8th Squad. Epic Monster Appears.
***
"Sss– ha!"
Dump, completely hooked on the taste of Korean MSG, emptied the broth from a disposable paper bowl and wiped his sweat.
"Glad it suits your taste."
For someone who usually only chewed on jerky or ate fruits brought from his own world, Korean instant ramen, cooked right there, was a whole new experience.
"To think something this delicious can be cooked so easily. This is an amazing invention!"
Juriel smiled at Dump, who gave a thumbs-up with his reddened lips.
Once everyone finished their simple meal, Seowoon spoke up.
"Everyone must be tired. Let's get some sleep. We'll take turns standing guard in two-hour shifts. First shift will be me and…"
"I'll take it."
Seowoon was about to point to Kichan, but Lilingwei volunteered first.
Juriel, missing her chance, awkwardly half-raised one arm and twitched her lips, but Lilingwei, already standing next to Seowoon, didn't even glance at her.
Everyone entered the tent, and Seowoon pulled a monocular from his subspace and handed it to Lilingwei.
"I brought several. Keep this with you."
Since she had seen Seowoon use the monocular before, she brought it to her eye and looked around.
"I'm curious about what kind of world you come from."
"Well, I'd like to say people are the same everywhere… but it's probably very different from your world. You'd probably be surprised if you saw it."
As she scanned the surroundings through the monocular, a slight smirk curled at the corner of her lips.
As Lilingwei stood guard and exchanged occasional words with Seowoon, Limin and Kichan later came to relieve them, and the second day on this unfamiliar map passed.
In the early morning, everyone gathered and finished a quick breakfast of packed meals.
Thanks to Seowoon's subspace storage ability, he had prepared a variety of food, making him immensely popular with the team.
Though it seemed like a minor detail, in the actual game, food was often one of the biggest challenges.
"Let's head to the Agitation Stone now."
"Hope we can capture it easily again."
At Kichan's comment, Seowoon shook his head.
"There were too few players on the earlier islands. That means the later islands are going to be crowded."
Juriel nodded, but offered a different opinion.
"That may be true, but I think most of them are probably gathered on the main island."
"As long as they hold the main one, they can prevent the game from being cleared. The squads confident in their skills are likely guarding the main island's Agitation Stone."
"Either way, we're heading to ours. If we activate this next Agitation Stone, we'll reach phase 3."
Magicians summoned their air boards, and martial artists used lightfoot techniques to swiftly cross the island and head toward the center.
From a distance, someone was watching them through a warped lens.
"4th Island. Crown Squad spotted."
A man in black combat gear holding a rifle spoke. The player beside him, dressed similarly, reported through team voice chat before commenting.
"Looks like the ones who killed the second patrol unit on Island 3."
"Seems like that Korean guy, Jin Seowoon. Definitely best to avoid direct confrontation."
"Until we make it into the survival zone. Orders are clear—no engagement except long-range sniping."
Only 18 players from the Asian Seal guild had joined this game.
Still, they formed four squads, mixing their members and hiding on various islands to maximize survival.
Their top objective was to prevent the game from being cleared and to survive.
To them, the Crown-tier Jin Seowoon squad—who never backed down and played aggressively—was a threat to be avoided at all costs.
– Shoo! Bang!
Seowoon instantly fired an arrow, shattering the warped eye, then stored the bow back in subspace.
"At least one enemy squad is definitely here."
"You never know. There might be a squad that just threw warped eyes on every island."
Juriel shook her head.
"If that were the case, they'd be watching the Agitation Stone closely."
"That makes sense. Let's move."
As they moved, every time they passed a foggy pond, Lilingwei didn't forget to neutralize the blood poison.
As they neared the Agitation Stone, a surge of intense mana and battle noises rang out.
Seowoon pulled out the monocular and signaled the team to stop as he carefully climbed a sizable hill.
He didn't even need the monocular—fighting was already raging around the Agitation Stone.
One side, assisted by blue goblins, was on defense, while the other—a balanced squad of mages, knights, and martial artists—was attacking fiercely.
After assessing the situation, Seowoon motioned for the team to approach.
The terrain placed the Agitation Stone in the middle of a basin. Seeing the brutal battle over it, Kichan spoke.
"Looks like the squad with the goblins has the upper hand?"
"Maybe, but goblins don't respawn. Their mage count is lower, and they're not taking initiative."
"If the goblins go down, the attackers will have the advantage."
"Assuming no other squad interferes."
– Bang!
At that moment, gunfire rang out, and a mage's barrier shattered.
