37. Reward
An Sang-cheol searched for Black Scythe as soon as he entered Round 3.
He intended to help if there was anything he could do.
Moreover, the CEO had instructed him.
To convey his gratitude for saving him.
'There he is.'
But he couldn't actually approach and just watched from afar.
The sight of him standing with his scythe seemed to say not to bother him.
'Should I talk to him later? There doesn't seem to be anything I can help with right now...'
He decided to naturally strike up a conversation while conveying the CEO's message after finding something to help with.
It would be fine as long as he conveyed it before the round ended.
'Let's think about how to help after hearing about the Round 3 quest first.'
After that, he heard the quest explanation from the angel.
'Protect the relic while blocking five waves of monsters?'
It was a cooperative mission, but individuals would pass based on how many monsters they killed.
'I can help with this.'
With more monsters, hunting and raising one's record would be harder.
Fighting alongside Black Scythe could help divert attention.
He was about to approach with that thought, but.
'What? He's blocking the entrance alone?'
While everyone else was waiting in the village center, only Black Scythe was blocking an entrance alone.
'Does he really think he can block it alone?'
It was hard to tell if he was confident or arrogant.
'Let's watch for now. I might get scolded for interfering if I jump in needlessly.'
He decided to wait for monsters to arrive and help if it got dangerous.
When the wave started, An Sang-cheol saw.
Black Scythe slaughtering countless monsters alone.
'He's really... blocking it alone?'
It wasn't arrogance or overconfidence.
Black Scythe had both the courage and skill to fight a hundred.
'First place in this area is confirmed...'
Who could match him when he's sweeping away so many?
He might even take first place across all areas again.
'There's no need to help.'
An Sang-cheol focused on building his own record.
It wasn't too difficult since the monsters were weakened.
'Is it because I'm level 8?'
Glancing aside, Seo Arin was fighting well too.
'It's good we raised our levels last round.'
Hunting was easier with higher levels than others.
They changed classes early too.
They could reach level 10 and get jobs faster than others.
'It's almost over now.'
As the 5th wave was wrapping up.
[Player 'Hwang Yongmin' has become the new Area Representative of ESKS45-5.]
The Area Representative changed.
'So he was killed in the end?'
He expected this when they said you could steal authority by killing.
'Wait, the Area Representative is Hwang Yongmin?'
It's an unforgettable nickname.
He's the one who attacked him and Seo Arin last round.
'Haa... How did such trash become Area Representative...'
He lamented but wasn't worried.
He and Seo Arin who had already changed classes weren't affected by Command Authority.
'I should report this absurd situation to CEO Ma when we return.'
However, the truly absurd situation was yet to come.
[The relic has been destroyed.]
[You have failed the main quest.]
[Shortly, the Agent of Divine Punishment will be summoned for 30 minutes as a failure penalty.]
"What? The relic was destroyed?"
He unconsciously spoke out loud in surprise.
Looking at the village center, he could see the relic really was broken.
Soon the sub-quest notification appeared and they had to survive for 30 minutes.
'I don't know what the Agent of Divine Punishment is, but...'
He could tell by intuition.
That it was an incredibly strong being.
'If not, they would have given a quest to defeat it rather than survive.'
There must be a reason for giving rewards just for surviving.
Sure enough.
The Agent of Divine Punishment he faced was a terrifying being.
'What are those light arrows?'
Impossible to see and dodge.
Plus it casts a wide-range barrier to prevent escape.
'We must run away no matter what. We absolutely can't win against that.'
Others seemed to think the same as An Sang-cheol, as everyone was busy running away.
Except for one person.
'What is Black Scythe doing over there?'
While everyone else was running away, he was standing still at the edge of the barrier.
Looking closely, he seemed to be glaring at the Agent of Divine Punishment.
'Surely he's not thinking of catching that? No, that can't be.'
Is he thinking of catching that terrifying Agent of Divine Punishment?
'That's impossible unless you're crazy.'
Has his judgment been clouded by too much confidence?
It's reckless to think of catching it when rewards are given just for surviving.
'It can't be. It can't be. He's probably just observing before running away.'
But.
Black Scythe rushed in as soon as the barrier was dispelled.
What he thought impossible became reality.
'Crazy, this is bad! I should go help... Huh?'
However, what unfolded before his eyes was different from expectations.
'The surprise attack... worked?'
He stabbed the Agent of Divine Punishment's eye socket with his scythe.
'Such precision to hit the eye...'
As if it wasn't by chance, he stabbed the other eye too.
Not only that, he was playing with it like a toy while cutting off both wings.
'Black Scythe is... overwhelming it.'
Watching Black Scythe finally behead the Agent of Divine Punishment, An Sang-cheol realized.
That he had been greatly mistaken all along.
'There was no need to help at all.'
Just then, he recalled CEO Ma's order.
-Keep an eye on Black Scythe and see if there's anything we can help with. You know I can't stand being in debt, right?
'CEO, I'm sorry.'
An Sang-cheol shook his head.
'I don't think I can carry out the order.'
