The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

Chapter 309

'Eternity?'

They say it's an incomplete ability, but the name is Eternity.

How ironic.

Sung JiHan thought so and tried to acquire this stat.

Whether it's an incomplete stat or whatever.

Any new stat is welcome at any time.

He pressed the button.

[Stat 'Void' interferes with the acquisition of incomplete stat 'Eternity'.]

While the void within his body was raging, it hindered the gathering of life force.

Although it couldn't eliminate the life force Sung JiHan possessed and the power that came from the roots of the World Tree.

But it didn't tolerate them coming together to form the stat 'Eternity'.

So, the suppressed power of life couldn't gather properly.

[Stat 'Eternity' is sealed as 1.]

The stat was sealed as 1.

'The void is interfering here....'

Sung JiHan frowned.

The modified roots of the World Tree were said to be forbidden items of the Administrator.

He didn't know that the void's energy could also restrain eternity like this.

Perhaps because the stat was 1, a very faint life force was gathered in a specific shape at the center of his body.

But it seemed impossible to make use of it.

The life force far from the center.

Blocked by the void, it couldn't reach the center.

'Hmm... Should I try to gather it proactively?'

Sung JiHan moved various energies within his body.

First, he removed the void that blocked life.

Through that gap, he let the life force flow towards the center.

The energy of the void resisted fiercely.

But when combined with the enemy's ability, they broke through the void's encirclement.

A lot of life force flowed into the center of 'Eternity'.

Then.

[The seal of stat 'Eternity' is temporarily released.]

[Stat 'Eternity' increases to 2.]

Half of the life force Sung JiHan had gathered so far disappeared.

And the eternity stat increased by only 1, even though half of it was gone.

However.

'Even though it only increased by 1, it feels like something is taking shape.'

When 'Eternity' was at 1, it was just a gathering of life force.

But when it became 2, it was not just a gathering of energy, but it had formed a shape.

'This... it's a tree, isn't it?'

The shape created by 'Eternity' at stat 2 was a tree.

The life force gathered there was faintly wriggling.

And the energy of the void had surrounded the tree and was tightly enclosing it.

Instinctively, Sung JiHan realized that if he added more life force here, the void and eternity would fiercely collide inside.

'Then it will explode in my body.'

Before making 'Eternity' into 3, he needed to understand this.

Thinking that way, Sung JiHan left the void to surround it for now.

[Stat 'Eternity' is sealed as 2.]

Then a message came to mind.

The sealed eternity due to the void did not show any noticeable activity.

"Hmm...."

Sung JiHan stopped the experiment for now and looked around.

The interior of the Void Training Grounds had become dark as if it were night.

"The map I had displayed earlier seems to have disappeared."

Should I display a new map and try Eternal again?

While Sung JiHan was thinking that,

"Have you finished organizing your strength?"

From the darkened sky, a light flashed.

Two bright white objects appeared - a crescent moon positioned like a mouth, and two stars positioned like eyes.

The three lights in the distant night sky gradually grew larger and became giant eyes and a mouth.

"...Who is it?"

"We met in the arena last time. May I intrude on the training grounds?"

Upon hearing that they had met in the arena, Sung JiHan identified the person's identity.

The owner of the Void faction, a being from the Void.

He possessed an immeasurable power, to the point where he left remnants of a deity in the arena.

"I feel like I'm already intruding."

"Before causing more trouble, I would like to ask for permission to enter. I have an important matter regarding the item I obtained this time."

"What if I refuse?"

"In that case, I will have no choice but to descend upon Earth... Would that be alright?"

As the stars and moon grew larger,

The light they emitted was so intense that the background became as bright as day, not night.

If such a cosmic being were to descend upon Earth, it would be a bigger problem.

"Come in."

"Thank you."

The owner of the Void, who responded politely,

Swiftly appeared before Sung JiHan.

* * *

"He looks exactly the same as when I saw him last time."

Wearing a neat suit and a black fedora, he appeared in human form.

One face took the form of the universe, and this time, the moon and two stars emitted a bright light at the center.

A being from the Void with immeasurable power.

He respectfully bowed his head to Sung JiHan.

"Thank you for the invitation."

"So, what's the matter?"

"I heard that you obtained traces of the traitor, Gilgamesh, this time."

"You mean the modified roots of the World Tree?"

"Yes. Please provide it to us. Then, I will use my authority to release the Witch of the Void."

"What?"

No, just by giving the roots, he will release Nuna?

He used to tell me to deal with Gilgamesh, but now the hurdles have suddenly lowered.

"Hah, couldn't you have come a little faster?"

Sung JiHan furrowed his brow and spoke, and the owner of the Void hurriedly asked.

"Did you already hand it over to the World Tree?"

"No, it's inside my body."

"Inside your body... May I take a look?"

"If you can extract the roots of the World Tree."

Sung JiHan immediately nodded his head.

Though the value of Eternal Stats was precious, it was nothing compared to freeing Nuna.

Swoosh.

And then, the owner of the arena reached out to Sung JiHan.

A faint aura of emptiness emanated from his hand.

"Hmm... The roots have completely taken hold of the World Tree."

"So this is the World Tree? It was called 'Eternal Stats.'"

"Yes, that's correct. It is the symbol of the World Tree Union and its goal is 'eternity.' It seems to be slightly different from what I've seen before, perhaps because it has been modified..."

The owner of the arena's starry eyes sparkled as he made a proposal to Sung JiHan.

