[Six-Quad. Survival Strategy]
With his bowstring taut, Seowoon calmly observed the chaotic battlefield, waiting for the right moment.
It seemed some kind of tacit alliance had formed—the Duo-Quad, composed of a magician and a knight, and the Trio-Quad, consisting of two martial artists and a magician, were focusing their attacks on the team Seowoon had once fought beside.
It wasn't blatant teaming, but the tension between them showed they were still wary of one another.
Even so, one martial artist with a particularly sharp saber had taken an aggressive stance, choosing to engage rather than defend the magician in his squad.
It was a kind of play that required a deep trust in one's teammate—the knight.
As his saber danced through the air, dozens of energy blades surged forward, shattering the Duo-Quad magician's shield.
Seowoon's eyes gleamed.
—Whshhk!
Like a black shadow brushing past the magician's forehead, a thin line of red spilled down between his brows, and he crumpled to the ground.
The sudden change froze everyone on the battlefield. No one moved. All eyes scanned the surroundings, alert and confused.
'Impressive.'
A brief thought.
The arrow he'd just loosed was far beyond what he'd used in previous skirmishes.
It was only about a 55% speed increase, but the perceived velocity was far greater.
None of the players had even realized what hit the magician—many still hadn't figured it out.
This dungeon, after all, allowed the Cloak of Invisibility to function at full capacity.
In a place devoid of sunlight 24/7, few items were as reliable as that cloak.
While the players nervously scanned the battlefield, Seowoon repositioned slightly, drew another short arrow, and pulled back his bowstring.
The magician in the Trio-Quad, clearly spooked, kept stacking shields and barriers around himself.
Understandable—another magician had just been taken down in an instant.
Everyone was on edge, with an invisible enemy in play. No one dared move recklessly.
Eventually, the team under pressure could no longer hold back and charged the enemy.
They had lost only one magician, but the team that had fought alongside Seowoon before now moved with ease.
Going from 5v3 to 4v3 was significant, but more than that—it evened the magician matchup to 1-on-1.
Among the generally cautious players, it was the martial artist with the saber who went on the offensive.
Their situation had already been disadvantageous, but now that a window of opportunity had opened, he charged in, unleashing waves of energy with every swing.
'He was that aggressive back then too.'
Back then, he had charged head-on at someone far stronger than himself, clearly prepared to die.
But this time, he seemed even faster.
Still, three opponents—two martial artists and a knight—were too much for him to handle alone.
Especially the knight, now left without his team, had latched on to the Trio-Quad and was aiding them fiercely.
He likely believed his only chance of survival was to join them.
'Idiot. He should've run and hidden by now.'
Seowoon found the knight's desperation almost pitiful.
If it were him, he would've turned and fled the moment the magician was taken down.
No—in truth, the smartest play would've been for everyone to retreat the moment a magician was taken down by an unknown attack.
'The 24-hour limit is making everyone act irrationally.'
With the looming fear of what might happen if the Wraith revived after 24 hours, people were clearly overcommitting.
As the knight's efforts to prove his worth began to sway the balance in the Trio-Quad's favor, two Ice Lances formed over Seowoon's shoulder and launched toward the magician with slight timing gaps.
The magician, sensing the mana fluctuation, instinctively turned toward Seowoon's hiding direction.
Just as he did, the Ice Lances shattered his shield and barrier, and the two martial artists immediately leapt in front of him.
Even as his stealth faded, Seowoon was already moving, melting back into the darkness with bowstring drawn.
The moment stealth wore off, he poured all his inner energy into his bow and short arrow—and released it.
—Whshhk!
Blood spattered from the magician's temple as he tried to summon a new shield, and he collapsed to the side.
The two martial artists desperately reached for him—but of course, their opponents wouldn't sit idly by and watch.
Energy waves from the saber and the other magician's spells surged forward, and soon the two martial artists and the knight were overwhelmed—transformed into loot chests.
The last remaining player didn't even dare approach the chests, anxiously scanning the surroundings.
They were clearly weighing the danger of the unknown enemy against the temptation of items, unable to choose.
That's when Seowoon, now without his cloak, appeared before them.
"Fancy seeing you again."
