The entire world was in shock.

“I never imagined I would see something like this. Bahala, asking for a sparring match first?”

“There have been many high rankers who fought Bahala before. There were even people who formed parties and challenged him. But in every single case, Bahala never once requested a sparring match first. Most of the footage from back then was never even made public, either.”

“You would think there would have been people willing to upload it without Bahala’s approval, but not a single person did.”

“One user who had fought Bahala once said this: ‘He’s a monster that leaves you with nothing but self-reproach.’ They probably lost so miserably that they couldn’t bring themselves to upload it.”

“That’s exactly why. At this very moment, my own heart feels like it’s burning like crazy.”

The viewers, too, were gasping in admiration and sinking into a frenzy.

“Holy shit, I’m actually getting to see this?”

“This is so damn cool... no wonder people lose their minds over him... damn...”

Bahala, gripping the black blade Babylon, standing at a full 183 centimeters, invoking the Code of the Sword while letting the sword hang roughly at his side, was more than enough to stir anticipation.

And that was not all.

In contrast to that blackness, Hyunsoo, holding the White Tiger Sword—a blade pure white from end to end, with three tigers engraved upon it—also looked incredible.

Bahala, purely through his skill and his unmatched name as a swordsman.

And Hyunsoo, under the name of a blacksmith holding an unmatched artifact called the White Tiger Sword.

Because the two men were completely unlike one another, people were even more obsessed with it.

One viewer said:

“Doesn’t Bahala feel like an ascending dragon, while Hyunsoo feels like an unshakable tiger?”

It was a fairly fitting comparison.

The ascension of a dragon was beautiful, making it perfect for Bahala.

And unbreakable steadfastness suited the image of a tiger.

Of course, just because one beautiful dragon was smaller than a tiger did not mean it would lose.

“They’re really going to fight?”

“That’s already insane, but the bigger shock is Bahala being the one who asked first...”

In truth, Bahala had never once taken part in an official PvP match.

Surprisingly, a lot of high rankers did participate in official PvP.

Part of it was for fame, but they also used it to officially challenge people they had always wanted to fight.

One thing was certain: PvP began when the one who wanted the fight more made the request first.

At this moment, the fact that Bahala was burning with competitive desire toward a man named Hyunsoo was more than enough to strike the world as a massive shock.

“Good thing I didn’t turn the stream off.”

“For real.”

“Match of the century!”

The viewers and commentators expected it.

Just as Bahala had requested the sparring match in such breathtaking fashion,

their little hero, too, would surely point the sword that gave off the cry of a tiger and say this was the moment he had been waiting for.

However.

“Do you maybe have no conscience?”

“???”

“???”

“???”

“...???”

A question asking whether the great Bahala had no conscience.

The whole world, and even Bahala himself, was baffled, but...

“I woke up one minute ago, and you’re asking me to fight?”

The commentators came to their senses.

“In terms of the result... Bahala really does seem to be the one without any conscience here.”

“There’s a saying in Korea: ‘His conscience grew hair.’ Looking at this situation, Bahala’s conscience is basically covered in fur.”

Hyunsoo’s point was so reasonable that even the commentators sympathized.

Bahala himself admitted the truth of the situation.

He has only been awake for one minute... and he collapsed from complete stamina exhaustion, no less.

A fainting spell caused by stamina depletion tended to leave a much longer aftereffect.

HP and MP 100% restored?

That still did not restore stamina.

That was the user’s fatigue, and fatigue had an enormous effect on control in an actual game.

And in truth, when Hyunsoo heard that request, a flood of thoughts crossed his mind.

I want to break him.

The one who had never once been broken.

Only a few months ago—

if this had happened back when he declared he would establish Hyun’s Nation, he would have burned with competitive spirit and fought.

And then...

I would have been the one broken.

And what followed from that would never have been something light.

If Hyunsoo had been broken, it would have had all kinds of negative effects on the guild as well.

Of course, that was if they had fought back then.

Back then, Hyunsoo would have lost to Bahala far too quickly.

I might not have lasted even one minute.

Of course, that was no longer true now, and he thought the gap had narrowed enough for them to be fairly even.

However.

The White Tiger Sword cannot beat Bahala in a one-on-one PvP match.

He acknowledged reality.

The White Tiger Sword displayed its greatest power when hunting Evil, and most of its skills were wide-area attacks.

