Chapter 129

The Survival Map, 'Experimental Zone'.

This map, widely utilized from Gold League matches for those over level 75 to Diamond League, was known for being highly influenced by luck.

One hundred players were placed in three zones: Red, Yellow, and Green, with the objective to survive until only 50 players remained.

It was, in many ways, aptly named a "Survival" map.

- Oh. The Experimental Zone, huh? Finally, the survival map changed lol

- I thought this map would've been selected earlier lol

- Yeah, remember last time when a different map was picked when he went beyond the League. This one could have been picked.

'This is somewhat unexpected.'

Before the game started, Seong Jihan thought to himself while reading the chat.

In the past, higher league matches were picked because of exceeding the limit.

Now, despite a much wider gap than before, the system allocated maps appropriate for the level.

'Did it change because of what happened during the Top 100 match?'

Maybe it was because changing the map indiscriminately, and having the Constellation of the Dead Star intervene, had caused trouble.

Although experience points were distributed, when it came to map allocation, it felt somewhat restrained.

For Jihan, who wanted fast growth, this wasn't exactly welcome.

'Well, if I follow the standard progression, I won't become a Diamond Rank until December.'

He decided to think positively until 2020.

In order to prepare for the opening game of the Space League in 2021, he needed to stay at Platinum until this December at least.

- So, which zone were you placed in?

- Oh, Red.

- Ah... Unlucky to get Red ㅠㅠ What will you do ㅠㅠ

Viewers, who knew Seong Jihan's gameplay better than the player himself, expressed their concerns despite being well aware of his prowess.

- So he won't get 1st place this time?

- ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's Seong Jihan, how could he not get 1st?

- Red Zone doesn't last long, does it ㅠㅠ

Jihan looked around.

The Red Zone of the Experimental Zone.

This place was a decisive factor where luck played a significant role in the Experimental Zone map.

'Hmm......'

The surrounding scenery wasn't anything special.

A wide open space.

Fourteen players, summoned just like him, were shaking with anxiety, looking around.

All around the players, walls composed of a red light tightly enveloped the area.

A place fitting to be called the Red Zone.

"Ah... Damn. So unlucky. How did we end up here?"

"We're screwed... Is this a level down..."

Initially, the players who were cursing their luck in landing here, upon seeing Jihan, transformed into figures who seemed to have met their savior.

"Oh, it's Seong Jihan!"

"Mr. Seong Jihan! Please lead us!"

- ㅋㅋㅋ Do they even know this is survival?

- Lol, why are they happy? Being near Jihan means you get killed first, right?

- They might be counting on Jihan's mercy!

- Well... there's no mercy from Jihan.

- That's not true! How can Mr. Seong Jihan be anything but magnanimous!

Jihan, watching his fans give ultimate shields in the chat, let out a small chuckle.

'Magnanimous, huh.'

That's millions of years away from him.

[The game is starting.]

As the game start message appeared, Jihan summoned his Shadow Sword Eclipse immediately.

Swish!

Nameless Divine Art, Triad of Martial Mastery - Total Annihilation.

As he swung horizontally, 14 players simultaneously met their end in two slices.

Among them,

"Ugh... That's too much..."

"We asked you to lead us..."

There were also those who asked Jihan to lead them.

- Magnanimous...?

- Gloriously impartial, isn't it! He granted death to everyone! How egalitarian!

- Kyah... That's even more first-class!

After achieving 14 kills in a single instance, Seong Jihan casually opened his mouth.

"Why are they asking me to take lead in a survival map?"

Survival map.

A game of survival of the fittest, ending once only 50 percent of the survivors remain.

He couldn't understand at all why anyone would seek help from others in that environment.

'Besides, I don't remember this map, so there's nothing I can lead them to.'

Experimental Zone.

Since this was a survival map that was only available during the tutorial, he had absolutely no recollection of how to navigate it.

So, being true to the survival mode, he massacred nearby players.

- Ah. But normally, to survive on this map, everyone cooperates in their respective zones...

- That's meaningless in the Red Zone ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- ㅇㅇ Isn't quickly wiping out the people in the Red Zone rather a good strategy to rank first?

