Chapter 55
Inside a private room at the top of the spectator stands. The host, Go Hyunsu, checked the remaining wait time.
『05:29』
About five minutes left. The finals would begin soon. Shortly after, the tournament would conclude, and the owner of the prize would be decided. A pair of red-tinged leather shoes.
‘Nimble Thief’s Footwear.’
A rare item of unique high grade. Footwear items were significantly more valuable than weapons or armor. But the true value of this item wasn’t just its grade or effects.
‘Could it be true? Is there really a thief targeting this?’
Looking at the floating shoes. Go Hyunsu gazed down at the audience packed with people.
“And that person would target Lee Suhyuk….”
Click-.
The door opened just then. Jumping up from his seat in tension, Go Hyunsu relaxed when he saw who it was and spoke.
“It’s you?”
“Yes. You didn’t answer your messages….”
It was Go Hyunsu’s direct subordinate. He checked his kit and found three missed calls.
“Must’ve been too occupied. What is it?”
“Reinforcements have arrived from the guild headquarters.”
“More here?”
Invisible from the outside, Blue Zone players were hidden around the arena. Over a thousand were assigned to protect a single prize item.
No matter how unique the item, it was an excessive number. Naturally. That many were waiting for ‘someone’ aiming for the item.
According to the intel, even this might not be enough.
“Who is leading them?”
“It’s Cha Minwoo.”
“Cha Minwoo? Him?”
Cha Minwoo.
Once hailed as the next Lee Suhyuk due to his talent. He had indeed climbed the tower rapidly and become a ranker. Sending someone like Minwoo indicated how seriously the guild viewed this issue.
‘Could it really be true…?’
Go Hyunsu’s gaze shifted to the tournament screen. The wait time was over, and the finals had begun.
‘Will he really show up?’
Just an event on the 3rd floor. From Blue Zone’s perspective, even if nothing happened, Omar Schneider would win the prize, so it was a safe bet. It was supposed to be a straightforward tournament. But now, maybe—
‘The specter of Blue Eyes.’
—history might change from this point onward.
—
『Your rest period has ended.』
『The finals have begun.』
The room with just a bed disappeared. The walls separating players blurred, revealing their positions to one another.
“What the—?”
“We were this close?”
Hidden by walls and sound barriers, they hadn’t realized. They had been just in tiny 4-pyeong spaces, practically next to each other.
With the walls gone, players sized each other up, reestablishing their strategies for the finals. Lee Suhyuk took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the coming battle.
He wasn’t just fighting for the prize, but for something more. And he wasn’t alone—Schneider, his main rival, was standing not too far from him, also ready for the final showdown.
The battlefield was set, the stakes were higher than ever, and the legendary prize awaited its rightful owner. Staggering. The rules for the finals hadn’t been released yet.
Players were busy sizing each other up, trying to gauge the distance. And then, at that moment…
The rules for the finals were revealed.
『’The finals’ will be a territory capture match.』
『Take over your opponent’s territory.』
『Only two people can enter a single territory at one time.』
『When you defeat a player, you can take over their territory.』
『The player with the most territories at the end of the time limit wins.』
『Time limit: 2:00:00』
A hum.
Under the players’ feet, straight lines and different colors were painted. The boundaries were divided by lines and colors. The room where they had been resting transformed into the territory they now had to defend.
The rules for the finals were clear. A territory capture match. It was a trial of taking away the opponent’s land, as the name suggested.
‘A thorough one-on-one rule.’
‘This is even more of an individual match than the preliminaries.’
‘There’s no benefit in moving first.’
Despite the start of the trial, no one moved. It was only natural. Even if you fought and won against the person next to you, you’d only gain one territory. But if you fought and won against an opponent with ten territories, you’d gain ten territories.
On the other hand, moving early to seize territories would only waste energy.
‘This is a game of wits.’
‘Moving first is disadvantageous.’
‘As long as you time it right, there’s a chance for me, too…’
Just as the participants’ game of wits began.
“Wait a second!”
“Why already-.”
Just two people.
There were participants playing a different game.
“I’m going to Suhyuk. Move aside.”
One of them was Omar Schneider. The other person was.
“It’s 300 points per kill.”
Once again, a kill mission had been assigned to Suhyuk.
“I will enjoy this meal.”
*
The moment the explanation for the finals’ rules ended.
『’MissionVillain’ has registered a mission.』
『How can I hold back? Let’s go for a kill mission right now. 100 points per kill. 0 for death. Go?』
A mission window appeared before Suhyuk, who was searching for Schneider’s location with his eyes.
It seemed MissionVillain thought Suhyuk was watching others just like the other participants.
『’RebornRich’ has registered a mission.』
『For real, let’s go full manly. I’ll add 100 points too.』
『’NoSafeAssets’ has registered a mission.』
『I’ll add too. Refusal is unmanly.』
Three of the same type of mission.
Altogether, it amounted to 300 points per kill, creating a fairly substantial prize pool.
-Oh?
-Now you really have to run?
A trial where moving early puts you at a disadvantage. However, streamers often have to accept such disadvantages. It makes for more entertaining content for viewers and becomes a form of content itself.
Moreover…
“Of course, I have to run.”
