Chapter 204
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: 12th Round Results Tally
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Drip, drip—
Debris fell from the wall of the half-collapsed cave.
Lying beneath it was Sariel, her waist severed.
‘She looks like a corpse, but she’s not dead yet.’
Ryu Min could see her health bar thanks to the Seal of Death he’d planted on her.
It was hanging by a thread, though.
‘Who would’ve thought a single Moonlight Slash would do this?’
He’d already gauged her level after clashing with her a few times.
‘Her strength and agility are higher than Remiel’s, sure, but it’s still a wash.’
Being ranked 6th didn’t make her all that impressive.
Of course, that eerie scream she unleashed at the end had been unexpected.
‘From reading her thoughts, it seemed like a skill called Soul’s Wail… Anyone else probably would’ve been done for.’
Ryu Min’s resistance to status ailments was 90.2%.
There was no way he’d fall for such a cheap trick.
He’d even recently equipped two rings with 40% resistance each, making it even less likely.
‘I raised my resistances specifically for situations like this.’
Satisfied with his foresight, he approached Sariel.
She was as good as dead, but her ears still worked.
“So you’re the Archangel of Death, huh? You really look like you’re about to die.”
[Groooan…]
“For a 6th-ranked being like you, I’m disappointed. Did you claw your way up with that noisy ability?”
Perhaps out of pride, Sariel glared at him venomously even on the brink of death.
[K… Kill me.]
“Before that, I have some questions.”
[Do… you think I’ll tell you anything?]
“I’ll ask anyway. Are you Archangels the ones hosting this survival game that kidnaps humans? Or is it the system running it on its own?”
[…]
“Who created the system?”
[…]
“Why are you doing this? What’s your goal?”
[…]
Sariel clamped her mouth shut in defiance, but Ryu Min didn’t need her to speak.
These were questions meant to probe her thoughts.
-Idiot human bastard. You think a 6th-rank like me knows that high-level info? Maybe 5th-rank Raguel, but not me.
Ryu Min smirked.
‘Raguel? So that one knows?’
Hoping for more useful info, he delved deeper into her mind.
But it was all stuff he already knew—nothing new.
Just then, his 60m radar picked up irregular breathing.
Turning his head, he saw the necromancer staring this way with excited eyes.
‘Why’s he staring like that?’
Sensing desire in the man’s gaze, Ryu Min approached to read his thoughts.
Once within 30m range, John Delgado’s mind became clear.
-If Black Scythe kills that angel, I’ll try turning her into a familiar. Not sure if it’ll work.
Ryu Min let out a small sigh of admiration as he grasped the man’s intent.
‘Right, there’s a necromancer in the party.’
Necromancers collected souls to command spirit undead or raised corpses as zombie fighters.
‘Can you even collect an angel’s soul? Interesting.’
Her body was already bisected, so he was probably aiming for a spirit undead.
‘Fine. Let’s see how this plays out.’
Smiling, Ryu Min walked back to Sariel.
She hadn’t lost her spirit yet, cursing him inwardly nonstop.
-Hearing your answers would take longer than just killing you, you dimwitted human.
“That’s exactly what I was planning.”
[What?]
Stab—!
He slammed his scythe like a pickaxe, separating her head from her torso.
Instant death.
[You have slain the Archangel Sariel of the Seven!]
[Stat Points +3,299]
[Gold +32,990,100]
[Reward for slaying Archangel Sariel: ‘Condensed Ether’ obtained.]
[Reward for slaying Archangel Sariel: ‘Rune of Darkness’ obtained.]
[The acquired rune is automatically engraved onto the player’s body!]
[Reputation with the Demon Faction has slightly increased.]
[Soul Binding Quest]
└Slay the Seven Archangels
└Archangels slain so far (2/7)
└Success ▶ ????
Killing an angel with Demon’s Blessing active yielded massive rewards.
‘More than with Remiel.’
But she’d been easier to handle than Remiel.
Probably because he’d grown tremendously after killing her.
‘A new rune and a God-grade material, too.’
With Condensed Ether in hand, visiting the dwarf in Round 13 was now a given.
He’d need the dwarf’s help for other God-grade materials anyway.
Before checking the new rune, Ryu Min subtly stepped aside.
Making space for John Delgado to step in.
‘Let’s see what kind of rune this is.’
[Rune of Darkness]
-Effect: Freely manipulate darkness for three effects. Cannot be used in lit areas.
└Emergency Escape ▶ Forms wings of darkness on the back.
