Chapter 108
-----------------------------------------------------------------Translator: 8uhlChapter: 108Chapter Title: Round 8 Begins-----------------------------------------------------------------[BREAKING! Congressman Lee Seong-hyun Kidnapped and Released...][Anti-Player Bill in Jeopardy, Congressman Lee Threatened During Abduction.][Congressman Lee Seong-hyun's Near-Death Experience. The Four Truths of His Testimony.][Who Kidnapped Congressman Lee?][Congressman Lee's Kidnappers Revealed to be Four Players.][Congressman Lee Seong-hyun Narrowly Escapes Public Execution, Fortunately Suffers No Trauma...][Police: Three Players Dead, Remaining Suspect at Large.]The internet was currently ablaze with the news of Congressman Lee Seong-hyun's kidnapping.└Congressman Lee I'm so glad you're safe.└Wow... Now they're kidnapping congressmen.└Are these Players out of their minds?└It's the end of the world. We're on a one-way trip to hell.└Don't lump all Players together and insult them. Some of you see every Player as a potential criminal, but they're human beings just like you.└That's right! Stop the Player hate!└Cut the crap. The fact is, the number of incidents has increased more than tenfold since Players appeared. There are stats to prove it.└True. A lot of Players are hot-blooded twenty-somethings, so they cause all sorts of trouble.└I wish all Players would just drop dead.└The best thing is to just stay inside and keep a low profile. They'll all disappear after some time anyway lol└Hope all those bugs get exterminated once the 13 months are up lolPublic opinion was turning against Players.It was a clear example of how poor their image was.However.[BREAKING! The one who rescued Congressman Lee Seong-hyun was another Player, Black Scythe.][Player Black Scythe reportedly saved the congressman despite being offered a role in the crime beforehand.][Black Scythe saved Congressman Lee Seong-hyun, even betraying his own comrades to do so.]As articles emerged that a Player had saved the congressman, public opinion began to shift.└The one who saved Congressman Lee was a Player?└Is this article for real? If it's fake, I'm starting a national petition.└Of course it's real, you moron. Why else would there be a flood of articles saying the same thing...└Here come the Player fanboys. "Not all Players are bad!" they'll scream!└Why? The article makes it sound like he helped without asking for anything in return. I don't get why there are so many sarcastic comments.└I know, right? Seems like there are more and more people who just blindly mock Players.└The people being sarcastic are probably the street vendors who got robbed by Players lollllll└But isn't this Black Scythe guy famous among Players? I heard he's a monster who hits rank 1 every round.└Damn, what? If that's true, he's a hardcore veteran.└Black Scythe has appeared in the real world? Whoa, thaaat's awesoooome!└There's a Player in the chat lol└Busted!└Who the hell is Black Scythe, you weeb.Yamtti, who had been reading the articles, looked up with a smile.“Master. Look at this. There are comments praising you, Black Scythe.”“Really? Let me see.”Ryu Min took the phone and scanned the comments.There were still many sarcastic remarks about Players, but the overall atmosphere wasn't bad.‘It would be greedy to expect the name Black Scythe to become famous just for saving one person.’It seemed Congressman Lee Seong-hyun had told the police everything.Evidenced by the fact that even his nickname was mentioned.‘Still, this isn't bad. Things are unfolding as I intended.’It was enough if people thought of Black Scythe as the person who saved the congressman.‘I can build up my reputation over time. There's no rush.’Smiling faintly, Ryu Min handed the phone back to Yamtti.“Ah, thank you, Master.”Even though three days had passed since the incident, Yamtti still trusted and followed Ryu Min.‘She’ll probably spend her whole life serving me as her master.’The Domination Authority was certainly useful.It could turn even a psychopath like her into a gentle lamb.‘However, it seems the degree to which people accept demands differs.’Even though he had told her not to call him master, Yamtti kept making the mistake of doing so.‘Is it because of the command to become a slave?’If she considered herself a slave to the bone, could she easily speak informally to her master if he told her to?‘As a slave, it would be unimaginably difficult.’In short, it was like the president telling an ordinary citizen to speak to him informally.‘Is it only natural that she makes mistakes?’She might be trying, but the perception of him as her master could be causing her to slip up repeatedly.This was why Ryu Min had eventually allowed her to call him master again.‘It was getting uncomfortable hearing her speak informally anyway. This worked out well.’Though he looked to be in his twenties, Ryu Min had in fact lived for over a hundred years.‘It’s because I repeated the same period 99 times, but if you only count the time I’ve lived, these people are no different from my grandchildren.’Looking at Yamtti, Ryu Min gave her another warning, just in case.“I’ll say it one more time. You can call me master when we’re alone. But what do you have to do when others are around?”“I should call you Ryu Min, right? And not use honorifics.”“Right. You get it. Make sure you remember. Erase the thought that I’m Black Scythe completely.”“Yes, yes. I understand, Master.”As she spoke, Yamtti bowed so low her forehead touched the floor, but Ryu Min didn’t tell her to get up.He had read her thoughts and knew it was a gesture of submission as a slave.‘A slave is most comfortable in a slave’s position, after all.’When Yamtti finally raised her head, Ryu Min asked.“Did you explain everything to the Chairman?”“Yes. As you instructed, I told him the plan failed because of Lost Ark’s betrayal. He accepted it easily, even without the influence of my Charm.”Ryu Min nodded.Indeed, since he had ambushed the Chairman disguised as Lost Ark, calling him a traitor made the story consistent.“And did you relay the message I told you to give him after that?”“Yes. As of two days ago, July 9th, we’ve agreed to abolish PleSeBa’s murder interviews and switch to interviews that focus on character.”