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CHAPTER 175 — CLAIRVOYANCE
The long-awaited Round 11 began, but Christine was gloomy.
Because this round might end up being the last of her life.
‘There’s nothing to worry about. I have domination authority.’
As a Priest, she possessed the absolute power called domination authority.
If it came to it, she could use it on someone trying to ambush her and stop them.
But then how had she—someone with no great combat power—managed to rise to become a Zone Representative?
The reason was the people who kept gathering around her, one after another.
“You’re here, Berber-nim?”
“Greetings, Krissy-nim.”
“Hello, Lupin-nim.”
“I pay my respects, Krissy-nim.”
Players approached using the Tracking skill and greeted her.
They were comrades and party members who had been with her from Round 2 until now.
And they were also the following that formed around the only Priest-class player.
‘With them, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’
The rune Christine had obtained to commemorate her job change to Priest was the [Rune of Life].
It was a rune that granted experience and stats the more she healed people or saved lives, so whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to help others.
‘But thanks to that, this many people gathered.’
She helped people of her own accord, and in return, she earned their trust.
Who in the world would refuse free healing?
It wasn’t like she was stealing monsters from them, either.
‘It’s because I gain experience and stats when I use heals, but they don’t need to know that.’
Whatever the inside story, to others she would look like a Nightingale volunteering for free.
The reason she could become Zone Representative was also because she played up the fact that she was the only healer.
‘Even the voters who doubted me at first came to trust me. I even heard that they’d chosen the representative really well.’
Thanks to that, she maintained her seat as representative from Round 2 until now, gaining the title of “Saintess” along with many followers.
They relied on one another and overcame countless hardships.
‘This time too, I’ll get through it. No matter what hardship comes.’
Before she knew it, the number of people gathered around Christine had reached about a hundred.
Sturdy human shields surrounded her.
‘As long as they’re by my side, I don’t need to worry about being ambushed.’
She felt reassured, but she couldn’t let her guard down.
Since she didn’t know who might strike, she kept her eyes open like a meerkat and watched her surroundings.
“Are you all right, Krissy? You seem more tense than usual today.”
“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying, Douglas.”
“If anything happens, please tell me. Isn’t the Saintess’s right-hand man a Paladin? As a Paladin, I will protect you no matter what.”
“Hehe, that’s reassuring.”
Christine smiled, but she still didn’t neglect her vigilance.
She had even learned a Presence Detection skill, so even if someone approached while invisible, it wouldn’t be a problem.
The moment she thought of an assassin, she remembered Jeffrey, who was in another zone.
‘Even if it was for me, threatening to kill the powerless Prophet-nim… I’m disappointed.’
Now that the zones were integrated, she might be able to meet him, but she decided to forget it.
Even if she knew his nickname, she didn’t know his face because of customization.
And she didn’t want to go out of her way to find him.
‘Come to think of it, with countries integrated, I can meet Prophet-nim, and Ma Kyung-rok too.’
Maybe she wasn’t close to the Prophet, but could she trust her fiancé, Ma Kyung-rok?
At least he seemed better than Jeffrey.
And he was a powerhouse who used to vie for overall zone Rank 2 or 3.
‘Maybe he’s the prince on a white horse who saves me…’
She shouldn’t expect it, but the truth was, she was curious who the person was who would save her.
[The explanation is over, so I will warp all of you into the fantasy world.]
Hearing the angel, it seemed things were about to truly begin.
‘I will survive. No matter what.’
She already knew the strategy for Round 11 because she had heard it in advance from the Prophet.
Right now, survival mattered more than clearing, though.
‘I’m confident. If I’m with these people…’
Christine wore a confident smile.
Until the angel spoke with a sly grin.
[Ah, and for reference, the starting location will be assigned randomly for each person. Then I wish you good fortune.]
‘Huh? Random?’
Before she could even be surprised, a bright light burst like a flash and vanished.
As Christine blinked, instead of the grassland, a dense forest appeared in her view.
‘Wh-where is this?’
She wondered where it was, but more than that, she panicked.
Because all those people who had been around her were gone without a trace.
“Ah….”
Her confidence from a moment ago became meaningless as her mind went blank, but she quickly regained her reason and used a surrounding-scan skill.
‘Huh? There’s one person nearby.’
A red dot showed up close by, and she headed that way without hesitation.
Whether enemy or ally, she was a job class that could do nothing alone.
“Huh? Douglas-nim?”
“Krissy-nim!”
Fortunately, the person nearby was the Paladin she had just separated from.
“I was flustered because everyone got separated, but to meet Krissy-nim here! This is fate!”
“Ha-ha, I guess it is.”
Christine let out a relieved laugh.
‘I was worried it might be a stranger. Thank goodness.’
Douglas was an early member who had been with her since Round 2, someone she could trust.
“Berber-nim is nearby too.”
“Oh, really?”
“He stepped away for a moment to use a surrounding scan. He’ll be back soon.”
Using a surrounding-scan skill, she could clearly see a moving dot.
A moment later, Berber returned, and when he saw Christine, his face brightened.
“Ohh? Krissy-nim is here too?”
“Yes. Nice to see you, Berber-nim.”
“What a coincidence! Thank goodness Krissy-nim is here. Now we don’t have to worry about dying.”
“Ha-ha, yes….”
They didn’t ask for permission to accompany her.
Douglas and Berber simply stood beside Christine as if it were obvious.
‘Well, it’s fine. It’s hard for me alone too.’
With two trustworthy people, she felt reassured.
