Chapter 126

"It seems like the bastard is so afraid that he won't show up," one of the national team Warriors said before spitting saliva on the ground outside the Administration test site and continuing to smoke his cigarette.

"Ah, I wanted to teach him a lesson. It's a shame that things turned out this way."

"Jiho, weren't you worried about losing a few moments ago?" his friend asked.

"Ah, it was just some anxiety~ How could I lose to a bastard who's too afraid to show up?"

"Haa… What was he thinking? Why would he call everyone out and then be a no-show? How bothersome."

The test wasn't scheduled to start for another 10 minutes, but they'd already concluded that JiHan would be a no-show.

'What a relief,' Jiho thought to himself. He was the lowest-level Warrior on the national team and would have been JiHan's first opponent. He'd watched JiHan's highlights only a few moments ago and felt half-defeated from that alone.

'People are extremely interested in the test, and I thought we were doomed when Dong-woo suggested streaming it.'

A Gold Leaguer challenging national-level Diamonds was unprecedented, so there were already several foreign reporters waiting, and millions of viewers online were eager for the test to start.

Jiho feared he'd be the first national representative to lose to a Gold as the whole world watched, so he couldn't help but smile when JiHan didn't show up.

"Ha! Anyway, I would've cut that piece of trash down in one strike," he happily boasted.

Then…

"Hey, what's that?"

"Something's flying toward us."

The players standing with Jiho pointed at something in the sky that was leaving a trail behind it as it approached at incredible speed. It was so fast that they would die if it hit them.

"Huh…?"

"What?! What the heck's that?!"

"Hey! D-dodge it!"

They seemed paralyzed in fear as it approached, sort of like rabbits facing down an oncoming truck.

Thankfully, whatever it was came to a stop in mid-air, and the players' cigarettes dropped from their hands when they realized who it was.

"Huh… Sung JiHan?"

Their faces turned white in shock.

'He flew all the way here from the Sword Palace…?'

'Isn't he a Warrior? Is it even possible for a Gold to fly like that?'

'We have to face a guy like this?'

While they were still processing things, JiHan landed and greeted them with a bow.

"It doesn't seem like I'm late. Okay, let's go," he said as he walked past Jiho, his first opponent, and entered the Administration building.

Jiho felt chills running down his spine.

'What the…? Is he even human?' he thought. He suddenly didn't feel like participating. The outcome was already clear to him, after all.

"Jiho, what are you doing? Come on."

Still, it wasn't like he could just back out.

"C-coming…" he said. He felt like a pig being dragged into the slaughterhouse.

After the test started…

BOOM-!

= Aah…

= Player JiHo lost in a single hit!

His fears became reality.

* * *

The test captured the world's attention, and the general consensus from experts seemed to be that JiHan would lose, though not by much.

- Considering the amazing things he has shown us so far, he should be able to beat a few of Korea's current national Warriors.

- But not the players who are over level 225, right?

- Of course. Level 225 players are on a different level. He'll have to grow a bit more to take them on.

- I think he'd be able to beat one or two level 225s if he was Platinum, but he's in Gold, isn't he?

- Yes. Gold players have a clear limit.

= Alright. The match is starting.

= This is a modified version of the Colosseum made for this duel.

= Player Sung doesn't use a connector, so the game will proceed through an invitation from the Administration.

= What a weird player. To think he wouldn't use a connector either.

= Yes. Fans say it doesn't matter if he uses one or not if he doesn't get hit.

= Haha! How can a player not get hit even once? A front-line Warrior is especially at risk! Isn't that just an irresponsible mindset?

= We will see if that's an empty boast or not! The match is starting!

Ding-!

His first opponent was Jiho, the one who said he would teach him a lesson.

"I'm looking forward to the match," JiHan said as they bowed their heads to each other in the arena.

"Ah, yes. Me too…"

With their greeting finished, JiHan rushed forward and extended his fist.

BOOM-!

Jiho hadn't been able to get into his defensive stance yet and was full of openings, but JiHan deliberately struck his shield.

"Agh!" The man was sent flying into the air, unable to withstand a single blow against his SS-rank shield.

So much for 'teaching him a lesson'.

= Huh…?

= It… it was instant death. The game is over…!

= What? Already

The commentators were bewildered, and the viewers started rapidly chatting.

- Jiho was defeated in one hit. Is this for real? Hahaha.

- I knew he'd lose, but I didn't expect him to be sent flying, LOL.

- Why is he even on the national team? He isn't even level 225.

- Korea just doesn't have enough Warriors above that level.

- Where are all the elite Warriors?

- Right there, can't you see JiHan?

