Chapter 434

Inside the training room.

The owner of the arena, wearing a top hat, was waiting for Seong Jihan as if this was his own home.

"I was about to call for you anyway, but you coming first makes things easier."

"Don't tell me you were planning to destroy this place again?"

"That's the fastest way."

"I had a bad feeling, so I'm glad I came."

Flash!

From the cosmic face, two starry eyes twinkled.

[Special reward, 'Racial Evolution Bonus' is given.]

[Fire attribute affinity increases by +5.]

[Strength increases by +3.]

[Agility increases by +3.]

The message of the racial evolution bonus humanity received appeared in front of him.

"You calling me, was it because of this?"

"Yes, they were pushing the fire attribute bonus too blatantly. To the point it can't be seen as a coincidence."

"Yes, it's not a coincidence. I selectively gave it to you."

The owner of the arena calmly stated that he was indeed the one who gave out the fire attribute bonus.

"But why?"

"I was merely following the orders of my superior. I don't know his intentions."

"Orders from your superior......"

The one above the owner of the arena. Wasn't it the 'Black Administrator'?

What was the top figure of the Void thinking?

As Seong Jihan was frowning,

"However, if I were to make a personal guess."

"A guess...... What is it?"

"It seemed my superior was helping humanity find their true selves."

"'True selves'...... Don't tell me you mean becoming the Red Administrator?"

"Yes."

"Strange. Hasn't he been chasing the Red Administrator all this time?"

"He was. The Red Administrator who ran away without returning his authority even after his term ended. The chase that began to catch him seemed to be coming to an end with the discovery of the Administrator's traces hidden within 'humanity'......"

Tap.

The owner of the arena tapped the evolution bonus message he had displayed with his finger.

"But my superior made a decision to help the Red Administrator instead."

"I can't understand it."

"I feel the same way. This isn't the first time he's been whimsical...... But if we keep giving out fire attribute evolution bonuses like this, when humanity fuses with the Red Administrator, he might become a 'Permanent Administrator'."

"Right. Wouldn't it be a burden for them too if another 'Permanent Administrator' is added to the current Black and White Administrators?"

"Hmm...... A burden."

At Seong Jihan's question, the owner of the arena fell into thought for a moment.

"It's not just a burden. If the Red Administrator is added as a Permanent Administrator, they'll have to share absolute power with him...... But there's also the effect of sharing the responsibilities and duties as Permanent Administrators."

"Really? Then they might not entirely hate the idea of Red becoming a Permanent Administrator."

"......These days, they might even welcome it. The number of races belonging to the BattleNet is steadily increasing. The Black and White Administrators have been overworked for a long time."

Overworked.

The number of races included in the BattleNet is countless, but there are only three Administrators - Black, White, and Green.

No wonder they're overworked.

Seong Jihan sighed and said to the owner of the arena.

"If they have so much work, why don't they appoint more Administrators? Green seems to only care about his own interests."

"Because Red ran away with the Administrator's authority. To appoint a new Administrator, they had to catch Red first. Well, there's an exception where a player who achieves a 'certain achievement' can become an Administrator...... But it's practically impossible."

Flash.

Then the owner of the arena's starry eyes twinkled as he looked at Seong Jihan.

"But you seem to be aiming for that."

"Defeating a Great Constellation before even becoming a constellation?"

"Yes. You're trying to call Great Constellations to the tournament, aren't you aiming to clear that achievement?"

At the question of the arena's owner, Seong Jihan readily nodded.

"The Red Administrator also rose up that way. I'm trying it too."

"You could become an Administrator right away if you burn humanity, but you're taking the hard way instead of the easy one."

"I have to clear the achievement."

Originally, he was trying to become a temporary Administrator and completely erase the traces of Red within all of humanity.

Seong Jihan made up an excuse like that.

"......Well, let's put that aside. Anyway, after talking with you, I can guess my superior's intentions. They seem to want to increase the number of Permanent Administrators. Even though Red ran away with the Administrator's authority, they're willing to overlook it if he can rise as a Permanent Administrator."

At the guess that the Black and White Administrators might even welcome the increase in Permanent Administrators, Seong Jihan frowned.

If that guess was correct, what Seong Jihan was trying to do would be completely going against the will of those two absolute beings.

'I've been receiving small help from the Black and White Administrators, including the Star Buff...... If that disappears, it will be a big blow to me.'

It's already not easy to deal with Martial God, but considering the Black and White Administrators too is too much of a burden.

'......Ah, should I just burn it all and end it?'

If even the Black and White Administrators are like that, even if he becomes a temporary Administrator, he might not be able to erase humanity's fire.

Then should he just become the Red Administrator, beat up Martial God, and end it all?

As Seong Jihan was thinking in such an extreme direction,

Zzzzing......

"Oh, the Administrator......"

The starry eyes of the arena's owner that were twinkling started to be dyed purple.

"He spoke to me directly. He said he intervened this time for the smooth progression of things. The fire attribute evolution bonus and the light punishment given to Martial God...... Both of these were led by him."

"......I can understand the former, but why did he help Martial God?"

"He said Martial God is also a candidate with the potential to become a 'Permanent Administrator'."

