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CHAPTER 118 – The Human Caravan
When Ryu Min arrived alone at the waiting area, the angel Ariel looked flustered.
[Don’t tell me you’re the only one who survived?]
“Yes.”
Because he hadn’t expected the traitor group to already be completely dead.
[They died without even making it to the human caravan. What a bunch of utterly useless things.]
‘Looked like they might survive a bit longer and show the higher-ups something entertaining, too.’
Ariel, hiding her inner thoughts, shook her head with a click of her tongue.
[Well, what can you do? You’ll have to carry out the mission even if you’re alone. Black Scythe. You do know this is your last chance, right?]
“I know.”
[If you can’t complete the traitor quest at the human caravan, you’ll be erased without mercy. We don’t do things like showing leniency just because you’re Rank 1.]
‘I know. That you move strictly according to the system.’
[For reference, the human caravan has 1,201 people. In other words, it’s a fight between whether you survive… or whether 1,201 survive.]
He knew that too, even if she didn’t say it.
And he knew that since the quests were directly opposed, one side would have to be erased.
[If you win, 1,201 will be erased, but well—what can you do? You have to throw away the many and survive alone, right?]
“…….”
[Watching Rank 1 get erased would be entertaining too, but I’d prefer you survive. Throwing away the many looks even more fun, heehee.]
With that final image of the angel, Ryu Min’s background shifted.
In the distance, mountains were visible.
Lush green trees too.
And a neatly maintained road wide enough for carriages.
But more than any of that, what drew Ryu Min’s eyes was the players.
Over a thousand players were gathered, murmuring restlessly.
‘As expected, the human caravan is the most popular.’
The reason people flocked here was simple.
Facing fellow humans felt easier than dealing with otherworldly races.
Familiar felt more comfortable and easier than something new.
‘But the human caravan is the hardest one.’
In the human caravan, powerful monsters like trolls, gargoyles, skeletons, and minotaurs appear.
‘They’ll show up at roughly one per person, but it won’t be easy. Not at a level you can handle solo yet.’
Unless they were over level 50, these were monsters that players in the early-to-mid 30s would struggle to handle.
‘Still, there are so many of them they’ll manage somehow. And there’s the archbishop, too.’
If the elf caravan had a princess, the human caravan had an archbishop.
‘Even if he has no combat ability, the archbishop will protect the caravan and the players.’
The archbishop’s wide-area buff would raise the players’ combat power and survivability.
Unlike the other caravans, they could proceed while receiving help from a local.
‘Which just means the difficulty is higher, but even getting help at all is something to be grateful for.’
Of course, to Ryu Min, it was fine even without it.
His stats had been cut by 20% twice, leaving him able to use only 64% of his original strength, but he was confident.
‘Even with reduced strength, every monster here is still my food.’
If the monsters so far hadn’t even been post-meal exercise, then the ones here would barely make him sweat a single drop.
And that was with him at 64%.
‘It would’ve been even easier without the stat debuff.’
As he was thinking that, Ryu Min turned his head.
He sensed someone approaching.
“Excuse me… are you Black Scythe, by any chance?”
When Ryu Min looked over, the other person flinched in surprise and covered their mouth.
“Oh my god, it really is! It’s Black Scythe!”
“Black Scythe?”
“Black Scythe came to the human caravan?”
The murmur grew louder, and people began to crowd in.
The way they craned their necks to stare made him feel like a zoo monkey.
Ryu Min openly showed an irritated expression.
“Black Scythe-nim! Can I get your autograph?”
“Me too! Black Scythe-nim, I’m a real fan!”
“Can I shake your hand just once?”
There were always people who couldn’t read the room.
Ryu Min let out a look like he couldn’t be bothered and pulled out his scythe.
“Don’t come closer. You’ll die.”
When he glared with killing intent, the players who had been approaching flinched.
“Get lost.”
At that, the players averted their eyes one by one and scattered.
Because they knew there was nothing good to come from getting on Black Scythe’s bad side.
“Black Scythe-nim.”
