Chapter 36: How to Handle a Crisis

Chapter 36

Kim Jinsung pulled the knife from the neck, leaving behind a lifeless body. Soon, a familiar notification appeared in front of his eyes.

You have eliminated a villain.

You have earned 20 Beast Karma points.

You can acquire the opponent’s skill ‘Metamorphosis Doppelganger’.

▷ Metamorphosis Doppelganger: When this skill is used, a scarecrow replaces the user’s appearance, and the user moves 1m backward and becomes ‘invisible’ for 5 seconds. It consumes 100 mana when used.

Delete an existing skill to acquire ‘Metamorphosis Doppelganger’?

“Hmm… that’s quite useful.”

Reading the description of the Metamorphosis Doppelganger skill, Kim Jinsung nodded in satisfaction. The opportunity to absorb such a skill was perfectly timed, especially in his current situation of being pursued.

‘The problem is I don’t have any skill I want to delete.’

Just yesterday, he had to remove a skill to learn ‘Shadow Doppelganger’. Eventually, he had to delete ‘Indomitable Will’, considering it the least efficient.

‘Having only three skill slots is far too limiting. Is there no way to increase them?’

Kim Jinsung delayed deleting a skill to carefully examine the notification window. That’s when his eyes widened, noticing a new notification that he had missed because of the Metamorphosis Doppelganger alert.

‘This is…’

You have reached 1,000 Beast Karma points.

You can use Beast Karma points to increase your skill slot.

Each additional skill slot consumes 1,000 Beast Karma points. Would you like to add it?

‘Yes, this is it!’

Kim Jinsung mentally celebrated. The timing couldn’t have been better. Just when he had accumulated a thousand points, the exact feature he needed became available.

‘Oh, but this will leave me with zero points.’

Without points, he wouldn’t be able to use the most crucial Magi right away, which was a significant drawback. But after a brief consideration, he decided to add the skill slot.

▶Your Beast Karma points have been reduced to 0.

▶You have gained one additional skill slot.

▶You now have 4 skill slots, with 3 skills currently stored.

‘I can start accumulating Beast Karma points from now again.’

With the skills and characteristics he had acquired so far, Kim Jinsung could easily handle villains or monsters even without Magi. In other words, it meant he could accumulate Beast Karma points quickly again.

Opportunities to learn Metamorphosis Doppelganger might not come twice in a lifetime.

After adding the skill, the newly expanded skill slot was filled. Kim Jinsung admired the four skills now listed on his skill window for a moment before closing all notification windows.

‘Now I have even more reason to keep moving.’

Every second standing idle was a waste if he wanted to gather Beast Karma points quickly.

Kim Jinsung immediately took out a mana potion, replenishing the MP spent using the ‘Shadow Hide’ skill. Then, he set off to hunt for points.

Kim Jinsung was no longer ‘prey’.

***

“Ah, the director has arrived.”

“The director’s here?”

As Baek Jun entered the monitoring room, he waved off the employees who started to stand up to greet him. Walking briskly to his spot, Baek Jun asked Jang Seungwook,

“How’s the situation?”

“Well, it’s going as expected.”

Jang Seungwook stretched and stood up,

“The contestants are falling victim to the defenders’ teamwork, especially in Area 2. I’d say over 80% are already dead.”

“And the key players?”

The three primary figures of the first preliminary of Group A – Kim Jinsung, Kang Minhyuk, and Fade – were being monitored 24/7.

“They’re fine. They’re actually hunting the defenders instead.”

“Are there any other standout contestants?”

“Actually, I was waiting to show you when you arrived.”

Jang Seungwook pulled up two videos on the monitor,

“These are combat footage of two newly discovered contestants. They haven’t been broadcasted yet due to timing.”

“Let’s see.”

Baek Jun nodded appreciatively after watching the carefully selected footage.

“Looks good. Just do a simple cut edit and broadcast it at the right time.”

“We can broadcast now. There haven’t been any battles for the last 10 minutes.”

“Hmm.”

Taking the cue, the PD immediately ordered the broadcast of the specified videos. After watching for a bit, Jang Seungwook, preparing to leave, casually mentioned to Baek Jun,

“Your prediction was right. I never imagined we’d find two more potential stars.”

“Hm…”

“But excluding those two, the rest might die. There are still two hours until dawn.”

“That’s unpredictable.”

Baek Jun responded,

“Now’s when the ‘hunters’ start getting anxious. The ‘prey’ they need to catch to pass has noticeably decreased.”

Initially, many defenders succeeded in hunting due to the sheer number of contestants. But now, encounters had significantly diminished in the past hour, making it even harder in the next two hours.

“And haste leads to mistakes.”

Considering Baek Jun’s words, Jang Seungwook left one more thought,

“Or, they might come up with unexpected cleverness, given their ‘crisis’ is similar to that of the defenders running out of time.”

