Chapter 110
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Betrayer Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There are two groups in Round 8.
The general group that escorts the caravan, and the betrayer group hidden within it.
Naturally, the two groups have different objectives.
‘The general group must escort the caravan and ensure it safely reaches its destination.’
This was the main quest of Round 8 as it was commonly known.
The sub-quest was to identify and eliminate the betrayers along the way.
‘But if you become part of the betrayer group, the quest changes completely.’
Sure enough, a new objective appeared before Ryu Min.
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ belongs to the betrayer group.]
[The main quest and sub-quest have been merged into one.]
[The Round 8 quest has been changed.]
◀ ROUND 8 ▶
<Betrayer Group Quest>
└Prevent the caravan from reaching its destination
└Success Reward ▶ ????
└Failure Penalty ▶ Retry with a 20% stat reduction debuff
└Three Failures ▶ Annihilation
The general group’s objective was to safely escort the caravan to its destination.
But the betrayer group’s was the exact opposite.
‘The betrayer group’s objective is to prevent the caravan from reaching its destination.’
It was a quest to be carried out in secret, mixed in among the others.
In a way, it could be seen as a battle of the few against the many.
To some, it might seem like an insane level of difficulty, but…
‘That doesn’t mean I have to take on the entire general group by myself. As long as I prevent the caravan from reaching its destination, the quest is a success.’
There was no need to make enemies of all the players just to sabotage the mission.
‘I just need to kill the otherworlders in the caravan.’
If he could quickly assassinate the merchants from the other world, there would be no problem.
Surviving the players’ retaliation afterward was a separate issue.
‘No, they won’t act out of a sense of retaliation. They’ll be hell-bent on killing any betrayer they find to complete the sub-quest.’
To the general group, betrayers were targets to be eliminated.
In other words, the players had become Ryu Min’s enemies.
‘Or did I make them my enemies?’
This was why Ryu Min hadn’t mentioned the sub-quest in his prophecy.
Even if they knew, it would be impossible for them to complete it.
‘They think they can kill me, Black Scythe, and claim the sub-quest reward? As if.’
How would people react if they found out the betrayer was Black Scythe?
Undoubtedly, many would give up on the sub-quest without even trying.
‘Anyway, are those people in the same betrayer group as me?’
The place Ryu Min was in now was a gray space, different from the starting point.
He had been moved here along with the message that he had joined the betrayer group, and he could see other people around.
‘They’re the ones who, like me, failed to choose a caravan before the time ran out.’
They were probably panicking as they read the messages.
Being told they had suddenly become betrayers.
Being told they had to make enemies of hundreds, thousands of players.
‘Looks like there are less than 30 of them.’
Now, whether they liked it or not, they had to carry out the mission together as the betrayer group.
‘No, we don’t necessarily have to be together. Not if they don’t intend to clear the quest.’
It was unfortunate for them, but Ryu Min had no intention of finishing the quest early.
‘The penalty for failure is a stat reduction debuff and a retry, but…’
The key point was that only three failures led to annihilation.
Failing once or twice would only result in a stat debuff; there was no other loss.
‘This is what’s important. The fact that there are three chances.’
The betrayer group would be sequentially assigned to the dwarf, elf, and human caravans.
That meant if they failed the mission, they could experience all the caravans.
‘It’s a chance to raise my level immensely.’
What if he intentionally failed the mission and went through each caravan as if on a tour, killing monsters?
He could gain far more experience than others, not to mention acquire items from all three locations.
‘Especially the runes given for high reputation with each caravan. I’ll be able to monopolize them all.’
Ryu Min planned to obtain two runes in this round.
The Rune of Endurance and the Rune of Foresight.
‘Endurance can be obtained from the dwarves, and Foresight from the human caravan.’
The elf caravan offered potions, and there was one that even Ryu Min coveted.
‘In any case, the key strategy for Round 8 is to monopolize experience and items by going through each caravan.’
For that purpose, being in the betrayer group was the best choice.
Of course, for the other betrayers, it would be nothing but misfortune.
‘Because I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure the quest fails.’
Belonging to the betrayer group while wishing for the betrayers to fail.
He was a double agent in every sense of the word.
[Kyahaha, so all the indecisive fools who couldn’t pick a caravan have gathered here?]
Ariel, the angel in charge of explaining Round 8, appeared with an unfitting laugh.
[Everyone, gather around. You won’t get another chance to see each other, so you should at least know each other’s faces, right?]
As the angel flapped her wings, the scattered players gathered in one place.
“Huh, Black Scythe?”
“Why is Black Scythe here?”
“No, more importantly, why am I in the betrayer group?”
