[The mission is 'survival'.]
BOOM! BOOM!
Drums echoed, announcing the start of the survival game.
A smile appeared on JiHan's face. He'd been fortunate enough to get a survival game on his first try.
'I can test what Sae-ah was saying.'
- Aah, it's survival.
- Lol. There's no need to watch. It's going to be another massacre.
- Aren't we watching it for that reason?
- For real. It's really shitty how the Sword King beat us. So I've been destressing by watching this lately.
The viewers obviously thought that JiHan would finish 1st again since it was a survival game.
He'd also been ranking 1st in defense and dungeon games, but while the other two modes might have some unexpected variables, survival had none.
Maybe that's why, rather than the outcome of the game, viewers were talking about what had happened that day.
- Did JiHan mention the Korea-Japan match?
- Why would he talk about an utter defeat?
- Please hurry up and reach Diamond to do us justice!
- You're asking a Bronze to do us justice. Lol. It's only been a month since JiHan joined Battle Net.
- You know that JiHan has a better Bronze record than the Sword King, right?
- Comparing Bronze records? Lol. What a joke.
The conversation naturally flowed to the Sword King's interview.
- Was that Sword King's interview real? I got chills when he said he didn't have a daughter.
- Was he always such a jerk?
- How dare you insult the Sword King?!
- Sword King? He's just a son of a bitch named Ito.
- ???: Son of a bitch? I'll sue you!
- Lol. Here they are.
- After I saw the match, I didn't think there were any Sword King Fan Club members left.
- Yes~ They're here, in this room~
JiHan skimmed through the chat before the match began. He felt that the Sword King's popularity had noticeably dropped.
Seeing the Sword King trample on the Korean team on their day of independence seemed to have shocked many who still had lingering feelings.
'The chat room's atmosphere isn't bad.'
He'd drawn the line with Ito after breaking the Dual Sword Statue, and then Ito had said he didn't have a daughter.
Those who would have usually criticized Sae-ah and said she was the daughter of a traitor were sympathetic toward her.
'Of course, that's probably because most of my subscribers have a positive opinion of me…'
Still, the atmosphere was completely different from how it was in his past life.
Feeling satisfied with their reactions, JiHan opened his mouth. "I won't talk about Ito on this stream because it's a private matter. However, I hope those of you who still have hope in him come to your senses soon."
It was the truth, but he knew there was no way the Sword King's fans would have a change of heart upon hearing his words.
As for why he said it anyway…
'I need the Sword King Fan Club to hate me.'
He needed to keep drawing their attention to him.
- They're not the type of people who will listen just because you say so.
- For real. My mom's a hardcore fan of the Sword King… She cheered for him while he swung his swords against us. She cheered for him while he was destroying our country. My dad ended up fighting with her.
- It's understandable that they would argue.
- My dad is the one like that in my house. That's why I argued with him. Lol. It seems like crazy fans of the Sword King are everywhere.
Even though the Sword King had demolished Korea's team, quite a few people still cheered for him. Such a thing was absurd for JiHan. He knew the future, after all…
'They're willingly blind, so there's nothing I can do about them.'
He wouldn't be able to convince everyone or change the minds of delusional people.
JiHan clapped to change the topic. "Now, let's stop talking about the Sword King. I will start a new challenge on the survival map today."
- A new challenge?
- Is there something more to do in the survival map?
"Yes… I'm going to call it 'barrier breaking'."
- What barrier?? Don't tell me
- Is he talking about the barrier that protects the audience?
JiHan nodded, recalling what he'd heard from Sae-ah.
- Originally, there were two possible candidates for the Shadow Queen.
Many elves were randomly summoned to the spectator seats, and they were served by the dark elves. Each had a unique characteristic, but only three appeared in the same form in every game.
The first one was the so-called 'Elf Queen'. Most elves had two dark elf servants, but she had four.
- The Elf Queen was wearing fancier clothes than the other elves. She looks like the spitting image of a queen.
She sat in the center of the northern part of the Colosseum and was Sae-ah's first potential candidate.
- The next candidate was easy to find since the normal relationship was reversed.
Generally, elves were served by dark elves, but one dark elf sat on a high seat while being served by two fairer elves.
- This dark elf is sitting in the southern part of the Colosseum. Like the Elf Queen I mentioned earlier, she's at the center of the south.
The dark elf sat opposite the queen elf.
