Chapter 215: < Proof of Class. >
Ki-chan, watching the broadcaster and commentator twitch, clenched his fists. "Are you going to wear this bracelet?"
"Yes. Wear this bracelet and step into the magic circle to be summoned to the arena. You can wear more than one bracelet, but… you don't have one, right?" The attendant glanced at Seo-woon's empty wrist and grinned.
Liling-wei grabbed the attendant and threw him behind her, then approached Seo-woon with Juriell. "Are you okay?"
"The conditions are very unfavorable."
"They're not okay. These Japanese. I'll finish this quickly and be back." With that, Seo-woon stepped onto the floor where the magic circle had been drawn and disappeared.
"Damn! How cool is he acting…"
The employee lying on the ground hurriedly stopped talking under Liling-wei's cold gaze and ran out of the waiting room. Even as he ran out, he had no idea that the employee had been poisoned by Liling-wei. He had been poisoned with a secret poison that slowly weakened his cardiovascular system, causing cardiac arrest within a week to a month.
Suddenly exposed to an environment completely different from the stadium packed with 160,000 people, Seo-woon whistled as if he were in the real outdoors.
"You did just like Cloyd. It's incredible." It was pure admiration. "You're so relaxed." The man approaching him looked familiar. "Who are you?"
The moment he asked, the man's expression suddenly changed. "Tokugawa Hashioda!" "Huh? Ah, I remember you. You've managed to come back to your senses." Tokugawa Hashioda. He was the man who, along with Subaru Jin, defeated Seo-woon before the guild war and lost everything.
"It took me five years to regain my player rights and restore my abilities." "Damn it. You squandered everything you'd so hard earned back so easily. Don't you know how to learn?"
"Who! I'll make you pay for everything you took from me today."
"Go ahead and try it."
-Squeaky! He gritted his teeth at Seo-woon's sassy response.
After staring at Seo-woon for a while, he curled the corners of his lips up and said, "If you're so confident, what do you say? Let's make a bigger bet like last time."
"Bet?"
"Can you risk not only your skills but also your belongings?"
"…"
Seo-woon looked at him silently, and Hashioda, as if emboldened, prodded him. "Why? Are you not confident again? Do you want to complain that you were unfair and made a mistake?"
"That's unfair. So unfair." Hearing Seo-woon's words, he threw his head back and laughed loudly. However, his laughter was cut short by Seo-woon's next words. "If you give me such an advantage… That would be so unfair for you. If you want to line my pockets so much, I'll accept if you bet all your belongings."
"Referee!!" As soon as Seo-woon finished speaking, Hashioda summoned the referee who was inspecting the arena and balancing its mana. "You have all of the Black Dragon armor, right?"
"Of course. There must be a few more items that are just as good, right?" Seo-woon's words caused the man's sly smile to widen.
"Ah! A new condition was added right before the match started!"
-The loser's belongings will be confiscated... This is too harsh. It looks like Jin Seo-woon will lose everything and leave Japan empty-handed today. The added stipulation caused a huge uproar among netizens watching the match online.
-Wow, won't this be a complete wipeout?
-It's obviously over. Isn't that really a problem?
-If he wins, it's a massive victory. If he loses, it's suicide.
-Are you betting on a fight he's certain to lose? The outcome is already predetermined, so you're just dragging your feet. Doesn't Japan's best player have the brains to give it his all? There's almost a 1000 to 1 chance, so it's definitely over.
-You don't know. If you don't know, shut up. Japan will be devastated if they lose. Who cares about the viewers? They'll start by killing Jin Seo-woon first.
"Hey guys, stop arguing. Just watch. You'll soon see the collapse of Japan. Remember when I got beaten by Seo-woon twice during my playing days? Watching from a third-person perspective is completely different from facing him directly. Look. The souls of the Japanese are being sucked out by Seo-woon. Seo-woon: If I lose, I'll donate all 3 million moon balloons I've collected."
The chat window filled with even more comments at the BJ's shocking announcement, which was being broadcast live online. The game began, with the whole world watching.
-Now! The game is starting! As soon as the game started, the players who had been gathered at the beginning began to automatically teleport to various parts of the arena.
