PvP (2)
Users hunted various monsters to gain experience, and by accumulating that experience, they raised their levels.
Loot was obtained the same way, by killing monsters.
But astonishingly, this rule applied to users as well.
When a user killed another user, that user, like a monster, left behind experience and loot.
They didn’t even leave behind a corpse, just like monsters.
Because of this, some claimed that magic users were, in the end, humans who had turned into monsters, and that humanity had already been infected by a ‘mana’ virus.
And under the name of the PvP setting, the system even turned a blind eye to users fighting other users.
No, rather, since it was structured so that eliminating another user brought considerable benefits, it almost seemed as if PvP were being encouraged.
That was why PvP between users was strictly forbidden not only by the Gate Management Bureau but also by the NEU.
However, this was not something that could be completely prohibited through agreement among users.
Some might see it as a honey pot.
Others might already be exploiting it in secret.
Baekdu Bloodline was exactly like that.
Outwardly, they claimed to be a normal guild, but in reality, they had continued engaging in PvP as long as it didn’t cause major trouble.
They had grown quietly in that manner and built the massive power they now possessed.
From the beginning, their leader, White Tiger, had grown rapidly during North Korea’s period of chaos by taking in those North Korean users who obeyed him as subordinates and killing those who did not. He raised the Baekdu Bloodline he created in much the same way.
“Leave no evidence. Target users who move in small, mediocre teams, not affiliated with major corporations or large guilds. Among them, aim for the ones who are separated and alone.”
Citizen No. 95 kept recalling the behavioral guidelines Baekdu Bloodline emphasized whenever they carried out PvP, moving in search of a target.
While he wasn’t quite a ranked user, his skill level was just on the borderline of Hunter-class.
What mattered more than rank was the type of ability.
He possessed a B-grade awakening ability called ‘Sword Arm.
It was an ability that allowed him to turn one arm into a sword, not simply transforming the entire arm into a blade, but creating blades from his arm in various ways.
One of its applications was a technique called ‘Sword Finger’, a skill specialized for ambush.
By turning his fingernails into small blades and firing them forward, he had powerful lethality within a certain range.
The drawback was that since he was filing his fingernails, after using them five times, he had to wait for them to regenerate.
But that didn’t matter.
User hunting wasn’t something you could do recklessly like monster hunting. You had to carefully select a target and dispose of them as discreetly as possible. Succeeding once a week was already considered excellent.
“Just let one fool fall into my hands….”
Because the experience gained from PvP was far greater than from PvE (monster hunting), Citizen No. 95 expected that this user hunt would finally break through the level stagnation he had been stuck in.
Like a starving wolf, Citizen No. 95 slowly moved down beneath Baekdu Mountain’s territory.
He had already become closer to a monster than a human.
***
Swoosh.
Central Gaema Plateau.
From midair above a slightly elevated cliff, the barrel of a gun emerged.
“Distance is roughly 1.6 kilometers….”
Through the high-magnification scope mounted atop the barrel, Seon Yul clearly observed the situation 1.6 kilometers away.
“A dire wolf that hunted a boar is eating greedily….”
Slide.
Seon Yul subtly adjusted the barrel’s direction and calmly regulated his breathing.
He had already used Powerful Strike, so all that remained was to hit accurately.
It was a fairly long-distance shot, but a bullet enhanced by Powerful Strike ignored most wind resistance and pierced straight through, so now he only had to account for the dire wolf’s sudden movements and the bullet trajectory affected by distance and elevation.
At first, even 1 kilometer felt burdensome for a sniper shot.
Now, even 2 kilometers posed no difficulty.
“Now!”
The moment he judged the timing right, Seon Yul naturally pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Fweeeee! BOOM!
The 12.7mm bullet fired from the Barrett M82 burst through the air and blew the dire wolf’s head apart in a single shot.
[You have eliminated a Dire Wolf.]
[Calculating your contribution to eliminating the Dire Wolf.]
[Contribution 100%. All experience and loot are awarded to you.]
……
……
A single shot from the Barrett M82 enhanced with Powerful Strike would kill a dire wolf even with a grazing hit.
It had enough power to kill an ogre in one shot if it struck the head, so a dire wolf, whose rank was barely above that of an orc, had no chance of enduring it.
“That makes 21 dire wolves… I should’ve gotten a fang as loot.”
For four days, Seon Yul had hunted from this point using long-range sniping.
At this single location, he had killed one ogre, seven dire wolves, and even three orcs on the side.
“The ogres definitely don’t invade each other’s territories.”
After arriving at the Gaema Plateau, Seon Yul had hunted for four days at each of three different points, but had never killed more than one ogre at any single point.
