There were a total of five floating islands in the upper levels.
At the center was a massive island of overwhelming size. Surrounding it, four smaller outer islands were positioned like satellites.
The central island was protected by a translucent barrier. A few impatient players immediately rushed toward it—
[‘Neanderthal’ has died.]
—and met their deaths.
[Squad] Vice-Commander – WhiteNoise: If you go to the central island now, you’ll die -.-
The way to disable the barrier was to destroy the sanctums inside the temples located on the four outer islands.
Unaware of this, several newbies charged in like moths to a flame, triggering death messages one after another. Only then did WhiteNoise, the vice-commander, belatedly offer guidance.
[Squad] Commander – noise: Start with the east island. GOGOGOGO
Following the command, the players all moved in unison toward the eastern island, forming a wave of white-colored usernames. Sa-yoon also checked the direction on his minimap and followed suit.
[PVP combat zone entered.]
As soon as they landed on the island where the temple was located, a system message appeared. This meant that from this point onward, all enemies encountered would be subject to PVP combat effects.
Among players, opinions were split on this system—some called it a mistake by the developers at Wartum, while others speculated that it was a feature intended for future updates.
For Sa-yoon, however, this rule was the one and only gift Wartum had ever given him, aside from their dazzling graphics and an endless stream of frustration.
If he had to grind the final PVE gear as a Warlock, he would have quit before autumn even arrived.
As he activated the macro assigned to his hotkey, his outfit changed instantly. A familiar uniform appeared—Traviata attire, dyed navy.
“Ah.”
It was the exact same outfit that 44 used to wear. Sa-yoon clenched his teeth, the sound of his molars grinding together sharply audible.
Traviata uniforms were a staple in the game, so he hadn’t thought much about it even when 44 wore the same set. After all, dye choices and individual gear customization made each outfit look different.
Some days, they had even laughed about their matching outfits on the battlefield, calling it a couple look. The screenshots from that day were still saved on his hard drive.
“Crazy bastard.”
How could someone be so damn deceitful? Was he actually a full-blown psychopath?
Sa-yoon, feeling as if he had just chugged a bowl of Wonhyo’s skull water, trembled with rage. The mere fact that Killer was wearing the same outfit as him made his skin crawl.
The moment this raid was over, he was deleting those screenshots and changing his outfit immediately. He had plenty of cosmetic items sitting in his storage. Keeping that thought in mind, Sa-yoon stepped into the temple.
The narrow entrance led into an ongoing battle. Armed priests were already engaged in combat with the players. Each enemy had a red name above their heads, marking them as aggressive targets.
The priests had considerable health pools, but sheer numbers were an unbeatable advantage. The enemies blocking the hallway were swiftly taken down.
[You have gained 197 points from an Eastern Island Priest.]
[You have gained 241 points from an Eastern Island Priest.]
[You have gained 54 points from an Eastern Island Priest.]
As the priests fell one by one, point notifications popped up. Last time, he had been unlucky and got killed by a priest, losing his chance to earn points at the next island.
[The Eastern Sanctum has been destroyed.]
[You have gained 576 points from the Eastern Sanctum.]
[The barrier surrounding the War God’s Treasury is weakening.]
[The commander has acquired the Blue Slate.]
[Squad] Commander – noise: Next island GOGOGOGO
Sa-yoon, who had just summoned his Black Mage to head south, hesitated. What the hell? He should at least specify which island next.
“He did say earlier that we’re moving clockwise—east, south, west, north.”
Technically, that meant stopping by the eastern island first, then following the sequence of southeast, southwest, and northwest. Sa-yoon understood noise’s pattern of rotating around the islands, but there was no guarantee that everyone else did.
There were newbies and transferred players from other servers—shouldn’t he give clearer instructions?
[General] Chasa: Which island? Be more specific.
[Squad] Commander – noise: Don’t talk over command. You’re getting blocked.
[Squad] Vice-Commander – WhiteNoise: South island, gogogo.
What kind of bullshit is that?
All Sa-yoon asked for was clearer instructions.
There were no level restrictions for siege battles. That meant this was really for the low-level newbies. Muttering a pointless defense to no one in particular, he took off into the sky.
[The Northern Sanctum has been destroyed.]
[The commander has acquired the Red Slate.]
[You have gained 318 points from the Northern Sanctum.]
[The barrier surrounding the War God’s Treasury has disappeared.]
[The War God Ares has manifested.]
