The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

The first game ended in just three minutes.

The Shadow Queen muttered with vacant eyes.

"Now... I'm bankrupt... I couldn't repay my debts, so I'll be taken by the World Tree Elves..."

"...Wait, did you borrow money from them?"

I knew that the World Tree Union operated a lending business, as Sung JiHan had been summoned there before.

But I never thought that the Shadow Queen, the archenemy of the World Tree Union and the Fire Dragon, would use it. I looked at her with disbelief.

"They have the lowest interest rates and lend a lot of money. I tried to rebuild using the enemy's money..."

"Are you crazy? But did they actually lend you the money?"

"I didn't go there in person, I got the loan remotely..."

After all the trouble she went through as a Void Processor for the World Tree Union.

How could she even think of borrowing money from there?

"Well, I'd rather lend you the money..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the game over screen appeared in his eyes.

The result of the business he made by borrowing money from the World Tree Union's lending counter was already in a state of failure.

"Oh... You're really going to lend me money? I couldn't even bring myself to ask the benefactor of my life for money, but if you can..."

Before the Shadow Queen could finish her sentence.

-Sung JiHan, no!!!!

-It's like pouring water into a leaking bucket.

-He's already lost the broadcasting rights twice, he's definitely in the red.

-If he doesn't stop now, he won't even know what a joint guarantee is.

-Our father ruined our family like that too...

Not only Korean viewers, but viewers from all over the world were shouting not to lend him money in the chat.

Just by looking at it, it seemed like everyone around him was bringing their money and heading towards the route of business failure.

However.

[R.E.GATES has sponsored 100,000GP.]

[American First is interested in investing in the Queen's business. After this broadcast, I will personally go to Korea.]

When Robert Gates, the real owner of American First, sponsored, the reaction changed.

-Oh? Is that for real?

-Yeah, it's Robert Gates.

-What? Why would this guy want to invest?

-Shadow Queen's channel... But if you think about it, it's quite valuable. There's nowhere else to watch the alien Battle Tube.

-Yeah, there are a lot of interesting things about alien species. It's much more fun than watching documentaries about Earth animals.

-Yeah, that item had more views than the previous tournament.

When the Gates family showed their intention to invest, the viewers paid attention to the value of the Shadow Queen's channel.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Queen looked at the message and asked Sung JiHan.

"Who is this person?"

"He's one of the wealthiest people in the world. He's one of the American First executives."

"He wants to interfere with my channel operation through investment?"

"It's a big merit to be able to broadcast the alien Battle Tube. For now, it seems like there's no one else but you and me who can do it."

"But eventually, when the level of human players rises, they will be able to watch the alien channels too."

"Do you want to preemptively secure it?"

"Oh... Is that so?"

The Shadow Queen nodded her head and slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

"We should make room for it later."

"Yeah. Now that the urgent fire is out, should we focus on our original tasks?"

"If you mean the commentary..."

"Oh, what do you think of that?"

Sung JiHan skillfully rewound the previous game.

The battle between the two dragons, which seemed like a showdown of the century, was ending too easily as the Black Dragon exploded on its own.

"I don't know the exact reason, but considering that 128 dragons participated and the fact that the winning dragon grew an extra head... it seems like something the Dragon Lord planned to target you," Sung JiHan said.

"Yeah. The dragons pledged to follow the Lord's command... but for a 9th level Seat to self-destruct so easily, the Dragon Lord's influence must be incredibly powerful," replied Sung JiHan.

"Hmm. He's on a different level," Sung JiHan furrowed his brow.

The Shadow Queen pointed to the hexagonal Azure Dragon and continued speaking.

"Originally, the dragon race was strong but had a small population. They didn't have enough dragon seats to fill the tournament that progresses with 256 rounds. However, the situation changed when the current Dragon Lord became the leader of the dragon race."

"Did the number suddenly increase?"

"Yes... the dragon race's disastrously low reproductive ability improved significantly since the current Dragon Lord. My guess is that they received cooperation from the World Tree Elves. The dragon race started losing to the elves unconditionally since the current Dragon Lord," explained the Shadow Queen.

