Chapter 79
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Mask
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Reactions to something unbelievable vary.
Some are shocked, while others just look bewildered.
Some freeze, their faces turning to stone.
Hwang Yong-min was one of them.
'Ryu… Min? Black Scythe… was Ryu Min?'
Two scenes overlapped in his mind.
One was the image of Ryu Min, cowering like a turtle as he took a beating from him.
The other was the image of Black Scythe, who had cut off his limbs with overwhelming charisma, making him tremble in fear.
These two completely contradictory images now pointed to the single person before him.
'The same… person? No way. That wimp Ryu Min is Black Scythe…'
Hwang Yong-min lifted his head once more.
No matter how he looked, the man who had removed his mask was undeniably Ryu Min.
"You don't seem to believe it. That I'm Black Scythe."
"…"
"I guess that makes sense. Until last year, I was the one you were beating up."
"You… what are you? Were you toying with me this whole time? Why did you pretend to be a loser?"
"What are you talking about? When did I ever pretend to be a loser? However…"
Ryu Min's scythe spun once, and Hwang Yong-min's arm fell to the ground.
"Hearing a piece of trash like you call me a loser… it's a bit unpleasant."
"Guh, gguuuaaah…"
"Quiet. Unless you want your tongue cut out too."
"Ah, ugh…"
Hwang Yong-min bit back his tears and endured the pain.
Blood streamed from the severed limb.
"Don't worry. I'll give you first aid."
Ryu Min raised his hand and used Emergency Treatment.
The bleeding stopped, and the severed surface was restored as if by magic.
However.
"Oh? You're a one-armed man now."
"…"
The severed arm was not reattached.
"So what? You can live with one arm, can't you?"
It was meant to be humiliating, but Hwang Yong-min felt nothing.
He was simply too shocked and astonished to think straight.
"Are you really… the Ryu Min I knew?"
"No."
Ryu Min shook his head lightly.
"The Ryu Min you knew is gone."
He then slowly raised his scythe.
Like an executioner about to behead a prisoner.
"Farewell."
"W-wait! Wait a minute, Min!"
Hwang Yong-min cried out in a desperate voice.
"Please, let me live! I-I tormented you a lot, didn't I? I-I was wrong. I'm truly reflecting on my actions!"
The scythe, which had been moving, paused in mid-air.
"Really?"
As Ryu Min listened, Hwang Yong-min saw a glimmer of hope.
'M-maybe I can live!'
If he chose his words carefully, he could save his own life.
With that thought, Hwang Yong-min selected his words more carefully than ever before.
"There's no benefit in killing me. Why not use me instead?"
"Use you? How so?"
"Uhm, how… R-right! I'll be your personal gofer! I'll crawl if you say crawl, run if you say run. Whether it's running errands or being used as bait during a hunt, I'll do whatever you tell me!"
"Hmm…"
As Ryu Min stroked his chin, seemingly contemplating, Hwang Yong-min's eyes filled with anticipation.
But that was short-lived.
"I don't think so."
"Huh? W-what?"
"You're still thinking of betraying me, aren't you?"
"W-what are you talking about? When did I ever…"
"You were planning to watch for an opportunity to kill me."
"M-me? Ha."
Hwang Yong-min feigned disbelief, but inwardly, he was terrified.
'What is this bastard? Is he a ghost? How did he know? Was it just a guess?'
It never occurred to Hwang Yong-min that he might have the ability to read minds.
"I can't keep a son of a bitch of a dog that tries to bite its master."
As Ryu Min raised his scythe, a look of desperation crossed Hwang Yong-min's face.
"Huh? W-wait!"
"Your usefulness ends here."
"Wait, give me a ch—!"
*Slice—* Hwang Yong-min's head fell.
It was a pathetic, insignificant, and empty death.
"I already gave you countless chances. In previous regressions."
Back when he didn't have the Rune of Inner Thoughts, he had been deceived by Hwang Yong-min's silver tongue and spared him.
The result, of course, was betrayal.
'I was such a pushover back then.'
Only after dying did he realize what a fool he'd been for letting him live.
Of course, that was when his level and experience were far lower than they were now.
"Good riddance, you bastard."
Their rather long, ill-fated connection was finally over.
Perhaps because he knew he would never have to see that detestable face again, he felt a sense of relief, unlike before.
'First, I need to clean up the scene.'
He used the Erase Traces skill to eliminate the four bodies.
His Presence Detection didn't pick up anyone, so there were no witnesses.
'Clean.'
Sheathing his scythe, Ryu Min put his mask back on.
With this, his goal of eliminating Hwang Yong-min and the PleSeBa executives was accomplished.
He was now one step closer to the position of PleSeBa's Chairman.
No, not one step, but dozens of steps.
'Now, shall I head to his place?'
Ryu Min quickly vanished into the darkness.
* * *
People began to appear in PleSeBa's video chat room.
It wasn't Sunday, but an unscheduled meeting had been called.
-Nice to see you, Mr. Chairman!
-Welcome, Yamtti.
Yamtti, smiling, peered at the chat room screen.
-But I don't see the other executives.
-That's precisely why I had to call this emergency meeting.
-Did something happen?
The Chairman sighed before answering.
Yes, something had happened.
Something so significant it could shake the very foundation of the cafe.
-The executives are dead.
-What?! Dead?
Startled, Yamtti looked at the screen again.
There were many empty spots.
The executives, who were never late, were absent today.
-What happened? Have you tried calling them?
-I did, just to be sure, but…
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
The Chairman's grim expression said it all.
-They're not answering any individual calls. They met their end after going out for the interview.
