World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 99

Clone Technique

After parting ways with some unexpectedly friendly people from China, Seowoon returned home and collapsed onto his familiar bed.

Lying there with his eyes closed, the memories of the game he had just finished replayed in his mind.

It had been a shorter game than the ones he’d played before, but by far the most spectacular.

"Haa..."

Coming back from a game designed to speed up in such a complex and clever way, he suddenly felt a strange sense of dissonance.

"From now on, I need to be more skeptical of main quests and maps when I play."

In order to secure early access to the main quest and mobility, his squad had focused entirely on destroying the agitation stones, more than any other team—and as a result, they triggered the appearance of Jecheon Daeseong.

Because of that, the pace of the game skyrocketed, and within just two weeks, the magnetic field had shrunk all the way to the central island where the agitation stone had been located.

’If the appearance of Jecheon Daeseong had been delayed...’

If the game had continued for a month, or even over 100 days, the stat growth could have been astronomical.

’The best outcome this time would’ve been maximum stat growth and game completion. If our whole team had pulled it off, the growth would’ve been insane.’

Whoever was running the game and creating its rules, their design was nothing short of brilliant.

After going over the intricate events in his head, Seowoon closed his eyes.

Due to mental exhaustion, he fell into a deep sleep early in the evening and woke up around dawn, instinctively checking his phone.

"Hyung, my brother was discharged safely. Please head to Wonju first tomorrow. I’ll take care of sorting and selling the items and meet you there."

Reading the message from Kichan, Seowoon glanced at the time. It was just 2:30 a.m.

"I’m kinda hungry."

Rubbing his stomach, he opened a delivery app, ordered two chickens, and headed to the living room to turn on the TV.

Sinking into the recently purchased and filled-out couch, watching TV after such a long time felt oddly refreshing.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he last watched television.

What stood out most was the sheer number of programs discussing Cloyds and Awakened individuals.

"In Search of the Awakened! First in broadcast history—meeting a real Awakened person!"

One particularly dramatic narration caught his attention.

"Hello, TBN viewers! This is Catsbee, your wild reporter from ’Hunt for Your Taste’! Today, we’ve successfully contacted a real Awakened! Stay tuned as we dive into their life and powers!"

But instead of showing the Awakened right away, the program dragged on with a tedious segment about the outreach process and their journey to a remote area.

Just as Seowoon was about to switch channels out of boredom, the reporter finally met the self-proclaimed Awakened.

"Hello! We’ve traveled far and wide after hearing you are an Awakened. Are you truly connected to the Cloyd?"

Seowoon let out a small laugh at the sight—a shabby-looking man dressed like a hermit, living in the mountains.

"Yes, that’s right. I’m a genuine Awakened who gained powers through the Cloyd."

"Wow, calling himself the real deal out loud—talk about cringe."

"No offense, but can you demonstrate your powers for the audience?"

"Of course."

"You heard that, viewers? We’re about to verify this Awakened’s abilities. Stay tuned after this commercial break!"

"Ugh..."

What followed was an agonizingly long ad segment.

Even so, Seowoon didn’t change the channel. It was like a dry potato clogging his throat—he had to see it through.

"What kind of over-the-top power are they about to show off..."

Though he’d seen plenty of impressive abilities in real life, something about the "first-ever" title on TV stoked his curiosity.

"Thank you for waiting, viewers! Let’s begin the ability verification!"

But once the segment started, Seowoon nearly threw the remote at the TV.

"Whose brilliant idea was that?"

They brought in a pro fighter and a top sports university student to compare physical capabilities and earnestly analyzed the differences.

What truly made Seowoon shake his head was when the producers threw rubber balls at them to see how many they could dodge—and then did the same with the Awakened guy.

Just then, the chicken he ordered arrived. Picking it up and returning, Seowoon saw the final segment where the Awakened demonstrated his "true" power.

Three throwing knives and a fireball flew toward a scarecrow in the middle of a field.

The blackened head and torso of the scarecrow burst into flames instantly, and the three knives landed perfectly in its head and chest.

"Incredible! Did you see that? To summon and throw a massive fireball—and launch three knives before it even hit—clearly exceeds human capabilities!"

Seowoon changed the channel right then and there.

"...What was I even expecting?"

