Hunting the Puppeteer
Through the Skull Snakes, Mu-hyuk could meticulously grasp his surroundings.
Of course, distant areas were impossible to scout, so he couldn't survey the entire space.
That said, there was no need to move right away. He could afford to wait a little longer before shifting position.
He tilted his head up to check the headcount.
Current Remaining Users: 461
The number had dwindled quite a bit.
Faster than expected?
As he watched silently, 461 ticked down to 460.
The numbers were dropping slowly but steadily.
His odds of survival were improving bit by bit.
Hm?
Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed slightly. He sensed movement from behind.
He wanted to turn and check, but there was no need. His summons could handle it.
Skull Snake, to the left.
If the presence belonged to a player, this could lull them into a false sense of security.
Mu-hyuk wasn't turning his head, so the enemy would likely praise their own stealth and creep closer.
The snake caught something.
Gotcha.
As expected, the presence was a player.
Just one.
Judging by the look, it was a thief-class type.
In that case, they'd probably close in even more before striking. Mu-hyuk watched through the Skull Snake's eyes and waited patiently.
Whoosh.
Did they think they'd closed enough distance?
The player kicked off the ground hard.
The dagger swing was laughably clumsy.
Do they think I'm a monster?
Against another player, that kind of sloppiness wouldn't cut it. Mu-hyuk let out a hollow chuckle as he spun around, thrusting out the longsword in his hand.
Storm.
A longsword outranged a dagger, naturally. Mu-hyuk's blade struck first.
"Kuhk!"
The opponent was blasted back by the explosion, tumbling across the ground. They scrambled up in a panic, but their face was already twisted in shock.
"Y-You bastard...!"
Mu-hyuk silently morphed his sword into a bow.
Multishot.
Five arrows launched at once, arcing through different trajectories—only to mysteriously converge on the player like they were being sucked in.
The player twisted to dodge, blocking two he couldn't evade with his shield.
Stealth!
Desperate to turn the tables, the thief-class player vanished into stealth and charged. But his footprints on the ground were too clear—Mu-hyuk tracked him effortlessly.
This guy...
Clearly lacking in PvP experience.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
He nocked an arrow, then looked away, waiting.
When the distance had narrowed considerably...
He twisted, aimed at the approaching direction, and released. At this range, dodging would be impossible.
Boom!
Just as Mu-hyuk predicted.
"H-How...?"
The player reappeared, staring up in confusion, but Mu-hyuk had no answer for him. He simply nocked another arrow and fired.
No need to summon skeletons for this—it was over in seconds.
Having dispatched the player, Mu-hyuk returned to rest near the dilapidated building.
Soon after, two more players appeared. He handled them cleanly and resumed his watch.
Less than a minute later, three showed up.
He summoned skeletons to deal with them, only for five more to arrive next.
Something's off.
The frequency—and numbers—of approaching players seemed to be increasing over time.
And these players didn't seem... normal.
Time to move.
In the end, Mu-hyuk abandoned the spot.
Meanwhile.
As user Adeon twitched his fingers, threads rustled softly.
The eye dangling from the thread in midair bobbed along, tracking Mu-hyuk's movements before ducking behind a leaf.
To evade Mu-hyuk's sudden glance.
"Hm."
Mu-hyuk cocked his head.
The puppeteer Adeon patted his chest in relief as he watched.
Sensitive one.
He knew Mu-hyuk was a top ranker. And it was Adeon who'd deliberately sent puppets to flush him out and force a move.
Good. What about the other players?
He checked the users scouted via another eye.
His plan: lure them to Mu-hyuk.
Puppet Illusion.
He only had seven puppets with actual combat ability.
The rest were illusions mimicking players—but that was enough for luring.
Adeon cast an illusion of injury on them, then scattered puppets in all directions.
"Hm?"
Most players reacted the same to the "wounded" puppets.
"You're done for!"
They let their guard down at the limping figure and charged.
Adeon masterfully manipulated the puppets to keep the players chasing.
"Ugh, this bastard won't die!"
Enraged players rarely gave up.
Perfect. All set.
Once they reached Mu-hyuk, he reverse-summoned the puppets.
Handle it for me, will ya?
Adeon monitored via the eye.
*
Mu-hyuk watched the unfolding events through his Skull Snakes.