-W-who could have? D-don't tell me?
Yamtti thought of one person.
As if confirming her suspicion, the Chairman nodded.
-That's right. Black Scythe. That man is hunting our cafe members.
Strictly speaking, they were executives, not just members, but the Chairman didn't bother with the distinction.
What mattered was that the cafe he had worked so hard to build was under attack.
And by none other than Black Scythe, the man known as the number one ranker in the other world.
-Th-then what about Soboru? And Jolmattaeng-nim, and Poporing-nim… were they all killed by him?
-That's correct.
-Why? What did those kind people do wrong…?
-What reason does a murderer need to kill? It must be for his own satisfaction. Or perhaps he was annoyed by us expanding our influence.
-Ah…
Hearing the Chairman's words, she began to understand.
Everywhere you go, there are people with twisted personalities who try to steal what others have just because the grass looks greener on the other side.
'Was it envy and jealousy? Did he want to interfere for no good reason?'
Yamtti completely revised her image of Black Scythe.
He was no longer a target for recruitment, but a target for elimination.
-Huh? Then his application to join the cafe was just a ploy to lure out the executives?
-Exactly.
-Hah… I was looking forward to meeting Black Scythe, but it turns out he's a psychopath who's hostile to us… I feel so foolish. It would've been a disaster if we had accepted him as an executive.
-Indeed. We would have regretted it for the rest of our lives. Or perhaps my own head would have been taken by Black Scythe before then.
The Chairman's expression was dark, likely due to the loss of his executives.
-Black Scythe is now our clear enemy. We must find him and avenge our fallen members.
-Yes, yes, we must. But…
Noticing his tone, which was one of certainty rather than speculation, Yamtti asked cautiously.
-Are you certain that Black Scythe is the culprit?
-There is a witness.
-Ah!
If there was a witness, that changed everything.
-Lost Ark?
A man with tan skin occupying one side of the screen answered.
-Yes, Mr. Chairman.
-Please explain the situation to Yamtti, just as you reported it to me.
-Understood.
With a grim expression, Lost Ark explained his confrontation with Black Scythe.
* * *
-Then I'll see you at the next regular meeting.
-Yes, Mr. Chairman. Goodbye.
-Take care, Mr. Chairman!
After the Chairman left the chat room, Lost Ark said his goodbyes to Yamtti as well.
-See you next time, Yamtti.
-Yes, Lost Ark. You must be exhausted after what you went through today. Please get some rest.
-Yep! Thank you! Well then…
After ending the chat, Lost Ark looked away from the monitor.
"Good, it seems they didn't notice anything."
He opened his equipment window and pressed the unequip helmet button.
His face rippled like water before returning to its original form.
Not the tan-skinned Lost Ark, but Ryu Min.
"I guess I have a knack for acting."
Ryu Min grinned as he looked at the unequipped item.
[Assassin's Mask]
-Category: Helmet
-Grade: Unique
-Defense: 1
-Effect: By saying the activation word 'Disguise', you can mimic the appearance of a player you have killed. Perfectly transforms your face, skin color, voice, and physique.
-Durability: 3,000/3,000
-Usage Restriction: Expert grade or higher
-Description: A thin, transparent mask said to be favored by an assassin with a 99.9% success rate. It is said that no one knew his true face.
It was the helmet he had chosen with the Unique Item Selection Ticket he received as a Time Attack reward.
'For me, right now, the Assassin's Mask is the best unique item I could have.'
Although the item had virtually no stats or defense…
'The ability to transform into a player I've killed is a huge advantage.'
It could be used in various ways, not only for deceiving opponents but also for gathering information, sowing discord, and other forms of subterfuge.
It was truly a mask optimized for assassination.
'There's no easier assassination than one born from an ally's betrayal.'
That was why he had worn the Assassin's Mask today to kill the PleSeBa executives.
He needed to infiltrate their ranks by posing as one of them.
'Now I can transform into the executives, and if need be, even Hwang Yong-min.'
The mask he had taken off in front of Hwang Yong-min was just an ordinary mask with no functions.
When he killed him, he had been wearing the transparent Assassin's Mask, making it possible to imitate him.
For the time being, however, he planned to focus on his role as Lost Ark.
'If I hadn't looked into Lost Ark's inner thoughts before, I wouldn't have been able to deceive the other executives.'
He had already grasped Lost Ark's speech patterns, habits, and relationships in a previous regression using the Rune of Inner Thoughts.
That's why he was able to infiltrate his studio apartment and use his video chat.
Of course, this plan would have been impossible without the Assassin's Mask.
'Originally, I planned to approach this from the bottom up, but the mask has accelerated my plans.'
All that was left was to bide his time and seize the Chairman's position.
'If I could, I'd just kill the Chairman and transform into him. Then I could easily control the organization.'
But that was impossible.
The Assassin's Mask only worked on Players.
'Which means the Chairman is not a Player.'
The ironic situation of a non-Player leading an organization of Players.
Moreover, trying to get close to him was difficult with a tricky Player like Yamtti around.
'As I am now, I can't handle Yamtti's abilities.'
Until he could devise a countermeasure, he had to avoid contact with the executives.
Fortunately, he would be able to find a way once the 7th Round began.
'Until then, I'll have to faithfully play the role of Lost Ark through video chat and observe the situation.'
With this, the situation was more or less settled.
They probably wouldn't look for Lost Ark until the next meeting.
'That's a relief. It gives me some time.'
And there was something he absolutely had to do with that time.
He needed to restore his durability.
'I should take a trip abroad for the first time in a while.'