(1)

At this moment, Jisha was on top of a tombstone in the Uval Cemetery, close to one of the corners of the War Zone. She was currently being chased by seven enemies, four of which were ranged and could easily hit her from this position.

Why was she in such a vulnerable position?

*Where is it...*

She was looking for something.

What was she looking for? Well...

*>System message: Quest Information.*

*>Name: Grave Robbery*

*>Description: The adopted daughter of the late Shahar has given you the key to a certain tombstone. Open it to see what's inside.*

*>Rating: F*

Of course, it was Shahar's tombstone.

*I swear it was around here somewhere.*

The quest was ranked F, but that didn't mean it could be completed in a few seconds. There was no combat difficulty, either, but that didn't imply no difficulty whatsoever. F rank quests weren't so simple in the early game.

In the early stages of Synergy, basically everything was ranked F, whether it was items or quests. An F ranked quest would still be difficult for someone of a low level, and could even be impossible for a level 0. As players leveled up, they would be able to tackle higher and higher ranked quests. Though a quest that was ranked D was currently impossible for everyone, leveling up would inherently make said quest easier. In the near future, a rank D quest would become the player base's average capability, and they would soon surpass that as well.

Anyway, Jisha was currently searching for her objective atop this vantage point, hoping to jog her memory.

*Hm... That pattern of tombstones looks familiar. I'm starting to remember the layout around here.*

Unlike normal cemeteries, which had tombstones in orderly rows, the Uval Cemetery's tombstones were arranged in a seemingly random layout. If looked at from far above, they would create something akin to pixel art of Shahar's emblem, though this wouldn't be discovered for a long time.

Finding a pattern in a patch of tombstones that she thought was familiar, she stylishly leaned backwards off the edge, rolling to avoid fall damage.

*Though... "Playtime's over?" That sounds like some sort of chuuni line I would spout when I was 12 or 13.*

"...! Find her!"

A panicked voice sounded out, which Jisha recognized as Bren's.

*You thought you could lock me down in a corner of the map, huh? If it was anyone else, though, it would have worked...*

After jumping off the tombstone, she was immediately out of sight of all 7 members of the Clan. In this area of the cemetery, the tombstones were well over 2.5 metron in height, and with there only being a couple metron between each stone, visibility was extremely low.

*These guys aren't incompetent, though.*

As mentioned earlier, if she were an ordinary opponent, she would have quickly been cornered and killed. However, she was Fae Sol, the Gun Swap Goddess. Their teamwork and inter-clan communication must have been efficient, but it still took time to send, read, and process messages and instructions in a group chat. Jisha could exploit the enemy's "brain lag" to pull off a sneaky maneuver.

*It's really unlucky for these guys that I know this part of the cemetery like the back of my hand.*

After getting a quick glance of the terrain from her vantage point, she quickly remembered the optimal path she needed to take to reach Shahar's tombstone. She also recalled the general layout of the tombstones in this corner of the War Zone.

Why did she know this oddly specific information?

In Jisha's past life, this cemetery wasn't an "oddly specific" location at all. It was discovered to be the resting place of the legendary NPC Shahar, whose name was well known not only on the Cosmolai Continent, but the entirety of the infinitely procedurally generated world of Synergy. This is how influential Shahar was.

The Uval Cemetery had been charted and visited countless times. Users, guilds, and organizations had participated in battles and wars in this famous War Zone. It was even the venue of some professional PvP matches.

In a world where some users had memorized the location and layout of every single of the thousands of tombstones in the cemetery, how was it odd that Jisha was familiar with the area around the tombstone of Shahar himself?

Currently, Jisha was strolling through her own backyard, while the Clan was nervously venturing through a dense forest. In addition to this, Jisha was proficient in stealth-type missions where avoiding detection was necessary. Estimating the positions of the Clan members via the sounds of footsteps and bypassing line of sight by triangulating parallax was a relatively simple task for her, even with the senses of an ordinary person.

*I kind of feel bad for them.*

Though she had this thought, the reality was that no matter how skilled she was compared to new players, it didn't change the fact that Bren would soon level up to 1. Once he did, it would be literally impossible for her to win. There were a few reasons for this, but the main one was that a classless level 1 player would have 100 HP. In comparison, a level 0 player had 10. This, along with the upgraded Atk and Def a player received, would make it legitimately impossible for a level 0 player to take down a level 1 player in a straight fight. This was why Jisha had to kill someone soon, taking their experience and leveling up to 1 herself. This was the only way to win. She didn't know how long she had, so she had to assume that she had less than a minute to carry out the first part of her mission.

