Chapter 159 - The Devil's Blessing
Before Bayer's arrival.
Ryu Min called Yamti.
"Yamti, do you remember what I asked you before? Tame 100 wheatworms. Have you done it?"
"Of course, leader. Only 100? I brought up to 1,000."
Yamti's profession is a tamer.
He can control and handle animals, insects, and monsters, excluding humans.
Of course, it's not always possible, and the probability increases as the intelligence and quality of the taming target decrease.
Therefore, taming 100 wheatworms was not difficult for Yamti.
"Just in case, I ask, besides wheatworms, what else have you tamed?"
"From goblins to the monsters I've caught, I've tamed them by types. I couldn't tame bosses like the minotaur; it seems they have a high level."
"It will be possible later. Now your level is low, so that's what happens."
There was no limit to the number of monsters Yamti could tame.
Just like putting infinite items in the inventory, he could collect monsters and insects without limits.
However, there was a limit to the number of monsters he could summon simultaneously.
To say that he couldn't summon hundreds of tamed monsters.
"Try summoning only 100."
"Yes!"
When Yamti used the skill, 100 wheatworms appeared on the ground.
Even common insects in reality could be brought to another world through Yamti's taming.
Snap!
[Current Kill Count: 100/100]
[Effect of Rune of Slaughter: All statistics increase by 100%.]
After killing the 100 at once, the Rune of Slaughter buff instantly filled up.
He laughed as he watched, but a light blinked in front of him.
An angel appeared who sent Kallen's distress signal.
'Hmm.'
Ryu Min observed silently.
The strength of the angel can be seen through its wings.
'I can consider that the more numerous or long the wings are, the stronger it is.'
But the battle angel in front of Ryu Min had short wings.
Of course, they were longer than those of a common angel like Kallen.
'With four wings and the length, it will be approximately a rank 6 angel.'
Knowing the rank of the angel was natural for Ryu Min, thanks to his previous experiences.
He had learned many things by torturing angels.
Although he didn't know advanced information, he had a good knowledge of basic information in the Celestial Realm.
Therefore, Ryu Min didn't feel the need to continue torturing angels.
'I just have to kill them.'
As he could read thoughts with the Rune of Inner Thoughts, he didn't need to ask for information.
That the angel in front of him was named Bayer, that he trusted his divine sword, all of that was known without saying a word.
'First, let's try a potion.'
Despite what Bayer said, Ryu Min ignored him and took out a potion to use.
It was an intermediate potion that increased all statistics by 8.
It wasn't a large amount, but to take advantage of the initial reward, he had to increase the statistics even if it was a little.
He had also used the Rune of Slaughter to face the angel instead of using divine transformation.
[You have turned into an evil spirit.]
[All statistics, damage, attack speed, movement speed increase by 44%.]
[All damage received from enemies is reduced by 44%.]
[The probability of enemies realizing themselves decreases by 44%.]
"It might be like using a sword to kill chickens, but there's no other choice."
Before activating divine transformation, he tested a bit, and when the battle angel died, he leaped into action with his sword.
Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo...
Despite having a considerable speed, it didn't reach Ryu Min.
Not that it didn't, even his current agility surpassed 8,800.
"Round buff, Rune of Balance, Rune of Slaughter, First Angel Slayer, even Min Juri's buff."
When everything multiplied, the increase was astonishing.
With divine transformation applied, his statistics were truly amazing.
[Crack, Crunch...!]
Bayer fell, spraying blood with just one swing of Ryu Min's scythe.
He ordered Kallen, who was lost in her thoughts, to bring more.
Meanwhile, Ryu Min checked the message that appeared after killing Bayer.
[You have killed a battle angel.]
[It has been confirmed that you are the player who has killed a battle angel for the first time.]
(The benefit "Devil's Blessing" has been applied as a reward for killing the first battle angel).
(The "Rune of Devil" has been awarded as a reward for killing the first battle angel).
[The acquired rune is automatically engraved on the player's body.]
Killing just one battle angel generated a series of messages.
The rewards for the first achievement were quite abundant.
"The best part is the Devil's Blessing."
Ryu Min's gaze turned to the next message that appeared.
[You have received the Devil's Blessing.]
[Based on the current total statistics (40,890), the following effects will be applied.]
[When you kill an angel, you will obtain gold equivalent to 1 time the base (40,890). It can increase up to 1,000 times (40,890,000) depending on the level of the angel.]
[When you kill an angel, you will obtain statistic points equivalent to 0.01% of the base (4). It can increase up to 10% (4,089) depending on the level of the angel.]
[When you kill an angel, the reputation of the devil's camp will increase slightly.]
[The buff will persist until the end of the round.]
The Devil's Blessing is an amazing buff that allows you to gain statistics and gold every time you kill an angel.
The rewards increase up to 1,000 times depending on the level of the enemy angel.
"Just looking at the minimum, you can see how incredible it is."
In the current state, he would get 4 statistic points and 40,890 gold for each slain angel.
"It's truly amazing."
It was like leveling up every time he killed someone.
"Even this is just the minimum. The stronger the angel, the more I'll go up."
Of course, if it were someone else, they wouldn't have gained so many benefits.
He was able to obtain such rewards due to all the various buffs that inflated his statistics.
The value of the rewards is determined based on the statistics when receiving the blessing.
"The reason I wanted to increase my statistics, even a little, was for this."
The only drawback is that the buff only lasts until the end of the round...
"But that's not a problem. I have the Rune of Devil."
[Devil's Blessing]
-Effect: After killing 100 angels, you can use the 'Devil's Blessing' buff again.
Even after the round ends, if you have the Rune of Devil, you can receive the blessing again at any time.
