20Quad. Growing Shadows.
After the battle with the squad that utilized formations, the distribution of items began.
[Twisted Time Potion]A potion that, when consumed, reverts the user's physical state to what it was an hour ago for 15 minutes. If damage exceeds the body's limit, the user may die 15 minutes later.
[Potion of Madness]Increases all base stats by 30% for 15 minutes. Afterward, base stats are reduced by 40% for 6 hours.
[Purification Stone]Nullifies all magical effects on the caster upon use.
[Tome of the Dead]An arcane text for controlling vengeful spirits.
[Finger of Purity]A finger created through a secret art by sacrificing an infant. Feeding it to a jiangshi greatly increases the probability of creating a superior jiangshi.
[Bagua Formation Manual]Basic knowledge of formation techniques.
[Spiritual Illusion Formation]A type of illusionary formation.
Those were the more unusual items obtained.
There were also decent martial arts, magic, and items with useful effects, but Seowoon gave up all of them to his teammates.
"You're already giving me all the kills—how could I be greedy for the items too?"
At that, most of the team nodded as if that were only natural, though a few players looked displeased.
As the other players were deep in the middle of dividing up the loot, Ki-chan approached Seowoon and cast Silence.
"Hyung! Is this really okay?"
"What is?"
At Seowoon's shameless response, Ki-chan narrowed his eyes.
"How many players do you really think are helping the team?"
Instead of answering, Seowoon asked a question.
"If we leave out Jinryung, who do you think the top three contributors are?"
"Juriel, Lilingwei, and Kaien."
"I think the same. Other than those three, the rest of the players haven't really been helpful. Getting trapped in that formation just now made it painfully clear."
"Still… what you did was a scam…"
Ki-chan trailed off, and Seowoon finished his sentence for him.
"You mean, what does that have to do with me scamming them?"
"Yeah."
"Listen carefully. Juriel and Lilingwei both know I'm lying. Yet they still gave me the kills."
Ki-chan's eyes widened.
"The rest? We're not likely to see most of them again. Once we grow the number of fixed quad members, they'll either disappear or become enemies. Don't get too comfortable just because they're in the same squad. Letting those kinds of guys buy a seat on the carry bus and giving up items? It's mutually beneficial."
At Seowoon's ruthless reasoning, Ki-chan nodded involuntarily.
This wasn't the Seowoon who joked around and smiled to keep players at ease—it was the cold, unreadable Seowoon from Cloyd, sharp and calculating.
"Wait… Juriel and Lilingwei know you're scamming people?"
"Of course. They were the ones who suggested it in the first place."
"What?!"
Startled, Ki-chan looked around to make sure the Silence spell still held, while Seowoon explained.
"We struck a deal during the night watch on the first night. If I survived this game, they'd accept me into their fixed quad. In exchange, they'd help funnel kills to me."
"Seriously?!"
"Even if they hadn't suggested it, I would've tried to gain the team's trust and take the kills anyway. But Juriel's not as innocent as she looks. She's politically sharp—no doubt shaped by her life experience."
Ki-chan glanced at Juriel, who was busy distributing items with a pleasant smile.
"She figured out the limits of this team within a day. We're a chaotic mess where weak mages are the core. The shielders who should be protecting them are more interested in playing politics with each other, and we only have five martial fighters. Take me out of the equation and the melee combat power is basically negligible. In her view, there's little chance of survival with this team."
For the first time, Ki-chan coolly reevaluated their team's combat strength.
"But still…"
"Sure, things might work out for now. And if our luck with farming holds, the others might grow stronger quickly. But there are ten mages. Unless someone is fed a large share of the loot—"
"Our overall power won't increase much."
"Exactly. That's the condition she proposed. Until we meet an unbeatable enemy, run the team as is. But when we do meet one—switch to guerrilla tactics. Sacrifice the rest so a few can survive."
Gulp.
Ki-chan swallowed hard.
"That group would be…"
"Me, you, Juyeoryun, Kaien, Juriel, Lilingwei, and the wildcard—Jinryung."
It was a lineup he could have predicted.
Still, Ki-chan sighed in relief and lowered his voice further.
"Did you tell the others?"
"I just told you. Juriel probably hinted it to Kaien and Juyeoryun last night. Jinryung… I'll have to talk to him myself."
"But… is that really okay? They're still teammates…"
"You still don't get it? Juriel may be on her first run officially, but she doesn't play like it. She said she got advice from veteran players, but this isn't something you pick up from a tip or two. Out of the squad we just fought, four survived. Add Jinryung and the guerilla strategy… This is—"
"A survival unit!"
