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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Round 4 Results Tally
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"Hah, hah."
Seo Ah-rin gasped for breath.
"Ms. Ah-rin, are you having a hard time?"
"Hah, it's... it's okay. To be honest, it's less physically exhausting and more... mentally."
Ahn Sang-chul nodded in understanding.
The scene of everyone slashing at each other, splattering blood, was so grotesque it was hard to watch.
It was enough to make one wonder if this was what hell looked like.
The stark white space only made it more jarring.
This wasn't a scene from some B-grade gore film.
This was reality.
He could handle it, more or less, but the problem was Seo Ah-rin.
'There's still an hour left. I wonder if she can hold out.'
Ahn Sang-chul was worried about her mental state.
She was Ma Kyung-rok's business item, his asset.
If her mind broke and it affected the business, he wouldn't be able to face the Representative.
"Dieeee!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ahn Sang-chul swung his sword at the assailant targeting Seo Ah-rin.
Clang—!
After parrying the man's weapon, he slashed his shoulder.
The man's torso was completely exposed.
"Ms. Ah-rin!"
At his urgent cry, Seo Ah-rin bit her lip hard and thrust her sword.
Shunk—!
The blade pierced straight through the heart.
The assailant, who had been trembling, went limp.
Ahn Sang-chul watched the scene with satisfaction.
'Still, she does as she's told.'
He had been incapacitating opponents and having Seo Ah-rin deliver the final blow.
'Seo Ah-rin, with her lack of combat skills, won't survive unless she does at least this much.'
It was, in every sense of the word, spoon-feeding her.
Still, her summoned creature provided a protective barrier, so it wasn't as if he was helping for free.
"Ugh."
Just as Seo Ah-rin was pulling out her sword with a horrified expression.
"Yahhhhh!"
Another assailant appeared from the side.
Clang, clang—!
Ahn Sang-chul exchanged a few blows before pulling his sword back and slicing the man's wrist.
"Aargh!"
Seizing the opportunity, he slashed the man's forearm and then took off his head.
'I can't just keep feeding her kills. If I want to live, I need to build my own record.'
His movements were as smooth as flowing water.
The swordsmanship rune he received upon becoming a Knight had turned him into a skilled swordsman.
After struggling to pull her sword free, a pale-faced Seo Ah-rin asked.
"Bodyguard... how much longer do we have to fight like this...?"
"We'll have to fight for at least another hour."
"I can barely stand to watch... I don't understand why everyone is so bent on killing each other."
Though Seo Ah-rin was clearly exhausted, he felt no sympathy for her.
'Weak, so weak. A flower raised in a greenhouse, is that it?'
He just found it pathetic.
Hiding his inner thoughts, Ahn Sang-chul said.
"If you're tired, you can rest now. You've killed about fifty people, haven't you?"
"I think so..."
"That should be enough to rank. Leave the rest to me."
"Thank you... really."
'Thank me?'
If anything, he was the one who was more grateful.
It was his chance to build up the record he couldn't while spoon-feeding her.
Ahn Sang-chul held his sword at the ready, scanning his surroundings.
Even if he just stood still, people consumed by madness would come at him on their own.
"Come."
Ahn Sang-chul's sword drew an elegant arc.
* * *
[Time remaining until the end of the round: 00:10:21]
'It should be ending soon.'
Ryu Min, who had been looking at the progress window, swung his scythe in a wide arc.
Slice—!
The body of a player approaching from behind was cleanly split in two.
'There are only ten minutes left, but it's not over until it's over.'
He had to accumulate the highest possible record to become number one in all sectors.
That said, he couldn't just kill anyone indiscriminately.
'The ranking isn't based simply on who killed the most.'
No, killing a lot was correct.
But it was important to kill as many different people as possible.
Killing the same person repeatedly would only count as one.
That was the hidden ranking method for this round.
'Meaning, I shouldn't kill like that guy.'
Ryu Min's gaze was fixed on none other than Hwang Yong-min.
"Die! Die, you bastards!"
He was beating his former bully friends to death with his bare fists.
And he was doing it the moment they revived.
