CHAPTER 63

"End of the Third Round" 

After finishing a covert conversation with Kichan, Seowoon joined the wraith hunt a bit late, but his teammates were already in full motion attacking the monster.

Or at least… it looked that way.

Dumph stood shoulder to shoulder with the knights, blocking the wraith's attacks, while Sade, Lyle, and Kichan bombarded it with spells.

Then, one knight—clearly fatigued—began reacting slower.

Clang! Thud!

"Ugh!!"

A ghostly sword deflected by Seowoon's shield happened to slam into the foot of the weary knight just as Yeoh Haoran turned her attention to draw agaro from the monster, missing the moment entirely.

"Just hang in there a bit!"

Seowoon threw down his shield and quickly pulled the injured knight to the rear, then grabbed the shield again and rushed back in to split the wraith's focus.

No one found his actions suspicious.

In the face of such a strong monster, this looked like perfectly reasonable teamwork.

Claaang!

Yeoh Haoran finally shattered the golden armor covering the wraith's shoulder.

"The joint's exposed!"

A barrage of spells followed.

Even while casting, Kichan remembered Seowoon's earlier warning:

"Be careful when it gets injured. The moment its pattern changes is the most dangerous."

It was Seowoon's instincts from countless raid experiences.

Once its shoulder joint cracked, the wraith's staff arm moved awkwardly. It let out a furious roar.

"RAAAGH!"

Seowoon's eyes sparkled.

"Wrap it up. I set the table for you."

But instead of finishing the monster, the wraith vanished right before their eyes.

Turning back, Seowoon spotted it reappear behind the injured knight—cleaving his head open.

"That makes ten."

Yeoh Haoran began sensing something was off when the wraith's armor had all but disintegrated and its bones cracked.

Her team had lost two, and four others from a different squad were dead—but strangely, none of Seowoon's teammates had fallen.

That alone raised serious suspicion.

As she hesitated, drawing out her increasingly worn-down energy blade, Seowoon—who was biding his time behind a shield, seemingly just defending—didn't miss her reaction.

"Someone's aiming for our backs! Stay alert!"

Her thoughts froze.

"Push it back and face the wall!"

Seowoon and Dumph pushed the wraith toward the wall opposite the cavern entrance. The rest quickly followed, realigning their formation.

With six players on Seowoon's side and only two each on the other squads, it was only natural for them to follow his orders.

Clang!

Taking advantage of a momentary gap, Yeoh Haoran stabbed the wraith and leapt back, shouting:

"You're sure about this?"

"I've got an item that senses killing intent. Someone's watching with hostile intent."

It wasn't a lie.

Technically, he'd just withheld that information—Hammit had warned him over thirty minutes ago.

BOOM!

"ARGH!"

One of the few remaining knights, aside from Dump, was smashed into the wall by the wraith's sword. Their distraction was costing lives.

Even weakened, the wraith remained dangerous.

Still, everything was unfolding exactly as Seowoon had planned.

He tossed aside his shield.

"We have to finish this now!"

He charged the wraith, and as Yeoh Haoran followed with an uneasy feeling, she caught a strange detail.

"He's using bloodbone clan… With that much power… then why…?"

"What are you doing?! Focus!"

As golden sparks ran along the wraith's staff, Seowoon yelled.

He knew she wouldn't fall from such a weak lightning spell. But her changing expression confirmed his doubts.

Slick!

Yeoh Haoran's sword finally severed the wraith's arm. The electrified staff and the arm crashed to the floor.

At that moment, Seowoon's hand flew toward her face.

He saw the faint sword energy vanish from her blade—the sign he was waiting for.

"You bastard!!"

Her counterattack was merciless. His blow could lead to mutual destruction, but Seowoon didn't hesitate.

Slice.

It didn't feel like stabbing flesh—more like cutting empty space. But then a sharp pain surged through Yeoh Haoran's side.

Crack!

Seowoon's bloodbone clan tore through her ribs.

As she staggered, the wraith's sword crashed down.

CRASH!

SMASH!

SIZZLE!

"You cowardly…!"

Shink.

At the same time, Seowoon's team ambushed the remaining survivors.

They struck point-blank, with no time to react.

limin decapitated the last mage cleanly, blood flying as she wiped her blade.

"Huff… Huff… So from the start…"

Whistle!

Yeoh Haoran, barely dodging the wraith's strike, couldn't even finish her sentence.

A piercing arrow flew from nowhere and drove into her temple.

Ting!

Another arrow zipped toward Seowoon, but he casually batted it away with the back of his hand.

"Now!"

At his call, five teammates rushed the wraith.

Seowoon too moved in, blocking incoming arrows aimed squarely at the gem on the wraith's crown.

Moments later, they vanished from the cave—taking the wraith with them.

Only a few stray arrows remained, cutting through empty space.

Seowoon had secretly directed Kichan to loot during the chaos. In the process, he'd luckily picked up a Gold Scroll: Area Teleportation.

Their real strategy, quietly set over voice chat, was to escape with the weakened wraith if things went south—and kill it alone for all the rewards.

But the appearance of a third-party threat threw things off.

"Worst-case is if those new enemies team up with the ones we're trying to cull. We eliminate them—no exceptions."

And that's exactly what Seowoon accomplished.

Smash!

Even mid-teleport, he aimed a blow at the yellow jewel on the wraith's crown—shattering it.

"So… my glory ends here."

With those words, Kootrapa the Wraith's golden skeletal form crumbled to dust and slowly faded.

[Ding! The Epic Monster Kootrapa the Wraith has been slain. Glory to the duo of Jin Seowoon and Kang Kichan!]

Though they got all the credit, the other teammates didn't complain.

