The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 11

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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 11
11. Convenience Store
On the way home.
Ryu Won couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he stared at his older brother.
“W-wait, hyung. What’s going on? Did you learn martial arts somewhere?”
“When would I have time for that?”
“Right….”
The moment he became a high school student, he’d taken up part-time work to earn living expenses.
Determined to at least get his diploma, he’d juggled school and work, so there was no way he could have found time to learn martial arts.
“Then how did you do that? Those movements were….”
“You didn’t read the news properly? Players who’ve been to the Other World can use their abilities in reality too. Like this.”
Ryu Min opened his inventory and pulled out a stiletto.
“Huh! W-what is that?”
The system is invisible to other people’s eyes.
From his younger brother’s perspective, a blade had simply materialized from thin air.
“W-where did that come from? That sword?”
“I told you. Players can use their abilities in reality too.”
Ryu Min tucked the dagger away, and it vanished like magic.
Even after witnessing it, Ryu Won couldn’t believe his eyes—but what he found even harder to believe was what had happened at the Hideout.
‘I can’t believe hyung beat Bang Tae-gyu….’
Not just middle school seniors, but even high school students would flee in fear whenever they saw Bang Tae-gyu.
Yet Ryu Min had defeated that monster effortlessly.
Without taking a single hit, overwhelming him completely.
“Can all players move like you? How did you dodge all of that?”
“My Agility stat is 11.”
“Stat? Like in games?”
Ryu Min explained patiently to his younger brother, who still had much to learn.
“S-so you were that fast because you maxed out Agility?”
“That’s right.”
“What’s normal?”
“An average adult is around 3, and an athlete is about 10.”
In other words, Ryu Min possessed the agility of a seasoned boxer.
“S-so if your level increases later and Agility reaches 30 or 50, what happens then?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never reached that level.”
Of course, that was a lie.
I’d pushed my Agility past 300 before.
‘At that level, you become a true monster.’
At that point, you can dodge bullets.
Modern weapons become useless and can’t even land a hit.
You transform into a weapon that only another player could possibly defeat.
‘Players causing trouble all over the place will start popping up left and right.’
Murder, rape, arson, kidnapping, theft—the list went on.
A handful of twisted players would weaponize their abilities for every conceivable crime.
This wasn’t some distant concern.
It was reality that would unfold within mere months.
‘And players will even fight each other.’
They should be cooperating to survive the rounds, yet they’d target each other’s lives instead.
‘I can’t let my brother get caught up in the battles of players like that.’
In my eleventh return, I’d revealed to Ryu Won that I was a returner.
As a result, he’d been kidnapped simply for being the family of a returner.
‘He didn’t even go around bragging that he was a returner’s family.’
The reason was simple.
The kidnapper, Jang Seok-hyun, possessed a rune that could read others’ true thoughts.
After that, I took my revenge on Jang Seok-hyun.
I even claimed the hidden rune he’d accidentally discovered—[Rune of True Thoughts].
‘Jang Seok-hyun. I’ll claim his rune in this round as well.’
The Rune of True Thoughts was incredibly useful for gathering information, handling situations, and identifying allies from enemies.
It was one of the eighteen essential runes on my must-acquire list.
‘If I secure the rune, my brother won’t be kidnapped by Jang Seok-hyun… but.’
That didn’t mean I wanted to reveal that I was a returner.
‘He suffered that humiliation because of me.’
Even if it was in the past and I’d cut off the threat before it could happen, the discomfort lingered.
I felt sorry toward Ryu Won just for letting him experience such a thing.
That was why I wouldn’t reveal my returner status to him.
“Thanks for helping me out, hyung…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Huh?”
“You’re worried Bang Tae-gyu might report this to the police, right?”
“Y-yeah. We don’t even have money, and if we have to pay for his medical bills…”
“He won’t report it. Not if he wants to live.”
I was certain of this.
It had been the same in my previous return.
