The Puppeteer's Deception
When Baekrang unleashed his final technique.
Kaboom!
A towering cloud of dust surged up, blotting out the view.
"Hey, what's the number?"
"Still the same."
A few more seconds ticked by.
Remaining Players: 17
The count had dropped from 18 to 17.
"Looks like it's over?"
"Could be another player. Hold on a sec."
As the dust settled, the scene came into view.
Not a single skeleton in sight—just Mu-hyuk, stained with wounds.
"Baekrang... lost?"
"Damn, really?"
"I thought Baekrang had it."
"Wasn't that last attack his?"
"Yeah, he landed it."
"What the hell happened?"
"Who knows the details. Anyway, let's go finish it off."
"You sure it's safe?"
"Can't you tell? He's on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Take out Mu-hyuk, and we'll trend online. Gotta get famous first to make bank, right?"
"Sigh, fine, let's go."
The three players rose to their feet.
"Quick and clean."
"Got it."
Two men, Green and Dachu, charged at Mu-hyuk, while the third prepared a spell. Mu-hyuk showed no sign of moving. He looked utterly spent at a glance.
Perfect.
The two exchanged grins.
"Here I go!"
Right on cue, a spell flew in from behind.
BOOM!
They plunged into the dust cloud, swinging their swords wildly.
The impact felt solid.
"Hey, clear the dust first!"
"On it!"
As the dust cleared, the truth emerged.
Mu-hyuk knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
"Kuhahaha!"
"Quit laughing and finish him."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's do it. Heh."
He swung his sword for the kill.
Slash.
The count was 17 before Mu-hyuk vanished—and 16 after.
Remaining Players: 16
"We did it!"
"N-Now we're gonna be famous, right?"
"Hell yeah!"
Basking in their triumph, Green and Dachu approached the mage lingering behind.
"Alright, let's hide till only four are left."
The mage didn't respond.
Just nodded.
"What a space case. Come on, move!"
After trekking some distance, they spotted a forest.
"Oh, that looks good."
"Perfect spot."
Inside the woods, visibility dimmed.
"Ideal for laying low."
"Yeah, over there."
Suddenly, Green—who was leading—halted.
"But hey."
He turned, eyeing the mage.
"Why've you been so quiet?"
"……."
"Kinda weird, right?"
As Green approached, the mage thrust out a hand.
Whoosh!
A spell fired.
BOOM!
Green staggered from the hit.
"You bastard!"
"W-What the hell?"
"Oh, so that's it. Gonna take us out here?"
"Why? Why?!"
"Can't you tell from that spell? He's killing us off to cruise into finals easy!"
The mage cast again.
The impact was heavy.
"Damn it!"
Green finally drew his sword and closed in.
A fierce clash ensued.
But mages sucked up close—rat poison, really.
"Hah, all talk."
After slaying the mage, Green glimpsed the number through the leaves.
Remaining Players: 11
Really down to just a handful now.
"Hey, took care of it."
"……."
"We'll hold out, just us two."
No reply.
"Why're you quiet again? What, pissed at what I did? Had no choice—the bastard struck first. Ugh, say something!"
That's when still Dachu moved.
Clang!
Sword striking Green.
"What the— you too?!"
These three weren't real-life friends.
Just partied up in Illusion, chatted, and somehow ended up grouped for the tournament.
"Fuck it, knew you'd pull this."
Relationships ripe for betrayal anytime.
"Bring it!"
Green attacked Dachu without a shred of guilt, full force.
Clang-clang!
Dachu went down easy.
Green smirked faintly.
Thinking it was finally over—thunk. An arrow pierced his brow.
BOOM.
His head exploded in a blast.
*
Adeon had only watched Mu-hyuk and Baekrang's duel.
Crazy bastards.
No intention of jumping into that insane fight. If Baekrang won, just being spotted could've meant death. Survival first—he'd hidden and observed.
"Whoa."
Only awe escaped his lips.
Monsters, pure monsters.
Then Adeon's head snapped around.
Who the hell are those guys?
Three players appeared out of nowhere.
Hiding just like him.
Hmm.
He ignored them for now, turning back.
BOOM, kaboom!
The monsters' clash hit its peak.
Then the victor appeared.
He won.
