Chapter 378
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 378
Chapter Title: Survival League Roster?
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Survival League Roster Out?
- The roster dropped as soon as the system opened, and get thisfive of them are Korean?
Honey1's gotta be in there 100. Please let it be true.
Who is it? Kim Bong-gu? Jang Ha-jin?
Aren't Yeo Sun-woo and Yeo Min-ji from Hoyoung Guild?
No way it's random. What the hell is going on?
The community was in an uproar over the Survival League.
And for good reasonfailing out of the Survival League meant Earth itself would be deleted, an absurd risk that defied belief.
Believe in James Marcus...
- A guy like James Marcus should hold his own in the league, no problem.
Yeah, that's true.
No player's put on a more flawless show than James Marcus.
Don't cap. Honey1's the best.
Honey1's basically from the heavens.
Isn't James Marcus heavenly too?
Put him up against Honey1, and James is just another mortal.
Fair point.
No matter how skilled James Marcus was, he couldn't compare to Jeong Hoon.
But Hoon...
You said it'd be a dangerous fight, so why aren't you joining?
"Just what...?"
Jang Dae-hwi muttered with a grave expression.
If you lose a round, Earth gets deletedyet Hoon's name wasn't on the list.
Something had to be wrong.
No way things would play out like this otherwise.
Jang Dae-hwi hurriedly dialed Jeong Hoon.
Yeah, hyung.
"Hoon, you busy right now?"
Kind of, but it's fine. What's up?
"It's nothing major... Your name's not on the list."
The Survival League?
"Yeah."
Oh, that? I deliberately sat it out.
"Deliberately?"
Explaining would take a while... Just say I had other stuff to handle.
"You sure that's okay? Sending just that group?"
Hyung... Even without me, those guys can handle it, right?
"You think?"
Why's your bar so high now? Everyone on that list is around level 2,000Earth's top tiers.
Jeong Hoon was right.
His mother Lee Na-yeon, friend Ha-jin, little brother Bong-gu, Hoyoung Guild Master Yeo Sun-woo, and his daughter Yeo Min-jiall over level 2,000.
The other five's levels were unknown, but if they'd played New World, they were all big names you'd recognize.
Well, except for that Damien Loud.
"Got it... Guess I gotta trust you and relax."
Don't relax too much. Nothing's 100.
"Come on, don't scare me."
I'm serious. Even if something goes wrong, don't blame me.
"......"
I'm swampedI'll hit you up later.
The call ended there.
Jang Dae-hwi set down his smartphone and stared blankly out the window.
"It'll really be okay, right?"
At that moment.
"Damien."
James pulled Damien Loud aside.
"......"
Unlike before, he was dejected, head hanging low.
"Sigh... What the hell was that?"
"Sorry."
"Nah, I heard the sorry already. What I want is why you acted like that."
Damien Loud didn't like people.
But he'd never been outright rude like this.
"I was too pissed off."
"Pissed off?"
"James, you cool with this? Can you even call this a partnership?"
"...What do you mean?"
"What the hell are we supposed to trust about those Koreans?"
He acknowledged Honey1Jeong Hoon.
The guy had hit over level 10,000 and skyrocketed to fame running HoneyTube.
That's why Damien had agreed so readily, but seeing the actual roster? Honey1 wasn't even participating.
Half the list were Koreans who'd ridden his coattails, sucking up the easy wins. Rage boiled over.
Finishing Phase 6 was all thanks to Honey1's help, yet here they were acting all high and mighty.
That's why he'd snapped unconsciouslythen regretted it too late, but the damage was done. He'd pissed off Jeong Hoon.
"They're all Phase 6 completers. You think they could've pulled that off without skill?"
"Who knows. Maybe they got help from that monster."
"We already heard it all. We just need to stall out Round 1 as long as possible. Then Hoon joins in Round 2."
"Yeah. So you're buying it for now, right?"
"'For now'? Ugh, you basically just dissed our Korean allies."
"Tch, fine. I'll judge when I see it myself. If they show real skill, I'll apologize properly."
"You promise? Keep it."
"...Ugh, yeah, fine."
Damien answered irritably, but James decided to drop it.
The Survival League was about to start.
Reprimanding him now would tank morale from the jump.
Especially when they'd been asked to hold out as long as possible.
James patted his shoulder.
"Thanks. As the Record Keeper, you gotta set the tone right from the start. You know that?"
"Don't worry. I'm not about to sit by and watch Earth vanish."
Damien brushed off James's hand and walked away.
"Whew, not easy."
Left alone, James sat on the bench and looked up at the sky.
"You did great."
Amelie came over to comfort him and sat beside.
