Chapter 357
The 4th Game Map, Colosseum.
Despite Yoon Sejin being banned, the expressions on the faces of the Korean national team were brighter than ever, all thanks to Seong Jihan's return to the BattleNet center for the 4th game.
"Uncle, is your training finished?"
"No, just took a break and ended up catching the World Champions League on TV."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Be grateful to me. If I hadn't watched TV, I wouldn't have known about today's game."
Suddenly, the Shadow Queen, protruding just her face from Seong Jihan's left arm, boasted, and Yoon Seah gave her a thumbs up.
"Great job turning it on, Queen! The snacks I saved for you were well worth it."
Behind Yoon Seah, Sophia approached with a sigh of relief.
"Phew, with Jihan here, this long-drawn World Champions League match will finally come to an end..."
"It does seem like this World Champions League game has lasted quite a while."
"Yes. Each of the first and second games took a day, leaving many people exhausted. I've also been using buffs endlessly."
"If it weren't for Sophia, we would have lost the first game. The US players were really bummed out. Asking why she went to Korea."
"The reason I went to Korea is..."
Sophia looked up at Seong Jihan and smiled gently.
"So, are you sending me back home now?"
"That's the plan."
Swoosh.
Seong Jihan walked leisurely into the Colosseum.
The survival map Colosseum.
During national team matches, the already large stadium housed not only opposing national team players but powerful monsters as well.
As a result, which monster spawned around you at the start of the game was a significant variable in national team matches.
However,
"Grrrr..."
With Seong Jihan returning to the Korean national team, the neutral monsters posed no threat here.
=A pack of werewolves, upon seeing Player Seong Jihan, they're retreating.
=Werewolves aren't the most powerful monsters in the Colosseum map... They are known for their aggression, charging blindly forward.
=It seems even they recognize the power of Player Seong Jihan, trying to keep their distance.
=This contrasts with the US team, which is engaging in battle with the pack of werewolves!
Werewolves, shaped like wolf men, are a nuisance in the Colosseum map due to their flocking and ambushing nature, albeit not individually strong.
Of course, at the national representative level, they were just a brief hindrance.
-First time seeing werewolves chickening out lol
-Well, Seong Jihan is on a whole different level, makes sense.
-The long World Champions League game will finally end...
-There were some fierce battles amongst humans which was interesting haha
-ㄴㄴ It's exhausting watching games dragged out over days...
-Used to Seong Jihan ending games quickly lol Other countries often have long battles.
Viewing Seong Jihan causing werewolves to flee, Korean viewers hoped he would quickly conclude the prolonged World Champions League match.
'Should I end it with Dragon Thunder?'
Contemplating whether to finish the 4th game in one strike, Seong Jihan recalled a skill he received from the Constellation of the Dead Star.
'Blessing of Undeath... Perhaps I should try this one.'
A skill that could grant Undead status with the consent of allies and turn enemies into Undead based on necromancy stats.
Having received it but not having a chance to use it due to battling with Kang Sang, Seong Jihan thought this no-pressure game was a perfect testing ground.
He approached the fleeing werewolves and used the skill.
"Blessing of Undeath."
Swoosh...
As he did, black mist enveloped the werewolves turning their gray fur jet black, their eyes void of life.
The Undead status was given based on necromancy-related stats probabilities, Seong Jihan's Void was high enough that the werewolves instantly became Undead with a 100 percent chance.
"Oh, what's that skill?"
"Got it from a Constellation. Turns them into Undead."
"Undead?"
"Yeah."
Yoon Seah observed the Undead werewolves with interest.
Though void of life, they emitted an intensely strong presence.
"Wow... they seem stronger than the regular werewolves?"
"My abilities enhance the Undead."
"Aha, so they got an upgrade. They also contain the void... Interesting."
Inspecting the Undead from all angles, Yoon Seah asked,
"Can it be used on allies too?"
"If allies consent, yes."
"Then uncle! Use it on me!"
"What?"
"I noticed the Undead are carrying the void. If I become Undead, I'm curious if my void would become stronger. They have a pretty strong void."
