Chapter 58: Triple Quad. A Shifting Game
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: Triple Quad. A Shifting Game
Clang! Clang! Screeeech!
Even amidst the chaos, Gi-chan couldn't help but admire the enemy's skill and indomitable spirit. He watched as the knight parried Seo-un’s attacks—which flew in from bizarre, unpredictable trajectories—three times in a row.
However, the knight’s stance wavered under the impact of magic striking his back. Seizing the opening, Seo-un’s hand finally tore through the man’s breastplate.
The knight flinched as a fountain of blood erupted from his chest. In that instant, Gi-chan and Lyle began casting their next spells.
Behind his visor, the knight’s face was contorted.
He had fought many enemies in his life, but he had never been pushed this far by an unarmed opponent. There were many pugilists in his world as well, but among them all, not a single one had been able to close the distance so effectively and keep him pinned down.
The moment the knight took a step back, his opponent pushed a step forward. When he tried to shove the man away with brute force, that eerily twisted hand would fly in like a ghost, threatening his thighs.
He had allowed only a single hit, yet it was an attack that had shredded both armor and flesh. If his lower body were compromised by such an attack, it would be the end.
Clang!
He managed to protect his legs by twisting his longsword into an awkward angle, but his frustration only grew. He had earned the title of Sword Emperor with nothing but a single longsword; being trapped in a situation he had never experienced before shook his resolve. Seeing the two mages casting spells from behind his opponent only added to his agitation.
Thump!
The moment a wall erupted from the ground and launched him into the air, a Wind Hammer slammed into the knight’s head, blowing his helmet away. Seo-un’s hand lunged toward the knight’s throat, which was now exposed along with his complex emotions.
Clang!
Even while losing his balance in mid-air, the knight managed to defend his vitals. He was sent flying backward, but he scrambled to his feet like a toy tumbler the moment he hit the ground.
Seo-un’s heart raced as he saw the knight’s body glow faintly; his torn breastplate was beginning to self-repair. The knight was glancing at the two people behind Seo-un. It was clear that if Seo-un showed even the slightest opening, the knight would cut them down in an instant.
Despite the distance between them, Seo-un felt as if he were still trapped within the knight's striking range.
"Whew."
Seo-un regulated his breathing and shifted his stance slightly to block the knight's line of sight to his teammates. When he displayed his absolute resolve to protect them, the knight let out a sigh and focused entirely on him.
Seo-un activated Gale Step to close the distance, and the knight charged forward to meet him, refusing to back down.
'Kaier's Barrier.'
Simultaneously with the barrier, Ice Lances formed over both of Seo-un’s shoulders and shot toward the knight.
Crunch! Shatter!
As expected, the man swung his sword with fluid speed, instantly smashing the Ice Lances.
Not even frost is forming on that thin armor. His magic resistance is no joke.
Clang!
The clash resumed—Seo-un trying to close the gap, and the knight trying to take his head while maintaining his distance. Seo-un’s expression hardened. Now that the knight was on guard, it was impossible to bridge that final step.
Thump!
Once again, a wall surged from the ground beneath the knight, attempting to launch him into the air. But the knight wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Using the momentum of the rising wall, he gracefully flipped through the air and retreated, looking like a gymnast vaulting over a horse.
Tap, tap!
Seo-un used Gale Step to leap up and kick off the wall, quickly pursuing the knight as he flipped through the air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Even while trading blows in mid-air, the knight showed no sign of panic.
Cling!
After a brief struggle of strength, the knight shoved Seo-un away as Seo-un tried to bear down on him with both hands. With his current stats, Seo-un definitely couldn't win a contest of pure strength against the knight.
In the brief moment Seo-un was pushed back, the knight plunged his glowing, red-hot sword into the ground.
"Dammit!"
Seo-un retreated quickly, but the energy traveling from the knight’s sword into the ground reached him in an instant. The moment the red flames erupting from the floor threatened to swallow him, Seo-un countered the energy with the Concussive Strike of his Boundless Fist.