'The round is almost over, and he's still in that same spot. I have no idea how many times he's killed the same people.'
Cunningly, Hwang Yong-min had lured his bully friends to one spot to kill them.
Using the fact that they revived where they died, he had effectively chosen their gravesite.
'To think he's just been killing those five bully friends over and over in that one spot.'
He didn't know for sure, but those bullies would likely have a hard time surviving this round.
Being killed the instant they revived, they would have no chance to build a record.
'Hwang Yong-min might also be eliminated due to a low record from killing only the same people, but...'
He wasn't worried about that.
Hwang Yong-min's nickname was a surprisingly deep shade of red.
It meant he had killed quite a few others besides his friends.
'It seems he killed other players while waiting for them to revive.'
To have that much power despite not having a class and being under a penalty.
'Well, he did survive until the fifth round in the last regression.'
It looked like he had killed about thirty people, so he would pass this round without much trouble.
'As for me, it goes without saying.'
Ryu Min walked, scythe in hand.
He scanned the players with the eyes of a predator searching for prey.
All their nicknames were red.
No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find a single fluorescent one.
Every one of the nearly one thousand players had committed murder.
'Perhaps calling it murder is a misnomer? After ten minutes, everyone will revive without exception.'
The reason people could kill so freely was likely because they knew they would be revived.
'The frenzied atmosphere also played a part, I'm sure.'
Ryu Min joined the atmosphere, cutting people down.
They were strangers he'd never met, but that was precisely why he could cut them.
'If I stand still, I'll be the one to die.'
If I don't build a record, I will be the one to perish.
And he had no intention of missing out on the first-place reward.
He had to grow stronger by any means necessary to reach the 20th round.
'I don't know how strong the final boss is. So I must become as strong as possible.'
The reason for killing wasn't simply because of revival.
Survival.
People were fighting for survival.
It was a familiar concept to modern people living in a competitive society.
'Starting with this round, players will lose their aversion to killing.'
These players had already experienced killing dozens of times, albeit virtually.
Would they feel any revulsion if they were to kill for real in reality?
'From now on, they'll act with even less hesitation. The lawlessness will accelerate.'
They would point their swords at each other and kill ordinary people to prove their superiority.
That was the future of the players.
'Though I can't say that applies to all of them.'
Players who hadn't lost their humanity would feel guilt and remorse for killing.
Ryu Min wasn't entirely devoid of such feelings.
'That's why I'm killing them as painlessly as possible right now.'
However, any player who attacked him first was killed without a shred of hesitation.
'There's no mercy for those who strike first.'
And he never killed a player he had already killed once.
There was no point, as it wouldn't be counted more than once.
'In other words, I've memorized the nickname of every player I've killed.'
Memorizing the nicknames of hundreds of players?
It was difficult, but not impossible.
'If I just remember the key words in their nicknames, I can memorize them.'
It was also possible because his Intelligence stat was high.
'Killed him, and him too.'
He passed by players, his eyes darting about.
Ryu Min's target was a player he had never killed before.
But most of them were people he had already killed.
'I don't remember that one. A first.'
The moment he spotted a new player, he immediately swung his scythe.
He split the player's head in two and, without a backward glance, left to find his next target.
'There's not much time. I need to rack up as many kills as possible.'
Just as he was hunting and slaughtering prey with fire in his eyes to claim first place in all sectors.
A pillar of light descended from the sky, sealing his movements.
Time was up.
[Kee-hee-hee-hee! Did everyone have fun killing?]
The players, each trapped in a pillar, shot cold glares at the angel.
How could it be fun when they were killing their own kind?
Some looked at the angel with resentment for giving them such a nauseating quest.
Even though the angel was merely a guide.
[Ugh, look at all this filthy blood. This clean space has become a total mess, hasn't it?]
"..."
[Anyway, good work killing each other. Before we look at the results, let's revive the dead humans.]
Even before the angel spoke, the system was already reviving the dead.
'He's talking as if he's the one reviving them. He doesn't even have that power.'
While Ryu Min was sneering at the angel, the players revived and were, without exception, trapped in pillars.
