Squad Three: Reunited by Fate
Seowoon sighed as he organized the items and stored them in his subspace.
"Too bad I didn't get any archery skills."
—Master, you're so greedy.—
Hammit grumbled, likely because Seowoon had been ignoring him lately, but Seowoon didn't pay him any mind.
After gathering the skills, he moved to the location where Kichan was waiting.
As he entered a particularly dense part of the forest, the ground, thick with fallen leaves, shifted—and Kichan suddenly burst up from beneath.
"Hyung, are you okay?"
Seeing the torn fabric around Seowoon's shoulder, Kichan wore a worried expression.
"It's nothing. More importantly, did you get anything good?"
"I got a decent number of skill books. Barrier of Kaier and Resonance of Kaier look immediately usable. I also found the spellbooks Roar of the Earth and Wind Buster."
"Nothing much in terms of items?"
"This staff was nice. The rest were all useless armor pieces. I brought them anyway—do you want them? I don't have the strength to wear heavy armor."
"Do any of them have useful options?"
"Nope. All focused on defense. And the helmet's broken, too."
"Then forget it."
Kichan pulled some jerky from his subspace and asked while chewing.
"How was the archer? Looked like an elf—didn't drop anything good?"
"It's a shame I didn't get any archery skills, but I did get some useful ones for the forest. One lets me see far distances in detail, and the other lets me detect artificial auras within 30 meters."
"Both fit your scouting style perfectly. Oh, here."
As Seowoon took the skill book Kichan handed over, a notification chimed.
[Skill Book: Barrier of Kaier. Negates 20% of physical damage for 1 minute.]
[Skill Book: Resonance of Kaier. Intimidates enemies with a loud noise, reducing their physical attack power by 10% for 1 minute within a 10-meter radius.]
"Both are better suited for someone who fights up close," Kichan said, firmly drawing the line when Seowoon tried to give the Barrier of Kaier to him.
Smiling at him, Seowoon learned both skills.
The two entered a space they had dug underground and covered it with a lid above. A soft light glowed, illuminating the area.
The cramped space, just enough for three people to stretch their legs, had been created using Kichan's magic.
"That stone is really useful. Good thing you picked it up."
The mana jewel, a fist-sized stone obtained two days ago after defeating a monster called the Green Shadow, was a popular alchemy material. When infused with mana, it emitted a gentle glow like now.
"Right? We could get at least ten million won for it. Not bad for a one-coin drop."
As the light dimmed, Kichan infused more mana, and it brightened again.
"We've been filtering out the smaller groups. Should we hold out here a bit longer?"
At Seowoon's suggestion, Kichan nodded.
"I think that's best. We should hold out until the forcefield starts to tighten."
"If the field jumps drastically, we might be in trouble."
"That's true, but it's only day three."
"Yeah. Then let's stay a few more da—"
Before Seowoon could finish, Kichan quickly stored the mana jewel back in the subspace.
Rustle, rustle—
Suddenly, they heard someone approaching from above, the crunch of footsteps on fallen leaves growing louder.
Seowoon and Kichan exchanged a glance—then shot upward simultaneously.
"Ah!"
A startled, youthful voice rang out as a robed figure stumbled backward, revealing a young face.
The brown-haired child widened their eyes and raised a hand.
"Iron Barrier!"
Clang!
Seowoon's mana-powered punch was blocked by a metal shield that vanished the moment it fulfilled its purpose. The child's eyes grew even wider.
Staring in a daze, they didn't even think to throw the fire spell gathered in their hand—so Kichan launched a bolt of lightning.
Crackle!
The crackling bolt shot toward the child with deadly intent—only for Seowoon to punch it away.
"Hyung!"
Startled by Seowoon's unexpected action, Kichan cried out.
Ignoring him, Seowoon fixed his gaze on the child.
The child looked straight up at Seowoon and let the fire in their hand dissipate.
"We meet again. It's nice to see you in one piece."
The child who had once risked their life to repay a small favor—
The child who repaid Seowoon's kindness in the survival game Cloyd Survival—
That child now stood before him.
Back then, they'd been a skinny, ragged, cautious kid. But now, their cheeks were full, and they looked like any other child their age—healthy and strong.
"Ah! Mister!"
