Chapter 67: Stealthy Approach

Chapter 67

Inside the main castle.

A young man sat at the central table in the waiting room, eyes closed in concentration. Through his earpiece, he could hear Yang Junggeun’s voice.

– Hey, Jo Kyunghoon. Are you sure? Why do you think Kim Jinsung went to the northwest part of the island?

Jo Kyunghoon, the man in question, responded immediately.

“I saw a monster, which Kim Jinsung transformed into, carrying a person and running quickly towards the northwest using my ‘Eye of Surveillance’ skill.”

– A monster?

“Yes. It was the same monster Kim Jinsung transformed into when he fought Forghinae.”

– Oh, right. You saw that?

Yang Junggeun’s voice conveyed understanding and admiration.

– There are no such monsters around here, so it must be Kim Jinsung.

The scene of Kim Jinsung fighting Forghinae during the first preliminary round had been a major topic on the internet. Every participant on the island knew that Kim Jinsung had transformed into a Dark Hound during that battle.

“And the person Kim Jinsung carried is likely one of the remaining Thieves. Kim Jinsung’s escape speed when transformed into that monster is incredibly fast.”

– Hmm…

“I couldn’t pinpoint his exact location because the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ was destroyed immediately after attaching to Kim Jinsung, but I sent another one towards the northwest. We should find him soon.”

– Are you sure you can find him? What’s stopping the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ from being destroyed again?

“Didn’t I explain this earlier?”

Jo Kyunghoon’s voice was filled with confidence.

“The ‘Eye of Surveillance’ skill can detect even hidden mana.”

– Yeah, yeah! Do you think I’m an amoeba with a single cell?

“Kim Jinsung emits such a strong aura that it will be detected before it can destroy the Eye. Trust me. It’s certain.”

– Damn, you’re too confident. Makes me nervous…

Yang Junggeun muttered skeptically and asked again.

– Fine, what about the other eight? Do you know their locations for sure?

“The others each have an ‘Eye of Surveillance’ attached to them. I’ve marked their locations on the map. Come and check.”

– Alright. Let’s talk in detail when I get there.

“Yes.”

Jo Kyunghoon answered briefly and removed the earpiece. The noise would interfere with managing the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ skill. He picked up a pen and drew circles on the map spread out on the table. It was a map of the survival island given to the participants, but unlike the map given to the Thieves, it only showed the surface.

“…Exactly eight.”

Looking at the eight black circles marked on the map, he was certain.

“Now we just need to check the locations of the two in the northwest.”

Not knowing that one of the Thieves had been killed by a Quagmire, Jo Kyunghoon could only make that assumption.

* * *

Kim Jinsung’s expression changed after hearing the entire conversation between Yang Junggeun and Jo Kyunghoon.

‘A detection skill that can sense mana…’

Kim Jinsung looked up at the sky. Although he couldn’t see it, he could sense something approaching slowly from above through ‘Location Detection.’ It must be the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ that Jo Kyunghoon mentioned.

‘I felt something off earlier and destroyed it. So that was the detection skill.’

If he hadn’t destroyed the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ earlier, it would have caused significant trouble. His hidden location and the fact that he had stolen a smartphone to eavesdrop on the enemy’s communications would have been exposed.

‘The problem is that Jo Kyunghoon plans to keep using the ‘Eye of Surveillance’.’

Destroying the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ wasn’t an issue for Kim Jinsung. He had even destroyed it without seeing it by sensing mana. However, knowing that Jo Kyunghoon could operate multiple instances of this skill simultaneously meant that the locations of all the other participants were also being tracked.

As the Seekers cleared out the locations of other participants, they would eventually deduce Kim Jinsung’s location. It meant there was no safe place to hide anymore. The entire island was essentially within Jo Kyunghoon’s sight.

‘I need to eliminate Jo Kyunghoon first. It will make it easier to move afterward.’

Kim Jinsung decided to remove the enemy’s eyes first and began moving towards the main castle.

‘To approach, I need to move without being detected by the ‘Eye of Surveillance’.’

This meant he had to approach in a state where his mana couldn’t be detected.

Kim Jinsung activated the skill fusion system. He selected ‘Stealth’ and the permanently stored skill ‘Sneak.’ A notification appeared.

—

▶ These skills are eligible for ‘Skill Fusion.’ If you proceed, you will obtain the following new trait:

▷ Stealthy Approach: While in Stealth, if you move at less than 10% of your normal speed, you will not be detected by detection skills used by enemies weaker than you.

▶ If you acquire the ‘Stealthy Approach’ trait, the ‘Sneak’ skill will disappear. Do you want to proceed?

—

‘With this fusion skill, I can approach the main castle without worrying about mana detection.’

Of course, this assumed Jo Kyunghoon was weaker than Kim Jinsung, which he believed to be likely. Thinking this, Kim Jinsung chose to proceed with the fusion. The notification changed.

—

▶ You have acquired the ‘Stealthy Approach’ trait through skill fusion.

▶ The ‘Sneak’ skill has disappeared.

▶ 5,000 Beast Karma points have been used for the skill fusion.

▶ Remaining Beast Karma points: 4813

—

Kim Jinsung glanced at the bottom line of the notification.

