In the end, the match began.

"Ah..."

Anella’s stiff body relaxed after she saw Baek Yu-Seol, who had been standing far away, vanish as he teleported into the stage.

At that moment, the security officers who had been blocking her entrance frowned.

"Student, if you keep doing this, we can't just stand by. Please step back now."

"... Yes."

It was already too late.

Since the match had started, it was impossible to deliver any messages because they would be moved to a completely isolated new space.

Previously, during Magic Survival events, incidents occurred where sponsors secretly provided information to participants or interfered with magic.

Therefore, Eltman Eltwin decided to choose extreme isolation to ensure the participants' safety.

Although the battlefield was entirely fictional, it was even safer since the attacks proved to inflict no harm.

But... Foolish mages.

How could you not even notice the infiltration of a mere dark mage?

A Class 9 mage?

How laughable.

Anella muttered, shaking her head.

She needed to somehow let others know about this, but would anyone believe her words?

Even if someone believed her in the first place, to stop the match, Eltman Eltwin's power was absolutely necessary…

Would the principal of Stella make a move in broad daylight after listening to the story of an exchange student?

It even sounded absurd.

'Besides... he couldn't easily stop it.'

In the isolated space, bringing students out again would take a considerable casting time.

So, she had to inform others of this fact as soon as possible.

Was there any other way?

While Anella pondered with a dark expression, someone quickly approached her.

"Hey, let me take a look."

"... Huh?"

When she turned her head, there was a petite girl who seemed to be a middle school student.

When she met her gaze, the girl appeared so cute and charming that Anella momentarily lost her words.

"What are you hesitating for? I saw you searching for Baek Yu-Seol earlier... What's your purpose?"

Anella absentmindedly checked the girl's name tag.

‘Edna.'

Although the girl appeared to be a middle school student, her appearance didn't match the impression she gave off.

She stared intently at Anella’s face, and upon seeing Anella’s split hairstyle and name tag, her expression stiffened.

'Anella...?'

It was a name she had heard before but she couldn't recall.

Edna had stored all the content of the original romance novel in her head with her exceptional memory, so it took a bit of time to recall something.

'... Ah, that's right.'

However, it quickly came to her.

Edna immediately remembered that Anella was a character who had intruded to separate Eisel and Mayuseong in the original romance novel.

Although she was a one-time extra character, she remembered all the villains who disrupted their relationship because she supported the relationship of Mayuseong and Eisel.

'I know her as a dark mage. Why’s she here?'

While she pondered for a moment, Anella touched Edna’s shoulder first.

"You're close with Baek Yu-Seol, right? I heard it through the rumor. You used to be lovers or something."

"Uh, yeah. Right... right?"

Only then was Anella able to put on a bright expression.

Edna was undoubtedly a somewhat influential figure even within Stella.

"Help me. Baek Yu-Seol might be in danger."

Even though she felt like she was grasping at straws, Anella requested assistance from a human mage much younger than herself.

———-

Shhh...!

A brisk wind blew, and the scent of grass was noticeable.

When Baek Yu-Seol opened his eyes, a green horizon filled his vision.

A vast meadow with tall wild grass obscured the view.

Looking up at the sky, the greenish horizon was full of it.

However, this place was nothing more than the virtual reality of Stella Dome, and not real.

"Pfft."

After forcefully inhaling air into his lungs, he immediately checked the 'map.'

In Magic Survival, participants could real-time check their locations on the map, and it was recommended to check it frequently because if there were enemies with tracking magic or special events, they would be indicated on the map.

It started from the very edge.

The basic rules of Magic Survival were similar to the Battle Royale played on Earth.

The boundary gradually narrowed from the edge, limiting the game area.

If exposed outside the boundary for a long time, ‘Vital Points’ gradually decreased.

If ‘Vital Points’ were reduced to zero due to battles or exposure outside the boundary, it resulted in death and disqualification from the match.

In other words, being forced out of the game.

Of course, the problem lay in the fact that it was almost impossible to predict the location where the game area would be narrowed.

Well... To win in Battle Royale, persistence was the key.

Since he enjoyed this type of game on Earth, Baek Yu-Seol played many rounds and he went to the city area where most users fell, and engaged in fierce battles.

However, in a real competition, that was not possible.

One must avoid friction with people as much as possible, and at the same time, acquire special 'artifacts' scattered throughout the battlefield.

In Magic Survival, participants could only wear basic robes and carry a wand, so artifact farming was essential for a proper fight.

In Baek Yu-Seol’s case, due to not being able to use the Argento Sword, he had to find a very special artifact.

Fortunately, he could grasp the artifact supply route for this match through his specs.

[If you've landed on the northeastern edge, oh my! Tough luck.]

