Chapter 47: Duo-Quad. The Hunt Begins
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Duo-Quad. The Hunt Begins
—For those connecting to Cloyd Survival for the first time, we will now begin the initial briefing.
—This game will last for one hundred days. The playable map will be restricted daily.
—The magnetic field restricting the map grows stronger with each passing day. Please be careful not to take damage outside the safe zone.
—This game version is the Quad version. You may apply for a Quad by facing the person you wish to team up with.
—The game continues until only one final Quad team remains. Those who are eliminated, or those remaining when the game ends, will return to their original worlds.
—Those who fail to reach the TOP 120 will be barred from accessing Cloyd Survival ever again. The current total number of participants is 400.
—We wish all players victory.
—Please find teammates to proceed with the game and form a team. Time limit: 30 minutes. If you do not form a team within that time, you will proceed as a Solo.
Seo-un, who had been glaring at the three men, sent a Quad request to Gi-chan. Snapping out of his daze at the sudden invitation, Gi-chan looked back at Seo-un and accepted.
"I'm going to make sure those bastards get dropped, no matter what it takes."
Jong-cheon, staring at Seo-un with a sneer, spoke to his companions.
"Move. Opportunities like this don't come often. It’s a stroke of luck that the three of us were caught in the same game. Find teammates—focus on Shamans or Alchemists."
As the three of them scattered to contact other players, Gi-chan spoke up.
"Hyung. We should also look for teammates..."
"No. We’re going as we are."
"What?!"
Gi-chan’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Seo-un. His face clearly betrayed his inner thoughts, wondering if Seo-un truly understood the weight of what he was saying.
"I know you're worried. But the primary objective of this game is different. If we move with others, we'll only have differences in opinion, and it'll be hard to move quickly."
"But still..." Gi-chan looked around anxiously, as if asking if Seo-un really didn't see the situation.
"I know. There are hardly any rookies in sight. Everyone here is likely a player who’s been through the wringer. Still, trust me and follow."
"Sigh. Okay."
Seo-un kept his eyes fixed on Jong-cheon, never losing track of his movements. Once it appeared the bastards had finished forming their Quad, Seo-un approached them.
"That guy is coming this way?"
At Dal-jin’s words, his bald head glinting in the light, Jong-cheon looked at Seo-un.
"What a shame. We’ve already finished forming our team."
"Map!"
Ignoring him, Seo-un called up the map. He scanned the holographic display for a moment and then zoomed in on one location.
"Parda Mine. I’ll be waiting at the entrance. If you have the guts, drop there and let's settle this."
"Heh. I don't know. Are you sure? The life of a dropout is more miserable than you think."
Seo-un turned his back on the man, whose lips were curled into a smirk.
"I’ll wait exactly five minutes."
As Seo-un finished speaking and began to walk away, Gi-chan hurried over and whispered.
"Hyung, three-on-two was already tough enough... but now they’ve even got that guy in the tattered robe."
"I know. He probably won't come. It would be best if he did, though."
"Huh?"
"We aren't going to Parda Mine. We’re going here—to Dalia Lake."
"What?!"
Seo-un was about to explain to the bewildered Gi-chan, whose eyes were practically bulging out of his head, when a system announcement rang out.
—Player Jin Seo-un. Your Play PMP has been fully charged. If you survive this game, you will be promoted to a Regular Player.—
"Hyung... I..."
"Did you get the promotion message too?"
"You too, Hyung? Since the last game was a tutorial, I had a feeling, but... it doesn't feel real."
Having repeated this survival game over a dozen times for more than a year, it was understandable that the concept of promotion felt surreal to Gi-chan. For Seo-un, it was only his third round, so he didn't feel particularly sentimental.
—Soon, you will share your field of vision through Argas's Eye. Through Argas's vision as it cuts through the firmament, you may shout 'Descend' at your desired location to safely reach the ground. We hope you obtain many items at your chosen spot. Please be aware that those who do not descend will be automatically dropped at the final destination.
—Preparing to start the game...
As his vision shifted and he looked down at the ground from a vast distance through the clouds, Seo-un shouted.
