Commentators, viewers, experts, even reporters all over the world.

Every eye was on Kumar, India’s number-one-ranked user, as he absorbed mana from ten users.

Officially, it is believed that fewer than ten users have surpassed level 500, and if we include unofficial cases, the estimate rises to around twenty.Kumar was originally known as no more than an ordinary Knight-class user.But when he appeared on the official stage again after surpassing level 500, he returned as a user of the Sun Knight class.He rose from an ordinary class into a High Class, stepping onto the path of an entirely new class.High Class.

It was known as the great turning point awaiting users whose classes were otherwise merely ordinary.

The reason the emergence of these High Class users is drawing so much attention is simple: until now, countless Unique classes and Legendary classes have enjoyed overwhelming privilege, benefits, and power compared to users of the same level.Once a user reaches High Class, that user becomes markedly more outstanding and powerful, and is reborn as the supreme class within the category of ordinary classes.Of course, reaching High Class determines whether the user will receive a certain quest and ascend to a new realm—or fail to do so.If they fail, they stop there, no more than a user whose stats, skill levels, and mastery-type abilities have increased dramatically.But if they succeed, that changes everything. They awaken to a level that can threaten Legendary classes, breaking the line that once made Legendary classes automatically superior. That is what a High Class user above level 500 is.Kumar succeeded. He did not remain merely a Knight who had awakened everything. He awakened everything, passed the trial, and reached the High Class known as Sun Knight.The Sun Knight is a being that worships the Sun God present on the Indian server and inherits that god’s power.In Ares’s world, the absolute god Ares exists, and the many hidden gods have gradually begun to reveal themselves. By contrast, the Sun God of the Indian server has existed since the earliest days of Ares’s launch. No one can imagine the power Kumar will display now that he has become that Sun God’s messenger.The world’s attention on Kumar was only natural.

And watching him surrounded by ten users feeding him mana filled the world with even greater anticipation.

It is being speculated that the Sun Knight may resemble the Pope.The reason the Pope is so extraordinary is because he is both the most powerful damage dealer and the greatest buffer.And the biggest issue with buffs is that they do not scale differently by level.Whether you are level 1 or level 500, a 10% increase to Attack Power is still the same 10% increase.And now you’re saying India’s high-rankers are about to receive buffs on the Pope’s level?The nation of Hyun may be the one facing a massive crisis here.Kumar could already feel the power of the nation of Hyun through Luxiu, Bella, and the others.

Hyunsoo had even just shown shocking strength by exchanging two blows with an assassin and forcing that user to log out.

But Kumar remained supremely confident.

[An immense amount of mana is required to use the Sun God’s Benevolence.]

That was because the Sun God’s Benevolence was powerful enough to demand such an enormous amount of MP.

The balance of the battlefield?

He believed the Sun God’s Benevolence could turn it upside down entirely.

And in fact, if one considered how much stronger even a single high-ranker became under the Sun God’s Benevolence, then at this very moment all of them would be fighting at something like the level of level 550 users.

And the instant he activated it—

This is insane!He’s applying the buff to all two hundred high-rankers!?Unbelievable! India’s number-one-ranked user Kumar is using the power of a new supreme powerhouse today to rise in a single leap!His buffing ability is incredible too! This is the moment a new Pope is born in this age!The nation of Hyun appears to be facing a crisis. Even Luxiu, the undefeated knight, now looks like he would struggle against just three Indian users!Commentators were not the sort to be easily shocked, nor did they exaggerate lightly.

They had a duty to convey the truth and the state of the battlefield as it was.

But now even their voices were soaked in excitement.

The nation of Hyun is in serious trouble...The buff only lasts one minute, but if all two hundred high-rankers are buffed for that minute, they could wipe out half the nation of Hyun...No... Bella’s my favorite!Some rejoiced at the rise of a new powerhouse.

Others grieved at the danger facing the nation of Hyun.

PUPUPUPUPUPUNG-!

Riding that momentum, the roughly two hundred Indian users, shining like the sun, exploded forward at speeds at least fifty percent faster than before.

SWHAAAAAK-!

PAAAAAT—

And yet.

“I take everything from you.”

HWA-A-A-A-AK-!

Those heavy words spread outward and ripped away the surging energy bursting from their bodies.

Only two seconds had passed since the Sun God’s Benevolence had taken effect.

Those words from Hyunsoo, who stood facing the charge of two hundred rankers with Unparalleled in his hand, shattered Kumar’s mind.