‘… I'm doomed. I ended up in the most challenging spot for farming.’

*[But it's okay. Well, even if you pick up trash-like artifacts, something good might come out of it, right?]

After checking the strategy, he walked south following the compass.

In the distance, a small village was visible.

Although it was designated as a ruin and no one was supposed to live there, he should be cautious as there might be encounters with other enemies.

'Quickly farm and move to the center.'

The most crucial thing now was to somehow resolve the situation that had turned into the main episode.

In this episode, the main villain had transformed into a participant in disguise, and possessed the ability to inflict actual blows on others even in this virtual space.

[The dark mage's name is... ‘Berenkal.’]

[It Respawns in the southwest mountain, so if you're nearby, it's a good idea to go straight there and engage in a duel to eliminate him.]

Baek Yu-Seol’s location was in the northeast, so the distance was too far.

Since there was a high possibility that Berenkal had a strong artifact on him, it was highly likely he would lose in a battle.

[If Berenkal respawns from a distant location... try to head towards the city center as much as possible.]

[Berenkal mainly roams around cities with high population density, hunting down enemies one by one right after a battle.]

[Although his combat skills are mediocre, he has the power to silence an opponent with a single blow, so be cautious.]

"Sigh..."

Despite carefully watching the strategy, only a sigh escaped.

The distance was far, and without a magical sword, he had no combat power, making it essential to acquire many items immediately.

[If you respawned far from Berenkal, it's regrettable.]

[It's unavoidable that there will be casualties.]

[But there's a way to interfere with Berenkal and lure him as quickly as possible.]

[First, obtain the artifact ‘Field Scanner'.]

[Second, execute the 'Yeopo Meta' strategy.]

The word he terribly disliked appeared.

This strategy, named after Lu Bu, a general from the late Han Dynasty in China, involved rushing into the areas with as high people density as possible and mercilessly killing everyone.

It was entirely opposite to Baek Yu-Seol's previous strategy which involved endurance and patience.

It significantly reduced the chance of winning the game.

Why?

Because when you get a kill, your location is exposed to all participants for 1 minute.

While directly killing opponents can earn you points and artifacts, the penalties are immense.

And yet, you have to repeatedly lure Berenkal.

"Sigh...."

It was just frustrating.

In the southwest, a vast expanse of green trees covered a mountainous area so much that the sky was barely visible.

Thud!!

"Ugh...."

Berenkal crushed a girl lying in front of him with his foot.

"Ah, it hurts...."

The girl wore the uniform of the prestigious Dei Celli Academy, and reached out pitifully, but her hand touched nothing.

"Dei Celli isn't anything special either."

A disdainful laugh echoed.

This was the price for letting her guard down, believing that it was a mere 'virtual game,’ and that led to complacency.

The girl's strategy was excellent—taking some of the opponent's attacks, sacrificing some Vital Points, and preparing for a more massive counterattack.

However, she probably didn't expect to feel the actual pain from the incoming attack.

'Why....'

She couldn't understand why there was such pain.

But the deep crimson flames covering her entire body paralyzed her thoughts.

Fwooosh!

"Kyaah!!"

"Hahaha."

Interesting.

It was fun.

There was nothing more enjoyable than thoroughly trampling and destroying a student from a prestigious academy who should have been better and more talented than Berenkal.

Sending her away alive might make her unable to participate in magical battles due to trauma, right?

No, but killing was still clean and enjoyable.

That was more fun.

Once the decision was made, he immediately carried it out.

Berenkal brought his finger to the girl's head. Since it might not be bad to burn her head down at this point.

But at that moment...

Paat...!

"What the...?"

As a stream of light poured from the sky, it illuminated the entire mountain range nearby.

Having studied 'Survival Artifacts' beforehand, he quickly recognized what it was.

"Field Scanner...?"

There were only about five in a single match, making them hard to acquire, but they were powerful items which could scan a designated field.

The drawback was that the target's location was revealed after 1 minute for everyone.

Not only the artifact user but everyone in the stage could see the detected target's location.

"Oh no, insane!"

Though he didn’t know who suddenly deployed the Field Scanner here,

He must leave within 1 minute.

If the girl abnormally died and got eliminated here, it would expose the fact that he could commit a 'real murder' within the battlefield.

It was not time yet.

Once participants in the battlefield realized his location, all firepower would be directed at him.

Dash!

Swiftly accelerating to escape the scanning range, he belatedly recalled that he couldn't finish the girl from earlier.

Because of the Field Scanner, everything had gotten tangled from the beginning.

"Wherever you are, andwhoever used it... Please don't get eliminated and wait. I will definitely burn you down."

With a firm resolve, Berenkal concealed his traces.

Flash!

One minute later, the Field Scanner illuminated the mountain range, but nothing was caught.