Omelet was a former Challenger who was now a Grandmaster ranked player. While his main role was as a ranged damage dealer, he could handle any position. Even if Survival mode was unfamiliar, a tutorial would be absurdly easy.

[Omelet Triple Kill!]

“Rooooooar!”

— Lion’s roar LOL

— What was that LOL

— Oh damn

— Kyaa, Grandmaster class LOL

[Team Seven Eliminated!]

With a triple kill, Omelet wiped out yet another team.

“Did you see that!? Did you see it!? This is show and prove, yeah? First time in Survival mode? So what!? I just wipe them!”

It had been a while since he carried against beginners. Omelet was clearly enjoying himself.

— Tutorial and this much hype;

— Should’ve played survival earlier LOL

— ??? There are only two modes in LIL. Victory or defeat.

— What an idiot LOL

Funnily enough, he hadn’t even acknowledged Survival mode as a real mode until recently.

“Oh, bro. You’re really carrying.”

“Wow, Grandmaster really is different.”

Surrounded by fans who recognized him, Omelet got even more fired up.

“Huh!? Omelet. Huh!?”

“Omelet!”

— LOOOOL

— Jesus

— Omelet cult, damn

— This is genuinely embarrassing, sir...

— They say late bloomer energy is scary.

Right when he was feeling at his peak.

[Penta Kill!]

A pentakill popped up.

— ?

— Wow LOL

— What?

— Way to kill the mood

— LOL it’s the tutorial though;

“Looks like there’s someone who knows how to play.”

Sure, a pentakill was impressive. Still, it was just a tutorial.

Omelet confidently glanced at the mission window. “Perfect for a little show and prove.”

[Tutorial First Place]

[1,030,000 won]

A massive mission with a whopping one million won was on the line. The reward had seemed laughably easy until now.

‘Shit... don’t tell me I can’t do this?’

Gulp.

Omelet was getting nervous. No matter how much of a beginner lobby this was, a pentakill was still something else entirely. He just wasn’t showing it. Honestly, there was no way he wouldn’t feel anxious.

‘I know exactly what people will say if I shit the bed in a tutorial after trashing Survival mode this hard.’

His built-up karma was catching up.

“Oh, bro. Someone got a pentakill, so we should...”

“Shut uuuup!!”

“???”

“Stop talking and read the map!”

“Y-Yes, sir...”

— Holy shit LOL

— What was that LOL

— Suddenly dead serious tryhard mode LOL

— That’s brutal LOL

— His face LOL

— Pentakill got you shook, huh?

Omelet had grown visibly sensitive.

***

Like most battle royale games, Survival mode gradually shrank the playable area. What some games called the safe zone or blue zone was known as the Shadow here.

[The Shadow of the Abyss descends.]

Once consumed by the Shadow of the Abyss, players steadily lost health. All runes and Sanctuary lights in that area immediately went dark. Summoners lost the Sanctuary’s protection, and rune effects vanished. As the Shadow swallowed more areas, players were forced closer together.

[Team Eight Eliminated!]

[Team Ten Eliminated!]

Fights became more frequent and explosive.

“I will fulfill the contract bound by blood...”

Crash!

Most remaining summoners had now unlocked their ultimate skills. One misstep, and both sides would be instantly erased.

‘A lot fewer now.’

Almond checked the remaining numbers.

[Remaining Players]

[11/50]

‘Eleven...’

[Remaining Teams]

[3/10]

“Wow... only three teams left.”

— Damn

— We’re really alone???

— What LOL

— Five vs five vs one LOL are you insane

Three teams and eleven players total remained. Since Almond was alone, the other two teams both had five members alive. It really was five versus five versus one.

‘This is tough.’

Even with a pentakill under his belt, winning without teammates was extremely difficult. In some ways, LIL was even harder than Battle Large. He wouldn’t be able to do anything if they locked him down with layered crowd control.

The chat already grew excited as they imagined Almond losing a bot match.

— First ever bot match loss incoming LOL

— What if he actually loses a bot game? LOL

— Missing all the Sanctuaries was a huge throw

— LOL about to lose a bot match

— What would it be like if this guy lost to bots?

Glancing at the chat, Almond casually loosened his wrist.

‘Hmm...’

He was only human. At this point, even he felt a bit anxious. Losing a bot match wasn’t just a statistic. It was something more than that.

[The Shadow of the Abyss will descend in 30 seconds.]

Like the Shadow itself, anxiety crept closer. He could already see the flood of chat messages and comments that would follow a loss. No, he could practically hear their mocking laughter.

‘I can’t lose to bots.’

Almond rarely felt nervous against strong opponents, but the thought of losing to bots made his hands shake. It was a rare thing indeed.

‘Focus. Focus.’

He checked the remaining numbers again, as if hoping that they would drop on their own.

[11/50]

It still hadn’t changed from eleven.

[The Shadow of the Abyss descends shortly.]

Tension filled the now tiny battlefield. No enemies had appeared yet.

“Should I wait and jump in when they fight each other?”

Almond was alone while the others were full teams of five. Logically, they would likely target each other. Why would they see a solo player as a threat? It seemed doable if he aimed for a scavenger win, but someone raised a different point.

— Why would bots fight each other LOL wouldn’t they target the player?

The bots’ purpose was to train Almond. If three teams remained, wouldn’t the two bot teams try to kill Almond rather than fight each other first? It almost made sense. Then, the backseat gamers came.

— You need to revive them now!

— There’s a Sanctuary right there???

— Almond! There’s a Sanctuary of Resurrection!!

A Sanctuary of Resurrection was fairly close inside the shrinking map. Almond checked the map.

‘That’s... close.’

