Chapter 28: Struggle for Supplies

Chapter 28

[Ah, Kim Jinsung has spotted a supply box falling right above his head!]

[He doesn’t seem too happy about it. He probably knows that people tend to swarm towards dropping supply boxes.]

Hearing the commentary, the PD in the control room kept issuing commands through the microphone.

“Keep a close shot on Kim Jinsung’s expression. Elevate the drone to get a broader view of the participants flocking around him.”

Soon, the drone dedicated to Kim Jinsung started to move away from the ground at high speed, allowing a broader view of Kim Jinsung’s surroundings through monitor 10.

“Look at that, people are swarming in.”

The female PD exclaimed while looking at monitor 10.

Towards the valley where Kim Jinsung stood, most of the nearby participants were seen rushing.

At a glance, there seemed to be over 30 people.

“This looks dangerous for Kim Jinsung, doesn’t it…?”

“Exactly. Did the representative make a mistake?”

The PDs worriedly conversed, revealing that dropping the supply box on Kim Jinsung was Baek Jun’s directive. It wasn’t bad luck for Kim Jinsung but a deliberate move by Baek Jun to create a crisis situation to further highlight Kim Jinsung for the sake of ratings.

“If he’s surrounded by 30 people, even someone like Yoo Junho from Season 4 would struggle.”

“Well… Yoo Junho might have a chance?”

“No, he wouldn’t!”

As the PDs debated, Baek Jun, watching from behind, was focused on the monitor screen.

‘He should start moving soon to avoid being surrounded… Exactly.’

As if reading his thoughts, Kim Jinsung was seen through monitor 10 suddenly sprinting towards the mountain.

[Kim Jinsung is running with all his might! Instead of seizing the supply box, he’s chosen to flee!]

[That seems like a move to escape this area before a more dire situation strikes.]

[But with participants already near, it seems inevitable that he’ll run into at least one of them!]

[The second day of the preliminaries starts with an intriguing scene, doesn’t it?]

With the commentary, the distance between participants flocking to the supply box and Kim Jinsung running in the opposite direction was quickly closing.

As he ran, Kim Jinsung soon spotted a man appearing in the distance.

‘Oh no!’

He reflexively drew his sword.

“Oops!”

The opponent almost simultaneously spotted Kim Jinsung and drew their sword, taking a combat stance.

The problem was,

“Who are you?”

More than one person had reacted. Two other participants, far off on both sides, noticed the drawn sword and looked this way.

With enemies in front and both sides, and no way to flee backward, there was no choice but to fight.

‘I’ll have to quickly dispatch the guy in front and flee!’

Wasting time could result in the unlucky event of the two others joining forces for a pincer attack.

Quick and decisive, like an assassination, finish it in one go!

Kim Jinsung didn’t slow his pace, but increased it even more.

“Whoa?!”

The man in front slightly flinched, overwhelmed by Kim Jinsung’s momentum.

So, when Kim Jinsung got close, the man had no choice but to attack first.

“Haaaap!”

The speed at which the man swung his sword was very fast, befitting a Colosseum participant.

Perhaps the previous Kim Jinsung might not have easily dodged it.

But today’s Kim Jinsung, strengthened by traits consumed during the day, was in a state of incompareable power.

Activating the user’s unique trait ‘Magi’ using Beast Karma points.

Activating the skill ‘Indomitable Will.’

Using the skill ‘Unstoppable Charge.’

Using the skill ‘Steal.’

Using the skill ‘One-Hit Kill.’

Utilizing ‘Steal’ and ‘Unstoppable Charge’ skills, Kim Jinsung moved with an agility boosted by 125%.

The result was astounding.

Kim Jinsung dodged the attack and countered, slicing at the man’s neck before the opponent could react.

Swoosh.

A notification appeared in front of him as he cleanly sliced through the opponent’s neck.

The opponent you have defeated was not a villain.

He hadn’t gained any traits, but there was no time to dwell on that.

To escape being surrounded, he kept moving.

“Eh?”

The other participants hesitated upon seeing Kim Jinsung fleeing.

“Did he just kill that guy in one hit?”

“He’s too strong…”

Because of what they had just witnessed, the two hesitant participants did not dare to follow Kim Jinsung. Meanwhile, Kim Jinsung had already sped away from their view.

Shortly after,

Kim Jinsung had climbed atop a tall tree a good distance north of the supply box.

“Phew, okay. Ive at least escaped the encirclement.”

Now his position offered a clear view of the terrain around the valley where the supply box dropped. The situation of participants surrounding the supply box in a circular formation could all be observed by Kim Jinsung, as if he was viewing it through a drone camera.

“This season too, there’ll be many casualties around the supply box.”

Individuals have different ways of thinking. Just as there are those like Kim Jinsung who prioritize safety, there are also those who, despite knowing the low odds, still harbor hope of securing the supply box.

Most of the roughly 30 participants flocking there likely approached with the latter mindset.

