Chapter 280
3.
After the broadcast spirit declared the winner, and the scene of the demonic weapons being retrieved aired, as expected, the viewers went wild.
– Whoa, he actually took all their demonic weapons? So what happens to the Forbiddenz now???
– I heard that if you lose your demonic weapon after transferring to a demonic class, you revert back to your original class???
– They were strong even before joining Forbiddenz, but yeah, they’ll definitely be weaker now.
– They’re gonna have to lay low for a while. So many people are out to get them lol.
– Serves them right!!!
You’d expect there to be some sympathy for losing their demonic weapons, but most reactions boiled down to poetic justice.
Everyone seemed satisfied.
Still, a few worried comments began to pop up.
– But... ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ is it even okay to hold on to demonic weapons?
– Right? When Forbiddenz used them, they became karma users;;;
– As long as he doesn’t use them, maybe??? But yeah, it’s kinda concerning.
The unease stemmed from the fact that Seong was now in possession of the demonic weapons.
But then, a few well-informed users chimed in.
– Nah nah nah, it only turns you into a karma user if the demonic weapons absorb karma and you use that power. If you don’t commit karma acts, it won’t happen.
– Yeah yeah, as long as your infamy doesn’t increase, it’s fine to use them. And it doesn’t even look like he’s using a demonic-class profession. Looks like he’s just collecting them?
– Might be quest-related, too. Yeah yeah.
– Oh, thank god then.
– Bruh, if the Demon King did turn into a karma user, no one could stop him;;;
– For real lol.
– No one’s killing that guy, ever lol.
The viewers continued to chatter like that, spending a long time talking about the Forbiddenz.
Then eventually, the conversation turned to the next match.
The final showdown everyone had been anticipating—the match between Seong and Gam.
– Man, who do you think will win?
– Demon King’s got crazy presence, but...
– He’s clearly overwhelming. But Gam looked insane too...
– I seriously can’t call it...
– Honestly? I’d bet on Gam. No NPC at that level should be showing that much power;;;
– Facts, Gam looked so freakin’ strong???
– I mean, the other players and NPCs literally gave up out of fear.
– Still! We gotta root for the Demon King! If you’re Korean, you root for the Demon King!!!
The predictions were practically split down the middle.
That’s how impactful it had been—that single moment where Gam had shown his strength.
The light swing of his blade had rivaled the power of Seong’s explosive combo against the Forbiddenz.
But by the same token, Seong’s presence and power had been undeniable too.
– Doesn’t matter who wins, it’s gonna be a banger match lol.
– I already ordered chicken for the finals lol.
– I got pizza ready lmao.
– Man, I’m so hyped.
– Watch it end in two minutes lol.
– Lmaoo no way.
As the chat burst into a frenzy of predictions and excitement,
there wasn’t enough info on Gam yet to hold a proper debate,
but the viewers didn’t seem to mind.
They were just enjoying the ride.
Time passed quickly after that.
The semifinals ended in a flash, and the 3rd place match wrapped up just as fast.
Now, only the finals remained.
With all eyes locked on the screen, the final match was about to begin.
4.
Just before the finals were set to start, in the waiting room of the Featherwing Knights’ team, the other knights were lying flat on the floor, trembling.
And standing over them, sneering down like they were vermin, was Gam—or rather, the Sword Saint.
He clicked his tongue.
“Every last one of you is nothing but a worm.”
The knights flinched at his words, eyes trembling with fear, but the Sword Saint didn’t speak any further.
He had no need to waste breath.
Even without these worms, he could personally deal with that arrogant Overlord.
He had to admit—the Forbiddenz match had been quite impressive.
To show such power at that level—
It had caught him off guard, honestly.
At first, he had assumed Darkstar was pulling some kind of trick to deceive him.
But now—
Even if he was Darkstar’s disciple, it makes sense he lost.
If anything, it only raised the Sword Saint’s respect for Darkstar slightly.
Someone that powerful could very well be unmatched at his level.
Still—
It’s a good thing I came in person.
If he hadn’t shown up himself, he might’ve missed the Demon Palace entirely.
Especially—
That Overlord knows how to wield demonic power.
And if he didn’t, it wouldn’t make sense.
To wield that kind of strength...
The previous Overlord had also wrung the demons dry, hadn’t he?
No wonder he was called the wicked Demon King.
As he recalled the stories passed down through the Kingdom of Rieskan, the Sword Saint—Rochein Delgard Rieskan—quietly reaffirmed his purpose.
To reclaim the honor once stolen from Hero Hindel long ago, and to destroy the wicked Overlord and the Overpalace.
He was gathering every demonic artifact he could find.
Sure, the aftereffects had begun to show in the Kingdom of Rieskan, but he didn’t care about trivial things like that.
All of this is for our kingdom.
Now that he had come in person, defeating an unripe brat like Seong would be nothing.
However, one thing bothered him.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Whenever transcendents moved, the Will of the World usually intervened.
Even when only his will descended—not his true form—the Will of the World would shackle him with restrictions, acting as a nuisance.
But this time, he felt nothing.
Why?
He didn’t dwell on it for long.
The world must be helping me.
That was all he thought.
And that was enough.
5.
The Eternal World system—and the work handled by its administrators—was immense.
Managing the high-ranking users with special conditions, as well as overseeing the NPCs classified as transcendents, all fell under the admins’ responsibilities.
So there was no way the workload could ever be light.
And right now, yet again, an emergency was unfolding.
“How... how did it end up like this?”
The tournament held at Septem Arcana.
