Chapter 22: The Beauty of Survival is Going Lu Bu (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: The Beauty of Survival is Going Lu Bu (2)
—To all players connecting to Cloyd Survival for the first time, the initial briefing will now begin.
—This game will last for one hundred days. The playable map will be restricted further each day.
—The force field restricting the map will grow stronger as the days pass, so please be careful not to take damage outside the safe zone.
—This version of the game is the Duo Version. You may apply for a duo by facing the person you wish to partner with.
—The game continues until only one duo remains. Once the game ends or you are eliminated, you will return to your original world.
—Those who fail to reach the TOP 200 will never be able to access Cloyd Survival again. The current number of participants is 200.
—We wish all players victory.
—Please find a teammate to proceed with the game. Time limit: 15 minutes. If you do not form a team within that time, you will proceed as a Solo.
'I thought there were a lot of people, and I wasn't imagining it.'
The new Duo rule was giving me a massive headache.
The burden of forming a duo and playing a life-or-death game with someone I had no bond with—someone who lived in a completely different world—was too great. On the other hand, playing alone meant facing the significant pressure of fighting enemies two-on-one.
Looking around the area, even though it was filled with rookies, everyone was busy scrambling to find a partner.
'They sure adapt fast. Is there no other way?'
I shifted my gaze to the top of the statue, looking for the boy who shared the sole commonality of being from Earth, but the kid who had been there just a moment ago was gone.
'Where is he?'
I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find a trace of him.
'Damn it. What a useless brat. Nowhere to be found when you actually need him.'
Left with no choice, I turned my gaze toward the people who still seemed to be without teammates, but then a bolt-from-the-blue announcement rang out.
—Soon, you will share your vision through the Eye of Argus. Through the gaze of Argus as it cuts through the heavens, you may shout "Descend" at your desired location to safely land on the ground. We hope you obtain many items at your chosen spot. Please note that those who do not descend by the end of the flight will be automatically dropped at the final destination.
—Preparing for game start...
"Ah... damn it!"
The moment I spat those words out, my vision shifted, and the vast land stretching beneath the clouds came into view.
Small villages, winding rivers, and massive green forests were spread out everywhere. If it weren't for the situation, it would have been a breathtaking sight I'd want to lose myself in.
[Ding! Tutorial starting. You can activate the map through Argus, the Eye of the Heavens. The map will activate if you shout or think "Map." You can communicate with your duo teammate from a distance through the Teammate Window. The Teammate Window is also a function that can be activated through Argus.]
Detailed explanations began, likely because it was a tutorial, but they were completely useless to Seo-un.
'Life is a solo journey anyway. No need to be scared of a Solo-Duo run. I'm no rookie!'
Steeling himself, I opened the map to check Argus's flight path and find a place to drop.
'Hmm... they called it a valley, but there are plenty of villages around.'
A medium-sized village, neither too big nor too small, branching off to the right of a massive canyon caught my eye.
'Roughly fifty houses. Not bad.'
While checking the map, I didn't forget to calmly count the players who were dropping. Knowing the approximate number of players falling like red meteors made a huge difference in planning my future movements.
This was one of the methods I had come up with as a countermeasure for the next play while reviewing my first run over and over again after returning to Earth.
Seo-un, who had been counting the falling meteors, shouted.
"Descend!"
At that moment, a dizzying sensation of floating—one I could never get used to—made my toes tingle. It was terrifying enough to make me almost wet myself, but I quickly flipped my body and began counting the falling meteors.
'One, two, three... four, five, six. I'm the fastest!'
The moment I hit the ground, I began sprinting toward one of the meteors landing not too far away, while others scattered toward different parts of the village. Before long, I spotted a single player landing on the ground.
As soon as I found the enemy, I attacked without a second thought.
'Space Strike!'
The moment the player landed, a fist of Qi tore through the air and struck from behind, shattering the shield protecting the mage's body.
—Shatter!
The startled mage began to turn around, but Seo-un, who had already closed the distance, lunged a fist toward his chest.
'Bone-Breaking Strike!'
—Thwack!
With a dull thud, the mage's ribs shattered. He coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot.
[Ding! You have rendered a member of the enemy team helpless. Further attacks will result in death. It is recommended to finish the enemy before their teammate can revive them.]
Hearing the notification, I was about to deliver the final blow to the mage when a knight clad in full iron plate armor charged at me with a metallic clatter.
"Rush!"
The knight charged, instantly closing the small remaining distance and forcing Seo-un to step back.
"Tsk!"
Seo-un clicked his tongue in disappointment as he looked at the mage lying face-down, spitting up dark blood and unable to move. The knight stood in front of the mage, showing a firm resolve not to let him through.
The knight, wielding a large rectangular shield that completely covered his upper body and a black spear, was certainly intimidating. Contrary to his momentum that suggested he might lunge at Seo-un at any moment, the knight stayed close to the mage, lowering his stance and watching warily with glinting eyes.
The gaze shining through the helmet, which covered his entire face except for the eyes, was fierce.
'Since I've already started, I might as well go Lu Bu.'
Reminding himself once again that there was no risk in this game, he charged at the knight. As Seo-un rapidly closed the distance, the knight crouched low and shouted.
"Rush!"
In an instant, the spear pointing forward seemed to lengthen as it lunged toward his chest. Seo-un grit his teeth and thrust his fist straight at it.