Indeed, the Undead werewolves emitted a purple haze, swirling with void energy. Ordinary players might think they just possess a unique power.
But Yoon Seah, who also harbors the void, quickly noticed the unique aspect of Seong Jihan's Undead.
"You want to become Undead?"
"Eh, it's just inside a game; we can cancel it anyway."
"...You really want to?"
"Yeah. Do it!"
Seong Jihan smirked wryly at Yoon Seah's enthusiasm to become Undead voluntarily.
'Well, since it's within the game, there's no harm...'
Swiftly, he pointed at the eager Yoon Seah, hand waving for quick Undead transformation.
"Blessing of Undeath."
Immediately,
[System Message: Do you accept the Blessing of Undeath?]
[Become Undead upon accepting the Blessing of Undeath.]
[Divine abilities will not be received while in Undead state.]
[The Undead status will be lifted once the caster of Blessing of Undeath dies or the game ends.]
"Auto-cancellation upon game's end. Here I go!"
Click.
Upon choosing 'Yes' in the system message,
Swoosh...
Her skin turned pale, tinted with a purplish hue, and a powerful burst of void energy swirled around her entire body.
The void energy she emitted was incomparable to that of the werewolves, transforming her surrounding world into shades of purple.
"How do you feel? Okay?"
"..."
"Seah?"
"It's amazing!"
With a vacant look and unfocused eyes, Yoon Seah's voice was still lively despite her transformed appearance.
"Uncle, did the void always have so much power? Wow, this is no joke!"
"You're the same even as Undead."
"Am I preferred by allies? It just feels like a status change. Also, come here, guys."
Swish. Swish.
At Yoon Seah's gesture, the werewolves with dull eyes slowly approached her.
Despite not being the caster of Blessing of Undeath, she was commanding the subordinate Undead in place of Seong Jihan.
"Looks like I can command the Undead like a middle manager."
"Ho."
"Uncle, can I use my amplified void over there? It's not like the US team could withstand your strike anyway."
"Go ahead. Take the Undead with you. If you die, we end it."
"Got it. Let's go, guys!"
Leading the Undead werewolves, Yoon Seah charged towards the US team. Seong Jihan watched for a moment before asking the other team members,
"Anyone else wants to try being Undead?"
"As long as it's not the support..."
"Ah, right. Support classes use divine power so it wouldn't work. Being Undead basically seals all their skills."
"Me, I'll give it a try!"
While Sophia showed interest, several warriors volunteered to become Undead.
After Seong Jihan used Blessing of Undeath on ten warriors,
[You have reached the limit of void usage.]
[Using Blessing of Undeath further will reduce the efficiency of its effects on each individual.]
A message popped up implying Seong Jihan used up his Void stat.
'Already?'
Having only turned a few players into Undead, how had the Void been depleted so quickly?
While Seong Jihan pondered the skill's efficiency,
[Player 'Yoon Seah' is using over 90 percent of the void capacity.]
[Would you like to reduce the amount of void given to Player 'Yoon Seah'?]
It turned out the real culprit was elsewhere.
'It seems she monopolizes the power because she can handle the void.'
Even so, one player absorbing more than 90 percent of it?
Seong Jihan became curious whether Yoon Seah would showcase effectiveness worth the power she monopolized.
And soon,
Boom! Boom!
"Pfft! Now my Void Arrows are more like cannons!"
Explosions of purple filled the US camp, unlike the regular impact of Yoon Seah's Void Arrows.
Seong Jihan watched for a while before hardening his expression.
'How did she become so powerful? At this rate, she might actually break through the US defense.'
The US national team, which has top-tier players in every position, normally couldn't be breached by Yoon Seah's Void Arrow even when adopting a defensive formation.
But,
After becoming Undead and using Seong Jihan's void, Yoon Seah transformed into a completely different monster.
Boom!
The void explosion sent US warriors flying into the sky, some of whom had survived the apocalypse with Seong Jihan from the American First to the Last Stand.
"Let's push forward too. It will be a good opportunity to check the efficiency of the Undead as well, let the warriors go first."
"Yes!"
"We shall follo... ow."