Hwang Yong-min's friends, who had been killed repeatedly for three hours, could finally breathe again.
"Hwang Yong-min, you son of a bitch!"
"Fucking bastard! I'll kill you!"
"You're worse than a bug, even Jo Joong-sik is better than you!"
They were busy spewing curses at Hwang Yong-min from within their pillars of light.
[Quiet, quiet! Any human who makes a sound from now on will have their head exploded.]
"..."
[That's better. Now that everyone's been revived, shall we look at the results? Ah! But before that, we should see what this round's sub-quest was, right?]
"Sub-quest?"
"There was one this time too?"
[Of course there was. Did you think there wouldn't be? Are you stupid? Keke.]
"..."
Having teased the humans, the angel displayed the quest window for all to see.
└Defeat the Sector Representative within the time limit.
└Success Reward ▶ Lowest-Grade Magic Stone Draw Ticket
"D-Defeat the Sector Representative?"
"That was the sub-quest?"
[That's right, you foolish humans. For your information, only one human in our sector completed the sub-quest. And that was Black Scythe.]
"B-Black Scythe did?"
"Come to think of it..."
"He killed Hwang Yong-min not long after we started and became the Sector Representative, didn't he?"
"Ah, you're right."
The people who had criticized Black Scythe for killing Hwang Yong-min now clicked their tongues in regret.
'If I had known, I would have killed Hwang Yong-min myself...'
'Damn it. I can't believe being the Sector Representative was actually beneficial this round.'
However, Hwang Yong-min, the one who had actually died, was hearing this for the first time.
'I... I died? To Black Scythe?'
Could it be that this was why he had blacked out at the beginning?
Realizing he had died and been revived, Hwang Yong-min hastily checked his skill window.
'It's gone. The temporary skill, Right of Command, is gone.'
Although he had used up all its chances, the Right of Command skill had definitely remained in his skill window.
But now, it was gone without a trace.
'Did the Sector Representative authority really pass to him? To Black Scythe?'
Was this what he meant by helping him not become a target?
By taking the representative title for himself?
Hwang Yong-min stared at Ryu Min, dumbfounded.
Ryu Min, however, didn't seem to care, not even sparing him a glance.
[Now, shall we look at the tallied results? Ah, but before that, you must be curious about the ranking criteria, right?]
The angel revealed the rule it had kept hidden until now.
[The ranking method is based on the number of different humans you killed. Even if you kill the same human multiple times, the count is recorded as 1.]
"Different humans?"
"I thought we just had to kill a lot?"
[You think it would be that simple? Kee-hee-hee, let's see the results right now.]
With a flap of the angel's wings, the results window appeared.
★ Round 4 Results Tally ★
[All Sectors]
└1st. Black Scythe (Lv30 Grim Reaper) 722 Kills
└2nd. Dumb Idiots (Lv13 Shaman) 521 Kills
└3rd. Cheonma (Lv13 Dark Knight) 433 Kills
[Sector ESKS45-5]
└1st. Black Scythe (Lv30 Grim Reaper) 722 Kills
└2nd. Cute Baby Bird (Lv11 Warrior) 211 Kills
└3rd. Ahn Sang-chul (Lv11 Knight) 209 Kills
[It seems Black Scythe has taken first place again, hasn't he?]
'That's a relief.'
While Ryu Min let out a sigh of relief at his comfortable first-place finish.
The other players were staring at him with expressions of sheer disbelief.
"To kill over 700 people..."
"How is that even possible?"
"Weren't there about a thousand of us?"
"So he killed 70% of us by himself?"
"He's insane, completely insane."
Just like the players shaking their heads, the angel couldn't hide its admiration.
[Wow! You killed 722 people all by yourself? That's amazing! For reference, the 521st rank in our sector has a record of 30 kills. Anyone below that is heading for elimination.]
"Ah..."
"Ah...!"
A collective gasp escaped from nearly half the players.
They were the ones who hadn't managed to kill even thirty people.
"N-No. I don't want to be eliminated!"
"Are we really going to die this time?"
"Hah... I should have killed more."
While half the players let out cries of regret.
Ryu Min was looking at the reward message.
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