You Have a Plan? (2)
Drip. Tap. Tap-tap. Rain began to fall across the field. Shaaaaah!!!
It felt new all over again, but the rain reminded us once more that the tower we had entered was not a structure at all.
Day has arrived. The dead are vanishing.
As the sun rose, the players who had rampaged through the night tormenting people vanished like a lie. Their disappearance, evaporating under sunlight like the vampires from the cartoons I watched as a child, was both horrific and strangely mystical.
This is the final day of the team battle.
The area will collapse at regular intervals.
From now on, the value of recaptured flags will be calculated at half.
Become the last survivor.
A low rumble rose from the ground, as if something were breaking apart. The collapse had begun not far away. The field that had yet to crumble around a certain point was slowly vanishing.
“...It must be almost over, right?”
“Pretty much.”
“This is brutal...”
Han Gamin and I remained hidden in the grass, observing the situation. As the playable area shrank, the frequency of coordinates colliding had risen dramatically. With everyone locked in desperate battles to steal flags and claim ultimate victory, the only thing a pair like us could do was hide in the right spots and watch how things developed.
“Do you think Seyeong and the others are okay?”
At Han Gamin’s question, the proud Earth players who had diligently raised our flag level until this morning came to mind. But I couldn’t give her a definite answer. Their results proved the other Earth coordinates had performed well so far, yet there was no guarantee they hadn’t pushed themselves too hard to reach this point.
I can only hope they’re all still alive.
In this field that had become complete chaos, we had no reliable way to find them. We didn’t have cell phones, nor could we communicate through any magical means.
Clang… Clang……
The sound of swords clashing rang out from somewhere again. It was a noise we would grow sick of hearing over the final day of the team battle.
But in that moment, while staring at the sky heavy with dark clouds, I discovered an unexpected miracle.
Flash!!!
“Whoa!”
A sudden burst of light exploded from above. The roar that followed shook heaven and earth, striking a chord deep in my chest at the same time.
Rumble-!!!
“Eek, that startled me…!”
Han Gamin flinched at the flashing thunder and lowered herself closer to the ground. Looking up now, the clouds in the sky had gathered in one place with unnatural density.
And then—
Lv.16 Flag → Lv.22 Flag
“I think I’ve found them.”
“Huh? Found what?”
Han Gamin tilted her head and frowned at my words. The rain was growing heavier, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.
“It’s not exact, but I’ve locked onto the direction where Cheonho should be.”
“How?”
The process of lightning formation. Thunderclouds form from highly unstable air, strong updrafts, and humid conditions. Heat from a specific location creates the updraft, which in turn generates the thundercloud that just dropped that lightning.
“By now Cheonho must have recovered a decent amount of his magic power, right? Actually, he probably has more than enough. His other stats should all be over Lv.30.”
There was the finishing move Namgung Cheonho had shown us before.
Flame Cannon.
The technique he displayed back in the individual battle field was exceptional in terms of heat if nothing else. Even to me, who had used Flame Transformation, it had felt like a genuinely threatening flame. It would have been more than enough to shove the heavily settled humid air upward into the sky.
They say everything you learn eventually comes in handy…
Of course, there was no way to know whether flames fired by a mere human could actually disturb the atmosphere. But this was a place overflowing with magic power, where people casually hurled spells with their hands. Nothing that defied common sense would be out of place here.
“Let’s move quickly. We need to link up before the area shrinks any further.”
With that, I set off at once, keeping Han Gamin protected. I had no idea what kind of future awaited us…
I should probably check…
After recovering a portion of his magic power, Namgung Cheonho began firing his Flame Cannon without reservation. During the individual matches, while walking through the desert with Kim Siin, they had briefly discussed the desert. Since the immortal arts he used were tied to nature, the conversation had naturally drifted in that direction.
And lightning doesn’t strike in the desert.
A region with unstable air and updrafts but no humidity, so thunderclouds cannot form. What Namgung Cheonho was doing now—shooting fire into the air to heat it—was based on similar logic.
“It’s strangely clear right above us. To think a person can control the weather… Anyway, are you all right? You look like you’re pushing yourself.”
“Hoo… It feels less like controlling the weather and more like asking nature for permission. And humans have always been able to influence the weather to some degree. Usually by destroying it, though.”
To Park Jocheol’s question, Namgung Cheonho wiped the sweat pouring down like rain with his sleeve and gave a faint smile. Just as Park Jocheol said, a hole had been punched through the dark clouds, and the rest of the group simply stared at the supernatural sight in blank amazement.
