Chapter 243 - Variables
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
As Ryu Min emerged from the arrivals area, a woman of singular beauty stood out.
It was Christine.
She greeted him enthusiastically with a bright smile.
"Mr. Ryu Min, welcome to our country! Did you have any trouble during your journey?"
"I traveled first class, so everything was comfortable."
"Well, of course, after becoming a multimillionaire selling stocks... Oh, please, don't take offense. I'm not mocking you at all."
It was a well-known fact that Ma Gyeong-rok's company had failed, especially to his fiancée.
In the process, Ryu Min sold all the stocks he had, but Christine didn't see Ryu Min in a negative light for being a prophet.
He wasn't a normal fiancé, after all; he was a fiancé who tried to kill her.
"Would you like to leave before the atmosphere gets somber? I know a good restaurant. How about goose liver?"
"I'm not a big fan of goose liver..."
"Haha, just kidding!"
After finishing dinner at a nearby steakhouse, Christine took Ryu Min to a cocktail bar.
"What do you think of this place? Is it spacious and comfortable enough?"
"Yes, although a bit noisy, it's a good place to have a conversation."
There were a lot of people, and the music was loud.
Although it was hard to hear voices, it made having private conversations easier.
However, it was uncomfortable having to get so close to talk.
"Would you like a cocktail or a beer?"
"I prefer a cocktail."
After choosing from the menu, the bartender brought the drinks.
"Do you drink often?"
"No, I quit. Not that I don't drink at all."
"You speak like someone who has drunk quite a bit."
"Wanna bet? Try to resist when you're in your right mind."
It was quite emotionally difficult when he lost the people and his only remaining brother.
He was so caught up in drinking, but every time he came back, he could break free from the habit.
Now he was completely sober.
"I didn't expect to see the Prophet drinking like this."
"Neither did I."
"You can't predict this kind of thing in the future, can you?"
"It's not that you can't predict, you just don't see it. The future is quite unpredictable."
"Well, what about our relationship then?"
"Our relationship?"
"Yes, I mean... how will our relationship develop in the future?"
"So that was the intention."
Although he could have asked in a quieter place, he decided to do it at the cocktail bar...
"Maybe you gained courage with the help of alcohol, but I can't give you an answer. I simply don't know what the future holds."
"Even if it's not clear what happens in the future, can't you see something more concrete, like us becoming closer in the future?"
"I can't even see that. Even if I did, I couldn't say it. Mentioning it would change the future as soon as I did."
Christine took a sip of her cocktail with a disappointed expression.
"What were you expecting?"
In that situation, Ryu Min kept his tongue in check; he couldn't show his displeasure.
This time, she had to take on an important role.
"Setting that aside, I'll talk about Round 15."
"Yes..."
Ryu Min emphasized as he explained the mission and strategy of Round 15.
There's no round more important than this one.
"There will be many casualties. It's a round as difficult as threading a camel through the eye of a needle."
"So what should we do?"
"First, take this."
Ryu Min pulled out a bottle of potion from his inventory.
[Supreme Invisibility Potion]
-Category: Consumable
-Rank: Unique
-Effect: Invisibility for 30 minutes
-Usage Restriction: Expert rank or higher
-Description: Allows you to conceal your appearance. However, it is automatically nullified upon attacking or being attacked.
Christine muttered as she read the information.
"An invisibility potion?"
"Use it as soon as the first mission starts. Then you'll be able to tackle the task smoothly."
"You've even given us this... Thank you."
"For the second, follow the strategy I mentioned earlier. However, in the third mission, Christine, your role is crucial. You must cast massive heals to prevent as many deaths as possible."
"Will that be enough to save people?"
"It's more than enough. Can you keep it up for 30 minutes?"
"If I concentrate, I can maintain massive heals for as long as needed. The problem is... massive heals don't work on me."
Christine had a worried expression.
"What can we do? If the pain is so intense, I might not be able to save people before dying myself..."
"Don't worry about that. Black Scythe will protect you."
"Black Scythe?"
Her eyes, which were sad a moment ago, gleamed like those of a child.
"He will protect me?"
"Yes. I've already said that both the strategy and protecting Christine are imperative. So he will definitely protect you."
"Oh, I see."
Although she was worried that it wasn't voluntary protection, Christine's face lit up anyway.
After all, receiving help from Black Scythe was comforting.
"Drink as much as you want! I'll take care of surviving."
------------
Even a player who breaks walls with their own hands is ultimately human.
"Who drinks until they get drunk, gets really drunk."
That's what Christine said here.
"They say you've been drinking a lot..."
Ryu Min muttered as he carried Christine on his back.
Cocktails are alcohol too.
If you keep insisting they taste good, you'll end up like this.
"I should've realized from the beginning that strong cocktails are dangerous..."
Ryu Min let out an obvious sigh, but Christine, on his back, was fast asleep, oblivious to everything.
"I should at least take her back to the church. I can't wake her up like this."
Walking to the church would take about 20 minutes.
It doesn't seem too far, so they drank leisurely.
But it seems they were too leisurely.
