World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 56

Squad 3. Before the Midnight Sniper Battle.

Day 14. Survivors.

123/400

They had spent a whole day moving, and fortunately, had not run into any ambushes.

After crossing through relatively lush plains and forests, they now found themselves in a desert zone that unfolded before them as if by magic.

Just one step into it, and it was like crossing a drawn line—the temperature dropped sharply, revealing the night desert.

"This place has a lot of ridgelines—surprisingly good terrain for ambushes," Kichan observed.

As he said, the desert stretched endlessly, filled with dunes and countless ridgelines.

"You don't think the safe zone will shrink all the way to Kutrapa's Sanctuary, do you?"

At those words, both Seowoon and Kichan turned to look at Lyle.

Under their questioning gazes, Lyle's face flushed slightly.

"N-no, I wasn't trying to sound like a know-it-all."

"If you know something, feel free to sound like one," Kichan teased.

With a hesitant glance, Lyle began to speak.

"Kutrapa is said to have once unified the entire continent. You two probably wouldn't know since you're from a different world, but in ours, he's the only emperor to have ever unified the land. According to legend, his tomb lies somewhere here in the Forbidden Desert."

"A great emperor's tomb in a place like this?"

"According to the legend, the most famous tale is that Kutrapa wasn't human at all, but a dragon nearing eternal sleep. As his final game, he unified the continent, then made his nest underground here and entered eternal slumber. Because he was a red dragon with intense attributes, the surrounding area transformed into a desert. All around it is grassland, but only this region is an inexplicable desert—so many people believe in the legend."

Kichan stepped into the desert, shivering slightly at the chill, and nodded.

"It's definitely a strange area, no matter the world. It reminds me of our legend about King Munmu becoming a dragon to protect the country after his death."

The similarities between King Munmu, who unified the Three Kingdoms and became a dragon, and Emperor Kutrapa were indeed striking.

"But is there a reason we shouldn't go to Kutrapa's Sanctuary?"

Sensing concern in Lyle's tone, Seowoon asked. Lyle's face hardened as he nodded and continued.

"People have long believed that his tomb holds vast treasures. Many sought it, especially knights looking to recover his forgotten combat skills. But none of them ever came back. Unlike merchant caravans, which usually pass through the desert without issue, anyone who went in search of the emperor's tomb... not a single one returned. So now, no one, regardless of nation, dares to try looting his resting place."

Seowoon and Kichan's expressions grew serious as Lyle spoke.

"Could it be a monster zone?" Seowoon asked.

"Could be. And if it's an emperor's tomb... there might be all kinds of deadly traps."

"Best not to drag the game out unnecessarily."

Lyle cautiously added, "I've never heard of monsters appearing in the Forbidden Desert."

Seowoon nodded. "Then that makes it even more likely Kutrapa's Sanctuary is set up like a dungeon."

"Right."

The shrinking field was expected to contract exactly up to the boundary of the desert where they now stood.

After checking the map, the group stepped into the desert.

Each step made their ankles sink into the sand, and it wasn't a pleasant sensation.

Wrapped in a thick robe they'd gotten earlier, Seowoon trudged through the sand, glancing enviously at Kichan and Lyle gliding effortlessly on their airboards.

'Should've gotten one of those. Hamit! Can't you transform into that?'

—Foolish master. Do you think the great Erseus Hamit would degrade himself to become a vehicle under your feet? Never.—

"Chh."

No helping it—Hamit clearly wasn't interested.

After crossing a rather tall dune, the ground suddenly became firm instead of loose and sinking.

"Just one hill over and the terrain changes this drastically?"

Seeing Seowoon's lighter steps, Kichan replied, "Even a single step makes the temperature drop. That aside, shouldn't we find a spot to settle down? Just three more teams to go and we're in the survival zone."

"True, but... the terrain's harsher than I thought. If we want to camp out here, it's not gonna be easy. For now, the desert and the opposite side still have buff monsters within the safe zone. Let's move in a little further. We'll know tomorrow's zone soon anyway."

"Got it."

They crossed a few more dunes.

Moving slowly and staying alert, they soon got the next safe zone notification.

"Hyung, look at this..." Kichan trailed off after checking the map.

"Only took two weeks for the buff mobs to get pushed out of the zone. It's going to get bloody now."

It was almost midnight. Players loitering near the buff mobs would start scrambling.

"Hyung, if we just hold here, we'll breeze into survival placement."

"Right? A few teams should drop off in the next few hours. Alright, we hold here."

Behind them, the tallest dune in the area gave them cover, and a fierce battle was expected soon. There was no need to push further into the center of the zone.

