"Big brother, but you know what. Isn't this a bit strange?"
Leonardo and Ero hid their bodies in the tree shade while waiting for the smog to clear. The Great King Plarinerus's smog was, simply put, a pollen emission phenomenon. Though yellow powder didn't settle or make their noses itch, the water particles and dust floating in the air combined to block the sun like a dark curtain.
Because of this, for 15 minutes after the smog began, the area around the stamen tower would become quite dark. Unless one possessed viewing glasses as assistance items, moving in darkness was dangerous. Just a moment ago, five or six people had fought in front of this area and were injured, then carried somewhere by match officials.
Even aside from that, the occurrence of smog meant someone had passed through the portal again. For 45 minutes, even climbing to the top of the stamen tower would only mean having to keep others in check, with no clear strategic advantage visible. At least for now.
"What is?"
Leonardo, who had been reviewing the current situation in his head, asked back without much thought. Ero looked at the dim sky covered by leaves and answered.
"Did you hear the broadcast earlier when they said 3 hours had passed? That there were 11 passers."
"Yeah. I heard it."
"As far as I know, excluding this current smog, smog occurred only 2 times before that. But isn't it strange that 11 people passed with the portal opening only 2 times?"
Leonardo crossed his arms, leaned his back against a trunk, and only rolled his eyes.
"Opened 2 times? Not 3 times?"
"What I saw was 2 times. I was hanging around this area continuously in the early stages, so I know, but for over an hour after the match started, no one approached the stamen tower. More precisely, they couldn't."
"Why?"
"Some crazy... ah, participant with a whip would appear like a ghost whenever anyone approached the tower and steal all their crystals. But then he wouldn't climb up himself, so he wasn't a gatekeeper either, just a really troublesome guy. Usually those types aim to eliminate competitors in advance from the test games, trying to drop as many as possible, right?"
"...."
"But now that about half the passers have emerged, I think he's probably climbed up by now. Of course, even if he's still there, he'd cry and back down in front of our supreme big brother!"
Ero said the difficulty of this match had increased dramatically because of that guy, adding that he didn't know whether this situation with far fewer passers than the test match held two years ago was unfortunate or fortunate. Usually when about half the match time passed, the passer quota would fill up and the match would end early.
The golden eyes listening to the story stirred.
"How do you know such things?"
"Huh?"
"About aiming to eliminate competitors in advance, or there being fewer passers - how do you know such things?"
'The guy who was begging to be saved just moments ago.'
Leonardo hid his continuing inner thoughts. Even before entering the arena, he had been sensing the presence of a tail. How could he be certain there wasn't someone secretly hiding among the participants to approach him?
When his gaze transformed into suspicious eyes, Ero, who had been stupidly asking back, waved his hands.
"Come on, big brother! What's with those eyes? This is basic stuff! I'm also on my 4th league attempt. I know at least this much."
"4th attempt? This isn't your first time?"
"Huh? Big brother, surely you didn't..."
The two, who hadn't been understanding each other for a moment, carefully sorted out the situation. They were both bound to be surprised by each other in various ways. Ero confided that he thought Leonardo had already aimed for main tournament advancement several times or already had experience advancing. Leonardo shook his head.
Then Ero said that even the concrete-like main tournament lineup would finally see a bloodbath, and he excitedly shook his body saying he'd go all-in on big brother later. Because of this, the tree branch he sat on shook finely and leaves fell rustling down. Leonardo narrowed his brow and calmed his partner.
"So. You have quite a bit of league experience, and you'd know more about the league than most guys?"
"Of course, ask me anything you're curious about! I'll answer with all sincerity as far as I know!"
'An unexpected gain?'
The difference between experienced and inexperienced was like heaven and earth. Honestly, though he had looked into various things related to the league, they were all just indirect information he could hear from outside. Stories from participants who had actually participated would be different.
Leonardo thought Package 4 might not be completely useless and returned to the earlier topic.
"So why did the portal open 2 times instead of 3? I thought 3 people passed through the portal 3 times each for 9 people, and the remaining 2 people passed by collecting 7 crystals of the same color. Though I was also surprised that 2 people had already collected 7."
"Did you hear the broadcast when 1 hour passed after the match started?"
At that time Leonardo had been wandering inside a cave under the island and had no memory of hearing a broadcast. If he had heard even mumbling sounds from outside, he would have gone out to check what the content was. However, now he was hazy about whether there had even been such signs.
"No, I didn't hear it. What was the content?"
"There was no broadcast when 1 hour passed. This is my guess, but probably there were no passers at that point. So even assuming the first passer emerged right after 1 hour and 1 minute passed since the match started, the portal could have opened at most 3 times by now, or 2 times excluding the smog that just occurred. 11 people passed in just 2 times."
"...Are you certain there were no passers for 1 hour?"
"Yes, because of that guy I mentioned earlier..."
Rustle—
Suddenly a faint human presence was detected from the underbrush. Leonardo quickly rolled his eyes and raised his palm as if to signal silence. Ero, who became tense as well, hugged his bag and lowered his body. The presence seemed to survey the surroundings, then crossed under the tree where the two were hiding. Then it ran straight toward the Great King Plarinerus.
Afterward, he flashed a small lantern to send signals somewhere. Then about two more people crossed under the tree and ran toward the upper part of the petals.
Ero, who had been watching the retreating figures, turned his head toward Leonardo.
"Big brother, it looks like they're already moving? They seem to be aiming for the next portal..."
