Stage 5 – Ancient Ruins of the Jungle

"Die, Ryu7017!!"

"The championship is mine!"

Gamers swarmed Ryu Hwi from every direction at once. It was a battle royale format, but from the moment Ryu Hwi appeared, the players had thrown their rivalry aside and banded together.

Take down Ryu Hwi, and the hidden rule of 'instant victory' was simply too intoxicating to resist.

In response, Ryu Hwi tapped one of the cards floating above his left arm.

Ryu Hwi vanished from the gamers' sight. In a blink he was behind them, and the Shuffle Gun roared. The players pierced by his rounds dropped to a game over on the spot. Three kills in a single instant — then Ryu Hwi swept his gaze across the battlefield. Enemies everywhere. And the moment something tickled his senses, he fired off a support item without hesitation.

The steel wall crumpled inward as though struck by something colossal. Someone out there had attacked him with one of Super Gemini's long-range sniping weapons. Having blunted the blow with his item, Ryu Hwi immediately triggered his next card.

The Shuffle Gun's silhouette reshaped itself into a long-barreled weapon. Without so much as aiming properly, Ryu Hwi pulled the trigger toward the direction the shot had come from. The result spoke for itself — the kill counter simply ticked up by one.

"What the hell kind of monster IS this guy?!"

The hunters wore expressions of utter despair. The predators had become the prey, hunted down in turn by the very quarry they'd stalked.

The Shuffle Gun.

A special weapon mounted on a gauntlet worn over the left arm, fitted with both a gun barrel and a 'card deck'. Its base ability was deck building — you could preset twenty 'cards' in advance. When you entered battle wearing it, five of those cards were drawn into your hand. The hand manifested as holograms spread across the gauntlet; a single touch activated a card's effect, and touching and sliding it sent the card to the 'graveyard'. Once per minute, a circular switch on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forearm lit up, and touching it drew a new card. The hand held a maximum of five, drawn one at a time. When every card in the deck was spent, a fresh shuffle replenished it 'ten minutes later'. Deck stock could be purchased — one pack of three cards per day in Human Realm time — through the deck shop the Shuffle Gun opened. Depending on the build, it could become a truly terrifying weapon.

Above all, however, this Shuffle Gun had undergone a monstrous evolution by merging with the YggON system: the ability to convert items and skills into cards. Using the Shuffle Gun's functions, Ryu Hwi could turn the items and skills he'd acquired into 'cards'. Every OLD skill that had lost its former potency went straight into the deck — and though the cardified OLD skills couldn't match their past glory, they still packed enough punch to be useful.

Ryu Hwi drew a fresh card.

Ryu Hwi touched the 'Rammut Juvenile' card and the 'Lv UP' card at the same time. A black dragon even larger than Ryu Hwi himself materialized on the field. The gamers held their breath at the sheer majesty of the shadow dragon.

"Kill me and you win, huh? That just means beating me won't be easy by ordinary means."

Before long, Stage 5 devolved into a scene of utter carnage. Time limit: one hour. The screams of gamers did not stop until Ryu Hwi vanished.

127 kills.

A staggering record in barely an hour — and then Ryu Hwi was gone.

"Gacha is the enemy of my life."

[Says the man whose life was turned around by gacha?]

Going by the match footage alone, he'd dominated from start to finish — but in truth, Ryu Hwi hadn't exactly been in a comfortable position either. The problem, as always, was the Shuffle Gun. It was powerful, which was exactly what made it so hard to use. One draw per minute, five cards max in hand. Those restrictions were brutal. Because of them, Ryu Hwi had been forced to burn through his hand over and over, buying time until something worth playing finally came up.

This was the deck build Ryu Hwi had assembled for the Shuffle Gun:

The Demon God's Blessing and the Sword Saint were another matter — no way to deploy them in card form at present, and as SSR and SR++ respectively, cardifying them felt like a waste. Some other use might turn up somewhere, so on a lingering hunch he'd left them untouched for now.

