CHAPTER 28

The Proper Way to Deal with a Two-Pronged Attack

[Ding! You have acquired the Cloak of Stealth.]

[Ding! You have acquired the Enemy Detection Orb.]

[Ding! You have acquired the Stone of the 4th Circle.]

[Ding! You have acquired the Wind Blade Spellbook.]

[Ding! You have acquired the Cloudstep Manual.]

He swiftly picked up the five valuable items and swept all of them—except for the cloak—into his subspace inventory.

[The first location is now revealed.]

At that very moment, a red pillar of light shot up into the sky above his head.

It vanished after only a moment, but the light that pierced the clouds was bound to be seen not just by nearby enemies, but even by those far away.

"Six hours. I just need to survive somehow."

These weren't ordinary items. Just hearing the names, he could tell the elixirs and the 4th Circle stone were on a whole different level than the low-grade ones he'd scavenged before. There was no way he could let himself die before putting them to use.

"Ah!"

As he ran swiftly, the thought of the martial manual suddenly occurred to him. Without stopping, he pulled it from subspace and learned it on the spot.

Fortunately, it didn't require any special conditions to learn. As soon as he did, his footwork gradually became more rhythmic, and his running speed increased noticeably.

"I run like a cloud."

Harnessing the essence of Cloudstep, which surfaced in his mind, he mastered a lightweight movement technique that made his body feel as light as air. A smirk twisted Seowoon's lips.

For the first 30 minutes, he managed to move without encountering any enemies or significant threats.

He used up a fair amount of internal energy, but the Cloudstep technique helped conserve much of it.

[The second location is now revealed.]

Whoooosh—

The problem began after the second pillar of light shot into the sky.

Barely moments later, countless glowing orbs rained down from above.

Like fireworks bursting across the sky, small orbs of light blazed as they fell through the bright daylight.

Pop-pop-pop-pop!

Though not overwhelmingly powerful, they exploded upon hitting the ground, saturating the area. Seowoon clenched his teeth tightly as he watched.

"Damn it!"

Looking up, he saw the same magic being cast over and over again without pause.

"Trying to pin me down?"

This magic wasn't meant to kill him in one blow. It was clear the caster intended to restrict his movement and buy time.

If he stayed pinned down, sooner or later, other enemies—or perhaps the mage's teammates—would arrive to finish him off.

"Like hell you will!"

Without bothering to defend against the falling magic, Seowoon moved his body.

The moment the first attack began, he had already removed the cloak and stored it in his subspace.

There was no way he was going to waste a cloak with glass-level durability on such half-baked attacks.

Besides, this wasn't a precision spell.

It was an area spell, meant to hit or miss indiscriminately. Charging straight through it, one stray orb landed on his shoulder.

Boom!

It exploded, burning a hole in his clothes and revealing his scorched skin underneath. But Seowoon, protected by his internal energy, only staggered briefly and didn't stop.

Boom!

Boom!

He got hit again on the arm and thigh, but his internal energy and magic resistance were enough to endure it.

The spell was more about area coverage than raw power, after all.

"Map!"

He checked the map again to reconfirm his escape destination.

A dizzying cliff.

The ground was split like a crevasse, forming a deep ravine between two solid landmasses.

Seowoon had chosen it as his first refuge for two reasons.

First, a physically weak mage would obviously hesitate to descend such a dangerous cliff. Second, because the crevasse was so deep and narrow that sunlight barely reached inside, it was the perfect environment to fully utilize the Cloak of Stealth.

Even in broad daylight, as long as the environment allowed, Seowoon wasn't afraid of most enemies with that cloak in hand.

"Swarming is scary, but…"

After running for quite a while, Seowoon sensed the presence of pursuers behind him.

As soon as he escaped the hilly terrain, he glanced back and his eyes widened at the sight of those sprinting toward him with fiery determination.

He saw a burly knight and a mage standing on a roofless carriage, reaching a hand toward him without saying a word.

"T-they even have mounts?!"

Just as he cursed out the creator of this game again, he felt a wave of mana behind him, and his figure flickered.

Suddenly, his form split into three, scattering in different directions. He could feel the mage's momentary confusion.

-Boom!

A fire-type spell exploded to the left and struck the Seowoon that had darted off that way. But just as the spell hit, that form vanished like a mirage—the knight hadn't missed this trick.

The knight, who had been running alongside the carriage, leapt up and boarded it, causing its speed to noticeably drop.

Already struggling to keep up with Seowoon's pace and falling behind little by little, the mage was just about to say something when the knight suddenly held a long lance that hadn't been in his hand before.

The plain, unadorned wooden lance was clearly made for throwing.

-Whoosh!

The sound of the air being ripped apart, rather than a mana pulse, made Seowoon glance back. He turned pale at the sight of the lance descending in an arc.

Because his focus had been on the carriage with the two enemies, he'd failed to notice the spear falling from the sky until it was almost too late.

"Tch!"

The moment he spotted the spear, he twisted his body to the side—but the momentum of his sprint made it hard to keep his balance.

Just barely managing to stop himself by grabbing the lance embedded in the ground, Seowoon's pants were shredded from scraping against the dirt.

By grabbing the lance as he fell, he at least avoided the humiliation of tumbling across the ground.

Still gripping the lance, he channeled his inner power and hurled it at the mage riding the approaching carriage.

-Screeeech!

Unlike the knight's earlier throw, Seowoon's lance shot forward in a straight line. The mage's face turned ghostly white.

Without even checking whether the lance hit, Seowoon turned and started running again.

-Clang!

Just as the terrified mage stood frozen, a sturdy shield sprang up in front of him and deflected the lance.

The lance, unable to overcome the force of impact, crumpled as it hit the shield.

The knight, who had raised the shield, frowned slightly as he realized the strength behind that throw was no joke.

