Chapter 360

- Lately, Seong Jihan has been frequently streaming haha.

- But it all ends within 10 minutes anyway...

- Well, even in the Grandmaster League, taking down kids in one hit remains the same.

During the repair period of the Void Training Room, Seong Jihan consistently played a game a day.

However,

'Leveling up has become quite sluggish.'

Perhaps it was due to reaching the Grand Master League.

The leveling process wasn't as smooth as before.

Even securing first place in each game, it could take two to three matches just to gain one level.

'At this rate, reaching level 500 could take a year.'

Accustomed to rapid growth until now, Seong Jihan frowned at the slowed pace of leveling up.

He had to reach 500 to properly research the Taiji Swordsmanship in the Void Training Room.

If it took a year to reach level 500, he could be absorbed by the owner of the Abyss by the time the Void Training Room was upgraded.

'Isn't there a special mission or something?'

Special missions had always been a reliable means of leveling up.

While such missions were somewhat frequent in the lower leagues, they were nowhere to be seen now that he was playing games in the Grand Master League.

If he just kept playing normal games like this, leveling up would be too slow.

'I need to participate not only in the Arena but also in anything related to combat to level up faster.'

Meanwhile, as Seong Jihan pondered finding ways to level up beyond normal games,

The chatrooms for humanity, typically delighted just to see him play, contrasted starkly with the alien chatrooms, which recently had been filled with complaints about the game footage.

- Is it over already?

- How mundane... How long does he plan to stay in this league with such power?

- I was interested in this rookie for showing such powerful potential, but if this is all that comes out, I might unsubscribe.

- With that level of strength, he could proceed with at least 50 percent of his abilities sealed.

- Even with a seal over 50 percent, he should manage first place without any struggles.

- What's this about sealing... Most would lose in that case.

- There are still many holding a grudge over lost money.

While they talked about unsubscribing if he continued only showing such games, a word that frequently popped up was "seal."

"Seal?"

Seong Jihan, puzzled by this, received an explanation from the Shadow Queen who had been viewing the chat alongside him.

[From the Grandmaster League, you can seal some of your stats during a game to gain greater rewards. They might be referring to that.]

"There was something that good? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

[The risk of stat sealing isn't worth the reward usually, so it's rarely used. Plus, the penalty ratio for losing also increases significantly.]

"Really? How much does the reward increase?"

[You'd have to seal more than half your stats to get double the rewards.]

Sealing more than half of one's stats.

Seong Jihan considered his own stats: Martial Soul, Void, Red, and Eternity.

'It seems doable.'

Even if not half, with just Martial Soul remaining, he should manage just fine in the Grand Master League.

"I should do it right away, then."

[Um... I wouldn't recommend it, personally. You can't pick and choose which stats to seal per map. You'd have to start the game matching in a sealed state. If you get a special mission map by bad luck, you'd have to fight with your powers bound.]

"I'll take that risk."

In typical situations, with strength, health, agility, and similar physical abilities being separate, the impact of sealing might indeed be significant.

'But since Martial Soul encompasses all those abilities, it's worth trying.'

Decided on sealing, Seong Jihan looked for where this option might be.

Then, before matching for a game, he noticed an added sealing option in the BattleNet menu screen at the bottom.

"How did I not notice this until now?"

[You were just pressing the matching button without looking, I guess.]

"Maybe."

Discovering the sealing option, Seong Jihan touched it.

[Would you like to seal your abilities?]

[Based on the proportion of sealed abilities, the rewards from the next matching game will increase. However, the penalties for losing will also escalate accordingly.]

A warning about ability sealing appeared.

The reward increases, but so does the penalty.

From this alone, it was clear why the Shadow Queen wasn't keen on recommending it.

However, Seong Jihan had the almost universal stat of Martial Soul.

"I'm sealing."

He proceeded to seal Void, Red, and Eternity in turn.

With three out of four abilities sealed,

[In the next matching game, only one of the four abilities will be active.]

[Based on the proportion of abilities sealed, both rewards and penalties will increase fourfold.]

