When Seong glanced at her, Yu Mina asked, “Huh? Why are you looking at like that?”
Seong’s sudden change in expression caught her off guard. Mina tilted her head in confusion.
He wasn’t normally like this… What’s going on?
She kept staring at him, her thoughts swirling with questions. Seong, in turn, asked her, “You said you’re ranked 9th in the singles rankings, right?”
“Soon to be 8th. Hehehe,” she replied with a satisfied smile, clearly pleased with the question from her younger brother.
She had always been seen as a bit eccentric, but Yu Mina was undeniably a top-tier player. Being ranked among the single digits out of 2 billion users worldwide wasn’t sothing that could easily be achieved.
Seong couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of admiration for his sister, suddenly realizing how remarkable she truly was.
At the sa ti, a thought crossed his mind. What if a stage was created where these top-ranking players could fight each other?
It was only natural that the number of viewers would skyrocket.
Even Seong couldn’t deny that he was intrigued.
How strong were the top players in Eternal World?
Yu Mina, too, wasn’t the type to stream often. Would they perhaps appear for such an event?
The idea sparked so excitent in Seong.
While he was lost in thought, Mina, puzzled by his silence, tilted her head, wondering why he hadn’t answered. “What’s going on?”
Unable to hold back, Mina asked again. Seong snapped out of his thoughts and quickly replied, “Oh, I think a new event is starting soon.”
“An event? At level 200?” she asked, still not quite understanding.
“No, for all levels,” Seong clarified.
“?????” Mina blinked, clearly confused.
Noticing her confusion, Seong explained, “Apparently, Overpalace is going to awaken a legendary being called Apophis and turn it into a festival for the users.”
“Wait… what???” Mina asked in disbelief.
With wide eyes, she turned to him as if trying to process the information. Seong continued, “I was told it would be an event that all levels can enjoy.”
“Is that really true?” Mina asked, surprised.
“Yep, I heard it directly,” Seong confird.
“Wow… I knew Overpalace was amazing, but this is sothing else,” Mina responded, genuinely impressed. Her face beca serious as she seed to ponder sothing deeply, calculating.
Seong, noticing her sudden shift in deanor, nodded in agreent. Such an enormous event was only seen once before during the 1st anniversary event.
That ti, even the top players didn’t participate much, since it didn’t offer them much benefit. But this ti would be different.
World Boss Apophis.
The event would involve all players, regardless of level, working together to take down the legendary boss. Seong was intrigued. How could this play out?
“There’s also the fact that they told to prepare for PvP,” he added, drawing her attention.
Mina, scratching her lips in thought, responded, “Ah, this is a tough one… There’s a lot of benefit, but there are risks too.”
“Really?” Seong was surprised. For sothing like Apophis, he had assud it would be purely beneficial.
Mina seed different from other top players, and her opinion made him curious.
“Yeah, for singles rankers, ti is everything, so you have to hunt more monsters to stay ahead,” she explained. “If this event doesn’t reward you with experience, it’s a huge loss. Of course, if they hand out Almighty-tier skills as rewards, that would be a different story.”
“Hmmm,” Seong nodded thoughtfully. He had never considered that perspective before. But it made sense.
For top players like Mina, the event might not be so advantageous if the rewards didn’t align with their needs. However, the appeal of fighting a World Boss like Apophis was undeniable.
“But if it's a World Boss, it’s still worth participating,” Mina added with confidence.
“Oh, really?” Seong asked.
“Yeah, because a World Boss raid is sure to drop experience, and they’ve never had one like this before. Plus, if it’s a World Boss, it’ll be more rewarding,” Mina continued. “But, of course, the top 1, 2, and 3 players will definitely sit it out.”
Seong tilted his head in confusion. Why wouldn’t the top-ranked players participate?
Yu Mina quickly explained, “They’re all in the sa guild, so they’d rather hunt together instead of wasting ti on a World Boss raid. They’re probably not going to participate. As for the 4th-ranked player, they’re too busy chasing the top spots, so I’m not sure. But I think from 5th place onwards, they’ll definitely join in.”
“Oh, I see,” Seong said, understanding the situation.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Yeah, I bet at the start, everyone will try to outdo each other and even kill off the competition,” Mina said with a smirk.
Seong couldn’t help but think that this was likely how things would play out. Mina, however, was confident she’d win.
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” she said with a grin.
Her confident words were nothing new—she had always been this way, always winning in competitions. Seong smiled, replying, “I’m looking forward to it.”
And with that, he resolved to give his best as well.
3.
Imdiately after the Hero Assembly concluded, the swordsman, aboard the magical airship returning to his kingdom, the Kingdom of Rieskan, had no sign of easing the tension on his face.
When had he ever been so thoroughly humiliated?
It was so distant a mory that he couldn't even recall it clearly.
To think that it would happen at the hands of a fellow hero...
