(배틀 힐) Battle Hill.
Roughly translated, it means Fighting Hill.
If you asked what the most popular capsule game is these days, every streamer and viewer alike would say Battle Hill without exception.
Battle Hill is a battle royale game where a designated area is set and players fight until only one person remains alive. Of course, it became hugely popular because various elements were mixed into that battle royale genre.
"Alright, I've talked long enough. Let's start Battle Hill right away."
I said that and immediately started the game. The reason I didn't bother explaining the game was that most of the viewers already knew what Battle Hill was. Explaining it would only make the stream boring.
Wooooong!
As the game started, a majestic sound rang out and various weapons began floating around me. From these weapons, I had to choose the main weapon to use in this battle.
'Sword, spear, bow.'
These were the weapons available at the start of the game.
"So, guys, which weapon should I pick?"
—Sword, go sword.
—A sword is romantic, after all.
—Spear is probably the safest, most balanced choice.
—Since it's your first time, spear seems like the safest option.
Just as the chat opinions were narrowing down to sword or spear, one message appeared in between.
—Try the bow.
Someone had suggested the bow. Honestly, I had wondered why there had been so much talk about swords and spears but no mention of bows, and now it finally came up.
But before I could say anything, the chat suddenly exploded.
—You're recommending the bow? Get out.
—You crossed the line. How can you recommend the bow to a streamer?
—Time for an autopsy, ddun-tta-tta, ddun-tta-tta.
—Wow, this guy's obsessed with the bow. He spammed other streams telling them to use the bow too.
—Bow cultists are scary, damn.
Just because someone recommended the bow, the viewers started going wild. I couldn't understand what was going on at all, so I just watched the chat in silence.
As the chat overheated, a donation came in.
['Explanation Guy' donated 1,000 won!]
[It's because the bow is complete trash....]
After listening to the long donation message, I roughly understood what was going on. First, I learned that the bow was a weapon with broken balance and was used more like a challenge weapon.
The problem was the bow's excessive frustration factor. It was so frustrating that not only the streamer but even the viewers suffered while watching.
'Is it understandable that they're angry after recommending a weapon like that?'
I honestly considered choosing the bow, but after hearing that, I realized I absolutely should not.
"Alright, it seems things are getting too heated, so I'm going to freeze the chat for a bit."
As soon as I said that, the aggressively scrolling chat stopped. After freezing the chat, I naturally continued the stream.
"For now, people say the spear is the safest, so I'll go with the spear for the first round."
I said that and picked up the spear. As soon as I did, the surrounding weapons disappeared and three doors appeared in front of me.
[Warrior] [Magician] [Esper]
"So this is where you choose your class?"
Classes are the charm of Battle Hill and one of the reasons for its popularity. Depending on the class you choose, even the same weapon can use completely different skills, and that often determines victory or defeat. That's why choosing the right class early on is important.
Warrior is exactly what it sounds like, a class focused on weapons, increasing the weapon's raw power and attack strength.
Magician feels like a magic swordsman, a class that can use both weapons and magic.
Esper is known as the hardest class to control among the three, capable of using various special skills. However, its attack power is noticeably lower than the other two.
"I'm a beginner, so I'll go with Warrior."
Magician and Esper require too much thinking and aren't suitable for beginners. I was a complete beginner. I'd played many games before, but a beginner is still a beginner.
You need time to adapt to a game.
"Alright, then let's officially begin Battle Hill."
The moment I said that, my body turned into particles of light and disappeared. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in an open field.
'First, let's check the map.'
I naturally moved my hand to open the map. I'd gone through the tutorial briefly, so I knew the controls.
"...Ah, this position is really bad."
The place I was in was right in the middle of an open field. There was nothing to hide behind, and if I wanted to run, I'd stand out way too much in a place like this.
It was, without question, the worst possible position.
"I need to move to somewhere with cover first."
I muttered that and headed toward the nearest building marked on the map. While I was moving, I heard a sound.
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
It sounded like a horse running across the ground. And it wasn't my imagination, it really was the sound of a horse charging toward me.
"Hyah!"
Another user was riding a horse and charging straight at me. The weapon they were holding was a spear, the same as mine.
"Found a newbie!"
The user shouted excitedly as they charged at me. The difference between that user and me was obvious. A mobile horse, and their weapon's form was different from mine. They had picked up a level core.
When you acquire a level core, the form of your weapon changes and you can use skills that were previously locked. Level cores can be obtained by killing other players or farming, and it seemed this user had gotten theirs through farming.
"If you're a newbie, you gotta die!"
The user shouted boldly and swung their spear at me.
Clang!
I somehow reacted to the first attack. It came straight at me in a simple line, so I managed to block it.
'I won't be able to block the next one.'
Because right after blocking the first attack, a system message appeared before my eyes.
[You blocked a strong attack.]
[You are afflicted with Slow.]
Along with the message saying I was slowed, my movements became noticeably sluggish. At this rate, there was no way I'd block the next attack.
"Tch, how did you block that?"
