Chapter 161
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Immense Reward
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ryu Min first encountered the Seven Archangels back in the 68th round.
‘It was right after overcoming the 15th round of demons and massacring the angels in the 16th round.’
Unable to hold back his rage, Ryu Min had been slaughtering angels when one suddenly appeared, leaving him speechless.
He had been utterly overwhelmed.
This was no ordinary battle angel he had faced before.
‘Its name was Michael, I think.’
He hadn’t even considered challenging it.
Back then, Ryu Min was so weak that he couldn’t even clear the 99th floor of the Tower of Trials.
‘Well, even after clearing the 99th floor, I ran into them several times, but I just let it slide. There was no reason to take unnecessary risks.’
But the angel that appeared today was a total letdown.
Its skills fell far short of expectations.
‘Is it because it’s the lowest-ranked among the Seven? It’s weaker than I thought. Or maybe I’ve just gotten too strong?’
To seize the early momentum, he hadn’t held back and pressed the attack relentlessly.
But after observing its movements a few times, he realized the truth.
Remiel was an angel far slower and weaker than him.
‘Killing it like this would be a waste.’
With that thought, Ryu Min severed its limbs using a combo of Blood Moon and Moonlight Slash.
He could have killed it outright but deliberately let it live.
He wanted to lure in more angels.
[Groooan…….]
[Ugh…….]
And the result was exactly what he saw now.
Fifty 3rd-class battle angels lay scattered across the floor.
Their limbs torn apart, most reduced to corpses rolling on the ground.
A few still clung to life.
[You have slain the 3rd-class angel ‘Roychel’!]
[Stat Points +32]
[Gold +327,120]
[Angels Slain: 100/100]
[Conditions for using Demon’s Blessing have been met.]
[You may now use ‘Demon’s Blessing’ by reciting the activation phrase at any time.]
He had just finished off the last surviving angel.
Everyone except Remiel.
With that, he had reached 100 angels slain and unlocked the ability to use Demon’s Blessing.
‘I’ll save it for the next time I have to kill angels.’
Ryu Min turned his gaze to Remiel, left isolated and alone.
Without limbs, it looked so pathetic at a glance that one might mistake it for a corpse.
“Oh dear. All your subordinates are dead. What now?”
[You bastard…….]
Sparks flew from its eyes, glaring with murderous intent.
Even in this state, its gaze remained fierce.
“Even in a situation like this, your pride knows no bounds. Well, I suppose ruling as one of the Seven Archangels for so long would do that.”
[What the hell are you? How do you have such power? Why didn’t the divine punishment work? Why are you killing angels?]
Ryu Min just twisted his lips into a smirk amid the barrage of questions.
Why was he killing angels?
Simple.
Because of the rewards.
‘The Seven Archangels don’t even know that killing them drops items?’
What a joke.
The angels, whom he thought were the game’s hosts, were actually being used by someone else.
‘Used by the system? If so, then whoever created the system is likely the real mastermind.’
Whoever that black curtain was, Ryu Min could only be grateful from his perspective.
It had made him strong enough to stand against the angels.
“What’s my reason?”
Ryu Min’s footsteps headed toward Remiel.
For now, it seemed better not to reveal that rewards came from killing them.
“After seeing what you angels have done to humanity, you still spout that nonsense?”
[…….]
“Put yourself in our shoes. Eighteen billion humans living peacefully wiped out. The survivors thrown into some survival game out of nowhere. And the hosts are you angels. Wouldn’t you want to kill us if the roles were reversed?”
Remiel fell silent, but Ryu Min knew.
It wasn’t listening to a word he said.
-Damn it. What do I do? If it looks like I’m about to chant the return spell, it’ll kill me instantly……
Peeking into its thoughts, he saw its remaining brain working overtime.
-How do I turn this around? Should I detonate all my currents and divine power in a suicide explosion like planned? I could inflict some damage that way…… But I’d die without seeing this human die. Damn it.
Even without limbs, it was desperately scheming ways to survive.
It seemed to hate dying to a human that much.
“Why no answer? Do you want to die?”
[…I understand. The human perspective. Yes, to you, we must look like demons. But it can’t be helped.]
“Can’t be helped?”
[Humanity has grown too numerous. Your species is destroying the natural ecosystem and depleting resources.]
“So what? Have we humans ever harmed you angels? No, we haven’t.”
[How have you not harmed us? Your very existence is offensive to us angels—like pests or vermin. Isn’t it the duty of superior angels to control your numbers so they don’t multiply further?]
“…….”
Remiel’s words weren’t particularly new to Ryu Min.
He had heard similar things from other angels before.
The reason they despised humans.
It was the same as why humans despised insects.
‘Though this is the first time hearing they started all this just to cull our numbers.’
He had gleaned some valuable intel.
Not that it changed anything.
“Even now, you don’t beg for your life? You must really want to die.”
[Who broke the deal first? How shameless.]
“If that’s how you see it, no helping that. Farewell.”
[Wa-wait.]
Stab-!