He thought he had to go, but donations started coming in.

[BackseatMan donated 5,000 won.]

[If you go there now, you’ll die instantly. Everyone camps that spot late game LOL]

[EvilLoyalist donated 3,000 won.]

[You idiots LOL you know that and still backseat? Going there now is straight to the afterlife]

[SlaveSword donated 3,000 won.]

[Even if you revive them, only one is a summoner. That’s just suicide.]

They had a point. With uneven numbers left, enemies would expect a revival attempt and camp there. Even if he revived them, only one of his teammates was a summoner.

— It’s bots, who cares LOL

— Even players help; better than being alone

— Bots don’t think like that

— Use them as arrow shields at least

— Why get so serious in a bot match

The chat leaned hard into it only being a bot match, as if trying to convince themselves. In truth, these were the viewers hoping Almond would die. Heading to the Sanctuary of Resurrection at this time really would be suicide, yet Almond moved toward it.

“I’m going to revive them.”

— ?

— Why though

— STAY...

— LOL it’s bots, why overthink

— LOOOOOOL

— Gigachad, damn

— But why?

His reason was surprisingly simple.

“It said so in the tip. If your allies die, revive them at the Sanctuary of Resurrection.”

— ?

— ...?

— Holy shit LOL

— That’s just explaining the mechanic

— LMAO

— Goodbye...

— That’s a troll decision

— Clip of him losing to bots incoming

— What kind of ancient tip is that? LOL

***

Rustle.

Near the Sanctuary of Resurrection, Omelet’s team lay in wait.

“Ha... The finish line is right in front of us, guys.”

“Yes, bro. We’re almost there.”

“Hooo... I-I’m nervous. This is my first time getting first place.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“Yes, sir!”

All five members of the team were still alive. The remaining count stood at eleven players with three teams left. Almond knew the situation precisely since he was alone, but Omelet’s team saw it very differently.

“Our team probably has the highest numbers. All we have to do is hold this spot.”

They didn’t think otherwise.

“Probably three and three on the other two teams.”

Logically, a team with only one person couldn’t have survived this long. They assumed the other two teams had been whittled down to three members each.

“All we have to do is guard the area around the Sanctuary of Resurrection.”

Those two teams would inevitably aim for the sanctuary. That was Omelet’s read.

— That game sense though

— For a first-timer, he’s thinking really well

— Oh yeah~

— Yeah, he’s getting first

Even to seasoned Survival mode players, his judgment sounded extremely reasonable. The team with numerical superiority would simply take the high ground and wait at the enemy’s destination. This was a textbook Survival mode play. One didn’t win Survival mode just by fighting well. Positioning alone could secure victory.

“Ah, this really is just basic sense. I am a Grandmaster, after all. That veteran vibe kicks in. You know what I mean, right?”

Even as Oragne spoke confidently, one lingering unease remained in his mind.

‘That guy who got the pentakill... Who was it?’

— Where did the pentakill team go anyway??

— LOL but there is a guy who got a pentakill, right?

— That one dude must be crazy strong

Hadn’t there been a pentakill earlier? That meant one player had taken all five kills. There would be a level gap.

[Terrorist – Bonnie Lv. 15]

Omelet was currently level fifteen. The rest of his teammates were level fourteen. Even if they were outnumbered, a higher level enemy team warranted caution.

“They’ll come carefully if they come at all. Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Yes!”

He told his team to stay sharp and watch closely for anyone approaching. It would be hard to spot them if they came while hiding their presence.

“The moment they appear, we run...”

A teammate pointed. “Bro! Someone’s coming!”

Snap!

“H-He’s coming straight at us! Running!”

“What?”

Whip.

Omelet turned to look. It was true. Someone was sprinting like a madman.

— What the hell LOL

— ?

— Alone?

— Is this bait???

— Is he insane? Just running in LOL

Running alone like that definitely looked unhinged.

[Cold-Blooded Evil Archer – Raina Lv. 17]

The level was insane.

“W-What kind of level is that?!”

In LIL, a two level gap was enormous. There was a three level difference compared to Orange’s teammates. In Siege mode, players would already be typing GG.

‘This... is a real unexpected variable.’

For the first time, Omelet’s relaxed mindset tightened.

Swish!

He saw the bushes behind Raina rustling violently.

“There are teammates behind her.”

If they gave up the Sanctuary now, Omelet would actually be at a disadvantage. The Sanctuary of Resurrection glowed red.

[Awakened Sanctuary of Resurrection]

In the late game, Sanctuaries awakened like this with enhanced functions. When the Sanctuary of Resurrection awakened, revived teammates returned at the same level as the caster.

Right now, the enemy was level seventeen. If that guy revived his team, how many level seventeen players would appear? That would be the end of Omelet’s team.

Omelet made his decision. “Now! Go!”

“Yes! Kill!”

Omelet’s tank burst out in front.

Craaaash!

At the same time, a tank also emerged from the bushes behind Raina with a dash skill.

“The enemy team’s tank is out too!”

They were from a completely different team, but Omelet’s team mistook him for Almond’s teammate. Meanwhile, Almond smiled brightly and touched the Sanctuary.

“Done!”

[Resurrection has begun.]

[Please remain in place for ten seconds.]

Still smiling, he blinked in surprise. “Huh?”

He thought just touching it would revive them.

“Why does this take so long?”

He had to endure for a full ten seconds.

— Holy shit LOL

— You didn’t know!? LOL

— LMAO

— You were relaxed because you didn’t know it took time?

— Legendary LOL

— Just lose already...

— Bot match confirmed. If this isn’t a bot, what is?

“Kill him!”

“Charge!”

Five from one side and five from the other, ten players burst out at once toward Almond.