In other words, in PvP, the White Tiger Sword was nothing more than a sword with insane attack power, and in terms of matchup compatibility, it was not favorable.

And also—

Absolute Sense, and all those other skills.

He had undergone explosive growth recently.

Those powers could indeed threaten Bahala, but he could not call them complete.

Absolute Sense awakened multiple senses and allowed him to move in more extraordinary ways.

The difference between when he could use that properly and when he could not

was the difference between heaven and earth.

Just like that, he needed time to adapt to the skills that had grown stronger.

“...Is that a refusal?”

And in Bahala’s case, Hyunsoo thought it was possible the PvP itself might not fully come together.

This is bad.

The power Bahala had invoked for this PvP sparring match.

Under the Code of the Sword, it disappeared if the person named refused approval.

But Bahala had never been able to find a proper match for the Code of the Sword.

The Code of the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Sword could only be invoked toward those the system judged to be Bahala’s true rivals.

If the person refused approval, that use was lost.

A chance that even one who walked the path of the Sword God could only invoke twice in an entire lifetime.

I wasted it because of my impatience, my anticipation, and my complacency.

If he had thought just a little longer, even he would have realized that Hyunsoo was not in any easy condition.

Or perhaps it was because, in the end, Hyunsoo was not truly his rival after all.

At that moment—

“What are you talking about? You and I are fighting.”

On screens watched by viewers all over the world, Hyunsoo appeared, boiling with desire and competitive spirit.

“Two months from now. When both of us are in the best possible condition, fully prepared. We fight then.”

[The other party approves the Code of the Sword!]

“And then, I’ll take the title held by the World Rank #1.”

It was the title the entire world guessed at but could not confirm.

Something presumed to be named Supreme One, or World Rank #1—

the title that the system itself would grant to the strongest.

And just as expected.

Bahala possessed the Unique Title Azure Heaven, a title that had not been taken from him for years.

“I will look forward to it.”

For a moment, it seemed the viewers’ and commentators’ excitement might cool.

Instead, it only burned hotter.

“This is the right call. It will be far more entertaining if they fight when both of them are in peak condition.”

“Two months from now, I sincerely hope Bahala and Hyunsoo request official filming from a broadcasting station.”

“I do not think the ratings that day will be low by any means.”

“I believe I’ll be counting down the days until then. Thank you, everyone, for watching the broadcast today.”

One by one, the broadcasting stations began ending their feeds.

Hyunsoo then headed toward the Papal Palace with Pope Karsel, Saintess Aria, and the others, while Bahala—

BWOOOOM—!

vanished from the broadcast cameras like a flash of light,

leaving only anticipation behind over whether the title of Azure Heaven would still stand two months from now.

*****

“To be honest, I don’t want to sell it.”

That was what Hyunsoo said as he entered the Papal Palace with Nell.

It was the first mythology artifact ever made, and there was no telling when he might obtain something like it again.

But moments like this were exactly why Nell was necessary.

“Even if it pains you, you can’t throw away your promise to the Ares Church. The relationship between the Ares Church and you, Hyunsoo, has become even stronger, and the value created by that is going to exceed imagination.”

Nell’s words were rational.

And Nell knew something else astonishing as well.

“The contribution score for handing over the commissioned White Tiger Sword still hasn’t appeared numerically yet, and neither has the contribution score for hunting Gremory. A massive amount of contribution is probably piling up, but even I don’t know exactly how it’ll function.”

Every user wanted to be on good terms with the Ares Church.

The Ares Church.

It was a faith greater than the Parion Empire. Even though it had failed to display its full strength in today’s war, if it gathered believers from all over the world, its influence would be overwhelming.

“And the reason the scattered believers didn’t participate in this war was probably because of system restrictions as well. If your relationship with the Church deepens further at this point, it’ll help establish Hyun’s Nation in all sorts of ways.”

Nell could not hide her anticipation.

“As for the White Tiger Sword, I think we might be able to get around 16 billion won.”

“16 billion...!!”

It was an enormous amount of money. But Nell wore a bitter expression.

“I’m not saying it’s certain. A mythology artifact has never appeared before, so even I don’t know its exact value.”

That was true.

Nell was only making an estimate, not speaking with certainty.

And Hyunsoo had already decided that if it was appraised much lower than that, he would consider negotiating for a better price.

