The forest grew eerily quiet as the party advanced.
Suddenly, Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "I can sense people around us," she muttered.
Ichio turned his head slightly. "Where?"
Valkyrie pointed subtly. "To our right, there's one party. And to our left, another. Judging by their low Metra capacity, they must be low-ranked teams. Maybe the game sorted the lowest-ranked parties together in one section while placing the strongest ones elsewhere. If that's the case, we're probably in the section with the weaker teams. That means the 8th party and the 9th party should be nearby."
Ichio smirked. "Good. Then let's split up."
He turned to Vitalia. "Since I want to learn more about alchemy, you're coming with me."
Vitalia nodded, and the two of them veered off toward the right. Meanwhile, Valkyrie and Livia headed to the left.
---
A few hundred meters away, the 8th-ranked party, Igeon, was moving through the forest. The five-member team walked cautiously, scanning their surroundings.
Party Igeon Members:
Leon – Healer, Rank Eta, Level 14
Carl – Artemist, Rank Eta, Level 14
Gerald – Warrior (Spear), Rank Gamma, Level 27 (Leader)
Lucas – Archer, Rank Gamma, Level 25
Rio – Ninja, Rank Eta, Level 15
Leon's voice broke the silence. "I don't think we can win this thing…"
Gerald sighed in irritation. "Leon—"
Leon shook his head. "No, listen. You do know that Arachna is one of the participating parties, right? Arachna's one of The Apex! There's no way we can win against them.
Even if, by some miracle, we win this Battle Royale, do you actually think we'll stand a chance against the boss on Floor 10? Many stronger players couldn't even take it down."
Lucas groaned. "Seriously? You are such a damn wuss, Leon." He rolled his eyes. "Why the hell do you think we don't stand a chance? This is an opportunity! If we prove ourselves here, we can finally be recognized as a strong party, and you're talking like a wuss. Shut the fuck up, man. If you're gonna complain, you can leave."
Rio, let out a sigh. "You know, we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves. We should focus on—"
He suddenly froze. His senses tingled.
"Wait." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Someone's approaching us."
The group tensed, weapons at the ready.
---
Before they could react, Lucas, the archer, vanished.
"Lucas?" Gerald called out, spinning around.
Lucas had been perched on a tree branch, keeping watch for ambushes. He had been prepared to snipe anyone sneaking up on them. But before he could even aim his bow—
Vitalia had appeared behind him.
She moved with eerie silence, her alchemy already at work.
Before Lucas could turn his head, she transmuted his arms into a grotesque, gnarled form, distorting the flesh into something inhuman. He gasped, panic rising, but before he could shout—
She poured a foul, bubbling potion onto him.
A highly toxic alchemical creation. The moment it made contact, Lucas's throat locked up—he couldn't speak. He struggled, eyes wide with horror, as his lungs burned from within.
Vitalia smirked, watching his silent suffering. "Weak."
She raised her hand to transmute his head next—but that's when Rio noticed.
"Shit—!"
In a flash, he threw a shuriken.
Vitalia vanished.
A blink later, she reappeared behind Leon.
Before Leon could even react, Vitalia transmuted his staff into a sentient weapon.
The wooden staff twisted, its surface splitting apart like living flesh. Suddenly, it sprouted jagged spikes and extended into a monstrous form.
The weapon turned on its wielder.
Leon barely had time to scream before his own staff stabbed him through his gut.
Both Leon and Lucas were instantly transported to the Health-Room.
---
Carl and Gerald immediately spun around, weapons raised.
But before they could react—
Ichio appeared behind Carl in a blur.
Carl didn't even register the movement.
A single gunshot rang out.
Ichio had fired directly through Carl's stomach, sending him straight to the Health-Room.
Rio, the ninja, vanished.
He activated a stealth skill that erased all traces of his presence—no scent, no sound, no aura.
But Ichio didn't even flinch.
He raised his gun and muttered a command.
"Target stealth user. Execute."
His firearm, imbued with a rule-based effect, instantly responded.
