58. Rune of Doppelganger
When faced with an unbelievable reality, people freeze up in shock.
Words don't come out as intended and pupils shake.
That's how it was now.
"Wh-wh-what..."
The manager looked back and forth between Black Scythe's corpse and Little Baby Cockle with trembling eyes.
"What have you done?! Killing Black Scythe!"
He didn't expect the famous Black Scythe to die so easily, nor did he expect Little Baby Cockle to suddenly lash out.
"Are you crazy?! You!!!"
"Ah, you're so noisy."
A low voice and gaze were directed at the manager.
The manager unconsciously swallowed at the suddenly changed atmosphere.
'Wh-what? That gaze.'
It was a gaze like that of a beast, making people feel intimidated.
There was no longer any trace of the shy 20-something young man in Little Baby Cockle.
Ignoring the flustered manager, Ryumin shifted his gaze to the air.
[You have committed murder while impersonating another player.]
[You have met the activation conditions.]
[You have discovered the hidden rune 'Rune of Doppelganger' hidden in this location!]
[The acquired rune is automatically engraved on the player's body!]
A satisfied smile soon appeared at the message of obtaining the Rune of Doppelganger.
'Good. The acting paid off.'
The conditions were met because he impersonated Little Baby Cockle.
Now Kukuru Ping Pong, who would become infamous as a doppelganger, no longer exists.
Because he just killed him moments ago.
He felt no sympathy since the guy would become a villain in the future.
"L-Little Cockle! Say something! Why did you kill Black Scythe?"
"Why? Because he's a bastard who impersonated me."
"Impersonation? What do you..."
Instead of answering, Ryumin took out and put on a prepared mask.
It would be troublesome if the unconscious woman woke up and saw this scene.
He also put a black bag over the woman's head just in case.
The manager still shouted with wary eyes.
"You were supposed to kill the woman, why did you kill Black Scythe!"
"Why? Because he's trash. And you're trash too."
"What did you say?"
The manager frowned and immediately showed a murderous gaze.
He's not the type to stay quiet after being called trash.
Swish-
A long curved sword suddenly appeared in the manager's hand.
"Say that again. What did you just..."
The manager's voice suddenly decreased as if muted.
His eyes widened as a bonus.
"I said you're trash. Why? Am I wrong?"
It was because a large scythe appeared in Ryumin's hand.
'Wh-what. That scythe? Is that Little Baby Cockle's main weapon?'
The manager suddenly felt embarrassed about his own hand.
The curved sword he was holding looked shabby in comparison.
'I've never heard of a player carrying around such a large scythe...'
No, thinking about it, he had heard of one.
A player who uses a large scythe as their main weapon.
Suddenly, as if puzzle pieces were fitting together, he recalled what Cockle had said.
-Because he's a bastard who impersonated me.
'Impersonation? N-no way...'
The manager's eyes darted back and forth between the dead Black Scythe and Cockle.
"Have you grasped the situation now? Who the real Black Scythe is?"
"Y-you were... Black Scythe?"
"Sorry for deceiving you."
Contrary to his apologetic words, a cynical smile appeared on his face.
Holding the large scythe, he gave off a completely different vibe from before.
'I-it's true. This person isn't the Little Baby Cockle I've seen so far. He was the real Black Scythe.'
He could tell instinctively.
The young man before him was definitely Black Scythe.
And that he wouldn't survive this situation.
Thud-!
The manager fell to his knees without hesitation.
Resistance was meaningless if the opponent was the real Black Scythe.
"B-Black Scythe! I'm sorry for not recognizing you. Your acting was too good..."
"Why are you suddenly kneeling?"
"Huh? Th-that's because I respect Black Scythe."
"You didn't kneel once to the guy impersonating me, but now you do?"
Pfft- A laugh escaped Ryumin's mouth.
"Don't try to pull any tricks and just honestly beg. For your life."
"P-please spare me."
"I don't want to."
The manager blinked his eyes, not expecting to be rejected in 0.1 seconds.
That was his last action in life.
Thud- Thud-
The manager's head that fell like a bunch of grapes bounced on the floor.
The rolling head touched Black Dragon's feet.
'Eek!'
When their eyes met, Black Dragon was inwardly terrified.
An expression that didn't even realize he had died.
That rather evoked fear.
