Domination Authority was a temporary skill that forced commands onto players.
Its downsides were that it could only be used ten times, and only worked on players.
'And the fatal flaw is that it can only be used in the Otherworld.'
It wasn't that he couldn't use skills in reality, but Domination Authority was an exception.
'No, forget application—Domination Authority didn't even show up in my skill window.'
It was registered in his skill window only when he was in the Otherworld as a zone representative; once he returned to reality, the authority itself vanished.
'Because I'm not a zone representative in reality, maybe?'
The reward this time was allowing that very Domination Authority to be used once in reality.
'There's no way I'm letting that slip through my fingers.'
And that wasn't the only thing he couldn't miss.
'There's a rune given as a sub-quest reward this round. I need that to take control of Players' Haven Café.'
Among the executives of Players' Haven Café, only Yamtti remained as a player.
It was a rune he absolutely needed in order to counter Yamtti's abilities.
It was also on the list of eighteen runes he considered essential.
'This round, I have to secure both the unified representative reward and that sub-quest rune, no matter what it takes.'
He was confident he could do it.
Before midnight, he'd already made thorough preparations to conquer the round.
[Now then, we need to select a representative, so please wait a moment. We're going to discuss how to run it and come back.]
Saying that, Priscilla leisurely flew over to where the angels were gathered.
[You're here?]
[Hi, Priscilla.]
[Hi, Elphir.]
[Hi, Sophia.]
The ten angels brought together by the zone merger exchanged perfunctory greetings.
Now it was time to decide who would guide the merged zone.
But since the angels hated working more than death, they kept trying to shove the job onto one another.
[Who wants to do it? Any volunteers?]
[What a stupid question. Seriously, what angel would volunteer for that?]
[You never know. There might be an angel who likes volunteer work.]
[Yeah, right.]
[Anyway, Priscilla. I heard you did something really fun with Olive last time.]
[Yeah, I heard too. The king game, was it?]
[If the human from your zone wins, you get to designate people like a king, right?]
[Why don't we try that again this time?]
[That sounds fun.]
At their agreement, Priscilla was actually pleased.
'We've got Black Scythe in our zone!'
This was her chance to finally become king.
Priscilla spoke excitedly.
[Then let's make the representative selection a basic death match—]
[Hold on. Your zone has Black Scythe.]
[Huh? Ah, so you knew?]
[Hee-hee, we heard everything.]
[Black Scythe is the only human currently over level fifty, right?]
[If we go with a death match, of course Priscilla's going to become king.]
[That'd be way too unfair.]
[Trying to get the throne for free, huh? Tsk!]
Priscilla, who had secretly hoped they'd just let it slide, wore a disappointed expression.
[Then what do you propose? Any better ideas?]
[As long as Black Scythe is around, anything that relies on strength is impossible.]
[Right. How about we say that whoever clears Round 7 first wins instead?]
[Ooh, that sounds good.]
[Round 7 doesn't really have anything to do with strength anyway.]
The angels quickly reached a consensus.
All except Priscilla.
[Priscilla. What do you think?]
[I-it sounds… fair enough.]
She didn't like it, but she had no grounds to object.
Like they said, the Round 7 quest really had nothing to do with strength.
'Damn it, I thought I'd finally be able to take the throne this time…'
An uneasy feeling crept up in Priscilla's heart.
Maybe this time Black Scythe wouldn't come in first.
'His record might be broken for the first time.'
The other angels were thinking much the same thing.
'If it's just about clearing Round 7, this is doable. Hee-hee.'
'No matter how strong that human Black Scythe is, there's no easy answer for Round 7.'
Seeing Priscilla looking deflated, the angels quietly started to get their hopes up.
They thought they might have a chance to become king themselves.
And they were already deciding who they'd target if they did become king.
'Priscilla? Sorry, but you're going to be stuck handling this zone.'
'If only because trying to get a free throne was so cheeky. Hee-hee.'
Unaware that the united angels were snickering behind her back, Priscilla returned to the humans.
[After discussing it among ourselves, we've decided on the selection method. Instead of a death match like last time, the zone representative who clears the Round 7 quest first will become the unified representative.]
"Ah, it's not a death match?"
"Whew."
All the other zone representatives, aside from Ryu Min, let out sighs of relief.
If they'd had to fight Black Scythe, they would have had to give up their places without a struggle.
'Clear the quest first to become representative, huh…'
'Then I might have a chance too?'
They didn't know what the quest was yet, but it had to be better than a death match.
[To the human who becomes the unified representative this time, we'll grant one very attractive privilege. Of course, we'll only tell the unified representative what it is, so it's a secret.]
She called it a secret, but Ryu Min already knew the reward.
[Then I'll now announce the Round 7 quest!]
A moment later, the quest window popped up, and everyone's eyes went wide.
◀ ROUND 7 ▶
└??? ?? ???? ????
[All Zones]
└Participants: 6,927,066└Clear Count: 0 / 3,463,533
[Current Zone C2-ESKA003]
└Participants: 4,922└Clear Count: 0 / 2,461
Because the quest description itself was hidden behind question marks.
"E-excuse me, Angel. There seems to be a system error?"
"The quest is showing up as question marks."
[It's not an error. The Round 7 quest is classified.]
Priscilla spoke calmly, but confusion flashed across people's eyes.
"Classified…?"
"Then how are we supposed to clear it…?"
[There will be no further explanation. That's all.]
Priscilla coolly disappeared along with the other angels.
Like abandoned dogs staring after their owner, the people gazed at where the angels had vanished and sagged.
"We don't even know the quest. What the hell are we supposed to do?"
"Fuck, are they just winging it now?"
"I'm honestly speechless."
They muttered and vented their complaints, but there were no answers.
At that bleak moment, a new message appeared before everyone's eyes.