His teeth ground together in frustration, but there was nothing he could do about it.
He had heard that there were two other heroes loyal to the Black Star: Yeongseong (Zero Star) and Maseong (Demon Star).
If the Black Star were to be dealt with, then they needed five of its allies to gather, and dealing with the remaining two would require at least two more.
In other words, everyone, except for the Black Star’s side, would need to rise up.
But was that even possible?
‘Impossible.’
The power of the Black Star did not only co from itself.
That incredible power ca directly from Overpalace.
Since the battle between the hero Hindel and the Overlord, excluding Overpalace, everyone’s strength had been steadily weakened.
He had desperately struggled to break free from this, but the gap only widened.
The swordsman felt this keenly at the Hero Assembly.
Until now, he had believed that if only the Black Star was handled, things could be turned around.
After all, the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) hero was in their hands.
He thought it might still be possible, but now he realized that a different approach might be necessary.
As the swordsman was deep in thought, a soft vibration ca from the necklace around his neck.
Sensing it, the swordsman furrowed his brow even more and muttered, “What’s going on?”
As if responding to his words, the sword vibrated, and a voice echoed in his mind.
[I believe you’ve realized sothing from this.]
“...”
The voice sent a chill down his spine.
It was true.
He had no choice but to admit it.
“You’re right.”
[Are you ready to listen to now?]
After a mont’s hesitation, the swordsman nodded.
“Fine. I accept your proposal.”
[It’s late, but wise. Good. Since you haven’t accepted an outsider, we’ll take charge of this operation.]
“...Was that the plan all along?”
Hearing the swordsman’s cryptic words, the other party chuckled and muttered.
[It’s only natural to prepare for everything. And didn’t I always tell you? If you want to bring down the Black Star, the only way is to target their successors.]
“Do you think we can catch him under that ironclad security?”
[Yes, Apophis offers the best opportunity to extract him under that ironclad security, doesn’t it? I was worried when you were opposing it.]
“...”
The swordsman had no response but could not deny the logic.
The one he was talking to now... was dangerous.
If he wasn’t careful, he might even be consud by him.
But the resentnt and the longing for vengeance against the Black Star were undeniable.
If they were facing the sa enemy, he was willing to join forces.
“...I’ll leave it to you.”
[Good. Prepare the belongings of Hero Hindel. My outsider disciple will handle him.]
“I will arrange it.”
The swordsman nodded, and the other side, seemingly satisfied, murmured.
[Then, I will handle the Black Star’s successor inside Apophis. After that, you know what cos next, right?]
“Yes, I trust you.”
Their conversation ended, and the connection was cut.
The swordsman ground his teeth together, rembering the words of the other party.
He had to hand over Hindel’s belongings.
The thought made him furious—it was painful, but there was no other choice.
He had started the negotiation knowing full well that this would be the price.
He didn’t think it would end in failure, given the nature of his opponent.
But just to be safe, he’d prepare for every eventuality.
Turning to his subordinates, he asked, “Where’s the hero?”
“He’s in the royal palace.”
“…I’ll go find him.”
He needed to brainwash the remaining hero.
Just in case sothing unexpected happened.
This hero would, without a doubt, beco their puppet.
The swordsman had no doubts about that.
After dinner, Seong typically spent his ti gathering materials and researching information about Eternal World.
Staying up late to play was never ideal for his routine.
However, tonight was different.
For the first ti in a long while, Seong prepared to go out in the evening and headed for the door.
As he stepped outside, his sister, Yu Mina, who had dressed casually, was waiting for him.
“What, are you going to be later than ?”
“…You ate really quickly, didn’t you?”
“Hehehe, anyway, let’s go.”
As the two of them exchanged words, Seong’s mother, Lee Na-gyeong, called out from a distance.
“Be careful out there~”
“Yeah, we will.”
“Take care.”
They were no longer children, so with simple words of farewell, they left the house.
Why were they heading out?
They were going to et An Yoo-jin.
It was an urgent matter, and when she casually ntioned it, they agreed to et briefly in the evening at a nearby café.
It wasn’t far, so it didn’t take long to get there.
As they arrived at the agreed café, Yu Mina was the first to spot her.
“Oh? There she is?”
Seong followed her gaze and saw An Yoo-jin, sipping coffee by herself. Despite the ti apart, her familiar presence stood out to Seong.
As they approached, An Yoo-jin greeted Seong with a bright smile.
“Ah! Our good luck charm!”
“Y- Yoo-jin unnie?!”
“You ca with the information so quickly! You’re on a different level from your sister!”
“What do you an?”
An Yoo-jin ruffled their heads with pride. Though she had to stand on tiptoe to reach Seong and Mina’s heads, her joy was evident.
As Seong stood there, confused, An Yoo-jin looked at them and said, “Finally, it’s ti for the backup team to shine!!!”
Seong and Yu Mina exchanged puzzled glances as they heard those words.
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