<Chapter 77: The God of Martial Arts Who Regressed to Level 2>
* * *
Baren left the Guild Master's room.
Lee Hae-yeon looked towards the door and said,
"Sir Baren seems to be very conscious of the Owner."
"Yeah, it seems that way. He should focus on improving his skills."
In the previous life, Baren, who was ranked higher than Seong Jihan, didn't act this way.
This time, his inferiority complex was visibly evident.
"Still... he was one of the world's top prospects, right?"
"For that guy, an SSS-grade Gift is no different from a pearl necklace on a pig."
When Seong Jihan harshly criticized Baren's abilities,
Lee Hae-yeon glanced at the door of the Guild Master's room again.
...He's gone, right?
"When will the other players arrive?"
"They should all arrive tomorrow and the day after. Oh, by the way, where should we use the development funds from the player loans?"
For the five players, the total development funds amount to 25 million GP per month, or 250 billion won.
'With that much, we can buy an A-grade artifact.'
To obtain power by absorbing divine energy, we need to collect A-grade artifacts from other worlds.
A-grade artifacts start at 2.5 billion, but we couldn't afford them due to financial constraints.
'Now we can buy them.'
Since it's now profitable, we need to purchase and absorb as much power as possible.
"Hmm... I'll allocate 200 billion won according to my share. Is that okay?"
"No, why are you talking about shares? The guild belongs to the Owner, so you can use it all."
"That's not possible. We need operating funds for the guild."
"Operating funds... we don't really have many expenses right now."
"No, you said you want to grow the guild. Use it freely."
After all, this money was mostly earned by Lee Hae-yeon's Gift.
Seong Jihan gave 20% to Lee Hae-yeon to use as she pleased.
"Oh, really... you don't have to go this far..."
Lee Hae-yeon, unaware of this, looked at Seong Jihan with a moved expression.
Giving 50 billion... he's too generous!
"By the way, now that we have money, let's try to increase it."
"Uh... what do you mean by 'increase'?"
"We have a sure bet, just like last time."
There's no need to spend all 200 billion on A-grade artifacts.
Since we have a sure bet.
"Betting...?!"
At that, Lee Hae-yeon's eyes lit up.
Recently, she was too busy with guild affairs to fully indulge her gambling desires.
But with Seong Jihan's assurance of a sure thing, her hands were itching again.
'Ah... gambling. I decided not to do it... but maybe I can just break even this time?'
The biggest reason gamblers can't escape the gambling trap is thinking 'I'll just break even.'
Lee Hae-yeon, thinking 'I'll just break even,' was already a great gambler.
"Yes. This time, just follow my bet without overthinking. Got it?"
"Of course! I'll only trust the Owner from now on!"
Lee Hae-yeon nodded quickly at Seong Jihan's advice.
She had already lost money twice by following her own judgment.
This time, she firmly decided to trust and follow Seong Jihan.
'Hmm, she's ready.'
This time, she won't make a mistake.
Seong Jihan began to speak seriously.
"You know that the East Asia League's second half season runs until December, right?"
"Of course."
"Who do you think will win?"
"Uh... probably China, right? Japan has become stronger with the addition of the Sword King, but China has always had the strength to be number one."
"No. Japan will win the second half season with a perfect record."
"Perfect... record...?"
At Seong Jihan's firm statement, Lee Hae-yeon's eyes widened.
It was understandable that Japan would win, given the Sword King's power.
But a perfect record was a different story.
Japan would face China, which had been consistently number one in the East Asia League, four times.
Japan winning all those matches?
'China has two players with SSS-grade Gifts...'
Lee Hae-yeon couldn't believe it, but he had never been wrong before.
This time, she decided to trust and follow him.
"And."
"And?"
"Our country will have a perfect losing record."
"Perfect... losing record...?"
"The absence of the Sword King has had a significant impact. Who can we beat now?"
Without the Sword King, Korea didn't win a single match in the regional league this year.
But even so...
Not a single win until December?
China and Japan are strong, but...
Not even against Russia's Far East or Taiwan?
'Russia focuses its players in the west, so the eastern region is weak...'
Russia, with its vast territory, has two regions participating in the regional league.
Perhaps because the European side of Russia is more important, most of Russia's top players are in the western region, and the eastern players are of lower quality.
So, in the East Asia League rankings,
China was the dominant number one.
Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Russia were all competing for the next four spots.
But even with the Sword King gone,
Not a single win against Russia or Taiwan?
"That's hard to believe."
"Well, if I were on the national team, it might be different. But I can't participate in the second half season because my level isn't high enough. Korea will have a perfect losing record."
Seong Jihan stated firmly.
"So, bet on Japan's perfect record and Korea's perfect losing record."
"Then, for each match... separately?"
"Yes. Later, Japan's wins and Korea's losses will be considered normal. The odds won't be high, but they'll compound over time."
Lee Hae-yeon nodded.
If the odds for each match are 1.2, winning all 10 matches would yield more than 6 times the initial bet.
'This time, I must. I'll bet according to the Owner's advice!'
This time, I won't think.
I'll just blindly follow!
Lee Hae-yeon made this promise to herself several times.
* * *
[Waiting Guild, the world's first development guild! Monthly rental fee is a staggering 50 billion!]
