Chapter 129

'Experimental Zone' was widely used from Gold League all the way to Diamond, and it was a map in which luck played a significant role. 100 players were divided between red, yellow, and green zones, with the goal being to survive until 50 players remained.

In a way, it truly fit the 'survival' theme.

- Oh. It's the Experimental Zone, huh? It's about time for the map to change.

- I actually thought this map would come up sooner.

- Yeah. Last time, he received a message about transcending the League and was placed on One Bridge. That's why I thought he'd get this map sooner, but this is when most people get it.

'Well, it was a bit unexpected,' JiHan thought as he watched the pre-game chat. The system had matched him in maps beyond his level before, but it was recently matching him in level-appropriate maps despite his recent power boost.

'Is it because of what happened in the 'Top 100' match?'

Maybe the Dead Star's intervention was making them more careful about suddenly changing the maps. They were still giving him experience, but they weren't willing to make exceptions and boost him to a higher map anymore.

That wasn't particularly welcome news for him since playing on higher-tier maps allowed him to grow more rapidly.

'I won't be able to make it to Diamond by December if they do things by the book.'

It was better to think positively until 2020. The Space League's opening match would be in 2020, so he just needed to get to Platinum by December instead.

- So, which zone was he placed in?

- Ah, it's red.

- Ah… He got unlucky ㅠㅠ

The viewers seemed to know more than JiHan, who was actually playing the game. They knew how strong he was, but they still expressed concern.

- Ah, will he finally not finish 1st?

- LOL, what are you talking about? It's Sung JiHan. There's no way he won't finish 1st.

- But no one can last long in the red zone ㅠㅠ

JiHan looked around at the red zone. The 'zone' differences were why people said luck played a significant role on the map.

'Hmm…'

There didn't seem to be anything special about the area. It was a wide-open space with 14 other players who'd been summoned with him. They were busy trembling in anxiety as they looked at the walls of red light surrounding the area.

"Ah… Fuck. How unlucky. How did I end up here?"

"I'm screwed… Will my level go down…?"

"Ah, it's Sung JiHan!"

"Mr. Sung! Please, lead us!"

When they saw JiHan, hope appeared in their eyes like he was their savior.

- LOL, don't they know this is a survival map?

- For real. Why are they happy? Being near JiHan means you'll be among the first to get killed.

- Maybe they're relying on Mr. Sung's mercy!

- JiHan doesn't have any mercy…

- That's not true. Mr. Sung is just and fair!

He chuckled when he saw the fans in his chat trying to defend him. Just and fair? He was a million miles away from something like that.

[The game is starting.]

JiHan immediately summoned Eclipse after the game started.

Nameless Divine Arts Three Talents Technique: Thousand-Soldier Sweep.

All 14 of the players were bisected after a single horizontal slash, including the ones who'd asked him to lead them.

"Cough… How mean…"

"We even asked you to lead us…"

- Just and fair…?

- He gave everyone an equal death! So he's definitely just and fair!

- As expected of 'The First'.

"Why did they ask me to lead them on a survival map?" JiHan asked.

It was a game of survival of the fittest, where only 50% of the participants needed to be alive for the game to end. He couldn't understand why they would ask for help in such a place.

'Even if I wanted to, I don't remember this map well enough to lead them.'

Experimental Zone was a survival map that only existed during the Tutorial Season, so he had almost no memory of it. That's why he'd decided to slaughter everyone around him.

- Ah, but this survival map is about using teamwork to survive each zone.

- There's no point in doing so in the red zone.

- Yes. Isn't wiping out the others in the red zone actually better if you want 1st place?

- But it's also problematic if there are too few survivors in the zone…

Before the viewer could finish explaining, a brilliant red light began to emanate from the red zone's walls.

Flash-!

[Subject: Abnormal. Solution: Extermination.]

[Proceeding with elimination of the irregular.]

A burst of light rapidly approached JiHan. Even though he had Martial Soul, the red light was strong enough to pressure him.

'So this was why my viewers thought I wouldn't be able to finish 1st.'

He considered confronting the oncoming light head-on at first, but he didn't need to exert his full strength from the start, so he needed to figure out how to avoid it.

Then he saw a slightly open space amidst the pressing light. The space was so subtle that a normal player wouldn't be able to detect it, let alone make it there.

The old JiHan would've struggled to make it, but things had changed. He was an absolute martial artist thanks to Martial Soul and could break through anything so long as there was space.

Nameless Divine Arts Footwork Technique: Lightning Thunder Step.

He used the same step techniques as before but moved so quickly into the opening that it was like he teleported.

BZZT…!

Immediately after, the place he'd originally been standing was completely engulfed by the light.

'It's strong.'

The intense light of destruction completely melted the place JiHan and the 14 others had been standing, leaving only black steel behind.

[Irregular elimination: Failed.]

[New procedure: Complete incineration.]

'Complete incineration, huh…'

The red light gathered at the center, creating open spaces on all sides. It looked like any direction could serve as an escape route, but…

[Master, over there,] Ariel said from Eclipse as she indicated a spot north of the center.

