Tap tap tap tap!

On the sprint toward the Sanctuary of Resurrection, Almond kept seeing the same censored chat messages popping up.

— $@&$

— Please revive this time!!

— LOL Sanctuary of Resurrection isn’t one time use though?

— @$#

Almond, someone who actually read the chat a lot, most definitely noticed.

“Guys, don’t trash-talk Gum. He did great just now, so why are you like that?”

He just interpreted it the way he wanted and moved on.

— ?

— ?

— Where’s the Gum hyung trash-talk?? LOL

— Ahhhhh LOL

— You mean the censored stuff? LOL

“Y-You’re trash-talking me again? Huh? You’re lying, right?” Bubblegum asked from behind as he ran.

“No, it’s just, filtered stuff keeps popping up...”

Bubblegum looked deflated. “I’d rather you lied...”

— LOLLLL

— You wanted it to be a lie??

— If it’s a lie, that means it’s direct trash-talk LOL

— Gum sulking LOL

“Just run.” Almond avoided answering and ran faster.

Ting! Tiiing!

The shrine warning sound sped up, which meant the revive would soon complete.

“W-We’re almost there! Don’t step in the zone!”

Thunk!

The shrine area turned red.

[An enemy is present in the Sanctuary of Resurrection.]

[Resurrection halted.]

Almond and Bubblegum crouched and started circling the shrine carefully.

Bump!

“D-Damn it!”

Both sides jumped away in shock.

Almond’s eyes went wide. “Huh...?”

‘It’s that guy from earlier.’

Shockingly, it was just one person.

“Aaagh! Y-You chased me all the way here!? You relentless monsters!”

— ?

— LOLLLL

— Oh it’s that guy?

This straggler had escaped after losing the Red Turtle fight earlier.

Click.

He pulled out his weapon for a final stand. “G-Get out! This is mine!”

He looked pathetic at only level 3 without a contract yet. Meanwhile, Almond was contracted with Sori at level 4.

Almond flicked his bowstring. “This will be easy.”

Pahng!

A single arrow nailed the man’s head. Three more and he’d be dead.

“Wait!”

The enemy threw both hands up in surrender.

“H-Hold on... You guys need to revive too, don’t you!?”

He tried to negotiate.

— He started out trying to kill them LOL

— Negotiation??

— One headshot and he realized “nah” LOL

— The instant that arrow hit his skull LOL

Negotiation was one of Survival’s signature tactics. If interests aligned, players even teamed up temporarily. Lots of things could be traded like contracts and revives.

“I’m telling you. Other guys are coming too. How about we both revive? You go first. I’ll go after.”

His ID was BarleyTea. He looked desperate.

Puh-buk!

Two arrows sank into that desperate face.

“Liar. How can you use the shrine twice?”

— ?

— LOLLLLLLLL

— Talks are over.

— His face LOL

BarleyTea stared blankly. He genuinely didn’t understand what Almond meant because the shrine could be used multiple times! However, BarleyTea didn’t give up.

‘He could’ve killed me, but he didn’t.’

Almond could’ve just fired the rest and ended it. For some reason, he only shot once at first. That meant there was room for negotiations.

BarleTea pushed harder. “W-What does that matter!? I said I’ll revive after! If it can’t be used twice, I’m the only one who loses!”

Maybe something was wrong with Almond’s head, but persuasion was persuasion.

“Huh...?” Almond scratched his head. “Is that so?”

“I guess it is, Almond.”

Almond and Bubblegum looked at each other, then nodded.

“Alright.”

— LOLLLLLLLL

— Dumb & Dumber

— No way LOL

— Who are we? Ghostbusters~!

BarleyTea backed out of the shrine area. “I’ll step out first so it switches to your revive count.”

Tiiing...!

The zone turned green again. Almond’s team revival started.

[Revival in 9 seconds]

The countdown restarted from 9.

Ting! Ting!

[Revival in 7 seconds]

Kiiing!

The shrine flashed red again.

‘They’re here.’