Of course, that still did not change the fact that he did not want to sell it.

Then he met Pope Karsel and Aria.

The two of them seemed to have been discussing the price of the White Tiger Sword just moments earlier.

When Karsel saw the White Tiger Sword, he exclaimed in admiration.

“In the history of the Ares Church, this is the greatest holy relic of all!”

In all his life, Karsel had never seen a relic like this.

No church in existence could possibly have possessed such a relic. It was truly unmatched.

However, Karsel’s and Aria’s expressions suddenly darkened.

Hyunsoo could not help but feel anxious.

Don’t tell me... the Ares Church doesn’t have the money?

As if to confirm that fear, Karsel spoke.

“...We have appraised this, and though I know what I am about to say may insult our little hero, I ask for your understanding.”

Karsel looked as though he were sitting on burning coals, and Aria could not even lift her head from shame.

And Hyunsoo felt his fear becoming reality.

“Our Ares Church suffered many deaths in the long war, and we must pay compensation to the bereaved. Restoration work upon the Church must also proceed. Therefore, the Church presently has no money. As such, I hope you will think of this as having shown love for our god, for the Ares Church.”

“....”

Those words made Hyunsoo’s heart drop.

He had even been prepared to negotiate for a higher price.

But now they were suddenly asking him to think of it as love for Lord Ares?

And through Hyunsoo’s mind flashed the countless people of Atlas.

There had once been a time when they nearly reached the stage of starvation.

All of it had happened because of Hyunsoo’s incompetence.

And had he not made this with his own best effort?

And the Three Tiger Kings had given their power for this White Tiger Sword.

Of course, when he told them he might have to sell the sword, they had been pleased instead.

There could be nothing more valuable than having a holy relic in the Ares Church that bears our name.

We are fine with it, as long as it helps you build your kingdom.

That was right.

Because they truly cared for Hyunsoo, they had told him to use it to build his kingdom.

And yet what was the man called Pope doing now?

Wearing nothing but an apologetic expression, he was saying Hyunsoo should be satisfied with having shown love for Ares.

At this point, that’s the heart of a thief.

Hyunsoo no longer wanted to sell it at all, and Karsel, seeming sorrowful himself, said:

“...I am sincerely sorry. For this White Tiger Sword, it seems our Church can pay you 40 million gold.”

As Hyunsoo thought of his people, he began to speak.

“The people of Atlas are waiting for me alone. Even in a territory that could collapse at any time, even under the threat of a great archdemon, they trusted me and endured. Not long ago, there was the Pans couple, expecting a baby. They are good parents, and because I am their lord, they asked me to name the child in the womb. At the very least, I have a reason to make sure that child is born into a good territory.”

“And there’s also the soldier Anode, who said he wished meat would be served at least once a week after training. He fights willing to risk his life for me, so I have a duty to make that possible for him.”

Someone might say they were nothing more than NPCs, but to Hyunsoo, they were people who had trusted him.

“I thought that with this White Tiger Sword, I would finally be able to do at least some of that. And now you’re telling me that because I showed love for Lord Ares, I should be satisfied with a mere 4 billion won?”

If that was the case, Hyunsoo had absolutely no intention of selling it to the Ares Church. The people he cherished meant far more to him than some god whose face he had never even seen.

How could he hand over the thing that would let him protect them for a mere 4 billion won!?

Hyunsoo was ready to stand up and leave immediately.

“...You actually remember the names of such people?”

And yet Karsel’s expression—strangely enough—held a faint smile.

“I believe you are misunderstanding.”

Misunderstanding?

Hyunsoo had misunderstood nothing.

Karsel had clearly said with his own mouth that Hyunsoo should think of it as showing love for Ares.

And yet—

“In user terms, 40 million gold is 40 billion won.”

W-What did he just say...!?

It was a shocking amount.

No—an amount completely beyond anything he had expected.

“Then it seems that child named by Pans will be able to live under your protection in a better territory. And that soldier named Anode will be able to eat meat as well.”

With 40 billion won, that really was possible.

For a moment, Hyunsoo’s mind went blank, as if he had been struck with a hammer.

The amount was simply too unreal to grasp.

And then Karsel’s next words struck deep into Hyunsoo’s heart.

“...You are the one who accomplished all of this.”

All of it—

everything had been achieved by Hyunsoo’s own hands.