Chapter 388

'A purple message window... Is this sent from the Void?'

It seemed that the Thunder God would need consent to fully manifest.

Gazing at the message window before him, Seong Jihan spoke.

"I've bet everything I have on this... Should I really take this risk?"

[Ha, are you scared?]

Crackle!

At that taunt, the Phoenix Flag swiftly left Seong Jihan's hand, aiming directly at the giant lion's torso.

[What, what is this...? It's not even the Crimson Thunder...!]

"Even if you come in your true form, it will only bring you disgrace. Isn't it better to die here?"

[Vo-Void... What are you doing! Allow my true form to manifest! I swear on the name of the Thunder God that once I kill him, I will embrace annihilation!]

"Even if you kill me here, it's just a game, and I'll return unscathed."

[Hmph... of course, I know that. Still, I want to kill you. Because of you, I was dragged into the Void...!]

Seeing the lion's rage, Seong Jihan smirked.

The Thunder God had fallen because the Wandering Martial God had invaded.

Unable to retaliate against him, the lion took out its anger on Seong Jihan.

[Do you accept the Thunder God's proposal?]

Then, once again, a purple message window appeared.

"What will I get if I let him come in his true form?"

Already feeling uneasy about the lack of reward information for the Epic Quest, Seong Jihan couldn't simply accept this without knowing the rewards.

In response to his query, additional information appeared at the bottom of the message.

[If you accept the Thunder God's proposal, you will be granted 2 Racial Bonuses.]

[Moreover, if you subdue the Thunder God, you will receive 2 additional Racial Bonuses.]

Just summoning him granted 2 race bonuses, and defeating him would add up to a total of 4.

'Now that I think about it, the arena often gives a lot of race bonuses.'

This didn't seem like a bad deal.

"Race bonuses, huh... Alright, summon him."

Upon Seong Jihan's approval,

Whoooosh...

The purple vortex expanded greatly.

['Thunder God' is concentrating on Player Seong Jihan's arena.]

Crackle!

Thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts began to enhance the lion's body.

Simultaneously,

- Uh, wait... the Thunder God vanished on the other side?

- Looks like he's concentrating here...

In the other arenas where players were struggling against the Thunder God, the boss suddenly disappeared.

For those competitors, it meant clearing Stage 6 for free.

- Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing!!

- You were in an overwhelming lead, and now you're picking a fight with the Thunder God??

- Looks like he's getting race bonuses? Then the rewards aren't bad...

- Race bonus? Didn't Seong Jihan also bet on himself? Is he giving up GP to upgrade humanity, a low-tier race??

- Maybe he didn't bet much GP. If he's sure he'll get race bonuses, that's more valuable, right?

"I bet everything I had."

Seong Jihan retorted to the chat, causing the extraterrestrials who had bet on him to erupt in chaos.

Meanwhile,

- Wow, gave up all his wealth for the race bonuses? Unbelievable...

- Seriously... How far will he go to take care of humanity...

- We should build statues of him in every capital.

- LMAO! With extended lifespans and better health, humanity's now in the upper echelons.

- Not just statues. Countries should reimburse his lost GP too.

Human viewers, convinced that Seong Jihan gave up everything for race bonuses, began to praise him.

The notion of reimbursing his lost GP even became a trending opinion.

"I don't understand why everyone thinks I will lose,"

Seong Jihan muttered while reading the chat, shaking his head.

[Of course they think so!]

Crackle...

The giant lion, the Thunder God, shone brightly as electricity surged through its body.

With the 19 split entities now merged, the Thunder God's form was so vast and spectacular that it could obscure the entire purple vortex.

It resembled not just a game's 'boss' but a tremendous natural calamity.

[Now that I, The Thunder God has regained my true strength, who would think you stand a chance!]

Crackle, crackle...

The lion sparkled with intense electricity.

Yet parts of its body, especially where the void energy had penetrated, weren't uniform in color, appearing like large spots on its form.

[Race Bonuses will be granted to humanity after the game concludes.]

As if the Thunder God's full power was realized, a message confirming race bonuses appeared.

- Isn't this at least past Stage 10...

- Probably. The Thunder God is a powerful constellation.

- Judging by the state, it hasn't fully succumbed to the Void yet; only spots are marked.

- Doesn't entering the Void mean certain death? How is this god different?

- Recognized gods require a maturation process in the Void since they're granted immortality by BattleNet.

- Ah... So pledging self-annihilation is why they're giving race bonuses.

The extraterrestrials, actively analyzing the Thunder God, provided useful insights.

Seong Jihan glanced back at the lion, his mind racing.

'The void-infused parts must be the Thunder God's weakness.'

The lion's electricity stuttered unnaturally around the void spots.

Its power would have been greater if not for these void spots.

While he was carefully observing,

[Finally... I will kill you!]

Crackle!

Electricity surged endlessly from the lion's body, painting the vast map white with overwhelming power.

[As expected of the Thunder God... Even if I regain my former strength, he's still formidable.]

The Shadow Queen within Eclipse evaluated the Thunder God's power, realizing that even she, who had reached Dominion Level 7, would find him challenging.

The Thunder God, having partially reclaimed his full strength from the Void, was immensely formidable.

