Chapter 488: The Zone
[Twelve hours have passed!]
[A Zone has been introduced. Any competitor remaining inside the highlighted area will lose 10 points per second. To avoid the penalty, ensure you are not within it.]
[The Zone will begin shrinking in 5 minutes.]
A new overlay appeared on his holographic map. A red-tinted region marked the outer edges of the play area, indicating where the Zone would soon become hostile. The borders of the safe area shrank inward as he watched, the projected contraction visible as concentric rings closing toward the map’s center.
Moon glanced at the warning, unsurprised.
He had expected something like this. Without a forced contraction, the tournament could drag on indefinitely. People would hide. Fights would slow. The bracket would never narrow. The Zone mechanic forced action. It pulled cowards out of cover and pressed competitors into closer proximity, accelerating eliminations and creating chokepoints where fights would inevitably break out.
He studied the trajectory of the contracting boundaries. Based on how the rings were closing, the final safe area would likely be somewhere near the center of the map. He couldn’t be certain yet. The pattern could shift as the contraction progressed.
’Better to head there either way.’
Moon checked his current position. He was near the outskirts of the play area, which put him directly in the path of the incoming danger zone. The five-minute timer wouldn’t be enough cushion if he stayed where he was.
Moon began to move towards the centre of the zone.
In other parts of the tournament ground, those who had been hiding let out collective sighs. They had all known something like this was coming. A static tournament was a boring tournament, and the organizers were never going to allow it to drag on.
Reluctantly, they emerged from their hideouts. Some climbed down from tree cover. Others crawled out from beneath rock outcroppings. All of them began the long migration inward, scanning the terrain ahead and behind, weighing the threat of the contracting Zone against the threat of running into stronger competitors on the way.
In another region, Selene glanced at her watch briefly before closing the display.
She was already near the center of the map. The Zone wouldn’t reach her position anytime soon. She had time. While others scrambled to escape the contracting boundary, she could pick her ground and prepare.
Her eyes swept the terrain around her, scanning for tactical advantages. Within seconds, she found what she was looking for.
A hilltop in the distance, rising above the surrounding forest. Elevated ground with a natural defensive position, providing clear sightlines in every direction.
"There."
She nudged her wolf gently. The beast surged forward on all four paws, carrying her toward the rising terrain.
Elsewhere in the zone, the situation was less calm.
"Hand over your points and we won’t hurt you!" Marcus shouted, his sword raised, his stance aggressive. Sarah stood a few meters behind him, staff in hand.
Across the clearing, a duo of competitors stood their ground. A tall man with a glaive and a smaller woman with twin daggers, both clearly experienced and unwilling to roll over.
"You hand over your points." The man with the glaive said evenly. "Or watch what happens to people who threaten us."
Marcus’s lip curled into a sneer. "You think you are some tough nut to crack, huh?"
He raised his sword and lunged forward without warning.
"Sarah! Buffs!"
Sarah’s immediately cast her skill. A surge of energy washed over Marcus, sharpening his reflexes and reinforcing his strikes. At the same time, a debuff settled over the two opposing fighters, dulling their senses and slowing their reactions just enough to tip the balance.
The fight was short, reaching a total of four minutes.
Marcus crashed into the man with the glaive, his amplified strikes hammering through the longer weapon’s reach. The debuff made the man a fraction too slow, and Marcus exploited every opening. Sarah handled the woman with the daggers from a distance, her own spells precise and merciless.
Although her class started out mainly as a healer, once she reached the second sanctuary, it had evolved to provide her some leeway in combat.
Within a minute, both opponents were on their knees, weapons knocked away, hands raised in surrender.
"Alright! Alright! We’ll hand over the points! Stop!"
Marcus walked up to the man with the glaive. The sneer hadn’t left his face.
"You should have done that thirty seconds ago." He raised his sword and brought the hilt down hard on the man’s right arm.
~CRACK~
The man screamed as the bone snapped. Marcus didn’t pause. His boot came down on the same man’s leg, and another sickening crunch echoed through the clearing.
"Please! We’re surrendering!" The woman pleaded, her eyes wide with horror.
Marcus turned to her, no mercy visible on his face. Then, he broke her arm and leg in the same brutal fashion.
"This is what happens when you waste my time." He said coldly, wiping his sword on the man’s clothing. "Next time someone stronger asks for your points, you give them. You don’t talk back. You don’t threaten. You bow your heads and pay. Maybe you’ll remember that next time you regain the ability to walk."
He stepped back as the two of them tapped their watches with shaking hands, transferring their points in silence.
[+25 Points]
Marcus’s display updated. So did Sarah’s. They had gained a total of fifty points, split evenly between them.
A buzz from his watch caught his attention. He glanced down at the holographic map.
"Shit." He muttered. "We’re in the Zone. It starts contracting in a minute."
He spat on the ground beside the two crippled competitors and turned away.
"Sarah, we need to head to the inner circle now. Let’s move."
Sarah nodded calmly, her expression unchanged throughout the entire exchange. She fell in beside Marcus, and the two of them set off at pace, leaving the broken duo behind them.
Marcus glanced at her as they rushed forward.
