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CHAPTER 132 — ROUND 9 ZONE REPRESENTATIVE SELECTION MATCH
Time flowed quickly—September 1st, midnight.
Players were no longer flustered.
Even if, in the blink of an eye, their surroundings changed into a monochrome space.
Even if hundreds of people appeared one after another in midair.
Even if an ill-fated angel flashed in the sky with a burst of light.
Having endured a full eight months, the Players merely looked up at the angel with silent faces.
[Nice to see you, humans! Seeing you like this every time, I feel like I’m getting attached. You feel that way too, don’t you?]
“…….”
When the Players stayed silent, the angel Ariel’s delicate brow twisted mercilessly.
[What is this? This cold reaction? Did you get a few levels and start thinking angels are a joke? I’m asking if you’re happy to see me.]
“Haha…… y-yeah, happy to see you.”
“That’s right. Nice to see you, nice to see you.”
Forced smiles spread across the Players’ faces.
‘Fck, what a power trip.’*
Even if she could tell it was lip service, the angel seemed satisfied with that alone, smiling brightly.
[Hoho, good. I’m happy to see you humans too. But unfortunately, after this Round, you probably won’t be seeing me anymore. Because this Round, there’s going to be a Zone integration!]
“Zone integration?”
“Again?”
“Feels like they do it so often.”
There were roughly nine hundred Players left.
It was about time for a Zone integration.
‘This is the last Zone integration that happens within our country. Starting from Round 11, we’ll be integrated with other countries.’
As if proving Ryu Min’s words, the angel explained.
[Don’t complain about how often it happens. This is the last Zone integration that will be held in a country called Korea.]
“The last Zone integration……?”
[Because the numbers are low, we have to integrate all seven remaining Zones in Korea.]
“All the remaining Zones get integrated?”
“Then there’ll only be one Zone left?”
[That’s right. Everything will be unified into a single Zone. It’s a chance for the Korean Players scattered everywhere to meet in one place!]
The angel spoke as if it were some reunion of separated families.
[Then I’ll proceed with the integration right away.]
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
The ground trembled, and the background shattered and fused together.
The Players of the Republic of Korea, once scattered, gathered into one place.
The number was roughly six thousand.
As they looked at new faces, the Players thought—
‘Everyone here… is the only Players left in Korea?’
‘So we have to compete among ourselves again?’
‘If it shrinks even more from here, what happens?’
‘If I survive this, my value as a Player will probably rise even more, right?’
Their thoughts toward one another differed.
Some showed competitiveness, and some lamented the shrinking number of comrades.
[At last, all the Players of Korea have gathered in one place! The exact number is 6,008. The integrated Zone name is C3-ESKA001.]
“Six thousand?”
“That’s all the Players we have left in our country?”
From nine million at the start, the Players had dropped to a mere six thousand in just eight months.
And even this would continue to decrease.
[Now that the Zones are integrated, we’ll have to hold a Zone Representative selection match again, right? We angels will go discuss this, so while you wait, why don’t you greet each other? Gather with your friends and reminisce or something!]
As soon as the angel vanished, the six thousand Players, as if they’d been waiting, began to vent their complaints.
“Tell us to greet each other when we have to compete?”
“What? Gather with friends and reminisce?”
“Does she think this is some kind of meet-and-greet plaza? Seriously.”
Even if the Zone was integrated into one, there was no way they’d have familiar faces.
If they were friends or acquaintances, most of them had failed the Rounds and turned to dust.
But there were people for whom that wasn’t the case.
“Ma— no, Black Scythe-nim!”
The first person to approach Ryu Min was Yamtti.
Ryu Min had already tipped her off that the Zones would be integrated, and he’d ordered her to find him the moment the integration happened.
‘I’ll run into Yamtti someday, but I can’t pretend not to know her like in reality. And I need Yamtti to carry out the quests going forward, too.’
If he wanted to use Yamtti, he needed her at his side and to look like they knew each other—and if he was going to do that, it was better to show it early, that was his judgment.
“Black Scythe-nim. I’m so happy to meet you like this. We’ve met before, right?”
“Stop. When it’s just the two of us, you don’t need to act.”