Because he hadn't realized it himself either.
'H-he's the real Black Scythe. Th-the level is different.'
He didn't even see when he swung.
He only saw the manager's head falling unexpectedly.
This was why Black Dragon was trembling.
Facing an existence he couldn't approach evoked indescribable fear.
"Now it's just you and me left?"
"..."
"Can you guess what I'm going to do?"
"..."
"If you have any last words, say them."
When Ryumin gave him a chance, Black Dragon overcame his fear and barely opened his mouth.
"I-I won't say obvious things like asking you to spare me."
"Oh, then?"
"I-I had something I wanted to ask if I met you."
"You're curious why I killed you five times in Round 4, right?"
Black Dragon's pupils widened as much as possible when he accurately read his inner thoughts.
"Th-that's right."
"The reason is simple. I was keeping you in check."
"Keeping me in check? Why me..."
"Among the people I saw then, you seemed to have some skill. I needed to take out competitors."
"Ah..."
For a moment, he felt like a 3-day constipation was resolved.
The question was answered.
"Anything else to say?"
"..."
"You have no regrets dying now, right?"
"..."
Black Dragon honestly wanted to beg to be spared.
But seeing the manager who died right after begging, he somehow felt he shouldn't do that.
"C-can I ask one last thing?"
"What is it."
"Wh-why are you trying to kill me..."
The answer was quick.
"Because you're trash."
"M-me? What did I do..."
"Didn't you come all the way here to kill that woman?"
"B-but I haven't done anything yet..."
"You haven't done anything? You've been standing by all this time."
Being a bystander is also a crime.
That's what Ryumin was saying.
"Do you understand the reason you have to die now?"
"..."
He didn't answer, but his expression still showed he didn't understand.
Ryumin sighed.
"Alright, fine. Unlike the other trash, you're only guilty of being a bystander. I'll give you a chance. A chance to live."
"R-really?"
"But."
Ryumin tapped the floor with his scythe.
"Hand over everything you have here."
"..."
Though it sounded like something a third-rate robber would say, Black Dragon silently took out items from his inventory without protest.
Of course, life is more precious than these mere items.
'Hooh.'
Ryumin's eyes lit up seeing the items being taken out one after another.
'He has quite some useful things?'
Orange magic stone, yellow magic stone, equipment that can be resold to shops, etc.
Though he didn't have precious items like black diamond, it was better than expected.
Swish- Black Dragon carefully spoke while glancing at Ryumin.
"I-I've handed over all the equipment and axe I was using. This is really all I have. There's nothing more."
"Who said anything? You're making me look strange."
He must have thought Ryumin was dissatisfied since his expression didn't change.
In fact, he was 99% satisfied.
'If I sell all the items he bought from shops, I'll get about 2,000 gold.'
Ryumin only picked up a few magic stones and equipment and put them in his inventory.
"A-aren't you taking the others?"
"I don't need them. You use them."
Some equipment including the axe couldn't be resold since they weren't bought from shops.
While Black Dragon was gathering the equipment left on the floor, Ryumin looked at the other corpses.
The corpses of the manager and the impersonator.
'There probably wouldn't be anything worth looting from these guys.'
He already knew through repeated regressions that they didn't have good items.
This is why he killed them mercilessly unlike Black Dragon.
'Of course, I could have gotten some pocket change. But if I had looted their items before killing them too, Black Dragon wouldn't have handed over his items so readily.'
Who would take out items if they'd die either way?
The inventory opened because there was hope he might live.
"Th-then are you going to spare me now as promised..."
Black Dragon looked with eyes mixed with expectation and anxiety.
Ryumin pretended to ponder while scratching his chin, then nodded as if being generous.
"Alright. I'll spare you. A promise is a promise."
"Th-thank you! Thank you!"
As if he didn't really expect to be spared, Black Dragon kept bowing as if about to do 108 bows.
"That's enough. It's burdensome."
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."
"Live kindly from now on. Do whatever you want with the corpses."
"Ah, understood."
"I'll take care of the woman myself."
Ryumin supported the collapsed woman and limped.
"I-I'll help you."
Black Dragon approached to help from the side, but Ryumin refused with a hiss.
"It's fine. How can I trust someone like you. Just get lost."
"Y-yes."
