Chapter 1445: A New Phase (10)
[Title: Adamant Thunder, who killed an Ascendant in Paradise Lost vs. Cheonbeon, who conquered the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors (Poll Included)] + 3897334
Flash-
The moment I clicked on the post’s title, a new screen opened.
In that brief instant, the number of comments on the post had already increased by tens of thousands.
While a good number of them were likely spam, viral marketing, or viruses, it still meant that many people were reading this post.
=Before we begin, a simple explanation of why this debate has been going on for so long.
=The comparison between Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon has been a constant topic on the Deepweb ever since they clashed over the Lighthouse Keeper’s safety.
=Although Cheonbeon was defeated by Adamant Thunder at the time, the martial prowess he displayed was considerable, and he ultimately succeeded in rescuing the Lighthouse Keeper.
=As time passed, the fact that no other spellcaster or Transcendent of that era had stood up to Adamant Thunder to that extent likely added to his reputation.
=The controversy intensified later when Cheonbeon advanced to the Central Front before Adamant Thunder and defeated a Conjunction Spell Master at the First Gate.
=Conversely, as soon as Adamant Thunder entered the central region, he gained infamy by slaughtering the druids of Larabelli and bringing down the Outer Tribulation City.
=It seemed to be settled when Cheonbeon fled the Legion Parade and Adamant Thunder dismantled The Legion in the Subjugation Operation, but the evaluation was reversed when Cheonbeon conquered the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors.
=A few days ago, a serious discussion began anew after Adamant Thunder destroyed Paradise Lost and killed an Ascendant.
=To allow for fair comparison and presentation of opinions, I’ve set it up so that comments can be made on each paragraph of this post.
So he’d configured it to allow comments on each paragraph to gather opinions?
Just as he said, a tremendous volume of comments was being added in real-time under each paragraph.
└Doxx the OP. You’re Cheonbeon, aren’t you, you fucker?
└The game was over the moment Cheonbeon ran from the Legion Parade. Why do people keep trying to compare them?
└Don’t you know? The guys who pretend to be this objective are always the most biased.
“A mess from the get-go…”
The reaction right from the introduction was chaotic, filled with personal attacks and profanity.
Comments worrying about the poster’s family relations were already flooding in.
=While the comparison between Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon has been discussed for a long time, comparing the two Transcendent beings at this point in time has a different meaning.
=Never before have the achievements of Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon been so evenly matched.
=Between Cheonbeon, who single-handedly conquered the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, and Adamant Thunder, who killed an Ascendant in Paradise Lost, who is the superior wizard?
=As someone who practices the path of magic, a meaningful comparison has been established, and I cannot help but analyze it directly.
└He talks like he’s someone important, but isn’t the OP a nobody compared to Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon?
└No kidding. How many wizards on the continent can even be compared to those two in the first place?
└So we’re reading an evaluation written by a spellcaster who can’t even hold a candle to them?
└Isn’t that basically everything we do on the Deepweb?
└Gasp.
└You bastard, what did you just say?
└That’s too much intelligence for the Deepweb.
└He has opened his eyes.
I skipped past the endless stream of jokes and continued reading the main text below.
=Despite their accomplishments being well-known, there have been few opportunities to specifically shed light on the magic the two of them use.
=This is because Adamant Thunder’s lightning magic has properties that are uniquely difficult to observe, and Cheonbeon often operates in places far from the public eye.
=However, the battles they fought in Paradise Lost and the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors left traces in various ways, enabling a meaningful comparison.
=From this point, I will delve into this specifically, analyzing the performance, strengths, and weaknesses of the spellcraft used by Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon.
Click!!
<1> Cheonbeon, Evan Martinez
Simultaneously, the video file attached at the bottom of the post opened and began playing automatically.
An ominous landscape where an entire jungle stretching to the horizon seemed to have been burned, crushed, and turned to ash.
Above that sky, pitch-black flames flickered like dying embers, drawing a faint halo.
KWOOOOAAAAARGH!!!!!!
Beneath the overflowing flames, a calm explanation continued.
=The video you are now watching is the only combat record an investigation team managed to capture upon arriving at the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors.
=According to this footage, the area within a radius of several thousand meters centered on the mausoleum was exposed to ultra-high temperatures exceeding 6,000 degrees, altering the ley lines.
