Chapter Twenty-Two: Triple Kill

When facing enemies with high defense, the damage dealt by a charge attack is greatly reduced. However, the exceptional mobility it provides grants Embers the basic condition to take on three opponents at once. Coupled with a surprise preemptive strike and a second displacement from the jump booster, Embers decisively slaughtered the foes, sweeping through the battlefield under the astonished gazes of Tomorrow Has Rain and another player.

“You!” Tomorrow Has Rain never imagined that Embers would strike so decisively. Embers dared to attack proactively even when facing three on his own. What made it worse was that the player named Sweeping Army had died protecting him. Yet, due to a faint trace of hesitation, Tomorrow Has Rain failed to notice Embers’ move in time. This led to Sweeping Army’s sudden demise and the loss of their most relied-upon ranged damage dealer. Neither he nor the remaining teammate had ranged capabilities, and even their melee damage was insufficient. If they were to fight Embers hand-to-hand, the outcome was...

Tomorrow Has Rain dared not imagine. His mind was in turmoil—torn between avenging Sweeping Army and the hope of surviving. Embers’ overwhelming performance left him indecisive for a long moment.

The other player had no such reservations. Gripping his weapon, he charged at Embers. In his view, Embers’ sudden surge would soon falter, and with their numerical advantage of two against one, they could handle him.

But after a few steps, he was stunned to realize that Tomorrow Has Rain had not followed! Rage surged through him. He turned and shouted angrily at Tomorrow Has Rain, “What the hell are you standing there for? If it weren’t for you, Sweeping Army wouldn’t have died!”

The outburst left Tomorrow Has Rain utterly ashamed. Sweeping Army had died standing up for him, yet here he was, hesitating and unwilling to confront Embers directly. No matter what, Tomorrow Has Rain felt he had to do something for Sweeping Army’s sake; otherwise, he would have no face to show him in the future. Just as this thought dawned on him, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly waved his hand to warn his teammate.

Because once again, he saw Embers leap into the air like a gazelle, covering an incredible distance to land behind his teammate. That strange, unnatural weapon struck with tremendous force to the head, instantly killing him.

What was going on?

Killed just like that?

Tomorrow Has Rain was shocked by Embers’ high damage output. Embers himself was somewhat surprised by the fragility of that player. Forty-two points of headshot damage minus twelve points of defense equaled exactly thirty points of base health. Only then did Embers realize that players who made it into the Killing Island still existed without healing accessories.

So how had this player passed the solo challenge?

Could his combat ability be exceptionally outstanding?

As Embers pondered this, he noticed a vial left where the player had disappeared. Picking it up, he stared wide-eyed—it was not a basic healing potion but a common version of a basic-level Berserk Potion!

...

[Berserk Potion (Basic Version)]

Type: Consumable

Effect: Increases maximum health by fifty points; raises all major attributes by three levels; grants the “Crush” effect when attacking—dealing double damage to targets whose strength level is lower than yours. Effect lasts for ten seconds.

Description: This potion helps you fight back from the brink.

[Warning: After the potion’s effect ends, you will enter a three-minute weakened state, reducing all major attribute levels by three.]

...

At first, Embers had passed up an improved version of the Berserk Potion when it was offered. Seeing it again now, he was both surprised and gradually enlightened. Perhaps the reason this player lacked accessories was related to this Berserk Potion.

“That’s a Berserk Potion?” Tomorrow Has Rain asked gloomily.

“Yes.”

“I didn’t expect him to be so greedy, choosing Berserk Potions as rewards twice in a row. If not for that, he wouldn’t have died so easily.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s really greedy. Two Berserk Potions—if he had taken other rewards, his base strength would have improved significantly.”

Embers, who had consciously given up the Berserk Potion in favor of an Evolution Potion, couldn’t help but admire this unlucky player’s reckless greed. If Tomorrow Has Rain hadn’t distracted him, Embers might have found it difficult to handle him. Had the Berserk Potion been used at a more critical moment, that player might have gained immense benefits. But such reckless gambles on the edge of disaster always come at a price, and it just so happened that Embers reaped the windfall.

“You and I didn’t need to escalate things this far,” Embers said.

“That’s true. That’s why my first target was Sweeping Army! He said I was shameless even when I showed him respect. Fine, then let’s rip off the mask. We could have just quietly farmed the insect nest together, but he had to claim the ground! And not only that, he cursed at me—so insultingly! You think I’m supposed to just take it? Just stand there and let him slap me? Do you think I’m a pushover?”

