Episode 283
283. Round 18 begins
For 15 days, Ryu Min handed out points not only to Seo A-rin but also to everyone who made appointments.
A whopping 1 million points per person.
‘Minjoo-ri, Seo A-rin, Christine, Cho Yong-ho, Heo Tae-seok, Eom Jun-seok, Russell, Victor, Sophia, Jeffrey, Alex, Dorothy, Yamti, John Delgado, Joo Seong-tak… … . ‘Who was it again?’
I counted it on my fingers and there were a total of 15 people who gave it to me.
This means that 15 million points disappeared over the course of 15 days.
‘Is my remaining share only 1 million points?’
There wasn’t much left, but I wasn’t disappointed.
‘It’s a useless point to have anyway. It is much more beneficial to strengthen your strength by distributing it to people who will be helpful in boss battles.’
With 1 million points, you can make various expensive equipment as well as two legendary grades.
‘Of course, you have to know the recipe.’
If you buy an experience pack, you can raise level 5 in no time.
Well, even if it were, it wouldn’t be comparable to God’s level.
* * *
Time waits for no one.
Midnight on June 1, 2023.
As the day arrived, 286 players entered the land of another world.
“uh? “Where?”
The scorching heat, the floating sulfur powder, and the sky as if heaven and earth had completely changed.
An apocalyptic environment welcomed the players.
This is the stage for the 18th round, hell.
“They said I would fight in hell this round… … .”
“It’s the same as what you saw in your imagination, right?”
“This is what hell really looks like.”
“A war will break out here soon, right? And with demons.”
“Are you nervous about this?”
“How did the devil come to be?”
Everyone muttered to themselves to ease the tension.
Although this is the first round where you will see demons, you will be more nervous than anything about directly participating in the war.
Ryumin chuckled at that sight.
‘Well, in these peaceful times, we are all busy competing at each other’s desks. Who would have thought that we would be dragged into a war between angels and demons?’
Strictly speaking, it was just a friendly match and not a real war, but what was the difference?
It’s like a real war in that the players’ lives are at stake.
At that time, a light flashed in the sky that looked like a meteor would fall.
[So you came? Our dependable players?]
Normally people would have frowned at the sight of the smiling angel, saying they were offended, but perhaps because they knew about the quest, people didn’t react much.
[You will need to help our angels a lot today. What does it mean? First, I will reveal and explain the quest first!]
◀ ROUND 18 ▶
<Main Quest>
└Win the war against demons
[Integrated Area CA-EA001]
└Participants: 286
└Achievement: 0/143
It was a quest I had already heard about.
A situation in which I was even mentally prepared.
Maybe that’s why no one was surprised.
Except angels.
[what? Why is no one surprised? Like a human who knows the quest in advance?]
“Should we always be surprised by your puns?”
The players, who were not surprised by the quest, looked at one place with wide eyes.
The person who responded to the angel was none other than Ryu Min.
Angel Millen also looked down at Ryumin with bewildered eyes.
‘How dare you talk back to a human subject?’
I feel like I want to kill him by using the deadly weapon, but unfortunately, I used it a long time ago.
Moreover, because the angel and the player are on the same team in this round, the use of Slash is blocked.
Even if the number of kills remains, it cannot be used.
[under… … . Climbing from a human to an angel. This is my first time doing something like this, so it’s really absurd.]
“It’s none of my business whether it’s absurd or not, I just need to explain it to the players. Do you always talk too much? “Did the system tell you to do that?”
[Are you crazy? Man, did you finally come to your senses after round 18? Do you want to die?]
“Can you kill me? Then kill me.”
[…] … .]
“How can you be so strong that you’re so scared that you can’t even come down from the sky? “I’m talking about a guide role that doesn’t even qualify as a combat angel, or a general angel.”
Millen’s expression hardened, as if his brain had stopped.
Was it too factual an attack?
“No matter how low your status is, you probably know this. “I am the psychopathic person who killed six archangels.”
[…] … .]
“You think I can’t kill you because you’re floating in the sky, right? I stayed quiet for a while because I needed a guide, but if you keep bothering me, I might kill you too. “I know that even if I kill you, you will be replaced by another guide anyway.”
Mylene’s wings are trembling even though there is not a single breeze blowing.
Looking at his expression, he was not angry at the insulting words, but was afraid of his own threats.
“So shut up and explain the quest according to your role. Don’t babble or laugh at unnecessary words. “You might find this funny, but we don’t.”
[…] … .]
“If you understand, please explain quickly.”
[Big, big… … . Now, let’s continue the explanation.]
Mylen concealed his embarrassment and began to explain as he was told.
[This round is literally a war with demons. You must become a team with us Elyos and fight against the demons and win.]
Mylen paused for a moment and looked at Ryumin.
The frost-like eyes were extremely creepy.
[Well, you might be dissatisfied with having to fight with us. However, you should not try to kill the Elyos. Since they are on the same team, everyone is recognized as a party, so you won’t be able to kill them anyway.]
Although he knew the black scythe couldn’t kill him, Mylène was afraid.
Because he will also be in charge of guiding the next round.
