World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 50

The Quad Ambush: The Essence of a Proper Gang-Up

The blood-soaked box lying lonely on the ground had already been looted, and the two remaining boxes inside the house were now also empty—quickly cleared out by a pair of players.

[Ring of Blessing – Increases toughness and physical defense by 20%]

[Skillbook: Kaya Earth – A skill of Knight Kardin, it wraps the user in a defensive aura that restores damage taken]

[Torga's Ring – Increases the user's mana by 10%]

[Spellbook: Flame Burst – A 5th Circle fire spell that launches a fireball and causes an explosion. Deals intense fire and concussive damage within the blast radius]

[Elmwood Bow – Crafted with a supple frame allowing rapid shots. Increases fire rate by 10%]

"Hyung, this is actually not bad! Flame Burst is the strongest among 5th Circle fire spells."

Kichan's eyes sparkled as Seowoon nodded approvingly.

They also found some minor defensive gear, scrolls, and a spatial quiver full of arrows.

"I'll give you the spellbook and the two rings. Go ahead and use them."

"Wouldn't the Ring of Blessing be better on you, hyung?"

"No. We're short on manpower, so you'll be exposed to more danger. Learn Kaya Earth too. If we're going to fight together in both support and close-range, you'll need it."

After handing Kichan the key items, Seowoon equipped the bow and quiver.

Feeling a bit guilty for getting all the good loot, Kichan looked at Seowoon.

"Don't give me that look. If there was something I really wanted, I'd have taken it. Anyway... about what you asked earlier."

Seowoon brought it up casually as Kichan beamed from his lucky haul.

"Oh, right! How did you detect the magic alert?"

As he equipped the ring and learned the skill, Kichan asked, and Seowoon, glancing at the map, muttered as if talking to himself.

"One of the items from the Golden Weapon Box you looted turned out to be a sentient weapon. It told me."

"Huh... wait, what?! A sentient weapon?!"

Kichan's eyes widened dramatically.

He had wanted to ask about the Golden Weapon Box several times. But even after becoming close in real life, he held back—not wanting Seowoon to think he was still emotionally hung up on it.

"Yeah... it just kind of happened."

"That's insane! That's one of the highest-tier rewards you can get from a Golden Weapon Box! It's legendary on the forums!"

Ahem! Did you hear that, master? This great being is truly a rare treasure!

The weapon, named Hamit, quivered to assert its presence.

Seowoon ignored it and nodded.

"It's useful, sure... but not that great."

"I had a feeling. Magic alerts usually don't have a strong mana signature."

"Let's leave that topic behind. Time to plan our route. There's a large city far behind us with more players. Ahead, a few small villages. Beyond those, the distortion core where buffs and boss mobs spawn. What's your call?"

Kichan opened the map briefly, then looked at Seowoon to read his intent.

"You want to start with those small villages up ahead, right?"

Seowoon smiled in response.

"If I think about those bastards being nearby, I can't just leave it. Once this game ends, we'll return to that moment we fought them—but the outcome could change depending on how we perform here. I don't want to leave any variables."

If they failed here and their enemies ranked high, the consequences in the real world would be nightmarish.

"Then let's start with the closest village."

"Yeah. Still, I can't shake the feeling about the Quads who survived in that big city behind us."

"It's still the first day. The player count hasn't dropped drastically yet—we've got time. Let's check the small villages, look for tracks. Even if we can't loot, we should travel through the highlands and keep moving in loops."

Kichan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we're short on numbers. This is the best option for us."

With that, the two of them darted off into the forest.

They ascended the highlands, staying hidden while approaching the target village. As they scoped it out, Kichan whispered first.

Looks like it's been picked clean.

Yeah.

Most of the house doors in the village were open.

Leaving all the doors open while looting... definitely a strategy.

It's meant to scare off incoming teams.

But that also leaves clear signs for enemies to track.

Pros and cons. But if it were up to me, I'd minimize traces.

Seowoon nodded in agreement.

This game had evolved—now even the tiniest action had to be part of a high-level mind game.

What's the chance they're lying in ambush inside those open houses?

Pretty low. It's the first day—no one camps like that so early.

Thought so. Let's move to the next village.

They moved quickly toward the next nearest village, taking a longer but safer route through the highland ridges.

As soon as they neared the next village, a violent pulse of mana hit them.

Hyung!

I feel it.

Without a word, they both dropped into the bushes to hide.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the shrubs they were hiding in.

Looks like a fight's happening.

Stay hidden at the pinged spot. I'll check it out.

