Chapter 77

Judging by the line-up. It is very likely I will face off against Dalbir next...

...

No, he is dangerous. He doesn't rely on traps but guns and sight and maybe on hearing, rendering my clones almost useless. He is bound to notice I am using a clone too and will aim for my main body instead when I am controlling my clones, that's one of the major weaknesses I cannot expose.

So how? Should I try to find out what Lustzn use to get Dalbir on her side and then from there try to ally...

No... I can't. I still need to prove to Joseph, I can't back off now, I need to find a way to defeat Dalbir.

...

I lie in my bed staring at the ceiling.

Today... was very tiring and exciting.

...

I heard only a professional shooter can compete against another professional shooter. Many gamers seem to agree with this.

Good and professional shooters won't even allow melee fighters to get close. Even if a melee fighter did get close, they can switch from a sniper rifle to a normal revolver, with lots of variation.

Thus, very good shooters are a nightmare...

Distance, speed, power. Ranged weapons can cover all of that. Therefore stuff like swordsmanship or martial arts is rendered useless on an actual battlefield with firearms. How to cover such a distance without being shot-

!!!

Wait.

I smirk.

Now that I think about it, there are still a few Golden Eagle original members I haven't touch yet. (For all you STM people, Golden Eagle is Karma's former team with Aki.)

Rena and Rina are probably dead now since Golden Eagle never existed but they might still be alive. I don't have any grudge against these two sisters but they are bystanders who did nothing when I suffered. After I was betrayed, they just stood there as well.

Now then... I thought of one very simple method to defeat Dalbir.

I check the shop and bought some stuff.

Hmmm... is Triazolam effective? I know the effect is not immediate in real life but it is still a sleeping drug and this is a game... Is there any drug that allows me to instantly endorses my target to fall unconscious?

I browse through the store until I find something that catches my eyes.

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Sleeping tranquillizer. (Legendary Grade)

$10000000

Immediately puts your target to sleep for 10 minutes regardless of their defence and will lose the memory of what happened in the past 5 days. (Amnesia)

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Wow...how simplistic.

This is very useful and expensive.

I buy ten of them and proceed to contact the twin sisters, Rena and Rina.

...

...

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Rena, Rina accepted your invitation.

Karma: hi.

Rena: :0

Rena: is it really you, the real Karma?

Karma: Yes.

Rena: omg... But sorry, I prefer Joseph <3

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Do you think I give a fuck who you prefer?

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Karma: it's not like that. I want to ally. I need more manpower.

Rina: I am in.

Rena: wha-, that was fast Rina! Fastest hand in the west eh? Hmm... I know the temptation to be in the same team as the top players but... Okay!

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...

I rarely talk to this pair of sisters but they sure have conflicting personalities...

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Karma: You sure? You will be fighting against Dalbir in the next round if you do

Rena: heh? That cute guy? Mm... Okay! No problem! We have you after all!

Rina: yes.

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...

I wonder exactly how Rena and Rina will react when they realise I'm planning on using these two. Still... They manage to survive that incident without Golden Eagle's help huh... Interesting.

But rest assured, I am a reasonable man. I rather they are a bystander than join Recardo, Leon and Aki in manipulating and betraying me.

But that doesn't mean they are not in the wrong as well so my punishment... Will be a lot more lenient.

I tell the situation to the girls on my team and they understood.

"So you are planning to use the two of them and attack Dalbir? Won't Dalbir have an army of players like Jacob? By then those girls will be shackles instead." Says Reina.

En seems to agree.

"Don't worry. I know Dalbir better than anyone. He is a prideful kid and likes to kill his enemies himself. At some point in the round, he will invite me to a duel. He is not like Jacob." I say.

...

"...Alright then. Good luck. Tch, what am I saying? A pro player like you wouldn't need luck."

Ever since that day I pointed out everyone's usefulness, Reina has constantly been in a bad mood and is rarely seen smiling.

...

