Chapter 24

***

The viewers were stirred by Seong Jihan's declaration to go down the tower alone.

- Ah-ah-ah!

- Is another person going to be added to the list of Gangnam's top three trolls?

- Haha, we can't lose to the trolls! We don't need teamwork here!

- Sh$%^&!!!!

- Looks like today we're checking the status window!"

- It looks like we're going to see his status window today!

Their reactions were understandable because, in the '10 Towers' defense map, countless zombies crawled around at the bottom of the towers. It was truly hell.

Going down alone?

No matter how skilled Seong Jihan might be outside the norm, this was akin to saying he would commit suicide.

- A Bronze player can be revived in the defense map. After being revived, he will probably fight properly from above, saying something like, "It seems like it still isn't possible yet~"

- Can you revive in Bronze? I didn't know since I don't watch Bronze.

- I guess he's doing it for entertainment purposes.

But the excitement of the people subsided shortly.

When it became known that Bronze players had a total of 3 chances to respawn, everyone concluded that Jihan's arrogance was meant to entertain people. No one thought that he was serious about going down to kill a thousand zombies.

"Seong Jihan, you're truly a professional broadcaster...To think you would go down there alone!"

Golden Light also thought that Jihan's sacrifice came from the attitude of a professional entertainer.

Although he'd been killed by him previously, he has become one of his fans after seeing him fight.

"I'll be filming from above until you come back. Viewers of Seong Jihan , if you want to see him fight from a different angle, please visit my channel!" Golden Light blatantly advertised himself, assuming Jihan would die.

"Alright. I'll leave the top to you, and as for the Mage... Are you going to play properly this time?" Jihan's cold eyes bored into Kim Gyuhyuk.

Gyuhyuk choked up for a moment as he remembered what had happened before.

'Fuck. How dare someone who said he's going down lecture me on how to play properly? Supports should just give buffs. Why's he wielding a sword and causing a fuss?!'

Despite such thoughts, Kim Gyuhyuk weakly nodded his head outwardly.

"Yes, of course."

Mage Kim Gyuhyuk, adept at anger management.

Since the incident when he was utterly defeated by Seong Jihan, he had been very good at controlling his anger.

On the other hand, Diego Mashid, who hadn't experienced playing with Seong Jihan, had a quite normal attitude towards him.

"Support. Buff. Give."

He demanded a buff from Seong Jihan.

"To think he's asking me for a buff. It feels quite unfamiliar."

He'd only received buffs. He'd never given them.

'But since the Force has Divine Power in it...'

His Force was at 14, so he could use buffs that he couldn't before due to the lack of Divine Power.

"Power Up."

The skills he'd obtained as Support were Heal, Power Up, and Barrier, and Sung Jihan used Power Up on all three players.

"Woah. So you really were a Support!! To think you'd use Power Up, and on top of that, the performance is great!"

"Good buff."

Pang. Pang.

Diego Masid's soccer ball flew high into the sky thanks to the buff.

It could've been because, just like Martial Power, Force was also a unique stat, but the effect of Power Up was too good for 14 points of Divine Power.

[Protect the crystal and survive the zombie attack.]

[The battle will continue until 5 towers are left.]

As the game began...

"I'll be going."

Woosh-

JiHan, who was standing at the top of the tower, jumped straight down.

"...?"

At the same time, Diego's mouth fell open when he saw how the Support jumped off the tower.

"Is he crazy?"

"Yes. He's crazy," Gyuhyuk answered while nodding vigorously. Then he quickly ran toward the tower's edge to look down at where Jihan had fallen.

Just like what had happened to him, he wanted to watch the zombies surround and kill Jihan, but...

The sight unfolding beneath the Tower was...

"Crazy..."

It was crazy in an entirely different sense.

* * *

The power that dominated space, Force.

Barren, the first to handle this power, had always complained.

"Force is too difficult to handle. Especially controlling space... It's almost ineffective against high-ranking players."

When it came to top-ranked players representing each country, they were all formidable and easily resisted space control.

'Of course, the biggest problem was Barren's lack of control.'

Perhaps due to his exceptional gifts, Barren had consistently grown without much difficulty, overpowering opponents with his stats until he reached Rank 1.

Even if his spatial control wasn't effective, the power of Ultra Magic Power, a fusion of Divine Power and Magic, remained robust.

Thus, he grew to become Earth's strongest damage dealer, flourishing like a flower in a greenhouse.

If Earth hadn't been included in the Space League, he might have been content to remain at Rank 1 while living within the greenhouse.

'But in battles against extraterrestrial beings, he was utterly powerless.'

However, when Earth started competing in the interstellar league with beings from other planets...

Barren's overpowering strength on Earth only translated to being remarkable in the Space League. His hidden weaknesses became apparent.

To be precise, it was his lack of control and his vulnerability to attacks.

"Jihan, Let's practice!"

Barren had called upon Seong Jihan countless times to practice and overcome these weaknesses, but he couldn't easily eliminate them.

If Barren had managed to overcome these weaknesses, Earth might not have faced relegation.

'Nevertheless, my role as Barren's partner back then is proving helpful now.'

Seong Jihan was quickly falling from the tower.

Below, zombies crowded together without any room to spare.

At this rate, a collision with the zombies was inevitable.

"Fire."

With a single word, Seong Jihan extended his hand and flames erupted.

Whoosh!

The heads of the zombies waiting below burst into flames.