Not as much as when she had a hundred, but still.
“For now, we have time, so should we put quests aside and wait here? Other people might come looking for Krissy-nim too, right?”
“That’s true. Let’s wait here for a bit. The people who got scattered will definitely come searching for Krissy-nim using Tracking.”
“Mm, then shall we wait just a little?”
It felt awkward to just wait, but Christine also preferred moving with a group rather than moving alone.
Efficiency aside, it was far safer.
But she didn’t know.
The moment she said she’d wait, someone behind her wore a sly smile.
A deserted alleyway.
A man holding a scythe appeared there without a sound.
‘Where is this?’
After stepping out of the alley, Ryu Min saw a peaceful village-like scenery that looked like Sweden, and the question was resolved at once.
‘The Alvitz Kingdom.’
Unlike the neat Holy Empire, it was rougher, yet somehow the city felt calm.
‘How is it that the starting location is different every time…’
In the sixty-seven regressions where he experienced Round 11, there were so few repeated starting locations that he could count them on one hand.
Isn’t that obvious because it’s random?
‘Then why did the random rune fragment I got at the beginning always give me the exact same rune every time?’
Both were “random,” yet some things changed every regression, while others stayed the same.
In that regard, he couldn’t understand the system at all.
‘Doesn’t matter. If it’s the Alvitz Kingdom, it’s not bad. It’s actually good.’
Ryu Min’s first quest destination was the Labyrinth Forest.
Fortunately, it wasn’t very far from the Alvitz Kingdom.
‘Before that, should I check everyone’s positions with Cheonlian?’
In Ryu Min’s skill window, there was a skill he had received as a special reward in the previous round.
[Temporary Skill – Cheonlian]
-Effect: Close your eyes and recite the activation phrase to activate. A virtual eye is created, allowing you to see from a third party’s perspective.
In that state, if you recall the nickname and face of the Player you want to look at, you can instantly shift perspective.
‘Cheonlian.’
When he closed his eyes and used the skill, he could see himself.
Entering third-party mode, Ryu Min recalled one person.
‘Minjujui.’
The perspective changed, and Min Juri’s 모습 appeared before his eyes.
‘Min Juri dropped into the Holy Empire.’
She was quite far away.
It didn’t look like meeting would be easy.
‘Yamtti.’
The moment he recalled her nickname and face, the perspective moved directly to above Yamtti’s head.
‘She’s in the Holy Empire too. Well, it’s fine even if she’s not here for this round.’
He had thought he might use her if she were close, but since she was far, it wouldn’t work.
Then, one by one, he recalled Seo Arin, Heo Tae-seok, Ma Kyung-rok, An Sang-cheol, and others, checking their positions.
It wasn’t just idle curiosity about where they were.
He needed to read their positions and actions and determine whether they might become variables in this round.
Depending on them, entering the Labyrinth Forest might be obstructed.
‘Seo Arin and Heo Tae-seok are far, so there’s nothing to worry about, but Ma Kyung-rok and An Sang-cheol are close.’
Not only were they close, they were even thinking of tracking Black Scythe.
How did he know?
Because their thoughts were readable through Cheonlian.
‘Cheonlian is like another me. The Rune of Inner Thoughts applies even from Cheonlian’s perspective.’
It wasn’t for nothing that he gave up a point buff and chose Cheonlian.
He chose it because reading an opponent’s inner thoughts remotely made it easy to respond in advance.
‘Ma Kyung-rok and An Sang-cheol intend to come find me. They’re already nearby, and they think they might gain something if they latch onto me.’
That was fine.
Ryu Min needed to see Ma Kyung-rok in this round anyway.
‘In this round, that guy is going to commit atrocities—massacring foreign Players. I need to take measures in advance.’
Next, he checked the position of Jeffrey, who had been dominated by Yamtti.
As expected, he was far away, so he wasn’t useful.
‘Is Ju Seong-tak finding his way properly?’
He had given one instruction to Ju Seong-tak, whom he had turned into a slave through a duel.
No matter where he dropped, he was to come find him—Black Scythe.
Since he already knew Black Scythe’s face even before becoming a slave, there would be no problem tracking him.
It seemed he had seen him from afar at least once.
‘Good. He’s finding his way well.’
Watching Ju Seong-tak running toward him, Ryu Min smiled.
To obtain an item in the Labyrinth Forest, Ju Seong-tak’s help was absolutely necessary.
Lastly, Ryu Min turned the perspective to Christine.
Her nickname was known, and since he had seen her customized face in the past, there was no difficulty finding her.
‘She’s already in contact with two people.’
Christine was with two people who looked like her followers.
It seemed their starting points had been close by chance.
But she shouldn’t be relieved.
‘The reason I said Christine would be in danger is because of those guys.’
Only now would it be revealed: the enemies threatening Christine were a cult group called “Despair Church.”
Despair Church’s leader was America’s only Necromancer, John Delgado.
Under his direction, Despair Church intended to kill Christine.
‘Reading their thoughts, one is Despair Church, and the other is a traitor working with him.’
The ones she believed most were a spy and a traitor.
That was why Christine was destined to die in Round 11.
‘If I step in, the story changes, but…’
He knew who the enemies were, but there was no need to act right now.
Not only had the kill order not been handed down yet, but this would proceed after Despair Church’s forces gathered to a certain extent.
‘Meaning there’s still time.’
During that time, Ryu Min planned to proceed with quests together with Ju Seong-tak.
Because there was an item in the Labyrinth Forest he absolutely had to obtain.
An item that could disguise a nickname.