'There?'

[Yes. The other spaces are fake.]

'How do you know that?'

[If this is really 'that place', then that's the exit… Go see for yourself. You can afford to die, right? It's just a game, after all.]

'But I won't be able to finish 1st if I die here.'

[I'm telling you that's the exit. Just trust me.] Ariel was more confident than usual.

'Okay,' he replied, deciding to trust her since he thought he could survive regardless.

Swish-!

He rushed over to where Ariel had said, and…

[Complete incineration: Starting.]

Fwoosh…!

Green flames that were much stronger than the light had been rose in every direction other than the one he'd escaped to.

[Green flames. There's no doubt about it now…] Ariel said, full of conviction. [This is the Elves' Experimental Zone.]

The map was very peculiar to JiHan from the beginning.

'It was only in place during the Tutorial Season.'

Every other map he'd been on until then, be it Colosseum or One Bridge, appeared again after the Tutorial Season ended. Though some could change slightly, they were still, in essence, the same maps.

The Experimental Zone, though, truly never appeared again after the Tutorial Season.

'The elves were operating this map?'

The place quickly darkened as the green flames faded away. No matter how much he thought about it, the place didn't fit the typical image one had of elves.

'Was this really made by the elves?'

[Yes. It's built the same as another experimental area I saw on a destroyed planet.]

'A destroyed planet…?'

[Every planet the World Tree Alliance passes through has a place like this with a central area surrounded by red light. Quite a few shadow elves lost their lives while investigating these spaces and ended up dying to those green flames.]

'So it's strong enough to annihilate shadow elves…'

[The one we found was empty, but those green flames were still active.]

Then Ariel's voice quieted. [How about we take a look deeper inside? I'd like to see how this section is actually operated. Aren't you also curious about what they do here?]

'First, let's escape this area.'

The walls had lost their power at some point during the attempted extermination, and he took the opportunity to completely exit the zone.

As he did so…

[You've cleared the normal achievement 'Escape the Red Zone'.]

[You've earned 5,000 achievement points.]

[You've cleared the hidden quest 'Solo Escape from the Red Zone'.]

[You've earned 30,000 achievement points.]

'Was it that hard?'

Getting 35,000 points from a single feat proved that it wasn't easy. He'd only managed to escape thanks to Ariel and his Martial Soul.

'As expected. New maps are the best.'

He smiled at the massive amount of achievement points.

[You've cleared a hidden quest.]

[You've unlocked an epic quest.]

[Epic Quest]

- Find the entity controlling the Experimental Area and figure out the purpose of the experiments.

[Reward: 100,000 achievement points / ?]

'I have to clear this.'

He'd been wondering how to get more achievement points, and having the opportunity for 100k in one go was something he couldn't pass over.

Based on the quest description…

'Are there elves hidden somewhere on the map?'

The area outside of the red zone was completely dark.

- So this is how it looks outside of the red zone. Is there nothing else now?

- I don't know. After all, no one managed to escape until now.

- No one?

- Yes. Diamond players somehow manage to block the red walls with teamwork, but no one could handle the green flames that burst out earlier.

- You're usually screwed if you get placed in the red zone, hahaha.

- Is that why it's so empty outside? Maybe Battle Net didn't create content outside of it because they thought no one could get out.

- Does Battle Net look that sloppy to you? Hahaha.

As if to confirm the theory that there was nothing there, it was completely empty. It might have been dark, but JiHan could see it all clear as day.

'Ariel, do you have any ideas?'

[Hmm. This place… is actually the interior of a giant seed.]

'A seed?'

[Yes. We used to call this a 'World Tree's Seed'. When entering, we broke through the outside wall, the center had the red zone, and the rest was empty.]

'Hmm… If we're inside a seed, we should be able to see something like a shell wall here, but there's nothing.'

[A wall? Now that you mention it, we saw that when our exploration team entered. I don't see anything like that now, though.]

Ariel's information had been useful up until the green flames, but it seemed that was the extent of her knowledge.

'Let's go to the wall first.'

He'd at least found out they were inside of a seed and decided to run to the wall to see if he could figure something out.

Just when he was about to use Lightning Thunder Step…

Flash-!

A white light flashed from the red zone, and a green portal appeared within.

"AGH!"

"Wh-what? Why already?!"

The other players fell through the portal.

- The red zone is being rearranged already, LOL. That was record-breakingly quick.

- It's because JiHan killed the others right away.

Whenever the players in the red zone died, 15 survivors were randomly selected and redeployed there. Thanks to JiHan's quick escape, others became sacrifices in the red zone before they could realize what was happening.

JiHan looked at the portal they were falling through.

'I'll have to go through there.'

Rather than trying to find something off about the walls, he decided to dash through the portal.

He immediately used his technique to close the distance. It might've been high up, but Martial Soul let him easily jump through, and…

"Huh…?"

An elf was waiting on the other side of the portal.