Chapter 181: Dous (Part 1)


    “What the…?”


    Ma Kyung-rok inadvertently voiced his confusion out loud.


    A perplexing situation was unfolding before him.


    ‘His vitality… isn’t being absorbed?’


    The Dark Aura that had enveloped Hwang Yong-min oddly refused to stick to his body.


    No, it seemed incapable of sticking.


    It was as if an invisible barrier was blocking it, keeping it at a distance.


    ‘What’s going on? Is he immune to the Dark Aura?’


    No matter how much hemanded it, the aura couldn’t envelop Hwang Yong-min.


    It couldn’t drain his life force.


    Instead, it recoiled with every step Hwang Yong-min took, retreating reluctantly.


    Ma Kyung-rok could only be baffled.


    He had never encountered a target the Dark Aura couldn’t affect.


    ‘Could it be because he’s undead, with no life to drain?’


    The thought crossed his mind that it might be because Hwang Ryong-min was already dead.


    ‘Damn it, an opponent immune to Dark Aura.’


    A look of frustration spread across Ma Kyung-rok’s face.


    His foolproof n failed, leaving him at a loss.


    In an instant, the distance between them closed as if space itself had folded.


    “Hup!”


    Hwang Yong-min, who had suddenly approached to within inches, threw a straight punch.


    Smack—


    The moment Ma Kyung-rok was hit on the chin, he lost consciousness and rolled ten meters away.


    “S-Sir!”


    An Sang-cheol, whose guard had been lowered, quickly swung his sword.


    Ting—!


    Hwang Yong-min easily deflected it with his palm and simrly knocked out An Sang-cheol with a blow to the chin.


    “Phew.”


    Having knocked out both men, Ryu Min casually dusted off his hands.


    “Controlling my strength was a bit tough.”


    He had subdued both men within a minute.


    It was far more difficult to subdue than to kill.


    ‘He probably intended to drain my life force with the Dark Aura, but that’s impossible. A Grim Reaper is a higher ss than a Dark Knight.’


    Just as light is weak to darkness, there are ss advantages and disadvantages among yers.


    There are instances where specific skills have no effect on certain sses.


    Just like now.


    ‘Dark Knights and Grim Reapers both deal with darkness, but in truth, they are different kinds. You could say a Grim Reaper deals with a higher level of darkness.’


    Even within darkness, there are different levels.


    This was why the Dark Aura couldn’t touch Ryu Min.


    “You cane out now.”


    At Ryu Min’s nod, Ju Seong-tak, who had been hiding in the forest, emerged.


    “Is it over, master?”


    “Yes. These guys will be out for at least half a day.”


    “Wouldn’t it be better to just kill them?”


    At Ju Seong-tak’s suggestion, Ryu Min red briefly.


    “If that were my intention, I’d have killed them right away instead of knocking them out.”


    “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think straight.”


    “These guys were willing to kill innocent people for points. They deserve to die. But they still have some use. To secure Christine’s cooperation, we need them alive.”


    Even though Christine had no feelings for Ma Kyung-rok, his sudden death would be a psychological blow.


    ‘Unless she’spletely over Ma Kyung-rok.’


    For now, killing Ma Kyung-rok was not part of the n.


    Since he was linked to a key asset, the Priest, he was a card he couldn’t easily discard.


    An Sang-cheol was Ma Kyung-rok’s right-hand man, so he had to take him along too.


    “For now, tie them to a tree. Use those dark, thin tree vines. They’re tough enough that most yers can’t easily rip them.”


    “Understood.”


    Ju Seong-tak tied the unconscious men to a tree as instructed.


    ‘This should dy them enough to keep them from getting any points for quite some time.’


    At best, they mightplete the round without scoring any points.


    ‘Though they won’t be eliminated since it’s a group mission.’


    Ryu Min was confident he could keep the Korean group alive in this round.


    He had ast-minute turnaround and a farsight skill to ensure it.


    ‘If everything goes ording to n, there’s no way we’ll lose. First ce in the whole zone is practically guaranteed.’


    With the business in the Forest concluded, there would be no massacre by Ma Kyung-rok, who was supposed to kill 1,000 people and earn the title of Butcher.


    ‘One tragedy has been averted. Now, I need to stop another.’


    With irvoyance, he looked at Christine.


    The forces of the Despair Church were almost all gathered.


    A storm seemed imminent, as if the calm before the storm was about to break.


    ‘I need to hurry. I can’t let Christine die.’


    Ryu Min quickened his pace with Ju Seong-tak.


    Leaving Ma Kyung-rok and An Sang-cheol behind in the Forest.


    —


    Dous counted the bustling heads of people.


    ‘101 in total… Everyone’s here.’


    They were all followers who hade to see the only Saintess and Priestess.


    ‘In reality, they’re just leeches trying to cling to her.’


    He kept a smile despite his disdain for hispanions.


    As a Pdin favored by the Priestess since the second round, he couldn’t afford to show his true feelings.


    ‘I mustn’t reveal my true nature until the Saintess is dead.’


    Dous didn’t know why the Church of Despair wanted to kill Christine.


    But Dous had abandoned the Saintess for the Church of Despair.


    The reason for his betrayal was simple.


    ‘The Church of Despair offers more benefits.’


    Most of the people here were clinging to Christine for survival rather than genuine devotion.


    ‘Traveling with a Priest naturally increases your survival rate.’


    The basic skill of a Priest, Heal, could mend most wounds.


    Even severed limbs could be reattached and functional with a well-ced Heal.


    Additionally, the “Blessing of the Saint” buff increases resistance to status effects and debuffs by 50%.


    Beyond level 40, Priests could even use area-of-effect heal over time.


    ‘Priests are optimized for saving lives.’


    Of course, there had to be some benefit for the Priest to help people, but no one disliked free healing.


    That’s why a hundred leeches gathered around the Saintess.


    ‘But I hate it. Staying with Christine might increase survival chances, but that’s all. There’s no internal growth.’


    Priest skills focused on endurance.


    Endurance alone wouldn’t conquer the 20th round.


    Just as the best defense is a good offense, growing stronger increases survival chances.


    Having realized this early, Dous decided to betray Christine.


    The Church of Despair focused on growth unlike Christine.


    ‘The Church provides many items like potions that help with growth. After this, we’ll also share the loot from the spoils.’


    But what about the followers of the Saintess?