Chapter 175
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Clairvoyance
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The long-awaited 11th round had begun, but Christine was feeling down.
This might be the last round of her life, after all.
‘Nothing to worry about. I have dominion, don’t I?’
As a Priest, she possessed the absolute power of dominion.
If things got dicey, she could use it to fend off anyone trying to ambush her.
But how had she, someone without much combat prowess, risen to become the zone representative?
The answer lay in the people steadily gathering around her.
“You’re here? Berber.”
“Hello, Chris.”
“Lupin, hello.”
“It’s an honor to see you, Chris.”
Players approached using Tracking, offering their greetings.
They were comrades and party members who had stuck with her from Round 2 all the way to now.
They were also the followers of the one and only Priest class.
‘With these people by my side, there’s nothing to fear.’
The rune Christine had obtained upon transferring to Priest was [Rune of Life].
It granted experience and stats the more she healed people or saved lives, forcing her to help others whether she liked it or not.
‘But thanks to that, I’ve gathered all these people.’
By willingly aiding others, she had earned their trust.
Who would turn down free heals in this world?
She wasn’t even stealing their monster kills.
‘I only healed to gain experience and stats, but they don’t need to know that.’
No matter her true motives, to others she appeared as a selfless Nightingale volunteering her services.
Her status as the sole healer was what had allowed her to become zone representative.
‘Even the skeptical voters came to trust me. I even heard them say they’d picked the perfect rep.’
Thanks to that, she had held the representative position from Round 2 to now, earning the title of Saintess along with a host of followers.
They had overcome countless hardships by relying on one another.
‘I’ll get through this one too. No matter what obstacles come.’
Before long, over a hundred people had gathered around Christine.
A sturdy wall of human shields encircled her.
‘As long as they’re here, I don’t have to worry about ambushes.’
She felt reassured, but she couldn’t let her guard down.
With no idea who might strike, she kept her eyes wide open like a meerkat, scanning the surroundings.
“Are you okay, Chris? You seem more tense than usual today.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for worrying, Douglas.”
“If anything happens, just let me know. As the Saintess’s right-hand man, shouldn’t a Paladin be there to protect her? I’ll make sure of it.”
“Hehe, that’s reassuring.”
Christine smiled but didn’t slacken her vigilance.
She had even learned Presence Detection, so even stealth approaches wouldn’t be an issue.
The thought of an assassin brought Jeffrey from another zone to mind.
‘Even if it’s for my sake, threatening to kill a powerless Prophet... I’m disappointed.’
Now that the zones had merged, they might cross paths, but she decided to forget it.
She knew his nickname but not his customized face.
She had no desire to seek him out.
‘Now that the countries are unified, I’ll get to meet the Prophet and Ma Kyung-rok too.’
She wasn’t close with the Prophet, but could she trust her fiancé, Ma Kyung-rok?
He’d be better than Jeffrey, at least.
He was a powerhouse vying for 2nd and 3rd on the previous zone rankings, after all.
‘Maybe he’s the prince on a white horse who’ll come save me...’
She knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up, but she was curious who this person who’d save her might be.
[The explanation is over, so I’ll now warp everyone to the fantasy world.]
Hearing the angel’s words, it seemed things were about to kick off for real.
‘I’ll definitely survive.’
She already knew the 11th round strategy, thanks to the Prophet.
Right now, survival mattered more than clearing.
‘I’ve got this. With these people...’
Christine flashed a confident smile.
Until the angel smirked and spoke.
[Oh, by the way, your starting locations will be randomly assigned. Good luck.]
‘Random?’
Before she could even be surprised, a blinding flash erupted and faded.
When Christine blinked her eyes open, grassy plains had been replaced by a dense forest.
‘W-where is this?’
She was curious about the location, but above all, she panicked.
All those people around her had vanished without a trace.
“Ah...”
Her confidence from moments ago felt hollow as her mind went blank, but she quickly regained her composure and activated her Scout Surroundings skill.
‘Huh? There’s one person nearby.’
A red dot appeared close by, and she headed straight there without hesitation.
Friend or foe, her class couldn’t do anything alone.
“Huh? Douglas?”
“Chris!”
Fortunately, the person nearby was the Paladin she’d just parted from.
“I was panicking after everyone scattered, but running into you here? This must be fate!”
“Haha, looks like it.”
Christine let out a relieved laugh.
‘I was worried it might be a stranger. Good thing.’
She could trust Douglas, an original member from Round 2.
“Berber’s nearby too.”
“Oh, really?”
“He stepped away to scout the surroundings for a bit. He’ll be back soon.”
Using Scout Surroundings confirmed a moving dot.
Moments later, Berber returned and lit up at the sight of Christine.
“Oh? Chris, you’re here too?”
“Yes. Good to see you, Berber.”
“What a coincidence! With you here, Chris, I don’t have to worry about dying anymore.”
