Chapter 8: Crazy tempo

As soon as the game started, I ran out.

SUA seemed to try to say something, but time was short, so I couldn’t properly hear the latter part.

It seemed she was about to apologize, apparently thinking choosing the hammer was a mistake.

What’s the big deal?

I told her it was fine so she wouldn’t worry unnecessarily.

It wasn’t a matter of life or death, nor was it something to get angry about in the first place.

I make minor mistakes too.

Then it was a problem because I died.

Moreover, being tired wasn’t a lie, so this was likely to be the first and last match.

Of course, I wasn’t ignorant about hammers.

Although I remembered it based on experience, I already thought it was a weapon unsuitable for duo play.

Yet, considering my hand naturally went for the hammer, perhaps I had some confidence in it.

Even considering that, the combination was an ultra-late game weapon and an ultra-early game weapon.

It was the worst.

There was a strategy to safely support an ultra-late game weapon until the late game, but if that were the case, I should have chosen another weapon.

But if I’m not going to use daggers, why am I even playing this game?

So the strategy I chose was ‘every man for himself’.

It was to play my own way, as if in solo, and then meet up.

If at least one of us survived, we could revive with credits, so it might be more manageable than I thought.

I must have chosen it because I was confident.

‘Surely, I can survive, right?’

If she can’t survive… well, I’ll just tease her again later.

Weighing SUA’s chances of survival, I opened the minimap.

Alright… where are most people gathered?

The distinct scent of water rising from the damp, muddy soil stung my nose.

The map was, as its name suggested, the Great Lake, with a massive lake at its center.

A distinctive feature was that the Great Lake in the center was never included in the final forbidden zone circle.

Credit expenditure points were in the complex of structures built in the center of the Great Lake, while credit farming was only possible in the outer areas surrounding the Great Lake.

If you don’t upgrade your weapon, you’ll be eliminated.

Yet weapon upgrade stations are concentrated specifically in the very center.

Will you fight in the center and be eliminated, or will you be devoured by enemies who grew stronger in the center?

A map structure where the intention was overtly clear.

I think I saw information that it was actually the map with the fastest game-end time.

I thought, ‘Of course it would be.’

From the outskirts to the center.

Everyone would think the same.

Then, the best play I could make was…

Pruning.

Reduce the number of opponents as much as possible before credit farming ends on the outskirts.

Credits also increase when you get kills.

It’s just that you quietly farm credits to prepare for when you can’t get kills.

I notified SUA of my destination using the ping function.

Current location: northeast, destination: north of the Great Lake.

There would be people everywhere, but this was a gut feeling I developed during experiments.

If I just felt like there would be people, there usually were.

I had a hunch that if I went this way, I could hit the jackpot.

As expected.

What I saw upon arrival were teams just about to begin combat.

Further away, several teams that hadn’t yet discovered each other were visible.

Credits were limited.

Since farming locations overlapped, they would engage in combat to steal credits already farmed by opponents or to protect unfarmed credits.

Soon after, the sound of weapons clashing was heard.

I moved silently.

No one noticed that I had come all the way to their rear.

I took out the dagger I had in my pocket.

With one hand, I twisted the two handles here and there, and the blade sprang out as the two handles extended.

Ah, this is it.

The grip, and even the shining blade, truly made for a satisfying appearance.

Putting my impressions aside, I leaped among them.

Their expressions of shock at my sudden intrusion were quite a sight to behold.

First, one from each side.

The possibility of a counter-attack existing was nonexistent.

If they had been relaxed enough to fight while conserving skills in the early game, the battle should have been decided long ago.

I instantly approached and slit the neck of an opponent who couldn’t even react.

Two players with low health immediately fell into a critical state from a vital point strike.

It would take quite a lot of time to revive them.

And I decided not to give them that time.

Confirmed kill.

Ending a critical state, which temporarily delays complete death, by dealing damage.

It wasn’t particularly difficult; when I slit the necks of the fallen opponents one more time, they stopped moving.

The immense critical damage attributed to daggers made it possible.

“Crazy.”

“What, from the start…”

Just four silent slashes.

A variable appeared in the combat they chose, assuming there were no other teams around.

Only then did they grasp the situation, and they had two choices.

Either take a gamble and fight as is, or survive and revive their allies with credits.

If things continued like this, there was no answer.

Even if they revived their allies, they would just be ruined without credits for upgrades.

The map’s characteristics forced both teams to choose the former.

Weapons pointed at me.

Yes, that’s how it should be.

A supposed three-way battle, but effectively a 1v2.

