World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 60

Yukquad. Survival Strategy.

With his bowstring taut, Seowoon silently took in the chaos of the battlefield, waiting for the right moment.

It seemed there was an unspoken alliance—Duoquad, consisting of a mage and a knight, and Trioquad, made up of two warriors and a mage, were focusing their attacks on the team Seowoon was familiar with.

It wasn't overt teaming, yet there was a subtle tension as both sides remained wary of each other.

Amidst the chaos, one of the warriors from Trioquad, wielding a swift blade, fought aggressively rather than protect the mage. It was a bold move that required significant trust in his knight teammate.

As his blade sliced through the air, streaks of energy shot forward and shattered the Duoquad mage's shield.

In that instant, Seowoon's eyes flashed.

Swish!

Like a black shadow brushing past the mage's forehead, a red stream of blood trickled down from between the mage's brows as he collapsed like a broken puppet.

The unexpected event made every player on the battlefield freeze in place, alert and hesitant to move.

"That was impressive."

A brief thought.

The arrow he'd just released was far faster than the ones used during the earlier sniper fight. Though the speed had only increased by 55%, it felt much faster in action.

In fact, the players hadn't even fully realized what had taken the mage down.

Moreover, this dungeon allowed the Cloak of Invisibility to be used at full power.

In an underground setting without sunlight for 24 hours, few items were as reliable as the cloak.

While the players panicked and scanned the area, Seowoon shifted his position slightly and nocked another arrow, drawing the bow once more.

The mage from Trioquad, flanked by two warriors, kept casting shields and barriers in a panic, trying to stay safe.

It was understandable—after all, another mage had been taken out instantly.

No one dared move recklessly under the pressure of an invisible threat, but the team that had been under attack charged forward not long after.

Though only one mage had fallen, the team that had once protected something precious alongside Seowoon seemed to regain their footing.

A 5-on-3 had become a 4-on-3. Numbers aside, having a 1-on-1 mage matchup was a huge shift in balance.

Among the cautious players, the warrior wielding the swift blade was the most aggressive, unleashing strikes as he charged.

It had already been a tough situation for his team, and now that a path had opened, he attacked without hesitation. Energy slashed in every direction from his blade.

"He was pretty reckless last time too."

Even when facing someone vastly more skilled, that warrior had rushed in with determination. Now, it felt like he was even faster than before.

But it wasn't enough to break through two warriors and a knight.

Especially now, the lone knight was desperately clinging to Trioquad, aiding them actively.

He probably believed the only way to survive was to side with them.

"Idiot. He should be thinking about escaping and surviving long-term by now."

Seowoon even felt pity for the knight trying so hard to be noticed.

If it were him, he would've fled the moment the mage died.

No—realistically, the smartest move when a mage fell to a mysterious strike was for everyone to withdraw from the battlefield.

"Everyone's too shaken by the 24-hour time limit."

The fear of what might happen if the Wraith resurrected after 24 hours was clearly pushing people to overextend.

Just as the tide of battle began shifting due to the knight's desperate efforts to win favor with the passive Trioquad, two Ice Lances materialized over Seowoon's shoulders and launched at the enemy mage with staggered timing.

The mage first sensed the wave of mana and turned his eyes toward Seowoon's hidden position. The moment his shield and barrier shattered from the Ice Lances, the two warriors rushed to block in front of him.

The moment Seowoon's invisibility broke, the warriors reacted swiftly to his presence.

But Seowoon, already moving with his bow drawn, melded back into the shadows.

Just as his invisibility ended, he infused his inner energy into the bow and arrow and released the shot.

Swish!

Blood spurted from the mage's temple as he tried to cast a new shield and collapsed sideways. The two warriors reached toward him in panic, but of course, the enemies weren't going to let that happen.

With attacks raining down from the warrior's blade and spells from the opposing mage, the warriors and the knight were quickly overwhelmed and turned into loot boxes.

The three remaining players didn't even dare open the boxes. Cautiously, they stood watch, uncertain whether to claim the items or flee from the mysterious attacker.

That's when Seowoon stepped out, removing the Cloak of Invisibility.

"We meet again."

The three startled players readied for battle, their faces shifting through a mix of emotions—relief, wariness, and hostility.

Seeing this, Seowoon gave them a genuine smile.

