Chapter 19: Sniper in the Skies

The arena’s highest point is a TV tower, some distance from Yun Shi.

Having grinded mobs and quests in An City for a day, Yun Shi notes its tech and architecture mirror his real world.
Walking its streets feels like stepping back home.

Snap—a trap’s triggered, yanking his thoughts back.

Yun Shi darts into an alley, cautiously peering toward the sound.

Across the street, a water and wood ability user, mid-fight, freeze at the noise.
They scan around, finding nothing.
As shadows loom above, they look up too late—a massive boulder crashes down, turning them into blue and green light fragments.

[System]: Player [PiggyNoTalk] eliminated by [Falling Rock]!
[System]: Player [LittleSisDontFear] eliminated by [Falling Rock]!

The boulder remains, crushing the trap’s mechanism.
Other players silently steer clear.

Yun Shi notes: triggering to activation gives reaction time—not a guaranteed death.
But, knowing this game’s ruthless devs, some traps likely offer no escape.

In the arena, only the local chat channel is active; others are disabled.
An anti-cheat system blocks voice comms—you play or you talk, not both.

This curbs premade guild groups, leveling the field for solo players.
The guild badge, the juiciest reward, drives guilds—big and small—to aim for top 20.
Premade teams would otherwise steamroll solos if voice chat were allowed.
Random spawns make alliances harder, even for familiar players.

Yun Shi moves through two buildings as the system scrolls eliminations:

Some slip and fall off buildings, others stray out of bounds, get caught in traps, or die to mobs.
Both solo and guild players litter the knockout list.

Yun Shi checks the leaderboard, ignoring the top 20, focusing on the eliminated.

Elimination logs show time and cause.
He deduces:

• Out-of-bounds, traps, or non-player deaths preserve current points (e.g., 3 minutes alive = 20 points).
• Player kills split points, with 50% going to the victor (3 minutes alive, killed = 10 points).

Survival is key.
In a no-win scenario, self-elimination saves more points than letting another player tag you.

Ten minutes in, eliminations stream constantly.

The event’s entry bar is low.
Three days of grinding mobs and quests can hit level 20, even without clearing [Bear Island] or [Snake Woman].
But without dungeon gear, these players—often the first eliminated—struggle.

The leaderboard’s top ranks shift rapidly.
[HotLittleChili], a Red Maple Club trainee, checks it often.
His team, sent to test “Clouds and Breezes” in “Contest,” got a break from training to play.
He’s unsure if they’re testing their squad or the wind user.

Luckily, he spawned near a teammate, and they’ve teamed up.

Chili says, “That wind user hasn’t cracked the top 50…”

The leaderboard shows the top 50 of thousands.
Chili’s not digging through names—if Clouds isn’t top-tier, no need to test anyone.

His teammate replies, “It’s early. He’s probably not moving yet.
Let’s group at the map’s center.”

No voice comms, but pros and guilds pick a rendezvous point, like Chili’s team.

Half an hour in, eliminations slow, but guild-tagged players rack up kills.

The arena, though smaller, spans half the city—apartments, offices, schools, hospitals.
Surviving earns points; some hunt, others hide.

Yun Shi’s in a third-floor apartment, 20 minutes from the TV tower.
His score’s 1050, outside the top 50.
Most points come from time, but he’s taken out low-score players.
One high-score target, a space ability user, hid here, sniping kills during street brawls and retreating.
He was thrilled with his haul—until Yun Shi ambushed him, claiming all his points.

The apartment’s cozy: three rooms, a living area, TV, and balcony bars.
Yun Shi lingers, feeling nostalgic, when a red glowing orb appears on the balcony—an event buff.

He picks it up.
[Attack Speed +30%, 40s duration]

Perfect timing.
Below, three half-health players, chased onto the street, face five “MirrorMoon” guild members—four full-health, one low.
They’re positioned in a fan, avoiding friendly fire.

The chased trio, nearly killed by the low-health MirrorMoon player, got reversed when his team arrived.
Now pleading to join MirrorMoon for mercy, they negotiate.

Yun Shi sets traps in the room—luckily, traps are allowed—then nocks an arrow, hidden behind the balcony bars.
Third floor, street targets in range.

[MirrorMoonPear]: “Ha! Nearly killed me and want to join? Dream on!”
[MirrorMoonSkyBlade]: “Not quite. Want in? Give us your points.
Once the event ends, we’ll build our guild, and you can apply.”

Pear perks up, ready to say, “Right, let us kill you, and you’re in!”
But before she speaks—

Swish—an arrow.
Pear dissolves into light fragments, eliminated.

Both sides tense.
MirrorMoon assumes the trio’s trickery, unleashing skills.
The trio, overwhelmed, hits critical health, but as MirrorMoon moves to finish, another arrow strikes from nowhere, killing the trio.
Their points don’t go to MirrorMoon.

Realizing they’re ambushed, MirrorMoon scans warily.
Their skills on cooldown, health chipped from the fight, arrows from a building hit their hearts or heads, shredding health bars.

After one volley, they pinpoint the sniper’s building and rush in.

SkyBlade snarls, “Daring to ambush MirrorMoon? You, you, with me! You, guard the balcony!”

SkyBlade and two others storm the room, kicking the door open.
A cyan figure glances at them, unfazed, tossing a skill downward—wind stirs—then resumes shooting.

The trio sneer.
Bold, attacking with them right there?
Skills off cooldown, they charge—only to flash and get ejected from the arena.

At the registration NPC, they stare at the big screen broadcasting live, stunned.

Arena players and spectators are equally shocked.

The wind stops below; another light fragment fades.
Nearby and passing players gape.

[System]: [Clouds and Breezes] killed [MirrorMoonPear]
[System]: [Clouds and Breezes] killed [PeachSellingMonkey]
…
[System]: [Clouds and Breezes] killed [MirrorMoonLilBrave]

The once-quiet system spams eight kill notifications.

Before players can yell “Holy sh*t,” another pops up, still the ruthless wind user.

Yun Shi stows his bow, collecting his traps.

The chaos draws the official camera, lingering two minutes, capturing the ninth victim’s demise.

Yun Shi uses a control skill to yank a hiding MirrorMoon member from below, headshotting them.
As he prepares to leave, a fight erupts on the next building’s roof.
A player falls.
Expressionless, Yun Shi nocks an arrow, finishing them mid-drop.

Thud—the falling player bursts into light, half their points his.

Arena and big-screen viewers share one thought:

Archer? No—sniper!