Chapter 415 - The Challenger of Celestial Retribution
[It has been confirmed that you are the first player to kill the Agent of Celestial Retribution.]
[You have earned the title ‘Agent of Celestial Retribution.’]
[First kill reward: ‘Concentrated Ether.’]
[First kill reward: ‘Rune of Resplendence.’]
[The obtained rune will be automatically engraved on your body.]
Just as Ryu Min expected.
Killing an angel granted items, though only to the first player who did so.
‘When I killed a common angel, I also got the reward only the first time.’
Though he smiled at the reward, the joy didn’t last long.
During the battle, 300 people died.
‘I was sure I could sacrifice them to summon the Agent of Celestial Retribution. But in the end, I couldn’t avoid it...’
Was it a mistake to destroy the relic and summon the Agent of Celestial Retribution?
A deep sense of guilt overwhelmed him.
‘At least, it doesn’t affect the number of survivors.’
In any case, only 1,225 people would pass, and the rest would disintegrate. Perhaps those who died at the hands of the Agent of Celestial Retribution simply met their fate earlier.
Still, he felt he had done something morally wrong.
‘I’m sorry. I hope you rest in peace...’
Ryu Min prayed for the souls of the sacrificed, promising to survive for them.
But his resolve didn’t last long as he was eliminated early.
The permanent reduction of his stats was the cause.
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On his 15th run, Ryu Min summoned the Agent of Celestial Retribution again.
This time, he made Hwang Yong-min the zone leader to take the penalty in his place.
He knew well that the zone leader would receive the penalty.
[The relic has been destroyed.]
[You have failed the main mission.]
[Soon, the Agent of Celestial Retribution will be summoned as a penalty for 30 minutes.]
This time, he avoided the 50% stat reduction.
The Agent of Celestial Retribution appeared just after his sigh of relief.
Clang—
As soon as the creature, with its oddly shaped staff, descended, Ryu Min charged toward it with his scythe raised.
This time, he didn’t warn people to stay away.
In any case, they wouldn’t listen.
‘It’s better to attack first.’
But he soon realized his mistake.
Boom!
[The Agent of Celestial Retribution has cast the Restriction Field.]
[You cannot leave the area until the caster deactivates it.]
[Players’ stats within the field are reduced by 50%.]
The staff struck the ground, forming a violet barrier.
Before he could strike, Ryu Min was trapped inside.
‘What? The barrier activated faster than I thought?’
He had quietly approached from a blind angle, but the Agent immediately responded by forming the barrier.
Swish!
The Agent spread its wings, creating numerous light arrows.
If those arrows were fired, not only would Ryu Min be in danger, but also the 300 people trapped with him.
‘This way, many people will die again.’
Before attacking, Ryu Min activated the Night of Death.
Though it only increased his attack speed, it boosted his chances of success.
But he discovered something unexpected.
Swish.
The light arrows disappeared as if absorbed by the Night of Death.
Although darkness usually doesn’t overcome light, in this world, it was the opposite.
‘In this world, darkness beats light.’
With this newfound information, Ryu Min swung his scythe.
Clang!
He thought he had struck quickly, but the staff blocked it easily.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After several attacks, Ryu Min realized something.
‘This guy is good at blocking.’
He thought it was a type of mage due to the staff, but it blocked surprisingly well.
‘What’s going on? Why is it blocking so well now when it didn’t before?’
Previously, he had attacked the Agent’s eyes first, making the battle easier.
But now, the Agent blocked all his attacks.
‘Those eyes...’
Though it couldn’t use light arrows, the Agent began using electric magic.
A pattern he hadn’t seen before.
Zzap! Zzap!
Ryu Min dodged the lightning bolts with agile movements.
‘The Night of Death can only block light-based attacks?’
With this electric magic, it was difficult to get close.
Even without the penalty, fighting the Agent was tricky.
Slash! Slash!
[Graah!]
Though he landed some attacks, the Agent only lost a little health.
‘Time is running out...’
Finally, the inevitable happened.
[Conditions met, activating the passive ‘Last Brilliant Light’ of the Agent of Celestial Retribution.]
[The Agent becomes invulnerable.]
The Agent activated its invulnerability much earlier than expected.
‘What? It activates this when it still has over half its health?’
Before, it only used this when its health dropped below 10%.
But now, something else must have triggered this ability.
‘I can’t do anything now. I can’t even escape.’
The Restriction Field kept him trapped, and the Agent was invulnerable.
Ryu Min could only dodge until the invulnerability wore off.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy.
[The Agent of Celestial Retribution has launched the Restriction Bomb.]
Boom!
The Agent unleashed an area attack.
----------------
‘Hah!’
