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=Tuseong… an unseen map before. Coach, did you purposely not ban Seong Jihan just to select this map?

=The map is categorized as a dungeon. All classes can participate, and it allows 50 players to join. Just by looking at the map’s conditions, it doesn’t seem like it gives Seong Jihan or the US team any particular advantage.

=But, you must have a reason for making this choice, right? I sincerely hope so.

The 5th match map, Tuseong.

This map, classified as a dungeon, was unfamiliar not only to ordinary viewers but also to BattleNet experts.

“Tuseong…”

“What is this map?”

“Did they intentionally not ban Mr. Seong Jihan because of this map?”

While the national team players were questioning the newly appeared map name ‘Tuseong’, with curiosity,

‘…Could it be, the Star of Martial God, Tuseong?’

Seong Jihan looked at the 5th match map name with astonishment.

He had guessed that Gilgamesh must have been involved somehow, but he never imagined Tuseong would be set as a match map.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Seong Jihan. We hurriedly searched for information on Tuseong in the strategic analysis room, but we couldn’t find any data.”

“It’s okay. It’s the US’s hidden card, after all. I didn’t think there would be any data on it.”

“Well, whatever their intention might be, with Uncle stepping in, we’ll surely win in the end.”

With such a laid-back remark, Yoon Seah entered the BattleNet connector.

“Shall we go, Jihan?”

Yoon Sejin watched his daughter and then flashed a bright, gold light in his eyes similar to when Gilgamesh descended last time.

Seong Jihan chuckled at that.

“Let’s go, is there even a choice not to?”

“The constellation said… said that if it’s too risky, you don’t have to participate.”

“There must be something there after all.”

“Well… as one who is sponsored, I dare not presume to understand the king of humans intentions. Nor should I attempt to.”

Yoon Sejin maintained a respectful demeanor towards the ‘King of Humans’.

Entering the 5th match seemed like Yoon Sejin, too, must not be underestimated.

‘Tuseong… The map name alone is unsettling, but not going would mean certain defeat.’

This would mean not winning the championship, effectively submitting to Gilgamesh’s will.

Seong Jihan didn’t want to clash with him without even trying.

In that case, yielding to Gilgamesh’s will would mean not winning the championship. Seong Jihan didn’t want that without even confronting him.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah, I’ll assist my brother-in-law with all my might.”

“It’s reassuring to have you by my side.”

Seeing Yoon Sejin emphasize the word ‘assist,’ Seong Jihan chuckled and entered the BattleNet connector.

And then…

“…So he finally went in.”

In Yoon Sejin’s eyes watching Seong Jihan enter, a golden light flashed brightly.

* * *

[You have entered the dungeon map, ‘Tuseong’.]

[Reach the top of the golden tower that connects heaven and the earth.]

[The side that seizes the Primordial Treasure first wins.]

Ziing!

50 Korean players summoned to Tuseong looked around.

“Is this… inside a building? Look at the walls. It’s all golden.”

“From the message… are we supposed to climb the tower to the top?”

“I don’t understand why it’s called Tuseong. They could have just named it the Golden Tower.”

The interior was vast enough to question whether to call it a tower. The walls, ceiling, and floor inside shimmered with the presence of gold.

Since the summoned players were all national representatives, they were merely amazed by the amount of gold rather than being awestruck.

-Wow… Look at that sparkling gold.

-Isn’t the building itself a treasure trove?

-If you collect all of that, will you become rich?

-Taking in-game gold doesn’t seem useful, does it? Unless it’s converted to GP.

-If this wasn’t the championship’s fifth game, even the national team players would’ve scratched the floor at least once.

Viewers were excited by the spectacle inside the golden tower.

In the dazzling interior,

Seong Jihan looked around and then…

“To the top, huh…”

Swoosh!

He lightly punched the wall.

Bang!

And just like that, the wall was pierced through.

“Un…cle? What are you doing?”

“Why take the stairs? You can just fly out from outside.”

“Oh. Is that so?”

“Yeah. I’ll go check it out.”

Seong Jihan started walking towards the enlarged rift, but…

Swoosh…!

Chains of gold burst out from the pierced wall and instantly filled the gap.

Feeling the urge to ascend quietly through the stairs, Seong Jihan smirked.

“Let’s see.”

Whooosh!

Flames blazed from his hand, touching the golden chains directly.

The massive firepower backed by stat-based strength, Which in normal circumstances, could have burned down the entire wall of the tower.

Wriggle! Wriggle…

Like pulsating veins, the chains moved, and Instead of the wall disappearing, it recovered its original form even stronger.

“Eh? The wall…”

“It doesn’t seem to be just barely strong.”

Observing this scene, Korean players turned their gaze inward.

Even if it’s Seong Jihan, it seemed impossible to climb to the top of the tower alone with transcendent power.

It seemed they would have to ascend the stairs quietly.

‘If I write the Destruction code, Destroy, here, the wall would break.’

Destruction code: destroy.

After obtaining the stat ‘Red’, the completed letter possessed the ability to completely delete the target from the world.

So much so that the spot where he first wrote Destroy in the void training ground remained blackened.

However,

‘Using Destroy leaves me defenseless for a while.’

Creating the Destruction code required pouring in all his stat-based power, Martial Soul, and void force.

Using it here seemed too risky.

“Let’s take the stairs for now.”

“Yes!”

Deciding to use the code only if things turned really bad,

Seong Jihan led his team up the stairs.

And then…

“Is, is that a steel giant…?!”

“Prepare for battle!”

In the vast second floor,

Dozens of steel giants looked down on the Korean national team from above.

‘Enkidu?’

