Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The 5th Round Begins
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'H-How? I-I'm sure I killed him.'
Did the Black Scythe have some kind of resurrection ability?
Or was a ghost really speaking to him?
With that question in mind, Black Flame Dragon’s eyes turned to the corpse with the split head.
"Huh?"
But for some reason, the body was gone.
Even the bloodstains had vanished completely.
As if it had all been a dream.
"The one you killed was my doppelganger."
"A-A doppelganger?"
"The Rune of Duplication's ability is to create a completely identical, indistinguishable doppelganger. It doesn't have any combat abilities, though."
"..."
"Seeing you so thoroughly fooled, I guess it's pretty useful even without combat skills. It was a good test."
"Y-You tricked me...!"
As Black Flame Dragon gritted his teeth in frustration, Ryu Min wore a look of disbelief.
"Why are you suddenly playing the victim? I'm the real victim here. My head was almost smashed in, wasn't it?"
"You're the victim? Who was the one who threatened and extorted me first..."
"Ah, whatever."
Ryu Min swung his scythe as if annoyed.
At the same moment, Black Flame Dragon's vision tilted sideways.
'Huh? What's going on? Suddenly my body won't listen...'
Black Flame Dragon's head rolled across the floor.
Even in his final moment, he didn't realize he was dead.
"Listening to trash any longer is just a waste of time."
Having cleanly severed the head, Ryu Min sheathed his weapon.
There were no other living players around him now.
'So it really is useful, this Rune of Duplication.'
There was a reason he had put it on his list of essential runes to acquire.
If it weren't for the Rune of Duplication, he would have been struck from behind.
'Of course, I deliberately lured him into a position where it would be easy to ambush me for the sake of the test.'
Ryu Min checked the information on his newly acquired rune once more.
[Rune of Duplication]
-Effect: Creates a doppelganger identical to yourself by chanting the activation phrase 'Create Doppelganger.'
Upon casting, the caster enters a ghost form for 10 seconds, providing time to hide.
The created doppelganger is mentally linked to the caster and can be controlled as desired.
However, it can only perform actions other than attacking and cannot use special abilities like skills or the inventory.
Only one doppelganger can be created, and it has a 10-minute cooldown.
Although it lacked combat ability, it could perfectly deceive enemies and had a short cooldown.
It was definitely a powerful, almost cheat-like rune.
'It's the optimal rune for deceiving the enemy.'
After a satisfied smile, he used the Erase Traces skill on his surroundings.
The three corpses, as well as all the bloodstains, vanished completely.
No one would ever guess this had been a murder scene.
'Except for one person, that is.'
Ryu Min started walking.
Towards the woman with the black bag over her head, the victim and the sole witness.
"Excuse me?"
"..."
"Shouldn't you get up now?"
"..."
"Stop pretending to be unconscious."
She had been lying there as if dead, but that wasn't the case.
As if to prove it, the woman slowly sat up.
He couldn't see her face through the bag, but he was sure she looked embarrassed.
"H-How did you know? That I was pretending..."
'I knew because I could hear your thoughts.'
Since he couldn't say that honestly, Ryu Min gave a vague answer.
"Don't even think about trying to fool a player."
"I-I'm sorry."
The female owner bowed her head in the wrong direction.
Because of the black bag Ryu Min had put on her, she could only hear his voice.
"Th-This is uncomfortable, can I take it off?"
As she tried to remove the bag, he raised a hand to stop her.
He was wearing a mask just in case, but she might recognize his clothes.
"No. Keep it on until I leave."
"Okay..."
"You're aware of what was about to happen to you, right?"
The owner nodded.
"Yes... I was so scared. So scared I couldn't open my eyes..."
"When did you wake up?"
"Um... around the time they were arguing about giving it up or not..."
It seemed she had regained consciousness when she was brought here and the manager and Black Scythe were about to assault her.
"You may or may not know this, but those men are all dead. So you can rest easy."
"Ah... Did you, by any chance...?"
