Chapter 247 - Dark Illusion
"Hey, didn't you hear that sound?"
"Ugh, it gave me goosebumps."
"Ugh...."
The screams of the dark illusion are not ordinary.
With a voice that touches primal fear, it systematically induces an abnormal 'terror' state.
That's why some players are trembling.
"It's not something that affects you 100%, though."
Before starting, thanks to the blessing granted by Christine, many people were able to resist the fear.
Ryu Min, of course, didn't have to worry.
"With the current blessing, the probability of being affected by fear is 2.45%. Plus, even if it does, it would only last for 0.07 seconds."
With already high resistance, receiving a blessing that halves the probability of being affected by altered states is like ensuring you won't be affected at all.
"It can even be said that the screams of the dark illusion have no effect."
But what was terrifying wasn't the altered state itself.
"Where is it?"
"I heard the sound, but I can't see it."
For the dark illusion, darkness is like water for fish.
It's fast and hard to see, not an easy monster to handle.
"Even motion detection doesn't work, and it's hard to see with the naked eye."
Of course, there are simple ways to deal with it.
Shining with light can bring it out of the darkness and make it easy to kill.
But that doesn't work here.
It's specially designed to favor the dark illusion.
And that's how...
"Oh, the light isn't turning on?"
"Guys, something weird is going on."
"Someone use a skill to reveal what's happening!"
"It's not working, at all!"
When they tried to illuminate the darkness a bit, the flames quickly extinguished like a candle in the wind.
In the midst of total darkness, while being alert and vigilant...
"Aaah! My, my arm!"
From somewhere, a scream was heard.
Looking to where the sound came from, one could vaguely see a player trembling with their arm cut off.
Tch-tch!
Then, a blade came out of their chest and they died.
It was the first sacrifice.
However, people couldn't detect where the monsters were.
Uuuuuu, only terrifying sounds were heard.
"Aaah!
It's here! The monster is here!"
The second scream came even more terrifying.
Tchuuuk!
"Aaah!"
Screams were heard everywhere.
When they looked up, they could see several figures moving in the darkness, wearing long, tattered robes.
Those were the dark illusions.
"Where the hell did all these come from?"
"Be careful!"
"Damn, that guy cut my arm!"
"Kill them! Fight them!"
"Didn't you read the message? They're invincible!"
"We have no choice but to flee!"
There were approximately more than 100 dark illusions.
They swim in the darkness like fish in running water.
Now that people realize the existence of the dark illusions, escaping is not easy at all due to their large number and swift movements.
"Aaah!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Tchuuuk!
They passed by swiftly, scratching with their long nails, causing sharp pain.
"Fleeing from so many?"
"By the way, aren't these monsters? Why aren't they detected in motion detection?"
"Just run and don't say anything!"
People run around, trying to escape.
Amidst the chaos, those who keep some calm are the ones wearing transparency masks.
And also the followers of the Church of the Four Gods, who have heard the strategy.
Finally, Ryu Min was determined to unveil the strategy.
"They're all confused, aren't they?"
They flee as if they've touched a hornet's nest, but honestly, there's no need to do so.
"All this is fake. Ah, except one."
Although they seem like more than a hundred, if you take away one, they're all fake.
Only the dark illusions from the forgery cause pain, they don't inflict real damage.
"They're being deceived by the confusion. All by a simple illusion created by a single entity."
That's why Ryu Min stepped onto the dark ground calmly, searching for the true Dark Illusion.
If you're careful with the real entity, the first target can be easily conquered.
"Where is it? What's its position?"
Jumping through the shadows, he searched for the true Dark Illusion.
In the midst of that, the fakes tried to catch him with their nails, but following their movements was a challenge.
"No matter how fake they are, there's no reason to get caught."
Finding the real entity among them was simple.
He just needed the seal of death on each visible dark illusion.
"If I place the seal of death on the real entity, its health bar will be visible. But the illusions won't show it."
That's how he can easily distinguish the real from the fake.
The seemingly insignificant skill turned out to be useful at this moment.
It didn't take long.
"I found it!"
He found the Dark Illusion with the visible health bar.
It was hiding among its numerous clones, stalking its prey.
Uuuuuu-
Seeing it use the wave of terror, it seems it has found its desired prey.
As people fell prey to terror, the dark illusions moved swiftly.
They lunged straight at a defenseless player.
"Although I can't kill or push it because it's invulnerable..."
Ryu Min overcame the Dark Illusion with overwhelming speed.
"I can interfere with its hunt."
Before the nails of the dark illusion could pierce the player, Ryu Min intervened.
"Ahh!"
The woman gasped in surprise as someone suddenly surrounded her.