Having just spent a whopping 80,000 points, Suhyuk couldn’t afford to give up on this mission. Not that he ever intended to stay still.
Of course, there was one thing that changed due to the mission.
‘Even so, if it comes to this.’
He had identified Schneider’s position. Originally, he was going to go straight towards where Schneider was. He thought it better to settle things quickly rather than appear to be avoiding him.
But given the current situation…
“I have to go the other way.”
Swoosh.
Suhyuk turned his body towards the opposite area from where Schneider was.
*
Once you step into an opponent’s territory, you must defeat them to move to the next area. This rule frustrated Schneider.
“Suhyuuuuk!”
Schneider’s shout, chasing him, echoed from behind. Suhyuk was slashing through participants in the opposite area, and Schneider was puncturing holes in the bodies of anyone who got in his way while chasing Suhyuk.
“Why are you going that way? Why?”
Schneider’s shout was almost a scream. His voice was filled with deep anger. It seemed he felt a sense of betrayal over Suhyuk’s actions. Unfortunately, the two were positioned in exactly opposite directions.
—
He seems really angry…
He kept talking about a promise earlier; did something happen between them?
Yeah, seriously, why is he so pissed off?
Suhyuk spoke after cutting down his thirty-second opponent.
“Yes, there was a promise.”
A promise? What promise?
“Just, let’s have a head-on fight.”
-??? But you’re running away?
“I need to complete the mission.”
-??????
-????
-?????????????
The chat was filled with question marks in response to Suhyuk’s explanation.
No wonder Schneider’s reaction seemed so odd; there was a reason for it after all.
– Seriously, you’re something else…
– I knew you were all about money lol
– Can’t ignore a mission~
– Of course. Isn’t a mission a promise to us?
Fortunately, the response that followed wasn’t bad. In fact, people found it entertaining that he was prioritizing the mission over his promise with Schneider.
– This guy is really serious about missions, lol.
– Now that it’s come to this, just keep running away.
– You idiot, do you think that’ll work? Running away won’t change the fact that the initial territory still exists.
– Oh, right.
Yeah, he’s bound to get caught eventually.
—
What Suhyuk chose wasn’t to run away.
Running away in this trial was impossible from the start. Defeating other participants and capturing their territories would only increase the number of territories, but he couldn’t get farther away from Schneider.
In the end, it would only end once Schneider reached Suhyuk’s territory.
『You’ve gained 1 territory.』
『You’ve gained a total of 41 territories.』
The 41st territory.
Suhyuk quickly took down the surrounding players and pressed on. Meanwhile, Schneider kept running towards where Suhyuk was.
How long had it been?
『Participant ‘Omar Schneider’ has entered the territory.』
『There are currently 2 players in this territory.』
『You cannot enter a new territory.』
Finally, Schneider reached where Suhyuk was.
“Suhyuk!”
He flew in, emitting blue steam from his entire body. The threatening momentum. Just as the message ended, Schneider was right in front of Suhyuk.
Swoosh!
Without any further words, Schneider thrust his spear.
Apparently, he was very angry.
Clang!
The clashing weapons made a loud noise. Forcing Suhyuk’s body to fly backward, unable to withstand it.
‘Trying to withstand it would only be a disadvantage.’
If he tried to block it recklessly, he might end up breaking his wrist holding the sword. In such situations, it’s better to go with the force applied.
Thud!
Suhyuk, who had flown far away and quickly regained his balance, looked up. Right above him. Schneider was spinning his spear and falling downward.
Boom!
Swoosh.
The spinning spear slashed past Suhyuk’s cheek. After a brief storm-like skirmish. Schneider glared at Suhyuk with sharp eyes.
‘He’s really strong.’
His hand was still tingling. Not only was his strength stat high, but his skill with the spear was also quite impressive. Above all, the blue steam flowing from his body. That was further enhancing Schneider’s physical abilities.
“Draw the Lightning.”
The reason Schneider, who seemed ready to end it right away, paused was this.
“Summon it while I’m giving you time. If you try to run again, I’ll definitely stab you in the back this time.”
– He seems really pissed, damn.
– But at least he’s got manners. Even waiting for him to transform.
– Huh? The lightning is his transformation?
Whether it was consideration or coercion, the suggestion was ambiguous.
Suhyuk, inside his mask, made a wry expression.
“Let’s make a few things clear.”
Chzzt-.
Sparks began to flicker off Suhyuk’s body.
“You don’t have to forcibly give me time. I can use the Lightning anyway. It’s not a transformation or anything that requires your consideration.”
Crackle-.
As if to prove his words, the electricity flowing through Suhyuk’s body grew stronger.
“And secondly-.”
『’Lightning’ is activating.』
『’Heart of Lightning’ is resisting ‘Lightning.’』
『’Lightning’s skill effect increases by 20%.』
『Resisted the Status effect: Electrocution.』
Crackle, crackle-!
Once the Lightning started to ignite, it grew as if meeting oil. And soon, it began to take shape.
“Running away is for the weaker ones.”
『’Selfish Sacrifice Lv5’ resists the damage from ‘Lightning.’』
Rumble-!
Thunder roared.
Overcoming the burden on his body, Suhyuk finally formed a lightning spear in his hand.
“Does it still look like I was running away?”