Chapter 155. Solo:The Proper Attitude to Take When Facing Assassination.
Thump! Thump! As soon as he entered the forest, he felt hard ground beneath his feet instead of sticky mud.
"It feels weird." Seeing a different world in Korea felt strange, which was natural. Seo-woon nodded in agreement with Ki-chan's words, and his left eye began to redden. Hwa-an-geum-jeong began scanning every corner of the forest, and his vision changed rapidly.
"Ugh!" He focused on Hwagangjin for a moment before placing his hand over his left eye and pausing. Lilingwei and Juriell rushed over to check on him.
"Are you okay?"
"Don't push yourself!"
"Push" was the right word. "I'm fine. This eye gets stronger the more you use it. The forest is wider than I thought. I can't capture everything with this eye. I took a quick look around; there are some monsters, but nothing special. The only unusual thing is that there are some mudflats scattered throughout the forest."
After Seo-woon finished speaking, Juriell thought for a moment and then opened her mouth. "So, are you saying that the dimensions of this world and Earth overlapped and shifted instead of merging?"
"Well, I'm not sure, but that seems to be the case. If they had merged, there wouldn't have been so much confusion. More importantly, although it wasn't noticeable at first, there were areas where swamps and forests appeared to be going back and forth."
"If dimensional waves momentarily become similar and overlap… That's not normal."
"It's not normal for the barrier between dimensions to collapse, is it?" Juriell nodded at Ki-chan's question. "From a magical perspective, there's quite a lot of magic that uses dimensions. Therefore, I have a certain level of knowledge about dimensions. Even dark magicians who summon demons from the demon realm and use their powers could be classified as a type of dimensional magic, if we were to make the distinction."
"Ah… But why is this considered unusual?" Juriell said, looking at the forest filled with strange black trees rarely seen on Earth. "Disrupting a dimensional barrier or temporarily opening it to interfere with another world is completely different from the overlapping of spaces by becoming one with dimensional waves."
Hearing Juriell's explanation, Seo-woon began to enter the forest. "Let's take a closer look first."
Seo-woon's first direction in the forest was where he'd seen a cluster of small huts via Hwagangjeong. When the group arrived at the cluster of seven huts, their expressions simultaneously froze. Because one of the seven huts had a light on, and smoke was rising from its chimney.
Juriell and Liling gulped. "Let's go inside."
Seo-woon led the way, opening the hut's door and squinting. "What's this…"
Ki-chan followed him inside and stared at the scene before him, his words caught in his throat. "There are clear signs that someone has just been here."
As Juriell had said, there was a still-steaming bowl of soup on the floor and a spoon filled with soup, strongly suggesting that someone had been there just now.
"People didn't move?" Seo-woon nodded at Ri-ling-wei's question. "I don't know why, but space and monsters overlapped and appeared here, but humans were excluded."
"So, the people who ate here suddenly lost their homes and ended up in the mudflats." Juriell confirmed Ki-chan's words. "I think I understand. People born and raised in that world, fed by its energy, naturally carry that dimensional energy within them. That's why it's so difficult to summon high-ranking demons from the demon realm to the human world. The current temporary phenomenon probably isn't strong enough to affect people who carry such strong dimensional energy."
"So why did the monsters move with us?"
"That means the dimensional energy the monsters possess is extremely low compared to humans."
Ki-chan tilted his head at her words. "Even Juriell doesn't know everything. We can only make inferences based on confirmed facts."
With that, Seo-woon was about to start hunting monsters in the forest. Just as he turned around and opened his mouth, the background before his eyes blurred, and if he hadn't reacted in time, the monsters in the forest would have been destroyed that day.
"Huh?"
Slurp! The moment a sensation matching the sound was felt beneath his feet, the pitch-black forest disappeared completely, and a wide, open tidal plain appeared in his field of vision.
"What's this..."
"Don't move." Seeing Ki-chan's panic, Seo-woon said, looking at the ground and then at Juriell. "Light up our surroundings."
A few white spheres flew out of his hands, illuminating the surroundings like daylight and revealing the dizzying footprints on the ground.
"A child and two or three adults?" Seo-woon examined the footprints and asked, while Li-ling added, "More precisely, a boy, two men, and a woman."