Another team had entered. Almond signaled BarleyTea to step back in so he could honor the deal. BarleyTea walked back and joined them.

“Hey. You’re keeping your promise, right?”

“Of course.”

For BarleyTea, this was his best option. Alone, he could do nothing anyway.

Shff... shff...

Footsteps approached. Several enemies had come. This wasn’t just a revive contest, but a raid. While they waited, a little small talk slipped out.

“Mr. Bubblegum, I’m a big fan. I’m BarleyTea.”

“Oh... A Gum fan?”

“Yes.” BarleyTea introduced himself, probably trying to lock in some goodwill.

“Oh wow, you were my viewer... Want a potion or something?”

“R-Really?”

— This far??

— Gum Bro

— Isn’t that poison LOL

— He needs HP if he’s gonna be used as a shield LOL

Bubblegum reached for a potion dangling from his pouch.

Tap.

Almond stopped him. “That’s not a potion, Gum.”

“Huh? Then what is this?”

It looked exactly like a potion.

“BarleyTea, go scout ahead.”

“M-Me? I’m a ranged DPS though...”

BarleyTea was holding a gun.

Almond insisted, “Then you should go.”

BarleyTea had no choice against such stubbornness. If he refused here, he would likely die on the spot.

‘Fine... I’ll find an opening somehow....’

In truth, BarleyTea was already thinking something else. There had to be another team nearby. He would latch onto them and offer these two as sacrifices. Then, he would revive himself at an empty Sanctuary of Resurrection.

“Phew... All right. I’ll scout.”

If he went scouting, he’d be separated from them. That would give him a chance to meet another team.

‘It’s just the two of them anyway.’

BarleyTea advanced carefully. Before long, another team came into view.

‘There.’

Tap tap tap.

He deliberately sped up, running toward them with both hands raised.

“Hey! There! Enemy!”

The others raised their weapons, about to shoot him down.

“Wait! I surrender!”

“Huh? He’s surrendering?”

“S-Surrender! I’m alone! You guys, killing me won’t get you anything. Just give me one more chance. There’s another team over there. They’ve got a contractor too, so you can get runes. I can lure them in. You take them out, and I’ll quietly step back and just revive.”

At BarleyTea’s words, the five members exchanged looks.

An avatar wearing sunglasses asked, “Who are they? What roles?”

“Uh... One is Sori. The other just has a shield.”

“A ranged DPS and a tank?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not with them?”

“N-No. If I step outside the line right now, I won’t revive. I’m on a different team. We were just pretending to team up.”

It sounded plausible enough. A lone survivor could be killed at any time. What mattered was the contractor.

Someone suggested from behind, “Should we go for the contractor?”

“We need runes anyway.”

“All right. Then go bait them.”

“Yes.”

BarleyTea turned around.

Thuk!

An arrow slammed into his forehead.

‘Huh...?’

Fwoosh.

Flames suddenly erupted.

‘Wha...?’

KABOOM!

With a deafening roar, smoke flooded his vision.

[Fire Arrow]

The moment Almond first met him, he had already planted three arrows and saved the fourth elemental one.

— Insane buildup

— What was that?!

— This was planned

— Smart young man...

“What the hell!?”

Even the players near BarleyTea took damage.

“Is this a suicide bombing!?”

“Shoot!”

“N-No! It’s not...”

BarleyTea waved desperately.

[Rope Movement]

Clank!

A hook bit into the back of his head.

“What!?”

Screeeeech!

The rope reeled in. Instantly, a figure closed the distance.

[Fire Arrow]

Another elemental arrow flew in.

KABOOM!

Another explosion bloomed, plunging everything into chaos.

“Damn it, enemies! That bait bastard tricked us!”

To avoid further flames, they scattered in all directions. At that moment, Almond turned back toward BarleyTea and drew his bow.

BarleyTea trembled with betrayal. “Y-You... you promised...!”

Almond answered coldly, “The Sanctuary of Resurrection is single use anyway.”

“N-No, it’s n...”

The truth never finished leaving his mouth.

Thuk!

