Chapter 1 of 100
Chapter 1
7 min read1,663 words
<Regressed to Level 2: The Martial Saint, Chapter 1>
Boom!
A monstrous creature, as large as a mountain, fell.
One by one, all the nations of Earth had fallen.
And among the ten nations that remained until the end, the doomsday monster summoned to the United States was finally subdued.
"...Good."
A blond Caucasian man, who had been watching the scene, smiled with satisfaction.
He was Baron, the guild leader of America's top guild, American First, and the world's number one ranked player.
Thud-
And then.
A man with black hair fell beside the fallen monster.
A man whose left arm had been severed and whose entire body was charred black.
He was Seong Jihan, ranked 7th, the Martial Saint.
Baron threw a short word.
"Good job."
"..."
Seong Jihan is a dog.
To Baron, Seong Jihan, who was from 'Korea,' was a useful hunting dog.
And the hunting dog had once again excellently accomplished the task assigned to him.
Though, he was badly injured.
"Regeneration!"
The Holy Maiden, ranked 3rd, hurriedly ran over and cast healing magic.
But as time passed, the Holy Maiden's expression grew increasingly stern.
"No...!"
Normally, with her power, burns like these could be healed instantly, but the burns sustained from fighting the doomsday monster were particularly severe.
"Jihan! Just a little more, please... Great Heal! Great..."
The Holy Maiden, with tears in her eyes, continued to pour out healing magic.
Seeing her exerting herself with all her might, Baron frowned for a moment but then turned his gaze to the monster's corpse.
The doomsday monster, Behemoth.
From its massive body, a chillingly evil aura still emanated.
'Even from this distance. How did he withstand it so close?'
Baron, who was once again marveling at Seong Jihan's resilience, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes.
Whoosh-
A bright white light shot up from the fallen Behemoth's back.
'That's... the boss battle reward!'
A special treasure box that rarely appeared from boss monsters.
When it appeared, a bright white light would burst from the center of the monster.
"Everyone, step back!"
"Yes."
As Baron raised his hand, dozens of American First guild members stepped back to guard the area.
The special reward from the doomsday monster, Behemoth.
While they too coveted it, they could not defy the stern command of the world's number one ranked player, Baron.
And as Baron looked around at the guild members, he chose the Holy Maiden and two other American First guild members, ranked 4th and 5th, to share the reward.
"...What about Jihan?"
"He is not American. He's just a hunting dog."
Seong Jihan, who had contributed the most to defeating Behemoth, was naturally excluded from the reward distribution.
"He's an American too! He sought asylum, didn't he?"
"I think you know what I mean by 'American.'"
"But the doomsday monster was defeated by Jihan..."
"Kuk..."
Seong Jihan, who had been silently listening to the conversation, smiled wryly.
He hadn't expected any reward from Baron.
Seong Jihan slowly spoke.
"Go. That's enough."
"...I'm sorry. I'll be right back."
"Alright."
As the Holy Maiden stood up, Baron's expression brightened.
The hunting dog from Korea.
At least he knows his place.
"Let's go, Baron."
"Sure. Fly!"
Through Baron's flying magic, the three of them flew up to Behemoth.
Seong Jihan watched them with a hazy gaze.
He, who had lost his country and become a refugee, and the three players from the superpower, the United States.
Though their rankings were not far apart, their positions in the guild were worlds apart.
'What reward will come from Behemoth?'
Seong Jihan, looking at the corpse of the monster he had personally defeated, thought.
No matter how strong the monster was, it was a doomsday boss, so it should give something good.
'...It doesn't matter. It's not mine anyway. I need to regenerate my lost left arm quickly.'
Just as he was calmly facing reality and composing himself, suddenly:
Rumble!
The ground shook, and a message window appeared before everyone's eyes.
[Space League - Bronze League Demotion Match Results]
The premonition was ominous.
[Game Category - Defense.]
[USA - Success.]
[China - Success.]
[Russia - Failure.]
[Japan - Failure.]
...
While the USA and China succeeded,
Russia and below all failed.
Seong Jihan's face hardened at the sight.
Among the final ten nations, only two succeeded.
'This is...'
[NO. 4212. 'Humanity.' Failed the demotion match.]
[NO. 4773 'Uruk' will face the final demotion match.]
[The battle will begin immediately.]
Zing-
The message window expanded and displayed a single screen.
Inside, a large stage was spread out.
"Guild Master..."
And.
On the screen, Baron and his group, who had gone to collect Behemoth's reward, stood with stiff expressions.
'There are even players from China. A total of five, I see.'
Five players ranked higher than Seong Jihan.
With them, no more players were summoned.
