Battle Royale (4)
The final stage of the Battle Royale!
The rankings of most countries had been decided.
Only one thing remained.
Who would take first place!
Now even the British broadcasting center had narrowed it down to just 2 screens.
Rachel with 35 kills!
Baek Jinwoo with 34 kills!
- Please! He needs to close the kill gap somehow!
- As expected of Rachel! For nearly an hour now, she hasn't given up even a 1-kill gap! A monster is truly a monster!
- Actually, it's Baek Jinwoo who's amazing! Once this league ends, I think there's going to be a huge shake-up in the world rankings.
The Korean commentators' voices were already hoarse.
From the very first aerial battle, it was unavoidable because Korea's national representative had kept racking up kills nonstop.
ㄴ HunGyo, what are you doing! Please, just 1 more kill!
ㄴ Can't he just kill Rachel instead?
ㄴ It feels like they made some kind of promise not to fight each other. But now doesn't seem like the time for that.
ㄴ But honestly, even if it's Baek Jinwoo, wouldn't fighting Rachel still be tough?
ㄴ 000 Right now, not fighting is a hundred times better.
The real-time chat, with the entire nation watching the broadcast, was also on fire.
ㄴI don't know about anything else, but I just want to know what the reward for winning the Battle Royale is lol.
ㄴ(Fact) Even if Baek Jinwoo wins, we still won't know what it is.
ㄴTrue lololol.
ㄴ Even if he gets it, it'll probably be kept as a top national secret.
It was the same in Britain.
The British public didn't know Rachel's reward either.
If they had known, wouldn't the whole world already know by now?
And while Korea was desperately hanging on the hope of winning the Battle Royale.
"....You're God Ji-nu's Training Instructor?"
—...
Rachel and HunGyo had run into each other.
Both of them knew.
That they had promised not to touch each other.
ㄴAaaah! Rachel and the Training Instructor have met!
ㄴWhat's going to happen?
ㄴWon't they just pass by each other again? If they end up fighting, it'll be incredibly disadvantageous for us!
'Exactly.'
Rachel still has both her main body and summons alive, but HunGyo is alone.
ㄴ This is something he needs to avoid, isn't it?
ㄴThe problem is whether Rachel will let this slide.
ㄴ Ha, damn it, of all times!
Kurururur....!
Shing!
HunGyo drew his sword.
Rachel muttered,
"I'm not going to attack you. Go away."
—...
The Yellow Dragon summon coiled twice around Rachel's body let out a threatening roar.
HunGyo nodded.
A gesture showing that he, too, had no intention of attacking.
Whirlwhirlwhirlwhirlwhirl!
Even in the middle of all this, Lamba was still wildly swinging her staff like mad.
ㄴWow.
ㄴHe's really not attacking?
ㄴSo these two really do have something going on, huh.
ㄴYeah, HunGyo, hurry up and go somewhere else and get some kills!
But HunGyo did not move.
With his sword lowered, he quietly followed behind Rachel.
"...."
Rachel frowned.
"What are you doing? I told you to go away."
No matter how irritably she spoke, HunGyo remained silent.
He simply kept following behind her.
'No way.'
Just as unease began swelling in Rachel's chest.
Rustle!
There was movement in the bushes.
'A player!'
Rachel's eyes flashed, and she pointed in that direction with her hand.
Krrrraaaaarararara!
The small Yellow Dragon, emitting light, charged forward instantly.
HunGyo was HunGyo.
But first, she absolutely had to secure the kill no matter what.
"D, damn it!"
The nationality of the hidden players was Uganda.
And there were 2 of them.
They had hidden themselves well, hoping to get even 1 more kill, but of all people to get caught by, it had to be Rachel. But then.
Moving even faster than the Yellow Dragon, HunGyo swung his sword, and the speed was so absurd that no words could describe it.
It was so fast that the sword itself was completely invisible.
Sgeogeogeogeok!
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 35 kills!]
