Barren, who just arrived and was waiting for the other party members, was surprised when he saw Sophias group arrive before him from the tower.

Sophia. Seems youve exerted some effort. Destroying the first tower. Even if I was leisurely playing in the mid.

Masied did most of it. Well.

Heh. A bronze player?

Youll be surprised when you see for yourself.

Still, hes just a God of Soccer Humph.

Maybe he was irked that they destroyed the tower before him.

Barren half-heartedly picked a quarrel, but,

Thank you for the 100GP, Lim Gangin.

Masied, however, showed no interest, busy expressing gratitude for the donations.

When Seong Jihan said he would hunt Count Naseed, this game attracted much attention.

With the inclusion of American superstars Barren and Sophia in the party, not only Koreans but also international viewers gathered.

Perhaps due to the large audience, Masieds usually empty channel began to buzz.

Especially before the advent of BattleNet, many football enthusiasts were pouring in generous donations.

I used to love soccer.

But lost interest after BattleNet. Still, the World Cup was fun.

Remember when we reached the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup?

When are you old folks talking about? LOL

[Kim Cheongyong donated 100GP.]

Remembering the good old soccer days~ I wanted to be a soccer player after watching the 02 World Cup Heres a small donation for you, Masied!

Thank you, Kim Cheongyong. The 2002 World Cup is especially memorable for our country.

As Masied actively communicated in Korean with every donation,

Barren pointed at him, asking,

Whats he doing?

I think hes thanking for the donations. Hes been doing that for a while.

Ha! How much is he even getting?

Even for 100GP.

100 Ridiculous.

Barren chuckled and no longer showed interest in Masied.

Belittling someone so thankful for a 100GP donation.

He deemed him not worth his time.

Were late. Sorry about that.

My apologies~ Hehe.

Just then, Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah, who had been in the bot lane, approached.

Youre really late. What were you up to?

While raiding the enemy base, I also leveled up my niece a bit.

What level are you now?

At Sophias intrigued question, Yoon Seah made a V sign with her fingers.

Level 15.

15!? Werent you at 6 just a while ago?

Barren was shocked.

How did she level up by 9, even if this was a silver map?

He couldnt fathom how many minions Seong Jihan had led her to.

Everyones working hard to level up, but having a good uncle sure helps. Enjoying the carry?

Although Barren himself was benefiting from a double experience effect, he taunted Yoon Seah.

Yes. Its amazing. I love being carried!

Yoon Seah replied with a bright smile.

Ugh.

Stop bickering and get ready.

Seong Jihan, noticing Barrens loss for words, headed toward the violet puddle at the bottom of the valley where Count Naseed was hiding.

How are you thinking of summoning Count Naseed?

Like this.

Seong Jihan took out fragments of the Archangels Sword and Reapers Scythe from his inventory and threw them into the puddle.

Splash!

The Archangels Sword, which emitted a white glow, and the Reapers Scythe fragment engulfed in crimson flames, lost their light as soon as they hit the violet puddle.

Then, soon after,

Kaaaaa!

A loud cry echoed from the depths of the puddle.

Thud!

A massive mouth lunged out and swallowed the two fragments whole.

[Since light and darkness have declined]

Slowly, from the center of the lake, a creature emerged.

A massive snake with translucent purple scales, four huge horns, and seven red eyes.

[The time for ascension has arrived!]

It was the boss monster of the Valley of the End, Count Naseed.

Wow. It really appeared!

Count Naseed, exuding an overwhelming presence from the puddle, stretched all the way to the cliff.

Upon its appearance, the sky turned purple.

On the surface of the cliffs surrounding the lake, eerie symbols began to be engraved.

Thats it.

Seong Jihan looked at those symbols, his eyes shining.

The symbol of Count Naseed being engraved on the cliff.

This was precisely why a team was needed in the Count Naseed raid.

While the symbol is active, Count Naseeds defense and regeneration abilities are significantly enhanced.

Some team members attack the symbol to prevent the enhancement effect on Count Naseed.

The remaining team members fight Count Naseed.

This was the basic strategy against Count Naseed.

Hence, a standardized approach was formed where two members would block the symbols and three would fight Count Naseed, termed the 2:3 strategy.

Alright. Well proceed with the pre-discussed strategy. Seong Jihan, holding a sword and arrow, said.

Are you really going with the strategy you mentioned earlier?

Sophia asked in a worried tone.

And rightly so.

The strategy Seong Jihan mentioned before the game was not the 2:3 strategy but:

How are you going to handle that all by yourself?

Four attacked the cliffs symbol, and he alone fought Count Naseed, a rather extreme method.

It might have seemed possible because Seong Jihan, who initially defeated a Diamon Rank, was exceptionally strong.

But it looks so formidable

The sight of the actual Count Naseed was quite daunting.

How could anyone handle such a monster alone?

Why? He said he could do it. Lets see it then!

Barren smirked, crossing his arms.

Although he joined the party to tackle Count Naseed.

I wont cooperate until he asks for help.

Barren, having an emotional rift, secretly hoped Seong Jihan would fail and ask for his help.