"Exactly. It doesn't have to be a guerrilla team, but I bet most squads are running some kind of survival unit, official or not. It's the only way to increase survival rates. Sacrifices are acceptable as long as the team performs. But if we brought this up to our team of first-timers with no skill or strategy, they'd all be clawing to join the survival unit. Especially those knight bastards."
Seowoon's eyes lit with fury as he glanced at Kite.
Ki-chan nodded in agreement.
"Her conclusion was simple: if the worst happens, the best case is for the survival team to flee without looking back. The second-best case is that I escape alone. In return, she promised to find a way for me to get all the kills. I just found that way myself."
"You could've told me."
Ki-chan pouted, sounding a little dejected, but Seowoon shook his head.
"Did I have the time while buttering everyone up? Whispering with you, my fixed quad member, would've looked suspicious. So I focused on manipulating the others instead."
"Sheesh. I thought you were just writing a trashy drama plot or something."
"So, out of the top items, which one do you want most?"
"Let's see… the Player's Resurrection Right, Dragon Heart, and Enlightenment of the Mad Demon."
"Why those?"
"The resurrection right is basically an extra life in this dangerous game. The Dragon Heart's value is probably sky-high. As for the Enlightenment of the Mad Demon… that's a locked item, right? So it can be shared."
-Snap!
Seowoon flicked his fingers, eyes gleaming.
"Exactly. Who knows how effective it'll be, but for you and me, the Enlightenment of the Mad Demon is the most viable growth item."
"But I'm not as advanced as you in terms of martial prowess."
"My skill is just built on gear and internal energy. I don't even need elixirs anymore—just consistent play. If we funnel all the elixirs to you, you'll catch up quickly. But items alone won't cut it forever. Who knows how long Cloyd's systems will keep working for me."
Each cycle, the players' skill level was rising rapidly.
Seowoon's anxiety came from experience—and it was justified.
Just as the item distribution ended, Seowoon brushed past Ki-chan and walked toward the players.
Ki-chan forced a smile, smoothing his expression.
No matter how hard he tried to keep up, Seowoon always looked further ahead and moved faster.
Ten days had passed since breaking the formation and achieving victory.
In that time, Seowoon had received enough shared kills to accumulate 43.
They had lost one knight and one mage across three battles—not a bad result.
"Survivors: 1350 / 2000"
Nam Sagwang → Aoi Chie (killed with a martial stomp)
Seowoon frowned as he checked the remaining survivors.
Nam Sagwang had been a monstrous expert who wielded powerful qi.
'A stomp kill?'
That meant he had literally beaten someone to death. And that someone appeared to be a Japanese female player.
A heavy feeling crept into Seowoon's chest.
"My granddaughter's vengeance…"
The last words of the old mage who summoned a meteor echoed faintly in his ears.
As Seowoon was deep in thought, Kaien—who had been walking ahead—raised his hand.
All the players halted and lowered their bodies. The moment Kaien gestured, a mage quickly cast Silence over a wide area.
"There are traces of players up ahead. Not too old. And there's a pretty sizable village beyond."
"They're probably farming right now!"
A player, excited by the prospect of a large village after such a long while, spoke hastily.
"The odds are fairly high."
Kaien replied while glancing toward Juriel.
From here on, the decision was hers.
"Let's approach first."
As the squad crept closer to the village and peeked past the fence, they could see clear signs of activity—people, movement, and evidence of recent looting.
"It's my turn tonight."
"What are you talking about? Who smoothed it over with those two? I'm the one who convinced them. So this time, it's me."
From the nearest house, vulgar conversation floated out that made anyone listening feel dirty just from hearing it.
The most disgusted expressions came from Lilingwei and Juriel.
Seowoon and Ki-chan hadn't seen this kind of thing before, but in squad games that could last months, disgusting situations like this did occasionally arise.
Though he hadn't wanted to know, Seowoon immediately understood what was happening and furrowed his brow.
"Let's wipe them out."
Juriel nodded in agreement.
"We'll ambush while they're distracted farming."
"Senior and I will handle the ambush. Everyone else, hit them with everything once they gather."
Before the plan was even fully set, Seowoon vaulted through the second-story window of the house where the foul conversation was happening.
Jinryung followed behind, suppressing his presence to near perfection.
They hid near the staircase, and soon the knight and martial artist—still bickering—entered their view.
"I'm telling you, tonight's my—"
-Crack.
One's skull exploded, his eyeball shooting out and smacking the martial artist in the chest.
As the martial artist recoiled in shock, Jinryung's sword sliced cleanly across his throat.
"Gguruk…"
Before he even hit the ground, Seowoon crushed his head, and suddenly mana fluctuations surged—the other players, scattered nearby, were converging fast.