They had once been close, even if they had shown hostility toward the end out of greed for martial arts skills. Still, the bond they shared was too deep to truly be considered enemies.

Maybe they recognized the sincerity in his expression—or maybe they were just relieved. One of the warriors relaxed first, sheathing his blade and walking over.

"I figured you'd survived and were hiding somewhere... It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too. Especially now."

Seowoon's emphasis on his last words made the martial artist's brow twitch.

"It doesn't seem like you helped us out of pure goodwill. I just hope your price isn't too steep."

He tapped the sword at his waist as if joking, but Seowoon liked the confidence behind his tone.

"Before we go on—when did you enter this dungeon?"

"I've been in this underground space for about ten days."

"Then you probably don't know much about teaming, do you?"

"Alliance? What kind of alliance are you talking about?"

As expected, since he entered the dungeon early, he hadn't caught on to the existence of teaming.

"Right now, three or four quads are teaming. Up until recently, they were targeting new squads entering through the entrance, but now that the force field has finished forming, they've started roaming and hunting together. There are only two ways to fight back—join them, or form a counter-force."

The martial artist and the mage, minus the knight, grew serious at this new information.

They were both veterans of Cloyd.

They had formed temporary alliances before, but had never experienced actual teaming in a quad game.

If more than three squads had joined forces, there was practically no way to win.

Unless you had overwhelming strength, colliding with them would just mean immediate annihilation.

"Why are you thinking so hard about it? The enemies are ganging up and pushing with sheer numbers. We're practically comrades who fought tough battles together already. Just group up on our side and fight back—that's all there is to it."

The knight, seemingly frustrated by the two overthinking it, spoke easily. The mage and martial artist sighed.

They didn't say it aloud, but their expressions gave their thoughts away:

"Must be nice being that simple-minded."

In a squad game, you can't form new teams after the match begins, aside from the teammates you entered the lobby with.

In other words, you can't fully trust anyone you meet during the game.

That's why the mage and the martial artist couldn't help but question Seowoon's true intentions.

At that moment, Kichan and Lyle appeared next to Seowoon.

"We're not saying we'll stick together until the end. Just until we break up the teaming."

Kichan spoke, and Seowoon added on.

"As you've probably noticed, one of the enemies is a master who uses ki force. And... Jurokana is likely still alive too..." freēwēbnovel.com

The mage was startled by the name Jurokana, and the martial artist was shocked by the mention of ki force.

Even when pulling up the list of survivors, players usually only check the number of people remaining or glance at the bottom names—they rarely check how each opponent died, so these details had slipped by them.

"Jurokana is in this game?"

"Ki force... Did you actually see it?"

Both of them asked at the same time.

"I clashed with Jurokana. As for the master who uses ki, I didn't see them directly, but I don't believe either of them got eliminated halfway."

The martial artist and mage exchanged looks, then nodded.

"Let's join forces. I'm not sure for how long, though."

Seowoon smiled at the martial artist's meaningful tone.

"I'm Jin Seowoon."

"I'm limin."

Though it felt a bit awkward, Seowoon returned the martial artist limin's pofist gesture.

Thanks to martial arts novels and dramas, Seowoon at least understood that it was similar in meaning to a handshake.

(Note: The "pofist" and "gongshou" gestures are similar in etiquette, but their meaning and form are slightly different.)

"I'm Dump. Looking forward to working with you."

As he stepped forward and slammed his shield into the ground, Seowoon assumed it was some kind of knightly courtesy and accepted the greeting.

He briefly thought the simple name "Dump" somehow suited the man well.

"Likewise."

Seowoon responded with casual speech, and Dump didn't seem to mind at all.

"Just call me Saide. I hope we can all walk away from this with good results."

After their introductions, Lyle and Kichan also greeted them.

Once the greetings ended and they wrapped up some basic looting, the group relocated and began discussing their next steps—but consensus was hard to reach.

"Now that it's come to this, we should actively hunt down enemies. Less than seventeen hours remain until the wraiths revive."

At the mage's suggestion, Seowoon shook his head.

"Not yet. Even with our numbers, the teams that are teaming outnumber us two to one. And aside from them, there's still Jurokana and that mysterious master who uses qi force. It's smarter to turn the variables to our advantage. That'll raise our survival chances. Who knows, maybe they'll fight each other and take each other down."

