Chapter 52
Unable to contain her anger, Kim Heesu arrived at the Gift Department and made contact with the security guard.
“On the 22nd, there was an incident in front of the Gift Department. Do you have the CCTV footage? Give it to me now.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’m requesting it legitimately from the victim’s perspective.”
“Even so, unless an official complaint is filed, we can’t release it…”
“Well, do you also think Korea Daily is that easy to deal with?”
Kim Heesu’s eyes were filled with determination, and the security guard flinched.
He had been on duty on the night of the 22nd, and he had seen Kim Heesu being mistreated by Seong Jihan with his own eyes.
The hatred and anger he had witnessed in Kim Heesu at that time were genuine.
‘I shouldn’t mess with her for no reason…’
He wasn’t an exceptional player like Seong Jihan, and he had no influential background.
He was just an ordinary citizen with no support to speak of.
He feared that if he pushed the rules too far, he might become the target of her anger, which was already simmering.
“Ah, I understand.”
Unable to resist Kim Heesu’s insistence, the security guard finally agreed to replay the CCTV footage from that day.
The scene was of her cousin, who had a broken leg and had all his eyebrows plucked.
Kim Heesu herself was shouting loudly, and the scene where her hair and eyebrows were also plucked was vividly displayed.
It brought back painful memories of that day.
“Ugh…!”
Kim Heesu gritted her teeth and tried to hold back the involuntary shivers running through her body as she continued to watch the footage.
She saw herself hurriedly escaping with her cousin, and not long after, the scene where Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah were having a conversation came up.
She narrowed her eyes.
‘Yoon Seah…?’
Yoon Seah, who usually maintained a bright and cheerful demeanor with a sunny smile, had a deeply saddened expression on her face in the CCTV footage.
If her Gift had worked well, she would never have made such an expression.
“What did these people talk about here?”
“Well…”
“You’ve already shown me the CCTV footage. Is there anything to hide?”
Kim Heesu spoke in a cold tone, and eventually, the security guard reluctantly recounted what he had heard that day.
“She said she is ruined and needed to focus on studying for the college entrance exam…”
“What? She’s ruined?”
“Yes. But it seemed like she regained her determination later… After that, I didn’t hear the details.”
“Ha. Haha. Hahaha! Seriously? Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Hahahaha! Unbelievable. So, Yoon Seah was just showing off…!”
Kim Heesu smiled widely at the news.
How should she reveal this information? Through a newspaper article in Korea Daily? Or should she confront Yoon Seah in person?
‘Both, I guess!’
Kim Heesu had various ideas on how to ruin Yoon Seah even more.
She returned to the classroom with light steps and looked around.
“Hey, where’s Yoon Seah?”
“She submitted her withdrawal papers and went home.”
“What?! Already?”
“It’s just the process of withdrawing, it’ll be quick.”
After receiving their Gift, many students chose to withdraw from the academy without completing the curriculum, so the withdrawal process at the academy was simple.
‘Darn, she ran away.’
Kim Heesu wanted to mock her in front of everyone, but it was a pity.
“But why were you looking for Yoon Seah?”
When her friend asked with a puzzled expression, Kim Heesu considered telling them about what she had just learned but decided to keep quiet.
‘I can’t reveal it here when she’s not here.’
If she talked to these gossipmongers, the news might break through elsewhere before Korea Daily could publish it.
‘Korea Daily should be the first one to publish this…’
How could she ruin Yoon Seah more provocatively?
Countless ideas came to her mind.
Kim Heesu smiled with satisfaction at the thought.
After having her hair and eyebrows plucked, it was the first time she smiled with joy.
[South Korea’s Top 100 Participant, Seong Jihan, Who Appeared After 4 Years – ARABOJA]
[A monster who has never missed the 1st place?? (Amazement) – Rekka News]
[2nd Place in Top 100 Odds?! Seong Jihan’s Chances of Winning?]
Since the news of Seong Jihan’s participation in the Top 100 promotion matches was revealed, various media outlets in South Korea have started to focus on Seong Jihan.
Top 100.
Since these promotion matches took place once a month for each league, when you consider it on an annual basis, there were quite a few participants.
In one year, each League alone had 1,200 players participating in the Top 100, starting from the Bronze League.
So, when you combined all the promotion matches from Bronze to Platinum, there were 4,800 participants.
Among them, the fact that there hadn’t been a South Korean player in four years was the current state of the South Korean BattleNet League.
Although the League itself maintained an upper-middle position, most promising players were scouted and recruited by scouts from several advanced countries.
In the end, only those with questionable potential remained in Korea.
However, in the midst of this, the existence of Seong Jihan suddenly appeared as if it had fallen from the sky.
With a shocking debut that shattered the image of the Sword Palace’s Twin Swords, he climbed to the Top 100 stage by dominating the Bronze League for a month.
Naturally, if you were Korean, you couldn’t help but have high expectations for Seong Jihan.
– If you’re Korean, please cheer for Seong Jihan!!
– Yeah, he’s our boy~~~
– Of course, I would have picked him if it weren’t for Barren.
– Foolish guys… Barren isn’t even close to having a 100% win rate~~ You should definitely pick our Seong Jihan~~
– These Barren haters… Barren achieved a 75% win rate in New York 1, didn’t you know?
– Watch Seong Jihan’s videos and come back. This guy isn’t Bronze level. At least, he should be considered Gold level.
– Don’t spread baseless rumors; if you do that, then Barren is at the Platinum level, haha!
“Ah, they’re still arguing.”
The passion of keyboard warriors knows no bounds.
Yoon Seah made a disgusted expression as she watched the heated debates on the BattleNet site.