His entire body burned, and his tattered robe was scorched black. The moment he barely broke through the attack, the knight appeared before him, sword raised high above his head.
BOOM!
Seo-un crossed his arms to block, and his legs buckled instantly. His arms throbbed from the direct impact; if not for Kaier's Barrier, his bones surely would have shattered.
Whoosh! Bang!
If Fire Burst and Wind Hammer hadn't flown in again to blast the knight away, Seo-un’s head might have been taken by the knight's overwhelming power.
The knight rolled smoothly across the ground as he was blown aside. He stood up and sliced through the incoming magic with his sword before charging at Seo-un once more.
At Seo-un’s command over the team voice chat, Gi-chan grit his teeth and focused his gaze.
The knight lunged in an instant to deliver a downward strike. The moment Seo-un stepped back to dodge, his form seemed to split and multiply. Though it was enough to startle anyone, the knight’s eyes moved rapidly, trying to identify the real body.
Swish!
One of the clones charging from the side was instantly decapitated and vanished. At that moment, Gi-chan cast the spell he had been preparing.
Mirror Illumination.
A wave of mana rippled through the area where the two were fighting, creating an optical illusion that distorted space. As if a curtain of mirrors had filled the surroundings, dozens of reflected Seo-uns lunged at the lone knight.
Finally, Seo-un saw a flash of panic in the knight's eyes, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk.
Crash! Shatter!
The knight swung his sword with incredible speed, cutting down the clones attacking from all sides, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass. Seo-un, having approached within point-blank range, thrust out his Blood Bone Claw.
In that split second, the knight’s eyes remarkably locked onto Seo-un’s true form. Disregarding all defense, the knight lunged with his sword.
If I dodge, I die.
Gritting his teeth, Seo-un steeled his resolve and infused the essence of Spinning Strike into his Blood Bone Claw.
Crunch!
The moment their exchange ended, the multiple forms of Seo-un that filled the area shattered like glass and rained down on the surroundings.
"Hyung!!!"
The sword had pierced through Seo-un’s right chest, penetrating his shoulder blade and sticking out the back. And the knight, having lost his life-sustaining sword, was blown back and collapsed.
The wound from the sword was scorched red and oozing fluid; the pain was enough to make him lose his mind. Seo-un’s face was contorted in agony. The knight opened his mouth to speak, but a cough came out instead of words.
"Cough!"
Seeing the blood mixed in his cough, the knight chose conversation over a final struggle.
"I am... Craig Gino."
His voice was strained because of the wound to his neck, but it was still intelligible.
"Jin Seo-un."
With the longsword still lodged in his chest, Seo-un replied, a trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. One might call it unnecessary etiquette for a formidable foe. One might call it bravado, or a weak sentimentality born from a life-threatening situation. But an inexplicable bond had formed with the knight who had shared a life-and-death struggle where they both gave everything.
"You are... surprisingly young. If it hadn't been... a many-on-one fight... I would have gained more. A shame."
The knight’s face, now visible without the helmet, showed more of the passage of time than expected. Seo-un nodded, looking at the man's grizzled beard and hair. He could feel that the knight’s words—about gaining something from a battle with an enemy rather than just items in Cloyd—were not empty talk.
"If it had been... I can't guarantee that I wouldn't be the one lying on the ground."
"Is that so? Perhaps... How... interesting..."
The knight’s head slumped to the side mid-sentence, and blood poured from his neck.
"Hyung."
Seo-un was staring blankly at the spot where the knight had vanished, still feeling the strange lingering afterglow of the battle, when Gi-chan called out to him. This was a place where an enemy could appear at any moment. It was a pity they didn't have time to indulge in sentiment.
As soon as he pulled the sword from his chest and staunched the bleeding, his body swayed, and he slumped to the ground. Lyle, whose hands were already glowing with a healing spell even before the sword was out, saw his mana deplete rapidly. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Once the wound had closed to some extent, they quickly opened the supply box.