The sudden appearance made the three startle and instinctively prepare to attack.
Their faces shifted subtly—emotions flickered between relief, hostility, and caution.
Seowoon gave them a genuine smile.
Though things had turned competitive in the end, there had once been a strong bond between them. It was hard to consider them true enemies.
Maybe it was the sincerity in his smile, or maybe they just sensed his presence—either way, one of the martial artists relaxed first, sheathed his blade, and stepped forward.
"I figured you must've survived and were hiding somewhere... Still, it's good to see you again."
"I'm glad too—especially now."
Seowoon emphasized the last part, and the martial artist raised an eyebrow.
"Doesn't seem like you helped us out of kindness. I hope your price isn't too steep."
He tapped the hilt of his sheathed sword jokingly—but Seowoon liked that confidence.
"Before we get to that, when did you enter this dungeon?"
"Been in this underground area for about ten days."
"Then you probably haven't heard about the teaming?"
"Teaming? What teaming?"
It was clear—this early entrant hadn't realized what was happening.
"Right now, three to four Quads are teaming up. Until recently, they were camping near the entrance to ambush newcomers. But now that the field barrier's down, they're actively hunting. You've only got two options: join them or build a resistance."
At that, the martial artist and magician—excluding the knight—grew serious.
They were both seasoned players of Cloyd.
They'd tried temporary alliances before, but teaming in a Squad Game was new to them.
If more than three squads had joined forces, there really was no proper way to fight back.
Without overwhelming power, any direct clash would lead to immediate annihilation.
"Why overthink it?" the knight said, as if it were obvious. "They're just grouping up to brute-force through. We're comrades who fought side-by-side against a boss. Let's band together and push back."
The magician and martial artist sighed deeply at his naive optimism.
They didn't say anything—but their expressions said it all:
'Must be nice being that simple.'
In squad-based games, you couldn't form new teams after the waiting room phase.
Which meant, once the game began, you couldn't fully trust anyone you met along the way.
So the magician and martial artist couldn't help but question Seowoon's true intentions.
That's when Ki-chan and Lyle appeared beside Seowoon.
"We're not asking you to team up permanently. Just long enough to break the teamers."
Seowoon added to Ki-chan's words.
"You've probably already noticed—a master who uses qi energy is among them. And... Jurokana is likely still alive too."
The magician's eyes widened at the name Jurokana. The martial artist flinched at the mention of qi mastery.
Even when calling up the survivor list, most players only checked how many people were left—or glanced at the names at the bottom. No one really paid attention to how someone had been killed. That's why they'd missed it.
"A Divine Archer's in this game?"
"Qi Force... Are you saying you actually saw it?"
Both the martial artist and magician questioned Seowoon at once.
"I fought Jurokana directly. As for the martial artist who uses qi, I didn't see him myself—but I doubt either of those players dropped out mid-game."
The martial artist and magician exchanged glances and nodded.
"Let's team up," the martial artist said. "At least for now."
Hearing that weighty declaration, Seowoon smiled.
"I'm Jin Seowoon."
"I'm Limin."
Limin offered a slightly awkward fist-over-palm martial salute, and Seowoon returned it. Fortunately, having read wuxia novels and watched martial arts dramas, he understood it was a gesture similar in meaning to a handshake.
(Note: Fist-over-palm and open-palm salutes are similar but have different connotations and postures.)
"I'm Dumph. Let's do well together."
He thumped his shield against the ground as he introduced himself. Seowoon assumed that must be some sort of knight's etiquette, and he accepted the greeting with a nod.
Somehow, the simple name "Dumph" suited the man.
"Same to you."
He replied in casual speech, and Dumph didn't seem to mind at all.
"You can call me Sade. Let's aim for a good outcome together."
With introductions finished, Lyle and Ki-chan also stepped forward to introduce themselves.
Once the greetings were done, the group gathered to discuss plans while finishing up some light looting—but they couldn't reach an agreement.
"We should take the fight to them now. There's less than 17 hours left before the Wraith revives."
The magician's proposal made Seowoon shake his head.
