Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Rune of the Clone
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When faced with a reality they can't believe, people freeze in bewilderment.
Words fail to form, and their pupils dart around.
That was the case now.
"Wh-wh-wh..."
The manager's trembling gaze shifted between the Black Scythe's corpse and Kkokkomakkkomak.
"What have you doooone! To kill Sir Black Scythe!"
He never imagined the renowned Black Scythe would die so easily, nor that Kkokkomakkkomak would suddenly fly off the handle.
"Are you insane! You!!!"
"Ah, you're so damn noisy."
A low voice and a sharp gaze were directed at the manager.
The sudden shift in atmosphere made the manager swallow unconsciously.
'Wh-what? That look in his eyes.'
It was the gaze of a predator, one that could make a person shrink.
The shy young man in his twenties was nowhere to be seen in Kkokkomakkkomak.
Leaving the bewildered manager behind, Ryu Min shifted his gaze to the empty air.
[You have committed a murder while impersonating another player.]
[The activation conditions have been met.]
[You have discovered the hidden 'Rune of the Clone' in this location!]
[The acquired rune will now be automatically engraved onto the player's body!]
A satisfied smile appeared on his face at the message confirming he'd obtained the Rune of the Clone.
'Good. The acting was worth it.'
The condition was met because he had impersonated Kkokkomakkkomak.
The doppelgänger who would become infamous as Kukurubbingbbong was no more.
Because Ryu Min had just killed him.
He felt no sympathy, as the man was destined to become a villain.
"Si-Sir Kkomak! Say something! Why on earth did you kill Sir Black Scythe?"
"Why? Because he was a fucking bastard who impersonated me."
"Impersonated? What do you mean..."
Instead of answering, Ryu Min took out a prepared mask and put it on.
It would be trouble if the unconscious woman woke up and saw this scene.
Just in case, he also placed a black bag over the woman's head.
The manager, still wary, shouted.
"You were supposed to kill the woman, why did you kill Sir Black Scythe, that's what I'm asking!"
"Why? I killed him because he was trash. And you're trash, too."
"What did you say?"
The manager's brow furrowed, his eyes instantly filling with killing intent.
He wasn't soft enough to stand by and be called trash.
Shhhkk-
A long, curved sword was now in the manager's hand.
"Say that again. What did you just..."
Suddenly, the manager's voice trailed off as if muted.
His eyes widened in turn.
"I said you're trash. Why? Am I wrong?"
It was because a long, large scythe had appeared in Ryu Min's hand.
'Wh-what is that scythe? Is that Kkokkomakkkomak's main weapon?'
The manager suddenly felt embarrassed by his own hands.
The curved sword he held looked pathetic in comparison.
'I've never seen or heard of a player who carries a large scythe like that...'
No, on second thought, he had heard of one.
A player who used a large scythe as their main weapon.
In that moment, Kkomak's words came back to him, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place.
-Because he was a fucking bastard who impersonated me.
'Impersonated? D-don't tell me...'
The manager's eyes darted between the dead Black Scythe and Kkomak.
"Starting to get the picture? Who the real Black Scythe is?"
"S-Sir Black Scythe... was you?"
"Sorry for the deception."
Contrary to his words, a cynical smile played on his lips.
Holding the large scythe, he exuded a completely different aura than before.
'I-it's true. This person isn't the Kkokkomakkkomak I've seen until now. He was the real Black Scythe.'
He knew it instinctively.
The young man before him was undoubtedly the Black Scythe.
And he knew he wouldn't survive this encounter.
Thud-!
Without hesitation, the manager dropped to his knees.
If his opponent was the real Black Scythe, resistance was futile.
"S-Sir Black Scythe! I'm sorry for not recognizing you. Your acting was so good..."
"Why the sudden kneeling?"
"Huh? Th-that's because I respect you, Sir Black Scythe."
"You didn't kneel for the guy impersonating me, but now you do?"
Pfft- A dry laugh escaped Ryu Min's lips.
"Stop with the pathetic tricks and just beg honestly. For your life."
"P-please spare me."
"No."
Not expecting to be rejected in 0.1 seconds, the manager blinked his eyes.
It was the last thing he ever did.
Thump- Thump-
The manager's severed head bounced on the floor.
The rolling head came to a stop at the tip of Black Flame Dragon in the Right Hand's foot.
'Gasp!'
Their eyes met, and Black Flame Dragon recoiled inwardly.
An expression that hadn't even registered its own death.
That, in itself, was terrifying.
