Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Avatar Survival Game
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[You have entered the 4th floor.]
“Phew…”
Seven hours after entering the base.
I had passed through the 2nd and 3rd floors and reached the 4th.
Normally, I would have been trapped in a complex maze for much longer, but thanks to the outsider’s benefits, I cleared it far more easily.
Of course, compared to the 1st floor, it had taken considerably more time.
But that was because I had cleared the 1st floor too quickly; the pace on the 2nd and 3rd floors hadn’t slowed down.
I immediately checked the real-time leaderboard on my smart student notebook.
［Real-Time Positions］
［3rd Floor: Kim Changhyun, Jeon Mingi, Choi Seoyoon, Yu Ara］
［4th Floor: Kim Sunwoo］
“Nice.”
As expected, I was currently in 1st place.
It was the natural result, so I didn’t feel particularly thrilled.
“…From the 4th floor on, even I’ll have a tough time.”
While the 1st through 3rd floors had mainly consisted of traps and mazes, from the 4th floor onward, battles with monsters took center stage.
My 1v1 combat ability wasn’t inferior to the other teams’, but they had two members each, while I was alone on Team B, so fighting monsters solo was a bit burdensome.
If they reached the 4th floor, they might catch up due to my slower clearing speed.
But I had prepared countermeasures for that in advance.
“It’s about time for it to show up.”
I checked the time and waited.
That was when it happened.
[In 1 minute, the base sudden event, ‘Avatar Survival Game,’ will begin.]
“It’s here.”
The base sudden event: Avatar Survival Game.
It was a game where you survived as long as possible in a special area filled with all sorts of dangers like beasts, traps, and illusions.
There was one additional rule: you could also kill the opposing teams’ avatars.
For reference, even if the ‘leader’ died in this event, it wouldn’t greatly affect the leader battle.
After all, it was just the avatar that died, not the real body.
[The reward is a ‘Special Entry Ticket’ that lets you enter the next floor whenever you want!]
This was exactly why I had been waiting for this sudden event.
If I won this event, I could skip the tricky 4th floor for me and head straight to the next floor with the base control room, seizing the base in one go.
Plus, occupying the base would net me an enormous amount of personal points.
Beyond just team victory, I needed to rack up massive personal points, so I had to go all-in on this event.
[10 seconds until the event begins.]
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]
[The ‘Avatar Survival Game’ has begun!]
Flash!
My vision flashed, and the location changed.
A dark space and a complex maze.
It resembled the base’s 1st floor, but this one was made far more intricate.
Rumble!
That was when it started.
A loud noise erupted from behind me.
Turning around, I saw a spear infused with mana shooting toward me.
I hurriedly fired a spell, shooting down the mana spear in midair.
Boom!
The mana spear vanished into the air.
Since it happened the moment I entered, I was a little startled.
“Intense from the start.”
I glanced at the trap device on the wall.
Countless magic traps like this were scattered throughout the maze.
I had to be careful not to get caught.
“I wonder where the other teams are?”
It was 2v1, so running into them wouldn’t be good; I needed to quietly avoid them.
About ten minutes after resuming my trek through the maze, it happened.
Kaboom!
A deafening roar echoed from somewhere, accompanied by a massive surge of mana.
“This is…”
It had to be Yu Ara’s magic.
No one else in the school could wield mana on this scale. And then another new explosion followed.
Boom!
Hearing that, I could grasp the situation.
Teams A and C must have already run into each other.
Otherwise, mana of such different natures wouldn’t clash repeatedly like this.
I activated ‘Silent Steps’ and moved toward the source of the mana.
I encountered traps along the way, but the outsider’s benefits kept me out of serious danger.
Time passed, and I arrived at the place pulsing with mana.
Bang! Kaboom!
One odd thing: this area was outside the maze, a fairly wide terrain.
But what I saw was a bit unexpected.
It wasn’t Kim Changhyun and Yu Ara facing off, but Choi Seoyoon and Jeon Mingi.
“It’s been a while since we’ve fought 1v1 like this. I’ve been wanting a rematch from the midterm…”
Jeon Mingi, 2nd in the 1st years, said while looking at Choi Seoyoon.
Choi Seoyoon stood silently with a stiff expression, clearly displeased by the situation.
If those two fought, Choi Seoyoon had a higher chance of winning.
