Episode 297
297. No tracking
The environment changed in an instant.
I was warped from a colorless space to an eerie forest of unknown origin.
Ryumin showed no signs of embarrassment and opened the quest progress window.
<Nickname / Face / Distance from yourself>
[Sniper turtle / face / 602m]
[RoseStone / Face / 828m]
[Meteos / Face / 1,029m]
[Live without regrets / Face / 1,182m]
… … … … … …
… … … …
… …
[Current remaining players: 143]
[Time remaining until round end: 71:59:55]
As the angel said, the progress window displayed the nickname, face, and distance.
It was easy to see that it was sorted in order of the nearest player.
‘They’re all scattered.’
Even when using the surrounding search skill that can see a 500m radius, the player is not visible.
The fantasy world was as large as South Korea and there were only 143 people, so it was natural that it could not be seen.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to change my appearance first?’
Someone might try to track you down.
It could be Artaros or it could be the same human.
‘I don’t know if I can avoid Artaros’ pursuit by changing my face, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.’
Ryumin’s face, wearing the assassin’s mask, flickers and changes.
The face that changed was none other than Hwang Yong-min.
As I was throwing him out, he put on his doppelganger’s ring and changed his nickname to [Hwang Yong-min].
‘If you do this, the black scythes on the list will be displayed as [untrackable].’
Changing your appearance does not exclude you from the list.
It just shows a sign saying it can’t be tracked.
Since the system checks and tracks the registered nickname and face, it cannot be tracked even if either of them is changed.
Ryumin changed both of them out of fear that Artaros might surprise them.
‘It will be the same even if you use a separate tracking skill.’
This way, no one can track you.
You will be completely free.
‘It’s uncomfortable to have to go around with Hwang Yong-min’s face, but I like it. ‘If only I could avoid being tracked by others.’
Of course, unless you’re crazy, no fool would try to chase down the black scythe.
However, there is no guarantee that there will not be crazy people among the players.
‘Do you know anything? ‘I wonder if there will be some crazy person trying to surprise me while I’m hunting.’
If you kill yourself, you can not only reduce the number of people, but also gain control, so there may be someone who wants to try it.
Didn’t Ma Kyung-rok and Joo Seong-tak try to kill him in the previous episode?
‘Things are different now.’
Previously, there were only three survivors, and there was only one survivor spot.
Therefore, the best they could do would have been for the two to work together to deal with the strongest one.
From Ryumin’s perspective, it was a reasonable decision.
‘But in the end, it was those two who died.’
Even Ma Gyeong-rok and Joo Seong-tak, who took second and third place in the rankings, could not defeat Ryu Min.
That may be so, but now that he is thousands of times stronger than in the previous episode, is there really an opponent for Ryu Min?
‘It’s almost like a fly attacking an elephant.’
Even so, it would be bothersome for an elephant if a fly clutters its eyes.
It was psychologically easier for Ryumin to change his appearance and hunt.
‘I guess I’ll have to hunt first.’
Ryumin, who kicked the air and ascended to the sky, stopped as if it were a lie.
It was thanks to God’s Step, the eternal equipment that allowed him to step on air.
‘When I thought about where this place was, it was between the Kingdom of Albitz and the Kingdom of Deccan.’
Ryumin looked around and looked at his location, then turned his gaze.
Because of the location, you have to go over there to find a strong monster.
After deciding on a direction, I ran using the sky as my ground.
Quaaaaang-!
The sonic boom closed the distance in an instant.
* * *
The 19-round quest is not difficult at first glance.
It was a simple quest where you just had to endure for 72 hours.
‘But you won’t know unless you try it yourself. ‘How difficult it is to last three days.’
There is the so-called 333 rule.
The rule is that you can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.
Be that as it may, survive here for three days with no water or food?
‘It’s not an easy mission. ‘It’s a more difficult mission than I thought.’
Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t water or food around.
Although it is said to have been created to nurture players, this is also a very real world.
Even though they look like NPCs, they are real people and their eating and living environments are also similar.
‘It’s the same with Avatar. It’s made exactly like a real human body, right?’
Therefore, even created avatars feel hunger and basic physiological needs.
This doesn’t mean you can’t feel anything like in a game.
‘But you shouldn’t just pick it up and eat it.’
In the past, Ryumin once ate fruit from a tree to relieve his hunger.
‘No, it was something that looked like a fruit.’
It upset Ryumin’s insides a few hours later.
I’ve tried drinking water from a stream, but my skin turned upside down and my vision went dark, as if I had consumed something poisonous.
‘The worst of them all was monster meat.’
I was so hungry that I tried cutting off the flesh of a dead monster, grilling it, and eating it, only to experience stomach upset until the end of the round.
Thanks to that experience, Ryumin can speak decisively.
You can’t eat anything in this world.
‘If you go to the village, there will be water and food for people to drink… … .’
The problem is that there is a barrier preventing people from going to the village.
Other than that, you can wander around anywhere, but it will be difficult to find something edible.
Because it was a quest given in the first place with the intention of enduring with mental strength without any such things.
‘I just have to be patient and endure for 72 hours. ‘You need to save energy by moving as little as possible.’