The Japanese players began to gather in groups of five or ten, as if by premeditation. It seemed they had agreed to be teams beforehand. Seo-woon smiled as he sensed their presence throughout the stadium. "They're going to be cut down anyway, so at least they stay together. You idiots."
Whether they believed in their flimsy armor or truly believed they had surpassed Seo-woon's skill, their games seemed foolish to him. If he were on the Japanese team, he would have quickly gathered 100 players, formed a defensive line, and trapped himself in the middle.
-Huh? What's Seo-woon doing? The commentator nodded in response to the broadcaster's question.
-Arrogant. As if he's still thinking about eight years ago. Jin Seo-woon seems to have lost touch with reality.
-The first champion, Kinya, said the same.
-Of course. Even I, as the first champion, can't confidently say that I can beat each of those players one-on-one. Thanks to Super Matches, players have become exponentially stronger.
Even a few years' difference is that significant, let alone eight years. Just being in first place back then doesn't mean he's still the best now. He has to keep striving and stay afloat.
And think about survival... Someone like that has been disqualified as a player. Ah! Disqualification! Kinya's comment is so harsh!
After that, they continued to criticize Seo-woon harshly, who was sitting quietly by the river as if telling a joke.
-Will Seo-woon really be the first to be eliminated as Kinya predicted? It happened just as he said, the first hunter team, Kaito's team, noticed Seo-woon first.
Kaito's five-person team noticed Seo-woon sitting comfortably on the plain and silently watched him from the forest. Looking at the overview screen, it was clear they were advancing along paths avoiding direct collision, suggesting they had coordinated in advance, but the broadcaster and commentator made no mention of this.
"Ah! Kaito Busin drew his bow! Shin-kyu Kaito! His bow, never defeated in sniper combat, now aimed at Jin Seo-woon!" Jin Seo-woon was completely oblivious to the hostility. What a devastating difference in skill!
The moment the broadcaster finished speaking, Kaito fired an arrow at Seo-woon. The arrow was as fast as the broadcaster had predicted. The arrow, enchanted with a speed spell, flew silently and swiftly. Just as the arrow flew straight towards Seo-woon's back, he naturally turned his head and dodged the arrow.
At the same time, he turned his body, drew a bow from his subspace, and caught the arrow that had just grazed him, loaded it onto the bow, and fired.
-…
-…
The broadcaster and the commentator seemed speechless at this scene, as natural as flowing water. -shhh Before his colleague could finish speaking, Seo-woon's arrow pierced Kaito's eyebrow and lodged deeply into the tree behind him.
"A bow. Thanks to you, I was able to use one after a long time." With that thought, Seo-woon smiled with satisfaction and sat back down on the ground.
"Come here quick. This is annoying."
-Ah… Yes. That… Kaito. Unfortunately, he couldn't defeat Seo-woon and was the first to be eliminated. You rushed too much, Kaito. The same goes for the other players. You can't let your guard down. Even if your enemy is weak, if you let your guard down and show a weakness, they will attack.
The two men's voices dropped noticeably. That's how shocking the action Seo-woon just showed was. "What are you doing! Don't zoom in! Keep the camera on full screen! Skip the replay! There's no need to show our players being eliminated again!"
In the broadcast room, where over a hundred screens were displayed and the PD was instantly selecting and editing footage for the broadcast, the PD's orders were pouring out in a flurry of anger. Kaito's death had thrown the game into chaos, as if cold water had been poured on it.
It was only natural that the players, who had been listening to the general situation through the communication devices they had purchased before entering the stadium, would freeze their movements.
Of course, in this match, which was essentially an individual competition, communicating with each other or receiving orders from outside was against the rules, but they were completely unaware of this.
When the enemy didn't approach for a long time, Seo-woon stood up as if annoyed. Then he began to catch his breath. "What's he doing now?"
- I don't know. He's so inexperienced he doesn't even realize he's in the match. Never in the history of Super Match has a player shown such weakness.
Ignoring what the broadcaster and commentator were saying, Seo-woon took a deep breath and started shouting. "All of you come at once!!! You bastards!!!" His historic roar echoed not only in the surrounding area, but throughout the stadium and even the Super Match dome.
"Kukuk. Oh, really."