=The investigation team concluded that the entire region where the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors once existed has been transformed into a volcanic zone, with earthquakes and eruptions repeating endlessly…
└LMAO what the hell is this insanity? LOL
└Where the hell did you get footage like this?
└Is this real? Which investigation team filmed this?
The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” remains true regardless of era or world.
Though the post was filled with countless insults at the beginning, the reaction changed drastically after just one video.
Below the video, a colorful stream of diverse reactions mixed with all sorts of shock and awe was pouring in.
└Seriously, I’m speechless. Is this really the work of a flame-heat wizard?
└Isn’t that just a volcano, not a person?
└Fucking hell, not even a nuke could do this.
└What’s so special about a nuke? If you’ve got a sun inside your body, you’re a walking nuclear weapon lol.
└I told you Cheonbeon was a real monster, why did I only get downvoted?
└Saw this and downvoted you again.
└Logged in just to downvote this.
People were either leaving all sorts of opinions after seeing the footage of the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors or were simply lost in endless admiration.
That’s how much of a shock the sight of the Demonic Realm, burned to nothing but ash as far as the eye could see, was to others.
Even Lennok, seeing the landscape of that battlefield again after finishing his work in the Demonic Realm, felt a strange sense of nostalgia. How must it have looked to others?
“It would have been difficult in many ways if not for the ability of the Seamless Robe of Heaven…”
However, the content of the main text below was far more intense than the video.
=Based on the video evidence, I will evaluate Cheonbeon’s spellcraft abilities as follows.
…
“…Oh.”
The evaluation items were so bold that even Lennok, who had been engrossed in the post, momentarily paused.
Instead of vague modifiers or descriptions, the evaluation was presented with visible figures and units, and the comments exploded as soon as they saw it.
└Wow, this guy is a fucking certified lunatic LOL
└Seriously the first time I’ve ever seen someone try to rate Cheonbeon or Adamant Thunder like this.
└Hey, even the guy who writes the Power Rankings doesn’t rate them like this ;;
└Does this guy really not value his life?
The comments erupted, either cheering for the ridiculously bold quantitative analysis or going crazy over it.
Those who got a dopamine rush from this kind of comparison flocked to the post.
At the same time, there was a significant number of opinions expressing dissatisfaction with the evaluation criteria or raising objections.
└Raise the Output rating while I’m asking nicely. Are you kidding me?
└How the hell is the lethality of flame-heat magic A-? Explain yourself before I get mad.
└Speed could be even lower, IMO. I think it’s a C at best.
└Don’t be ridiculous.
└What does N/A mean? Is it good or bad?
└Unmeasurable. It seems to mean a grade beyond standard.
Reactions discussed the ranks listed in the criteria and debated their meanings.
The ranks themselves were not that complicated, so the comments from those who quickly understood them became even more heated.
└Out of all of Cheonbeon’s spellcraft abilities, only range, firepower, and duration are beyond standard? Does that make sense?
└How is the output of a wizard who incinerated the entire Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors an A? Shouldn’t it obviously be N/A?
└Is he trying to show off what a blind idiot he is?
└Everything except speed should be raised to N/A.
└Nobody’s denying that he’s slow, though LOL
There were those who mixed crude insults with their criticism of the evaluation criteria, and in contrast, those who took a more cautious stance.
└While some ratings are hard to accept, the evaluation criteria don’t seem to be inconsistent.
└Can you really put range and output in the same rank when evaluating Cheonbeon’s spellcraft capacity? It’s a difficult question.
└The wide-area destructive power of flame-heat magic is top-tier among all systems, but it’s also true that it requires time to warm up because of that.
└If the author took that into account and ranked Cheonbeon’s spellcraft capacity differently, it would be understandable.
As pros and cons were fiercely debated, a large number of users began their own discussions about the ranks.
└Still, I can’t accept A- for lethality. Has everyone already forgotten how many people Cheonbeon killed in Vulcan?
└From the author’s perspective, killing a few hundred people probably doesn’t even register as unmeasurable.
└What’s that supposed to mean? LOL. Is the author Adamant Thunder or something? Being unsatisfied with killing just a few hundred is… gasp.
└He has realized.
└He’s become too smart.