“Looks like you’ll have to show me who you are next time...”

What is this...?A one-minute restriction? No, wait, the Sun God’s Benevolence lasts one minute...This was the worst possible natural enemy.

A rising powerhouse has been broken in an instant.Before absolute power, India’s number-one-ranked user falls into despair.What the rankers had trusted in collapsed in a single moment.

KWARUK, KWARUK, KWARURUK-!

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK-!

All across the battlefield, Indian rankers were driven back.

And on top of that—

PUOOOOONG-!

[Headcracker]

Every time Hyunsoo brought his hammer down on an Indian ranker’s head and forced a logout—

SHASHASHASHAK—

Raon stayed right at his side, thieving from them with Corpse Plunder like a ghost.

[The amount of stolen gold exceeds 5,000,000 gold!]

Ironically enough, the two hundred high-rankers were now being stripped of everything they had built up by the combination of thieves and the nation of Hyun.

Wait, weren’t the Indian rankers the ones who came here to rob the nation of Hyun? Then why are they the ones getting looted?Exactly lol holy shit, what even is this lol this is hilarious.But Hyunsoo judged that the situation would not stay easy.

PUOOOOONG-!

“Kyah!”

Bella’s scream rang out.

There were times when users were harder to deal with than NPCs.

Because of users’ ultimate skills.

An ultimate skill meant the strongest power that user possessed.

Of course NPCs possessed similar powers as well, but the problem was that outstanding NPCs did not gather in a dense cluster like this.

Just as Kumar possesses a special ultimate skill.

And just as Hyunsoo’s own recent ultimate had been Unparalleled Sovereign blotting out the sky.

At the very least, the rankers representing an entire nation all possessed ultimate skills that represented themselves.

Especially the Indian rankers who had actually clashed with the nation of Hyun.

They had feared exposing their ultimate skills to the entire world.

Rankers, of all people, had no desire to reveal their weaknesses to the world.

But—

“Giant King’s Sword.”

KUUHWA-A-A-A-A-ANG-!

The sword of one Indian ranker lengthened to seven meters and swept sideways.

SEOGEOEOEOK-!

That single slash cut through a twenty-meter radius.

Luxiu, Bella, Borne.

And the disciples of the Grand Thief were all struck, spraying blood.

“Better this than dying and having my pockets stripped.”

At the words of the user who had just revealed Giant King’s Sword to the whole world, the Indian users all realized the same thing.

Users built everything they owned into their equipment.

That equipment, along with the gold they possessed, was their wealth.

And if they died here, at least forty percent of it would be stripped from them.

“Beast Dance.”

PUPUPUPUPUNG-!

This time another ultimate skill from an Indian user struck the entire ten-thousand-strong force Hyunsoo had brought with him.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK-!

The soldiers’ armor caved in as if raked by a wolf’s forepaw, and they dropped to their knees clutching their chests.

If not for the absurd defensive power of the nation of Hyun’s artifacts, a great number of them would have suffered critical wounds.

In that way, the nation of Hyun’s situation was not developing favorably.

One hundred fifty users remain.

PUOOOOONG-!

After smashing in yet another user’s head, Hyunsoo swept his gaze across the field.

The moment the battle began, it became the sort of fight that would not end until one side was annihilated.

The problem was that even if they annihilated the Indian rankers, there was a high probability that the nation of Hyun would also lose a great deal of what was precious to it.

I won’t let it come to that.

Hyunsoo made his decision in an instant.

“Firebird.”

HWA-A-A-A—

A ring of flame appeared, and just as Kkoko was about to take flight—

“Summon Hunt.”

PUOOOOONG-!

A single arrow flying in from afar canceled out the ring of fire.

[Pet and vassal summoning is impossible for 5 minutes.]

Immediately after—

“Partro’s Oath.”

[The great Partro’s oath seeks to restrict the target’s skills.]

[Master Blacksmith’s Pride]

[You resisted.]

“Wind of the Star Cluster.”

[The star cluster seeks to control your skills.]

[Master Blacksmith’s Pride]

[You resisted.]

“Eden’s Prayer.”

“Wish Upon the Sun.”

“Chains of Suppression.”

[You resisted.]

[You resisted.]

[You resisted.]

The remaining one hundred fifty users began focusing on restricting the use of skills by Hyunsoo and the others who formed the core of the nation of Hyun.

[Vassal Bella’s skill use is restricted.]