He woke up at the New Year’s Eve bell site.
‘Did I die?’
He had died at the hands of the Agent of Celestial Retribution.
‘It used a Restriction Bomb right after forming the barrier?’
It was a pattern he hadn’t seen before.
‘Dying to an enemy I already defeated... What did I do wrong?’
Analyzing the differences, he came to a conclusion.
‘The key is the surprise attack.’
In the first battle, he managed a surprise attack that significantly weakened the Agent.
But in the second, the Agent activated the barrier immediately.
‘The field activates automatically when I enter its range.’
With ranged attacks impossible, he had to deal with the barrier inevitably.
And if it took too long, he would face an area attack.
‘I need to perform a surprise attack and take down a large portion of its health immediately.’
Though he knew the strategy, it wasn’t easy to execute.
For the surprise attack to work, he had to allow the Agent to form the first barrier.
That meant sacrificing 300 people.
‘No matter how much I warn, no one will move away.’
However, the Agent’s reward was crucial for the later rounds.
‘This time, I’ll try not to break the relic.’
Though the reward was tempting, he doubted it was worth sacrificing so many people.
He decided not to destroy the relic and move on with the round.
------------
At first, everything went smoothly.
But Ryu Min soon realized he needed the Rune of Resplendence.
The rounds became increasingly difficult.
‘Most of those sacrificed by the Agent would dissolve anyway. Maybe it’s better...’
He decided to break the relic again and capture the Agent’s reward.
Though he sacrificed 300 people, he secured the reward.
He advanced gradually.
On the 21st run, he cleared the 9th round and found the hidden portal for the side mission.
Though he failed at the Tower of Challenges, reaching only the 99th floor, he learned a lot.
‘I’m not ready yet, am I?’
On the 44th run, he reached the 14th round but died by attacking an enemy that reflected 90% of the damage received.
Repeating life and death, he reached the 16th round on the 68th run.
There, he encountered the battle angels.
Killing one granted him the Rune of Devil, which bestowed a demonic blessing after killing 100 angels.
Though he didn’t find more angels afterward.
‘Is it because of the Challenger of Retribution title? They’re too easy.’
Though the angels were weak, that changed when he faced the Archangel Michael.
‘Is this the strongest of the Seven Archangels?’
Ryu Min felt a chill.
The archangel, stronger than expected, only said a few words and disappeared.
At that moment, Ryu Min didn’t know it wasn’t Michael but the Archangel Arataros.
---------------
On the 83rd run, he finally cleared the Tower of Challenges.
He earned the title of Supreme Being and understood he could stop Sisal.
In the 18th round, he lost many companions in the war against demons.
Min Juri, Yamti, Victor, Alex, Dorothy, among others.
Though he didn’t consider them important at the time, just battle companions and competitors.
‘Now I’m in the 19th round. The 20th is near.’
After many runs, he finally saw the end.
He looked at the two who were with him in the 19th round.
The dreaded Ma Gyeong-rok and Joo Sung-taek.
They always occupied the 2nd and 3rd ranks.
‘They’re geniuses. I only got here after many failed attempts, while they never died even once...’
The difference between an inept and a genius was evident.
Though he felt a sense of unfairness, he knew that in the end, he would have to face them.
The mission of the 19th round was to survive 72 hours in a fantasy world, and only one could achieve it.
--------------
‘Seriously? They teamed up to attack me?’
Ma Gyeong-rok and Joo Sung-taek allied against Ryu Min in the 19th round.
They planned to eliminate him before facing each other.
‘Without the mind-reading rune, it would have been difficult.’
Though he was no longer inept, the battle was tough.
He managed to eliminate them and became the sole survivor.
‘Finally, I reached the final round in my 99th run.’
What would the 20th round be?
What wish would he make upon completing it?
With these questions, he checked the mission.
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[Entry condition for the Boss Hall: 1/5]
[A minimum of 5 players are needed to open the Boss Hall.]
[1 player is attempting to enter.]
[The player will be disintegrated in 5 seconds.]
Boom!
Surrounded by a pillar of light, Ryu Min shouted as he read the message.
“What? This is a trap! Damn bastards!”
He couldn’t believe it.
After much investigation, he had found the secret sanctuary and defeated the guardians to reach the Boss Hall, only to discover that 5 players were required to enter.
As he disintegrated, Ryu Min closed his eyes.
‘Damn it. This is absurd.’
From his omniscient position, the true Ryu Min observed all his deaths across different timelines.
From the first to the 99th run.
Though some timelines no longer existed, he had absorbed most of their strength.
And now...
‘My power has doubled.’
His terra, which was 70 billion, had increased to 130 billion.