Seowoon carefully crept closer, eventually slipping over the village fence.

"Alexigo!"

A short-haired middle-aged man in robes called out. At his side, a stone golem was suddenly clad in iron armor, a massive shield, and a sword.

"Kill the mage first!"

Another robed man, protected by the golem, shouted. His bald head glistened under the sun. A heavily armored warrior with silver pauldrons on both shoulders deflected the enemy's sword with his massive shield and charged forward.

Their enemies: three opponents—a warrior, a mage, and an archer.

The archer moved with remarkable grace, cloaked and hooded, launching arrows fluidly. The motions were distinctly elven.

Arrows fired freely through the air, weaving seamlessly between the martial artist clashing in close combat with the mage of Seowoon and Kichan's team. They curved in every direction, restricting the enemy's movement—a clear sign of excellent positioning.

Seowoon's lips twisted into a grimace as he watched from the shadows, recognizing familiar faces.

He had hoped for a meeting like this, had even orchestrated it through deliberate gameplay, but he hadn't expected to encounter them this soon.

The martial artist was holding his ground well in a 2-on-1 fight against Chilsang, who carried a shield and wore pauldrons, and Jongcheon, who darted from behind to thrust his sword for a killing blow. Occasionally, the archer's support allowed him to push the two back.

"Someone deal with that damned archer first!"

Chilsang shouted, gritting his teeth as he barely deflected an arrow flying toward his side with a quick turn of his shield.

Boom!

"That damned mage is a pain too! Even with buffs, what's he playing so cautiously for? We need to take him down if we're going to catch a break!"

Dalljin snapped back, and Chilsang's face contorted in frustration.

Jongcheon, who had made eye contact with Chilsang, nodded.

Sword Spirit: Three Styles.

A technique that consumed immense internal energy each time it was used. Composed of three forms, this swordsmanship had been Jongcheon's trump card for survival.

He couldn't use it freely yet due to limited energy reserves, but with enough power, it felt like no enemy would be beyond his reach.

Hiding behind Chilsang to enter the enemy's blind spot, Jongcheon pulled two swords from subspace.

With one blade concealed behind his back, he leaped over Chilsang and swung both blades at the martial artist.

Clang!

As the martial artist blocked the attack, Chilsang threw himself in front of three incoming arrows, intercepting them before they could reach Jongcheon.

From above Jongcheon's head, one of his swords—a killing strike—shot toward the enemy.

The martial artist realized his defeat the moment he spotted the blade flying in from his flank, aimed precisely at a vital point.

He hadn't even imagined there might be a hidden sword flying in like a spirit weapon. With his own dual blades locked in a power struggle, all he could do was twist his body in a desperate attempt to dodge.

Swish! Clang!

At that moment, an arrow from an unknown direction struck the incoming sword, deflecting it just enough that it merely grazed his side, narrowly avoiding a fatal hit.

Both Jongcheon and the martial artist, locked in close combat, assumed the arrow had come from one of their teammates.

But everyone else could clearly see that the arrow had come from a completely different direction.

"Rear flank!"

With that shout, the players locked in intense combat quickly disengaged and fell back.

Simultaneously, Seowoon called out to Kichan.

"Time to wipe them out. Get over here."

The opponents, now briefly distanced, scanned their surroundings with fierce eyes. Fighting an enemy in front while leaving your back exposed was always dangerous.

While surveying the area, Jongcheon spoke first.

"If we back off from this village, will you let us go? There's no need for either side to take unnecessary risks."

The martial artist, who had been attacked first, paused in thought.

That's when Seowoon appeared.

"That's not going to happen."

Jongcheon's expression soured upon spotting Seowoon behind them.

Dalljin and Chilsang also turned to glare at him, their faces twisted in disgust.

"I just want to kill these bastards. You can have all their loot. Help us finish them off, and we'll retreat peacefully without causing you any harm. What do you say?"

It was natural to be suspicious of such a proposal from a stranger.

But whatever the team archer said over voice chat made the martial artist smirk.

"So that's why you helped me?"

"Yes."

"Are you alone?"

"No. I've got one teammate—a mage."

Just as the martial artist was about to ask where that teammate was, a wave of powerful mana pulsed from the rooftop of a three-story building nearby.

Everyone turned to see Kichan, cloaked in robes, holding a fireball in his hand.

"You take their loot, we'll take the village's loot. At least for today, let's not target each other. That's my offer."

The martial artist made a fair deal—he knew if they ganged up on the in-between enemy, there might be betrayal afterward. A balanced trade would prevent that.

