Chapter 237 - Tenth Wave
In the past, Ryu Min had to gather information about the officers to control the Pseva Platform.
Nicknames, habits, tone of voice, behavior, faces, tendencies, occupations, runes, etc.
Whenever he could gather and utilize information, he did so.
It was also thanks to that information that he could exploit Lost Yak's status.
For Ryu Min, remembering the nicknames of the officers of the Pseva Platform was not a difficult task.
"A little mukbang. Surely one of the eight officers of the Pseva Platform."
Although he had been dismissed at some point in the game, at first, he was clearly one of the leaders of the Pseva Platform.
"That guy has survived until this round."
He thought he must have some skill, but anyway, it was okay.
The important thing was that he avoided the gaze of others, which was suspicious.
"I'll have to check it out."
Ryu Min approached and read the individual's thoughts.
Even though he was facing away, he could unravel his thoughts just by looking at his head.
"That bastard..."
Ryu Min made a rarely seen surprised expression.
"Is he the one who received the fortune of the Archangel?"
He didn't know that the Archangel would use such an insignificant player.
But what really surprised him was the method.
"They can strip a player of their qualification by moving them to heaven..."
The possibility of losing his qualification was something that Ryu Min discovered for the first time.
He had never been in heaven, and this was the first time he faced a murder threat from the Archangels.
"There's no way back once you've been sent to heaven."
He would probably spend his time in heaven unable to return and lose his qualification.
"What does losing the player's qualification mean?"
Did it mean losing all the power of the system? Or just being excluded from the survival game?
"It's probably the former."
He said he could come back as an ordinary person, which meant he would lose all the power he had as a player.
"It's a threatening method. Now I understand why the Archangels didn't get directly involved."
Ryu Min looked at his prey with a cautious gaze.
"If he recites the Archangel's spell and memorizes it, he can be forcibly transported..."
The reason why the individual was doubting himself was because of this.
He was waiting for the opportunity to receive the Archangel's order and be sent to heaven.
"He would surely take advantage of the confusion during the Tenth Wave."
The individual who was an officer of the Pseva Platform had bad intentions towards him, but Ryu Min didn't want or need to know what.
"The important thing is that he's targeting me."
Now that he knew the method, he could also handle the situation.
"Killing him would be easy, but the problem is that he's my teammate."
There was no way to kill a teammate.
He could only wait for the round to end before something happened to him first.
"I can't allow that."
Ryu Min thought of a solution and checked the remaining time.
[Time remaining until the next Wave: 00:17:41]
It seemed he could handle the situation before the Wave began.
"Yamti."
"Oh, Mr. Black Scythe? Is there something I can help you with?"
"There's someone you need to dominate."
"Who is it?"
Ryu Min glanced at a place.
"Do you see that? The nickname is Little Mukbang."
"Little Mukbang...?"
Yamti's eyes widened like those of a rabbit.
"That insignificant guy is still alive?"
"Do you know his face?"
"Yes. He used to be an officer in the Guild with me."
"Dominate him. Since there's no space, release Jeffrey from domination."
"Uh, that, that seems a bit complicated."
"Why?"
Yamti, confused, sighed before speaking.
"I used to dominate him before. I tried to get information out of Little Mukbang..."
Once someone has been released from domination, they cannot be dominated again.
It's like missing an opportunity.
Yamti bowed his head as if ashamed.
"...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. That was before you met me, right?"
If domination wasn't possible, another method was needed.
Fortunately, Ryu Min remembered someone.
"I used to have four slaves under domination."
"The members of Messiah?"
"Yes. Give orders to those guys right now. Tell them that..."
After hearing the explanation, Yamti nodded.
"Do I just need to suppress them as you said?"
"Yes. But you have to stealthily approach so they don't notice. They might escape."
Why suppress Little Mukbang?
Although he was intrigued by the reason, Yamti was a slave.
He would do what his owner ordered.
"Understood. I'll do it right away."
----------------
"Wow... I almost got caught."
Little Mukbang shivered upon encountering Black Scythe.
He just looked at them, but he trembled nervously. Surely, it was because of the upcoming confrontation.
"B-but... they didn't catch me, right?"
He glanced sideways and saw that Black Scythe was looking in another direction.
Apparently, they hadn't caught him.
"Phew, I almost messed everything up before it even started."
In ten minutes, the tenth wave would begin.
If people and Black Scythe were confused, then it would be the right time to act, as predicted by the Archangel.
"But, there's nothing to fear. It's just something simple. I'll hide among the crowd, wait for my chance, approach, pull out the book, and recite the spell. That's it. See? Simple, right?"
That way, he could send Black Scythe away, whom he would rather never see again.
To the paradise from which he would never return.
"Alright. I'll be ready to move in about three minutes..."
Then, it happened.
Four men pounced on him like beasts.
"You, what are you doing! Let go of me!"
When they grabbed him by the arms, he couldn't move an inch.
He thought of checking their nicknames to see if he knew them.
"Yang Qiwen, Jang, Dark Soul, The Spanish... Are all these new? I've never seen them before..."
It was bewildering to be grabbed by strangers with no previous connection.
"Let go of me! Damn it!"
"...."
They said nothing and, from their expressions, they seemed indifferent, like machines carrying out orders without concerns.
"This is a nuisance. Who the hell grabs someone like this in the middle of the Apocalypse...?"
As he couldn't harm them in a group, he felt powerless and furious.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you acting like this? Huh? Do you know? I don't know. Could you at least tell me why you're doing this all of a sudden? Huh?"