One ogre per location.
Because of their solitary nature, he was forced to keep relocating.
“I’ll have to move again.”
It had already been nearly fifteen days since he came to the Gaema Plateau region, yet Seon Yul still hadn’t returned to his one-room apartment in Seoul.
From the outset, he had stockpiled enough supplies in Absolute Space to continue hunting for months if necessary. He planned to hunt for another two weeks before heading back.
He placed the Barrett he had used into storage and equipped his gear to head outside.
Helmet on. Specialized mask secured. Defensive suit equipped.
“This time, let’s head further north.”
Lastly, he slung the bag containing the wire over his shoulder and slowly stepped out through the entrance.
Now that he had multiple ways to respond to monsters even outside, his movement was bolder and somewhat faster than before.
Even so, it was only about as fast as a normal person walking briskly… but compared to before, when he moved at the pace of someone crawling, it was a tremendous change.
“They said the northern dungeon region spreads mana territory across a wide area, so ironically, it’s hard to find high-grade monsters.”
If it were an oil field comparison, it had vast reserves, but the quality of the oil was poor.
Thus, users above a certain level rarely came to the northern dungeon region.
Especially once a user exceeded level 70, hunting there, aside from certain special areas, became a waste of time.
But for Seon Yul, that was still a distant future.
His current level was only 22.
For now, he could still gain large amounts of experience from ogres or even just dire wolves.
“I need to reach 25 before heading back….”
Level 25 was his goal for this hunting cycle.
Because he wanted to reach it even if he had to push himself, he moved toward areas that seemed likely to have more monsters.
But after walking north for about five hours…
A monster unlike any Seon Yul had experienced before appeared.
It kept a suitable distance while gathering information about him.
That ‘monster’ was Citizen No. 95… no longer closer to a user than a monster.
“His gear looks shabby… the way he keeps looking around cautiously while walking… just some guy hunting solo.”
For about ten minutes, Citizen No. 95 followed Seon Yul from afar, assessing him thoroughly.
“Let’s make him my first autonomous hunt.”
Citizen No. 95’s level was 65.
Though barely Hunter-class, ambushing and killing users who hunted in this region wasn’t particularly difficult for him.
Having selected Seon Yul as his target, he quietly began closing the distance.
The effective lethal range of Sword Finger was roughly 20 meters.
If he got just a little closer, he would have more than enough timing.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Accounting for the fact that Seon Yul was constantly watching his surroundings, Citizen No. 95 approached carefully from behind along the path Seon Yul had taken.
After some time passed,
He finally spotted his opportunity.
[Sword Arm — Sword Finger]
Just in case, he fired not one but two Sword Fingers.
Papap!
Two small blade fragments shot from his middle and ring fingers, piercing toward the back of Seon Yul’s neck and his back with a slight time gap.
“Got him!”
Confident in the success of his ambush,
Citizen No. 95 immediately transformed his hand and forearm into a large blade.
Even if the ambush didn’t bring the target down, he would rush in and deliver the finishing blow while they panicked.
But…
One of his Sword Finger, which he had expected to embed in the target, was harmlessly deflected.
Clang!
“Huh?”
Fortunately, the second one did pierce his back.
Thud!!
Though the first attack failed, the second succeeded, and Citizen No. 95 immediately charged at Seon Yul.
From firing the two Sword Fingers to launching his direct follow-up attack, everything happened within mere seconds.
He believed his blade would slice through the target’s neck.
But he was wrong.
Whooosh!
His sword-shaped hand cut through empty air.
“What!!!”
Seon Yul had suddenly vanished.
And in his place… a hole in the ground.
In that instant, Citizen No. 95 realized something had gone wrong.
“Th-this feels bad…”
His first instinct was to run.
But he couldn’t.
Clatter!
Two strands of wire shot out from the ominous hole and coiled around his neck and both legs.
“Khack!”
Then dragged him toward the hole.
Grind!
“N-no!!”
He struggled desperately to avoid being pulled in, but his strength was pathetically weak compared to the force transmitted through the wire.
In the end, Citizen No. 95 was helplessly dragged inside.
Pulled in feet first, he made one last attempt to resist by stabbing his transformed right arm, now a giant blade, into the ground outside the entrance.
But that was the worst possible choice.
[Absolute Space entrance closed]
Slice!
As the entrance to Absolute Space snapped shut, the Sword Arm he took pride in was severed instantly.
Thus, Seon Yul and Citizen No. 95 disappeared from the northern Gaema Plateau.
Only one thing remained.
A portion of Citizen No. 95’s right arm reverted from its transformed state.
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