The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 110

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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 110
110. Traitor Group
Round 8 contains two distinct groups.
The Regular Group that escorts the merchant caravan, and the Traitor Group hidden within it.
Naturally, the objectives of these two groups differ entirely.
‘The Regular Group must escort the merchant caravan and safely reach the destination.’
This is the main Quest of Round 8, as commonly understood.
The sub-Quest involves identifying and eliminating the traitors among them.
‘But if I become part of the Traitor Group, the Quest changes completely.’
As expected, a new objective materialized before me.
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ belongs to the Traitor Group.]
[Main Quest and Sub-Quest merge into one.]
[Round 8 Quest has been modified.]
◀ ROUND 8 ▶
【Traitor Group Quest】
└Obstruct the merchant caravan from reaching the destination
└Success ▶ ???? Reward
└Failure ▶ Retry with 20% stat reduction debuff
└Three failures ▶ Elimination
The Regular Group’s objective is to safely escort the merchant caravan to the destination.
But the Traitor Group’s objective is the complete opposite.
‘The Traitor Group’s purpose is to prevent the merchant caravan from reaching the destination.’
It’s essentially a Quest executed secretly while mingling among the masses.
In a sense, it’s a battle between the few and the many.
To some, it might seem like an insanely difficult challenge….
‘But I don’t need to face all the Regular Group members alone. The Quest succeeds as long as the merchant caravan doesn’t reach the destination.’
There’s no need to turn every Player into an enemy just to obstruct them.
‘I only need to eliminate the Other World merchants.’
If I quickly eliminate the Other World merchants through assassination, there’s no problem.
Surviving the Players’ retaliation afterward is a separate matter.
‘No, they won’t act out of revenge. They’ll desperately try to kill me once they discover the traitor to achieve the sub-Quest.’
To the Regular Group, the traitor is a target for elimination.
In other words, the Players have made me their enemy.
‘Or did I make them my enemy?’
This was why I didn’t mention the sub-Quest in my prophecy.
Even if they knew, achieving the sub-Quest would be impossible.
‘Kill me, Black Scythe, and claim the sub-Quest reward? Fat chance.’
What would people’s reaction be if they learned I was a traitor and that I’m Black Scythe?
Without a doubt, countless Players would abandon the sub-Quest without even attempting it.
‘Regardless, are those people also part of the Traitor Group like me?’
The Gray Space where Ryu Min now stood was different from the starting point.
He had been transported here along with a message declaring his entry into the Traitor Group, and he could see other people scattered about.
‘People like me who couldn’t choose a merchant caravan because time ran out.’
They were probably panicking as they read the message right now.
Suddenly being told they’d become traitors.
Suddenly being told they’d have to make enemies of hundreds or thousands of Players.
‘Looks like there aren’t even thirty of us.’
Now, whether they liked it or not, they had to become the Traitor Group and complete the mission together.
‘Actually, there’s no need to do it together. Not if I have no intention of clearing the Quest.’
It was unfortunate for them, but Ryu Min had no intention of completing the Quest quickly.
‘If I fail, I get a stat reduction debuff and the penalty of retrying, but….’
The important thing was that I’d only be eliminated after three failures.
Even if I failed once or twice, I’d only receive a stat debuff—no real loss.
‘That’s what matters. Having three chances.’
The Traitor Group would be deployed sequentially to the Dwarf Merchant Caravan, Elf Merchant Caravan, and Human Merchant Caravan in that order.
That meant if the mission failed, I could experience all three caravans.
‘It’s an opportunity to level up tremendously.’
If I deliberately failed the mission and toured each caravan like a traveling show, hunting monsters?
I could obtain not just superior experience compared to others, but items from all three locations.
‘Especially the runes that each caravan grants when reputation is high. I could monopolize all of them.’
Ryu Min planned to obtain two runes in this round.
The Rune of Durability and the Rune of Future Sight.
‘I can get Durability from the Dwarf Merchant Caravan and Future Sight from the Human Merchant Caravan.’
From the Elf Merchant Caravan, I could get potions, and there was one potion even I coveted.