*Say goodbye to your life, Bren.*

Bren had to be her first target, and the reason was simple. He was the commander.

This was the most basic tactic when facing a group of enemies. If you can take out the commander, you can sweep up the rest of the group with more ease. However, *because* it was such a basic tactic, it was normally guarded against in a various number of ways. In this case, though, it was impossible for the Clan to have any sort of protection from the aid of the game's system, since level 0 players had access to no special skills.

*The only current possible countermeasure for the death of the commander is to have a backup commander.*

Since Jisha had already appraised her foe as somewhat experienced in teamwork, they would naturally have a backup plan for a dead commander. However, it didn't matter. A backup commander would generally be less experienced than the main commander, so it was still advantageous to take out the main commander.

Jisha began her hunt, carefully avoiding line of sight of all seven members.

She hid behind a tombstone, waiting for an opportunity to dash to the next one and remain hidden.

From his initial shout, Jisha had estimated the location of Bren's footsteps. She remembered which set of footsteps were his. By listening closely, she was able to track them with a mental map of the area.

She knew exactly what path he was taking through the small openings in the maze-like cemetery. Using this information, she predicted his next moves and was slowly able to circle around to his backside.

*Being level 0 is truly restricting, though...*

If she were in her prime form, Jisha would have easily been able to have a clear picture of all seven targets and predict their movements while staying out of vision. However, with the senses of an ordinary person, she was having some difficulty listening and tracking one.

Though it was difficult, it wasn't an undoable task by any stretch. Jisha was no stranger to difficult situations, whether they were in Synergy or in real life.

Little by little, she made her way towards the set of footsteps that belonged to Bren.

---

*>Brent: Keep sweeping the area and closing the radius of our encirclement. She has no choice but to retreat.*

Bren was relatively confident that he would be able to encircle Fae Sol. Regardless of the strange premonition he had, she was only one player. Even though the forest of stone was dense, they should easily be able to find one player as long as their formation was structured properly.

Currently, this was how their formation looked:

Allux was closest to the wall of the cemetery. Bren was next to him, and the rest of the Clan were forming a line almost perpendicular to the left wall. Since Fae was close to the left wall, it would be impossible for her to go all the way around seven people in order to escape.

The Clan had no way to locate each other if they got lost in the maze, so it was determined that each clan member should maintain line of sight with the member to their left. In this fashion, it would be a simple task to pinpoint everyone's locations easily while maintaining a large radius of encirclement.

*I don't know if it's a perfect strategy, but I don't have anything better.*

If everyone maintained line of sight, it should be impossible for them to lose each other. It would also be impossible for Fae to sneak by unnoticed. But...

*Where did she go?*

Bren didn't see any messages in the group chat, indicating that their quarry hadn't been captured as of yet. They could only continue with their original plan.

*>Brent: Press forward, keep closing the encirclement. Make sure she doesn't sneak past us!*

Bren still harbored doubts, but he also had faith in his plan. They were a compactor, and Fae was the trash that would get crushed against the wall, unable to break free.

He was maintaining line of sight with Allux and steadily moving forward. All was going according to plan... until he was dealt a blow to his right temple.

-5

When he felt this, shock and adrenaline rushed through his body. He swiveled around to see an avatar that shouldn't have been there.

Bren attempted to strike but missed due to his panic.

"Haha, whoops?" Fae Sol smiled as she taunted him.

*Damn...*

*>Brent: She's here!*

This was the last message the group chat received before Bren was struck on his left temple one second later.

-5

The body of Brent fell to the ground, dissipating into white light and mist like so many of the enemies they'd defeated thus far.

The essence was absorbed by the avatar who quietly whispered, "It wasn't enough..."

Bren was defeated in two strikes. The Clan was dumbstruck!

(2)

The first one to notice something wrong was Allux.

*>Allux: Bren's dead. I'll be taking command.*

*>Molotov: What?? How?*

It didn't take long for the Clan to recognize the odd circumstances surrounding his death.

Bren had simply died way too fast!

*>Allux: I don't know! How would I? Look for yourself!*

The group chat had status symbols next to their names. "Brent" was a light gray, indicating that he was not alive. However, in the next second, it turned green.

