98. Betrayal
Ryumin immediately ran towards where he heard the scream.
But what awaited there was a shocking sight.
‘Mi, Minjoo-ri?’
Min-ri Min was lying down, clutching her stomach.
The floor is covered in blood.
Ryumin approached with an unusually excited expression.
“Us, democracy! What happened?!”
“Uh, black scythe… no, Min… help me.”
Ryumin was surprised.
‘Do you know about my identity?’
What happened?
When I read your inner thoughts, I didn’t feel anything like that at all?
While her pupils were shaking, Minjoo-ri continued to speak.
“Mina… Ryu Min. You are Ryu Min. Right…?”
“My identity… how?”
“Of course… I know. Why don’t you know? It’s my… first love… no matter how hard I try to hide it, it’s all obvious…”
“So you’re saying you knew all along but pretended not to know?”
Minjoo-ri nodded with difficulty.
“Okay… it was hard to pretend not to know all this time…”
“Well, by the way, what’s wrong with the ship? What happened? Who did it?”
At first glance, the injury was serious.
If I keep going like this, I think I’m going to die at some point.
‘Ah, first aid!’
Like a fool, I was too embarrassed to remember what I should have written right away.
Shaaaa-
After using it belatedly, the wound was repaired and Min Joo-ri’s expression became much more comfortable.
“Thank you, Minah.”
“Who is it? Who stabbed you?”
“Ahn Sang-cheol… he did that.”
“what?”
A spark flashed in Ryumin’s eyes.
The burning anger was directed at Ahn Sang-cheol.
“Where are you?”
“It’s here.”
Ryumin’s head turned at the sound of a voice coming from behind him.
Ahn Sang-cheol was smiling like a typical villain.
Next to her, Seo A-rin is twisting the corners of her mouth like a wicked woman.
That alone was enough to know that the two people had conspired to kill Min-ri Min.
“You f*cking idiots.”
“Whoa, that’s a harsh word, Prophet?”
“…….”
Ryumin’s distorted expression changed subtly.
The anger subsided and calm returned.
“Did you know I was a prophet?”
“No. I found out that you were a prophet by torturing that bitch over there named Min Joo-ri. I didn’t know that until a little while ago.”
“I’m sorry, Min-ah. It was so painful that I didn’t know to stop….”
I have no intention of blaming Minjoo-ri.
Ryu Min glared at Ahn Sang-cheol with an expression like that of a evil spirit.
“Tsk, don’t stare at me like that. Do you know how surprised I was when I found out who you were? I never would have thought that weak prophet was a black scythe. Who would have guessed, hehe.”
“Before you tear your mouth open, let’s hear your excuse first. Why did you attack Minju-ri?”
“Well, it seemed like you had a close relationship with me, so I raided you to get some information. But the harvest was bigger than I expected, right? The Prophet was a Black Scythe, hahaha! The CEO would be really happy to know!”
Whether Ahn Sang-cheol laughed or not, Ryu Min brought out the Death Side.
“Will you be able to live to tell the tale?”
“Whoa, whoa, that’s it. Don’t come any closer, or I’ll explode the bomb hidden in Minjoo-ri’s body.”
“what?”
At that time, Heo Tae-seok walked out from behind Ahn Sang-cheol.
“Hehe, this guy helped me out a bit.”
Ryumin was able to guess the situation right away.
“You bastard….”
“I’m sorry, Black Scythe.”
“Could it be that a black seed was planted in Minjoo-ri’s body?”
Heo Tae-seok just nodded without saying a word.
That simple act came as a shock to Ryumin.
It’s true, warlocks learn a skill called [Black Seed] when they reach level 40.
A skill that can be planted in the ground and then used to randomly summon one of the devil’s summons.
What would happen if such a skill was implanted in a human body and used?
The body explodes like a firecracker and a summoned animal jumps out.
On the good side, it was an application of skill, but on the bad side, it was a cruel act.
Of course, in Ryu Min’s case, he fell into the latter category.
“This bastard… When did you become level 40?”
“Would you have been playing around with me? I hunted hard because I wanted to become strong like Black Scythe.”