[Vassal Borne’s skill use is restricted.]

And the status ailment resistance granted by Master Blacksmith’s Pride was not one hundred percent.

It merely increased the chance of resisting.

Exactly nineteen restriction skills crashed down in a row, and Hyunsoo’s face twisted.

[You have been afflicted with Chains of Suppression.]

[The use of all skills is restricted for 30 seconds.]

This is bad.

The moment Hyunsoo saw the nation of Hyun’s losses starting to spike, he had been planning to break the situation open with Unparalleled Sovereign.

But these brief thirty seconds could overturn the entire battlefield.

Right then—

As if he had been waiting for this moment, one user stepped forward.

The user’s name was Jeramin.

Wrapped in robes and wearing a hood pulled low over his face, he belonged to a highly unusual class.

A Sacrificial Summoner.

A Sacrificial Summoner was different from an ordinary summoner or necromancer.

By offering sacrifices, they could summon all kinds of beings.

Naturally, the kind of existence summoned depended on the nature of the sacrifice.

And more than that—

Because the class worked by offering sacrifices, it was even capable of summoning beings that ordinary summoners and necromancers would not dare summon.

Jeramin judged the present moment like this.

“This is the perfect chance.”

The core force of the nation of Hyun had gathered here.

If he, Jeramin the Sacrificial Summoner, took the lead now and brought down the nation of Hyun, he could become a hero.

And—

“Twenty users, become Jeramin’s sacrifice.”

Kumar had already selected twenty rankers.

Of course, all of them had already agreed in the group chat.

There was a reason they had accepted so readily.

“You will keep your promise.”

“The ten percent share of the spoils taken from the nation of Hyun that you promised those of us who are sacrificed.”

“Of course. And I will dedicate the victory of this battle to you as well.”

At Kumar’s words, the twenty high-rankers smiled.

Then—

KWAJAAAAAAK-!

The black energy stretching out from Jeramin’s hand swallowed all twenty rankers whole.

KWAJAAAAAAK—

JURURURURUK—

Their blood soaked the ground from within the darkness, and then a shocking notification spread across the battlefield.

[One of the eleven Transcendent species is being summoned.]

The moment they heard it, Hyunsoo and the people of the nation of Hyun went pale.

“Stop him!”

At Hyunsoo’s urgent command, everyone from the nation of Hyun rushed in.

But they were already too late.

Because more than a hundred rankers were protecting Jeramin.

“Kuhahahahak, I’m the star of this battle. I’m the one who wiped out the nation of Hyun!”

The entire world was plunged into shock once again.

If twenty high-rankers are being used as the price, then that is equivalent to the lives of more than a thousand high-level users.Even so, Jeramin will almost certainly suffer an enormous penalty. But there is also an unbelievable reward right in front of him, one that may outweigh even that penalty.A Transcendent species is appearing? This is insane. Of course, Master Blacksmith Hyun has a past record of raiding the Transcendent species Great Archdemon Gremory. But that was back when he still had the White Tiger Sword!The average level of a Transcendent species is estimated to be around 600.No matter how strong the nation of Hyun is, they would have to lose a significant portion of their forces just to have a chance of raiding it!Hyunsoo’s face turned bleak with despair.

[Hyunsoo: Everyone, get as far away from here as possible!!!]

But the Transcendent species began descending even faster than that warning could spread.

KURURURURURUK-!

[A Transcendent species is being summoned.]

KURURURURUNG-!

With a deafening roar that seemed to cover heaven and earth, the Transcendent species began to descend before Jeramin, whose arms were raised toward the sky.

A Transcendent species appearing within a torrent of black currents.

As its figure slowly began to emerge, an unknown notification sounded in Hyunsoo’s ears.

[The Transcendent species wants to run to you.]

[The Transcendent species wants you to hold it.]

[The Transcendent species is wagging its tail at you.]

[The Transcendent species is grinning and panting.]

...What is that supposed to mean?

Hyunsoo was baffled.

After all, the idea of a Transcendent species wagging its tail at him made absolutely no sense.

Then, amid everyone’s stunned disbelief, the creature fully revealed itself.

KUUUUUUNG-!

Sturdy-looking forelegs and massive fangs.

Drip, drip-drip—

Drool running from three heads.

A valiant, fearsome figure, a monster every user knew from myth.

[Cerberus is summoned.]

[Transcendent species Cerberus Lv.598]

It was Hope—Hyunsoo’s pet.