*>Brent: I've respawned and am trying to make my way back. Obviously, since I'm not there, Allux is in command.*

*>Adverse: What happened?*

*>Brent: She attacked me in a way where each hit did 5 damage. I'm not sure how. Anyway, try to engage her when you're level 1. You'll have a significant stat advantage. No matter what she pulls, it'll be impossible for her to kill you.*

*>Allux: Roger. Finding her is top priority. Since she went on the offensive, she shouldn't be trying to escape. Search the nearby area. Break formation and search in pairs! Don't get caught out alone.*

*>All: Yes!*

Bren had immediately respawned in the Safe Zone of the hamlet and was rushing over to the fight as quickly as possible. He had lost all of the experience that they had worked so hard to collect, but it wasn't the end of the world. As long as they killed Fae and reclaimed some of it, it would still be worth it. Even if he wasn't any closer to level 1, the rest of the Clan would be.

*I was so close to leveling up, too...*

He was blindsided a few mere moments before leveling up. For better or for worse, there was no respawn cooldown at level 0, allowing him to respawn instantly and communicate with his team.

Even though Bren had died, good news reached the ears of the Clan.

*>Ryozaki: ... Level up.*

Ryozaki had leveled up!

Liuzhi, who was right next to Ryozaki, was almost blinded by the white light exuded by Ryozaki.

The rest of the clan, who couldn't see him directly, also witnessed the phenomenon in that area.

There was also one more observer on the battlefield who bore witness to the sight.

---

*Yup. There it is...*

Jisha observed one of her foes level up. This meant that the rest would shortly follow, which was bad news.

"Tch. It wasn't enough..."

Jisha miscalculated; she didn't receive enough experience to level up from her kill. In a War Zone, killing an opponent would net you 100% of their experience lost.

*But apparently that's not the case when you're level 0???*

As an extremely high leveled player and someone who didn't fight at level 0 in her previous life, there was no way she would have known this.

*Literally what's the point of this feature.*

There was no explanation she could think of other than the system wanted to screw with her at this moment.

Fortunately, Jisha still knew of a way to snag experience in the cemetery.

*Shahar, I'm coming for your loot.*

---

Brent received the good news from the group chat.

*>Brent: Alright! Whoever hits level 1, start attacking the tombstones. Some of them are weak enough to break in one shot. If they don't break, don't bother. Some of them won't break no matter how many times you hit them.*

This was another advantage Bren was hoping for with level 1 players. Her stealthy behavior was indeed troublesome, but with the tombstones out of the way, Fae would have nowhere to hide.

*CRACK, CRUMBLE*

Every second, Ryozaki swung his Melee Starter Stick at a tombstone. And every few seconds, a tombstone was pulverized, clearing some line of sight.

Though the speed between his attacks remained the same, it was clear that the power was on a different level. Luizhi bore witness to this phenomenon. He knew that even though he hadn't tried breaking a tombstone yet, it would take him many, many shots to even make a dent in one, much less collapse one completely. It wasn't just the force behind the swings, there was *something* intrinsically different about the way the attack connected.

*>Liuzhi: ... It's a huge difference. No wonder Bren felt no doubts about level 1 characters against level 0's...*

*>Adverse: Really? Hey, Ryo. How different is it?*

*>Ryozaki: ...*

At this question, Ryozaki stopped attacking tombstones and started looking around.

*>Kenshi: Why did the attacks stop? Does Ryo have a new idea?*

Though Kenshi couldn't see Ryozaki's attacks directly, he could still hear the tombstones fragmenting. Since he couldn't witness the attack power directly, he could only assess it through extrapolation. However, he thought that destroying the obstacles that obstructed vision was the best option at hand.

But Ryozaki didn't think so. After a few more glances, he kicked off the ground and ran up the side of a tombstone with a single step. He looked around, and when he couldn't see anything, he jumped straight up. He was hoping that the extra height would allow him to view his surroundings more clearly. It seemed to have helped. His eyes went wide, and he jumped off his vantage point and ran in a straight line, breaking away from the group.

*>Liuzhi: He's noticed movement.*

*>Allux: Great! Everyone, you can see which direction he ran in. Follow him closely.*

*>Liuzhi: That may be difficult due to his increased speed.*

*>Allux: Were my orders not clear? Follow him.*

*>Liuzhi: ... Yes.*

---

*Looks like I've drawn him out.*

Of course, Jisha noticed Ryozaki climb up before he noticed her. She deliberately showed herself to judge the enemy's reaction. And now that he had been separated from the group, it would make things easier.

