Chapter 65
Chapter 65
'I have above 200,000 achievement points right now.'
The fact that the constellation 'Wandering Martial god' had reclaimed its gift proved to be an advantage in situations like this. Currently, Seong Jihan's achievement points totaled an astounding 201,200.
'Let's start with upgrading the store first.'
The achievement store was at level 5. As there wasn't anything worth buying immediately, Seong Jihan intended to begin with the upgrade costing 100,000 points. However...
[To upgrade the Achievement Store, you must have both the Status Window Expansion and Inventory Expansion upgraded to LV.2.]
The two options he hadn't found useful and thus hadn't upgraded were now required for the store upgrade. Seong Jihan frowned. While it made sense to upgrade the status window, which was full after receiving the shadow stats, expanding the inventory felt wasteful.
'It's unavoidable.'
Thinking of them as items he'd eventually have to upgrade, he upgraded both and proceeded to upgrade the store. 120,000 points were deducted in an instant.
[The Achievement Store has been upgraded to LV.6.]
[The item 'Gift Slot Addition' is now available.]
[The item 'Monthly Random Box' is now available.]
"...Random box?"
Seong Jihan had somewhat expected the 'Gift Slot Addition'. However, the 'Monthly Random Box' was a surprise. He checked the upgraded store.
[Achievement Store LV.6]
Achievement Store Upgrade: 250,000P
Status Window Expansion LV.2: 50,000P
Class Slot Addition LV.2: 50,000P
Inventory Expansion LV.2: 50,000P
Title Slot Addition LV.2: 50,000P
Emergency Recovery (Item): 10,000P
Throne Slot Addition LV.1: 50,000P
Gift Slot Addition LV.1: 50,000P
Monthly Random Box (increased chance of gift appearance): 30,000P
The list of items had grown considerably since he first accessed the store.
'Upgrading the store is out of the question for now.'
Considering the store upgrade cost was 250,000 points, he couldn't even consider it for the time being.
'I don't have a constellation or gift slot at the moment...... and don't really need one right now.'
There was no need to increase slots that weren't even filled. As it was, the achievement shop didn't look like there was much to buy, but Seong Jihan focused on the Class Slot Addition and the Random Box.
'Now that I've moved up to Silver league, I should start working on my original class, Warrior.'
He wasn't thinking of advancing the Warrior class due to a lack of power. Starting from the Silver League, basic classes could evolve to the next level. He wanted to see the Warrior class evolve.
'I might not be able to attain my previous job as a Martial Saint.'
Martial God, the third evolution specialized job of the Warrior class, was attainable due to the care of the 'Wandering Martial God' constellation. Without it, it would be challenging to achieve that class now.
'Well, I can get something better.'
He didn't need to be too attached to the Martial God class, given how much had changed.
[You have purchased Class Slot Addition LV.2.]
[Your 50,000P achievement points have been deducted.]
Seong Jihan clicked on the 'add third class' slot.
[You can advance to a basic class.]
[The available classes are as follows.]
[Warrior]
[Archer]
[Would you like to select a class?]
He chose Warrior, and now had three class slots: Warrior, Mage, and Support.
'If I add Archer to this, I'd have all the classes...'
What would happen if he acquired all class slots? Would the four classes merely occupy slots, or would there be some change?
'I'd love to experiment, but... it requires too many achievement points.'
The Class Slot Addition LV.3 required the same 250,000 achievement points as the store upgrade.
The amount was too high to be used just for experimentation, so Seong Jihan quickly dismissed any lingering thoughts. He then turned his attention to the newly added 'Monthly Random Box' option.
'A random box that increases the probability of a gift appearing...'
Since his gift was taken away by the constellation, there had been a void. While this void allowed him to achieve special tasks and gain points, he couldn't keep it empty indefinitely.
'Such tempting words.'
With 31,200 achievement points remaining, Seong Jihan decided to try his luck with the random box.
[The Monthly Random Box has been purchased.]
[August's special feature is 'Increased chance of gift appearance'.]
A golden gift box appeared on Seong Jihan's hand, shining brightly.
[Opening the Random Box...]
Bzzzt-
The box lid opened, and an intense light burst out, filling the room. The opening effect was truly splendid. Seong Jihan wondered what kind of treasure would warrant such a display. As he watched,
'Hm... What's this?'
The light from the box began to darken. Just as he was about to frown, thinking he had drawn a blank, a system message appeared.
[The Random Box is imbued with the power of a constellation.]
Simultaneously,
Swoosh-
Suddenly, Ariel emerged from Seong Jihan's left arm.
"...The main body?"
The only entity she could call the main body was the 'Shadow Queen' constellation. Indeed, the dark aura emanating from the random box resembled the power of shadows.
[The 'Shadow Queen' constellation pays a significant price to replace the contents of the Random Box.]
[The gift 'Agility A' has been replaced with 'Moon's Shadow'.]
"Moon's Shadow?"
"What? Main body... Have you gone crazy?"
Ariel responded in disbelief. Seong Jihan wondered just how extraordinary this gift was and clicked on it.
[Gift - Moon's Shadow (Grade: SS)
- The power of the Constellation 'Shadow Queen'.
