DUO SQUAD. The Hunt Begins.
-Now starting the introductory guide for first-time players entering Cloyd Survival.
This game lasts for 100 days, and each day, the map available for play will be limited.
The barrier that restricts the map will grow stronger by the day, so be cautious and avoid being harmed outside its bounds.
This game version is the Quad Version. You may choose someone and request to form a quad team with them.
The game continues until only one final quad team remains. Once the game ends or you're eliminated, you'll return to your original world.
Anyone who fails to rank in the Top 120 will never be able to access Cloyd Survival again. The current total number of participants is 400.
We wish you victory, players.
Please find teammates to form a squad and proceed with the game. You have 30 minutes. If you don't form a team within that time, you'll play solo.
***
As Seowoon stared at the three men, he sent a quad request to Kichan. Taken aback by the sudden invitation, Kichan looked back at Seowoon and accepted his request.
"We're taking those bastards out—no matter what."
Jongcheon, who had been eyeing Seowoon with a mocking sneer, spoke to his teammates.
"Move. Opportunities like this don't come often. All three of us landing in the same match—it's fate. Find teammates focused on shamans or alchemists."
The three men dispersed and began making contact with players around them. Seeing this, Kichan spoke up.
"Hyung, we should find teammates too…"
"No. We're going as we are."
"What?!"
Kichan's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Seowoon, clearly wondering if Seowoon truly understood the weight of what he had just said.
"I get why you're worried. But this game has a different top priority. If we team up with others, there'll just be constant disagreements, and we won't be able to act quickly."
"Still…"
Looking around anxiously, Kichan's eyes seemed to ask if Seowoon really didn't understand the danger.
"I know. I haven't seen many newbies. Most of these players look experienced. But trust me and follow my lead."
"Haah… Okay."
Seowoon never took his eyes off Jongcheon, watching his every move.
Once the trio appeared to have finalized their quad, Seowoon walked up to them.
"That guy's heading this way."
Said Daljin, his bald head gleaming. Jongcheon glanced over at the approaching Seowoon.
"Well, this is awkward. We already formed our team."
"Map."
Ignoring Jongcheon's comment, Seowoon summoned the map and zoomed into a specific location.
"The Parda Mines. Wait for me at the entrance. If you're confident, drop there, and let's finish this."
"Heh… You sure? Being left behind is more miserable than you think."
Seowoon turned away with a slight twist to his lips.
"Just wait five minutes."
As he walked away, Kichan came up beside him and whispered:
"Hyung, even 3v2 is rough… And that guy in the tattered robe joined them too."
"I know. But he probably won't show. If he does, that's best case."
"What?"
"We're not going to the Parda Mines. We're heading to Dallia Lake."
"What?!"
Kichan was left wide-eyed and confused, clearly not understanding the plan. Just as Seowoon was about to explain, a system voice chimed in.
-Player Jin Seowoon. Your Play PMP is now fully charged. If you survive this round, you will be promoted to a fixed player.-
"Hyung… I…"
"Promotion message?"
"You too? I thought this was just a tutorial match… Feels surreal."
After over a year of repeating this survival game more than ten times, it was only natural that the idea of promotion would feel unreal.
For Seowoon, who was only on his third run, it didn't carry quite the same weight.
-Soon, you'll share vision through the Eye of Argas. From its sky-spanning view, simply shout 'Descend' at your desired location to safely land. You can collect more items by choosing your landing spot wisely. Be aware: if you don't descend manually, you'll be dropped at the final location automatically.-
-Game initializing…-
As the perspective shifted and the distant ground came into view through the clouds, Seowoon shouted:
"Team window!"
A semi-transparent screen popped up, displaying the name Kang Kichan and a basic status of his health.
-Kichan, can you hear me?
-Yes! Hyung, but why did you even tell those guys to go to the Parda Mines?
-That mine's in a lowland area. It's near large villages and has a mix of forest and settlements. Any strategic player would find it appealing.