But unlike the top ranks in other years, their skill gap was so razor-thin—like a single sheet of paper—that Jeon Mingi winning wouldn’t be strange.
That was exactly why Choi Seoyoon staked her life on staying #1.
With such a negligible difference, Jeon Mingi could snatch the top spot at any moment.
‘…But where are Yu Ara and Kim Changhyun?’
More important than those two were the team’s true aces: Yu Ara and Kim Changhyun.
I needed to locate them first.
I moved again toward the direction of the mana.
Soon enough, amid explosions and smoke, I spotted a man and woman facing off.
A slim, bespectacled man: Kim Changhyun. And Yu Ara.
Unlike Choi Seoyoon and Jeon Mingi, the difference was their taciturn natures—they weren’t saying a word to each other.
“Hmm…”
If I had to watch a fight, I was more curious about Kim Changhyun vs. Yu Ara than Choi Seoyoon vs. Jeon Mingi.
Above all, I didn’t know the full extent of Kim Changhyun’s magic abilities.
Kim Changhyun was a mysterious figure in many ways.
Despite his current status as the #1 in the 3rd years with outstanding skill, he had almost no presence in the original story, and even among readers, comments like ‘So what the hell is Kim Changhyun? MacGuffin?’ persisted to the end, leaving many questions.
Just what kind of skill would Kim Changhyun show against Yu Ara?
At that moment, Yu Ara manifested orbs of flame.
Whoosh!
The flame orbs shot rapidly toward Kim Changhyun.
As if he had anticipated it, Kim Changhyun erected a mana barrier, blocking Yu Ara’s attack.
He quickly dispelled the barrier and extended his hand, manifesting five lightning spears and firing them at Yu Ara.
Crackle!
The lightning spears hurtled toward Yu Ara at lightning speed.
Yu Ara responded the same way, manifesting a barrier.
Kaboom!
The clash of spells produced a massive roar and shockwave.
True to his reputation as the textbook of manifestation magic, Kim Changhyun’s combat displayed rock-solid fundamentals that manifestation wizards could reference.
Even that brief exchange was at a level hard to believe for teenagers.
Glancing at Kim Changhyun’s face, it overflowed with composure.
As expected of a former #1.
This situation was a green light for me.
If they fought among themselves, it would create all sorts of opportunities for me.
So, I needed to think about what I could do with this.
The answer came quickly.
I would watch their fight and intervene the moment a gap appeared, taking them both out in one go.
With ‘Silent Steps’ reducing my presence, they likely hadn’t noticed me yet, so the odds were good.
To bide my time for that chance, I quietly hid out of sight.
Time flowed.
As the battle dragged on, the mana sustaining ‘Silent Steps’ began to run low.
The consumption wasn’t huge, but the problem was how much time had passed.
I needed some mana reserved to intervene in their fight, so I reluctantly released the skill.
The distance was close, but as long as I didn’t make noise, the risk of detection was low.
That was when it happened.
Kim Changhyun, deeply immersed in the fight, suddenly halted his attack and stood still.
Then, gesturing for Yu Ara to stop as well.
“Wait. Someone’s nearby.”
“...Pardon?”
Yu Ara stopped her attack and looked at Kim Changhyun. He kept scanning the surroundings.
“How do you know someone’s nearby?”
Kim Changhyun didn’t answer.
Yu Ara stared at him blankly before speaking as if realizing.
“You have some kind of detection ability, don’t you? That explains how you found us so quickly.”
Kim Changhyun didn’t deny it.
Yu Ara muttered that, then opened her mouth again.
“Hmm. There’s only one person who’d be watching us here.”
Kim Changhyun nodded and swiftly swung his right arm, rapid-firing lightning spears.
But the spears weren’t aimed at Yu Ara—they were aimed at me.
Kaaaaboom!
The wall crumbled, revealing my previously hidden form.
I forced a smile.
“…I didn’t think you’d have a detection ability.”
While the fierce competition to seize the base raged inside…
An equally fierce competition was unfolding outside the base.
Beyond slaying giant beasts, numerous events had occurred, and thanks to Lee Seojun and Jang Suyeon’s exploits, Team B had practically monopolized the external events.
Teams A and C didn’t like this situation but couldn’t recklessly attack Team B.