[SSS-grade Gifts: 2, SS-grade Gifts: 3. The next generation's top players all gathered in the Waiting Guild.]
[50 billion rental fee controversy... Experts unanimously agree it's a bargain. "It will be even higher next time."]
When all five prospects joined the Waiting Guild,
The media extensively covered the event.
The Waiting Guild, which had only been established for less than a month, was performing exceptionally well.
Of course, it wasn't just the guild that was performing well.
[Seong Jihan rapidly reaches level 40! Unprecedentedly fast leveling pace!]
[Can he reach the Gold promotion match in just one month? All eyes are on him.]
[Seong Jihan continues to set consecutive first-place records. When will the streak end?]
As the guild owner, Seong Jihan,
After reaching Silver, he continued to perform as he did in Bronze...
No, he was showing even more insane performance, dominating the league.
-These days, I live for watching Seong Jihan γ γ γ γ
-When will he reach Diamond... Please become a national team member soon γ γ -Is the national team on a 7-game losing streak?
-Yeah, Japan is on a 7-game winning streak γ γ γ γ γ γ
-Oh, the national ranking will plummet; will dungeons appear?
-He'll join the national team before that, no worries
With the Sword King gone, the Korean national team was on a losing streak in the East Asia League.
In the Korean BattleNet industry, where only bleak news was reported, Seong Jihan's news was a ray of hope.
However, as people placed more hope in Seong Jihan, some faces turned sour.
[Kim Nam-tae, BattleNet Management Bureau Chief, announces resignation.]
[Resignation likely due to 500,000 petition on the Blue House website.]
"Remarkable."
The chairman of the Daehan Ilbo newspaper grimaced at the news.
Kim Nam-tae, the BattleNet Management Bureau Chief,
Was not someone who would step down easily.
The position of Bureau Chief, though newly created, was a powerful one with significant political influence, and only strong politicians could hold it.
The person who made Kim Nam-tae, who was enjoying his position, resign so quickly was...
'...the President, of course.'
In the current era, BattleNet players are important, but for the President to remove a politician for a mere Silver player like Seong Jihan...
It was an absurd situation, but what could be done now that it had happened?
The chairman of the Daehan Ilbo picked up the phone.
"...Put an apology letter on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper."
[An apology letter, sir?]
"Yes. What else? It's about Seong Jihan."
[...Understood, sir.]
With Kim Nam-tae's resignation, public criticism would now focus on the Daehan Ilbo.
He didn't want to publish an apology letter, but there was no choice.
"Contact the Waiting Guild and ask if they can use Seong Jihan as an advertising model. Try to secure a reservation. We need to show the world that we are not hostile to him."
[Understood...]
Click!
The chairman of the Daehan Ilbo slammed down the phone, grinding his teeth.
Publishing an apology letter and begging a player, who was the cause of the Daehan Ilbo boycott, to appear in their ads...
What a humiliation.
'These bastards...! They made a mess of things by not apologizing properly...'
The chairman fumed for a while.
He vowed to deal with his grandson and granddaughter, who had caused this situation.
* * *
Mid-September.
Seong Jihan, who had consistently been number one and reached level 40,
The BattleNet Management Bureau Chief was fired, and the Daehan Ilbo published an apology letter,
But Seong Jihan, who had always been focused on his growth, continued to do so.
As usual, he logged into the game right after midnight.
[Welcome to the Silver League - Gangnam Area.]
[This mission is a Defense.]
[...]
'What is this?'
For the first time in his gaming experience, he encountered a 'loading' screen.
The system message, visible to both players and BattleNet viewers,
Surprised the viewers as well.
-??What is this?? What's going on this time!?
-Does BattleNet lag too?
-Defense means 10 towers, so why is this happening?
-Is there no matching opponent? γ γ γ γ γ
The Silver League shares the same map as Bronze.
The only difference between Silver and Bronze is the addition of the Invade mode, which introduces a new map.
The map structure itself is the same as Bronze.
However,
[You have been assigned to the Defense game, 'One Bridge'.]
After a long loading time, the system message appeared,
Assigning him to a completely different map.
-What?
-One Bridge?
-A Zhangban map?
-This is a Gold League map, right?
One Bridge.
A map used in the Gold League, often called Zhangban because the game resembles the Battle of Zhangban in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
But how did a Silver player like Seong Jihan get assigned to this map?
The system explained the reason.
[No suitable opponents can be found in the current league.]
[You will be matched with opponents from a higher league.]
[As a reward for participating from a lower league, you will receive an additional 50% GP and experience points.]
-What the hell, is this real?
-I've been watching BattleNet for 10 years, and this is the first time I've seen this;
-Ah... so if you win first place about 40 times, you get matched with higher league players... γ γ γ γ γ γ γ γ -Wow, Silver vs. Gold γ γ γ γ
-Will Ji-han's first-place streak end here? γ γ
A match he had never seen in his previous life.
Seong Jihan, seeing this for the first time, widened his eyes.
'Great.'
He was secretly pleased.
Leveling up was getting harder, but with a 50% experience boost, this was welcome.
'If I win here... I might get more achievement points too.'
With a hopeful smile, Seong Jihan entered the Gold League Defense map,