The rewards and penalties increased fourfold.

"Oh. Four times. I should have done this sooner."

[Four times? How many abilities did you seal?]

"Three out of four."

[...Wait, so can you even fight? That's too greedy. What if you hit a special mission? You should probably cancel the match and unseal something.]

The Shadow Queen spoke faster than usual, trying to dissuade Seong Jihan, but,

[Match found.]

[The game starts now.]

"It's already too late."

Despite reaching Grandmaster, matching was still lightning fast.

And then,

[A Special Mission will commence.]

[You have been assigned to the Special Survival Map, 'Graveyard of Stars'.]

A special mission map, longed for yet elusive, was assigned just as he sealed his abilities.

* * *

[Graveyard of Stars? Of all maps, we landed on this one...]

Sighing at the map selection, the Shadow Queen said,

[Let's take the quadruple penalties and start again from level 400.]

"What kind of map is it that you say such things?"

[A place where once dominant Constellations who lost most of their power are buried.]

The Special Survival Map Graveyard of Stars.

This location had stringent conditions just for entry.

Reserved for Grand Master League players or higher who hold the candidacy for being a constellation.

[In the Graveyard of Stars, fallen predecessors invite candidates for Constellations.]

[Gain the support of predecessors to overpower your opponents.]

[The more concentrated the support, the more powerful the player becomes.]

Gaining support from buried Constellations to overpower opponents sounded intriguing to Seong Jihan as he glossed over the messages popping up about the game.

-Is it the Graveyard of Stars he's been matched in?

-That's a match worth seeing.

-But wait... he's in a sealed state?

The alien viewers, noticeably fewer than before, started to react.

Especially,

-Four times the rewards? Doesn't reaching that level of reward necessitate sealing most abilities...?

-He saw the chat from last time! Give us a seal show here, hahaha.

-Thought it was a normal mission? But unfortunately caught a special mission, did you? Off to level 400, then?

-My GP lost to the little sun... finally feels a bit compensated!!

-Why blame him for their own betting losses?

-That's typical of bettors... ever seen them blame themselves for losing money?

Seeing Seong Jihan's sealed ability status on BattleTube, those who lost bets on Little Sun started to get excited.

As Seong Jihan continuously soared, eagerly anticipating his downfall, the number of alien viewers skyrocketed.

'Human viewers really are of a different stripe.'

Seong Jihan, noticing aliens fervently praying for his downfall, couldn't help but chuckle.

It's more satisfying to crush such expectations.

However,

The early progression of the game wasn't very optimistic.

"What kind of map is so barren?"

Graveyard of Stars.

A map lighted by starlight instead of the sun, it was laid out with desolate stretches of land.

Had it not been for the giant statues scattered sparsely across the land, the place would have seemed entirely empty.

'This one resembles a dragon.'

Seong Jihan approached the statue nearest to him.

Then,

[Constellation ?? shows interest in you.......]

A message appeared before Seong Jihan as the giant dragon statue's eyes momentarily lit up.

Zing...

After a quick scan from the dragon statue's eyes, the light vanished, and

[Constellation ?? withdraws its interest upon discovering your abilities are sealed.]

The message concluded with the withdrawal of interest.

- Finally, we're going to see this guy lose.

- Who would want to support a player with sealed abilities hahaha?

- Right, those Constellations need to pick well and support to regain their power. They'll only sponsor someone promising.

- Exactly. They're a hundred times more desperate than players whining about lost bets.

Aliens were delighted to see Seong Jihan failing to gain any support.

And this situation kept repeating.

[Constellation ?? shows interest in you.......]

[Why did you come with your abilities sealed? It lectures you on your arrogance.]

[Constellation ?? ignores your insignificant presence.]

Seong Jihan, receiving nothing but reprimands for his sealed abilities and being shunned for humanity's small stature, frowned, not even getting sponsorship but rather scoldings.

"Forget the sponsorship, I just wish I'd run into another player already."

[It's the initial sponsorship phase now; opponents won't appear yet. After the Constellations' sponsorship procedures are completed, the real survival starts.]

