*I mean... I guess this isn't a terrible strategy.*
Jisha peeked at the group that was standing in a circle from the narrow spaces between the tombstones. She was lobbing shots from all angles so she could hit them without being seen.
Lobs were usually slow, though, so how were none of them dodging? Well, since they were standing in a circle, there would always be at least one of them with their back or side towards her. That was the target she hit every time. If she stayed in the same spot, the group would be able to adapt to her strategy, but since she was moving around, it became difficult.
In addition, they couldn't send anyone out to chase her down at this point for a couple of reasons. First of all, they were all the same level, which meant that she could run away at the same speed as they could chase her. Actually, Jisha would be faster due to her familiarity with the terrain. Secondly, they didn't know how Ryozaki died, which meant they couldn't split up.
*Well... I don't know if they're actually thinking about these things, but it doesn't matter because I'll win regardless~*
Jisha was also able to hit them at odd angles due to the fact that she was applying a generous amount of spin to each projectile. Since they weren't flying in a straight line, they were harder to anticipate. It was difficult to produce so much spin and accurately strike a target, but if Jisha wasn't familiar with ranged attacks, she wouldn't be the Gun Swap Goddess.
*Even though I should have enough ammo to finish them off like this, I don't want to gamble. I'll have to get up close and personal with them soon.*
Because she was familiar with ranged attacks, she well understood that hitting a specific target became exponentially more difficult the farther away from it you were. Hitting vitals, especially the temples which were ludicrously small, was exceedingly difficult with lengthy proximity and slow projectiles. Even if she was able to hit her target once or twice, the odds of hitting ten or twenty in a row were low. The best way to increase them was to move closer.
With every throw, she would circle around to a closer spot and hone in her accuracy. She was creating a spiral of doom around five individuals by herself, and they couldn't do anything about it.
---
*>Molotov: This is stupid. They're always hitting even when they don't have much speed.*
*>Kenshi: Huh. Really? I couldn't tell. Maybe it's because of the FUCKING UNPREDICTABLE TRAJECTORIES? Use that brain of yours, projectile expert!*
*>Molotov: Hey. I haven't gotten hit since the first one. This fight's on the rest of you.*
*>Allux: Guys. Just focus. We can make it through this.*
The more pellets flew at them, the more demoralized they became. Allux's words were simply hollow to them at this point, but they had to stay in position, as the only other option was most likely a swift death.
*-17*
*-22*
*-12*
...
Little by little, bits and pieces of HP were shaved off each of them. And as this continued, Their psyche was being chipped away as well.
*>Allux: Just a little more! She can't keep this up for much longer!*
Allux, who was trying to raise morale, sent this message.
The Clan definitely had a higher mental fortitude than most people, but their current extraordinary situation was putting them under a pressure that they hadn't experienced before.
It wasn't like the pressure of being in a competitive situation. This was something different. It was the culmination of anxiety, crushed pride, and fear of what was to come.
And despite their fear and anxiety - no, *because* of their fear and anxiety - they weren't able to respond properly to what happened next.
"What-!"
Molotov couldn't keep his mouth shut out of surprise.
"You bitch, what are you doing? Aren't you a ranged character?"
He was dumbfounded.
"Who says I have to keep my distance just because I'm ranged?" Fae said.
This time, there was another projectile headed his way, and it wasn't a pellet.
"Dammit!"
Everyone had noticed what was going on at this point, and they all turned to face the imminent threat.
---
*Time to clean up.*
At this point, Jisha had shaved enough HP off the clan to go in for a final blow. And "go in" meant literally confronting them face-to-face.
But why? Molotov's question was reasonable. Once again, their way of thinking was rational when it came to dealing with normal players. But...
*Whoosh.*
In a panic, every member of the Clan attacked her nearly simultaneously. The melee swung, and the ranged threw. If all of them hadn't been worn down by the extended attrition they had faced, they might have been able to react in a more orderly manner. However, the pressure they faced clouded their judgement in this critical moment.
Every attack against her whiffed. Jisha had stayed at a range where the solo melee Kenshi couldn't reach her with a swing, and dodging ranged attacks with minimal movement was comfortable.
There was now a one second cooldown before they could release another attack, and Jisha took advantage of this to kick off the ground, rapidly closing the distance between her and Molotov.
"Dammit!"
He was helpless as he watched the cute but menacing avatar rush towards him with a smug expression.
After the pelting attrition, every member of the Clan had less than 50 HP remaining. At this moment...
"Goodnight."
*CRACK*
*-47*
... Molotov was struck in his left temple with an attack that was launched from such close proximity that it couldn't be called ranged. Receiving damage that easily exceeded his remaining HP, Molotov's body exploded into white. Jisha happily absorbed his essence while sidestepping several attacks that came at her.
She hadn't calculated anything consciously, but the concept of cooldowns and how to play around them was engraved into her psyche from thousands upon thousands of hours of high-level gameplay.
She knew when the next attacks were coming and knew exactly when and where she needed to move to dodge.
*-12*
However, she was hit in a non-vital area by Kenshi's attack.