Although angels are presumed to be killed.
"We can't leave it with just one angel. At least 100 must die. Whether to receive the blessing reward, or to rewrite the devil's blessing next time."
After calculating the remaining time, Ryu Min realized that he had at least an hour to hunt angels.
The rest of the time had to be devoted to completing secondary missions.
"Hey."
[...Yes?]
"Summon more."
Ryu Min ordered Kallen to summon more angels.
At first, five appeared, then ten.
The outcome was predictable.
[You have defeated the Grade 5 angel 'Laphir'!]
[Stat points +8]
[Gold +81,780]
[Angels defeated: 15/100]
[You have defeated the Grade 5 angel 'Belru'!]
[Stat points +8]
[Gold +81,780]
[Angels defeated: 16/100]
"They are all Grade 5 or 6 angels. Send some stronger ones."
This time, ten angels also appeared.
Looking at their wings, they seemed to be Grade 4 angels.
[You are a human who kills angels.]
"Daring to fight without fear. You should die as painfully as possible."
"You look like a pitiful human. You must be unlucky."
But, in fact, the unlucky ones were the angels, not Ryu Min.
Given the exaggerated inflation of stats, the situation was resolved with a few swings of the rake scythe.
[You have defeated the Grade 4 angel 'Bolua'!]
[Stat points +16]
[Gold +163,560]
[Angels defeated: 26/100]
"Even if they are Grade 2 or 3, send someone stronger."
There was no time, and he hoped for something stronger to appear.
However, he had no worries about being discovered by the seven archangels.
"There's no chance the high-ranking aristocrat will appear quietly."
Moreover, why would the selfish angels move because a few soldiers died?
If they were to appear, it would be more likely out of boredom.
"After reaching 100, I can go complete the secondary mission."
Had he killed about 50?
When he took down Grade 4 angels, his stats increased rapidly.
So, an unexpected factor appeared.
"Hmm, killing angels in a place like this?"
Unlike before, Ryu Min stayed silent at the appearance of an angel with long and colorful wings.
"Is this guy... maybe one of the seven archangels?"
It was evident that this angel had exceptional power, judging by its wings.
Majestic wings that probably exceeded 20 meters when spread out.
A total of eight wings were visible.
"Definitely one of the seven archangels."
He could recognize Grade 1 angels from experience.
They couldn't have more than six wings.
"But looking at his face, he's not the same as the one I met in the last iteration."
Although he didn't have the overwhelming strength of previous encounters, this angel was also formidable.
"What's going on? How come one of the seven archangels suddenly appears?"
Originally, after killing the 100 angels, everything should have ended.
Nothing should have happened.
It had already been like that in the previous iteration and the one before that.
That's why he was calm, but now someone he had never seen before appeared.
"Has the future changed?"
Ryu Min immediately tensed up as he watched the individual, trying to understand what he was saying.
[Are you Black Scythe?]
"Do you know my nickname?"
[Seeing that you're using the scythe, it seems so. Also, there are no errors in the Akashic Records.]
"Akashic Records?"
It was a word he had heard before.
When he defeated the High Orc in a second and surpassed the Trial Tower on the 99th floor.
On those occasions, a message always appeared saying that he had been registered in the Akashic Records.
[You set two astonishing records, so I came to see. I also heard that you're killing my valuable soldiers.]
"Oh."
Finally, Ryu Min could infer the cause of the variable.
"Originally, at this moment, I should have been registered in the Akashic Records only once, by surpassing the Trial Tower. But I achieved it twice."
Killing the High Orc in a second was something new this time.
Apparently, that was what created the variable.
"What should I do? Should I fight? Although there don't seem to be enemies for now..."
His thoughts were understandable.
He simply appeared out of curiosity.
But in his attitude was a contempt for humans.
And looking deeper, Ryu Min could understand.
No matter what it is, he intends to eliminate himself.
"This has become a bit complicated. What should I do? Will there be a chance of winning if I fight?"
In a brief moment, Ryu Min unraveled his thoughts as he desperately gathered information about his opponent.
He also found out that his name was Remiel.
He is part of the Seven Archangels, occupying the lowest rank and possessing the power of lightning.
"He can read minds like other angels and see the future seven seconds ahead. Maybe there's a chance."
At some point, he had wished to challenge the Seven Archangels.
He wondered what reward he would get if he killed him.
Since even common angels had hidden rewards, the system would probably offer rewards to the Seven Archangels as well.
"The unfortunate thing is that there's no time to hesitate."
If he is going to fight, he must do it now.
The transformation is about to end.
"If I kill Yamti's monsters, I'll be able to reset time."
But Ryu Min paid no attention to Yamti.
He didn't even give her a glance.
To avoid being disturbed, she hid in a secluded corner from the start.
If he called her unnecessarily, Yamti might be in danger.
"Yamti's skill must continue to be used. I can't let her die here just to maintain the transformation buff."
Time was of the essence.
There were only ten seconds left until the transformation ended.
Whatever it is, someone must be killed to reset the time.
If he is going to fight against the Seven Archangels, then...
"In that case..."
Ryu Min's gaze turned to Kallen, who was next to Remiel.
The rake scythe unfolded quickly.
At the same time, Remiel opened his mouth.
"Why are you silent? Can't you at least have a conversation with me...?"
Crackling.
Kallen's head burst into pieces, and blood splattered towards Remiel.
At the same time, Ryu Min's transformation time reset.
"Ready!"
Fortunately, he was able to maintain the transformation, but Remiel's expression showed anger similar to that of an Archangel.
"There's no need for words, right?"
Sparks flew from Remiel's entire body, which showed signs of fury.
"I will kill you as you wish, human."