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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Reward
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The moment the third round began, Ahn Sang-chul started looking for Black Scythe.
He intended to help if there was anything he could do.
Besides, the Representative had given him an order.
To convey his gratitude for saving him.
'There he is.'
But he couldn't bring himself to approach, watching only from a distance.
The way he stood there with his scythe seemed to scream, 'Don't bother me.'
'Should I talk to him later? It doesn't look like there's anything I can help with right now…'
He decided to find a way to help, then naturally strike up a conversation and deliver the Representative's message.
As long as he did it before the round ended, it would be fine.
'First, let's listen to the third round's quest and then figure out how I can help.'
Soon after, the angel explained the quest.
'Protect the artifact and fend off five waves of monsters?'
It was a cooperative mission, but it was also an individual one where players would pass based on who killed the most monsters.
'I can help with this.'
With so many monsters, hunting would be difficult, and raising his kill count would be tough.
If he fought alongside Black Scythe, couldn't he help by drawing the monsters' attention?
With that in mind, he started to approach, but then he stopped.
'What? Is he blocking the entrance by himself?'
While everyone else was waiting in the center of the village, Black Scythe stood alone, guarding the entrance.
'Does he really think he can hold them off alone?'
He couldn't tell if it was confidence or arrogance.
'I'll just watch for now. If I jump in, he might just yell at me for getting in the way.'
He decided to help only if Black Scythe was in danger and waited for the monsters to swarm in.
When the wave finally began, Ahn Sang-chul saw it.
The sight of Black Scythe single-handedly slaughtering a massive horde of monsters.
'He really… is holding them off by himself?'
It wasn't overconfidence or arrogance.
Black Scythe possessed not only the courage of a one-man army but also the skill to back it up.
'First place in this zone is a given…'
Who could possibly compete with him when he was mowing down that many monsters?
He might even take first place in all zones again.
'There's no need for me to help.'
Ahn Sang-chul focused on building his own kill count.
Since the monsters were weakened, it wasn't as difficult as he'd expected.
'Is it because I'm level 8?'
He glanced to the side and saw Seo Ah-rin fighting well, too.
'It was a good thing we leveled up last round.'
Being at a higher level than the others made hunting much easier.
His class change was faster, too.
He was able to reach level 10 and choose a class before anyone else.
'It's almost over now.'
As the fifth wave was winding down.
[Player 'Hwang Yong-min' has become the new Zone Representative of ESKS45-5.]
The Zone Representative had changed.
'So he was killed after all?'
He knew this would happen the moment they said you could steal the authority by killing the representative.
'Wait, the Zone Representative is Hwang Yong-min?'
It was a name he couldn't possibly forget.
He was, after all, the one who had attacked him and Seo Ah-rin in the previous round.
'Ha… How did a piece of trash like him become the Zone Representative…?'
He sighed in frustration but wasn't worried.
Having already changed their classes, he and Seo Ah-rin were no longer affected by the representative's authority.
'I'll have to report this absurd situation to Representative Ma when I get back.'
But a truly absurd situation was yet to come.
[The artifact has been destroyed.]
[Main Quest failed.]
[As a failure penalty, an Agent of Retribution will be summoned for 30 minutes.]
"What? The artifact was destroyed?"
Surprised, the words escaped his lips before he could stop them.
Looking toward the center of the village, he could see the shattered remains of the artifact.
Soon, a sub-quest notification appeared, and they now had to survive for thirty minutes.
'I don't know what this Agent of Retribution is, but…'
His instincts told him.
It was an incredibly powerful foe.
'Otherwise, the quest would be to kill it, not just survive.'
There had to be a reason they were being rewarded just for staying alive.
And sure enough.
The Agent of Retribution he faced was a terrifying creature.
'What in the world is that arrow of light?'
It was impossible to see and dodge.
On top of that, it cast a wide-area barrier to prevent anyone from escaping.
'I have to run. There's no way I can win against that.'
Everyone else seemed to think the same as Ahn Sang-chul, as they were all busy fleeing.
All except for one person.
'What the hell is Black Scythe doing over there?'
While everyone else was running away, he was standing stock-still at the edge of the barrier.
Looking closely, it seemed he was glaring at the Agent of Retribution.
'Is he actually planning to fight that thing? No, that can't be it.'
To even consider fighting that horrifying Agent of Retribution?
'That's impossible unless you're insane.'
Had his overconfidence clouded his judgment?
When there was a reward just for surviving, trying to fight it was reckless.
'No way. It can't be. He's probably just sizing it up before he runs.'
But.
The moment the barrier disappeared, Black Scythe charged forward.
The very thing he had thought impossible was happening right before his eyes.
'Shit, this is bad! I should go help… huh?'
However, what unfolded before him was completely different from what he had expected.
'The surprise attack… it worked?'
With his scythe, he had pierced the Agent of Retribution's eye socket.
'To have the precision to hit its eye…'
As if to prove it wasn't a fluke, he stabbed its other eye.
Not only that, but he was toying with it like a plaything, severing both its wings.
'Black Scythe… is overwhelming it.'
Watching Black Scythe finally sever the Agent of Retribution's head, Ahn Sang-chul realized something.
He had been gravely mistaken all this time.
'He didn't need my help at all.'
Suddenly, Representative Ma's order came to mind.
-Keep an eye on Black Scythe and see if there's anything you can do to help. You know I can't stand being indebted to anyone, right?
