Chapter 246: The Start of Round 15 (Part 2)
[Hello, humans? Welcome to Round 15. Now, shall we check the quest?]
The angel smiled, as if saying there was no need for lengthy explanations, and flapped its wings.
◀ ROUND 15 ▶
└ Pass three missions
[Unified Zone CA-EA001]
└ Participants: 2,304
└ Completers: 0/576
“Three missions?”
“What kind of missions?”
“Look at the number of survivors.”
“It’s cut down to a quarter?”
Hearing the players’ murmurs, the angel frowned.
[Didn’t the previous angel mention it? The difficulty increases with every fifth round. This round is no exception. Only 576 out of 2,304 will survive.]
“Not even 600...”
“Will I be one of the 576?”
Outwardly, people seemed worried, but inwardly, they were hopeful.
Surely, I can make it into the top 500...
There should be a spot for me, right?
But contrary to people’s expectations, this round would fall short.
By a wide margin.
‘Not even 50 will survive, let alone 500. At least, that’s how it was in the last cycle.’
This time would be different from before.
The situation was no longer one where he didn’t care if others died.
‘This time, I’m bringing all 576 survivors.’
Thinking ahead to the 20th round, saving as many as possible was necessary.
“It looks like we’ll need to compete hard to be in the top ranks.”
“Why compete? Aren’t we all on the same team?”
“Angel! Is this round a solo or a team competition?”
To one player’s question, the angel smiled and said,
[I can’t tell you that. All I can say is that you’re not in a party.]
[Now, let’s begin the first mission.]
└ Survive for 30 minutes against the Dark Illusion
[If successful, you may proceed to the second mission.]
[Current number of survivors: 2,304]
[Time remaining until the next mission: 00:29:59]
“What’s a Dark Illusion?”
“Is it a type of monster?”
“Well, as long as we survive, we’re fine, right?”
“Running and hiding is my specialty.”
Some players wore confident expressions, but this wouldn’t be as easy as they thought.
‘Darkness is the ideal environment for the Dark Illusion.’
Some players voiced their skepticism.
“Who says we have to run?”
“Yeah, why can’t we just defeat whatever it is?”
“If it’s a monster, we just have to kill it, right?”
But as if on cue, another message appeared, wiping the smirks off their faces.
[Just so you know, the Dark Illusion is invincible.]
No matter how strong Ryu Min was, he couldn’t break through invincibility.
This meant he, too, would have to avoid the Dark Illusion.
‘But there’s an easier way than just running.’
That way was invisibility.
The Dark Illusion couldn’t detect players who were invisible. If one used the potion and stayed still, survival was guaranteed.
This was why Ryu Min had given invisibility potions to the key members.
‘Use them. Now.’
He had made sure to tell them to drink the potions as soon as the mission started. Christine, John, Min Juri, Yamti, and Seo Arin all disappeared from sight as they drank their potions.
Ryu Min could have hidden himself too, but he chose not to.
‘This round isn’t about surviving alone. It’s about everyone surviving together.’
He needed to guide the other players who didn’t have invisibility.
Just then, a low, eerie wailing sound filled the space—
Wooooooooooo—
The Dark Illusion had appeared.