Chapter 576: Throne Match (7)

The match between Hyunsoo and Lorander.

A match whose odds had been nearly neck and neck ended far more anticlimactically than expected.

-Having grown vastly stronger after losing to him once before, Lorander dragged Hyunsoo into an arena of his own. Inside that arena, blazing flames surged up, inflicting continuous fire damage and slowing movement.

-The acrid smoke caused breathing difficulty and made it hard to secure visibility, and the first appearance of Extreme Kill, a perfect instant-death skill, shook the entire world.

-Inside the burning arena, Lorander looked undeniably impressive as he charged forward alone, wrapped in red Aura. But the king murmured as if refusing to permit him. “I take everything from you.”

-In just two seconds, everything Lorander had created scattered and vanished like an illusion, and every buff effect that had appeared in the arena, even Extreme Kill, was dispelled.

-Then the Sword King’s swordsmanship, piercing in like a wave, revealed its power. That force struck his solar plexus, spun like a storm, concentrated into a massive power, and drove one fatal blow into his chest.

-The time it took from the start of the match to its end was only seventeen seconds. The number of times the two men’s swords clashed? Only once. Master Blacksmith Hyun had defeated Lorander in a single move, just as he had in the past.

-And Lorander was crying as if in bitter frustration.

Disgraceful.

He looked like a fucking idiot.

Pathetic.

Words like that flowed from everywhere.

Especially from the rankers of his homeland, America.

“Fucking idiot. He lost to an enemy, so now he’s crying?”

“That’s supposed to be the Fighting God?”

“It’s humiliating to have been defeated by someone like that.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

They would now turn away from Lorander and refuse to acknowledge him.

Even the Americans, citizens of the strongest superpower, began to waver.

“Pathetic...”

“He got worked up all by himself, and now he’s crying all by himself?”

The mood seemed to be settling that way, but one man saw something else.

He still has room to grow...?

His name was Valhalla.

How many people could despair and cry because they had failed to reach the thing they wanted to reach?

No one around Valhalla had that kind of passion.

That was why Lorander would grow further.

Half a year.

Or perhaps a year.

He would advance to feel not tears of despair, but the joy of victory.

How far will that growth take him?

Even Valhalla could not know.

But the world remembered only the victor now, and so it failed to see the essence.

However.

“...How many people have enough passion to cry because they wanted to reach something? I’m jealous, Lorander.”

There was one other person who saw the essence.

The passion to cry because he had loved and wanted something so much.

Like athletes sobbing after winning Olympic gold medals.

Only one person acknowledged the tears of a man who had run forward for that one moment alone.

A considerable number of American viewers did as well.

While some were disgusted by Lorander’s tears...

-It’s like Hyunsoo said. How hard must he have tried to cry like that?

-I’ve never put that much passion into anything in my life. So Lorander definitely lost, but I’m jealous of him.

They were able to calm their hearts to some extent.

And Hyunsoo and Lorander’s conversation was not over yet.

On the screen.

Hyunsoo was speaking, but he was barely making any sound at all, saying the words only with the shape of his lips.

“What is he saying?”

“Is the audio broken?”

And Valhalla, watching that sight.

He had learned many things, and one of them was lip-reading, so he heard it clearly.

“Your Fighting God’s Obsession. I’ll make it for you.”

Valhalla’s pupils trembled.

He began to realize one fact.

Perhaps...

America might lose its strongest man, Lorander.

*****

[Linked Quest: Fighting God’s Obsession.]

Grade: SSS.

Restriction: One defeated by a strong opponent.

Reward: Evolution of Fighting God’s Obsession.

Penalty on Failure: Fighting God’s Obsession cannot evolve.

Description: You are the descendant of the Fighting God, known as the god of PvP, and the moment you are defeated by a strong opponent recognized by the Fighting God, you realize that the Fighting God class is no mere Legendary class.

Also, the Fighting God has recognized the one who defeated you as a strong opponent. If you defeat him, you will be able to obtain the complete power of Fighting God’s Obsession, the artifact he cherished.

