100 End of Round 7

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100. End of Round 7

'Finally, I've obtained what I wanted most.'

Being able to use the Authority of Control in reality?

This means he can perfectly control someone as he wishes.

'I've already decided who to use it on.'

As he was grinning, he noticed gazes looking at him.

It was the 9 angels who lost the bet.

'Damn it, who would have thought Black Scythe would get 1st place again!'

'How does that human always get 1st place?'

'Was the solution leaked or something?'

They were beyond dumbfounded and felt angry.

They wanted to pop his head like a balloon right away, but unfortunately they didn't have the ability to kill.

They had already used it early on to establish dominance.

Probably 90% of angels no longer had the ability to kill.

[Hehe, why are you all making such sour faces?]

As Priscilla approached with a smile, the angels cowered like wet dogs.

[N-no. It's nothing.]

[You all don't have any objections to me becoming king, right?]

[O-of course. Priscilla is the king now.]

[That's right. What does our Priscilla want to do now?]

[Who will you assign to guide duty?]

[Wait, wait. Before answering your questions.]

Priscilla's eyes turned cold.

[All of you, kneel before me.]

◀ ROUND 7 END ▶

[All Areas]

└Survivors: 3,463,533

[This Area C2-ESKA003]

└Survivors: 2,461

[Your soul will soon transfer back to your original dimension body.]

[Round 8 will begin at midnight on August 1, 2022. We'll see you in the next round. Congratulations on surviving.]

* * *

"Phew."

The first thing Ma Gyeong-rok did upon returning was look around.

"Is this... a hotel?"

Surely this isn't an illusion too?

With that thought, he pinched his cheeks several times as he looked around the room.

Just in case, he even made a phone call.

"Director Ahn. Have you returned?"

-CEO! I'm glad you're safe.

"This isn't an illusion, right?"

-Pardon? This is reality, CEO.

"Are you sure?"

-I'm sure. The tally results and return congratulations message appeared.

"But we can't know for sure. Even that could be a fabricated illusion."

-Come on, that can't be. Oh, w-wait. What if it really is?

Ahn Sang-cheol suddenly felt anxious after hearing the CEO's words.

"Come to my room for now."

-Understood.

Ma Gyeong-rok soothed himself with whiskey as usual.

Clink-

He held the whiskey glass and looked at the scenery outside the hotel.

Looking at the lights dotting the darkness always calms his mind.

'Did I really return to reality?'

After being fooled by so many illusions, it didn't feel real.

Or rather, he couldn't believe it?

He kept having doubts.

The mental damage Ma Gyeong-rok suffered was that severe.

'What I saw was an illusion?'

The scene of his brothers pressuring him and urging him to commit suicide on the rooftop flashes in his mind.

It was an illusion he never wanted to experience again.

'What if it wasn't an illusion but a vision of the future?'

Thinking it could be a future event made him even more anxious.

He felt he needed to quickly grow the company and gain his father's approval.

Knock knock-

"Come in."

Ahn Sang-cheol entered and politely bowed his head.

"CEO, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just had trouble distinguishing reality for a moment after being fooled by so many illusions."

"What kind of illusion did you see to..."

"..."

Ma Gyeong-rok silently drank his whiskey.

Realizing his mistake, Ahn Sang-cheol bowed his head again.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that..."

"I'll just think of it as an unlucky dream."

Glug glug-

Ma Gyeong-rok turned around and poured whiskey for Ahn Sang-cheol.

"But are you alright, Director Ahn?"

"Ah... I'm not really..."

"What illusion did you see?"

"Well..."

Ahn Sang-cheol couldn't bring himself to say it.

That Ma Gyeong-rok had strangled him.

"Just a dark story..."

"Well, I'm sure everyone had something like that."

Ma Gyeong-rok frowned as he downed his whiskey in one gulp.

"Even though we survived, I feel awful. Ha."

He laughed self-deprecatingly and suddenly thought of someone.

"I wonder if the prophet survived the illusion too?"

"I was curious about that too, so I called on my way here. He's alive."

"Is that so? Well, the one who told us not to be swayed by temptation wouldn't have died."

Ma Gyeong-rok nodded as if it was obvious, but then had a doubt.

"But it's strange. If he knew escaping temptation was the solution, shouldn't the prophet have gotten 1st place across all areas?"

"Huh? That's true."

"But there was no nickname that looked like the prophet's in the results."

As always, Black Scythe was 1st across all areas.

2nd was his fiancée and 3rd was himself.

He didn't know the prophet's nickname, but it definitely wasn't in the rankings.

"A prophet should have rejected the temptation immediately... Did he intentionally delay clearing it?"

"I'm not sure."

It was a puzzling point, but they didn't know.

That you can't even progress if you're aware it's an illusion.

The fact that the prophet survived was nonsensical to begin with.

"Well, we can ask when we meet him later."

Ma Gyeong-rok decided to just go to sleep and dismissed Ahn Sang-cheol.

"Then rest well."

"You too, Director Ahn."

After Ahn Sang-cheol left, Ma Gyeong-rok lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.

"..."

The mental shock was severe.

He wanted to sleep but his eyes were wide open.

That night, Ma Gyeong-rok spent the night with his eyes open.

He was afraid of having nightmares.

* * *

At lunchtime, Ryumin had a meal with Min Juri.