*The best option was to wait until the rest of you guys leveled up... But even then, you'd have no chance.*

The Clan's best move was to force Jisha into a 6v1 situation. They decided that it would be better to 1v1 with a level 1 against a level 0. This line of thinking wasn't wrong; they must have assumed that Jisha would level up soon from killing Bren. However, this wasn't true. Jisha would have to stall for around 20 more minutes if that was her strategy. The other logical reason was that a level 0 couldn't beat a level 1 in a straight fight.

*But who said I'm going to fight him fairly?*

At this point, Jisha was relatively far away from the rest of the group. They had been searching the nearby area, but Jisha had already run away. Obviously, she wasn't spotted while making her escape.

Deciding that concealing her location any further was useless, she hopped up onto the next tombstone, once again in split-step fashion, and continued running. Though everyone could see her now, only the lone level 1 would catch up to her in a reasonable amount of time. And once he did, it would be the end.

*Here it is.*

Jisha found her target. It was a tombstone that was slightly taller than all the others.

She jumped on top of it, performed a pirouette, and sat down to face the lone wolf's arrival.

---

"..."

"..."

Ryozaki arrived, and he commenced dialogue with his signature catchphrase. Fae Sol responded in kind, thus an awkward silence ensued.

Fae was sitting down with her legs dangling off the side of her perch with a hand on her chin in a most whimsical manner.

"Aren't you going to do anything? What was the point of coming all this way by yourself?"

And in this manner, Fae was taunting him.

Ryozaki remained stoic. The distance between them was less than 5 metron. Within this range, all Ryozaki had to do was close in on her and hit her once. A level 1 unit with 10 ATK could kill a level 0 unit with 10 HP in one shot.

"How are you going to attack? Will you climb up here to hit me? Will you destroy the tombstone below me? Will you throw your weapon at me, sacrificing it in the process? Or will you wait for your teammates to show up? Show me!"

She smiled.

Ryozaki wasn't the sharpest bulb on the tree, but he was still decently capable at problem solving. Every move that he could think of had been stated out loud, and he couldn't conceive of how they would end positively for her. Yet she wasn't just unconcerned, but jovial. Since he didn't know what could cause her to feel this way, the only thing he could do was act.

He performed the most complex action his simple mind could muster. He jumped and wound up an attack...!

"You can't reach me like that."

Fae must have assumed Ryozaki was going for her directly, but that wasn't the case. With the power he built from his backswing, he unleashed it on the tombstone she was sitting on.

If it broke, it would have brought Fae down to level ground. If it didn't, Ryozaki could use the momentum of his jump to kick off the side and reach her in a single bound. Whatever happened, Ryozaki was confident in his victory. However, neither of these occurrences came to fruition.

Instead, for Ryozaki, the tombstone disappeared completely and the rest of the world turned pitch black.

(3)

Everything was dark. Nothing could be seen. But after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the borders of his world. He was in a completely enclosed space. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of the same material - a smooth stone. Their patterns were identical to the walls of the Uval Cemetery, suggesting that they were made from the same material. He didn't know what was going on, but the feeling of raw, primal fear was definite and tangible. He didn't know what he was scared of, but he was hoping that this hideout would protect him from what was to come.

How long had he been wasting away in this bunker? He did not know. The only thing he knew was that he was being hunted by a very powerful being, and it did not matter how long he was secluded as long as he was safe.

Out of madness, it seemed like he had forgotten to prepare enough provisions for himself, and he was currently thirsty and starving. It also seemed like he forgot to secure an exit path, so he was also unable to leave when it was no longer necessary to hide.

And because he was in a small, singular room, it smelled. There was nowhere else to relieve himself but the corner.

However, he wasn't concerned about this. As long as he could shelter himself away from that *thing*, nothing mattered.

Living day in and day out in fear could hardly be called living. At this point, he had lost track of time. Day in? Day out? These terms were meaningless. How much time had passed? It was impossible to tell in what could generously be described as solitary confinement. And due to an indeterminate amount of time passing, his fear had begun to wane.

He sat with his back against the wall, staring at the empty space in front of him.

Though his eyes were looking in the general direction of the wall, he wasn't focused on it. Why would he need to? He had been staring at the same four corners for God knows how long.

His vision would turn blurry, and he would blink. He would blink thousands of times per day and see the same thing for days on end.

However, this time, it was different. He blinked, and a cloaked figure stood before him.

At first, he didn't react. He didn't process what was happening in front of him; his mind was wandering among his seemingly infinite thoughts.

He blinked again, and the figure came into focus. He thought he was hallucinating, but he wasn't. He could definitely *feel* something powerful was before him. Once he realized what was happening, the primal fear that had diminished returned in full force.