-KWAANG!
-BOOM!
Spells rained down toward the gathering enemies as Jinryung and Seowoon burst through the rooftop into view.
As the ambushed players scrambled to defend themselves, Seowoon's eyes narrowed.
A familiar face entered his vision.
"Cho Changjoon."
Seowoon's arrow nocked and loosed in a blink. It pierced the barrier protecting Cho Changjoon and detonated on impact.
From atop the roof, Seowoon loaded another arrow into his bow.
-Screeee! KRAASH!
Another barrier shattered, and the players, now realizing Seowoon's location, began to look around—only to find themselves surrounded by eleven Seowoons, each aiming a bow.
The mages' concentration scattered.
"Jin Seowoon!!"
Of course, Cho Changjoon was among those who had spotted him.
Just then, a shield-bearing woman—Joominah—rushed in and blocked the arrow headed for him.
-Clang!
Her glowing blue shield barely held against the force of Seowoon's attack.
She had somehow identified the real Seowoon and moved to protect Cho Changjoon.
All units, attack!
Juriel's sharp order rang out.
With Jinryung already in position behind the enemy, he charged in, followed by the frontliners who raised their morale and surged forward.
The 14 remaining enemy players were already losing the morale battle.
Five of them, including Cho Changjoon, immediately turned and fled.
I'll pursue!
At Seowoon's call, Ki-chan followed close behind in support.
As Seowoon closed in on Joominah, Cho Changjoon, another knight, and two mages, a Flame Bird spread its wings and swooped down.
-WHOOOSH!
A spell like that? Just a little heat—he could endure it.
Seowoon charged through the flames and loosed another arrow. When it struck in front of the fleeing group, a field of lightning exploded from it.
Cornered, they seemed to decide that their best chance was to eliminate their two pursuers.
The magic flying their way was neutralized by Ki-chan, so Seowoon could focus fully on fighting.
-Screech!
A knight lunged with a spear from behind a shield, but Seowoon's Bloodbone Cutter cleaved through both spear and aura.
-CRASH!
With another slash, the knight's shield crumpled, and he skidded backward.
Cho Changjoon, always attacking half-heartedly, was no match.
How did this guy even make it to a fixed team with this skill level?
As Seowoon prepared to rip out his throat, Joominah jumped in, shield and staff raised.
-RIP!
Her shield and shoulder pauldron tore instantly. She fought back with magic.
-CRACKLE!
Ignoring the magic, Seowoon barreled past her and the others, heading straight for the mage dueling Ki-chan.
Just as the mages placed their feet on their airboards to escape, their heads burst apart.
With Ki-chan's spells and Seowoon's blade, the last knight couldn't last long.
"D-Don't do this! We're both Korean players… we even went to the same school…"
As expected, he pulled the nationality card at the worst moment.
Seowoon stared at him, eyes cold.
Taking a step forward, Cho Changjoon collapsed in panic, screaming.
"W-Who do you think you are?! You bastard! Don't come closer! Do you know what I did to get into this survival squad?!"
Pathetic and desperate like some B-list movie character, his whining made Seowoon's expression shift.
His eyes moved toward Joominah.
"Y-Yeah. Think about Minah! You liked her too, didn't you? Help me out and I'll get you two to—"
-CRACK.
Seowoon crushed Cho Changjoon's skull underfoot, then turned to Joominah.
"Seowoon, I—"
"Don't. I don't want to hear it. I don't even want to know what happened to you. Looking back… you always pretended to be different, but your circle was full of rich friends. Even if it wasn't Cho Changjoon, it was bound to be someone. A smart girl like you? The choice is obvious."
"It's not like that! I—"
"Not about money? Then what are you even doing here?"
Joominah, looking like a tragic heroine until now, suddenly snapped.
"What do you even know about me?!"
-CLANG!
Before her staff could release stored magic, it was deflected by the Bloodbone Cutter.
"You! You—!"
"Congrats on bagging a rich guy. Time to live in the real world. Cloyd's got no place for people like you."
-Slice.
As he passed by her, her neck opened cleanly, blood spilling down.
Leaving the crumpled corpses behind, Seowoon casually tossed a fireball over his shoulder.
-WHOOOSH!
The flames consumed the corpses, confirming five kills.
Snatching up the glowing coins, Seowoon stashed them in his subspace.
Still sensing ongoing combat, Seowoon charged back in—and the remaining enemies didn't last long.
As he felled the final player, a notification rang out.
[Ding! The Boss Monster has been defeated. Glory to Nam Sagwang Squad!]
Juriel and Seowoon immediately pulled up the map and began calculating the distance to the boss's location.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]