*>Brent: That's strange. There's only one?*
The Brent Clan had ambushed 3 players and fended off 18. They had defeated 21 players in total. There was a crowd that exceeded that number that was spectating from the edge of the War Zone. Yet, even this large group of players was hesitant to band together and take down the Clan. After all, these were random players that didn't have a leader, nor did they have the charisma and willpower of the Warroirs. Since they weren't unified, they could easily turn on each other.
In addition, some people had noticed their experience bars fill up automatically at level 0, concluding that they would automatically level up after a period of time. The consensus among the crowd was that it was not worth it to confront the Clan; they would rather idle their way to level 1.
Yet, despite this, a single user was confronting the seven. It was surely strange. The clan couldn't help but voice their surprise.
"What's this, a little girl came to play?"
The avatar in front of them was wearing a plain black outfit with two gray dots on its shoulders indicating that it was ranged. Named Fae Sol, it appeared to be that of a girl of approximately 15 to 17 years of age. However, it was a game world. An avatar of a player betrayed nothing about the user's true looks, but the fact that the avatar was female could hint at a couple of things about the user's personality. In this region, especially in full-dive VR, men were less likely to use female avatars. It was indeed more likely the user in front of them was a woman.
"Those starter items. Instead of throwing them away, you should just give them to me."
*>Kenshi: Huh?*
The words that came out of the girl's mouth made no sense. It wasn't just Kenshi - the entire Clan was struck with confusion. Not only did a solo user challenge seven others, but her demand made zero sense.
"Hahahahaha...!"
In such a bewildered state, the Clan could do nothing but laugh. Was the user of the female avatar a man or a woman? At this point, it seemed likely it was a masochistic man. It was unlikely for a woman to begin such a confrontation. And...
"Is that a joke? You should become a comedian. You'd be the funniest woman in history."
"I know, right? It's already funny enough that she wants to collect garbage, but it's even funnier that she wants to take stuff from us!"
Women weren't treated as equals in the Slyker Dynasty. In fact, the entirety of the "Abandoned Northeast", or the northeast region of Etmos was the same way. Though the technology of this region was deemed pseudo-futuristic, the cultural values seemed relatively outdated compared to the rest of the world. This was especially true when you compared them with the Southwest, which was gaining a lot of female participation in traditionally male-dominant roles.
Because of the disparity between the sexes, men oftentimes made male avatars, but there were exceptions. It was these reasons that the Clan could guess Fae Sol was likely to be a man. However, the Clan still treated Fae Sol as a woman, because that's how she appeared to them.
Just because jokes like this were made didn't mean the Clan was evil or misogynistic - this was just how society in the Abandoned Northeast functioned.
"Girl, who are you even with?"
His clanmates' pestering made Bren feel slightly uneasy, so he offered her a pressure-abating question. However...
"With? I'm alone."
His efforts backfired. The Clan was shocked into silence once again, surprised that Fae Sol would boldly admit her solitude.
"... Hey, are you serious?"
"I guess... she isn't joking? This isn't even funny anymore. Let's just get rid of her."
"One more kill, and let's report to the club president!"
"Mhm. We can definitely join the Academy's VR team and maybe even rank up to varsity next year!"
Fae was already as good as free experience in the Clan's eyes, so they began making statements as if their leveling jumpstart was a success. However, as if oblivious to the connotation of their words, Fae spoke up once again with the same nonchalant tone.
"Hold on, did you say the Academy? By chance, do you mean the Royal Academy?"
The Royal Academy was the most prestigious secondary school in the region, so the Clan couldn't miss their opportunity to boast a bit.
"Oh, it looks like the little girl knows something about it? Though it would be odd if you didn't. That's right, we're on the Royal Academy's VR club team. Since you know that much, we'll let you go."
"No, that's not it. I'm an alumnus of the academy. It really brings back memories."
"What? ... Wait, how old are you?"
Wacky statements left her mouth one after the other. How likely was it that they would meet someone that graduated from the top secondary school in the region, which encompassed multiple countries and territories? Synergy was merely a game, something that was a pastime for people with extra time on their hands. In addition, it was seen as a low-brow children's activity among the elite class. Why would a societal elite who was, at the youngest, in their early twenties be playing Synergy? The odds of encountering such a person were astronomically low. In conclusion, Fae Sol was most likely a masochist and a liar.