[LazySoldier → BarleyTea]

Almond killed him as if it were only natural.

— LOLLLL

— This guy definitely knows it’s not one-time-use LOL

— Damn, he really did it like this

— He just pretended to be fooled to ease his conscience... Smart young man

— I mean, if it’s only one revive anyway, why protect it?

— This is insane LOL

This had been the plan from the start because of Sori’s kit.

[Rope Movement]

Using Rope Movement added another elemental arrow and kill participation also reset Rope Movement’s cooldown. In other words, as long as Sori got a kill, she could instantly output more than double her normal firepower.

Ziiing.

Almond zipped elsewhere and fired at Zelo’s team.

[Wind Arrow]

This time, he chose the element with the strongest single-target damage. They had scattered to avoid Fire Arrows.

Puhng!

“Ugh!”

The targeted player took an arrow to the back of the head.

Puh-buhng!

Three more followed, then another elemental arrow.

[Wind Arrow]

Puhng!

[LazySoldier → HamsterThunder]

One disappeared in an instant.

— Kya

— Strategy!? Smart young man doesn’t need that!

— That’s insane

— Where’s Bubblegum LOL

— Almond is serious today, damn

— Ohhhhh

Almond’s strategy was razor-sharp. He set up sacrifices to fuel Sori’s skills, constantly reset his cooldowns, and completely disrupted the fight.

‘Even the rune spirit.’

He finished those off perfectly too. Executing a rune spirit was simple. All he had to do was stomp on the bouncing thing. It was a bit tricky to land cleanly, but anyone could do it with experience.

‘Hup.’

Piyoo!

The rune spirit floated up with a soft sound and vanished.

[Rope Movement]

Ziiing!

He fired another Rope Movement and shot forward like an arrow himself. Suddenly, someone counter-charged and swung a blade.

Shhk!

Their speeds overlapped, turning the enemy’s attack into a terrifyingly fast slash. Almond blocked it with his bow shaft.

KAAANG!

He could only block once. The enemy twisted their blade again and finally drew blood.

Shraaaak!

‘How is he so fast?’

Even accounting for their overlapping momentum, the attack felt too fast. This enemy was definitely a contractor who specialized in speed.

‘An assassin?’

An assassin was poison to a ranged DPS.

Thud.

Almond landed and thought quickly.

‘I have to kill him immediately.’

Almond would lose if the fight dragged on. He spun and drew his bow.

Pa-ba-bang!

Three arrows instantly flew.

[Shuriken Storm Barrage]

Kagagang!

The enemy countered with a ranged skill, canceling the arrows out.

‘Huh?’

Almond tilted his head. Beyond the clashing skills, he saw a familiar face grinning.

“Well, well. Look who it is.”

Whirr.

The man with sunglasses casually twirled his sword. “Isn’t this the Lord himself?”

— Whoa?!

— Finally LOL

— He’s here

— LOLLLLLLLL

— “He chased him into LIL for revenge on father and grandfather”

— LOL Zelo

— Did Zeluto really come all the way here!?

Almond froze for a split second, failing to loose his next arrow.

‘Is this... the TruMond Show?’

First Bubblegum, and now Zelo also appeared in the same queue. This made no sense to him.

“Do you seek resurrection, young one?”

Zelo wasn’t alone.

Tap.

A man holding a shield appeared beside him. “Then overcome us.”

[Acorn Jelly]

— He’s here too??

— Acorn Jelly LOL

— Are they duo-queuing or what??

— Why did this turn into a circus LOL

— What is this even LOL

Just then, Bubblegum came running in from behind.

“Damn it! Almond, you should’ve told me before killing him! He said he was my viewer... Huh?”

He stopped short when he saw Zelo and Acorn Jelly, but for a different reason than Almond.

“Hah. So it’s finally come.” As if he had known they would meet, Bubblegum stepped up beside Almond and raised his shield. “We met too early.”

***

[Beginner’s Tip]

[Did you know? In the Abyss, there’s a saying: Enemies always meet at the Sanctuary of Resurrection.]