Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Steal
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It was a party of five men.
"Huh? Look over there."
"I-Isn't that the Black Scythe?"
The men spotted Ryu Min and stopped in their tracks, flustered.
It felt like stumbling upon a lion in the middle of a savanna.
'W-Why am I so intimidated? He's not a monster, he's on our side.'
'He wouldn't attack another person, would he? Not unless he's crazy.'
'And he's got a woman with him.'
The men cleared their throats and lowered their guard.
Seeing Min Ju-ri next to Ryu Min helped them relax a little more.
"Uh, hello... there?"
"..."
The man braved the awkwardness to greet him, but Ryu Min didn't respond.
He simply scowled as if looking at a bunch of annoying flies.
"What is it?"
"Uh... well, we came to hunt orcs, but we didn't expect anyone to be here."
As he spoke, the man's gaze shifted to the side.
'H-How many are there?'
'The two of them killed that many?'
They were shocked by the mountain of orc corpses, but then they nodded in understanding.
After all, their opponent was none other than the Black Scythe.
But there were still things that didn't make sense.
'Wait, this small village had that many orcs? Something feels off.'
'Who's the woman next to him? A companion?'
'The Black Scythe has a companion? That doesn't make sense. Unless he's just toying with her.'
'She's pretty, and stacked too. Not bad. Heh heh.'
'I didn't know the Black Scythe had such perverted hobbies. Keke.'
They couldn't say it out loud, but in their minds, they could trash-talk anyone.
They could even trash-talk the president.
But they had picked the wrong person to mess with.
They just happened to be bad-mouthing someone who possessed the Rune of Inner Thoughts.
It was only natural for Ryu Min's brow to furrow.
"Stop bothering me and get lost."
"Excuse me?"
"I said get lost if you don't have any business here."
It wasn't just the sudden dismissal; his abrupt, informal tone was offensive.
"Who are you to speak so informally?"
"That's right. Isn't it rude to speak like that to someone you've just met?"
Anyone watching would have thought they were insane.
A bunch of players not even at level 13, daring to argue with a level 32.
Ryu Min was just as dumbfounded.
"How do you think it feels when a bunch of fucking gnats show up and start buzzing around while you're in the middle of a hunt? You'd want to kill them, right? That's exactly how I feel right now."
"..."
"Stop bothering me and get lost. Unless you want to die."
"G-Guys. L-Let's go."
"O-Our apologies."
"Sorry for interrupting."
The men bowed apologetically and quickly retreated.
Ryu Min didn't take his eyes off them until they were out of sight.
He was, in fact, reading their minds.
'Those bastards. They're planning to hide and watch me.'
He could hear them wondering how the Black Scythe hunted.
And that they'd decided to retreat for now and watch from hiding.
'Let them watch. As long as I achieve my goal, I don't care.'
But he couldn't just keep killing the summoned orcs forever.
'I'd love to keep farming these summoned creatures, but other players will keep showing up.'
If he saved it for later, some other schmuck might steal the boss.
He had other bosses to kill, so he couldn't stay here indefinitely.
The time had come to kill the boss and claim his reward.
'But first, I'll get Min Ju-ri to level 20.'
Ryu Min tore his gaze away from the men and looked at Min Ju-ri.
"The pests are gone. Let's resume the hunt."
"Why did you do that?"
A question mark seemed to appear over Ryu Min's head at her sudden question.
"Do what?"
"Why were you intentionally so cold to them to chase them away?"
'You're actually a kind person.'
Min Ju-ri swallowed the rest of her sentence and waited for an answer.
Ryu Min, having read her mind, was slightly flustered but didn't let it show.
"If I didn't, they'd just keep bothering us. You have to threaten to kill them to make sure they never come near again."
'Though, just as I read in their minds, they're probably hiding and watching from somewhere.'
It didn't matter if they watched.
The buzzing of a few gnats wasn't going to stop his hunt.
Ryu Min looked at Min Ju-ri and gestured toward the door with his chin.
"Let's begin. Don't worry about them."
* * *
The men who had been driven away by the Black Scythe came to a stop.
"We should be out of his sight by now, right?"