"Tsk, hey, chink."
They even attracted this kind of thugs.
"Could you stop with the foul language?"
Ryu Min halted his steps.
Three men walked leisurely behind him.
They were the white thugs who had been following them from the bar.
"I can't allow those kind of fools to follow us all the way to the church."
That was the reason Ryu Min obediently stopped.
The thugs thought Ryu Min stopped because they scared him.
"Does the kid understand any English?"
"But he's Chinese, right? Or Japanese?"
"What does it matter? Anyway, we only need one girl."
"Hey, Asian monkey. Are you skilled? Where did you get that girl from?"
"It looks like they're looking for a motel tonight, should we help?"
The thugs, chuckling to themselves, didn't even consider surrounding Ryu Min.
He just pulled out his gun from his pocket.
"If you don't want a hole in your lungs, let go of the girl and vanish quietly."
"After we treat the girl well, we'll take her home, so don't worry."
As they aimed their guns, they realized he was a civilian.
"He probably isn't a player, if he was, he wouldn't be carrying a gun, right?"
Despite the threats, Ryu Min had no intention of yielding.
He simply turned his head towards Christine on his back, trying to read her thoughts.
"I can't seem to read her thoughts, she's completely closed off."
What a relief.
It would be troublesome if Christine found out what was about to happen.
"Why isn't this guy responding?"
"I thought he stopped when we told him to, I thought he understood some English."
"Wait a moment, doesn't that guy seem young? Could he be a player?"
"And so what if he is? Are these guys made of steel or something?"
"Anyway, there's no humans who can overcome a gun."
The men could only rely on themselves.
With three guns pointed at him and a girl on his back, he couldn't do anything.
Of course, it was all an illusion of civilians who had never encountered a player.
"They know they're lucky, right?"
"What?"
"Dying painlessly is lucky."
"What the hell...?"
Before Ryu Min could finish speaking, the heads of the three fell to the ground.
Thump-thump-thump.
Almost simultaneously, darkness daggers flew slicing the thugs' throats.
He intentionally aimed for the throat so Christine wouldn't wake up with the sound of gunshots.
Swish-swish-swish.
Before the blood from the fallen bodies could form puddles, he erased the crime scene to remove any trace.
"It's good that nothing bad happened."
Confirming he couldn't read Christine's thoughts, Ryu Min felt relieved and left.
The smell of blood in the quiet alley tickled Christine's nose.
----------------
After laying Christine down in the church, Ryu Min stepped out and made a call.
"Immediately gather the followers of the Church of Despair. We need to see if there are any variables."
-And what should we do after gathering them?
"After gathering them... Ryu Min explained in detail what John should say in front of the followers.
-Understood, we'll do it according to your orders.
After that, Ryu Min spread his wings and flew towards Florida, the secret meeting place of the Church of Despair.
A distance of over 1,500 km.
"It'll be faster to run than fly."
He folded his wings and began running through the air as if he were on solid ground, using the boots of Thanatos that allowed him to walk through darkness.
Zoom!
As he sped along, there was a sonic boom, as if a plane were passing by.
Though it was a bit bothersome in the middle of the night, he reached Florida in less than 30 minutes.
"It seems the followers are already gathered."
After seeing people enter the warehouse, Ryu Min descended to the street and put on the feathers of Hermes.
"Invisibility."
His appearance and presence had completely vanished.
Thanks to the rune of stealth, his presence wouldn't even be detected, making it perfect for surveillance.
Entering through the open warehouse door, the followers of Despair were seen gathered.
"I see there are 22, including John Delgado."
As instructed beforehand, John was expressing his opinion to the followers.
"The Church of the Four Gods has come to other countries and is intercepting players. This is clearly an act of usurping authority. From today, we define the Church of the Four Gods as enemies and will target their leader, Black Scythe. However, until Round 15 ends, we won't pose any threat."
"One moment, Master."
The cardinal, Berber, immediately raised an objection.
"Is there no plan? Didn't I mention in the officer meeting that we should kidnap the Saint?"
"That plan is on hold. It's too risky."
"Too risky? Wouldn't it be the best way to suppress the Black Scythe?"
"Do you think Black Scythe is foolish? He'll probably be surrounded by hundreds of guards. It's not enough for us 22 to handle them."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"It would be more realistic to wait until Round 15 ends and then target. By then, half of the capital of the Church of the Four Gods might be in pieces."
"But we'll also lose forces by then, what...?"
"Did you forget who has the final authority? It's already decided, so don't argue."
While John Delgado gave his speech, Ryu Min looked through the minds of the followers one by one.
"Most of these guys are loyal to John. Enough to die for him. However..."
One of them harbored feelings of resentment towards the leader.
None other than Berber.
"Screw you bastard. Do you think by making friends with someone in the rear, you become the real leader? Because of him, the Church of Despair might collapse. It would be better to kill that bastard and take my place as the next leader. That's the shortcut to saving the Church of Despair."
Seeing Berber with feelings of betrayal, Ryu Min, invisible, smirked maliciously.
"I found him, the variable."
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