[Time remaining until round ends: 01:59:59]
"Huh? There's a time limit?"
"What? Are we supposed to just wait?"
"If there's a time limit, doesn't that mean we're supposed to do something before it ends?"
"Fuck, now we have to go find the quest ourselves?"
People grumbled, but there was no alternative.
Time kept ticking away, and no one knew what would happen when it ran out.
They had no choice but to do something.
"It's gotta be a quest to kill monsters."
"If we wander around, something will show up."
"That area over there looks suspicious. Let's check it out!"
People began to scatter.
Some simply walked wherever their feet took them; others headed into a forest they found suspicious in the distance.
But about half of them just stood there in a daze.
Because they had no idea what to do.
At that moment, a group approached Ryu Min.
It was An Sang-cheol, Seo Arin, Heo Tae-seok and Min Juri, the ones he'd partied with in Round 6.
"Black Scythe-nim. There you are."
"Why are you all together?"
"Ah, we just happened to run into each other nearby."
"It was nice seeing each other again like this. Hehe."
The four of them seemed to have grown fairly close.
'Just from partying together a bit, huh?'
It wasn't a bad situation.
Those four were allies Ryu Min needed to nurture anyway.
If they grew closer, all the better.
"Um, Black Scythe-nim? About the Round 7 quest—what do you think it is? Do you have any guesses?"
At An Sang-cheol's question, Ryu Min replied with one of his own.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Ah, I'm sorry if I offended you. It's not for any other reason—I just thought with your insight, you might know something…."
An Sang-cheol flustered, but Ryu Min cut him off coldly.
He couldn't risk giving any hint that he knew the prophecy.
"The quest hasn't shown up. You think I'm any different from you? I'm not."
"Ah, I see."
An Sang-cheol looked a little disappointed, then a faint smile crept onto his lips.
His expression said he'd finally found something he could do for Black Scythe.
"Then, Black Scythe-nim, would you like me to tell you what I know about Round 7?"
"Info on Round 7? How would you know that?"
"I heard it from a prophet in reality."
"A prophet?"
Ryu Min's brows furrowed immediately.
'Last time he acted like he wanted to keep it a secret, and now he's blabbing about the prophet without a second thought.'
'Was I an idiot for thinking he was trustworthy?'
With that thought, he shot An Sang-cheol a glare. An flinched and stammered.
"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing. But a prophet? You're talking nonsense."
"I'm serious. One of my acquaintances is a prophet. They've already helped me several times. Right, Seo Arin?"
"Huh? Ah… yes. That's right."
'So he dragged Seo Arin into this too?'
One more person had been added to the list of people he couldn't trust.
"Um, what are you two talking about? A prophet?"
Heo Tae-seok asked with a puzzled look, while Min Juri silently kept her mouth shut.
'Min Juri's pretty shaken on the inside. She thought she was the only one who knew about the prophet, and now they're talking about it openly.'
Reading her thoughts, he saw that she was wondering if that prophet might be Ryu Min.
'This situation's turning into a real headache.'
Ryu Min wanted nothing more than to sew An Sang-cheol's mouth shut right then, but he had no justification.
"Black Scythe-nim. I'll tell you what I know about Round 7—no price attached. What do you say? Will you hear it?"
…
After a moment's thought, Ryu Min nodded.
"Fine. I don't know how trustworthy it is, but I'll hear you out. I'm in a position where I've got to grab at any straw."
"Haha, don't worry. The prophecies have never been wrong."
With that, An Sang-cheol repeated the prophecy he'd been given.
"The prophet said, 'Do not be seduced by temptation.' For conquering Round 7, you just need to remember that one line."
"What's that supposed to mean? Temptation?"
Heo Tae-seok asked, but An Sang-cheol only shook his head.
"I don't know the details either."
"E-excuse me, An Sang-cheol-nim?"
Min Juri approached him, clearly flustered.
"That prophet you mentioned… is his name Ryu Min, by any chance?"
…!
This time, it was An Sang-cheol's turn to be shocked.
Seo Arin was just as startled.
Only Heo Tae-seok, clueless about the situation, glanced between them with a confused expression.
'Ha… fuck.'
Watching the entire exchange, Ryu Min sighed inwardly.
Now all four of them shared knowledge of the prophet's existence and identity.
'Well, it's not that big of a problem… as long as they don't find out that I'm Black Scythe.'
It was a situation that made him want to sigh out loud, but he held it in.
For now, it seemed best to scatter the four of them.
If they stayed together, they'd just keep sharing information about the prophet.
"Don't be seduced by temptation, huh? Thanks for the info. We'll see if that prophet is right."
"I'm sure he is. As long as you remember that line."
Ryu Min nodded, then spoke to the four.
"For now, it'd be better if we split up and look for more detailed information."
"Split up?"
"If we move around, we might get new quests or information."
"Still, shouldn't we stick togeth—"
"We don't even know if this is a party quest. Why should we?"
At his cold tone, An Sang-cheol swallowed.
The man who'd stirred up this mess was not going to look good in Ryu Min's eyes.
"Mm, understood. Then we'll each handle Round 7 on our own. Black Scythe-nim, may luck be with you! See you next time."
An Sang-cheol and Seo Arin bowed their heads and left.
Heo Tae-seok, reading the room, gave an awkward bow as well.
"I-I'll be going too, then…."
Now only Min Juri remained by Ryu Min's side.
"You should go too."
"Ah… okay…."
She clearly didn't want to part, but even Min Juri went on her way.
Left alone, Ryu Min let out a sigh.
'Things just got troublesome.'
Then he thought for a moment.
'Come to think of it, what was the Round 7 quest again?'
He stood there thinking for about five minutes when—
"Kyaaaaah!"
A sharp scream pierced the air from somewhere nearby.