'Representative, I'm sorry.'
Ahn Sang-chul shook his head.
'I don't think I can carry out your order.'
From the very beginning, Black Scythe was never in a position to need help from anyone.
By what right could he possibly help someone who could take down an Agent of Retribution single-handedly?
'He's on a different level. There's a reason he's ranked first.'
The strong become objects of admiration for the weak.
Ahn Sang-chul's gaze toward Black Scythe was now tinged with respect.
'This gives me one more thing to report to the Representative.'
* * *
[You have slain the Agent of Retribution.]
[A 3x EXP buff is active.]
[EXP +304.3%]
[Gold +8,200]
[Additional Gold +4,100]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Killing the Agent of Retribution instantly took Ryu Min from level 27 to level 30.
On top of that, his Luck stat had triggered an additional gold drop.
'Lucky me.'
This brought his total gold to roughly 21,000.
'I can buy another common skill as planned.'
Even without the 3,000 gold reward from the sub-quest, he had more than enough.
And that wasn't the only good news.
[Confirmed as the first player to slay an Agent of Retribution.]
[Acquired the title 'One Who Defies Retribution'.]
[Received 'Condensed Ether' as a reward for the first slaying of an Agent of Retribution.]
[Received the 'Rune of Radiance' as a reward for the first slaying of an Agent of Retribution.]
[The acquired rune will now be automatically inscribed onto the player's body!]
Among the messages that popped up one after another, the one Ryu Min welcomed the most was about the items.
'It dropped, just as I thought. Condensed Ether.'
[Condensed Ether]
-Classification: Inventory Item
-Description: A high-value form of Ether. It emits an iridescent glow that changes with the viewing angle.
He brought up the information window and confirmed it was the same Ether he knew.
The corners of Ryu Min's mouth twitched upward.
'You could say this was the only reason I killed the Agent of Retribution.'
It was because Ether was a material needed to craft [God]-grade items.
'It's impossible to craft them with normal Ether. Only Condensed Ether can create God-grade items.'
He still needed four other materials, but as long as things went according to plan, they wouldn't be difficult to obtain.
'As long as I have the core material, Ether, the rest is trivial.'
Smiling, Ryu Min tapped on the new title he had acquired.
[Title – One Who Defies Retribution]
-Acquisition Condition: Acquired by being the first to slay an Agent of Retribution.
-Effect: Reduces damage received from Holy-type opponents by 80%.
A skill that reduced damage by a whopping 80%.
Although the title was limited to Holy-type opponents…
'Even if I get hit by accident, I won't die.'
He could survive a critical hit, even from an area-of-effect or unavoidable skill.
Ryu Min's gaze shifted to the rune he had also received.
[Rune of Radiance]
-Effect: For every level, increases Intelligence by 1 and Holy-type skill effectiveness by 1%.
It was a rune that increased Intelligence and skill effectiveness on a percentage basis per level.
'I'm level 30 now, so that's a 30-point boost to Intelligence and a 30% increase in skill effectiveness.'
Of course, it only applied to Holy-type skills, so it seemed useless to Ryu Min, but…
'It's not bad, considering the skills I plan to learn later.'
Besides, the Intelligence boost alone was a huge gain.
'I won't need to put any points into Intelligence for a while.'
Finally, the remaining time ran out, and a message appeared.
[Sub Quest completed!]
[3,000 Gold has been awarded as a reward!]
It seemed the other players received it as well, their faces lighting up.
However, some of them were staring at him as if he were a monster.
After all, they never expected someone to take down the Agent of Retribution alone.
The angel was no different.
[Kee-hee-hee, now this is impressive.]
The angel, Olive, appeared suddenly and stared at Ryu Min.
[To deal with an Agent of Retribution all by yourself. You are the first human I, Olive, have ever genuinely acknowledged.]
The death of the Agent was a shocking event, even for an angel.
[How about an interview? Player Black Scythe. What made you decide to kill the Agent of Retribution?]
'This damn angel and her pointless questions.'
Not wanting a long conversation, Ryu Min answered simply.
"I killed it because I felt like it."
[You felt like it, even though you'd get a reward just for surviving?]
"I couldn't stand by and watch it slaughter people."
He'd said it to deflect the question, but his words had the opposite effect, impressing the other players.
"So he stepped forward to save people…"
"I thought he'd be arrogant because he's strong, but he's surprisingly sweet, isn't he?"
"He's a good person, through and through."
The negative image he had from his run-in with Hwang Yong-min was instantly reversed.
Ryu Min overheard their murmurs and gave an awkward smile.
'It wasn't my intention, but I did end up saving people.'
The casualties could have been much worse, but only 300 had died.
If he hadn't stepped in, only 500 of the 2,700 players would have likely survived.
[Stepping in to save your own kind… Humans are as strange as I've heard. One moment you're at each other's throats, and the next you're living in harmony as if nothing happened. It's something I find difficult to understand.]
'Of course you would. What would you selfish angels know?'
[In any case, you've all worked hard to survive. But don't relax just yet. Whether you are eliminated or not will be decided by the final tally. Kee-hee-hee.]
Just as Olive said, it wasn't over until it was over.
[Now then, shall we look at the results?]
A moment later, the results of the third round were tallied.
Unsurprisingly, Black Scythe was in first place.
He was in first place, but…
"What?"
The players couldn't help but be shocked by the results.
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