Chapter 142

CHAPTER 142

-I'm going to land somewhere crowded by myself and reduce the number of competitors as much as possible. While I do that, you guys loot.

-What if you die, Seo Jun?

-Then it can't be helped. But don't worry too much. I've completely learned the game.

-The guy who says he's learned the game wants to do a solo Lü Bu Meta...

Seo Jun had confidently proposed doing both the Lü Bu Meta and the Gandhi Meta at the same time.

When they asked why—what advantages there could possibly be—he answered that it was simply more fun.

Then he added that as long as he himself didn't die, it would actually be a much more stable strategy.

No matter how you looked at it, that second explanation sounded completely made up.

After all, if you didn't die, any strategy would be stable.

Lumi was still awkward around Seo Jun, so she couldn't point this out.

She'd hoped Alpaca or Babam Sword would say something, but strangely enough, Alpaca's stance was that anything Seo Jun did was fine, while Babam Sword practically worshipped him.

-As Seo Jun said, we'll have a huge advantage!

Yeah. Whatever happens, happens.

That was exactly what Lumi was thinking as she once again resolved to become closer with him quickly.

Still, they had explained all the basic mechanics to him.

And hadn't he himself told them not to worry too much?

Granted, this was also the same person who, before an E-rank match, had asked if they couldn't simply kill all the enemies.

So she wasn't exactly reassured.

Inside the airplane.

The other three team members decided to jump last among all twenty-four participants.

Their goal was to loot in an empty area.

Even though the map had shrunk, there were so few players that any location outside the popular spots would likely be uncontested.

Meanwhile, Seo Jun planned to go wherever the largest number of players jumped.

So he dropped first.

"I'm heading out. See you later."

"Okay! Don't forget to control your speed! If you don't know how, just glide horizontally! And ask over the radio if you're confused!"

Seo Jun immediately dove straight down.

He rapidly shrank into a tiny dot.

Still, everyone could tell that he was rapidly closing the distance to the players who had jumped before him.

"Wow, he's really fast."

"I think Seo Jun is about to overtake them!"

Listening to her teammates, Lumi asked,

"Aren't you worried his parachute won't open?"

"What would worrying about A-rank Seo Jun accomplish?"

Alpaca replied.

"Ah!"

Lumi nodded.

Come to think of it, that was true.

She coolly admitted her mistake.

He's definitely got some way of controlling his speed while falling!

And then—

She thought she heard a distant thud.

As though someone who had become a tiny speck had failed to open their parachute and slammed straight into the ground.

Must've been my imagination.

Lumi shook her head and cheerfully dismissed the thought.

"We should get ready to jump too! We're about to leave the safe zone!"

How dare she doubt an A-rank player?

She quickly drove the devil of suspicion from her heart.

"Ah! He beat Dokkaebi!"

Arin shouted before continuing.

"His real-life fighting skills are absolutely insane!"

The observer camera had been focused on Seo Jun.

From the very beginning.

"Of course we need to watch the other major locations too, but I can confidently say that the fight we just witnessed was absolutely worth keeping the camera on!"

Bangju sounded equally excited.

-He's absolutely demolishing people barehanded. Kkkkkkkkk!

-This is a boxing semi-pro? This is a boxing semi-pro? This is a boxing semi-pro?

-Dokkaebi's mental state is completely shattered.

-No, seriously, how does someone get crushed like that?

-He fights ridiculously well.

"After drawing everyone's attention with that absurd landing, Seo Jun immediately followed it up with a taunt and a fight. The camera literally couldn't look anywhere else."

The more excited Bangju became, the more excited Arin seemed as well.

"Exactly, Bangju! How could we possibly watch anything else when he's giving us content like this?!"

The fact that parachutes wouldn't deploy above a certain speed was an intentional mechanic.

The developers wanted fall-speed control to be a skill.

"Reaching the ground first is a huge advantage. But if everyone could simply dive straight down and then open their parachutes, there'd be no point!"

The intention was clearly to maintain maximum speed while staying within the allowable limit.

"But Seo Jun looked at that and said, 'I don't like that. The game thinks it can stop me?' So he just dropped straight down."

"Ah, truly worthy of a 995-point player!"

"And then he won a hand-to-hand fight without taking a single hit!"

-You call this commentary?

-You call this casting?

-Lmao.

-This is normal for Rios!

The two worked surprisingly well together.

The other commentators watched with mixed feelings.

Sure, it was entertaining, but weren't they being a little too biased?

"Haha. We should probably cover the other teams too, but it seems the fighting still isn't over."

"That's right. If you look around the building, Dokkaebi's teammates are running over! They're trying to revive him! One of them has already entered the building and is heading upstairs!"

Players could always see their teammates' locations on the minimap.

As long as they weren't downed, they could also communicate through radios.

Bang!

