Chapter 168: Ruler of the Jungle (2)

Episode 168

– Huh?! He really came from behind!

– Crazy…! He transformed into smoke!

The shocked voices of his teammates, Chano, Juan, and others, followed through the speaker in his helmet.

They all seemed surprised by the fact that he had ‘transformed’, just like Gian.

– How many abilities does that guy have…?

Luca’s last words summed up everyone’s feelings.

‘Tell me about it!’

It wasn’t just the ability to transform into smoke that surprised them.

Anyone who had made it to the New Continent possessed at least one unique ability, and compared to those, transforming into smoke was quite ordinary.

But that wasn’t the only ability Alopsky had shown so far.

‘There’s that Spirit Bomb ability from the first round, and the wind ability he’s using now…!’

Gian’s gaze was fixed on Alopsky’s back as he approached, almost out of the tower’s range.

A constant gust of wind. It was noticeably increasing Alopsky’s speed.

It was definitely one of Alopsky’s abilities. It must have been the reason why he had been arriving much faster than Juan had anticipated.

‘And considering the lightning, that means he has four abilities… Ugh!’

**Clang!**

Hans, the enemy top laner, interrupted his thoughts with an attack.

Gian barely managed to block it with his sword and immediately used ‘Flash’ without hesitation.

He flashed towards the middle jungle entrance, where Alopsky had been hiding earlier.

It was the only direction he could escape safely, being surrounded from both sides.

‘I might be able to survive if I calculate the distance correctly.’

He calculated the distance between him and Alopsky, who was still quite far away, and put more strength into his legs.

He was different from Chano.

He was considered one of the top three prospects in the Triunfo Clan, and his running speed was already beyond that of a prospect.

‘Even if he uses his wind ability, he won’t be able to catch up to me right away.’

Moreover, even if Alopsky caught up to him, he wasn’t weak enough to be killed instantly.

He just needed to buy time until Chano, who was running towards him from afar, and Juan, who had just respawned and was coming to help, arrived.

‘If he tries to create that thundercloud again, I’ll just dodge it…’

**Whoosh~!**

‘……?!’

A powerful blizzard suddenly engulfed him.

His running speed slowed down noticeably as his body started to freeze from the ice ability.

His eyes widened.

‘He can use ice abilities too…!’

Normally, he would have scoffed and ignored such an ability, but not now, while wearing the suit that suppressed his physical abilities.

The fact that the distance between him and Alopsky was closing rapidly due to his frozen body was a secondary problem.

The biggest problem was that his HP was rapidly decreasing in the blizzard.

‘I’m going to die if this continues…!’

A thought crossed his mind.

‘Should I use it?’

He hesitated for a moment.

He seemed to be in a desperate situation, but he could escape if he used his unique ability.

And he could definitely run far enough to avoid being caught by Alopsky again.

But,

‘…No. I can’t reveal my ability in a place like this.’

He decided against it.

He was thinking about his future survival in the New Continent, rather than his immediate survival.

What if his enemies figured out a way to counter his ability after seeing it here? What if he ended up dying because of it?

‘…It’s better to just die once now.’

He gave up and looked at Alopsky, who had caught up to him.

Alopsky threw a punch at him, who couldn’t even properly defend himself due to being frozen.

‘Fuck…!’

**Thud!**

His vision blurred as the fist struck his helmet.

– Your HP has reached 0%.

– You have died.

– 1 death has been added.

– You will respawn at the Healing Fountain in your Nexus in 12 seconds.

* * *

The chat exploded with admiration and cheers the moment Kim Jinsung killed Gian.

– Wow

– He got another one, lol

– He’s dominating the jungle alone

– This is unexpected. Is the Blue Team actually losing?

– Why does he have so many abilities…?

[He got him! Alopsky has slain the enemy top laner, Gian! This is Alopsky’s third kill!]

Thomas, the caster, exclaimed in an excited voice he had never used before.

[Wow, he even summoned a blizzard… This is the fifth ability he’s shown us, right? Spirit Bomb, wind, lightning, smoke transformation, and now ice…]

[That’s right! This is amazing! It’s rare to even find someone with one ability, but he’s truly a blessed hunter!]

[At this point, we can assume he can use all elemental abilities.]

[That means he might also have fire abilities, right?]

[Yes. I think that’s highly likely.]

[Wow…! This is going to be a headache for the Blue Team. Alopsky’s performance is exceeding everyone’s expectations!]

Just like the commentators and the chat, there was another place filled with admiration and cheers.

It was the lounge of Hunter Team 6.

“Wow!”

“He got three kills alone! And it hasn’t even been five minutes since the match started!”

“I don’t know who’s going to win now.”