-That makes sense, but what does that have to do with telling them directly…?
-It's bait. On a map this big, it's practically impossible to actively hunt them down. I just gave them a hint—'I'll be landing here.' Whether they believe it or not, they're now more likely to drop nearby.
"You're saying it was a hint?"
"It's like rock-paper-scissors.
If you play without saying anything, your opponent chooses randomly.
But if I say 'I'm going to throw rock,' they base their decision on my words.
They'll try to read whether I'm telling the truth or bluffing and choose accordingly to win.
All I did was play that kind of mind game on them."
"But what if they don't believe you and go in a totally different direction?"
"Then there's nothing I can do. Still, there's no harm in trying, right?"
"That's true."
They couldn't see each other's faces, so it wasn't obvious, but Kichan was quite impressed.
He hadn't imagined that Seowoon would calculate all that in such a short time and initiate a psychological battle.
He had been worried Seowoon was just getting emotional, making reckless plays and ruining things for Cloyd over something from Earth.
But realizing it was all a part of such a calculated plan—it made Seowoon seem like a completely different person from the one on Earth.
"So you picked this lake for the drop point too…?"
"Of course."
Dahlia's Lake was unusually high in elevation, almost like a crater lake, and there weren't many villages nearby. It was located behind the Pardha Mine.
While the mine was lower in elevation and closer to forests and villages, the lake—being high and behind the mine—made it an unappealing drop location for most players just glancing at the map.
There weren't many good places to loot on such high terrain, so Seowoon had only one reason to come down there.
"Still, isn't a 4-on-2 against experienced players risky?"
"It is. That's why you have to stick to the plan."
"Oh! What's the plan?"
"Surprise assault!"
"Ah…"
It wasn't really a strategy—just the most basic tactic imaginable.
"Kichan, do you know what the best kind of looting is?"
"What kind?"
Kichan asked with disinterest. Seowoon responded confidently.
"Looting people."
"Huh? Never heard that one before…"
"It's a saying from Rogue. Remember it."
Kichan stayed silent as Seowoon quoted something from a game.
It wasn't because he didn't want to respond—it was because it was almost time to drop, and he was calculating the timing.
A small red dot marked by Seowoon was glowing on the map.
"Drop!"
The two of them jumped.
They flipped their bodies at nearly the exact same time, and scanned for other descending players.
"I see three over there."
Seowoon said, turning his body again to check for more.
As they landed on the forest surrounding the lake, Kichan shouted:
"Twelve players total! Looks like three squads!"
"No one came toward the lake. They're clustering around the city far behind and the twelve you saw are heading toward the mine. Let's move."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the two dashed down the forest.
They moved like flowing water through the irregular forest terrain, until they suddenly came to a stop.
Seowoon, in the lead, raised his hand and looked back at Kichan.
"From here, we scout."
Where they had stopped, the forest ended and a steep slope opened up into bare land—no cover.
Beyond this point lay the Pardha Mine Seowoon had mentioned to Jongcheon.
Kichan nodded, and Seowoon quickly climbed a tall tree, reaching the thick leafy top in seconds.
Kichan followed, choosing a neighboring tree and fixing his gaze on the mine, forest, and surrounding villages.
"Nothing in sight so far."
Kichan's voice carried clearly from the nearby tree.
"They're probably still looting. I'll focus on the mine and forest—you watch the villages."
"Got it."
While they maintained their high vantage point and kept watch, Kichan was the first to spot enemies.
"Two targets in the small village to the right. They're wearing robes."
"Confirmed. One enemy at the mine, too. Looks like a martial artist—coming out of the mine after killing monsters. Wait… is that a goblin?"
Kichan quickly looked over. A woman who clearly looked like a warrior was cutting down a stubby red-skinned monster.
Her swordplay was elegant and efficient as she dispatched more than eight small monsters—it was clear she wasn't an amateur.
