Chapter 9

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In the past, the price of relics was really high.

The Priestess reminisced about the old days.

"Despite being called relics, their item rank was high, but their stats weren't that great."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. However, when the Earth tutorial first started in 2010, there seemed to be some secrets, so the prices were high..."

She spread her hands and continued speaking.

"But even after 10 years, when the secret of the relics wasn't revealed, the prices hit rock bottom."

"So? Let's get to the main point."

"Getting impatient, huh? I was going to start with the history of relic collection..."

She smirked and got to the point that Jihan wanted to know.

"Among the relics, there are relics that are from outer space."

"I know."

"By holding onto those relics and concentrating divine power while praying, you could gain divine power, understanding the 'deity from outer space.'"

"...Is that all?"

"Yes. It has to be relics from another world, and you have to hold onto them for quite a long time."

"The conditions seem easier than I thought. I wonder why this wasn't widely known."

"From a supporter's perspective, there's no need to use relics from outer space. Relics from Earth's religions like Christianity or Buddhism give direct divine power bonuses to supporters. Outer space relics don't provide such benefits."

The Priestess nodded and grinned.

"But thinking about it now, it didn't seem like only I knew about this method. There were people who consistently bought relics from outer space."

"Really?"

"Yes. She disappeared after 2019 though."

At that time, he didn't think much of what she was saying.

But during his investigation of his brother-in-law's penthouse, he could figure out who the other buyer she mentioned was.

"It was Noona."

Jihan's sister, Seong Ji-ah.

She was also a pinnacle-class supporter in Korea.

"She was also a 'Priestess'."

And she sacrificed herself to prevent a massive 'incident' that occurred in Korea in 2019.

It coincided with the period when purchases vanished after 2019, just as the American Priestess had mentioned.

"And... piles of outer space relics were found in Noona's storage room."

When exploring his brother-in-law's penthouse.

Jihan discovered stacks of outer space relics in his sister's territory's storage room.

And most of the items were labeled.

"Former otherworldly Relic (Rank F)"

"Although it was an otherworldly relic, it's useless now due to the absence of divine power."

The item descriptions were written like this.

However, a few items were different from the rest.

"Take this for instance."

Whack! Whack!

As Jihan crushed zombie heads with an iron rod, he recalled the description of this item.

"Otherworldly Relic - Steel Pole (Rank E)"

"A weapon with strong durability."

"Deities from outer space strengthen their faith by striking down heretics."

Perhaps because one had to strike down heretics while strengthening their faith, the divine power wasn't absorbed.

And it remained intact in Noona's storage room.

And every time Jihan smashed zombie heads...

"Understanding of outer space faith deepens."

"Divine power increases slightly."

Such messages kept appearing, especially when facing powerful Blood Zombies.

Particularly during battles against formidable Blood Zombies.

"[The relic is pleased to encounter heinous heretics.]"

[According to the relic's original purpose, divine power arises on its own.]

It was guiding Jihan, who had low divine power levels, on how to utilize divine power.

"In some ways, it's akin to raising morale."

Of course, raising morale and using divine power had different starting points.

Morale starts from the lower battlefield, while divine power felt like an energy extending from the head to the hands.

Still, both were forms of energy.

After receiving guidance in the use of divine power, Jihan became able to manifest it as a weapon naturally.

Thwack!

Another Blood Zombie's head was shattered, and a white sacred flame ignited.

For a Level 6 Bronze player, Jihan's combat prowess was overwhelmingly dominant.

He dispatched over a hundred zombies and even blew up the heads of ten Blood Zombies.

[Understanding of outer space faith is complete.]

[Divine power has increased by 1.]

[Rank of 'Outer Space Relic - Iron Rod' decreases to F.]

As the divine power of the iron rod was absorbed, its Rank dropped.

Despite losing the divine power stored in the relic, the iron rod's sturdiness remained unchanged.

"Now, I need to conserve divine power as much as possible while fighting."

Despite the heads of numerous comrades exploding, zombies kept charging relentlessly.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He struck down regular zombies without using divine power, smashing their heads.

Schiing-!

Whenever a haze of smoke rose among the zombies, Jihan raised divine power in the iron rod, preparing for the Blood Zombies.

With a perfect distribution of strength, Jihan faced the horde of zombies without taking a step back, obliterating them all.

"Wow. He's crazy..."

The archer gazed at his back in awe.

Could the equipment of a Trampler be like that?

The movements of the rod.

Precisely and chillingly, he struck the heads of zombies one by one.

It was as if he could anticipate every movement of the zombies.

Meanwhile, Lim Gayeong was astounded by Jihan's strength from the warrior's perspective.

"...His control over power is flawless."

When facing regular zombies, he refrained from manifesting divine power.

Only when facing Blood Zombies, just before shattering their heads, he used divine power and conserved his strength.

Although Lim Gayeong was also a Bronze, she could use sword ki thanks to her outstanding gifts, therefore, She knew how difficult that was.

"...As the young lady said, I was lucky not to meet him in the Colosseum."

Seong Jihan.

His prowess were unmatched.

The steel pole, which destroyed zombie heads like smashing watermelons.

"Could I, myself, evade that?"

Lim Gayeong had no confidence.

As Jihan single-handedly defeated the countless foes, dozens of minutes passed.

Changes started to occur in the game.

"Oh. Another tower has already been eliminated! We're not last!"

The archer rejoiced while checking the scoreboard.

They had recorded 430 kills, placing them as the 10th tower with the lowest score. On this side, they were positioned at 5th place with 478 kills.

"Let's help him! We need to increase our kill count a bit more!"

The archer shouted enthusiastically, no longer showing the same attitude as when he had spoken to Jihan earlier. It was a complete turnaround.

