Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Mob Hunt
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The definition of a mob varies from person to person, but it generally refers to a monster that can be easily killed.
To Ryu Min, the centaurs were mobs.
*Though for others, they're probably elite-level monsters.*
They would be difficult opponents for players currently in their early twenties.
That didn't mean they were impossible to kill.
A party of five could certainly handle one.
*The problem is that it* is *a mob.*
Contrary to what people expected, the centaur was not the boss.
The real boss was a bull-headed Minotaur, hidden somewhere.
*To take down the Minotaur, you need at least twenty level-20 players.*
In other words, you'd need four parties of five just to have a fighting chance.
It was that strong.
*Of course, to me, it's just a tanky, slow monster.*
The players probably thought this mission was easier than expected when they formed their parties.
They must have figured a party of five could take down the boss.
*But while five can handle a centaur, they can't handle a Minotaur. A party of five early level-20 players doesn't stand a chance.*
To kill it with five people, they'd need to be at least level 30.
No, even level 30 would be a stretch.
*Maybe level 40.*
This was why the angel had said it was impossible to kill alone.
The Minotaur simply wasn't a creature you could take on by yourself.
*And therein lies the trap of this round. It was designed to make you think a five-person party could kill the boss.*
Of course, they never explicitly said five people could kill the boss...
*That angel bastard must have known you need at least twenty people to have a chance, but he played dumb.*
Failing to provide information that should have been given could only be seen as intentional.
*Well, he was probably just following orders from above.*
But he had no justification for spilling the beans himself.
It would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.
*I have no choice but to watch.*
Those who clashed with the Minotaur would realize it.
They would learn that a single party of five was no match for it.
That to defeat the boss, they needed to cooperate and cooperate some more.
*Once they realize that, the parties will band together and help each other.*
That was the strategy for the 6th Round.
To survive, they had to cooperate and yield kills to one another.
*There might be some trouble in the process, but they'll cooperate in the end. It's the only way.*
Some might think it would be pointless to hunt centaurs, then.
Since they had nothing to do with the quest's objective.
*But any player with a bit of sense would know why there's a time limit.*
Why else would they be given six whole hours?
*The intention is to use that time to hunt centaurs and level up, even if just a little.*
The Minotaur could be dealt with later.
The ranking wasn't determined by who killed it first.
*First place is determined by who took the least amount of time to kill it.*
In short, the order didn't matter.
As long as you achieved the fastest kill time, you could claim first place.
That was why Ryu Min had been acting so relaxed.
*The other team members knew this, which is why they weren't rushing either.*
Ryu Min had shared six pieces of information under the guise of a prophecy.
First: The 6th Round is a mission to form a five-person party and defeat a boss.
Second: The centaurs are mobs, and the Minotaur is the real boss.
Third: It takes at least four five-person parties to handle the boss, so cooperation between parties is necessary.
Fourth: The ranking is not based on who kills it first, but on the shortest time taken to kill it.
Fifth: The team that kills the boss is immediately protected by a pillar of light. In other words, they have to spend the remaining time meaninglessly, which is actually a disadvantage.
Sixth: The best approach is to get stronger by killing centaurs during the time limit and then challenge the boss.
This was the core strategy for the 6th Round.
Everyone knew it, except for Heo Tae-seok, who hadn't heard the prophecy.
"Judging by the other teams' reactions, that thing isn't the boss. The real boss must be somewhere else."
Ryu Min laid out the knowledge he already possessed as if he were figuring it out himself, then turned to his party members.
"I'll tell you my plan."
"Please do."
"We'll put off the boss for later and hunt those half-man, half-horse creatures to level up. We'll do this until the time limit is almost up."
"What? But why...?"
"It took five level-20 players to barely take down one of those half-man, half-horse creatures. If something like that is just a mob, the boss must require several teams to defeat. We don't know how strong it is, so rushing to fight it seems unwise. There could be other traps."
"Ah..."
"What if we kill the boss early and get trapped in a pillar of light like in the 1st Round? We'd just be losing out for the rest of the time. It seems a better decision to hunt mobs for now and observe the situation."
"Ah... I-I see."
Ahn Sang-chul was inwardly shocked by Ryu Min's judgment.
*To think... Black Scythe had this kind of insight...*
The fact that they needed to gather other parties to defeat the boss.
The fact that killing the boss would trap them in a pillar of light.
The fact that the time limit was meant for hunting.
He had perfectly grasped the strategy without hearing the prophecy.
Ahn Sang-chul knew that he himself would have just mindlessly tried to gather other parties to fight the boss.
"S-so, you're saying we should hunt the mobs first and the boss later?"
"That's right."
"But we might lose first place. Are you okay with that?"
"It doesn't matter. Even if we don't get the first-place reward, we'll have the experience from hunting for six hours. And who knows, maybe the ranking isn't based on who kills it first."
"..."
Ahn Sang-chul was at a loss for words.
*Incredible. How does he find the right path without a prophecy?*
It was like watching someone navigate a maze they'd never seen before without a single wrong turn.
"Understood. Shall we go hunt the half-man, half-horse creatures together, then? Oh, but before that, we should probably establish our positions and a simple strategy..."
"No, there's no need for that. I'll be hunting the monsters alone."
"What? By yourself, Black Scythe?"