This was the quest Lorander had received.

The Fighting God.

One of the gods not yet revealed to the world.

For Fighting God’s Obsession to evolve.

It meant he would obtain one of the Fighting God’s true artifacts.

It also marked the path by which he could meet the Fighting God.

However.

[The Fighting God is disappointed in you.]

[He will not reveal himself before you.]

[The Transcendent artifact, Fighting God’s Obsession, cannot evolve!]

He was not given a second chance.

Everything Lorander had been chasing collapsed.

But Hyunsoo had spoken to Lorander as he was crumbling.

And Hyunsoo, whom he had thought would mock him, had instead told him he was jealous.

Why...?

After being logged out of the match, Lorander came to understand only one thing.

Hyunsoo had never mocked him from the start.

Of course, Hyunsoo had pretended not to know him, but if he had acknowledged him there, it might have become a burden for Hyunsoo.

What was certain was the possibility he had opened for him.

Is it really possible?

Doubt filled him.

To resolve that question, Lorander moved his feet and arrived at the nation of Hyun.

There, he was able to meet Hyunsoo.

“You came.”

Lorander revealed his honest feelings.

“Why are you saying you’ll look after my Fighting God’s Obsession? I can’t understand it.”

He had been an enemy, and if Hyunsoo made this Fighting God’s Obsession anew, Lorander could become stronger and pose a threat to him.

“Let’s get one thing straight first. Is there any reason you and I have to be enemies?”

Lorander fell silent.

In the war against Atlas.

As a Monarch, Hyunsoo had needed to lead his side to victory, so he had quickly eliminated Lorander, the most dangerous variable.

This match had been the same.

Lorander already understood that much.

“I have nothing to say to that. But I still don’t understand.”

Was he a pushover?

Was this guy the sort to donate his talent just because someone looked pitiful after bawling their eyes out?

Not a chance.

“It’s rare for a Transcendent artifact to grow into Mythic through a quest. No, honestly, it’s the first time I’ve seen it. Since I’m a blacksmith, I need to study many new types of artifacts.”

“...”

“And one more thing. You know that when blacksmiths craft high-grade artifacts, all their stats rise, right?”

“Of course I know. But once a blacksmith has reached that grade for the first time, the all-stat increase effect disappears, doesn’t it?”

“Mythic is an exception. Though I can’t speak for other blacksmiths.”

“So in the end, everything is just a hypothesis and a possibility, isn’t it?”

Lorander gave a small laugh.

“That artifact is the Fighting God’s treasured armament. It sounds as if you mean to recreate it through that, but the notification clearly stated that it can no longer evolve into Mythic.”

“...Right. It’s a hypothesis, and it may be impossible.”

Hyunsoo, still unable to be certain himself, said it anyway.

“But you came to find me. We were fighting until just now, and I think you were crying because you lost, yes, but I also think there was another reason. What was that reason?”

Lorander became honest.

“...I wanted to meet the Fighting God. If I succeeded in that quest, I could grow closer to the Fighting God. I believed that maybe I could stand somewhere higher than Valhalla, even higher than you. But now that’s impossible. The moment the quest failed, the Fighting God abandoned me.”

Hyunsoo nodded.

“Thanks for telling me your story.”

“...”

There was something Lorander did not know.

For Hyunsoo’s artifact crafting, stories became power.

He also spoke to Lorander, who still looked doubtful.

“It may not be able to reach Mythic. Even so, I can guarantee that I’ll be able to craft a Transcendent artifact better than the one you have now. And...”

Hyunsoo looked at Fighting God’s Obsession with grave eyes.

“It’s too early to give up.”

Even Lorander himself had given up on it, but Hyunsoo was telling him it was too early to give up.

Lorander looked at Hyunsoo and felt an emotion he could not understand.

That.

It was also a power born from Hyunsoo’s many titles.

It was also because of the high Charisma stat Hyunsoo possessed as the only user king, apart from Master Blacksmith’s Pride.