But if it were that easy, would it be a 19-round quest?
If you stay still, you never know when a player will come and stab you in the back.
It was a round where you had no choice but to avoid other people.
However, except for the village, most areas are areas where monsters appear.
Although there are differences in strength depending on the location, the presence of monsters is as dangerous as the player.
‘No matter how level 90 you are, there is no business in Dagul.’
If numerically superior monsters cling to you, you have no choice but to die or become exhausted.
Of course, this did not apply to Ryu Min.
Thump-thump-!
Before the giant monster could approach, showing off its intimidation, Ryumin’s scythe cut the tree in two along with it.
[The Twin Head Ogre has been defeated!]
[Experience points increase by 1.5 times due to the title effect.]
[Experience and gold are doubled due to the effect of the Rune of Predation.]
[I gained 12 stacks and 2 stat points with the Rune of Predation.]
[Accumulated Predation Stack 286]
[The player can no longer increase experience points.]
[Acquired experience is displayed according to the growth rune.]
[Experience +75,000]
[Gold+50,000]
[Additional Gold+25,000]
[The experience gained has exceeded 100,000.]
[Experience points are replaced with stat point 1.]
[Current kill count: 3/100]
[All stats increase by 3% due to the Rune of Massacre effect.]
Because it was at max level, the level did not increase, but the incoming experience could be converted into stats.
This is none other than the [Rune of Growth], the first max level reward.
‘Here, the title of the leader gives you 1.5x experience points, and the Rune of Predation gives you 2x experience points… … .’
You could earn a large amount of stat points just by killing a few monsters.
‘Actually, this round is the last round where you can collect stats. ‘You have to scrape together all you can while you can.’
You can’t help but prepare for how strong the 20th round boss will be when you kill even the Archangel.
I had to gather my stats even considering I would be dealing with Artaros.
Suddenly! Suddenly!
Ryumin went around slaughtering monsters.
It wasn’t difficult to kill it as it only took one hit to get past it.
However, you don’t have to worry about your stamina running low.
Because the strength stat is related to physical strength.
‘If your strength stat is in the tens of millions, there’s no problem in concentrating on hunting for days on end.’
However, there is no need for other players to waste their energy catching monsters like Ryumin did.
Ryumin had plenty of energy, so it was an easy action, but other players would get tired quickly after catching just a few monsters.
Anyway, even if you don’t accumulate experience points, everyone will reach max level as a reward for completing this round.
So you can just kill the monsters that come your way.
‘It may not be easy for non-combat players.’
This will be especially true for supporters with relatively low stats.
‘My stats are already low, so if I have to run away day and night to avoid other players, I’m sure I’ll get tired. Moreover, monsters will appear as if there is no windy day.’
I was worried about the relatively weak supporters, but I was especially worried about Christine, who had no combat skills.
Not only would it be difficult for her to catch the monster on her own, but she would also be an easy target.
‘Still, it won’t be a big deal. ‘Because they attached slaves.’
Slaves were sent to some members who had to be protected.
Join and protect it.
‘But that doesn’t mean you can be completely reassured.’
For now, I’ll just have to clear out all the monsters here and go visit my friends.
It was also to make sure that the slaves were carrying out their duties.
* * *
All players who encountered the 19th round quest without prior information were surprised.
It was the same for Minjoo-ri.
‘Survive for 72 hours. And that too alone?’
I was worried, but I couldn’t not do anything about it.
While contemplating what to do next, I looked at the quest progress window.
Just as the angel said, the nickname, face, and street are clearly visible.
‘Shall we go see Black Scythe?’
I instinctively tried to think of that thought, but at some point I lost track of it.
‘That’s strange? ‘Why can’t I track it?’
That time when I was wondering.
‘uh?’
You can see that the distance from the players on the list is decreasing.
‘what? Is it really coming towards me?’
In a round where you have to kill each other, do you approach nervously first?
I have no choice but to be cautious.
‘I need to increase the distance first.’
Minjoo-ri moved without hesitation.
However, the place where she currently fell is the forest.
I don’t know where to go.
What if you happen to meet a monster?
When I turn on nearby navigation, I see a lot of red dots.
‘There is a distance from the players. then… … .’
Red dots mean that they are all monsters.
I think I fell into a dangerous place.
Rustling-
I walked quickly, thinking I had to get out of the forest.
As Min Joo-ri moves, fortunately, the distance from the player chasing him widens.
‘Where are we going? I can’t go to Black Scythe… … .’
The forest is so vast that I don’t even know where to go to get out.
‘Let’s avoid it for now.’
I turned on the surrounding search skill and moved toward the direction with few monsters.
As soon as the distance got closer, I quickly hid behind a tree and waited for the monster to pass by.
‘What kind of monster is that? ‘It’s my first time seeing this monster.’
A monster that looks like a long tree walks slowly.
It was a monster that fell into the strong category of ‘Dark Ancient Tree’, but Min-ri Min had no way of knowing that.
I didn’t even have the confidence to win against him.
‘It passed. Run away quickly… … .’
At that moment, Min-ri Min felt a chill.
Because it felt like someone approaching from behind was a presence detection.