"What are you planning?"
"Aren't you curious? How that bastard, the Black Scythe, hunts."
"Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Where he managed to get so many orcs."
"So what's the plan? We're just going to hide and watch?"
"He won't spot us from a distance, so don't worry. If you're scared, you can piss off."
"S-Scared? Let's go right now."
The five men went outside the palisade and approached the area where the Black Scythe was.
"I see him."
Through the gaps in the palisade, they could see the thatched-roof house and the Black Scythe hunting in front of it.
They decided to use the palisade as cover and get a little closer.
"He won't see us from here."
"Okay. Let's watch from here and see where that bastard is getting the orcs."
The Black Scythe was outside the thatched-roof house, cutting down orcs.
*Thwack, thwack.* Limbs were severed, and torsos fell to the ground with a thud.
After doing just that, the Black Scythe turned his back.
As if his part was done.
"What the?"
"Why isn't he finishing them off?"
Just then, the woman next to him stepped forward as if on cue and thrust her sword.
She plunged it into the necks of the defenseless orcs, taking the experience for herself.
"Whoa... Is that what I think it is?"
"Is he power-leveling her?"
"But why? What does he have to gain?"
The number one ranked player, wasting his time power-leveling some girl.
It was incomprehensible.
"What did that bitch do for him to get a power-leveling service?"
"Fuck, look how easy she has it."
"Fucking jealous..."
The watching men's guts twisted with envy.
While some worked their asses off to kill a single orc, others just had to stab a sword in comfortably to get experience.
Of course, they'd be jealous.
"But doesn't something seem strange?"
"What?"
"Look at that woman."
Every time the woman went into the thatched-roof house and came back out, orcs would chase her.
It wasn't just once or twice.
Every time she went in and out, orcs followed.
"She's constantly luring orcs out. I've counted 30 of them already."
"Something's weird. Are there really that many orcs inside?"
The two of them were endlessly repeating the cycle of luring and killing orcs.
"What if that pile of corpses next to them all came from that house?"
"That would mean there were at least 300 of them inside."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Then the only conclusion is..."
A shared thought popped into the men's minds.
"That thatched-roof house is an orc respawn point?"
"Looks like it. Nothing else makes sense."
In a world made like a game, it wasn't strange for there to be respawn points.
In fact, it was a natural line of thought.
"I vaguely thought there might be respawn points, but to think they actually exist..."
"Wow... So those bastards have been farming this one spot this whole time?"
"Now I see. He told us to get lost so he could monopolize the respawn point."
It was infuriating. Despicable.
They wanted to get back at the two of them, no matter what.
But there wasn't much they could do against the Black Scythe.
All they could do was watch.
"How about we wait until they leave? The moment they're gone, we'll snatch the spot."
"Sounds good. I'd love to take it by force, but we don't have the strength..."
The men had no choice but to wait.
Little did they know, it would be the worst mistake of their lives.
* * *
"Sir Black Scythe! I'm level 20!"
Min Ju-ri shouted joyfully as she stabbed an orc.
An achievement reached in just fifteen minutes.
Ryu Min said in a flat tone.
"Congratulations."
Reaching level 20 brought many changes for Min Ju-ri.
Her grade rose to Regular, and the Synthesis function was unlocked.
"I learned a new skill, too. The effect of Bless went up from 50% to 60%!"
"Can you cast it now?"
"Just a moment!"
Light formed in Min Ju-ri's hands and flowed toward Ryu Min.
[The skill Bless has increased all your stats by 60%.]
[Duration: 02:59:59]
"That was the enhanced Bless. This is the new buff I learned."
This time, a green light appeared and seeped into Ryu Min's head.
[The skill Swift has increased your attack speed and movement speed by 60%.]
[Duration: 00:29:59]
Swift was a buff that increased attack and movement speed.
It only lasted thirty minutes, but its effect was significant.
'In terms of stats, it's equivalent to gaining 40 Agility.'
Of course, it wasn't as good as Bless, but it was better than nothing.
Moreover, it would be a great help for Ryu Min's time attack records.
"Swift, huh? Not a bad buff."
