Chapter 276

"…Isn't that treason against the master?"

Dongbang Sak quietly listened to Gilgamesh's words and then questioned him.

The order from the Martial God for Longinus was to deal with Seong Jihan.

Literally interpreted, it seemed like Longinus was to act alone. However, in reality, since the Martial God issued the order, dealing with Seong Jihan was a matter that not only Longinus but all of the Martial God's followers should address.

Yet,

"So, you're saying that players of the Constellation level should rush to take down a single human?"

"That's…"

"Longinus himself wouldn't want that."

Gilgamesh told the conflicted Dongbang Sak that the person in question wouldn't wish for such a thing.

"Longinus doesn't want it, you say. That's…"

"He's right. I don't want your help. I'll take down Seong Jihan by myself."

Longinus appeared behind Gilgamesh, responding to Dongbang Sak's question.

"Longinus. Are you… really willing to do that?"

"Of course. Did you think I'd need your help to deal with one human?"

"'Seong Jihan' is not just any human, though."

"If he's not just any human, I'd be even more pleased."

Longinus smiled from behind Gilgamesh.

"Because he will be the end of me."

"…Longinus. Have you still not let go of that obsession?"

"Are you talking about my obsession with death? Naturally. I've always… wanted to die."

At Longinus's answer, Dongbang Sak fell silent.

Dongbang Sak, who became one of the Martial God's disciples seeking immortality.

However, Longinus had always desired to give up immortality.

Their views on life were completely opposite.

"I understand Longinus wants to die. But… this is just inefficient. If one of us intervenes in this matter, Seong Jihan will be dealt with immediately."

No matter how strong Seong Jihan was,

If more than one of the Constellation-level disciples of the Martial God intervened, it would be difficult for him to withstand.

Rather than sending an unhealed Longinus alone, addressing this together would be the right direction.

"That might be the case. But, do not interfere."

"…Why?"

Gilgamesh laughed tiredly.

"Simple. Because he woke me up."

"What?"

"If he woke me up, then maybe… he might awaken the third one as well."

"…Are you talking about the third one that has never been awakened before?"

"Yes. So, let's give him a chance."

Gilgamesh looked behind.

The throne of The Thunder God, the heart of Tuseong.

There, the usual figure of the Martial God was absent.

"When the master is absent, the rule is to follow my words first, remember?"

"…I remember."

"Then. Leave this matter to Longinus alone."

Dongbang Sak nodded silently, and Gilgamesh looked at Pythia.

"And you?"

"I never intended to interfere~ I'll just watch from afar."

"Good."

"Then, let's go take care of it now."

As Longinus said so,

Gilgamesh raised his hand to stop him.

"No. Recover properly first. You should at least be able to wield the Spear of Judgement."

"I can use it now."

"With your current condition? It would be nothing more than an imitation. The master's command has no deadline. Go when you are fully prepared."

"…Understood. I'll go after I've recovered."

Since Gilgamesh had the precedence among the Martial God's disciples,

Longinus reluctantly nodded and then disappeared again.

'Gilgamesh… It seems like he's helping Seong Jihan. But considering what he told Longinus, it doesn't seem completely benevolent…'

Despite Dongbang Sak's disillusionment with the Martial God,

Bound by immortality to him,

He was prepared to faithfully execute the master's commands.

If Dongbang Sak had joined forces with Longinus,

Seong Jihan would have been as good as dead already.

However, Gilgamesh blocked Dongbang Sak's intervention while also instructing the unhealed Longinus to recover first.

'If Longinus's condition was similar to Seong Jihan's, and if he intended to help Seong Jihan, he would have dispatched him immediately… What exactly is his intention?'

Pythia watched Gilgamesh with suspicion.

* * *

'Special code input, huh.'

Following the upgrade to Martial Soul, a new function had emerged.

Seong Jihan was cooped up in the training room, researching this new feature.

The code.

Seong Jihan was aware of what it meant.

Similar to the Annihilation code used by Longinus or the Sealing code used by Dongbang Sak.

When a special character was added to martial arts, the effects were amplified, something he had witnessed several times.

However,

'…I don't know how to input the code.'

The system window had opened the function but didn't teach the method for code input.

"Code activation."

Seong Jihan tried speaking out loud and also attempted writing the Annihilation code he saw previously on his sword with his finger.

[…What are you doing?]

"A failure."

No visible effect was observed.

'I've checked the stored replays, but there's nothing about how to use it.'

Whether it was Longinus or Dongbang Sak,

When they used their power, the characters appeared by themselves.

They hadn't manually written anything.

As Seong Jihan was using the two's Martial God techniques and researching,

'I can't find the answer right now.'

He decided to leave the training room for the time being.

"Uncle, did you finish training? You came out quickly."

Yoon Seah no longer showed surprise at Seong Jihan's sudden disappearances and reappearances.

"How many days have passed?"

"Five days."

"Then, it's been 100 days inside."

"100 days? Has the training room been upgraded?"

"Yeah, I upgraded it a bit."

"Ah…"

Yoon Seah nodded, then asked Seong Jihan.

"Uncle, did you reach level 300? You're not playing the regular game. Viewers are asking what you're up to again."

"Yeah. I already achieved it in the league competition."