“Old people, no gays. Release the seeds immediately.”
“I don’t like it.”
Ryumin’s eyebrows twitched at the rejection without the slightest hesitation.
“Are you crazy? How dare you go against me? Didn’t you secretly admire me?”
“Of course, Black Scythe is like a god to me. But that’s only if you overcome this situation well. If you’re not perfect, there’s no reason to follow Black Scythe anymore, right?”
“…….”
I got stabbed in the back.
Ahn Sang-cheol, Seo A-rin, and even Heo Tae-seok, who revered himself as a god.
The aftermath of being stabbed in the back by someone I trusted was quite significant.
“What do you want?”
“Hehe, does that girl seem to be quite important to you? Seeing that she can’t move?”
“Shut up and say it. And promise me. If I give you what I want, you won’t kill Min-ri Min.”
“Khahahahahaak!”
Ahn Sang-cheol laughed until his mouth was torn.
“Sure. Tsk tsk.”
“I promised.”
“Yes. If you give me what I want.”
“So, what do you want? Information about the next round? Location of the hidden piece?”
“I’m not interested in that.”
“…….”
“It’s outrageous that someone like you would dare to deceive us and manipulate CEO Ma.”
Ahn Sang-cheol, who was grinning, spoke with a straight face for a moment.
“Kill yourself.”
“…….”
“Kill yourself in front of us, and we’ll spare this bitch.”
“Okay. Keep your promise.”
Ryumin put the sickle to his neck without hesitation.
Squeak-
The head fell limply and rolled on the floor.
For a moment, it seemed like Min-ri’s screams were heard, but there was no one to pay attention to it.
‘If only we could save democracy… … That’s it.’
My vision became blurred.
The faces that were laughing at themselves disappear somewhere on the other side.
[There is a hidden sub-quest!]
‘message?’
Crackling- Crackling-
At that moment, everything you see cracks.
As if the world I see is not the world I originally saw.
‘What’s happening… … ah!’
Ryumin finally came to his senses after hearing messages that came to his mind one after another.
<Sub Quest>
└Suicide without hesitation
└When successful ▶ ?? ??? ? Payments
[You have completed the sub-quest!]
[Rewards are paid to only one person per zone.]
[Rewards will be paid when the results are tallied!]
At some point, my body came back.
The severed neck was still attached, and the blood that had been on the floor was gone.
Ahn Sang-cheol, Seo A-rin, Heo Tae-seok, and Min-ri Min.
Everyone disappeared like a mirage before my eyes.
The scenery Ryumin is seeing is none other than the first place.
It was a grassland.
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ comes out of the illusion.]
[You have completed the main quest ‘Escape from the illusion within 2 hours’!]
[You have completed the sub-quest ‘Committing Suicide Without Hesitation’!]
“This… was an illusion.”
The moment I saw the message, I finally realized it.
What I saw just a moment ago was a fantasy embodying my inner anxiety.
There is no way Ryu Min, who went through the 99th episode, did not know that fact.
However, the system prevented Ryu Min from realizing it.
‘No, it’s not the system. ‘They made it so that I couldn’t realize it myself.’
Ryumin looked at the information on the temporary skill Dominion.
[Temporary Skill – Dominion]
-Opportunities remaining: 9 times
-Use: Black Scythe
Dominance was used once.
Also, the black scythe, targeting yourself.
‘I guess it was like that.’
All the memories came back to me later.
‘You used your power to limit yourself so that you wouldn’t recognize that it was an illusion.’
As soon as Ryu Min entered the 7th round, he used dominance while looking at his face reflected in the item.
‘It doesn’t only work on players of a higher level than you, but dominance works on players of the same level.’
The command he gave himself was simple.
-Don’t think it’s an illusion until you complete the sub-quest.
The main quest of round 7 is to escape from the illusion.
However, if you know in advance that it is an illusion, you will not become an illusion.
This means that quest progress is blocked from the beginning.
‘Then you will eventually be excluded from participating in the quest and disappear.’
How do you know?
I know because I was destroyed once.
I went through 7 rounds, recognizing that it was an illusion, but then I received a warning message and it disappeared.