His expression—like a child who had just found an interesting new toy—shocked the mage, who panicked belatedly.

"Gasp! I-isn't he too much to handle? Shouldn't we—"

"No need to be scared. There are two of us, one of him. It's an obvious fight. Don't be afraid."

Finally pulling himself together, the mage nodded and began hurling spells at the increasingly distant target.

-Boom!

Now, the occasional spells falling from the sky were easy to dodge.

As Seowoon grew more accustomed to his movement technique, avoiding single, long-range spells became no big deal.

-Whoosh!

And the lance throws—aimed at his back—weren't much harder either.

As soon as he heard the sound, he'd check his surroundings and dodge. That was enough.

Although they were closing the distance, Seowoon wasn't too concerned—there was no way that weird carriage could actually catch up to him.

But just as he had gotten used to the attacks from behind, Seowoon's face suddenly turned grim.

-Boom boom boom!

A blast of magic—and then two arrows flying at him from the front.

Whether it was a coincidence or coordination, the timing couldn't have been worse.

As he barely lifted off the ground and spun his body midair, two arrows grazed his arm and shoulder.

Had he not jumped at that exact moment, they would have struck his heart and head.

Though he dodged the arrows, the magical aftershock swept him away, and he tumbled violently across the ground.

Now, his once-intact clothes were completely torn and ragged—he looked like a beggar.

"Another pincer attack, huh."

Seowoon stood and casually dusted off his clothes like someone who'd just tripped during a school race.

Seeing the two figures up ahead holding bows with hoods over their heads, and the carriage with the silent knight and mage still approaching from behind, Seowoon gave up trying to run.

"About 20 minutes left?"

Estimating the time until the next zone location would be revealed, Seowoon lifted his head and looked at the enemies closing in from both sides.

"Hurry up already!"

Surprisingly, it was the enemies who were thrown off by Seowoon's bold, debt collector–like demand.

If it were just Seowoon, they would've charged in without hesitation—but now that they knew another enemy was after the same objective, it wasn't so easy to move recklessly.

Only Seowoon, who had seen right through their mindset, remained relaxed and composed.

Enemies on both sides had stopped about 50 meters away from Seowoon, eyeing each other warily, unsure of what to do next.

"You chased me like you were going to kill me any second, and now you're suddenly shy or something?"

Despite the mocking words, the enemies didn't respond—instead, they tensed up, prepared for a potential surprise attack.

Then Seowoon struck a nerve.

"At this point, two of our three teams have to die."

It was a fact everyone knew, but hearing it spoken out loud by someone else gave it a fresh weight.

The two archers tightened their grip on their bows, and the knight adjusted his sword and shield, preparing for battle.

Even so, no one was willing to make the first move.

A three-way standoff.

Whoever got targeted first would die. In such a delicate situation, the most advantageous side would receive the most concentrated attacks.

The mage team and the archers were fiercely calculating who they should attack first.

But no matter how much they thought it over, the only real enemy was each other.

Seowoon, who appeared to be alone, was naturally considered the last priority.

The two intact duo teams saw each other as the greater threat.

As they stared fiercely past Seowoon at each other, a sudden thought crossed their minds.

'That guy?'

'Which side is he planning to attack?'

'His decision will tip the balance.'

When both teams turned their attention to Seowoon, who had been pulling a sly expression, he finally opened his mouth.

"Looks like everyone's done assessing the situation. Right?"

The knight was the first to speak.

Clang! Clang!

"Whether it's two or three, I don't care!"

He boldly spoke while banging his sword against his shield. Brave words—but if he really meant it, he should've attacked already.

'He's already been marked as an easy target.'

"How about this?" Seowoon turned to the archers. "Since they said that, why don't we form an alliance until we take that team out?"

The mage grew flustered.

"W-wait! If you're willing to share some of the items, we'll let you walk away."

The mage was the first to make a desperate offer.

"Oh? That's what they're saying. What about you guys?" Seowoon asked the archers.

One of them, face hidden under a pulled-down hood, stepped forward and replied.

"We have no intention of letting any kingdom lackeys walk away alive. Fight on our side, and we'll spare you."

As he finished speaking, he pulled back his hood to reveal long green hair and pointed ears—a strikingly exotic appearance.

"Knew it! Damn elves!"

The knight ground his teeth, looking ready to charge.

'Almost there.'

Seowoon glanced between both sides, then made his move.

He reached into his subspace and pulled out an item.

Opening two pouches, he showed the contents. The mage reacted first.

"The Philosopher's Stone!"

"You know it. No need to explain how rare that is, right?"

As he spoke, he observed the mage, whose eyes were gleaming with greed.

"And the other is the Tear of Lamia. Both are valuable items. I risked my life to get them. I'll leave them here. Winner takes all. Sound good? Is that enough for you to let me go?"

He looked to the elves first—they exchanged glances, then nodded.

For them too, it was easier not to have a wildcard roaming around.

As for the mage's team, there was no need to even ask. The moment they saw the Philosopher's Stone, it was clear they'd accept.

"Alright, I'll leave these two items right here where everyone can see them."

Seowoon placed them on the ground and slowly backed away. Neither team paid him any mind, too focused on glaring at each other.

After about ten steps, Seowoon turned and bolted. Behind him, the sounds of battle erupted.

'Whoever wins that fight will come for me next.'

Seowoon knew better than anyone that human greed had no end—and they wouldn't just let a solo player with no teammates walk away after that.

That's why he had offered up the two most useless but highly valuable items in his inventory.

If they took the bait and backed off, good. If they came after him again, he'd just kill them and take everything back.

But for the next five hours, he had to be extremely cautious.

This was the most dangerous time—there was no telling how many enemies would swarm in from the surrounding area.

READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920