The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 10
10. Bang Tae-gyu
“These damn bastards deserve to die.”
The Abandoned Factory echoed with violent sounds from early morning.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
Bang Tae-gyu kicked over three students who had been kneeling before him, one after another.
“Did I ask you to bring 200,000 won each? Did I or didn’t I?”
“Ugh….”
“What? Not answering? Don’t my words sound like words to you?”
“Wait, please… Hack!”
The soccer kick landed squarely on the student’s face.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud!
As the kicks resumed, the students curled up like turtles and whimpered in pain.
“Blocking? Blocking? Lift your head.”
The delinquents standing behind him, smoking cigarettes, snickered at the sight of Bang Tae-gyu grabbing the student’s hair and slapping his cheeks.
But beneath their laughter, they were deeply tense.
They feared Bang Tae-gyu’s ruthlessness.
‘That’s Bang Tae-gyu for you. He shows no mercy even to the weaklings.’
‘No wonder even senior students from other schools walk on eggshells around him.’
‘I can never talk back to Tae-gyu, no matter what.’
Bang Tae-gyu stood at 185 centimeters tall.
For a second-year middle schooler, his build was unusually large.
Naturally, he towered over his peers.
He was skilled at fighting too, earning him a notorious reputation among the delinquent gangs.
“Damn it, I was planning to buy a motorcycle once I got the money today, but these bastards aren’t helping me out from the morning.”
Bang Tae-gyu, who had been fuming, turned to face the idle delinquents.
“Hey. Does anyone among you have some money?”
“Huh? U, us?”
“I’ll definitely pay you back next month.”
The flustered delinquents scratched the back of their heads with awkward expressions.
“S, sorry. We only get allowance from home occasionally….”
“Me too. I don’t have any money saved up for cigarettes. Haha….”
They tried to refuse as gently as possible without offending him, but Bang Tae-gyu’s expression had already twisted into a scowl.
“Useless bastards. I should just beat all of you.”
“Huh?”
“A, are you talking to us?”
“Yeah, you damn fools. If you can’t even lend me money, what’s the difference between you and these shuttle punks here?”
Bang Tae-gyu’s anger was genuine.
Realizing this, the panicked delinquents lowered their heads and began apologizing.
“W, we’re sorry we couldn’t help….”
“I’ll try to save up some allowance so I can buy a motorcycle…”
“Forget it, damn it. When would I ever buy you one with that pathetic pocket change?”
Bang Tae-gyu, who had been irritable all along, kicked at the sprawled students with petulant aggression.
Thud, thud—!
“It’s all because of these bastards!”
Thud, thud—!
“If only these punks had brought the money on time, damn it!”
Only when the students lay limp, no longer even capable of groaning, did Bang Tae-gyu’s kicks finally cease.
“Ugh, what a mess. Spit!”
Bang Tae-gyu spat and gestured toward his gang members.
One of them quickly produced a cigarette and handed it to him.
“Ahhhh…”
Bang Tae-gyu exhaled smoke and surveyed his gang again, basking in the moment.
“Hey, you know any way to get money?”
“Huh? A way to get money?”
“Yeah. Any method at all?”
“Hmm…”
“Well…”
The gang members stroked their chins, pondering as if it were their own problem.
If they failed to secure the money, the heat might fall on them again.
“What about robbing a Convenience Store?”
“You want to end up at the police station?”
“Or we could steal from the homeless beggars near the station?”
“Squeeze blood from a stone. Those vagrants barely make anything anyway.”
“What about shaking down other students on the street?”
“That’s probably the most realistic option.”
“But where would we find students at this hour? Everyone’s stuck at home on break.”
“We could check the PC Bang or Coin Karaoke places.”
“There are a lot of CCTVs these days, though.”
“That’s why we need to cover our faces and work carefully.”
As they huddled together and casually plotted their crimes.
“Oh, speaking of which, Tae-gyu.”
One of the gang members asked him.
“Why didn’t you call him?”
“Who?”
“You know, that shuttle from your class.”
“Oh, Ryu Won? That bastard?”
A cruel smile spread across Bang Tae-gyu’s lips.
“I was planning to call him anyway. Gotta beat him up a little for the new year.”
“What if you call and he doesn’t show?”
“Don’t worry. I know where that bastard lives.”
“We can just shake him down for some cash.”
“Yeah, that’ll work.”
The delinquents agreed, but Bang Tae-gyu shook his head.
“That guy’s broke. He goes home and eats nothing but ramen because he’s got no money.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Would I be lying to you for no reason?”
“Oh… sorry.”
“But how poor do you have to be to eat only ramen?”
“Right? If he lives in Seoul, he should have some money, shouldn’t he?”
As his friends voiced their doubts, Bang Tae-gyu shrugged.
“I don’t know. But the fact that he got beaten down by me and didn’t bring a single coin suggests he really is broke. His place is some rundown Multi-unit Residential Building.”
“Oh, really?”
“Still, it’s weird, isn’t it? If he’s that poor, why does he go to High School in Seoul? His parents must be out of their minds too.”