Swoosh.
Seong Jihan quickly led the Undead warriors towards the US camp.
* * *
The 4th Game Colosseum.
The game's outcome had tilted entirely towards Korea with Seong Jihan's participation.
-Seong Jihan using Dragon Breath would result in instant obliteration...
-Should we hope he gets banned for the 5th game? Is that a realistic hope?
-But how did Seong Jihan return?
-He said he came out of training and just happened to see the game on TV while talking with the team earlier...
-They should've ended this game quickly instead of dragging it out for 2 nights and 3 days 🙁
Believing they had already lost this game, US viewers only hoped for Seong Jihan to get banned in the 5th game.
Everyone just watched how quickly the game would end, but the actual gameplay didn't finish cleanly with one strike from Seong Jihan as anticipated.
Instead, the battle was closer to a melee, similar to previous games.
=What's happening here?
=We understand losing to Player Seong Jihan. But to be utterly defeated by Player Yoon Seah...
=The skill used by Player Seong Jihan, turning opponents into Undead... Was it always that effective?
=Since when does becoming Undead make them so powerful? They can't receive buffs while Undead!
=The warriors show a completely different level of defense. Supposedly dead but they get right back up! Korean zombies, tinged purple... Much more potent than regular Undead!
=The defensive line is collapsing... We simply can't block Yoon Seah's arrows...
=Player Seong Jihan. Doesn't engage in battle till the end. Sinks the US with just the Undead...!
=The MVP of the 4th game is awarded to Player Yoon Seah!
Seong Jihan overwhelmed the US team merely by using Blessing of Undeath, but the MVP of this game was Yoon Seah, who bombarded the opponent with the void.
"Wow, I came out with uncle and got MVP!"
"You did all the work."
"Hehe. Oh. But now that the game is over, I'm not Undead anymore... That's a pity."
Showing regret for the powerful void she wielded moments ago, Yoon Seah missed being Undead.
"Didn't being Undead feel strange?"
"Kind of, but it felt like I couldn't die no matter what hit me."
"Even if arms and legs were blown off, they'd reattach."
"But the power boost doesn't seem much different from when Sophia fully buffs us."
The warriors who had been Undead gathered to discuss the effects, comparing it to the three times stronger buffs given by Sophia, the Blessing of Undeath seemed just as powerful.
However, unlike Yoon Seah, the other warriors didn't exhibit a game-dominating performance.
'The Undead warriors have the downside of not receiving the support's care... It's most efficient for Seah. This thing.'
Seong Jihan assessed the efficiency of Blessing of Undeath and found the skill somewhat lacking.
Although it was extremely effective when used on Yoon Seah, it was only applicable when participating together in a game.
Given situations not as forgiving as this, Seong Jihan too had to utilize his own void, making it tricky to distribute power through Blessing of Undeath.
Meanwhile,
=Game 5...
=This ban pick will decide who takes the World Champions League!
=Please, Seong Jihan must be banned...!
Commentators, with their arms folded tightly, prayed fervently for Seong Jihan to get banned.
The fate of the match hung on whether one player would be cut from the game.
All eyes, from both countries, focused on the 50% chance.
And then,
=Oh, oh oh...!
=Se, Seong Jihan! Gets banned! He will not be participating in game 5!!!
=We did it!
Fortune smiled upon the US team.
Korean national team's mood dampened upon seeing the result.
"Ah..."
"50%... and it didn't work out..."
"But, we won a game without Player Seong Jihan before. We can do this!"
Some players tried to raise morale by recalling the victory of the first game, but it was hard to lift the spirits of the team.
"Ugh, uncle should be there to buff me..."
"What can we do? Win without me."
"Alright... I'll try my best!"
Thus, both teams entered the last match.
The joy and sorrow of the two teams were clear.
The US was more than halfway to victory, while Korea faced an uphill battle as soon as the game started.
Then,
Swish!
As Yoon Seah drew her bow,
Kaboom!!
Explosions of void erupted in the US camp, just like in the 4th game.
"Huh...?"
Yoon Seah blinked at the devastated US position.
"...Am I not Undead anymore?"