Because he hadn't registered it either.
'H-he's the real Black Scythe. O-on a different level.'
He hadn't even seen him swing.
He only saw the manager's head fall in an instant.
This was why Black Flame Dragon was trembling.
The feeling of facing an untouchable being evoked an indescribable fear.
"Now it's just you and me, huh?"
"..."
"You can guess what I'm going to do, can't you?"
"..."
"If you have any last words, say them now."
Given the chance by Ryu Min, Black Flame Dragon overcame his fear and barely managed to speak.
"I-I won't say the obvious and ask you to spare me."
"Oh? Then?"
"Th-there was something I wanted to ask if I ever met you."
"You're curious why I killed you five times in the 4th Round, right?"
Hearing his thoughts read so accurately, Black Flame Dragon's eyes widened as far as they could go.
"Y-yes."
"The reason is simple. I was keeping you in check."
"Keeping me in check? Why me..."
"Among the people there, you seemed the most skilled. I needed to eliminate the competition."
"Ah..."
In that moment, he felt the relief of a three-day constipation finally ending.
His question was answered.
"Anything else to say?"
"..."
"No regrets if you die now, right?"
"..."
Honestly, Black Flame Dragon wanted to beg for his life.
But having seen the manager die the moment he begged, he felt that was the wrong move.
"M-may I ask one last thing?"
"What is it?"
"Th-the reason you're trying to kill me is..."
The answer was swift.
"Because you're trash."
"M-me? What did I do..."
"Didn't you follow her all the way here to kill her?"
"Y-yes, but I haven't done anything yet..."
"You haven't done anything? You've just been standing by and watching this whole time."
Being a bystander is also a sin.
That's what Ryu Min was saying.
"Now you understand why you have to die, right?"
"..."
He didn't answer, but his expression still showed he wasn't convinced.
Ryu Min sighed.
"Alright, fine. Unlike the other trash, your only crime was being a bystander. I'll give you a chance. A chance to live."
"R-really?"
"However."
Ryu Min tapped the floor with his scythe.
"Put everything you have right here."
"..."
It was something a third-rate mugger would say, but Black Flame Dragon took out the items from his inventory without a word of complaint.
Naturally, his life was more precious than some measly items.
'Hoh.'
Ryu Min's eyes gleamed as he watched the items being laid out.
'He has some pretty useful stuff, doesn't he?'
Orange mana stones, yellow mana stones, equipment that could be resold at the shop, and so on.
He didn't have any rare items like Black Adamantite, but they were better than expected.
Sensing Ryu Min's gaze, Black Flame Dragon spoke cautiously.
"I-I've emptied out everything, including the equipment and axe I was using. This is really all I have. There's nothing more."
"Who said anything? You're making me look weird."
It seemed his lack of expression was mistaken for dissatisfaction.
In truth, he was 99% satisfied.
'If I sell all the items he bought from the shop, I'll get 2,000 gold.'
Ryu Min picked up only the mana stones and a few pieces of equipment and put them in his inventory.
"A-aren't you taking the rest?"
"I don't need them. You can have them."
Some of the equipment, including the axe, couldn't be resold because it wasn't purchased from the shop.
While Black Flame Dragon gathered the equipment from the floor, Ryu Min glanced at the other corpses.
The manager and the imposter.
'Looting these guys would've been a waste of time.'
He already knew from his repeated regressions that neither of them had any good items.
This was why he had killed them without mercy, unlike Black Flame Dragon.
'Of course, I could've gotten some pocket change. But if I had looted them before killing them, Black Flame Dragon wouldn't have been so compliant.'
If he was going to die either way, who would willingly hand over their items?
His inventory opened because there was a glimmer of hope that he might live.
"S-so, as promised, you'll let me live now...?"
Black Flame Dragon looked at him with a mixture of hope and anxiety.
Pretending to think, Ryu Min stroked his chin, then nodded magnanimously.
"Yeah. I'll let you live. A promise is a promise."
"Th-thank you! Thank you!"
As if he hadn't truly expected to be spared, Black Flame Dragon bowed repeatedly, looking as if he were about to perform 108 prostrations.
"Stop it. It's too much."
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."
"Live a good life from now on. You can clean up the bodies or not, I don't care."
"Y-yes, I will."
"I'll take the woman with me."
Ryu Min helped the fallen woman up and began to limp away.
"L-let me help you."
Black Flame Dragon approached to help, but Ryu Min shushed him away.