The Team 6 hunters were even more excited than yesterday. It was understandable, considering how frustrated they had been about the unbalanced teams before the match started.

Aster turned to Ricardo, who was sitting next to him, and asked,

“Where did you find such a talented individual, Team Leader?”

Ricardo just grinned without answering.

Aster hadn’t expected an answer anyway, so he turned back to the TV and exclaimed in admiration,

“This is truly amazing. A hunter who can use all elemental abilities at will… He’ll be a huge help in dungeon raids.”

He then looked at Renzo, who was sitting further away, and said playfully,

“Renzo, you better watch out! You might be treated like a newbie again!”

“Hahaha! You’re right.”

“You were so happy to have a new newbie after a year, but now you’re in trouble, huh? Hehehe…!”

The other team members also laughed and teased Renzo.

“Hahaha…”

Renzo just smiled good-naturedly.

But his eyes were different.

After he stopped smiling, his gaze, fixed on Alopsky on the TV screen, was burning with competitive spirit.

Meanwhile, there was one person who was showing a completely opposite reaction.

“…Who the hell is that guy?”

It was Francisco, the leader of Hunter Team 1, who was watching the match on TV at his mansion.

He was staring at Alopsky on the screen with a puzzled and serious expression.

‘Ricardo, where did you find that guy?’

He couldn’t help but wonder the same thing as Aster. Alopsky’s presence was turning the second round upside down, completely contrary to his expectations.

Originally, the Blue Team should have been aggressively pushing all three lanes and dominating both jungles.

But now, thanks to Alopsky, the Red Team was controlling the jungle.

‘Of course, the Blue Team isn’t at a disadvantage yet. They’re still holding their own, except for Alopsky.’

The problem was how to stop Alopsky.

If they couldn’t stop him, who had already gotten three kills and was rapidly growing stronger, they would eventually lose all three lanes and the momentum would shift completely in favor of the Red Team.

‘…To turn this around, the Blue Team members need to use their abilities.’

But would anyone be bold enough to reveal their abilities in an event like this?

Honestly, he was skeptical.

Even he hadn’t revealed all his abilities to the world yet, so there was no reason for a newbie who hadn’t even established himself to reveal his trump card.

‘But Juan might. He knows better than anyone what will happen if they lose this round.’

Juan was full of pride, believing himself to be the best prospect among all the Major Clans, not just Triunfo.

If they lost this round, his pride would be shattered. He wouldn’t just stand by and watch that happen.

‘That’s why he’s the most likely to use his ability, and he has to. That’s the only way to secure Team 1’s future.’

He reminded himself that the right to choose subcontracted clans was at stake in this competition.

He hoped Juan hadn’t forgotten that fact.

* * *

“This isn’t working. Teams 9 and 10, stick together!”

Juan gave the order after confirming Gian’s death.

“It seems like you’ll be picked off one by one if you move separately. Stick together and clear one jungle together.”

– Yes, sir.

– Understood.

The two members from Teams 9 and 10 immediately followed his instructions without any objections.

Alopsky’s performance in the short span of less than five minutes had been that impressive.

As the two junglers started clearing the upper jungle,

– Alopsky entered the allied upper jungle.

Luca reported from the bottom lane.

Juan checked the minimap and saw Alopsky entering the allied lower jungle, passing by the ward placed near the middle river.

He shouted urgently,

“Now’s our chance! Both of you, go straight to the top lane!”

– Top lane?

– You mean we should kill Hans?

“Yes! Go and kill him with Gian!”

With Alopsky in the lower jungle, Hans, the enemy top laner, had no choice but to face three opponents alone.

“We have to kill him now while Teleport is on cooldown!”

If they wasted any more time and Alopsky teleported to the top lane, they might not be able to win even with a 3 vs 2 advantage.

They had to kill Hans now, while Alopsky didn’t have Teleport. That was the only way for the Blue Team to regain the momentum.

– I’ve respawned. Using Teleport to top lane.

Gian’s voice was heard, and the teleport effect appeared on the minimap, heading towards the allied top lane.

Just as Gian appeared in the top lane and charged towards Hans,

– Alright! Let’s go!

– We’re going to get him!

The two members from Teams 9 and 10, who had just arrived at the bushes, also charged towards Hans.

It was a 3 vs 1 situation.

Hans, realizing the situation, was startled and turned around, running towards his tower.

Juan shouted,

“You have to kill him! Even if you have to dive the tower! If you can’t even kill him with a 3 vs 1 advantage, you’re all dead…”

His threatening warning was cut short.

He saw someone suddenly appear in the jungle behind the enemy tower on the minimap.

“…Wh-what?!”

He was shocked.

The Red Team member who had come to help Hans was none other than Alopsky.