└He’ll be dragged to a Magic Tower’s torture chamber soon.
└(This comment cannot be viewed by the dead.)
└Efficiency A+ is at least reasonable. Once it’s warmed up and the flame-heat magic gets going, its mana efficiency really skyrockets.
└It’s efficient, but not to the point where it can be compared to some spellcrafts that are extremely specialized for efficiency from the ground up.
└I don’t get why the firepower is a beyond-standard grade when the output is A. Does it mean the instantaneous output is lacking, but the total power is immense?
└What exactly are the standards for output and firepower in the first place? A more detailed explanation of how the two concepts differ is needed.
Going beyond light discussion, the number of reactions showing curiosity and wanting to dig deeper into the evaluation criteria gradually increased.
This was likely because the post’s author had secured a minimum level of credibility the moment they released the video of the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors.
Indeed, the supplementary explanation provided below offered a somewhat reasonable basis for the evaluation criteria the author had set.
=I don’t think I need to explain Evan Martinez’s strengths.
=Conversely, I will also limit my comments on the warm-up time or speed of his flame-heat magic.
=The controversial parts will likely be the difference between output and firepower, and the lethality rating, but this was inevitable as the standard was set against beings who have transcended the hierarchy.
=While few spellcrafts are more specialized for mass slaughter than flame-heat magic, it is difficult to assess it as having beyond-standard lethality against high-ranking Transcendent beings.
“He rated them based on beings who have transcended the hierarchy… That is somewhat reasonable.”
As the comments on the post said, if he had simply marked all evaluation items as unmeasurable, would there even be a reason to do the analysis in the first place?
Since the post was written to rank and compare each spellcraft capacity, the author’s high standards could be considered valid.
However, those thoughts vanished as if washed away the moment I saw the new video attached below the main text.
=Now, let’s move on to the next video.
Static, static…!!
<2> Adamant Thunder, Van
With a noise like a cassette tape rewinding, a dark, black-and-white screen appeared.
It was a low-quality video, as if filmed from the far reaches of space, faintly showing the bizarrely distorted horizon of a star.
Kwoooooo-
Beyond the glitching, stuttering video, the surface of the star finally began to emit a blinding light.
Clouds and oceans, a portion of the atmosphere, were engulfed in a faded light, flooding the area and momentarily illuminating space.
Even though it wasn’t actually captured by the recording device, the moment they saw that cluster of light, everyone knew.
A fleeting fragment of lightning, so vast that it was impossible to even comprehend its scale and size.
That this was the proof of a miracle manifested in an instant by a single human being.
“…”
Silently, Lennok stopped the video’s playback and scrolled down.
The comments that followed were slightly different from when they had seen Cheonbeon’s video.
└Wow…
└That’s just ridiculous.
└What is this…
└…
There weren’t many comments expressing enthusiastic cheers, shock, surprise, or crude insults.
Even though the video only captured a fragment of the Eightfold Lightning Firmament scattering after everything in Paradise Lost had ended.
It meant that everyone who saw it had felt an immeasurable, cosmic terror and was utterly overwhelmed.
└Seeing it on video, it’s on a whole different level.
└I shouldn’t have watched it… I regret this.
└Why are we even having this discussion?
└Does anyone need more of an explanation after seeing that?
Even without checking each reaction individually, Lennok could understand those thoughts as if he could grasp them in his hands.
At one point, Lennok himself had often harbored similar feelings while thinking about the ever-growing Eightfold Lightning Firmament.
However, the author’s evaluation criteria below the main text were bold enough to blow all that lingering sentiment away.
=Based on the video evidence, I will evaluate Adamant Thunder’s spellcraft abilities as follows.
…
[Pfft!!!]
Davi, who had been holding her breath and watching the analysis from Lennok’s arms, coughed as if she were choking.
[Cough, cough!!!! Wait, what is this…!!!]
“Calm down.”
[But he’s the one who wrote this ridiculous evaluation!!!]
Davi hopped up and down, protesting to Lennok.
[This organism dared to give Master’s magic a rank like C or D!!! To write a grade here that Master would probably get on a physical fitness test is just too outrageous!!]
“Your evaluation of my physical fitness is far more outrageous, you know?”
