<Chapter 66: The Warrior Who Regressed to Level 2>
* * *
[You have been summoned to the Rift of the End.]
[You are on the Demon team.]
[Help the demons to conquer the Angel team.]
The Rift of the End is the most basic map for the Invade mission. The game content is relatively simple. The Angel and Demon teams face each other across a river, with three attack routes—Top, Mid, and Bottom—through which five players invade each other's bases.
There were various strategies used on this map, but in the Silver League, the standard formation was to place two players on the Top lane, one on the Mid lane, and two on the Bottom lane.
Flash. Flash.
When Seong Ji-han stood at the demon team's base (a well surrounded by swirling lava), the four players who were subsequently summoned were shocked to see him.
"Oh, one of our party members is missing... Wait?"
"Huh? Could it be... Seong Ji-han?"
"No way! Didn't you just become Silver this month?"
The reactions of the viewers were not much different from those of the party members.
- Is Seong Ji-han not playing his first game in the Silver League this time?
- Yeah, so what?
- Is this party composition real? It's the Iseng Guild's promotion preparation team!!!
- 47, 48, 49, 48... Average level 48 lol
- A level 25 player matched with Gold (Jin) lol
The Iseng Guild's promotion preparation team was a party formed with the best members of the guild to reach the Gold promotion level of 50. How could a player who just became Silver be matched with them?
Seong Ji-han quietly read the chat and pointed out the error.
"I'm level 30. I gained 5 levels after winning the championship."
- Wow, did you start at level 30 after winning the Top 100 championship??
- lol How were we supposed to know?
- lol
- Still, it's a bit odd for a level 30 to be matched with level 48
"Well, a level 50 warrior wasn't much of a big deal back then, anyway."
- Yeah, that's true
- Is that the Dae Han Ilbo guy?
- He was even in Bronze back then lol
- That's true!!! The matching system made a mistake!!! He should have been matched with level 50 lol - They don't play games because they're preparing for the promotion
While Seong Ji-han was chatting with the viewers, a player from the Iseng Guild team, who was acting as the leader, approached him.
"Hello, sir."
The player, who was to act as the leader of the Iseng Guild team, approached him.
"By any chance, which lane do you plan to go to?"
Despite being much lower in level, he was cautious. Given that Seong Ji-han was a topic of public interest, he couldn't treat him lightly.
"Which lane is empty?"
"The Mage in the Top lane Duo is empty."
"Top lane Duo? Oh, is there no Jungler?"
Jungler.
A position that operates in the neutral area called the jungle, outside the three attack routes.
The Iseng Guild party members exchanged glances and smiled wryly at Seong Ji-han's question.
"Yes, this is the Silver League..."
"In the Silver level, the jungle monsters are too tough."
"...Oh, I see."
"Yes. Jungling requires at least level 70 Gold."
- Seong Ji-han looks like a Rift newbie lol
- What? Silver can't jungle?
- Yeah, Silver can't jungle lol The jungle monsters are at least level 65 - That's right. In Silver, you just follow the minions lol
Seong Ji-han's eyes sparkled as he read the chat.
In the Silver League, the jungle is that difficult?
'The smell of achievement is in the jungle.'
With 200,000 achievement points collected, he now had only 1,200 left. It was time to start collecting them again.
Thinking about achievement points, he wanted to rush into the jungle, but...
'I should adapt and sync with the team play first.'
This would also help improve his public image, making it a win-win choice.
"Understood. I'll go to Top."
"Oh, thank you."
Fortunately, the team leader's face lit up when Seong Ji-han readily agreed to take the empty position.
* * *
"Mr. Ji-han! I was so moved by the Top 100 match~."
The female warrior assigned to the same Top lane as Seong Ji-han was quite lively.
"I never thought Korea would have a number one! I watched the video over and over. I wanted to send a donation, but the minimum price was too high... Hehe."
"Thank you for your kind words."
"So, let me give you some tips for the Rift... First!"
On the large road leading to the Top lane.
The female warrior pointed to ten demons, each about half the size of a human, armed with tridents or staffs. These were imps, the lowest-ranking demons.
"Look. Those small demons. They are called minions, whether in the Angel or Demon team."
"I know that."
"In higher leagues, minions are easily slaughtered, but in Silver, they are as strong as level 50. You should never face them alone; always coordinate with your team's minions to defeat them."