The man clicked his tongue, adjusted his grip, and faced me again. Then he charged straight at me.
Before dying, I could say just one last thing.
"Trash RNG game."
Thud!
As soon as I spat out those final words, my vision blurred and yellow text appeared before my eyes.
[That's unfortunate. Try for the next chance!]
After confirming the last message, I was returned to the game lobby. Back in the lobby, I unfroze the chat. Then, like water bursting through a dam, the chat started flooding in instantly.
—ZZZZZZZZZZ
—How do you even spawn in the middle of a field
—For real, just type lol
—You could survive even if you spawn in a field, but of all things you meet a guy with a horse and a level core
—This is why you're our streamer, lol
.
.
.
Watching the chat scroll so fast it was practically lagging, I stayed silent. I knew this kind of backlash was inevitable after freezing the chat.
And honestly, even I thought that death was ridiculous, so I didn't really have anything to say. Sure, the spawn location was brutally unfair, but just like that, my first round ended.
"Alright, let's calm down a bit and move on to the next round."
—Kk
—Let's go
—I kind of hope you get screwed over again like before.
I roughly ignored the chat and immediately started the game again. Since I was going to make the same choices as before, I selected everything smoothly without hesitation.
Once the selection was finished, my body turned into light and disappeared. When I opened my eyes again, what I saw were tall buildings and roads.
"Looks like this map is the city."
Battle Hill has a total of three maps: the rural map I got first, the city map I was on now, and finally the jungle. Each map has its own characteristics, and the city map I was in had all floors of its buildings activated, making it ideal for camping.
'One of the most popular maps among beginners.'
Without hesitation, I entered the tallest nearby building. The taller the building, the more items there were to farm.
On the first floor of the building, there was an information desk and another person.
"Huh?!"
"Ah?!"
We locked eyes, and at the same time our gazes shifted toward the same spot. There was a blue-glowing orb there.
'A level core!'
The most important element in this game was right in front of us. The other user and I immediately started running toward the level core.
The problem was that the level core was closer to the other user than to me.
'At this rate, I'll lose it.'
If I missed the level core here, I would definitely die. In that case, continuing to run like this was meaningless.
After reaching that conclusion, I stopped in place and raised my spear. Then I threw it straight toward the other user's position, and immediately started running again.
Whoosh!
The spear wasn't just specialized for slashing or thrusting. It was also an excellent throwing weapon. The spear flew rapidly.
With less air resistance than a human body, the spear flew faster than the other user and collided directly with them.
Thud!
It was a dull sound, not quite like a piercing strike. Thanks to their basic defense, the other user was knocked to the ground after being hit by my spear.
And that was more than enough time for me to grab the level core.
Grab.
I clenched the level core in my hand, and in that moment, it vanished as if it were absorbed into my body.
[You have acquired a level core.]
[Please select a skill to activate.]
—Rannachal
—Throwing
—Acceleration
Three skills available to unlock at the start. They were a long-range skill, a close-range skill, and a movement skill.
I boldly chose Throwing.
A movement skill wasn't urgently necessary right now, and Rannachal was too difficult for a beginner to use effectively right after choosing it. Moreover, a skill you couldn't use immediately in a situation where enemies were nearby was a liability.
Compared to that, Throwing was already decent even before learning the skill, so acquiring it would only make it better.
I finished that calculation in about three seconds and immediately selected Throwing. Then I quickly picked up the spear that had been rolling on the ground. Fortunately, the spear that hit the other user had rolled right to my feet.
After picking up the spear, I threw it again right away.
"Hup!"
[You have used the skill 'Throwing'.]
The moment I threw the spear, a message appeared indicating the skill had activated, and the slightly unstable trajectory of the spear changed. It was the correction effect granted by acquiring the skill.
"D-damn it!"
Thud!
The other user cursed and moved their body. The spear flying toward them ended up embedding itself into the ground.
"Ah."
The moment I saw my perfect attack miss, a small sigh escaped my lips.
By some miracle, I got the level core, and then the follow-up attack missed. It was a situation where a sigh was inevitable.
"Looks like you're a beginner."
The other user said that and charged straight at me. What they were holding was a sword. In an instant, they closed the distance and swung the blade at me.
Slash!
"Ghk!"
A groan came out of my mouth. Of course, it wasn't something I consciously made, but a system-generated sound triggered by taking damage. Thankfully, I didn't die in one hit and managed to endure, but there was no hope for me.
'Still, I should struggle a bit.'
With that thought, I desperately ran toward the spot where my thrown spear was lodged. The other user chased right after me.
Watching that scene, the chat went crazy.
—This is so fun
—Newbies really are delicious!
—What a basic mistake
—No matter how good your mechanics are, a beginner is still a beginner
—I would've learned Rannachal right away
—Acceleration is the best
For some reason, the viewers were thoroughly enjoying watching me get chased. While the chat mocked me, I reached the location of the spear.
And I immediately grabbed the spear embedded in the ground.
"Got it!"