The Bronze Promotion Match
After the first Great Erosion, one thing had become much easier: leveling up.
Unlike the Tower, which only allowed two attempts per day, Gates could be entered anytime as long as my stamina held out.
“Huff, huff. Master, are we raiding another Gate?”
“You don’t have to come.”
“Where the needle goes, the thread must follow!”
Since when was I the needle and you the thread?
But it wasn’t just Jiyoung sticking to me.
“Hmph. It would be troublesome if I sat this one out, so I shall lend my strength once more.”
“If it’s the team leader’s order.”
Ping Lei grumbled while Karla remained expressionless.
“Team leader, I’ll begin preparations then.”
Kim Youngsoo, who had long since reached level 100, never missed a single Gate raid either.
Why bother when he couldn’t even level up?
“I need more real combat experience if I want to improve my puppetry.”
Kim Youngsoo answered my question with a hearty laugh.
Good grief.
I never even pushed him, so why was he so proactive?
Thanks to that, Han Suchang was over the moon.
Thank you once again for your assistance.
“It’s nothing worth mentioning.”
It is no small matter. These are Gates that other teams and guilds refused to even touch.
My standard for raiding Gates was “difficulty.”
Most people preferred lower difficulty, but that meant fewer monsters to hunt and slower experience gain.
High difficulty relative to the Gate’s grade!
I focused on places like the [Night of Paradise] that had appeared in Gwacheon.
How wonderful it would be if every member of the Special Task Force were like you, Jinho.
“Guilds get assigned Gates too, don’t they?”
Ah, it’s the same with them. They all scramble for Gates that look low-risk and high-reward.
Han Suchang’s voice was thick with displeasure.
Unlike the Tower, raiding a Gate meant risking your life.
It was only natural that people became cautious.
I simply felt nothing because I had already survived every kind of battlefield imaginable.
Guilds playing it safe was the normal reaction.
“How’s the Association these days?”
Extremely busy. With our authority expanded, there have been many internal reorganizations.
Gate Radar.
A device that revealed where Gates had formed and their difficulty levels.
The Association had connected palm-sized radars to computers and stationed personnel to monitor the enlarged displays.
I never thought I would see the day when guilds would try to curry favor with the Association.
I had known it would happen.
That was why I had built connections in advance.
Are there any Gates you would like us to secure separately, as before?
“Not at the moment.”
After the first Great Erosion, I had already secured every opportunity worth claiming.
In particular, the [Ars Goetia] obtained in Jeonju was proving quite useful thanks to the early acquisition of the Dark Matter Core.
“Contact me if anything comes up.”
Understood.
Since closing Gates had also become part of the Special Task Force’s duties, I no longer needed to answer every Association summons every two months.
Still, there would be times when my strength was needed outside of Gate raids, so I had mentioned it in advance.
One day, then another.
I wasted no time and prepared for the upcoming Bronze promotion match.
* * *
A month had passed since humanity’s first Diamond promotion match.
Other dimensions existed besides Earth.
The shock of every nation’s top-ranked players suffering total defeat was gradually fading.
The day of the promotion match was fast approaching.
The level requirement had long been met thanks to the continuous Gate raids.
I summoned Karla and Ping Lei.
“Both of you, go visit your hometowns.”
“Yahoo…… No, ahem. For what reason?”
“We need to train.”
Ping Lei, you should at least wipe that grin off your face before speaking.
I frowned at their completely opposite reactions.
“No. You should at least greet your parents, Team Leader.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Ping Lei pressed his lips together tightly.
“The Harbinger of Ruin.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s you.”
Transparent as glass, this guy.
From now on, your nickname is the Harbinger of Ruin.
After shooting Ping Lei a glare as he fidgeted, I spoke again.
“We have to come back after the promotion match.”
“Ah……”
Karla let out a sigh, lips pursed.
Was it really that disappointing that she couldn’t train with me?
Sometimes she even gritted her teeth trying to land a single clean hit.
I’d have to watch my back.
“Even with the Association’s recognition, you can’t participate in the promotion match together. You both know that, right?”
Many missions were conducted under [Nation-Specific Matching].
The reason the two could operate on the same team in Korea was because the Player Association had recognized their visas.
However, promotion matches were an exception.
I see. I will relay that to my home country as well.
Ping Lei struggled to hold back his laughter.
Oh, how annoying.
Your training load is doubled when you get back.
After silently passing Ping Lei’s death sentence in my mind, I turned to Karla.
“You’re not going to object, are you?”
No. I will follow your orders, Team Leader.
Even though she belonged to Gold Moon, she preferred staying on our team.
Ellen would be disappointed if she knew.
“Good. Then you’re dismissed. Pack your things and we’ll meet later.”
Clap!
A single clap served as the order to leave.
After sending the two away, I gathered the rest of the team to prepare for the promotion match.
Jiyoung suddenly raised her hand.
“Master, can I be honest?”
“Go ahead.”
“I don’t think we’re going to lose. I was wondering if there was really anything we needed to prepare separately……”
Her voice trailed off.
“Complacency is bad, but you’re not wrong.”
“Hehe, it’s hard to imagine losing when Master is here.”
“What we need to prepare for is the Neshan raid.”