"Can you tell their gender?" Lilingwei replied nonchalantly, as if it were nothing. "I've mastered the basics of tracking. Masters can even track people's ages."
Hearing this, Seo-woon reminded herself once again that she was a warrior of the Jindokgok. These days, she lived a life so similar to modern humans on Earth that she often forgot where she came from. Juriell's guess was correct. It has no effect on humans. If this phenomenon affected humans, all four of them would have been teleported back to the world Juriell came from, along with the forest.
"This is disturbing. We don't fully understand the situation. So we still don't know why this is happening." Seo-woon confirmed Ki-chan's words and opened her mouth to speak, but a window appeared in front of her.
[Ding! You've been matched to a new game.]
[Difficulty: Medium.]
[Game Version: Solo.]
[Would you like to join?] (Y) (N)
Just as he was about to speak, Seo-woon pressed the N button, and a familiar feeling washed over him. Even though he had clearly pressed the N button, he was taken aback when the screen suddenly lit up.
[Ding! You received a penalty for rejecting a long game.]
[Jin Seo-woon will be forced to participate in a penalty game.]
"What?! What kind of rule is this…"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was transported to a familiar area and his eyes widened. The waiting room where only he was present seemed very unfamiliar to him.
[Jin Seo-woon, you will start this game with a penalty. Unlike the rules of the game, you must follow the penalty rules.]
"Marksmanship… I understand. Operator X."
It was true that he had rejected all the recent games, and it was also true that he had been rejecting more games than usual due to a recent game that had been popping up frequently. Despite this, Seo-woon had no choice but to accept this punishment as marksmanship.
[Here are the rules of the punishment.]
[1. Jin Seo-woon must place in the top 10 in this game.]
[2. Jin Seo-woon must place in the top 3 in kill rankings in this game.]
[3. Jin Seo-woon must successfully hunt one of the buff boss legendary monsters in this game.]
[If you fail any of the three rules, you will be denied entry to the next game.]
The word "you" in the last sentence struck Seo-woon as particularly harsh. "I guess it just doesn't seem that way to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, players started appearing from everywhere. The once-empty waiting room filled with chatter, while Seo-woon retreated to a corner and began observing the new players. Like it or not, now that the game had started, he had no time to worry about anything else. "Losing mental focus before the game even starts and missing the main action is something only amateurs do."
Seo-woon had seen many players do this repeatedly, blaming their team's luck or others for their losses. Even though the operator was targeting him, Seo-woon's mental state wasn't so weak that he could shake with anger. "Targeting me like this means they don't like me. But even so, targeting me like this is a good thing for me."
While unsettled by someone powerful enough to influence people by creating such a game, Seo-woon considered it fortunate that they were targeting him through the game system rather than directly. He was also confident. The penalty rules seemed quite harsh, and indeed they were, but he had already accomplished them all at least once.
"If it's at that level, it can be done."
Seo-woon, his left eye glowing red, could clearly see the players' levels filling the waiting room. While there were occasional crown-level and even white sword-level players, more than half were below shield level. It had been a while since he'd played solo, and the unpleasant feeling from the operator's attack had long since faded. Focusing on the present was Seo-woon's greatest weapon that had kept him alive so far.
"Bullying isn't my hobby, but... I have no other choice."
A notification sound sounded as he searched for players who could be strong opponents.
[Thank you to everyone who joined Cloyd Survival.]
[500 players connected. Cloyd Survival has begun.]
[Language synchronization rate... 13%... 97%... 100% complete.]
[Game starting. Difficulty: Medium-High. Aim to break into the top 200.]
[Attacks between players are ineffective in the current lobby.]
[The designated map is Kurenna Capital. Rewards will be distributed to the top 50 players.]
[This game will last 200 days, and the map you play each day will be restricted. On this map, time will be split 30:1 compared to real time. The game will continue until the last player is alive or the game time ends. Losers or those eliminated will return to the original world. Those who fail to make it into the TOP 200 will no longer be able to access Cloyd Survival.]
[The total number of current participants is 500. We wish all players the best of luck.]
As the rules were explained, players began to stir. With more than half of the players about to be eliminated, those who had joined the same guild began to gather. Seo-woon watched closely as players gathered and quickly formed teams, shouting out their guild names, and frowned.