Basic magic of the Mage class, Fire.

It could only conjure flames near the hand, and if the casting distance increased even a bit, the flames would weaken and extinguish quickly.

No mage had ever used this magic for offensive purposes.

But Seong Jihan's Fire was different.

The flames that erupted simultaneously even from a distance were not only stronger than if he had conjured them directly, but they also radiated a powerful white light due to the fusion of Magic and Divine power.

Fssss...

Furthermore, perhaps due to the power of Sanctity, which was the opposite of the zombies' nature, the white flames were instantly reducing the zombies' bodies to ashes.

'Not bad.'

Tap!.

Seong Jihan lightly landed amidst the flames.

As he stepped down, the white flame extinguished on its own, and he created a cleared space.

It was the power of Force that dominated the space.

Grrrrr!

However, despite the flames before them, the zombies mindlessly charged forward.

When one burned, two more followed. When two burned, three or four stepped on the fallen ones, approaching.

Even though the flames containing Divine Power were deadly to the zombies...

As the zombies lost their reason and engaged in tactics, the power of the white flames began to wane.

Uuuuuu!

Amidst the weakening flames, the zombies' arms and faces poked out.

Hands of zombies that seemed ready to overwhelm Seong Jihan any moment.

But as they approached Seong Jihan, their movements slowed down simultaneously.

Seeing this, Seong Jihan smiled faintly.

"So the Absolute Domain's range is... around 1.4 meters."

The Absolute Domain.

It was an area where the power of Force exerted a strong influence. Entities not authorized by Seong Jihan were all restricted in their movements within it.

Though his Force stat was only 14, the range of the Absolute Domain was limited to 1.4 meters.

But that was enough for Seong Jihan.

Schaaaaak!

As his sword traced a line, the heads of more than ten zombies were cleanly cut,

But that wasn't all.

Zombies that were slightly touched by the sword line emitted white light from their bodies and turned into dust.

Seeing this, Seong Jihan nodded subtly.

"As expected. Combining it with Marial Power is better."

Using the power of Force alone for Fire was less destructive than combining Martial Power and Force to emit a Sword Ki from the sword.

Swoosh-

After he confirmed its destructive capabilities, Jihan's sword began dancing, and the chat window also started to dance with comments.

- ?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?

- What's this? What in the world is this? Seriously, what is this!!!

- This goes beyond common sense!

- If we empty our thoughts, it makes sense!

In just a few seconds, dozens of zombies turned to dust and vanished.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

'120 kills.'

The score on the scoreboard was already showing 120 kills.

This achievement was possible thanks to the densely packed zombies.

Looking at other Towers where the recorded kills were still around 10 or 12, Seong Jihan's overwhelming performance was remarkable.

Even if he continued to face the incoming zombies from this spot, achieving the goal of 1,000 kills seemed quite possible.

However...

"It won't work at this rate."

Seong Jihan's goal was the linked quest. He didn't know what quest would come after clearing this quest. Therefore, Seong Jihan quickly moved to achieve the 1,000 kills.

While staying in this position allowed him to fight without being surrounded, it wasn't a viable option for Seong Jihan in his current state with both impotence and Force.

Whoosh!

Seong Jihan's body shot forward like a cannonball.

Whoosh!

Although the zombies targeted him from all sides, just a few movements of the sword were enough to cut them all in half.

No matter how effective the tactics might be, they were only feasible when there was a certain level of difference in strength. This situation was akin to an ant swarm attacking a lion.

- Wow, He reached 300 kills in an instant.

- Others are only at 30 or 40 kills... He's single-handedly crushing them down

- To think he alone could reach more than 500 kills... Is he even human?

Viewers watching Seong Jihan's unmatched performance were stunned by the kill score displayed.

- He's strong, but this is too much, right?

In a Defense Map designed for team play, Seong Jihan was sweeping away the zombies effortlessly on his own.

Even the troublesome Blood Zombies from the Defense Map were appearing endlessly, but...

- Crazy! He's even taking down the Blood Zombies in a single hit!

It was utterly frustrating to see dozens of Blood Zombies, who were about to swarm Seong Jihan from the air, falling like flies.

In that state, they all crashed to the ground.

Though the range of the Absolute Domain was only 1.4 meters, the area where the power of Force could exert dominance was wider, making this possible.

- Wow... What in the world is this?

- Even if it's a garbage game with terrible balance, this is going overboard, isn't it? He hasn't been hit even once. Is this real?

- It might be faster to gather subscribers if we want to see his status screen - Lol. I'm willing to bet all my belongings that JiHan's Gift is SSS-rank.

- Hey, you think that too?"

The viewers were all in a state of disbelief when Seong Jihan's kill count passed 700.

While other Towers hadn't even achieved a combined total of 100 kills, Seong Jihan had already recorded over seven times that amount.

- This isn't Telekinesis...

- A Mage using Divine Power? That's impossible...

- On top of that, his potential as a Warrior is top-notch. He's insane!

The scouts who were watching Seong Jihan were exhilarated and ecstatic.

It was an unconventional power.

Moreover, this was something that not even the previous Sword King Yun Sejin could perceive when he was still a Bronze rank.

If they could recruit Seong Jihan...

The rankings of Korean guilds could completely change."

'No matter what it takes, we must recruit Seong Jihan!'

Among these scouts, only one person's gaze remained chillingly calm.

'You can't... If you continue doing this, it'll attract way too much attention.'