"Seo Jun spotted the reinforcements and immediately killed one! Now he's moving downstairs! He's like a hunter!"

-Why does casually walking upstairs after killing two people look so cool?

-He literally waits, sees them, and shoots. Every shot is a headshot.

-He could probably play a shooting game professionally too. His aim is terrifying.

-Hey, he's a swordsman. What are you talking about?

-Found the Kael fanboy.

Bang!

The moment Seo Jun killed Dokkaebi, the screen quickly switched.

"Wooooow! Thanks to Dokkaebi, an entire squad has been wiped out by Seo Jun! Now let's quickly check on the other teams!"

As the official broadcast, they had to give every streamer screen time.

Arin finally snapped out of her Seo Jun-induced trance, and Taeyang began his analysis.

"Aside from Camp, everyone else is peacefully looting. First, we can see Seo Jun's teammates on the outer edge of the safe zone."

The observer zoomed in on a location from high above.

Seo Jun's teammates were diligently gathering supplies.

Since they hadn't chosen a popular location, they needed to search more buildings.

"Considering that the other five teams landed in popular spots, this was a very good decision."

"Because they don't have any competitors?"

"Exactly. The caster is correct."

They moved to the largest nearby building.

"Only one squad landed at the Hospital. In that case, they're in the best possible situation. They get to monopolize a high-tier location in peace."

The Hospital was currently one of the three major loot hotspots inside the safe zone.

It produced the greatest variety and quantity of items, especially consumables.

"And now we're seeing the Airfield. Like Camp, two squads landed there. But they haven't started fighting yet."

The Airfield was another hotspot.

It provided plenty of loot and immediate access to light aircraft.

Together with Camp, that meant five squads had landed across the three major hotspots.

"Now, for viewers watching Ground Zero for the first time, there's something important we should explain."

"Oh!"

"In Ground Zero, any weapon other than pistols is considered a special weapon and is extremely difficult to obtain. Practically impossible to find in ordinary loot locations."

"You mean things like SMGs, shotguns, and sniper rifles?"

"Exactly. Those weapons possess tremendous firepower. Getting one puts you several steps closer to victory."

"So where do you find them?"

"First, through airdrops that fall at random locations. Second..."

Bangju paused dramatically.

"...by entering the underground bunker connected to these three hotspots and opening the Secret Room!"

The defining feature of this map was its enormous underground bunker.

The villages and military facilities surrounding the oasis in the middle of the desert were all connected underground.

And within that underground network was the bunker.

The safe zone had been generated with the Secret Room at its center.

"The storm's boundaries are intentional. Even when the safe zone shrinks again later, the center—the Secret Room—will always remain inside."

In other words:

The game wanted everyone to fight over the Secret Room.

"Everyone's preparing to head underground. Because they have to fight. And part of that preparation..."

The observer camera instantly returned to Seo Jun.

Rising high into the sky, it showed the entire Camp area.

"...naturally includes eliminating threats from behind. The hunter is about to become the hunted."

The squad led by Team Leader Rain, who had landed at Camp, was advancing together toward Seo Jun's building.

Seo Jun opened his inventory window in midair.

He reached inside, stored the frying pan, and pulled out a bandage.

It's a shame I couldn't find a first-aid kit or a medical kit.

He wrapped the bandage around his arm.

Then tore it off.

Nothing happened.

His HP didn't recover.

So he glanced at the chat window.

Should I wrap it somewhere else?

-Kikikikikik! Please! Every time you do this, it's embarrassing for us, Host...

-You looked so cool just a moment ago. Kkkkk.

-Thank goodness the commentators didn't see that!

-Ah, kkkkkkk. You just press Use while it's in your inventory, lol.

...

Ah.

The moment he read the chat, Seo Jun realized what he'd just done.

He instantly assembled an excuse and shamelessly blurted it out.

"I was trying to make you guys laugh. I already knew that."

Though inwardly he grumbled:

If that's how you're supposed to use it, why did they bother making the bandage look realistic?

Unfortunately, he only had two bandages.

His HP recovered by a tiny amount.

"Hmm. At this rate, I'd still die in one hit."

Things were becoming somewhat dangerous.

There hadn't been any healing items in the building or on the bodies of Dokkaebi's teammates.

Slowly...

Judging by the timing, they should be arriving soon.

Seo Jun walked toward the edge of the rooftop.

It was a fairly large three-story building, but there were no railings.

As expected.

There were two people directly ahead.

Bang!

Seo Jun raised his loaded pistol and fired at one of the players approaching the building.

Then immediately stepped back.

[Sword God14 → Caterpillar]

-Another headshot. Holy crap.

-He fires the instant he sees them. Those reflexes are insane.

-This is a loss for the other side.

-He's unbelievably calm. Kkkkk.

"He was on the roof! Let's just get inside the building quickly!"

