Chapter 155: Solo. The Right Way to Handle Being Targeted
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: Solo. The Right Way to Handle Being Targeted
Thud! Thud!
The moment they stepped into the forest, the yielding sensation of the mudflats was replaced by firm, solid earth.
"This feels strange."
It was only natural for Gi-chan to feel awkward; he was standing in the middle of Korea, yet looking at the scenery of another world.
Seo-un nodded at Gi-chan’s remark, his left eye beginning to glow with a deep crimson hue. As his vision shifted, his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils began to peer into every corner of the woods.
"Ugh!"
After focusing his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils for a long moment, Seo-un winced and covered his left eye. Li Lingwei and Juriel immediately rushed to his side.
"Are you okay?"
"Don't overdo it!"
'Overdoing it' was an understatement.
"I'm fine. This eye gets stronger the more I use it," Seo-un said, catching his breath. "The forest is larger than I expected, so I won't be able to keep the entire area under my influence. From what I’ve seen, there are monsters, but nothing special. The only odd thing is that there are patches of mudflats scattered throughout the forest like islands."
Juriel took a moment to organize her thoughts before speaking. "Does that mean the dimensions of Earth and the other world haven't merged, but rather overlapped and swapped places?"
"Maybe. It’s not certain, but that seems like the most likely explanation. If they had merged, things wouldn't be this chaotic. More importantly, while it’s not obvious on the surface, there are areas where the terrain flickers between mudflat and forest every second."
"If the dimensional wavelengths momentarily synchronized and overlapped... then this is definitely an abnormal state," Juriel noted.
"Well, it’s not like dimensional walls collapsing is a normal occurrence to begin with, right?"
Juriel shook her head at Gi-chan’s question. "From a magical perspective, there are many spells that utilize dimensions. Because of that, we have some understanding of them. Even black mages summoning demons from the Demon Realm and drawing on their power is, strictly speaking, a type of dimensional magic."
"Ah... then why is this considered abnormal?"
Juriel looked out at the forest, filled with bizarre black trees rarely seen on Earth. "Distorting or briefly opening a dimensional wall to interfere with another world is one thing. Having the dimensional wavelengths synchronize so perfectly that the spaces themselves overlap is an entirely different story."
Following Juriel’s explanation, Seo-un began to lead the way deeper into the forest. "Let's investigate further."
The first place Seo-un headed was toward a cluster of small cabins he had spotted earlier with his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. When the group arrived at the spot where seven cabins stood close together, their expressions stiffened simultaneously.
One of the seven cabins had a light on, and smoke was drifting out of its chimney. Juriel and Li Lingwei instinctively swallowed hard.
"Let's go in."
Seo-un took the lead and pushed the door open. His eyes narrowed.
"This is..." Gi-chan, following close behind, trailed off as he took in the scene.
"There are clear signs that someone was here just a moment ago," Juriel observed.
Just as she said, a bowl of soup was still steaming on the table. A spoon coated in broth lay on the floor, as if shouting that someone had been sitting there only seconds ago.
"People aren't being transported?" Li Lingwei asked.
Seo-un nodded. "For whatever reason, the space and the monsters overlapped and appeared here, but humans were excluded from the process."
"Which means the people who were eating here were suddenly thrown out of their homes and onto the mudflats," Gi-chan added.
Juriel nodded. "I think I understand. Humans who are born and raised in a world, consuming its energy, naturally harbor the energy of that dimension. That’s why it’s so difficult to summon high-ranking demons to the human world. This temporary phenomenon probably isn't strong enough to affect humans who possess a high concentration of dimensional energy."
"Then why were those monsters from earlier transported as well?"
"It likely means the dimensional energy within monsters is significantly lower than that of humans."
Gi-chan tilted his head at her explanation.
"Juriel doesn't know everything," Seo-un cut in. "She's just making deductions based on the facts we've confirmed."
With that, Seo-un was about to begin hunting the monsters in the forest. If the scenery before his eyes hadn't blurred the moment he turned around to speak, the monsters in that forest would have surely been annihilated that day.
"Huh?"
Squelch!
The moment he felt that familiar sensation beneath his feet, the black forest vanished completely, replaced by the wide-open view of the mudflats.
"W-what is this...?"
"Don't move." Seo-un spoke to the flustered Gi-chan as he scanned the ground and looked at Juriel. "Light up the area."
