Chapter 171: Sunlight

Episode 171

A giant magic circle, shaped like the sun, suddenly appeared around Juan’s hand as he slammed it on the ground.

It was so large that he could see its shape clearly on the minimap without zooming in. A massive object began to form above the magic circle.

It looked just like the sun.

“Whoa?!”

“He used his ability!”

All the Team 6 members jumped to their feet in surprise.

Francisco, the leader of Team 1, who was watching alone, cheered.

“Yes! That’s it!”

He exclaimed with joy, pumping his fist.

The commentators also raised their voices in excitement.

[Can you see that? It seems like Juan has used his unique ability!]

[Definitely. The current game system can’t create a sphere like that.]

[At this moment, all the Red Team members are shielding their eyes!]

Thomas exclaimed, and Daniel’s gaze shifted to the monitor.

Red light emanating from the sun-shaped sphere enveloped the entire arena, and all the Red Team members were shielding their eyes as if blinded by the light.

[Ah, you’re right. It seems like a skill that inflicts a status ailment on the enemy!]

Daniel’s prediction was correct.

– Argh!

– My eyes…!

– Damn it! I can’t see…!

Screams from his Red Team comrades echoed through the speaker in his helmet.

But Kim Jinsung was in a similar state.

‘Ugh.’

He had also closed his eyes in pain, blinded by the light emanating from the red sphere.

A status window appeared before him.

—

▶ You have been ‘Blinded’.

—

‘Oh no.’

He immediately tried to recover.

He had to constantly check the minimap, especially since he was the leader of the Red Team.

But he couldn’t use Invulnerability, which consumed over 1,000 MP, with his current Mana.

‘I have no choice but to use Beast Karma Points for recovery.’

He had wanted to save his points because they were almost depleted after enhancing the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ skill, but he had no choice.

He used ‘Recovery’, and

—

▶ You have used your unique skill ‘Recovery’.

▶ 100 Beast Karma Points have been used.

▶ You have recovered from ‘Blind’.

—

His vision returned to normal as the notification window appeared.

He immediately checked Juan’s location on the minimap, and

‘……!’

His eyes widened in surprise.

Juan was attacking the Team 7 and Team 8 members, who were stumbling around blindly, unable to fight back.

“Quickly retreat to the tower!”

He shouted and tried to use Teleport.

But,

– Which way is the tower?!

– I can’t see where I’m going…!

**Swoosh!**

– Argh!

Juan attacked them again, disoriented and unable to see.

It was then that,

**Woooong-!**

A loud rumbling sound made Kim Jinsung look towards the sun-shaped sphere.

It had grown even larger than before, and its color had changed from red to almost white.

The moment the red hue completely disappeared from the sphere,

a white light suddenly erupted, enveloping the entire arena.

‘What’s this now?’

Was it another light that inflicted a status ailment? He tensed up.

But it wasn’t.

He just felt a burning pain throughout his body as soon as the light hit him.

‘Ugh… It’s an area-of-effect attack skill.’

He instinctively realized and checked his HP bar.

It was slowly but steadily decreasing.

– Argh…!

– Damn it, it’s so hot!

– How is the damage reaching even the bottom lane?!

The problem was that all five Red Team members were taking damage.

He assumed that the light inflicted damage on anyone it hit and shouted urgently,

“Everyone retreat! Get back under the towers and recall!”

– Yes, sir.

– Okay.

Hans from the top lane and Dante from the bottom lane immediately retreated without looking back.

He asked them,

“You two weren’t blinded?”

– No?

– I’m fine too.

“Really…?”

He was puzzled.

He and the Team 7 and Team 8 members had been blinded, but why were they fine?

– Ugh! Argh!

– Ugh! I’m doomed…

The Team 7 and Team 8 members were being beaten mercilessly by Juan, unable to dodge or escape because they couldn’t see.

– Ally slain.

– Enemy Double Kill!

He saw the Team 7 and Team 8 members collapse helplessly and gave instructions.

“You two, wait at the ‘Healing Fountain’ for a moment after you respawn.”

He then used Teleport to the mid tower. He had to defend the empty mid lane.

If he didn’t come to help, Juan might destroy the tower before the Team 7 and Team 8 members could return.

‘…Thankfully, the light is starting to fade.’

He arrived at the mid tower and looked up at the sphere, feeling the white light weakening.

It had shrunk noticeably, and then it disappeared completely after a few seconds.

‘It’s an area-of-effect skill that lasts for about 30 seconds.’

He immediately started analyzing Juan’s skill.

‘I need to tell everyone to buy a health potion after they recall. That way, they can maintain their HP even after being hit by the light for 30 seconds.’

He, at level 7, had lost about half of his HP after being hit by the white light for 30 seconds. About 370 HP.

But he couldn’t assume it was fixed damage.

The damage of Juan’s Sunlight skill would increase as Juan leveled up, so he had to keep in mind that he would be taking more than half of his HP as damage until the end of the match.