Clones?
It was unfamiliar at first. Clone or not, something reverse-summonable was luring players here.
"Huh, what the—?"
Losing their target, the players turned on resting Mu-hyuk—and paid the price with elimination.
After repeating this several times, Mu-hyuk deduced the prankster's class.
Puppeteer, huh.
Given the luring range, they couldn't be far. Probably hiding nearby.
Alright, time to hunt.
He couldn't keep playing defense.
Shh.
He directed the Skull Snakes.
There you are.
He spotted a puppet luring a player. He had the snakes slither past it, pressing onward.
Dealing with the lured player en route, Mu-hyuk refocused on the snake's view.
Another puppet was bringing a fresh victim.
Keep going this way?
After repeating a few times, he found not a luring puppet, but one scouting for players.
The snakes slipped past it and advanced further. He held position. Far off, a limping, wounded puppet appeared.
They passed it too, closing in gradually.
Ho.
In a secluded forest spot, he found a user waving his hands.
That's the guy.
It hadn't taken long to track him down.
Closer than I thought.
"Hup."
Mu-hyuk rose.
At the same moment.
The puppeteer Adeon, watching Mu-hyuk, flinched. Mu-hyuk had smiled right at the eye's hiding spot.
Dismissing it as imagination, he froze as Mu-hyuk suddenly propelled off the ground.
Too fast to follow. He belatedly directed the eye, but Mu-hyuk was already gone.
Damn it!
He frantically manipulated his scattered puppets.
Find him. Must find him.
A chill of unease hit him.
No way, right?
He scoured the area just in case—no skeletons.
Still, that smile lingered, amplifying his dread.
As he shook his head to clear it, grass on the left rustled violently, blades clashing like screams.
He turned—nothing but wind.
"Phew."
He patted his chest—
"Had your fun?"
A chilling voice from behind.
Adeon couldn't turn.
A creeping chill from his toes froze him solid.
He snapped to and tried twisting away, but a cold edge at his throat made him flinch again.
As a puppeteer, his HP and defense were low—a simple strike could end him.
No guarantee of survival meant no rash moves.
His mouth still worked, though. He moved it slowly.
"How did you find this place...?"
"Curious about that?"
"N-No, not that. Look, how about we talk first?"
"Talk about what?"
Mu-hyuk sounded intrigued. Adeon, sensing this was his only shot at survival, pitched himself hard.
"Y-You've been hit by it too, so you get it—I'm useful, right? Hidden class and all, plus..."
"Hidden class?"
"Uh, yeah."
"What exactly?"
"You want me to spill that?"
"Yeah."
Adeon hesitated visibly.
Mu-hyuk waited patiently.
Any lie, and he'd end it instantly.
"P-Puppeteer."
"Ho."
Truthful enough to hear more.
"So, what help can you offer?"
"I can lure players into fighting each other. Swap places with puppets in a pinch, stage all sorts of scenarios. I'll definitely be useful, so spare me just once...?"
Four survivors were guaranteed anyway.
An ally or two?
Not a bad idea.
Can't hurt.
He knew Illusion's flow, changes, info—but not how it'd play out with direct involvement.
Plus, hidden experts could be anywhere.
If one allied with another against him, things could get dicey.
These weren't the run-of-the-mill players he'd faced—true gaming talents.
"Not bad."
"R-Really?"
"But if..."
"No betrayal, I swear!"
"Fine."
For now, he'd team with the puppeteer.
"Oh, name's Adeon."
"Mu-hyuk."
"Knew it. Japanese?"
"Korean."
"Ah, gotcha. I'm Thai."
"Didn't ask."
"Haha, just figured since we're partnering up, basics first."
Talkative type.
Mu-hyuk ignored him and looked up.
Current Remaining Users: 397
Over a hundred eliminated already.
"Huh...?"
Mu-hyuk's eyes widened.
Current Remaining Users: 391
The count was plummeting.
Current Remaining Users: 382
Fifteen gone in moments.
"Whoa? Group fight break out or something?"
Adeon looked stunned too.
But the numbers kept dropping relentlessly.
370. 360.
Down to 350 in no time.
What the hell...?
What on earth was happening?
Boom!
A sudden explosion jerked their heads around.