The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 117

“Is there only one left now?”

The number of survivors is now 81. As soon as it reaches 80, a zone that was locked opens up.

Bae Dohyun, checking the number of survivors, crossed his arms and stared at the fortress in front of him.

The fortress walls were 10m high. Surrounding the fortress, a moat 15m wide was dug out and filled with water. There was only one path leading to the castle gate. A stone bridge, 3m wide, was the only way across.

“They took such care to dig the moat and yet it’s a stone bridge instead of a drawbridge….”

From a structural perspective, it seemed a bit problematic, but since it was a fantastically conjured space, he wondered if it even mattered.

It didn’t make sense for the water in the moat to be rushing like a stream right after the rainy season, nor did it make sense to build a 10m high fortress to guard a small pagoda no more than 50m in diameter.

“It’s all prepared, prepared.”

An artificially shaped terrain designed to secure a geographical advantage if anyone were to occupy it.

Upon Raul’s request to add more tension to the test, Zone 1 had taken on this bizarre form.

And Bae Dohyun had arrived at the front of Zone 1 at this time to utilize this geographical advantage.

“When will they show themselves….”

Taking out a folding chair from his inventory, Bae Dohyun placed it in the middle of the stone bridge and sat back comfortably against the castle gate, gazing out at the city.

There was a courtyard of about 100m between Zone 1 and the other zones. Therefore, if someone approached, they could be easily identified at a glance.

Suddenly, an arrow flew from afar.

“Are you testing me?”

Bae Dohyun didn’t even think of getting up, simply extending his right hand to catch the arrow.

Given that it was accurately aimed at his heart from a distance of over 100m, it was possible that the shooter had skill adjustments or was a real-life archer.

However, Bae Dohyun was not the kind to kindly accept an arrow flying directly at him.

Whether they had sensed his abilities or not, the arrow didn’t come flying back, and there was no sign of the shooter revealing themselves.

But whether they liked it or not, they would eventually come to attack. Once the final 10 minutes of the preliminary time elapsed, all zones except Zone 1 would disappear.

As Bae Dohyun had occupied the only path to Zone 1, the stone bridge, a confrontation was inevitable.

“Well, there’s still time.”

Only 30 minutes had passed now.

Anticipating how other players would move in the remaining hour, Bae Dohyun leisurely hummed a tune, enjoying his relaxation.

* * *

“There he is!”

Seohyun spotted someone standing on the stone bridge in front of the distant castle gate. Although she couldn’t see his face clearly, it was definitely Bae Dohyun.

Who else would display such a nonchalant attitude in the middle of a battlefield like that?

The distance was roughly 100 meters. With the system correction, if she gave her all, she could reach him in about 12 seconds.

Seohyun couldn’t be sure if Bae Dohyun would really help her. Even if he did join her, they were still outnumbered, with over ten pursuers on their heels.

Perhaps she might inadvertently drag Bae Dohyun into trouble because of her own predicament.

“But I have no choice,” she thought.

She hadn’t come here on her own accord, and there was no turning back now. Seohyun took a deep breath, then sprinted out from the alley towards the castle gate at full speed.

Simultaneously, she activated the special skill she obtained upon reaching Level 20.

“[Sense of Reclamation] Activate!”

Suddenly, despite not directly seeing it with her eyes, she sensed the terrain around her and felt new sensations she had never been aware of before.

This was a part of her Inheritance as a Silver Fox Starlight. She had tested this skill a few times before, but using it in such a dire situation was a first for her.

“Running out to the open field to die, are you crazy?”

“Shoot, kill her!”

“No place to hide. The one who catches her first wins!”

The voices of the Chinese players chasing after her echoed in her ears as if she was wearing earphones.

Whizz, ping! Thud!

She felt arrows and bolts being shot towards her exposed back by the pursuers. In the midst of this life-threatening situation where it seemed like the arrows would pierce her at any moment, she surprisingly remained calm.

Thud, swish.

Without even looking back, she deftly evaded around a dozen arrows with just a slight movement of her body.

“What’s going on?”

“She’s playing tricks. Keep shooting!”

However, the danger was far from over. Avoiding the arrows slowed her down, and the Chinese players continued to target her relentlessly.

When Bae Dohyun saw her and stood up from his seat, she shouted loudly, “Watch out!”

She didn’t even know herself why she yelled “Watch out” instead of “Help me.”

Perhaps it was out of guilt for drawing Bae Dohyun into this situation, or maybe it was a newfound sense of pride that didn’t want to accept help from others now.

Either way, it was a futile cry for help. Since Zone 1 had not yet been opened, there seemed to be nowhere to escape to.

As she dodged and weaved, the sensation of impending danger was building within her. Even if she was trying her best, it was impossible to dodge every arrow perfectly.

Several arrows grazed her shoulders, Calves, and forearms, causing sharp pains. As a result, her speed gradually slowed, and her movements became sluggish.

“Just a little more…!”

While she was frantically running, Bae Dohyun passed by her and said, “Keep running straight into the castle gate.”

“…! When?”

She couldn’t believe that someone who was on their feet just a moment ago was now here. However, she didn’t have the luxury to open her mouth, she just had to focus on running forward.

As she was about to reach the gate, a small window popped up in front of her.

“The number of survivors has dropped below 80. Zone 1, previously locked, will now be open.”

Gugugung.