When five towers were eliminated, the next rankings were determined by kill count. They needed to quickly kill more zombies.

"May I join the battle?"

Lim Gayeong asked Jihan for permission, He looked at the scoreboard.

"478... It's still unrealistic to eliminate 1,000 of them."

The linked quest demanded the elimination of a thousand zombies. Even though he had been relentlessly exterminating zombies, it was impractical to clear it within the time constraints.

"Once my level increases, the competitors from other towers will also become stronger opponents. I might have more leeway then."

However, in the new game, things would be different from the situation where Jihan was effortlessly mowing down zombies alone due to the interference from the Troll.

"Maybe... I should complete this achievement after descending?"

Jihan looked down at the horde of zombies spread out in the thousands below. There were so many that they couldn't even be compared to the number climbing the tower.

No matter how much support his Power stat provided, it was overwhelming at the moment.

"I'll have to challenge this after growing stronger."

Jihan decided to postpone the completion of the linked quest for now and answered Lim Gayeon,

"Sure, Go ahead."

"Understood!"

Swooosh—

As Jihan's permission was granted, Lim Gayeong drew her sword with vigor. The sword was more akin to a Chinese Jian than a Western-style sword.

As she drew the sword, the fragrance of plum blossoms wafted through the air. Jihan smelled the fragrance and recalled who she was in the past.

"Lim Gayeong. Someone mentioned her name... was it 'Plum Blossom Sword'?"

Lim Gayeong, the Plum Blossom Sword. After Sword King Yoon Sejin gained fame in Korea, she was a prominent figure representing the next generation of warrior classes in Korea.

Around the time Jihan awakened his Gift and rapidly grew by acquiring the Nameless Martial Arts, She was already one of the most notable players in Korea.

"...But it didn't end well."

In the final Northeast Asian League match that led to the downfall of Korea, she had participated as a representative of Korea and died at the hands of Sword King Yoon Sejin, who had become Japan's top player.

"This time, there's no chance of dying. She should be thankful to me."

Naturally, Jihan thought of himself as the one who would become Korea's representative. He was presenting a fitting display of his power.

"Wow... Two more towers have been eliminated. We're in 3rd place now! The gap with the 1st place is just ten zombies!"

The archer cheered, leaving the scoreboard displayed as he shouted with excitement.

Although he was shooting arrows to some extent, he was more of a commentator than a player at the moment.

Hearing his words, Jihan judged that it was time to make the decisive move.

"Oh... It's time to pull out all the stops. With just ten zombies left, it'll be over soon."

"...?"

"Please stay in position."

How could he push himself further from here?

Lim Gayeong felt puzzled, but she nodded her head.

And then...

"Alright, let's go."

Shooop—

As Jihan's permission was given, Lim Gayeong vigorously drew her sword.

A pure white light shone brightly at the tip of the iron rod.

In that state, Jihan fell straight down from the tower.

"Huuh, gasp... 12 kills. The gap is widening. Just a little more... Ah...! Hey, where are you going?"

The archer, who had been engrossed in his commentary, was astonished as Jihan fell down from the tower, but...

"Huh...? Th-the kill count...! The difference in kills is catching up in an instant! Now we're in 2nd place! Just 3 more kills!"

He couldn't hide the smile forming on his lips due to the rapidly increasing kill count. The iron rod imbued with divine power was incinerating the zombie horde spread out below the tower.

"Anyway, it's almost over now. It's time to use all the divine power."

Rumble!

The divine power, like a comet, tore through the zombie horde with ease, engulfing the entire body in sacred flames. The fire spread to the surrounding zombies in an instant.

Chiik—

It didn't take long for the pile of zombies that had climbed up the tower to be covered in white flames.

"Oh, 1st place!!! We're in 1st place! We're actually in 1st place! Wow, seriously... Is this for real??"

The archer danced with disbelief, celebrating exuberantly. He had thought they would end up in last place, but with 561 kills, they were now in 1st place! Moreover, Jihan had achieved 550 of those kills.

"Is he really the person I went through the tutorial with?"

Meanwhile, Lim Gayeong looked down at the scene below the tower with a feeling of emptiness. This game, Battle Net, was famous for its terrible balance, but this was too much. Could a player who had only played two games really perform this well, even if they were a Silver-tier player?

"...Should I quit the game?"

Lim Gayeong was facing a wall she had never encountered before.

[Five towers have been eliminated.]

[Defense Game - 'Ten towers' is ending.]

In a flash, as the game concluded, Jihan, who had fallen below the tower, was summoned back up.

His clothes were covered in zombie blood, but his body was unscathed.

"Wow... You've really worked hard! Thanks to you, we're in 1st place! I'll finally reach level 10!"

The archer bid farewell cheerfully, greeted Jihan like a machine, and then logged out.

Having achieved 1st place in a game he thought was hopeless, he seemed greatly excited.

"Um, Jihan-Nim."

As the archer disappeared, Lim Gayeong quickly approached Jihan. Her disheartenment from earlier seemed forgotten, replaced by a resolute expression.

"Um... Do you know?"

"Me..."

Her lips quivered.

I'm Lim Gayeong from the Divergent Guild. I would like to contact you regarding the possibility of joining our guild. Could you please provide me with your contact number?

She had prepared these words in her mind, but...

"U-um, Can I have your number?"

Perhaps due to her urgency, she skipped the introduction and got straight to the point.

"...?"

"I... Yes."

Her lips were trembling.

"I'm from the Divergent Guild... for recruitment purposes..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't remember my number."

"...What?"

"I mean, I can't remember my number right now."

He didn't remember his own phone number?

"What on earth...!"

As Jihan logged out, Divergent Guild blankly watched his departing figure.

"Did I mess up?"