Bang Tae-gyu wasn’t stupid enough to dismiss my warning lightly.
‘He’ll just claim he got hurt in a street fight. He’ll make sure the witnesses keep their mouths shut.’
Knowing he’d never open his mouth, I could rest easy.
Even if he did somehow talk, it wouldn’t matter.
‘I’d just pay him off and kill him. Problem solved.’
Right now, I didn’t even have money for rent, let alone settlement fees, but I wasn’t worried.
‘Money can be earned.’
But Ryu Won seemed to think differently—his face remained clouded with concern.
The thought kept circling through my mind—what if something went wrong?
‘Then again, it’s not like you’ve repeated dozens of situations and know the outcome like I do.’
I chuckled at the money worries, but Ryu Won’s concern lay elsewhere entirely.
‘Is this really the older brother I know?’
At a glance, my appearance was the same as yesterday, but Ryu Won saw it clearly.
The way I had mercilessly snapped Bang Tae-gyu’s fingers despite his pleas.
He didn’t feel a chill or fear at that cruelty.
Rather, watching Bang Tae-gyu wail in agony even brought a sense of satisfaction.
‘The problem is that the older brother I know isn’t this cold and cruel by nature.’
Does becoming a player change a person?
Or does the harsh experience of killing and being killed transform someone?
‘I haven’t experienced a survival game myself, so I can’t really say….’
Ryu Won glanced at me.
Feeling his gaze, I looked back with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind.”
Turning his head away, Ryu Won felt relieved internally.
‘When fighting, it’s different, but right now he’s definitely the older brother I know.’
During combat, I seemed like a completely different person, but now I was no different from my usual self.
‘That’s enough.’
Ryu Won let go of his worry.
What was the problem if his older brother had changed?
He’d grown this strong and come back alive.
‘That’s enough. That’s enough.’
Just as he decided to stop worrying, a Convenience Store came into view.
At that moment, an embarrassing signal came from his stomach.
Gurgle—
It was because he hadn’t eaten anything since waking up this morning.
I caught that sound and chuckled from beside him.
“Hungry? Want to grab breakfast at the Convenience Store?”
“Y-yeah, s-sounds good.”
Embarrassed, Ryu Won scratched his head and followed me into the Convenience Store.
Even if it looked meager for a meal, for two brothers barely scraping by on rent, the Convenience Store was nothing short of paradise.
Modern convenience stores had everything these days.
We could have eaten at other restaurants, but anything beyond the Convenience Store was a luxury for us.
That’s when I approached the ATM next to the Convenience Store.
“What are you doing?”
“Just a second, let me withdraw some cash.”
As I inserted my card into the ATM, a pitiful amount appeared on the screen.
[Available Balance: 133,202 won]
My total savings: 133,000 won.
It wasn’t much, but for brothers with meager income, it was everything we had.
Still, Ryu Min’s weekend shifts at the Meat Restaurant kept us afloat to some degree.
Compared to most people, our life was quite impoverished.
Yet Ryu Min withdrew most of that meager sum.
“Hyung?”
Ryu Won gasped in surprise as he watched his brother withdraw 100,000 won in cash.
“What are you going to use that for?”
“I have something I need it for.”
I smiled at my curious younger brother and headed into the Convenience Store.
He followed me in, initially reaching for his usual cup ramen, but I had inexplicably gone straight to the frozen food section.
“Go ahead and pick something.”
“Hyung? Everything there is expensive.”
Ryu Won hesitated at the frozen foods, each costing at least 5,000 won.
“It’s fine. Just for today, eat whatever you want.”
For some reason, I was indulging in extravagance, unlike my usual self.
“Hyung, did the restaurant owner give you a bonus or something?”
“You know he’s not that kind of person.”
“Then why are you suddenly trying to eat expensive food?”
“It’s New Year’s. I can’t just settle for ramen on a day like this.”
“You never cared about that before…”
Rent, phone bills, groceries.
Even with my part-time job and basic living assistance, covering expenses for two people wasn’t easy.