"That guy?"

Martial God had accumulated so much power through infinite regression.

Did he gain enough potential to aim for a Permanent Administrator that even the Black Administrator acknowledged it?

'Then I'm a complete obstacle.'

The 'Red Administrator' who can aim to become a Permanent Administrator by burning all of humanity.

'Martial God' who accumulated power through infinite regression and has the potential to become a Permanent Administrator.

The one currently hindering these two the most was none other than Seong Jihan.

"The Black Administrator who wants to welcome the 3rd Permanent Administrator will have to get rid of me somehow. Is he telling you to kill me?"

As Seong Jihan sarcastically watched the purple eyes like that,

"On the contrary. He said if you receive 'this item', he won't intervene anymore."

"......Item?"

Swoosh.

The owner of the arena put his hand into his cosmic face and took something out.

And what was placed on his hand was a red button.

* * *

A red button protruding on an iron plate mixed with purple and red.

Seong Jihan looked at it in disbelief.

"What is this?"

"Why don't you take a look at the item description?"

Zzzzing.

As soon as he finished speaking, a message window appeared in front of him.

[World Tree Ignition Device]

- Item Grade: EX

- When the button is pressed, the World Tree on Earth will be set ablaze.

- It is only activated when the Red Hand is possessed, and all the power absorbed from the sacred flame will belong to the owner of the hand.

- This effect is not constrained by distance.

- This item is a one-time use item.

"......World Tree Ignition Device. This?"

"Yes, you can become an Administrator right away by pressing the button. Yes...... It will probably be possible even if you're not on Earth."

The Red Hand had been tempting Seong Jihan to quickly burn the sacred flame and become the Red Administrator.

But the process of burning the whole world with white flames and absorbing the power of the sacred flame from there.

In fact, it was something that could only be done by completely letting go of one's humanity.

However, the button the owner of the arena handed over this time.

"It's convenient...... Just press the button with your right hand, and everything is over."

"Yes...... He said if you press this, you can burn the World Tree sealed in the ocean in an instant. Then you can truly ascend to a Permanent Administrator in a simple way."

Swoosh.

Then the owner of the arena reached out his hand and passed the button to Seong Jihan.

"He said if you keep this in your inventory, he will never intervene again."

"Isn't giving me this item the biggest intervention?"

"It might be."

"......Got it."

To be able to easily become an Administrator with just a button.

The Dragon Lord and Sun King would go crazy if they saw this.

Seong Jihan quietly watched this and received the red button.

Of course, with his left hand.

"Seeing you hand this over, your superior also prefers the Red Administrator ascending to a Permanent position over Martial God. If I just press the button, the Red Administrator wins, right?"

"The Red Administrator is a veteran after all. He said it was easy to work with him when he was an Administrator."

"......Ha, I see. I didn't know seniority was prioritized even at the Administrator level."

Seong Jihan smirked upon hearing the reason they preferred the Red Administrator over Martial God.

He didn't know the ways of the world that prioritized experience extended to the pinnacle of the universe as well.

"Then, will they just watch from now on?"

"Yes. He says...come quickly and do some work."

"Hearing that makes me want to go even less."

The workload that even the absolute beings find burdensome.

What kind of lives do the Permanent Administrators lead?

"Then, since I handed over the item...... I will take my leave now."

Swoosh......

As the owner of the arena, whose eyes returned to normal, disappeared into the darkness.

"......World Tree Ignition Device."

Seong Jihan looked around the red button and iron plate.

A one-time use item with an EX grade.

It may look insignificant.

But it was a crazy item where just pressing the button would ignite the World Tree sealed in the North Sea and exterminate all of humanity.

Furthermore.

'If there's no distance limit, even if I press this while summoned to Tuseong, the power will be transmitted, right?'

To be able to receive the power gained from the sacred flame without any distance constraints.

No matter how you look at it, the performance of this doesn't make sense.

Even if it's one-time use, with this much, the grade should be measured higher than EX.

'Hmm...... What could be hidden in this iron plate and button to make it like that?'

Seong Jihan's eyes lit up.

A button with crazy performance directly given by the Black Administrator.

If he analyzed the power hidden here, couldn't he gain some byproducts?

'Come to think of it, the Black Administrator's Seal Box was also EX.'

Seong Jihan recalled another item he had received from the Black Administrator.

The hand storage box, 'Black Seal Box'.

[Black Seal Box]

- Grade: EX

- A seal box directly created by the Black Administrator.

- No being can come out of here before the box is opened.

The Black Seal Box, which had the same EX grade despite having inferior performance to the switch.

But after transplanting the Red Hand into his arm, he never had to take it out.

It was the most useless item in Seong Jihan's inventory despite being EX-grade.

"It's interesting that both are the same EX......"

Seong Jihan muttered like that and took out the Black Seal Box from his inventory.

Then.

Swoosh swoosh......

The color of the button's iron plate started to fluctuate wildly.

And the void energy began to leak from the two.

"......Oho."

He just took it out because the grades were the same, but what the hell is this phenomenon?

'I need to try linking them.'

Seong Jihan's eyes twinkled with curiosity.