- But it's a problem if there are too few survivors in the Red Zone...

Before the audience could finish speaking.

Flash! Flash!

With only one player left, a glow began to emit from the red walls of the Red Zone.

[Experiment subjects, abnormal extinction.]

[Proceeding to eliminate the Irregular.]

With that sound, a swarm of light approached Seong Jihan instantly.

The pressure exerted by the red light was quite threatening even to Sung Jihan, who had acquired the Martial Soul.

If it was before, it would be so dangerous that the probability of death would honestly be higher.

'That is a lot of pressure.'

Is this why the viewers said that he won't be able to rank first because he's in the Red Zone?

Just as Seong Jihan was about to collide with the approaching red light.

'There's no time to relax right now.'

For the time being, he found a path.

'There's space there.'

In the steadily encroaching light, a slight space opened up in one place.

For a regular player, the gap was subtle enough to be difficult to notice.

Even the old Seong Jihan would have found it hard to squeeze through such a narrow gap.

However, now he had Martial Soul.

Even a small crack, as long as there was a gap, could be breached.

Nameless Divine Arts, Footwork Technique - Flashing Sky Thunder Steps

Although he used the same movement technique as before.

Now, unlike the previous times, he escaped through the gap as if he had teleported.

Zzzzzip!

The moment he escaped.

The place where he had stood was completely engulfed by the red light.

'Powerful.'

The intense, overwhelming light of destruction.

The ground where Seong Jihan and the 14 others had stood completely melted away.

At the very bottom, only dark steel remained, giving an alien feeling.

[Elimination failed.]

[Proceeding to complete incineration...]

And as Seong Jihan completely avoided the red light, another voice rang out.

'Complete incineration, huh...'

Seong Jihan looked around.

As the red light, which had been a wall, gathered in the center, it became an open space all around.

All directions were like exits from this place.

As Seong Jihan pondered which direction to choose.

[Master. Over there.]

Ariel, transformed into Shadow Sword Eclipse, conveyed her intention.

Ariel pointed to one spot at the north from the center.

'There?'

[Yes. The other spaces are fake.]

'How do you know?'

[If this space is truly 'that place'... then that is the exit. Go there to prove my hypothesis. You can't die anyway, can you? It's just a game.]

'If I die here, won't I miss out on ranking first?'

[Exactly. Trust me a little.]

Ariel's voice, more confident than usual.

'Alright.'

Seong Jihan decided to accept her appeal once.

It was a decision made because he was confident that he could survive well enough even if that path was not the correct answer.

Whoosh!

As Seong Jihan swiftly broke through the north,

[Complete incineration, commencing.]

Whooooo...!

Except for the part from which Seong Jihan escaped, green flames rose from all directions.

A power much stronger than the red lights from moments before.

[A green flame, I was right.]

Ariel, having witnessed this, spoke with a voice full of certainty.

[This is, the Elf Experiment Zone.]

* * * * *

Experiment Zone.

This map was quite a peculiar map for Seong Jihan.

'It only appeared during the tutorial.'

Numerous maps through which he had passed.

Whether it was the colosseum or bridge.

These kinds of games often brought back previous maps, with some changes, after the tutorial ended, whenever the stage changed.

While the map settings slightly varied, the prior play experience was somewhat relevant and helpful.

But the Experiment Zone was a map that had not opened once since it only appeared in the tutorial.

'And the entity operating this place was the elves?'

The space quickly darkened as the green flame that shone a bit earlier disappeared.

No matter how he looked around, it was a place that does not fit the general image of elves at all.

This place is associated with them?

'Did the elves create this?'

[Yes. It has the same structure as the Experiment Zone I saw. It was on a destroyed planet.]

'A destroyed planet...'

[Every planet the World Tree Association passed had a place like this. Especially this Central Zone had a wall made of red light, with a green flame existing in it. There were more than a couple of Shadow Elves who lost their lives to that green flame while investigating this space.]

'A power strong enough to annihilate Shadow Elves...'

[Even though it was completely empty when we found it, those flames of destruction still existed.]

Then Ariel, with a subtle voice, asked Seong Jihan.

