Chapter 81: Rank System Update
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Rank System Update
Rumble—!
For several minutes, a relentless barrage of magic, sword qi, and Nam Sa-gwang’s Hand Aura had rained down. Now, the impact site was obscured by a massive cloud of dust, leaving nothing visible.
The moment the attacks ceased, as if by unspoken agreement, Nam Sa-gwang screamed.
—"What are you doing?! Keep pouring it on!"
Nam Sa-gwang’s senses were keen, allowing him to feel the pressure of an Immortal Qi that hadn't wavered in the slightest. However, the other martial artists and mages couldn't feel that pressure yet.
Not yet.
As the wind swept away the dust during the brief lull in the assault, Seo-un appeared, completely unscathed.
He was savoring the sensation of the Immortal Qi. It surged through his body, filling his Qi Channels and flowing like a great river even into his finest vessels. Amidst this satisfaction, he suddenly shifted his gaze and gripped his chainsword tightly with both hands.
Only then did everyone realize why Nam Sa-gwang had been screaming and frantically firing off his Hand Aura.
The players began pouring out their attacks again, driven by the primal fear of a herbivore facing a predator.
Nam Sa-gwang’s eyes widened as Seo-un transformed into a streak of blue light, lunging forward without even bothering to defend against the incoming magic and sword qi.
K-K-Boom!
*
“Th-That’s…”
Gi-chan opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes remained fixed on the screen, his voice failing him.
It wasn't just Gi-chan; every player watching the scene was the same.
For some reason, even the players whose games had completely ended were being held in the waiting room instead of being sent back to their own worlds. Over a thousand players were gathered there, yet not a single soul spoke. They were all glued to the screen.
Watching Seo-un on the display, Gi-chan was reminded of a game he had played long ago.
‘Was it Jinsaguk Musou…?’
He couldn't close his mouth as he watched a scene from a game—where a single general charges into hundreds of enemy soldiers and sweeps them away—being reenacted in reality before his very eyes.
“Musou…”
At that single word, the players nearby all nodded in unison. There was no better word to describe it.
*
Boom!
Seo-un pushed forward until he was right in front of the annoying cluster of mages. He channeled his Immortal Qi into his Yongquan Acupoint and performed a Stomp. The ground beneath him split apart, and most of the mages tumbled over.
The martial artists and knights managed to keep their balance and endure, but the mages lacked the physical prowess to stay upright.
Whoosh—Thud! Whoosh—Thud! Whoosh—Thud!
He swung his chainsword, which had extended over thirty meters, over the fallen mages. The earth was instantly stained red as the mages were slaughtered before they could even scream.
Ding-ding-ding!
Red Coins had been popping out and falling to the ground for a while now, but Seo-un didn't spare them a single glance as he continued to sweep through the players.
“B-Block him! Stop him at all costs!”
A man who appeared to be a guild leader shouted as he hurled a glowing red spear.
Seo-un caught the spear—which drew a red line through the air—with one hand and threw it right back. The spear pierced the man’s shoulder, sending him tumbling violently backward into the crowd.
‘I’m running out of time.’
Even as he massacred the players, Seo-un began to feel a sense of urgency.
The Immortal Qi he had absorbed was strictly for one-time use. Because he had taken in such a massive amount, it wouldn't disappear instantly, but it was evaporating rapidly the more power he used. He couldn't fully contain the Immortal Qi; even if he just stood still, it would leak out and vanish into the sky like steam.
In the first place, Immortal Qi wasn't something that could be perfectly confined within a human body. For someone at Seo-un’s level, even being able to accept and use it was nothing short of a miracle.
Knowing this, Seo-un pushed himself to clear out the gathered enemies even faster.
Slaaaaash!
He swung his chainsword, bisecting a dozen knights in a single move. He moved faster and faster, cutting off those who tried to scatter and slaughtering them where they stood.
After only a few minutes of him raging like a tiger among a flock of sheep, the cry Seo-un had been dreading finally rang out.
—"R-Run away! He’s not someone we can handle!"
With that shout, the enemies began to scatter in all directions. Less than half of them remained.
‘I won’t let you!’
Seo-un crouched, gathering a massive amount of Immortal Qi into his chainsword, then spun around, unleashing the explosive power.
The condensed Aura, fueled by Immortal Qi, radiated outward from Seo-un in a circular wave, like ripples on a pond after a stone is thrown.
The scene revealed once the wave of Aura—which had weakened as the circle expanded—finally vanished was gruesome. Most of the fleeing players were rolling on the ground, their bodies severed at the waist. The blood flowing from them was slowly turning the area into a crimson sea.
In less than five minutes, only five players remained standing: the guild leader, clutching his bleeding shoulder and holding a long spear; Nam Sa-gwang; and three mages who seemed to have attained a decent level of mastery.
Nam Sa-gwang surveyed the horrific scene of carnage and spoke.
“It was just a hollow shell, but once a will is infused into it, it displays truly terrifying power.”
Unlike before, there was a strange sense of composure in his voice.
Before Seo-un could respond, the guild leader, who was using a scroll to seal the hole in his shoulder, chimed in.