"Kukuk! You shouldn't say things like that..." Seeing Ki-chan laughing so hard while holding his stomach, Seo-woon's father murmured gently. Seo-woon's provocation worked quite well. Hearing the word "Japanese," the 999 players, careful not to bump into each other, rushed onto the field together.
"Ah… You reap what you sow, Jin Seo-woon! How dare you insult the Japanese people? You deserve to be dealt with."
"Right. It seems his provocation caused a momentary team formation. Now his arrogance will end… Ah? Ahhh?!" Before the commentator could finish speaking, Seo-woon pointed his finger at the 999 players.
At that same moment, a powerful energy filled the sky and surrounded them. "Don't be afraid! I already knew you were an Eo Gang master!"
"Trust your armor and attack…" Before he could finish his sentence, the powerful energy began to transform into brute force, and he panicked.
The powerful energy that bound them wasn't just powerful energy anymore. It was a terrifying storm that ripped apart armor, twisted limbs, and even destroyed the powerful energy itself upon impact.
-Scatter and flee!!! When someone gave an order, the players tried to escape the storm Seo-woon had created.
"Who left it like this?" At the same time, a heavy mountain crushed 999 players. Even the knights who had reached the peak of their strength could no longer move properly under the heavy pressure, and all the players nearly fell to their knees and sat down.
-…
-…
The broadcaster and the commentator were speechless at the incredible sight. And then came the unreal scenes. "Idiots. Did you think my brother's skill was limited to Eokgangsu?" In fact, Eokgangsu alone was already at the peak of martial arts.
A true Eokgang-sul requires not only the ability to block an opponent's attack, but also the ability to unlock Baekhoe and control nature and energy as if they were his own limbs.
But who would have thought that simply blocking an opponent's attack would be enough to master Eokgang-sul? Ki-chan never understood this strategy.
-Crack!
-Noise!
-Bang!
160,000 spectators watched live as Seo-woon stomped on the heads of the kneeling players, crushing them to death one by one. The 160,000 spectators, watching silently, felt goosebumps rise on their backs at the same time. It was the same for everyone watching the broadcast.
"This is nerve-wracking." After killing about ten players, Seo-woon suddenly said this and clasped his hands in front of his chest. At the same time, two giant palms appeared in the air. The palms, filled with the energy of bright yellow earth, began to crush the players in sync with Seo-woon's movements.
-Loud crushing sounds! Loud crushing sounds! Loud crushing sounds! Loud crushing sounds!
The palms moved like insect-catching hands, mercilessly striking the players who couldn't move. No one could offer even a single proper resistance, and everyone was wiped out. "Well… So… The match is over…" "The Japanese players… tried hard, but… unfortunately, they lost…"
No one knew better than commentator Kinya that there was no struggle or defeat to be regretful of. As soon as the match ended, Seo-woon returned to the waiting room he was in. "Did you wait long? It took longer than I thought because it was a close match." Hearing Seo-woon's words, Liling-wei and Juriell rushed over to him.
The two women watching the match on the monitor handed Seo-woon a towel and a drink. "I'm not even sweating. Why are you offering this? I'm not thirsty." Embarrassed by their gestures, the two women quickly retracted their offered towels and drinks.
At that moment, the door to the waiting room suddenly opened, and the owner of Super Match burst in. "Jin Seo-woon!"
"What's going on? Don't you know how to knock? Isn't there a knocking culture in Japan?"
"I'm sorry." His face pale, he bowed deeply and apologized.
The Japanese players who had filled the Super Match arena had suddenly lost all their skills and equipment. This was a situation that could threaten Super Match's very existence. "What's going on? The game's over. I'm tired, so I have to go back."
"Um…" Just as he was about to speak, a Japanese government official burst into the waiting room.
"Jin Seo-woon-sama!!!" "Those bastards. They really are something." The gray-haired middle-aged man who was grabbing his pants and wouldn't let go was Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Koto.
"Please! Please have mercy!" As the Foreign Minister grabbed Seo-woon's pants and started hugging him, Super Match owner Sato Mitsunari realized this wasn't the time to save face.
"Please! Have mercy!" He threw himself at Seo-woon's feet as well. "Don't bother me."
"Guh!"
The Foreign Minister, who had been clinging to Seo-woon's trousers, fell to the ground with a muffled scream when Seo-woon shook his leg slightly.