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 36 kills!]
In less than a second, HunGyo slaughtered all 10 of the enemy summons, then silently flicked the blood from his sword.
After that, he quietly returned to Rachel's rear again.
'Insane.'
Rachel was horrified.
Even with her senses, that speed was impossible to follow.
It was enough to make her wonder whether even her S-rank summon, the Yellow Dragon, could beat him.
Naturally, Korea exploded at the sight.
ㄴ Eokkkkkkk.
ㄴHunGyo is insane?
ㄴ He's taking advantage of the fact that she won't attack him to steal kills?
ㄴ This isn't even kill-stealing level. He's just interfering with overwhelmingly superior force lololol.
ㄴ Wow, as expected of HunGyo!
ㄴHunGyo! HunGyo! HunGyo!
ㄴ HunGyo, I love you!
Everyone shouted HunGyo's name in excitement.
The commentators were no different.
- Aaaaah! A reveeersaaal! It's a reversal! Finally, it's a reveeersaaal!
- This is crazy! HunGyo! You're doing great! If he keeps interfering like that..... they'll be able to lock in first place!
- And in the middle of all that, Baek Jinwoo just got 1 more kill!
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 37 kills!]
The kill gap that had been so hard to close had, with that single move, turned into a 2-kill lead.
And now HunGyo was openly chasing after Rachel from behind.
The one who was going crazy with frustration was Rachel.
'Wow.'
A move like this?
A summon that far away from its player could come up with something like this on its own?
How could that make any sense?
Rachel was dumbfounded.
She knew too.
The Training Instructor's original rank.
'He was originally E-rank, right?'
It already made no sense that a mere E-rank could be that strong, but if he was intelligent too, then what was anyone supposed to do?
'Should I just attack him?'
That was the tricky part.
Could HunGyo's interference be considered a violation of the alliance agreement? Not really.
Because the secret pact only said: Do not kill each other before the Round of 16!
'And calling it interference is also...'
He didn't stop the Yellow Dragon's attack and then move in.
He simply rushed forward at a speed overwhelmingly greater than the Yellow Dragon's and killed them first.
From HunGyo's perspective, if he said, 'I was just going where I was going, and that woman happened to follow me', Rachel wouldn't have anything to say in response.
And honestly speaking, wasn't that not the player's judgment anyway?
It was the judgment of a summon that had been boldly sent far away.
Besides, it would be hard to hold Baek Jinwoo responsible for that judgment.
'Hold God Ji-nu responsible for it?'
That would be truly absurd.
That was even more true for Rachel, who genuinely thought of God Ji-nu as an actual god.
"Ha."
Rachel finally let out a hollow laugh.
'Right.'
In truth, she did not care in the slightest if the reward went to Baek Jinwoo.
She had only intended to do her best. And that was still true even now.
"Let's see you keep following me."
—Kwaaaaadrumble...!
Rachel moved at high speed together with the Yellow Dragon's roar.
Taat!
And HunGyo followed as if he had been waiting for it!
HunGyo's speed did not lose to Rachel's either.
ㄴKya!
ㄴLet's go! HunGyo!
ㄴThat shamelessness. I love it so much.
ㄴStarting today, I'm a HunGyo fan.
ㄴIsn't that fairy constantly swinging its staff in the back super cute too?
ㄴLamba is amazing too! They say that's why the attack speed keeps increasing.
Sgeogeogeok!
HunGyo's sword strikes became even more blatant.
Maybe because she wanted to end the league quickly, several players started approaching noisy Rachel.
Sgeogeogeogeok!
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 38 kills!]
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 39 kills!]
[Republic of Korea, Baek Jinwoo 40 kills!]
And every single time, HunGyo landed the finishing blow.
It was so precise and irritating that it was almost unbelievable.
ㄴTh, there it is again! Again! HunGyo got the kill again!
ㄴThe MVP of this Battle Royale is clearly HunGyo! He's showing completely unbelievable performance!
