World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 92

8th Squad. A Forgotten Skill. Mimicry.

[Ding! The epic monster, Clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, has mocked a player.]

[Ding! The epic monster, Clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, has successfully hunted a player.]

It hadn’t been long since the monster appeared, but these alerts already rang out, darkening the expressions of the team members who had taken shelter on a nearby island.

Of course, the unfamiliar alerts also sparked some curiosity.

"Mocked? What kind of disaster do you have to suffer for that alert to show up?"

Trying to break the tension as Jinlung fell into deep thought with a serious expression, Limin opened his mouth.

"Well, it probably isn’t as bad as almost losing something precious to the Lust Demon, right?"

At the mention of the Lust Demon, Seowoon and Limin both visibly shuddered.

"Honestly, I still can’t get used to seeing Seowoon use that martial art. It overlaps weirdly with that wretched demon."

Indeed, the bizarre technique "Gale Step" and the bloodied stances of "Blood Bone Claw" looked eerily similar to the Lust Demon’s movements—twisting arms as he charged forward grotesquely.

"Don’t say creepy stuff like that."

Still, Seowoon forcefully denied it.

No matter how similar the technique, he wasn’t willing to be associated with that kind of monster.

While keeping watch for the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Kichan, who had opened the map, changed the topic.

"It’s incredibly fast! It’s already nearby."

Night was only just falling.

To think it had already passed several islands in just half a day made Seowoon take action. He ordered the team to fall back and pulled out his Cloak of Invisibility, throwing it on.

—"I’ll scout. If anything happens, call me immediately."

After speaking, he moved to the edge of the island and activated the map. A purple dot rapidly approaching was visible, along with its aggro radius.

Even though he was cloaked, the sheer speed and intensity made him hold his breath in tension.

Under the rising moonlight, Seowoon spotted the figure of the Great Sage flying through the night sky.

Wearing golden armor with red accents and holding a Ruyi Jingu Bang in one hand, the hunched figure matched the image of Sun Wukong seen in countless pieces of media.

He was moving so fast it seemed like Seowoon would only get a brief glimpse—but suddenly, the Great Sage halted near the island.

’Huh? No way...’

The monkey put a hand to his forehead, as if shielding his eyes from the nonexistent sun, and exaggeratedly looked around, stretching his neck. Seowoon’s heart began to pound.

—"Haha! I can feel you~!"

The Great Sage’s voice was playful and childlike, yet laced with madness and murderous intent. At that moment, Seowoon braced himself.

’This is the end.’

Just as the golden eyes of the monkey locked onto him and Seowoon was about to store the invisibility cloak into his subspace, he felt a surge of mana.

—KWA-KWAAANG!

With the sound of a typhoon ripping through the air, space tore apart, and a violent gust of wind engulfed the Great Sage.

A total of sixteen players appeared, breaking through the space. The most surprised of all was Seowoon.

’Hammit!!’

As if sensing the blame in Seowoon’s tone, Hammit began to explain.

—"I cast a 7th-circle distortion spell to conceal the mana flow. Even I wouldn’t have been able to detect it. That monkey found it—he’s just that good."

The squad appeared to be from the same guild, judging by their matching tattoos. Realizing that they hadn’t even been targeting the epic monster, but rather laying in wait for players like Seowoon along the path, cold sweat began to run down his back.

’What kind of guild is this...?’

—CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

With a screeching sound of friction, a thick and long iron chain flew through the wind and wrapped tightly around the Great Sage’s body.

The noise snapped Seowoon out of his thoughts, and he focused again.

[Ding! Eye of Observation has been activated.]

As soon as the long-unused skill kicked in, Seowoon’s pupils began to glow faint green.

[Observing the Clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Progress: 3%...]

With the skill active, he could now see tiny, unknown characters engraved on the chains wrapped around the Great Sage.

’A seal?’

—"Vanevarada!"

Among the newcomers, a middle-aged man in Taoist robes—presumably the one who threw the chain—chanted an incantation. The chains thickened and completely encased the Great Sage’s body.

And then, all the other players unleashed their attacks on him.

Weapons powered by high-level mana and the full force of their Agitation Cloud speed landed blows on the monster.

—FWOOSH!

—CLANG!

Perhaps overwhelmed by the barrage, the Great Sage’s body vanished into smoke with a loud bang—his Nimbus cloud disappearing along with him.

’Wait... did we really get him that easily?!’

[Ding! Observation target has disappeared. Observation progress: 19%]

The moment that alert rang out, Seowoon’s eyes narrowed.

Of course, the guild’s attack was no joke. Even he wouldn’t have survived if he had taken it all head-on.

But the name "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" carried a weight that made such an ending feel far too light.

