The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 102

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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 102
102. LC Group
Chairman Ma Dae-chul was struggling to conceal his astonishment.
The supreme executive was far younger than he had anticipated.
‘To possess 31% of shares at that age?’
That meant he was holding over 280 billion won, didn’t it?
“I hear you hold a 31% stake in this company. Is that true?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“If you don’t mind, could you tell me which conglomerate family you’re from?”
Judging by the wealth, he seemed to assume I was a chaebol heir like Ma Gyeong-rok.
Ryu Min shook his head.
“I have no parents. My background is unremarkable.”
“….”
“I simply had good fortune in accumulating such capital. I was lucky enough to strike it rich.”
“And you invested all that money into my son’s company?”
“Because I was certain it would succeed.”
“Certain that changing the business sector would lead to significant growth?”
“Yes.”
“….”
Though his expression remained unchanged, Ma Dae-chul was internally astonished repeatedly.
‘This young man is certainly no ordinary person.’
Even facing him directly, there was no wavering in his gaze, no tremor in his voice.
Moreover, he possessed genuine capability.
Though he spoke of luck, most people squander it even when fortune arrives.
There’s a reason the saying goes that luck is a skill.
“How old are you, if I may ask?”
“I’m twenty this year.”
His age matched his appearance, yet his demeanor suggested otherwise.
‘Did my own son possess such insight and audacity at twenty?’
Ma Dae-chul could only shake his head.
His children were accomplished, but they couldn’t compare to this young man.
“So you’re the one who proposed this business concept.”
“I did present the initial idea. However, I merely provided the framework—the majority of the detailed systems are the work of Ma Gyeong-rok here.”
“Gyeong-rok?”
As Ryu Min deflected credit toward him, Ma Gyeong-rok found himself genuinely surprised.
It was utterly unexpected.
“Honestly, I contributed very little. Ma Gyeong-rok structured the entire system, conceived various business models, and managed their implementation. I merely provided the skeleton—he’s the one who spent countless nights fleshing out the framework.”
“Is that the truth?”
“Ah… yes.”
Though Ryu Min’s contributions were indeed involved, it wasn’t entirely false.
When the company was first founded, ideas flowed freely, and I often discussed various matters with Ryu Min regarding items.
His advice back then proved quite helpful, but….
‘To credit all of that to myself.’
As the Chairman of Oseong Group, I could have looked good, but instead Ryu Min was elevating Ma Gyeong-rok.
However, Ma Dae-chul, with his years of experience and wisdom, couldn’t possibly be unaware of this fact.
‘Hmm, a young man who knows how to praise others and harbors no greed?’
He was truly a talent worth coveting.
I had half a mind to adopt him as a son and give him proper management training.
‘Ahem, have I simply grown too old? What foolish thoughts….’
Ma Dae-chul cleared his throat to dispel the thought and turned his body.
“I see. With this level of passion, there’s nothing to worry about going forward.”
With those words, Ma Dae-chul moved his feet without even a farewell.
Ma Gyeong-rok hurried after him in bewilderment.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Can’t you tell?”
“Please stay a bit longer.”
“Why would I? I’m a busy man too.”
Ma Dae-chul spoke in an indifferent tone as he turned his head.
“I’ll watch how much you grow. If you make it into the top 30 on KOSDAQ within a year, I’ll appoint you as my successor as promised.”
“Thank you.”
With only those words left behind, Ma Dae-chul disappeared.
He didn’t turn his head even once.
“Phew, he’s gone.”
“Major shareholder. You spoke well, didn’t you?”
“You have no idea how nervous I was inside. Haha.”
Ryu Min joked around, but Ma Gyeong-rok didn’t laugh.
There was something he wanted to ask seriously.
“Major shareholder. Why did you tell Father that all of these were my ideas? You clearly suggested several items as well.”
“But all I did was that much. It was you, the CEO, who deliberated on those items, developed them, and executed them.”
….
“I simply spoke the truth.”
Ma Gyeong-rok gazed quietly at Ryu Min.
