The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Beep. Beep.

The two who got off the elevator entered the house.

A heavy atmosphere surrounded them.

"The Gift level went up when Uncle received a commendation at the event earlier," Yoon Sae-ah said, looking quietly at Sung JiHan's back and slowly opening her mouth.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And it was also when Ari was not by my side. And... when the Chinese woman died at the event."

Sung JiHan turned his head to look at Yoon Sae-ah.

Even though there were only such small clues, did something come to mind?

There was a strange conviction in her attitude.

"There's no need to hide it."

If he didn't know, he wouldn't know.

Once he realized, Sung JiHan didn't try to deny it.

"Yeah, it was me."

"...Really?"

"There was someone among the people from the Chinese Embassy who was tailing you."

"...The person from yesterday?"

Sung JiHan nodded slightly.

"I confirmed that they had a concealed gun on them. I just preemptively responded before anything happened. I just didn't know your Gift level would rise like this."

Since he couldn't talk about Jin Yoo-hwa in advance, Sung JiHan explained the situation a little while ago.

After hearing the story, Yoon Sae-ah slowly nodded.

"So you killed them."

"That's right."

Yoon Sae-ah looked at Sung JiHan with worried eyes at his affirmation.

"Are you okay, Uncle?"

"What?"

"You killed someone."

"I'm fine."

Sung JiHan was truly unaffected.

The world before regression was like hell, and he had killed quite a few people himself.

The path he had walked was too miserable to be mentally shocked by committing murder.

And this time, he didn't kill an innocent person, but rather preemptively subdued someone who tried to kill his niece.

Fortunately, he felt no guilt whatsoever.

But Yoon Sae-ah didn't seem to think that way as she hugged Sung JiHan with a dark expression.

"...I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because Uncle's hands got stained with blood because of me..."

Although he had completely changed recently.

The Sung JiHan Yoon Sae-ah knew was a good person who hadn't even been involved in violent incidents, let alone killed someone.

But now, because of her, he had killed someone.

Yoon Sae-ah couldn't face Sung JiHan because she felt so sorry.

"I'm really fine, but you're blaming yourself."

Sung JiHan thought as he looked at Yoon Sae-ah, who had bowed her head deeply.

He thought he was really fine after regressing and fully adapting, but he could clearly feel the difference in moral norms.

At that moment.

Ugh.

From Sung JiHan's left arm, Arielle popped out.

"The master only gave the command, but the blood stained my hands."

"Ah. I'm sorry to Arielle too. Because of me..."

"Don't worry about catching just one human. Aren't people killed in BattleNet anyway?"

"That's just a game."

"Well, how long will that last?"

Arielle spoke meaningfully.

"The tutorial is almost over. And once this is over, the game won't be just a game anymore."

"...Then what happens?"

"The game itself will continue much like it is now. However, if players don't have enough GP, they will die."

"Die... for real?"

Yoon Sae-ah widened her eyes in surprise.

People dying in BattleNet.

She couldn't even imagine it.

"Yes. The players you kill in the game... after three months, when the tutorial is over, you might actually kill them. If you don't have enough GP."

"To actually die... Then, you need a lot of GP to not die?"

"At first, it doesn't require that much. But the cost of resurrection will rise and fall depending on the ranking in the Space League."

"GP is literally a matter of life and death... But, you can just exchange it for dollars, right? 1 GP is 1 dollar."

"That will change after the tutorial ends. It's better to exchange it as you earn it now."

"The GP exchange rate will change? Like currency exchange?"

"Currency exchange? The fluctuation will be much greater than that."

"Wow..."

Sung JiHan silently listened to their conversation and recalled the past.

The impact of the Space League ranking on Earth was not simply a matter of whether there were more dungeons or not.

The exchange rate of GP skyrocketed, making it difficult to obtain 1 GP for 10 or 50 dollars.

The cost of resurrection in the game increased significantly.

"So, many people died in BattleNet like that."

But that didn't mean players were afraid of death and could stop playing BattleNet.

At that time, there was no autonomy like now.

Now, BattleNet was an entertainment-oriented platform with many elements.

"After the tutorial ends, BattleNet will become a world befitting its name."

While Sung JiHan briefly recalled the hell of the past.

Arielle advised Yoon Sae-ah earnestly.

"It might be okay during the tutorial, but later on, you can't survive in BattleNet with a weak heart. If you want to quit, it's better to quit now. That's the easier way."

"I have no intention of quitting."

"Then stop making that expression and be happy. Your enemies are dying, and your gift is growing."

She glanced at Sung JiHan as she said that.

"And the master is more of a monster than you think. There's no need to feel sorry at all. Use and devour him to your heart's content."

"What kind of monster is Uncle?"

"As the master's sword, I feel a lot from his hands. He's not someone you should worry about so much."

Well, I did get a sense of the master as a sword.

Sung JiHan chuckled and said,

"Yeah. Sae-ah, Arielle is right."

"But still..."

"If you really feel sorry, make it to the 2nd place in the world rankings. Do whatever it takes, even if it means using me as much as she says."

"2nd place?"

"Yeah. I'll be the 1st place anyway."

Sung JiHan confidently puts himself in 1st place as if it's obvious.

Yoon SaeA looked at his unwavering expression and gradually relaxed her own.

Although she still felt sorry for causing this situation.

