“You seem to be in a particularly good mood today, miss.”

A foreign man in his mid-30s, who was driving, asked.

Sitting in the back seat of the limousine, Judy beamed and nodded.

“I passed the second-tier test today.”

“Oh, that’s great news.”

“Yes! I won against 9 out of 10 people. Even Coach praised me for doing well.”

“Haha, you're happier about the coach's praise, aren't you?”

“Hehe……”

Judy let out a shy laugh.

The limousine, moving smoothly and silently, soon arrived at its destination and came to a stop.

“We have arrived, miss.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be here to pick you up at the same time tomorrow.”

“I really appreciate it every day.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

Judy slung her Prada backpack over her shoulders and stepped out of the limousine.

Still grinning from ear to ear, she entered the hotel.

The penthouse on the hotel's top floor was her current residence in Korea.

The accommodation fee was, of course, incredibly expensive, but for the wealthy Levelin family, it was nothing more than pocket change.

Upon arriving at the penthouse, Judy quickly changed her clothes and hurriedly opened her laptop.

She connected to the internet and, with practiced hands, typed in a familiar web address.

The site she accessed was none other than Lee Shin’s fan cafe—Lee Shin Sect.

Boasting 600,000 members, it was revered as the holy ground of Space Craft, said to hold 90% of all female esports fans in Korea.

After logging in, her membership information appeared in the top left corner.

[Nickname: iLoveSin
Membership Rank: Fanatic (Dedicated Member)]

Judy smiled.

The time had come for her membership rank to rise.

If she could be promoted to High Priest (Administrator), that would be the greatest accomplishment of the day.

Judy began writing a post in the cafe.

[Title: Just One for Now
Nickname: iLoveSin]

[Content: I actually have 11 more……]

She then attached one of the many photos of Lee Shin that she had taken with her smartphone today.

As expected from a fan cafe with 600,000 members, the reactions came instantly.

-Whoa! What is that?!

-Oh my god, it’s Lord Shin!

-Kyaaaah, Lord Shin!

-Isn’t that the MBS team’s practice room?

-iLoveSin, are you perhaps affiliated with the MBS team?

A fiery response!

Every time she hit F5 to refresh, dozens of new comments appeared.

-A close-up shot like that?! iLoveSin, you’re amazing!

-And he’s even looking at the camera! ㅠㅠ He absolutely hates having his picture taken!

-This is a visual blessing ㅠㅠ b

-He looks slightly surprised, lol.

-Even a flustered Lord Shin is incredibly cool!

-Haaah…… Hurry up and upload the other 11! Are you teasing us?

-Post all 11 right now!

-I’m getting dizzy ㅠㅠ Hurry up and upload the rest!

-I need to print this out and stick it on my ceiling so I can see it every night before I sleep. ♡

Judy grinned at the overwhelming reaction. As expected.

And finally, the message she had been waiting for appeared in the top left corner.

[You have received a message.]

When she checked the contents, the following message was displayed:

[Title: From the Cult Leader
Nickname: Inuiyejisin]

[Content: Hello, this is Inuiyejisin, the cult leader of Lee Shin Sect.

I have been aware of your ambitions for some time, iLoveSin, but I never imagined you would resort to such a sneaky move!

Fine, we admit defeat.

After serious discussion among the High Priests in our chatroom, we have decided to promote you to High Priest status.

The chatroom address and password will be sent to you shortly.

Now, hurry up and upload the remaining 11 photos!]

Judy composed her reply.

[Title: Actually……
Nickname: iLoveSin]

[Content: Actually, there are 12. The last one is a photo of me with him, so I’ll only show it to the High Priests.]

The cult leader’s response came swiftly.

[Title: This is unbelievable!
Nickname: Inuiyejisin]

[Content: The Lord Shin we know hates camera flashes, refuses to pose or smile for photos, and overall detests being photographed.

The most we’ve ever been able to capture was a quiet side-profile shot as he headed to work, making sure not to get in his way.

But now, you’re telling me that Lord Shin took a picture with someone for a non-official reason?! Your true identity is becoming more and more intriguing.

I’m sending you the chatroom channel address and password. Come immediately! Everyone is going crazy right now!]

The effect was immediate. That very day, Judy became a High Priest of Lee Shin Sect.

After work, Lee Shin was watching the recorded stream that Choi Young-jun had sent him.

It provided a clear view of where Choi Young-jun was looking and how he moved his mouse, making it an excellent resource for analysis.

‘He only makes the necessary controls, nothing more.’

Lee Shin realized why Choi Young-jun had fallen behind him in micro-unit control.

He was too accustomed to large-scale unit control, which made him less proficient with small groups.

No, rather than being inexperienced, he simply avoided unnecessary micromanagement.

And for good reason—since he was used to late-game strategies, it was more beneficial for him to focus on building structures, producing units, and managing movement instead of micromanaging each individual unit.

That was why he had lost to Lee Shin’s refined control, which allowed him to make his units exhibit abnormal levels of effectiveness in the first and second fights.

And then, the most crucial third battle.

Lee Shin watched and rewatched it, analyzing every detail.

Up until the mid-game, his position wasn’t bad.

He had successfully repelled several waves of Choi Young-jun’s overwhelming attacks.

The number of expansion bases, the number of worker units gathering resources, and the size of their armies were all nearly identical.

Of course, in terms of production-consumption cycles, the God Race had the advantage. That was an inevitable racial trait. However, in exchange, humanity had superior defensive capabilities.

‘Up to this point, I had no reason to lose.’

Then, three of Choi Young-jun’s Avatars infiltrated Lee Shin’s main base simultaneously.

