Chapter 6

As Max joined Sera in the game, the matchmaking screen briefly flashed before fading away. Once they appeared on Spawn Island, Sera immediately noticed something odd. She looked around but saw only Max, with a glowing "2" floating above his head.

"Max," she asked, tilting her head, "why aren't there any other players in our team? Where's the rest of the squad?"

Max smirked. "Oh, that. I turned off matchmaking so it's just the two of us. It's a feature I implemented to allow smaller groups or solo players to experience the game in their own way. For now, though, I haven't fully enabled it for public use since the game is still in its beta phase. We don't have enough players to fully take advantage of it yet."

"Wait, we can do that?" Sera's voice carried a mix of surprise and excitement.

Max nodded. "Yeah. Unlike other games with fixed modes like 1v1 or solo practice, PUBG is built to be an intense, player-based experience. But I wanted to give players the option to tailor their matches."

Sera's comment section erupted:

"Wait, what? The game is still in beta?"

"This looks more than complete!"

"Is this guy really planning to use mana to make the game even better?"

"Max is too ambitious for an F-rank!"

Sera, noticing the chat blowing up, addressed the questions. "Okay, okay, I see your comments. Let me ask Max directly." She turned to Max in-game and asked, "Max, my fans want to know: Are you really planning to build this game even further? A lot of creators just absorb the mana from their games to grow their own mana pool and rank up. They don't bother with updates once the game starts earning for them. Is that what you're planning?"

Max sighed softly, his tone turning serious. "Look, Sera, I've thought about this a lot. The thing is, I have too many ideas for this game. I see a future for it—something so big that leaving it half-finished and moving on to another project isn't even an option for me. That's why I don't call myself a 'game creator.' I call myself a game developer. My goal isn't just to make games and absorb mana; it's to keep building and updating them until they reach their highest potential."

The chat erupted again:

"Whoa, Max is serious about this game!" "If he's going to keep updating it, I'll support him!" "That's the kind of dev we need in this world." "Honestly, even though he's not a B-rank, his ambition is crazy impressive."

Sera's expression shifted to a slightly worried tone as she spoke. "But, Max… wouldn't that be a loss for you? I mean, you could use all this mana to become stronger yourself. Most creators would stop here, absorb the mana, and rank up. Are you really sure about this?"

Max shook his head firmly. "Sera, if my games were trash, then yeah, that'd be the logical move. But I don't make games just to move on. I make new things—things people haven't seen before. That's my passion. And if it means delaying my personal growth to give this game everything it needs, then so be it."

The chat exploded again, this time with both support and skepticism:

"If Max is going to do this, I'll support him all the way!" "This is exactly what the industry needs—a developer who cares about their creation." "Honestly, this might be too ambitious for an F-rank…" "Even if he's talking big, I respect his vision."

As the timer ticked down to 1, the screen transitioned, and Sera and Max found themselves in the plane flying over Erangel, a sprawling map filled with forests, fields, towns, and abandoned military infrastructure. The plane roared overhead, its path cutting diagonally across the map.

Sera looked at Max. "So, where are we landing?"

Max glanced at the map and marked a location. "The military base is close to the plane's path. Most players will go there—it's risky, but the loot is worth it."

Sera nodded in agreement. "Alright, military base it is."

When the plane reached 1,000 meters away, Max called out, "Jump!" He leaped out first, with Sera following closely behind.

As they dove straight toward the military base, Sera's breath hitched. The view was incredible. Below them lay the sprawling Sosnovka Military Base, a heavily fortified complex surrounded by high walls and barbed wire. The base was divided into sections with large hangars, C-shaped barracks, and watchtowers scattered around. Vehicles were parked near the roads, and the sunlight reflected off the metallic rooftops, adding an eerily realistic touch to the scene.

Her chat exploded:

"OMG, the visuals of the military base are insane!"

"How is this a beta game?

"Sera, you're gonna get wrecked in the military base, haha!"

Sera grinned and responded to her stream, "Guys, chill! I've got this!"

As they approached the ground, the parachutes opened with a satisfying snap. Sera hovered for a few seconds, taking in the view, but Max immediately angled his parachute for a fast descent, landing on the rooftop of one of the C-shaped buildings.

Max wasted no time. He sprinted toward a nearby M416, scooped it up, and began reloading. "Sera, grab a gun fast! Most of the players are still in the air. We've got free kills here!"

Sera hurriedly scanned her surroundings and spotted a UMP9 lying near a crate. She dashed to it, picked it up, and quickly loaded her magazine. Looking up, she saw the sky filled with descending players, their parachutes glowing faintly.

Her chat exploded again:

"LMAO, shoot them while they're still floating!"

"The parachute physics are so realistic!"

"Sera, get those free kills! You can do it!"

Sera laughed as she aimed her UMP9 skyward. "Alright, let's give them a warm welcome!"

She and Max started firing at the helpless players still gliding down. Bullets ripped through the air, and parachutes collapsed as their targets fell lifelessly to the ground.

Kill Feed:

Max (M416) knocked out Team 6 Player 2.

Sera (UMP9) eliminated Team 7 Player 3.

Max (M416) killed Team 8 Player 4.

As the first squad was wiped out, Max quickly reloaded his M416 and scanned the area. "Sera, other players are running into the buildings to grab guns. We need to finish them off before they arm themselves!"

Sera nodded. "Got it!"

Max sprinted to the edge of the rooftop, scanning for movement below. Without hesitation, he leaped off.

"Max! What are you doing?!" Sera screamed, running to the edge.

Max landed smoothly, rolling to absorb the fall, and looked back up at her. "You do realize we're Awakened, right? This kind of height wouldn't hurt us in real life, and it definitely won't hurt us in the game."

Sera flushed with embarrassment. "Oh... right. I forgot."

Max smirked and waved her down. "Hurry up! We've got some players to hunt!"

Sera quickly descended the stairs, muttering to herself. "He could've at least warned me before pulling stunts like that."

As they regrouped on the ground floor, Max pointed to a nearby building. "That's where they went. Stick close, and let's finish them before they get any ideas."

Sera tightened her grip on her UMP9. "Let's do this."