“I never imagined it was a temporary ability. If I’d known, I would have retreated for now… A momentary lapse in judgment has wiped out my guild.”
Seo-un looked between the two of them, then reached out and made a sweeping motion. The Red Coins scattered across the battlefield were sucked into his hand.
“Whew.”
As the remaining Immortal Qi flowed into his Qi Channels—which had been momentarily emptied after unleashing that massive burst—he finally caught his breath and lunged at Nam Sa-gwang.
Clang!
Nam Sa-gwang drew out his Hand Aura to block the chainsword and shouted.
“What are you doing?! Join in, quickly!”
The guild leader, having barely healed his shoulder, swung his spear at Seo-un’s back.
Both men had realized that Seo-un’s power was running low, seeing that the blue energy surrounding him was much fainter than before. They fought desperately on the defensive to stall for time.
Under normal circumstances, Seo-un could have killed them both within a few moves. However, having spent almost all his strength on the fleeing players, his only option was to kill them before his power ran out completely.
If he wanted to run away, he could easily lose them, but doing so would mean he’d have no hope of achieving a higher score than he already had.
‘Either kill them all, or die here!’
Even as he pressured the two, annoying spells designed to bind his legs or restrict his movements kept coming at him. However, Seo-un couldn't afford to divert his attention to the mages.
Screeeech!
“Your strength seems to be fading fast,” Nam Sa-gwang sneered.
The moment he spoke, now able to fully block the chainsword with his Hand Aura, Seo-un’s form flickered.
In an instant, he multiplied into twelve clones and lunged at the man who had been stabbing at his back with the spear. Startled, the man retreated without hesitation, but Seo-un had already surrounded his path of retreat and swung the chainsword.
Crunch!
“Aaaargh!”
The man’s right shoulder and knee were sheared off by the brutally large chainsword, and he rolled on the ground, screaming.
“You idiot!” Nam Sa-gwang cursed.
He belatedly stepped in front of the man, but the one writhing in pain couldn't even hear him.
“Heal yourself, quickly!”
The fact that he said that even though the man’s limbs were severed meant they had a way to recover. Seo-un, still split into twelve forms, wasn't about to let that happen.
Clang!
“What are you—”
Nam Sa-gwang’s words were cut short. He had been distracted by the man on the ground while dealing with Seo-un.
“Guh!”
A massive amount of blood sprayed from his mouth, falling onto the chainsword that had burst through his chest.
He was certain he had blocked the main body that had lunged at him from the front, so he hadn't worried about the clones surrounding him. He looked utterly bewildered, unable to understand how a clone’s chainsword from behind had pierced through his back and out his chest.
“How…”
Before Nam Sa-gwang could finish, the Seo-un in front of him blurred like a mirage and vanished.
“Splitting my Immortal Qi in half was a gamble even for me. I’m just glad you fell for it.”
Since Nam Sa-gwang was a clever man who had been extremely cautious and looking for a chance to flee ever since Seo-un absorbed the Nascent Soul, Seo-un hadn't thought the odds of this gamble were very high. If the man hadn't fallen for it, Seo-un had planned to take the guild leader’s head and kill the mages huddled in the back to secure 3rd place.
Now that his Immortal Qi was almost depleted, leaving only a faint blue glow, Seo-un didn't wait to hear Nam Sa-gwang’s final words. He ripped the chainsword upward.
As Nam Sa-gwang’s body was split upward from his waist and he collapsed in a spray of blood, Seo-un’s foot came down on the head of the guild leader who was still rolling on the ground.
Crunch.
As soon as the two were dead, Seo-un charged at the mages. Spells continued to erupt, attempting to bind his feet with chains rising from the ground.
‘Hamit!!!’
—[Understood, Master.]—
As he narrowly dodged the chains, the chainsword wrapped around his hand, transforming into bandages.
K-Boom!
A massive flaming rock erupted from the cracked earth, but Seo-un’s fist shattered it, sending fragments flying everywhere. Then, glowing with the last of his blue light, Seo-un streaked past the three mages who were huddled together.
As he passed them, his hands were stained with thick blood. The three mages stood dazed for a moment before blood geysered from their throats, and their bodies finally collapsed.
[Ding-ding-ding-ding! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Pa-pa-pa-pa-pam! Congratulations on becoming the final Quad! You have earned the right to participate in the next game. You receive the first and largest reward of this game.]
[You have achieved the highest kill count in Cloyd history. You are granted the title: Legend of Massacre: The Berserker. From now on, all your basic stats will increase by 10% whenever you participate in Cloyd. This title will be transferred if a player who breaks this record emerges.]
Amidst the chaotic notifications, Seo-un looked with regret at the spot where Nam Sa-gwang’s vitality had been before it dissipated. Then, he tilted his head to the side.
At the final moment, he had debated between absorbing Nam Sa-gwang’s vitality or finishing off the three mages. If he had tried to absorb the vitality, he wouldn't have been able to fully respond to their magic in that split second, and they likely would have found an opening to escape.