Seeing an opponent thrusting a bare fist against his spear, the knight's hidden mouth twisted into a smirk. He didn't doubt for a second that his sharp spearhead would pierce through the fist and split the arm in two.
At that moment, Seo-un opened his mouth.
"Spinning Strike!"
Since it was a technique he had practiced repeatedly by visualizing it, the name of the move naturally slipped out. Because of the nature of the Boundless Fist, which involves fighting bare-handed, this was the technique he had put the most effort into practicing through countless visualizations.
Just as the knight's sharp spear and Seo-un's fist were about to collide, the trajectory of the fist shifted slightly, narrowly digging into the inside.
"Tsk!"
The knight clicked his tongue at the fist's trajectory, which cleverly shifted inward. He braced his shield firmly against his shoulder, hiding his upper body completely behind it.
At that moment, Seo-un's elbow, which had dug inside to avoid the spear, bent slightly and deflected the knight's spear. The knight, who had been focusing more on his shield, absurdly found his spear-wielding hand forced wide open, exposing a gap.
"Uh...?"
The knight's voice betrayed exactly how flustered he was. No matter how much he might have lacked focus, this shouldn't have been possible—to push aside his spear, which was second to none in terms of strength, with such a small movement.
While the knight was still processing his thoughts, Seo-un's fist flew in, filling his vision.
—Crunch!
"Gah!"
The fist, which slammed directly into the right shoulder holding the spear, possessed enough power to crush the knight's shoulder joint. Before he could even worry about his immobile right arm, the opponent's punches rained down from all directions, leaving the knight unable to mount a proper defense.
—Crack, crunch, thud!
The knight collapsed to his knees, his once-dignified helmet now so dented it was unrecognizable. As thick, dark-red blood poured through the mangled helmet and soaked the ground, the bodies of the knight and the mage began to vanish.
As the two corpses started to disappear, I felt the aura of Vitality. Quickly opening his Qi Absorption Gate, Seo-un sucked in the Vitality. With a refreshed expression, he looked at the wooden boxes left behind.
[Ding! There has been a change in your stats. You can check your stats by thinking or saying "My Info."]
Ignoring the kind tutorial voice, Seo-un rummaged through the boxes with a lukewarm expression.
'For a mage, this guy had nothing.'
He felt drained when not even a common scroll appeared. Next, he began rummaging through the knight's box.
[Ding! You have obtained the Skill Book: Rush. Would you like to learn it?]
"There are skills too?"
The system notification responded to his bewildered remark.
[Skill Book: A book that allows you to learn refined techniques.]
"I-is that so?"
[Skill Book: Rush. A technique to rapidly charge at an enemy.]
From the perspective of someone learning martial arts, it wasn't a particularly attractive item.
'Even when I faced it in person, there wasn't anything special about it.'
It was just a technique for charging quickly. Since he could do that much himself if he put his mind to it, he felt there was no need to learn it. Still, he didn't forget to put it into his subspace.
'I don't want some other bastard picking it up and learning it.'
After finishing his looting, he scanned his surroundings and ran into a house at the end of the main road. Once inside, he checked his stats first.
"My Info."
*
[Name: Jin Seo-un]
Race: Human
Trait: Demonic Human (Mage)
Strength: 35
Stamina: 20
Agility: 20
Tenacity: 30
Magic Resistance: 10
Trait Stat - Internal Energy: 90
Trait Stat - Mana: 30
*
'Internal Energy is 90.'
For having absorbed the Vitality of two people, it wasn't a very satisfying number. Considering there was a time when his Internal Energy was 500 after absorbing Nam Sa-gwang's Vitality, this was less than a fifth of that.
"Well, it's just the beginning."
Even though his Internal Energy had decreased, his Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Tenacity had all increased significantly compared to when he was first dragged here. It was likely the result of the time he spent steadily training while back in reality.
Closing the stat window, his movements became faster as he began scavenging. He quickly swept scrolls and leather pouches containing beef jerky into his subspace and moved swiftly to the next house.
Compared to the previous game, where he would scavenge two or three houses and walk all day only to scavenge two or three more before it ended, looting houses lined up in a row was a joy.
[Ding! You have obtained Throwing Daggers.]
"Should I stock up on a few?"
Even if only junk came out, he wasn't particularly anxious. Before, he would feel uneasy and frustrated if good items didn't appear, but there was no need for that now.
'If it's not in this house, it'll be in the next.'
With peace of mind, the fun of looting was quite substantial.
"I wonder what'll come out this time..."
—Whiz! Thud!
The moment he heard the sharp sound of air tearing, he let go of the doorknob and ducked his head. Seo-un's brow furrowed as he looked at the arrow still vibrating in the door.
He pushed his sensory perception to the limit, but he couldn't feel any specific presence.
"Tsk."
With his current abilities, he couldn't extend his senses to such a great distance. He scanned the surroundings with his back to the house, and this time, an arrow flew in from the right.
—Swish!
As he bent his knees, the arrow grazed past his head, making his scalp feel cold. He was surprised that the arrow came from a completely different direction than the first, but what was even more surprising was that the feeling was entirely different.
'It's not the same person shooting.'
As soon as he dodged the second arrow, more arrows flew in from both directions in rapid succession.
"Tsk!"
Clicking his tongue, he dove into the house without another thought. No matter how great the arrows were, they couldn't pierce through walls to skewer him.
"I just finished off one team, and now I'm getting pinched?"