Almost every channel echoed the world’s curiosity with nonstop coverage on Awakened individuals.

Dodging that flood of content, Seowoon finally found a food show and settled on it as he began tearing into his chicken.

Stuffing down two whole chickens to quell his hunger, he was soon overwhelmed by the greasy aftertaste.

Washing it down with cola, he got up and headed downstairs.

Hopping onto his well-parked bike and strapping on his helmet, he set off for Wonju.

Speeding down an open road, he reached Wonju and immediately began climbing a mountain.

In a burst of wind-like movement, he sprinted up to a clearing halfway up the mountain, took a deep breath, and began to stir the seon-ki dormant in his middle energy core.

This energy was completely different from his inner power.

If inner power flowed through the body like water, then seon-ki felt more like mist building up inside.

It rose more lightly, and using it placed almost no strain on the body.

Even though inner power was familiar and could be stored like a personal reservoir, drawing out too much at once could damage energy channels or even cause internal injuries.

But seon-ki could be used more freely and reacted almost instantly.

As soon as his will took shape, it flowed throughout his body. Feeling the mystical energy of seon-ki enveloping him, Seowoon began to activate the essence skills of Mystic Immortal Art.

Ding! Activating the transformation skill infused with mimicry. Caution: if your observation of the target is insufficient, the result may be flawed. At your current level, gender transformation is not possible.

Poof!

With a sound, Seowoon’s original appearance vanished and transformed into the image of Jecheon Daeseong. He stretched out his hand, and Hamit, wrapped around his neck like a pendant, slithered down his arm and turned into the magic staff.

Fuhuhuhuhung...

Twisting the magic staff, Seowoon loosened up—but then his form suddenly reverted.

Ding! Your focus wavered. Transformation skill has been canceled. Seon-ki based skills are poorly stabilized by Cloyd’s system.

"So that’s how it is. It won’t auto-correct everything, huh?"

Muttering to himself, Seowoon ran a hand through his hair.

The powerful gene left several strands of hair on his palm.

Looking at the blood-colored strands, he paused, lost in thought, then blew them into the air.

Poof, poof, poof!

So far, he could only produce three clones.

"The more seon-ki I accumulate, the more clones I can summon."

"How long it takes to store up seon-ki... that’s going to be the real challenge."

"Maybe... we might even be able to absorb seonki from a monster imbued with it."

"Or like last time, Wonyoungshin might show up."

Seoun looked at his chattering clone with interest as it continued talking on its own.

"Definitely..."

"It’s like an AI based on me, isn’t it?"

His smile deepened as the clone interrupted his thoughts before he could even voice them.

At the same time, four Seowoons stepped forward using the silent movement technique.

With each movement of the four Seowoons, their forms blurred, and eventually, 48 Seowoons filled the clearing.

"Whoa... this is amazing."

Just as Seowoon was marveling at the unexpected performance of the clone technique, the seonki quickly depleted, and the clones began to disappear one by one.

"The seonki ran out faster than I thought..."

Poof!

The last clone vanished before it could finish its sentence, a strand of hair floating in the air.

Even though his Jungdanjeon was completely drained, unlike with internal energy, there were no physical side effects.

Seowoon sat down and began to use the last mystic immortal skill—Chukseongong.

Unlike Chukgi, which accumulates internal energy through breathing, this technique involved opening all the body’s pores and meditating to become one with nature, absorbing the seonki naturally present around him into the Jungdanjeon. It was a completely different method from traditional internal energy cultivation.

Immersed in meditation and in tune with nature, Seowoon opened his eyes as he felt warm seonki filling his Jungdanjeon. Sunlight now streamed into the once-dark mountain forest.

"Are you done?"

kichan, who had been leaning on one side, noticed Seowoon had opened his eyes and approached.

With the sunlight on him, he looked especially handsome today. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Go shoot a magazine spread."

"Huh?"

"I asked when you got here."

Though kichan tilted his head, feeling like he was being randomly scolded again, he soon brushed it off.

"It’s been about ten minutes. The warm energy spread around, and when a sparrow landed on your head, I seriously thought you’d reached enlightenment."

"Did it?"

"Yeah. That wasn’t normal energy, was it?"

"Seonsul. Seonki is definitely different from internal energy."