"Great? Nah. What about the others?"
"Seems like they've cooled off. Though no one likes Damien much."
"Hoon said we need to last as long as possible... This is tricky."
"It's fine. They're on Hoon's side. We just do our part."
"Yeah. No need to overthink... We handle our side."
"Got it."
Survival League Round 1 begins shortly.
Those on the roster, please enter the portal within the time limit.
Portals to the league grounds.
They'd opened across the nation, accessible only to those on the list.
"Hyung-nim."
Bong-gu, standing before a portal, quietly called to Ha-jin beside him.
"What."
"Honestly, I'm still pissed."
He'd decided to let it go, but seeing Damien Loud's face still made his blood boil.
Daring to call a Phase 6 like him a mere passenger?
Sure, without hyung-nim's help, he wouldn't have grown this farbut he'd busted his ass to break that threshold.
Having all that effort dismissed in one sentence? He'd genuinely wanted to kill the guy.
Some punk who hadn't even hit Phase 6 talking down?
"Let it go. Hoon already punished him."
"Yeah, but......"
"You gotta hold it in. League's starting. To survive Round 1, we need to team up. You know that."
"Sigh, yeah."
If it weren't for the teamwork, he'd have beaten him half to death already.
Bong-gu swallowed his anger and stepped into the portal.
Entering League Grounds 1.
League Grounds 1.
The map was modeled after a colosseum.
Not limited to just the interiorthe whole continent was the battlefield.
And this colosseum was merely the starting point.
Base camp set.
Defend against enemy occupation.
Survive to the end for round victory.
"Like Hoon said, it's an occupation war."
James Marcus and his teammates had arrived.
The four excluding Damien Loud were rankers from New World days.
James Marcus especially had built his rep as the undisputed top Paladin while pro gaming.
Occupation wars were familiar turf.
Plus, Jeong Hoon had briefed them fully on Round 1, keeping everyone calm.
'99 chance it's occupation.'
Not 100 because of that 1 risk of bad intel.
Still, 1 was a tough probability to beat.
James Marcus raised his shield and advanced.
"First, there's a checkpoint outside, so let's head there."
"Yeah."
James kept it short, so Ha-jin did too.
Their job: scout the perimeter for enemy movement.
Meanwhile, Yeo Sun-woo, Yeo Min-ji, and Bong-gu would escort Damien Loud to the forward checkpoint, using the Record Keeper's power to set up defenses.
Sophia would circle the colosseum laying traps, with Amelie shadowing to mask her debuffs.
Finally, Lee Na-yeon would snipe from atop the colosseum.
This setup turned it into a defensive fighthitting incoming foes, not striking first.
First checkpoint.
About 500m from the colosseum base.
"Hold up, everyone."
Damien ordered his three escorts and crouched down.
The checkpoint was covered in unfamiliar script. Decoding it would auto-activate the barrier.
An illusion barrier to fend off intruders.
Especially potent near the base.
"Hurry it up."
"...Need to focus, so shut it."
Damien glared at Bong-gu's urging and decoded the runes.
"Damn... prick."
He itched to smash a fist into that face, but Round 1 was underwayhad to hold back.
"Once it's done, we beat his ass."
Yeo Min-ji sidled up to Bong-gu and whispered.
Bong-gu's eyes widened a bit.
"After?"
"Yeah. Once Round 1 ends, Hoon's coming. Then we thrash him."
"...Hyung-nim okay that?"
"If we say it's for educational purposes?"
If it was "educational," per Yeo Min-ji, Jeong Hoon might greenlight it.
"That's a brilliant idea."
Bong-gu's eyes sparkled as he nodded.
"Right? So hold it in for now. For Hoon's plan."
Yeo Min-ji winked.
She hated Damien Loud too, but they were allies nowno need to stir trouble.
It'd help Jeong Hoon's plan succeed.
"...Embarrassing."
Bong-gu blushed and scratched his head.
"Done. Next one."
Just then, Damien Loud finished decoding and stood.
Checkpoint activated.
A circular barrier formed around the base from the activated checkpoint.
Invisible to the eyeeven to thembut it'd trigger the instant enemies crossed.
"...Fast."
Bong-gu grumbled as he resumed escorting Damien.
As Sophia Stephanie Agalet and Amelie circled the colosseum base, Lee Na-yeon held her position without a twitch.
She was locked in focus.
'Is that the Harpy race?'
Her long-range aim let her spot the Harpies descending.
Average level 3,000.
A full 1,000 above their own 2,000.
'Time to start, then.'
Lee Na-yeon lined up her shot slowly and pulled the trigger.
Bang!