“It’s only possible because Jocheol is covering the rest of us. Thanks to him I’ve survived what should have been fatal moments several times already.”
Park Jocheol and his Super Sensory ability. His senses had already transcended those of ordinary humans, making him perfectly optimized for detecting ambushes or blocking attacks.
“Honestly, this Flame Cannon… even firing one shot is pretty exhausting.”
The person who had created the breathing room necessary for Namgung Cheonho to fire the cannon was, without question, Park Jocheol.
Of course, the damage we’ve taken has been considerable too.
The few survivors left were now staring blankly at the hole in the sky. In a team battle, the important things were defending your flag and eliminating others as quickly as possible. In other words, even if you died during the match, your ranking would still rise as long as the flag’s owner remained safe.
The moment they realized this, the players stopped holding back. They had decided to give everything they had, trusting in Kim Siin and Han Gamin.
Seo Seyeong’s influence was especially big.
The one who had persuaded everyone was none other than Seo Seyeong. There was no telling where she had learned such persuasive skill, but once she stepped forward and spoke a few words, the players burned with fighting spirit and shouted “For our savior!” three times in unison.
I’ll have to ask her about it later.
Both Park Jocheol and Namgung Cheonho were thinking the same thing. The surge in morale had come far too quickly to be explained by mere words. Still, they had no leisure to satisfy their curiosity right now.
“For now, let’s move. We’ll advance while clearing the dark clouds, so we need to keep a steady pace.”
At Namgung Cheonho’s words, the group nodded with tense expressions. In a field whose remaining radius was unknown, not knowing when or where enemies might appear made vigilance essential.
But at that moment—
“Shh. I hear something ahead.”
At Park Jocheol’s warning, everyone drew their weapons at once. No one was visible yet, but Park Jocheol had never been wrong.
This time, however, his expression carried a completely different weight.
“The scale is a little… huh?”
Park Jocheol’s face turned deathly pale. He quickly dropped into a lower stance and urgently signaled the others to get down as well.
Rustle. Rustle!
“Wh-what is it?”
“What’s going on?”
In answer to their questions, Park Jocheol pointed toward the direction of the sound. Soon a massive group of people came into view. Even more shocking was the fact that the person running at the very front was someone they knew all too well.
“Siin…?”
The person leading the enormous crowd. Or rather, to be precise, the person being chased by that enormous crowd. And right as everyone’s brains seemed to freeze, another familiar face burst through the forest in front of them.
“Gamin!”
“Unnie!”
At Han Gamin’s appearance, Seo Seyeong greeted her with a worried expression. She seemed to have a few minor wounds, but fortunately nothing looked serious.
“What happened? Where’s Siin?”
“He’s probably being chased right now. Anyway…!”
Han Gamin’s gaze snapped toward Namgung Cheonho. It was clear she had a lot to say; unmistakable urgency filled her small features.
“We need to move too!”
At her shout, the group’s expressions hardened with determination. Just as Seo Seyeong had said, they had already placed far too much burden on Kim Siin. The time had come to shoulder some of that load for him.
“R-right! We have to save Siin…!”
“Yeah! It’s our turn to help—”
“No! Not that direction—the opposite!”
Han Gamin cut their words off cleanly and continued.
“...Why?”
“He said while he’s being chased, he’ll land a big hit. And Cheonho ahjussi is crucial for it…”
Namgung Cheonho looked at her with a grave expression. The statement that his role was important in the “big hit” Kim Siin mentioned was essentially a warning not to waste his strength from now on…
“He wants you to fire a lot of Flame Cannons into the sky like before.”
“......?”
“Oh, and if you look tired, he said to take this. It’s called Kwaecheong-dan… Hmm.”
He couldn’t read the intention behind it.
“But why the Flame Cannon?”
The reason they had been firing the Flame Cannon was to help the two of them locate the Earth coordinate group quickly. Yet now that Han Gamin had joined them, asking to fire more Flame Cannons into the sky clearly meant something else.
“...He said to shoot them.”
“Huh?”
Han Gamin mumbled. Even she wasn’t sure if what she was relaying was actually possible, but since it had come from Kim Siin, she chose to trust him.
“Lightning.”
Flash!
The sky flashed, and the following thunder shook heaven and earth. Then came Han Gamin’s next words.
“He said to strike the lake where the merfolk are with lightning.”
The group began hurriedly gathering their belongings.