Every malnourished muscle in his body tensed up as he tried to push himself backwards. However, there was nowhere to go; his back was literally against the wall.

Along with the fear he felt for this being was an immense pressure that came along with his presence. It was almost as if his brain was telling him he couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried, he could only remain in the same locked position against the wall.

He tried to determine the true appearance of this... *thing*, but the cloak that was draped over its body hid all discernible features.

He was at an impasse. He wanted to run; he wanted to fight. But he could do neither of those things as the pressure radiating from the cloaked being gripped him to the ground. He knew it was over.

From within the cloak, where the face would have been, two eyes of a golden color showed themselves and pierced through the darkness.

That was the last thing he saw.

---

Ryozaki's body convulsed and fell onto the ground after striking Shahar's tombstone. Soon, it dissipated into the familiar white mist that Jisha longed for. She hopped off her perch and rolled delightfully through the light. She ecstatically stood up; the same white light that had once encompassed Ryozaki surrounded her. She had collected the essence of two players and her experience bar was full.

*>System message: Level up!*

*>Name: Fae Sol*

*>Class: Ranged*

*Level: 0 -> 1 (+1)*

*>HP: 10 -> 100 (+90)*

*>Atk: 1 -> 10 (+9)*

*>Def: 0*

In a War Zone, if a player A killed player B, player A would directly receive 100% of the experience. However, in this case, player B had died not at the hands of another player, but rather via a "natural cause". In this case, whoever touched the white light first would receive the experience.

Jisha was now level 1. This meant that she could wipe the floor with level 0's with absolutely no effort.

This was the reason Bren had wanted to get to level 1 as soon as possible; the difference in stats between level 0 and 1 was massive. As a ratio, it was the largest stock stat gain in the game. Of course, in the later phases, there would be times when your HP would increase by more than 90, but never again would it increase by 10 times.

In addition, you could evolve your class at level 1. You needed to be in a Safe Zone and remain immobile for a few seconds while the evolution took place, so Jisha couldn't do that just yet. However, once she did, it would mean that the skill gap between her and the rest of the players would increase due to the introduction of skills.

Jisha then recalled the manner in which her foe had died.

*Such a sad way to die, especially at level 1. I forgot that these guys are new players and wouldn't be used to Synergy's true nature yet...*

How did she win? In essence, it was another exploit.

In her past life, it was widely known that if Shahar's tombstone were touched, the perpetrator would suffer instant death after being shown a vision. As players discovered this feature about the Uval Cemetery, Shahar's tombstone would become an essential part of why PvP matches here were so entertaining - one wrong move could instantly wipe out one or even several players. Even level 999 players would die instantly, much less a level 1 player. However, Jisha was immune to this effect due to carrying Shahar's token.

The visions players would encounter could range from slightly alarming to borderline traumatizing depending on the perpetrator's level. It was something that no one wanted to experience. This was the "true nature" of Synergy that most players wouldn't experience for a long time. Not just sensory stimulation, but emotions and experiences of others could be relayed to the player's mind as if they were experiencing it for themselves in the real world. It would be a while before the general public would discover this and acknowledge Synergy as a "second reality".

Jisha hoped that, even though a level 1 vision wouldn't be traumatizing by her standards, the new player would emerge healthy after suffering through that ordeal.

As she prayed for the well-being of her adversary, she noticed 5 bright lights appearing in the distance. Jisha clicked her tongue in annoyance.

*Neither Bren nor Ryozaki carried any pellets, either. Looks like this won't be as easy as I wanted it to be.*

---

The five remaining Clan members received the same system message almost simultaneously.

*>System message: Level up!*

This should have been good news that gave them hope, but the best thing they were currently feeling was anxiousness.

*>Brent: ...*

*>Allux: What???*

*>Molotov: What the bloody fucking shit is happening?*

*>Adverse: There's no way we weren't careful enough.*

*>Kenshi: How is this possible? There has to be a bug, those shitty developers! Get this game back in beta!*

*>Liuzhi: Either that, or our opponent is way out of our league...*

Ryozaki's name had gone gray in their group chat, indicating that he had died. What was terrifying was that everyone in the Clan was aware of the circumstances regarding Ryozaki's death, but none of them knew exactly how it could have happened.

As Ryozaki was chasing Fae, Bren had told them about the stats of a level 1 player. Once the Clan heard these numbers, they agreed that there was no way a level 0 player, with 10 times less attack power and HP, could defeat a level 1 player.

Yet reality was in front of their eyes.

