Chapter 202 – Second Sub Quest
[There is a hidden Sub Quest!] <Sub Quest>
└Clear the Trial through your own efforts, without the summoner’s help
└On success ▶ Receive an Elixir of Immunity
[You have completed the Sub Quest!]
[An Elixir of Immunity has been added to your inventory.]
The party members who received the Sub Quest reward wore dazed expressions.
Because it was a message they hadn’t expected at all.
“B-Black Scythe-nim, did you get it too? It says Sub Quest reward…”
“I did.”
A potion of unknown identity had been given as a reward, but Ryu Min knew its value.
[Elixir of Immunity]
-Category: Consumable
-Grade: Legendary
-Effect: Grants immunity to all attributes for 1 minute
-Use restriction: Master rank or higher
-Description: A potion that can perfectly resist all attribute damage. It tastes bitter when consumed.
Back in the Tower of Trials, there had once been an indomitable resistance potion.
‘It was a potion that blocked 95% of resistance for the three major attributes.’
Compared to that, this was a superior item—its attribute coverage was wider, and its resistance could reach 100%.
Even if the duration was short.
‘It’s a potion that helps a lot in emergencies. Especially when you face a strong opponent.’
Even if you had 95% resistance, if the opponent’s attribute damage was beyond what you could handle, that remaining 5% could still kill you.
‘That’s why a potion like this that blocks 100% is far more valuable.’
That was how rare the Elixir of Immunity was.
‘Maybe Victor could make something like this if he hit max level… maybe.’
Even if he didn’t need it right now, if he had it, there would come a time he’d use it.
But the reason the party members looked dazed wasn’t only because of the reward.
“The quest condition was ‘clear it on your own without the summoner’s help’…”
It was a quest they could never have gotten if they hadn’t followed Black Scythe.
“Black Scythe-nim, did you know? That a Sub Quest would appear?”
“I’m not a prophet. How would I know that?”
“You really didn’t know?”
“I’m telling you I didn’t.”
Ryu Min kept playing dumb at Min Juri’s question, but that didn’t actually clear up the doubt.
“Then how did you know where the traps were and avoid them? I couldn’t see anything at all except the back of the person in front…”
“Instinct.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just avoided them on instinct.”
It was a careless answer, but Min Juri didn’t argue and simply accepted it.
‘Well… Black Scythe-nim has incredible insight…’
She could only guess that maybe he possessed some kind of Rune that let him discern traps.
“We’ve finished all five Trials now.”
“Not yet. One person hasn’t arrived.”
“Ah… you mean Mr. John Delgado.”
After glancing at Ryu Min’s expression, Min Juri spoke after some hesitation.
“I heard what you two said earlier… It seems like your relationship isn’t very good…”
“Something happened. It’s not something you need to worry about.”
“Ah, I’m not trying to pry. It’s just… seeing how he acts, I wanted to tell you to be careful.”
‘A level 50 worrying about a level 90.’
Ryu Min smiled slightly as he looked at Min Juri.
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll be careful.”
“N-no, it’s nothing. What advice could I possibly give… I just got nosy over nothing because I was worried. There’s no way something dangerous could happen to Black Scythe-nim… not even 1%…”
“I’m human too, so danger can happen. Just the fact that you’re worried is something I’m grateful for.”
“Y-yes…”
Hearing “thank you” twice made Min Juri feel strangely shy.
“Still… when is Mr. John Delgado coming? Is he even coming?”
“If he doesn’t want to die, he’ll be coming.”
“And if he doesn’t? He could hold out to get revenge on us…”
“Don’t worry about that. He will definitely come.”
Even so, Min Juri looked worriedly toward the corridor of abyssal darkness.
Since all party members had to arrive, she couldn’t help but be anxious.
‘F*ck… what the hell is going on?’
John Delgado stared at the corridor’s darkness with a dumbfounded expression.
‘He really just left? Ignored my offer?’
Black Scythe hadn’t just ignored him—he’d simply marched into the darkness with the party.
‘That crazy bastard—he’d throw away his life over pride?’
Honestly, John couldn’t even tell whether the bastard was alive or dead.
Just in case, he tried using Tracking, but it didn’t work.
They said nothing worked except Summoning, and it was true.
‘He’s dead. Yeah—he has to be dead.’
John was certain.
After only a few steps, Black Scythe and the party would have been annihilated.
No matter how skilled Black Scythe was, it wasn’t like he could see through this darkness.
‘Idiots. They died such a pointless death because they picked the wrong leader.’
Having already decided they were dead, John pulled out a summon.
“At least I have to live.”
Then, with the summon in front, he forced his way into the darkness.
If a summon fell into a trap and got annihilated, he immediately pulled out another summon and searched for the path again.
After about ten minutes of consuming summons and dismantling traps like that—
‘If I can see light over there, I guess this is the end.’
At last, John reached the end of the corridor and stepped onto the ground with a grin.
That was when—
“You’re finally here? Took you long enough.”
John’s face stiffened as if he’d seen a ghost.
Black Scythe was alive.
“H-how…?”
“How did I survive? I avoided the traps and crossed, so of course I survived.”
“……”
And it wasn’t only Black Scythe.
The other party members were also staring at him in perfectly fine condition.
With different eyes than before.
‘Damn it. My image is completely f*cked.’
There was no reason to look good to them, but there was also no reason to be receiving those condemning looks.
He wanted to shout for them to lower their eyes, but that wasn’t the real problem.
