NOVEL NEXT [Translator – Asura]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 521
The Red Administrator.
Summoned by Seong Jihan to shut down HeavenNet, he tried desperately to persuade him.
“Think again, Blue Administrator.”
He exerted all his efforts to convince Seong Jihan.
“You are already the master and permanent administrator of this world. You can do anything you wish here.”
“HeavenNet is a system that can completely replace BattleNet and upgrade it. You just need to accept the enemy instead of erasing them.”
“Ah… Why are you so intent on destroying this world?”
Seong Jihan’s response remained consistent.
“Stop it and just help me erase it.”
Thus, the Red Administrator cooperated in dismantling the HeavenNet he had created with his own hands.
Yet, even in that situation, he persistently tried to sway Seong Jihan.
One such attempt involved showing him how to use the Red stat.
‘The Red Administrator was indeed a genius concerning the system.’
Sssss…
As his left eye turned red, the Red glow began to radiate from his neck, specifically from the tattoo of the Blue and Red Sword.
“Uncle… what are you doing?”
“Just hiding some power.”
“Hiding power?”
As Yoon Seah tilted her head in curiosity, Seong Jihan smiled.
The Red Administrator had a knack for distorting and modifying the BattleNet system to some extent.
Thanks to his teachings, Seong Jihan had learned to some degree how to mimic such feats.
“Well… in case Yggdrasil tries to flee.”
Red Authority
Sacred Flame
Chiiiiik…!
Seong Jihan’s body momentarily blazed, but soon, his eye color reverted to its original black.
“Uh… Uncle, what did you do? I don’t see any changes.”
“You don’t need to worry about it. But others might see things differently.”
“Really…?”
“I disguised myself.”
As Yoon Seah blinked her eyes, there came a beep. beep. sound from the front door.
The person entering was none other than Seong Jihan’s elder sister, Seong Jiah.
No longer in her former statue-like state, she had returned to being human.
‘Seems she finally used the key.’
Despite his repeated urging to use the key when he was around, she had steadfastly refused.
Now, after five years, some change in her heart had led to her transforming back into a human.
As Seong Jihan looked at his now-human sister with satisfaction,
“Mom! Look, I found Uncle!”
Yoon Seah pointed excitedly at Seong Jihan.
But,
“…Seah, that’s the Messenger?”
Seong Jiah’s reaction was entirely unexpected.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Phew… You need some rest. Saying that the starfish form is Jihan… you must’ve had a tough time in Washington?”
“No, Mom! What starfish… Uh? Uncle. Is this…”
“Yes, it’s the effect of Sacred Flame.”
Sssss…
As Seong Jihan’s eye glowed red again, Seong Jiah’s mouth opened wide.
“…What?”
“Long time no see, Sis.”
“No way, Jihan?”
“Yes, I’m back.”
“How is this even possible?!”
In an instant, she pounced on Seong Jihan, grabbing him with a trembling voice and asked,
“Your body… is it okay?”
“I’m the healthiest being in this world.”
“That’s a relief… Still the same…”
As she looked at him with tearful eyes, she hugged and patted his back.
“Welcome back, Jihan.”
“Yeah.”
As Seong Jihan patted her back and smiled, he truly felt he had returned after meeting both Yoon Seah and Seong Jiah.
“Great to see you in human form. Finally used the key?”
“Yes, I used the key…”
Seong Jiah looked towards Yoon Seah.
“I passed on all my Void power to Seah.”
“To Seah?”
“Yes, she was searching in Washington.”
She gathered all her power just to find her uncle.
No wonder she possessed such significant Void energy.
“Then, the Witch of The Void…”
“It’s over. Now, I’m just a human. Though I belong to the Void.”
At her words, Seong Jihan smiled broadly.
Though she belonged to the Void, the fact that his sister returned to human form was worth celebrating.
Thus, the Seong siblings reunited after five years.
* * *
[Translator – Asura]
[Proofreader – Gun]
“Mom, why did you come home so late? It’s already 2 AM.”
“The national team’s dinner just ended now.”
“…Mom, you’re on the national team?”
“You wanted me to become famous, right? So Jihan could find us anytime.”
“Indeed, but…”
National team?
Then, was she back in action as a supporter?
As Seong Jihan pondered this,
Buzz. Buzz.
Seong Jiah’s phone rang, showing a text message on the screen.
-Jiah, did you get home safely? Sorry about what happened today.
Seeing the message from ‘Yoon Sejin,’ Yoon Seah had a peculiar expression.
“…Dad?”
“Yes.”
“What happened with your ex-husband?”
“What happened…”
“Come on, something did. What was it?”
As Yoon Seah asked with keen interest, Seong Jiah sighed.
“A new Half-Elf girl on the national team hit on your dad and got drunk and started ranting at me.”
“Ranting?”
“Yes. She told me to stop hanging around him because we’ve divorced. Kept saying I was preventing him from meeting new people.”
“…Mom, did you hit on Dad?”
“Are you kidding? It was the opposite. Your dad got mad at her and slapped the Half-Elf, turning the dinner into a mess.”
While explaining, Seong Jiah opened an internet portal site.
“Thankfully, it’s not made it to the news yet… but it might be an article tomorrow.”
“Unbelievable… how did this happen on the day we came back?”
“Indeed. I didn’t feel great today, but now it’s ending on a happy note with my brother back.”
