85 Hunting Regular Monsters

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85. Hunting Regular Monsters

The definition of regular monsters varies by person, but generally refers to monsters that can be easily killed.

To Ryumin, centaurs were regular monsters.

'Though they'd be elite monsters to others.'

They would be difficult opponents for players in their early 20s level now.

But that doesn't mean they can't be killed.

Five people together can handle one sufficiently.

'The problem is that it's a regular monster.'

Contrary to people's expectations, the centaur is not a boss.

The real boss is the bull-headed Minotaur somewhere out there.

'At least 20 level 20 players are needed to kill a Minotaur.'

In other words, four 5-person parties are barely enough to have a chance.

That's how strong it is.

'Of course, to me it's just a monster with high HP but slow movements.'

Players probably thought while forming parties:

That the mission is easier than expected.

That 5 people would be enough to kill a boss.

'But while centaurs are possible, Minotaurs are impossible. Five early level 20s have no chance.'

To kill one with 5 people, they need to be at least level 30.

No, even level 30 is honestly pushing it.

'Maybe level 40 would work.'

This is why the angel said it's absolutely impossible to kill alone.

Minotaurs fundamentally can't be killed solo.

'This round's trap lies here. It's designed to make it seem like a 5-person party can kill the boss.'

Of course, they never explicitly said 5 people could kill a boss, but...

'That angel bastard deliberately withheld the information that at least 20 people are needed to have a chance.'

It can only be seen as intentional that they didn't provide information that should have been given.

'Well, they're just following orders from above.'

But he has no justification to go around spreading this information himself.

It would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.

'I can only watch.'

Those who encounter a Minotaur will realize.

That a single 5-person party is not enough to face it.

That cooperation upon cooperation is needed to kill the boss.

'Once they realize that, multiple parties will band together to help each other.'

That is the strategy for Round 6.

They can only survive by cooperating and yielding kills to each other.

'There will be some trouble in the process, but they'll end up cooperating. It's the only way.'

Some might think:

Then there's no need to kill centaurs.

Since they have nothing to do with the quest objective.

'But players with some sense will know why there's a time limit.'

Why was a 6 hour time limit given?

'The intention is to kill centaurs and hunt to level up as much as possible in that time.'

The Minotaur can be killed later.

The 1st place ranking isn't based on who kills it first.

'1st place is determined by how little time it took to kill.'

In other words, the order doesn't matter.

You can record 1st place as long as you kill it in the shortest time.

This was why Ryumin acted somewhat leisurely.

'The other team members knew this too, so they didn't act hastily.'

The six pieces of information Ryumin gave as a "prophecy" were:

First. Round 6's mission is to form 5-person parties and kill a boss.

Second. Centaurs are regular monsters and Minotaurs are the real bosses.

Third. At least four 5-person parties are needed to kill a boss, so cooperation between parties is necessary.

Fourth. The ranking method isn't based on who kills first. It's based on who takes the least time to kill.

Fifth. Teams that kill the boss are immediately protected by a pillar of light. In other words, it's actually disadvantageous as they have to spend the remaining time meaninglessly.

Sixth. It's best to kill centaurs to get stronger during the time limit, then challenge the boss.

This was the core strategy for Round 6.

Everyone knew this except Heo Tae-seok who didn't hear the prophecy.

"Judging by the other team's reaction, that creature isn't a boss. The real boss must be elsewhere."

Ryumin, who laid out knowledge he already had as if he just realized it, spoke to his party members.

"I'll tell you my plan now."

"Please do."

"We'll postpone the boss and kill those centaurs first to level up. Until the time limit is almost up."

"Huh? Why..."

"It took five level 20s struggling to kill one centaur. If such creatures are mere regular monsters, the boss must require at least several teams to kill. Since we don't know how strong it is, it doesn't seem good to rashly kill the boss. There could be other traps."

"Ah..."

"What if we get trapped in a pillar of light by killing the boss early like in Round 1? It seems better to hunt regular monsters first while observing the situation, rather than just sitting idle and losing out for the remaining time."

"Ah... I see."

Ahn Sang-cheol was inwardly surprised at Ryumin's judgment.

'To think Black Scythe had this level of insight...'

The point that other parties need to be gathered to kill the boss.

The point that killing the boss traps you in a pillar of light.

The point that the time limit's purpose is for hunting, etc.

He accurately grasped the strategy without hearing the prophecy.

If it were him, he would have thoughtlessly tried to gather other parties to kill the boss.

"Th-then you're saying we should kill regular monsters first and the boss later?"

"That's right."

"Is it okay if we miss 1st place by doing that?"

"It doesn't matter. Even if we don't get the 1st place reward, we'll have the experience from hunting for 6 hours. The 1st place measurement method might not even be based on who kills first."

"..."

Ahn Sang-cheol was at a loss for words.

'Amazing. How does he find the right path without prophecy?'

It's like escaping a maze for the first time without making a single wrong turn.

"I understand. Then shall we all go kill centaurs together? Ah, before that we should set our positions and a simple strategy..."