If Sweeping Army’s attitude had been a bit better, Embers wouldn’t have responded so harshly. But the problem was that Sweeping Army, in trying to defend Tomorrow Has Rain, took on the airs of a high-ranking guild leader, forgetting that before Embers he had no self-preservation ability and none of those subordinates or enforcers at his beck and call.

Tomorrow Has Rain’s face was ashen. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Do you even realize who you’ve provoked?”

“That kind of talk is meaningless and just exposes your insecurity,” Embers shrugged and smiled lightly. “I think you should be more concerned about yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s easy. That player made it clear: Sweeping Army died defending you, and you haven’t shown any sign of avenging him. If there were live cameras now, how do you think you’d survive in this circle later?”

At those words, Tomorrow Has Rain’s expression stiffened, and the live broadcast perfectly caught the change.

The fierce confrontation between the top-ranked players made for irresistible viewing. The director could hardly miss it. Although the final footage might not meet expectations, the topic was undeniably hot. The ongoing conflicts between large guilds and ordinary players over resources—staking claims, occupying areas, clearing out others, blockades—were frequent, and it was always the ordinary players who suffered.

So when viewers saw Sweeping Army, leading only two others, trying to seize the insect nest and cursing obscenely, most were outraged. Embers’ sudden intervention was seen as justified, earning cheers from the audience.

Two hosts timely explained, “Don’t worry about unfair treatment in ‘The Abnormal Park.’ The main mode of this new Singularity game is small-scale instances, similar to large-scale events like Killing Island, which are only held on rare occasions. Additionally, non-instance zones limit the number of players online to ensure everyone has a fair chance to acquire enhancement resources.”

Meanwhile, realizing he was cornered, Tomorrow Has Rain had to abandon all hope and fight Embers. But he soon realized that despite spending vast credits to upgrade his weapons and armor, he was still no match for Embers. His skills were even worse—he only had four qualifying seals because he had run out of credits and couldn’t learn more skills. As for level and health, no one in the game could surpass Embers.

Under overwhelming pressure, Tomorrow Has Rain could not showcase his personal skill. His seven points of strength rendered his blocks ineffective; the extended weapon prevented him from dodging. Worse, Embers was skilled in defense tactics. Several of Tomorrow Has Rain’s varied attacks failed, and he was countered twice. If not for a flame emblem that increased his health, he might not have survived three hits.

Interestingly, that flame emblem had come from the spider insect nest that Embers had missed, which Tomorrow Has Rain had promptly looted.

Exhausted and out of stamina, Tomorrow Has Rain lost combat ability. Watching Embers still fighting with energy, he recalled the first test, when Embers had used his stamina advantage to outrun him and avoid the enhanced larva box monster’s pursuit. Now, Embers employed the same tactic to seal his fate.

Frustrated at being eliminated, Tomorrow Has Rain logged off and hurried to explain to Sweeping Army, only to receive a curt reply:

“Look out for yourself.”

“Look out for yourself...” Tomorrow Has Rain gave a bitter laugh. Then he was coldly grilled by guild leaders. Sweeping Army was a coveted ally of the Thunder Guild, but Tomorrow Has Rain’s performance on the live stream was utterly disappointing.

“Think about how you’re going to explain this to the guild leader!”

That sentence almost sentenced Tomorrow Has Rain to death. He realized that even if he wasn’t kicked out, he would lose his core position. He slumped back into the massage chair in the gaming pod, gripping his hair fiercely. “If I’d known it would come to this... If I hadn’t revealed my conflict with Embers... If only I had been more resolute... It wouldn’t have escalated like this... Forget it, I’ll just avoid Embers from now on...”

Having settled his grudge, Embers gained another three killing points from the incident, officially meeting the requirement to retain his closed beta rewards.

[Broadcast: Foundation provisional employee “D1106” gains ten killing points!]

“That was fast.”

“Crazy kills! How could three reckless players just hand over their lives like that?”

“X103, Sweeping Army, D287, Tomorrow Has Rain... Embers, you’re ruthless!”

Thunder Duke, leader of the Thunder Guild, was troubled. Losing three combatants at once was a devastating blow to his already stretched forces.

Angry guild members shouted for Embers to pay the price.

Thunder Duke snapped, “Enough! Calm down! We will have our revenge, but not now! Right now, the priority is to accumulate ten killing points. Let’s go; it’s time to tackle a medium-sized insect nest!”