50. Get Help
[Congratulations! You have achieved the quest as 1st in this area!]
[Congratulations! You have achieved the quest as 1st across all areas!]
[Black Scythe's current ranking is 1st across all areas, 1st in this area.]
[You receive 'Mid-grade Rare Armor Selection Ticket' as reward for 1st place in this area!]
[You receive 'Special Reward Selection Box' as reward for 1st place across all areas!]
'A mid-grade rare armor selection ticket... This is good timing, I needed to change my armor.'
Ryumin immediately used the reward after confirming it.
[You can select one of the following rare armors.]
[Please touch the reward you want.]
└ 1. Shiny Bronze Armor
└ 2. Blood-colored Assassin Suit
└ 3. Robe of Darkness
With only three choices, the options were limited.
'I'll have to go with number 2.'
[Blood-colored Assassin Suit]
-Category: Armor
-Grade: Rare
-Defense: 60
-Effect: Agility +4, Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%
-Durability: 600/600
-Usage Restriction: Regular grade or higher
-Description: A blood-colored suit worn by an assassin. Sometimes gives off the smell of blood.
The options themselves weren't bad.
'The occasional blood smell is a problem though.'
Still, it was better than the Experienced Hunter's Leather Armor he had been wearing.
'I'll need to separate the lowest grade indigo magic stone I embedded in the hunter armor later.'
Separating wasn't much.
When you touch the added option part from the magic stone, a message appears asking if you want to separate it.
Ryumin used the final reward, the special reward selection box.
[You can select one of the following special rewards.]
[Please touch the reward you want.]
└ 1. 50% Stat Increase Buff (Limited to Round 5)
└ 2. 5,000 Gold
└ 3. Information about Round 5
Like last round, there's no 3x Experience Buff this time either.
'Though that doesn't mean there won't be monsters.'
In Round 5, you actually have to search for monsters.
And unlike before, there's some difficulty.
'It's only a little for me, but other players will probably find it extremely difficult.'
Round 5 is quite hard.
Even Ryumin, with his accumulated experience, died four times in just Round 5.
'If I hadn't been so greedy for the sub-quest, I wouldn't have died that much.'
At the time, he was so curious about the sub-quest reward that he focused only on that and was killed by monsters.
But he finally completed the sub-quest and received the reward.
'Fortunately, it was worth it.'
He remembers being surprised by how good the reward was.
'This time too, I'll achieve not only 1st in the main quest but also complete all the sub-quests.'
Ryumin selected reward number 1.
Considering the difficulty, the stat increase would be helpful.
'Round 5 isn't the only difficult one.'
The difficulty increases dramatically every 5th round.
'Especially Round 15 can be considered otherworldly difficulty.'
Even Ryumin, who had already cleared it, felt a bit tense, which says it all.
[Everyone has checked their ranking, right? Then shall we proceed with elimination? Kihihi!]
"W-wait..."
"Angel! Please have mercy..."
There was no chance for excuses.
The 521 players who didn't make the rankings turned to ashes.
Meanwhile, someone let out a sigh of relief.
It was Hwang Yongmin.
'I-I survived. I barely survived.'
Hwang Yongmin fortunately saved his life.
Though all of his friends were eliminated without a single one remaining.
◀ ROUND 4 End ▶
[All Areas]
└Survivors: 90,953,209
[This Area ESKS45-5]
└Survivors: 521
[Your soul will soon transfer back to your body in the original dimension.]
[Round 5 will begin at midnight on May 1, 2022. We'll see you in the next round. Congratulations on surviving.]
* * *
An Sang-cheol, who returned to reality, was rushing somewhere urgently.
"CEO!"
Beep! Clang-
Opening the hotel room with the master key, he saw CEO Ma Gyeong-rok sound asleep on the bed.
"Phew..."
"Mmm? Director An?"
Ma Gyeong-rok rubbed his eyes and got up at the sudden commotion.
"What brings you here? I don't remember calling for you."
"I couldn't reach you so I rushed in despite the rudeness. I thought something might have happened."
"What could have happened? Did you think I might have died in Round 4? Didn't you see the tally results?"
"I saw. You ranked 3rd. But I was still worried. It was such a crazy round after all."
Ma Gyeong-rok nodded as if agreeing.
"That's why I collapsed on the bed as soon as I returned. I was mentally exhausted."
"Well, you did kill 433 people..."
"Including people I killed multiple times, it's probably even more."
Even for Ma Gyeong-rok with his psychopathic hobbies, it was his first time killing so many people.
