novel-books Chapter 252 (Part 1)
Chapter 252 (Part 1)
Chapter 252: End of the 15th Round (Part 1)
“John Delgado.”
[Rank 576 is ‘John Delgado.’]
[All 576 survivors have been determined.]
[Remaining players will be automatically eradicated.]
“W-wait! Eradicated?”
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”
“Black Scythe, you bastard! You said you’d save me!”
“You f***er! I’ll curse you even in hell!”
“Enjoy your life, you son of a bi...”
The words were abruptly cut off.
Fzzz!
All that remained was a wisp of ash, dissipating into the air at the molecular level.
‘Seeing him cursing like that, I’m glad I didn’t choose him.’
Although he had earned the hatred of hundreds, Ryu Min’s expression remained composed.
Truthfully, he would have preferred to advance to the next round with a thousand players, but the system made that impossible.
‘In past rounds, fewer than 50 survived, so there was no one to eliminate...’
This time, however, the survivors outnumbered the capacity, leaving him no choice but to cut some out.
It felt like pruning the branches of a tree.
‘I’m sorry. But to clear the 20th round, this was necessary. I had no choice but to prioritize those who could help us win.’
Among them, John Delgado was a priority.
Saving him would grant an extra reward, making it worth the decision.
The reason Ryu Min pretended to hesitate before choosing was simple.
‘It was Christine. I didn’t want her to catch on.’
Ryu Min subtly turned his head, only to see Christine staring at him blankly, as expected.
Why would the Black Scythe... choose to save John Delgado?
Reading her thoughts, it was clear that she couldn’t understand the decision.
Ryu Min could empathize with her reaction.
‘After all, from her perspective, I’ve essentially saved her mortal enemy.’
He resolved to explain later, then shifted his gaze. Min Juri and Seo Arin were nearby.
‘Will the Black Scythe be alright? The burden must have been overwhelming...’
‘Deciding with your own hands who lives and who dies... I could never do it.’
If they turned out to be useless, he could give them away or use them to craft something for someone else.
‘But the Special Reward Selection Box is mine to use.’
When he activated the box, a list of options immediately appeared.
[Please select one of the following special rewards:]
[Tap the reward you desire.]
└1. Temporary Skill – Sweeping Strike (16th Round Only)
└2. Temporary Skill – Clairvoyance (16th Round Only)
└3. Information on the 16th Round
Two temporary skills were among the choices this time.
Sweeping Strike was a passive skill that transformed a weapon into an area-of-effect damage dealer upon learning it.
‘A skill perfect for wiping out hordes of enemies.’
However, it was unnecessary for Ryu Min, who could already widen the area of effect of his attacks using the Scythe of Thanatos.
‘Given the circumstances, there’s only one real choice.’
He selected Clairvoyance, a skill he had used effectively during the 11th round in the gambling den.
‘Though it won’t be as crucial this time, it’ll still be useful in the 16th round.’
With no better options, it was the logical choice.
◀ Round 15 Complete ▶
[Unified Zone CA-EA001]
└Survivors: 576
[Your soul will soon return to your physical body in the current dimension.]
[The 16th round will commence at midnight on April 1, 2023. Until then, congratulations on surviving.]
Upon returning to reality, the general public was shaken as they read the news:
[Breaking News! Only 576 players remain worldwide after the 15th round.]
[In just 14 months since the Great Cataclysm, the number of players has dropped from 1.8 billion to just over 500.]
[Among the 576 remaining players, 174 are from South Korea.]
The drastic reduction in player numbers startled many. While some viewed this as good news, others saw it differently:
└This isn’t good. Fewer players mean there are fewer people to fight against the monsters.
└Looks like the era of players dominating everything is here.
└If players team up and run wild, who could stop them?
└True. Shouldn’t there be some kind of countermeasure for this?
Negative opinions existed but remained in the minority.
Most people weren’t overly concerned.
That was because the players were under control—thanks to one person.
└Why worry? The Black Scythe is here.
└Exactly. He’s punished every criminal player so far.
└If I were a player, I wouldn’t dare commit a crime. Just the thought of him is terrifying.
└But is the Black Scythe really that strong? What if all the players gang up on him?
└What do you think will happen? They’d all get destroyed.
└I heard there’s still a huge level gap. The highest other players can get is around level 69, but he’s already at level 97.
└Anyway, as long as we have the Black Scythe, there’s no need to worry. South Korea has 174 players left, and they’re all part of the Death Church, so they’ll follow his orders.
└Hey, what’s the Death Church?
└It’s a religion created by the Black Scythe. But it’s more like a community for players to band together.
└Oh, like some player fan club?
└Fan club? Forget it. Player communities like that are pretty much dead now.
└Still, 174 out of 576 players being from South Korea... I didn’t expect our country to be such a player powerhouse. LOL.
└And, by the way, the Death Church wasn’t created by the Black Scythe. It was founded by some guy named Heo Tae-seok. It’s not just a name; it’s an actual religion. The Black Scythe is worshipped as a god there. Get your facts straight before you comment.
└Wait, it’s an actual religion? I didn’t know that.
└Stop talking nonsense. The Black Scythe is no god—he’s just a man. And who the hell is Heo Tae-seok, anyway?
└Heo Tae-seok is no nobody. He’s a level 69 dark sorcerer, founder, and leader of the Death Church.
└Who cares about Heo Tae-seok? Don’t tell me anything about him.
└Let it go. That commenter must be Heo Tae-seok himself.
At that moment, Heo Tae-seok’s hand hesitated over the keyboard.
Feeling exposed, he debated whether to delete his comment. Ultimately, he decided against it.
“Why should I delete it? It’s true.”
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