Chapter 299 - Three Men
"Ah, ah..."
If a player has a level above 90, it's enough to face an ogre alone.
Especially if that player has a god-ranked item.
But Christine was a non-combat class without even a common attack skill.
Among the players, she was like an ordinary civilian, so she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
"What, what should I do?"
She was so bewildered that she was petrified and didn't even think about running away.
The moment Christine's feet touched the ground was when the ogre roared.
Kwooooooo!
Christine ran through the forest without even looking back.
The ogre's threatening roar, meant to scare her, actually made her run faster.
Tuk tuk tuk tuk!
Christine ran without looking back.
There was no time to look back, nor was there any need.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of the approaching ogre's footsteps made her spine tingle.
"What do I do? It seems... it seems to be getting closer."
Despite running as fast as she could, escaping the steps of an ogre over 3 meters tall was extremely difficult.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of the ogre's approaching footsteps grew louder, and just as the shadow was about to completely cover her...
Kwooooooo!
The ogre extended its arm to grab the head of its prey.
But.
Thwack!
The ogre's arm, blocked by a shield, was repelled with a strong rebound.
Even its large body was sent flying more than 15 meters by the invisible force.
It was thanks to the god-ranked armor Christine was wearing, [Wings of Eros].
"It blocked the deadly blow."
"Remaining uses: 1/2."
"Each use takes 12 hours to recharge."
Though the message appeared, Christine kept running without stopping.
She didn't run without thinking, however.
She ran using trees as cover and moved only through narrow paths where the ogre could barely fit.
But all that seemed useless, as the ogre broke through the trees and continued chasing her.
Crash, crash!
Kwooooooo!
Although Christine was genuinely scared, she quickly opened the mission progress window.
"I need to ask for help from someone nearby."
If she wanted to survive, she had no choice but to rely on others.
Fortunately, at the top of the list was a player 150 meters away.
She checked the player's nickname and face and activated the tracking skill directly.
"The face and nickname match. Tracking the target's location."
"We have located the player 'Scholar'."
"Currently 148 meters away."
"To track the target, follow the arrow ahead."
The fact that there was someone nearby to ask for help was a ray of hope, but Christine's expression remained dark and somber.
As she shortened the distance, allowing the ogre to hit her once more.
"It blocked the deadly blow."
"Remaining uses: 2/2."
"You have exhausted all remaining uses."
"Recharge will take 24 hours."
Now, if the ogre caught her, she would die.
That idea sparked Christine's inner strength.
But with her pitiful stats, it was difficult to stay away from the ogre.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Thud, thud, thud!
Though she managed to send the ogre flying 15 meters with the armor's force, the distance closed again.
Is this the end?
When the ogre's shadow appeared in front of her again, Christine thought of something.
She had heard that when one is about to die, their life flashes before their eyes, but that didn't happen.
She simply remembered a person.
"Black Scythe..."
Kwooooooo!
At the moment the ogre tried to rip Christine's head off.
Kwaaaaaack!
The ogre's voice sounded strange.
It sounded confused and hoarse as if its throat was boiling.
While she kept running without stopping, the distance between them widened considerably.
"What is happening? Why isn't it following me?"
Intrigued, Christine turned her head to look and saw the ogre standing there, staring at her.
"Why all of a sudden...?"
Not understanding, she looked closer and saw something shining on the ogre's neck.
It was a sword.
A small sword protruding from its neck.
Thud!
When the ogre slumped forward, it revealed the person who had stabbed the sword from behind.
"Jeffrey?"
Jeffrey pulled out a dagger from his arm and looked at Christine.
"Uf... I almost had a big problem. Anyway, it's good to see you, Christine."
"How... how did you get here...?"
Jeffrey wasn't a player who was close by.
So how did he suddenly appear and close the distance?
"Your name wasn't on the tracking list, how...?"
"He probably used invisibility. If you use invisibility, you can avoid tracking by appearing as untraceable."
"Ah."
It was something she didn't know.
Maybe that's why Black Scythe couldn't be tracked?
Relieved to have escaped the danger, Christine sighed.
"Uf, thanks for helping me. I was really about to die."
"It's fortunate I appeared in time."
"Yes, how did you show up at the right moment... oh, wait, were you following me in an invisible state?"
Jeffrey didn't deny it.
"That's right. I tracked you in an invisible state as soon as the round started. But I didn't expect you to be in this crisis situation."
"Why were you following me?"
"Black Scythe ordered me to protect you."
"Black Scythe?"
The surprise on Christine's face turned into a smile.
She never thought Black Scythe would care for her.
As Jeffrey, who easily killed the ogre, got up and dusted himself off, his eyes suddenly changed.
"Christine."
"Yes, I felt it too."
Someone was approaching within detection range.
At first, she thought it was the ogre, but seeing that they were approaching in a group, she decided it wasn't.
'It's a person.'
No, it wasn't just that, when she activated the tracking list, the distance shortened.
Rustle
Emerging from the forest trees, another player appeared.
"Oh, I found you."
"You were here?"
"Hello, Christine."
The three who suddenly appeared behaved as if they knew each other, but Christine was seeing them for the first time.
