Chapter 78

"Get ready contestants!! For the round will be starting in a minute!"

...

I breathe in and compose myself.

The Map this time consists of a large rectangular dry barren land of rocky mountains. A harsh environment but perfect for a battlefield.

The large rectangular field with a width of about 150km to a length of 100km, is split into two separate symmetrical parts.

Each team will have each part as their "territory" and can choose where they place their base, they can then try to gather materials or use theirs to construct a defence, traps, etc.

It's not complicated at all.

"The Game will now begin!"

The badge activates and my body disappears.

-------------

I open my eyes and cough as soon as I do. I breathe in the sand flying around in the air.

Damn... It's hot. I shade the sunlight with my hand. It feels like I'm in the Sahara desert or something.

"K-Karma?" Says Ika.

I look behind to find the girls. Aside from Sakura, the rest are already panting from the heat.

I stare at them as I catch my breath.

En composes herself and nods to the others.

"Everyone, I need your help to scout the area first and create a map. We will meet back at the cave in the rocky mountain over there in 5 hours." Says En, pointing at the south.

I look south and see a mountain, the shade is shown shallow and thin, it's probably around noon now.

I've been in the dark for so long in this stage, that it feels weird to meet the sun again.

"The sun... People in this stage call it a bad omen." Says Sakura, walking up to me.

"Why?" I ask.

"Well, it causes drought, famine and skin cancer, lots of things." Says Sakura.

"But... Sun is technically still important, right? Example, vitamin D, Photosynthesis."

Sakura shakes her head. "The moon in this stage is special. Different from the moon in your world. It emits even richer but safer ultraviolet rays. And the atmosphere is cooling all year round."

What the heck? Now I want to live in stage 5...

En starts distributing us to our respective areas. The enemy can't cross into our territory for the first 10 hours, it's like a preparation period before the actual fight.

Well, I do have the whole complete map with me but... I don't think I should tell them that, they will question it.

En distributes me to the south-west, I walk in that direction and take out the paper and pen. We need to make a map.

Walking for about an hour, I can finally see some mountains ahead. I sprint towards it and stare up before jumping up.

*BOOOM!*

The jump sounded like an explosion and I instantly reach the peak of the mountain.

Argh!! The sunlight!

I place my hand above my eyes and look towards my enemy territory.

With my enhanced eagle sight, I can see a few groups of NPCs resting under the shades of some rocks. Dalbir is nowhere to be seen.

A slight breeze blew past... It's so hot the breeze felt like heatwaves.

I check my inventory and luckily I have a sufficient amount of water. I take a bottle out and start gulping it down.

"Hah..."

I let out a sigh after emptying the whole bottle instantly.

What is the enemy trying to do? I need more intel before concluding...

The NPCs in Dalbir's team look like they are searching for something... I'm not good at lip-reading.

...

Something about finding ores??? I can't understand the rest of their conversation. Ores? Are they making...

Wait...ores...

!!!

Are they trying to make firearms out of those ores? Or make some sort of defence turret as a precaution.

Either way, their trump card is Dalbir, if I take care of him, the rest will be easy no matter what they throw at me.

...

I better do what I come here for first.

I draw a few spiky mountains in the middle first. Looking to my right, I see an enormous trench with signs of a dried-up river at the bottom. Skeletons of travellers can be seen and the trench is emitting an ominous aura, there's probably a beast or something down there.

The trench is in a U shape and is steep.

This trench... Is a good strategic location for our base.

I draw the trench down and write some notes.

Further to my right is an oasis with a fair share of a fucking barrier blocking the path. The developers just have to add a god damn oasis outside of the designated map to piss people off.

...

Clicking my tongue, I open my BOG map and copy everything down first.

Wait! There's a dungeon under this mountain?! I didn't realise! I jump down and land on the dry land.

Hmm?

There's some sort of quicksand here, the map didn't list this, I will write this down.

Afterwards, I touch the hot stone in front of me and push a button. The floor vibrates again and an entrance which looks like a temple appears directly below the mountains.

... I will write this down then.