Sung JiHan frowned.

The World Tree Elves are really involved in everything.

-Now, if something seems suspicious, can we just accuse the World Tree Elves as the culprits?

-Seems like it, yeah.

-It's common knowledge that dragons are stronger than elves, so is the reason they're weak because of this...?

-But the elves have administrators too, right? Maybe their influence is just stronger?

Sung JiHan watched the Sung JiHan channel and indirectly acquired information from the Battle.net.

Now even the human viewers had some understanding of the power balance between factions.

As they were discussing the Dragon Lord, a message announcing the start of the second match appeared.

"Oh, this time the dragons aren't matched against each other. There's only one dragon."

"Really? This one should be a good fight."

"I hope they fight for a long time..."

The Shadow Queen sincerely expressed her wish as she enlarged the match screen.

* * *

15 hours later.

"The first day of the tournament matches has ended."

Sung JiHan stretched as he read the message.

"Ah, it's finally over."

"We had a tighter schedule today with 64 matches in a day compared to last time."

"Maybe the dragon guys finished quickly."

"Seems like it. After the first match, there were simultaneous arena matches. Phew..."

The Shadow Queen sighed as she organized the footage she had taken.

"If it wasn't for the dragon matches, some good footage would have come out..."

The matches were quite intense as long as it wasn't a dragon vs. dragon match.

Especially the battles between the high-level Seats of the 9th level were on a large scale.

"Last time, I thought it was a bit boring just watching the matches with human-born Asoka..."

"It was quite intense this tournament."

"The fights between giant monsters had flashy effects, haha."

"But why are they all so big? Aren't there any human-sized beings?"

"To be a high-level Seat in the Space League, you probably need to have a large build."

The viewers were also enjoying themselves in their own way compared to last time.

"Doesn't this mean we won't have any losses?"

"...As long as it continues like this, I don't think we'll have any losses, but the problem is that so many dragons made it to the round of 128."

"The dragon race is indeed formidable."

The dragon race, which had a 60-70% chance of winning in matches against other races in the tournament.

Many dragons had already made it to the 32 slots in the round of 128.

"When two heads meet, does it become four?"

"Wouldn't it be nice to have commentary to see that?"

"Ah, forget it. I didn't know it would take 15 hours. And on top of that..."

Sung JiHan spoke, recalling dragons with two heads.

"If these Level 9 Thrones, which already have two heads, have become stronger, I should prepare as well."

"Well, even Level 9 Thrones are powerful, so if they've become stronger, we should prepare."

"Yeah, I should stay at the training grounds for a while."

When Dong Bangsak wasn't participating, Sung JiHan thought he could still win against Level 9 Thrones.

In reality, even watching the intense battles between Level 9 Thrones, who were not matched against dragonkin, it didn't seem too difficult.

But.

"It's not just a matter of the number of heads increasing. Their power must have been enhanced, no matter how many enemies they face."

Now there are two heads.

If the tournament continues, I don't know how many more heads there will be.

Before that, I need to make the most of the power I have now and prepare to fight against my opponents.

It wasn't the time for commentary.

"Understood. While you train, I'll analyze them and create data."

"Oh, yes, please do."

With that, Sung JiHan, who saw the dragons with multiple heads, entered the training grounds.

The Shadow Queen conducted the commentary alone for two days.

And so, when Sung JiHan was absent, the revealed scorecard was...

-There are too few viewers compared to the first day, Your Majesty...

-Is it only 1/10...? Are we going to fail like this?

-Is it confirmed that we're in the red?

It was a miserable sight.

The simultaneous viewership of the Queen's channel was less than 10% compared to when Sung JiHan was there.

-We need to show the high-level Thrones fighting slower; they're too fast.

-Sung JiHan did a good job of controlling the speed from a human perspective...

-Their battles are too high-level... It's more fun to watch the bronzes rolling on the ground.

-LOL

-Your Majesty, it seems like you need to receive some investment.

She grimaced as she listened to the advice of the human viewers.

'I can't do it alone.'