A knight rushed to shield him, raising his shield in the direction the bullet came from.
Seowoon also traced the trajectory based on the knight's movement and turned his gaze.
– Bang! Bang!
As more bullets rang out and barriers kept breaking, the mages had to focus on defense rather than attacking, leaving gaps in their offense.
"I spotted one. At 290."
Following Lilingwei's words, Seowoon quickly turned his eyes and saw a prone player shooting.
"There's one at 210 as well."
"And one at 170."
As Jinlung and Kichan each spotted a shooter, Seowoon swiftly issued orders.
"Execution is 170, I'm at 290, and Lilingwei is at 210. Let's handle this quickly."
As soon as the order was given, the three of them started running.
The sniper closest at 170 was instantly taken out by Jinrong, and the two remaining snipers, upon realizing the ambush, stopped firing and noticed the two rapidly approaching individuals.
The moment they were spotted, the two immediately turned to flee without even looking back. Then, a notification chime rang out.
Ding! An activated Agitation Stone is under attack.
At the same time, Kichan urgently reported:
The squad attacking the Agitation Stone is retreating!
Lingwei! Don't chase! Fall back! Everyone, get ready for combat. We're jumping in.
As the enemy squad retreated up the basin, Seowoon's squad blocked their path by unleashing magic.
With the escape route cut off halfway up the hill, knights and warriors began to charge.
To their flanks came Seowoon, Lilingwei, and Jinryung, targeting the enemy mages.
As the three of them stormed across the basin, the squad defending the Agitation Stone, who had been watching, were visibly flustered.
But they chose not to intervene and continued observing.
"Just as I thought."
Their passive, defensive stance was a clear sign—they weren't going to interfere. It was easy to predict that they'd rather abandon the Agitation Stone and run.
Kichan!
I know!
As Seowoon, now multiplied into twelve clones, rushed the mages, the knights protecting them panicked.
As shielders, they had to protect the mages, but they were overwhelmed by the increasing number of Seowoons charging in.
Just as Seowoon reached them, Kichan's Chain Lightning burst out through Seowoon's clones, electrocuting the nearby shielders and mages.
The mages barely withstood it with their Magic Barriers, but the knights couldn't.
Crash!
As a knight's helmet, slowed by the shock, crumpled in Seowoon's hands, Jinryung and Lilingwei also charged the mages.
The weakened squad, already drained from a previous fight, was easily overrun.
After the ambush quickly wiped them out, Seowoon gave a sharp command.
We're going straight for the Agitation Stone!
As Seowoon sprinted forward using Gale Step, the remaining goblins—barely half their number—started fleeing, showing their backs as they had hidden behind the others.
"Of all times, Crown had to leave now!"
A fleeing enemy's shout reached Seowoon's ears clearly.
After they cleared out the 50 goblins, no enemies were in sight—they had all fled.
"Let's activate it quickly and shift focus to destroying the Agitation Clouds going forward."
With that, Seowoon placed his hand on the Agitation Stone and completed its activation. A different notification chime rang out.
Ding! You have successfully activated the third Agitation Stone. You can now summon a Guardian at one of the three activated locations.
A map appeared, showing the three previously activated Agitation Stones glowing, with the currently attacked one highlighted in red.
Naturally, he selected the one under attack.
Ding! A Guardian is being summoned at the designated location.
With the chime, large, dark-red goblins appeared—bigger than most adult men.
As the team saw the goblins with longer tusks and savage eyes, a notification rang out.
Ding! The Guardian of the Agitation Stone has been summoned on the Island of Benevolence.
"Ah!"
Kichan let out a gasp while checking the map.
"So this is how it works."
Now they realized: once all three Agitation Stones were activated, the summoned Guardian turned into a buff monster. Everyone's expressions soured.
"That just makes it a target for players."
"That's exactly the point. The system forces constant player conflict through mutual interference."
At Seowoon's words, Dump shook his head.
"They made this needlessly complicated."
"No need to overthink. From now on, our sole focus is destroying Agitation Clouds."
'Survivors.'
698/800
***
Jin seowoon –> Dairen (killed with spell)
Lilingwei –> Trace (killed with poison)
As Seowoon checked the survivor list, he tilted his head in confusion.
Lilingwei hadn't landed any kills during the ambush, so her name being on the list felt off.
Just as Seowoon was about to ask, Lilingwei smirked and said:
"Got one. Someone died from poison at a spot where I dispersed blood poison—even though I don't know who."
At her words, smiles spread across the team.
"Then let's loot quickly and head off to claim the Agitation Clouds."
