The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Chapter 187

"Mom... she's alive? Really?"

Yoon Se-ah responded with an expression of disbelief.

The scene of Sung JiHan being petrified and consumed by darkness using sacrifice was still vivid in her mind.

So, when Yoon Se-jin said she was going to explore North Korea, there wasn't much expectation...

"No, it's too early to jump to conclusions. The ring just reacted slightly."

"How did it react?"

"When I cleared the fourth dungeon, the ring itself vibrated strongly."

Yoon Se-jin took out her necklace with the Aegis ring hanging on it.

"It wasn't the vibration I felt when clearing the dungeon. It was a movement that occurred within the ring itself."

"Oh... The color of the ring has changed a bit."

"Yeah... I couldn't tell because I can't see."

It used to shine pure white, but now the Aegis ring had a faint purple hue.

"Can you let me see it for a moment?"

"Sure."

Sung JiHan received the ring and carefully observed the traces of light.

It felt similar to dark magic, but there was something slightly different about it.

"Ariel, do you know anything about this energy?"

"Well... I don't know either. It doesn't seem to be a shadow aura."

"Hmm..."

Perhaps because there was too little remaining magic in the ring, even Ariel, a Shadow Elf, couldn't know more than this.

"When Sung JiHan was unable to discern the energy, Yoon Se-ah, who had been watching closely, suddenly grabbed the ring.

"Oh, this... does it have something to do with the Void?"

"The Void?"

"Yeah, I'm a Void Archer. I'm familiar with the power of the Void."

Yoon Se-ah said so and took out her bow, summoning a Void Arrow.

The purple light flickered for a moment, and the arrow disappeared, becoming transparent.

"Hey, take a look."

When Yoon Se-ah shook her bowstring, the arrow that had disappeared reappeared.

"Is that really it?"

Indeed, the power felt from her arrow was similar to the energy of the ring.

While Sung JiHan was still unable to determine this energy,

a voice suddenly came from the direction of the ring.

=Yoon...

With just that one word, she could recognize whose voice it was.

"What!? This... Mom!?"

"...Yes. It's definitely my sister's voice."

Could it be true that her sister was in North Korean territory?

After hearing the voice, Sung JiHan couldn't just sit still.

"Brother-in-law, I'll help with clearing the dungeon too."

"No... it's okay for now. I have to clear the dungeon while holding the ring. It's not that I lack power for clearing. I actually need more support."

"Is that so? Is the support from the Federation Investigation Team insufficient?"

"The support from the team is fine, but we lack players with the support gift 'Exploration.' It turns out that exploring the dungeon core is not an easy task."

Depending on the gift grade, the scope of exploration varied.

The gift grade of the exploration expert dispatched to Korea was B~C level, so it took more time than expected to discover the dungeon core.

In addition, it took time to organize the data related to the dungeon and upload it to the Federation.

Even if the Sword King personally went out and wiped out the dungeon monsters, there was a reason why the progress was not going smoothly.

"If you're a player with exploration abilities... should I try to rescue you?"

"Is this voice... the Guild Master?"

"Yes, that's right."

Perhaps because it was Christmas, Lee Ha-yeon, who had put extra effort into her appearance, interrupted the conversation.

"I heard that the Intelligence Guild recruited a lot of exploration experts in the past, but they ended up teasing them because they had no use for them. I'll borrow someone from there."

"Isn't that bothering the Intelligence Guild? They keep telling you to come back these days."

"It's okay, Owner. If they bother you, you can contact other top ten guilds. The guilds that have secured exploration experts are not only the Intelligence Guild."

Lee Ha-yeon replied with a relaxed face.

Being the Guild Master of the Waiting Guild and having dealt with world-class figures, she wasn't particularly worried about the top ten guilds in Korea.

"Then please do me a favor. Oh, and scout for exceptional exploration experts here. You can spend as much GP as you want."

"Yes, Owner. B grade is considered the highest domestically..."

"B grade is the highest? Didn't the supporting gift grade increase last time? Lower the difficulty."

"Yes, that's why B grade is considered the highest. There may be more talented individuals overseas, so let's turn our attention abroad and make an effort to scout A grade."

Since Sung JiHan's voice came out, he decided to form an investigation team within the guild instead of relying solely on the Federation's support.

There was a pile of GP that had accumulated because there was nowhere to use it, so this was the time to use it.

And...

"I heard that A grade explorers will also be supported with Arcane Pages. That will surely attract their attention."

"Ah, Arcane Pages...? The price has been skyrocketing lately..."

"I happen to have some."

Sung JiHan decided to make use of the Arcane Pages he obtained from Shizuru.

"Uncle, if you're going to use Arcane Pages, can I ask someone I know?"

"Who?"

"Sophia's older brother. I heard he became an A grade explorer because of the difficulty reduction."

If it was Sophia's older brother, it was Christoph, who often appeared as a commentator during international matches on BattleNet.

He had a firm position in the BattleNet industry, so whether he would accept the proposal was unknown.

"Sure. Let's ask him."

"Okay. Using Arcane Pages will surely tempt him."

"Thank you for your support."

"It's my sister's job, so of course. But do I really not need to go?"

"That's right. It's easy to wipe out the inside of the dungeon."

"Understood. If you need any help, please contact me anytime."

Yoon Se-jin nodded slowly at Sung JiHan's words.

"Of course. I hope the opening match ends quickly."

"Ah, the opening match...! I completely forgot because of my mom's work. What kind of game is being played? Ariel, do you happen to know?"

Yoon Se-ah asked Ariel, who was knowledgeable about BattleNet.