The semi-transparent barrier surrounding the fortress disappeared, and the large wooden castle gate began to open with a slight vibration.

***

“Hmm?”

In the distance, there was a clamorous commotion. The figures of players moving across the roofs of buildings began to be faintly visible.

Finally, the one who appeared was Han Seohyun, a South Korean player who was the summoner that guided him in the exam room. She looked very vulnerable as she was being chased.

“What should I do?”

He honestly didn’t want to get involved in the conflicts between other players. Just because she was a South Korean player didn’t make her special.

He wouldn’t attack first, but he also had no intention of offering help first.

“Well, if she asks for help, I can’t just ignore her.”

As he stood up with those thoughts in mind, Han Seohyun, whom he met eye to eye, seemed like she was about to say something.

“Probably asking for help.”

However, the words “Stay away” popped out of her mouth instead.

“Oh.”

To Dohyun’s surprise, his heart warmed slightly at the unexpected response. He had intended to just let her be, but it seemed like it would be okay to move more actively.

Quietly, Dohyun took out an extra spear from his inventory and activated the “Flicker” skill. Flicker was a teleportation skill in the supernatural ability category.

It had a short distance but could be activated instantly without delay, though it had restrictions on the number of uses and cooldown.

Still, if used well, it could change the situation and even be used as a survival tactic. In the recent battle with the group led by Shoichiro, he could extract their souls precisely because of the combination of Flicker and Psychokinesis.

Pop.

In an instant, Dohyun reduced the distance by 30m, pushing his body with Psychokinesis, accelerating quickly.

Then, swiftly, he passed by Han Seohyun, spinning the spear like a windmill.

Thud. Thwack! Thwack!

Arrows and bolts aimed at Han Seohyun’s back fell to the ground with a rush. Angered Chinese players with a boar-like expression rushed towards Dohyun.

“Where do you think you’re playing the hero? Get lost!”

“You foolish Korean bastard!”

“Die!”

Facing them, each holding a spear, sword, or blade, Dohyun also ran towards them, moving his spear.

Swoosh! Thunk, clunk!

“S-plurt….”

A concise thrust of Dohyun’s spear at the fool’s neck, who even jumped with the spear, made a hole, and the follow-through swing pushed the sword fighter sideways, forcing him to roll on the ground.

Thud, thud.

Without recognizing the opponent’s skill and charging recklessly, the foolish trio failed to properly block Dohyun’s spear, ending up with holes in their necks.

“…Crazy!”

A distant roaring sound faintly echoed.

Thud, whoosh. Of course, arrows kept flying. However, Dohyun simply stepped lightly, shaking his body to dodge the arrows.

Then, he loosened the bow hanging on his back, fired an arrow at the trio as a warning, and as they felt the threat, the attacks that were flying towards him stopped.

“Well, with skill adjustments, you can hit your target while moving, but there’s no need to go that far.”

A brief lull occurred, and Bae Dohyun, taking slow steps back, managed to retreat safely to the upper part of the stone bridge where he originally stood.

“Are you alright?”

When did she climb up there? Han Seohyun was aiming her bow towards the city from right above the castle gate, with blood dripping from various parts of her body, giving the impression that she climbed up to the castle as soon as she entered.

“It’s okay. Let’s treat the wounds first since it’s not like they’ll easily come after us for a while.”

Bae Dohyun comfortably replied, pulling out a chair to sit near the front of the castle gate.

“Just a moment, I’ll come down first.”

As she descended, she immediately bowed deeply.

“Thank you for saving me! And I apologize for attracting the enemies. It wasn’t intentional, and I feel truly ashamed for putting you, Bae Dohyun, in danger.”

A slight smile formed on Bae Dohyun’s lips at her heartfelt apology. Perhaps it was nothing special, but having experienced countless who didn’t even follow these basic manners, it was a rare occurrence.

“It’s okay. I have to take responsibility for what I said before the test started. First, treat the wounds. Otherwise, you might die from excessive bleeding.”

As Bae Dohyun accepted the apology, Han Seohyun seemed to relax, letting out a relieved sigh as she sank down to the floor.

She administered simple first aid using medical supplies from her inventory, while Bae Dohyun kept an eye out for enemies, looking towards the city once again.

After finishing the treatment, Han Seohyun climbed back to the castle ready to fight and asked, “But why are you still here, Bae Dohyun? You’ve already raised your kill count enough. There’s no need for you to keep fighting here. Oh, if it’s an uncomfortable question, you don’t have to answer.”

“Well, there could be several reasons… If I had to say, maybe I want to confirm my abilities with so many players here without worry. Opportunities to fight so freely with this many players don’t come easily.”

Although there was no absolute need to answer her question, it was necessary to provide some explanation, even if just for the viewers watching this scene, to prevent rumors of him being a cold-blooded killer for no reason.

“Oh.”

Han Seohyun somewhat envied Bae Dohyun who confidently spoke words that might seem unfortunate. Who could criticize him when he backed up his words not just with talk but with his skills?

“Could I become as confident as that if I study at the academy?”

And then it suddenly came to her. The fact that there were four pieces of golden feather statues stored in her bosom.

Just as she was about to ask about it, Bae Dohyun stood up from his seat and said, “Someone’s coming again. Get ready to fight.”

Seohyun ‘s expression tensed once more.

(To be continued…)