Chapter 115
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Elf Caravan
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Chapter 115
115. The Elf Caravan
[Escorting the Dwarf Caravan has ended.]
[Current Personnel Status]
└Participants: 190
└Traitors: 5
The mission to escort the Dwarf Caravan concluded with a low death toll of 40.
Although, 24 of them were from the traitor group, killed not by monsters, but by the hands of fellow humans.
‘But I survived.’
Ryu Min and the other four had managed to survive to the end without being discovered.
Of course, a greater challenge awaited what could barely be called survival.
<Traitor Group Quest Failed>
[As you failed to obstruct the caravan from reaching its destination, all stats will be reduced by 20% until the end of the round.]
[You will be moved to the Traitor Group's waiting area shortly.]
While not getting caught in the hunt was something to be happy about, failing the group mission was a grim reality.
At least, for the other traitors, not for Ryu Min.
‘I hit level 70 in the Dwarf Caravan. The experience was surprisingly good.’
He even thought he might surpass level 80 in this round.
“I guess this is it, Black Scythe.”
“Good work.”
Min Ju-ri and Seo Ah-rin approached to say their goodbyes.
They looked somewhat reluctant to part ways.
“You did well. See you in the next round.”
As Ryu Min finished speaking, the background changed.
When he came to his senses, he was standing in a gray space.
[Kyahaha, you’ve returned, have you? My dear traitors? Oh?]
The angel Ariel furrowed her delicate brow.
[Only five of you are left? Haaa. Far fewer than I expected.]
“Expected? Angel, did you expect us all to die like this?”
[Of course. With the small number of people in the Dwarf Caravan, I expected you'd be quickly weeded out during the traitor hunt. Surely you weren't feeling complacent just because the difficulty was low?]
“……”
The traitor who had spoken fell silent, as if she had struck a nerve.
[Kyahaha, how naive of you. Or are you just stupid? It's only natural that it's harder to hide your identity when there are fewer people, isn't it?]
In reality, the Dwarf Caravan was the most difficult mission for the traitor group.
The claim that it was easy was purely from the perspective of the regular group.
[Still, the good news is that there’s still hope for you. You have two more chances, after all.]
If they could stop either the Elf Caravan or the Human Caravan from reaching its destination, the traitor group could survive.
If they could stop them, that is.
[Cheer up. The next one, the Elf Caravan, won't be as difficult as this one. There are 700 people, you see.]
The traitors, excluding Ryu Min, were surprised by the number, which was more than triple the last.
Beautiful elves were certainly more popular than ugly dwarves.
[This time, the five of you should stick together and come up with a good plan. Though you'll have to carry that stat penalty with you. Keeheehee.]
The five traitors looked at each other.
None of them felt like shaking hands in this situation.
They were merely taking note of each other's faces to know who their allies were.
“There are only five of us left, so let’s do a good job this time.”
“Right. We have to stick together if we want to live.”
“Should we come up with a strategy before we go? Black Scythe?”
The gazes of the other four turned to Ryu Min.
The way they sought his permission felt like a natural appointment to leadership.
“Do as you please.”
Ryu Min had no intention of getting involved with them.
Even if they shared a common goal, a solo was a solo.
He couldn't trust people who weren't in his party.
“Don’t you have any plans to attack, Black Scythe?”
“Yeah. I don’t think I saw you step up when we attacked the dwarves earlier either…”
One of the traitors trailed off, closing his mouth.
Ryu Min's murderous glare naturally silenced him.
“What reason do I have to trust any of you? You’re not my party members.”
“But we’re in the same group…”
“We only share the same objective; we’re essentially individuals. That’s why the experience is distributed separately.”
After his cold rejection, Ryu Min turned his back.
“It would be better to focus on hunting instead of getting any funny ideas.”
As he declared he would go solo, the traitors' expressions darkened as if they had been betrayed.
It seemed they lacked the confidence to attack the caravan without Black Scythe.
Watching the scene, Ariel let out a chuckle.
[My, my, it seems there's dissent even within the group. Well, that's none of my business, so figure it out yourselves. My only job is to send you to the Elf Caravan.]
“By the way, Angel. If we go to the Elf Caravan, does that mean the players there will have been waiting for five hours because of us?”
[Oh, did I not mention? While you, the traitor group, are proceeding with your mission, time is frozen for the humans in the other caravans. The same goes for the humans who just finished with the Dwarf Caravan.]
She explained that time only flowed for the caravan the traitor group was participating in, while the others were paused.
[If we didn't do it this way, the other caravans would have to spend a boring amount of time waiting while you experience all three. They might also get needlessly suspicious. So don't worry about the other humans. Right now, you are what's most important, aren't you? Kyahahahat.]
Listening to her most grating voice yet, the traitors waited to be transported.
[Shall we head to the Elf Caravan, then? I do hope you succeed this time.]
***
A change of scenery can be good for a change of mood.
The ones who realized this firsthand were none other than the traitor group.
‘This place is…’
‘The quest location for the Elf Caravan?’
Unlike the gloomy, rocky area where the Dwarf Caravan had been, this place was filled with lush green trees and fragrant scents.
Moreover, the biggest difference was, without a doubt, the players.
“Ooh, so we start the escort from here?”
“I guess choosing the Elf Caravan means we start in an elven village or something.”
“But why are there so many people?”
“They all chose it because they wanted to see elves, what else?”
As the angel had mentioned, about 700 people packed the forest.