"If you’ve recharged your seonki, show me again!"

Seowoon shook his head, looking at him sparkling with anticipation.

"Just that short use cost me hours to recharge. Maybe next time."

"Aww..."

Seeing him pout unusually made Seowoon irritated.

Poof!

kichan’s eyes widened as Seowoon transformed into an exact copy of him.

"Aww... Chani wants to see the clone technique~"

kichan was flustered, watching Seowoon mimic his face and make cute fists.

"W-When did I say that?!"

"Uung, Chani just said it~!"

"Hyung!!!"

Poof!

As Seowoon returned to his original appearance, kichan’s face flushed red.

"You have to admit that was cringey, right? Don’t ever do that again."

"I—I didn’t do it!"

"Whatever. Just learn this."

He tossed kichan a martial arts manual from his subspace. Huffing, kichan looked at the item’s description.

"Huh? A staff technique?"

"It’s not an ordinary staff. It’s a martial art that uses short clubs or batons. I pulled it in a draw, but I don’t need it. I prefer unarmed styles like blood bone claw and fist technique. Still, it’s a level 80 skill. A high-grade martial art."

Hearing "club," kichan immediately understood what Seowoon meant by giving it to him.

He disintegrated the manual into dust and pulled out his Staff of the Abyss, prompting Seowoon to smile and charge at him.

Whoosh!

Seowoon extended a fist using fist technique, and kichan tilted his staff to block the punch aimed at his center.

They continued sparring, testing out new martial and magic skills they had learned over the past few days.

Their daily routine had become intense duels in the clearing and light meals at home.

"This intel is super detailed. It even lists blood types and personal connections. The Chinese guys really don’t mess around with their info-gathering."

Sitting on the sofa, kichan flipped through the data on the upcoming guild war participants with amazement.

"Ugh. Don’t overanalyze it. There’s no guarantee those guys will actually show up, so just skim through."

Taking a sip of ramen broth, Seowoon glanced at kichan, who returned his gaze to the papers and replied,

"Still, it’s pretty credible. Especially that mage and witch who supposedly always team up with that guy Subaru—they’ll probably show up, right?"

"Probably. That mage’s about on your level. The witch—or maybe she’s a priestess—is a debuffer with a unique skill set."

kichan frowned and nodded.

"Witches are a pain if you run into the wrong one. But... aren’t you being way too chill about this?"

"Huh? Am I? I guess all the intense fighting up until now dulled my nerves. I mean, we’ve spent tons of money, had top rankers aiming to conquer Asia, and honestly... these guys don’t seem much tougher than the enemies we’ve already faced."

Compared to past enemies like Wonyoungshin, Namsagwang, Kutrapha’s wraith, or the guild led by Yeoharan, these foes didn’t feel particularly threatening.

Plus, they had little information on their opponents, and Namsagwang—a practically overpowered ally—was now on their side, so there wasn’t much to be tense about.

And so, the day of the promised guild battle arrived.

At the exact agreed time, their vision shifted, and a familiar sensation accompanied the appearance of a large clearing in the middle of a bamboo forest.

Dokuagawa Hashio, with his slicked-back hair, spotted Seowoon and curled his lips.

"I see you managed to finish the game within that week."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Did you enjoy your last game thoroughly?"

Annoyed by the odd intonation, Seowoon picked his ear and replied,

"Good to have some spirit, but there’s nothing more embarrassing than trash-talking and then getting wrecked."

Still smirking, the guy stepped right up to Seowoon and said,

"I don’t like kimchi very much."

"Is that so? I guess that’s why your breath smells like pickled radish. Back off."

"Your way of speaking, which digs into people’s hearts, hasn’t changed."

"Your pronunciation hasn’t changed either. Try a McDonald’s one."

Seeing Seowoon, who was as sly as himself, Haseo’s face crumpled first.

"Alright. Let’s see how long that momentum lasts. You know the rules, right?"

"Ah, before that, I want to add a rule."

At those words, Haseo replied firmly.

"There is no way to change the existing rules with any new rule."

"That’s not what I meant. How about we stake not only the right to participate in the game but also the items?"

Haseo’s eyebrows twitched.

"That doesn’t sound right. Of course, unless the sky falls, there’s no way we’d lose. Our main members have items worth astronomical amounts."