The real problem was Black Scythe right in front of him.
“What did you say to me earlier? That I should give you ten million points, kneel, and beg for forgiveness?”
“Uh… w-well, you see…”
“Let’s talk about the rest after we leave this place. Sounds like we’ll need a conversation with our bodies.”
Realizing what that meant, John’s face twisted.
‘Fck. I’m fcked.’
John regretted power-tripping without thinking about what came after.
‘Who would’ve thought Black Scythe would make it through on his own…’
He’d never even imagined this outcome.
‘Lucky bastard with luck that’s too damn good.’
He complained in his head, but John didn’t know.
He wasn’t in any position to be talking about someone else’s luck right now.
[You are a summoner, yet you arrived last in the fifth Trial.]
[You, who cannot even bring yourself to consider the party members, will be given a penalty.]
[All stats permanently decrease by 50%.]
[Your summons’ stats permanently decrease by 50%.]
“What the hell is this, f*ck?”
The moment he saw the message, a curse burst out loud without him realizing.
All stats permanently reduced by 50%?
Not only him, but his summons too?
It was absurd.
With unexpected situations exploding one after another, he was left speechless.
“Why? Something wrong?”
Black Scythe asked smoothly, but John didn’t even have the energy to respond.
His head was blank with despair and frustration.
‘His mind’s completely broken.’
Ryu Min smiled subtly at the operation going exactly as planned, then looked away.
Now John Delgado was no threat at all.
His stats had fallen to a level worse than a level 30.
‘Even so, I can’t just leave him alone.’
He’d already used the bastard for everything he needed, so killing him would be fine.
No—considering possible trouble later, it would be better to cleanly dispose of him.
‘But first, I should check the Messiah side’s situation.’
There was no need to decide right now, so he decided to spare John’s life for the time being.
[You have succeeded in the fifth Trial.]
[This team’s clear time is 00:15:49.]
[Congratulations! You have passed all Trials!]
[Soon, EXP rewards will be granted according to each Trial’s record.]
[Calculating EXP. Please wait a moment.]
Soon after, EXP was granted to the party members.
The party members—who hadn’t expected much—widened their eyes in shock.
Because they’d jumped 10–12 levels in one go.
“Gasp, Black Scythe-nim! I became Master rank!”
“Looks like you’ve reached level 60.”
“Me too! I finally became Master!”
“I learned a new skill!”
Min Juri, Jeffrey, and Joo Seong-tak checked their skill windows with excited faces.
All of them had reached level 60 and become Master rank.
Reading their thoughts, John Delgado was no exception.
‘Did I only go up 1 level?’
Seeing that he’d become level 91, Ryu Min let out a small laugh.
Well, whatever.
He could hit max level in one shot with points anyway.
He just wasn’t doing it on purpose.
“Democracy. What skill did you learn?”
“It’s a skill called [Buff Zone]. Should I try using it?”
When Ryu Min nodded, Min Juri said she needed to apply buffs first and, once again, put on the three-piece set.
[Due to the effects of the skill Bless, all stats increase by 80%.]
[Due to the effects of the skill Swift, attack speed and movement speed increase by 80%.]
[Safety Barrier has been applied.]
[You can be protected 2 times against physical attacks.]
They were buffs strengthened compared to before, likely because her rank had increased.
“Now I’ll use Buff Zone.”
When Min Juri cast the skill, a yellow magic circle spread out under their feet in a wide sweep.
It was a ground-area skill large enough to cover a radius of 30 meters.
“What’s the effect?”
“While you’re within the area, it raises the effectiveness of the buffs I applied by one stage. It also resets their duration.”
Checking, he saw it really did increase Bless’s stat bonus.
‘It went up to 100%?’
Swift was also 100%, and Safety Barrier now protected them 3 times.
‘So basically, it strengthens buffs like when you hit max level?’
Then what would happen if she cast Buff Zone after hitting max level?
Would it go beyond 100% to 120%?
‘That’s an incredible skill.’
He suddenly found himself looking forward to what skill Min Juri would learn when she reached max level.
He didn’t know, since he’d never kept her alive that far.
‘This run, I’m taking her to the end.’
Ryu Min had been smiling with satisfaction when, in an instant, his expression hardened.
His 60-meter presence detection caught the reaction of a living being.
‘Who is it?’
At the timing when the Trial had ended, a person shouldn’t suddenly appear.
Not unless it was a guide angel.
‘No—angels can’t enter here either. They only wait in that colorless waiting space.’
The loosened tension snapped tight.
As he watched one side with a stiff expression, Min Juri asked.
“What is it? Black Scythe-nim?”
“Look over there.”
From within the darkness Ryu Min was watching, a silhouette emerged.
“An angel?”
What the party members saw was, indeed, an angel.
And not just any—this one had more than ten wings, and its length looked like it could easily be dozens of meters.
“……”
“……”
The party members kept their mouths shut, only watching each other’s reactions.
They could tell it was on an entirely different level from the angels that simply guided them around.
Even John—whose mind had been foggy—couldn’t help but snap to attention at the angel’s appearance.
The moment Ryu Min saw it, he recognized what it was.
‘An archangel showed up?’
Reading its thoughts, he even learned its name.
It was Sariel, the 6th-ranked archangel—an angel that, for some reason, made him feel a strange sense of kinship.
[So you are Black Scythe.]
In a low, heavy voice, Sariel drew a curved blade from between its wings.
[If you do not wish to die, do not resist. I have been ordered to bring you quietly.]