Red Zone Exploit
The heart of the battlefield.
The Red Zone.
"You mean we can farm points easily?"
"A duplication bug...!"
"If it works properly, we could rake in massive points in no time."
All the summoned apostles had arrived. I gave them a quick rundown.
"Summoning monsters and killing them gives about 1.5 times the points back. No need to do anything else—just hunt monsters."
"Your words ring true, Master."
Fierce Flame nodded with arms crossed beside me.
"We gotta suck up the honey before other hunters catch on."
Gabriel seemed oddly fidgety for some reason. Maybe because it felt like a game glitch?
"No, that part should be fine."
Blue Dragon stroked his chin and spoke up.
"The conditions are too tough for regular hunters to meet. Your point multiplier is 5x, after all."
To hit 5x, you needed about 3 million points.
"Even a rough estimate shows it's an amount no ordinary hunter could dream of."
"Even though the inner Red Zone hands out 300 points each?"
Blue Dragon paused to calculate mentally before replying to my question.
"Yes. Those things are over level 200. Regular hunters can't even approach them. And you'd need to hunt around 10,000 of them."
Thinking about it, the monsters summoned for 500 points were Shadow Beasts—beasts even America's top hunter, Derek, couldn't take down.
The core of the battlefield crawled with those kinds of monsters.
"So right now, only we can exploit this."
"Exactly."
"No one else could summon that many high-end monsters with massive points and then wipe them out."
Fierce Flame stated it with absolute certainty.
And it was true.
To duplicate points, you had to summon and kill the monsters. Regular hunters couldn't even dream of it.
Not to mention wiping out hordes of low-level ones was impossible.
The daily summon limit was around 50—generous, but not enough to farm serious points.
In other words, you had to summon strong monsters and take them down to multiply points fast.
I raised my arm to summon a monster but paused.
"One last potential snag."
"What is it?"
"...Won't an agent show up?"
"Yeah, the system could patch it."
Agent.
The entity that maintains system balance.
It had appeared after I killed Abraksas's five freakish birds. No reason it wouldn't now.
"No, that's actually something we have words about."
Lucifer smirked from the back.
"The proper way to tackle those freakish birds was clearing the four gates first. We deviated from that rule, so the agent appeared. But this time..."
Lucifer's sly grin deepened.
"We're just legitimately following the system's intent. If that's a problem, it means the system itself is flawed... And we'd be the ones owed compensation."
His face screamed show up if you dare.
"Besides, the constellations watching you won't sit idle."
Multiple constellations agree with Lucifer.
Multiple constellations anticipate your exploits.
Constellation 'Otherworld Discipline' finds the agent annoying.
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' cheers you on, having bet their entire fortune.
If Lucifer was that confident, it should be fine.
Still, how long the constellations would stay on my side was worth considering.
Unlike the Master of the Black Star, who bet everything, the others could flip their opinions on a dime.
I pointed ahead.
"Then can you clear this area first? Need open space to summon monsters."
"Of course. One fireball and it's done."
"Wait—"
No time to stop it.
BOOM—!
A fierce heat surged before my eyes, scorching even the air around us.
* * *
"Whoa, what the hell is that?"
"A pillar of fire...?"
At that moment, hunters hunting on the battlefield's outskirts looked up.
The ground trembled faintly. Even from afar, the crimson blaze was blinding.
The hunters shook their heads.
"What kind of monster is in the battlefield core to cause that...?"
"Heard Mumyeong's hunting there."
"Even Mumyeong would die to an attack like that."
"Incoming!"
The chatting hunters refocused on the monster before them. They were French hunters.
They unleashed arrows and spells at the monster ahead, while a shield-bearing hunter drew the Owl Bear's aggro.
Stab—!
A hunter dashed forward smoothly, his sword piercing the Owl Bear's heart.
Points acquired. +6
"Just 6 points...?"
"Better than before, at least."
Dozens of Owl Bears lurked in the forest, eyes gleaming. A deep woods they'd normally avoid.
"No risk of dying, so let's hunt as much as we can before heading back."
"We're this far in—no losses. At least farm some exp on the way out."
Immunity to death.
This unique situation made the hunters bolder. Not just them—most were pushing deeper than usual.
For more exp and points.
"When will we ever save up enough points like this?"
"Prioritize stat boosts first; it'll get easier."
"The battlefield's only open 15 days. Why waste points on that?"
Hunters invested points to grow stronger, gradually heading inward.
Deeper into the battlefield.
Britain's returner, Isaac, was no different.
"Mana density's a bit low. Let's push further."
Isaac was nonchalant, but his teammates were uneasy.
The nearby monsters were well beyond S-rank.
"Hey, Isaac. Isn't this too risky?"
"What's the issue? No dying anyway. Pre-checks are done—no need to fear. Especially since..."
That was when it happened.
Screeech—!
A massive eagle gliding through the sky dove at the group.
Purple corruption rotted its body into a grotesque form.
Isaac calmly raised a finger.