[Shall we take a look inside? I want to see how this zone is actually operated. Aren't you curious about what the owner is doing here?]

'Let's go out first.'

Seong Jihan exited the Red Zone.

Then.

[General Achievement, 'Escape from the Red Zone' has been successfully accomplished.]

[Achievement points 5,000 are awarded.]

[Hidden Quest, 'Solo Escape from the Red Zone,' has been successfully accomplished.]

[Achievement points 30,000 are awarded.]

'Was it that difficult?' Gaining 35,000 achievement points with one play.

It was evidence that escaping the Red Zone was no easy task.

Seong Jihan managed to breach it easily, purely thanks to Martial Soul and Ariel.

'New maps are indeed nice.'

As he smiled while looking at the achievement rewards he hadn't seen in a while,

[You have cleared a Hidden Quest.]

[An Epic Quest will be unlocked.]

[Epic Quest]

[Discover the entity that created the Experiment Zone and uncover the purpose of the experiments.]

[Rewards: Achievement points 100,000 / ?]

An Epic Quest emerged.

Normally, they give 50,000, but the reward was raised to 100,000 points.

On top of that, an unknown reward was additionally provided.

'I must clear it.'

He had been wondering how to earn points after spending so much.

100,000 points.

He needed to clear it, no matter what it took.

The quest says to find the entity...

'Are the elves in the Experiment Zone now?'

Seong Jihan looked around.

After escaping the Red Zone, it was entirely dark with not a single light in the empty space.

- So this is what it looks like outside the Red Zone. Is there nothing at all now?

- Who knows? There has to be someone who escaped to know

- No one has managed to escape until now?

- Yeah. Even if you're Diamond Rank, you can sort of block the red wall with team play, but they couldn't handle the green flame that popped out earlier.

- So if you get caught in the Red Zone, you just accept that you stepped in shit and die lololol

- Is that why it's so empty here? Did BattleNet not create content, thinking nobody would get out?

- Does BattleNet look that sloppy to you lololol

As if to refute the claim that they didn't create content, the desolate external area of the Red Zone.

Seong Jihan could see his surroundings as if it were broad daylight even in the darkness.

"Really, there's nothing here."

No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find even a small trace, let alone an elf.

'Ariel. Do you know anything?'

[Hmm. This space... is actually inside a gigantic seed shell.]

'A seed?'

Just how big is the seed, that it can comprise this massive space?

[Yes. We called it the Seed of the World Tree. When we entered, we broke the shell wall from the outside... It looked exactly like this at that time. There was this Red Zone in the central part, and the rest was completely empty.]

'Hmm... If we're inside a seed, we should be able to see something like a shell wall here. But there's none.'

[Wall? Now that you mention it, we could see it when our research team entered, but now it's not visible.]

Ariel's information was useful until they escaped the incineration, but from this point on, she seemed to be just as clueless.

'Let's go to the end, at least.'

Since they knew they were inside a seed.

Seong Jihan decided to simply run.

He thought that something might be visible if he went to the end of the space.

Just as he was about to use Flashing Sky Thunder Steps again.

Flash! Flash!

Above the place where the Red Zone had been, a bright white light burst forth.

And from within it, a huge green portal was created.

"Uaaargh!"

"What, what is this? Why already!"

And through that portal, people were falling to the ground.

They were players, playing the Survival map just like Seong Jihan.

- The Red Zone got rearranged so quickly, lol. This is historically quick, isn't it?

- Because the Red Zone emptied out in a flash due to Seong Jihan. It's replenishing immediately.

When all players in the Red Zone die, 15 of the survivors are randomly selected and repositioned there.

The players became sacrifices of the Red Zone even before they could do anything because Seong Jihan escaped too quickly.

Seong Jihan looked at the portal through which they were falling.

'I should try going there once.'

Rather than going to the end looking for the invisible wall, Seong Jihan, deciding to try challenging the portal, immediately used Divine Arts and jumped into the sky.

The portal was considerably far from the ground, but thanks to his Martial Soul, he easily leaped through the space.

"...Huh?"

Beyond the portal, he saw an elf.