He couldn't help but be mentally drained.
"If I'm like this, what kind of monster is that Black Scythe? To kill 722 people... Is he even human?"
"Maybe he's an active special forces member? For someone with that much nerve and skill in Korea, that's the only explanation..."
Ma Gyeong-rok fell into deep thought.
'Who on earth is that guy? How does he take 1st place across all areas like it's nothing? And how did he raise his level so high?'
The more he thought about it, the more amazing Black Scythe seemed.
'If only I could cooperate with Black Scythe, it would be so reassuring for clearing future rounds.'
It's a shame they can't meet because they're in different areas.
'I should ask that prophet later. If he knows anything about Black Scythe.'
As he was thinking that, An Sang-cheol coincidentally spoke about the prophet.
"It's really amazing. For Round 4 to proceed exactly as the prophet said. Honestly, I was skeptical until I saw it with my own eyes."
"I agree."
The two recalled the prophecy Ryumin had made.
-Round 4 is not a quest to kill monsters. And a tragedy unfolds where players kill each other. Please be careful not to get stabbed by surrounding players.
'It happened exactly as prophesied. The information that major shareholder gave was correct.'
The two could now firmly believe.
That Ryumin was undoubtedly a prophet.
"What should we do now, CEO?"
"About what?"
"About the prophet Ryumin. Are you really thinking of partnering with him..."
"Of course. He's the major shareholder with 51%, what authority do I have? The company's fate is essentially in Major Shareholder Ryu's hands."
"Then are you going to completely overhaul the business sector as he said?"
"What's the point of talking about it? If the company can grow. And..."
Ma Gyeong-rok spoke with determined eyes.
"Regardless of that, we must make Major Shareholder Ryu our ally. Don't look down on him because he's young, and don't let pride get in the way. Even if you don't like his actions, unconditionally praise him and go along with him. That way."
Ma Gyeong-rok's lips curled up.
"We can suck all the honey from the honeypot that is the prophet. Understand?"
"Yes, I'll be careful in my behavior when dealing with Ryumin from now on."
"Good. Then call him right now. To check if Prophet Ryu is alive too."
"What should I say when I call?"
"Tell him we want to have a party together this evening to celebrate our survival, if he's free today. Say we'll invite all his family members too."
"Understood."
"And invite Actress Seo to the party as well."
"Seo Arin?"
"We can't leave out a celebrity at a time like this, can we?"
A smile spread across Ma Gyeong-rok's face.
* * *
Thud-
Ryumin in casual attire got out of the Lamborghini.
And waved his hand towards the woman visible in front of him.
"Over here."
It was none other than Min Juri.
She also waved her hand with a welcoming face.
"Ryumin! You look fine?"
"You too."
"What's the occasion? You're the one contacting me first to have lunch?"
"It's to celebrate our survival. Don't worry, I'll pay for the meal."
"Wh-who said they were worried?"
'You were worried though.'
He could even tell her flustered inner thoughts because he could hear them.
"Let's go, I made a reservation at a nice place."
"Hmm, then should I shamelessly take advantage of my rich friend?"
The man and woman in the Lamborghini sped through the city.
Meanwhile, Min Juri naturally conversed with Ryumin.
Was it because they had opened up about their runes to each other?
Unlike last time, the atmosphere was comfortable.
"Thank you, Mr. Prophet. Thanks to you, I was able to prepare for Round 4. If you hadn't given me a heads up, I would have really been flustered."
"Didn't you think my words might be false?"
"There's no way. What reason would you have to lie to me about something like this?"
"Thanks for believing me."
On the other hand, he felt somewhat guilty.
Even a white lie was still a lie after all.
He also felt a bit sorry for reading her inner thoughts that she didn't want revealed.
Unaware of such inner feelings, Min Juri smiled and said.
"Thanks for what? I'm the one who's really grateful. Do you know how nervous I was when killing people? Weren't you the same?"
"Huh? Of course..."
Of course not.
He felt not a shred of agitation or hesitation when killing.
Rather, he wished he felt more moved now.
"If you hadn't told me I needed to kill at least 30 people to pass, I would have been eliminated long ago. Thank you."
Feeling her sincere gratitude, Ryumin smiled faintly.
'There's nothing to be particularly grateful for though.'
Even if he hadn't given her a heads up, Min Juri would have survived anyway.
The Rune of Protection that gets stronger the more people are around would have saved her life multiple times.
'Plus, unlike appearances, she has a strong survival instinct.'