At this rate, even if she received investment from American First, she would go bankrupt.

'I need to invite guest commentators who are popular and controversial...'

She mobilized all the connections she currently had in order to avoid being dragged into the World Union Loan Center.

And so, on the fourth day, the commentator she invited was...

"Your Majesty, I'm grateful for being invited as a commentator, but I really don't know anything. Even if I'm just a Master, can I be here...?"

It was Yoon Sae-ah.

* * *

"Sae-ah, you just need to show your face."

"Well, even if I compare it to when I was with Uncle, the number of viewers will be drastically different..."

"I never expected you to be on par with Sung JiHan in the first place, so don't worry."

"Hehe. Then I'll do it without any pressure?"

-Oh, Yoon Sae-ah is here LOL

-Your Majesty is in a hurry.

-But doesn't she seem unsuitable for commentary...?

-Anyway, commentary isn't that important now.

-That's true, even if we hear the story of the War of the Stars, we don't get it.

Although her attention was much lower compared to Sung JiHan's.

"Sae-ah, people are asking if you have a boyfriend."

"I feel like I've answered that question more than a thousand times... No, I don't!"

"What is your ideal type like?"

"Well... someone who is strong enough to beat even Uncle... and also good-looking!"

"Someone? So, are you going to meet an alien?"

"I'm obviously talking about a human, why would I meet an extraterrestrial?"

"I guess I'll live single for the rest of my life."

But maybe it's because she, who is now ranked second in the world, came out and had a talk with me.

After continuously dropping in viewership since the first day, there was a significant rebound on the fourth day.

"Great. If I keep this momentum going..."

Now it's time for the round of 128 in the tournament.

To further change the atmosphere, the Shadow Queen invited another guest.

"...You want me to do commentary? You must be in a hurry."

She called Sung JiHan.

"Well, there's nothing else to do at home, right?"

"Who made your breakfast today?"

"It was just something heated up in the microwave. Why?"

"Really? Ugh. How am I supposed to cook with this body of mine..."

"Oh, was it like that? I'm sorry. If I make a profit, I'll give you more GP."

Sung JiHan, who was silently listening in statue form, glared at the Shadow Queen.

"Isn't that strange? Even if the program is in the red, you should still pay appearance fees. If you make a profit, you should pay even more. Aren't you an unscrupulous employer?"

"But, I don't have any GP..."

"If you don't have any, then what? You can get investment. Get it quickly and pay a fair amount of GP to my daughter and my sister. Especially to JiHan, it seems like you should give her half of what you earn."

"Well, that's a bit..."

Unlike Yoon SaeA, who didn't impose any conditions when she asked to come out as a commentator.

Sung JiHan criticized the queen point by point.

"Why did I even call her..."

I called her this time because I took too much of Yoon SaeA's time yesterday and she was at home.

I didn't expect to hear this barrage of complaints before the start of the match.

But.

-Whoa, it was Yoon SaeA yesterday, and today it's Sung JiHan? Wow.

-Hey, the queen has great connections, huh?

-She's bringing everyone from the same house. LOL.

-Sung JiHan-nim!!! There's a rumor that you divorced the Sword King, is it true?

When Sung JiHan appeared, the number of viewers was increasing even more than yesterday.

Of course.

"Yes, we got divorced."

Rather than the tournament match, people started showing interest in Sung JiHan's divorce rumors.

-What?...

-They were such a lovely couple ㅠ

-Why did he cheat on her? ㅡㅡ

-Who said they went to Japan? He even abandoned his daughter.

While the Shadow Queen watched the explosive reactions in the chat, her eyes widened.

She was familiar with human society to some extent.

But the word 'divorce'...

And the fact that it was the Sword King couple, one of the most famous couples in the world, who broke up, she couldn't predict how much attention it would attract.

-Wasn't it because of brainwashing???

-Still, it's unforgivable!

-It was a mistake that couldn't be helped because of brainwashing, please forgive him once ㅠㅠ

-What forgiveness? If I forgive, he'll do it again.

"...Why are you all making such a big deal out of our breakup?"