[Trantor - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 562
World Tree Alliance''s Throne Room.
"...78s belonging to the Alliance that were officially promoted from frontiers have been destroyed. The affecteds were those listed on the BattleNet bulletin board''s Alliance list."
"..."
Yggdrasil, seated at the head, was receiving the damage report with a hardened expression.
Official members of the Alliance.
In just a few days, they had been destroyed far too easily.
"Last time we lost half our territory, now half our effective strength has vanished."
"...Although the power of the legions is still preserved. At this rate, recovering our strength when it''s lost won''t be easy."
"Yes... The Red Administrator''s actions have be too fast recently."
"That''s right. It''s as if they know about the mass production of blue swords."
"Indeed. It seems our information is leaking. Is there a mole on Earth...?"
Tap. Tap.
Yggdrasil, lost in thought while tapping the chair, opened her mouth.
"Is the aptitude test being conducted today?"
"Yes."
"Then we should give a gift slot to those with SS-grade gifts as well."
"But, wouldn''t that use too much of the Cosmic Tree''s power...?"
"It''s excessive."
Adding gift slots.
Even for Yggdrasil as an administrator, this was something that required paying a considerable price.
That''s why she had preemptively given gift slots only to those with SSS-grade gifts.
If this was extended to SS as well, the cost Yggdrasil invested in humanity would be toorge.
Nevertheless.
"We''ve lost too much since the Red Administrator appeared. The longer this battle drags on, the more we lose. Even if it''s excessive, ending it early is the right move."
"Understood."
"And keep portals open between the remainings at all times. So we can deploy anytime. I''ll also take the field directly with this avatar."
"The Cosmic Tree herself...!"
"Understood...!"
Yggdrasil, who dered she would personally intervene after seeing the World Tree Alliance''s severe damage...
"When the test is over, report the results to me. I''ll be entering sponsorship from now on."
"Understood."
"I hope we break the existing records this time."
She stood up and left the Throne chamber.
Not long after, Yggdrasil added one gift slot each to male yers with SS-grade gifts as well...
Humanity''s aptitude test began.
* * *
On the day of the aptitude test.
"Wow... The number of viewers is practically non-existentpared to usual."
"Yeah. There''s really no one."
Watching this with his family in the upstairs apartment, Seong Jihan opened his eyes wide.
The countless viewers who used to flock during aptitude tests...
Now the numbers had drastically reduced to just tens of thousands on Korea''s national channel.
-Wow, why are there so few people?
-All the usual viewers went to take the test. lol
-So are those watching now all half-elves?
-What should male half-elves do now... All the benefits we''ve enjoyed will disappear when manypetitors appear.
-At least we got to enjoy some benefits, they don''t even have that...
-Women didn''t even get to enjoy as many benefits as men ?? This is the real problem, you know?
-Exactly, the number of female half-elves produced will be much higher, so why all the fuss?
On the channel, half-elves gathered to argue over who was worse off.
Since the number of female half-elves was much more significant, the men''sints were treated as nothing more than whining from the privileged.
As the keyboard battle raged on in the chat for a while...
The lines at the aptitude test site began to shorten little by little.
-But there are still so many people;(
-Even going to an amusement park on the weekend would have shorter lines than this...
-Sigh, I''m done watching this. What''s the point? A bunch ofpetitors will just be mass-produced anyway.
-For real, just watching people line up is boring. lol
As viewers started to leave one by one after seeing the crowded aptitude test site...
-Huh?? Isn''t that person the Sword King?
-Oh my god, it really is??
Chat messages began to pour in from viewers who spotted Sword King Yoon Sejin at the test site.
-Even if an extra gift slot was added... a yer of Sword King level bing a male half-elf?
-Don''t male half-elves start from level 2?
-That''s what I heard;
-Oh, Barren from America has also appeared at the aptitude test site.
-Who''s going to protect humanity then. lol
-The Alliance will protect us, of course.
-Ah right, we''re just a colony so it doesn''t matter.
Among the male yers participating in the aptitude test were several who yed pivotal roles as national representatives.
"No... Dad. Did he really go there? I tried so hard to dissuade him on the phone yesterday."
"You tried to dissuade him?"
"Yeah. When he said the added gift slot meant the Constetion wanted us to take the challenge, I told him just to stay as he is now... but he wouldn''t listen. Sigh."
"Your dad, when he gets into something, he really focuses on it. Now the streets will be crawling with people who look like Jihan..."
"But even with Cross-Species Affinity, isn''t the probability of bing a male half-elf less than 1%?"
"Even 1% of 3.5 billion is 35 million. So."
Half of humanity was male.
And if just 1% of them seeded, that meant 35 million blue swords?
''...We''ll gather Blue quickly at this rate.''
What was a year?
With 35 million swords, wouldn''t it be done in less than a month?
''If I knew this would happen, I should have gone on the offensive against A-grade World Trees too.''
Seong Jihan thought this as he looked at his stat window.
''Red is maxed out at 900. Eternity is at 90... Even if I attack A-grade World Trees, there''s not much to gain.''
After going through all the B-grades, he had long since recovered and increased the Eternity invested in Gilgamesh.
Stat Red had also been maxed out at 900 for a while, with no room to increase further.
There was no need to attack A-grades in this situation forcibly.
''It might be better to attack the main research facility where Gilgamesh''s fragment is said to be.''
Once 35 million blue swords were mass-produced...