"Do you have any thoughts of undergoing an extraction surgery? Your chances of dying are 99 percent, but I can bring you back to life. I can also release the Witch of Emptiness."

As a price for giving up eternity, if he were to release his sister and resurrect her.

It was not a bad exchange condition.

"Why should I trust you?"

In the deceitful Space League, he couldn't simply accept a deal that guaranteed death.

As if expecting Sung JiHan's refusal, the owner of the arena took a step back.

He twinkled his starry eyes and looked at Sung JiHan.

"...I see. That's a shame. If you had crossed the line a bit more, I could have intervened without needing your consent."

"What is the standard for crossing the line?"

"If you were to be devoured by eternity and become the World Tree... That would be the turning point."

"Become the World Tree?"

"Yes."

The owner of the arena clapped his hands.

Then, a small green tree in a transparent form appeared on his hand.

And around it, the figure of Sung JiHan was faintly drawn.

"The eternity within you right now is only to this extent."

Tap.

When he flicked his finger, the green tree grew rapidly.

It grew so big that it shattered the form of Sung JiHan and continued to grow.

"When this grows, it becomes the World Tree that devours the host and takes root in the planet. Those who approach eternity have all met this end."

"Hmm..."

"If you were to become like this on Earth, I would personally take action. If that happens, I can easily deal with humanity, the base race of the traitor Gilgamesh."

If Sung JiHan were to be devoured by the World Tree on Earth, the owner of the arena would even wipe out humanity as a whole.

If someone else said that, it would sound like a bluff.

But this existence of emptiness seemed to possess enough power to keep that promise.

"Keep that in mind."

"Well then, please come to the arena often before becoming the World Tree."

"Am I definitely becoming the World Tree?"

"Yes. There have been very few exceptions so far. The only recent case in the past 10,000 years is Gilgamesh."

"So Gilgamesh is the only one..."

"Yes. And if you happen to obtain one more root, please return it to us. Then we will release the Witch of Emptiness..."

Suee...

With those words, the figure of the owner of the arena disappeared.

"I missed the chance to free my sister by using the root of the World Tree for no reason."

Sung JiHan sighed with regret.

The price for obtaining the 'Eternity' stat was so great.

And the 'Eternity' he had obtained could potentially become a bomb that could turn into a World Tree from within if mishandled.

"But how did Gilgamesh manage to control this?"

The only survivor in the past 10,000 years, Gilgamesh.

There must be a reason why he stood out so prominently.

What variables does he possess?

"Is it because he survived through experiments on humanity?"

Because of the innate difference that allowed him to accept the sap of the roots.

Or...

"Come to think of it, the chain of the World Tree... The owner of the arena also used something similar."

There have been two instances so far where powers similar to the chain of the World Tree were shown.

The first one is the 'Root of Yggdrasil' that the High Elves used.

This technique, named after the cosmic tree Yggdrasil, tried to absorb everything, including Sung JiHan's life force, by transforming into a crimson chain.

And the second one is the 'Void Shackles' mentioned by the owner of the arena.

The power he mentioned, which he personally informed Gilgamesh about, possessed the power of void in the purple chains.

"Perhaps, comparing the two, the Void Shackles seem to have a deeper connection with the Divine Beasts...."

Let's give it a try for now.

Sung JiHan tried to use the Divine Beasts.

Clank. Clank.

The steel chains that extended outward from his body.

Ziiiiing....

They quickly turned purple and soon became intangible, digging into Sung JiHan's insides.

"They move on their own."

It passed through the void surrounding eternity.

It wrapped around the tree-like 'Eternity' from all sides.

Then, the tree flipped upside down, entangled in the chains.

The roots turned upward, and the branches and leaves turned downward.

[The seal of the stat 'Eternity' is temporarily released.]

With that message, the life force began to be supplied to Sung JiHan's body through the chains.

The life force that could slowly regenerate or be restored by taking it from the elves' side.

Absorbing the stat 'Eternity,' which is only a 2, through the Divine Beasts, it felt like receiving a continuous supply.

Unlike a little while ago, the power of void was not being suppressed at all.

The chains effectively utilized the stat 'Eternity,' continuously supplying life force while evading regulation.

Sung JiHan felt this and his eyes flashed.

"Could this be... the true meaning of the Divine Beasts?"

He tried to handle it a few more times.

"This... is useful."

With a smile on his lips, he logged out from the training room.

***

Korean Battle.net Center.

The place where a celebration should be held for winning the Champions League was filled with an atmosphere no different from a funeral.

"The players are still trapped..."

"The Space League match is in two days, this is a big problem."

"Not only are our national team players in trouble, but we're also worried about the situation with the US national team."

"That's right. It won't work without them..."

The Space League national team, which was no different from the Earth Defense Force.

Although Sung JiHan had the greatest power here, in terms of the player base, the US national team players had the highest proportion as the world's number one.

But the next game is scheduled against the World Union.

And now, such power is trapped in the Battle.net Connector.

"The public opinion demanding the return of the First Treasure is increasing."

"Yeah... I also received emails from Americans. They told me to convince Sung JiHan quickly. They even took the time to translate it into Korean."

"What about the coach?"

"Did you receive it too?"

"Yes, I closed my SNS. Even if we wanted to express our opinions, what are we supposed to do without Sung JiHan?"

The coaching staff sighed deeply.

No, even if they contacted the coach or the coaching staff, there was no means to persuade Sung JiHan from this side.

Whether they were trying to catch a straw or not, the barrage of contacts they received was overwhelming.

At that moment.

Flash!