Chapter 102: 10-Man Squads. This Time, It's the Sea
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: 10-Man Squads. This Time, It's the Sea
[Thank you for participating in Cloyd Survival.]
[Number of participants: 1,000. Starting Cloyd Survival.]
[Language synchronization... 73%... 90%... 100% complete.]
[Starting the game. Difficulty: High-Low. Please reach the TOP 400. Attacks between players are disabled in the current waiting room.]
[The designated map is the Sea of Plunder. Rewards will be distributed differentially starting from the TOP 100.]
[This game will last for two hundred days, and the playable area of the map will be restricted daily.]
[The force field restricting the map will grow stronger by the day. Please be careful not to take damage outside the force field.]
[On this map, sinking into the deep sea will result in a Game Over. Please be cautious.]
[This game version is the 10-Squad Version. You may apply for a squad by facing the person you wish to team up with.]
[The game continues until only one final squad remains. Those who finish the game or are eliminated will return to their original worlds.]
[Those who fail to reach the TOP 400 will be unable to access Cloyd Survival ever again. Current total participants: 1,000.]
[We wish all players victory.]
[Please find teammates to proceed with the game. Time limit: 100 minutes. If you do not form a team within that time, you will proceed as a Solo.]
"Sigh. First the sky, and now the sea?"
With a heavy sigh, Seo-un looked around at the vast, waveless ocean stretching out before him. Suddenly, a clear, bright shout reached his ears.
"Hyung!"
As expected, the moment they were summoned, Lyle was the first to run over and throw himself into an embrace.
Juriiel and Li Lingwei, who had also been approaching Seo-un, were forced to stop. Lyle had beaten them to it, making them miss their timing.
Seo-un roughly ruffled Lyle’s hair as the boy looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes, just as he always did.
"Hyung, did the Guild War go well? I received all the items you sent!"
"Yeah. It was a clean sweep. No casualties."
The moment Seo-un gently pushed Lyle aside and the two women approached, his gaze shifted instantly.
"Focus on the game. We are currently on a battlefield where survival is at stake."
As he spoke, his intensity transformed completely. The two women flinched and instinctively stepped back.
Gi-chan let out a small, bitter laugh at the sight. Seo-un was now a completely different person from his usual relaxed, somewhat naive-looking self.
The switch is on.
That was Gi-chan’s personal way of describing it, having watched Seo-un from the sidelines for so long. Seo-un’s demeanor changed as if a physical switch had been flipped. In a way, it was similar to the trait of hardcore gamers whose online and offline personalities differed significantly.
"Junior Disciple. Are we going to fill the one vacancy? Or go as we are?"
"I’d like to fill it with a Knight, a Martial Artist, or perhaps a Witch. Let’s look around for now."
Players who hadn't found a team yet were busily moving around, keeping their Rank Emblems visible above their heads. Squads that were already partially formed were shouting out, scouting for more members. A psychological battle began as Solo players browsed these squads like they were window shopping.
Just as Seo-un was about to start looking through the wandering players, a familiar woman approached him.
"Will you accept me into your team?"
Her tone was stiff and unsuited to her appearance, her cold expression devoid of emotion. Seo-un’s eyebrow twitched as he saw Jeong Su-hwa dressed in her familiar black suit.
"You got caught up in this game too?"
"It would seem so."
"What’s your main focus?"
"I am a Martial Artist and Witch hybrid."
"A Witch?"
Seo-un tilted his head at the unexpected specialty. At his question, she pulled a crystal ball from her subspace and answered.
"I can use one area-of-effect debuff and a synchronized target curse. I can also curse specific areas or items. My martial arts are at the level you can already sense."
She knew well the meaning behind Seo-un’s gaze—it felt as though he were piercing right through her energy and into her very soul.
Looking at the reddish, wine-colored crystal ball she had produced, Juriiel spoke up.
"A Witch's level can be inferred from their crystal ball. They say the deeper the blood-red hue in a transparent crystal, the higher the grade of the Witch. Unlike Mages, Witches can't be classified into neat grades like Circles when it comes to curses, so their level is estimated by the color of the crystal."
Lyle picked up where she left off, speaking clearly.