Humm—! Burst burst burst!
Dozens of magic missiles fired at once. Stab! Stab! Holes riddled the eagle's body.
But it didn't end there.
The missiles traced blue arcs, spreading through the forest. Anywhere mana stirred was fair game.
They pierced every creature's brow, weaving brilliant lines.
"Whoa..."
His teammates froze, speechless. Isaac smiled kindly, reassuring them.
"I've got you. No worries—let's move."
Only then did they relax a bit. They chatted as they headed coreward.
"Lucky Isaac reincarnated as British."
"Lucky I met you all."
"Wasn't trying to get sappy. Point is, Europe won't finish last."
"Ahem."
"From the looks... Oceania's the prime candidate for dead last."
Oceania had the smallest population of the six continents.
"Heard international talks pushing to evacuate them."
"Others talking shit since it's not their continent."
"Mumyeong's totally dominating..."
Isaac narrowed his eyes, listening silently. His senses picked up someone's mana.
"Some condemn Mumyeong too."
"Gotta blame someone in this mess."
"Hold."
Isaac halted the group. He pressed a hand to the ground. Rumble... Green vines formed by magic burst through the earth, snaking away.
"Gah, what?!"
"Vines out of nowhere...!"
Soon, shouts echoed from the forest. People were snared by Isaac's vines.
Rumble rumble...
The vines dragged them underground back to Isaac. About five masked figures.
"Who are these guys?"
"They after us?"
The team's faces hardened. The battlefield had just opened, and already killers hunting points?
Not impossible.
Crazy bastards killing in regular gates were common enough.
"Misunderstanding! Has nothing to do with you. Ngh, why won't this break? Just vines...?"
But the lead masked man sounded indignant. Isaac eyed him coldly.
Their gear screamed assassin.
"Not us, then who were you killing?"
As Isaac's icy voice rang out, thorns sprouted from the vines.
Blood soaked the assassins' clothes. No talking now. Death meant nothing here.
"Plenty of ways to make you suffer without killing."
Isaac sighed, flicking a finger. Vine tips burrowed into the leader's body.
"Guh, guhuk! I'll talk."
"Boss!"
"It's fine. Probably unrelated anyway."
The leader finally spoke, gasping. He revealed their target.
"We're killing Mumyeong... and taking his points."
Kill Mumyeong.
Isaac's face went blank.
"Did I hear that wrong?"
That was when the battlefield sky darkened rapidly.
Ominous clouds cloaked the core.
Isaac whipped his head around instinctively. Even the assassins looked.
Rumble rumble—.
A vibration beyond compare shook the ground. Eerie winds scattered leaves; sticky air choked them.
Between the towering core trees, a colossal freakish beast raised its head.
Rooooaaar—!
Its chilling roar echoed across the battlefield. Nothing that massive before. An entity unseen even in the present world.
Only the battlefield's immortality explained survival.
"I-Isaac, what the hell is that...?"
Before they recovered from the shock,
Massive explosions rocked before the beast.
BOOM! Boom! BOOM!
Crimson fireballs from the sky, black beams, white flashes, blue lightning.
The beast's body tilted. Pitiful, relentless bombardment.
Only one could pull this off.
Mumyeong.
And his apostles.
First time seeing it firsthand, but the aura felt familiar.
Isaac turned back to the assassins.
He asked again.
"...You're gonna kill Mumyeong?"
Pure disbelief.
* * *
The first summoned freakish beast: Argentino.
Cleared core monsters first for points. Used the 3 million to summon it.
Gained about 5 million points.
"Whoa, all size, no substance. Hunt the next one right away."
"...Thought it'd laser from its mouth or something."
Laser? You apostles didn't give it a chance. It died without a peep.
No need for me to step in.
Overwhelmingly strong.
A reminder of their monstrous stats.
"Master, praise me. Pet my head."
Fierce Flame approached proudly.
"Didn't I say no treating you like a kid...?"
"You're the exception. Praise me now."
"F-Fine. Good job."
I patted roughly.
Looked pleased.
...No normal apostles after all.
Forgot Blue Dragon was the sane one.
I tore into harmony bread. Excellent stuff from Hunter Cheon Iryeong. One bite chased away fatigue and hunger.
"Master, if bread gets boring, I can make sandwiches. Plenty of fine veggies around."
Lucifer had gathered suspicious-looking veggies somehow.
"Monster meat for protein, right?"
"No, that's a bit..."
Sandwich idea was solid, though.
Bread supply was easy now. If cooking preserved effects, no issue. Bread got old eventually, no matter how good.
I rolled my shoulders and eyed the cleared core space.
"Next, second monster."
By my math,
Eight more and I'd hit 100 million points.
Power of compounding.
"I'm ready."
"Full power."
"Summon away."
Apostles with signature weapons raised them; others took to the air.
All summons were boss-grade. But no match for apostles.
Second boss fell easily.
Third boss dropped simply.
Crackle, fizz—!
The anomaly hit on the fourth summon.