"That's too risky. There's no guarantee those variables will benefit us."

limin, who now spoke casually like the rest, objected.

"We don't have much choice, then. Let's decide by majority vote."

Everyone nodded at Kichan's suggestion.

Then Seowoon spoke.

"Before that—here. I don't need this item, but I think you might."

He tossed a sword crest to Dump, who caught it—and his eyes widened to twice their size.

"Th-this is...!"

He couldn't help but be shocked—it was the sword crest of a regular knight of the Kaern Empire. A regular knight was someone who had received the title Sword Emperor, meaning this was a crest belonging to a fully acknowledged knight.

It was also the very item that a mere trainee like himself had desperately searched for in Cloyd.

As Dump looked at Seowoon with eyes full of gratitude, Seowoon kept his expression neutral and said casually:

"It only makes sense for an item to reach someone who can make use of it—that's when its true value shines."

In reality, it was a locked item that had already been catalogued. As long as you had enough coins, anyone could obtain it—so Seowoon hadn't given it much thought. But Dump looked at him like a savior.

"Shall we proceed with the vote now?"

Kichan's timely interjection was met with head shakes from the martial artist and the mage as they glanced between Seowoon and Kichan.

There was no need to even hold the vote.

Everyone except Dump had realized Seowoon's action was calculated, but it wasn't something they could really criticize.

"There's no helping it. But this choice is basically a gamble."

At the mage's comment, Seowoon smiled and replied.

"Not necessarily. I have a rough idea of what the resurrecting wraith is."

"A rough idea?"

limin and Said, filled with anticipation, turned their attention to Seowoon.

"It's probably something like the resurrection of a wraith — a monster on par with a boss, or maybe even higher."

The two nodded in agreement at his words.

They had been expecting something like that as well.

Only Dump looked genuinely shocked.

Ignoring Dump's reaction, Seowoon continued speaking.

"And once that thing revives, players will flock to it, and a massive battle will break out."

At that point, the mage chimed in.

"I can't agree with that part. They even added a time limit to push the players forward. I think they're trying to speed up the game by unleashing something so terrifying that no one even dares to try it."

He had a point.

"Maybe. But even then, players will throw everything they've got at it to bring it down."

Said was about to raise a counterargument again, but limin nodded and spoke first.

"They definitely will."

Said looked at limin in confusion.

"Isn't it obvious? If it's a monster even stronger than a boss, the rewards will be that much more tempting."

"Ah!"

The mage finally understood. After all, greed for items was a universal trait among all players.

With a crooked smile, Seowoon looked like a villain straight out of a movie as he said:

"What if we hit them from behind at that moment?"

***

SCREEEEECH—

When limin's blade, coated with holy water, sliced through the Specter, it split in half with a metallic sound and then dissolved into nothingness.

"With this, we've fully mapped out this area."

Sliding the reversed blade smoothly back into its scabbard, limin's words prompted Seowoon to nod.

They all turned their eyes to a softly glowing white gem embedded in the wall.

It was something they had only recently discovered.

Wherever Specters appeared, that gem was always found nearby.

Once all the Specters in the area were eliminated, the gem would lose its glow, only to regain it 24 hours later and summon more Specters nearby.

"If Lyric were here, we could probably understand more, but I'm certain this gem is some kind of tether binding the Specters."

"It definitely lost its power in the subspace, right?"

At Seowoon's question, Said nodded.

"I checked twice to be sure."

Seowoon leaped toward the gem, reaching out for the one tightly lodged in the stone wall.

CRACK!

He dug it out like he was chiseling stone and stored it in subspace. Kichan looked at Seowoon.

"That makes ten now. With each one summoning around twenty to thirty, we've taken out over two hundred. Even for Specters, that's a lot."

"Not enough. I won't feel secure until we've cleared at least five hundred."

At that, Kichan and Lyle Said widened their eyes and stared at Seowoon.

"Alert magic triggered in Zone A-1!"

"Run!"

Having placed alert magic on the lit-up areas of the map, Seowoon had been leading the group, focusing on collecting the gems while avoiding unnecessary battles.

Only a few days had passed, but no one in the group opposed Seowoon's orders anymore.

Day 38 of the game.

Survivors: 39/400

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