“Ah—r-right? Hehe, seeing Master in the otherworld makes me really, really happy!”
“Shh. Lower your voice when you speak. Just in case, check whether there’s an assassin using invisibility within thirty meters.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Saying that, Yamtti immediately scanned the area warily, then moved close to Ryu Min and whispered.
“But how was my acting at first? It was decent enough to pass, right?”
“Not sure. It felt like you were overdoing it. It’d be better if you toned down the emotions.”
“Heehee, thank you for the advice, Master.”
“And don’t stick so close. What if someone sees us?”
“Ah, okaaaay…… got it.”
Yamtti, who’d been whispering into his ear, pulled away with a secretly disappointed expression.
Just then, someone entered within the thirty-meter range.
The two, reading the presence through detection, turned their heads at the same time.
“Uh…… Black Scythe-nim?”
It was Min Juri.
As if it were only natural, she’d come looking for Black Scythe—then froze in surprise.
Because he was suddenly being all lovey-dovey with a woman she’d never seen before.
“Who…… are you?”
“Hello, I’m Yamtti.”
“I wasn’t asking your nickname. I’m asking what your relationship is with Black Scythe-nim.”
At the prickly tone, Yamtti’s expression briefly turned sulky.
Then, as if a thought occurred to her, she deliberately let out a nasal hum and lifted one corner of her lips.
“Hm—well? Do I have any obligation to answer that?”
“What did you say?”
“And you—I’ve never seen you before either. What’s your relationship with Black Scythe-nim?”
“Me? I’m Black Scythe-nim’s comra—”
Min Juri stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Black Scythe.
Comrade—she wanted to say it, but did Black Scythe think the same way?
They’d only met out of necessity, and neither of them had ever actually said the word “comrade” out loud.
“Comra…….”
“What was that? I can’t really hear you.”
“I-I’m…….”
“Stop it. Both of you.”
Ryu Min stepped between them, unable to bear watching the women’s contest of wills.
And as agreed in advance, he explained.
“Yamtti here is an acquaintance I have a personal connection with in reality. She’s not something like a girlfriend, so don’t misunderstand and jump to weird conclusions. And Min Juri is…….”
Ryu Min looked Min Juri straight in the eyes.
“My comrade. We’ve partied together multiple times.”
“Ah.”
Was it because she’d finally heard the word “comrade” that she’d wanted so badly?
Or because he’d drawn a clear line that Yamtti wasn’t his girlfriend?
Min Juri’s lips curved into a long arc.
It felt like her chest had been cleared wide open.
An uncontrollable smile spread.
“So you knew Black Scythe-nim in reality. I’m sorry I was sensitive. You were a stranger, so I got wary.”
As if she’d shaken off her earlier emotions, Min Juri smiled and apologized first.
Since she came out like that, Yamtti couldn’t not apologize too.
“I’m sorry. I reacted sharply too, didn’t I?”
The reply came from Ryu Min’s mouth.
“Not just sharp—your rudeness to someone you just met was beyond words.”
As he said that, he glared at Yamtti when Min Juri wasn’t looking.
‘You slave—don’t pick pointless fights with my acquaintance. Unless you want to get taught a lesson.’
Reading the meaning in his eyes, Yamtti lowered her gaze like a scolded puppy.
Just then, a group of familiar faces approached from afar.
Seo Arin, An Sang-cheol, and Ma Kyung-rok.
“Hello, Black Scythe-nim.”
“Hello!”
The two, excluding Ma Kyung-rok, looked brighter than usual.
Seo Arin seemed happy to meet Black Scythe again after seeing him in reality too, and An Sang-cheol was in a good mood—probably because he’d met Ma Kyung-rok.
“And the person next to you is…?”
When Ryu Min looked toward Ma Kyung-rok as if he didn’t know him, An Sang-cheol stepped forward as if he’d been about to introduce him anyway.
“Let me introduce him, Black Scythe-nim. This person is our company’s representative—Ma… Cheonma-nim.”
“Ma Cheonma?”
“Ah—no. Cheonma. It’s Cheonma, Cheonma.”