From the start, Black Scythe wasn't in a position to receive help from anyone.
What right does he have to help someone who defeats the Agent of Divine Punishment alone?
'He's on a different level. No wonder he's ranked 1st.'
The strong become objects of admiration for the weak.
Respect could be seen in An Sang-cheol's gaze as he looked at Black Scythe.
'Looks like I have something else to report to the CEO.'
* * *
[You have killed the Agent of Divine Punishment.]
[3x Experience Gain Buff is in effect.]
[Experience +304.3%]
[Gold +8,200]
[Additional Gold +4,100]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Ryumin, who was level 27, instantly reached level 30 after killing the Agent of Divine Punishment.
Plus additional gold from his Luck stat.
'I'm lucky.'
With this, his gold holdings were about 21,000.
'I can buy one more common skill as planned.'
It's enough to buy and have some left even excluding the 3,000 gold sub-quest reward.
This wasn't the only good news.
[You have been confirmed as the first player to kill the Agent of Divine Punishment.]
[You have acquired the title 'One Who Defies Divine Punishment'.]
[You have obtained 'Condensed Ether' as a reward for first kill of the Agent of Divine Punishment.]
[The 'Rune of Radiance' has appeared as a reward for first kill of the Agent of Divine Punishment.]
[The obtained rune is automatically engraved on the player's body!]
Among the messages that appeared, what Ryumin welcomed most was none other than the item.
'As expected, it came out. Condensed Ether.'
[Condensed Ether]
-Category: Possession
-Description: Condensed ether, one of the most expensive types of ether. It emits rainbow-colored light depending on the viewing angle.
Looking at the information window, it was clearly the ether he knew.
The corners of Ryumin's mouth rose slightly.
'You could say the reason for killing the Agent of Divine Punishment was solely for this.'
After all, ether was a material for making [God] grade items.
'It's impossible with regular ether. Only condensed ether can make God grade items.'
Four additional materials are needed, but if things go according to plan, it shouldn't be difficult to obtain them.
'If I secure the core material ether, the rest is nothing.'
Ryumin smiled and touched the newly acquired title.
[Title - One Who Defies Divine Punishment]
-Acquisition condition: Obtained by being the first to kill the Agent of Divine Punishment.
-Effect: 80% damage reduction when facing holy attribute enemies.
An 80% damage reduction skill.
Though limited to holy attribute enemies...
'Even if I'm hit by mistake, I won't die.'
Even if hit by an area attack or unavoidable skill, he can avoid fatal wounds.
Ryumin's gaze turned to the additional rune that came in.
[Rune of Radiance]
-Effect: Increases Intelligence by 1 and holy attribute skill effect by 1% per level.
A rune that increases Intelligence and skill effect percentage per level.
'At current level 30, Intelligence will increase by 30 and skill effect by 30%.'
Of course, it only applies to holy attribute skills, so it might seem useless to Ryumin, but...
'It's not bad considering skills I'll learn later.'
Moreover, just the Intelligence increase is a huge gain.
'I won't need to invest in Intelligence for a while.'
Eventually, as the remaining time disappeared, a message popped up.
[You have completed the sub-quest!]
[3,000 gold is awarded as a reward!]
Not just Ryumin, but other players' faces brightened as if they received it too.
However, some were looking this way like they were seeing a monster.
Indeed, they didn't expect someone to defeat the Agent of Divine Punishment alone.
The angel was the same.
[Kihihi, this is amazing.]
The suddenly appearing angel, Olive, looked at Ryumin.
[To deal with the Agent of Divine Punishment alone. You are the first human I, Olive, sincerely acknowledge.]
The death of the Agent was surprising even for an angel.
[Shall we do an interview while we're at it? Player Black Scythe. How did you think of killing the Agent of Divine Punishment?]
'This angel bitch asking useless questions.'
Ryumin, who didn't want to talk at length, answered simply.
"I just killed it because I wanted to."
[Even though you'd get rewards just for surviving, you wanted to kill it?]
"I couldn't stand seeing it massacre people."
Though he said it to avoid answering, players admired that response.
"To think he stepped up to save people..."
"I thought he'd be arrogant since he's strong, but he has an unexpectedly sweet side?"
"His personality is good, really good."
His image that wasn't good due to entanglement with Hwang Yongmin soared in an instant.
Hearing those murmurs, Ryumin smiled awkwardly.
'Though it wasn't intentional, I did actually save people.'
There could have been greater casualties, but only 300 died.
If he hadn't stepped up, probably only 500 out of 2,700 would have survived.
[To step up to save your kind... As I heard, humans are strange. Tearing each other apart one moment, then getting along harmoniously the next as if nothing happened. It's hard for me to understand.]
'Of course. What would selfish angels know?'
[Anyway, good job surviving. But it's too early to relax. Whether you disappear or not will be determined by the tally results. Kihihi.]
As Olive said, it's not over until it's over.
[Then shall we look at the tally results?]
Soon after, the Round 3 results tally came out.
Black Scythe was decisively 1st place.
He was 1st, but...
"What?"
People couldn't help but be surprised at the result.
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