└Barrier ▶ Erects a barrier of darkness. Blocks projectiles or catches and repels them.
└Scatter ▶ Hurl darkness like blades for attack. Deals hybrid physical/magical damage (50/50).
‘Oh, this is a solid rune.’
The one from Sariel had high utility.
‘Flight, shield, or ranged attacks like daggers.’
True freedom over darkness.
The catch was it only worked in darkness, but…
‘I’ve got Night of Death.’
As long as he could create artificial darkness, no worries there.
Ryu Min distributed his stat points next.
By the time he evenly allocated the 3,299 points, Reaper God Incarnation wore off.
-Strength: 15,368, Intelligence: 16,088
-Agility: 16,160, Luck: 16,960
Thanks to Min Ju-ri’s buffs, the gains were huge.
‘It was even higher earlier. Sariel was a holy-affinity Archangel, after all.’
With his title doubling stats against holy types, angels were no match for Ryu Min.
‘Hmm, he’s making his move now?’
After stats, John Delgado finally acted.
He’d been creeping closer, watching Ryu Min’s cues, and now reached Sariel.
He urgently chanted at the corpse.
“Rise!”
The incantation for familiar-binding triggered a reaction.
Whoooosh—
Violet light swirled, and Sariel’s soul emerged from the body.
Expressionless, the soul snapped the chains binding it to the corpse, approached John, and knelt.
No words, but it was obvious.
Sariel’s soul had successfully been subjugated by the necromancer.
“I-It worked! It actually worked!”
John Delgado couldn’t hide his joy.
Oblivious to Ryu Min’s proximity.
“What worked?”
“Gah!”
Startled half to death, John had revealed his secret weapon.
“K-Kill him! Kill that guy!”
He pointed at Black Scythe and ordered the spirit undead Sariel, but she naturally ignored it.
Ryu Min was an ally she couldn’t attack.
“You forgot the party’s still active, huh?”
“Ah…”
Ryu Min sneered at the flustered John.
“You want me dead that badly? Even if it means making an angel your familiar? But can you even pull that off? Her main body couldn’t touch me before dying.”
“…”
Of course not.
But John desperately needed the angel’s power.
The penalty was already making things tough.
“Do whatever with the angel. But…”
Ryu Min closed in threateningly.
“Drop any thoughts of crawling back to me. If you value that neck you barely saved.”
“…”
“Think carefully. Next time, no mercy.”
Ryu Min turned away dismissively, but an intriguing thought crossed his mind.
‘If I kill an angel familiar, does it count as slaying an angel?’
If yes, he could stack Demon’s Blessing easily via the necromancer.
He wanted to test it by killing Sariel now, but she was an ally familiar.
Better to wait until the round ended and party disbanded.
‘I’ll keep him alive until then.’
Unaware his life hung by that thread, John stood there dazed.
* * *
[Is everyone gathered?]
The colorless space where it all began was now filled with people.
Ryu Min’s team had returned shortly after slaying the angel.
[I’ll check how many teams survived. Oh dear.]
The angel let out a feigned sigh.
[We started with 7,880 teams, but only 2,389 remain.]
Most had perished in the final trial, even without tanks, mages, or supports.
The fifth trial was impossible without a summoner.
[We planned to rank those who cleared early if over half survived and eliminate the rest, but we fell short.]
Target was 3,940 teams.
Only 2,389 passed, short 1,551 spots.
First time ever short, players’ eyes widened in shock.
[Since we’re short, all 2,389 teams survive. Total survivors: 9,994.]
Not a multiple of five, but players got it.
Few teams had all five alive.
Some died to monsters mid-trial or votes.
[Now for individual rankings. Check the results for criteria. Let’s see them.]
The angel signaled with a wing, and the results appeared.
★ 12th Round Results Tally ★
[Integrated Zone CA-EA001]
└1st: Black Scythe (Lv91 Reaper) - 200 kills
└2nd: Cheonma (Lv60 Dark Knight) - 100 kills
└3rd: NoPainNoGay (Lv60 Black Wizard) - 100 kills
[Individual ranking based on monster kills!]
“What? Monster kills as the criteria?”
“Monsters mean the golems from Trials 2 and 3?”
“So supports couldn’t possibly take 1st?”
“Argh! If only I’d killed 10 more golems.”
Players groaned at the late reveal.
[Note: Ties broken by who killed first. Now, rewards?]
Soon, a familiar message appeared before Ryu Min’s eyes.