Besides, up ahead, the middle of the desert was filled with dense thorny vines and cacti—a terrain no one wanted to deal with.

According to Lyle, that place was called the Forest of Trials, the most difficult area for anyone crossing the desert.

They took turns standing watch from the ridgeline of the sand dune while the other two rested at its base to recover stamina.

"I'll meditate first, so I'll leave it to you."

At Seowoon's words, Kichan nodded.

Sitting cross-legged to begin circulating his energy, Seowoon first checked his stats.

"My Info."

**[Name: Jin Seowoon

Race: Human

Class: Magin (Mage)

Strength: 60

Stamina: 43

Agility: 42

Toughness: 68

Magic Resistance: 60

Class Stat – Inner Power: 510

Class Stat – Mana: 60]

Although his four base stats were still low, they had improved considerably. Especially after the brutal fight with that lunatic, his toughness had increased noticeably.

More importantly, he had finally recovered his peak inner power from his first round.

This wasn't some illusion that would vanish when he returned to reality—this inner power was truly his. That made it all the more empowering.

As he finished checking his stats and closed his eyes to begin breathing practice, Cameron's necklace had somehow found its way around his neck.

Though he cultivated his energy differently from others, he couldn't pass up the rich spiritual energy of this world.

Just as Seowoon began circulating his energy, Kichan cast a newly learned spell.

"Ascro Barrier."

A traditional 6th-circle barrier spell activated, briefly forming a translucent wall that soon faded into invisibility.

Time passed. While scanning the map, Kichan noticed the shrinking magnetic field—and then, a notification chimed in his mind.

Ding! Buff monster has been slain! Glory to Yehaoran–Tsmashz–Kassian–Durian Squad!

"Survivors."

121 / 400

***

Yehaoran → Killed by Hawijan (Sword Aura)

Durian → Killed by Galitejan (Magic)

"Sword Aura, huh. Another dangerous one shows up. And only two more dead?"

The number of players had hardly dropped as expected.

Seeing that "Sword Aura" was involved, it was likely that Yehaoran's appearance had scared off the others near the buff monster, causing them to retreat without a fight.

— KANG! CRACK!

Deep in thought, Kichan flinched at the sudden sounds and shouted.

"Enemies! Lyle, get down!"

Lyle descended on his airboard, kicking up sand, as several short arrows whizzed past him.

Barely missing him and embedding in the sand, the sight of those arrows made tension spread across Lyle's face.

These were the same arrows that had taken down two brave and powerful Sisle tribesmen before they even had time to react.

— CLANG!

Missing Lyle, another arrow struck the barrier and shattered it. An arrow flew straight at Seowoon's forehead just as he was opening his eyes.

"Hyung!!!"

Just as the barely visible arrow flew toward Seowoon's face, his head snapped sharply backward.

Kichan's eyes widened in horror—but Seowoon rolled back up to his feet mid-spin.

"Ptooey!"

Spitting out the arrow he'd caught in his mouth, Seowoon scowled.

"Iron Barrier!"

Even at that moment, Lyle cast another barrier in front of the group.

Master! The enemy's moving fast—I can't get a lock on their position.

Hammit's voice rang in Seowoon's head. He quickly scanned the area and narrowed his eyes at the black arrow on the ground.

"Baby Arrow! That's what those are! Be careful!"

Lyle shouted in warning.

Gritting his teeth, Seowoon spoke as if spitting the words out.

"So... Pyeonjeon isn't just ours after all."

Pyeonjeon. Baby arrows.

Arrows once kept secret by Joseon's military, feared even by the mounted archers of the northern steppes.

Launched from a special guide tube called a tongah, Seowoon never imagined he'd see these arrows again—especially as an enemy weapon in another world.

— KANG!

Another arrow hit the barrier and bounced into the air. Lyle shouted:

"My barrier doesn't last long!"

"Everyone! Run into the forest up ahead!"

They sprinted toward the dense forest, thick with brambles and cacti, grim determination on their faces.

Seowoon ran ahead of the group, wary of any flying arrows.

"Kair Barrier."

Just in case, he cast another protective shield and heightened his senses to the maximum.

— WHOOSH!

Turning his head just slightly, a red line was grazed across his cheek.

If he'd reacted even a split-second slower, the arrow would've punched a hole in his face.

But he wasn't just going to take it.

Drawing his bow, he notched an arrow, poured inner power into it, and fired.

Though he suffered a small scratch while estimating the direction of the incoming arrow, Hammit relayed the rapidly moving enemy's position. Seowoon calculated the shot and loosed arrows toward the ridge of a sandy dune.

They're not stopping—firing even while on the move!

The accuracy of those shots was terrifying.