His floating eyeballs confirmed it.
Illusion Array.
He cast the illusion spell immediately.
With the array up, those three lurkers couldn't see inside.
Adeon summoned a puppet inside the array, then swapped places with Switch.
Mu-hyuk startled at the sudden Adeon.
"What?"
"Got something to tell you."
"Tell me?"
"Yeah. Someone's hiding, watching."
Mu-hyuk frowned.
HP and MP both bottomed out.
Even if this Adeon attacked, he doubted he could fend him off.
"How many?"
"Three."
Thankfully, Adeon didn't seem hostile.
Still, not a great spot.
"I'll handle it. You hide."
"You?"
"Yeah. Time to show my skills."
Can I trust him?
Doubt nagged, but he'd watch for now.
Me stepping up? I'd just get wrecked.
"Fine."
He reverse-summoned his five skeletons.
"I'll rest up."
Mu-hyuk slipped away from the battlefield, ducking behind nearby rocks. Adeon swapped back to his hideout. Then reverse-summoned the puppet and dropped the array.
Pop.
Right on cue, the three emerged. Two melee, one mage.
As the mage wound up a spell, Adeon summoned a rogue-type puppet.
Coated its dagger with hallucinogenic poison, snuck up on the mage. Unaware, the mage got taken out in one.
Then enchanted another puppet with illusion magic to mimic that player perfectly.
As the Mu-hyuk-mimicking puppet's head fell, he killed the captured mage—dropping the sky counter.
They'll think it's Mu-hyuk dying.
Reverse-summoned the rogue puppet. The two treated the illusion-mage puppet as their buddy, chatting away.
"Alright, let's hide till four left."
Adeon manipulated the mage puppet.
Up, down.
A nod.
"Oh, that spot looks good?"
The puppet disguised well till the forest entry—when one grew suspicious.
Adeon tweaked the plan slightly. As the hothead clashed with the mage puppet, a rogue puppet ambushed the watcher from behind.
Melee made it tricky, but the poison helped.
Quickly summoned a longsword puppet mimicking the victim perfectly.
"Hah, all talk."
As the hothead slew the mage puppet, Adeon killed his captive too.
Matching the sky counter again.
Then struck during the lapse—solid damage.
"What the hell, you too?!"
Exchanged blows, whittling HP plenty before the puppet broke.
The last guy, showing fatigue.
As Adeon moved to finish—Mu-hyuk intervened.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
The arrow nailed his brow dead-on.
BOOM.
Explosion ended it.
The puppet master's prowess—three players perfectly played.
*
Mu-hyuk and Adeon emerged from the woods.
"How was that? Pretty good, huh?"
"Impressive."
"Heh, told ya!"
Adeon's class had real utility. Just toyed with three using puppets.
Damn solid.
Finals format unknown—no need to turn hostile yet.
Not full trust, but no immediate backstab vibe.
"Prelims aren't over."
"I know."
Five survivors so far.
One more down.
HP and MP recovering nicely—Adeon no burden now.
"Wait it out?"
"Yeah."
As they wandered, Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed.
"This place..."
Somehow back at the Baekrang fight site.
Traces lingered.
Baekrang.
One of the hidden elites.
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Hah."
Future knowledge netted overwhelming gear, untouchable titles—but Baekrang was razor-close.
Won, yet didn't feel like victory.
Is that talent?
His movements were different. Elusive as water.
Most attacks: Burtan's ki blasts, skull snakes for pots, stealth ambushes, exploiting lapses, or Blessing of the Dead targeting glitches.
Hollow.
Baekrang? Effortless dodges, shredded skeleton hordes with power.
And that brief one-on-one—let an attack slip too easily.
Movement itself was superior.
Had to admit it.
Lifetime of training.
But...
Countless martial arts worldwide. How many masters?
Face another Baekrang-level—what then?
No answer.
Problem: Burtan and skull snakes exposed.
His style, skeleton caliber—word's out.
Future foes tougher.
How to win next?
Doubts swirled.
Learn sword? Martial arts?
But leveling time slashed.
No easy fix.
Whooosh.
Suddenly, white light with wind enveloped Mu-hyuk and Adeon.
"Hm?"
Skyward glance explained.
Remaining Players: 4
Preliminaries over.