Chapter 198
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Position
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◀ ROUND 12 ▶
[Main Quest]
└Pass the five trials in the Cave of Trials
[Integrated Zone CA-EA001]
└Participating teams: 7,880
└Achieved teams: 0/3,940
"Five trials?"
"So that's why they told us to form teams of five?"
"Ah, so one person has to tackle each trial?"
The angel smirked at the players' mutterings.
[You've got some experience under your belts now, huh? You can already guess from the quest. That's right. This round is about passing five trials, and you'll need a team of five to do it. Of course, the details of the trials are confidential.]
Even before the angel finished speaking, the players sprang into action.
The moment they heard it was a team battle, they started thinking about who to party with and moved accordingly.
If they dawdled, they might end up as the unlucky last two.
[Survival's on the line, so everyone's quick on the uptake. Good. I like that proactive attitude. Now, form your teams while you listen.]
Ignoring them, the angel continued the explanation.
[As I said, you need a party of five to start the game. You all know how from Round 6, right? Just hold hands—all five of you—and chant 'party formation' at the same time. Oh, speak of the devil, the first party's already formed.]
The angel glanced into the air, as if watching real-time results.
[Parties can be formed regardless of nationality. As they say, yesterday's enemy is today's ally? Or is it the other way around? Anyway, forget the last round and play nice. Oh, and for smooth partying, we're activating the translation feature.]
As soon as the angel finished, a message appeared.
[Round trait 'Translation' activated.]
[You can converse with otherworldly races.]
[You can communicate with all players without language barriers.]
The translation function, which they'd received each time they entered another world, was now active.
They could understand and read each other's languages, but people still avoided glancing at foreigners.
The last round had ingrained the idea that players from other countries were dangerous.
Some harbored prejudices like racial tensions.
[Now that you can talk, chat freely and form parties. No need to worry about getting stabbed. Obviously, party members can't harm each other.]
Even with the angel's encouragement, players only partied with their own countrymen.
The leftovers would have no choice but to team up with foreigners.
[As the quest shows, only the 3,940 teams that clear the trials fastest will survive. Rankings will be based on individual performance. The criteria? Secret, of course. That's all the explanation. We'll start as soon as all parties are formed. Who'll be the unlucky last two, I wonder? Kuhuhuhu.]
Seo Ah-rin turned to Black Scythe, ignoring the angel's mocking laugh.
"Black Scythe. Have you found your party members?"
"Not yet."
"Th-then... how about teaming up with me...?"
Seo Ah-rin spoke shyly, but Ryu Min showed no particular reaction.
He'd said "not yet," but he'd already decided on his members in his head.
"Huh? Come to think of it, there are exactly five of us here by coincidence. What if we party up like this?"
Min Ju-ri chimed in from the side, but Ryu Min had no intention of partying with them.
'Others don't know about the trials, so they're grabbing anyone for a five-man party...'
Ryu Min, who knew the strategy, didn't need to.
He couldn't just pick anyone.
'You need to form a party suited to each trial. That's the key to this round.'
The five trials weren't given arbitrarily.
Everyone here knew that—not just Ryu Min.
He'd told them all through the prophecy.
'That's why they're suggesting we party up. We're exactly five, and we have the right classes for tackling each trial.'
But among them, the only one Ryu Min needed was Min Ju-ri.
The others weren't necessary.
He could replace them with more trustworthy people.
'Ma Kyung-rok and Ahn Sang-chul have no intention of partying with me anyway.'
There was the Labyrinth Forest incident, plus they knew he'd saved Christine.
As her fiancé, they couldn't help but feel awkward.
The rift was already there; it was too late to patch it up.
"Black Scythe? What do you think? Partying with us..."
"Sorry. I've already planned to party with Democracy."
"Huh? Oh..."
His declaration elicited opposite reactions from Min Ju-ri and Seo Ah-rin, like heaven and hell.
Min Ju-ri was touched that Black Scythe had chosen her.
Seo Ah-rin didn't show it, but she felt disappointed.
"Ah-rin. Let's find another party."
"..."
Even at Ahn Sang-chul's words, Seo Ah-rin couldn't bring herself to leave.
In the meantime, someone approached Black Scythe.
It was Christine.
"Ah, Black Scythe. You're here..."
Christine, who'd come looking for Black Scythe to party, flinched upon seeing Ma Kyung-rok.
It was the same nickname as her fiancé.
"Heavenly Demon? No way, you..."
"Hello, Chrissy. First time seeing you here in the otherworld, right?"
Ma Kyung-rok wisely used her nickname instead of her real name.
Black Scythe was there.
Christine didn't make the mistake of using real names in front of others either.
"Didn't expect to see you here, Heavenly Demon."
"Same here."
They could converse without English thanks to the translation.
"Did you come looking for Black Scythe?"
"Yes... There was no one else to party with. Don't misunderstand."
Christine, feeling oddly defensive, made excuses without being asked.
"No misunderstanding. It's natural to want to party with the person who saved you. I get it. The problem is Black Scythe won't take us."
"Huh?"
Christine looked at Ryu Min.
Her eyes asked if he wouldn't include her in his party.
"I've decided to party with Democracy here. No plans for anyone else."
Her expectations dashed, Christine's face fell like Seo Ah-rin's—like someone who'd confessed and been rejected.
Then another person appeared.
"Black Scythe!"
It was Yamtti, Black Scythe's real-life acquaintance.
A familiar burly man stood beside her.
None other than Victor Jafirelda, the Nigerian alchemist.
His appearance and nickname were unmistakable.
'She brought him just as instructed.'
