<Chapter 70: The God of Martial Arts Reverted to Level 2>
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"That is something only the Throned can answer."
Seong Jihan was curious about Ariel's easy acceptance and asked, but the answer from her was as sharp as a blade.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer. Master."
When Ariel finished speaking,
[The Shadow Queen's avatar, 'Ariel,' has recognized you as her master.]
[The summoning of 'Ariel' has become more efficient.]
[The efficiency of the Gift 'Moon's Shadow' has increased.]
[Your Stat 'Sword Spirit' has increased by 1.]
Not only did the form of address change, but several effects also appeared systemically.
"Hmm."
When she formally recognized him as her master, he didn't expect such additional effects.
For a nod in response to a question, it was a decent reward.
As Seong Jihan thought this, Ariel jumped from his arm.
Whoosh—
Ariel's body, which had been falling from his arm, grew and reached up to Seong Jihan's waist.
"Now I can move a bit. And... "
Ariel, who had been examining her body, spoke.
"About the matter I couldn't answer earlier, I can now speak a little about it."
"You said you couldn't speak just now?"
"Once I recognized you as my master, it seems the system has loosened some of its restrictions."
Ariel sat on a chair in the room and continued.
"Do you know about the Throned?"
"I guess not. I don't know much."
Throned.
Even though Seong Jihan had witnessed Earth's destruction in his previous life, he still knew little about them.
Most of the Throned had given up on Earth, which was continuously losing in the Space League, and paid little attention to it.
"They are the representatives and masters of their stars, and beings who have transcended the limits of their species... they have become gods."
"Is that so? It fits the grand name of Throned."
Seong Jihan, who already knew this much, replied indifferently, and Ariel smiled slightly.
"It seems you already knew a bit. Then, do you know this? The Throned are born from the BattleNet."
"…What?"
"When you reach level 777 in BattleNet, you gain the qualifications to become a Thonned."
Seong Jihan's eyebrows twitched.
Level 777?
It doesn't seem like a joke.
'Is level 777 even possible...?'
During the tutorial period, the highest league is the Diamond League, but after the tutorial ends, the Master League and Grandmaster League are introduced.
Above that, the Star League, where only the best of the best can reach, is also opened.
However, even in the highest league, the Star League, the maximum level one can reach is 500.
There was a vast difference from 777.
"How about 777? The highest level in the Diamond League is currently 250."
"Information related to this is restricted. However, you will naturally know after the tutorial ends."
"Quite a lot of restrictions, huh."
"Anyway, the important thing is the content about the Wandering God of Martial Arts, right?"
Seong Jihan nodded.
Becoming a Throned is a distant future for a mere level 31 like Seong Jihan.
More important was the content about the Wandering God of Martial Arts, who was his former patron Throned.
"Most Throned are bound to the stars they were born on. This is because their foundation is their home star. When a star is destroyed, the Throned's power diminishes and they eventually disappear."
"I see."
"But the Wandering God of Martial Arts is different. He is a Throned but not bound to a star. In fact, he created his own star."
Ariel raised her palm.
Then, part of her hand turned dark, forming a sphere.
The surface of the sphere was covered with sharp, spiky protrusions.
"This black star is the star where the Wandering God of Martial Arts resides. It is called the 'Fighting Star.' However, the Throned call it the 'Throne's Grave.'"
"The Throne's Grave?"
"Yes. The Wandering God of Martial Arts hunts Throned and preserves them on the Fighting Star. The Throned captured on this star continue to have their power drained by the Wandering God of Martial Arts. Even if they want to die, they cannot."
As she said this, Ariel looked at Seong Jihan with a meaningful gaze.
"The dark magic you used. Its power was strikingly similar to that of the main body. However, the main body has never been attacked by the Wandering God of Martial Arts... or rather, it never thought it would be attacked."
Seong Jihan had a hunch about this.
'Getting the advanced form of the Nameless Martial Art was a future event.'
In his previous life, when Seong Jihan grew to the Diamond League and improved the proficiency of the Nameless Martial Art skill, he finally mastered the three divine seals.
This happened several years after the current time.
'Could it be that the Wandering God of Martial Arts attacked the Shadow Queen and absorbed her power to create the Dark Shadow Divine Seal during those few years...?'
Of course, the ability to handle shadow power isn't exclusive to the Shadow Queen.
It could have been obtained from another Throned preserved on the Fighting Star.
However, given that the avatar mentioned the power's resonance, it seemed more plausible that the Wandering God of Martial Arts had subdued the Shadow Queen in the future.
"Simply nodding, you recognized me as your master. There was a reason for that."
"Why?"
"Your main body. Isn't it trying to escape? Worried about the Wandering God of Martial Arts' attack."
In response to Seong Jihan's question, Ariel shook her head.
"I said it before. The Throned are bound to the stars they were born on. No matter how much they run, if their home star is destroyed, it's the end. However..."
She placed her hand on her chin and smiled.
"Thanks to you, the main body has gained time to prepare. I'm expressing gratitude on behalf of the main body."
"The reward for helping the Throned seems too small for me."