When no alert came stating the epic monster had been defeated, the sixteen players—who had begun to smile—realized things were not going as planned.

—"Pfft! Puhahahaha! Did you really think you got me?"

At the sound of that voice, Seowoon and all the other players looked up.

There he was—riding on a Nimbus Cloud, holding his belly and laughing hysterically, kicking his feet like a child.

Just as the mages began casting new spells, the monkey’s laughter abruptly stopped.

—"Tch. What an unlucky thing—to run into someone using the Iron-Sealing Spell of Binding Spirits."

At that phrase, the Taoist’s eye twitched.

At the same time, he pulled two coffins from his subspace and began chanting.

—"Vanevarashi!"

Suddenly, two Agitation Clouds appeared before him, supporting the coffins.

The talismans on the lids burst into flames, and with a loud bang, the lids flew off—two jiangshi ( hopping vampires) sprang to life, surrounded by red mist.

’He’s doing something similar to that Taoist we saw before...’

—"That guy is manipulating mana in a way completely different from magic."

Watching the Taoist calmly summon the two jiangshi, the Great Sage’s expression finally turned serious.

As soon as he spun the Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand, the Somersault Cloud (Kintoun) shot toward the players with incredible speed.

— Clang clang clang!

The warriors and knights who managed to block Sun Wukong’s staff were pushed back tens of meters, grimacing.

Despite their willpower, they couldn’t stop themselves from being flung back by the overwhelming force.

— Thud! Thud!

Then, the heads of two Jiangshi (hopping zombies) that had been charging madly at the Great Sage Equal to Heaven exploded.

Just as the Great Sage was about to charge at the Taoist, the decapitated Jiangshi leapt up and clung to him.

As the two zombies clung tightly to his limbs, the Taoist shouted:

— "Banebarashi! Weight-binding spell!"

The Somersault Cloud that had been moving so fast faltered, and just as surprise widened the Great Sage’s eyes, another barrage of spells and attacks rained down on him.

— Boom boom boom! Whoooosh!

A blue flame serpent swallowed him whole, and his body was engulfed in the flames, no longer visible.

[Ding! Observation target has disappeared. Observation rate achieved: 55%]

When the long-burning blue flames finally vanished, the Great Sage was seen kneeling atop the cloud, head bowed.

But even then, the observation rate didn’t increase, and Seowoon tilted his head in confusion.

At that moment, Kichan rushed toward the enemy on the Somersault Cloud and swung a massive two-handed sword at the charred figure’s neck.

Just before the sword hit his neck, the figure suddenly raised his head—sending Kichan’s pupils shaking with fear.

— Slice!

The severed head dropped toward the ground, which couldn’t be seen clearly below.

[Ding! Epic Monster Sun Wukong’s Clone has deceived the players.]

At the same moment as the alert rang out, every player’s face twisted in shock.

The falling head wasn’t that of the Great Sage—but the Taoist’s.

As they saw the Taoist’s wide-eyed, horrified expression while his head fell, everyone was thrown into chaos.

Most shocked of all was Kichan, who had dealt the fatal blow.

"Th-this can’t be..."

As a team-kill penalty message popped up, the Taoist who had summoned the Jiangshi clutched his stomach and laughed boisterously.

"Kuhuhu! Pfft! Bwahahahaha! Cutting down your own comrade—are you blind or something?!"

"You damn monkey...!"

Just as the furious Kichan tried to rush him, the Great Sage suddenly appeared in front of him, eyes blazing with madness.

"Eyes you don’t even need—I’ll be taking those."

"Aaaaagh!!"

In an instant, the Great Sage gouged out both of Kichan’s eyes and began juggling them. The players, paralyzed with panic, couldn’t react at all.

Soon, the number of eyes he juggled increased to three, then four—and one player, who had lost his eyes, began screaming as blood spurted from his face.

’Incredible speed.’

Even with his high agility, Seowoon could barely see flickers of movement—he couldn’t keep up with the Great Sage’s actions.

The players, recovering too late, began attacking again—but the tide had already turned.

[Ding! Epic Monster Sun Wukong has successfully hunted the players.]

The notification repeated endlessly.

After killing all the players, he didn’t even glance at the box placed atop the Somersault Cloud and instead vanished into a dot in the sky.

"Phew..."

"Was that... a sigh of relief?"

Startled by a sudden voice right in front of him, Seowoon instinctively stepped back.

— Ting ting!

"You’re lucky. I can’t enter the island just yet."

He tapped the ground at the island’s edge with his finger, and a clear sound rang out from the invisible barrier.

Still, Seowoon couldn’t take his words at face value.

Even though Seowoon had just revealed himself by removing his invisibility cloak from his subspace, the Great Sage didn’t look the least bit surprised.

"Sun Wukong..."

"Oh! A human who knows my full name? Not many folks here seem to know me."