As he passed his owner, who had his head bowed, Seo-woon let out a single sentence: "Bring the things quickly. I'm leaving right now." With those words, Seo-woon left the waiting room. Despite this, the owner couldn't look up for a moment.
After gathering all 1,000 wearables and his acquired items from his subspace backpack, Seo-woon left the dome without looking back.
Outside the dome, countless Japanese reporters were waiting to interview Seo-woon, but he easily passed them by. With a strong wind blowing, they couldn't even get close to him and could only watch him get into a car waiting outside the dome and drive away.
-Japan has been defeated!
-Japan suffered a crushing defeat in a 1,000 to 1 battle.
-What will Japan's future hold?
-The Japanese stock market has crashed. It's falling day by day!
-Super Match stocks are falling day by day. The match schedule has been postponed indefinitely. There are no top 1,000 players. Is this how it's going to crash?
***
"Seo-woon. The Japanese Prime Minister has requested a meeting."
"Forget it. Just brush it off." Seo-woon responded to Karina and enjoyed the in-flight meal with Juriell and Liling-wei. "They say they're ready to accept any conditions. Should we really give in?"
"Any conditions?"
"That's what the Prime Minister's Office said." Seo-woon, who was flying to the United States with the two women, tilted his head slightly. "They said they'd consider it if we showed good faith."
"Good faith?" Seo-woon smiled at Karina's question. "Tell them I've been enjoying watching the news lately, they'll understand."
Karina smiled at Seo-woon's words and nodded. "Anyway, the lost items they want, right? But you have no intention of returning them, do you? You've already sold half of them." That was true.
As soon as Seo-woon returned to South Korea, he sold half of the 1,000 items to Sweden for a reasonable price.
It was his way of repaying Sweden, which had been weakened by the item shortage and poor player performance. It was also an expression of his gratitude to the Swedish government, which hadn't abandoned him even when he was at his lowest. "I'll sell the remaining half in the US. What are you talking about now?"
Seo-woon and Karina nodded at Liling-wei's words. "Japan doesn't want the items. Of course, losing the best players will be painful, but compared to Japan's accumulated economic power, it's not a big loss."
"Then why...?" This time, Seo-woon answered Liling-wei's question.
"It's obvious. They want us to open the interdimensional gateway we've been blocking. They want us to reestablish diplomatic relations."
"Ah, that? So, are you going to do it?"
"Not right away. But we'll see how it goes."
"Are you going to do it?" Juriell, who was cutting into her steak, looked at Seo-woon in surprise.
"It depends on what we give them. And we can always tie them back up, so we can keep those islanders on a leash. We can drag them around like dogs when we don't like them." Juriell nodded, smiling at Seo-woon's words.
That evening, news broadcast live footage of the Japanese Prime Minister curtseying to Seo-woon in front of the camera.
Seo-woon handed over half of the belongings he had left in the United States and went on to China, where he handed over all the remaining belongings. This was the turning point when the balance of power that had been concentrated in Japan began to shift.
Seo-woon, who had traveled through the United States and China and returned to South Korea, was greeted by Jung Soo-hwa and the presidential secretary. As soon as he got off the plane, Seo-woon entered the reception hall and spoke to Jung Soo-hwa. "There are no belongings. I gave them all away."
The secretary's face, which had been full of anticipation, suddenly turned a shade of disappointment. However, Jung Soo-hwa showed no sign of disappointment. "They're your things, Seo-woon, so I'm sure you're handling them well." Seo-woon smiled at his words and opened his subspace.
"Nothing special. Just a few things I've collected here and there. They're not Cloyd items, but they might be useful if you examine them." The old bag Seo-woon held out was filled with items he'd collected while traveling between dimensional rifts. He'd collected magic stones from his dimensional rifts and items from the monsters and yokai that had appeared.
"How valuable are they?" Seo-woon didn't even glance at the secretary who had cautiously asked, looking at Jeong Soo-hwa and saying, "Just handle it in a way that makes sure no one feels left out." "Yes, thank you."
Seo-woon left the reception hall and headed towards Wonju, where his family was waiting. The press corps waiting for Seo-woon, who returned home victoriously with Juriell and Liling-wei, was immense.
But not a single reporter could interview Seo-woon at the airport. Not even a single image was caught by the cameras.