Chapter 133
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Round 9 Begins
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[Voting Results for District Representative Selection]
1st Place: Black Scythe (4,088 votes)
2nd Place: Cheonma (1,057 votes)
3rd Place: Dumb Idiots (529 votes)
………………
…………
7th Place: Flat Chest (65 votes)
Ma Kyung-rok felt disappointed at the results that appeared.
‘Ah. I really thought I had a shot.’
Contrary to his expectations, Black Scythe had taken first place.
By an overwhelming margin.
He had hoped there might be a chance for him too, but it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
‘Well, in terms of recognition, there’s no way I could catch up to Black Scythe.’
He prided himself on having climbed to 2nd or 3rd in the previous districts, earning a spot among the named players, but the gap with first place was wider than he’d thought.
The current vote results were proof of that.
It was practically a numerical representation of Black Scythe’s recognition and favorability among the players.
Ma Kyung-rok looked at Black Scythe with envious eyes.
Even after becoming the sole district representative of Korea, the man showed no change in expression.
As if he had known this would happen.
‘Nah, no way. He’s not a prophet or anything—how could he know the vote results?’
He was probably just putting on a poker face to hide his bewilderment.
Or maybe he really had predicted it.
Considering Black Scythe’s level of fame, anyone could have foreseen it.
But Ryu Min was calm precisely because he hadn’t just predicted it—he knew the future.
From the 21st regression, when Round 9 began, all the way to the 99th—after winning the vote 79 times, anyone would react the same.
‘As expected, I took first. The vote count is a bit higher than last time.’
More votes than in previous regressions.
Perhaps because he had formed bonds with companions like Jo Yong-ho, Min Ju-ri, and Seo Ah-rin?
He didn’t need to read minds to guess they had voted for him.
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ has become the new district representative of C3-ESKA001.]
As he gazed indifferently at the message, Ariel shouted out.
[The vote results are in, so Black Scythe is Korea’s district representative! Congratulations, Black Scythe! For reference, the representative privileges of other players have been revoked. You are now the sole Korean player with governing rights!]
The angel continued.
[Now that the representative has been decided, shall we check the Round 9 quest right away?]
A message window appeared before everyone’s eyes without fail.
◀ ROUND 9 ▶
[Main Quest]
└Join a mercenary corps and subjugate monsters
[All Districts]
└Participants: 1,295,362
└Achievers: 0/647,681
[District C3-ESKA001]
└Participants: 6,008
└Achievers: 0/3,004
“Subjugate monsters?”
“What’s this mercenary corps thing?”
The players who checked the quest buzzed with confusion.
In contrast, those around Black Scythe remained composed.
They had already heard prophecies from Ryu Min.
[Soon, you’ll all be sent to a fantasy world to carry out subjugation missions as mercenaries. Don’t panic. As you can see, it’s a simple quest—just subjugate monsters. You can even choose which monsters to hunt yourselves, so no need to worry.]
No one panicked at the mention of being dropped into a fantasy world.
Having already experienced NPCs while escorting the trading company in Round 8, most assumed it would be similar.
[Any questions?]
“A question! Does succeeding in just one subjugation really clear the quest?”
[Of course. It’s a very simple quest.]
The angel kept emphasizing how simple it was, which only made the players anxious.
Nothing that was called “simple” had ever actually been simple.
[Any more questions?]
“Subjugation—does that mean it’s a party quest?”
[You’ll be moving in groups, but it’s not a party. Everyone hunts monsters on their own and gets their share. So you’ll need to push yourselves for the experience points, at least.]
“It says main quest, so are there sub-quests too?”
[That’s a secret.]
‘Of course there are, what kind of question is that…….’
Everyone inwardly scolded the questioner with the same thought.
If it said main quest, there were always sub-quests.
It was a rule they all knew from experience.
“Angel! How does the ranking work?”
Even before the angel could answer, some shook their heads pityingly at the question.
That damn angel bitch wasn’t going to tell them.
The players’ predictions were spot on.
[I’m not entirely sure yet? It gets revealed when the tally comes out.]
Almost no one believed the angel.
That was how much the players distrusted these angelic beings.
But Ryu Min knew.
The angel was telling the truth this time.
‘Angels don’t know everything about the quests. They only have limited info per round.’
Whether to prevent leaks to humans or whatever, the angels’ knowledge of rounds was restricted.
It was solid info he’d tortured out of them several times in past regressions.
Above all, the reason Ryu Min was certain was simple.
‘The final reward from this round’s sub-quest. Just looking at that proves the angels don’t know the full quest details.’
The hidden final reward in this round was something catastrophic for the angels.
‘If they knew about that reward, they’d go berserk.’
That was also why Ryu Min hadn’t prophesied about the sub-quest.
The reward, claimable by only one person across all districts, had to be his alone.
[That’s all the questions. Shall we start the quest now?]
No sooner had Ariel finished speaking than selection windows appeared before the players.
[Touch the monster you want to subjugate.]
└ 1. Lizardman
└ 2. Werewolf
└ 3. Skeleton
└ 4. Troll
└ 5. Minotaur
[If no selection is made, random assignment will occur.]
[Remaining time: 00:00:59]
It was the same system as the trading company choice last time—select and teleport.
“Hmm, pick one of these?”
“Obviously, 1 looks the easiest…….”
You could gauge the difficulty just from the names.
‘As everyone expects, 1 is easiest, 5 is hardest.’
Ryu Min knew the optimal choice, but other players were at a crossroads.
