"Ah… what kind of situation is this?"
Professional gamer Magus sighed inwardly as he played. He was testing the game after a long break to prepare for hosting a tournament at Quazijik.
Even though the game had been out for a while, Magus hadn't played much since the beta, so he didn't have proper information about Battle Hill.
Still, a pro is a pro. He handled his weapons with practiced ease and continued through the game.
Then he encountered a completely unfamiliar situation: a special rule. And since his stream wasn't on, he was thoroughly caught off guard. If he'd been broadcasting, he could've asked his fans for tips, but that wasn't an option.
Even as a pro, Magus was a beginner in Battle Hill. Special rules would naturally throw any beginner off balance.
"Alright, let's do what we can."
Magus maneuvered through the city night under a full moon, trying to survive.
'No need to fight the other survivors, right?'
Understanding the essence of the special rule, he moved carefully between buildings. To win first place, he needed to hunt the werewolf. That meant avoiding unnecessary conflicts with other survivors.
Soon, only five survivors remained, including Magus. The game then granted him the power to hunt the werewolf, as if telling him not to hide anymore.
"This… is fun."
The thrill of the hunter becoming the hunted sent a surge of dopamine through him. If he succeeded in the hunt, how much more dopamine would he feel…
'Since it's a special situation, I might as well enjoy it a bit.'
He convinced himself and stepped out of the building. Moving around a little, he encountered another survivor. They all had smiles on their faces, clearly also thinking of hunting the werewolf.
"Let's check our weapons first."
A man who looked like a leader began directing everyone skillfully. Magus showed his weapon in response.
"A r-rifle?"
"You were a beta tester?"
"I didn't think we'd actually see this."
"So there really is a gun? I thought it was a joke."
When Magus revealed his gun, the other survivors looked at him in surprise. One of them, staring at him, suddenly had a shocked expression.
"Are you… Magus?"
"Ah, yes, that's me."
Because Battle Hill doesn't allow facial edits, someone recognized him.
"Are you really Magus?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then can we center our strategy around you this fight?"
"That's fine."
As soon as they realized who he was, their strategy shifted to revolve around Magus. While keeping alert, suddenly a presence was felt from above.
'Everyone's here, so how is there a presence?'
But by the time he noticed, it was too late.
"Argh!"
Crack!
A werewolf leaped from a rooftop, swinging its arm, and the survivor holding a spear was instantly killed. Magus frowned and fired his gun.
Bang!
The bullets flew toward the werewolf. Normally, that would have been the end of it, but this time it was different.
Thwack!
The werewolf used the fallen survivor's body to block the bullets. Normally, a dead player's body disappears immediately, but there's a short delay—and the werewolf exploited that.
"Tch."
Magus clicked his tongue and fired again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots in quick succession, but the werewolf immediately ran off with a speed far beyond Magus's expectations.
'Two bullets left… I have to hit it within that.'
Otherwise, during reloading, the werewolf would focus on him. As we saw earlier, its power had increased, not its defense.
'One wrong move and we're all dead.'
The problem was that only Magus and the survivor he had strategized with earlier realized this.
"We've gotten stronger too!"
"Die!"
The other two survivors rushed the werewolf recklessly and were wiped out instantly.
"Argh! Argh!"
The werewolf's cries sounded like death sentences, and three survivors disappeared in an instant. Now, only Magus and one other remained.
'Damn, I should've anticipated that.'
Magus clicked his tongue internally. Ordinary gamers freeze in unexpected situations. Even in PC games, that was true, but in a VR-like, realistic scenario, it was even more chaotic.
He should have stopped such reckless actions before they happened.
"Magus, can we catch it?"
The survivor next to him asked with a trembling voice. Unlike the first two, he stayed calm, but the tension remained. Magus wasn't exactly calm either; he just didn't show it, thanks to his professional experience.
'No showing weakness here.'
Keeping his expression composed, he answered, "It'll be tough, but not impossible."
"Yes!"
Hearing that, the survivor brightened. The words of a pro carry weight.
"Then, let's hunt the werewolf."
Magus smiled as he spoke.
"Phew, that was close."
I hunted the remaining three survivors and retreated to a rooftop. I thought it would be easy, but the situation wasn't going smoothly.
"What's with that shooter? Seriously?"
―Unbelievable.
―He aimed for the host perfectly in that situation.
―DW
―He's a monster, seriously.
Viewers were also stunned at the shooter's skill. He wasn't likely highly experienced with guns, yet he pulled the trigger with deadly precision.
"Is he a player from another FPS game?"
He carried a revolver. Even a trained soldier couldn't handle it with such precision.
"I guess we should be most wary of that player?"
―Yeah.
―Sounds right.