Watching Black Scythe's back as he walked away supporting the woman, Shim Hyeong-taek felt relieved.
'Phew, I survived. I thought I was definitely going to die but he really spared me.'
At first when he told him to hand over all his items, he thought what kind of robber is this...
'He was more conscientious than I thought?'
He thought he would take all the equipment, but he didn't.
He only took a few unknown stones and equipment bought from shops.
'Fortunately it stopped there. I saved my life at the cost of losing a few items, so it's a great deal.'
When he cut off the lives of the two people earlier without hesitation, he didn't think anything of it.
He couldn't even think of running away because of the fear enveloping his whole body.
'But to think he would spare me so readily.'
It seems he let him go since his crime was lighter as a bystander.
'If I had stepped up to rape that woman, my neck would have been twisted like that impersonator who died earlier.'
Shim Hyeong-taek let out another sigh of relief feeling fortunate.
But...
'What is this empty feeling?'
More than emptiness, irritation was creeping up.
He even felt a bit of anger.
'Did I do something so wrong? To have my items extorted just for being a bit of a bystander?'
He felt wronged.
The current reality where he had to bow to those with power.
And above all.
Limp- Limp-
The back of Black Scythe limping away kept bothering him.
Completely defenseless.
'Even if he's Black Scythe, wouldn't he die if I chop him with an axe from behind?'
He already had an axe in his hand.
There was a possibility now.
'What should I do?'
Shim Hyeong-taek was at a crossroads.
Whether to take the risk and ambush the defenseless Black Scythe, or safely return.
The deliberation wasn't long.
'If I kill a high level player like Black Scythe... how many stats would increase?'
A once in a lifetime opportunity is right before his eyes.
An opportunity that will never come again is about to pass by.
'If I don't seize this chance, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.'
A glittering desire rose in Shim Hyeong-taek's eyes.
Strength entered the hand holding the axe.
Stealthily-
He followed behind Black Scythe as carefully as possible.
He hadn't gone far yet.
His movements were slow, probably because of the woman he was supporting.
'Don't notice. Please don't notice.'
If he could just close the distance a bit more, he could kill him.
Just ten more steps and he'd be at the right angle to smash his head in one blow.
Carefully like that, he approached to within five steps, but Black Scythe still didn't look back.
He didn't seem to notice at all that someone was behind him.
'Ah! Now!'
He raised the axe.
The range was sufficient.
Now was the perfect timing to smash his head.
'Die, you bastard!'
He swung the axe with all his might while spitting out inaudible curses.
Crack-!
A familiar feeling transmitted through the handle.
It matched the feeling of splitting a head.
It wasn't just a feeling, but reality.
Thud-
Black Scythe with his head split collapsed lifelessly along with the woman.
"Ha, haha... Did I... Did I kill Black Scythe? This easily?"
A feeling of emptiness washed over him.
At the same time, he felt an obvious realization.
That even a level 30 is finished when their head is smashed.
"Ha, haha... Hahaha! Hahahaha! Kukukuku!"
Shim Hyeong-taek burst into maniacal laughter from the thrilling pleasure.
"Is this real? Black Scythe died to me, a mere level 10? To me? Kukukuk, kekekeke!!"
He killed Black Scythe.
It was unbelievable but reality.
"You idiot! Why did you turn your back on someone like me? There's no bigger idiot than this. Kukukuku!"
He mocked and sneered at the corpse with its head split in two to his heart's content.
He felt no sympathy since this guy had killed him five times.
"Kuhehe, you fool! What's the use of high levels if you're this stupid. Thanks to you, I'll eat up your stats well. Kuhehe."
If killing similar levels increased stacks quite a bit, how much would it increase for killing Black Scythe?
Expectation filled Shim Hyeong-taek's face.
"Hm? But why isn't a message appearing saying stacks increased?"
Normally a message should appear immediately when smashing a head.
But strangely, there was no message visible to Shim Hyeong-taek.
"What's going on?"
"What's going on, you ask."
Startled by the sudden voice, Shim Hyeong-taek whipped his head around.
Then he opened his eyes and mouth simultaneously.
"Why are you so surprised. Did you see a ghost?"
Shim Hyeong-taek could only stammer, unable to speak properly.
It was because the Black Scythe he had killed was standing before him in perfect condition.
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