'I need to go all out.'

[Constellation reaching level has been reduced to Level 759.]

Seong Jihan activated Constellation Traits, amplifying his power with the half-mask, but he knew that in a direct power struggle, handling the Thunder God's lightning wasn't straightforward.

A special approach was necessary to block the Thunder God's attacks.

Firstly, the idea of using the first stage of Taiji Swordsmanship, the Taiji itself, came to mind.

'I can't summon the Taiji sword here; let's use the Dark Soul Vortex instead.'

With the live BattleTube broadcast ongoing, revealing the Taiji Sword was too risky.

Harnessing the powers of,

Fundamental Divine Arts,

Dark Shadow Technique:

Dark Soul Vortex

Seong Jihan's sword Eclipse started swirling, absorbing the Thunder God's strikes.

Though the vortex was dwarfed by the world-engulfing lightning, it effectively shielded Seong Jihan.

[Yes! Resist! Dying too quickly wouldn't be fun!]

Seeing Seong Jihan's countermeasure, the Thunder God was rather pleased.

Crackle...!

He poured more power into his strikes, attempting to break through the vortex.

- This is overwhelming...

- The Thunder God is a powerful constellation, But he's actually weakened now compared to his prime.

- Curses! Betraying us for race bonuses... I'll never forgive you, Seong Jihan!

- If he earns those bonuses, it's worth it. You can't buy those with GP.

Though Seong Jihan held his ground, from a third-party perspective, the Thunder God appeared dominant.

However,

Whoooosh...

While it seemed the Dark Soul Vortex might be overwhelmed by the lightning waves, it instead started to grow.

The Thunder God's electricity was increasingly being absorbed.

Step. Step.

With the Dark Soul Vortex as a shield, Seong Jihan advanced slowly.

Seeing this, the Thunder God growled.

[You're quite resilient.]

"Didn't you say it'd be boring if I died too quickly?"

Though Seong Jihan's words carried ease, inwardly, he assessed the situation coldly.

'Without the Heaven's Chaotic Flow training, I'd have been overwhelmed by now.'

Despite outward composure, he knew the limits were near.

Unable to directly reveal the Taiji Sword, he substituted with the Dark Soul Vortex, which had absorbed beyond his manageable amount of energy.

'I need to cleanse the interior once.'

Electricity surged wildly within the vortex; left unchecked, it might backfire and incinerate him instantly.

As he prepared to stabilize the vortex,

[Void increased by 1.]

[Surpassing the Void limit. Player's body might succumb to the Void.]

Having stayed at 200 for 700 days without further increase, now his Void had risen by 1 since activating the half-mask, issuing a warning.

It seemed unlikely to immediately succumb, but...

'I need to lower it.'

He decided to control the rising Void.

'As with summoning the Taiji Sword, directing the Void internally should decrease the levels.'

Though he'd only managed to summon the handle of the Taiji Sword at the second stage, his experience led him to strategies to reduce the Void.

Swooosh.

Inserting Eclipse into the vortex pulsing with electricity,

'Infuse the Void to strengthen the sword.'

He poured the Void into the vortex.

[What, what are you doing...]

"Hang on a bit. I'll reinforce you."

[Reinforce? It's causing internal Void explosions...!]

"This will make you stronger."

[Save me...!]

Ignoring the plea of the Shadow Queen, Seong Jihan infused the Void.

[Void decreases by 5.]

A message indicating the Void's reduction appeared, and he felt strength focusing into the sword.

'Partially succeeded.'

The Dark Soul Vortex had more room due to the Void explosion, and Eclipse began to mimic the Taiji Sword somewhat.

It was time to confront directly.

"You, your goal is to swallow the sun with your sword, right?"

[...Yes.]

"Then you should be able to swallow a lion struck by lightning."

Swoooosh...

Dark Sword Eclipse emerged from the vortex.

Concentrated Void energy exploded.

Fundamental Divine Arts,

Dark Shadow Technique:

Shadow Divine Blade

Whooosh!

Darkness spread swiftly from the sword.

[What is this...!]

Though the Thunder God sparked fervently, the darkness cloaked his light.

The void-infused spots on the Thunder God's body resonated with the darkness.

[Why... is this Void reacting like this...?]

"A Thunder God who can't even manage his body... pathetic."

[This can't be! I didn't exert full power... No...!]

"Let's end this. Just die."

Whooooo...

The Void engulfed the Thunder God completely.

His desperate struggles were soon shrouded in darkness.

[Thunder God has been subdued.]

[2 additional Race Bonuses granted.]

A message confirmed the victory.

Looking at the Thunder God hidden in darkness, Seong Jihan shrugged.

"It wasn't much of a challenge, was it?"

Then,

Whooooo...

The Void vortex began to spin rapidly.

It soon absorbed the darkness of the Shadow Divine Sword.

[The Black Administrator expresses satisfaction with your sword.]

[In his authority, he will summon a special boss monster for only you in the next round.]

A message emerged from the void.

'If satisfied, reward better... Why summon a special monster?'

Initially disgruntled by the message,

[Special Boss, 'Red Administrator's Hand' will appear.]

Upon seeing the name of the next boss monster, Seong Jihan blinked.