"Teammate Window!"
A small, translucent window appeared, displaying Kang Gi-chan’s name and a simple health status.
—Gi-chan, can you hear me?
—Yes! Hyung, but why did you bother telling those guys to come to Parda Mine?
—That place is a mine in a low-altitude area. There are many large villages nearby. Since it's a mix of forest and village, it's a place any player would strategically covet.
—That’s true, but what does that have to do with telling them...
—It’s bait. Honestly, it’s impossible to hunt them down by searching this entire map. I just gave them a suggestion. I told them, 'I'm dropping here.' Whether they believe me or not, it creates the possibility that they’ll drop nearby.
—A suggestion?
—It’s like rock-paper-scissors. If you play without saying anything, the opponent picks randomly. But if I announce I'm going to throw rock, the opponent has to make a choice based on my words. They’ll try to win by reading my intent, calculating whether I'm telling the truth or not. I just started a psychological war with them.
—What if they don't believe you and drop somewhere completely different?
—Then there's nothing I can do. But there's no harm in trying, right?
—I guess so.
Since they couldn't see each other's faces, it wasn't obvious, but Gi-chan was deeply impressed. He never imagined Seo-un would be calculating psychological warfare in such a short amount of time. He had been worried that Seo-un was acting recklessly, letting a grudge from Earth ruin his performance in Cloyd.
But seeing that this was an action based on such meticulous calculation, Gi-chan felt like Seo-un was a completely different person from the man he knew back home.
"Then, picking this lake as our location was also..."
"Of course."
Dalia Lake was uniquely situated at a very high altitude, giving it the feel of a mountain crater lake. There were few villages around it, and it sat behind Parda Mine. While the mine was close to forests and villages, the lake was high ground. It was a place players would be hesitant to drop just by looking at the map.
There wasn't much to farm in such high terrain, but Seo-un had only one reason for dropping there.
"Still, isn't a four-on-two against experienced players a bit risky?"
"It is. That’s why you have to follow the plan perfectly."
"Oh! What’s the plan?"
"Surprise Raid!"
"Ah..."
It wasn't even much of a plan; it was just the most basic of basics.
"Gi-chan. Do you know what the best kind of farming is?"
"What kind?"
To his nonchalant question, Seo-un answered confidently.
"Human farming."
"Eh? I've never heard of that..."
"It's a Rogue's proverb. Remember it."
Gi-chan fell silent. It wasn't that he didn't want to respond, but rather that the time to drop was approaching. A small dot Seo-un had marked on the map was glowing red.
—Descend!
The two of them plummeted. Flipping their bodies at almost the exact same time, they checked the descent of other players.
"You count the players dropping."
Seo-un turned his body to count players in the other direction. As soon as they landed in the forest surrounding the lake, Gi-chan shouted.
"There are twelve in total. Looks like three Quads!"
"None came toward this lake. They clustered in the city far behind us, and the twelve you mentioned headed toward the mine. Let's move immediately."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the two of them began sprinting down through the forest. Their figures, running fluidly through the irregular treeline, suddenly came to a halt. Seo-un, who had been leading, raised his hand.
"From here, we scout."
Where Seo-un had stopped, the forest ended, and the land opened up into a steep slope with no cover. If they continued down this slope, they would reach the Parda Mine he had mentioned to Jong-cheon.
When Gi-chan nodded, Seo-un leaped up a tall tree, reaching the leafy canopy in an instant. Gi-chan chose a neighboring tree and climbed to the top, focusing his gaze on Parda Mine and the sprawling forest and villages below.
"Nothing in sight for now," Gi-chan whispered.
"They’re probably busy farming. I’ll focus on the mine and the forest, so you watch the villages on either side."
"Got it."
As they held the high ground, Gi-chan was the first to spot an enemy.
"Two enemies in the small village to the right. Both wearing robes."
"Confirmed. There's one enemy at the mine too. A martial artist is coming out of the mine, carving through monsters. Wait, are those Goblins?"