‘With this many people…’
‘It won’t be as easy to test people by poking them like last time.’
On one hand, the traitors felt relieved that there was little risk of being discovered beforehand.
However.
[Due to the Traitor Group's failure penalty, all stats are reduced by 20%.]
The message that appeared on one side only brought a sense of despair.
Ryu Min, however, paid no mind to the message.
‘It’ll start the same way this time. They’ll be surprised by the lack of nicknames, then surprised by the number of traitors.’
Just as Ryu Min predicted, the players were first surprised by the absence of each other's nicknames, then surprised again by the message that appeared.
[Escort the Elf Caravan]
└Safely escort the Elf Caravan to its destination.
└Upon successful escort, all participants will receive an experience reward.
└The individual who contributes the most to eliminating the traitors will receive a sub-quest reward.
└If all traitors are eliminated, all participants will receive an additional reward.
[Current Personnel Status]
└Participants: 740
└Traitors: 5
“Look at this. There are five traitors among us!”
“How are we supposed to find them?”
“How about this? We attack each other to find out!”
After some deliberation, the players decided to test each other right from the start.
But they soon realized that individually poking over 700 people was impossible and gave up.
“Haa, we need to catch those traitor bastards.”
“How are we supposed to find those five?”
“This is so frustrating, like having a bug in my mouth.”
While the people let out frustrated sighs, the traitor group breathed sighs of relief.
*Clip-clop. Clip-clop.*
As expected, a procession of wagons appeared.
It was a line so long its end was not in sight.
“Ooh, elves, elves.”
“For real. They look just like the elves from the games.”
“Seriously, she’s a dead ringer for the female elf character I used to play.”
The pointed-eared elves, regardless of gender, were characterized by their snow-white skin and beautiful features.
A complete contrast to the dwarves, who all looked like old men and grandfathers.
Above all, the wheelless carriages, levitating by magic, caught everyone's eye.
Not to mention the aristocratic air of the elves themselves.
“Greetings, warriors from another world. You have been waiting here as promised.”
A tall, handsome elf stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully.
“I am Yugrito, and I operate a magic caravan under the banner of Elsorium. Having the warriors of the temple here to meet us is most reassuring.”
His smile was enough to sway the hearts of the female players.
To the men, however, it was an incredibly cheesy smile.
‘As expected, they call us warriors from another world again.’
Beings from other worlds always referred to players that way.
It was a familiar occurrence for Ryu Min, but the players conversing with otherworldly beings for the first time were amazed that they could even understand each other.
“Wow, do elves actually exist?”
“Or are they created beings?”
“We can just ask. Hey you, are you really an elf?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Yugrito tilted his head.
He asked back, wondering if there was a hidden meaning, but to Ryu Min, it was a foolish question.
It was on the level of asking a human, "Are you really a human?"
‘What’s important isn’t whether elves exist. It’s how much I can gain by using them.’
Just as he had raised his reputation with the dwarf race to obtain the Rune of Durability, there was something to be gained from the elves as well.
‘The elixir that elves are said to serve only to their most esteemed guests. That's what I need to obtain from this escort mission.’
So, how could he receive the treatment of an honored guest?
The answer was simple.
‘Just like with the dwarves last time, I just have to save their lives.’
But for that to happen, the traitors needed to make a move, and they didn't seem to have the guts for it.
‘Even if they do attack, it will be futile, as the elf knights disguised as merchants and the earth and wind spirits surrounding the carriages will protect them.’
Then the only way left was to wait for monsters to attack and save them from the crisis.
However, saving the elf merchants would likely earn him nothing more than a word of thanks.
‘As I said, they are Elsorium’s elf knights disguised as merchants.’
He didn't need to read their minds to know why knights were disguised as merchants.
‘It's because they have something to protect.’
What if he managed to save that precious thing?
They would surely treat Ryu Min not just as an honored guest, but as a lifelong benefactor.
‘The place where that precious thing is…’
Ryu Min's gaze swept over the line of carriages.
Of the 30 carriages in total, only the 15th one in the middle had a distinctly different design and crest.
‘There. That’s where the elf princess is hiding.’
The princess of the elves, Yupinelsia.
If he could protect her from the monster attack, Ryu Min would be able to get what he wanted from the elves.
Just then, someone who recognized Ryu Min spoke to him.
“Huh? Black Scythe?”
It was none other than Heo Tae-seok.
“NoPainNoGay. So you were here.”
“Black Scythe, how did you get here…?”
“What do you mean, how? I’m here because I chose the Elf Caravan, of course.”
After speaking, he read Heo Tae-seok's mind and realized his question had a different meaning.
He was asking how he knew where he was and chose the same caravan.
‘This guy thinks I followed him.’
It was an absurd misunderstanding, but there was no need to correct it.
Heo Tae-seok corrected his own thoughts, shaking his head.
There’s no way Black Scythe knew I chose the Elf Caravan. Could this be fate? A fateful encounter telling me to party with Black Scythe once again?
Heo Tae-seok was trying to connect himself with Black Scythe in any way possible.
“...What are you staring at?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Hehe…”
Heo Tae-seok, who had been staring intently at Ryu Min, shyly turned his head away as if nothing had happened.
‘Knowing his intentions makes his gaze really uncomfortable.’
Ryu Min was inwardly shaking his head, but there was another person who made him uncomfortable.
“Black Scythe?”
“Hm? You are…?”
An unexpected person approached Ryu Min.