"Yes. I assume you have some idea from what you heard?"
He had killed them before they could even scream, so she wouldn't have heard voices, but she must have figured it out.
*Crunch, slice, thud, roll.*
She must have heard the gruesome sounds that sparked the imagination.
'Plus, she must have overheard my conversation with Black Flame Dragon.'
Reading her inner thoughts confirmed it.
Ryu Min was right.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and then I'll be on my way. Will you cooperate?"
"Yes, of course."
"First, I'll give you a simple rundown of the situation. You were kidnapped, brought here, and were about to be assaulted. Do you know who kidnapped you?"
"No, not at all..."
"Any suspects?"
"Hmm..."
The owner was thinking back on the customers who had come in today.
"One of the customers who came to the store was suspicious. He asked me to valet his car, and after that, my memory is a blur..."
"Do you know how many customers there were? Their faces? Do you remember them one by one?"
"There were four of them, one was in his mid-40s. I remember him clearly because we talked, but the others... not so well."
Based on her testimony, he probed her inner thoughts.
It was the truth.
'She definitely doesn't remember the other faces.'
This was the part Ryu Min wanted to confirm.
Whether or not she remembered his face.
'I took precautions and acted inconspicuously, but it's always better to be certain.'
Fortunately, just like in his previous life, she didn't remember his face.
"Understood. That's all the questions I have."
"Umm... Am I safe now? Is it really over...?"
At her tearful voice, Ryu Min spoke gently to reassure her.
"Yes. You can go home now and relax. It will be difficult, but try to forget everything that happened today."
"Ah... Thank you. Thank you so much for helping me."
"Oh, and don't go stirring up trouble by reporting this to the police. You might face retaliation."
"Yes, I understand."
"Count to 60 in your head, then you can take off the bag. Got it? Don't take it off before then."
"Yes, I will."
"..."
"Hello?"
No answer came back.
Even when she focused on her hearing, she couldn't hear a single footstep.
'What's going on? Should I start counting to 60 now?'
The woman started counting to 60.
The only sound she heard was the rustling of the bag in the wind.
"Phew-!"
The moment she finished counting, she threw the bag off.
She looked around with a tense expression, but all she saw was a shabby warehouse.
'Wh-What happened?'
The bodies, the bloodstains, and the mysterious man who saved her were all gone.
The scene was different from what she expected, leaving the woman with a dazed expression.
'This... this wasn't a dream, was it?'
If it was a dream, it had been a terribly realistic nightmare.
* * *
Time passed, and that day inevitably arrived.
April 30th.
Moments before the 5th round.
Like a general heading into battle, Ryu Min equipped his gear and checked his status window.
-Name: Ryu Min
-Nickname: Black Scythe
-Grade: Regular
-Titles: The Last Regressor (Hidden), First to Slay an Angel (Hidden), One Who Defies Divine Punishment (Hidden)
-Level: 30
-Class: Grim Reaper
-Strength: 35, Intelligence: 39
-Agility: 39, Luck: 34
-Common Skills: Tracking, Presence Detection, Erase Traces
-Exclusive Skills: Seal of Death, Night of Death
-Runes: Rune of Slaughter, Rune of the Reaper, Rune of Radiance, Rune of Inner Thoughts, Rune of Duplication
-Gold: 2,150
-Remaining Stat Points: 0
<Additional Functions>
[Shop: Items can be purchased.]
[Combine: Items can be combined.]
[???: Unlocked at Lv40]
[???: Unlocked at Lv60]
[???: Unlocked at Lv99]
Ryu Min removed the orange and yellow mana stones he had previously socketed and combined them with the ones he got from Black Flame Dragon.
After upgrading them to low-grade mana stones and socketing them into his equipment, his Strength and Luck each increased by 4.
The result was a beautiful set of stats.
'My stats are all over 30 on average.'
For his level, this was a considerably superior spec.
He wouldn't be outmatched even against someone of the same level.
'Not that there is anyone at my level, though.'