He pierced its heart.
Angels had hearts in the same spot, judging by the deflating sound.
[Gahhh…….]
Slash-!
He swung his scythe, severing its head.
Reading its final thoughts, it seemed bitter about failing to self-destruct.
‘No need to be bitter. I wouldn’t die to some pathetic suicide blast.’
He had a title that reduced damage from holy-type enemies by 80%.
Another that nullified mental-type damage.
Since half of their holy power attacks involved mental damage, it further minimized the harm.
‘And even if I somehow died, I have a resurrection title.’
Moments later, Ryu Min’s eyes turned to the messages floating in the air.
[You have slain Archangel ‘Remiel’ of the Seven!]
[Stat Points +817]
[Gold +8,178,000]
The stat points and gold were incomparable to those from regular angels.
All thanks to Demon’s Blessing.
‘It said maximum 10% extra stat points, but I only got 2%? Gold can go up to 1,000 times, but it was just 200 times.’
It was disappointing for Ryu Min, who had hoped for the max.
Remiel must have been the weakest among the Archangels, as expected.
‘Still, thanks to this, I’ve stacked up insane stats and gold.’
From the 100 battle angels plus the Archangel, he gained 3,049 stat points and over 30 million gold.
In level terms, it was no exaggeration to say it equated to a straightforward 1,500-level gain.
And that wasn’t all.
[For slaying Archangel Remiel, you receive ‘Condensed Ether.’]
[For slaying Archangel Remiel, you receive ‘Lightning Rune.’]
[The acquired rune is automatically engraved onto the player’s body!]
A god-grade material and a rune reward to boot.
[Lightning Rune]
-Effect: Summon lightning from your hand and utilize it in various ways. Magic damage scales with Intelligence.
└ Emission ▶ Fires like a laser, dealing 1,200% of Intelligence as magic damage.
└ Charge ▶ Deals 800% magic damage and repels enemies 15m or more.
└ Area Release ▶ Releases currents in a 30m radius, inflicting 400% area damage.
└ Amplification ▶ Channels currents through the body, increasing attack speed and movement speed by 100%.
└ Self-Detonation ▶ Releases all currents in a 100m radius, inflicting 3,600% area damage. This damage also applies to yourself.
It was the rune reflecting Remiel’s abilities.
Naturally, a first for Ryu Min as well.
‘The effects look incredible.’
The damage was appealing, but the utility effects stole the show.
‘I can repel enemies with currents or boost attack and movement speed.’
Things Ryu Min lacked, making it all the more valuable.
‘Magic damage based on Intelligence, huh.’
Ryu Min opened his status window.
-Name: Ryu Min
-Nickname: Black Scythe
-Rank: Master
-Titles: Last Time Regressor (Public), First Angel Slayer (Hidden), Defier of Divine Punishment (Hidden), Forerunner (Hidden), Supreme Being (Hidden), Slayer (Hidden)
-Level: 89
-Job: Grim Reaper
-Strength: 5,743, Intelligence: 6,022
-Agility: 4,435, Luck: 4,244
-Common Skills: Tracking, Presence Detection, Trace Erasure, Emergency Treatment, Area Scan, Dynamic Vision Enhancement, Basic Resistance, Sleight of Hand
-Exclusive Skills: Seal of Death, Night of Death, Moonlight Slash, Blood Moon
-Runes: Rune of Massacre, Rune of the Grim Reaper, Rune of Radiance, Rune of True Intent, Rune of Clone, Rune of Balance, Rune of Mental Barrier, Rune of Endurance, Rune of Foresight, Rune of Stealth, Rune of the Demon, Lightning Rune
-Held Gold: 32,687,000
-Remaining Stat Points: 3,049
Intelligence was already his highest stat.
And he hadn’t even invested much into it.
‘With this, I could fight like a mage if swinging the scythe gets annoying.’
His Intelligence was overwhelmingly high compared to his level.
Enough to electrocute most high-level monsters.
There were more messages for Ryu Min.
[Demon faction reputation has greatly increased.]
[Demons’ reputation toward Black Scythe has risen from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Friendly.’]
Killing Remiel had boosted his reputation enough to jump straight to Friendly.
‘Feels weird thinking I’ll be favored by demons.’
Of course, this world had angels, so it had demons too.
He had even met them in person.
‘The 18th round was a quest to fight demons.’
That was when he first realized.
Demons weren’t inherently evil like in the media.
‘Just a difference in species.’
They looked different and held different ideologies, much like humans.
No real difference otherwise.
That was when his prejudices about angels and demons shattered.
‘As far as I know, the demons rank themselves up to 72……’
That was the extent of his knowledge.
He had never felt the need to gather intel on the demon side.
After all, his enemies were the angels, not demons.
‘Stats, gold, god-grade material, rune, and even reputation.’
He had gained a tremendous amount.
‘Is that all the rewards?’
That was when it appeared.
[Hidden Soul Bond Quest available!]
‘Soul Bond Quest?’
A quest message he had never seen before popped up.