For that, he should taste the bitterness of failure once

The party members quickly sensed his thoughts.

Ugh Petty So petty.

Sophia thought to herself, but she didnt utter it out loud.

Typical Barren. Always narrow-minded. Owner, just ask. Ill help anytime.

Masied openly criticized Barren.

Since receiving Arachne Orb and harnessing the God of Soccers power, he had unconditional trust in Seong Jihan.

Its okay. Just focus on attacking the symbol. Ill handle the rest.

Okay. Ill bestow blessings upon you.

Sighing in relief at Seong Jihans words, Sophia bestowed various buffs.

Feeling her blessings, he felt instantly lighter.

Trinity. Its effect is indeed profound.

Support Sophias Gift was Trinity.

This SS-grade gift had a simple effect.

As the name Trinity implies, buffs can be stacked up to three times.

With this gift, Sophia became the worlds strongest Support.

Though its only SS-grade, the efficiency of her blessings was exceptional, making her rank 3rd in the world during the Last 10 Nations era.

Thank you. This should suffice.

Youre welcome. If you need healing, let me know anytime!

Thanks for the thought, but that wont be necessary.

Swooosh!

Seong Jihan confidently held the shadow sword Eclipse in his left hand and Phoenixs Arrow in his right, flashing a confident smile.

I wont get hit even once.

* * * * *

The hunt for Count Naseed went smoothly.

[Mortal! Do not resist!]

Initially, the confident Count Naseed shouted,

[This rat-like creature!]

[You dodge well!]

[Ahhh! Kaaaah!!]

As Seong Jihan predicted,

The Count couldnt land a single blow, only displaying his furious outbursts.

During the 5-minute battle,

The purple semi-transparent scales were cracked all over,

And out of the seven eyes, three had lost their red glow.

Wow Such graceful movements

Messing with Count Naseed, LOL.

The skill difference is real

Even after 5 minutes of intense combat, Seong Jihan looked unfazed.

Most of the attacks were easily dodged,

And the unavoidable blows were slowed down by force and blocked.

Seong Jihan continued to showcase his best moves,

As if watching a well-orchestrated dance.

Mr. Seong! Come to Japan The goddess awaits you~(laugh)

You have great synergy with AF. Mr. Seong, the US always welcomes you

Foreign viewers who came to watch Count Naseeds hunt were amazed by Seong Jihans solo show and flooded the chat asking him to come to their countries.

Ah, foreign comments are flooding the channel

Its become global.

Even if they flood the chat, Seong Jihan wont see, right?

Luckily, donations start at 10 million won, LOL.

Shh! Dont bring the attention of the likes of Gates

Korean viewers were annoyed by the automatically translated foreign comments,

But they seemed less sensitive than before, probably thinking Seong Jihan would have already left if he wanted to.

Count Naseed seems to endure well, even though hes hit accurately.

Is the damage lacking?

Normally, three players deal damage to the boss. Its tough to do it alone.

Yeah, in general, mages or archers deal more damage than warriors.

The battle seemed one-sided,

[Kaaaah!]

Count Naseed spat out huge thorns from his scales and spewed fire from his mouth,

But Seong Jihan used those thorns as stepping stones to approach the Count.

In an instant, his shadow sword Eclipse enlarged.

With a swish,

Another crack appeared on the giant snakes scales.

Sigh

Watching from a distance, Barren clicked his tongue,

That guy is too good.

How can a human be like that against such a monster?

He should at least get hit once!

The damage is lacking.

Really? It seems hell defeat it soon. Usually, a first-time Count Naseed hunt takes more than 10 minutes.

No, its lacking.

Ignoring Sophias comment, Barren thought,

Indeed, he knew that the damage might not be that lacking.

During this battle, Seong Jihan did not use his special skills,

Only damaged the scales with his sword.

But,

If he defeats Count Naseed alone, Ill be just a sidekick.

In front of countless viewers from all over the world,

Seong Jihan would be the shining protagonist,

And Barren would be reduced to Seong Jihans party member 1.

Whats the point of joining the raid party then?

Alright Ill land the final blow!

Currently, among the symbols engraved on the cliffs of the four directions,

South was Masied, the closest West was handled by Yoon Seah and Sophia,

And the symbols on the farthest cliffs, East and North, were covered by Barren.

If I attack the symbols on the East and North lightly, I can prevent their activation.

Barren tried to manage both cliffs while also dealing damage to Count Naseed.

Sophia, buff me.

Why? Youre strong enough.

Im tired of weak attacks. I need to use a powerful Fire Wave.

Well If you say so.

As Sophia layered the buffs, Barren smirked.

Thats it!

Fire Wave!

The cliffs to the East and North were engulfed in flames.

And the massive wave of fire didnt stop there,

It moved towards Count Naseed.

Barren, what are you doing?!

The damage is not enough! We need to end this quickly!

Barren confidently responded to Sophia,

He couldnt hide his smile, thinking of landing the final blow.

Then,

Sigh Cant even endure 5 minutes.

Watching the Fire Wave, Seong Jihan clicked his tongue as if disappointed.

* * * * *

[Notes:

AF America First]