The Lure of the Empty Nest
The scout from the merfolk unit, who had gone to investigate the unfamiliar noise, returned to the group. Upon hearing his report, Cheongrin frowned and tilted his head.
“They really left the flag behind and abandoned the position?”
“The distance made it impossible to confirm whether they took the flag inside, but based on the circumstances, it seems that way.”
It was an incomprehensible action. Especially since the humans from the Earth coordinate—including that man named Kim Siin—were abnormally cunning compared to other coordinates. And yet those same humans had left their flag out in the open?
“What about the troops guarding the cave entrance?”
“Well…” The merfolk hesitated at Cheongrin’s question, glancing briefly toward where the cave had been. “There was no one there.”
“What?”
“I don’t understand it either. Either they dug the cave and set up some kind of trap inside, or they’re so confident in how well they hid it that they simply left…”
At the merfolk’s absurd explanation, Cheongrin fell into deep thought, recalling the people he had moved with during the individual matches. The woman who had suddenly offered an alliance, the little brat who had hovered at her side treating every situation like a joke. And when he thought of her companions, he could guess that they hadn’t gone to the trouble of digging the ground just to hide a flag.
“Should we go retrieve the flag?”
When one of the other merfolk cautiously spoke up after hearing the story, the rest who had been quietly observing began to chime in as well.
“No matter how much they talked about an alliance, this is just too foolish.”
“Exactly. If their intelligence is that simple, they clearly have no value as allies. Besides, their combat strength is weak, isn’t it?”
“We should just close our eyes and steal the flag…”
As the merfolk gradually grew heated, Cheongrin slowly turned his head to look at Geumrin. In the end, the one who would give the order was Geumrin. Of course, none of the merfolk here truly valued Geumrin’s commands, but if it was Cheongrin’s will, they had no choice but to obey.
“Your Majesty, what will you do?”
At Cheongrin’s words, Geumrin slightly lowered his head. But unlike the expectation that he would remain silent again, Geumrin carefully opened his mouth.
“I think finding the lake should take priority for now.”
“Y-Your Majesty…!”
“How could you throw away such a golden opportunity…!”
Geumrin’s statement caused a small stir of protest among the merfolk. In a way, it was only natural. Their leader had kicked away a perfectly free meal that had rolled right to their feet, and they were displeased.
But Cheongrin raised a hand to calm them, then nodded.
“We will search for a lake where we can hide the flag first.”
“……”
“……”
There was no merfolk here who dared argue with Cheongrin’s decision. However, this time Cheongrin himself believed Geumrin’s judgment was correct.
‘If he had said to go retrieve the flag…’
Perhaps even he would have gone against Geumrin’s words this once. He hadn’t grasped the full situation, but he had concluded that the flag was almost certainly a trap.
What Cheongrin didn’t know was that even after reaching that conclusion, the number of groups who still headed toward the cave—just in case—was far greater than he imagined.
Clang!
“Kill them all!”
“Damn it! What the hell is this from the very start…!”
The sharp sound of metal scraping against metal echoed. In front of the small cave that Namgung Cheonho had dug, over a hundred people had gathered and were engaged in fierce combat.
It had all started from a single small noise that drew scouts. When the scouts were sent, the group had been warily digging the ground. Their apparent leader had performed what looked like hiding a flag inside the cave, so the others, just in case, had gathered forces and sent them to explore the interior.
But who could have known?
The fact that all the players had been holding their breath during the scouting had gone unnoticed—and that became the problem. They hadn’t realized that the scouts from other coordinates had witnessed the exact same scene and devised the exact same strategy.
Boom!
Even though it was only part of their forces, such a simple loss was painful. In a situation where they already had many enemies to watch and confront, if word spread that their combat strength had weakened, it was obvious they would become prey. That was why the mindset of “Even if we die, we take the flag with us” had taken hold, sparking the battle over the cave.
Rumble…
However, there were also those watching the situation from afar.
A group dressed in various clothes that, except for a few, looked like nothing more than a ragtag bunch. And Namgung Cheonho, who had been leisurely observing the chaos, suddenly turned to me with a question.
“Siin, did you happen to enjoy RTS games as well?”
Real-time strategy simulation. Abbreviated as RTS. Since StarCraft from Blizzard belonged to this genre, the term might not be entirely unfamiliar, and most people would at least understand the general feel.
“I didn’t play it that much, but I was a game company employee too, you know.”
A game where you devised strategies in a virtual war environment, built armies, attacked each other’s bases, and claimed victory. Although StarCraft had lost some of its former glory now that so many other games existed and its popularity had cooled, it had once dominated an era and was even called Korea’s national pastime.
“It’s not exactly proper military strategy, but it seems to be working.”
“They probably fell for it because everyone’s so tense. This kind of trick won’t work again.”