Not only on BattleNet-related sites but also on various online communities in Korea, the content was flooded with discussions about Seong Jihan vs. Barren.
“Seah, what are you looking at?”
“Oh, Uncle… this.”
How could she describe this chaos in words?
Yoon Seah showed the screen she had been watching.
– If you don’t pick Barren, you’re just an idiot lol
(Comment: 5779)
– Losers who are scared of losing cash. Don’t you understand the situation? This is practically getting money for free. Mid-Level 100% vs. Top Level 75%. Who you should bet on? It’s clear as a day. What’s wrong with the people who don’t pick Barren? Why are they alive? Haha Especially in this situation, those who try to make money by investing in stocks and such $#%^&^ don’t pretend to be patriots. I’m so frustrated that I don’t even feel like talking anymore, but I’ll give you a warning. Those who pretend to be patriotic or those with good analytical skills and spread rumors about Seong Jihan and others will be beaten up without mercy. Self-defense? A lawyer? Barren will pay for it. I am invincible. Barren is a “god.” Now, take a look at this. I’m going to prove it with a 10 billion won bet on Barren.
As Seong Jihan looked at the screenshot below the text, where he had wagered 1 million GP on Barren, he said, “Oh, he’s a good person.”
And Seong Jihan was genuinely happy as he looked at it.
“…A good person? That guy?” Yoon Seah asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to take 1 billion from that guy. Somehow, my odds have gone up a bit.”
“They’ve gone up? Ah… Is it because of the recent highlights of Barren that have become a hot topic?”
Barren’s highlight videos.
The public had been enthusiastic about the highlight reel of the Grand Magician who had dominated the Bronze League.
Although Seong Jihan had shown an overwhelming performance all along, it seemed that the public was more focused on Barren, perhaps because magic users appeared more spectacular in videos than warriors.
And Seong Jihan was truly grateful for that.
“Yeah, when you include multiple kills, it’s almost five times.”
“Wow… They’ve gone up that much?”
Yoon Seah looked at Seong Jihan with sparkling eyes.
“Uncle, I want to…”
“No, don’t.”
“I’m sure about this!!!”
Seong Jihan’s firm words made Yoon Seah pout.
She understood his determination not to turn her into a gambling addict, but five times…
If Seong Jihan was that confident..if she bet 5 billion, it would be 25 billion!
Wasn’t he being too unambitious?
“…Fine. If you want to help me, focus on training and don’t think about money.”
“Ugh.”
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“300 push-ups. 300 sit-ups. 300 squats. 30 kilometers on the treadmill….”
“Did you do it yet?”
“Not yet…”
“Alright, then let’s do it now.”
Yoon Seah nodded as she took a deep breath.
The training methods Seong Jihan had shared to gain rare stats were simple and brutal, but she had no choice but to follow them.
“I’ll go train. Uncle, please turn off the computer.”
“Sure.”
With Yoon Seah leaving the room, Seong Jihan accessed BattleTube on his computer.
He wanted to watch Barren’s highlight video that had been mentioned earlier.
As he watched the video:
[ULTIMATE MAGE, Barren Williams!]
The title referred to him as the Ultimate Mage, and the highlight video focused on Barren’s ruthless power.
However, Seong Jihan couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“As expected, he hasn’t changed from last life.”
The world’s number one ranking in the previous world hadn’t changed.
From Bronze to the top ranks, he was showing off his control that was unmatched.
‘Barren Williams. He was… inherently a balcon.’
[We are now starting the Top 100 Bronze Promotion Matches.]
The Top 100 promotion matches began, synchronized with the time of the Rank 1 player in the world, the New York Area 1.
On August 25th, according to New York’s time, it was 6 PM. With a 13-hour time difference, it was 7 AM in Korea on the same day.
At the same time, the channels 0 of BattleNet worldwide began broadcasting the American BattleNet match, as the New York League, which had the power ranking 1, was granted the privilege of broadcasting the worldwide matches.
Perhaps because of this, the American BattleNet commentators and casters, who were in high spirits, were passionately conducting the broadcast.
– So, the Top 100 Promotion Matches of August! The Bronze League is starting, just like usual!
– This time, the Promotion Matches for the Bronze League have gained explosive attention compared to usual! Christoph, why is that?
– Of course! It’s because our American rising star, Barren Williams, is participating!
Barren! Barren! Barren! Barren! Barren!
As soon as Barren Williams’ name was mentioned, the fans’ enthusiastic shouting naturally became the background music.
The owner of a SSS-rank Gift, player Barren Williams, was already gaining popularity surpassing top stars in America.
– However… Barren also has a formidable rival!
– That’s right! Even though Barren is in the league, there is a player, Seong, from South Korea, who has much better league records! He’s a monster who hasn’t missed 1st place in a single game!
– He hasn’t missed 1st place in a single game?! Christopher, is that possible?
– I’ve checked the data from 2010 to now! Not a single player has achieved this record! Of course, the level of South Korea’s league isn’t… particularly high, but it’s still an amazing record!
Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!
Barren’s rival.
When compliments for Seong Jihan came out, a chorus of boos naturally followed.
The commentators were making good use of America’s advantage as the world’s 1st place in the league by conducting a broadcast that balanced neutrality with the direct emotions of American fans.
– So today, the focus of the Bronze Promotion Matches will be on the key player, Barren, and…
– Player Seong Jihan.
– Only 5 second until match starts! Let the countdown begin!
[5… 4… 3… 2… 1….]
With the system’s countdown as the last signal, the war of the stars, bringing together the top 100 players in the world, had begun.
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