frightfiction Chapter 307
Chapter 307
=Game... over?
=The dreadful 5 matches end with Korea's victory!
=Thank goodness... I guess?
=We don't have to see Oliver or Balan's heads floating around anymore.
The 5 matches that were distorted by the King of the Beginning.
Although the commentators' home country, the United States, lost.
The commentators said that it might be better for the game to end here, considering the state shown by the top-ranked players of both countries.
-Wow... Why did they suddenly fly away? The game ended with them holding weapons in the sky.
-Gilgamesh, did you originally hide the treasure there? No, they said the sphere was the treasure of the Beginning.
-So, this guy is just lying whenever he opens his mouth. There was no top floor of the Tower of Babel, and the treasure of the Beginning was hidden in a place like that.
-So... the King?
And in that short moment, viewers criticized Gilgamesh for lying every time he opened his mouth.
This was an emotion shared by viewers from both the US and Korea.
And.
-So, in the end... Korea won?
-Yes, it's the first time Korea has won in the Champions League!
-Oh, it's good, but I feel uneasy because of the last match, haha.
-Are the players who are only left with their heads okay... I'm worried that there might be repercussions in reality for no reason.
-It should be fine since it happened in the game...
Since the Korean national team won in the end of the 5 matches, it was Korea who claimed the victory.
However, perhaps due to the shock of the last match, the festive atmosphere was not greatly emphasized.
What drew more attention from the public was the people absorbed into the Tower of Babel.
There were doubts about whether they would return to the real world normally.
Meanwhile.
[How did you know the location of the treasure of the Beginning?]
The bandage sphere that followed Sung JiHan asked with a relaxed voice even though the game was over.
"The map completely turned black, but the weapons in the sky remained the same, which was strange. So, I came here."
[Really? It's amazing that your vision reaches this far... You had the leisure to do so.]
Gilgamesh, who seemed satisfied despite losing the game, spoke as if he was saying he was actually satisfied.
As the bandage on the sphere unraveled, its shape changed as if it were a hand.
[Then, will you hand over the treasure of the Beginning again?]
Gilgamesh shamelessly asked for the dagger as if he had left an item with Sung JiHan.
"Inventory."
Sung JiHan didn't even respond to him and put it directly into his inventory.
[Hehe... Can you handle it? If you bring that to Earth, it will cause a huge commotion.]
"What is this dagger?"
[It's an item related to the World Tree of Earth. If it reveals itself on Earth, the World Tree that was barely destroyed could regenerate.]
A dagger related to the World Tree.
Sung JiHan thought of the Training Ground of Emptiness at that moment.
Since it's not Earth, it should be fine to summon it.
"It's okay. I'll take care of it myself."
[Are you really not going to give it back to me? Then, the Rankers who have obeyed me will become hostile towards you.]
"Do whatever you want."
[If you return to Earth, it won't be just a game anymore. What will you do if the Rankers clash with you and die?]
In this situation, it's obvious that the Rankers would be the ones to die if they clashed with Sung JiHan.
Gilgamesh was pressuring Sung JiHan, holding the lives of the Rankers who had obeyed him.
"Threatening people's lives, are you?"
[It's not a threat, it's a suggestion. The Rankers who devote themselves to me... It is necessary for humanity to navigate through the Space League.]
Sung JiHan smirked at those words.
"The most important thing for humanity to navigate through the Space League is me, not the top 100 Korean and American Rankers."
"Oh... You have quite the confidence."
"I can't possibly believe your words."
The top floor of the Babel Tower is a lie.
The treasure of the beginning is a lie.
To Sung JiHan, Gilgamesh was a category of people he could never trust.
But if he were to succumb to his threats and hand over the dagger...
Instead of keeping his promise, Gilgamesh would continue to hold Sung JiHan hostage, using the lives of the Rankers as leverage.
That was something Sung JiHan could never allow.
"Oh, you've lost quite a bit of trust."
"I no longer have any trust in you."
"Well then, you better keep your word this time... I'm counting on you."
With those words, the bandage slowly became transparent.
And when he completely disappeared.
[Logging out.]
Sung JiHan was able to escape from this map.
And.
"Oh... I'm out!"
"U... Uncle! You're back!"
As he returned to the BattleNet Center, Yoon Sae-ah ran towards him with tears streaming down her face and let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness..."
"Why, what happened?"
When Sung JiHan asked with a puzzled expression, Yoon Sae-ah pointed her finger behind her.
"Oh, Sung JiHan has returned!"
"Thank goodness... What about the other players?"
"That... the players who connected through the Connector are still unable to come out!"
Yoon Sae-ah and Sophia, who had logged out in advance.
Except for Sung JiHan, who had finished the game, all the players were trapped in the Connector.
"So this is what Gilgamesh expected."
He doesn't lie about things like this.
Sung JiHan furrowed his brow.
* * *
"The Republic of Korea's national team wins the BattleNet Champions League for the first time! However, they were unable to pop the champagne."
"What is the health status of the players trapped in the BattleNet Connector? According to the information revealed on the external screen of the Connector, they are still healthy."
"Is this incident that has also befallen the US national team the trick of the ancient king Gilgamesh?"
"The player who serves the ancient king as the Pope, Sung JiHan, says that this incident will be resolved if he returns the 'Treasure of the Beginning'."
Korea, the champion of this year's Champions League.
It should have been a time to celebrate and congratulate each other, which was hard to believe.
But the actual situation was not like that.
- No, there's not much time left in the Space League, why is this happening all of a sudden?
- At least Sung JiHan survived... but if the US national team players are trapped in the Connector like this, won't the strength of the representative team of humanity decrease significantly?