"Okay. Now she's just saying random shit. She's either actually fifteen years old or they've modified their voice and body to look like an fifteen year old girl. We've definitely caught a weirdo. Next thing you know, she's going to claim to be a time traveler. Can we just kill her already?"
"Yea, no point in delaying further."
>*Brent: There's only one enemy. Deal with her however you want.*
"You think you can kill me? I *am* a time traveler, by the way."
Ignoring that last bit of crucial information that came from Fae Sol's mouth, Molotov lobbed a pellet at her from a blind spot. Fae wouldn't have seen this pellet thrown, as it was thrown out from behind the body of Kenshi, who was positioned closer to the front of the cemetery's entrance. The cheap tactic failed, as Fae barely sidestepped in order to dodge. Though it looked ordinary, Bren didn't miss how she moved.
*>Brent: It looks like this isn't an ordinary enemy - that movement was really minimal. Don't drag this out; finish her off quickly!*
*>All: Got it!*
In an un-orderly fashion, a hail of pellets descended onto Fae who dodged them easily. However, this was not unexpected.
*>Liuzhi: At a rate of 4 pellets per second, there's no way we'll hit her at this distance.*
Liuzhi's analysis was accurate. The enemy was standing approximately 15 metron away, and the throwing strength of a level 0 ranged unit was equivalent to an average human's. In addition, level 0 attacks were restricted to one per second, and there were 4 ranged units in the Clan. Though some uncoordinated individuals may take multiple hits, Bren's warning had already set the Clan's expectations.
*>Brent: You're right. Everyone, close the distance and surround her!*
With this command, all seven members moved in unison to cut off the enemy's path of retreat. At this point, nobody in the Clan was considering that the singular adversary could escape. They began to create a horseshoe formation around the entrance of the cemetery. It was impossible to leave a War Zone if the system deemed you were in combat. Due to this, it would be a perfect encirclement. Though Fae hadn't taken any damage, she existed in the same War Zone as a non-ally. This was enough for the system to consider her "in combat". While in combat, no one was allowed to leave the War Zone unless one side perished. Of course, the Clan didn't let up their constant rain of pellets. With the loot they had collected, limited ammunition was a non-issue.
The seven members began to circle in, but the adversary did something slightly unexpected - she sprinted towards her left. Due to the Clan having an odd number of members, one side would naturally be less guarded. In this case, the threatened side only had 3 defenders, while the idle side had 4.
*So not only is her movement good, but so are her decision-making capabilities... She's definitely a skilled player.*
Though Bren's respect for the foe grew, in his mind, Fae was still as good as dead. Not only was it a one versus seven scenario, but the seven would level up soon from the automatic experience granted from the system at level 0. He didn't know how close she was to level 1, but it was impossible for her to be closer to it than the Clan. During the alpha testing phase, Bren had scoured the Uval Hamlet for any clues on how to level up faster. No method was faster than killing players in a War Zone. Even though the public release of the game had decreased this amount, Bren was still confident that it was the fastest method.
Regardless, her decision-making was still excellent. In a split second, she determined that she had to avoid being surrounded. And since she couldn't leave the cemetery due to being "in combat", she predicted how the Clan would move in order to surround her and dashed towards the less-defended side.
*>Brent: Allux and Molotov, we'll collapse on her! The rest, fan out!*
Though the words were few, the command was clear. Bren, Allux, and Molotov, the ones on the less-defended side, rushed at Fae directly, while Adverse, Kenshi, Liuzhi, and Ryozaki fanned out in a straight line perpendicular to the cemetery wall and began running parallel to it.
The Uval Cemetery was a perfect square in shape with the entrance being in the middle of one of its edges. It was 500 by 500 metron (unusually large for a structure in the territory of a hamlet), and it was bordered with smooth and extremely tall stone walls. In other words, though it would take a level 0 character about a minute and a half to run from one side to the other, it was impossible for one to leave the cemetery from anywhere other than the exit.
Though victory should be certain, the strange nature of the course of events thus far made Bren feel uneasy. Why did a solitary player walk into the cemetery after onlookers had witnessed the Clan's performance?