I had nearly been robbed of credit, but thanks to being elevated before Father, my face was saved.
‘This is all thanks to Major shareholder Ryu Min.’
The light in Ma Gyeong-rok’s eyes changed as he looked at Ryu Min.
From wariness to something gentler.
At that sight, Ryu Min wore a smile of quiet satisfaction within.
‘Good. I managed to dispel his wariness.’
After all, Ryu Min had no need to look good to the Chairman.
Even if he claimed the ideas as his own, there was nothing to gain from it anyway.
‘It’s better to build Ma Gyeong-rok’s favor this way, even if it comes to this.’
Ryu Min inwardly smiled, pretending not to notice Ma Gyeong-rok’s grateful gaze.
* * *
The world remembers only first place.
Second place is forever cast in the shadow of first.
There was one company that understood this truth most acutely.
LC Group, the rival of Osung Group, was that company.
Click—click—whirr—
With each movement of the mouse, worry deepened across the face of Song Baek-hyun, chairman of LC Group.
[Player Place Inc., Stock Price Soars Again Today!]
[PulPul Approaches 100,000 Users Just One Month After Launch!]
[A Company Growing by the Day—Player Place!]
[What’s Behind PulPul’s Success? Precise Understanding of Player Needs….]
[PulPul CEO Ma Gyeong-rok Revealed to Be Osung Group’s Heir….]
“Did he throw money at the press? Why are there so many articles?”
Song Baek-hyun muttered and clicked on the comments section of the article.
└Anyone here using PulPul?
└Me! Selling items here is seriously convenient! The app’s usability is insane.
└I sold all my unnecessary materials on PulPul.
└Me too, me too. I thought they looked useless, but someone actually bought them lol
└I was short on living expenses, so I sold some items and made a decent sum lol
└lol for real. I quit my part-time job and I’m surviving by selling junk items.
└I buy right away whenever decent rare equipment gets posted here.
└Buying equipment is seriously easy too.
└We really needed a site for players, and PulPul is exactly it.
└The stock price hits the daily limit every day, it’s absolutely insane.
└Even better than Bitcoin’s golden age. I need to scrape together money ASAP and invest.
└This is facts. Anyone not investing in PulPul is an idiot.
└Maybe the LC Group chairman won’t invest because of his pride?
└So PulPul was made by Osung Group. They really hit the jackpot.
└Osung’s always been solid. They pulled off another win.
└Osung really did it again.
“What nonsense are they spouting. Sigh.”
Song Baek-hyun shut off the monitor entirely.
If he read any more, he might actually die from rage.
Knock—knock—
“Come in.”
At the sight of who entered his office, Song Baek-hyun’s eyebrows arched sharply.
It was none other than his eldest son, Song Jae-gyeom.
“Father. You called for me?”
“Song Jae-gyeom. How old are you this year?”
“I’m 32, sir.”
“Your actual age.”
“I’m 30… sir.”
“Sigh.”
As the Chairman exhaled, Song Jae-gyeom bowed his head like a man bearing guilt.
“Players have to be under 29, don’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Must be frustrating. Missing out on becoming a Player by just one year.”
“Well….”
“Why? If you became a Player, you’d gain abilities. Even if you were completely incompetent, you’d get superpowers. How incredible would that be? Hmm?”
“….”
It would be incredible, certainly.
But Song Jae-gyeom couldn’t smile.
He knew all too well that his father’s words were mockery of his own incompetence.
“Look at our rival, Oseong Group. They’re expanding globally while we’re always stuck in second place. Why is that? Our technology isn’t that far behind, is it? Hmm?”
“….”
“People only remember first place. Beyond that, second or third makes no difference. And that first place is usually determined largely by luck. The gap between second and first isn’t that vast. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“….”
“It means that with enough effort, second place can become first. With enough effort! But is our group not trying? That’s not it at all. We’re working desperately hard, yet we can’t close the gap. The distance has already widened beyond what ordinary effort can bridge. That’s why we need one decisive blow, understand?”
“….”
Despite the somewhat heated tone, Song Jae-gyeom listened with one ear and let it pass through the other.