Gi-chan quickly shifted his gaze. A woman who looked like a martial artist was decapitating a squat, red-skinned monster. Her swordsmanship was fluid and clean, showing she was no pushover.
"Those are Mutant Goblins. They fight at close range with crude iron clubs, but they're easier to handle than regular Goblins."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Regular Goblins usually have dark green skin and attack from a distance with poison arrows, which is annoying. Those guys are just strong; they aren't a big threat. If you're lucky, they drop skin medicine, and the effect is quite good. You can get 5 million won for 20ml if you sell it. They say wrinkles fade after just one day. It’s a magic elixir that makes you look ten years younger if you use it for 100 days."
"Oh! They're expensive ones!"
"If this were Kualte, they’d be really valuable. In Kualte, those guys drop Defective Skin Medicine when you catch them."
Seo-un’s eyes sparkled. Now that he thought about it, he remembered reading something at the Item Brokerage.
An elixir that prevents hair loss!!!
He felt a pang of sorrow that this wasn't Kualte. In the meantime, the woman had finished off all eight Goblins and was looking around.
"Is she alone?"
"I wonder. If she were alone, wouldn't she be camping rather than farming, unless she's an idiot?"
"What if she's confident in her skills and challenging a Solo-Quad? You did that too, Hyung."
"I was a Duo. And it wasn't so much that I was confident, but rather that I was flustered by the new rules and couldn't find teammates."
"Ah..."
Gi-chan had never imagined that Seo-un, who had roamed around like a slaughterer in the previous game, had such a backstory. While Gi-chan wore a dazed expression, Seo-un spoke.
"There they are. Her teammates."
Two men approached using Lightness Skills, and a blonde woman in a robe glided toward them on an Air Board.
"One mage and three martial artists."
"That guy in the middle might not have martial arts as his main focus."
When Seo-un pointed out a man with thick forearms wearing light armor with a black breastplate, Gi-chan nodded. Martial artists had a unique pride in their techniques, but that wasn't a universal rule.
"Are we going to try them now?"
"Are you crazy? I told you. Surprise raid."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Wait. The other side is finishing up too."
The team farming in the village was also starting to show themselves, moving down along the houses.
"Will those two Quads try to fight this early? There are quite a few villages nearby."
"If they won't fight, I'll just make them fight."
Seeing Seo-un’s lips curl into a smirk, Gi-chan felt a sense of dissonance. That face, looking as if he were genuinely enjoying the game itself, was the face of the devilish player who had brought despair to others in the previous round.
Gi-chan swallowed hard as he watched the revitalized Seo-un. "H-how are you going to do that?"
"What do you mean, how? I just have to make the two teams meet so they can't back out. I'm a bit worried since I don't have a Lightness Skill, but I've grasped their movements... Do you have a spare robe?"
With a bewildered expression, Gi-chan pulled a robe from his subspace and handed it over.
[Ding! Magic resistance increases. Magic casting speed increases by 10%.]
"It was an option item. I'll use it well. Keep securing the vision from here and let me know immediately if anything unusual happens."
Finishing his sentence, Seo-un sprinted down the hill, his robe fluttering behind him.
*
"Will that guy really be waiting there?"
Jong-cheon nodded with a sneer. "Didn't you see how worked up he was? Seeing how he was itching to kill us right then and there, he's ten to one going to be there. Or he's trying to watch us from nearby."
Chilsang, looking thoroughly dissatisfied, slammed his shield onto the ground.
Thump!
"We didn't need to avoid him. We should have gone and finished it!"
"You fool. It's not just him. The guy with him was a decent mage too. They probably picked up two more players; do you think we could handle that? There's no need to overextend. No point in wasting early farming time bickering with him. We can just wait to run into them while farming nearby tomorrow or the day after. That's why I specifically set up camp nearby."
As they finished farming in an outer village and moved to the next location, a man in a robe behind them chimed in.
"Did an enemy from reality follow you?"
"Something like that, but don't worry about it. It's nothing special."
As Dal-jin spoke with a wave of his hand, the middle-aged man in the robe nodded, though a look of unease lingered in his eyes.