“Haha, yeah...”
Neither Douglas nor Berber asked if they could tag along.
They simply took their places by Christine’s side as if it were natural.
‘Well, it’s fine. I’d struggle alone anyway.’
With two reliable people, she felt secure.
Not as much as with a hundred, but still.
“For now, since there’s plenty of time, how about we hold off on the quest and wait here? Others might come looking for you, Chris.”
“Yeah, good idea. Let’s wait here a bit. The scattered folks will surely use Tracking to find you.”
“Hmm, then let’s wait a little.”
She didn’t love just standing around, but Christine preferred moving in a group over solo.
Safety trumped efficiency.
However, she didn’t notice.
The moment she agreed to wait, someone behind her flashed a sinister smile.
* * *
A deserted alleyway.
A man with a scythe appeared there without a sound.
‘Where’s this?’
Ryu Min stepped out of the alley and immediately recognized the scenery of a peaceful Swedish village.
‘The Albitz Kingdom.’
Unlike the pristine Holy Empire, it was rough around the edges but exuded a strange sense of calm.
‘Why is the starting point always different...’
In 67 regressions through the 11th round, repeated locations were rare enough to count on one hand.
Random, so it’s natural?
‘Then why did the random rune shards I got at the start always yield the same rune?’
Some “random” elements changed every regression, others stayed identical.
The system made no sense in that regard.
‘Doesn’t matter. Albitz Kingdom isn’t bad. Actually, it’s good.’
Ryu Min’s first quest destination was the Labyrinth Forest.
Conveniently, it wasn’t far from the Albitz Kingdom.
‘Before that, let’s use Clairvoyance to check people’s positions.’
His skill list included one from the previous round’s special reward.
[Temporary Skill – Clairvoyance]
- Effect: Close your eyes and chant the activation word to trigger it. A virtual eye appears, allowing a third-person view.
Visualize a target player’s nickname and face to instantly shift perspective.
‘Clairvoyance.’
Closing his eyes activated the skill, showing his own figure.
In third-person mode, Ryu Min thought of one person.
‘Democracy.’
The view shifted, revealing Min Ju-ri.
‘Min Ju-ri landed in the Holy Empire.’
Quite a distance away.
Meeting up wouldn’t be easy.
‘Yamtti.’
Visualizing her nickname and face shifted the view above her head.
‘She’s in the Holy Empire too. Whatever, I don’t need her this round.’
He’d considered using her if close, but she was too far.
Next, he checked Seo Ah-rin, Heo Tae-seok, Ma Kyung-rok, Ahn Sang-chul, and others in sequence.
Not out of mere curiosity.
He needed to gauge their positions and actions, assess if they’d be variables this round.
They might interfere with entering the Labyrinth Forest.
‘Seo Ah-rin and Heo Tae-seok are far, no issue. But Ma Kyung-rok and Ahn Sang-chul are close.’
Close enough, and they were planning to track the Black Scythe.
How did he know?
He’d read their thoughts via Clairvoyance.
‘Clairvoyance is like another me. The mind-reading rune applies through its perspective too.’
He hadn’t sacrificed the point buff for nothing.
Remote mind-reading allowed preemptive countermeasures.
‘Ma Kyung-rok and Ahn Sang-chul plan to find me. They’re close, and figure they can gain something by latching on.’
Perfect.
Ryu Min had business with Ma Kyung-rok anyway.
‘He’ll massacre foreign players this round. Need to handle that in advance.’
He then checked Jeffrey’s location, dominated by Yamtti.
Too far to be useful.
‘Is Joo Seong-tak on his way?’
He’d ordered the slave from their duel: find the Black Scythe no matter where he spawned.
Joo Seong-tak already knew his face pre-enslavement, so tracking was easy.
He’d watched from afar before.
‘Good, he’s coming.’
Ryu Min smirked as Joo Seong-tak ran this way.
Joo Seong-tak’s help was essential for the item in the Labyrinth Forest.
Finally, Ryu Min shifted to Christine.
Her nickname was known, and he’d seen her customized face before.
‘Already with two people.’
She was with two who seemed like her followers.
Lucky starting points nearby.
But she shouldn’t relax.
‘That’s exactly why she’s in danger—those guys.’
To clarify now: the threat to Christine came from a cult called the Despair Church.
Its leader was America’s sole Necromancer, John Delgado.
Under him, the Despair Church aimed to kill Christine.
‘Reading their thoughts: one’s Despair Church, the other a traitor in cahoots.’
The most trusted turning out to be spies and traitors.
That’s why Christine dies in Round 11.
‘If I step in, that changes.’
He knew the enemies, but no need to act yet.
No kill order given, and the Despair Church needed time to assemble.
‘Plenty of time.’
In the interim, Ryu Min planned to quest with Joo Seong-tak.
There was an item he absolutely needed from the Labyrinth Forest.
One that disguised nicknames.