"Is that so?"

While rivals were gathering strength with sponsorships, he was being ignored by the Constellations.

'This initial gap seems significant.'

Already with only Martial Soul unsealed, and without any sponsorship bonus from Constellations, the challenge seemed daunting.

Though the difficulty had escalated due to the seal, Seong Jihan smirked, seemingly pleased.

"Lately, the games were too boring, right? Now, it seems like it'll get interesting."

Compared to the simulation battles with Kang Sang, the marathon of regular game matches had been dull.

With the Void Training Room under repair and simulations on hold, Seong Jihan found the increase in difficulty rather welcome.

Of course,

- Posing strong... but he'll likely flee once the game starts.

- The grudge from losing GP will finally be resolved watching him crumble...

- Will his downfall in this game suffice? I think he needs to be demoted from the Grandmaster League to feel satisfied.

- Honestly, Seong Jihan doesn't seem like he'd get demoted, even if he messes up this game haha.

Alien viewers mocked his show of strength, fervently wishing for Seong Jihan's ruin.

Then, about five minutes passed,

[Survival commences.]

With the game proceeding as announced,

Flash!

Beams of light exploded from all sides.

Revealing players of various races.

Though their appearances differed, they all had one thing in common.

- What's with those light pillars?

- Suddenly, beams of light from the night sky? Haha.

- It's too conspicuous, isn't it? Stealth is totally out of the question.

Beams of light from above the night sky continually shone down on the players.

There were variations in intensity and color, but light fell on everyone.

Except one.

Excluding Seong Jihan.

"Is that light from receiving Constellations' sponsorship?"

[Yes. Sponsorship from the Constellations here significantly influences the game. Players like you, who didn't receive any, usually drop out early.]

As the Shadow Queen finished explaining,

Swish.

One of the pillars of light nearby

began to rapidly approach him.

"Not getting any sponsorship... You must be quite weak!"

Approaching was a gigantic crocodile-like monster, deeming Seong Jihan easy prey and rushing to devour him.

Was it due to the Constellations' sponsorship?

The opponent's movements and the aura exuded were indeed stronger than typical match opponents but,

'Still, this seems manageable.'

Fundamental Divine Arts,

Triad of Martial Mastery:

Mount Tai Suppression

Zzzap!

The sword's motion left a giant wound on the crocodile's body.

"Argh...! What is this...! You shouldn't have any sponsorships?"

Ssssh...

Stunned, the crocodile momentarily halted to regenerate, looking at Seong Jihan, who gave off a faint smile.

"Couldn't take it down in one hit?"

After climbing to Grand Master League, it had been monotonous with everything falling in one hit.

Now, this seemed more like a challenge.

Seong Jihan's sword moved several more times.

With each motion, deep scars were imprinted on the opponent's body.

"Argh...!"

After the fifth movement of the sword, the crocodile's body was completely torn apart.

Thump. Thump...

The crocodile's head rolled to Seong Jihan's feet.

He looked down, muttering disappointedly,

"Couldn't last five hits."

[...What? Didn't you seal your stats?]

"Yeah, three out of four."

[But... you don't seem to alleviate your power. Isn't it the same as always?]

After all, the Triad of Martial Mastery utilized only Martial Soul.

Seong Jihan, unfazed, kicked away the crocodile's head, scouting for the next opponent when,

Flash!

[Constellation ?? shows significant interest in you......]

[Constellation ?? intends to sponsor you. Do you accept?]

The dragon-shaped statue, having observed Seong Jihan's strength, shone its eyes brightly again.

Maybe now it thought he was worth sponsoring even in a sealed state.

'Quick to flip the script, aren't they?'

Such was the nature of BattleNet.

While Seong Jihan sneered, considering whether to accept the sponsorship,

[Epic Quest]

- Secure 1st place in the Graveyard of Stars without any Constellations' sponsorship.

- Reward: Constellation Fame 100,000, Graveyard of the Stars Spoils

An epic quest unfolded before him.