Ahn Sang-chul and the rest of the party were shocked.
He was going to hunt monsters that took a five-person party to defeat, all by himself?
Of course, considering Black Scythe's level, it was certainly possible.
But if he hunted alone, what were the rest of them supposed to do?
As if reading their thoughts, Ryu Min spoke.
"You all do nothing. I'll be the only one killing."
"Excuse me? Then what should we be doing...?"
"You just need to follow me and collect the experience and gold. Think of it as me carrying you, I suppose."
In other words, he was offering to power-level them.
"In exchange, I'll take all the items that drop based on contribution. You, in return, get to level up quickly and earn gold without any risk. How does that sound?"
"Hmm... If that's the case..."
It was certainly an attractive offer.
Why would they refuse to give up a few items in exchange for safely gaining experience and gold?
"I'm in."
"What about the others?"
"We're in, too."
"We'll follow your lead, Black Scythe."
With an agreement reached, Ryu Min nodded.
"A wise choice. I doubt you'll be disappointed."
For Ryu Min, soloing was more comfortable than fighting with a group anyway.
Having them "help" would just get in his way.
*A centaur is nothing more than a mob to me.*
Ryu Min raised his Death Scythe.
"Shall we go?"
*Fwoosh-!*
The party was startled as Ryu Min shot forward like a bullet.
"W-we should hurry and follow!"
Led by Ahn Sang-chul, everyone chased after Ryu Min.
Even with Swiftness cast on them, giving them a considerable speed boost, they couldn't close the distance.
*How is he so fast?*
*Just how high is his Agility...?*
Even Heo Tae-seok, who had been confident in his speed, was like a cat before a cheetah compared to Black Scythe.
"Ah, over there!"
Ryu Min came face-to-face with his first centaur.
"Kuaaaah-!"
Before its roar could even finish, *slice*—its head fell to the ground.
The time it took to kill the centaur was 0.3 seconds.
The party members, who had been running, froze in a daze at the speed of the hunt, which had taken less than a second.
*W-what just happened?*
*One shot...?*
No one had expected the centaur to die in a single blow.
Ignoring the party's reaction, Ryu Min immediately sprinted towards his next target.
***
About 30 minutes into the hunt...
[Target 'Centaur' has been located.]
[Currently 52m away.]
Ryu Min, who had been finding his prey instantly with the Track skill, paused to catch his breath.
[You have defeated a Centaur!]
[A 3x experience buff is active.]
[Title effect increases experience by 1.5x.]
[Experience +0.89%]
[Gold +60]
[Current Kill Count: 172/100]
[Rune of Slaughter effect increases all stats by 100%.]
A stream of kill messages appeared in the corner of his vision.
*172 kills in 30 minutes. Not a bad pace.*
There were a total of 2,000 centaurs released on the field.
At this rate, he might be able to monopolize them all within six hours.
*Well, minus the few that other players will kill.*
Ryu Min's gaze shifted further down.
[Stacks gained with Orb of Eternal Rest: 71/100]
[Orb of Eternal Rest Current Durability: 828/1,000]
[Stat Points gained with Orb of Eternal Rest: 11]
Below, messages from the Orb of Eternal Rest were also updating in real time.
This message appeared whenever he killed a mob while wearing the orb.
*Seeing this, I just have to keep hunting centaurs until its durability hits 1, like before.*
It was quite convenient not having to check his equipment window every time.
*I'll have to ask Russell to fix the durability again when I get back.*
As he was thinking this, he heard the sound of footsteps.
Turning around, he saw his party members running towards him, out of breath.
"Pant, pant, pant..."
"Ugh... I'm gonna die."
A smile touched his lips as he watched his party members struggling just to keep up.
"If you're tired, we can take a short break."
"Really?"
"T-thank you!"
At the long-awaited break, the party members collapsed to the ground.
Seo Ah-rin and Heo Tae-seok, who had low Strength stats, sprawled out flat on their backs.
"Just chasing after you is a workout, seriously."
"I thought the 100m range would be plenty, but I guess not..."
"Tell me about it. Phew..."
Despite their complaints, it was a happy problem to have.
They had already leveled up in just 30 minutes.
"Black Scythe, you're really amazing. Your hunting speed is insane."
"Does that mean you don't like it?"
Min Ju-ri waved her hands frantically at Ryu Min's playful question.
"N-no, not at all! How could I not like leveling up just by following you?"
"Is this what they call getting a carry? You must be working much harder than us, Black Scythe."
Seo Ah-rin chimed in at the opportune moment, but Ryu Min just replied nonchalantly.
"It looks like you guys are the ones having a harder time."
"Haha..."
As they were laughing and catching their breath, a group approached Ryu Min.
"Huh? Isn't that Black Scythe?"
"Gasp! It really is!"
The group consisted of four parties.
As the large contingent of twenty people approached, the party members' laughter died down, and their eyes filled with caution.
But there was no need to worry.
Those guys wouldn't be crazy enough to attack a party that included Black Scythe.
And just as expected.
The moment they saw Ryu Min, they bowed their heads respectfully.
"Greetings, Black Scythe. We're lucky to run into you here. Hahaha!"
"Cut to the chase. What is it?"
"Ah, well, we're currently recruiting teams to hunt the boss. We were wondering if you'd be interested in joining our group..."