Given our circumstances, Ryu Won felt awkward choosing anything expensive.
At an age when he should be eating well, did he really want to eat ramen every day?
“It’s okay, just pick something.”
“Are you serious, hyung? If I eat this, will we still have enough to live on?”
“We will.”
“Really? Then it’s okay to pick something?”
“It’s okay.”
Even as I repeatedly told him to choose what he wanted, my brother’s eyes remained filled with doubt.
‘Why is hyung suddenly acting like this?’
But such thoughts were fleeting.
Convinced that I’d left enough for living expenses, Ryu Won picked what he wanted to eat.
“You’re going to eat that? Gochujang pork belly?”
“Yeah. I’ve really wanted to try it.”
“…”
At those words, my expression darkened slightly.
Until now, we’d never had the chance to eat pork belly because we couldn’t afford it.
“Won, I’ll take you to the Meat Restaurant soon and let you eat all you want. Premium beef.”
“That’s enough. We can’t afford Korean beef anyway. This is plenty for me.”
I forced a smile as I spoke, but I knew better.
Having never experienced a single meal out like other kids my age, of course I wanted to go to a proper restaurant.
‘Just wait a few more days. I’ll make sure you eat so much meat you get sick of it.’
What I’d just said to Ryu Won wasn’t empty talk.
There was a reason for this extravagance right now.
A substantial sum would be coming in within days.
“I’ll get this one.”
What I chose was frozen steamed chicken.
“That looks delicious, hyung. Can I have a little? I’ll share mine with you too.”
“Sure.”
After selecting two additional servings of rice, I headed to the counter and handed over my card.
Once I’d finished paying, I returned, unwrapped the packaging, and put it in the microwave.
Eating here at the Convenience Store was more comfortable than eating in our cramped home.
“It’s ready. Let’s eat.”
“Thank you for the meal, hyung!”
I sat down and enjoyed a modest dinner with my younger brother at the Convenience Store.
“This is delicious!”
“Good? Eat plenty.”
When I gave Ryu Won my portion, he practically jumped with joy.
“Thanks, hyung!”
Since he usually only ate instant noodles, he devoured this meal with genuine enthusiasm.
He ate like someone who’d been starving for days.
“Ah, that was satisfying.”
After finishing, Ryu Won patted his stomach and asked with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, hyung.”
“What?”
“I noticed you paid with a card just now… so why did you withdraw 100,000 won?”
He must have thought I was planning to use the cash for this meal.
“I told you. I have a use for it.”
“So what are you going to use it for?”
Instead of answering, I retrieved some paper and a marker from nearby.
It was a lottery ticket form.
“Hyung, why are you…?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Only then did Ryu Won realize why I’d withdrawn the 100,000 won.
“You’re not seriously buying lottery tickets?”
“Yeah.”
“Hyung, you’re still in high school. You can’t buy lottery tickets.”
“Forgot? I turned eighteen today.”
“Ah… I see.”
Today happened to be Saturday, the day of the lottery drawing.
But looking more carefully, Ryu Min hadn’t brought just one or two tickets.
“Wait, how many did you bring? Twenty? You’re not seriously planning to spend 100,000 won on lottery tickets?”
“The purchase limit per person is only 100,000 won.”
He spoke as if disappointed, but his younger brother jumped up in protest.
“Brother, are you insane? How can you throw away 100,000 won when we’re struggling like this?”
Even if buying one ticket was to commemorate becoming an adult, purchasing twenty was an extravagant waste.
“It might look like extravagance, but it’s not. This is something I need to spend on.”
“You don’t even know if it’ll work! It’s obvious they’ll all be duds….”
“We’ll find out when we see the results.”
Ryu Min was brimming with certainty.
As if he was absolutely guaranteed to win.
But that wasn’t the only absurd part.
“What are you doing? Why are you marking the same number over and over?”
Ryu Min chuckled and replied.
“Because this is the winning number.”

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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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