"It's fine. How can I trust the likes of you? Just get lost."
"Yes, yes."
Watching the back of the Black Scythe walking away while supporting the woman, Shim Hyung-taek felt relieved.
'Phew, I'm alive. I thought I was a goner for sure, but he actually let me live.'
At first, when he told me to hand over all my items, I thought, what kind of lowlife mugger is this...
'But he had more of a conscience than I thought, didn't he?'
I thought he would take all my equipment, but he didn't.
He only took some strange stones and a few pieces of equipment bought from the shop.
'I'm lucky it ended like this. I lost a few items but saved my life. That's a huge win.'
When he'd ended the lives of the two before me without a second thought, my mind went blank.
The fear that enveloped my entire body made it impossible to even think of running.
'But to think he'd let me go so easily.'
He probably let me go because my crime of being a bystander was minor.
'If I had stepped forward to rape that woman, my head would've been lopped off just like that imposter.'
Feeling fortunate, Shim Hyung-taek let out another sigh of relief.
But...
'What is this empty feeling?'
It went beyond emptiness; a slow-burning irritation began to rise.
He even felt a flicker of anger.
'Did I really do something so wrong? Was being a bystander for a bit enough to get my items extorted?'
It was unfair.
This reality, where he had no choice but to bow to the powerful.
And above all.
Limp, limp-
The limping back of the Black Scythe as he walked away kept catching his eye.
Completely defenseless.
'No matter how strong the Black Scythe is, if I hit him from behind with an axe, he'll die, won't he?'
And as it happened, he was holding his axe right now.
This was his chance.
'What should I do?'
Shim Hyung-taek was at a crossroads.
Should he risk it and ambush the defenseless Black Scythe, or play it safe and just leave?
His deliberation wasn't long.
'If I kill a high-level player like the Black Scythe... how many stats would I gain?'
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was right in front of him.
An opportunity that would never come again was about to pass him by.
'If I don't take this chance, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.'
A greasy desire flickered in Shim Hyung-taek's eyes.
His grip on the axe tightened.
Stealthily-
He tailed the Black Scythe as cautiously as possible.
He hadn't gotten far yet.
Perhaps because he was supporting the woman, his movements were slow.
'Don't notice me. Please, don't notice me.'
If he could just close the distance a little more, he could kill him.
Ten more steps, and he'd be at the perfect angle to smash his skull in one blow.
He carefully crept closer, until he was just five steps away, but the Black Scythe didn't look back.
He seemed completely unaware that someone was behind him.
'Ah! Now!'
He raised his axe.
He was well within range.
This was the perfect time to crack his head open.
'Die, you son of a bitch!'
He spat an inaudible curse and swung the axe with all his might.
Thwack-!
A familiar sensation traveled up the handle.
It was the same feeling as when a head split open.
It wasn't just a feeling; it was real.
Thud-
His head split open, the Black Scythe collapsed weakly along with the woman.
"Ha, haha... I... I killed the Black Scythe? This easily?"
A sense of emptiness washed over him.
At the same time, a simple realization dawned on him.
No matter if you're level 30, if your head gets smashed, it's over.
"Ha, haha... Hahaha! Hahahahaha! Kehehehehehe!"
An electrifying thrill sent Shim Hyung-taek into a fit of crazed laughter.
"Is this for real? The Black Scythe died to me, a mere level 10? To me? Kehehehe, kekekekeke!!"
He had killed the Black Scythe.
It was unbelievable, but it was reality.
"You damn idiot! Why would you show your back to someone like me? What a complete moron. Kehehehehe!"
He freely mocked and ridiculed the corpse with its head split in two.
He felt no sympathy for the man who had killed him five times.
"Kehehehe, you moron! What's the point of a high level if you're this stupid? Thanks to you, I'll be taking those stats. Kehehe."
Killing someone of a similar level gave a decent amount of stats, so how much would he get for killing the Black Scythe?
Shim Hyung-taek's face filled with anticipation.
"Hm? But why isn't the message about gaining stats showing up?"
The message should appear instantly when you smash someone's head.
But strangely, there was no message in Shim Hyung-taek's field of vision.
"What's going on?"
"What's going on, you ask."
Startled by the sudden voice, Shim Hyung-taek whipped his head around.
Then, his eyes and mouth flew open at the same time.
"What's with the shock? Seen a ghost?"
Shim Hyung-taek could only stammer, unable to form proper words.
It was because the Black Scythe he had just killed was standing before him, perfectly unharmed.