He'd had a few such transactions in his time. Sometimes they went well, other times he got burned. But one truth had become clear:

"Profit must be shared appropriately."

In Cloyd, it was common to temporarily ally with a cornered enemy to defeat a greater threat. What ruined it was always greed.

Seowoon, sensing his intention, smirked.

"No reason to refuse."

"That makes it... five versus four."

Raising his swords again, the martial artist set his sights on Jongcheon.

"W-wait! You're really doing this here? This is insane! If we lose here, we're done for!"

Jongcheon shouted in desperation, but none of the players present were inexperienced enough to be swayed by such panic.

They were survivors in a world where losing once meant falling behind for good. Their instincts told them this was their best shot.

Dalljin stepped in too.

"Jin Seowoon! In real life, we crossed a line. I apologize. We were just trying to recruit you for the organization, not do anything bad. It wasn't even a bad offer! Being in a group is better than—"

Clang!

There was no need to listen to such nonsense.

When two arrows fired at Dalljin were blocked by his golem, he staggered back.

"It's definitely inconvenient not having any crowd-control skills."

Seowoon shot an arrow that shut Daljin's mouth, then quickly dashed toward their rear.

Ahead, Jongcheon and Chilsang were held in place, unable to retreat due to a warrior and an archer.

Naturally, that left Daljin and the robed player exposed to Seowoon.

–Fwoosh! Boom!

Meanwhile, from atop the roof, Kichan launched a Flame Burst.

The explosion at close range caused the golem to stagger and collapse sideways.

"Jongcheon! Do something!"

Daljin, casting a spell while watching Seowoon approach, screamed in panic.

Jongcheon was already gritting his teeth, doing all he could in battle.

Despite being buffed by an alchemist's enhancement magic, the martial artist before him was no pushover.

Even though he unleashed sword techniques aggressively, his opponent blocked all three of his blades with a single sword. It was clear the opponent's skill was a cut above his own.

But he couldn't send Chilsang to deal with it either—he couldn't fend off the archer's attacks by himself with a tough enemy right in front of him.

The way their enemies leaped around firing arrows from every angle and stabbed with blades up close made it clear they were intent on locking them in place.

To top it off, enemy magic was raining down on them—total chaos.

Daljin couldn't counter the magic, being too focused on trying to hold off Seowoon.

The first to fall was the alchemist.

The golem he had buffed only protected Daljin, and he was bitten by Kichan's Ice Snake. With a look of agony, he froze solid and shattered into pieces.

"See? That's why you don't bring up other people's parents carelessly."

"Urgh!!"

Daljin raised an earth wall and unleashed flame spells, but Seowoon powered through them and slammed a fist into his chest.

–Kuhuhu, what a delicious taste of blood!–

Hammit ruptured Daljin's heart and savored the taste of his blood.

Seowoon's shoulders and face were badly scorched, pus trickling down from the burns.

It wasn't the kind of magic he could tank even with his current stats, but he had no intention of dragging the fight out, so he pushed himself.

He quickly pulled out a recovery scroll, tore it, and then turned his gaze to Jongcheon.

Now that Daljin was dead, the embattled Jongcheon and Chilsang broke off and started running in different directions.

Realizing they had no chance of winning, they had decided to flee.

Just as Chilsang tried to vault over a fence, two arrows pierced his back, sending him crashing to the ground in an undignified heap.

A warrior's sword stabbed into his neck.

–Krrk!

With a gurgle of blood, the grief in his eyes was unmistakable.

–Clang!

Jongcheon had just set foot in the forest beyond the fence when he turned, sensing a sharp aura, and swung his sword. But a powerful energy fist clashed with it.

He staggered from the impact.

Having nearly depleted his internal energy from overusing his sword techniques, a one-on-one with Seowoon was now too much for him.

"Who was it that said there's nothing more miserable than getting left behind?"

"H-Hey. You don't have to do this! We're both Korean, aren't we...?"

In an instant, Seowoon multiplied into six and surrounded him.

–Yeah, but some bastards just go out of their way to be scum anyway.

All six spoke in unison like a chorus. Jongcheon flinched and tried to speak, but the six Seowoons all punched at once.

–Pow pow pow pow pow pow pow pow pow BAM!

Using Full Body Strikes and Bone Crushing Technique, they beat Jongcheon into a pulp. Bloodied and broken, the light faded from his eyes.

Above his mangled corpse and the pool of blood, a loot chest appeared.

[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]