Other pieces of obsidian armor appeared as well, but none had options like the breastplate. After putting the armor and sword—which filled most of the box—into his subspace, Seo-un saw a fist-sized gemstone glowing with a blue light.
[Ding! You have obtained a Sky Enhancement Stone. Would you like to use it?]
Hearing the notification for a first-time item acquisition for the first time in a long while, Seo-un held the gem out to Gi-chan.
"Is this... what I think it is?"
"Oh! We hit the jackpot."
Gi-chan quickly took the enhancement stone, cataloged it, and handed it to Lyle.
"I've heard about it from my master. About enhancement stones created by the ultimate alchemy that can permanently enhance various weapons or armor."
Gi-chan took the enhancement stone back and added to Lyle's explanation.
"The Sky Enhancement Stone is famous for its high success rate and the options it grants. If we take this back and sell it, we could easily get 5 billion for it."
Seo-un was startled and carefully took the enhancement stone as Gi-chan tossed it back to him.
"How much?"
"About 5 billion. I'm not certain, but I heard an Earth Enhancement Stone sold for about 3 billion recently. Considering its value, it doesn't actually fetch that high of a price."
Seo-un’s jaw dropped at the claim that 5 billion wasn't a high price. Seeing his expression, Gi-chan replied with a bitter smile.
"This item is the result of ultimate alchemy, just as Lyle said. But since it's practically useless to anyone except Players... it's mostly traded among Players. That's why the price isn't as high as it could be."
"Ah..."
"But I've heard that if you use it to enhance an item in Cloyd, you can take those stats back to reality as they are. It's basically like being able to enhance an item twice with one stone."
A special paradox and opportunity within Cloyd Survival. An item of contradiction that ignored the rule that items used would lose their effects upon returning to reality if one lacked sufficient coins.
Come to think of it, the Heterodox Path technique Seo-un had learned from Jang Do-cheon possessed the same contradiction. Thanks to that secret technique, whose exact name hadn't even been passed down, Seo-un had been able to rapidly grow his internal power.
Those who died in Cloyd did not die forever. If so, why was the internal power he gained by absorbing the vitality they left behind here permanent? He didn't know. It was simply one of the paradoxes of Cloyd Survival. And the existence of the enhancement stone once again stimulated the sense of dissonance Seo-un had been vaguely feeling.
"It's strange, right? In the community, they call them 'Jump Rule' items. There are quite a few contradictory items like this besides enhancement stones. However, such items also have clear side effects."
"Side effects?"
"Well... just try using it. I don't have any items worth using it on."
Gi-chan held up a pathetic-looking staff that seemed far inferior to the one he had used before. Seo-un glanced between the enhancement stone and Hamit, and Hamit shuddered.
Dying? Don't tell me...
"Can the item be destroyed?"
Gi-chan smiled at the question.
"Every enchantment comes with risk. If it fails, not only the enhancement stone but the item itself is destroyed."
Only then did Seo-un understand everything Gi-chan had said. Seo-un took out the bow he was carrying on his back and used the enhancement stone.
[Would you like to enhance Black Kaier's Bow?]
As soon as he pressed the 'O' button, a blue light seeped out of the enhancement stone and flowed into the bow. The light gradually faded, and finally, the enhancement stone shattered.
[Ding! Enhancement successful. An option enhancement has been granted to Black Kaier's Bow.]
[Enhanced Black Kaier's Bow: A bow made from the horn of a Black Kaier, blessed by a Sky Enhancement Stone. Arrow speed is increased by 70%.]
The option that had increased arrow speed by 15% had jumped to 70%. Having just engaged in a life-or-death sniping battle, Seo-un knew the significance of that difference better than anyone.
"It becomes like this with just one enhancement?"
"The effect must have been good?"
"The option increased fivefold."
"Wow."
