Chapter 199 – The First Trial
‘Damn it.’
To be honest, John Delgado had been hoping for it.
Hoping Yang Qiwen’s men had slit the Black Scythe’s throat.
Hoping they’d take revenge on that damned son of a bitch for him.
But—
[You have located the target “Black Scythe.”]
[The target is currently 501m away.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow displayed ahead.]
After entering the other world, he tried using Tracking, and the Black Scythe came up.
That meant only one thing.
‘Black Scythe, that son of a bitch is still alive!’
If the Black Scythe was alive, it meant Yang Qiwen’s operation had failed.
‘How the hell? We confirmed he lived there to the very end and did everything according to plan. So why couldn’t they kill him?’
It was a simple operation—after midnight, break into the villa and stab his throat.
If it went according to plan, the Black Scythe should’ve died not long after entering the other world.
‘But he’s alive and well.’
He wouldn’t know what happened until they returned.
Right now, he couldn’t know anything.
‘Then do we have to execute the next plan?’
Swingman’s plan resurfaced—make up with the Black Scythe and get close to him.
‘F*ck, I can’t do that. You think I’m insane enough to do that with him—’
Bow your head and suck up to the mortal enemy who cut off your limbs?
What could possibly be more humiliating than that?
‘Swingman, that demonic bastard…’
He wanted to kill that Indian for making him think of this shitty plan, but at this point he had no choice.
He had to find the Black Scythe, as planned.
‘Haa. I really hate this.’
He had believed, with absolute certainty, that Yang Qiwen’s plan would succeed, so he wasn’t mentally prepared.
He was cursing at Swingman again when an angel appeared and explained Round 12.
‘Clear five trials? Form a party of five?’
Forming a party wasn’t a problem.
He had nearly 200 Despair Church believers gathered already.
He could just pick out the useful ones and form a party.
‘The problem is we don’t have information about the trials.’
He couldn’t just pick anyone.
If he didn’t know what trials would appear, he had to pick as diverse a spread of jobs as possible.
But seeing how quickly everyone was moving made him anxious.
And hadn’t the angel said it?
That the two who got left behind would be erased.
‘This isn’t the time to hesitate. I need to form a party fast…’
But because of the mission he’d been given, his feet wouldn’t move.
‘F*ck, you’re seriously telling me to bow my head to Black Scythe and go in?’
Since he needed a party anyway, now was the chance.
Go to the Black Scythe, grovel and say sorry about last time, then ask him to party.
‘No. I can’t. Even if you beat me to death, my pride won’t allow it.’
Even if he hid a dagger in his sleeve, he didn’t have the courage to do something like that.
Even if someone offered him a fortune, he couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly face someone he wanted dead.
“Ha… damn, huh?”
As John Delgado sighed, he habitually used Tracking again—and his eyes widened.
‘What is this?’
The distance to the Black Scythe had shrunk compared to before.
No—somehow, it was shrinking in real time.
Like he was coming this way.
[The target is currently 363m away.]
[The target is currently 222m away.]
[The target is currently 113m away.]
………………
…………
[The target is currently 31m away.]
Once it closed to a distance visible to the naked eye, John Delgado finally tore his gaze from the message.
And slowly opened his mouth in shock.
The Black Scythe really was walking toward him.
“Yo, John Delgado. You been well?”
“…….”
The Black Scythe waved like they were close friends and spoke with a shameless face.
“Your arms and legs doing okay?”
“…….”
“They’re still attached? Good.”
John Delgado stayed silent.
He was so dumbfounded he didn’t even have time to ask what the hell this was.
‘He came to find me himself…’
He was curious why, but he was afraid to ask.
Didn’t he get his limbs cut off last time just for saying one wrong thing?
‘What kind of bullshit is this bastard planning now…’
He wanted to kick that mouth in and rip out his tongue, but he knew it was impossible.
So John spoke, hiding his agitation.