A thin, concentrated laser beam of plasma—fueled by Ichio's fire Metra—pierced straight through the empty air.
An instant later, Rio reappeared—screaming—before he was forcibly transported to the Health-Room.
Now, only Gerald remained.
His spear trembled in his grip. "H-Hold on—!"
Ichio simply stared at him.
Gerald swallowed hard, then sighed. "I give up."
A second later, he, too, was transported to the Health-Room.
Vitalia sighed. "Seriously? That was it?" She sounded unimpressed. "They were pretty weak. Kinda disappointing."
Ichio, his expression calm. "No. It's just that we were stronger.
---
Inside the grand guild hall, a massive crowd had gathered, watching the ongoing tournament unfold through the hovering projection screens. The tense atmosphere was suddenly broken by a voice echoing through the room.
**Party Igeon and Party Seraphon have been eliminated**
A murmur spread through the hall. Whispers and gasps filled the air as eyes darted toward the screens, trying to grasp what they had just seen.
Then came the next announcement.
**Eliminated by Party Knull**
The noise in the hall swelled.
"Seriously? They didn't even fight them as a full team, and they still won?"
"Aren't they the lowest-ranked party in this event? How could they pull this off?"
Before the shock could settle, another voice rang out.
"Party The Seraphs and Party Dull have also been eliminated."
"Eliminated by Party Arachna."
The camera feed switched to a battlefield where a man stood amid the defeated players, his presence exuding dominance. The leader of Arachna smirked.
"Do you think you can take the name of The Seraphs and live to tell about it?" His voice was low but filled with menace. "I won't allow that. Anyone who dares to falsify the name of one of The Apex must pay. I will destroy them."
One of his teammates sighed beside him. "Seriously? You didn't have to go that hard on them."
The leader scoffed. "And they shouldn't have stolen another's name. That is so not manly."
|After he heard the announcement of Knull eliminating the other two teams earlier, he smirked.
"Oh? So there's another strong party here? Can't wait to fight them."|
---
The scene shifted back to Ichio and his Party. They had gathered once again, their expressions showing no signs of concern.
Livia rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I was expecting a challenge, but they were pretty weak."
Valkyrie sighed, crossing her arms. "Well, their leader was… decent, I guess. No, actually—average. Not gonna lie, it was pretty disappointing. I was hoping for a good fight."
Ichio's gaze sharpened. "Now… time for my plan."
He turned to Vitalia. "Do you have some kind of potion that can hypnotize people or something like that?"
Vitalia smirked. "Of course I do."
"Good. Give it to me." Ichio said.
She handed him a small vial, the liquid inside swirling with an eerie glow. Ichio took it without hesitation.
The group moved forward, emerging from the forest and stepping into a barren, ruined landscape—scattered rocks, crumbling pillars, and the remains of structures long forgotten. Ichio poured the potion onto his gun. The liquid seeped into the weapon, tracing glowing patterns along its intricate design. He placed his hand on the weapon and issued a command.
He raised the gun and fired a beam into the sky. A piercing light tore through the air, splitting the clouds momentarily before vanishing. Moments later, the announcements came.
**5th Party, The Anglers, have been eliminated by Party Arachna.**
Another announcement followed immediately after.
**7th Party, Glow, have been eliminated by Party Knull.**
The scene cut back to Arachna's leader, who grinned at the news. "Wow… these guys aren't kidding around, are they?" He cracked his knuckles. "Can't wait to take them on. I just hope they're not fodder like these fakes."
Ichio turned to his group. "Alright, let's head this way."
They advanced through the ruins, moving deeper into what seemed to be an abandoned city. Eventually, they reached a dark cave. Inside, they spotted a group of players.
Ichio scoffed. "Seriously? Hiding? So they're just a bunch of cowards. How do they even rank so high?"
A booming voice echoed from within.
"Don't worry. You take me on."
From the shadows, a massive figure emerged. A towering man with bulging muscles and a greatsword resting on his shoulder stepped forward. His presence alone made the air feel heavy.
CHAPTER END.