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CHAPTER 122 – GOD TIER
God tier.
As it was called the tier of gods, it held the greatest value among items.
‘Especially weapons, helmets, armor, gloves, and shoes. If you match all five as God tier, the set effect is insane.’
One of those kinds was now in Ryu Min’s hands.
[Combining a God-tier item.]
[It will be converted into an item appropriate for your current job.]
[Combination Successful!]
[You have created ‘Thanatos’ Black Armor’.]
Thanatos’ Black Armor.
It was an item Ryu Min had made even in his previous run.
With a smiling face, he checked the item’s information.
[Thanatos’ Black Armor]
-Category: Armor
-Grade: God
-Defense: 2,000
-Effect: All stats +1 per level, When hit, there is a 67% chance to deflect the enemy’s attack.
-Durability: 20,000/20,000
-Use Requirement: Master grade or higher
-Description: A demonic armor created using the divinity of Thanatos, the god of death. When wearing the set items, you receive additional effects.
-Thanatos’ Garment Set Effect (1/5)
-2-piece effect: ?????
-3-piece effect: ?????
-4-piece effect: ?????
-5-piece effect: ?????
‘All stats increase per level. As expected of a God-tier item.’
On top of that, when attacked, it could deflect with a high 67% chance.
It was useful in emergencies—when the opponent was too strong to handle, or when you had to face large numbers at once.
Options worthy of a divine-class item.
It was only natural that a smile settled on Ryu Min’s lips.
‘And God-tier items have set effects, so the more you collect, the better the synergy.’
He would have to gather materials again to make the next God-tier item, but it wouldn’t take that long.
He couldn’t guarantee exactly when he’d have enough again, but—
‘At least it won’t take eight months like this did.’
You could tell why just by looking at the message that came in after crafting the God-tier item.
[It has been confirmed that you are the first player to combine a God-tier item.]
[As a reward, you have obtained ‘Condensed Ether’.]
Condensed Ether, the core material for God-tier crafting.
A hard-to-obtain item was granted easily as a first-time reward.
‘With this, making the second God-tier item won’t be difficult.’
With a satisfied smile, Ryu Min equipped the item and opened his equipment window.
[Weapon – Death’s Side]
[Helmet – Devil’s Ring]
[Armor – Thanatos’ Black Armor]
[Gloves – Ogre’s Gauntlet]
[Shoes – Ghoststep Boots]
[Necklace – Orb of Eternal Sleep]
[Ring – Red-Eyed Skull Ring]
Except for the Orb of Eternal Sleep, every equipped item was Unique grade or higher.
‘Status window.’
-Name: Ryu Min
-Nickname: Black Scythe
-Rank: Master
-Titles: Last Time Reversal (Hidden), The First Angel Slayer (Hidden), The One Who Defies Divine Punishment (Hidden), The One Who Leads (Hidden)
-Level: 80
-Job: Reaper (Grim Reaper)
-Strength: 566, Intelligence: 586
-Agility: 466, Luck: 444
-Common Skills: Tracking, Presence Detection, Trace Erasure, First Aid, Area Scan, Enhanced Dynamic Vision, Basic Resistance, Dexterity
-Exclusive Skills: Seal of Death, Night of Death, Moonlight Slaughter, Crimson Moon
-Runes: Rune of Slaughter, Rune of the Reaper, Rune of Radiance, Rune of Inner Thoughts, Rune of Doppelganger, Rune of Balance, Rune of Mental Barrier, Rune of Durability, Rune of Foresight
-Gold Held: 364,850
-Remaining Stat Points: 0 <Additional Functions>
[Shop: You can purchase items.]
[Combination: You can combine items.]
[Trade: You can trade items or gold.]
[Duel Request: You can duel by mutual agreement.]
[??? : Unlocks upon reaching Lv99]
‘Even without the Rune of Slaughter buff, my stats are over 500.’
That meant if he received the Rune of Slaughter buff, he could pass into the 1,000 range.
And if he also received Min Juri’s Bless, he could exceed 1,600.
‘Only level 80 and already like this. Insane.’
If he’d also received the Human merchant caravan quest reward in Round 8, he would’ve reached level 84 too.
