Chapter 82
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Round 6 Begins
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The ones approaching Ryu Min were none other than Seo Ah-rin and Ahn Sang-chul.
"It's been a while, Black Scythe."
As she spoke, Seo Ah-rin glanced at Min Ju-ri.
"And this person is...?"
"I don't see any reason why I should tell you."
"Ah, th-that's true..."
Seo Ah-rin smiled as if to agree, but inside, she was a wreck.
*He smiles for this woman, but why not for me...?*
Seo Ah-rin felt a pang of disappointment at his cold response.
"So, what do you want with me?"
"Ah, well..."
Ryu Min knew the reason but feigned ignorance.
*I prophesied that they should party with Black Scythe, so of course they came looking for me.*
Meanwhile, the two of them seemed to be struggling with how to answer.
After all, they couldn't just come out and say it was because of a prophecy.
After some deliberation, Ahn Sang-chul spoke up.
"Um, Black Scythe. To be honest, we'd like to party with you."
"A party? You two, with me?"
"I know. That we'll just be in the way. But I promise we will do our absolute best not to cause you any trouble, Black Scythe."
Seo Ah-rin and Ahn Sang-chul were serious.
The Prophet had said they needed to be with Black Scythe to clear Round 6 easily, so they couldn't back down.
"Hmm."
Ryu Min stroked his chin, pretending to think.
Frankly, they were just bodies to fill the numbers.
It wouldn't matter if they were there or not.
There were plenty of people around who could take their place.
If he just opened his arms, anyone would come running for a chance to party with him.
*But what if I choose these two for my party over everyone else?*
Ahn Sang-chul would report this, and Ma Kyung-rok would view Black Scythe more favorably.
*Thinking ahead, it wouldn't hurt to build a favorable image.*
Ryu Min had already made his decision, but his pretense of contemplation was making the onlookers sweat.
Feeling impatient, Ahn Sang-chul made an offer.
"We're not asking to join your party for free. I have information about Round 6. If you let us party with you, I'm willing to share it..."
"I don't need it."
*That's the information I gave you guys.*
He muttered inwardly, but Ahn Sang-chul, oblivious to this fact, looked puzzled.
"Wh-why don't you need it? Wouldn't it be helpful to know the strategy for Round 6 in advance?"
"I clear things my own way. I have no intention of relying on some untrustworthy piece of information."
"B-but..."
*Maybe I should mess with him a little, just in case.*
Seeing Ahn Sang-chul's flustered state, a playful urge took over.
"By the way, where did you get that information?"
"Sorry? Uh, what information are you referring to...?"
"The information about Round 6 you just mentioned. Who was the source?"
Far from securing a party spot, he was now in danger of revealing the Prophet's existence, and Ahn Sang-chul panicked.
"Can't you tell me? Even if I say I'll let you in the party if you do?"
"Ah, th-that's..."
Wavering, Ahn Sang-chul hung his head low.
"I-I'm sorry."
Ahn Sang-chul was surprisingly tight-lipped.
*So he won't talk about the Prophet's existence.*
Of course, he was probably keeping quiet for fear of getting on Ma Kyung-rok's bad side, but still, it wasn't a bad feeling.
Ahn Sang-chul, on the other hand, was dejected.
*Damn it, I failed to party up with Black Scythe as planned.*
I couldn't even get into one party.
He couldn't face the Representative.
Just then, unexpected words came from Ryu Min's mouth.
"I'll let you in the party."
"Sigh, I guess there's no choice... Huh?"
At the unexpected words, Seo Ah-rin and Ahn Sang-chul's eyes widened.
"Wh-why...?"
"Seeing that you didn't reveal your source, I figured you could be trusted. I dislike people with loose lips."
"Ah..."
Ahn Sang-chul breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that mentioning the Prophet would have actually gotten him on the blacklist.
"Th-thank you! For accepting us!"
"Thank you, Black Scythe."
The two expressed their thanks and turned their heads toward Min Ju-ri.
It seemed they were still curious about her relationship with him.
"This is a buffer I'm in a contractual relationship with."
*A contractual relationship? A buffer?*
*How did they meet?*
The two had many questions, but they decided to ask about the contract first.
"If it's a contractual relationship..."
"That's all there is to it."
"..."
Any desire to ask further questions vanished.
They had a feeling he wouldn't tell them even if they asked.
Seo Ah-rin turned her gaze and extended a hand to Min Ju-ri.
"Hello, I'm Seo Ah-rin. It's nice to meet you."
"Ah, yes... My name is Minjujuui. You're not the celebrity Seo Ah-rin, are you? You just changed your face to look like her, right?"
"No, this is my real face."
"Huh? Then are you the actress Seo Ah-rin from [Oh, My Life!]?"
"Yes. I'm that actress, Seo Ah-rin."
"R-really? I only asked because your face and name are the same!"
Min Ju-ri was ecstatic.
It seemed she found it amazing to see a celebrity from TV in person.
"I love watching Oh, My Life! It's my father's favorite drama! And he's a huge fan of you, Ms. Seo Ah-rin!"
"Ah, is that so? Thank you for your kind words."
Seo Ah-rin bowed her head deeply.
While Min Ju-ri excitedly chatted on, Ahn Sang-chul looked at Ryu Min.
"Um... are you really sure you don't need the information on Round 6?"
"I don't need it. Don't even think about telling me. I don't want to hear that I got help from anyone."
"Ah, if you insist..."
Since he drew the line so sharply, Ahn Sang-chul felt a little disappointed.
*I was thinking of repaying my debt by providing information at least...*
But since he refused, there was nothing to be done.