She explained each point kindly, as if to a game beginner. She seemed quite shocked by his earlier question about the Jungler.
"...We respawn after one minute if we die, but if we're not in the lane, the front line will gradually be pushed back. So, you must try your best not to die."
- Why is she so explanatory lol
- She's personally explaining the mindset of Silver because he asked about the Jungler lol - Yeah, in Silver, you should think of minions as quite strong.
It took only five minutes to reach the front line of the Top lane, but during that short time, the female warrior continuously instilled the mindset of Silver into Seong Ji-han.
Coordinate with minions.
Don't try to fight the enemy alone.
Never enter the jungle...
In short, just stay with the minion army and hold the line.
Seong Ji-han simply replied.
"Understood. So, the goal is not to die, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's right."
"Easy."
Seong Ji-han looked at the front line.
Clang! Clang!
At the front line, the imps of the Demon team were clashing with the small angels of the Angel team. The angels, with their faces hidden in darkness, wore white robes. Despite their small size, their battles were intense.
Boom! Boom!
The five mage minions in the back row attacked each other's warrior minions, causing intense explosions.
The female warrior, who had been watching carefully while shielding herself, turned to Seong Ji-han as the explosions stopped.
"Alright, the explosions are over. Mr. Ji-han~ Let's go carefully... Huh?"
Whoosh!
Before she could finish her sentence, Seong Ji-han dashed forward.
"Be careful, I said!"
The female warrior was shocked and tried to follow him.
'How can he be so fast?!'
He had already reached the front line where the intense battle was taking place.
"Ariel."
Swoosh...
A shadow enveloped Seong Ji-han's left arm.
"Sword."
The shadow soon completely enveloped his hand and handed him a sword.
A dark, flame-like sword of darkness.
"Hmm."
The Shadow Sword Eclipse.
It looked light but felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Its form seemed solid but could melt away at any moment.
Despite handling countless pieces of equipment, he had never encountered a weapon that was so uncontrollable.
[This is why you should have invested in Sword Spirit.]
Ariel's criticism came from the Eclipse.
How could a low-level race even dare to wield the Eclipse without investing in Sword Spirit stats?
He wouldn't be able to wield it properly.
You'll see.
Ariel thought so, but...
"It's quite usable."
As Seong Ji-han muttered, the shadow that was melting away instantly took the shape of a sword.
[What...?!]
Ariel couldn't understand this phenomenon.
[How can a low-level race...]
He's already controlling the Shadow Sword properly?
No. He's just clenching the sword that's trying to collapse.
He can't fully control it.
But her prediction was completely off.
Swoosh-
As the Shadow Sword cut through the air, a stream of sword energy shot out, grazing the enemy minions.
And.
Whoosh...!
The angels, who were fiercely battling the demons, suddenly stopped moving, their upper and lower bodies separating and turning into smoke.
[...]
It was a perfect release of sword energy.
Despite not investing in Sword Spirit stats, Seong Ji-han's skill in eliminating the angel minions left Ariel speechless.
'To wield the Eclipse, you need at least 40 points in Sword Spirit...'
Seong Ji-han was covering the lack of stats with his superior mana control.
'Is this why the main body invested in him?'
Ariel had been dissatisfied with the main body's overinvestment in Seong Ji-han, not understanding why his words were so important.
But at this moment, she understood the main body's choice.
[...You're quite strong. Low-level race.]
She upgraded her evaluation of Seong Ji-han from the lowest to low.
* * *
The female warrior watched the scene before her in disbelief.
Whoosh!
Every time Seong Ji-han swung his sword, the angels' bodies split apart.
No one could block his strikes.
'I shouldn't have given him advice...'
The female warrior's face turned red with embarrassment.
Of course, she meant well, but advising a player as strong as him not to act was embarrassing.
Thinking about how the viewers of Seong Ji-han's channel would react, she felt embarrassed.
Naturally, the viewers' reactions were far from her worries.
- He's just wrecking them alone
- The enemy players can't even leave their tower lol
- The tower's health is already half gone?
- They're going to cry;;;;
The game in the Top lane was one-sided.
The angel minions were being wiped out as soon as they appeared on the front line.
The demon minions, preserving their strength, charged at the enemy's first defense tower.
Zzzzz!
The angel team's defense tower, emitting a white beam.
The guided beam was powerful enough to kill with one hit, but it had a 3-second delay.
The more allies survived, the more damage they could deal to the tower.