[It seems some humans still haven’t grasped the situation. Isn’t that why I’m here?]
Ariel kindly explained to the players how they had become betrayers.
“Ah, so it’s because I didn’t choose?”
“What on earth was I thinking…?”
“So, everyone here failed to choose a caravan?”
Ryu Min quickly counted the number of people.
Including himself, there were 29 players gathered.
While the others were engrossed in the angel’s explanation…
‘I have to memorize their faces now. It’ll make it easier to deal with them when I betray them later.’
Ryu Min quickly began to memorize the faces of the betrayer group, one by one.
Why memorize the faces of his own allies?
If they were in a party, he could identify them through the rings on their wrists.
‘Because we’re a group in name only, not party members.’
Just then, the angel began to explain this very point.
[As members of the betrayer group, you must prevent the caravan from reaching its destination. You all share the same quest, so you could consider yourselves a party, but you are not actually a party.]
“Not a party?”
“So we’re playing solo?”
[Yes. The general group is a party, but since you are betrayers, you do not share experience. The setting is that you can’t trust each other. Kyahaha!]
“What? Then how are we supposed to hunt…?”
“I was so happy thinking I was in a party with Black Scythe…”
The disappointment was evident on the faces of the players who had been hoping for a carry.
[The part about not trusting each other was a joke, but there’s a valid reason why you can’t form a party. It’s because if one person betrays the team, the rest will suffer for it.]
“What do you mean by that?”
[Suppose one of you in the betrayer group goes crazy and reveals the identities of your fellow betrayers. What would you do then?]
“I’d shut that bastard’s mouth.”
“Even if I have to kill him!”
[Exactly, right? But as you know, if you’re in a party, you can’t attack each other, and you won’t deal any damage. In other words, if one person betrays the group, the rest are vulnerable to the consequences.]
“Ah. So that’s why…”
“There was a reason we couldn’t be a party.”
If they were in a party, they wouldn’t be able to silence a blabbering betrayer and would have to endure the suspicious gazes of those around them.
The moment they were suspected, the chances of the betrayer team succeeding would plummet, making it necessary to prevent them from partying up.
‘That’s a relief for me. I don’t have to share hunting experience.’
Ryu Min, having memorized all the faces of the betrayer group, grinned.
Now, even if he encountered them in the field, he could distinguish who the betrayers were.
‘As long as I know who they are, dealing with them will be a piece of cake. And I have the Rune of Inner Thoughts, too.’
Moreover, there was a reason he memorized their faces instead of their nicknames.
That reason came from the angel’s mouth.
[For your information, all player nicknames will be hidden as well. If you knew the nicknames, it would be easier for the betrayers to identify each other.]
“You’re hiding nicknames because of us?”
In short, it was a measure to prevent the betrayers from knowing each other’s identities.
“But our faces have already been exposed to each other.”
[Because faces are harder to memorize than nicknames. Especially in such a short time, who could have possibly memorized all these faces?]
Someone had.
Ryu Min, right here, had done just that.
[And you can cover your faces well enough with a helmet. I believe that’s a reasonable explanation, don’t you?]
As the angel stared as if demanding an answer, the players could only nod.
“Yes, yes.”
“Very, very reasonable.”
[Good. Then shall we get started? If the caravan reaches its destination, all of you will have to retry with a different caravan in a weakened state, so be careful.]
Though they weren't in a party, they were a community of fate, sharing the same quest.
“Huh? But you said a different caravan?”
“Isn’t it a retry with the same caravan?”
[Ah, I didn’t mention that, did I? You will challenge the dwarf, elf, and human caravans in that order. The difficulty will also be low, medium, and high, respectively.]
“Huh? So if we fail the dwarf caravan quest?”
The angel smiled slyly.
[You’ll have to challenge the more difficult medium-level quest with your stats reduced by 20%.]
“Aah.”
In other words, the more they failed the quest, the more the difficulty would spike.
Hearing this, only one thought came to the betrayers’ minds.
‘I have to succeed in the dwarf caravan quest, no matter what!’
‘I have to assume there’s no next chance!’
The betrayer group burned with determination, but they didn’t know.
They didn’t know that as long as Ryu Min was with them, their chances of success were slim.
‘It would be clean to find and kill the other betrayers from the start, right? I’ve already memorized their faces.’
As Ryu Min smiled, Ariel spread her wings.
[Now, it is time to go. Members of the betrayer group!]
‘I hope you succeed in your betrayal and bring joy to those above!’
Swallowing her true thoughts, Ariel gestured.
With a bright flash of light, the 29 betrayers, including Ryu Min, disappeared.
The escort of the dwarf caravan had begun.