"I heard from my master that high-level Witches can even disguise a dark, murky reddish-black crystal ball as a clear one. But he said the reverse is impossible."
Combining their words, it seemed Jeong Su-hwa was just past the beginner stage as a Witch.
"I assume you know some magic as well?"
"Around the 3rd Circle."
In the current game, being at the 3rd Circle was practically the same as not knowing magic at all.
"Well, having a Witch is helpful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Seo-un accepted Jeong Su-hwa into the squad.
"Thank you."
Having quickly formed a full squad, Seo-un’s team sat down on the white sandy beach and began their strategy meeting. As soon as Gi-chan cast a wide Silent barrier around them, Seo-un spoke.
"From now on, we need to plan our strategies more deeply before we play."
At Seo-un’s words, several team members nodded, feeling the weight of his statement. Of course, there were those like Dump and Nam Sa-gwang whose expressions asked, What are you talking about?
Jeong Su-hwa, who had been standing awkwardly without even getting to greet the team properly, quietly took a seat.
"Has our strategy ever been shallow?" Dump asked.
Nam Sa-gwang followed up. "Strategies and such are just tricks used by the weak. The schemes of plotters don't work against true power."
Seo-un completely ignored the two of them and continued.
"Before we devise a strategy, has anyone experienced this map or a similar one?"
While everyone else stared blankly at each other, Jeong Su-hwa tentatively raised her hand. Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned toward her. When even Seo-un’s gaze landed on her, she stood up.
"I experienced a similar map in a previous round. The name was different, though. The map I experienced was called the Sea of Death."
"How did the game play out?"
"It was a 4-man squad game. We started with small boats and farmed by moving between numerous islands. Combat occurred through naval battles when we met at sea."
She paused to take a sip from a magic canteen she pulled from her subspace, then looked around at the vast ocean surrounding them before continuing.
"As you can see, on days when there are no waves—like a windless zone—you can see enemies from very far away. Because of that, naval battles often turned into chaotic free-for-alls as others joined in. Quite a few people chose not to leave their islands at all."
"Was there almost no hand-to-hand combat?" Seo-un asked.
She shook her head. "Not necessarily. There were items like Water Boards or Mana Water Wheels, and some players used that high mobility to strike and board enemy ships."
"And the progression after that?"
"While farming the islands, one squad finished farming a place called the Island of Death. After that, an Epic Monster called the 'Curse of the Sea' appeared, and the pace of the game accelerated rapidly. A giant octopus, like something out of a movie, appeared. Most players were hunted by it, ending the game."
The team members stiffened as they realized the implications. Dump, of course, was the exception.
"The Island of Death, huh? Must have been overflowing with good items."
Thinking that such simplicity deserved some level of respect, Seo-un ignored Dump and spoke.
"If you synthesize what we've seen in the games so far with what she said, you'll find one commonality."
"Epic Monsters," Nam Sa-gwang muttered heavily. He had caught on as well.
"Good point. Especially in the last game, it felt like we were being blatantly pushed toward summoning an Epic Monster. As a result, the game ended in just two weeks because of its appearance."
Dump, looking serious as if deep in thought, spoke up. "So you're saying something is going to happen because of an Epic Monster in this game too?"
"We can't be certain yet. But one thing is for sure: we must plan our strategy with the variable of an Epic Monster in mind."
Every team member nodded. Indeed, at some point, the influence of Epic Monsters on the game had been growing exponentially.
"But even if we know that, we can't decide what to do until we experience it, can we?" Jin Long’s point was also valid.
"That’s why we have to predict. Above all, we must be careful of the Main Quest. If the Main Quest is one that affects the game world, we have to think carefully before attempting it."
"Predicting... how exactly?" Juriiel asked.
"We can't make concrete predictions, and trying to do so might even be harmful. We just share information about similar maps and Epic Monsters, or try to deduce the conditions for an Epic Monster to appear."
"Ah!" Li Min let out an exclamation. "It’s greed and the name of the map!"
Seo-un smiled and nodded. When Juriiel and Gi-chan also nodded in agreement, Dump burst out in frustration.
"Let me in on it too!"
At his urging, Li Min began to explain. "First of all, all the Epic Monsters we've met so far were connected to the name of the map."
Only then did Dump clap his hands in realization. Slap!