"Who doesn’t know Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"

For some reason, Seowoon stepped dangerously close to him and replied.

Intrigued by Seowoon’s boldness, the Great Sage’s eyes sparkled with interest.

"You’re a human I can talk to. How about it? Care to join me and talk as we fly across the night sky?"

Despite the calm, cheerful tone devoid of any hostility, Seowoon shook his head.

"Anyone who knows who you really are wouldn’t trust that invitation."

"Hey, come on. What, you think I’m gonna eat you? I gave that up ages ago. I even resisted eating my incredibly delicious-looking master—and the Heavens acknowledged it!"

As the monkey nonchalantly dug at his ear, Seowoon, who had been smiling, felt the corner of his lips tremble.

Just a little more...

"For a clone, you seem exactly like the real deal. If you were the original, I’d gladly risk my life to soar through the skies with you."

At those words, the monkey’s expression twisted into a scowl.

— BOOM!

Like a beast, he suddenly slammed his fist against the barrier between them and snarled viciously.

"You lowly human...! I won’t forget your face. I’ll tear you limb from limb until you beg for death!"

Seowoon felt his heart drop as he stared at the now-furious figure—so different from the playful being just moments ago.

Even knowing there was a barrier between them, the bloodlust was so overwhelming that even Seowoon, a skilled martial artist, felt his legs tremble.

It wasn’t like the sharp, human kind of killing intent—it was the primal, bone-deep menace of a beast.

Just as the Great Sage turned to leave, Seowoon managed to force out a whisper behind him:

"Jinguo..."

At that single word, Seowoon’s eyes—sharpened to their peak observational state—caught the subtle twitch in Sun Wukong’s shoulder.

He immediately pressed on, barely giving the moment a breath.

"You’re not using it."

With his back turned, Sun Wukong replied,

"I stopped a long time ago—after doing a lot of good deeds."

Leaving only those words behind, he vanished in an instant. Seowoon collapsed to the ground where he stood.

[Ding! Observation of the target complete. Clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Observation rate: 100%. You may now disguise yourself as a clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven for 5 minutes.]

"Phew..."

Letting out a deep sigh, Seowoon cast a wistful glance toward the Somersault Cloud still hovering gently outside—and the box placed atop it.

’Map.’

Seowoon opened his activated map, then shook his head, pulled out his Cloak of Invisibility, and slipped it on before heading back to where his teammates were waiting.

Though Sun Wukong had clearly vanished far enough to be out of sight, a purple dot and its detection radius remained motionless on the map—still nearby.

"What a sly bastard..."

At the same time, Sun Wukong—watching Seowoon retreat—muttered the exact same words.

"You’re late, disciple! I thought something might’ve happened."

When Jinryung spotted him and came running up, Seowoon explained everything that had just occurred.

"He’s way beyond our level!"

"Not just beyond—we couldn’t even see him properly while he was flying above us. If he had moved across this Cloud Island..."

Liming’s face went pale as she raised her voice in alarm.

"But you said he can’t enter here, right? Isn’t he a monster that hunts players by traveling between islands?"

"Probably not. He said himself that he couldn’t enter this place—not yet, at least. Though of course... he could’ve been lying."

At Seowoon’s words, the team’s expressions turned grim.

"This is insane. Why the hell would they release something like that?"

"To speed up the game."

Most of the team gave Seowoon puzzled, skeptical looks at his response.

"A single day here holds immense value for every player. Just today, our base stats went up by 11 points. Even if you do nothing and just hide, the benefit is equally shared. There’s no way the admins would let that stand."

Speaking almost in defense of the mysterious, unseen game administrators, Seowoon tried to explain, but Liming shot back bitterly:

"Then they shouldn’t have made a map like this in the first place."

"The greater the reward, the greater the risk. That’s a fundamental rule in gaming."

Liming couldn’t argue back against that.

After staying with the team and discussing for a while, Seowoon activated the map and saw that the Great Sage had finally moved far enough away. He led the team to the site of the intense battle and began looting items.

[Basic Jiangshi Crafting Technique]

[Basic Jiangshi Control Technique]

Seowoon obtained two seemingly useless items but decided to learn the basic Jiangshi technique just in case.

Kichan tilted his head in curiosity as he examined a tiny chain that could fit in his palm.

"This little chain is supposed to bind a target the moment it’s thrown? That’s wild."

"It’s basically magic. Hold onto it—you’ll definitely find a use for it."

"Yes, sir!"

Given how strong the opposing guild had been, the items they dropped were quite decent.

Despite the satisfying free loot, the team’s expressions weren’t exactly cheerful.

Back at their original location, only Dump—who had fallen in love with Korean instant food—looked remotely pleased as he prepared to rest.

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