“His mother and father are dead. They died in a traffic accident, so he lives with his older brother.”
Though pity might have been expected, the delinquents snickered mockingly instead.
“Damn, what a pathetic life. No parents. Hehehehe.”
“So that’s why he’s a beggar, you bastard. Hahahaha.”
Mockery gave way to conspiracy theories.
“Tae-gyu, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think that guy’s actually broke.”
“I think so too. He must’ve gotten an inheritance, so how can he have no money?”
“These days, basic welfare payments are pretty generous, so kids without parents actually live better.”
“Right. I think he was pulling a con from the start to avoid getting shaken down.”
“Bet he’s out there cutting into a fancy steak after school.”
The delinquents’ argument sounded convincing enough that Bang Tae-gyu’s face flushed red with anger.
“That damn bastard dares mock me? I should call him right now and beat him half to death, that son of a—”
Bang Tae-gyu pulled out his phone to make the call when something made him stop.
“What’s wrong? Tae-gyu?”
“Wait. Don’t you hear that?”
At Bang Tae-gyu’s words, the delinquents fell silent and listened.
Thump, thump—
Footsteps echoed through the quiet Abandoned Factory.
Not just one set, but clearly more than two.
Moments later, two men emerged before the delinquents.
One of them was a face Bang Tae-gyu recognized well.
“Huh? You…?”
It was Ryu Won, the very subject of their conversation just moments before.
Bang Tae-gyu exhaled a long sigh.
His tension evaporated in an instant.
“They say speak of the tiger and it appears… or is it a dog in this case? Ryu Won, you bastard.”
Ryu Won’s face went pale the moment he heard the curse.
I felt a certain satisfaction at his reaction, though it fell short of complete contentment.
The man beside him showed no change in expression whatsoever.
‘Who the hell is this guy? That smug face is seriously pissing me off.’
Bang Tae-gyu nodded with a displeased expression.
“Who’s the punk next to you? Some new errand boy you brought along to keep me entertained?”
“W-well, this is….”
Before Ryu Won could finish, Ryu Min stepped forward.
“I’m Won’s older brother.”
“Older brother?”
A snort escaped Bang Tae-gyu’s lips.
“Didn’t I tell you before? Keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to get beaten. But you ended up ratting to your brother anyway? And you even told him where our hideout is?”
“N-no! I didn’t say anything….”
“Shut your damn mouth, you bastard. You’re getting beaten today. You and your brother both.”
Bang Tae-gyu’s fierce eyes locked onto Ryu Min.
Though he maintained an expressionless face, Bang Tae-gyu caught it.
A brief flinch, a flicker of fear in the guy’s gaze.
‘Heh, idiot. Scared of a punk like me.’
I’d thought he might have some backbone since his expression didn’t change earlier, but apparently not.
‘No, wait. It’s too early to jump to conclusions.’
Bang Tae-gyu glanced behind the brothers.
No other footsteps echoed—he hadn’t called anyone else.
‘They must’ve heard about me, yet they came with just the two of them? Is this guy cocky?’
Bang Tae-gyu had fought countless opponents during his years in the Delinquent Gang.
Some of them had been as short as this “older brother.”
‘Only amateurs let their guard down just because someone’s short.’
First, I needed to test his skills.
Bang Tae-gyu gave a subtle signal to his friends.
The Delinquent Gang members nodded slightly and stepped forward.
“Man, the world’s really changed. Now even errand boys dare talk back to Tae-gyu.”
“Your brother fights that well? Hell, if you’re confident, want to take us all on?”
Three Delinquent Gang members approached with menacing expressions, but Ryu Min showed no fear.
‘He’s got some guts, at least. That’s why he came this far. So his actual skills are….’
I’d find out soon enough.
The distance between the gang members and this “older brother” had closed to arm’s length.
‘Street fights between punks are always the most entertaining.’
The situation was on a knife’s edge.
Bang Tae-gyu was about to fold his arms and watch comfortably when——
Crack—!
Unexpectedly, the older brother made the first move.
“Tch, this bastard!”
The delinquent gang member clutching his nose threw a punch, but—
Whoosh, whoosh—
Ryu Min nimbly slipped past with a weave and drove his fist straight into the man’s jaw instead.
Thud—
As one fell limply, the other gang members’ eyes blazed with fury as they rushed forward.
“You bastard!”
But from the start, they were no match for Ryu Min.
Smack, smack—!
The delinquents who took hits to the cheekbones and stomachs fell in succession, and Ryu Min’s follow-up kicks shattered their front teeth.
“Ugh….”
“Ahhh….”
It didn’t take long for all three to hit the ground.
Bang Tae-gyu’s eyebrows arched like a bow.
‘That bastard….’
I’d wondered how well someone of similar height could fight, but now I see the full picture.
‘Just a small-timer, huh.’
His stance showed hints of boxing training from somewhere, but that was all.
‘He actually thought he could challenge me with that half-baked skill?’