"Right! Exactly. Kutrapa's Wraith was like that, and that Nascent Soul thing was related to Immortals, and that monkey guy was related to Earth's Upper Realm."
"Yeah. And the trigger for waking them up was deeply related to the players' greed. Except for Kutrapa."
"Even with Kutrapa, someone might have fulfilled a hidden condition," Seo-un added. The team members who had experienced that game nodded.
"Come to think of it, the seal on the Nascent Soul was also broken by a squad that was blinded by the prospect of an Epic Monster," Nam Sa-gwang muttered. "Then in the end, it’s reasonable to assume an Epic Monster related to this 'Sea of Plunder' will appear."
"Yes."
Watching the strategy meeting proceed so rapidly, Jeong Su-hwa was in shock. Any squad would naturally hold a strategy meeting when participating in a Squad Game, but she had never experienced a meeting this detailed—one that analyzed the game's meta as a whole.
He’s not just some player who got lucky.
She had assumed he got lucky, obtained good items, and reached the top ranks. Naturally, with more Coin rewards than others, he held the high ground in the next game. In that virtuous cycle, he had reached an unrivaled position through luck. It was true that in a corner of her mind, she had held such an assessment of the man named Seo-un. Knowing that Cloyd Survival was a game where luck played no small part, she had felt that way even more.
However, less than thirty minutes after joining his squad, the prejudice in her heart was shattered to pieces.
After using the allotted 100 minutes to the very last second to complete a meticulous strategy meeting, a notification sounded.
[The game will begin shortly. Revealing the main prizes for this game.]
[World Escape Ticket]
[Player Rights Revival Ticket]
[Bracelet of the War God]
[The Blue Dragon's Lost Cintamani]
[Dice of Capricious Movement]
The players began to buzz as the list of main prizes appeared.
[Announcing the Main Quest. Trrrrrrrrrrr. Ding!]
[Find the hidden Treasure Island somewhere in the Sea of Plunder and obtain the treasure.]
The expressions of Seo-un and his team members contorted at the ambiguous quest. Before they could even grasp the intent, the next notifications followed in rapid succession.
[Soon, you will share your vision through the Eye of Argas. Through the vision of Argas as it soars through the heavens, you can descend safely to the ground by shouting 'Descend' at your desired location. We hope you can obtain many items from your chosen spot. Those who do not descend until the end will be automatically dropped at the final destination.]
[Preparing for game start...]
Simultaneously, their vision shifted along with a familiar sensation. Literally thousands of islands were scattered like stars in the night sky across the endlessly unfolding sea.
[Ding! The moment the Squad Leader descends, all team members will be forced to descend with him.]
At the notification, Seo-un scouted for a drop point as if he had already expected this. As soon as the game started, about twenty squads who had lost the psychological battle could be seen plummeting down.
"Twenty-three squads descending," Gi-chan briefed.
Seo-un spotted a section of sea with a fairly large island surrounded by smaller ones and shouted.
"Descend!"
Unlike usual, Seo-un’s team fell as a single, massive fireball. As expected, they were falling together with a fairly large sailboat.
"One squad dropping first below us. Two squads above!"
At Gi-chan’s briefing, Seo-un gave the order.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
The team members moved in perfect unison, taking up the positions they had established. Mages stored spells in their staves, creating ripples of mana.
SPLASH!
As soon as the boat landed on the sea with a roar, seawater sprayed upward.
WHOOSH!
A red-hot rock, wreathed in flames, tore through the air toward the mast of Seo-un’s ship.
"I'll take it!"
Nam Sa-gwang leaped up, bypassing the Mages who were just about to cast barriers. He had judged that the magic was beyond what a standard barrier could block.
SLICE!
The rock, instantly split in half by his Hand Aura, brushed past Nam Sa-gwang. Fortunately, the mast was saved. Nam Sa-gwang hurriedly waved his arms to extinguish the flames that had caught on his sleeves.
"Senior Disciple!"
Reacting to that single word, Jin Long leaped out with Seo-un to strike away the two pieces of the rock that were about to fall onto the deck.
Sizzle.
With a hiss, the rocks fell into the sea and sank.
BOOM.
BOOM.
At that moment, two more ships dropped down on either side of them.