Their own teams had sent their two aces into the base, severely weakening their forces.
Meanwhile, Team B had both aces outside the base.
Top-tier fighters like them could handle dozens alone, making it an overwhelmingly disadvantageous fight.
“That Team B’s been hogging all the events for a while now. We just gonna let it slide?”
“Let ’em. We’ll still take the base. And when the big event starts, Team B will crash on their own.”
“Hmm, sure, but the opponent’s Lee Seojun.”
That was when it happened.
Wooooong!
A sudden surge of mana centered on the base began to resonate.
Everyone outside turned startled gazes toward the base.
At the same time, a ‘voice’ echoed in their ears.
[The base owner has been decided!]
[The base owner receives 1,000 personal points!]
“…The base is already cleared? It’s only been 7 or 8 hours.”
Someone outside muttered quietly.
Right then.
Paaaaang!
A massive mana shockwave erupted from the base, sweeping over the exterior.
It happened so abruptly that the students couldn’t react.
“What the hell?!”
The students who rolled across the ground found themselves pushed far from the base’s center.
“…Why weren’t we swept away?”
Near the base, Lee Seojun looked around and muttered.
The 300 students had been caught in the mana wave, but the remaining 150 had not.
Those 150 were Team B.
[The base protection system activates for 5 minutes.]
[External attacks are blocked while the base protection system is active.]
Whoooosh!
Another mana wave spread from the base.
A semicircular barrier enveloped the Team B students centered on the base.
At that moment, four magic circles formed on the ground outside the barrier.
Four students soon emerged from them.
Kim Changhyun, Jeon Mingi, Yu Ara, and Choi Seoyoon.
The students stared at them in shock before turning back to the base.
“What? Did Team B take the base?”
“Wasn’t it just Kim Sunwoo who went up alone?”
Yu Ara glanced at the base, then turned to Kim Changhyun beside her.
“We should form a temporary alliance.”
Kim Changhyun nodded instead of replying.
It was an unspoken rule among teams that lost the base in the leader battle, so the alliance formed without delay.
Kim Changhyun and Choi Seoyoon informed their teammates of the alliance.
“What do we do? 5 minutes until the protection ends. Attack right away when it does? Or regroup first?”
“No point dragging it out.”
Yu Ara nodded at Kim Changhyun’s response.
The exam lasted 3 days, but there was no need to fill all 3.
“True enough.”
That was when Shin Youngjun rushed over to Yu Ara.
“Hey, what happened? How’d you lose to just one guy?”
“We got careless. Kim Sunwoo timed it perfectly too.”
Yu Ara replied with a hint of frustration.
Shin Youngjun couldn’t fully understand, but since it was Kim Sunwoo, he figured it could create this situation, so he dropped it.
And it was in the past anyway.
The top priority for Teams A and C now was retaking the base, so they needed to focus on that.
“I thought they’d abandon the base and monopolize external points… Guess not?”
“What’re you talking about?”
When Yu Ara asked, Shin Youngjun shook his head.
“There’s that.”
Then he spoke again.
“Anyway, Team B. Even if they took the base, they can’t hold it. Why take it?”
“It’s Kim Sunwoo. He’s got something in mind.”
Kim Sunwoo.
Absurd reasoning, but Shin Youngjun nodded in acceptance.
[Blessing descends on Team B inside the base territory.]
[Nature’s mana aids mana recovery.]
[Every 2 hours of base occupation, Team B receives 3,000 team points.]
3,000 points every 2 hours.
Considering Team C had only amassed about 2,500 team points since the exam started, it was an enormous amount.
Whoooong!
Then, a new magic circle appeared in the field inside the base territory.
Kim Sunwoo emerged from it in a flash of light.
Having exited the base, Kim Sunwoo conversed with his teammates, issuing some orders.
Even in a situation where he had to fight twice as many without wide-area magic, Kim Sunwoo exuded composure.
“…He looks overflowing with confidence. Wonder what trick he’s got this time.”
Yu Ara watched Kim Sunwoo with complicated eyes and swallowed dryly.
[In 20 seconds, the base protection system will deactivate!]
[The base blessing continues until another team conquers the base.]
[5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]
The translucent mana barrier around the base vanished.
[Base protection has ended!]
At that moment, Teams A and C charged toward Team B.