Lennok pulled on both of Davi’s cheeks and said with a dumbfounded expression.
“He said it’s an evaluation based on video records. Take it with a grain of salt. Why are you so invested?”
[Hmph, this guy doesn’t know how efficient Master’s magic is… he doesn’t know anything…!!!]
Davi, caught in Lennok’s hands, writhed in frustration, her four paws and tail thrashing.
She looked as if she were about to hack the Deepweb and doxx the author at any moment.
As the enraged Davi scrolled down, the comments section was filled with thousands of similar reactions.
Users poured out all sorts of hostile reactions and criticisms, as if they had completely forgotten their awe after seeing the Paradise Lost video.
└No, hey, this is…
└I’m so dumbfounded I can’t even swear.
└Isn’t this just trying to provoke Adamant Thunder into coming after him on purpose?
└So he wanted to see Adamant Thunder’s face at least once before he died.
└Put your hand on your heart and think about it. How the hell is the range of Adamant Thunder’s lightning magic C+?
└I’m more surprised by the other ratings. How can the magic of that madman possibly get a D?
└OP, for fuck’s sake, look at the video you posted. How is that a C-rank range spellcraft? LOL
The video uploaded to the post was still pouring out vast noise, enough to cover the surface of a star.
If all that noise leaping toward space was the afterglow of his spellcraft, it meant he had used an authority capable of covering the atmosphere single-handedly. How could the spellcraft’s range be C-rank?
Even setting aside the abysmal ratings for versatility and duration, the comments were in an uproar, unable to accept the range rating from the start.
However, the author’s addendum carried a slightly different meaning.
=After watching the video for a long time, I have come to the conviction that, in essence, Adamant Thunder’s lightning magic has not deviated greatly from its fundamental nature.
=In terms of instantaneous output, he surpasses even past Ascendants, and there are few Transcendent beings in history who can compare in speed and firepower.
=His lethality, in particular, including the after-effects that follow a direct hit, is surely such that even Transcendent beings of the life system would find it impossible to fully heal.
=However, after re-watching the video countless times, the range and duration of the lightning magic itself are not at a level that could be called exceptional.
=This aspect seems to be a case of Adamant Thunder himself compensating for the shortcomings of lightning magic with his own talent and capabilities.
=The scale observed in the video that covered the atmosphere is presumed to be another ability of his, not his magic.
└Another ability, not magic?
└Are you saying that ridiculous area-of-effect spell is a type of unique ability or authority?
“I see… another ability. Strictly speaking, that’s not entirely wrong.”
The authority of Demigod Transformation. The artificial Ideological Domain. The Domain, Eightfold Lightning Firmament.
None of the abilities he had spammed at the end of Paradise Lost were powers that existed purely in the realm of magic or spellcraft.
Since the true form of the Eightfold Lightning Firmament was not captured in the video, it was difficult to pinpoint its essence, but for that very reason, the speculation was understandable.
“I think I have a rough idea of how the author is evaluating both sides.”
There was no summary or conclusion about the evaluation criteria in the main body of the post, but looking at the ranks he assigned, I could guess.
Was he seeing Cheonbeon as having a high baseline in various fields, while Adamant Thunder’s strengths and weaknesses were extremely specialized?
While it couldn’t be called the right answer, in a sense, it wasn’t entirely wrong either, but many in the comments seemed to disagree.
└Bullshit. If that were true, how did Adamant Thunder destroy Paradise Lost and kill Jinwa?
└If it were some half-baked authority or unique ability, it would have been completely devoured by Paradise Lost’s Spell-Word. It doesn’t make sense in the first place.
└Maybe Jinwa just wasn’t that strong? Maybe Cheonbeon, who fought the Grand General in the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, was stronger.
└Don’t be ridiculous. LOL. You’re saying a Grand General who was already a corpse was stronger than a living Jinwa? What, a dead Brilliance could beat a living Jinwa?
The fiercely escalating comments instantly shifted from comparing Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon to comparing Jinwa and Brilliance.
└It’s true that there was a power hierarchy among the Six Grand Generals, but their Protocol Hierarchy was not left in historical records, so we can’t know for certain.
└They say that when the Imperial Palace was intact, they tried to restrain clashes between the Grand Generals as much as possible. It makes sense since each general’s military unit formed the backbone of the Empire.