Most expected JiHan to win the first round, but they were surprised that it happened in just a single hit.

Then…

BOOM-!

BOOM-!

The one-hit KO spree continued.

= Ahh…!

= Player Im was also sent flying!

= JiHan isn't even using a weapon… How is that possible?

= The player was sent flying out of the map! The judgment is… instant death in one hit!

Even Im Jae-jin, a tank-type Warrior who was close to level 225, was sent flying with a single punch.

= Ah… Player Sung! He's facing Lee YunGi, but he still hasn't taken his weapon out!

= YunGi has passed level 225. JiHan's going to be facing the national team's true frontline Warriors and needs to be more careful from now on!

"To think you wouldn't even take out your weapon…" YunGi said, grinding his death as if his pride was hurt.

"Give me a reason to use it," JiHan replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

If he hadn't merged the three elixir fields, he would've had to use his weapon, and even then, he wouldn't be able to defeat him in one hit.

Thankfully…

'Martial Soul is on a whole different level.'

'The area I can control with Martial Soul can't be compared to before. Although it rests at about 20cm, I can affect an area of up to 40m if I forcibly expand it. I might have to eventually face the Wandering Martial God for this… but that's for later.'

All he had to worry about for the moment was what was in front of him, and when he saw YunGi glaring at him like he wanted to kill him, he extended his fist in a leisurely movement.

It looked more like a provocation than an attack.

"You bastard… Aren't you going to fight properly?!"

YunGi tried to attack first, but he was sent flying back with his internal organs crushed before he could even take a step.

Even if he had a powerful passive skill like 'Protective Barrier', it was of no use. One could call him the national team's Warrior ace, but he died without even being touched.

= Th-this…

= Huh…

Even the commentators were lost for words.

"Woah…"

"Fuck… What just happened?"

The atmosphere around the national team's Warriors was as cold as ice.

= Player YunGi is a powerful Warrior who's among the top seven in terms of level…! Even he died in one hit…!

= H-how's that even possible…?! The punch didn't even connect!

= Maybe he used a wind attack? But nothing showed up on the cameras! They're the same as the cameras used in Battle Net games, so they should've captured something!

= This is impossible… Seriously… How could YunGi…

One was excited by the unexpected development of events, and the other seemed to be unable to accept reality.

- Why's that commentator so biased?

- For real. Isn't it better for the country if JiHan does well?

- Is he upset because he can't criticize him?

- He should be thankful that Korea has such a player.

- NBC hires the commentators, right? Can I go to NBC's forums to complain?

The viewers were starting to get annoyed by the biased commentary.

"That…"

The caster nudged the commentator to look at the monitor, where 50% of the chat was filled with insults toward the commentator.

That was enough to shut the biased commentator up.

'I won't be able to help Dong-woo,' he thought. Even if they were close, going against public opinion could lead to big trouble. He kept his mouth shut as the one-sided games continued.

BANG!

- Wow, he keeps ending the games with one punch, lol.

- He doesn't even bother to bring his fist close to them anymore, hahaha.

- Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan! Sung JiHan!

- What did I say? JiHan's going to finish them in three seconds.

- No, but… doesn't he seem to have gotten stronger than before?

- He definitely got stronger. Isn't that cheating?

- The more he cheats, the better it is for us, hahaha.

- For real, send the Sword King flying like that! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

"Fuck this shitty game!" the 2nd-ranked Warrior exclaimed in frustration as he exited his connector and gave it a kick.

Clang-!

"How could a Gold do that?! How does that even make sense?!"

The player was so frustrated that his face turned red and started tearing up.

"Did the Administration mess with the system or something? Maybe they edited that guy's data to give him a boost…"

"You know that's impossible…" one of the other players said.

"AGH! What the fuck?!"

The other national players who'd each suffered one-hit defeats felt sympathy toward him. All except for one…

"Player Dong-woo… Are you still going to step into the arena?" An Administration employee cautiously asked.

"Haa…" Dong-woo sighed. He didn't want to do it! There wasn't much difference in level between him and the ranked 2nd, so he'd probably suffer the same sort of on-hit defeat, but…

"I have to do it anyway…"

He was the team leader, so he couldn't back away from the fight. He sat in the connector with a heavy heart and soon encountered JiHan in-game.

'I should show some respect since he's the team leader,' JiHan thought. Although he could end it with one attack, he decided to give him one more hit.

Clang! Clang-!

Dong-woo was sent flying in two hits.

= Ah! Player Dong-woo managed to endure a hit!

= It just looked like JiHan made it take two hits on purpose…

As the commentator continued to speak in a somber voice, the test that day became a legend.