"As expected… I guess I should tell people that. So, you won't be playing until the promotion match this month?"

"Probably."

May.

The schedule was relaxed this month, with Space League matches and promotion matches only in the last week.

Seong Jihan had plenty of time to train.

"Anything new on Earth?"

"Nope. Totally peaceful. We're still in first place. No dungeon portals have appeared."

Thanks to scoring massively in the league competition, humanity was still holding first place in the Space League.

Although they were earning fewer daily points compared to other races,

Experts predicted they would be able to defend their first place for a long time thanks to the gains from planet colonization.

"People are saying it's even better than during the tutorial. Dungeons aren't appearing in the bottom 10% countries anymore. And the occasional dungeons that do appear are quickly dealt with by the BattleNet Association."

"All thanks to me."

"Yeah. At this rate, they'll erect a statue of you. Some places might have already…"

"I'd rather not."

"A cult religion worshiping you as a god has sprung up too. The most popular one is the Martial God religion."

"Martial God?"

Seong Jihan smirked bitterly.

Why would they name it Martial God of all things?

"If you become a Constellation… it might really become the main religion"

"Then I'd have to take it down first."

"Hey, but those are people gathered because they like you… When you stream again, tell them you're not a god. It's getting pretty big."

"Okay."

Apart from the spread of the Seong Jihan cult, Earth was at peace.

'Since there's nothing major, I can keep training and come out later.'

Seong Jihan decided to stay in the training room for 300 days in May.

He had to figure out code activation within that time.

Just as he was about to return to the training room,

-Gilgamesh has woken up.

A message from Pythia arrived.

-Already? I haven't fully grasped the Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit yet.

-With Gilgamesh's power, You managed to chain a god. It seems he's awake now.

Brahma.

He had removed the Ancient Elf using him as materials for the chains, awakening Gilgamesh in the process.

Seong Jihan briefly recalled the one who had given so generously before dying and then widened his eyes at Pythia's following message.

-And… the master is trying to kill you. Longinus will be dispatched.

-Longinus?

-Yes. Probably because he saw you defeating a god and a Constellation, he's become wary.

-A being of Martial God's level is actually scared of a mere human.

-Exactly. Why is he so cautious? Martial God is being petty.

Despite being one of the Martial God's disciples, Pythia gossiped about her master.

Seong Jihan questioned her.

-But if he wants to kill me, why not do it himself? Why send Longinus?

-As Gilgamesh woke up, the master disappeared. He seemed to have left the order before vanishing. I don't know why he chose Longinus instead of me or Dongbang Sak… He specifically ordered him to kill you with the Spear of Judgement.

-So, do you think Gilgamesh and Martial God are the same person?

-I'm not sure… It doesn't seem like it. Gilgamesh helped you somewhat.

Pythia shared everything that happened recently.

-Gilgamesh is trying to protect me to awaken the third one?

-Yes. He wants to awaken the one who has never woken before.

-The third one… Who is that?

-He… I've never actually seen him awake, I've only heard his name. Ashoka. The great emperor of India's Maurya Dynasty.

Seong Jihan immediately searched for Ashoka upon hearing his name.

Ashoka the Great, regarded as a great ruler in India, He was also famous for reviving Buddhism.

-II always thought his power was related to water until now. Since I am of the water attribute, it seems he must be fire user. Do you happen to know the name of his power?

'Of course, I know…'

In his previous life, through the skill window, he had used the second Annihilation God's Secret, Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods, and had intended to master the third.

However, humanity was destroyed before he could use it.

He always regretted not being able to use the third technique, so he naturally remembered…

'…Why can't I remember now?'

Seong Jihan blinked.

Until recently, he clearly remembered.

He had even decided to challenge the third Annihilation technique after mastering the Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit.

But just when he was about to tell Pythia,

He couldn't recall the name of the third Annihilation technique.

-…I don't remember.

-Is that so? It's a shame it hasn't awakened yet.

-No. I'm pretty sure I remembered until recently, but strangely, that memory alone seems to have been erased.

-How is that possible? Does that even make sense?

-That's why I'm baffled too.

-Hmm… I'll look into it on my end. The third one. I'm curious about why Gilgamesh is so determined to awaken him.

-Okay.

-And be prepared for Longinus's invasion. He's powerful. I'll let you know when he sets out.

Pythia had almost become an internal informant within Tuseong.

She stopped sending messages after providing various pieces of information.

'Longinus is of Constellation level. It'll be tough with my current power.'

Despite having overpowered a Constellation-level Ancient Elf, Seong Jihan knew it wasn't due to his own strength.

Brahma turning into chains played a big role.

A battle with Longinus, without such material, wouldn't be easy.

Especially with the Spear of Judgement, the gap would only widen.

'To become stronger, I must use all available means.'

Thinking deeply, Seong Jihan sent a message to Artemus.

-Artemus. Can I take the Dragon Heart now?

-Oh! The Dragon Heart? Of course. Come to the forge! I'll open a portal!

The Dragon Heart received from the Dragon Lord.

Although Seong Jihan had been able to absorb fire mana more smoothly since changing his class to Heterogeneous Martial Resolve, the Dragon Heart was too valuable to be used solely for mana absorption.

'Time to make use of it.'

With that thought, Seong Jihan entered the portal opened by Artemus.