Other than uneven terrains, quicksand, and hidden traps, the rest are all written on the map I stole so I don't think there is anything else left.

I proceed back to the meeting spot.

An hour or two later, I arrive and see the girls panting from sweat. The scorching heat has lessened a bit.

"You girls... Don't have water?"

"Well... We do, but it's finished so now we are making use of Yumiko's ice skill to create water." Says Reina.

What?!

I look at Yumiko, she is panting and lying on the floor.

"You idiot! Don't do that! Save your mana for the actual fight!" I exclaim.

"How about we survive first?"

...

I take out 3 crates of mineral water from my inventory and slam them on the floor

!!!

"..."

The girls just stared at me in embarrassment while I glare at their stupidity.

I sigh. "Yumiko, take 3 bottles and rest. Use the remaining 5 hours to restore your mana."

After resting, En starts to collect and consolidate everyone's scout. She was surprised when she sees mine.

"Y-You... Are impressive." Mumbles En.

She usually communicates through a notebook but I guess she's too bothered by the heat to even write.

?

The girls' curiosity got the better of them and they peek in for a look at my map.

!!!

"T-This is so detailed... And you even discover a hidden dungeon? And what's with that trench and monster in it?!  Don't tell me you went down the trench to investigate? A-As expected of a pro." Says Reina.

Reina's "Saltiness" from before is nowhere to be seen it's admiration now?

"So, what's the plan chief?" I say to En.

Me calling En "Chief" gave her some sort of delight for some reason and she smiles proudly.

"I have a grasp of the environment now. The plan is simple but effective."

En smirks. "Let's create multiple bases. There are a few potential spots to create a base on, we will construct fake bases on all of these spots. Our real base and flag will be in the hidden dungeon Karma found. That way, we will have more time and the enemy will exhaust themselves more. The bases will be bait and traps will be set everywhere near. The rest of us will stay in the dungeon and prepare to fight just in case they found out. Due to lack of manpower, Karma, Rena and Rina will only attack but considering that it's Karma. I have nothing to worry about."

That's... Very elaborate, as expected of En. She was able to think about how to create weaknesses like exhaustion and confusion. The map is wide, very wide, and the scorching sun doesn't seem to go down any sooner. The enemy will take breaks and exhaust their resources.

En points at a few circled spots. "These places are the coolest in our territory, I reckon the enemy will rest in these areas, we will set traps there too."

Relying only on the traps to slowly kill the enemy, we can save our energy in this hot weather. This is a good plan.

"Also, I observed that Dalbir is not like Jacob and the rest. He can't think very much, he just shoots and kills." Says En.

That is also an accurate analysis! I'm impressed.

"So this way, we should be able to secure a win." Says En.

I nod.

Rena and Rina are staring at the map.

"What?" I ask them.

...

"I think there are a few flaws." Says Rena.

?

Rena walks up to the map and circles one part, the border that separates both territories.

"We should block off that area, they can't enter our territory that way and it's assured victory if the attacking team succeeds. There's still a chance that they will find our real base in the hidden dungeon, yes, we will have saved our energy but it still will not be enough... They can win with numbers. We only have a few members." Says Rena.

...

This girl... Is right.

Hmm...

I've been on the fence about whether I should kill this two ever since I met their true selves. Yes, they are cunning as fuck.

But... They are useful as well. This is like playing with fire. Fire can be a good servant but it comes with a high risk of burning yourself.

...

Let's wait and see for a bit more.

"Well... Let's just do both then, just in case they manage to find some way to break through whatever barrier we set." I suggest.

Rina seems to agree with me.

Rena agrees after seeing her sister agree. "Leave the barrier to us sisters, the rest of you, do whatever you want." She says and the sisters ran out of the cave.

I... Don't think I can worry about them betraying me for now. They are greedy for fame so they still do want to win against Dalbir. Besides, judging by Rena's paranoid personality. I think she will only betray me if she is sure she will get away with it.