More polite than before.
“Wh-what business do you have with me?”
“I’ll get straight to it, John Delgado. Party with me.”
John’s eyes went wide.
It was a proposal he never expected.
“A party…? What are you—”
“Our team has one spot open. And you’re the only one who can fill it.”
Only then did he notice the Black Scythe had come with other companions.
Two men and one woman.
And one of the men had a nickname he recognized.
“Huh? Jephi?”
Wasn’t Jephi the assassin Swingman had hired to find the Black Scythe’s residence?
“Jephi, why are you here?”
“You know me?”
Jeffrey deliberately acted like he didn’t recognize the necromancer.
Because Ryu Min had told him to behave like a stranger.
John tilted his head, uncertain.
‘He doesn’t recognize me even though I didn’t customize?’
Meanwhile, Jephi had the same nickname, but his other-world appearance was different—like he’d customized it.
‘Did he lie about his nickname?’
He wondered if the Jephi he met in the real world might not be this Jephi.
“You know Jephi?”
“N-no. I must’ve mistaken him for someone else.”
John Delgado awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
Thinking about it normally, would the Black Scythe really walk around with the guy who tailed him?
And the guy looked like he’d never seen John before, too.
Now wasn’t the time to think about some Jephi.
He’d just received an offer he never expected.
‘If I join, that makes exactly five.’
If he accepted right now, they’d form a five-man team and escape the last-two danger.
John had no party yet, so he had no reason to refuse.
‘And I can naturally stay close to the Black Scythe.’
If he grabbed that hand now and became a teammate, maybe he could later accomplish his goal—betray the Black Scythe and kill him.
‘It was going to be a pain to lower my pride and get close to him, but this is perfect.’
If the Black Scythe reached out first like this, it made things easy for John.
But John didn’t take the Black Scythe’s hand right away.
Because something felt off.
‘What’s the reason? Why the hell would he want someone like me…?’
He might get hit again for saying one wrong thing, but he had to ask.
He needed to read the bastard’s intentions.
“Why… why do you want to party with me? You must have plenty of replacements—”
“I’m not taking questions. Decide. Are you doing it or not?”
“…….”
The Black Scythe was forceful.
He wouldn’t say why—only demanded an answer on whether they’d be a team.
‘He’s not trying to kill me. If I’m a party member, even Black Scythe can’t kill me.’
Then why?
John was thinking hard when Ryu Min didn’t give him time.
“Ten seconds. Decide.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you don’t decide, I’ll take it as a no and go find someone else. Ten, nine…”
“W-wait.”
“Eight, seven…”
As the time ticked down, John’s heart grew restless.
As if if he missed this moment, he’d never get another chance to approach the Black Scythe.
With that thought, the tangled mess in his head cleared up.
‘F-fine. For the plan, I’ll team up with Black Scythe, for now…’
With three seconds left, John opened his mouth.
“I-I’ll do it. Team.”
“Good. Then grab hands and say the trigger phrase.”
The five of them held hands and spoke the trigger phrase for forming a party at the same time.
A ring made of golden letters latched onto their wrists.
[The 7,389th party has just been formed. Try harder. There aren’t many slots left.]
With the angel fanning the flames, people grew even more frantic.
They moved desperately so they wouldn’t become the last two, but losers were bound to appear.
[Kuhuhuhu! Finally, 7,880 teams have been formed, and the unlucky two are left!]
“N-no!”
“Please spare me, Angel! Please—”
[Don’t beg me—beg other people and form a party, tsk tsk. Alright, adios!]
“Nooooo!”
With merciless erasure, the two Players’ screams echoed like a reverberation.
[Alright. Since teams are set, shall we start the quest?]
With the angel’s words, the background changed.
“Huh?”
Ryu Min’s team, which had been in the colorless space, was now inside a dark cave.
The party members were flustered at having been dropped into the cave in an instant, but Ryu Min alone stayed calm.