On the other side of the stage:
Five Uruk, with green skin and pig-like features, stood.
[The battle begins.]
A 5v5 battle.
The losing side will be demoted.
"Please..."
A guild member clasped his hands in prayer.
"Just had to be Uruk!"
"Jihan should have been summoned too!"
Some looked at Seong Jihan with regret.
Despite selecting five players, Jihan, ranked 7th, was not summoned.
But the guild members knew.
Seong Jihan was, in fact, the strongest player in American First... no, in the world.
Even without one arm, if he had been summoned, they would have felt reassured.
- Hahaha! What a stroke of luck. 'That monster' isn't here!
The leading Uruk, looking around at the humans, burst into laughter.
Seong Jihan knew this Uruk well.
'The one who fled in the last battle.'
The great warrior who had been trembling with fear in front of Seong Jihan.
Now, noticing his absence, he was brimming with confidence.
- We must avoid demotion! Kill them all!
The five Uruk charged at terrifying speed.
Baron hastily cast a spell in response, but.
Seong Jihan, watching the battle, had already stiffened.
The Uruk party composition was a perfect hard counter to the humans.
[Stop... Stop it! Gah!]
The outcome was clear.
'It's over.'
* * *
Thud.
Baron's head fell to the ground.
His face was twisted with fear and despair.
At the same time, a system message appeared.
[NO. 4212. 'Humanity,' Defeated.]
[Demoted from the Bronze League.]
It was the expected result.
And a result he had hoped was wrong.
Seong Jihan and the humans could only watch as the five ranked players were mercilessly defeated by the Uruk.
"Oh, my god..."
"What happens now?"
As the American First guild members fell into a state of panic, a new message appeared.
[There are no more lower leagues.]
[You have been expelled from the Space League.]
[NO. 4212. Humanity is classified as a worthless species. Deletion has begun.]
Deletion?
Seeing the system message, he had never felt such a chill down his spine.
And as the message disappeared:
"Wh, what...?"
The bodies of the guild members began to be consumed by darkness, one by one.
"Please... save me..."
No one was an exception.
From the low-ranking guild members who had joined American First to the guild's most solid ranked players.
All were enveloped by the darkness emerging from their own bodies and were literally deleted from the world.
'...'
In less than five minutes, all the American First guild members were wiped out.
Only Seong Jihan, strangely, was not being erased.
His arms and legs were consumed by darkness, but his head and body were still resisting.
'The power of the Nameless Art can resist even this.'
The skill that had made Seong Jihan the 7th-ranked player, the Nameless Art.
Despite being a nameless martial art, it was rated SSS, and he hadn't expected it to resist the system's deletion.
It was a pity.
'If I had revealed the true name of the art, it would have become an even more outstanding skill...'
The upgrade condition of the Nameless Art.
If he had discovered the true name of the art, this tragic situation might not have occurred.
No.
He had obtained this power too late.
If he had been able to handle this power a little earlier...
Regret washed over him.
'If that had been the case, our country wouldn't have fallen.'
When Korea fell, Seong Jihan had only recently obtained the Nameless Art.
If he had regained his senses and gained power sooner, his homeland wouldn't have vanished so futilely.
His past, filled with frivolity, was deeply regrettable.
"Kuk..."
The power of the Nameless Art was strong, but it had its limits.
Seong Jihan's remaining body was slowly being devoured by darkness.
Already, his shoulders were consumed.
Even 'deletion' was progressing completely.
And soon:
[All humans have been deleted.]
[You are the last survivor.]
A brief message appeared in Seong Jihan's blurred vision.
The last survivor.
Did all of humanity disappear in that short moment?
'Now, I will follow them.'
Yes.
Being left alone like this.
There was no reason, no meaning to endure.
Just as Seong Jihan was about to stop using the Nameless Art, a message appeared.
[Remarkable.]
[NO. 4212. Humanity was a worthless species.]
[Yet, it resisted deletion.]
The system message appeared haphazardly in Seong Jihan's vision.
This felt different from the emotionless messages he had seen before.
The background color of the message window was different.
'Originally, it was a translucent blue...'
The current message window was a mix of white, black, and red.
[A weak but possible existence.]
[Indeed. We cannot overlook even a single possibility.]
[Let's give him a chance to challenge again.]
[Agreed.]
[Disagreed. It's a waste of power.]
[Agreed.]
[Agreed.]
Three votes in favor.
One vote against.
'What are these things doing...'
Seong Jihan, watching the message window voting without his consent, suddenly widened his eyes.
[The vote has been passed.]
[Player 'Seong Jihan' will return to the initial entry period of the league.]
'The initial entry period of the league...'
With that message, Seong Jihan's vision darkened.