Chapter 214 – Black Scythe’s Request
A rural area in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
This place looked like an ordinary house, but there was a signboard with carved Chinese characters hanging on it.
Reaper Sect (死神敎).
If someone saw it, they might report it as a cult—but fortunately, the village residents didn’t pay attention.
No—most of them didn’t even know the house was being used as a religious facility.
Except for the Reaper Sect believers.
“Leader.”
“Ah, Cardinal Eom.”
“What weighs on your mind so deeply?”
Heo Tae-seok, sitting at his desk and lost in thought, let out a sigh as if to show it off.
“Money, what else?”
You’d think running a single shabby house that barely even deserved to be called the Reaper Sect wouldn’t cost much.
But surprisingly, it did.
‘On weekdays, I travel all over the country recruiting new believers. On weekends, I host gatherings and dinners so the believers don’t drift away… the money I burn isn’t small.’
If he even counted the cost of going overseas sometimes to recruit believers, he needed more money than expected.
Especially at the dinners, the spending was considerable—if you took several people out drinking and went to a second round, a third round, five hundred thousand won was the bare minimum you’d blow through.
‘And I’m repeating that every week, so of course there’s no money left.’
And on top of that, the Leader himself had no work and was sprawled out like a useless idler like this—what a mess.
“This is my fault. I was too naive. I was driven only by motivation and couldn’t face reality.”
“…Is it really that difficult?”
Heo Tae-seok answered with another sigh.
“Selling items has reached its limit too. I sold everything worth selling and used it for living expenses and operating costs. And recently, even the Plpl Market is on the verge of shutting down…”
Whenever he needed money, Heo Tae-seok had sold equipment through the Plpl Market, but now it looked like he wouldn’t even be able to do that.
Of course, he could sell through a cafe like Junggonara, but compared to Plpl, it was unbearably inconvenient.
“Euh-hyooo…”
“Hm…”
Watching the Leader sigh over and over, Eom Jun-seok felt sorry for him—and then came up with an idea.
“How about collecting offerings?”
“It’s not like I haven’t thought of that. Of course I want to collect offerings. But what if the believers we barely held onto leave because of it?”
“If we explain our situation honestly, the believers will step up without hesitation.”
“Will they, though?”
Heo Tae-seok saw it pessimistically.
It’s easy for humans to spend someone else’s money, but the moment money leaves their own pockets, they turn their backs.
Even if he poured out his circumstances honestly and pleaded, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t leave.
If they had to spend money on top of spending time on religious activities, who would stay?
“Ugh… I can’t promise it. I don’t know how the believers would react.”
“Hoo…”
The two of them sighed at the same time.
And that was when—
Creeeak—
They heard the front gate open, and one person was caught by presence detection.
“Who is it? The regular meeting is tomorrow…”
Since there was no one expected to come, Heo Tae-seok thought maybe a passing resident had come in out of curiosity, and he went outside.
And then his eyes went wide in shock.
“H-huh… B-B-Black Scythe-nim?!”
The Reaper Sect’s treasure and spiritual pillar had arrived.
“You recognize at a glance that I’m Black Scythe. If I remember right, this is our first time meeting in real life, isn’t it?”
“Of course I recognize you! With that outfit, how could I not?”
Ryu Min’s face was covered, but he deliberately appeared in the outfit he wore in the other world so it would be obvious he was Black Scythe.
Heo Tae-seok had partied with Black Scythe many times—there was no way he wouldn’t recognize him.
He didn’t know why Black Scythe had come, though.
“To meet Black Scythe-nim in real life! I’m truly delighted! But what brings you to this shabby place—”
“A sect built for me is shabby?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… as you can see, it really is shabby…”
“Sounds like your financial state isn’t very good.”
“…That’s correct.”
“How many believers have you gathered for the Reaper Sect?”
“Originally, aside from me and Cardinal Eom Jun-seok, we had about thirty people, but now we’re down to ten…”
“It seems many died in the 12th Round.”
“Yes.”
The number of Players remaining in the Republic of Korea was now 175.
Just up to the 11th Round, there had been 690, but in the 12th Round, unexpectedly many people failed to pass and died.
“Are all ten of those Players?”
“Yes.”
Heo Tae-seok answered while watching Black Scythe’s mood.
‘Did he come to inspect us?’
Like an officer in the army inspecting a unit with his hands behind his back—did he come to ask how things were running?
He couldn’t help thinking that.
Black Scythe was prying with question after question and looking around.
‘No. That can’t be it. He probably just came once to see it because he heard the Reaper Sect exists.’
But all of Heo Tae-seok’s guesses were wrong.
“The reason I came to find you is because I have one request.”
“What? A r-request?”
Even an order would make sense—yet a request?
Heo Tae-seok waved his hands as if it was far too much.
“There’s no need to call it a request. Whatever it is, please just tell me what to do.”
“I can’t do that. You established a sect like this for me. Well, it’s too shabby to call it a sect, but.”
“R-right.”
“So I want you to relocate somewhere else.”
“…What?”
Relocate.
Was he saying to abandon this place and move somewhere else?
“But as I said, we’re not in a condition for that…”
“I’ll get you a building. It would be best to build new, but there’s no time, so buying a church building that’s up for sale would be best. I’m thinking the location should be Seoul—what do you think, Leader?”
“….”
For a moment, Heo Tae-seok’s mind went blank.
He was going to get them a church building in Seoul?
“D-did I hear you wrong? You just said you’ll get us a building—”
“I didn’t say I’m giving it to you. I’ll buy it under my name. Anyway, Seoul is fine, right?”