I never thought that Reina is one of those players who are "salty" as fuck when I point out her mistakes...

I forgot about people like her.

(Author: ok, as a gamer, I hate Reina now.)

...

"Anyways. The next round is a capture-the-flag round. Pretty sure all of you play a mode like this so I will skip the introductions. Since we are very low on manpower. Every one of you will defend and stay at the base with our flag, I will solo carry and get the flag after I defeat Dalbir. Defeating Dalbir will be easy with the two new teammates by our side... Don't ask why, I just have a strategy which is complex to explain." I say.

It's honestly not a "complex" strategy but a very shameless one.

En stares at me.

She writes: We can pick the spot where we set out base for the flag right?

I nod.

En then turns to another page and writes: Do you mean if you leave that and all the defending strategies to me?

"Sure."

En smiles.

I look at Ika. "Ika, what buff and debuff abilities do you have now? Oh, and their level please."

"U-Uh... Battle Cry, level 8. Force of healing, level 12. Brute Defense, level 7. Ninja steps, level 6. Weaken, Level 3. Discourage, level 4. That's all."

"That's... Better than I expected." I say, surprised.

Ika smiles and blushed a little.

There are a few ways to increase the level of skill. One is to use the skill points you get from levelling up. Another is to constantly spam the skill to level it.

Battle cry increases Attack of the ally, Force of healing is an AOE field of healing, Brute Defense increases Defense of allies, Ninja Steps increases the speed of ally.

As for debuffs, weaken is an AOE decrease in Defense for Enemies. While Discourage is a very powerful Debuff. It is an AOE debuff for Attack, Defense and speed for enemies with a cooldown of 500 seconds. I consider this a very useful skill despite the long cooldown.

To cast a skill, something like energy or mana is needed. If you calculate the amount of mana Discourage uses versus the amount of mana weaken and other debuffs use to debuff all attack, defence and speed, Discourage uses lower mana.

Mana takes a while to recharge too so the cooldown of skills doesn't make much difference.

"Ika, what are your remaining skill points?"

"129."

The fuck? So much.

"Uhh spend about 90 on Discourage and the rest on the force of healing. I consider these two very useful skills for support." I say.

"U-Understood!"

"Now then, you girls can discuss possible scenarios and how to defend against them. I will go meet up with the two temporary members." I say.

"Wait... Are the new members girls?" Asks Ika, glaring.

"Uh... Just temporary... Members... Yeah, they are girls."

Ika's glare becomes stronger.

????

"Again..."

Yumiko whistles. The others stare at me.

"What."

...

"Uh... I'm gonna go I guess..." I awkwardly go outside.

I went to the meeting spot.

The only problem is that it is deep in the woods. Why?

Suddenly, I heard a tick and jumps back.

*BOOOM!!!*

The area in front of me explodes as I land on the ground near.

Those sisters!! Did you realise what I was trying to do?

Suddenly a log can be heard swinging towards me from the side. I quickly jump back to dodge it and suddenly step on leaves.

!!!!

My feet step through the leaves, revealing another trap, it is full of spikes underneath.

I quickly draw my Katana and plunge it into the soil, preventing my fall.

What the fuck??!

I grip the plunged Katana and pull my way out.

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

This feels like the training that geezer gave me. Because I haven't been exercising for a long time I am getting quite easily tired.

I need to focus.

The meeting spot is at the top of the mountain directly in front of me. Since I know it's laid with traps, I am prepared.

I breathe in and calm my heart rate.

...

Like a cheetah chasing after its prey. I calmly sprint through the traps, avoiding them and dodging.

I am starting to get a good grasp of the traps. The experience from the geezer's training is coming back.

A barrage of arrows is shot down from the sky above suddenly.

!!

Within that short 3 seconds which determine my fate, I calculate which arrows will most likely hit and dodge only those. Sidestepping and somersault saved me from that and I continue.

Finally, I reach the top. A cabin is there.

...