‘It was so futile back then. Just like what happened in the boss room in round 20.’
This is why Ryumin did not reveal that it was an illusion when talking about the prophecy.
If you know in advance that it is an illusion, it will be destroyed without mercy.
‘I tried mind control myself, but it didn’t work. If you are aware that it is a fantasy in your mind, it will come to mind at some point without you knowing.’
The method conceived to exclude such risks is governance.
There is no problem if one’s memory itself is erased through the power of governance.
‘It was at this time that I realized that I could use control on myself.’
But the real problem was the strategy.
Although it was possible to proceed with the round, it was not easy to conquer it.
‘The side quest was especially difficult.’
It is not easy to commit suicide without hesitation.
This was especially true because he was a Ryumin who valued survival.
‘Besides, I don’t know that it’s an illusion, so I can’t intentionally commit suicide.’
Therefore, we conducted 7 rounds dozens of times to find a method.
Then I was finally able to find the answer.
The method was simple but not simple.
‘You can brainwash yourself before coming to this world. We must save democracy even at the cost of our lives. ‘I love Minju-ri.’
Round 7 shows illusions based on internal anxiety.
In Ryu Min’s case, there was anxiety that his trusted colleagues might betray him when his identity was revealed.
Based on this, the system creates an illusion and induces a situation where one must commit suicide according to the purpose of the sub-quest.
‘Then what if I trick the system into making it seem like I love Minjoo-ri?’
The system will make up a story about it.
And it will lead you to commit suicide.
The prediction was correct.
‘As a result, I committed suicide without hesitation.’
It was possible because I had brainwashed myself into thinking in advance that I loved Min-ri Min.
“I’m glad it went as planned.”
If I hadn’t felt that way, I would have hesitated when told to commit suicide.
‘I’ve failed numerous sub-quests in the past. ‘I hesitated for a moment when they told me to commit suicide.’
At that time, it was before I met Min Joo-ri, so someone else was taken hostage.
‘My brother.’
It was an obvious story where Ryu Won was kidnapped and threatened by a stranger upon returning from completing the 7th round quest.
At that time, Ryu Min was a little troubled by the blackmailer’s words, telling him to commit suicide.
‘So every time I repeated the episode, I always failed the sub-quest.’
There was no way to deal with it unless I used my control to make myself unaware that it was an illusion.
‘That’s why I came up with a way to control the mind before the round.’
If a situation arises to save Ryu Won, I will sacrifice my life without hesitation.
After repeating this to myself hundreds of times, when I entered the 7th round, I was able to commit suicide without hesitation.
This time, the target has simply changed to democracy.
‘Fortunately, the brainwashing worked and the sub-quest was successful.’
While Ryu Min was grinning, Seo A-rin suddenly appeared.
“Ah, Black Scythe. Did you pass the 7th round quest?”
“Yeah. You too?”
“Yes… I too came out of the illusion.”
She smiled shyly and glanced at Ryumin.
He even looks around to see if anyone else is there.
“The other person… I guess he hasn’t escaped the illusion yet.”
“I guess so.”
“Hey, Black Scythe.”
Seo A-rin, who suddenly took on a serious mood, blushes and says.
“I don’t know if you’ll be surprised by me suddenly saying this, but…”
He hesitated as to what he was going to say, but barely continued speaking.
“Actually… I like Black Scythe a lot.”
“Don’t play around.”
“Haha… That’s too sudden? I know. It sounds like a joke. But it’s not a joke, it’s serious.”
“…….”
“It’s just the two of us that gives us this courage.”
“…….”
Ryumin’s reaction was grave.
Rather, he is putting strength on the hand holding the scythe as if he is waiting for something.
Seo A-rin, perhaps aware that the atmosphere was strange, gathered courage once again.
“Hey, Black Scythe. Date me….”
Suddenly!
With an eerie sound, Seo A-rin’s head flew through the air.
Tuk-
Ryumin muttered to the system with cold eyes.
“Stop acting like this now.”
As if in response, Seo A-rin’s body disappears and a message appears.
[You have completed the main quest ‘Escape temptation within 2 hours’!]