"It's a mutant goblin. They use those oversized iron clubs and fight at close range, so they're easier to deal with than normal goblins."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Normal goblins have dark green skin and usually attack from a distance with poison darts or arrows—they're a pain. These guys are just strong, but not really dangerous. If you're lucky, they drop skin-enhancing potions that are super effective. You could sell 20mL for around five million won. Just one day of use and it smooths out wrinkles. They say if you use it for 100 days, it makes you look 10 years younger—like magic."
"Oh! Fancy stuff!"
"If we were in Kualté, they'd be really expensive. There, they drop defective skin potions when you kill them."
"!!!"
Seowoon's eyes sparkled.
He suddenly remembered something he read at the item exchange center.
"A potion that prevents hair loss!!!"
It became painfully clear that this wasn't Kualte.
In the meantime, the woman had already taken down eight goblins and was now scanning the surroundings.
"Is she alone?"
"Hard to say. If she were alone and not an idiot, wouldn't she go for camping instead of farming?"
"What if she's confident in her skills and trying solo squad? Like you did?"
"I was in a duo, remember? And it wasn't really confidence—I was just flustered by the unfamiliar rules and couldn't find a teammate."
"Oh…"
Kichan had never imagined that Seowoon, who had once terrorized other players with near-massacres in the previous game, would have such a backstory.
While Kichan stared blankly for a moment, Seowoon spoke up.
"They've shown up. Her teammates."
Two figures approached the woman with light footwork, while another—blonde and cloaked—glided in smoothly on an airboard.
"One mage, three warriors."
"That guy in the middle might not be a martial artist by main class."
Seowoon pointed to a man clad in light armor with ripped sleeves, exposing thick arms protected by black armor. Kichan nodded in agreement.
Martial artists took great pride in their martial skills—some even obsessed over superior techniques compared to skills or magic from other worlds—but that didn't mean all of them were like that.
"Are we trying now?"
"Are you crazy? I told you—it's a surprise strike."
"Then what's the plan?"
"Just wait. That other team is wrapping up over there."
Another squad was now appearing from the village, making their way down between the houses.
"Think those two squads will clash this early? There are plenty of villages nearby."
"If they won't fight, we'll just make them fight."
Seowoon twisted his lips into a grin. That expression felt alien compared to the Seowoon Kichan knew in real life.
It was the face of the demon-like player who had once brought despair to others, now clearly enjoying the game itself.
Kichan, who had grown close enough to joke around with Seowoon, swallowed hard as he saw the excitement in his friend's eyes.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"What else? I'll just make sure the two teams run into each other and can't back out. I don't like not having light footwork, but I've already figured out their movement… You got a spare robe?"
Still stunned, Kichan pulled out a robe meant for himself from his subspace and handed it over.
[Ding! Magic resistance increases. Magic casting speed increases by 10%.]
"A gear with bonuses, huh? I'll use it well and return it in good shape. Keep watch here and let me know the moment something unusual happens."
With those words, Seowoon took off running down the hill, robe fluttering behind him.
***
"Think the bastard's still waiting there?"
Jongchan scoffed and nodded.
"Didn't you see how worked up he was? He looked like he was dying to kill us right then and there. I'd bet he's still there—or somewhere nearby watching us."
Chilsang slammed his shield to the ground with a disgruntled look.
-Thud!
"There was no reason to back off. We should've finished it there!"
"You idiot. That guy wasn't alone. His buddy was a strong mage. Probably two more players would've joined the fight—could you have handled that? No need to take risks. No reason to waste our early farming time in a pointless fight. We'll meet them again—maybe tomorrow or the day after—as we farm nearby. That's why we settled around here."
As the three finished up their looting in a small village far from the mines and moved toward their next destination, a man in a robe trailing behind them joined the conversation.
"You think a real-life enemy is tracking you?"
"Yeah, but it's nothing to worry about. It's no big deal," Daljin said, waving his hand.
The robed middle-aged man nodded, though his expression remained uneasy.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]