Cheonma—Ma Kyung-rok—stepped forward and held out his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you like this, Black Scythe-nim.”
Ryu Min took his hand, shamelessly pretending not to know him.
“Cheonma, huh… I never thought I’d meet a named figure who ranked around second or third in the previous Zone rankings.”
“Haha, a named figure? These days I can’t even make it into the top three, so…”
Despite it being their first meeting, Ma Kyung-rok acted friendly.
He had a debt to Black Scythe from before.
“I heard a lot from Manager Ahn. He said you helped him against the ruffians in Round 2. And in Round 6, you partied together and power-leveled him, too.”
“Yeah. That happened.”
“As the representative, I’m grateful in many ways—for helping our employee.”
“Save your thanks.”
Ryu Min kept up the casual speech for the sake of his concept.
Thankfully, Ma Kyung-rok didn’t look offended.
If a Level 80 said he’d speak casually, what could a Level 38 do about it?
Then Seo Arin cautiously joined the conversation.
“By the way, Black Scythe-nim. That person over there is…?”
The person she pointed at was Yamtti.
Being singled out, Yamtti lifted her chin primly.
“Nice to meet you. Are you Black Scythe-nim’s comrade? I’m Yamtti—Black Scythe-nim’s acquaintance in reality.”
“Reality…… acquaintance?”
Seo Arin’s pupils shook.
So she wasn’t the only one who knew Black Scythe in reality?
‘Well, someone as skilled as Black Scythe-nim would have a lot of people around him.’
Wasn’t there already a lot of people gathered here?
‘Wait—then does that person, Yamtti, know Black Scythe-nim’s real face?’
Seo Arin had only ever seen him with the white mask—she didn’t know his real face.
Seo Arin looked at Yamtti with jealous eyes.
If she followed her heart, she wanted to be called Black Scythe’s “reality acquaintance,” too.
[Did you all have a nice chat? Korean Players?]
Just then, as if the angels had finished their discussion, Ariel returned.
[Right now, seven Zones have been integrated, so the situation is that there are seven Zone Representatives. And as I said earlier, we have to select one among them as the Zone Representative. The Representative selected this time will effectively become the representative of Korean Players.]
Ma Kyung-rok listened closely to the angel’s words.
Because he, too, was a Representative of one Zone.
He was in a position to compete with Black Scythe.
[So, how should we select them? We considered doing a Deathmatch, the basic method, but……]
At the word “Deathmatch,” Ma Kyung-rok flinched and looked at Ryu Min.
‘I’m not confident about a Deathmatch…….’
If he fought a Level 80, the outcome was obvious.
[After discussing it, we decided to conduct this Representative selection match fairly—by vote.]
“Vote?”
[Everyone has done a vote in Round 2, right? Just like then, you can choose the Representative Player you want among the seven candidates.]
When he learned it was a vote, hope appeared on Ma Kyung-rok’s face.
‘Maybe… there’s a chance for me too?’
He wasn’t confident in a Deathmatch, but if it was a vote, even if only a sliver, possibility was born.
[Then shall we begin the vote right away? Any human who does not choose will be erased as-is, so choose quickly.]
As soon as the angel fluttered her wings, a message appeared before everyone.
[Please vote for one person among the following to be selected as the integrated Zone Representative.]
└ 1. Black Scythe (Lv80 Reaper)
└ 2. Cheonma (Lv38 Dark Knight)
………………
…………
└ 7. Shit Idiots (Lv38 Shaman)
[Time remaining until voting ends: 00:00:59]
After deliberating, the Players touched with their fingers.
Since it was a selection window only visible to their own eyes, there was no need to watch others’ reactions.
[For reference, Zone Representatives are candidates, so they do not have voting rights. Leave it to fate.]
As the angel said, Ma Kyung-rok swallowed and waited for a good result.
‘Maybe I can become the Zone Representative, beating out Black Scythe.’
Expecting it, Ma Kyung-rok looked at Black Scythe.
‘Even if he doesn’t show it on the outside, he’s probably sweating bullets inside.’
This time, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Because it was possible he might lose the Zone Representative position.
Soon, one minute passed, and the angel spoke.
[The results are in. Shall we check right away?]