‘And I need to figure out how to avoid being blinded by that skill.’

This was the most important thing for the Red Team. There was a huge difference between being able to see and not being able to see during a fight.

As he was racking his brains for a solution,

– Whoa…!

– Wow, amazing!

– Oh my god…!

The Blue Team members were all exclaiming in surprise, impressed by Juan’s skill.

“What do you think? My secret skill that only I can use in the entire world?”

Juan asked confidently, and compliments filled his ears.

– That’s incredible!

– We’ll definitely win every team fight with that skill!

– And I think my HP recovered after being hit by the white light. It’s not just me, right?

“That’s right! This skill also heals allies.”

The Sunlight skill Juan had just used was a wide-area skill that healed designated allies and dealt continuous damage to enemies.

And it also inflicted the ‘Blind’ status ailment when the sphere was first created.

It was a very useful skill for allies in many ways.

“This skill is much more useful in team fights than in 1 vs 1. I’m sure you all understand why.”

Juan boasted proudly and then called out to Luca,

“Hey, Luca!”

Luca, who had been silent until now, didn’t answer.

Juan continued,

“You said earlier that if I, the leader, set an example and revealed my skill first, you, my subordinates, would follow suit, right?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw it.

Luca, who had been aggressively pushing the bottom lane, suddenly froze for a few seconds as if he had turned into ice.

He wished he could see Luca’s expression, but the helmet was in the way.

“I’ve set an example and revealed my ability first, just like you said. Now it’s your turn to reveal yours.”

– …Uh, well…

“Why can’t you just say ‘yes’?”

Juan pressed Luca, who sounded flustered.

“You’re not planning to just let me reveal my ability and call it a day, are you? Over 10,000 viewers heard what you said earlier through the broadcast, you know?”

Luca fell silent, speechless.

Come to think of it, the match was being broadcasted live for anyone in the New Continent to watch for free.

The conversation they had just had near the ‘Healing Fountain’ must have been broadcasted as well.

“It’s your turn now, Luca. Show us the ability of Luca, who’s aiming for the title of Triunfo’s best prospect, in the bottom lane! I’m looking forward to it.”

– Wait, wait a minute!

Luca hurriedly shouted again.

“Why? You’re not planning to refuse, are you?”

– That’s not it!

“Then?”

– Well… I’m doing well in the bottom lane right now, so I think it’s better to save my ability for a team fight later…

Unlike his usual defiant attitude, Luca sounded hesitant and evasive.

Juan readily accepted his suggestion.

“Really? Alright! Then everyone recall and gather at the dragon pit.”

– …What?

“Didn’t you hear me? Recall and let’s kill the dragon.”

Juan even explained it to Luca again, which was unusual for him.

“Let’s quickly gather and kill the dragon while the Red Team is still flustered by my ‘Sunlight’ ability. You all know how beneficial it is to kill the dragon, right?”

The dragon pit was located at the bottom of the river that ran through the center of the arena.

The dragon inside was so strong that it was difficult to kill even with five people, but the rewards were substantial.

It gave over 500 Souls to each member of the team that killed it, and a lot of experience points.

And most importantly, it gave a random buff to all team members that lasted until the end of the game, and the effects were said to be incredible.

– The buff you get from killing the dragon is powerful enough to completely turn the tide of the match.

Judging by what the PD had said before the match, it seemed like a no-brainer.

“If the Red Team tries to stop us while we’re killing it, we’ll use my ‘Sunlight’ ability and Luca’s unique ability to wipe them out in a team fight!”

– Oh…

– Sounds good.

– I’m in.

Everyone except Luca agreed.

They felt confident that they could overwhelm the Red Team, including Alopsky, with the ‘Sunlight’ ability.

The ‘Sunlight’ skill had left a strong impression on them. It seemed particularly effective in team fights.

“Alright, by majority vote, everyone recall and then head to the dragon pit. Everyone recall!”

They all retreated to safety and started recalling, following Juan’s instructions.

Luca hesitated for a long time and then finally recalled last.

‘Damn it! I never imagined he would actually use it…’

Luca’s face was contorted in frustration as he recalled.

He had provoked Juan, confident that he wouldn’t reveal his ability, but it had backfired.

‘Why did he suddenly reveal his ability? In a meaningless newbie showdown like this?’

He looked at Juan, who had already recalled and returned to the Nexus, with a puzzled expression.

The Juan he knew was someone who prioritized his own personal gain above all else.

That meant he wouldn’t reveal his ability for the sake of his future, even if it meant losing this team battle.

He had provoked Juan because he knew his personality, but…

‘At this rate, I might actually have to reveal my ability. What should I do?’

He racked his brains, trying to figure out how to hide his ability.

Meanwhile, Juan was smirking at Luca.

‘Hehehe! He must be wondering why I revealed my ability first!’