"So that's what it's like." Most of the participants belonged to guilds; groups ranged from fewer than 20 to over 100 members.
A notification sound was heard as he put on a disappointed expression.
[The game will start shortly. Here are the main rewards for this game.]
[[World Escape Ticket][Player Rights Restoration Ticket][Seven-Colored Armor][God-Cursed Bracelet][Force Dagger]]
As expected, the main rewards were enough to make players' eyes fill with greed. The players, who had just anxiously gathered with their guild members, now focused on the main quest that was about to begin.
[The main quest has been announced.]
[Turrrrrrrrrrrr. Ding! Awaken the Epic Beast!]
[The first player to awaken the Epic Beast will receive the main reward.]
At these words, most players' faces lit up with hope. It seemed they thought the difficulty of the main quest was lower than expected. On the other hand, the faces of the higher-ranked players, including Seo-woon, were grim. They were aware of how big a variable the legendary beast could be in the game.
[Soon, you will share your vision through Argas' eyes. Thanks to Argas' vision, which splits the sky, you can land safely by shouting "Land!" from any location you choose. We hope you can obtain many items from your chosen locations. Those who haven't landed completely will automatically land at the final destination, so please be careful.]
[-Game preparation in progress…]
[-Game starting…]
When the final game notification sounded, Seo-woon opened his eyes once more and scanned all the players. It was clear that they would be landing in groups according to their guilds, so by counting the number of people in each group, he could tell which guild landed where.
While scanning the gathered players and focusing on Hwaan Geumjeong, his field of vision suddenly changed. A vast palace, cities connected like a spider's web, and countless castles stretched out before him. And as soon as his field of vision changed, fireballs began falling toward the palace. Almost half of all players landed near the palace and the nearby major cities. If you were confident in your numbers or skills, you had no choice but to land there.
The map was clearly labeled "Kurena Capital," and it was clear that finding a better farming area would be difficult. Nearly 100 red fireballs concentrated in the center of the palace. The remaining players split up and gathered in groups, avoiding each other and landing in various parts of the city.
Seeing all this, Seo-woon belatedly shouted, "Land!"
At the same time, Seo-woon also began falling one by one, landing on the ground and reuniting with the players in the palace.
"Hurry up and get in line!" On the ground, a player who seemed to be in charge shouted with all his might to direct the chaotic falling players. He sighed as he held his position, watching the fireballs falling from above. "Man, this is tiring. Listen to orders properly. If you fall behind like that person, you'll delay the other guild members' farming and cause trouble!"
All the players nodded in agreement at his words, glaring at Seo-woon as he landed, mistaking him for a member of the same guild.
"What are you doing?! If you're late, get in line quick… Huh?" A player was about to say something unpleasant to Seo-woon when he tilted his head in confusion. Seeing that he didn't have the same guild mark, Seo-woon smiled at him, his mind momentarily frozen, and lunged at him, slamming his head into the ground.
It was his first kill since the game began.
#
Crack! Crack! An unpleasant sound of chains echoed deep within the ground. A bright blue light flew towards a man bound by over a hundred iron chains carved with unknown letters.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Suddenly, the chains shook violently, and the sound echoed loudly inside.
"Kraaaaaah!" The man's ferocious roar caused the letters carved into the chains to glow red, and his convulsions finally stopped. The blue light, which had flown right in front of the man's face, continued to stare at him motionlessly.
"I have no intention of being your pet!" The voice was so low it was impossible to recognize as a human voice, and the blue light grew even more intense.
"Freedom? Do you expect me to believe that?" As soon as the man finished speaking, the blue light flashed in response.
"Do you want to use me, Krosino, as a hunting dog? Ha ha ha. Your arrogance will tear your throat out one day!" The blue light flashed once more.
After calming his rough breathing, the man, who had been agitated for a while, stood still, and the blue light hovered before him as if waiting.
"Jinsu Un… Alright. If killing just one person will get me out of here, it's not a bad deal. Just this once! I'll play the hunting dog. Enjoy this moment. I'll make you regret making this deal."
As soon as the man finished speaking, the blue light faded and disappeared.
< >