- I think this dark elf is also a potential candidate for being the Shadow Queen. Unlike the Elf Queen, I think she fits the 'Shadow' aspect more.
The Elf Queen sitting in the north and the dark elf in the south had been consistently appearing in every survival game, which made them some of the most caught-on-camera beings from other races.
- Still, this is something you can find with simple research… I tried to see if there was something else.
After watching many videos, she was able to spot something else.
- Among the elves… There are some dark elves with black eyes.
Dark elves with black eyes were rare, but they weren't unheard of. The black-eyed dark elf Sae-ah was talking about differed from others, though. It wasn't just the iris that was black, her eyes were entirely void-like.
- Her appearance changes every time, and her hair length varies. Sometimes she's beautiful, sometimes not.
JiHan checked some videos. Upon closer inspection, he saw a dark elf sitting at the back of the audience with completely black eyes focused on the players.
For the short five-minute duration of every game…
- This dark elf appears in a random location, but she's always in the back of the audience. I did notice something else peculiar, though… She always sits directly opposite the game's 1st-ranked player.
- What do you mean…?
- The black-eyed dark elf always focuses on the player who finishes 1st in the game.
JiHan hadn't been able to hide his surprise. How could she figure that out and sit on the opposite side ahead of time? No, in the first place…
- Did you figure all that out from a recorded game?
- Yeah. You should do at least this much to call it an investigation, right?
Not only had she found the unique elves sitting in the audience, but she'd even investigated where the black-eyed elf sat every game.
'I only asked to keep her from getting bored… I'm glad I entrusted her with it now.'
As expected of her position as the Student Council President, she didn't do anything half-heartedly.
JiHan organized the information in his head.
'Normally, the elves on the north or south sides would have been my candidates…'
Anyone could see that they had presences befitting of leaders, so it wouldn't be weird for either of them to be the Shadow Queen.
'If it were a simple quest, I would've thought one of them was the Shadow Queen.'
The simplest solution was often the answer in such cases, but it was an epic quest. Leaving aside the quest's rank, the rewards were huge for a Bronze quest. The reward was 50,000 achievement points and the interest of a constellation.
Taking that into consideration, the dark-eyed elf being the Shadow Queen was a very real possibility.
'I'll have to check for that dark elf.'
JiHan looked at the audience from where he was summoned. He would be the top player in the game, of course.
He looked in the northeast direction. Although there was quite some distance, his vision was better than it used to be thanks to Martial Power, so he was able to see the elves clearly.
Despite that…
'I can't see the highest seats…'
The highest level of the audience seemed hazy as if it were surrounded by mist. Was that intentional?
A smile appeared on JiHan's face. 'I'll have to take a closer look.'
The game started. JiHan closed the chat window, took out the Phoenix Arrow, and started running.
"Eek!"
"It… It's Sung JiHan…!"
The players in his way tried to run, but…
Slash!
The tip of the Phoenix Arrow easily pierced through them.
"F… Fuck! How unlucky…"
"I'm doomed…"
JiHan was considered a natural disaster in the survival map for the Bronze League Gangnam 1 players.
'Don't go against him. Avoid him.'
He was a monster you had to hope wasn't summoned next to you and that you had to run away from.
JiHan's kill count increased in the blink of an eye.
From three to five to ten…
The players shook in fear.
'That monster!'
'Stay away… Stay away!'
'Oh, God, protect me with your eternal light, lead me with your holy wisdom…'
No matter how unbalanced Battle Net was, wasn't that just too much?
'Please reach level 25 soon. Please, get promoted as quickly as possible, and let's not meet again!'
That was a thought all players participating in the game shared.
On the other hand, JiHan stopped attacking after he easily reached 10 kills.
'I guess 10 kills is enough.'
Statistically, 10 kills should be enough to make him finish 1st, so there was no need to kill more.
Moreover, if he killed too many, there was a chance the game would end too soon.
"Kurr… Hu! Man! Stop!"
As he reached the northeast section, a group of urks tried to stop him, but…
Crack!
He crushed their heads without saying a word and used them as if they were stepping stones.
"Kuo…"
The urk leader was shocked when he saw his comrades get slaughtered so easily, but he soon realized that JiHan wasn't an opponent he could face and tried to move away.
Even enemies classified as monsters were trying to avoid JiHan. It wasn't just the players who considered him a natural disaster on the survival map.
'Now I can see.'
JiHan spotted the dark elf with black eyes sitting beyond the barrier when he reached the edge of the map.