―As long as it's not him, first place is easy.
―Dgkz.
While I was briefly retreating and communicating, a system message appeared.
[Night is ending.]
[Hurry and hunt the survivors.]
A system message I hadn't seen before appeared. Time was running out, so I had to move faster. This wasn't the time to be relaxed.
"I'll watch the timing for now."
I said that while observing the survivors from the rooftop. They seemed surprisingly relaxed, maybe because the time limit message also appeared for them.
This was a trap. If they knew about the time limit, the urgency was now on me, not them. The roles had reversed entirely.
"Two bullets left, right?"
―Yeah.
―You fired four rounds from the revolver, so two remain.
―Counting bullets now?
Two bullets left in the revolver. In-game, it might differ, but probably not here. If there were more bullets, it'd be overpowered. He probably introduced a penalty with ammo.
"Two bullets…"
I could win if I dodged those two. To do so, I couldn't target the shooter directly; I had to target the survivor beside him.
"Then I'll move now."
I leapt from the rooftop, using mobility to run along walls instead of just dropping down.
Creating a scene straight out of a movie, I charged toward the survivors.
"Please!"
"Yes!"
The spear-wielding survivor split the distance between me and the shooter. Ignoring the spearman would let the shooter hit me first.
'Pretend to fight the spearman and make him waste his bullets.'
I charged at the spear-wielder, swinging my arms. He spun the spear and deflected my arm.
"Deflect a werewolf's arm?"
I muttered in shock. The werewolf's arms contained the power and speed of a normal human's abdomen. Yet, he blocked my attack.
'A skill?'
Otherwise, it made no sense. He must've used a spear skill I didn't know.
'It's okay. I have two arms.'
I rotated my deflected arm outward while raising my other arm, spinning my body.
Clang!
My arm collided with his spear, but again he blocked it.
"Die."
He muttered under his breath, and gunshots rang out simultaneously.
Bang!
I couldn't dodge while spinning, so I thrust one arm forward. Crack!
The bullet hit my arm and tore it off. It was a cheap loss compared to dying. Without hesitation, I swung my remaining arm at the spearman.
Clang!
The spearman, expecting me to die and unguarded, fell.
[1 survivor has been hunted.]
[1 survivor remaining.]
Originally, I planned to make the spearman waste more bullets, but that seemed too risky, so I took him out immediately.
Now it was just me and the shooter. A perfect one-on-one. In this situation, the shooter couldn't beat me.
"Wow, incredible."
But the shooter muttered with a smile. How could he stay so calm when cornered?
"I didn't expect you'd sacrifice your arm there."
"Neither did I. I didn't think you'd use the remaining bullets so boldly."
I had expected him to shoot during a more obvious moment, like when I jumped or when the spearman grabbed me. Instead, he shot at an unexpected angle. I hadn't considered that angle.
"I almost died then."
"Haha, seeing you sacrifice your arm surprised me too. Let's call it even."
We laughed, but both of us were calculating timings—me for attack, him for escape. Amid this tension, a donation popped up.
['GGLove' donated 10,000 won!]
"Isn't that Magus?"
"Magus?"
I'd heard the name. He was a pro gamer from GG (Golem Game), top of the battle survival genre, popular for both skill and looks.
'No wonder he handled that ambush and took that angle with perfect accuracy.'
I had to stay alert. If my opponent was a pro, I couldn't relax. After the donation, we both went silent.
Snap!
He moved first. Magus leapt back and began moving.
"Tch, he's heading inside?"
A werewolf's size makes indoor movement tricky. Magus likely used that to his advantage. I had no choice but to follow inside, tracking him closely.
"Surrender!"
"No way!"
We shouted at each other while running. Once a pro sets the pace, there's no catching up. Plus, I had a time limit he didn't.
'I have to finish this fast.'
I sped up, and Magus tried to lose me by turning a corner.
'Can't let him escape easily.'
I grabbed a wall on the corner with my remaining hand, spinning my body instead of slowing down.
"Got you."
Magus stood there with his gun pointed at me. Walls on both sides, ceiling above—I couldn't jump.
In this trap, he fired.
Bang! Crack!
Magus shot, and I let go of the wall. Any rotation would hit me, so I abandoned my center of gravity mid-spin. I slammed into the wall from momentum.
―Wow, survival of the fittest.
―Magus had his gun aimed, and the host dodged by letting go of the wall.
―So Magus read the host's movements?
―Seriously insane.
Viewers cheered even louder.
I freed myself from the wall and ran toward where Magus had been. He had used his last bullet.
'If I get him before he reloads, I win.'
Rounding the corner, I saw him reloading. I had the advantage. I charged at him without hesitation. Magus quietly muttered as he saw me approach.
"Bullet time."