They tried to deny this reality by suggesting other possible explanations for the events at hand, but it wouldn't change what had already happened.

Now that a level 0 had defeated a level 1, the level 0 *became* level 1. It was common sense that they could no longer win, even outnumbering their foe five to one. At this point, if they could, they would flee. However, their initial strategy of outnumbering and boxing the opposition in had backfired, as they could not flee a War Zone while an enemy still existed within it.

*>Kenshi: Alluuuuuuux! What the fuck do we do now??*

*>Allux: Hell if I know! Just stick together! Everyone, gather around me NOW. Form a circle so that NOTHING leaves our view! Do NOT split up under ANY circumstance! We can't allow the same thing to happen to any of us.*

Nobody had any better ideas, so everyone obediently followed Allux's command. The group formed a circle with everyone facing outward. Everyone was hyper-focused, not letting one blade of grass out of their collective 360 degree field of view. If an observer from another world could witness this, they could be described as defending against an "Avengers level threat".

Unfortunately, nobody could remain in an extremely focused state for very long. And when Kenshi's focus slightly dipped...

*THWACK*

... the side of his arm was struck with a pellet.

-10

Everyone heard this and was instantly on alert.

*>Kenshi: What the FUCK! Where did that even come from?*

Nobody had an answer for him. No matter how focused the Clan was, they couldn't prepare for an attack they couldn't anticipate.

*THWACK*

-22

Out of seemingly nowhere, another pellet struck Liuzhi square in the chest. They tried to estimate where the attack came from by reverse engineering its trajectory, but by the time they were able to figure it out...

*THWACK*

-37

... another one came from a completely different direction and struck Molotov in the neck, sending him into a frenzy.

"What the FUCK! I'm gonna kill that bitch!"

*>Allux: Shut up. Even though we're getting pelted here, it still helps to make less noise.*

*>Adverse: Why are some of them doing so much damage? Isn't our attack power only 10?*

*>Liuzhi: Kenshi received 10, I received 22, and Molotov received 37. Not to mention, Bren received 50, if we scale the numbers appropriately. There has to be something behind it... And I think I've figured it out. Everyone, where did you get hit? I got hit in the chest.*

*>Kenshi: Got hit in the arm.*

*>Molotov: The neck...*

*>Brent: And I basically got full force directly to my temples. That makes sense. Great find, Liuzhi. Also, I just realized that she only started with 50 ammo like the rest of us. You know what that means, right?*

*>Allux: That takes care of that issue. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled. Make sure that you don't get hit in vital areas and DODGE THEM at all costs. If she can't kill us fast enough, she'll run out of ammo. We'll turtle until she has no choice but to confront us directly!*

Unlike the Clan, who originally had collected over 400 ammo, Fae only had 50. The calculation-savvy members of the clan, Bren, Allux, and Liuzhi, were able to come to the following conclusion: There were 5 of them left, and each one had 100 max HP. They had 500 HP in total, and Fae only had 50 ammo that did 10 damage each. All they needed to do was dodge. If they couldn't, they needed to make sure they took shots in non-vital areas. If they could do this, they could run her down.

*>Kenshi: This better fucking work.*

[author] "I'm not stuck with you; you're stuck with me!" - Jisha, probably. -rz[/author]

(4 - Final)

*Not bad!*

Jisha peeked at the group that was standing in a circle from the narrow spaces between the tombstones. Both she and the Clan had realized that she had limited ammunition, so they were stalling for as long as possible to draw her out. It was the best possible move. However, since they weren't moving, she could lob shots from all angles and hit them without being seen.

Lobs were usually slow, though, so how were none of them dodging? Well, since they were standing in a circle, there would always be at least one of them with their back or side towards her. That was the target she hit every time. If she stayed in the same spot, the group would be able to adapt to her strategy, but since she was moving around, it became difficult.

In addition, they couldn't send anyone out to chase her down at this point for a couple of reasons. First of all, they were all the same level, which meant that she could run away at the same speed as they could chase her. Actually, Jisha would be faster due to her familiarity with the terrain. Secondly, they didn't know how Ryozaki died, which meant they couldn't split up.

*Well... I don't know if they're actually thinking about these things, but it doesn't matter because I'll win regardless~*

Jisha was also able to hit them at odd angles due to the fact that she was applying a generous amount of spin to each projectile. Since they weren't flying in a straight line, they were harder to anticipate. It was difficult to produce so much spin and accurately strike a target, but if Jisha wasn't familiar with ranged attacks, she wouldn't be the Gun Swap Goddess.