As if reunited with a long-lost friend, the child jumped up and ran right to him, bouncing on their feet, unsure what to do.
"I never thought we'd meet again this soon… You look well."
"It's all thanks to you, mister!"
As the child's voice grew louder with excitement, Kichan cut in.
"It's nice to see a reunion and all, but can we go inside and talk first?"
As soon as they descended into the shelter they had built underground, Kichan shut the cover and cast a Silence spell over the area.
He then pulled out a mana jewel to light the darkness and embedded it into the ceiling. As the light filled the space, the child grasped Seowoon's hands and finally finished saying what he couldn't earlier.
"Thank you so much for before!"
"No, I'm the one who should thank you. Thanks to you, my last game went better than expected. And you… you seem to be doing really well."
"My life changed—just like you said it would!"
The excited child eagerly began to talk.
Using the coins he had received as a reward, he took a 3rd Circle Stone and returned to reality. There, he became an apprentice to a famous magician in his world.
His teacher had been amazed by how quickly he absorbed spells through the system using magic books, calling him a prodigy. As he trained, he was able to support and treat his sick mother, making her life much more comfortable.
Since then, he had returned to Cloyd once more, performed well again, and was now a 5th Circle mage.
"I suppose as long as you have a Circle Stone, you can learn most spells in your world."
"Yes. Recently, I even told my teacher the truth without hiding anything, and he found it really fascinating. It's all thanks to you, mister."
Judging by the kid's plump cheeks, Seowoon had expected things to have gone well, but it sounded like they had gone even better than anticipated.
"But… why are you alone right now? I set up alert magic in the area—how did you get past that?"
"Ah… well…"
The boy's expression darkened immediately.
It was a fast emotional shift, fitting for his age.
"My teammates… they all died protecting just me. One of them handed me a Random Teleport Scroll at the last moment, and that's the only reason I survived."
"Random Teleport?"
Hearing the unfamiliar name of the scroll, Seowoon tilted his head. Kichan answered in his place.
"It's a type of Gold Scroll. The community calls it a 'Ver'—a term from an old game that meant teleportation. When used, it randomly teleports you somewhere on the map. It might be nearby, or it could be really far. Like the name says, it's random."
"So you used that scroll and ended up running into us?"
"Yes! I knew I'd meet you again, mister!"
Seeing how much more cheerful the kid had become since last time, Seowoon gave a slightly awkward smile.
"I get it, but… your teammates sacrificing themselves to save you is no small thing."
Kichan responded again.
"It's a bit different in duos and quads."
"How so?"
"In duos, the match ends the moment you get wiped out, regardless of whether your teammate survives. But in quads, your team's performance still counts even if you die. So as long as one person lives, the rest can watch that person play from the waiting room."
"Huh? Then why are duos even a thing…?"
"That, I don't know. Guess it's just how the devs made the game. That's why when players rank up, they usually stick with quads. It's also why players get more serious about quad matches."
"I see. Makes sense now. Then right now, your teammates are probably watching you really closely, huh?"
"Yes. I'm sure they're praying I can survive and somehow get us into the top 120."
"Wait—so if all four teams in 100 quads had at least one survivor and that added up to 100 survivors total…?"
"Then all 300 players who died earlier would get to live too. It's rare, but not impossible. That's why in quads, people often try to run and survive instead of fighting to the death."
"Ah… I did wonder why there were so many survivors."
Even while listening to the conversation, the child's eyes were locked on Seowoon's face, sparkling.
Like a kid looking at a hero. And Seowoon found that gaze deeply uncomfortable.
"Still, becoming a 5th Circle mage after only three runs—that's impressive."
"I-I was just lucky…"
"Luck is a form of skill too. You're not on our team, but I assume you want to cooperate with us?"
"If you'll have me, I'll do my best!"
There was no reason to say no. If the boy hadn't shown such open admiration for Seowoon, they might've hesitated to accept him as a teammate. But this boy seemed likely to follow Seowoon's decisions without question.
Noticing Kichan's expression, Seowoon nodded.
"Then let me ask you to confirm. You said you're a 5th Circle mage. What spells can you use? And what's your mana stat?"
The boy answered sincerely, revealing all of his stats and magic spells.
"W-Wait. How much mana did you say you had?"
"Three hundred twenty-three."
He answered in a subdued voice, thinking his mana was too low.