In front of Sung JiHan, who was so nonchalant, she decided to stop cowering and feeling inferior.

"Uncle. No. I'll take 1st place instead. So I can repay the favor I've received from you tenfold and be filial."

"...Filial? Hey. What kind of filial piety is that? Anyone who hears it would think I'm 20 years older than you."

"Heh. That's how much I respect you as an elder in our household."

Sung JiHan shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Yoon SaeA, who had relaxed her expression.

"If you're saying you'll surpass me, then I guess the gift effect is quite good, huh? How about the upgrade effect?"

"Oh. That? Take a look."

Yoon SaeA showed him her gift.

---

[Gift - Waiting Perseverance (Grade D - Upgrade condition not met)]

-Upgrades the basic BattleNet system by one level.

-F grade effect: Increases the number of daily game participations by 1.

-Natural growth rate of stats increased by 100%.

-E grade effect: Changes the additional stat +1 effect to +2.

-D grade effect: Every time you promote in the league, upgrade the grade of the existing stats by one level.

-Special conditions must be met to upgrade the gift to the next level.

So the effect of the D grade Waiting Perseverance is to upgrade the grade of stats.

"It's really a scam-like effect."

How can a gift with such an effect be a D grade?

A D grade like Agile D only raises the agility stat by 10.

With a gift like this, Jin YooHwa was able to climb up to 2nd place in the world rankings.

Sung JiHan asked Yoon SaeA.

"Did your stat grade go up? Or will it go up from now on when you promote?"

"Oh. Since I retroactively applied for the promotion from Bronze to Silver, one of my stats has changed."

"What did it change to?"

"Agility changed to Precision. I don't know the effect though."

"Precision... It's a higher compatibility with agility. It's a stat that archer classes naturally have. It's the optimal ability for archers."

Ariel, who was listening from the side, explained what she knew about precision.

"In addition to the effect of agility, precision corrects the accuracy of projectiles and extends the range. If you try handling a bow, you'll feel that something has changed."

"Oh. Really? Ariel really knows everything."

"I've dealt with precision before. I was a decent sniper at one point."

"Really?!"

Upon hearing that, Yoon SaeA looked at Ariel with sparkling eyes, and Ariel's expression became flustered.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Teach me archery! Elf archery!"

"I'm not an elf. I'm a Shadow Elf."

"Anyway! Sniper's archery!"

"Hmm... Humans and our kind have a lot of differences in senses."

Shadow Elves and humans.

Because the difference between the two races was so great, Ariel was hesitant and didn't think it would work even if she taught her.

"Teach me once. You didn't have anything else to do while you were summoned in reality anyway, right?"

"...Fine, I got it. If you don't mind despairing over the difference in ranks, I'll teach you."

When Sung JiHan urged her, she agreed to teach him archery.

"Great!"

"SeA, but what are the upgrade conditions this time?"

"C rank? The conditions seem better than last time."

With that, Yoon SeA showed him the upgrade conditions for C rank.

[Upgrade Conditions to C Rank]

-Win in the top 100 promotion matches.

-Maintain a win rate of over 60% and play the game more than 500 times.

* You must fulfill one of the two conditions.

"Winning in the top 100 seems difficult."

Sung JiHan, who had won twice in the top 100, immediately thought that when he saw the conditions.

Although he had gained many good effects by rising to D rank.

Still, compared to the naturally talented SSS or SS rank gifts, his immediate abilities still had flaws.

Therefore, Sung JiHan's gaze naturally focused on the latter condition.

"It's not an easy condition either, but it's a difficulty that can be achieved if you keep at it. 500 games...."

Since Yoon SeA could play two games a day, it would take 250 days, so it would take some time to achieve this C rank upgrade.

"Well, SeA. When you fulfill this condition, don't be impatient and take it slow."

"Slowly? But I'm going to be promoted soon."

"...The top 100 is not easy. It's not just participating, it's a condition for winning."

"No, no. I feel like I can do it. I gained confidence. Once I make it to the top 100, I can bet my entire fortune on myself, just like my uncle."

"SeA... that's something only I can do."

"I think I can do it too!"

Where did this absurd confidence come from?

Did I show her too much of my confident side?

Sung JiHan felt like he had become a bad example for Yoon SeA.

"When the time comes, my uncle will bet on me~ My uncle's bets won't have good odds anymore, but he'll guarantee mine as a sure thing."

"...Well, we'll see when the time comes."

He avoided his niece's gaze and gave a vague answer.

No matter how precious his niece was to him, betting was a completely different story.

He didn't have a hobby of wasting money on something that was bound to fail.

"Oh. You're too much! You don't believe in me at all! You don't even want to bet a penny, Uncle."

"Sorry, but when it comes to betting, I'm strictly meritocratic."

"Ariel! The archery of the Shadow Elf tribe is being so belittled!"

"...You haven't learned anything, have you?"

"Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Teach me quickly!"

Yoon SeA grabbed Ariel's hand and hurriedly ran into the house.

"Does she really think she can be first?"

The feasibility seems low, but her enthusiasm is commendable.

Sung JiHan chuckled slightly and followed Yoon SeA into the house.

* * *

October 1st.

Sung JiHan's first game started when he reached the Gold League.

[Defense game, assigned to 'One Leg' map.]

After a certain point, it was a map called 'One Leg' that had been blocked from progressing.