‘Since it was my clone—not my main body—that arrived at the destination, it probably didn’t count as a successful escort.’
That was why the escort completion EXP for the Human merchant caravan hadn’t come in.
‘Either way, for level 80, this is a huge amount of stats. Compared to other Players.’
For other Players to reach level 80, they’d have to get past Round 15.
‘But Round 15 is called the cursed section for a reason—the difficulty is brutal.’
Since fewer than 50 survive, what else is there to say?
And that was on a global scale.
‘By then, I need to secure at least three God-tier items.’
Though reaching max level would probably be faster than that, anyway.
When a round ends and Players wake from their narcoleptic trance, most of them go right back to sleep.
Because the mental fatigue from the other world carries over into reality.
But every time a round ends, there’s always someone who moves.
It was An Sang-cheol.
Beep—! Bang!
“Representative!”
Just like always, the moment he opened his eyes in reality, he went to Ma Kyung-rok’s hotel room.
At that sight, Ma Kyung-rok narrowed his eyes.
A subordinate barging into the representative’s room as he pleased?
Without even being called?
“Manager An? Why do you come in like this every time? I didn’t give you the master key for that.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. So why are you here today?”
Looking at An Sang-cheol’s flushed expression, unlike usual, Ma Kyung-rok was curious.
‘Something good happened?’
Did he finally start something with Seo Arin?
He hoped so.
So he could lock it down tight.
But unlike his expectations, what came out of An Sang-cheol’s mouth was an infuriating line.
“I hit level 40! I finally reached Expert rank!”
“Ah… Is that so? Must be nice, Manager An. Really boosts your boss’s morale.”
“Pardon? Ah—sorry.”
“I know you’re doing it on purpose. Don’t even say you’re sorry.”
As he watched Ma Kyung-rok turn his head with a bitter expression, An Sang-cheol belatedly realized he’d been thoughtless.
He genuinely hadn’t realized.
“I’m sorry. I was so happy, I didn’t think about you, Representative…”
“I want to hit level 40 soon too. But I’m still only 38. Does that make any sense?”
Ma Kyung-rok used the chance to vent.
“And in the recent round, I even lost my all-zones ranking. For the first time. No—‘lost’ makes me sound petty. I should say I couldn’t rise to it.”
“…That’s unfortunate.”
“Even if Rank 1 is impossible because some monster at level 80 is squatting there, I thought I could at least place 2nd or 3rd. But I got pushed out by a Priest and a Buffer. One of them is my fiancée, sure, but still.”
With a bitter smile, Ma Kyung-rok filled the whiskey glass to the brim.
“Getting the all-zones 2nd and 3rd place rewards, then missing it just once… it’s a strange feeling. I thought I was ahead, but at some point my level’s even lower than my own subordinate’s, so it feels like I’m falling behind.”
“D-don’t be too discouraged, Representative. Your level is only two below mine, isn’t it? And you have a job that’s more special and stronger than anyone else. You’ll reclaim your ranking soon.”
“Do you think so? Later, if my zone merges with Black Scythe’s, I might even lose my zone’s Rank 1. Would there really be any room for a comeback then?”
“……”
An Sang-cheol held his tongue.
Right now, nothing he said would be comforting.
It would only churn Ma Kyung-rok’s stomach.
“What level is Actress Seo?”
“I heard she’s 37.”
“Is that so? Then at least I beat Actress Seo. Not that it feels very good.”
Ma Kyung-rok downed the whiskey in one gulp, let out a “Khuu—,” and set the glass down.
“The prophet is still alive, right?”
“Yes. I called to confirm on my way here.”
“I want information about Round 9 as soon as possible. So I can analyze whether there’s a way to level up quickly.”
“Should I call now and tell him to come?”
“What blasphemous nonsense. Treat the prophet like a god. If anything, think of him as God’s representative delivering an oracle. He’s young, but he’s more shrewd and quicker at judging situations than you’d think. Don’t do anything that makes him dislike you. You must think and act that way so it’s a win-win. We’re the ones who need him, not the other way around.”
“U-understood. I’ll be mindful of my words and actions from now on.”
Ma Kyung-rok recalled Ryu Min praising him in front of his father.