Pissed, I kick the door down to find the two girls inside playing an old maid.

"Eek!" Screeches Rena.

Old maid? That ancient card game?

"Eh?! It is you?!" Says Rena.

"Explain yourself, what's with all those traps."

"Oh that, well. It is for protection and to test if it is the real Karma who contacted me."

"Huh? What's with the second part?"

"Recently, player killers have been using your name to contact innocent players to lure them into a secluded meeting spot and PK(player kill) them." Says Rina.

Oh yeah, fake usernames can overlap so multiple players can use the username "Karma" when they have a fake username.

...

"By the way, have you girls met a magic void dragon in the previous stage?" I ask.

"Eh? How do you know? We did!" Says Rena.

...

"And did you defeat it?"

Rena smiles proudly. "Of course, we managed to trick it and a giant boulder landed on it, killing the dragon."

!!!

...

I change my mind. Although I am one to talk, I still hate manipulative people the most.

In my previous life. This pair of sisters pretended to be maidens in distress and act like they are going to die. Leon, being a damn lady killer, finds the sisters beautiful and triggered a rescue. We lost a few members because of saving them and we didn't even manage to kill the dragon.

Their goal was also to kill me if possible.

Then release the clip of me dying to the world. That's how they can easily snatch all the fame and attention as well as money.

Although Rena is not showing its exterior, her heart rate is going faster and the amount of epinephrine released by the adrenal gland is getting higher.

This indicates that she is frustrated and angry but her acting skills are top-notch.

Rina... I don't know if she's angry or not. Her body shows no sign of her emotions. This kind of uncertainty... Rina is even more dangerous.

Afterwards, both of them temporary join my team.

"Dalbir uses firearms..." Mumbles Rina.

"That's right. But he can only target at most 2 people at once unless he somehow can hold a third weapon. That's where the both of you come in." I say.

"Oh!!... I see. So numbers are Dalbir's weakness?"

"Provided that you can survive, yes." I say "even a strong player can fall when outnumbered by average players. But the gap must not be too big. I assume you've seen the live stream where I defeated 200000 players at once, that's a prime example of my previous point."

Rena nods her head. Rina is mumbling something.

...

"Alright then, it's settled. Rina and I will think of something to help you distract and stall him to give you a chance to attack. Or the other way round." Says Rena. "I will see you when the round starts!"

...

"Yeah. I will go now."

...

After I left, Rina whispers "how did Karma know we encounter that dragon? I didn't detect any presence in a radius of 300km."

"... This only means that Karma is not normal. He is almost of the same calibre... No, he is probably on a calibre higher than a gaming prodigy."

Rena smirks. "He is a good asset."

!!

"So that's why you agreed to help Karma? So that he can be indebted to us?"

"Of course." Says Rena. "Why else will I help that fucker?"

...

I sigh. Even though I'm about 10km away, if I focus enough and pinpoint the location, I can still hear what they are saying.

I knew it. They are hiding behind a facade. Good, now that I know their plan, this will be more interesting.

I don't know if they are intentionally letting me know but...

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Days later, the match against Dalbir starts.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen again!!! These last few rounds will finally determine the victor of this year's FG!! Is everyone ready?! Let's go!!" Shouts the announcer.

I stand in the crowded plaza with the girls. Rena and Rina can be seen waving from afar.

Panting, they greeted me with a smile.

"Uck... They are quite cute..." Mumbles Ika.

Passerby and audiences are mumbling and gossiping about something around us. Some even went ahead and requested our signature.

"Now then, all participants are present in this plaza right now. The round this time will be a little special! It will be a casual capture the flag round with two teams facing off against one another! The first final match will be between the GB team and the Dark vengeance team. Following up next will be the Igor team fighting against the Serpent team. The winner of this match will face off against one another in the third final round and will be nominated a chance to take the top player of the year title!" Says the announcer.

I grip my badge tightly. It's starting.

The rounds that will determine everything.

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