As expected, there was no response.
In the end, there was no choice but to struggle forcefully, but with four people grabbing his legs, his body felt as heavy as a sack of water.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
"Four against one? Are they trying to take down one person together?"
"What kind of unpleasant game is this?"
"It's not like homosexuality is shameful these days, but..."
"Why would they want to do this even in another world?"
"Somehow, it's admirable, that man."
The mukbang, hearing whispering voices around him, yelled as if it were unfair.
"It's a misunderstanding! I'm not that kind of person! These guys don't even know me!"
"I don't know. But they're clinging onto you this hard."
"You don't know? Let go of me! Leave me alone, you fools!"
I struggled, but it was impossible to resist the strength of four people alone.
Seeing no solution, I finally sought help from those nearby.
"Please, help me! There are people I don't know holding onto me like this! Please, separate them from me!"
"People you don't know?"
"Really?"
Although some people hesitated at my desperate plea, it was only for a moment.
The members of Mesías, who had not spoken a word until now, intervened one by one.
"I'll do better in the future."
"Weren't we good friends, right?"
"Please don't abandon me, Mukbang."
"I love you, brother."
The final words of Dark Soul seemed decisive, causing those who doubted to purse their lips and walk away.
"Well, then."
"I was a fool to doubt for a moment."
Watching people leave, I desperately pleaded.
"Hey, you! I said I don't know you. Please, help me!"
"We're not getting involved in other people's love affairs, so... we're out."
"Have a good love."
People who believed it was just a casual matter avoided the mukbang.
Finally, within a 10-meter radius, there were only four people clinging to me like ticks.
----------------
Ryumin frowned as he helplessly watched the small mukbang surrounded by Mesías members.
"Although I can't kill them, I can immobilize them."
The order Ryu Min gave to the Mesías members was simple.
Grab the arms and legs of the small mukbang like ticks.
And if anyone nearby seemed willing to help, mutter a line as if they were people who couldn't forget their departed lover.
The effect was excellent.
They couldn't approach me; they could only watch.
"This should prevent any threat."
How dare an insignificant player scheme something behind the scenes?
"I can't do anything for now since we're on a team, but I'll give them what they deserve after this round."
With that in mind, Ryu Min prepared for the tenth wave.
It would start soon.
A confusing wave.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1...."
When the remaining time reached zero, the final wave was revealed.
[Tenth Wave]
[Players 4,608 vs Parasite 1]
[This round has no time limit.]
[To clear the round, kill the parasite!]
Players were stunned to see the mission revealed.
"Face just one?"
"A parasite? Is it a boss-level enemy?"
Although they had killed hundreds, even thousands of High Orcs until now, facing just one was completely new.
"It'll be fine. With 5,000 together, can't we handle it?"
"Then, as I was saying, we also have Black Scythe."
However, players were perplexed just after seeing the next message.
[Special rules will be applied to adjust the balance.]
[The special rules for the Tenth Wave will be confidential.]
"Confidential?"
While the opponents were revealed, the rules remained secret.
Though bewildered, they soon regained their confidence.
After all, they thought there would be no problem if Black Scythe showed up.
Even Ryu Min, the implicated one, was confident.
Until they faced it head-on.
"Was it on Round 44? I remember being too arrogant and falling to the parasites."
It was during a period when he was brimming with confidence due to his rapid growth and skill.
Regardless of the special rules, he had died facing them without even checking the nature of the rules.
"In hindsight, it was foolish. I should have observed how others approached the situation to understand the rules... But well, would it have changed the outcome anyway?"
The confidential special rules were as follows:
<Special: 90% of damage dealt to parasites is reflected.>
Damage reflection.
Be it physical or magical.
Any damage dealt to parasites is returned to the attacker.
Nothing less than 90% of the damage inflicted by oneself.
"In the end, you have to face the parasites with only 10% of the damage you do."
But it wasn't as easy as it sounds.
Where would you find someone who could withstand your own damage if you weren't a tank?
Especially for attack-focused dealers, parasites were a formidable opponent, to say the least.
"Like a moth drawn to the light, many died facing their own damage. Thousands of players."
There was no way to evade the rule of damage reflection, whether attacking melee or at a distance.
Therefore, although many players surged forward, they couldn't defeat the parasites, and in the end, they were forced to flee once they understood the situation.
Because they knew they would die if they risked it needlessly.
"But still, you'd die without taking the risk."
Though it was stated in the message, the tenth wave had no time limit.
Escaping wouldn't solve anything.
There was no space to flee, blocked by a semi-transparent barrier.
"Grrrk, grrr!"
A large parasitic creature appeared in front of them.
With a face resembling that of a frog and a hard shell like an insect, it swayed back and forth, the size of a house.
Although its appearance was ridiculous.
"It's not an opponent you should underestimate. Though it may seem so, the tongue of parasites is as fast as lightning."
There was no way to avoid being caught by its long tongue and being devoured.
It could only be killed.
"In the past, thousands sacrificed their lives like moths drawn to the light to catch it. But now?"
It wasn't necessary for people to sacrifice themselves.
He could do it himself.
"Why is that frog-looking creature so big?"
"You don't have to be afraid. Let's attack together..."
"Everyone, step back."
Halting the larger players who rushed to attack the parasites, Ryu Min stepped forward.
"I'll take care of it."
Although there was a 90% damage reflection, there was no problem.
Because he had a trick up his sleeve that made him invincible.
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