‘I had almost 10,000 points before the fusion? Well, I did take down a lot of Quagmires earlier.’

He had killed ten Quagmires, each worth 350 points, and had also killed dozens of Seekers while transformed into a Quagmire. It made sense that he had accumulated nearly 4,000 points quickly.

‘If I take down a few more monsters on the way, I can use skill fusion again.’

Kim Jinsung immediately activated the Stealth skill. To utilize the newly acquired ‘Stealthy Approach’ trait, he began walking as slowly as possible.

Soon, Kim Jinsung passed right under the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ sent from the main castle. The eye did not detect him and continued past overhead.

* * *

“…We’ve found a body at the northwest edge.”

Jo Kyunghoon, who had his eyes closed, spoke up. Yang Junggeun, who had returned to the main castle, asked,

“A body? Is it a Thief?”

“…Doesn’t seem like it.”

In fact, the body Jo Kyunghoon saw through the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ was the Seeker prisoner Kim Jinsung had brought bound in webs.

“The body is tightly bound, looks like a Seeker was kidnapped.”

“What about Kim Jinsung?”

“…Haven’t found him yet.”

“What? You said he moved to the northwest!”

“That’s certain. I thought we’d find him if we moved this way…”

Jo Kyunghoon, still with his eyes closed, tilted his head in confusion. Yang Junggeun, frowning, gave new orders.

“Forget it. We don’t have time. We’ll find Kim Jinsung later. Let’s check the locations of the other eight first. We planned to deal with Kim Jinsung last anyway.”

Jo Kyunghoon checked the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ attached to the other eight Thieves.

“…They haven’t moved much from the marked locations. We can proceed as planned.”

“Good. Hey, Choo Chaesu!”

Yang Junggeun called out to a man standing in the wide yard in front of the waiting room. When Choo Chaesu looked at him, Yang Junggeun gave the order.

“Create the Warp Hole now!”

* * *

“This is Thief 1. Everyone, it’s time to move from your current locations.”

Kim Jinsung, walking towards the main castle, entered an abandoned building and spoke quietly through his earpiece.

“I told you it’s not good to stay in one place for too long. Everyone, move.”

– Yes.

– I’ll move to the right.

– I’ll fall back.

The Thieves began briefing their new positions. Kim Jinsung also informed them.

“I’m heading back underground. Don’t come to the underground area. It’s still dangerous with many monsters. Over and out.”

After ending the communication, Kim Jinsung injected mana into the earpiece mic to turn it off. He exited the abandoned building in stealth mode, thinking.

‘I won’t mention the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ yet. No point if they haven’t noticed it.’

Kim Jinsung decided it was better to keep instructing them to change positions regularly. If they hadn’t noticed the ‘Eye of Surveillance’ watching them, informing them wouldn’t help much. It was more effective for Kim Jinsung to eliminate Jo Kyunghoon and thereby remove the surveillance.

‘Now then…’

Kim Jinsung clasped his hands together and pointed to the sky. A black mana hawk was summoned and quickly soared upwards, heading towards the main castle.

‘It’s only fair that I know your location too.’

Kim Jinsung resumed his walk towards the main castle. Although it was still some distance away, the mana hawk had already reached the area above the main castle.

* * *

“That bird is really annoying.”

Yang Junggeun, now in the wide yard in front of the main castle, looked up at the black mana hawk circling above with an irritated expression. Some Seekers were intermittently launching ranged attacks to try and hit the mana hawk, but its speed made it difficult to shoot down.

“Hey, stop it! Enough!”

Yang Junggeun waved his hand to stop the Seekers from using their skills.

“Even if you shoot it down, he’ll just summon another one. Leave it be.”

“But… if we leave it alone, the Thieves will know our movements too, right…?”

Han Minsu asked in his slow manner.

“You said it yourself earlier. The Thieves must have communication devices like we do…”

“Of course! If all 240 of us have smartphones, do you think they wouldn’t give them to just 10 people? Use your brain, you idiot!”

“I was just asking…”

Yang Junggeun looked at Han Minsu with disdain before turning his attention back to the group.

“Everything is under control. Choo Chaesu, how’s it going?”

“Almost done.”

Choo Chaesu was focused, extending his palms over a black hole-like portal forming on the ground. Beside him, Jo Kyunghoon kept muttering with his eyes closed.

“We haven’t found the target Thief yet. But we’re getting close. If we move a bit further, we’ll be discovered…!”

Jo Kyunghoon’s voice grew increasingly urgent as he scouted the exit area of the warp hole through the ‘Eye of Surveillance.’ At that moment, Choo Chaesu removed his hands from the black hole.

“It’s done!”

“Good! Let’s go!”

At Yang Junggeun’s command, about 100 Seekers who had been waiting nearby jumped into the black hole.

* * *

“What the…?!”

Thief 3, who was cautiously scouting the eastern edge of the island, gasped. A massive black hole had suddenly appeared in front of him, and people were pouring out of it. The person at the forefront was particularly familiar.

“There he is!! Kill him!!”

Seeing Yang Junggeun shout, Thief 3 immediately turned and ran. Using his unique skill ‘Agility Boost,’ his escape speed was incredible. He connected his communication device and shouted.

“This is Thief 3! The Seekers have teleported here in groups!!”