The modified Enkidu, taught by Gilgamesh from the Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit.

The steel giant, known to be targeted first by the spear of judgement because it was a god’s body,

Emanated an intense aura even from a glance.

Seong Jihan had only summoned Enkidu before for the dummy role to be killed by the spear.

However, using it offensively seemed like it could serve as a summon capable of crushing any opponent.

Then,

Swoosh!

As the group of steel giants raised their hands in unison,

“Oh, here they come…!”

“Start with protective magic!”

The national team prepared to fight back nervously, but then,

Swooooosh!

A golden light twinkled on the steel giants’ hands, and giant fruits appeared.

“….?”

“What’s that?”

Then,

[This is a gift from the king.]

Simultaneously, a voice came from the steel giants, and then,

Thud! Thud…….

They placed the golden fruit in front of the Korean national team, like a mountain.

* * *

[Honor the king and consume the fruits. Only then can one ascend.]

The fruits piled up in front of the national team.

Though they varied in type, they all shared one common feature: they were all golden.

Apples, strawberries, grapes—all shimmered with a golden hue.

Rather than being appetizing, each one seemed like a treasure.

-Why is everything here golden? lol

-Well, at least the giants are made of steel.

-But can we even eat those? Aren’t they artistic pieces made of gold?

-But the apples do look delicious…

-Yeah, they’re kind of tempting… in a weird way.

At first, they seemed like treasures, but as the players continued to look at them, even viewers watching indirectly through the screen started to salivate.

And for the players who actually had them in front of them, the temptation was even stronger.

“Isn’t it too much of a trap to eat these and then ascend?”

“Well… even if it’s a poisonous apple, I kind of want to try it.”

“The aroma is killing me…”

“I’ll try eating one and experiment! Just make sure to cast protective spells!”

When a warrior couldn’t resist the temptation and raised their hand…

“No. You shouldn’t be the first to eat it.”

“Sword King…”

Yoon Sejin smiled and stepped forward.

He went towards the piled-up fruits and then,

Plop!

Knelt and even bowed.

“I pay my respects to the King of the Humans! I humbly accept your grace!”

Yoon Sejin showed utmost respect in front of the fruits.

“Ah, Dad… When did you become a vassal?”

“Sword King, why are you bowing…?”

“But he mentioned the King of Humans?”

“Isn’t that the constellation that is enthusiastically sponsoring these days’ rankers?”

While people were shocked,

Yoon Sejin, trembling with emotion, picked up a golden apple and put it to his mouth.

Crunch!

The moment the fruit was chewed, the fragrance of the fruit deepened.

“Wow, that smell is insane…”

“Dad, are you okay?! How could you recklessly eat that?”

“It’s alright, Seah. Actually, my stamina has increased by 1!”

Despite Yoon Seah’s concerned shout,

Yoon Sejin proudly raised a thumb, boasting that his basic stamina stat had increased.

Then,

“The stats… went up?”

“Just from eating fruit?”

“Doesn’t seem like the Sword King has any issues…”

The players’ eyes changed.

From the very beginning, seeing the golden fruit made them want to eat; however, they restrained themselves.

But when the Sword King said his stats had increased, their patience disappeared.

“I…I’ll experiment too!”

“Me too! Yes, we need to check for poison!”

The front-row warriors rushed forward first.

Crunch! Crunch!

“Wow, it really did increase!”

“Stamina… can be increased this easily?”

“So tasty… I want to eat this for the rest of my life.”

As the players who ate the fruit actually shouted that their stats had increased,

“Me, me too…!”

“I’ve been holding back. And if it even increases abilities…!”

“We have to eat it if we’re going to climb anyway!”

Players in the back also rushed toward the fruit.

-Are these people crazy? It looks like a trap at first glance, why are they rushing like that ㅡㅡ;

-Even if it raises stats, I can’t understand how national-level players are losing their minds like that?

-Does the fruit have something that bewitches people…?

-What exactly is the Sword King doing? Bowing and everything

-Yo, Americans aren’t playing either. People there who receive support from the King of Humans are also bowing crazily.

-Do Americans also have a bowing culture?

-Seems stiff but they somehow manage to look respectful.

The viewers couldn’t comprehend the players’ frenzy.

Only a very few players weren’t part of this madness.

Seong Jihan, who didn’t rush toward the fruit like a starving ghost, instead,

Swoosh!

Floated a fruit towards him.

‘This, it feels similar to the fruit I saw at the World Tree Elves loan service.’

The fruit from the World Tree that replenished life force.

The fruits dropped by Enkidu contained less potent, but still remarkable, life force.

Crunch!

‘Definitely, the World Tree’s fruit has superior vitality.’

As Seong Jihan chewed on the golden apple, assessing the fruit,

“Uncle, is it okay? That fruit. Maybe you shouldn’t have…”

“Seah, don’t you want to eat?”

“Mom said not to eat it no matter what… While telling me this, she’s cursing Dad out a lot. From a womanizer to now a cultist.”

No longer mentioning us as an illusion, huh?

Hearing about his sister being upset with Yoon Sejin’s second divergence made Seong Jihan feel inexplicably guilty.

If only he had stopped it when the sponsorship from the ‘King of Humans’ came.

“Jihan, my constellation contacted me urgently! She’s asking if Jihan would consider forfeiting the match…”

“Pythia as well?”

“Yes… This place is created by the ‘King of Humans’ in Tuseong… the pillar connecting heaven and earth, Etemenanki.”

“Etemenanki?”

Did she think I would know when she said it like that?

As Seong Jihan frowned at Pythia’s message,

“Ah… here! It’s the Tower of Babel!”

Pythia revealed the name of the tower through Sophia.

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