The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

[TOP 100 Promotion Match Champion.]

[Obtained 1 million GP as a reward.]

[Level increased by 5.]

......

[Obtained the title 'King of Kings - Bronze.']

Awaiting Sung JiHan upon completing the match were numerous system messages pouring in.

"So this is the TOP 100."

As grand as the title of being the number one in the world among Bronze players, the rewards were substantial.

As Sung JiHan checked each reward on the list, he paid attention to the new title he obtained this time.

[King of Kings - Bronze]

- A title given to the winner of the TOP 100 Promotion Match.

- All stats increase by +5 in the Silver League, and a 50% increase in experience points is applied.

It was a title that was no different from being the top-ranked player in the Bronze League.

"I finally get to remove the title of the one who defeated the tutorial."

Sung JiHan replaced the title he had been using all this time and continued to check the system messages.

[Won in the TOP 100.]

[Special achievement, 'Won in the TOP 100' cleared.]

[Obtained 10,000 achievement points as a reward.]

[Won in the TOP 100 without any gifts.]

[Special achievement, 'Ranked 1st with no talent' cleared.]

[Obtained 50,000 achievement points as a reward.]

"I should be grateful to the wandering god."

After the god took away the F-grade gift, Sung JiHan already had 90,000 achievement points just from the points he obtained in return.

Especially, the achievement of winning in the TOP 100 without any gifts was as impressive as the achievement point reward received from an epic quest.

This clearly showed how difficult it was to climb up to this point without any gifts.

"How should I make use of this...."

As Sung JiHan pondered happily about how to strengthen himself with the pouring rewards,

Bang!

"Uncle!!!"

The door suddenly opened, and Yoon Sae-ah rushed in.

Yoon Sae-ah's expression was extremely serious.

She seemed so flustered that her face turned pale.

"Um, Sae-ah. I just came back..."

"Look at this."

Before Sung JiHan could finish his sentence, his niece started looking all over his body.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong, Yoon Sae-ah seemed relieved and asked with concern.

"I thought something terrible happened. The screen that was always fine suddenly turned off when you broke the barrier... Are you okay?"

"Of course! It's just a minor injury."

Although his arm was cut off by the Shadow Sword, it was an injury that could be healed anytime while using the BattleNet.

Moreover, the current BattleNet was nothing more than an online game, so there would be no impact when returning to reality.

"Look at this. The shirt is still intact."

Sung JiHan raised both hands to show her.

The right arm that had been used to strike with the Thunderous Strike was completely restored, including the shirt.

But the left arm that had been cut by the Dark Sword...

"...Uncle, it's missing here?"

Starting from the elbow, the shirt disappeared, revealing bare flesh.

"This is..."

Sung JiHan's eyebrows narrowed for a moment.

Was there some kind of influence from the side of the Saint Seat even in the real world?

Still, it was fortunate that only the clothes disappeared and the arm itself wasn't completely cut off.

But that relief was short-lived.

Yoon Sae-ah screamed and stomped her feet.

"U-Uncle! Your arm, your arm!!! What's happening?"

...!

The left arm of Sung JiHan was dyed black, and only that part began to disappear as if it was swallowed by darkness.

Eventually, it disappeared cleanly into the darkness as if it had never existed in the first place.

Sung JiHan calmly assessed the situation.

First of all, the sensation in my arm was normal.

"I don't feel like it's gone at all. I feel like I can still move...."

Sung JiHan tried to move his left arm.

At that moment.

Sssss-

In the darkness, his left arm suddenly popped out intact.

"What, what is this? I still have my arm?"

"Yeah. It feels normal to me."

"Uh... Uncle? There's a strange tattoo on your elbow."

"A tattoo?"

When Sung JiHan turned his arm at Yoon Sae-ah's words, there was indeed a black tattoo engraved on his elbow.

Upon closer inspection, it was a pattern representing the sun.

Twist-

Furthermore, the edges of the pattern even seemed to be moving in circles.

While the two were silently observing this unknown situation.

[------.]

From the pattern, an unidentified sound could be heard.

It was a language similar to what the Dark Elf in the black eye had spoken.

"...Sae-ah. Can you hear this sound?"

"Huh? What sound?"

"...."

Yoon Sae-ah couldn't perceive the sound, it was only audible to Sung JiHan.

It was frustrating for Sung JiHan because he couldn't understand what he was saying.

As if representing Sung JiHan's feelings, a system window appeared before his eyes.