- Yeah... it seems like the US players accounted for almost 30% of the overall strength.
- And there's no Sword Emperor... If Sung JiHan gets banned, the person who needs to fill the gap is the Sword Emperor and the US national team players.
- Gilgamesh is really... He's holding on until the end, grabbing our ankles.
"No, why is the Earth-born Pope acting like this?"
"He's asking for the treasure of the beginning, damn it, lol."
"Ah, is that Pope really crazy?"
Yoon Sae-ah, who usually didn't use harsh words, spoke harshly towards Gilgamesh and even cursed.
"I heard that the rankers in the United States who serve the King of the Beginning are gathering to issue a condemnation statement. They're saying not to tamper with the King's belongings and to return them quickly..."
"What the hell is that Pope! He gave it as a reward and now he's using people's lives as hostages...!"
When Sophia looked at the news from the United States on her phone and spoke, Yoon Sae-ah became furious.
It was too low of a threatening act to say that the Pope did it.
But maybe because the value of the tied-up players was so high.
The effect of the threat was tremendous.
"Owner... um, the request came directly from the American Association. They said that they will provide compensation from the government according to the grade of the treasure of the beginning, so they're asking if it's okay to hand it over to the Pope."
Lee Ha-yeon, who rushed to the BattleNet Center, conveyed the message from the United States with a perplexed face.
When 50 top rankers were trapped in the Connector, the panicked American Association...
Gilgamesh's position was to at least listen to the conditions he proposed.
"How do we know the grade of the treasure of the beginning?"
"For now, they said they will provide at least three SSS-grade items. They will also give a blank check, so you can use the desired GP..."
"They really like blank checks there."
Sung JiHan said that and opened his inventory.
"Hmm... this got bigger."
The dagger 'Treasure of the Beginning', which originally occupied one slot in the inventory.
While Sung JiHan was looking for a countermeasure to this incident.
The Treasure of the Beginning had transformed into a long sword that occupied four slots in the inventory.
"What should we do?"
"For now, I'll go see this item at the training ground. Let's skip the award ceremony."
"Yeah, Uncle. There's no point in having an award ceremony anyway. It's better to go and come back."
Although it was only three people compared to the United States, the situation of 47 members of the Korean national team being trapped in the Connector.
At such a serious time, there was no award ceremony to be held just because they won the Champions League.
"I'll go and come back."
Sung JiHan, who went to the training ground of emptiness, took out the Treasure of the Beginning from his inventory.
It was a small dagger that emitted a green light when it was put in.
'...Why did it get so big?'
When he took out the item from the inventory, the dagger had transformed into a long sword that was three times bigger than Sung JiHan.
And when Sung JiHan took out the black sword that emitted a green light from the inventory.
Kururur...
With the tip of the sword stuck in the ground, it slowly began to grow.
The Treasure of the Beginning seemed like it would continue to grow if left alone.
To Sung JiHan, an item description appeared in front of his eyes.
[Modified Root of the World Tree]
Grade: FFF
A prohibited item designated by the green administrator.
'So this is the root of the world tree?'
No wonder the vitality was extraordinary.
Just by looking at the power it possessed, it seemed like an item that surpassed SSS-grade.
Perhaps because it was a prohibited item, it seemed to have been classified as FFF-grade.
And.
[The target is a 'prohibited item of the administrator'.]
[Would you like to report this item to the administrator?]
[When you report and return the item, the administrator will give you a substantial reward.]
The system asked the green administrator if they would report this item.
"I guess I'll return it to those guys."
Judging by the system message that says they give a substantial reward, it seems like this item is important to both the green administrator and the World Tree Union.
I couldn't just hand it over to them.
"For now, let me analyze this in my own way."
Sung JiHan touched the roots of the World Tree, which were growing vigorously.
The vitality of life that he had absorbed so far and an unknown power coexisted within it.
"Hmm..."
Clang!
He tried hitting it with a giant sword.
He tried shooting a dragon thunderbolt.
Sung JiHan conducted various tests.
"The regenerative power is amazing, just like the World Tree line."
No matter how much he cut or burned it, the giant sword continued to regenerate.
Through these continuous tests, he was able to discern the vitality of life.
"But there's something else..."
He couldn't analyze the hidden power within it.
How much had he trained?
[The Void Presence detects a 'forbidden item'.]
[For confirmation, it demands that the player open the Void Training Ground.]
"Will you reveal the training ground?"
Another message appeared to Sung JiHan.
"The Void is even popping up now."
The giant sword had grown to the point where it reached the sky above the training ground.
No, now it was more like a pillar supporting the sky and the earth.
Had it grown this much that it was even detected by the Void Presence?
The modified roots of the World Tree.
It was overflowing with popularity.
"I guess it's time for the final test."
Sung JiHan used the power of the Guildmaster in front of the wooden pillar.
Hunwon Divine Art
Annihilation Divine Art
Heavenly Tree Descending Divine Art
Chains extending from Sung JiHan's body towards the pillar.
At first, Sung JiHan only intended for the chains of the Heavenly Tree Descending Divine Art to touch the wooden pillar.
Clang! Clang!
But the chains of the Heavenly Tree Descending Divine Art continued to extend to the sky and the ground without stopping.
"...How far will it grow?"
It wrapped around the roots of the World Tree.
And then.
Swoosh!
The chains pulled Sung JiHan towards them.
"Hmm..."
He was sucked into the roots of the World Tree.
To Sung JiHan, who was sucked into the pillar.
Flash!
A new scene unfolded before his eyes.