No matter how much she was restricted by the tutorial, she still knew everything she could within her limits.

Then...

[Opening match? That's up to you to decide. Just think of it as a game where you fight and kill, just like usual. It's in line with the essence of BattleNet. However...]

"However?"

"Now, I can really die."

"...Really die? In the game?"

In response to Ariel's words, Yoon Se-ah replied with a stern face.

"Could it be that, like during the promotion match last time, death could be a penalty?"

"Yes. If you want to firmly bring down the opposing race to a lower rank than yourself, killing the enemy's key player is the best way."

"Well, that's true, but..."

"To die in a game... I can't believe it."

Perhaps because they had been playing Battle.net as a game for 10 years.

Despite Ariel's words, the listeners couldn't truly grasp it.

Except for Sung JiHan.

"During the opening match, many players died...."

To those who couldn't believe it like this.

The incident that truly made them realize that real players could die was the disaster of the Space League opening match.

The World Tree Union, which had set traps from the first game.

Humanity fell into it and suffered a great shock from the beginning.

"This time, let's pay them back in kind."

The opening match was not far away.

For this day, Sung JiHan deliberately stopped growing in Platinum this year.

Sung JiHan's eyes grew cold as he thought about the opening match game.

***

"Sword King, entering the Waiting Guild!"

"The Waiting Guild recruiting exploration ability users. 5-10 times the existing salary is the minimum. And an Arcane page for A-class ability users?"

After the meeting on Christmas.

The Waiting Guild immediately started looking for exploration ability users.

They offered tremendous conditions by investing all the money they had saved up until now.

People flocked to the guild.

"Wow, the conditions are crazy....?"

"They're giving out Arcane pages? I heard those are worth over 500 billion these days."

"Yeah, with the recent popularity of nurturing gifts, even each guild is creating a second team called the 2nd Division."

"To give that to an exploration ability user... There must be a huge reward for clearing dungeons, right?"

"Yeah, there probably is. Sword King has been exploring dungeons a lot lately, right? This investment came after that...."

People were curious about why they were making such an investment, based on what they had seen in dungeon exploration.

"But more importantly, have you seen the entry list for the opening match?"

"The list of 2,000 people came out."

"They're selecting 2,000 people? Haha, what kind of game are they planning to play with so many people?"

"When is it coming next year, seriously? Haha."

But the most anticipated topic was, of course, the upcoming Space League opening match.

After 10 long years of tutorial, Earth was finally entering the actual game.

Rather than worrying about the world after the tutorial, humanity was optimistic.

They wanted to see the opening match as soon as possible.

Meanwhile.

"Ji-han! Se-ah told me everything!"

Sung JiHan was receiving a video call from Sophia.

"Oh, is it about exploration?"

"Yes~ Oppa said he has never done any exploration work before... But when I mentioned the Arcane page, he showed interest! Come and see, Oppa!"

"Player Sung, nice to meet you. I'm Christopher."

And then, as if waiting, Christopher appeared on the video call, showing his face.

He looked at Sung JiHan with sparkling eyes.

[As a fan, it's an honor to meet you like this! Even though my little brother mentioned your exploration ability, thank you for keeping the secret well until now.]

[You're too secretive. You can tell JiHan! We're going to be family.]

[Even though I have a player girlfriend, well... my brother is young and has a short attention span. I'm sorry.]

[No, that's...! Ah, I shouldn't say it.]

[...Anyway, Player Sung. I heard it from Sophie, but I can't believe it, so I'll ask again. Will you really support the Akashic Pages?]

"Yes."

Sung JiHan nodded.

"However, this is not for selling. It should be used to enhance your own abilities."

"Of course! The exploration ability... I didn't plan on using it because it seemed dangerous. It should be fine to use it under the protection of the Sword King. I'll take a break from commentary for a while."

Even though he had a firm position as a commentator in the BattleNet industry.

Christopher showed a proactive attitude, as if he didn't want to waste his supporting gift.

"So, are you coming right away?"

"Ah... I still want to finish the commentary for the opening match. It's something I really wanted to do as a commentator. And the Sword King is also participating in the opening match. Wouldn't it be inconvenient if I leave before it's over?"

"Yes, there is enough time."

"But it's a shame! If Player Sung had become a Diamond, you could have participated in all the matches..."

As the Space League opening match approached.

Information about the opening match began to be gradually revealed by the system.

Among them, the noticeable one was the participation conditions for matches 1 to 5.

"In the Space League, only Diamond rank or higher players can participate."

When this condition was announced.

Many people couldn't hide their disappointment.

- Ah, couldn't they let Pleiades participate?

- Sung JiHan couldn't participate in the opening match!

- It's like a boomerang that he couldn't level up because of Sieglinde.

- What about the delay in leveling up due to the People's Council?

- Anyway, it's not helpful, really lol.

Since Sung JiHan, one of the strongest players on Earth, couldn't participate.

"But there are still 100 Platinum players in the reserve lineup. Is there any chance?"

Sophia also spoke with a disappointed face.

Sung JiHan smiled slightly from the side.

"I have a good feeling about it."

"A good feeling...?"

"Yes. I think I'll receive the MVP for this opening match."

No, you can't receive the MVP without participating in the match.

You have to participate in the match to receive the MVP.

Christopher looked puzzled, but.

"Coming to Korea, I'll give you a gift. Please take the MVP from me."

Sung JiHan said with a confident face.

"No, you can only receive the MVP if you participate in the match..."

Can I trust this person and go to Korea?

Christopher became anxious, wondering if he made the right choice.

And a few days later.

On Channel 0.

=Everyone! Finally, the day has come...!

The day of the opening match has arrived.