*Even though I should have enough ammo to finish them off like this, I don't want to gamble. I'll have to get up close and personal with them soon.*

Because she was familiar with ranged attacks, she well understood that hitting a specific target became exponentially more difficult the farther away from it you were. Hitting vitals, especially the temples which were ludicrously small, was exceedingly difficult with lengthy proximity and slow projectiles. Even if she was able to hit her target once or twice, the odds of hitting ten or twenty in a row were low. The best way to increase them was to move closer.

With every throw, she would circle around to a closer spot and hone in her accuracy. She was creating a spiral of doom around five individuals by herself, and they couldn't do anything about it.

---

*>Molotov: This is stupid. They're always hitting even when they don't have much speed.*

*>Kenshi: Huh. Really? I couldn't tell. Maybe it's because of the FUCKING UNPREDICTABLE TRAJECTORIES? Use that brain of yours, projectile expert!*

*>Molotov: Hey. I haven't gotten hit since the first one. This fight's on the rest of you.*

*>Allux: Guys. Just focus. We can make it through this.*

The more pellets flew at them, the more demoralized they became. Allux's words were simply hollow to them at this point, but they had to stay in position, as the only other option was most likely a swift death.

-17

-22

-12

...

Little by little, bits and pieces of HP were shaved off each of them. And as this continued, Their psyche was being chipped away as well.

*>Allux: Just a little more! She's fired 40 shots which means she should have less than 10 left. She can't keep this up for much longer! We can chase her down afterwards!*

Allux, who was trying to raise morale, sent this message.

The Clan definitely had a higher mental fortitude than most people, but their current extraordinary situation was putting them under a pressure that they hadn't experienced before.

It wasn't like the pressure of being in a competitive situation. This was something different. It was the culmination of anxiety, crushed pride, and fear of what was to come.

And despite their fear and anxiety - no, *because* of their fear and anxiety - they weren't able to respond properly to what happened next.

"What-!"

Molotov couldn't keep his mouth shut out of surprise.

"You bitch, what are you doing? Aren't you a ranged character?"

He was dumbfounded.

"Who says I have to keep my distance just because I'm ranged? Weren't you going to come after me soon anyway?" Fae said.

This time, there was another projectile headed his way, and it wasn't a pellet.

"Dammit!"

Everyone had noticed what was going on at this point, and they all turned to face the imminent threat.

---

*Time to clean up.*

At this point, Jisha had shaved enough HP off the clan to go in for a final blow. And "go in" meant literally confronting them face-to-face.

But why? Molotov's question was reasonable. Once again, their way of thinking was rational when it came to dealing with normal players. But...

*Whoosh.*

In a panic, every member of the Clan attacked her nearly simultaneously. The melee swung, and the ranged threw. If all of them hadn't been worn down by the extended attrition they had faced, they might have been able to react in a more orderly manner. However, the pressure they faced clouded their judgement in this critical moment.

Every attack against her whiffed. Jisha had stayed at a range where the solo melee Kenshi couldn't reach her with a swing, and dodging ranged attacks with minimal movement was comfortable.

There was now a one second cooldown before they could release another attack, and Jisha took advantage of this to kick off the ground, rapidly closing the distance between her and Molotov.

"Dammit!"

He was helpless as he watched the cute but menacing avatar rush towards him with a smug expression.

After the pelting attrition, every member of the Clan had less than 50 HP remaining. At this moment...

"Goodnight."

*CRACK*

-47

... Molotov was struck in his left temple with an attack that was launched from such close proximity that it couldn't be called ranged. Receiving damage that easily exceeded his remaining HP, Molotov's body exploded into white. Jisha happily absorbed his essence while sidestepping several attacks that came at her.

She hadn't calculated anything consciously, but the concept of cooldowns and how to play around them was engraved into her psyche from thousands upon thousands of hours of high-level gameplay.

She knew when the next attacks were coming and knew exactly when and where she needed to move to dodge.

-12

However, she smiled as she was hit in a non-vital area by Kenshi's attack.

"Huh?" Kenshi muttered.

Perhaps he was expecting her to dodge again like a ranged character should and was surprised when his attack actually landed. But it didn't matter.

Jisha had raised an arm in order to block the attack that was coming at her head, greatly reducing the damage.

In this brief moment of Kenshi's surprise, Jisha wound up an attack and Kenshi reflexively guarded his head. But...

*THWACK*

-30

... It was a feint. A pellet landed on Kenshi's lower stomach, and he met his end in the same way Molotov did.