As Seong Jiah smiled, Seong Jihan furrowed his brows.
“No, but is Yoon Sejin still hitting on you even after the divorce?”
“Hmm… not exactly. He just asks about Seah.”
“Seah?”
“Yes, although everyone else forgot her… he remembers her.”
“Seah…? Why Seah?”
What was this now?
Wasn’t it only Seong Jihan who was affected by the memory erasure?
As he looked at Yoon Seah curiously,
She pouted her lips and explained.
“Oh… When the world decided to erase your records to save themselves, I got annoyed and asked the World Tree Alliance to erase my records too.”
“…Was that possible?”
“They were glad I’d disappear on my own. Even allowed me to search Washington freely.”
Indeed.
As the future owner of the Arena, part of the Void’s highest echelon,
The World Tree Alliance probably didn’t want to clash unnecessarily.
“So I got the Void power from mom and continued searching Washington.”
“Right. You didn’t contact us for two years.”
“Hehe, I was focused on the search…”
As Yoon Seah scratched her head and answered, Seong Jihan organized his thoughts.
“So, people still remember sis?”
“Yes. Although my information is heavily distorted.”
“How so?”
“My brother’s existence is erased. And Seah is said to be studying abroad under the World Tree Alliance.”
“…Study abroad with them?”
“Yes, occasionally. Though not sure if it’s really study…”
The world indeed changed too much in the past five years.
Seong Jihan thought and asked about something that had piqued his interest earlier,
“So, what’s the deal with the male Half-Elf? Why does he look like me?”
“Oh, you saw him? I was surprised too. Since about a year ago, male Half-Elves started appearing from the aptitude test. Weirdly resembling you.”
“Does the male Half-Elf really look like uncle? I thought uncle is more handsome?”
“But doesn’t he resemble Jihan a bit?”
“…He does? But why is his hair that sky-blue? It’s weird.”
“They say the degree of dye indicates a Half-Elf’s abilities. The highest record is 25%.”
25% being the highest.
That means the guy with 10% he saw was quite talented.
Seong Jihan continued querying Seong Jiah.
“How do these male Half-Elves come into existence?”
“Remember the BattleNet league tutorial?”
“Yes, for me, it started with a survival challenge.”
Thinking back to when he returned and awakened his powers with Dongbang Sak’s brush, Seong Jihan answered.
“That’s now replaced by an ‘aptitude test.’”
“Aptitude test?”
“Yes, it’s a test to measure how well a new player fits as a Half-Elf.”
So the Half-Elves came from this aptitude test.
“Since it started two years ago, only female Half-Elves existed.”
“So only females could become Half-Elves?”
“Yes, and female players’ value increased. Until last year.”
“But what’s so good about being a Half-Elf?”
“Well… everything is five times better for them than an average player. Be it experience gains or additional abilities.”
Five times?
No wonder people revered them so much.
Even a latecomer could catch up swiftly.
“So are male Half-Elves better?”
“Yes. For males… it’s about ten times. Plus, they get special management from the World Tree Alliance.”
“Really?”
Rewards ten times higher were significant,
But what seemed more crucial was the ‘special management’ by the World Tree Alliance.
‘It’s worth investigating this more.’
Seong Jihan assessed the current situation.
Earth, now a colony, seemed peaceful on the surface.
But the existence of, especially, male Half-Elves who resembled him was highly suspicious.
‘With Blue and Red, I have the power to confront them.’
The Blue and Red sword, which sealed HeavenNet’s power, was absolute.
Properly using that sword, the illusion of the World Tree spreading under the moonlight could be shattered instantly.
But,
‘I must conserve my strength until I identify the true enemy.’
The Black, White, and Green Administrators.
Until it was clear who among them was an ally or foe,
Recklessly using Blue and Red would be inadvisable.
‘Green seems to be the enemy for sure, though.’
There was no point in using up all his strength only to get stabbed later by a permanent administrator.
Seong Jihan looked at Yoon Seah.
“Seah, do you still own Sword Palace?”
“This building? It’s Mom’s. I transferred the ownership to her before erasing my records.”
“Really? Then sis. Can you set up a room for me to stay nearby? I’ll move out.”
“A room? Why? You can stay here.”
Surprised by his intentions, Yoon Seah tried to persuade him otherwise.
“It’ll get in the way of my activities under a new identity if I stay here.”
He already had a plan in mind.
“A new identity…”
“Yeah, I need to take the tutorial to become a male Half-Elf, right?”
“Yes, you need to pass the aptitude test.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Uncle… are you aiming to become a Half-Elf?”
“Yes.”
Agreeing with her question, Seong Jihan nodded.
“The fastest way to understand the enemy is from within.”
Whiiiiiing…
A system window appeared before Seong Jihan.
[Access denied for this player.]
In the current system, BattleNet didn’t allow his access.
However,
Red Authority
Sacred Flame
Whrrrr…!
As flames ignited at his fingertip,
The entire system window burned, and letters in red appeared.
[Successfully bypassed the system.]
[Create a new profile?]
[This world is under the Administrator’s watch. A higher authority is required to evade detection.]
[300 Red stats will be consumed.]
‘300, huh.’
That was quite a hefty amount for creating a new identity.
But,
‘All the more reason to use it.’
Without hesitation, Seong Jihan invested his Red stats.
Then,
Ssssss…
A new status window began to unfold.
[Translator – Asura]
[Proofreader – Gun]