But Seowoon wasn't idle either. As he returned fire with precision and speed, the frequency of incoming arrows began to drop.

Dodging a few more close calls, the party finally dove into the forest. Lyle fired magic to blast open a path through the dense growth.

Once inside the space cleared by Lyle's spell, the arrows ceased.

The hostile gaze is gone.

Still, Seowoon didn't relax—he kept his bow drawn tight.

He knew the enemy wouldn't give up this easily.

Closing his eyes, he focused his senses and sent a voice message to Kichan.

Just in case, clear a path deeper into the forest and prepare an ambush.

Kichan and Lyle moved cautiously through the woods, ready for any hidden threats. Seowoon remained still, all his attention focused on the enemy.

His lips twisted slightly.

Let's see you try.

— WHOOSH!

As soon as he felt the strange shift in the air, Seowoon released the bowstring.

An arrow grazed his ear, drawing blood, but Seowoon didn't even flinch. He focused on his shot and rolled to the side.

— THUNK!

Another short arrow slammed into where he'd just been.

How is this guy shooting pyeonjeon like this?

From what Seowoon knew, pyeonjeon were never easy to fire in rapid succession.

As Seowoon yanked the arrow lodged in the ground, another arrow flew at him from a different direction.

There was no doubt about it—only one person could control the speed and force of arrows so precisely.

The divine archer. Juroquana.

The one who cried out for honor but never hesitated to gang up on others.

Even with the appearance of such a formidable enemy, the smile on Seowoon's face never faded.

This barren place was still technically a forest, and thanks to his trained forest instincts, he could clearly sense the presence of arrows entering within a 30-meter radius.

Even though the enemy adjusted the strength and speed of their shots, Seowoon didn't believe any would be fatal.

—Right side, 90 degrees! He's entered the forest!—

At Kichan's words, Seowoon fluidly turned his bow and released an arrow.

The arrow pierced through a tangle of thorny vines ahead and vanished into the silence.

A few seconds after the shot—there's a fleeting sensation, a sharp instinct one develops, that tells you whether the arrow missed or hit.

And that sense spoke clearly.

"It missed."

As he rolled to the side with that thought, a small arrow grazed past him.

'Kichan! A tongah... so that means the shape is...'

—I saw the image that appeared in your head, Master. Will this do?—

The Kichan coiled around his hand transformed into a tongah (a traditional Korean arrow guide).

He placed a pyeonjeon (short arrow) he had prepared into the tongah and hooked the string attached to the arrow's end around his hand.

—Be careful, Master. One mistake and you'll hurt yourself instead.—

He knew. Pyeonjeon were dangerous—if you mishandled them, the person firing could be more hurt than the target.

As a Korean, Seowoon couldn't not know that.

But he'd seen that film long ago—Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon—where they shot and trained with pyeonjeon.

Having watched a movie that portrayed pyeonjeon almost to historical perfection, Seowoon now drew the string on the tongah, visualizing exactly what he'd seen in the film.

The moment he sensed an arrow flying toward him, he fired his pyeonjeon in the same direction.

The tongah dropped to the side as the black pyeonjeon shot out with incredible speed.

Powered by internal energy, the arrow flew much faster than any he'd fired before, and he distinctly felt the sensation of it brushing against something.

—Sssht!

The enemy's arrow narrowly grazed his side as well, but the corners of Seowoon's mouth lifted higher.

Even though he couldn't see the enemy at that distance, he could feel their shock clearly.

Right before a sniper's duel begins, there's a unique bond felt only between two people aiming to kill with a single shot.

That strange connection made Seowoon smile.

He barely ducked behind a cactus at least six meters around before two pyeonjeon struck the cactus and vanished into it.

But Seowoon had already intercepted the weaker incoming arrows and began readying his next shot with the tongah, steadying his breath.

If he rushed even slightly, the tongah would wobble, sending the arrow flying off in the wrong direction.

—Master! Focus harder!—

If he slipped, Kichan's nagging would come flying.

A dangerous weapon. One mistake, and he could punch a hole in his own arm.

But the more he fired, the faster he grew used to it.

Just as he was about to fire another arrow from behind the cactus, his instincts flared—this incoming arrow was different.

As he pulled out the arrow he'd loaded and ducked, the enemy's shot pierced through the cactus and grazed his head.

"Whew..."

That one had been truly dangerous.

"Still holding back?"

Even if it was just a cactus, he hadn't expected something that thick to be pierced like a sheet of paper.

After dodging another arrow, Seowoon swung his hand—grabbing an arrow mid-flight as it passed, though the impact tore the skin from his palm.

He had only three pyeonjeon left.

The real fight was just beginning.

[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]