Rather than a greenhouse flower like Seo Arin, she's more like a weed outside the greenhouse.
"We're here. This is the place."
The place the two entered was a high-class traditional Korean restaurant.
He chose this over a regular restaurant which might feel too much like a date and make her uncomfortable.
"Welcome, customers. Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes. For two."
When they entered the room, the pre-ordered 200,000 won course meal came out.
After the staff set down the food and left, only the two remained in the sealed space.
It was the perfect place for conversation.
"Eat a lot."
"Thanks, I'll enjoy it."
'How many times is she going to say thank you.'
Ryumin smiled and picked up his chopsticks.
The food was quite to his taste.
But for some reason, Min Juri wasn't touching the food.
-Sigh, is it okay for me who killed people to do this? Though I came because Ryumin called, I still don't feel comfortable eating...
Reading her thoughts, it seems she was still feeling uncomfortable about the killing.
'That's understandable. No matter how strong Min Juri's survival instinct is, she's still just an ordinary person.'
It's surprising she's been acting normal until now.
Worried, Ryumin also put down his spoon.
"Juri. Why aren't you eating?"
"Huh? Ah, my stomach is a bit..."
"Is it because of killing people?"
"..."
"Don't worry about it too much. Don't blame yourself either. You had to survive, right?"
"That's true. But..."
"It's not just you. Me too, and other people too, we all had to kill inevitably. It was unavoidable."
"But I still killed people..."
"Enough."
Deciding he needed to be a bit harsher, Ryumin spoke coldly.
"Then what? If something like this happens again, will you just sit back and do nothing? If so, I'll be the one getting killed."
"..."
"Think only of yourself. It's hard, but that's the right thing to do. You have family to protect too, don't you?"
"Family..."
Min Juri suddenly thought of her only father.
She couldn't imagine how sad he would be if she didn't wake up.
With that motivation, her wavering heart suddenly became firm.
"You're right. I forgot about family. Maybe that's why I've endured until now."
There was no more wavering in Min Juri's eyes.
"Thank you, Ryumin. For comforting me."
"It's nothing. Hurry up and eat the delicious food to shake it off."
"Hehe, okay."
Min Juri finally picked up her spoon, having regained her spirits.
After trying various dishes, she couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"This is really delicious. I feel like all the fatigue from Round 4 is melting away."
"I'm glad to hear that."
After finishing the main dish of neobi-ani and completing the course of seven-flavored platter and scorched rice soup, the two patted their stomachs with faces of surrender.
An unparalleled feeling of happiness washed over them.
"I really enjoyed the meal, Min-ah."
"It's the first time you've called me by my first name."
"Ah, is that so? Is it okay if I call you like this from now on?"
"As you like."
Ryumin almost let out a chuckle seeing Min Juri waiting with expectant eyes.
She looked like a puppy waiting for treats in front of its owner.
When jujube tea and ice cream came out for dessert, Min Juri's eyes sparkled.
"I'll enjoy this!"
Was it just his imagination that her tension seemed higher than before?
'Well, Min Juri did like eating. Especially ice cream.'
Knowing this, he had chosen a traditional Korean restaurant that serves ice cream for dessert.
He needed to lift her mood.
Now that all the dishes were out and there were no more interruptions, he slowly brought up the main topic.
"The reason I asked to meet today isn't just for this."
"Huh?"
"I wanted to share some information about Round 5."
"Round 5?"
Min Juri lowered her voice in surprise, glancing outside the room.
"...Did you see the future?"
"Yeah. Round 5 will be much harder than the rounds so far. And area integration will happen."
"Area integration...?"
"It means the separated areas will merge into one area."
Min Juri's eyes widened at this surprising fact.
"Th-then does that mean you and I could meet?"
"That's right. Though not in Round 5."
In fact, they do meet in Round 5, but Ryumin deliberately lied about the timing of their meeting.
'If I say we're in the same area, Min Juri will surely try to meet me.'
If he met Min Juri in the other world, his lies would be exposed.
It's not like he could hide his nickname either.
At least not yet.
'That's not to say I don't plan to meet.'
It's natural that he needs to be by her side to coexist with Min Juri.
There is a way to do that.
A way to meet while hiding his identity.
"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
"Okay. I'm listening."
"As I said earlier, Round 5 is quite difficult. You might not be able to pass it. But, there's one way."
"What is it?"
After a pause, Ryumin spoke with a serious face.
"Find Black Scythe. Go to him and get help."
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