At my answer, Namgung Cheonho quietly nodded. By now the sounds of clashing metal had grown quite distant. Those tangled up with weapons and bodies down there probably still had no idea that this place was an antlion pit.
“So this is what fishing feels like,” Namgung Cheonho said with an unusually wicked smile.
Of course, the flag had never been in the cave. Digging it and going in and out had simply been a bluff. From the beginning, our plan had been to lure players from other coordinates and create overall chaos in the team battle.
“Cheonho, that was an excellent strategy.”
“You’re too kind.”
The one who had first suggested digging the cave to make the players clash had been Namgung Cheonho. Digging the ground was suspicious enough on its own, but in a situation where attacking other coordinates felt too risky, how tempting must a free flag on the ground have looked?
“I didn’t know you could summon a Lv.4 monster, Siin. Thanks to that, we hooked them perfectly.”
“You’re too kind.”
However, if any group had quickly checked inside the cave, the battle wouldn’t have spread like this. The people who came to scout after hearing the digging noise grew suspicious of our actions. But driven by that “just in case” feeling, they sent in forces, and fighting broke out among them. Then the noise from that fight drew scouts from yet more coordinates. Even though they didn’t know what was in the cave, the sight of people charging in with fire in their eyes planted the illusion that there must be some special reward. And when they barely broke through the interference and entered—only to encounter the Lv.4 monster from the individual matches! Surely they would think there was definitely something there.
At that moment, Seo Seyeong, who had been listening to our conversation, asked with a puzzled expression.
“But wouldn’t that end up being the same? It’s good that their forces are reduced, but if a strong coordinate absorbs a weakened one, the loss in overall power might not be that big a disadvantage…”
Several people nodded in agreement with her words, but I shook my head instead.
“That’s exactly what we’re aiming for.”
At my reply, Seo Seyeong’s brow furrowed even more. The people around us made similar expressions, so it seemed they shared her thoughts.
“We won’t fight for the time being.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you think the people from other coordinates had the same idea you just had, Seyeong?”
“……Ah?”
“The coordinates that avoided the trap and preserved their strength will do everything they can to devour the weakened coordinates as quickly as possible. Even if it means overextending. Why do you think that is?”
It was obvious. They had to grow stronger before the other weakened prey was snatched away by someone else. In strategy games, raiding an empty base was basic. And if everyone here had thought of it, there was no way the enemies hadn’t as well.
“So we’re going to strike the ones who think they’ve seized an opportunity. In short, we’re raiding the raiders of the empty base.”
There would definitely be coordinates that, upon seeing the large-scale battle, would launch a preemptive attack on the weakened ones. And those groups who had sent out their forces would soon become our prey.
“Alright then. It looks like things are starting to heat up, so let’s get moving. There should already be coordinates that have figured out the situation and are redirecting their troops by now.”
What we needed to do from here on was calmly check how this mess was unfolding. I selected the stealthiest and fastest among us and began searching for coordinates that had pulled away their forces.
Most of the players belonging to Echion’s coordinate were filled with considerable dissatisfaction.
“Damn it, because of one bastard who only knows how to act tough with his strength, we have to go through this kind of bullshit…”
“What can we do? I heard he even contracted with a constellation on the second floor. We just have to shut up and follow.”
“Special benefit giving him base stats of Lv.15… what a joke about balancing.”
The topic was the notoriously infamous Death. After suffering the humiliation of “elimination” in the individual matches, the already high-strung man had issued the absurd order for every member of his coordinate to seize flags.
Rumble…
“What is that sound?”
“According to the scout, a large-scale battle has broken out in front of a small cave.”
Upon hearing those words, Death seemed to think he had found an opportunity. He looked at the people in black robes and let out an unpleasant laugh.
“Those idiot bastards started fighting right from the beginning? Once we figure out their forces, we just need to steal the flag from there, right?”
It was a suggestion to attack the other groups that had suffered losses. But Echion’s coordinate also had a brain, and he had cautiously conveyed his thoughts to Death.
“I told you our priority should be protecting our own flag! But he won’t listen!”
This was a game where protecting your flag from being taken was more important than taking others’. Excessive greed would inevitably bring ruin. Many players had already proven that, and Death himself had done exactly that in the individual matches.
“Just endure it. No matter how strong he is, he won’t lose the flag.”
“Damn it, even if you say that, I can’t help but feel anxious…”
Ding.
[The player possessing this coordinate’s flag has died.]
[All players belonging to the coordinate will be transported to the lobby.]
“Huh?”
“Fuck. I knew it.”
Their bodies began to disappear slowly, starting from their ankles.
“What the hell is this…!”
Echion’s coordinate, which had been growing smoothly until now. Their seemingly impregnable fortress had been completely shattered by a single coordinate that had set the board.