"Not yet. Even with our numbers, those teaming squads outmatch us two-to-one. And don't forget—Jurokana and that mystery martial artist using qi are still out there. It's safer to leverage the variables and try to tip the game in our favor. Maybe we can bait them into fighting each other."
"That's a huge gamble," Limin said, now speaking comfortably in informal speech. "There's no guarantee those variables will work in our favor."
"We'll just have to put it to a vote, then," Ki-chan suggested.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Just before the vote, Seowoon spoke up.
"Before that—here. I don't need this item, but I figured it might be more valuable to you."
He tossed a sword manual to Dumph, whose eyes doubled in size when he caught it.
"Th-this is...!"
It was understandable. The manual belonged to a Kraeren Empire official knight—a full knight recognized with the Sword Emperor title.
To a mere trainee knight like himself, this was the item he had desperately hunted for in Cloyd.
Seowoon watched Dumph gaze at him with teary gratitude, trying to keep a straight face.
"It only has true value when it's in the right hands."
In truth, it was just a locked item he'd already logged in his catalog. As long as he had coins to spare, he could retrieve another at any time. But Dumph looked at him like he was a savior.
"Alright, shall we vote?"
Just as Ki-chan jumped in, the martial artist and magician exchanged looks and shook their heads.
There was no point in voting. Everyone, except Dumph, saw through Seowoon's obvious move.
Still, it wasn't something they could openly criticize.
"Fine. But this plan really is a gamble," the magician muttered.
Seowoon smiled faintly.
"Not necessarily. I've got a hunch about this Wraith's revival."
"A hunch?"
Limin and Sade turned to him, intrigued.
"I think it's going to be a boss-level monster—or possibly even higher."
The two of them nodded. They had suspected as much themselves.
Only Dumph looked thoroughly shocked.
Ignoring him, Seowoon continued.
"And when it revives, all the players will flock to it. There's bound to be a massive battle."
At that point, the magician cut in.
"I disagree. The time limit was designed to force players to act. My guess is it'll unleash something too overwhelming to defeat—just to accelerate the game."
It wasn't a bad argument.
"Maybe. But even so, players will throw themselves at it—because they want the reward."
Sade opened his mouth to object again, but Limin nodded first.
"Of course they will."
Sade looked at him in confusion.
"Think about it. If it's stronger than a boss monster, then the reward's probably even better."
"Ah!"
Now the magician's face lit up with understanding. If there was one universal trait among players—it was greed for items.
With a smirk reminiscent of a movie villain, Seowoon said,
"What if we hit them from behind when they're all distracted?"
Screeee!!
Limin's blade, coated in holy water, cleaved a Specter in two. It shattered with a soft chime as it faded away.
"That should be all of them in this area."
Sliding his reverse-gripped sword smoothly into its sheath, Limin stepped back.
The party turned their eyes toward a softly glowing white gem embedded in the nearby wall.
They had only recently discovered the significance of these gems.
Wherever Specters spawned, a gem like that was always nearby.
Once all the surrounding Specters were eliminated, the gem would go dark. After 24 hours, it would glow again and summon a new horde.
"If Lirik were here, we'd probably know more—but it must be some kind of anchor that binds the Specters."
"It didn't have any power when we stored it in subspace, right?" Seowoon asked.
Sade nodded. "I checked twice. It goes completely inert."
Leaping toward the wall, Seowoon reached out and yanked the gem free.
—Crunch!
Like digging it out of stone, he pulled it loose and stored it in subspace. Ki-chan looked at him.
"That's the tenth one. If it's around 20–30 Specters per gem, we've killed over 200 already. Even for Specters, that's a lot."
"Not enough. I won't feel safe until we've got 500."
Everyone—Ki-chan, Lyle, and Sade—stared at Seowoon, wide-eyed.
"Alert magic just triggered in Zone A-1!"
"Run!"
Using detection spells planted on cleared sections of the map, Seowoon had led the group while avoiding other players, focusing only on collecting gems.
Only a few days had passed—but no one questioned Seowoon's leadership anymore.
Day 38 of the Game.39 survivors remaining out of 400.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]
IF YOU WANT TO BUY THE REST OF THE CHAPTERS IN ONE GO, YOU CAN USE OUR DISCOUNT CODE : WSS15