‘Is he humble, or is he just not greedy? I can’t tell.’
Just then, Ma Kyung-rok’s phone vibrated.
‘Who could it be at this hour?’
He stopped looking out at the night view and went to his phone, eyes widening as if startled.
He quickly answered the call and spoke in English.
“Christine. What brings you—?”
-I got on a flight to Incheon Airport.
“Pardon? So suddenly?”
-I confirmed that most of the Round 8 information you gave me was true.
It had to be.
Ryu Min’s prophecies had never been wrong.
Thanks to Ryu Min’s prophecy, Ma Kyung-rok too had gained a lot of EXP from the Round 8 human merchant caravan.
Maybe that was why he could sense it.
“Don’t tell me the reason you’re coming to Korea as soon as you opened your eyes is…”
-I want to meet your business partner as soon as possible.
“Ah.”
Just as he’d expected.
Once you heard an oracle, you couldn’t help but seek out Ryu Min.
‘There are people who’ve never heard a prophecy, but there’s no one who’s heard it only once.’
That saying felt perfect.
Ryu Min’s existence was light and salt to Players.
“Understood, Christine. I’ll arrange a meeting.”
-Thank you.
It was the first time Ma Kyung-rok had ever heard “thank you” from his fiancée.
Player Place.
The so-called Plpl Market was growing at a terrifying pace.
Looking at the number of members, you could practically say almost every Player worldwide used it.
‘The problem is that the number drops by half each month.’
The user count fell by more than half month after month.
Even so, Plpl’s growth showed no sign of slowing.
How was that possible?
‘Because Plpl has a consignment system.’
The consignment system meant Player Place would hold and sell items that Players listed for them.
In other words, the seller shipped the item to Player Place, and Player Place sold it on their behalf, taking a commission and paying out the remaining profit.
And if something happened to the seller, they promised to deposit that profit into the family’s account.
‘This way, even if the Player who was selling dies, the item can still be sold for profit.’
Sellers were satisfied too, because in the worst case, their families would still receive the payment.
It was a system where both sides could win.
That was precisely why the company’s profits didn’t fall even if users decreased.
‘And as rounds progress, the items’ quality and value only go up.’
In the end, even if only a tiny number survive, Plpl’s future is to become a site for VVIP users.
“That’s why you don’t need to worry about it going under.”
“Haha, I worried for nothing.”
At Ryu Min’s explanation, Ma Kyung-rok looked somewhat reassured.
With users shrinking every round, he’d been worried the company might collapse, so he called Ryu Min and confessed his concerns.
As you could see, it had been nothing but needless worry.
The prophet understood the company better than Ma Kyung-rok, the businessman.
‘Not that it matters—later, it’ll go completely bankrupt anyway.’
After Round 15, the number of users plummets.
Not a gentle curve—more like a cliff, dropping straight down.
When the user count drops into double digits, it can’t help but fail.
‘That’s when I’ll obviously wash my hands of it and leave. For now, squeeze it for all it’s worth.’
Ryu Min kept that to himself.
There was no need to burden him with worry.
“Looks like I did well asking you, Prophet. If I hadn’t, I might’ve been moping around alone, worrying over this and that. Haha.”
Watching him, Ryu Min noticed Ma Kyung-rok’s laughter had changed slightly.
‘The pretense toward me has decreased a bit.’
Whenever he dealt with Ryu Min, Ma Kyung-rok always wore the mask of business.
But today, for some reason, he was breaking that boundary.
‘Maybe I earned points by giving him credit in front of the chairman.’
When Ryu Min read his thoughts, it seemed that was why he’d loosened his guard.
‘Well, he didn’t call me here just to ask about the company’s fate.’
Ryu Min watched Ma Kyung-rok closely.
With the Rune of Foresight, he could see seven seconds into the future.
“Mm, Prophet. The truth is, I invited you here for another reason.”
“I know.”
“…Pardon?”
“You don’t have to say it. A guest will be arriving soon.”
No sooner had Ryu Min finished speaking than the office door opened.
Two guests from the United States walked in.
Christine and Jeffrey.
Ma Kyung-rok stared, eyes wide, alternating between Ryu Min and Christine.