So, instead of opening his Qi Absorption Gate to take the vitality, he chose to kill them for certain and solidify his 1st place. He didn't regret it, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.
However, he was stunned that the game had ended so abruptly.
‘Why did the game end?’
Seo-un had been planning to start farming the 200+ supply boxes. The fact that the game was over and he had to leave all those boxes behind made his disappointment even deeper.
Looking around at the boxes spread everywhere, a lament escaped his lips.
“If I’d absorbed it all, it would have been at least three cycles of cultivation…”
—"Waaaaaaaah!"
Before his lament could even finish, he heard a thunderous cheer and saw players rushing toward him.
“Why already…?”
He didn't understand why the game was ending when Jin Long should still be alive.
“Senior! How?”
When he asked Jin Long, who had naturally arrived at the front with Gi-chan, Jin Long replied with a smile.
“I was just watching the Survivor List. The moment you killed those last three… I realized I couldn't fight my own junior. I have a conscience, after all. How could I shed blood against you for 1st place when you’re so exhausted?”
“Ah!”
Only then did he understand. Jin Long must have been hiding and watching the Survivor List, noticed the turn of events, and realized that if he didn't act before returning, they would be the only two left. He must have committed suicide, but Seo-un felt regretful for his kindness.
‘You should have given me time to farm.’
It was a thought he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.
Seeing Jin Long and Juriel’s teammates all surrounding him with sparkling eyes, Seo-un finally noticed something strange.
“Huh? But why are people from other squads…”
He trailed off as he saw that not just them, but every player who had made it into the survival bracket was present in various parts of the waiting room. From the looks of it, none of the players seemed to have the answer to his question.
Just as Li Lingwei, who had pushed through the crowd to reach his side, was about to say something, a voice rang out from the center of the waiting room.
—"Ding! Congratulations to all the regular players who survived. I am the GM of Server 120, in charge of operating this game."
Twelve hundred pairs of eyes instantly turned toward the center where the voice originated. A large screen appeared above, and a strangely shaped ball of light flickered.
—"A new rule has been updated, so I have briefly delayed your precious reward time to provide guidance."
At the word "update," every player held their breath and focused on the screen. The ball of light, which had momentarily stopped flickering, began to move again as the voice continued.
—"A ranking system has been newly updated for all players participating in Cloyd Survival. Considering that regular games mostly consist of Duo or Squad games, this system is for your benefit, to help you choose teammates more discerningly. This update is somewhat different in nature from the guild update that took place previously."
Most players tilted their heads at the mention of a ranking system, but players from Earth, like Seo-un and Gi-chan, understood intuitively what it meant.
—"Now, the update will be applied. Please continue to do your best as a joyful player of Cloyd!"
At that moment, the light on the screen vanished, and a glowing emblem appeared with an effect above every player’s head.
“Does this bronze-colored wing mean this is my rank?”
“I have a silver one, and it has two wings!”
“Then is my rank higher since it’s gold and has three?”
As the players began to chatter, one of the few players with a different emblem spoke up.
“Then what am I? I have a blue sword.”
“I have a gem embedded in that sword, and it’s white.”
The surrounding players turned their attention to the knight and martial artist who had spoken, both of whom had achieved quite high scores in the game. The noisy room suddenly fell silent at someone’s shout.
“That person has a crown!”
The rank shapes were intuitive enough for anyone to understand to some degree. When the word "crown" was heard, everyone’s attention focused on Seo-un.
Juriel, Li Lingwei, Jin Long, and Gi-chan—who all had rank emblems of white swords with gems—also turned their gaze away from their own ranks to look at the crown floating above Seo-un’s head.
—"Ah! I forgot to explain the rank grades. Hehe. The ranks start from the lowest Wing Rank: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Above that are the Shields: Black, Blue, and White. And above those are the Swords: Black, Blue, and White. Only the top 4% of players receive the White Sword."
At those words, some looked disappointed, while others puffed out their chests with pride.
“Then what is that crown?!”
—"Ah! There was one last one: Crown. To think there are two Crowns in this game… it was a magnificent match. The Crown grade is for the absolute top players and has no specific color classification. As one of the best players—there are only 150 in the entire server—you may take as much pride in it as you like."
—"Of course, these grades can change at any time depending on future play. Please don't be disappointed if your current rank is low; work hard to raise it. Please enjoy the world of Cloyd to your heart’s content, where yesterday’s weakling becomes today’s predator…"
With those final words, the ball of light vanished from the screen. In its place, names began to be listed one by one, from 1 to 150.
Seo-un read the rankings all the way to the end. The moment he saw his name at 150th, he realized the exact criteria for the ranking system.
‘This is calculated purely based on game performance. It’s not a ranking of individual strength.’
If Nam Sa-gwang was 149th, it made no sense for Seo-un to be at a similar level of strength.
As he was thinking this, Jin Long and Gi-chan patted him on the back and hugged him, rejoicing.
“The highest grade! That’s incredible, Junior!”
“Hyung! This means you’re a Challenger!”
The players gathered around them joined in the celebration, surrounding Seo-un and sharing in the joy.