"Why? Is that abnormal?"
"Of course! That's…"
Kichan trailed off, and the boy's expression grew gloomier.
After double-checking his own stats, Kichan sighed and finally spoke.
"Hah… I'm a 6th Circle mage and I only have 250 mana. I didn't even break 200 when I was at 5th Circle. Maybe it's a talent difference."
Receiving Kichan's slightly envious look, the boy's expression finally brightened.
"My teacher said I was born with a high mana pool. I was worried I was lacking something."
"Lacking? Not at all. According to community info, 250 at 6th Circle is considered a 'blessed character.' You've got over 320 at 5th Circle. And your teacher must be incredible too. You've learned a wide variety of spells across multiple elements, and your balance is solid. As a traditional mage, you're at a very high level. Plus, you even learned healing magic."
"You mean recovery spells, right?"
"Yeah. In Cloyd, that kind of magic is kind of a waste. Since there are healing scrolls, no one really spends coins on recovery spells."
That made Seowoon nod in agreement. He wouldn't waste coins on healing spells either.
"My teacher heard about how dangerous things are here and specially gave me the magic book, saying you never know what might happen."
There was no downside to learning it, that was for sure.
"By the way, did you check the name of the guy who killed your teammates?"
"Not yet… I'll check now. Survivors."
320/400
…
Jurokuana → Kie (Killed with a bow.)
Jurokuana → Siek (Killed with a bow.)
"Jurokuana."
The moment that name came out of the child's mouth, Seowoon's eyes sparkled.
He had somewhat expected it ever since he heard someone had been shooting terrifying arrows without revealing their location.
"I knew it. That bastard."
"You know him?"
To the child's question, Seowoon nodded.
"He's someone I owe a debt to."
Just by looking at Seowoon's expression, the child could tell it wasn't the kind of debt that meant anything good.
"By the way, what's your name?"
Kichan asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Please call me Lyle."
"Alright. I'm Kang Kichan, and this is—"
"I know Mr. Jin Seowoon!"
In the previous game, players had even formed alliances just to avoid Jin Seowoon, so there was no way Lyle wouldn't know that name.
After that, they talked for quite a while.
Especially Kichan, who explained future roles and positioning to Lyle as a fellow mage.
Since Lyle might end up being a hindrance in future battles, Kichan went over the details multiple times. Watching this, Seowoon spoke up.
"Alright, I'll head out for a bit. You two keep at it."
"Already? The sun's just rising…"
"That's why I need to go. Players will start crawling out again."
—And thanks to that guy, a 4-man quad might actually be worth trying now.
Hearing Seowoon's backchannel on team voice, Kichan nodded.
"Good luck out there, hyung."
"Got it."
Seowoon sprinted through the forest until he reached its edge, then kicked off a tree to climb to the top.
From there, a massive city came into view.
The city was quite a distance from the forest where Seowoon currently was, but if players moved directly toward the safe zone (called "in-circling") instead of following the main roads, they'd inevitably pass through here.
That's why he and Kichan had agreed to camp and ambush from this forest.
How much time passed as Seowoon scanned the land from the treetop?
The sun, which had just risen, was now high in the sky.
That's when several figures entered his view—racing across the land straight for the forest.
They seemed intent on cutting straight through the terrain.
—Kichan, get ready to receive guests. Expected route: 10-1.
They had already divided the forest into sections and labeled them like addresses.
—Got it! Preparing now.
Imagining Kichan setting up his trap scrolls and getting into position for an ambush, Seowoon moved a bit farther back.
Watching the four targets approach from a distance, Seowoon's eyes widened.
—Master!!—
Hammit was saying something, but the words in Seowoon's mind were drowned out.
The moment he sensed something was wrong, Seowoon's body sprang into motion, dashing toward Kichan.
—Retreat! Retreat! Run now!
—Huh? What's going on, hyung…?
—No time to explain! Strong enemy! Just run!
Kichan, who had just finished setting scrolls and loading attack spells into his staff, grabbed Lyle and fled without looking back.
—Go to Plan B location…
—No! That place could be dangerous too. Go to C! Head for C!
—KRAAA-BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed through the forest like a thunderclap.
Even Kichan and Lyle, who had already started fleeing, hesitated at the sheer force of the noise.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]