Gi-chan, seeing an actual case of enhancement for the first time, was also surprised. He knew better than anyone what it meant for an option's value to increase five times over. With the enhanced bow on his back, Seo-un picked up the sword manual.
[Ding! This item is locked.]
"Huh? The item is locked?"
Gi-chan answered again.
"There are items like that sometimes. There are 'lock items' that can only be used if you purchase them with coins. Usually, it's items that provide information."
Seo-un both understood and didn't.
"Forget it. It's not like I absolutely need it. Let's move for now."
The group left the Forest of Ordeal. It was excellent terrain for an ambush, but the problem was that a fight in the forest drew too much attention, potentially making them targets for multiple Quads. After running for a long time with the forest at their backs, they settled in an area surrounded by sand dunes.
"At least the surrounding view is blocked."
"Get some rest. I'll take the first watch."
Saying so, Seo-un climbed to the top of the highest dune, stayed low, and kept watch. The desert temperature dropped significantly at night, so Gi-chan and Lyle took out a dark red stone the size of a bowling ball and lay down around it to rest.
"It would have been tough without the Desert Stone."
The Desert Stone from the Black Knight's box was an item that radiated intense heat just by existing. Thanks to it, Gi-chan and Lyle were able to maintain their body temperature and rest somewhat comfortably.
Every day in the desert was a series of tensions. Even if they found a spot where the surrounding view was blocked, the sand dunes would often shift overnight. If a sandstorm blew in, enemies would sometimes mix magic and attacks into the wind to test them. The cold of the night and the heat of the day also subtly tormented them, draining their stamina.
"Ugh... so refreshing."
Under the scorching sun, the Ice Snake Gi-chan had cast was melting over three supply boxes and the red bloodstains staining the sand. Gi-chan lay on top of it, and Lyle clung tightly to the Ice Snake's tail, both looking blissful as they enjoyed the icy chill.
"We can't stay long."
At Seo-un’s words, the two looked at him imploringly, like spoiled children asking for five more minutes of sleep. If it were normal desert heat, they could have overcome it easily with ice-attribute magic. But the desert they were in now was the middle of a battlefield where a life-or-death survival game was taking place.
Naturally, they couldn't just cast spells and create mana ripples whenever they wanted, so they had to endure the midday heat. Only when a skirmish occurred like this would they cast ice magic and enjoy a brief moment of respite. Unlike Seo-un, who could endure with his high internal power, the two were more heavily affected by the desert's fluctuating temperatures.
"Just for a moment."
When Seo-un said that and climbed a nearby dune to keep watch, Gi-chan and Lyle shared a smile.
Day 33 of the game. It had already been 19 days since they entered the desert.
Survivors: 68/400
Looking at the remaining 68 survivors, Seo-un felt that this game was dragging on particularly long.
Still 68 people...
Just as he thought that, a chime rang in his head.
[Ding! One-third of the game has been completed. Moving to Chapter 2 of the map. Everyone, please watch out for the Force Field.]
At the sudden anomaly, Seo-un looked down the dune to see Gi-chan and Lyle looking up at him. Seo-un ran down in an instant and looked at Gi-chan inquisitively.
"This is a first for me too."
Just as the two were looking confused, Lyle shouted.
"The—the Force Field!"
At those words, the two opened their maps, and their expressions crumpled. The Force Field shown on the map was shrinking toward the center at an incredibly high speed.
"Hy—Hyung! The speed is..."
He didn't need Gi-chan to tell him. It was shrinking ten times faster than the usual Force Field speed.
"Run, now!"
The two quickly pulled out their Air Boards and took off toward the center of the map, kicking up sand. Seo-un also took the lead, using Gale Step. His Lightness Skill had improved further, allowing him to run over the sand—which usually sank to the ankles—leaving only faint footprints, but no one was in a position to point that out.
As soon as he heard the team voice chat, he turned his head to see a three-man Quad running while casting wary glances their way. The distance was quite far, but it was clear as day that their destination was the same.