ㄴJust look at Rachel's expression! She looks like she bit into shit! Have we ever seen that kind of expression from her in the last 3 years? This is incredible!
Even the attack speed that had already been fast was continuing to get even faster.
Now it had reached the point where his movements could no longer even be seen.
"Ha."
Rachel laughed hollowly.
'I lost this one.'
The gap had already widened to 5 kills.
How many players were even left that could still be dealt with? About 30?
She had not just lost.
She had lost completely.
Because of a single E-rank summon called the Training Instructor.
'How can anyone raise a summon like that?'
And just from its movements alone, she could not even guess what kind of gear it was wearing.
'At minimum, it looks like it's wearing at least Unique-grade runes, fully enhanced and even refined....'
It was just like God Ji-nu.
How had he prepared a monster like this in such a short time?
Of course.
She had a feeling.
If she went all out?
She could probably somehow deal with those 2 summons.
She had not spent the last 3 years idly either.
She had monopolized every league reward there was, and had also climbed the Tower of Trials to the 50th floor.
But even so, she did not want to break the promise.
Besides, wasn't she the one who had first proposed the alliance?
"Okay."
Rachel coolly nodded.
At the same time, she plopped down onto the ground.
"You won this game, Training Instructor."
A Battle Royale reward was something she could cleanly give up.
'But.'
You won't win the World League, God Ji-nu.
Rachel's lips twisted.
She could feel it.
'This 4th World League is the last chance.'
The last chance to defeat God Ji-nu!
If he was already this strong now, then from the 5th one onward, the gap would probably become so wide that she would not even be able to compete.
Separate from respecting God Ji-nu, Rachel did not want to miss that chance.
* * *
Rachel, 35 kills!
Baek Jinwoo, 50 kills!
In the end, the Battle Royale came to an end with an overwhelming gap.
"Ha."
Thud.
Baek Jinwoo, who had collapsed down onto the ground, looked up at the sky.
Sweat was pouring down his forehead.
"...I won."
[The number of remaining players is 100!]
[Ending the Battle Royale!]
A smile naturally spread across his face.
How long had it been?
Since he had competed against someone with this much sincerity.
'That was seriously fun.'
It felt like returning to the very early days of 「Battle of Summoners」 for the first time in a long while.
The game that had been Baek Jinwoo's entire life.
"Sir Jinwoo!"
When he returned to Hwang Jiwoo's side through the Ambush item effect, she cheered.
"We won! We really won! As expected of Sir Jinwoo! You're amazing!"
Hwang Jiwoo was beyond shocked to the point of finding it fascinating.
It was amazing watching Baek Jinwoo keep picking up kills every time he used items recklessly and moved back and forth everywhere, and it was also amazing watching HunGyo and Lamba go off on their own expeditions to collect kills elsewhere.
Because she had experienced it herself, she knew.
Here, in the Battle Royale, there was not a single easy opponent, and normally if two people fought 1-on-1, it would drag on forever.
So the usual method was to find teams as quickly as possible and gang up on them to secure kills, but...
'Sir Jinwoo is just... different.'
He was rampaging all by himself.
Whether it was one-on-one or one-against-many, he just cut them all down.
Among them were definitely famous overseas rankers who were considered major players.
"That's true, haha."
As Baek Jinwoo wiped away his sweat with his clothes and smiled brightly,
[The player who recorded the highest number of kills in this Battle Royale is player 'Baek Jinwoo' of the Republic of Korea (50 kills).]
A message appeared in the air.
And then, the message he had been waiting for most.
[The hidden reward will be given to player 'Baek Jinwoo'.]
A hidden reward!
Baek Jinwoo's eyes lit up.
What could it be?
[All players will now be moved back to the arena hall.]
[There will be a 1-hour break until team formation.]
[Players are asked to wait in the arena hall.]
Pabat!
Before the hidden reward was revealed, all surviving players were summoned back to the arena hall.