“Seoul would be great, but it’ll be expensive…”
“At most, it’s around twenty billion won, isn’t it?”
Heo Tae-seok’s mouth fell open again.
He was talking about twenty billion won like it was a one-thousand-won bill in his wallet.
“Well?”
“Y-yes? What, what is…”
“If I get you something in Seoul, are you willing to relocate or not?”
“Ah, th-that…”
With worries piling up, Heo Tae-seok couldn’t answer immediately.
Of course, Ryu Min—who could read thoughts—already knew exactly what he was worrying about.
“Don’t worry. I’ll cover all the funds you need to operate. While we’re at it, I’ll give you one hundred million won right now as one year of operating costs.”
“…What? One hundred million won?”
“Stop being shocked and tell me your account.”
Black Scythe pulled out his phone and looked ready to transfer it for real.
Heo Tae-seok could only be dazed.
The sudden fortune felt unreal.
“Tell me your account.”
“Ah, yes. Nonghyup Bank, 291…”
After hearing the account number, Ryu Min transferred one hundred million won on the spot.
Of course, since it was under Lostyark’s name, there was no risk of his real name being exposed.
When Heo Tae-seok checked and saw that one hundred million won really had been deposited, he stared with stunned eyes.
“I-is it really okay for you to give such a large sum so easily…?”
“It’s fine. Don’t feel burdened—use it as operating funds for the sect. It’s a small amount to me.”
In a situation where ten billion won was effectively copied every year just from interest, one hundred million won was basically nothing.
“Th-thank you. Thank you!”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. It means I’ll be getting involved in managing the Reaper Sect from now on.”
“Involved?”
“I’ll tell you my email, so every month, summarize your spending and send it to me. I need to check whether you’re wasting money on nonsense. You can do that much, right?”
“Of course! If we suddenly have one hundred million won, what can’t we do?”
In truth, it didn’t matter if they spent it recklessly or not, but he decided to check expenses so it wouldn’t feel like free money.
People start mistaking kindness for a right when it keeps coming.
“If you’re short, tell me.”
“N-no! One hundred million won is more than enough! And you’re even going to get us a building… hic.”
Suddenly, Heo Tae-seok wiped at tears that slipped out.
He must have been suffering a lot.
“I’m sorry. For showing you such an unworthy 모습 as the Leader. Lately, our finances were really, really bad. Now it feels like I can finally breathe.”
“This isn’t simple kindness. Like I said earlier, I have something I need to ask of you.”
“Anything, anything—please tell me.”
Even though no duel request had been made, Heo Tae-seok was groveling like a slave.
That was how strong the power of money was.
“At level 40, you learned a skill called Black Seed. The one where if you plant a seed in the ground, a demon is summoned at random.”
“Yes, I have it.”
“Now that you’ve reached level 60, that skill should’ve been enhanced. It probably changed into a stronger demon, right?”
“That’s also correct.”
“I want you to plant that seed at a location I designate, and then when I give the signal, use the skill to summon the demon. You can do that, right?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Heo Tae-seok nodded.
It wasn’t a difficult request.
It was a simple job—just use the skill at the designated location.
“But how did you know about my skill? I don’t think I’ve ever used it in front of Black Scythe-nim…”
“I saw another black magician use it.”
Of course, that was a lie.
The reason he knew about the skill was because of the illusion he saw in the 7th Round.
‘Back then, Heo Tae-seok planted a seed in Min Juri’s body and threatened to detonate it.’
It was only an illusion created by the System, so there was no lingering bad feeling.
Heo Tae-seok had voluntarily founded a sect for him—there was no way he would betray him.
“Is that all I need to do?”
“Yes. That’s the only request I have. If you do exactly as I say, I’ll set you up with a building in Seoul and support your operating funds—and I’ll even help you gather believers.”
“Even believers?”
“Honestly, isn’t ten too few? You need at least a hundred.”
Heo Tae-seok’s mouth fell open as if he couldn’t even imagine that number.
“I-is that possible?”
“It is. With the power of money. Though strictly speaking, it’s not money—it’s the power of points.”
“Points? What do you mean—”
“Do you know the cafe called ‘Players Change the World’?”
He was the one asking, but Heo Tae-seok answered quickly.
“Plseba? Of course. I’m even signed up.”
“Post a promotional message there and draw people in. Say you’ve established a new sect in Seoul.”
“I’ve already tried. But fewer people gathered than I expected.”
“Of course they won’t come if you just tell them to show up.”
“Then how…”
“Tell them you’ll give points. Say anyone who joins gets 10,000 points.”
“…What?”
Points are more valuable than gold.
And he was going to hand out points as a joining gift?
There was no way people wouldn’t come.
Especially in a situation like now, where even a small amount of points could be desperately needed.
“Everyone already knows I have twenty million points from the 11th Round tally results. If Black Scythe personally trades and hands them out, there’s no reason they wouldn’t come.”
“Th-that’s true. If points are on the line, they’ll swarm in like crazy.”
“Then the problem of recruiting believers is solved.”
If one hundred people came, he’d lose one million points, but to Ryu Min, it wasn’t a waste at all.
Points were what he had in excess, anyway.
‘The more believers, the better. They’re people who follow me—if I gather them, it’s easier to control them too.’
Besides, he wasn’t calling believers together for no reason.
If he wanted to obtain the Rune of the Hero as planned, he needed a lot of people around.
At least a hundred.
‘There’s no way fewer than a hundred will gather. I’m literally giving them points.’
But Ryu Min didn’t know.
That far more people would gather than he expected.