Two of them were shot down by the heavy anti-air defense he had set up, but the remaining one managed to land and initiate a summoning.

A massive number of Fanatics and Colossus War Machines were summoned right in his main base.

‘My response wasn’t bad either.’

Lee Shin swiftly redirected a portion of his defensive forces to eliminate the summoned enemies in his main base.

By this point, he was struggling to maintain his concentration, but he still managed to clear the invasion without making any mistakes.

In terms of losses, Choi Young-jun suffered more, having lost two Avatars along with the summoned units.

Yet, despite that, Lee Shin still ended up losing the game, which left him utterly dumbfounded.

‘Why did I lose?’

In theory, since he had sustained fewer losses, he should have had the advantage.

But in the very next moment, he was unable to stop Choi Young-jun’s full-scale assault.

Just as he had pulled back his forces to defend against the summoning in his main base, Choi Young-jun took that opportunity to charge into his defensive line.

Then, with his signature production-consumption cycle, he continued to send an unending wave of reinforcements.

His defensive line was pushed back slightly.

But just that.

Lee Shin’s forces, having cleared the enemy from the main base, returned to reinforce the defensive line.

However, step by step, inch by inch, he was continuously pushed back until he found himself on the defensive.

Eventually, he lost his 7 o’clock expansion base, significantly reducing his resource income, leading to his defeat.

Of course, if Lee Shin had fought with his original aggressive style instead of playing the long game, the outcome might have been different.

But ‘what ifs’ didn’t matter.

What mattered now was understanding why he had lost the battle despite winning every engagement.

He watched that crucial moment again and again.

After about ten replays, he felt like he was onto something.

‘Is that it?’

Lee Shin replayed it one more time.

‘That’s it!’

The reason why Choi Young-jun was called the ‘Mad God Tribe.’

Many players were good at mass-producing units, but what made Choi Young-jun stand out as the absolute best?

‘The key wasn’t efficiency—it was space!’

Typically, when the God Race or monsters fought against humanity, they engaged in battles under the assumption of unit trade-offs.

Even if they took similar losses, they could replenish their units faster than humans.

But they still avoided engagements where they might suffer a net loss in unit count.

However, Choi Young-jun wasn’t fighting to trade units—he was sacrificing them to take control of space.

That was why, the moment his defensive line was pushed back even slightly, Lee Shin was already doomed.

Even if he had won more cost-effective engagements, in the end, if he was continually pushed back toward a cliff, he would lose.

And that principle was playing out right before his eyes.

Once he was pushed back, he lost control of space. Even when he sent reinforcements, there wasn’t enough room for them to properly establish a defensive position.

In the end, despite having suffered fewer losses, he was gradually pushed back and eventually fell off the metaphorical cliff. He had lost the game with a larger army still in hand.

Lee Shin nodded.

He had no choice but to acknowledge Choi Young-jun’s skill and judgment.

“I’ve learned something good. I overlooked that point.”

“Oh my, that’s great to hear.”

“……?!”

At the sudden sound of a woman’s voice, Lee Shin flinched in surprise.

When he lifted his head and looked forward, he saw Gremory smiling at him beautifully.

“I don’t know what it is, but it means you’ve received guidance that will help you overcome your weaknesses, right?”

Forcing himself to regain his composure, Lee Shin looked around.

It was not his officetel in Mok-dong.

It was the Demon Realm, Gremory’s palace. At some point, she had summoned him here.

“That’s correct. However, I would appreciate it if you could be more considerate when summoning me in the future, so I am not startled.”

“Fufufu, sorry. I just wanted to surprise you a little. Was it too much?”

“It was excessive.”

“Hoho, but for something excessive, you didn’t seem all that surprised.”

“I simply tried not to show it.”

“You control your emotions well. As expected, you’re remarkable.”

Gremory’s praise made Lee Shin’s heart pound.

Was it because she was a Demon Lord?

Despite usually being emotionally composed, she could easily toy with his feelings.

Of course, Lee Shin maintained a blank expression, making sure not to reveal his emotions. He suspected she might try to take advantage of this.

“It wasn’t anything grand. But if you summoned me, then is it about the Ranking Battle?”

“That’s right.”

“Is it a challenge for the next rank?”

“Unfortunately, no. Do you remember the results of the last Ranking Battle?”

“You defeated Amdusias and gained 25,000 magic power.”

“And I skipped over 71st place to rise to 70th.”

‘Ah.’

Only then did Lee Shin recall what had happened.

He had been so preoccupied with the Apostle appointment system and other matters that he had forgotten about it.

“So, the Demon Lord who originally held 70th place has challenged you.”

“Yes, the opponent is Demon Lord Belial. He possesses abilities that allow him to grant gifts, status, and the favor of both enemies and allies. He currently has 100,000 magic power.”

“What is his Ranking Battle record?”

“He has been hovering in the lower ranks for a long time.”

“I’d like to know who his Contractor is.”

Lee Shin asked the most important question.

Gremory answered.

“His name is Joachim Murat. Have you heard of him?”

Lee Shin shook his head.

“I have not. Who is he?”

“He was a man who served under Napoleon and even became the King of Naples.”

“Napoleon? Then he must be quite the strategist.”

At the mention of the famous Napoleon, Lee Shin tensed up.

However, Gremory shook her head.

“No, he did not concern himself with tactics. He took pride in winning through sheer bravery alone. He’s the complete opposite of you.”

This made Lee Shin question things even further.

‘Bravery alone? Why would someone like that be chosen as a Contractor?’

In a Ranking Battle, which was akin to a real-time strategy simulation, having a brute-force warrior as an opponent made no sense.

‘Is there still something about the Ranking Battles that I don’t understand?’