The 2nd ranked player in all zones was level 13, so there was nothing more to say.
'It's great to be strong for my level, but...'
What pleased him most was that his stats were perfectly optimized for the conditions of the Rune of Balance.
'I will obtain the Rune of Balance in this 5th round. And I'll craft a unique item as well.'
Not only that, but Ryu Min's goal was also to reach level 40.
'It's possible if I play my cards right. Especially with Min Ju-ri's buff.'
In his previous life, he didn't have Min Ju-ri's buff, but this time was different.
'I'll set a record that's never been seen before.'
As he steeled his resolve and waited for the time to cross over to the other world...
*Bzzzt-*
A text message arrived out of the blue.
[Min Ju-ri: Min! It's almost midnight, huh? T.T sniffle... Everything will work out this time, too. Don't worry, let's do our best together. Aja aja, fighting!!! ٩( ᐛ )و Let's see each other alive!]
Reading the long, encouraging message, Ryu Min couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
'She must be pretty nervous, sending a text this long.'
Well, he had scared her so much by saying the 5th round was different from the rest, so it was only natural for her to be tense.
'Don't worry. I'll protect you from now on.'
From the 5th round onward, the zones would merge, and he would meet Min Ju-ri.
He needed to stick with her to receive her buff anyway, so protecting her wouldn't be a problem.
'I also told her to find the Black Scythe, so there's nothing to worry about.'
Though she would never imagine that the Black Scythe was Ryu Min.
'Hm? It's already time. Shall we go?'
The moment the minute hand of the wall clock hit midnight with a *tick*.
*Srrk-* Ryu Min's eyes closed.
In the blink of an eye, his consciousness flew to the other world.
* * *
The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was nothing special.
The same vast plains as in the 1st round.
Avatars were appearing one by one.
It was a familiar scene in a familiar situation, but it didn't look that way to others.
There were dozens of times fewer people than usual.
"I-Is this everyone?"
"No way, they just haven't arrived yet, right?"
"What do you mean, not arrived? The number of survivors from the last round was about 500."
"I counted, and it seems about right..."
"It feels kind of empty..."
The remaining survivors numbered roughly 500.
Compared to the nearly 10,000 in the 1st round, it was a pitiful number.
Of course, this was only the number within their zone.
'Once we merge, this feeling of emptiness will disappear.'
He smirked and looked at the message that had appeared in the corner of his vision.
[A 5th Round limited buff of 50% stat increase is currently active.]
[It will be automatically removed at the end of the 5th round.]
The reward he had chosen last time increased his stats by a whole 50%.
'If I add another 100% from the Rune of Slaughter and 50% from Min Ju-ri's Bless...'
That was a total increase of 4.5 times.
His stats, which were around 30, would jump to over 130.
'If I'm this strong, I can definitely set a record.'
If he took first place in this round, he could earn a title.
Moreover, setting a record would grant him a hefty sum of gold as an additional reward.
That was why he had chosen the stat buff instead of the 5,000 gold special reward.
The extra gold from setting a record was a much better deal.
Just as he felt the time was right, watching the players who were no longer spawning, an angel appeared.
[Welcome, humans. Congratulations on surviving until the 5th round. Heehee!]
Naturally, no one smiled at the angel's congratulations.
They all believed the angel was the cause of this whole disaster.
[Oh? Why the long faces, everyone? Smile a little. The last round was so much fun, wasn't it? You were all so diligent in slaughtering your own kind. Kekeke.]
"..."
[Alright, alright. I'll stop teasing. Geez, it's no fun when there's no reaction...]
The angel's expression turned serious as it spoke in a detached, business-like tone.
[There are currently 442 survivors summoned. The original number was 521, so it's decreased by nearly 80. I suppose you've been fighting each other in reality again?]
"...It dropped again?"
"It keeps decreasing every time."
[Well, fine. It's none of my business whether you fight in reality or not. But with just over 400 people, we can't have a proper game, can we? So, I've prepared something.]