Baek Jun turned to look at him, Jang Seungwook shrugged and, with a nod, left the monitoring room. After the door closed, Baek Jun turned back to the monitors,

“That might happen too,” he mused to himself.

In the deep night of the forest where visibility was low, a small flashlight caught by a drone camera rose amidst the darkness.

Around it sat numerous defenders, forming a tight circle.

“How many of us are here?”

“18.”

“Good.”

A defender with ‘1-1’ on his shoulder looked around and said,

“Since I gathered this party, I’ll take the lead role. Any objections?”

With no objections, he laid down the plan,

“We don’t have much time until dawn. The sun seems to rise around five in the morning. What time is it now?”

“It’s 3:33 AM.”

“We have an hour and a half left. Moreover, almost all contestants we need to hunt are about dead. Do you know what this means?”

“It means even if all of us here join forces and search, it’s going to be tough to find even one person.”

“What’s the bottom line?” A man voiced his impatience.

Unruffled, the 1-1 defender offered his conclusion.

“Right now, we need to utilize everything we have. We must reveal and effectively use every trait and skill we’re hiding to find and catch at least one contestant within the time limit.”

Silence fell upon the group. Despite wearing C masks, making it impossible to see their expressions, their hesitancy was evident from the way they glanced at each other.

‘Reveal all my abilities here?’

‘That’s a bit…’

Sensing the group’s reluctance, 1-1 moved quickly to convince them.

“Let me show you my abilities first. Look.”

He adjusted his stance, palms up to the sky. A giant blob of blue mana formed above them, quickly shaping into something familiar.

“An eagle!”

“A hawk?”

A huge blue hawk flapped its wings atop the palm of the 1-1 defender. When everyone was watching, 1-1 spoke up.

“My skill is called ‘Shared Vision.’ Whatever this hawk sees while flying, I can see at the same time.”

“Wow…”

Gasps of awe echoed. The skill was precisely what they needed in the current circumstances.

“Now, I’ve shown you my ability. If you wish to join me, please show us what you can do right here.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

With 1-1’s nod, some were unsure, and others were surprised. But undeterred, he continued.

“We need to develop a proper strategy before we move. If you don’t want to reveal your skills, leave this place right now.”

“If no one comes forward, I will leave. Choose now. I’ll give you one minute.”

1-1 finished firmly and waited with folded arms, observing the group.

Ten seconds, twenty, thirty… As time passed, no one volunteered, merely glancing around.

Just as 1-1 reached down to pick up his dropped bag,

“Ugh! Can’t be helped.”

A defender, unable to hold back any longer, snatched up a twig rolling on the ground. When he let mana flow from his opposing palm.

Chilling crackle.

The twig quickly froze over to a blue ice color. Tapping the flashlight with the frozen twig, it broke off cleanly, catching everyone’s attention.

“It’s a Freezing skill. It can freeze a single target. If the target is weak, I can freeze it completely, but if it’s strong, it’ll probably only manage to hinder their movement for a bit.”

“That’s more than enough, thank you.”

After expressing gratitude, 1-1 looked around.

“Who else will come forward?”

This time, several more raised their hands.

“I’ll go first…”

“No, you go ahead.”

At this cooperative gesture, 1-1 mentally praised the breakthrough.

‘Good, the mood is turning.’

The first volunteer was crucial. Once someone stepped up, it encouraged others to follow suit.

‘Now, we’ll have at least ten or more moving together.’

His prediction proved correct. All 18 defenders around the flashlight opted to reveal their abilities.

“Thank you all for cooperating. Now let’s quickly formulate a battle plan that uses our skills and start searching.”

The 18 soon engaged in a collective strategy meeting.

[Ah, finally, the team led by 1-1 from Area 1 has started to mobilize! It’s the largest party, numbering a whole 18!]

“Wow…! This is unprecedented. We’ve seen large numbers team up before, but never sharing their powers and strategizing together like this.”

As the commentators narrated, a blue hawk created by mana from 1-1 soared high into the sky on the screen. After circling, it sped towards the hills.

Watching this, Baek Jun smiled wryly.

‘This time, Jang Seungwook’s view was right.’

Who would have guessed so many would share their hidden traits and skills?

This was an unexpectedly strong unity born from being faced with a dwindling deadline – a ‘crisis.’

‘But now, even core members will struggle if they get caught by that team.’

Already finished strategizing for meeting the enemy, they systematically scanned for targets, probably having prearranged the order of skills they’d use when they encountered one.

‘And one hour is more than enough time to catch up to one person.’

With this thought, Baek Jun returned his focus to the screens.

The mana hawk released by 1-1 was flying directly towards where Kim Jinsung and Kang Minhyuk were located.