‘It’s finally starting.’
Every team was probably seeing the same scene.
Because everyone must have been dropped here, where the Cave of Trials was.
“Black Scythe, this place is…?”
“Looks like it started. I can see the cave.”
Leaving the frozen party behind, Ryu Min stepped forward calmly.
“No time to waste. They said the teams that clear faster survive. I’ll lead—follow close.”
After speaking, Ryu Min walked off without even looking back.
“W-wait! I’ll put buffs on you!”
Min Juri hurriedly followed and urgently cast buffs.
Jeffrey and Joo Seong-tak also moved after their master.
Only John Delgado remained behind, staring blankly at his party members’ backs.
‘F*ck… did I really just end up in a party like this?’
He’d formed the party in a daze, but the Black Scythe didn’t even pay him any attention.
He didn’t ask anything—just told him to follow and strode ahead.
‘Is he insane?’
He’d taken an enemy like John as a party member.
A man you couldn’t read.
‘If I could, I’d like to bury a knife in the back of his head right now, but…’
Now that they were in a party, he knew it would be meaningless.
If anything, they were in the same boat—forced to survive together.
‘Hoo… I don’t know what his intention is, but I’ll play along for now. Either way, I did approach Black Scythe like the plan said, didn’t I?’
Comforting himself that he didn’t have to swallow his pride, he followed them.
As he did, the only woman, Democracy, looked back and spoke to him.
“John Delgado. Here—take your buffs.”
“Buffs?”
Bless, Swift, and even Safety Barrier.
After receiving three buffs, John’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe it.
‘Insane! It boosts stats this much?’
All stats up 70%, attack speed and movement speed up 70%, and even a protective barrier that blocks ambushes.
John could only stare in shock, then watch the buffer run forward again.
Ryu Min walked ahead, feeling through presence detection that his companions were following properly.
From the first trial to the fifth.
Since he knew the strategy, there was nothing difficult about it.
‘The first trial is the one where you need a tanker.’
When they reached a dead-end wall, he stopped.
His companions arrived one after another, and they too stood before the wall.
“The path… it’s blocked?”
Once all five gathered—Min Juri and John Delgado arriving last—the condition activated, and a message appeared.
[Welcome to the Cave of Trials.]
[We will now begin the first trial immediately.] <First Trial>
└Endure the monsters’ attacks for 10 minutes
└On Success ▶ Next Trial Opens
└On Failure ▶ One party member is erased through voting
“Endure monsters’ attacks?”
John muttered as if asking what it meant, but the message wasn’t finished.
[Monsters will soon flood into the cave.]
[The monsters have an invincibility effect and cannot be harmed by any damage.]
[If the party endures for 10 minutes without taking heavy damage, the trial will end.]
[Conversely, if the party’s accumulated damage exceeds the set threshold, it will be considered a failure even if you endure for 10 minutes.]
[If you fail to overcome the trial, one party member will be erased through an internal vote.]
“It says monsters are going to rush in here.”
“Wait—if allies take damage, that means even if we endure, we fail, right?”
John panicked, but the others stayed calm.
Because they already knew from the prophecy.
‘The first is a trial that requires a tanker. By body-blocking directly, you minimize allies’ damage and endure the monsters.’
It was a mission that tested a tanker’s qualities.
But Ryu Min’s team had no tanker.
Even so, Min Juri followed the Black Scythe because he’d mentioned it in the prophecy beforehand.
No matter what happened, trust the Black Scythe.
“Everyone, behind me.”
When Ryu Min stepped forward, the party pressed up against the dead-end wall.
John also did as he was told, using the Black Scythe as a shield and standing behind him.
‘What’s he going to do? Is he planning to block the monsters alone? They’re invincible—you can’t even kill them.’
He didn’t know what the Black Scythe would do, but all he could do was watch.
[Monsters will appear in 10 seconds. All parties, prepare for the monsters’ emergence!]