"Loot it. Fast."

Seowoon barked, and the team took turns cataloging the drops:

Staff of the Abyss – Once wielded by Archmage Emperor Kootrapa.+200% casting speed, –30% mana cost, Triple Spellcasting, +100% magic damage.

Purification Crystal

Kootrapa's Treasure Map

Kootrapa's Sword Manual

Kootrapa's Secret Tome

And many others.

Survivors: 7 / 400

Jurok'ana → Yeoh Haoran (killed with an arrow).

"So it was that bastard who killed the two campers."

Of the three players hiding and waiting for the right moment, two had been eliminated. Seowoon had already suspected that the final lurking killer might be Jurok'ana.

He knew the guy would never die before taking someone down with him.

"Good thing we were ready. Let's go."

As Seowoon began to walk forward decisively, Dumph and Sade tried to stop him.

"He's a divine marksman. Guerrilla warfare favors him—even if we outnumber him. We need a way to draw him out first…"

Dumph trailed off as he saw Seowoon's familiar smile.

"You have a way, don't you? To find him in this massive dungeon?"

"Mark of Resentment."

As Seowoon raised his hand, a thin red beam—like a laser—emerged, pointing unwaveringly toward a specific direction.

Everyone stared, stunned.

"Never heard of a skill like that…"

"Must be a martial art that doesn't exist in our world either."

Seowoon just shrugged.

He'd gotten the skill during the wheel spin after tanking the wraith. At the time, he'd been annoyed at not getting a good one-hit attack for Yeoh Haoran—but it turned out more valuable now than ever.

"Let's go. Time to gang up. Time to settle this."

As they re-entered the grand cavern where the wraith had fallen, the light beam pointed directly to a corner.

Everyone except Dumph hurled spells, auras, and techniques toward that direction.

From a seemingly empty corner, Jurok'ana emerged, coughing up blood, his black cloak shredded.

"Kuh! How did you know? Was it… Carmen's Eye?"

But it wasn't that.

Mark of Resentment allowed Seowoon to track someone who had previously harmed him. The tracked player couldn't see the light, only the caster could.

"Not really obligated to tell you, am I?"

"Guess not. I hesitated too long…"

Drawing his sword, Jurok'ana faced the full force of Seowoon's party.

A six-on-one brawl.

Despite his fame as a divine archer, Jurok'ana didn't hesitate to draw his sword—and he was dangerous. He fluidly switched between sword and bow, shooting arrows mid-combat like flowing water.

His plan to hide near the cavern's base had backfired.

Trying to make a break for the entrance, he was met with:

Crack!

Seowoon's bloodbone clan grazed his arm, disrupting his movement.

Whsst!

Even while backing away and bleeding, his archery was stunning. One of his arrows shattered a glowing orb right in front of Dumph's face, plunging the battlefield into darkness.

"Everyone! Be careful!"

The ambient light gone, Jurok'ana's presence dissolved into the shadows.

Seowoon cloaked himself with his Cloak of Stealth, blending into the dark as well.

Arrows began flying from all directions. Even the tiniest noise drew lethal shots.

The rest of the team raised barriers and stayed low, letting the two predators hunt each other.

They fired a new orb of light—and in its glow, two figures emerged.

Less than ten meters apart, both cloaked in shadow—two archers, drawing on each other.

"Situation's flipped since last time."

Seowoon smirked.

"Those who forget honor are judged by Tolkan."

Jurok'ana fired as he finished his sentence.

Ting!

The arrows clashed mid-air. Their momentum broken, the two lunged—Seowoon with crossed arms, Jurok'ana with sword drawn.

Clang! Clang!

Seowoon blocked the blade barehanded, pushing in.

From behind Jurok'ana, a magical blast surged—Kichan's spell.

Even bleeding from the back and head, Jurok'ana didn't falter. He shifted seamlessly, drawing his bow again.

"No you don't!"

Reading his intent to take at least one down with him, Seowoon charged.

Just before Jurok'ana could release the arrow, he twisted the bow and fired at point-blank range.

Seowoon tried to block it with his hand—but the arrow curved mid-air and struck his chest.

Grimacing, Seowoon tore the arrow out of his own arm—and drove it into Jurok'ana's forehead.

The archer's eyes widened in disbelief as his life faded.

"Huff…"

Seowoon panted heavily. Revenge completed.

A moment of awkward silence passed.

"If we'd met as allies from the start… would've been good."

limin, wiping blood from her sword, spoke quietly.

Seowoon nodded.

"Let's finish looting before we kill each other."

They ransacked the boxes scattered around, listed everything, then split into two groups—facing one another.

"It was an honor."

"Next time… let's meet as comrades."

"Agreed. I don't want someone like you as my enemy again."

Seowoon smiled faintly.

"Then… let's end this game."

At his word, the two groups charged.

[Ding! Cloride Survival has ended.]

[Ta-da-da-da-daaa! Congratulations on becoming the final Quad!]

You have earned the right to participate in the next game.

You have received the greatest reward for this round.

Title acquired: Legends of Duo-Quad. All stats +5% in duo play.

Lyle died first.

Sade followed, slain by Seowoon's hand.

Dumph and limin took down Kichan—but they too perished to Seowoon's blades.

Staring at his blood-soaked hands, Seowoon dropped to his knees.

Just then, the familiar voice echoed:

"Hyung!!!"

It was Kichan, sprinting toward him, resurrected at the end.

A surge of emotions poured into that shout.

As Seowoon slowly rose, he realized—

It was finally time to enjoy the rewards.

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]

if you want to buy the rest of the chapters in one go ,then i can give you discount. Enjoy reading .