*Did she not hear about what we did? That's not possible - everyone out there was talking about us. What's her plan? There's no way she's just planning to die. If that were the case, she would have already done it. Is she planning to stall us out? Will she no longer be considered "in combat" after a certain period of time? That shouldn't be possible... If that were true, I would have heard about it. Is there a secret exit somewhere? I guess it's possible, the odds are low. I definitely scoured most of the ground here. Is there a secret method to somehow annihilate all of us? That would be insane. Is she... practicing her combat skills?*
Bren thought that the last option was a likely possibility. Level 0 was the least significant level in terms of experience required to level up, and the beginning phases of the game were also the most lenient when it came to player deaths. The more Bren thought about this, the more he realized that it was a pretty smart move. As a training maniac himself, Bren couldn't help but inwardly applaud.
*A pretty reliable training method. Too bad that it won't last long.*
If everything went according to Bren's plan, the Clan would catch up to Fae with ease. The ranged units would throw pellets at her nonstop, forcing her to dodge. These dodges would result in a time loss, as she would need to deviate from the optimal zigzag line through the rows of tombstones in order to do so. Though the running made the ranged units' throws more inaccurate, it wouldn't result in any reduction in their speed. Since all level 0 units were the same speed, they would eventually catch up. However...
*>Molotov: What the hell is going on here? It's like she's not even dodging!*
Fae's time loss was minimal. In fact, it was almost as if she were running normally with no pellets in her way.
Almost.
*>Allux: Indeed... It's like she has eyes in the back of her head. We are definitely gaining on her, though, so don't give up.*
Of course, it was impossible for her to maintain full speed while dodging. Level 0 avatars weren't incorporeal. However, the fact that she wasn't slowed down very much was a testament to her skill.
*>Brent: Keep firing - our formation is airtight. She wouldn't be able to turn around now even if she wanted to.*
The seven players were expertly running Fae along the side of the wall, leaving her with no option but to press forward. Eventually, they would hit the corner of the Zone, making it simple to surround and kill her. This was the plan, but...
"..."
"What..."
"How...?"
Fae leaped off the ground, split-step fashion, and seamlessly continued her run atop the tombstones as if it were nothing special.
In context, how impressive was this?
One unique aspect of the Uval Cemetery was that the further from the entrance you ventured, the taller the tombstones became. Though the tombstones were below waist height at first, they were over 1.5 metron tall at this point. To be able to lift yourself to that height with the strength of an average person was a masterclass in jump timing. Not only that, but each row of tombstones was approximately 2 metron apart from each other. Though it made for an extremely crowded running space, it was extremely difficult to run and jump with a precise stride length of two metron. And finally, the tops of the tombstones were rounded and slick, which resulted in insubstantial footing. This was nothing short of a weight distribution and balance spectacle.
However, this seemed like a dumb move. Since the tombstones were getting taller, why would she jump on top of them? They would soon exceed 2-3 metron in height, and running through the cemetery would be akin to running through a dense forest. It would be much easier to dodge and avoid contact with others by running through the gaps. Since Fae was on top of the stones, though, it made her an easy target for all of the ranged units. It was true that melees would eventually be no longer able to reach her, but this tradeoff didn't seem worth it.
*What's going on here?*
Bren felt like something was off. There was no way a skilled player like her didn't know what she was doing.
"Everyone, stop."
Bren made sure to say this out loud so that Fae could hear. Within two seconds, everyone came to a standstill. There were two reasons for this.
The first was that he wanted to establish his enemy's motive.
"...Hey. Why aren't you attacking?"
Though it was phrased like this, he really meant, "What the hell are you doing?"
Fae was purely on the defensive. In Bren's mind, there was no way for her to win this fight without firing a single pellet. But...
"Because I don't need to."
"..."
Her answer betrayed nothing.
"Bren, she's clearly making fun of us. If she continues like this, we'll eventually win anyway. Why don't we just continue?"
This was the second reason - by simply waiting one more minute, Bren would level up to 1, and the rest would level up shortly after. Logically, there was no way they could lose a 7v1. But what if it somehow happened? That was impossible; how *could* it happen?
*Something doesn't feel right, though.*
Bren held doubt, and he was hoping that it would be removed if they were to out-level their opponent.
But Bren's doubts would soon come to manifest.
"Alright, boys. Playtime's over."
A/N: Discord link in synopsis. Check it out!