"What did that guy just say?"
"I thought you asked for better compensation?"
"You dare to bargain with an angel…?"
"Are you crazy?"
"I was going crazy because I wanted to die."
Murmurs echoed among the crowd, but the angel heard nothing. I could hardly believe my ears.
[What did you just say, human?]
"I don't like the compensation, so I want to exchange it for something better."
[…....]
I asked if I had misheard, but I hadn't. The person in front of me opened his eyes wide and demanded something, as if it were his natural right.
'Daring to do that to me?'
The beautiful face of the angel, Brielle, twisted into a crumpled frown.
'Should I just gouge out my eyes?'
I glared at him threateningly, but he remained confidently focused on me. Such a sight made me laugh bitterly.
'I had been watching you with some interest, but now you dare to say such ridiculous things.'
Do you think you're special just because you've caught a few goblins?
I was so shocked that I felt like my head might explode right then and there, but I couldn't. The power to kill by sight had been used up long ago.
'You cheeky little human. I can't just kill you... Huh? Wait a minute.'
Brielle, who had paused for a moment of thought, smiled faintly.
'What can't be killed? If you want to kill someone, just kill them.'
A bright idea struck Brielle, and she spoke to Ryu Min.
[So, you said you wanted better compensation, right?]
At that moment, the curtain surrounding Ryu Min vanished.
[I'll listen, so follow me. The other humans will wait until I return.]
The people nodded at those words. After all, I was stuck on the pillar and couldn't move.
"You're offering better compensation?"
"Are you saying that you'll end up doing as that guy with the black scythe says?"
"I never thought bargaining would work with an angel."
"Can I have a say? Ask for a change in compensation."
"I guess I'll have to take first place to get it?"
"I'd be jealous if they really changed the compensation."
People looked at Ryu Min with envy as he followed the angel, whispering among themselves.
Ryu Min clicked his tongue internally at those gazes.
'There's nothing to be jealous of. If only I knew what the angel intended to do with me.'
Angels don't really take you away to offer rewards or anything.
'If it's compensation, it can be given here, so why move the location?'
There's one reason why angels change places.
'They intend to lure me to a secluded spot and kill me.'
Ryu Min was confident of this.
Why was he so sure?
Because he had experienced it firsthand.
Because he had been killed by an angel.
'Was it the 12th time? The first time I was struck from behind by an angel was truly terrifying.'
In the 12th round, Ryu Min had slaughtered goblins based on his experience and skill. As a result, he took first place across all districts for the very first time.
'I had high hopes back then. I wondered how grand the reward for first place would be.'
But were my expectations too high?
When Ryu Min saw the special reward selection box given to first place, he muttered—
"The compensation is less than I expected."
It was a complaint that had slipped out without him realizing it.
Of course, he was entitled to complain. The problem was that an angel overheard that complaint.
'I didn't know then that complaining would earn me the ire of an angel.'
The cost of being marked by an angel was steep.
The angel who lured Ryu Min in with promises of better rewards struck him from behind.
He died simply because he offended someone.
This was why Ryu Min could never view angels favorably.
He had been killed unjustly, but an angel wouldn't care about that.
'To angels, humans are nothing more than lowly insects. Even if they die, that's just the end of it.'
Even though I was currently serving as a guide, I would rather rid the world of all humans.
But there was a reason I couldn't do that.
Because angels aren't as powerful as you think.
'Due to the initial shock, people think, "You can't go against an angel. If you do, your head will explode."'
But that belief is mostly a fabrication.
It's exactly what the angel wants.
The head explosion is merely a show to control humans effectively.
'The ability to blow off someone's head is a one-time power. It's an angelic privilege given to me when I assume the role of a guide.'
This information was acquired through torturing an angel in a past episode using the ability known as Shisal.
'I used that privilege early on.'
That's why the angel couldn't kill anyone with that ability anymore.
This was the reason Ryu Min was unafraid.
'An angel with no life holds no terror for me.'
Everyone fears their abilities, but angels are weaker than you think.
They have wings and can perform a few tricks, but that's it.
Their physical capabilities aren't much greater than those of humans.
In fact, they're just as fragile as they appear.
'Angels are simply humans with wings.'
After being killed by an angel, Ryu Min immediately sought revenge in the next episode.
There were some things he learned along the way.
Angels are weaker than you might believe.
And the key fact is that if you kill an angel, you receive a hidden reward.
'You can't miss a hidden reward, especially if it includes an item that allows you to advance to the unique class, Reaper.'
When you kill an angel, you receive an item required for the Reaper profession.
Since learning that fact, Ryu Min had been on a killing spree against angels.
Next time, and the next time.
I had deliberately been active from the start to catch the angel's eye and then attempted to bargain.
'I threw out some bait to make you bite.'
Every time, the angel attempted to kill Ryu Min by stabbing him with a hidden dagger from its wing.
But it was always the angels who ended up suffering.
'Getting hit in the back of the head once in the 12th round is enough.'
This time, I planned to reward myself by striking first before they hit me again.