"No, there's no need for that. I'll kill the monsters alone."

"Huh? Black Scythe-nim alone?"

Ahn Sang-cheol and the others were all surprised.

He's going to solo monsters that even 5-person parties barely manage?

Of course, considering Black Scythe's level, it's certainly possible.

But if he kills alone, what are the rest supposed to do?

As if reading that thought, Ryumin opened his mouth.

"You don't do anything. I'll do all the killing alone."

"Huh? Then what should we do..."

"You just follow me and receive experience and gold. You could say I'm carrying you."

In other words, he's saying he'll give them a free ride.

"In exchange, I'll take all the items that come through contribution. Instead, you can quickly raise your levels and gold without risk. How about it?"

"Hmm... If that's the case..."

It was certainly an attractive offer.

Why refuse when you can safely gain experience and gold by just giving up some items?

"Sounds good."

"What about the others?"

"We're fine with it too."

"We'll follow Black Scythe-nim's will."

Ryumin nodded at their agreement.

"You chose well. You probably won't be disappointed."

For Ryumin too, soloing is more convenient than fighting together.

Having them try to help would just get in the way.

'Centaurs are just regular monsters to me anyway.'

Ryumin picked up Death Scythe.

"Shall we go then?"

Whoosh-!

The party members were startled seeing Ryumin shoot out like a bullet.

"L-let's hurry and follow!"

Led by Ahn Sang-cheol, everyone chased after Ryumin.

Even with Swift buff giving high movement speed, they couldn't close the distance.

'How is he so fast?'

'Just how high is his Agility...'

Even Heo Tae-seok who prided himself on his speed was like a cat before a cheetah in front of Black Scythe.

"Ah, over there!"

Ryumin encountered a centaur for the first time.

"Grooar-!"

Before its roar even finished, slash- its head fell off.

The time to kill the centaur was 0.3 seconds.

The running party members stopped blankly at the hunting speed that didn't even take 1 second.

'Wh-what just happened?'

'One hit...?'

No one expected the centaur to die in one hit.

Whether knowing the party's reaction or not, Ryumin immediately ran towards the next target.

* * *

About 30 minutes into hunting?

[Target 'Centaur's location found.]

[Currently 52m away.]

Ryumin who was finding prey right away with the Tracking skill took a brief breather.

[You have killed a Centaur!]

[3x Experience buff is in effect.]

[Experience increased by 1.5x due to title effect.]

[Experience +0.89%]

[Gold +60]

[Current kill count: 172/100]

[All stats increased by 100% due to Rune of Slaughter effect.]

Kill messages were floating on one side of his vision.

'172 kills in 30 minutes. Not a bad pace.'

There are 2,000 centaurs released in the field total.

At this rate, he might be able to monopolize them all within 6 hours.

'Well, other players will kill some too, so minus a few.'

Ryumin's gaze moved further down.

[Stacks accumulated with Bead of Eternal Rest: 71/100]

[Bead of Eternal Rest current durability: 828/1,000]

[Stat points gained from Bead of Eternal Rest: 11]

Messages about the Bead of Eternal Rest were also appearing in real-time below.

These messages appear when killing monsters while wearing the Bead of Eternal Rest.

'I just need to keep killing centaurs until durability reaches 1 like before, looking at this.'

It's very convenient not having to check the equipment window each time.

'I should ask Russell to repair the durability again when I return.'

While thinking that, he suddenly heard running footsteps.

Turning around, he saw his party members running up panting.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

"Ahh... I'm dying."

Seeing the party members struggling just to follow made him smile.

"Take a break if you're tired."

"Really?"

"Th-thank you!"

At the rest time given after a long while, the party members plopped down on the spot.

Seo A-rin and Heo Tae-seok with low Strength stats sprawled out completely.

"Even just chasing is work, really."

"I thought 100m range would be plenty, but it's not..."

"Yeah, seriously. Whew..."

Though they said that, it couldn't be anything but a happy concern.

They had already leveled up in just 30 minutes.

"Black Scythe-nim. You're really amazing. Your hunting speed is too fast."

"Do you dislike it?"

At Ryumin's mischievous question, Min Juri waved her hands.

"N-no, not at all! How could I dislike leveling up just by following?"

"Is this what they call carrying? Black Scythe-nim must be working harder than us."

Seeing her chance, Seo A-rin cut in, but Ryumin just replied calmly.

"It seems you're working harder than me though."

"Haha..."

As they were catching their breath laughing, a group approached Ryumin.

"Huh? Isn't that Black Scythe?"

"Gasp! It really is!"

The group numbered four.

As a large group of 20 people approached, the party members' laughter died down and they looked wary.

But there was no need to worry.

Those guys wouldn't be crazy enough to attack a party with Black Scythe in it.

Sure enough.

As soon as they saw Ryumin, they bowed their heads politely.

"Hello, Black Scythe-nim. What luck to see you here! Hahaha!"

"Cut to the chase, what do you want?"

"Ah, well, we're recruiting teams to hunt the boss. We were wondering if you'd like to join our group..."

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