[Squad] Commander – noise: Main island, gogogo.
“…Something feels off.”
They had just cleared three islands in succession and destroyed the sanctum on the fourth and final island.
But today, noise’s leading felt oddly sloppy—vague, unhelpful, and unusually careless. It was a level of discomfort he had never experienced in previous siege battles.
It’s not like the raid strategy suddenly changed, so what’s going on?
Cygnus was a small server, so except for its early days, noise had always been the commander. And this strategy wasn’t any different from before.
[Squad] Commander – noise: Enter the colosseum, gogogo.
“Ah.”
Now he got it.
He had gotten too used to the clean, precise calls from Oath’s Vow these past few weeks. They say a person can adjust to an upgrade, but downgrading is unbearable…
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Sa-yoon landed on the outskirts of the main island, where the barrier had just disappeared.
[The War God Ares has noticed the intruders!]
[‘Skygazer’ has been struck down by divine punishment.]
[‘AngelHeart’ has been struck down by divine punishment.]
[‘TavernGuide’ has been struck down by divine punishment.]
The main island was now officially a death zone.
Bolts of lightning rained down from the sky in rapid succession, and the combat log filled with death notifications.
[General] Diamin: Guys, I just died for the third time—is this normal?
[General] SparrowWren: FFS, why is the lightning so damn strong? ㅠㅠ
[General] Shokrates: Because it’s lightning, obviously. ㅇㅅㅇ
[General] TavernGuide: Someone please revive me hereㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ
[General] Viper: You can respawn at the temporary sanctum on the east island.
[General] AlreadyMidnight: Is it just me, or is there way more lightning than usual today?
[General] VeggieBurrito: This is the normal amount, sir.
The lightning strikes were completely random, designed to kill at least a few players. They would continue falling across the entire island until the siege was over, meaning that if you were unlucky, you could die over and over just from divine punishment alone.
To make matters worse, the lightning had an area-of-effect blast. Even being near the impact site would shave off a chunk of HP.
Sa-yoon had made it halfway from the outer edge to the center. By now, he should have died at least once.
His luck was absurdly good today.
The moment he had that thought, a bolt of lightning came crashing down directly above his head. Yeah, that’s more like it.
[You have been struck by divine punishment.]
[Devil’s Deception has activated.]
[High-rank demon Vine has returned to Hell.]
But an experienced siege player always came prepared.
Devil’s Deception was a skill that transferred all damage taken by the summoner to the summoned demon instead. One extra life had just been spent.
Stepping off the main path, Sa-yoon moved to the side and resummoned his demon.
[Combat] High-rank demon Vine has been summoned by Contractor ‘Chasa.’
[Summoning has been canceled.]
“Ah, shit.”
A bolt of lightning struck right next to him, dealing AoE damage. The skill was interrupted, and his HP dropped by more than half. If he had summoned just a single step closer, he would’ve been instantly killed—so in a way, his luck still wasn’t that bad.
But then, something strange happened.
His HP suddenly shot back to full.
He glanced at the combat log, but the text was scrolling too fast, buried under a flood of skill activations.
Did someone just toss me a heal in passing?
[General] Chasa: Thank you.
It wasn’t impossible, so he simply sent a quick message in general chat to express his thanks. Then, after successfully resummoning his demon, he started running again.
[Squad] Commander – noise: Clearing the path before proceeding.
Lightning wasn’t the only thing blocking the way from the outer island to the temple’s colosseum-style entrance.
The path was overgrown with thick vegetation, and hidden among the dense shrubbery were monsters lying in ambush, attacking the players as they approached.
They were Ares’ subordinates. The death notifications kept piling up.
Ding!
“Ah, fuck.”
Right from the nearby bushes, a monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a human lunged at him, swinging a massive club.
The surprise attack shaved off 30% of his fragile summoner HP in an instant. For something so goofy-looking, the damn thing hit hard.
Startled, Sa-yoon hurriedly activated his shield and backed away.
The eagle-man screeched and charged after him, its club raised high.
If this had been a party play, a healer would have restored his HP, and a tank would have taken the aggro. But in solo play, he had to deal with everything on his own.
And in siege battles, selfishness was the norm.
No one was going to take aggro off him.
Should’ve run through the center instead of sticking to the edges!
He sent his summoned creature forward, but the damn eagle was still locked onto him. It swung its club again—
His HP plummeted.
Only 30% left.