Even the inclusion of the Demon Palace as a reward had all been part of the event plan. The Event Management Team had it all laid out in advance.
But now, too many unexpected wild cards had appeared.
First was Seong’s arrival.
That part—fine. It was within reason.
But the domino effect from that... was overwhelming.
First, the succession of the Lord of the Dead by Will Baghdad.
That was technically one of the goals of the event in the first place.
So the fact that Seong ended up claiming it?
It meant he would grow stronger, sure, but they'd already decided to let that part play out.
The real issue... was the appearance of the Sword Saint.
“Why the hell would the Sword Saint show up there...?”
They didn’t even realize it until after he’d dealt with the mages from the Serul Magic Tower.
That’s how stealthy the Sword Saint’s movements had been.
Even the NPC Management Team had missed him.
Now the real problem was this: the Sword Saint was targeting the player Seong.
Under normal circumstances, this was a situation that had to be prevented.
As strong as Seong was, there was no way he could win against a knight possessed by the Sword Saint’s will.
That’s what a transcendent was.
Let alone just any transcendent—this was one of the Nine Heroes.
Even single-rankers struggled just to face someone like him.
Sure, the knight Gam’s body limited how much of the Sword Saint’s full power could manifest, so it wasn’t impossible to endure...
But defeat was inevitable.
“Tch. I have to stop this, no matter what.”
Even if he disliked Seong personally, this wasn’t about feelings.
If they let this happen and it caused actual damage, it would be a disaster.
That’s what Assistant Manager Lee Won-sang was thinking as he stared blankly at the monitor.
After Apophis, he thought things might finally slow down...
And now this mess?
His fortune reading from a few days ago had warned about a twisted fate.
Maybe that fortune-teller really was the real deal.
In any case—
Sigh... There’s no way I can handle this myself.
Already overworked from cleaning up after other top-ranked players and their messes, Lee Won-sang was facing yet another crisis.
But there was a silver lining.
Didn’t I already report this to the chairman?
Usually, he’d be stuck dealing with the fallout from events like this.
But this one... this one was way above his pay grade.
“Whoa, is that really the Sword Saint, sir?!”
Lee shut his eyes at the voice of his junior, Oh Jin-hyuk, who looked like he was watching a popcorn-worthy blockbuster.
He still had other rankers to deal with.
This needed to be passed up to Chairman Park Won.
Of course, part of him grumbled Why do I have to do this again?
But Vice Manager Lee Jae-kyung from NPC Management Team 2 had personally asked him for help.
And with the matter directly involving both NPCs and Seong...
It wasn’t exactly out of line for Lee Won-sang to handle it.
So, Lee submitted the report up the chain.
Not long after, a response came.
[Park Won – This is definitely a tricky situation.]
A true lifesaver—Lee almost teared up.
He knew Chairman Park had been ridiculously busy ever since the Apophis incident.
Yet he still responded immediately.
Judging by the time, he must have read the report the moment it came in.
Grateful, Lee quickly replied:
“Yes, that’s why I reported it.”
[Park Won – In cases like this, the standard manual says to stop it immediately...]
Park sounded like he was mulling it over.
No way... is he really going to let it proceed?
If Seong lost out on the Demon Palace because of this, wouldn’t that create major backlash?
What if Seong decided to file a formal complaint?
Just as Lee’s thoughts grew more uneasy—
Park continued:
[Park Won – Then let’s do this.]
“...How should we proceed?”
[Park Won – We’ll ask Seong directly.]
“Huh? Ask the user directly?”
Was that even a real suggestion?
Seong already knew the Sword Saint was here.
If he got forced to forfeit the Demon Palace now, wouldn’t that be utterly infuriating?
Lee was sure anyone would want to back out in that situation.
But before he could say anything, Park went on:
[Park Won – Gamers tend to enjoy a challenge, after all. But let’s be fair—offer him the option to fight the Sword Saint with additional rewards on the line, including the demonic weapons.]
“...Huh? W-Wait, that’s...”
[Park Won – This way, there won’t be any fallout, and we’re not forcing anything on him, right?]
“...Ah...”
[Park Won – If he wants to challenge the Sword Saint but feels like he’s taking a risk, then we’ll make up for that risk. We’ll offer not only the usual rewards, but something extra on top of that. That way, both options are balanced, and he can make the choice he wants most.]
As Chairman Park said this, dozens of thoughts flashed through Lee Won-sang’s head.
Wouldn’t that unbalance the game even more?
Wouldn’t they be giving away too much?
But at the same time... he could feel the sincerity behind Park’s words.
This was a decision made entirely for the sake of the gamer’s experience and choice.
It resonated deeply with Lee, who had once wanted to develop games for that very reason.
“Yes, understood. I’ll send over the reward proposal right away.”
[Park Won – I’ll leave the extra rewards to you, Assistant Manager Lee. I trust you’ll do well. Don’t worry—if you go overboard, I’ll take responsibility. Take care.]
“Thank you, sir!”
As the call ended, Lee confirmed the connection had ended, and then—
Oh Jin-hyuk, still beside him, spoke up.
“Wow, the chairman’s incredible...”
“No kidding.”
Lee let out a short sigh of admiration, then grinned.
“Alright. Time to send Seong his reward proposal.”
He had a good idea of what Seong truly needed by now.
And so, without hesitation, Lee's fingers flew across the keyboard.
Once the reward proposal was finalized and sent off—
Just before the final match began,
Seong, reading it, murmured:
“...They’re giving me this???”