Several spheres of white light shot from her hand into the air, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day. Messy footprints appeared on the ground.
"One child and maybe two or three adults?"
As Seo-un examined the footprints, Li Lingwei added more detail. "To be precise, one young boy, two men, and one woman."
"You can tell their gender?"
Li Lingwei answered as if it were nothing. "I’ve mastered basic tracking techniques. Experts can even track someone's age."
Her words reminded Seo-un once again that she was a martial artist from Jindok Valley. Lately, she had been living a life so similar to a modern person on Earth that he often forgot her origins.
"Juriel’s theory was right. Humans aren't affected."
If this phenomenon affected humans, the four of them should have been transported to Juriel’s world along with the forest.
"This leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Gi-chan muttered. "We haven't fully grasped the situation, and we still don't know why this is happening."
Seo-un was about to respond when a window popped up in front of him.
[Ding! A new game has been matched.]
[Difficulty: Medium-High]
[Game Version: Solo]
[Would you like to participate? (O) (X)]
Seo-un stopped mid-sentence and pressed the X button. In that instant, a familiar sensation washed over his entire body. The moment he felt a surge of panic after pressing the X, his vision flashed white.
[Ding! You have received a penalty for repeatedly refusing games.]
[Jin Seo-un will now participate in a mandatory Penalty Game.]
"What?! Where the hell is the logic in—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Seo-un’s eyes widened as he found himself in a familiar space. The waiting room, where he stood completely alone, felt incredibly alien.
[Jin Seo-un will start this game with a penalty. Unlike the standard game rules, Jin Seo-un must follow the penalty rules to proceed.]
"So... I'm being targeted. You son of a bitch Operator."
It was true that he had refused all recent games, and it was also true that he had refused more than usual due to the high frequency of game invites lately. Even so, Seo-un couldn't help but see this penalty as a direct attack.
[Explaining the Penalty Rules.]
1. Jin Seo-un must finish within the TOP 10 in this game.
2. Jin Seo-un must finish within the TOP 3 in kill rankings for this game.
3. Jin Seo-un must successfully hunt at least one Buff, Boss, or Epic Monster in this game.
Failure to achieve even one of the three rules above will result in the forfeiture of your rights as a Player.
The word 'your' at the end felt particularly pointed to Seo-un.
"I guess it wasn't just my imagination."
As soon as he finished speaking, players began to appear all around him. Seo-un retreated to a corner and began to observe the new arrivals as they filled the once-empty waiting room with their chatter.
Whether he liked it or not, now that the game had started, he couldn't afford to be distracted.
'Only losers lose their cool and ruin the game before it even starts.'
Seo-un had seen many gamers like that—people who repeatedly played poorly and blamed their team or bad luck. Even if the Operator was targeting him, Seo-un’s mental fortitude wasn't weak enough to be shaken by anger.
'Targeting me like this means they're unhappy with me. But the fact that they're targeting me through the game system instead of direct intervention is actually a good thing.'
It was a relief to Seo-un that an omnipotent being, capable of creating such a game and influencing people, chose to use the system rather than direct punishment, even if they held a grudge. Furthermore, he was confident.
The penalty rules seemed incredibly difficult to achieve—and they were—but they were all things he had accomplished before.
'At this level, it's doable.'
Through his crimson-glowing left eye, the skill levels of the players filling the waiting room were clear. He saw quite a few Crown-grade players and White Sword-level players, but more than half weren't even Shield-grade.
It had been a while since he played a solo game, and the irritation from being targeted by the Operator had already vanished. Focusing on the present—that was Seo-un’s greatest weapon, the one that had allowed him to survive until now.
'I'm not usually into crushing newbies, but... I don't have a choice.'
As he was scanning for players who might become formidable opponents, a notification sound rang out.
[Thank you all for participating in Cloyd Survival.]
[Current participants: 500. Starting Cloyd Survival.]
[Language synchronization... 100% complete.]
[The game begins. Difficulty: Medium-High. Aim for the TOP 200. Attacks between players are disabled in the current waiting room.]
[The designated map is the Capital of Kurena. Rewards will be distributed differentially starting from the TOP 50.]
[This game will last for 200 days, and the map area will be restricted daily. In this map, time flows at a ratio of 30:1 compared to reality.]
[The game continues until only one player remains or the time limit expires. Those who are eliminated or when the game ends will return to their original world.]
[Those who fail to reach the TOP 200 will be barred from ever accessing Cloyd Survival again.]