Ryu Min had already given Yamtti orders.
Pretend it was a coincidence, meet Victor, and bring him.
With the same face and nickname as in real life, he wouldn't be hard to find.
"Victor? This is Black Scythe."
"I-is this really Black Scythe?"
Victor had seen him in real life, but only masked.
It was natural he wouldn't recognize him.
"Nice to meet you, Victor. First time in the otherworld."
"B-Black Scythe? It really is you?"
"Can't tell from the nickname? Heh."
Overwhelmed with emotion at meeting his savior, Victor was at a loss.
"Nice to meet you. So nice. I've wanted to see you so bad."
Beside the teary-eyed Victor stood someone who looked similar.
Ryu Min had noticed from the nickname.
"No way, the one next to you is...?"
"Ah, you recognized from the nickname? Sorry, late intro. This is my little sister, Sophia."
Sophia's nickname matched her name, so he'd known right away.
He hadn't expected her to come with Victor, though.
"Pleased to meet you, Black Scythe. I heard you saved my brother from that hell. Better late than never—thank you so much. Truly..."
"It wasn't a big deal."
"No. Not just anyone could do what you did. There are plenty of powerful people in the world, but you're the only one who saved my brother. It's only right to thank you."
Sophia was genuinely grateful to Black Scythe.
He was the benefactor who'd reunited her with her brother after IS's tortures.
"Haha, turns out my little sis is a big Black Scythe fan. She scrapbooks every article about you from Korea."
"O-Onii! Don't say that!"
"What're you embarrassed about? It's true."
Ryu Min smiled watching the bickering siblings.
They reminded him of himself and Ryu Won.
The other players watched curiously but got the gist.
Black Scythe was those two's lifesaver.
"Looking for a party, Black Scythe? How about with us?"
Victor suggested confidently, and onlookers expected acceptance.
But Ryu Min shook his head again.
"I'll party with someone else."
"I see. Too bad, but can't be helped."
Victor and Sophia showed disappointment but turned without argument.
They seemed to leave empty-handed, but Ryu Min wasn't done.
"Party with Yamtti instead, Victor."
"Huh? With Yamtti?"
Yamtti had helped Black Scythe before.
They were acquainted, so no discomfort, but it was puzzling.
Of course, Ryu Min hadn't paired her randomly.
'Yamtti's necessary for Victor to clear this round easily.'
Puzzled or not, it was a no-lose proposal for Victor.
"I'd welcome Yamtti. What about you, Yamtti?"
"Sounds good to me!"
Yamtti glanced at her master but joined Victor without fuss.
A slave couldn't defy her owner.
And so Victor, Sophia, and Yamtti formed a team and went to find the rest.
"Hmm, since Black Scythe's going solo, shall we party among ourselves?"
At Ma Kyung-rok's suggestion, Ahn Sang-chul, Christine, and Seo Ah-rin exchanged looks.
They recalled Ryu Min's prophecy for Round 12.
-Round 12 is where five people team up to tackle five trials. Obviously, you can't just grab any five—you need classes suited to each trial.
The people needed for each trial, per Ryu Min:
First trial: Tank
Second trial: Melee DPS
Third trial: Ranged DPS
Fourth trial: Supporter
Fifth trial: Summoner
They needed those positions to clear each trial.
'Ahn Sang-chul as tank, Ma Kyung-rok as melee DPS, Christine as supporter, Seo Ah-rin as summoner—perfect fit.'
No overlapping positions; ideal party.
The four knew this from the prophecy and couldn't bear to split.
"Let's party as these four? It's perfect."
"Shall we?"
They had no choice but to nod at Ma Kyung-rok's suggestion.
No better comp existed.
Seo Ah-rin and Christine had wanted Black Scythe as melee DPS instead, but he refused.
"Now we just need a ranged DPS..."
"Who to pick..."
As they whispered, they spotted a suitable candidate.
"Greetings, my god!"
It was Heo Tae-seok, Death God Cult leader and black mage.
No longer shy, he approached Black Scythe openly proclaiming him god.
"This humble one seeks the honor of partying with god. Might it be possible?"
"Nice concept. But no dice. Party's already set."
"Ah... unfortunate."
Heo Tae-seok looked dejected like a guy dumped by his girlfriend, but Ma Kyung-rok lit up like he'd found prey.
"NoPainNoGay. No party? Join us? We've got one spot open."
"Uh, s-sure?"
They knew each other, so no reason to refuse. Heo Tae-seok joined Ma Kyung-rok's team.
Ryu Min watched without regret.
'That was the team comp I wanted for them.'
Unlike others, he especially wanted Christine to survive.
That solid prophecy-perfect party would get them through safely.
"Now let's find our team."
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Min Ju-ri didn't understand why Black Scythe had rejected the others.
'I'm grateful he picked me, but why?'
She couldn't figure it out, but the truth was simple.
'Didn't want Ma Kyung-rok stealing Min Ju-ri for his team.'
Ryu Min knew Ma Kyung-rok had eyes for her.
He didn't want to hand her over, nor party with him.
'For the clear, better to pick my own people.'
After a few steps, Ryu Min met his next members.
"Jeffy, Dumb Idiots. Together, huh."
His slaves and perfect allies: Jeffrey and Joo Seong-tak.
"You've arrived, Black Scythe. We've been waiting."
"These guys...?"
"They're partying with me. Quiet and reliable—don't worry."
He briefly introduced them to Min Ju-ri, then kept walking.
One spot left.
For the summoner role, he'd already chosen.
'The necromancer. I'll bring him into the team.'
He was essential for the sub quest clear.