Anxiety filled Ero's voice. And rightly so, after this rest period ended, there wouldn't be much time left to open the portal. Moreover, it was about time for other guys to have collected all three types of crystals.
Leonardo, thinking the same thing, pulled his back away from the trunk he had been leaning against and stood up.
"I know. Let's talk while moving."
Unexpectedly, there were quite a few participants crawling up the Great King Plarinerus's petals in the darkness. Befitting the modifier "Great King," this flower's down wasn't ordinary down but stood up like tall reeds. Thanks to this, it was suitable for concealing bodies, and participants were crawling in prone position through the gaps.
However, even in the midst of this, various things were happening in unseen places.
Leonardo, who had already twisted his eighth neck, covered the last guy's mouth with his palm. The man, whose face had turned red and then had blue veins bulging on his forehead, clawed at Leonardo's hand and forearm with his nails. However, Leonardo silently endured and leaned the man's head against his chest, then grasped the man's carotid artery with his hand and instantly twisted it to one side.
Crack—
A brutal sound like cervical vertebrae breaking rang out. At the same time, the man who had rolled his eyes back and lost consciousness slipped down from Leonardo's embrace. Leonardo properly laid down the participant who would soon be eliminated and checked his pulse. Then, suddenly feeling a stinging sensation on his skin, he looked down at the back of his hand.
"Damn, I got scratched."
The resisting man's fingernails had dug in, gouging out flesh. Though blood wasn't flowing profusely, the burning sting was annoying. Leonardo, who had been examining the wound area with annoyance, tore a clean part of the cotton t-shirt he wore under his jacket and wrapped it around the back of his hand.
While he treated the wound as a temporary measure, Ero, who had stiffened, only looked down at the scattered victims from a short distance away. Soon he raised his head with a pale complexion and asked.
"B-big brother. Are these people dead?"
"Why, is it wrong to kill them?"
Leonardo asked back with a playful expression. Though Ero immediately realized it was a joke, the problem was it didn't sound like a joke.
"Haha... Well, in test matches there's no need to kill..."
"I don't kill unless they're bullying others. Maybe before, but not now."
So you did kill before?? Ero swallowed his follow-up words while sweating profusely. He wanted to ask about his identity, what work he had done outside, but couldn't muster the courage. He just resolved once again to serve with loyalty.
"But why did these guys climb up without crystals? I was hoping to collect all 7."
"Probably because it's the second half now, everyone's getting desperate? Rather than roaming the entire island looking for crystals, they seem to come with the idea of waiting and stealing. I've actually seen quite a few guys who worked hard to collect and bring them, only to have them stolen by that sadistic whip-wielder and go back. We should hurry too. Before more competitors swarm in."
Though the sky where the smog was clearing had brightened somewhat, as it was gradually entering evening time, it was no longer as bright as day. If another hour passed from here, complete darkness would arrive. Leonardo, who agreed for different reasons, nodded and moved his steps.
"Ah, right. I have something to ask."
"Yes, please speak."
"You said earlier that no broadcast came out when 1 hour passed since the match started."
"That's right?"
"What puzzled me was, do they usually announce passers by time like this? Wouldn't it be fine to just announce whenever passers emerge? Like how many people just passed through the portal."
"Uh... that's..."
"Was it like this when you played matches before too?"
"Well, the rules and locations change every match. So I've never experienced the same rules..."
Ero said he had played a similar match before. Even then it was a situation where they had to find keys to exit the designated map, and in that match, keys were buried in the ground or sometimes even inside monster bellies. He added that the process of obtaining items needed for passing was even more troublesome than this match.
"I remember that time they announced immediately when passers emerged. This time the method is a bit different."
"Hmm... If the portal opened 2 times, at most 6 of the 11 passers went through the portal, and the remaining 5 would have to pass carrying 7 crystals each. Do you think that's possible?"
Ero rubbed the back of his head and answered.
"Actually, I was also uncertain about that. Big brother, you've been collecting only crystals since the match started, right?"
"Yeah."
"If even someone like big brother hasn't collected 7 crystals of the same color yet, I don't think there would be 5 such people. It would only be possible if they were insanely lucky or strong like that sadist, but honestly, it's not common for one group in a mere test match, not even preliminaries, to have more than 3 strong contenders aiming for the main tournament."
"So that means..."
Just then, Ero used the pistol in his hand to push aside the down blocking their way. Then suddenly a cool breeze crossed between the two. Wondering what was happening, a vast amount of fresh water pooled around the stamen tower spread before their eyes like a wide lake.
No stepping stones to cross were visible, and instead, eliminated participants' belongings and shoes floated on the fresh water. Sometimes sticky mucus clung to the items.
'Is that the place?'
Leonardo looked up once at the stamen tower rising high, covered by clouds. If his prediction was correct, there would be many who had moved stealthily like themselves in this area. Then climbing up there and reaching the pistil would be equivalent to the main battle of this match. The weapons and clothing of the defeated floating on the fresh water were proof of that.
Then he looked down at his sticky feet.
At the point where the lake began, mucus was clumped together in lumps. When he touched it, it seemed to be the same component as the mucus that had flowed out when he split the small Plarinerus in half earlier.
'Did it fall from above?'
Just as he was puzzled, Ero, who was startled, grabbed Leonardo's arm and pulled him down. As Leonardo lowered his posture accordingly and looked at him, Ero whispered urgently.
"Big brother, look over there!"
When he raised his head, Ero's fingertip was pointing somewhere. Someone was standing on a protrusion in the middle of the stamen tower.
"That's the guy! The one with the whip!"