[Shadow of the Sun (Curse)]

- Grade: ? (Cursed state)

- Terminal of the 'Shadow Queen' of the Holy See.

- Cursed state attached to the body.

- Absorbs the user's GP and experience points until the curse is lifted.

'Shadow of the Sun?'

Is this what came along with the severed arm?

Based on the description alone, it was a terrible curse that could absorb the player's foundation, which could be considered experience points and GP.

Of course, it was unknown how it would change once the curse was lifted.

"I'm in a hurry, so it's a waste to have my experience points and GP taken away by this."

But it was not possible to cut off the arm.

As a precaution, Sung JiHan sent his sacred power to his elbow, but the black sun simply mixed with the usual dark energy without any reaction.

"Hmm...."

Sung JiHan reviewed the message he had just received.

The format of the message was clearly the same as when explaining an item.

In that case, it could be speculated that this Shadow of the Sun was also treated as an item.

"Then, can I use an emergency recovery?"

Sung JiHan purchased an emergency recovery from the achievement store and tried to use it.

Sure enough.

Shadow of the Sun was activated in the emergency recovery available list.

"Great."

Anyway, I have a lot of achievement points I acquired this time, so I can use about 10,000.

"Emergency recovery."

['Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' will be recovered....]

['Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' is in such a severe cursed state that only a part of it will be recovered.]

"It doesn't work with just one try."

Unlike Dong Bang-sak's brush or Hermes' compound eye glasses, it was an item containing the curse of the Holy See, so even though he used an emergency recovery, it didn't recover all at once.

Sung JiHan made up his mind and purchased another emergency recovery and used it.

['Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' will be recovered....]

['Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' is in such a severe cursed state that only a part of it will be recovered.]

Sung JiHan frowned.

"....One more time."

He had tried twice already, it would be a shame to give up now.

Thinking of using emergency recovery one last time, Sung JiHan used it.

["Restoring 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)'..."]

["The curse of 'Shadow of the Sun (Curse)' has been lifted."]

[Shadow of the Sun]

- Grade: SS

- Terminal of the Seat of Shadows, 'Shadow Queen'.

- Maintains a connection with the Seat of Shadows and enhances shadow domination abilities.

- Can transform into the form of the Shadow Sword, 'Eclipse'.

- Can increase grade through the power of the Seat of Shadows, 'Shadow Queen'.

[Tutorial period. Function of 'Terminal of the Seat of Shadows' is limited.]

Upon reading the newly revealed item description, Sung JiHan's eyes calmly sank.

The grade is SS.

With the power of the Seat of Shadows, the grade could increase even further.

At first glance, the item seemed quite useful...

"But it's a half-baked item."

The prerequisite for using this item is the use of shadow domination abilities.

And to obtain shadow domination abilities, a connection with the Seat of Shadows is essential.

However, the function of the 'Terminal of the Seat of Shadows' is limited during the tutorial period.

"I guess I'll have to leave it until next year."

If that's the case, I didn't have to spend 30,000 achievement points right away.

Sung JiHan thought as he looked at the black sun.

[...How did I do that earlier?]

The Dark Elf's language, which he had no idea what it meant until now, automatically translated and reached his ears.

"Earlier?"

"Yeah... Can you hear me?"

Meanwhile.

The situation was chaotic among the commentators of the Bronze League TOP100 promotion match.

"The screen... It's not showing!"

At some point, the broadcast screen was covered in darkness and the broadcast was not being transmitted.

"Uh, even when I switched to the player's first-person perspective mode..."

"What on earth is happening... An unprecedented broadcasting accident in Battle.net history!"

"This can't be happening. This should be managed by the Battle.net system..."

Only the voices of the commentators could be heard in the broadcast.

The screen turned pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

"Christoph! What will happen to the match result like this..."

"I, I don't know either! This is the first time such a situation has occurred."

On the other hand.

Lee Ha-yeon, who was watching this at home, grabbed the TV and screamed.

"What the hell is going on!"

Since the high roller Baron had failed, she had to at least salvage what she could by Sung JiHan winning first place!

But what is this situation?

Not knowing what was happening inside, she couldn't even guess what the game result would be.

"The game could have ended!"

Why did he let the other players live instead of killing them with his shadows!

Does he not have any intention of winning?!

As someone who didn't know that Sung JiHan had an epic quest, Lee Ha-yeon couldn't understand Sung JiHan's actions at all.