"Well, we’ll see about that. Ever heard of Ego Weapons? There’s also a staff that Kuotra used. Our side is not lacking in equipment."

In fact, without those two, they were significantly behind, but Seowoon didn’t mention it further.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Haseo brought up another suggestion.

"Alright. Then, how about staking not only the items but also all abilities?"

"Oh! That’s good. If we lose, we return to being regular people, right? You’ve come up with a good idea despite the appearance. But can we stake abilities too?"

"As long as it’s mediated by Cloyd, there’s almost nothing impossible. Alright, then we will stake not only the items but also the abilities of the participating players."

As soon as the words were spoken, a translucent sword effect appeared above Seowoon and Haseo’s hands.

Ding! A new rule has been added. Do you agree?

As the notification sounded, the two of them clasped hands, and the sound of swords crossing signaled that the rule had been confirmed.

"I’ll strip you clean."

"Not sure who’s saying that."

Ding! Select your fixed team members to participate in the battle.

As the notification rang, a list appeared, and Seowoon selected everyone except Rael.

One by one, players were summoned onto the battlefield.

The last to be summoned was Lilingwi, who smiled brightly at Seowoon.

Unlike her usual luxurious armor, she wore a black outfit that tightly clung to her body and revealed her figure. Seowoon quickly turned his gaze away from her.

Whether it was intentional or if she had something hidden in her chest, Seowoon felt his face redden at the sight of her large and beautiful chest, which he hadn’t noticed before.

"Th-thank you all for participating."

"I have something to say."

All eyes turned to Nam Sa-gwang as he spoke for the first time with the team.

Nam Sa-gwang, undeterred by the attention, continued to speak, focusing on one spot.

"I’ll take responsibility for those three women."

Seeing him lick his lips like a predator encountering prey made Seowoon uncomfortable.

"I’ll deal with the big guy in the middle first."

Nam Sa-gwang tilted his head as he looked at a player wearing bizarre yet compact armor.

"Is that their main player?"

"Yes. It’s presumed to be someone around the Sword Emperor level, heavily equipped with various option items."

"Interesting. I think I’ve seen that armor before."

Nam Sa-gwang stopped talking, and Juriel nodded with a serious expression, speaking in his stead.

"That armor is made of dragon scales. It’s the Black Dragon’s armor. It’s said to be nearly indestructible, even by Sword Aura. It’s a legendary armor that even the Empire’s emperor would have trouble acquiring. Why does a player from Earth have it..."

Seowoon smiled and spoke.

"If we win this fight, we can strip them of all their items."

At those words, everyone’s eyes sparkled with greed.

Even Juriel, who had been tense due to the legendary items, was distracted by the wizard’s staff and robe.

Meanwhile, Seowoon tapped Nam Sa-gwang’s back.

"Aren’t you curious? Which is stronger, Sword Aura or Ki?"

"Hmph! I already checked. The Ki is definitely stronger."

"Then you think we can slice that armor like tofu?"

"Well, I don’t know if it’s like tofu, but I don’t think it’s unbreakable. But are you sure about this? We need to strip them clean to make use of it."

"Dragon scales, you know? As long as we get them, we can sell them for a lot."

While Seowoon’s team started dividing up the items, Haseo’s team scowled. They certainly didn’t appreciate being treated like mannequins in a shopping mall.

"Strategy meeting, start!"

At that moment, Haseo shouted with an uncomfortable tone, and a black wall appeared in the middle of the battlefield, blocking all sound.

"Such a bad mood."

Nam Sa-gwang muttered, and Seowoon nodded.

"Now, for the strategy... I’ve been planning it for a few days. So... let’s finish it in the first five minutes. How about it?"

The team members, excluding Kichan, were surprised by the strategy Seowoon had come up with.

"Is that even possible? If it is, I’m confident."

In response to Nam Sa-gwang’s words, Kichan answered instead.

"We’ve already practiced it with hyung. It’s definitely possible."

"Have you surpassed the martial artist?"

"Not surpassed, but let’s just say it’s cheating with herbal medicine."

"If it’s possible, we can finish the battle quickly."

Juriel agreed, and everyone nodded, supporting Seowoon’s strategy.

[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]