Rather than the unfairness from wondering if it was teaming, the joy of having brought this situation upon myself took precedence.

With a surging exhilaration, I smiled.

If 2v1 is hard, then just make it 1v1, right?

****

How did it end up like this?

“Kyaaaaaak!”

– Run, SUA, lololol

– How did it end up like this, lolololol

– Idk lolol

– Why did they come here, lololol

She encountered an opponent in the outermost part of the outskirts, where she thought no one would come and where credits were scarce.

It was already frustrating that the farming areas overlapped, but the numerical disadvantage directly became the reason for her being chased.

SUA screamed amidst the continuous pursuit.

“Why are you chasing me?! You’ll be ruined too then! Aren’t you going to the center?! Why did you even come here in the first place?!”

– I’m a fan~! Please sign for me~!

– Ah, give me kill credits lolol

– If it were you, wouldn’t you catch her?

– What if you have a hammer and no teammates?

– Solo or duo-squad, there’s full-on hammer hatred.

– Can’t stand hammers, lololol

If it continued like this, it would be dangerous.

She needed a minimum amount of time to activate the hammer’s skill.

Even if she couldn’t buy consumables, she at least needed to earn credits to upgrade her weapon.

– Meanwhile, she’s almost gathered all the materials for the hammer craft.

– Seriously, how did she gather them?

– SUA might be a clown, but she’s still a ranker lolol

– She’s picking up all the ores as she screams lolol

– Why are rankers treated like this in this room?

– Newbies, just type ‘lol’ lolol

– This room is usually like that ^^

No matter how much she was mocked as a clown, a ranker was still a ranker.

Her skill wasn’t going anywhere.

Even while screaming, SUA picked up ores that only a hammer user could interact with.

‘I can roll this way and reach for it.

Ah, I can’t get that one.’

Running, she identified the locations of ores scattered around and adjusted her escape route.

“They’re not chasing anymore?”

Although kill credits were high, they weren’t high enough to forgo the center, so the opponents gave up and headed for the center.

“Phew, it starts now…”

SUA took out the hammer she had on her back and brought it down directly onto the ore.

The water required as a material had already been created long ago.

– That’s really ridiculous.

– Water is free?

Water is free?

– zzzzzzzzzzz

– Wake me up when the blacksmithing is done.

– Sleep stream on

– We have to watch this even in duo lolol

– That’s a bit dizzying lolol

After checking the progress gauge and the chat window pretending to be asleep as usual, she surveyed her surroundings.

“It’s dangerous…”

The map was bad.

Even more so for a hammer user.

Even in the Great Lake, if it were solo, she could force herself to use the hammer and earn a minimum of credits, but due to the nature of duo mode, the difficulty of playing safely increased exponentially.

Because of that, time was drawn out from the start.

The game was already nearing its midpoint.

If she waited like this, the minimum credits would be complete, but arriving at the center would be around the time the center itself began to be swallowed by the forbidden zone.

‘Be fast.

Please.’

As SUA offered a meaningless prayer, the announcer’s voice reached her ears.

[A survivor has been eliminated.]

A simple announcement that someone had died.

It was unremarkable information.

SUA felt something was off after that.

[A survivor has been eliminated.]

[A survivor has been eliminated.]

[A survivor has been eliminated.]

[A survivor has been eliminated.]

…

…

The announcement repeated like a parrot.

Noticing the clear anomaly, SUA checked the floating battle status board in the sky.

– ????

– Is this even possible?

– What’s with the tempo;;

– How did she win?

– How many people did she kill by herself?

[Half of the survivors have been slaughtered!]

The announcement rang out once more.

This time, the image of The girl with closed eyes, smiling, appeared on the UI.

The gauge was full; the work was finally complete.

“I should go.”

She regretted not being on the scene.

She thought that perhaps this connection she had made might be with someone more formidable than she could imagine.

As SUA had initially expected, by the time she arrived, the forbidden zone circle had begun to gradually envelop the Great Lake.

“SuspiciousPerson?”

[SuspiciousPerson: You here?]

“……”

SUA froze at the sight of SuspiciousPerson.

This was the second time.

– Ddddddddddd

– Crazy…

– I’m leaving here…

‘She’s scary’ is just a prejudice, they said?

Perhaps it wasn’t a prejudice after all.

[SuspiciousPerson: Why are you trembling so much?]

Her slender eyes curved into an arc.

SuspiciousPerson was covered in blood, wearing a refreshing smile.

In one of her hands, a dagger dripped with blood, and the entrance to the facility where weapon upgrade stations were clustered was filled with the corpses of defeated players.