Or rather, she knew the nickname and face of one of them.
It was the person she had been looking for.
"Scholar?"
"Eh? How did you know? In a fantasy world, my nickname shouldn't be visible, right?"
"I saw your face on the tracking list."
"Ah, I see. So I don't need to introduce myself?"
While speaking, the player who was smiling was named "Scholar".
The player who was cutting beside him was named [Golden Ball].
For some reason, Christine could feel that the player who was looking at her with cold eyes was named [Terrifying World], so she didn't insist on introducing herself.
She just directly asked what their purpose was.
"It seems you've come to see me, what's the matter?"
"Please, don't be so alert. We are not here with bad intentions."
Scholar, who tried to reassure her with a friendly smile, finally revealed his purpose.
"We are players you helped in the last round."
"My help?"
"You helped us with healing when we were in danger. Thanks to you, we were able to overcome situations where we almost lost our lives several times."
At the claim that she helped them, Christine tilted her head in surprise.
They were new and unfamiliar faces to her.
'Did I help in the last round?'
Round 18 was war-themed.
There were thousands of people she provided extensive healing to.
How could she remember exactly who she helped?
"I'm not sure..."
"You don't remember?"
"I was so busy during the battle..."
"That's a bit disappointing."
Christine felt a bit puzzled when the three reacted like this.
What could she do if she really didn't remember?
"So, why have you come?"
"Why? We want to repay the favor you did for us at that time."
"Repay the favor?"
"This Round 19 is dangerous to venture alone. There are many monsters around. We thought you'd be in danger, so we came running with our companions."
Though their intention was good, Christine had no intention of accepting help from unknown people immediately.
"I appreciate your words, but I'm fine."
"You're being quite cold to people who came to help."
"It's too much, really."
The atmosphere suddenly changed when they started criticizing her, making Christine feel a bit perplexed.
"...There are people helping me."
"Who? That person beside you?"
"I saw someone named [Jeffrey] on the tracking list."
"There you have it, Mr. Jeffrey."
Scholar approached Jeffrey.
"Did you also receive help from Christine?"
"...."
"What is going on between Christine and you?"
Jeffrey looked coldly without saying anything.
He seemed not to want to mix with people like them.
"Why aren't you talking?"
"Are you deaf?"
Christine felt annoyed with that comment.
"Hey, that's a bit too much."
"Looks like he's mute. By how he reacted when you got angry."
"Why is this guy silent and Christine is angry?"
"Is it possible they have a strange relationship?"
"It's shocking that a saint has a bed partner."
When they started speculating about the situation, Jeffrey couldn't stay silent any longer.
Thud
"Wow, look at that! The mute is pulling out a dagger."
"Damn, do you want to fight us?"
"Put that away, let's talk civilly."
The atmosphere suddenly turned hostile.
While Jeffrey's negligence was partly responsible, they were the ones who provoked the situation first.
"Stop behaving like this."
"Eh? Did you think we would stay quiet?"
"We thought you were mute because you didn't say anything."
"But why should we leave? Why don't you leave?"
Despite the confrontation from the three, Jeffrey didn't back down.
"Your tongue is as sharp as a snake, isn't it?"
"What?"
"The guy talks kindly and now it turns out he's not so good."
"This guy is crazy. Pulling out a knife suddenly in front of someone he just met."
They weren't wrong.
Pulling out a knife after approaching them because he felt annoyed was so absurd it left them perplexed.
But Jeffrey had the obligation to protect Christine.
"No need to guess why you approached Christine. Stop bothering. There will be no more warnings."
"Ah, how scary!"
"The prince on a white horse has arrived."
"So what? Do you think you can face us alone?"
"I'm not alone. Christine is here too."
"Oh, right."
Though Christine was helping, the three weren't worried.
An additional healer didn't mean much.
Besides, they had numerical superiority.
"Let's try it."
"Try attacking us first."
Thud
When the three pulled out their knives, Christine was startled.
"No, don't fight. And you, Jeffrey, stop too."
"Christine, step back. These guys clearly didn't approach friendly. They probably thought of killing you after taking advantage of you."
"Us? On what grounds?"
"It's totally absurd. Treating those who came to help as criminals."
"Keep your delusions to yourself. Sir."
It was a perplexing reaction, but Jeffrey firmly believed in his viewpoint.
Then it happened.
"What is happening here?"
With a whisper, another player appeared.
Christine also recognized her.
"Dorothy?"
The archer Dorothy rolled her eyes as if trying to understand the situation.
"What are you all doing here? Why is the atmosphere like this?"
"Why did Dorothy suddenly appear?"
"Remember that Christine revived me last time. That's why I came to help."
When the three were about to respond, they admitted she was right.
"Look! This girl also came to help."
"But why do you pull a knife only for us and tell us to leave?"
"Is it okay to treat someone who came to help from afar like this? Eh?"
Listening and observing, there was no room for error.
It was simply the result of Jeffrey feeling annoyed and alert.
Just when Christine was about to hesitate to speak, an unexpected person appeared.
"I don't see what you're all doing here."
It was none other than Black Scythe.