As she regained consciousness, she found herself staring into the eyes of Black Scythe, now recognized by all.
"That was close. Are you alright?"
"M-me?"
The woman belatedly realized the dark illusion staring at her.
"Thank you. Mr. Black Scythe."
Ryu Min nodded and suddenly addressed the crowd.
"Listen, everyone! I will show you how to conquer this round!"
The mention of showing the strategy caught everyone's attention.
"Though they appear to be dozens, there is actually only one Dark Illusion. He is the culprit."
Ryu Min's scythe pointed towards the true Dark Illusion.
Not only revealing that the prey had been snatched away but also exposing its identity would surely leave him in an uncomfortable position.
"The rest are just clones! You only need to watch out for him!"
"Clones?"
"It's absurd. It can't be."
"What is he saying?"
The players couldn't believe Black Scythe's words.
How could they be just clones when they vividly feel this pain?
Is all I feel fake and a lie?
Ryu Min, who could read people's thoughts, shouted once more.
"It's a lie. The pain you're feeling is nothing but an illusion. Don't be fooled!"
"Illusion..."
"I can't believe it..."
As people looked at Black Scythe as if they were denying reality, the manifestations reappeared.
"Aaaah!"
"Ugh, it hurts so much!"
"How can it be fake if I feel like I'm being torn apart and bleeding?"
"Even nonsense has its limit..."
But Ryu Min had already anticipated this.
He didn't think it would be easy to believe.
"Believe me! How many players have died as proof? How many are there now?"
People, taking Ryu Min's words as truth, looked at the mission progress window.
[Current number of survivors: 2,303]
[Time remaining until the next mission: 00:27:12]
"Eh?"
"Weren't we 2,304?"
"Why has only one died?"
How is it possible that only one person has died when so many are being attacked and injured?
It doesn't make sense.
"Didn't I say they were manifestations? Everything you're feeling is fake, and there's only one real entity. If you understand that, you can free yourself from the pain."
People who had dismissed Ryu Min's claims now began to pay attention.
In their minds, the seeds of doubt began to sprout that it really could be an illusion.
And surprisingly, as Black Scythe said, the pain disappeared as if washed away.
"Was... it really an illusion?"
"Was all this pain I felt fake?"
Thinking like that, even the dark illusions flying around now seemed mere manifestations.
Although they were being attacked, they only felt a slight stinging, and by thinking it was fake, the pain quickly disappeared.
The corner of Ryu Min's lips curved satisfactorily.
"Unmasking the illusion is simple. Once you realize it, it's over."
If they are made to believe in the illusion, it no longer works.
But that doesn't mean they can distinguish the manifestations.
"Ignore the other manifestations! There's only one real one."
"What is real?"
"Please repeat it, Mr. Black Scythe."
The Seal of Death is a skill that only the caster can see.
Therefore, only Ryu Min could see the health bar.
"It's him."
Ryu Min's scythe pointed at the dark illusion with a health bar.
Woosh!
The indicated one became enraged and lunged towards them eagerly.
Easily avoiding the attack, Ryu Min continued to inform the other players.
If they just avoided that individual, they could survive.
They could pass the mission.
"Because this is the real one, ignore the others."
Thanks to Ryu Min's identification, players could avoid the main body from the start.
It was like waving bait for fish to flee.
From the perspective of the dark illusions, they had no choice but to explode with rage.
"Perfect. So I can easily endure for 30 minutes."
Was it because they already knew who to avoid?
Players could easily escape and pass the time.
As a result, for 20 minutes, the dark illusions couldn't kill any players other than their first victim.
It was madness for them.
Even though they summoned more manifestations, everyone ignored them and only focused on protecting themselves.
The situation was a game of chase with two thousand opponents.
Ugh!
The individual let out a cry full of fury, instilling terror among those around him.
Trembling, they lunged towards their unsuspecting prey.
Blame!
Time and time again, someone thwarted their hunt, interrupting the game.
It was Ryu Min.
Ugh! Ugh!
Despite their constant complaints, it was to no avail.
"I won't allow any more sacrifices."
After half an hour of commercial obstruction.
Whisper-
The dark illusion vanished like smoke.
Hundreds of clones also disappeared.
"It's finally over."
"Great! Only one person died!"
"All thanks to Black Scythe."
The players applauded.
Some bowed their heads in gratitude towards Black Scythe.
"He definitely saved many lives."
Since there were previously hundreds of deaths, it was a result to rejoice in.
However, not everything was happiness.
The next mission promised to be tinged with blood and fatigue.
---
(Up to '45' more ch4pt3rs)
Publication of up to 6 weekly ch4pters, thank you.