"The performance is definitely great... but the problem is you can't draw the ability you want exactly when you want it."

[Well, what did you expect? A weapon is, in the end, merely a support tool. Kindly remember that your true power is this UR system, YggON.]

Ever since Ryu Hwi had pulled the Shuffle Gun, YggON would grumble about it every chance it got — useless toy, if you have my power you don't need such a clunker, and so on.

"Fine, enough about the Shuffle Gun... 5555?"

⟪Yaaay~! Not 5555! Call me 'Noel'!⟫

A cheerful voice answered — one that was exhausting beyond words to deal with.

"How's the broadcast coming along?"

This tournament had another purpose as well. A mountain of data had poured in from the 'Broadcast Test' mode he'd set up long ago. The 'broadcasting' method Gabriel had used back when World of Phantasm collapsed had also proved invaluable. And with Yggdrasil's 2.0 update, the technical barriers that had stood in the way until now had been cleared to a workable degree.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

⟪Currently broadcasting worldwide~! Day one didn't make much of a splash, but viewers are climbing at a ridiculous rate now. Everyone on the planet is basically a gamer these days, so they can watch in real time at the same time-scaling as the game labyrinth itself.⟫

The Super Gemini tournament could now be watched live by anyone. Setting up the dedicated broadcast mode on Yggtube put the viewer into a state close to actually entering the 'game labyrinth'. There was still a long road ahead, but the age of live game-labyrinth broadcasting had finally begun.

⟪On a completely unrelated note — development, management, mascot duty... isn't this company WAY too much of a black workplace?! I'd like to file a complaint!⟫

"I'd like to file a complaint about your bubbly, perky vibe. Any gamers catching my eye?"

⟪Hmmm. A lot of the big names from the World of Phantasm days, but plenty of fresh gamers too.⟫

Ragna, sitting at the top of the kill rankings in Group 3, and Hecate in Group 4 were both first-time gamers.

⟪And then... wow, they actually entered? I get chills sometimes, you know. Just how far ahead did you see this, boss?⟫

Nine times out of ten, he'd already guessed who would be joining this tournament — and that guess hadn't been wrong.

"So far, everything's gone exactly as expected."

At this very moment, countless people were watching the Super Gemini broadcast. Some burned with envy. Some looked on with admiration. Some dared to dream. Faced with the boundless world about to unfold before them, they too readied themselves to take their first step.

Yggdrasil 2.0. The tide of the era had hesitated, stumbling over the new changes — but only for a moment before it rode the rushing current. And at the center of this age of upheaval stood Jucheongwang.

⟪Anyway, I'll keep the stream rolling~!⟫

The connection cut off.

[How dreadfully cheerful. I simply cannot get used to it.]

"Tell me about it."

He let out a sigh and braced himself for the next battle.

⟪Hellooo, everyone~! Enjoying the broadcast?⟫

Appearing on the stream watched by countless people was a woman calling herself 'Noel'. A design that conjured up nothing so much as Santa Claus, paired with a mane of golden hair so radiant it dazzled the eye — together they pulled every viewer's gaze in at once.

⟪Day four of the tournament! For those of you watching for the first time today, allow me to introduce myself — again! I'm Noel, official mascot of the game developer Jucheongwang! Pleasure to have you all! Oh, and my profile's up on the official Jucheongwang site, so give it a look. I've dropped the link below — if you're interested, GO GO GO right now~!⟫

Truly, a sunshine-bright smile.

⟪Jucheongwang is broadcasting this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠game labyrinth live, making full use of Yggdrasil 2.0's new features! Tired of only ever getting to watch recorded footage? Suffer no more — from today, you can watch everything in REAL time!⟫

Behind Noel, ten screens floated into view, each showing the tournament's progress — focusing in on wherever the fiercest fighting was breaking out in each group.