As he pondered this, the angel turned its head back as though the back of its head were stinging.
[Why are you following me so far? Are you trying to make me turn around? Can't you follow me closely?]
"Oh, yes."
Ryu Min hastily approached, but the angel still wore a dissatisfied expression.
'Humans only seem to listen when shouted at, tsk.'
They don't grasp the situation and are incredibly greedy.
Humans are a species that can't appreciate something even if they want to.
'If you're an insect, you should take what is given to you without complaint. How dare you ask for compensation? Yes, I'll show you the price of your greed. Hehe.'
Brielle's lips curled into a smirk, as if just contemplating it was amusing.
She had no intention of actually exchanging rewards with Ryu Min.
She didn't even have the ability to do so.
'How can I change the rewards assigned by the system?'
She merely lured him with sweet words.
To kill the human before her in a place devoid of witnesses.
'There's no rule against killing players.'
Didn't she kill someone at the beginning of the game anyway?
It had been a one-off affair, so it couldn't be utilized anymore.
'However, I can't kill openly. If I do, I don't know what I'll hear from above.'
There's no rule prohibiting the killing of players, but there's no rule permitting it either.
In fact, it would likely create issues if players later rebelled over fairness concerns.
That would ruin the game she had invested so much energy into developing.
In such a case, Brielle would bear responsibility as well.
'So, it's best to kill them cleanly without leaving any witnesses.'
Brielle couldn't tolerate this human, who had made her so infuriated.
Her pride wouldn't allow her to simply let it go.
'Other humans listen well because they're scared, but the human ranked number one is infuriating, insisting on bargaining over compensation.'
She must have gotten greedy upon achieving first place.
'You foolish human. If you had just kept still, you might have made it to the middle tier.'
As she was lost in her thoughts, she approached a spot she deemed appropriate to make her move.
[So, you said you wanted a reward? What kind of reward…?]
As she turned around, the angel was taken by surprise.
Because she saw a fist swinging towards her face.
Bam-!
[Wow!]
The angel stumbled and fell, shaken more by the shock than the pain.
'What? That guy hit me?'
Soon thereafter, she realized the situation she was in and her beautiful forehead wrinkled in anger.
[This damn human!]
She raised her head, but the human was nowhere to be seen. However, she could quickly sense where he was.
Because she felt something behind her.
Ryu Min was indeed holding onto her wing.
[Hey, wait! What are you trying to…!]
Thud-!
With a sickening sound, the angel's mouth opened wide in shock.
[Gyaaaaaaah!]
"Consider that a joke."
Ryu Min pushed aside her drooping wing and grasped the other one.
His plan was to break the other side too, ensuring she couldn't escape.
Pitter-patter!
[Kkiyaaaaaaaaaaah!]
"Does it hurt?"
The angel screamed, her disbelief evident.
[Of course it does!]
"In five minutes, you'll be asking that obvious question, with that unique, unlucky laugh of yours that goes, 'Kyohoho.'"
[Are you insane, human!? What the hell are you talking about…?]
"You tried to kill me with the dagger you concealed in your wing?"
[....]
Ryu Min grinned at the sight of the angel now speechless and mute.
"I knew it."
[Oh, kill me! I never thought of that…!]
"You don't have to try so hard to lie. It's written all over your face, Brielle."
The angel's eyes widened.
[How can a human like you know my name…?]
"I don't know about that."
Ryu Min raised his hand.
Unknowingly, he was now holding a dagger.
It was the stiletto he had chosen as the first-place reward.
[What? What are you doing with that weapon…?]
"You won't understand if you see it, will you?"
Brielle fell silent at Ryu Min's chilling gaze.
Though she didn't respond, he could tell.
She knew she was going to die soon.
For a moment, fear flickered in Brielle's eyes, but her pride refused to break.
[What? Are you so insane you want your head to explode, human?]
"You don't possess the ability to kill anymore."
[….…..]
She was momentarily speechless as he hit the mark.
Confusion played across the angel's features.
[Hey! Do you think you'll be safe just because of this? My colleagues won't stand idly by!]
"What about your colleagues? Do you think I don't realize that angels are selfish beings who don't care about others? They don't fret over whether you perish or not?"
[T-Telling me that… How on earth…?]
"I told you I don't know. Just go now."
A sense of urgency appeared on the angel's face as she raised her dagger.
[Now, wait! This won't do you any good!]
"Yes, and you don't know."
[If you kill me, you'll regret it! You'll never make it home!]
"You can go. It's a system that automatically returns you once the settlement is complete."
[Oh, how come you don't know that? What do you not know?]
"Well."
[I'll give you all the information you want! Just give me one chance!]
"I don't need any information. I've already absorbed everything I could."
[What? When…?]
The angel could no longer speak.
Because Ryu Min's dagger had sunk into her heart.
[Keuhk!]
The angel, her eyes wide open, convulsed once and then collapsed.
Golden blood poured from her lacerated chest.
Regardless, Ryu Min's gaze shifted to the message that had appeared in his mind.
It was a notification about the hidden rewards.