└Obviously Brilliance, who participated in the Unification War, was much stronger than Jinwa LOL. Is that even a question?
└Jinwa rose to the position of Grand General by creating the common language. Isn’t it generally accepted that as a Transcendent, Jinwa was superior to Brilliance?
└Participating in the Unification War isn’t proof of strength. The Sword Saint, who was of royal blood among the Six Grand Generals, never even went to war.
└According to the investigation team’s conclusion, it’s certain that the Grand General of Brilliance had died and only his corpse was moving. Wasn’t Cheonbeon just fighting an empty shell?
└By that logic, Jinwa might have been stronger in her prime before she went mad. How can you judge that when you weren’t even there?
“This is absurd…”
Moving beyond the comparison of Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon, the moment the comparison of Jinwa and Brilliance began, the number of comments exploded several times over.
They were fighting over who was stronger, bringing up old history books, records left in imperial ruins, and all sorts of historical evidence.
Scrolling through the rapidly updating comments and the complex data cited within them, Lennok let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s not enough to compare which of the two is stronger, now they’re comparing who fought a more difficult opponent?”
Perhaps because both Jinwa and Brilliance were Grand Generals loyal to the Imperial Palace, quite a few records of them remained even after the central city’s destruction.
Not just records from within the Imperial Palace, but also various historical documents left behind when they invaded and conquered other cities or nations.
Bringing up the records and accomplishments of the Grand Generals from the histories of other cities to compare them one by one was nothing short of madness.
[Nod, nod. This is more like the organisms I know. That logical debate from before didn’t suit them at all.]
Davi nodded her head as if in approval.
[It’s so childish and crude that I want to jump in there myself.]
“I think your true feelings just slipped out.”
└Wow, you people are impossible to talk to.
└You can’t persuade someone who refuses to read the evidence you provide.
└Stupid people only understand when you show them numbers or rankings.
└Since it’s come to this, why don’t you make a separate power ranking just for the dead?
└Let’s just rank the Transcendent beings killed by Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon by strength.
└That’d be fun as hell. Let’s start right now.
└Huh?
At that moment, beneath the comments discussing the power ranking, a stream of short comments began to appear.
└Got a notification.
└Me too.
└He just posted?
└For real? At this timing?
└Nah, this has happened before. I’m not falling for it again.
└No, holy shit LOL look at the title LOL
└This guy’s insane. Is he really that desperate for attention?
The comments showed shock, surprise, or even horror.
“It’s clear that the creator of the Power Ranking has a very malicious personality.”
With a bitter smile, Lennok clicked on the Diamond board of the Deepweb and accessed it.
“I think he updated the ranking like this last time, too. Is he taking it a step further now?”
[Uh… Master.]
Davi pointed at the post title with a hesitant expression.
[I don’t think this is an update?]
“…What?”
A single line of a title had just appeared at the top of the Diamond board.
Seeing the completely unexpected title, Lennok momentarily froze.
[Title: Eastern Continent Power Ranking 3.7 Update Discontinuation Notice] + 153255
“…”
So this was why comments mentioned that the power ranking hadn’t been updated for over a month.
It seemed he was planning to slowly discontinue the ranking updates that had been going on for quite some time.
Realizing this, Lennok fell silent, lost in thought with a strangely complex expression.
“It has been a while…”
The shock he felt when he first became aware of the power ranking and heard of Myeong’s defeat was still vivid.
He also remembered seeing the name ‘Adamant Thunder’ at the top of the ranking the second time he checked.
He had remembered the Transcendent beings in the rankings back then and thought he might meet them someday, but to think the updates would stop now.
It was unexpected, but conversely, the moment Lennok saw it, he naturally understood the decision.
He might have thought it was meaningless now that the Demonic Realms had crumbled and the Central Front was open.
[Master, the comments on the ranking are increasing abnormally fast.]
At that moment, Davi tilted her head and asked.
[It seems there’s some additional content in the main post.]
“Hmm?”
Hearing Davi, Lennok casually clicked on the post.
The moment he saw the short text below the post title, Lennok couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh and lift his gaze.
=Eastern Continent Power Ranking update and renewal will be discontinued.
=Continental Power Ranking v0.1 update scheduled. (Four Continents combined).