“Good, good. Now that the leadership has changed, we need to correct what was wrong.”They had decided to stop the insane practice of murder interviews and conduct normal interviews from now on.However, when joining, they would focus more on a Player’s character than their level or score.“If anyone applies to the cafe, use the Chairman to run a background check on their criminal history first. Don’t even grant an interview to anyone with the slightest issue.”“Understood.”“That settles the interviews… The biggest problem besides that is what to do with the existing Players… How many are there in total?”“More than half died in the last round, so there are about 4,000 left now.”“And every single one of them passed the murder interview?”“That is correct. Whether they participated directly or stood by and watched, they are all complicit in murder.”“They’re all bastards who deserve to die, but the problem is how to deal with them.”After a moment of thought, Ryu Min smirked.‘That should work. It’s best to leave the trash to the cleaners.’Ryu Min was the type to find a use for anything, even waste.* * *Tap, tap, tap—Heo Tae-seok didn't usually use his phone much.The only game installed on it was Sudoku.Even that, he hadn't thought to play or delete since becoming a Player.But now, for the first time in a while, Heo Tae-seok was engrossed in his phone.└Black Scythe has appeared in the real world? Whoa, thaaat's awesoooome!Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—Heo Tae-seok's fingers moved rapidly, leaving comments on every article.He didn't discriminate, commenting on any article that mentioned Black Scythe's name.Then.└Who the hell is Black Scythe, you weeb.When he found a comment dissing Black Scythe, he would immediately reply.└Oh, the ignorance. To not know the great Black Scythe. There isn't a Player who doesn't know him, tsk tsk.└So what, asshole lol. To normal people, he's a nobody, less famous than a celebrity lol└You moronic idiot who doesn't even know how famous he is.└lol You resort to insults when you lose the argument? Dumbass lol“Ah, this is pissing me off.”This was his fifth keyboard battle so far.At this rate, he was going to die from a stress-induced rage.“These foolish people have no idea how incredible Lord Black Scythe is…”He clicked his tongue, but Heo Tae-seok also felt it subconsciously.Among ordinary people, Black Scythe was no different from a character in a niche game.‘What should I do? What can I possibly do…?’He was conflicted, but he already knew the answer.Hadn't he decided to establish a religion for Black Scythe?‘To do that, I’ll need to gather followers.’He couldn't establish a religion on his own.He needed people who would raise their voices with him.Financial issues were a secondary concern.‘I have to find them. People who will establish a church for Lord Black Scythe with me.’Where and how should he find them?The answer to that question was already in his head.‘If you want to catch fish, you have to go to the river.’To attract Players, he naturally had to go where there were many Players.* * *Time passed, and it was August 1st.About 2,000 Players had gathered in one place.Round 8 had begun.Murmur, murmur—“Where is this?”“This isn't a meadow.”Until now, the starting locations had often been meadows or forests.But the ground the Players were standing on now was a plain, white, colorless space.Unsure of what kind of round was about to begin, their faces were filled with tension.“Lord Black Scythe!”Not long after Ryu Min arrived in the other world, Min Ju-ri approached him.“You found me quickly.”“Of course. If I use the Tracking skill, it's easy…”Min Ju-ri trailed off, realizing her mistake.“Tracking wasn't on the list of skills I told you to learn before.”“Haha…”Min Ju-ri couldn't bring herself to admit that she had learned Tracking just to find Black Scythe.But there was someone else who had learned Tracking for the same reason.“Ah, hello, Lord Black Scythe.”Heo Tae-seok approached hesitantly and greeted him.‘That guy too?’Ryu Min’s eyebrow twitched.They were all spending their gold on useless things instead of the skills he told them to learn.Just then, as he looked at Heo Tae-seok, Ryu Min read his mind and learned something.‘This guy recently applied to join PleSeBa, didn't he?’It seemed he joined as a way to promote the religion he wanted to create for Black Scythe.Since it was recent, he was different from the other trash who had passed the murder interview.‘Hmm, I suppose I’ll need to assign different ranks to distinguish the members.’He needed to demote all the existing members and give special treatment to the recently joined ones with a special rank.‘The existing members might protest, but it doesn't matter. I plan on leaving them to the cleaners anyway.’As Ryu Min smirked, Min Ju-ri smiled and spoke to him.“Oh, by the way, Lord Black Scythe, I saw the news. You saved Congressman Lee Seong-hyun, right?”“Ah, I did.”“I saw it too! Lord Black Scythe! I was so happy that I left supportive comments for you on every article. Hehe.”“…”Seeing Heo Tae-seok’s rare, bright smile, Ryu Min couldn't bring himself to scold him for doing something so useless.“Anyway, you’re really amazing! The articles said the culprits proposed you join them in their crime, right?”“That’s right.”“How could they make such a proposal? Who do they think you are, Lord Black Scythe?”“They didn’t know it was me. No one in the real world knows my identity.”Strictly speaking, Yamtti knew, but since she was his subordinate, it didn't matter.At that moment, a common thought surfaced in both of their minds.—I want to know Lord Black Scythe’s identity too.Hearing this, Ryu Min inwardly shook his head and suddenly looked up.An angel appeared in the sky with a flash of light.[Hello, everyone. I am Ariel, the new administrator for the C2-ESKA003 sector. No need to applaud.]“…”When no one actually clapped, Ariel’s eyes narrowed.It seemed she wasn't just being polite.[I thought at least one person would clap. How annoying.]Clap— Clap, clap—‘This is like begging for applause.’Her expression softening somewhat at the sound of clapping, Ariel beamed.[Thank you for the welcome! Now then, shall we all check the quest for Round 8?]