Chapter 8
Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Sniper at the School Gate (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Baek Seonghui explained the strategy.
"We surround the tagger in a circle and then build a wall with ice pillars. Got it?"
"Ah, so that's how you did it...!"
Out of the twenty players in the ice tag game, all but one crossed their arms.
They charged at the goblin simultaneously, encircling it. Then, when they shouted "ice," the nineteen ice pillars formed right next to each other, effectively creating an ice wall.
The goblin would be trapped inside that ice wall for the remainder of the time limit.
The goblin could keep ramming one ice pillar with its horns without rest, potentially breaking the wall. But in that case, Baek Seonghui would strategically tag the player in danger, taking their place by shouting "ice" to fill the gap.
In other words, with a capable leader and trust among the group, it was possible to clear without a single death.
'Not bad. She really exploited the mission's weakness well.'
The ice tag mission's goal wasn't to kill the goblin.
It was to survive until the time limit expired.
"That's how we made it out alive."
"I see..."
Dokgo Hyun felt like he'd learned a valuable lesson, but he also thought it was an incredibly precarious strategy.
If even one person acted selfishly, it would fail immediately.
And the students following Baek Seonghui trusted her, but it was merely an alliance of convenience.
They didn't seem to have built deep trust over a long time.
'Using a strategy where one coward or traitor dooms everyone. No one else could pull that off.'
It must have worked because Baek Seonghui was smart and kind-hearted, earning everyone's cooperation.
"Well, we survived, so that's what matters."
Dokgo Hyun said that much, leaving Baek Seonghui a bit unsatisfied.
"Dokgo Hyun. Want to join our group? It'd be better with you."
When Baek Seonghui invited him, the students behind her all showed their displeasure.
"That might be a bit..."
"He looks violent just standing there."
"Let's just stick together without him, Seonghui."
The group members all reacted that way.
They were intimidated by the murderous aura radiating from Dokgo Hyun even when he was just standing still.
Dokgo Hyun grinned.
"There you have it."
"I'll convince them, so..."
"I appreciate the offer, but I prefer going solo."
Baek Seonghui let out a soft sigh at his words.
"You've always been like that."
"Yeah."
Dokgo Hyun had been the same when his parents passed away.
Baek Seonghui had tried to help in any way she could—even just sharing snacks—but he'd refused.
'Still, I'll remember that you tried to help me. Thanks, Baek Seonghui.'
That's what he'd said back then, and their friendship had continued from afar but strong ever since.
"...Sorry!"
Baek Seonghui suddenly bowed her head.
"Why are you sorry? I should be the one apologizing for turning you down."
"I feel like I pushed too hard."
"You're too nice for your own good."
Dokgo Hyun chuckled.
"I'll always appreciate the invitation, though. For now, let's each survive our own way."
With that, Dokgo Hyun headed toward the rooftop fence.
Baek Seonghui called after his departing back.
"If you need help, just say the word!"
He thought it was cute and gave a casual wave in response.
'Maybe I should scout outside the school.'
The blue barrier enveloped the entire school in a seamless dome shape.
'Food's starting to worry me.'
The death game had started right after lunch, so he wasn't hungry yet.
But if missions kept coming, hunger would become a serious issue.
'Healing Potion... could that work as a meal? Or maybe mission clears come with food rewards?'
He decided to discuss it with Baek Seonghui later.
For now, her faction was glaring at his back, trying to convince her not to team up with "a guy like that."
That was when it happened.
A brilliant flash swept over the entire school, and a bluish portal appeared near the school gate.
Immediately after, a new mission window popped up.
Tutorial Mission 4: Race to the School Gate
📍 Goal: Overcome the snipers' interference and escape through the portal at the school gate.
Note: Only the first 40 to arrive count as successful.
✅ Success Bonus: All Stats +1
❌ Failure Penalty: Death
⏰ Time Limit: 30 minutes
💡 Hint: Watch out for bullets! Even a graze hurts! Stay cautious!
"Snipers?"
"What does that mean?"
"Watch out for bullets...?"
At that moment.
BANG!!
A rifle shot rang out from somewhere.
Dokgo Hyun dropped to the ground instantly.
"Argh!"
"Eek!"
Everyone panicked and huddled down.
"It's from the sports field!"
The smart ones crouched low, while others ran toward the fence facing the field.
"Where? Where is it?"
"Near the school gate...!"
BANG!
SPLAT!!
Some careless person's head exploded.
"Kyaaak!"
"It's a sniper!!"
"You just figuring that out!!"
"Everyone down, damn it!!"
They all flattened themselves and moved away from the railing.
Everyone except one: Lee Jong-eun, the first-year ace of the Baduk Club.
Scrape...
Lee Jong-eun crawled low to the fence, pulled out his smartphone, and extended his arm.
Click! Click! Click!
He finished filming the sports field from a prone position and checked the footage.
"This is insane."
Lee Jong-eun said in shock to the first-years.
"Guys. Don't freak out, but the snipers... they look like teachers."
"What?!"
Everyone checked what he'd filmed.
Sure enough, the snipers were teachers.
"Urghhh...!"
"Kill... we have to kill them...!"