- Greatly expands your area of shadow dominance, plundering and absorbing the shadows of your enemies.
- The absorbed shadows can be used to complete the Shadow Sword Eclipse.
- If you have the Shadow Queen as your constellation, the grade of the gift increases by one level.
"Expands the area of shadow dominance and absorbing shadows... Is it good?"
As Seong Jihan inquired skeptically, Ariel, who had remained mostly emotionless, glared at him.
"Of course! The Moon's Shadow is the fundamental power that turned the Shadow Queen into a Constellation!"
"Ah, so the Shadow Queen wasn't born as a constellation but evolved into one? How did that happen?"
"That's because... ———."
Ariel began excitedly, but Seong Jihan only heard a beep.
Ariel realized the same, quickly regaining her composure.
"Ah, this is a tutorial."
"So, I can't hear certain things in tutorial mode?"
"Yes, and you probably won't be able to hear them even after the tutorial ends."
Ariel closed off the topic. Instead, she explained the advantages of the gift.
"With the Moon's Shadow, you can subdue enemies and gain shadow stats."
"Is that the shadow absorption ability?"
"Yes. Moreover, with the expanded shadow area, my operational range increases."
Seong Jihan pondered for a moment. If he didn't accept this gift now, he could achieve a special achievement for remaining giftless. However, the growth of the newly introduced Shadow stat would slow down.
'I can't afford to invest stat points, which are already scarce for increasing strength, into Shadow.'
Although he was reluctant to spend his achievement points, it seemed right to accept the Moon's Shadow to enhance the Shadow Sword Eclipse.
"Why would she give me something so valuable?"
"Probably because she desperately wants to become your constellation. I don't understand why she'd go to such lengths for a low-level species like you..."
If he accepted the Moon's Shadow, he'd have no choice but to choose the Shadow Queen as his constellation to upgrade it.
Ariel's actions clearly indicated that the Shadow Queen was willing to go to great lengths to secure Seong Jihan as a player, whatever the significant price she had to pay to the system.
'If it wasn't for the achievement shop, I would have been torn.'
If there was only one slot, he might have hesitated more to accept the gift from the Shadow Queen. However, since there was the option to expand both throne and gift slots, it didn't matter much.
[Do you wish to accept the gift?]
"Yes."
Seong Jihan decided to accept the Shadow Queen's favor.
* * *
"...You want me to lease myself to that guild?"
In Robert Gates' office on the 123rd floor of the America First Guild building in New York, the white-haired middle-aged man adjusted his glasses and showed Barren a video. It was an introduction video of the Daegi Guild that had been released a short while ago.
"Yes. They've promised 5 million GP for a month."
Robert, who had previously failed to buy the Daegi Guild's secret for 100 million GP, now aimed to lease his guild's top talent, Barren, to them. The price they had quoted was 5 million GP. It wasn't a small amount, but Robert readily agreed to it.
"What? 5 million GP? Are you out of your mind? Do you have money to burn?"
"Yes. We have surplus."
"Huh. What if I don't want to go?"
Although Barren was being rude to the owner, Robert Gates, the latter didn't seem to mind. Ultimately, in the BattleNet industry, capability mattered more than courtesy. Even if Barren had lost his title of the world's top prospect, he still commanded respect.
"I have no intention of transferring to the Korean league."
"There's no need for that. The Daegi Guild isn't confined to one country. After joining, you can participate in the league from anywhere."
"...Without even knowing for sure if my stats will increase, you want me to give up the all-stat buff and join that guild?"
"The all-stat buff provides a +5 in Silver. That's negligible, isn't it?"
"That may be so, but... Why go all the way to that country? Can't America First establish a similar developmental guild?"
"We've tried multiple times."
Even though setting up a guild required a colossal 10 million GP, for the Gates family, such an expense was trivial.
"We even created 2nd, 3rd, and 4th guilds to test, but none achieved those stats."
"Tch... Regardless, I'm not going. Until I see their growth results with my own eyes, I can't trust that guild."
Barren was adamantly against joining the Daegi Guild. Robert sensed a stubbornness in him.
'Is it because he was so miserably defeated by Seong Jihan?'
Barren had once boasted about being the world's top prospect, but now he was showing signs of inferiority.
Robert skillfully concealed his disdain and instead smiled gently.
"...Understood. I was perhaps too hasty. I'll look for another promising candidate."
"Good. And stop calling me for such pointless matters."
Slam!
Barren exited Robert's office, slamming the door behind him. Robert sighed deeply, frustrated.
'Such a waste of an opportunity.'
The thought of making someone like Barren the face of the guild weighed heavily on Robert.
'Who else should I send?'
Which prospect would benefit the guild the most? As Robert pondered, a subscriber-exclusive message appeared on his monitor.
[Seong Jihan has started a broadcast.]
On September 1st, having advanced to the Silver League, Seong Jihan had started his game. Robert, pushing his thoughts on the prospects aside, focused on Seong Jihan's broadcast.
[Welcome to the Silver League - Gangnam place.]
[Your mission is Invade.]
Starting from the Silver League, players could participate in the Invade mission. This was Seong Jihan's first mission since the start of September.