Both plans are put into place and soon, small construction of walls around buildings as bait is built. I crafted all the traps and distributed them. Everyone did their part. I look at the boundary, the sisters manage to create a gigantic trench with a tall metal wall filled with spikes

At first, they wanted to build an actual barrier by detonating nearby mountains and causing a landslide of rocks to block the path but the mountains are too far away, so they resorted to removing the ground instead.

In a blink of an eye...

----------

10 hours have passed, and the barrier between both territories will now be removed.

Each team have 2 days to capture the opponent's flag before the flag's position is revealed.

----------

Once the barrier disappears, The sisters and I immediately jump into the enemy territory and take cover behind some rocks.

"Shh," I say as the offensive NPC stare at the wall in awe.

The walls are not spiky on the surface facing my team's territory so it's easy for us to go to the other side. We already stationed ourselves near the wall when the "preparation countdown" is ending.

I point at an area nearby. It's another rock near the rock we are at. The sisters nod.

Once clear, I point in that direction again and we silently rush to that area.

Doing the same technique until we are out of sight, we catch a relief and rest.

"Now, we just need to figure out where Dalbir is and their base..." Says Rina.

They have the same thoughts as me. Dalbir is the only problem hindering our victory. 

hmmm...

I look at the mountain near us and look at the surrounding, I don't see any enemies so I climb up the mountain and lay down on the peak, observing everything. I pretend to observe and immediately draw out a full map, copying it from the map I stole again.

after a while, I jump back down and show the map to the sisters.

!!!

"Do you have some sort of skill that lets you scout the entire area instantly?!" exclaims Rena.

Instantly? I stayed on top of the mountain for 30 minutes... how is that instantly?

"Isn't that good for us though?" says Rina.

"Well, that's true..."

...

We examine the map and Rina circles a few places she suspects the base to be at.

I stare at the map before pointing at one. 

"I only agree with this one," I say

?

I point at the circle of the huge cave in the middle of many spiky mountains congregated together.

"If our target is a normal player, all of your suspicions may be possible but Dalbir mainly uses firearms... he can shoot the ceiling and bury us under rocks easily. Why would he not choose this location?" 

Rena widens her eyes. "Yeah... I didn't think of that..."

We sneak our way to the location quickly like lizards, killing off any enemy quickly and silently on our way.

It was smooth sailing... too smooth.

Until...

I check the coast and nod to the sister. I move forward and hide behind a broken cart. why is this cart here? regardless, I can see the mountains now. It is still quite far away though... probably about 20 km away.

Rena went ahead and follow me to the back of the cart.

*ssshhh...*

Huh? I have a bad feeling suddenly-

A shot from a sniper rifle immediately pierces Rena in her leg.

!!!!!!!

"Arghh!!" she cried out in pain.

Rina wanted to run out to save her sister, I stopped her and pulled Rena into behind the cart.

As expected of a gaming prodigy...Dalbir was able to defy physics which should work in BOG and shoot such an impressive distance... he truly holds the title of the best gunman for a reason.

...

I throw a smoke bomb out and allow Rina to come to us behind the cart.

"Shit... what's the plan now?" I mumble.

Rina is awfully quiet. Why?

Suddenly she smirks and stabs both of my legs.

!!!!!!!!

"Ack! You... why?!" I say.

Rina stares at me, smiling, not saying anything.

Rena whispers into my ears. "Be our meat shield... okay?"

...

...

"pfft!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

??

The sisters stare at me in confusion.

"Idiots..." I say from behind them.

!!!!!

"What?? Why are there two of you-"

My injured clone instantly amputates Rina and Rena's legs with a Katana.

"It seems like both of us have the same idea," I say with my main body.

I snap and my injured clone instantly poofs into thin air.

The stunned, injured sisters just stare at me in shock.

I smirk. I can see fear. 

"Fire is useful but when a fire gets too big, you put it out," I say.

"W-Wait...I'm sorry! It was Rena's idea, not mine!" says Rina.

"You traitor!!" 

I smirk at this delightful sight. I grab hold of both of the girls and put them in front of me.

"W-Wait!! We both apologize! We are just desperate-"

"I don't care," I say and start rushing out.