And distributed to the high elves, it will be challenging to go on the offensive then.
Seong Jihan thought he should target the research facility beforepleting the aptitude test.
Of course, the research facility Karlein first mentioned was on a with an S-grade World Tree,monly called the ''Root of the World Tree''.
Even now, its defenses were incredibly strong, but...
''After the test is over, the elf legions will move to Earth to be assigned swords. If I aim for that time, I might be able to exploit the gap when their forces are dispersed.''
After the mass production of blue swords waspleted...
When the elf legions start receiving them...
Aim for that timing to target the main research facility where Gilgamesh''s fragment was.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan...
"Ugh... why are they just showing people lining up. Uncle, are you going to keep watching?"
"Yeah, I need to catch the right timing."
"Timing?"
"To strike one of the Roots of the World Tree."
"What, there? Isn''t that dangerous?"
"I n to hit and run quickly when they''re distributing swords."
"Still..."
Yoon Seah wore a worried expression at those words, but...
[Trantor - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
"If things go wrong, I can just say Seong Jihan briefly regained consciousness, absorb the sword, and flee."
"Ah, well... that should be fine then."
Nodding at Seong Jihan''s solution, she continued to watch the aptitude test screen.
Several hours passed like this.
-Does the pass rate seem lower than expected?
-From what I''ve counted so far, it''s less than 0.1% for men
-It seems less than 1% for women too
-You guys were counting that? lololol
-Of course we''re counting, we''re about to be unemployed tomorrow ??
-I guess those without Cross-Species Affinity from birth have a lower conversion rate. haha
-But even at 0.1%, that''s still over 3 million men...
-3 million, hahaha. This is crazy
With their livelihoods at stake, viewers who had been glued to the broadcast of people just lining up...
Were counting those who became half-elves and calcting the probabilities themselves.
"The probability is lower than we thought."
"It''s a shame, a higher rate would have let us gather Blue faster."
If 35 million swords had appeared, they could have gathered Blue that much faster.
Whether due to forcibly granting Cross-Species Affinity, the conversion rate to half-elves was lower than expected percentage-wise.
Moreover...
-They say our country''s rate is high. In ces like the US, the tally is around 0.03%?
-What, why is ours over 3 times higher;
-Is it because of the Colonial Government...
-Only Korea will have fiercepetition ??
Even this probability was higher for Koreapared to other countries.
Elsewhere, the rate of male half-elves was much lower at 0.03%.
''At this rate, we might end up with only about 1 million blue swords.''
While 1 million was still much more than before...
Seong Jihan felt disappointed as the numbers were drastically reducedpared to the initial prediction of 35 million.
The more swords, the faster Blue could be absorbed.
''Anyway, as male half-elves are gradually emerging... I should prepare.''
Seong Jihan stood up and summoned Ariel.
"Take Kim Jihun''s body to sleep and go to the Hall of Swords. Then notify me when new swords start being inserted and the elf legions begin to arrive."
"Understood, master."
"Are you going now, uncle?"
"Yeah. This invasion might be thest for the Red Administrator."
Once the elf legions equipped the mass-produced blue swords, it would certainly be challenging to invade as the ''Red Administrator''.
Seong Jihan decided to wait for the right timing, watching the Battle Tube while waiting for news from Ariel.
Not long after...
"Swords are gradually entering the Hall of Swords."
"Elf legions are arriving one after another."
"...There are so many high elves. The ce is swarming with regr elves."
Ariel reported that elf legions were arriving at the Hall of Swords.
And then...
"Oh, uncle. Breaking news just came in... People around Namsan have been ordered to evacuate all at once."
"Namsan must be at full capacity. The number of swords seems plenty high enough..."
The actual location of the Hall of Swords was near the Colonial Government of Namsan.
With all the swords inserted there and still needing more space, the Colonial Government was pushing people away.
"I should go soon."
By now, their forces should have quite a gap as they gather to receive blue swords.
Of course, high elves wouldn''t take long to receive swords and return, but...
''The same goes for me.''
If he exerted the full power of the Red Administrator who had achieved 900 Red...
Breaking through to the research facility should be quick.
''Well then, I should stop by the Dead Star to confirm the coordinates again.''
Thinking this, Seong Jihan moved to the Dead Star.
He asked Karlein once more about the location of the research facility.
"Ah, the coordinates are these... Are you going there today? The Root of the World Tree''s defenses will be no joke."
"This is when their defenses will be weakest."
"I see... You''re going there to find the fragment you brought back then, right?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, then wait a moment."
He briefly left and came back with Gilgamesh''s head.
"Why this?"
"I was modifying it for searching. But the search range wouldn''t increase, so I was thinking what other experiments to try..."
Tap. Tap.
As he tapped Gilgamesh''s head...
sh!
A blue light shed intensely from his two eyes.
Then he looked around slowly...
"Fragment. None. Fragment. None."
Gilgamesh''s head shouted that there were no fragments.
Seong Jihan looked at this with interest.
"Did the search function activate?"
"Yeah. It probably can''t scan the whole, but it should be able to detect inside the research facility."
That''s enough.
Seong Jihan took the head and thanked Karlein.
"Thanks. I''ll put it to good use."
"Sure, just run if things go south. No matter how weak the defenses, the Root of the World Tree is the core of the Alliance."
"Right."
Seong Jihan nodded and...
sh!
Holding the head, he entered the portal.
[Trantor - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]