It seemed they'd been trying to approach as quietly as possible.

But wasn't it obvious they'd come after him?

There was no way they intended to let Seo Jun live.

The more I reduce their numbers beforehand, the easier things become.

Seo Jun didn't peek from the same place again.

They'd be watching it now.

Instead, he moved sideways.

Looking for the remaining player.

There he is.

A man's head briefly appeared as he sprinted toward the building.

Seo Jun's arm—and pistol—tracked the movement in an instant.

Bang!

He pulled the trigger.

One advantage of rooftops was the wide-open field of view.

[Sword God14 → KeyboardIsBest]

-Is his aim actually insane?!

-Are you seriously special forces? A hitman? What the hell are you?!

-Does he use guns better than swords? Lmao.

The player dropped with a thud.

"Another headshot? What the hell? Does he have a sniper rifle or something?"

"Only two of us left now. Haha... we're screwed."

"He must be an incredible shot. But it's okay, Rain. Thanks to the Level 3 helmet and Level 3 vest we found, even with just two people we'll still have a fighting chance underground."

Hmm.

Seo Jun overheard their conversation.

Since they were the only source of noise nearby, he heard them clearly.

"I'll take point. Let's finish this quickly."

"Yes, Hyung."

-Level 3 helmet? It's over.

-That's basically full gear.

-Camp got insanely lucky loot spawns this match.

-No, unlucky. Because a Level 3 helmet spawned, other helmets couldn't spawn there. Otherwise Host would've gotten one too.

-Either way, Host seems doomed. Kkkkk.

A Level 3 helmet—sometimes found at Camp and a few other locations—was the highest defensive helmet available outside of airdrops and the Secret Room's Level 4 gear.

The same applied to the vest.

Was that guy A-rank too?

He seemed like a top-tier player.

So this isn't a minor crisis. It's a major one.

For Seo Jun especially.

If he couldn't kill them instantly, he'd be the one who died.

And now there was a Level 3 helmet preventing instant kills.

I don't know the exact numbers, but it'll probably take multiple hits.

Seo Jun fired a shot into the air.

Bang!

Then he jumped off the rooftop.

The gunshot concealed the sound of his landing.

His HP dropped to a critical level.

But nothing had really changed.

-Loot the bodies you killed.

-There might be a medkit.

He didn't respond.

He couldn't risk making even the slightest noise.

Seo Jun entered the building.

If he went outside to loot and the enemy happened to glance out a window, he'd be finished.

Boom!

An explosion sounded above.

The enemies were entering while throwing grenades.

Seo Jun moved in sync with the noise.

Then—

After reaching the second floor and rounding a hallway corner, he spotted them.

Bang!

"Huh?!"

The instant he shot Rain in the back of the head, the player following behind him—Hwangso—immediately spun around.

[Sword God14 → Butterfly Effect]

But Seo Jun had already slipped back behind the wall.

-Three kills!

-Does this guy's hand never shake?

-Seriously, why isn't the National Intelligence Service recruiting him? Kkkkk.

-But what's Host going to do now?

Even though he hadn't fired many shots, his statistics were absurd:

100% accuracy.
100% headshot rate.

And his positioning was flawless.

But that was as far as it went.

-Hwangso's coming.

-Full-loot A-rank is scary.

-Host is slowly backing away.

-Running to the third floor. Kkkkk.

-This one's hard.

The viewers predicted Seo Jun's defeat.

The gear difference was simply too great.

And his HP situation was hopeless.

Seo Jun thought the same.

Which was why he retreated upstairs.

Should I try it?

He did have an idea.

Whether it would work or not was another matter.

-Eh? Kkkkk. Even if you smack him with that, a Level 3 helmet won't knock him out~

-Host must be craving a sword now that he's in danger. Kkkkk. Too bad he doesn't have one.

-Sword God (equips frying pan)

Holding the pistol in his left hand and the frying pan in his right, Seo Jun said,

"Hahaha! You guys are worrying too much."

He was speaking to his viewers.

But in truth, he wanted the enemy to hear it.

"So, you're over there?"

Hwangso held his pistol with both hands, maintaining a perfectly stable firing stance as he advanced slowly.

When he reached a certain distance, he stopped and aimed toward the wall.

He's planning something.

It was intuition.

He knew Seo Jun was preparing something.

But it didn't matter.

Whatever came out from around that corner, he intended to shoot immediately.

His Level 3 helmet and vest made him nearly invincible.

A few hits wouldn't matter.

Then the enemy appeared.

Now!

Bang!

Hwangso smiled confidently.

He fired toward Seo Jun's legs—a shot difficult to dodge and impossible to counter.

After all, Seo Jun was at such low HP that any hit would kill him.

It's over.

But then—

CLANG!

A strange metallic sound echoed through the hallway.