He’d heard this nagging so many times that he’d feel slighted if he didn’t hear it anymore.
“Do you know what article I was reading just before?”
‘Probably something about Oseong Group. You’ve been reading about nothing else all day and fuming over it.’
“Oseong Group is apparently undertaking a massive venture with some incredible item. Have you heard of Player Place?”
“Player… Place?”
Song Jae-gyeom’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he nodded as if he’d heard of it.
“Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
“That’s an item created by Oseong Group. And it was their eldest son, Ma Gyeong-rok, who did it.”
Ma Gyeong-rok is the representative of PulPul?
It was news to him, and Song Jae-gyeom’s expression hardened.
“What’s the age difference between you and Ma Gyeong-rok?”
“Three years, sir….”
“And Ma Gyeong-rok is the younger one, isn’t he?”
“….”
“Yet that younger pup apparently has the eye for business—a tiger’s instinct, as they say. Look at him striking it big with an item like this. Meanwhile, someone else grew up in an environment no worse than his, yet can’t produce a single article with his name in it.”
“….”
Despite the obvious comparison, Song Jae-gyeom remained unmoved.
He was no longer even tired of it.
“If you were a Player, I wouldn’t have pushed you this hard. So what should we do? Shouldn’t you launch something big like Ma Gyeong-rok did? I’m not even hoping for a massive success. A moderate one would do, or even something modest. Right? You’ve taken business courses—shouldn’t you be showing some results as the eldest son of LC Group?”
“I will show you results.”
“Really? Do you have a project in progress?”
“There is something I’m preparing in secret.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not the right time to reveal it yet. Please wait a bit longer, Father.”
“Didn’t you say the same thing last time? You’re not just making excuses to get out of my nagging, are you?”
“I’m serious, so please trust me and watch. I’m preparing something substantial.”
“Sigh, alright. You must have learned something from all this. Now go.”
“Yes, rest well.”
Song Jae-gyeom bowed and left the Chairman’s office.
Click—
After closing the door, I stood there thinking.
How had things come to this?
‘It’s all because of that bastard Ma Gyeong-rok.’
When a person is compared to others so relentlessly that calluses form on their ears, bitterness takes root.
Wouldn’t I want to become a Player too?
‘What can I do about bad luck?’
Some might consider themselves fortunate to have been excluded by just one year of age.
After all, they survived a life-or-death game.
But for Song Jae-gyeom, whose reality had been hell, it was nothing but misfortune.
‘If only I had become a Player too…’
Then at least I could have competed with Ma Gyeong-rok on equal footing.
‘There’s no point in regretting now.’
Tap, tap, tap—
I walked with the sound of my dress shoes echoing.
Click—creak—
Entering my private office, I leaned back against the chair.
“Sigh.”
I removed my glasses for a moment and pressed my temples firmly.
Stress had been building up considerably lately.
‘Player Place belonged to Ma Gyeong-rok?’
This was the first I’d heard of it.
To verify if it was true, I turned on the monitor and searched for articles.
“It’s real.”
Irritation suddenly surged through me.
And I’d been recommending it to the Cafe members without knowing.
Wasn’t I essentially helping my rival from behind—the one I wanted to crush?
As I furrowed my brow, another article caught my eye.
[Congressman Lee Sung-hyun. Anti-Player Bill Passes Vote!]
[Lee Sung-hyun said, “Players are like cancer cells in society.”]
[As Player crimes increase, voices supporting Lee Sung-hyun grow….]
[Once the bill is enacted, Players can be suppressed by force!]
[A Player catching Players? Police will prioritize recruiting Players.]
[As early as next month, an anti-Player police organization will be established.]
‘That bastard really is a headache.’
Song Jae-gyeom shared the same contempt for Players.
But to inflate his faction and oppose Ma Gyeong-rok, he had no choice but to stand on the Players’ side.
‘That congressman. I can’t let him do as he pleases.’
Seeing the meeting time had ended, Song Jae-gyeom logged into the chat room.
[The Chairman has entered the chat room.]

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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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