51. Party Invitation
"Black Scythe?"
Min Juri wasn't asking because she didn't know.
Though in a different area, even Min Juri knew the name Black Scythe.
It was the nickname that ranked 1st across all areas every round.
"Black Scythe... You mean that person? The one who always gets 1st place across all areas."
"Yeah, that's right."
"So you're telling me to get help from Black Scythe in Round 5?"
"I said help, but it's cooperation. Forming a temporary alliance. That's how you can survive."
"But he should be in a different area... Don't tell me our area and the area he's in will merge this time?"
"That's what I'm saying."
"But Black Scythe is level 30, right? Would he want to ally with me?"
"He'll need you because of your buff. You complete the quest with Black Scythe's help. It's mutually beneficial."
"Hmm..."
It wasn't a bad idea.
How nice would it be to safely clear with help from a high-level player.
The problem was having to party with a complete stranger.
And one who was overwhelmingly strong at that.
"To be honest, I'm worried. I'm not sure if Black Scythe would want to team up with me just for one buff..."
'It's not just any buff. Your buff is amazing.'
Swallowing those words, Ryumin smiled as if telling her not to worry.
"Black Scythe will want to cooperate with you. Not just this round, but the next one too. Don't worry, I saw it in the future."
"Really?"
Min Juri finally smiled brightly.
She could believe it if Ryumin, a prophet, spoke with such certainty.
"Thank you for telling me such important information."
"It's nothing. We're friends, how could I not do this much?"
"I should give you something in return too, right?"
Min Juri reached out and cast a buff on him.
This was the moment Ryumin had been waiting for.
'I got the buff as planned.'
He knew Min Juri would give a buff, given her personality of not wanting to be indebted.
'Now if I use the magic stone drawing ticket when I get home...'
Suppressing the corners of his mouth from curling up, he left the restaurant with Min Juri.
Only after dropping Min Juri off in front of the convenience store could Ryumin smile without holding back.
* * *
After returning home, Ryumin changed into comfortable clothes and equipped his items.
[All stats increase by 50% due to the Skill Bless effect.]
[All stats increase by 100% due to the Rune of Slaughter effect.]
He received not only the buff, but also the Rune of Slaughter effect from killing mealworms like last time.
'Let's see how much my stats have increased.'
-Strength: 93, Intelligence: 111
-Agility: 105, Luck: 84
'With this much luck, it's worth looking forward to.'
Ironically, Intelligence that he had never invested in was the highest.
Thanks to the Rune of Radiance that increases Intelligence by level.
'If there were holy attribute opponents too, this would increase by 2x more.'
That would be difficult unless an angel suddenly appeared.
He opened his inventory and took out the Lowest Grade Magic Stone Drawing Ticket.
'Use.'
While an ordinary person might pray to God for a good result, he used it without hesitation.
'What prayer. That damn God.'
He was originally non-religious, but this incident completely erased any faith in God.
Not only faith, but deep resentment took its place.
'This must all be God's doing.'
Who else would create this hellish survival game trapping 1.8 billion people?
He thought God must be behind it.
That God was playing with humans.
'If I clear the final round and reach the stage where wishes are granted, I'll defiantly wish for the annihilation of the bastard God who designed this damn game.'
Of course, whether that's possible is unknown.
Just then, the drawing results appeared before his eyes.
[You have used the Lowest Grade Magic Stone Drawing Ticket.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained 5 Lowest Grade Magic Stones!]
For a moment, Ryumin unconsciously made a dumbfounded expression.
'5? 5 is the maximum?'
He got the maximum amount despite cursing God instead of praying.
'What incredible luck.'
Ryumin checked his inventory with a self-deprecating smile.
'2 red, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 purple... Not bad.'
A total of five lowest grade magic stones came in.
Ryumin decided to combine the duplicate colors first.
[Main Material]
-Lowest Grade Red Magic Stone
[Sub Materials]
-Lowest Grade Red Magic Stone
-(None)
-(None)
-(None)
-(None)
After placing them in the slots, he pressed the combine button.
[Combination Successful!]
[You have created a 'Low Grade Red Magic Stone'.]
A low grade magic stone entered his inventory.
'You can combine like this with the same color and grade.'
Ryumin immediately combined the low grade red magic stone with the Assassin's Hood.
[Combination Successful!]
[The 'Damage +2%' option has been added to Assassin's Hood.]
The effect that would have been 1% if lowest grade increased to 2%.
He also combined the purple magic stone he got this time with the purple magic stone Seo Arin gave him.
After creating a low grade purple magic stone, he embedded it in his gloves.
[Combination Successful!]
[The 'All Stats +2' option has been added to Shadow Gloves of Darkness.]
He embedded the remaining green and yellow magic stones in his shoes and ring respectively.
Agility +2 and Luck +2 were added.
He also embedded the indigo magic stone separated from the hunter armor into the Blood-colored Assassin Suit.
With this, he embedded magic stones in all his equipment.
'Good. It was worth giving information and getting the buff.'
Moreover, he created a connection with Black Scythe under the pretext of prophecy.
Now from Round 5 on, he can accompany Min Juri without necessarily revealing his identity.
'With Min Juri's buff, clearing Round 5 will be a piece of cake.'
Ryumin looked at his phone with a satisfied smile.
Time was already heading towards evening.