It was to give her information about Round 8 early.

'Did I ask to meet too early? She doesn't look good at all.'

Min Juri's mental state was worse than he expected.

"Juri. What's wrong? No appetite?"

"Ah, no. It's delicious, it tastes good, but..."

Apart from her appetite, the mental shock was severe.

Round 7 was truly a difficult round for Min Juri.

Ryumin probed subtly to read her thoughts.

"Why? What kind of illusion was it? Was it that painful?"

"I-I don't know..."

Unable to say it, Min Juri hung her head low.

She felt like her blushing face would be exposed if she raised her head.

'Ah... It wasn't painful, she's just embarrassed.'

Reading her thoughts, Ryumin awkwardly cleared his throat.

It seems she had trouble rejecting the temptation despite his advice.

"Whatever illusion it was, forget about Round 7. It's already a past round."

"Y-yeah, I should."

"Anyway, I have something to tell you about Round 8."

Ryumin prophesied as usual.

Jeffrey was nearby using invisibility, but there was no need to be careful.

He was intentionally saying it for him to hear.

'He'll probably relay my prophecy to Christine.'

Given Christine's personality, she won't believe it with just one prophecy.

That's why it's fine if he eavesdrops.

It's better to let him hear to gain Christine's trust.

"So NPCs will appear in Round 8?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if they're created NPCs or actual beings from another world."

This time, Ryumin explained the strategy in as much detail as possible.

Unlike Round 7, Round 8 has many elements for gaining experience.

In other words, it's a round where you need to clear various things to level up as much as possible.

Ryumin is essentially helping with that now.

"And there's one more thing to know."

"What is it?"

"For Round 8, you won't be able to go with Black Scythe."

"Huh? Why?"

He explained the reason for that too.

Min Juri opened her eyes wide as if she couldn't understand.

"Why? Black Scythe..."

"I don't know why he's making that choice either. I just see the future."

Ryumin said shamelessly and looked at the puzzled Min Juri.

Suddenly, the illusion he experienced before came to mind.

Her being stabbed and used because she knew his identity.

'That was just an illusion. Just like a bad dream.'

There's no way Min Juri would be in danger from knowing his identity.

'Because I won't let that happen.'

Ryumin made a firm resolution.

To never let those around him be in danger.

* * *

"The only thing to believe in this world is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone, confess and receive salvation. Hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah!"

"Lord Jesus!"

"We believe, we believe!"

Leaving behind the prayers of numerous believers, Nathan returned to the pastor's office after finishing the service.

Christine was waiting for her father with a somewhat sullen face.

"Hm? When did you get here?"

"Just now."

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Shouldn't you ask about Round 7 first?"

"I already heard about that from Jeffrey. It was a wicked round full of illusions?"

"Yes."

"What illusion did you see?"

"An illusion related to you, Father."

"Me?"

"You were... being threatened by the believers. I was put in a situation where I had no choice but to commit suicide."

"...That's quite something. The more I think about it, the more wicked that sorcery is."

"It was done by the angels you believe in, Father."

"No, that can't be. Those are demons in the guise of angels. Satan often appears before us in familiar forms."

"Then are you saying all of this isn't God's will?"

"Of course not. Is your faith lacking? Or have you been bewitched by demons?"

"It's just... seeing an illusion of everything I believed in betraying me made me feel uneasy."

"Unnecessary worries. You are the messiah and savior sent by God to this chaotic world. You just need to focus on leveling up and saving people. Don't think about anything else."

"Yes..."

"And about that prophet you mentioned before."

"That Korean person?"

"Yes. I asked Jeffrey, and it seems his prophecy was somewhat accurate."

"You mean about not being swayed by temptation? That's right. Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, but it turned out to be the key to clearing the quest."

"It seems we should get closer to that prophet."

"Pardon?"

Christine's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words.

It didn't sound like something her conservative father would say.

"Are you believing him just because one prophecy was right?"

"If the prophecies are accurate, there's no harm in getting help, is there?"

"But it could have been a lucky guess..."

"I had Jeffrey investigate, and he doesn't seem to be a dangerous person."

"You had him investigated?"

"He seemed to be an ordinary prophet who just goes between home and work."

"..."

Christine didn't blame her father for the investigation.

Rather, she understood.

She knew it was because of her inability to trust people easily.

It was the same before accepting Ma Gyeong-rok as her fiancé.

'I had Jeffrey investigate him for a whole week back then.'

She accepted him as her fiancé because there was nothing particularly suspicious.

"Do you think we absolutely need that person's help, Father?"

"Isn't your fiancé already receiving help? They're even business partners."

"But there's still a possibility he's a fraud..."

"Then how about this, Christine?"

Jeffrey returned at a timely moment.

"Jeffrey. What are you suddenly saying?"

"I just obtained information about Round 8 from that person."

It wasn't so much obtained as eavesdropped, but that didn't matter.

The important thing was the information.

"Round 8? You heard a prophecy?"

"Yes. He spoke quite in detail this time. If Christine can't believe it, we can judge after experiencing Round 8."

"Hmm. Not a bad idea."

"I'll do that then."

But soon after, the three realized they didn't need to eavesdrop.

Because they received a call from Ma Gyeong-rok, who felt bad about keeping the prophecy to himself.

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