for a brief moment. Baron used his Force to its maximum potential. He wasn’t sure what kind of attack had struck him, but he couldn’t give up.
Screech-!
He expanded his Force again, and it collided with JiHan’s strike again. Despite using all of his strength, he was still in a dangerous situation. From what Baron knew, JiHan’s kind of attack should’ve been impossible at Bronze.
What was up with that ridiculously strong attack?!
‘Still, I’m managing to hold it off!’
Although his Force’s control area was being brutally pushed back, the Absolute Domain around him remained intact. That’s right. No matter how powerful the attack was, it wouldn’t be able to breach his Absolute Domain.
“Phew-” Baron sighed in relief while looking at the figure emerging from the flames.
An Asian man in a white shirt holding a white spear looked at him with a relaxed expression.
‘Is that Sung JiHan…?!’
He wasn’t from a high-ranking Asian League country like China or Japan but from Korea, a mid-tier League. It was true that he’d underestimated him, but he had to recognize that he possessed incredible power.
Baron bit his lip and started to use his Force again. The opponent had launched a massive attack, so he should also have exhausted himself quite a bit.
Baron needed to use his strongest magic to finish things up, a magic that was faster and stronger than any other…
“Lightning!”
Devastating lightning shot from Baron’s hands.
In JiHan’s eyes, the 2020 version of Baron was just a newbie.
‘Well, in reality, they aren’t that different.’
After he split his Fire Wave in half, Baron hastily tried to cast his next magic. There was no sign of calmness in him.
‘What a waste of talent.’
Thanks to the Great SSS-rank Gift of Two Status Windows, Baron had managed to reach the pinnacle of humanity, yet he couldn’t overcome his lack of controlling abilities and became the main factor in humanity’s destruction.
JiHan’s gaze moved past Baron and focused on the audience in the stadium. There, he saw the dark elf with black eyes staring at him.
The being whom he thought was the ‘Shadow Queen’ always looked at who was going to finish 1st.
‘So she also knows that I’m going to win.’
As expected of a constellation.
JiHan smirked and gripped the Phoenix Arrow like a spear.
‘The Phoenix Arrow… Did it say it would disappear after being thrown five times?’
He hadn’t felt the need to throw it until then, but the situation was different. He had to give it his all to defeat Baron and shatter the barrier that surrounded the Colosseum.
Soon, a white flame started to rise from the Phoenix Arrow.
Nameless Divine Arts Three Talents Technique: Sage’s Guidance.
Stabbing and throwing techniques differed, but he chose it because they shared the characteristic of penetrating a single point.
Fwoosh-
As if the Phoenix Arrow was ready, it quickly burst into white flames, but the magnitude of the flames was just big enough to cover the arrow. It looked completely different from when the conqueror’s statue used it in the Conqueror’s Tomb.
“Lightning!”
The lightning magic Baron used with all of his Force looked more powerful. Each electric current was as brilliant and thick as the Phoenix Arrow, and there were hundreds of them rushing toward JiHan.
Swoosh-!
The Phoenix Arrow left JiHan’s hand. The pure-white flame looked smaller than Baron’s attack, but the despair was evident on Baron’s face.
‘I can’t block it…’ When Baron’s lightning touched the Phoenix Arrow, he felt as if time had stopped.
The amount of magic power concentrated within it was on another level, and trying to block it with his magic was like trying to break a rock with an egg.
‘My Absolute Domain is collapsing as well…’
Before he knew it, the Phoenix Arrow was before him, easily penetrating through his Force.
It was too late to dodge it.
‘But… there’s still hope.’
Baron placed some hope in his Force’s Absolute Domain. It was an area of around four meters that had never been breached.
‘If I can block it once…’
He could subdue that Asian with another magic if he could block it just once!
‘Please…!’
Baron put his last hope in his Absolute Domain, not even considering using Force to block or deflect the attack.
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Screech-!
“…!”
For a moment, he thought the Phoenix Arrow was about to stop in the air…
But that was only for a moment.
The Absolute Domain Baron was so proud of could only inconvenience the attack for a brief moment before it was torn apart.
Whoosh-!
“Cough…!”
Baron was pierced by the Phoenix Arrow and vanished in the blink of an eye. A single strike from JiHan had defeated the American genius Mage whom the world expected to win.
JiHan clicked his tongue in disappointment. ‘He still can’t use Force properly.’
It was as he thought. If he didn’t have time to use defensive magic, he should’ve used everything he had to block it rather than leaving things to chance without any defensive strategy.
It wasn’t a problem of his control but a problem of will.
‘Anyway, now that 1st place is guaranteed…’
JiHan looked at the Phoenix Arrow as it continued to fly onward.
Now for his real goal…
It was time to break the barrier surrounding the Colosseum.
* * *
= Holy…Ehem! Baron’s Fire Wave has been split in half!
= Player JiHan also sliced apart the other four players who were trying to dodge the Fire Wave! He got four extra kills!
Channel 0’s focus had shifted from Baron to JiHan.
The commentator, Cristoph, felt chills while watching JiHan cut the massive Fire Wave. Although the flashy performance of a Mage was considered the best among all classes, JiHan’s elegant martial arts and how he effortlessly sliced the flames with one spear swing sent shivers down his spine.
‘I might really become a fan…!’
Previously, what he said about being a fan was merely lip service, but seeing his performance in the promotion match made him change his opinion.
It didn’t matter if he was Baron’s opponent, he couldn’t do anything about his heart beating faster. That’s how much JiHan’s performance stimulated people.
Then…
= Ah-! Player JiHan! He threw his arrow at Baron!
= It’s covered in a white flame. From the looks of it… Huh?!
= It was just from the looks! Baron’s lightning was split!
= Oh, my God! Baron’s Absolute Domain was shattered in an instant!
The situation became even more unbelievable.
Baron was considered the USA’s top prospect because of the sheer power of his Force ability… but it was also because of the barrier that always surrounded him, which blocked all attacks.
No Bronze player in the USA had landed a proper hit on Baron, but that solid shield was shattered in an instant.
Then…
= B-Baron died!
= He’s… disqualified!
The horrified shouts of the American commentators spread.
As shock and horror erupted across the USA…
“Ah… Aah…”
HaYeon, who was watching the ‘Top 100’ promotion match from her home, was in a similar state to the American viewers.
Paf-!
“There’s no way…”
She’d put so much money on Baron that seeing him die like that was quite shocking. It looked as if her soul had abandoned her body.
‘Mr. Sung sent me two messages and told me…’
The Korea-Japan match bet seemed absurd, but the second one should have been obvious.
He had a win rate of 100%. Was such a record even possible in Battle Net?
She hadn’t trusted JiHan despite his overwhelming performance!
HaYeon grabbed her hair and began blaming herself.
= Player JiHan’s Phoenix Arrow hasn’t stopped! It’s going to hit the barrier!
= Huh… Huh…?!
= Wh-what the…?!
HaYeon heard confused shouting from the commentators, and the American commentator’s scream pierced her ears.
‘Ugh! Now what?!’
HaYeon raised her head and froze when she saw the TV.
Channel 0 was focusing solely on JiHan as if it were his personal channel.
“Wh-what?” HaYeon’s eyes trembled. “H-how could something like that happen…?”
The barrier around the Colosseum had completely shattered.
In its place, where the elves should have been seated, there was only an abyssal darkness reminiscent of the night sea.