"I'll repay you more after the tutorial ends. If the main body doesn't die by then."
Ariel, smiling, had her eyes, which were once completely black, now slightly lighter.
Her eyes, which were once entirely black, now had a grayish hue in the whites.
Not only that.
Ariel, who used to have a rigid expression, now showed a variety of facial expressions.
"You seem to have changed a bit."
"Really? Since I formally recognized you as my master, I adapted accordingly."
"Hmm..."
"Please take care of me in the future, Master."
Recognizing him as her master, she changed so much?
Seong Jihan tilted his head but thought,
'Well, this isn't important.'
Seong Jihan focused more on the Wandering God of Martial Arts.
As she said, the Wandering God of Martial Arts was a different kind of being who created his own star and hunted Throned.
'Why did such an overwhelming being guard against me?'
While teaching him the Nameless Martial Art, the Wandering God of Martial Arts confirmed the existence of the Three Dantians and then canceled the skill transmission and even reclaimed the Gift.
Seong Jihan thought carefully but couldn't understand why the Wandering God of Martial Arts did that.
'...There's still too little information.'
He obtained some information about the Wandering God of Martial Arts, but the mystery only deepened.
'There must be a reason why the Wandering God of Martial Arts guarded against the Three Dantians. For now, I'll focus on increasing my power.'
The integration of the Three Dantians, which failed last time.
Back then, his power was insufficient, but if he reached 100 power, things would be different.
Seong Jihan opened his status window and invested the additional stat points into power.
'43.'
Despite being level 31, his power, including the title effect, reached 43.
Although it was still far from 100,
Seong Jihan was confident he could achieve it soon.
* * *
[The Master of the Canyon, Seong Jihan! Achieving a Pentakill]
[Players experimenting with Pentakills at the well. However, no successful cases after that, "No Progress"]
[The Thousand Kingdoms offering a blank check. Will Korea lose another player?]
[Who is Robert Gates? Uncovering the wealth of the Gates family!]
"Indeed, Owner..."
Lee Hyeon smiled broadly at the news about Seong Jihan plastered all over the portal site.
The more Seong Jihan became a topic, the more the guild channel grew due to the trickle-down effect.
'Of course, most of the people who joined the channel came to see Owner...'
The newly opened waiting guild.
Currently, the only content the guild could use was information related to Seong Jihan, the owner.
The main concept of the waiting guild was a growth-oriented guild, but even with an excellent growth rate buff, a player's stats don't increase overnight.
'I wish the stats would increase by 2 or 3 a month...'
Lee Hyeon, looking at the stats of the guild members, couldn't hide her impatience.
While the guild channel currently featured videos of Seong Jihan,
To stick to the original concept of a growth-oriented guild, she needed to show the improvement of the guild members' abilities.
[The growth rate increases by 220%.]
'Will this... have an effect?'
The buff percentage was impressively high,
But since other guilds had tried it and given up without much success, there was a lingering doubt about whether it would work.
At that moment, the guild office door opened, and Yoon Seo-a entered.
"Master Unni~ I'm here!"
"Seo-a, did you complete the tutorial well?"
Lee Hyeon greeted her warmly.
"Hyeon Unni, speak more casually~ We'll see each other often now."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes~ Hehe."
Yoon Seo-a, looking exhausted, plopped down into a chair.
"You look tired. Why?"
"Ugh. I ran like crazy during the first tutorial."
"During the tutorial?"
"Yes. They said exercising in the game would increase the growth rate effect, so I kept running until I reached the 50th position..."
"Really? Let me see. Seo-a, you made a BattleTube channel, right?"
"Yes. But... I feel a bit embarrassed."
Lee Hyeon smiled and entered Yoon Seo-a's BattleTube channel.
Yoon Seo-a's channel, which had almost no subscribers,
Lee Hyeon played the first game video.
[Pant... Pant...]
Clank. Clank.
The sound of armor clashing rhythmically.
Yoon Seo-a, breathing heavily, kept running.
[Human! Stand still!]
The monsters in the Colosseum chased after Yoon Seo-a,
But she just kept running around the arena, evading all the pursuits.
A video filled with heavy breathing and the sound of clashing armor.
Lee Hyeon felt a bit overwhelmed watching it.
"...Wow. You ran in that heavy armor?"
"Yes. Just running is dangerous, you know."
"How long did you run? That's amazing, really."
"Ugh, don't even mention it. I really saw the sky turn yellow? At least my stamina increased by 1, so it's a relief..."
"Huh? What?"
Lee Hyeon, listening to Yoon Seo-a's lament, opened her eyes wide at the end.
What did she just say?
"Seo-a, say it again."
"The sky turned yellow?"
"No, not that! Your stamina. Did it really increase? Already?"
"Oh... Yes, look."
The status window Yoon Seo-a showed had 12 stamina clearly displayed.
"Indeed, the guild buff. It seems to have a good effect, doesn't it?"
"...No way."
This unprecedented growth, was it due to Yoon Seo-a's Gift?
In any case, the content for the growth-oriented guild