Even after he told them to get lost, a voice still called out, and Ryu Min turned his head in annoyance.
But there was a familiar face.
“An Sang-cheol?”
“Ah, so you are Black Scythe-nim. I never thought you’d choose the same caravan. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yeah.”
An Sang-cheol spoke with a smile, but Ryu Min couldn’t treat him warmly.
Because he still remembered the sight of him stabbing him in the back in Round 7.
Even if it had been an illusion.
Ryu Min asked even though he already knew.
“Why are you alone?”
“Seo Arin went to the dwarf caravan. She said it looked easier…”
It wasn’t that it looked easier—she knew it was easier—but An Sang-cheol kept his mouth shut.
He still believed he couldn’t reveal the prophecy.
‘In the illusion, he blurted it out without hesitation. So an illusion is just an illusion, is that it?’
Ryu Min felt a bit less worried.
Unless An Sang-cheol had completely lost it, he wouldn’t betray him.
He’d need Ryu Min’s prophecy all the way until the final round.
‘If he betrays me, it’ll be Ma Kyung-rok’s doing. He’s not the type to act on his own.’
Still, for some reason, he’d split from Seo Arin and chosen the human caravan.
Even though he knew it had the highest difficulty.
To figure out why, Ryu Min tore into An Sang-cheol’s inner thoughts.
‘Ha. So that’s the reason?’
It was to become stronger.
But the goal wasn’t for his own sake.
‘He’s trying to get stronger because he’s afraid I might become Ma Kyung-rok’s enemy.’
There couldn’t be two kings under the same sky.
An Sang-cheol, who wanted to raise Ma Kyung-rok up as king, believed Black Scythe might someday become an obstacle.
So he wanted to get stronger himself, to stay by his lord’s side when that time came.
‘Didn’t think you’d be keeping an eye on me like that.’
The idea of catching up to him was laughable, but Ryu Min decided to watch.
To see how far he could grow.
Just then, another person Ryu Min knew approached.
“Huh? Black Scythe-nim?”
It was Jo Yong-ho, the Mercenary King.
“So you were at the human caravan too.”
“Yes. I figured a lot of people would gather on this side.”
Around Jo Yong-ho were more people than last time.
About twenty, at a glance.
‘Last time it was five. He’s grown his mercenaries before I knew it.’
Mercenaries could receive bonus stats if they contracted with the Mercenary King.
There was no reason for them not to follow Jo Yong-ho.
“Do you remember what I said before? That I’d help if you ever needed it.”
“I remember.”
“If you happen to need it right now…”
“Not now. Save it for later.”
“Haha, understood.”
There wasn’t a trace of wariness in Jo Yong-ho’s smile.
‘This is where An Sang-cheol and Jo Yong-ho really differ.’
One is wary of Black Scythe in his heart, and one sees him as a perfect ally.
Even though both received his help, their thinking was this different.
“Then I’ll be going. I have something to do. It was nice seeing you.”
“Yeah.”
Jo Yong-ho disappeared into the crowd with his group.
From the way he was speaking to this person and that, he seemed to be searching for players with the mercenary job.
‘With the human caravan having so many people, he’ll be able to build his force quickly.’
Then, as if the time had come, a message appeared before everyone’s eyes.
[Escort the Human Caravan]
└Escort the human caravan safely to its destination.
└If the escort succeeds, all participants will receive an experience reward.
└One person with a high contribution in eliminating the traitor will receive a sub-quest reward.
└If all traitors are eliminated without exception, all participants will receive an additional reward.
[Current Headcount]
└Participants: 1,202
└Traitors: 1
Players who checked the headcount started complaining in their own ways.
“Only one traitor?”
“I thought there’d be more.”
“How are we supposed to find one person out of 1,202?”
A mission like finding a needle in the desert drained their motivation.
“Still, we should find them, so should we attack each other?”
“Let’s do it!”
As they had up until now, players tried to expose the traitor by attacking each other.
But none of them touched Black Scythe.
Except An Sang-cheol, who at least had some connection to him.