⟪Groups 1 through 10 — pick whichever one you like and watch away! Honestly, I'd love to let you roam the whole battlefield freely, but that's beyond our current tech. Sniff. ...Oh! Thank you for the donation!⟫

The instant a gift balloon sparkled into view, Noel reflexively bowed in thanks.

⟪Wha—?! This broadcast is NOT something you sponsor me for! The tournament! FOCUS ON THE TOURNAMENT, PLEASE!⟫

But tell people not to do something, and that's exactly what they'll do — such is human nature. Gift balloons burst into sparkle after sparkle above Noel's head, an absolutely staggering sum of donations piling up in real time.

⟪There's no... oh, so THAT's how you turn it off. Phew. I'll be doing personal streams later, so save your donations for then, please! Now, let's take you through the state of each group on day four!⟫

By the fourth day of the tournament, more than half the field had already fallen.

⟪The moment a boss entity shows up, the gamers get smashed like autumn leaves. Kill counts aren't really what this tournament is about, but watching someone work so hard, poke the wrong boss, and get eliminated — it's just heartbreaking.⟫

Noel mimed wiping away tears.

⟪When a boss entity appears, my advice is: don't get brave, RUN! I mean, sure, beat one and you instantly win the whole thing, so I get the greed.⟫

In this tournament, the 'boss entities' were a hideous trap. Lured in by the sweet bait of instant victory, everyone who took the gamble had been eliminated without exception.

Then the screen showing Group 1 flashed crimson.

⟪Ahhh! Everyone in Group 1 — the 'boss entity' will appear in TEN MINUTES. Please, PLEASE survive~~!⟫

Some of those watching the broadcast actually cheered at the boss's arrival. The nail-biting clashes between gamers were thrilling, sure — but watching a boss entity sweep gamers aside with overwhelming power was its own kind of fun. Others kept a keen eye on how the players would choose to fight it.

The moment the counter hit zero, the boss entity finally revealed itself on Stage 1.

⟪BOSS ENTITY HAS APPEARED! And it's a massacre the moment it arrives!⟫

Flashing a smile so adorably sweet it would have been unimaginable from 5555 or Zero, Noel launched into her next report.

"Hey, Noir. Good game."

Ryu Hwi's indifferent voice rang in her ears. Sensing her defeat, Noir sank into hollow emptiness. She'd tried so hard. She'd built her own approach to combat and fought the 'boss entity' with everything she had. But she'd been one move short... no, about three moves short.

I at least wanted to take Ragna down with me.

Remembering the humiliation of not managing a single win against Ragna in an entire month, Noir closed her eyes.

Group 1 had progressed at a relatively leisurely pace — until Ryu Hwi appeared and turned it into hell. As long as you left him alone, you were fine. But could human greed ever manage that? Those blinded by the championship became sacrificial lambs yet again.

Fifty-five minutes since his arrival. Five minutes more, and the boss entity Ryu Hwi would vanish from Stage 1. By that point, he had racked up 101 kills on Stage 1 alone.

Ryu Hwi sat lazily atop a block, killing time. In the interim, one brave soul had attempted a sniper shot — and been instantly game-overed by Ryu Hwi's counterattack.

Two minutes remaining. That was when Ryu Hwi heard footsteps. He confirmed who it was, and a smirk crossed his face.

"Well, I did expect you'd show up eventually. Saw your name on the participant list, too. Been a while."

This was the ambitious man who had once tried to bring down 'Heaven' itself. Now that Jucheongwang had taken its first step toward leading the era, Ryu Hwi had fully expected some kind of reaction from him — and having been provoked by a tournament like this thrown open to the world, there was no way he could just sit still.

"Time's running short, so let's hurry this up."

Ryu Hwi rose from the block. The man who had been casually 'enjoying' the game just moments ago was gone; in his place stood something honed to a razor's edge — the Ryu Hwi of the World of Phantasm days, sharp as a drawn blade.

"That damned woman — she doing all right?"

Seven — Guild Master of GA-ES, home of Ryu Hwi's enemy Asea — appeared before him. As one of the gamers playing Super Gemini.