To Bang Tae-gyu, who based his fighting on boxing, it looked like nothing more than a beginner’s technique.
“Hey, Won. So you picked up some boxing somewhere and now you’re getting cocky, huh….”
Bang Tae-gyu stepped forward past the fallen delinquents.
“Seems you never learned how massive the weight class difference is in boxing?”
“….”
As Bang Tae-gyu took his stance, Ryu Min lifted his head.
Bang Tae-gyu: 185 centimeters tall with a muscular, compact frame.
Ryu Min: 165 centimeters tall with a frail, diminutive build.
The weight class difference was so obvious that the outcome could be predicted without even fighting.
Yet surprisingly, his opponent showed no signs of intimidation whatsoever.
“And you haven’t watched the news?”
“What news?”
“Tsk.”
At Ryu Min’s dismissive tongue click, a vein bulged on Bang Tae-gyu’s forehead.
“What news, you little punk!”
Enraged, Bang Tae-gyu threw a sudden punch.
An ordinary person would have staggered from the impact without time to react, but—
Whoosh—
Ryu Min dodged the attack with merely a slight tilt of his head.
Bang Tae-gyu, his pride wounded, threw a follow-up strike, but Ryu Min evaded that too.
The third, fourth, and fifth punches all missed as well.
I’d intended to land the first blow and seize control of the fight, but reality had other plans.
“You little flying squirrel!”
Bang Tae-gyu, his temper flaring, alternated between punches and kicks, desperately trying to land a hit on Ryu Min.
He’d thought he could land at least one solid blow, but it was a grave miscalculation.
“If you’d watched the news, you’d know I’m a Player. You wouldn’t be rushing me like this.”
Ryu Min, who had been casually dodging, finally extended his fist.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
The punch connected squarely with Bang Tae-gyu’s face.
But Bang Tae-gyu had enough durability that a single hit wouldn’t bring him down.
“Damn it! Where’d that mosquito bite come from? This is barely a tickle…”
Smack!
Another fist drove in before he could finish speaking.
His nose throbbed with pain.
“I’ll kill you!”
He threw his fist with genuine murderous intent, but it sailed harmlessly past.
Smack! Smack!
As damage accumulated across his face, one hit after another, he no longer had the will to speak.
“Grraaaagh!”
Only rage clouded his vision now.
Smack! Smack!
Regardless, Ryu Min continued his relentless assault on Bang Tae-gyu’s face.
No matter how weak the force, fists striking a face would inevitably deal damage.
Proof lay in Bang Tae-gyu’s collapsed nasal bridge and split lips, blood streaming down.
With only one-sided attacks, weight class and everything else became irrelevant.
‘Damn it, just one hit. If I could just land one…!’
Even as he took blow after blow, Bang Tae-gyu refused to yield.
His pride wouldn’t allow him to admit defeat to someone like that.
“This isn’t the time to worry about pride.”
Ryu Min’s fist struck Bang Tae-gyu’s face once more.
‘Hit again, damn it!’
He’d lost count of how many times he’d been struck.
His face had gone numb to the pain.
The earlier display of skill seemed like a feint—his movements were now flawless, economical.
Bang Tae-gyu grimaced and threw a wide hook.
The moment it missed, Ryu Min slipped inside and drove his fist into his jaw.
“Ah…”
Bang Tae-gyu’s vision spun, and another fist came flying toward him.
Though he hated to admit it, offense alone wouldn’t cut it.
Instinctively, he raised his hands to block.
Crack—
‘Huh?’
Instead of striking my guard, my opponent seized my outstretched fingers.
Crunch!
“Aaaahhh!”
Bang Tae-gyu screamed as his fingers bent at grotesque angles.
But the moment I lowered my upper body, Ryu Min’s knee drove into my face.
“Ugh!”
“Hey.”
Before I knew it, Ryu Min had seized my other hand’s fingers.
Crunch—!
“Aaahhh! Ah, it hurts! It hurts!”
Crack— Crack—!
“S-stop! Please! Aaahhh!”
Ignoring Bang Tae-gyu’s pleas, Ryu Min mercilessly snapped all ten fingers like breaking a chicken’s neck.
“Hey.”
Ryu Min spoke again, his voice cold as frost.
“You know what happens if you touch my brother, right?”
“Hgh… hgh…”
“Not answering?”
“Y-yeah, I got it. I won’t… I won’t touch him.”
Bang Tae-gyu, now covered in tears and snot, managed to nod weakly.
Crack—
But Ryu Min showed no sign of stopping, seizing one of Bang Tae-gyu’s arms.
“W-what are you…?”
“You might have second thoughts later, so I need to be thorough.”
“D-don’t. Don’t do this…!”
Despite Bang Tae-gyu’s protests.
Pop—!
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
Ryu Min twisted Bang Tae-gyu’s arm into an unnatural position.
“If you try to get revenge or report this to the police, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of Earth and break your other arm too.”
“Hgh… hgh… n-no…”
It was the moment fear was branded into Bang Tae-gyu’s mind for the first time.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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