“Black Scythe-nim. Excuse me.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to stab me?”
“If you’re not a traitor, you won’t be hurt, so isn’t it fine? Or… don’t tell me?”
An Sang-cheol was sharp.
Ryu Min had also deliberately made it obvious.
“Hm. I guess we should treat the sub-quest as if it doesn’t exist. If it’s not a difficulty level from this world, I mean.”
“That’ll be easier on your heart.”
Realizing he was up against Black Scythe, An Sang-cheol gave up early.
‘He’s not betraying me like in the illusion.’
Unless he was an idiot, An Sang-cheol couldn’t go around shouting that Black Scythe was the traitor.
He owed him, and turning Rank 1 into an enemy would only end badly for him.
“I’ll keep your secret. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ryu Min played dumb, but An Sang-cheol just grinned and didn’t say anything else.
Like he knew everything.
At that moment, the caravan carrying the archbishop began to approach.
“Is that the carriage we have to escort?”
“Whoa, look at that carriage. Someone important must be riding in it.”
For an ordinary caravan, the carriages were far too luxurious.
There looked to be around fifty of them—an impressive scale.
Especially the carriage that seemed to carry the archbishop: its size and splendor were on a completely different level from the others.
‘Does the archbishop’s carriage really have to scream it out like that?’
Monsters wouldn’t pick targets based on carriage design, but making it that obvious made it easy for humans to target.
‘Which is great for me, since I’m the traitor group.’
The carriages stopped, and a man who seemed to be the person in charge of the human caravan approached, clearing his throat.
“Ahem. Greetings, warriors from another world. I am Kallos, captain of the escort unit of the Hormos Merchant Union.”
As his introduction suggested, the way he bowed politely gave him a strong impression.
“We are transporting goods at the request of the Holy Empire, and at the same time, we are entrusted with escorting Archbishop Raber. However, the journey to cross the Labteran mountain range and reach the Kingdom of Braham is perilous, so we had no choice but to request aid from the temple like this.”
Kallos explained at length, but the players barely listened.
“Archbishop?”
“So someone high-ranking really was riding there.”
“That carriage, I guess?”
They only needed to know who they were supposed to escort and protect.
“Then, before we depart, the archbishop will speak.”
Soon, the door of the most splendid, most luxurious-looking carriage opened.
An elderly man with thick white hair spoke with a dignified expression.
“Warriors from another world. Thank you for stepping forward to escort us. The journey to our destination will be harsh, but do not worry. I shall place blessings upon you, praying that there is light on your path ahead.”
No one asked what blessings were.
Because a message appeared not long after.
[Archbishop Raber bestows the blessing ‘Holy Barrier’.]
[A barrier is created that blocks 1 basic attack from an enemy.]
[Archbishop Raber bestows the blessing ‘Divine Touch’.]
[All stats increase by 5.]
As the buffs took hold, the players’ faces brightened.
“Ohhh, the NPC even gives buffs?”
“Did you get a buff too? I got one.”
“Me too!”
“Did he cast it on everyone here?”
“That archbishop guy is pretty useful, huh?”
Players who’d never received buffs before were celebrating, but it wasn’t something to be happy about.
Monsters difficult enough to warrant the archbishop’s buffs were about to appear.
‘Trolls and gargoyles aren’t the dangerous part. The real danger is a boss-class monster.’
Exactly at the 25th wave, a boss monster would appear.
By then, the players would be exhausted, and taking down the boss wouldn’t be easy.
‘If I step in then and display overwhelming skill…’
The archbishop would notice him, and since the man valued ability, Ryu Min could earn his favor.
‘And favor leads to items.’
It was a chance to obtain the Rune of Foresight.
‘After I get it, I need to kill him. The archbishop, and the other merchants too.’
He had to eliminate the locals so the caravan couldn’t reach its destination.
Only then could Ryu Min, the traitor group, survive.
On the other hand, the 1,201 in the normal group would fail the quest.
‘But they won’t be erased.’
There was a way.
A way for none of them—neither the 1,201 nor Ryu Min—to be erased.