“I should keep an eye out for opportunities from here, aiming for leftovers or just give up if it seems too risky…”

In truth, Kim Jinsung hadn’t completely given up on the items in the supply box yet. The items were simply too valuable, possessing a rarity that could only be found inside the supply boxes.

“Hey!”

“It’s mine!”

“I got here first!”

“Aren’t you letting go of the box?!”

Then, the area around the supply box became noisy all at once.

“It’s started.”

– They’re flocking.

– Go for it!!!

– Damn, how many are there?

– Rushing in all at once is terrifying.

The chat room’s speed doubled instantaneously. The monitor displayed a scene reminiscent of zombies swarming in from all sides to capture humans.

“Showtime’s started.”

“The first ones to rush in are almost certainly going to die, right?”

“They’ll all die, except maybe one.”

The PDs’ predictions turned to reality. Those who rushed the box started attacking each other in attempts to not lose the goods.

Soon there were blood sprays, flesh flying, and screams erupting in a living hell around the supply box.

“Camera 5. Camera 3. Camera 18. Keep zoomed in.”

The PDs, fully focused, frantically adjusted the broadcast screens.

Baek Jun, standing and observing from the back, soon took note of something interesting.

‘Those three… could they have formed a team?’

While most of the twelve or so participants surging towards the supply box were fighting solo, the three in the right corner were fighting back-to-back in cooperation.

Baek Jun immediately directed the PDs.

“It seems those three are a team, focus on them.”

“Got it. Camera 17!”

The footage of the three fighting in unison on monitor 17 was immediately broadcast on TV.

The commentators reacted swiftly.

“What’s this? Those three seem to have formed a team?”

“Wow! This is really rare. To calmly turn their backs to each other, they must really trust one another completely, right?”

“And their coordination is flawless! The surrounding participants are quickly falling to their perfect teamwork play!”

[This means there’s a high chance that the three of them will split the supply box between them, right?]

The commentators were admiringly watching the screen, which now only showed five remaining participants around the supply box.

Thump!

Slash!

“Cough!”

The last remaining participant was unable to withstand the coordinated attack of the triumvirate and collapsed, bleeding out. The three, having formed a team, had ultimately won the struggle for the supply box.

“Nice!”

“Let’s grab it quickly!”

“Open it already!”

The trio immediately opened the supply box lid and reached inside. But, here’s where the problems began.

“Hey, you said the sword was mine!”

“No, brother! What are you talking about? We agreed to give it to me since I was left with the worst weapon at the end, right?”

“Nonsense! I never agreed to that!”

“Why are you doing this now? We agreed not to fight until we climbed to the mountain summit!”

The previously well-coordinated trio, the oldest and youngest, began to fall out over the weapons in the supply box.

“Stop fighting! Just grab it and we can fight elsewhere safely later on!”

The middle one tried hard to mediate, but instead of calming down, the voices of the other two only grew louder. The mediator grew restless, thinking:

‘If this keeps up, all the surrounding participants will swarm us!’

He could plainly see participants hidden in the bushes around the valley, waiting for their chance.

They were able to take down everyone just now because the people didn’t realize they were working together. But chances were slim that it would go so smoothly again.

‘If another fight breaks out, they’ll probably kill us three first!’

He had seen it often when watching Colosseum. Participants would cooperate to eliminate those in alliances first, for their survival. And this time was no different.

“Please, just stop fighting! Huh?”

As he was trying to intervene loudly again, the second’s gaze drifted off into the distance. A giant something sprang out from the bushes and began charging at them with incredible speed.

“Enemy to the front!”

With the second’s warning, the other two finally stopped fighting and quickly turned. But it was too late. The opponent had already drawn close and swung their sword at the two’s necks.

Swoosh.

With a clean slicing sound, the two heads flew into the air.

The second’s eyes bugled out in disbelief as they witnessed this impossible speed.

“Just a second…”

Swoosh.

The second tried to bargain instinctively but was cut down before he could even speak.

Thus, the fragile alliance formed on the first day came to a bad ending.

As the heads flew, the chat box and the monitor room erupted in cheers.

– Wow!

– Kang Minhyuk! Kang Minhyuk! Kang Minhyuk! Kang Minhyuk!

– The strongest has appeared.

– Just couldn’t match him.

– He wiped out all three in 1 second.

“Wow!”

“It’s Kang Minhyuk!”

“Man, that entrance was cool!”

“How did he cover that distance so quickly?”

“Camera 11! Zoom in on Kang Minhyuk’s face, catch it properly!”

Even Baek Jun, watching from behind, had his eyes slightly widened.

‘I didn’t think he’d come because of the distance, but it’s Kang Minhyuk, after all.’

One of the three key figures chosen by the Colosseum program’s executives for this preliminary round, Kang Minhyuk had finally shown himself.

‘This could get interesting.’

Baek Jun’s gaze shifted to monitor 8, which was capturing Kim Jinsung.

The view of Kim Jinsung looking down at Kang Minhyuk from atop the tall tree.

It was the first time the two had been caught in the same shot throughout the preliminaries.