With such an obvious answer, they worried it might be a trap.
“Difficulty-wise, Lizardman seems best…….”
“But then everyone piles into Lizardman, right?”
“Should we go for stronger monsters for better rewards?”
“What if 1 is actually the hardest and 5 is easiest?”
“Sigh, what to pick?”
One minute was too short for all that agonizing.
Most had chosen and vanished, but about a quarter hesitated till the end.
Some even closed their eyes, intending to leave it to random.
‘It might seem like a trap, but it’s not. Difficulties match the order. Just pick what suits your skill and subjugate it.’
Ryu Min had shared this prophecy with his acquaintances.
That’s why Ma Kyung-rok and Ryu Min’s allies had no dilemmas.
They’d thought it through in the real world already.
“I’ll go with 2, Black Scythe!”
“I’m taking 2 too. Thanks for the buff, Democracy!”
Seo Ah-rin and Ahn Sang-chul disappeared first.
They didn’t forget to receive Min Ju-ri’s buffs before leaving.
Ryu Min’s prophecy had told them buffs would carry over if applied before teleport.
Hearing this, Min Ju-ri gladly buffed Black Scythe and the others.
“Great meeting you, Black Scythe, Democracy. I’ll head out first.”
After Ma Kyung-rok selected, he vanished too.
He hadn’t said what he picked, but Ryu Min knew it was 3.
“I’ll go ahead. See you all alive.”
With Yamtti gone, only Ryu Min and Min Ju-ri remained unchosen.
“Where are you headed, Black Scythe? Obviously 5, right?”
“Hmm. Tough call.”
“I’ll take 1. See you later, Black Scythe!”
Once Min Ju-ri vanished, Ryu Min was finally alone.
The reason he’d held off on choosing until now was simple.
He needed to change his appearance.
‘My choice is…….’
Ryu Min activated invisibility.
Hidden from view, he switched to the assassin’s mask.
It was Lost Ark’s face.
With 5 seconds left, Ryu Min’s finger moved.
He selected the monster, and his form vanished completely.
* * *
There’s one rule in the fantasy world.
Player nicknames are invisible.
‘In Round 8 last time, the angel said it was to hide traitors, but that’s not true.’
In the fantasy world, nicknames are concealed, so players identify each other by face and clothes alone.
That’s why Ryu Min had switched to Lost Ark.
‘This way, I can do the sub-quest without Min Ju-ri knowing.’
Ryu Min’s choice was the same as Min Ju-ri’s: 1.
The reason for picking the weakest, Lizardman, was straightforward.
The sub-quest was only here.
‘No sub-quests for other monsters. Confirmed by trying every option across regressions.’
Transforming into Lost Ark was to shake off Min Ju-ri and do it solo.
If he’d stayed Black Scythe, she’d have followed or grown suspicious.
Sure enough, Min Ju-ri’s back was visible ahead, having arrived first.
Ryu Min dropped invisibility and approached.
She glanced back at the sound but quickly looked away.
No recognition of Black Scythe.
With Lost Ark’s face and no nickname visible, it was natural.
Ryu Min opened the quest progress window.
[Lizardman Subjugation Team Personnel]
└Participants: 602
Fewer had picked 1 than expected.
Its low difficulty made people suspect a trap and avoid it.
‘Too bad for them. No better spot for top rankings.’
The ranking method the angel hadn’t mentioned.
It was simply monster kill count.
Rankings based purely on how many you killed.
‘So hunting weak monsters is ideal.’
But too weak meant less XP.
Best to match your level for balanced XP and high rank.
Ryu Min had prophesied all this.
That’s why allies picked 2 or 3—to suit their skills.
Min Ju-ri chose 1 considering her combat ability.
‘At my level, Minotaur 5 would be standard, but the sub-quest matters more.’
This sub-quest’s reward was claimable by only one across all districts.
Essential against angels—he couldn’t miss it.
“You guys players, right? Can’t tell with nicknames hidden.”
“Speaking Korean, so yeah.”
“But why no nicknames again?”
“Do they hide them in the fantasy world?”
“Fewer people than I thought? Isn’t Lizardman the easiest?”
“Yeah, figured it’d be packed.”
“What if it’s secretly super hard?”
“Got a bad feeling…….”
As the players chattered, a bearded foreigner—presumably an NPC—appeared.
“Everyone rested enough? I’m Kalts Garcia, 1st Subjugation Captain of the Golden Eagle Mercenary Corps. They say I’m a renowned warrior from another world in the Holy Empire, but as an apprentice, I’ll speak bluntly. Deal with it.”
With that, Kalts yelled, “Follow me, men!” and turned.
The players trailed him, some entertaining dangerous curiosities like, ‘What if we kill this guy? Does the subjugation fail and we all die?’
A few considered trying but held back.
No one was crazy enough for an act that could wipe the whole team.
They wouldn’t have survived this long clinging to life otherwise.
After 10 minutes, Kalts stopped at the entrance to a gloomy forest.
“Here, men from another world! This is the monster swamp where Lizardmen appear. You’ll subjugate the remnants with me. Let’s move!”
Kalts charged ahead with fighting spirit, players following tensely.
Not a party, so Min Ju-ri rebuffed herself and gripped her sword hilt.
No Lizardman experience, but Ryu Min’s unique armor reassured her.
But she, Captain Kalts, and everyone there missed one thing.
One person had broken from the group.
None other than Ryu Min—Lost Ark.
[You have completed the sub-quest!]