Neshan.
A special boss monster of the [Ancient Canyon] that didn’t appear in the Iron promotion match.
A lake at the center of the canyon.
A monster that only revealed itself after two days had passed without any of the three factions being defeated.
Kim Youngsoo stroked his chin.
“If it’s Neshan, we’ll need at least fifty people.”
“With Master around, that’s doable, right?”
“Indeed. We should focus on keeping foreign players in check.”
I shook my head.
“Sorry, but both of you will have to participate in the raid as well.”
A red mineral popped out of the Pocket of Desire.
“What is that, Master?”
“Adamantium. A rare mineral.”
Jiyoung let out an “Ah” and nodded.
It made sense that she reacted that way, since adamantium’s usefulness wasn’t widely known at this point in time.
“Team Leader, why did you show us this?”
“If you feed adamantium to Neshan, it becomes three times stronger.”
Kim Youngsoo’s eyes twitched.
Maybe because he had been stuck at Iron for so long, he understood immediately.
“Is it even possible to clear?”
“I already told you. The two of you need to lend your strength.”
A hidden element on the 20th floor.
Feeding adamantium to the boss made it three times stronger.
One might wonder why anyone would feed such a rare mineral comparable to orichalcum to a boss monster and strengthen it.
Kim Youngsoo seemed too shocked by my statement to think that far, and Jiyoung……
“Master only fights battles he can win.”
She didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts on the matter.
“Anyway, dismissed. Both of you, take care of your condition.”
I was the one who had soloed the Imugi, a boss monster from a Silver-grade Gate.
However.
Even I couldn’t guarantee a 100% victory against a Neshan that had been fed adamantium at my current level.
The players from the two opposing nations we would face in the promotion match were also variables.
I hoped the allied players this time would be easy to work with as well.
* * *
The next day.
Launching the Tower of Babel connection application.
The current user’s location is stable.
Connection successful.
The Bronze promotion match is currently active.
Would you like to challenge the 20th floor?
[Y/N]
Just like on the 10th floor, when I pressed the activated promotion match button, the surrounding scenery distorted.
Towering castle walls.
This time, I entered the battlefield directly without passing through a waiting room.
This promotion match is between Korea / Japan / Philippines.
The nation with the fewest players participating is the Philippines.
Since the difference in numbers between the three nations does not exceed 10%, the match will begin without adjustment.
Korea - 221
Japan - 227
Philippines - 219
Due to the high number of participants, the map size has been adjusted.
Unlike the 10th floor, there were no preliminaries. The main round began immediately.
The mission content was the same as the 10th floor.
The only difference was that the main battlefield, the “Ancient Canyon,” was roughly twice as large as before.
“Ugh, I hate walking.”
“Nothing we can do about it.”
The battlefield had expanded along with the increased number of participants.
The match was more likely to be decided by large-scale engagements rather than speed, which was welcome news for those aiming for the Neshan raid.
“It’s Player Yu Jinho.”
“Whoa, so the rumor that he was participating in this promotion match was true?”
“We’re getting a free ride this time.”
“Lee Jiyoung is next to him too.”
“The barrier user?”
“So the Yeokcheon team is participating in the promotion match.”
The attention of the Korean players poured over me.
The reactions were even more intense than before.
It was thanks to the multiple Gates we had cleared, including [Night of Paradise], right after the first Great Erosion.
Fame could be annoying, but depending on how you used it, it became a weapon.
Especially in situations like this, it made it easier to assert authority.
At that moment.
“Player Yu Jinho!”
A familiar voice echoed in my ears.
A man approached wearing full plate mail.
I had definitely heard that voice before.
Who was it again?
“Oh? So you are the child to whom I once donated clothes.”
“Ah, Oh Jiwon, was it?”
The guy I had saved from the Deep Slime during the tutorial.
I had completely forgotten about him afterward, but here we were meeting again.
“Oh Jiwon. First time since the tutorial?”
“Ah, aah. I never thought you would remember my name, Jinho!”
Yeah. I wouldn’t have if Nyx hadn’t reminded me.
Looking at Oh Jiwon with sparkling eyes, his admiration seemed even stronger than before.
I hadn’t seen such fervent reactions even before my regression.
This was…… fine, right?
“Jinho, please take command of us for this mission!”
Oh Jiwon shouted loudly in the booming voice typical of tanks.
His voice echoed far and wide.
Loud enough for everyone participating in this promotion match to hear.
Jiyoung looked at me with a flustered expression.
“I didn’t tell him to do that.”
Why? What?
I was just as flustered by this situation, you know?
“If it’s Player Yu Jinho……”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“Better to follow someone proven than to have divided opinions.”
“Good. I agree with that opinion!”
“Me too!”
Unexpected.
I thought at least one or two would object, but surprisingly, everyone accepted Oh Jiwon’s words without complaint.
This would make things easier.
“Jinho, please give us your orders.”
Oh Jiwon knelt on one knee with an extremely serious expression.
To think that trollish behavior would actually help.
Wait.
Maybe the command authority in the promotion match could be useful in another way.
I glanced at the stiff Kim Youngsoo.
“Youngsoo hyung.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s do something together.”
The talent of a commander.
Let’s see it bloom this time.