"Right? The duration is short, but don't worry. I'll be sure to cast it for you every thirty minutes."
"Thanks for the offer."
"I'm not just saying it. I mean it."
'I know. You're grateful to me.'
Thanks to the Rune of Inner Thoughts, Ryu Min knew her feelings better than anyone, but he couldn't let it show while maintaining his Black Scythe persona.
"Alright, that's enough power-leveling. Let's go get the Orc Shaman."
"Isn't it more profitable to keep hunting orcs like this?"
"I have other bosses to kill. I can't stay here forever."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Just stay out of the way so you don't get hurt."
"Yes! Don't worry."
His words could have been offensive, but Min Ju-ri wasn't discouraged.
Instead, she felt happy, taking it as a sign that he was looking out for her.
Just before Ryu Min went inside to deal with the Orc Shaman.
He subtly glanced at the palisade in the two o'clock direction.
'Clumsy fools.'
The group of five he'd told to get lost were watching.
Unaware that his Presence Detection had already spotted them.
They were also within range of his Rune of Inner Thoughts, so he'd subtly glanced over and read their minds.
'They were really tearing me and Min Ju-ri to shreds...'
His mental fortitude wasn't weak enough to be shaken by insults and criticism.
It was just their condescending and disrespectful attitude that was unpleasant and infuriating.
'They're thinking things like that about me, even with such an overwhelming level difference?'
A sigh escaped him unconsciously.
They were probably acting like that because they still didn't understand how fearsome the Black Scythe was.
'I'll have to work harder and build my reputation. So they won't even dare to think about insulting me.'
To that end, Ryu Min had prepared something on the fly.
It was a plan to mess with them.
'In a way, it's a personality test, too.'
With a grin, Ryu Min opened the door to the thatched-roof house and went inside.
A moment later.
*CRACK-!*
The door of the house splintered as Ryu Min burst out.
Min Ju-ri, who had moved a safe distance away, watched with wide eyes.
A train of orcs, like a string of sausages, was chasing after Ryu Min.
'Why is Sir Black Scythe running away?'
The man who had slaughtered hundreds of orcs... why? What was he afraid of?
Her question was answered a moment later.
An Orc Shaman wearing a strange wooden mask emerged, leaning on a staff.
"Chwiik, chwik! Chwiiiii-!"
The Orc Shaman shouted something, and ten more orcs were summoned.
Min Ju-ri was far enough away to be safe, but the problem was the Black Scythe.
'S-Sir Black Scythe... he's surrounded by orcs!'
A full twenty orcs had surrounded the Black Scythe.
'W-What should I do? Should I help him?'
Min Ju-ri's indecision didn't last long.
Because the Black Scythe himself didn't look the least bit flustered.
'Right, there's no way Sir Black Scythe would lose.'
The Black Scythe she knew was not someone who would falter against a mere twenty orcs.
Hadn't she cast her buffs on him?
'His running speed should be fast enough to escape, yet he let himself get caught.'
Believing he must have a plan, Min Ju-ri decided to watch for now.
"Chwiiiiiik! Chwik!"
Following the shaman's command, the orcs surrounding the Black Scythe attacked all at once.
*Clang- Clang-!*
He parried axes with his scythe, twisted his shoulders to evade, and ducked his head to dodge flying axes.
The Black Scythe moved relentlessly within the confined space.
He looked like he didn't even have a moment to breathe under the assault of twenty orcs.
'To block and dodge every single one of those attacks... His skill is incredible.'
Min Ju-ri was marveling inwardly, but only for a moment.
'Huh? Those people...?'
She was startled to see people suddenly approaching the Orc Shaman from behind.
It was none other than the men they had encountered earlier.
'What are they doing? Are they trying to kill the Orc Shaman while Sir Black Scythe is drawing its attention?'
Seeing them cautiously approaching from behind with their weapons drawn, she was certain.
'No. The shaman belongs to Sir Black Scythe!'
Unaware of this, the Black Scythe was busy dealing with the orcs.
'At this rate, the Orc Shaman is going to get kill-stolen by those guys!'
Just as she decided she had to step in and stop them,
*Vwoom-*
A black curtain descended.