They started farming items dropped by the first-tier goblins and the defeated squad when a new notification appeared.
Your summoned Guardian has killed 8 players and successfully defended the Agitation Stone. 59 lost guardians have been regenerated.
Seowoon grinned upon realizing that once goblins under the Guardian died, they respawned anew.
"But if we run into that Azure Dragon again…"
At Dump's words, a shadow fell over the team's faces.
"The odds are low. And if it does appear, it'll show on the map. As long as it doesn't appear near us, we can handle it."
Dump, now wearing new shoulder armor, nodded.
As soon as they reached the outer edge of the island, the team began using Agitation Clouds for movement and started destroying every cloud they saw.
Remaining Agitation Clouds: 299/400
Two days after they changed their strategy to cloud destruction, a notification stiffened their expressions.
Ding! The buff monster has been hunted. Glory to Diana Squad!
Seeing their grim faces, Seowoon spoke:
"Don't worry. We saw this coming."
"But what happens if we activate another Agitation Stone now? Will it summon another buff monster?"
At Kichan's question, Seowoon nodded.
"Probably, yeah."
"Then activating all three Agitation Stones might actually end up empowering other squads strategically, right?"
"That's true, but it also provokes more fighting as a result. Either way, we only need to secure more than one Agitation Stone. Once we claim priority over the Agitation Clouds, we'll have a decisive advantage."
While they repeatedly rested at the edges of various islands and destroyed Agitation Clouds day after day, a new alert rang out, announcing that yet another Agitation Stone had been taken.
It was the 10th day of the game.
'453 survivors left, 100 Agitation Clouds remaining.'
Seowoon's squad alone had destroyed over 90 Agitation Clouds.
Now, even if they flew all day, they might only come across a single Agitation Cloud still being used by a monkey.
"At this point, I think it's safe to say there aren't any empty Agitation Clouds left."
"Probably. Lilingwei, how many are left for the main quest?"
"Four."
"Good. From now on, we aim for aerial combat."
Since the unclaimed Agitation Clouds had run out, their new target would be players riding the Clouds.
"But isn't it strange? There are way fewer squads holding Agitation Clouds than expected."
Considering the game started with 800 players and over 400 were still alive, the fact that only 100 Agitation Clouds remained was clearly abnormal.
"A lot of players probably gathered on the main island. And many squads might be betting on just guarding a single Agitation Stone until the end, expecting a game clear. If they can defend just one, they're guaranteed survival and rewards."
That was exactly why Seowoon had insisted they must secure more than one Agitation Stone.
While preparing for aerial combat, they began strategizing and sharing ideas for different roles and positioning.
Unlike on the ground, dynamic positioning and effective spell usage were critical in the air. While discussing the most efficient magic, a new alert sounded.
***
[Ding! 80% of Agitation Clouds have been destroyed. The furious clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven has returned.]
[Ding! The epic monster, Clone of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, has appeared. The game now moves to Chapter 2.]
***
Apparently, a major battle had occurred elsewhere, causing even more Agitation Clouds to be destroyed. Surprised by the alert, Seowoon opened the map.
"Near the first island."
Near the location where Seowoon's squad had initially landed, the glowing purple icon of the epic monster was visible.
"Its speed is…"
Watching the epic monster move at a pace at least ten times faster than the Clouds players rode, Kichan's expression hardened.
"The last epic monster's difficulty was already ridiculous…"
Seowoon responded to Kichan's vague comment.
"It wasn't meant to be killed."
Despite that, everyone's eyes were filled with hope as they looked at Seowoon.
"But there is a way, right?"
At Lingwei's hopeful question, Seowoon frowned.
"Last time, it was pure luck. What do you expect me to do? This is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. I don't know how it is in your world, but in ours, he was a crazy monkey demon who even defied the heavens."
"We should land on a nearby island. At this speed, we'll run into it soon."
Seeing the rapidly approaching purple dot, Kichan voiced his concern.
"Let's take a position on this island for now."
While flying toward a nearby island, limin asked:
—Is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven really that formidable of a monster? Wouldn't he be easier than Wonyoungshin? Besides, it's just a clone, not even the real one.
To that, Seowoon explained in a way limin could understand:
—He's the kind of demon that beats up immortals if they annoy him.
—…
To martial artists, "immortals" represented the pinnacle of mythical martial power—people who had transcended limits and entered a legendary state of being.
The idea of someone who could dominate such immortals rendered limin speechless.
'The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, huh…'
Despite what he'd said to his team, Seowoon was already deep in thought, trying to figure out how to defeat the epic monster.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]