[Unlike the last round, this time not everyone will survive even if they win the war. Only half of the players can survive by ranking them based on their contribution to victory.]
Not everyone survives this time.
Only the temple survives.
There was no change in the people’s expressions as this was information he also heard from Black Scythe.
Instead, he maintained a tense expression from the beginning until now.
On the surface, it was a team, but in a way it was a competition.
[There may be a lot of resentment between us, but this time we will join forces and pull out the heads of the evil devils. Pa, fighting!]
‘You’re fighting even if you don’t want to. It’s so pitiful.’
It was a time when Ryumin was crying bitterly.
Puuuuuu-
The sound of horns announcing war shook the heavens and the earth.
[Oh, it’s started. Well, then, try your best!]
The guide angel disappeared as if running away.
A gate was created starting with him.
At the gate of light that appeared nearby, battle angels wearing dazzling armor.
Demons wearing red armor appeared at the dark gate beyond the hill in the distance.
Angels and devils crossed over from the gate and entered the land of hell.
Countless times, over and over again.
“Um, how many people are there in total?”
The troops who were constantly coming through the gate, wondering how long they were planning to show up, would soon become difficult to contain at a glance.
By then the gate was closed and the line of troops was broken.
When comparing the troops of both sides visually, the demon side was overwhelmingly numerous.
[After a while, a war of 5,000 Elyos (+286 players) VS 10,000 Elyos will begin.]
[The faction whose troops are reduced below 10% first is considered defeated.]
“There are twice as many demons, right?”
“Can I win?”
Shadows fell on people’s faces.
It was natural to be worried since I had never dealt with demons before, but I would find out in a bit.
That you are weaker than you think.
‘When it comes to monsters, demons are at the level of high orcs. Of course, it’s the weakest one.’
There is a difference in numbers, but that does not mean that the level of the Elyos is inferior.
Even if you are a 6th rank combat angel, you can easily kill a high orc by yourself.
‘Looking at it, there are various types, not just the 6th grade, but the 5th, 4th, and 3rd grades.’
The rank of a battle angel can be determined by looking at the seal on the armor they wear.
As I rolled my eyes here and there, I even saw the rank of a first-class angel.
Ryumin’s lips touched his ear as if he had found quality prey.
But there was something else that made me really happy.
Michael appeared as he expected.
[Black scythe.]
“Oh, are you here?”
Ryumin pretended to know him, but Michael actually seemed cautious about talking to him.
[I want to talk alone for a moment.]
“I see.”
Michael, conscious of the gaze around him, took Ryumin to a quiet space.
Ryumin smiled, as if it was nice to see him again.
“How did you survive? “I wondered what would happen if I died.”
[Fortunately, your strategy worked. I was able to fool God.]
But Michael looked somewhat restless.
“But why are you looking like that? “Like a puppy that wants to poop.”
[Uhm, that’s it… … . I have a favor to ask of you… … .]
Looking at Michael hesitating to speak, Ryumin immediately noticed.
There was a feeling of unnaturalness in the expression.
‘You bastard, you’re acting.’
Sure enough, despite the expression on his face that made him feel awkward about speaking, on the inside, it was Michael who was calculating the timing of his lines like a script.
“What are you asking?”
[Can I just go and have a chat with the demon archduke?]
“Are you telling me to meet the demon archduke?”
[Because the gods still want to hand you over to the demon archduke. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sell you out. As long as the two are seen talking, the gods will think they have made contact as promised. Because I can’t hear what they’re talking about.]
“So just show the contact so you can see it from above, right? There is no need to fall for the demon archduke.”
[That’s right, that’s right. It’s not that difficult of a request, is it?]
Ryumin nodded.
It’s really not a difficult request.
In the first place, I was going to meet Plunictos in the 18th round.
The problem is that Michael is deceiving himself.
‘This guy is talking about everything without mentioning what the two of you negotiated? Moreover, if you step into the devil’s castle, you cannot come out because it is the devil’s domain.’
They are telling us to just talk and come back as if it is not dangerous, but that is not the case at all.
The Demon King’s Castle is an area that no one can enter, like the heavenly world.
The moment the player steps inside, they will not be able to escape unless they receive permission from Plunictos.
[Don’t worry that you might not be able to get out. If you just exchange a few words with the demon archduke and then run straight to this camp, there will be no problem.]
He said it as if to reassure him, but Ryumin and Michael both know that he won’t be able to escape.
‘What a shameful bastard. You said you could become a god only if I lived, but then you sold me to the demons?’
Through thought, he figured out that instead of handing over the authority to the Akashic Records, he extended the grace period to 18 rounds and decided to hand over himself.
I don’t know exactly what the Akashic Records are.
‘It seems he was more afraid of losing the war than becoming a god.’
I understood it, but I was shocked that they were trying to put me in danger with such a shameless face.
Of course, he also planned to use Michael and kill him.
‘I didn’t want to use it for a long time. ‘I knew it would be like this.’
Michael pressed for an answer, not knowing that he had decided on the day of the memorial service.
[Please. Can you do it?]
At that question, Ryumin tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled.
“of course.”