'In 2 hours, it'll be time to meet Ma Gyeong-rok.'
He had received a call from An Sang-cheol in the morning.
-Major Shareholder Ryu? So you were alive! Congratulations on surviving. I called to apologize for my rudeness last time. I'm truly sorry. CEO Ma Gyeong-rok also feels sorry about that. In that sense, we're planning to hold a small party this evening to celebrate our survival, how about it? It's a gathering for everyone to enjoy together, so please feel free to bring your family members without burden.
He was invited to a party.
'They say party, but it's really a place to gain my favor and extract information.'
Ryumin had no reason to refuse since he needed to build trust with Ma Gyeong-rok.
Ryumin left his room and approached his brother who was lying on the sofa watching TV.
"Won. Are you free this evening?"
"Huh? I have plenty of time. I'm not going to school anymore."
His brother was supposed to have started middle school last month.
But given the current situation, school attendance was temporarily suspended.
'All middle school 3rd year students over 15 became players...'
With the next round to worry about, would players study at school?
But if only non-players attend, parents would protest discrimination.
This isn't just a middle school issue.
High schools and universities across the country don't dare make players attend.
'Studying for the future when their lives are at stake? It's fortunate if they don't cause trouble.'
The military is even worse.
With superhuman strength, there's no way hierarchy would be maintained.
Officers over 30 don't dare try to control players.
'The 1.8 billion participants at the start decreased to 90 million in just three months.'
95% died and only 5% survived.
In this situation, society can't function properly.
"Brother, what are you thinking about so deeply?"
"Nothing. Anyway, since you have time, want to go to a party with me?"
"Party? What party all of a sudden?"
Ryumin explained the details to his brother.
"What? The CEO of the company you invested in is the Osung Group heir?"
"Yeah. I was invited to a party as a future business partner, and they said you should come too."
"I'm not sure if I should go to such an occasion..."
"They said they really want to invite family members too... Well, do as you like. It's your choice after all."
"Hmm..."
Reading his thoughts, his brother was struggling with the decision.
But Ryumin already knew what choice he would make in the end.
Because that's what happened in previous regressions.
"I'll go! When else would I get to attend an upper-class party? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, right?"
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that."
A chuckle escaped Ryumin's lips.
If he had gone alone or hidden it, his brother might have been seriously upset.
"Let's go out. I'll buy you clothes."
"Clothes?"
"You need something decent to wear to the party, even if not a full suit."
"Awesome~ I get to ride in brother's car!"
His brother seemed more excited about riding in the supercar than getting clothes.
"Let's go."
The brothers went out together for the first time in a while.
* * *
After returning from shopping and killing time watching TV, the brothers looked at the clock.
It was almost time for the appointment.
"Let's get dressed and ready now."
Ryumin put on a suit while Ryuwon wore a calm-looking sweatshirt.
As they were about to watch TV again.
Beep beep- Ding dong dong-♬
The doorbell rang.
"Looks like they're here, brother!"
Ryuwon, who was looking at the intercom, tilted his head.
A somewhat familiar man was standing in front of the door.
"Let's go out."
Ryumin opened the front door with his brother.
An Sang-cheol bowed politely.
"Hello, are you ready to go out? I've come to escort you."
"Huh? Th-that person is the one we met before..."
At Ryuwon's surprised look, An Sang-cheol looked at Ryumin.
"This person is...?"
"My younger brother."
"Ah, I'm late with introductions. I'm Director An Sang-cheol. We've met before, right?"
"Y-yes..."
Wariness was still evident in his brother's eyes.
It was because the first impression wasn't good.
"I'm truly sorry for my rudeness last time. I've already apologized to your older brother as well."
"Ah..."
"We're holding this party as an apology, so please don't feel burdened. Shall we go now? A limousine is prepared, so you just need to come."
* * *
As expected, the party venue was Ma Gyeong-rok's hotel.
"Oh, Major Shareholder Ryu."
Ma Gyeong-rok greeted them warmly at the entrance.
"It's nice to meet you alive like this."
"Me too."
"Is this your younger brother?"
"Yes. This is my brother, Ryuwon."
Ma Gyeong-rok smiled and held out his hand to Ryuwon.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ma Gyeong-rok, CEO of Cheonma Consulting."
"H-hello."
"Is your brother a player too?"
"No, I'm not."
"My brother is still only 14 years old."
"Oh, how fortunate. To escape the survival game by just one year difference. I'm really envious."
'What's there to envy.'
Ryumin inwardly sneered.
He said he was envious, but reading his thoughts showed he wasn't at all.
"This way please. A modest party is prepared."
Following Ma Gyeong-rok, they came to a large banquet hall.
"Wow..."
His brother couldn't help but exclaim in admiration with his mouth open.
Ryumin also pretended to be appropriately surprised.
All kinds of food were laid out appetizingly in a buffet style in the banquet hall.
"You must be hungry? It's not much, but it should be good for filling your stomachs."
At Ma Gyeong-rok's words, his brother made an incredulous expression.
-Is this person making fun of us? He calls this not much?
His disbelieving thoughts came through clearly.
"Then since we're hungry, shall we eat fir..."
Just as Ma Gyeong-rok was about to move.
As the banquet hall doors opened and a woman appeared, Ryumin couldn't help but be inwardly surprised.
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