"Huh?" Kenshi muttered.
Perhaps he was expecting her to dodge again like a ranged character should and was surprised when his attack actually landed. But it didn't matter.
Jisha had raised an arm in order to block the attack that was coming at her head, greatly reducing the damage.
In this brief moment of Kenshi's surprise, Jisha wound up an attack and Kenshi reflexively guarded his head. But...
*THWACK*
*-30*
... It was a feint. A pellet landed on Kenshi's lower stomach, and he met his end in the same way Molotov did.
Allux, Adverse, and Liuzhi were the only three remaining, and at this point, they realized that they shouldn't sync their attacks. However, it didn't matter.
*-11*
*-13*
Jisha dodged one pellet and ate two in non-vital areas, closing the distance on the remaining three enemies.
"Damn..."
*-32*
Liuzhi was rendered to nothingness.
*-11*
Jisha swatted away Adverse's last ditch effort, taking minimal damage.
"..."
*-36*
Adverse dissipated into the air.
*-10*
Jisha caught Allux's final attack in her palm, taking the minimum possible damage.
"Tch..."
*-41*
Allux's avatar breathed his last.
And in the center of where the battle once was, a nonchalant voice could be heard.
"I wonder if I have enough inventory space for all this loot..."
---
The Uval Cemetery had strangely turned into a violent hotspot that resulted in the deaths of many level 0 players.
Despite most players' decisions to explore it as a group, only one player remained standing at the end of the fiasco...
*>Brent: ...*
*>Allux: ...*
*>Molotov: ...*
*>Adverse: ...*
*>Kenshi: ...*
*>Liuzhi: ...*
*>Ryozaki: ...?*
... and the losers could only stare at themselves and their surroundings in a combination of awe and resentment - resentment for their opponent and themselves.
*>Brent: ... I'm sorry, everyone. Meet me at the hamlet commons. It'll be easier to discuss everything there.*
*>Allux: This isn't anyone's fault. Don't blame yourself. Your plan would have worked under any ordinary circumstance.*
*>Liuzhi: Not just that. I'm pretty sure it would have also worked in most unordinary circumstances... Our opponent this time was... way out of our expectations.*
One by one, the respawned clan members gathered in the Uval Hamlet's commons to discuss their plans for the future.
"Now what?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to play the game like normal people at this point."
Bren had been so busy preparing for his plan's success that he didn't form any contingency plans in case of its failure. He knew deep within himself that not having a plan B was a stupid decision, but he was extremely confident that he wouldn't fail. However, his confidence was now crushed, and all of the work he put into information gathering during the alpha test was rendered useless.
*Will we be able to become elite players in this game? Will we even be able to make the Academy's team? What lies ahead in my future now?*
"Bren. I think you're overreacting."
"What?"
"You seem way more upset about this than you should be."
"..."
Liuzhi noticed Bren's crestfallen expression even through his VR avatar and confronted him.
"Look. I know you put many hours of research into this plan, and we all know how much it meant to you. However, we're only level 0. We literally just started playing today! Even if you think this game has a bright future, we don't know that for certain. There could be another game that becomes more popular than this one, and if that happens, we can just move on to that one."
"..."
Liuzhi's speech seemed to have no effect on Bren, who was staring at the ground. He sighed and looked around for assistance.
Adverse shook his head and began a lengthy monologue.
"Bren. Like Liuzhi said, we've only begun playing this game. You're not thinking straight. We've only been here for less than half an hour and you're this upset? We know this was your grand plan to get us on the Academy's team, and we know you're sad because your meticulously-crafted plan failed.
"But think about the future. Think about this game - no, this *world* we're in. We don't know how big it is. We don't know how many NPCs there are. We don't know what we're supposed to be doing. We don't even know what the level cap is, or if there is one. We don't know any of these things, and there's a lot more we don't know. If we have an alpha tester in our group and we still don't know any of these things, think about all the normal players wandering around. Hell, some of them are still trying to put their left foot in front of their right.
"The point is, at least we kind of know what we're doing, and the fact that the combat system is similar to VMA gives us a huge advantage over a lot of people. On top of that, we were able to display good teamwork out there regardless of what the end result was. If we give up now, we'll only lose our edge. The only way on from here is forward. Got it?"
At the end of the monologue, Bren finally looked up at his friends with a clear gaze.
"Guys. I was upset that we lost, but I know it's not the end of the world. In fact, we'll let this be a stepping stone for us - a learning experience."
The rest of the Clan looked at each other with relieved expressions when Bren spoke up again.
"This loss might even be one of the best things that's happened to us. Take a look at the group chat. I wasn't just sulking when I was looking at the ground. I was messaging someone."
"... Someone?"
"Who?"
"Did we tell our friends from the Academy that we'd be playing this today? I thought we were keeping it a secret from them."
"Yeah... And we haven't met many people here... Wait. Could it be that you added her?"
Bren sent a snapshot of his friend list for everyone to see. The six that everyone was familiar with were present, but there was a seventh name in the picture.
*>Fae Sol - Online*