Allux, Adverse, and Liuzhi were the only three remaining, and at this point, they realized that they shouldn't sync their attacks. However, it didn't matter.

-11

-13

Jisha dodged one pellet and ate two in non-vital areas, closing the distance on the remaining three enemies.

"Damn..."

-32

Liuzhi was rendered to nothingness.

-11

Jisha swatted away Adverse's last ditch effort, taking minimal damage.

"..."

-36

Adverse dissipated into the air.

-10

Jisha caught Allux's final attack in her palm, taking the minimum possible damage.

"Tch..."

-41

Allux's avatar breathed his last.

And in the center of where the battle once was, a nonchalant voice could be heard.

"I wonder if I have enough inventory space for all this loot..."

---

The Uval Cemetery had strangely turned into a violent hotspot that resulted in the deaths of many level 0 players.

Despite most players' decisions to explore it as a group, only one player remained standing at the end of the fiasco...

*>Brent: ...*

*>Allux: ...*

*>Molotov: ...*

*>Adverse: ...*

*>Kenshi: ...*

*>Liuzhi: ...*

*>Ryozaki: ...?*

... and the losers could only stare at themselves and their surroundings in a combination of awe and resentment - resentment for their opponent and themselves.

*>Brent: ... I'm sorry, everyone. Meet me at the hamlet commons. It'll be easier to discuss everything there.*

*>Allux: This isn't anyone's fault. Don't blame yourself. Your plan would have worked under any ordinary circumstance.*

*>Liuzhi: Not just that. I'm pretty sure it would have also worked in most unordinary circumstances... Our opponent this time was... way out of our expectations.*

One by one, the respawned clan members gathered in the Uval Hamlet's commons to discuss their plans for the future.

"Now what?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to play the game like normal people at this point."

Bren had been so busy preparing for his plan's success that he didn't form any contingency plans in case of its failure. He knew deep within himself that not having a plan B was a stupid decision, but he was extremely confident that he wouldn't fail. However, his confidence was now crushed, and all of the work he put into information gathering during the alpha test was rendered useless.

*Will we be able to become elite players in this game? Will we even be able to make the Academy's team? What lies ahead in my future now?*

"Bren. I think you're overreacting."

"What?"

"You seem way more upset about this than you should be."

"..."

Liuzhi noticed Bren's crestfallen expression even through his VR avatar and confronted him.

"Look. I know you put many hours of research into this plan, and we all know how much it meant to you. However, we're only level 0. We literally just started playing today! Even if you think this game has a bright future, we don't know that for certain. There could be another game that becomes more popular than this one, and if that happens, we can just move on to that one."

"..."

Liuzhi's speech seemed to have no effect on Bren, who was staring at the ground. He sighed and looked around for assistance.

Adverse shook his head and began a lengthy monologue.

"Bren. Like Liuzhi said, we've only begun playing this game. You're not thinking straight. We've only been here for less than half an hour and you're this upset? We know this was your grand plan to get us on the Academy's team, and we know you're sad because your meticulously-crafted plan failed.

"But think about the future. Think about this game - no, this *world* we're in. We don't know how big it is. We don't know how many NPCs there are. We don't know what we're supposed to be doing. We don't even know what the level cap is, or if there is one. We don't know any of these things, and there's a lot more we don't know. If we have an alpha tester in our group and we still don't know any of these things, think about all the normal players wandering around. Hell, some of them are still trying to put their left foot in front of their right.

"The point is, at least we kind of know what we're doing, and the fact that the combat system is similar to VMA gives us a huge advantage over a lot of people. On top of that, we were able to display good teamwork out there regardless of what the end result was. If we give up now, we'll only lose our edge. The only way on from here is forward. Got it?"

At the end of the monologue, Bren finally looked up at his friends with a clear gaze.

"Guys. I was upset that we lost, but I know it's not the end of the world. In fact, we'll let this be a stepping stone for us - a learning experience."

The rest of the Clan looked at each other with relieved expressions when Bren spoke up again.

"This loss might even be one of the best things that's happened to us. Take a look at the group chat. I wasn't just sulking when I was looking at the ground. I was messaging someone."

"... Someone?"

"Who?"

"Did we tell our friends from the Academy that we'd be playing this today? I thought we were keeping it a secret from them."

"Yeah... And we haven't met many people here... Wait. Could it be that you added her?"

Bren sent a snapshot of his friend list for everyone to see. The six that everyone was familiar with were present, but there was a seventh name in the picture.

*>Fae Sol - Online*