[We wish all players victory.]
Once the rules were announced, the players began to stir. Given the difficulty of a game where more than half would be eliminated, groups—mostly centered around guilds—began to form. Seo-un frowned as he watched them shout their guild names and quickly form teams.
'So that's how it is.'
Most were grouping up in numbers ranging from 20 to as many as 100. It seemed most participants here belonged to established guilds. As he wore an annoyed expression, another notification followed.
[The game will begin shortly. Revealing the main rewards for this game.]
[[World Escape Ticket]] [[Player Rights Revival Ticket]] [[Seven-Colored Armor]] [[Bracelet Cursed by the Prime God]] [[Dagger of Compulsion]]
As expected, the main rewards were enough to fill the players' eyes with greed. The players, who had been anxiously huddling with their guildmates just moments ago, all focused on the upcoming Main Quest.
[Announcing the Main Quest. Drumroll... Ding! Wake the Epic Monster! The first player to wake the Epic Monster will receive the main reward.]
At those words, hope flared on the faces of most players. They seemed to think the difficulty of the Main Quest was lower than expected. On the other hand, the faces of high-ranking players, including Seo-un, crumpled. They knew all too well how much of a game-changer an Epic Monster could be in high-rank matches.
[Soon, you will share vision through the Eye of Argas. Through Argas's sky-piercing vision, shout "Descend" at your desired location to safely land on the ground. We hope you can acquire many items at your chosen spot. Those who do not descend will be automatically dropped at the final destination.]
[Preparing to start the game...]
With the final game notification, Seo-un activated his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils once more and scanned the players. Since they would surely descend in guild groups, he could deduce which guild was landing where just by looking at the clusters.
While he was focused on scanning the grouped-up players, his vision suddenly shifted. He saw a sprawling city centered around a massive royal palace, with numerous holy roads connected like a spiderweb.
As soon as his vision changed, clusters of fireballs began to rain down toward the royal palace. Nearly half of the total players were dropping toward the palace and the large city surrounding it. If they were confident in their numbers or skill, that was the obvious place to land. The map was literally named the Capital of Kurena; it was obvious that there wouldn't be a better farming spot.
Nearly 100 red fireballs converged on the heart of the royal palace. The remaining players split up and huddled together, dropping into various parts of the city to avoid one another.
After seeing all of this, Seo-un finally shouted.
"Descend!"
Dropping at the same time, Seo-un began to fall toward the players who were landing and gathering at the royal palace.
"Line up, quickly!"
On the ground, a high-ranking player was shouting orders to manage the players landing haphazardly. Maintaining a rough formation, he sighed as he looked up at a fireball falling late.
"Man, this is exhausting. Listen to the orders properly. If you're late like that guy, you'll delay the farming for other guild members and just be a nuisance!"
Mistaking the late-falling Seo-un for a guild member, the man spoke loudly. All the other players nodded and looked up at the descending Seo-un with annoyance.
"What are you doing?! If you're late, get in line—huh?"
One player, about to snap at Seo-un, tilted his head in confusion. As his brain momentarily stalled upon realizing there was no guild mark, Seo-un smiled and lunged at him, driving his head straight into the ground.
It was his first kill since the game started.
*
Clang! Clang!
The unpleasant sound of chains echoed deep underground. A brilliant blue light flew toward a man who was bound by over a hundred chains engraved with mysterious characters.
Rattle! Clank! Clank!
The chains shook violently, the sound echoing loudly within the chamber.
"Aaaaaagh!"
As the man let out a beastly roar, the characters on the chains glowed red, finally halting his seizure. The blue light flew right up to the man's face, hovering steadily as if looking down on him.
"I have no intention of becoming your pawn!"
The voice was so raspy it hardly sounded human. The blue light glowed even more intensely.
"Freedom? You expect me to believe that?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, the blue light flashed as if in response.
"You want to use me, Krosino, as a mere hunting dog? Hehe. Your arrogance will one day tear your throat open!"
The blue light flashed once more. After being agitated for a long time, the man calmed his ragged breathing. The blue light hovered before him, as if waiting.
"Jin Seo-un... Fine. If killing a mere human is all it takes to be released from this place, it's not a bad deal. Just this once! I'll play your hunting dog. Enjoy this moment while it lasts. I'll make you regret ever proposing this deal."
As the man finished speaking, the blue light flickered and vanished.