However.

When the Fighting God had abandoned him.

When he believed it was over.

The man before him said it.

That he would try making Fighting God’s Obsession himself.

Lorander handed over Fighting God’s Obsession.

“I’m commissioning you to make it. We’ll negotiate the success payment according to what you produce.”

“Okay.”

“When should I come back?”

“In three days.”

“Understood.”

Lorander walked away in the opposite direction from Hyunsoo, then suddenly looked back.

Hyunsoo would not know.

That this was the first time in Lorander’s life that he had entrusted his back to someone.

Thank you...

With that, Lorander logged out, and now it was time to face reality.

Since Lorander had gone to meet Hyunsoo as soon as the PvP match ended, he was afraid of the atmosphere inside Team USA’s waiting room.

It had only been one defeat, but Lorander would lose a great deal.

The reason was that he had been one-shotted.

And he had done many things that would earn grudges.

Even so, many Americans had cherished him because he was America’s pride.

That pride had been broken.

As expected.

“I hear American gangs are making a fuss about killing you.”

“One of the people you PKed before was the boss of a gang, right?”

Lorander had become America’s disgrace, so he decided to accept it humbly.

However...

“There are also posts saying thank you for fighting with that much passion. You cried because you did your best for your country, didn’t you?”

“...”

Lorander had imagined a terrible ending for himself.

But it was not so.

The people in the waiting room.

“To be honest, we’re ashamed that you lost, and we even wanted to kill you for it. But I thought carefully about what Master Blacksmith Hyun said. The one who wanted to win more than anyone was probably you. From now on, you probably won’t be known as Fighting God Lorander. But I think we can remember you as Lorander, the man who gave everything for the thing he loved.”

The Black ranker held out a clenched fist, and Lorander bumped his own fist against it.

Tap.

“...You worked hard.”

“You can start again, Lorander.”

“We’re rooting for you, Lorander.”

Each of them left Lorander with a word.

Soon, Lorander began preparing to leave.

Rustle, rustle.

Just then, a man entered the waiting room and leaned against the wall.

It was Valhalla.

“...Hyunsoo probably knew. The evil deeds you committed. The fact that, because of the people you PKed in the name of the Fighting God, it would be hard for you to live in America anymore. That was why Hyunsoo acknowledged you in a public place. Humans feel sincerity when they hear someone say it aloud.”

If Hyunsoo had not said those words for him, he would have remained only America’s disgrace.

Lorander looked at Valhalla and smiled bitterly.

“...Now all my endorsement deals will be cut off. And because of my trash personality, I breached a lot of ad contracts too, so there’ll be a mountain of penalties to pay.”

“I thought I’d rise through this match and land even more ad deals, but it’s all gone up in smoke. Also, like you, I wanted to walk the path of a god, but I don’t think I can do that anymore either.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to entrust my back to someone. What do you think, Valhalla? Even after I’ve lost everything, can I entrust my back to that someone? No, would he accept me?”

Valhalla looked at him, smiled brightly, and gave him an answer.

“As much as you want.”

With that, Valhalla left, and Lorander, having found his answer, returned to his homeland, America.

America.

He paid countless penalties.

Someone cursed him by painting “Crybaby Lorander” in red paint across his mansion.

Friends and business partners who had often kept in touch with him.

-I can’t take your call right now...

-You have been blocked.

He could not reach any of them.

The penalties were higher than expected, so he had almost no money left, and Lorander lost everything.

And yet...

My heart feels light.

It felt as if he had stripped away everything false and every hollow thing he had clung to.

And the promised three days arrived.

Without any great expectation, Lorander headed for the nation of Hyun.

In front of the forge.

There was a blacksmith asleep, drenched in sweat.

The man who had been sleeping while leaning to one side woke at Lorander’s presence, took the new Fighting God’s Obsession out of his inventory, and handed it over.

[It is a Mythic artifact.]

That day.

Lorander, who had lost everything, gained the greatest thing in the world.