She stared at the blackened screen with a vacant expression for a few minutes.

[The Last Survivor - Sung JiHan]

Suddenly, a brief system message appeared on the black screen.

She didn't know what had happened in the darkness, but Sung JiHan had won first place.

"Phew..."

Only then did Lee Ha-yeon let out a sigh of relief.

She was alive.

Fortunately... Thankfully, she had won some money.

In her ears, she heard the words of the American commentator.

"Well... We don't know what happened, but player Sung JiHan! He graduates from Bronze as the final winner in the TOP 100!"

"Now that it's been revealed that a player without a guild is this powerful, the competition for recruitment will intensify."

"Yes. I'll put my 5-year commentary career on the line and say this. We absolutely have to recruit this player in the United States. No matter how much it costs, I hope the government will put in the effort!"

=The negotiation team must have started their journey already after watching this match! Let's look forward to it!

In an instant, Ha Yeon's expression hardened.

Even though it was only a small amount of money, the mindset of being a guild manager rather than a troublemaker had returned.

"Come to think of it, Ji Han... you promoted yourself to the world."

There is a player who has the SSS-class gift, Balan, and has even broken through the barrier of the stadium with a play that exceeds the standard?

Moreover, it is now 2020, when the tutorial is about to end.

At this point, countries are risking their lives to recruit outstanding players in preparation for next year.

Then, what is the value of Sung JiHan...

Ha Yeon's mind became distant.

"Can we recruit him from the guild...?"

Although the guild is relatively well-received domestically, it seems to have its limits when compared to the rest of the world.

"This seems a bit difficult..."

And as Ha Yeon worried, the battle.net departments of each country that watched this match were busier than ever, trying to secure the top player, Sung JiHan.

Especially the country that took action first.

It was Japan, which had been interested in Sung JiHan for a long time.

* * *

The headquarters of the Divine Self-Defense Force.

"How is it?"

In this meeting room where numerous high-ranking officials of the Self-Defense Force gathered, Takeba Kazuo, the recruitment manager of the Divine Self-Defense Force, was passionately speaking.

"Although we didn't reveal the status window, he proved his abilities in the top 100."

[The Last Survivor - Sung JiHan]

As Takeba's chubby finger pointed to the text displayed on the monitor in the meeting room, a murmur spread throughout the room.

"I say once again! For player Sung JiHan! Even without the status window data, we must use 'that method'."

"Indeed... He is an exceptional talent."

"But I think I need to wait a little longer. What if we recruit someone who hasn't revealed their gift and they don't grow as expected?"

"I agree with that. And shouldn't 'that method' be used on a player who can immediately become a powerhouse? Like the Sword King."

"Well... I think Takeba is right. The potential of that player is extraordinary. He clearly has a talent as big as the Sword King."

"But still, isn't he just a Silver now? Isn't it too wasteful to use that method? Just give him money!"

"Huh. If it's a money fight, can we beat the United States?"

A heated debate unfolded among the officers of the New Self-Defense Force.

Unlike before when they dismissed it as nonsense before the status window was revealed, public opinion was quite divided.

Takeda, who was watching the scene with a bewildered look, turned his gaze to the person sitting in the most important seat in the conference room.

"What does the Defense Minister think about this?"

Referring to the Japanese equivalent of the Korean Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Minister.

He had been silently observing the debate, but suddenly spoke up.

"As soon as this match is over, I received a message from the 'Goddess'."

"The, the Goddess...?"

All the officers' eyes lit up.

The special method they mentioned.

The Goddess was the one who was the subject of this.

"There is also a relationship with the Sword King. She said she will send a clone to him."

"Ah... I see."

"Well, then we didn't need to have this discussion."

"That's right."

"But, for the Goddess to personally intervene without us asking..."

The officers of the New Self-Defense Force raised their heads in surprise.

The Goddess they knew was not usually so proactive.

It was really rare for her to take the initiative like this.

"What did she see in that Korean... I don't know, it was quite unusual."

While the officers were adjusting their evaluation of Sung JiHan like that, the Defense Minister spoke up.

"Takeda."

"Yes!"

"Continue your activities in Korea and prepare to welcome the Goddess. Even if it's a clone, she is the Goddess, so you must never go against the etiquette."

"Ah, understood!"

Takeda bent his waist 90 degrees and shouted loudly.

"Sung JiHan. Since the Goddess has intervened, it's over...!"

Takeda's eyes were filled with deep excitement.