*If by some chance he acts in a way that deviates from the strategy, I'll have to subtly give him a hint.*
He planned to help if Ryu Min didn't act according to the information provided, but that was unlikely to happen.
Because Black Scythe was Ryu Min, and Ryu Min was Black Scythe.
Ahn Sang-chul turned his gaze to find the two women still talking.
"By the way, Minjujuui. You said your class is a buffer?"
"Yes. It's a class that casts buffs. I'll cast them on everyone later."
"I have something similar to a buff, too..."
"Really?"
"A summoned creature called a Fairy can cast a protective shield."
"A summon? You have a summon?"
"My class is Summoner. I can summon three in total. I'll show you later."
Just then, Ahn Sang-chul abruptly cut in.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I thought I should introduce myself. My name is Ahn Sang-chul."
"Ah, nice to meet you. I saw earlier that you seem to know Black Scythe..."
"He helped us out before. Black Scythe saved both of our lives."
"Ah... so that's what happened."
Min Ju-ri looked at Black Scythe in surprise.
To think he even saves people in danger.
*I knew my judgment wasn't wrong.*
Min Ju-ri felt once again that Black Scythe was a surprisingly warm person.
As time passed and a good number of people had gathered.
[Hello, humans. Did you all have a good month's rest?]
Priscilla appeared in a flash of light.
[There are 1,010 participants in this round. A perfect number. Shall we get right to the point?]
As always, a message window popped up before the players' eyes.
◀ ROUND 6 ▶
<Quest>
└Defeat one boss within 6 hours
[All Zones]
└Participants: 16,120,590
└Completed: 0/8,060,295
[Current Zone C-ESKS007]
└Participants: 1,010
└Completed: 0/505
Seeing the quest, the players began to murmur.
"What? Defeat one boss?"
"Is a boss finally appearing?"
"How are we supposed to take down a boss alone?"
Hearing the muttering, Priscilla let out a snort of laughter.
[You didn't really think we'd ask you to fight a boss alone, did you? Don't worry, you can't possibly defeat it by yourself anyway.]
"Can't defeat it by ourselves?"
"Then how..."
[You have to fight it in a group, of course. That's why we've prepared something for you. The party system.]
"The party system?"
[A party is a system that allows you to form a group and cooperate with one another. You need five people to form a party, and once you do, you'll recognize each other as allies, and your attacks won't do any damage.]
"Oh, no damage?"
"Then we don't have to worry about getting stabbed in the back by our own allies during a fight?"
"That's convenient."
[However, attacks from other parties or monsters will still work. Only your own party members' attacks are nullified.]
The players nodded as if they understood.
The quest's difficulty also made sense now.
If it was five people fighting a boss, it seemed manageable.
[When you're in a party, experience and gold from defeating monsters are distributed evenly. It doesn't matter which party member gets the kill. However, please note that if the distance between members exceeds 100 meters, it won't be distributed.]
"Oh, experience and gold are shared equally?"
"Isn't that kind of like communism?"
"I think it's good because it's fair."
"Then how are items distributed?"
[Unlike experience or gold, items are awarded probabilistically based on contribution. For example, if two humans contribute 70% and 30% to a monster hunt, their chances of obtaining an item when it drops will match those percentages.]
"Ah, so the person who contributes more to defeating the monster has a higher chance of getting the item."
[You understand well, human.]
"So, conversely, does that mean even with low contribution, you can get an item if you're lucky?"
[That's right. Even if you only contributed 1%, you could still get the item if you're lucky. Though the probability would be low.]
"Angel! I have a question!"
[Go ahead, human.]
"How is contribution measured? Do you get a higher contribution just by dealing more damage? If so, isn't that disadvantageous for those with low damage?"
[A good question. Usually, higher damage means higher contribution, but it's not always directly proportional. Contribution is measured by the system, which considers and judges all situations. In other words, even a player who only casts buffs will affect the contribution score.]
"What...? You get contribution just for casting buffs?"
"Wow, buffer classes have it easy, then."
The angel was right.
Contribution is determined by a comprehensive judgment of all situations.
Even with low damage, if one makes a critical contribution to defeating the monster, they'll receive a high contribution score.
Conversely, if you saved an ally, and that ultimately helped in defeating the monster, that too would result in a high contribution score.
*That's why even non-combat classes like Priests or Buffers can earn high contribution in a party.*
The party system wasn't something being implemented specially for this round alone.
It would be enabled whenever a situation required it, and the required number of members would vary.
*For me, right now, a party would just be a hindrance...*
But it wasn't like he could refuse.
[For your information, if you don't form a party, defeating a monster will be nullified, so keep that in mind.]
Just as the angel had said, the system forced them to party up.
You couldn't just solo if you wanted to.
*Not that it doesn't have its advantages.*
The advantage of a party was that you could trust your allies to have your back, allowing for worry-free cooperation.
And.
[After forming a party, you only need to defeat one boss to immediately pass the round. All five of you.]
"A-all five?"
As they shared a common fate, the quest was also shared.
[We have currently released 101 bosses onto the field. In other words, only the 505 people who defeat a boss can survive.]
The angel smiled and flapped its wings.
[This concludes the explanation of the party system. The quest isn't a big deal now that you know, is it? It's a very simple quest where you just have to defeat one boss to pass.]
*Is she mocking us? She calls everything simple.*
A sneer formed on Ryu Min's lips.
Because the quest was not as simple as she made it sound.
[Well then, humans. Do your best to hunt those bosses. Oh, and by the way, there are no sub-quests, for your reference.]
Flapping its wings, the angel disappeared in a flash of light.
Round 6 had begun.