No one knew what mission they'd gone through, but their eyes were bloodshot, they held guns, and suspicious gem-like objects were embedded deeply in their foreheads—seemingly affecting their minds.
"Only the vice principal has a sniper rifle. The rest have smaller handguns. They're standing hunched over like zombies."
"How many?"
"Five in total."
Fortunately, the number of teachers turned snipers wasn't that high.
BANG! BANG! BANG...!
Even after everyone pulled back from the fence, sporadic gunshots continued.
The sound alone made bodies and minds shrink in fear.
"What do we do?"
"Sh-Should we block the rooftop door first?"
"...No. The teachers—no, the snipers—aren't coming closer."
A few brave ones peeked out with just their hands, using smartphone cameras to observe outside.
The five snipers stayed near the school gate, firing warning shots without advancing a step.
Vmmm...
The blue portal at the gate rippled occasionally with a hum.
"If we go through that portal at the gate, we survive?"
"That's why the snipers are just guarding it without moving!"
"Makes sense. They know we might find an opening."
With only five of them, they weren't rushing into the school grounds and just held position in front of the portal.
"There are only five snipers. What if we all charge at once?"
"Are you crazy?!"
"Why? We've got over a hundred people."
"They have guns, guns!"
"What, you think guns are invincible? They don't even have machine guns."
"Even then, factoring in reloads, maybe half die and half make it?"
"The first ones out die, the rest might live."
"Use the first-years as bait and rush out?"
"Crazy? And you think the first-years will just go along?"
"So we sweet-talk them into it!"
"Shh! Keep it down."
"We can hear you already, seniors."
Such conversations flew back and forth.
This mission was harder than the others.
'First 40 to arrive.'
Surviving together was fundamentally impossible.
"Out of 111 survivors, only 40 make it? That's not even a third of us."
Someone voiced the uncomfortable, gruesome truth everyone knew.
Silence fell instantly.
"Damn it. This is gonna be a staring contest."
"Shut your mouth! Why stir up division already?"
"Already? We've got 20 minutes—no, 19 left!"
"What do you want me to do about it?! Not my fault!!"
"Both of you shut up!"
"What makes you second-years think you can butt in?!"
"If voices echo from the rooftop, they'll know we're all bunched up here! So shut it, you idiot seniors!!"
"You punk, you're dying by my hand first!"
"In this situation, you seniors die first!"
It wasn't just talk—fists were about to fly.
Then, someone decisive stood up.
"This won't work. We'll kill each other up here. Archery club, assemble at the archery room!"
Na Youngho, the archery club captain, shouted.
A recurve bow master with international youth competition medals, he was cool-headed yet passionate, with top-notch pride and skill.
Rush...
As the archery club left en masse, others began moving in small groups.
"Dokgo Hyun. What about you? We're heading to the storage shed."
Baek Seonghui prepared to move with her followers.
"Storage shed? Why there?"
"You know it's an illegal structure, right?"
The shed behind the school was built encroaching on land outside the school grounds.
The principal and the landowner had clashed over it once.
"Since it spans school and outside grounds, there might be a hidden escape route."
"Hm, I doubt it, but..."
"Worth checking anyway."
"Fair enough."
Dokgo Hyun was skeptical about secret exits but couldn't rule them out entirely.
'I've already gotten a hidden bonus myself. No harm in verifying.'
He nodded.
"I'll stick around and observe a bit more. We'll split for now."
"Okay. Good luck, Hyun. Take care of yourself."
"Thanks. You too. Watch the timer!"
They encouraged each other and parted.
Rush...
Before long, most had left the rooftop in groups.
Nearly a hundred gone, leaving only a few behind.
"..."
Lee Jong-eun from the Baduk Club was prone again, photographing and checking corners of the school repeatedly.
"What're you doing?"
Dokgo Hyun lay beside him and asked.
"Only five snipers bugs me."
The first-year Lee Jong-eun muttered upon confirming Dokgo Hyun was a third-year.
"If it's really just five, a mass charge has high odds... but if more hidden ones pop up when we rush, it's a massacre."
"Yeah. No safe way to verify, though."
"Got any other plans, senior?"
"Something like one."
Dokgo Hyun murmured, feeling eyes on his back.
The delinquent he'd beaten earlier neither left nor approached, just staring at Dokgo Hyun's back.
When Dokgo Hyun turned, he'd look at the ground.
"Just call me hyung casually."
"...You're that guy? The lone wolf of our school."
"Hm?"
"You're famous. Picking fights only with delinquents, and acing exams too."
"Huh. Is that so?"
BANG! BANG!
Gunshots punctuated their talk.
"Anyway, you got a survival plan?"
"Yeah, but it relies on most others dying first so I can swoop in."
While others drew fire, he'd crawl through flower beds, slip out of sight, then sprint. Simple, with perfect distraction—ideal for "me first."
"Honest guy."
"A compliment?"
"Opportunist."
"I don't have friends, and I'm not strong like you."
"That honest, I've got nothing to say. Good luck anyway."
"You?"
"Got a place in mind."
"Where?"
"Secret."
Dokgo Hyun left the rooftop for the principal's office on the first floor.
Only one person trailed him stealthily: the delinquent.