‘Regardless, the core strategy for this Round 8 is to tour each caravan and monopolize experience and items.’
For that, the Traitor Group was the perfect choice.
Of course, it would be unfortunate for the other traitors.
‘I’ll do whatever it takes to make the Quest fail.’
Belonging to the Traitor Group while hoping the traitors would fail.
It was a double agent through and through.
[Kyahahaha, so all you indecisive people who couldn’t choose a caravan gathered here?]
Ariel, the angel explaining Round 8, appeared with an ill-fitting laugh.
[Everyone, gather over here. If not now, you won’t get another chance, and you should at least know each other’s faces, right?]
As the angel fluttered her wings, the scattered Players gathered together.
“Huh, Black Scythe?”
“Why is Black Scythe here?”
“Wait, more importantly, why am I in the Traitor Group?”
[I see some people still haven’t grasped the situation. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?]
Ariel kindly explained to the Players how they had become traitors.
“Ah, so it was because I didn’t choose?”
“What on earth was I thinking….”
“So everyone here couldn’t choose a merchant caravan?”
Ryu Min quickly counted the number of people present.
Including myself, there were 29 Players gathered here.
While the others were distracted listening to Angel’s explanation.
‘Right now, I need to memorize every face here. That way, when I betray these bastards later, I’ll be able to handle them more easily.’
Ryu Min began rapidly committing each member of the Traitor Group’s face to memory.
Why was I memorizing faces of my own teammates?
If we were in a party, I could recognize them through the wristband rings anyway.
‘That’s because we’re only called a group in name—we’re not actually party members.’
Just then, Angel was explaining exactly this.
[As members of the Traitor Group, you must prevent the merchant caravans from reaching their destination. You share the same Quest, so you might think of yourselves as party members, but in reality, you are not.]
“We’re not a party?”
“So we’re soloing?”
[Yes. The Regular Group is indeed a party. However, you are traitors, so you do not share experience points. It’s a setting based on mutual distrust, you see. Kya ha ha!]
“Wait, then how are we supposed to hunt….”
“I was happy thinking I’d be partied with Black Scythe….”
The faces of those Players who had secretly hoped to ride on my coattails showed clear disappointment.
[The distrust setting was a joke, but there is a legitimate reason we’ve prevented you from forming parties. It’s because if one person betrays the team, the rest suffer losses too.]
“What do you mean by that?”
[Suppose one member of the Traitor Group pretended to go insane and exposed the identities of the other traitors. What would you do?]
“We’d have to shut that bastard’s mouth.”
“Kill them if necessary!”
[Exactly. But as you know, if you were in a party, you couldn’t attack each other and damage wouldn’t register. In short, it’s a system where if one person betrays, the rest become vulnerable to harm.]
“Ah. So that’s why….”
“There was a reason we couldn’t be in a party.”
If we had been in a party, I wouldn’t be able to silence a loose-tongued traitor and would face suspicious looks from everyone around me.
The moment suspicion fell on us, the Traitor Group’s chances of success would plummet, making it unavoidable that we couldn’t form a party.
‘That’s fortunate for me. I don’t have to share hunting experience points.’
Having memorized all the faces of the Traitor Group members, Ryu Min smirked.
Now, even if I encountered them in actual combat, I could identify who the traitors were.
‘Once I know who they are, handling them is child’s play. Besides, I have the Rune of True Intentions anyway.’
Moreover, there was a reason I memorized faces instead of nicknames.
That reason came from Angel’s own mouth.
[By the way, we’ll also be hiding all Players’ nicknames. If you knew each other’s nicknames, it would be too easy for the traitors to identify one another.]
“You’re hiding nicknames because of us?”
In other words, it was a measure to prevent traitors from knowing each other’s identities.
“But our faces are exposed right now, aren’t they?”
[Faces are harder to memorize than nicknames. Especially, who could memorize faces in such a short time like this?]
There was one.
It was right here that Ryu Min had done the same.
[And once you put on a helmet, your face is sufficiently concealed. I believe that’s reasonable, wouldn’t you say?]
As Angel stared at them expectantly, the Players could only nod in agreement.
“Yes, yes indeed.”
“Absolutely reasonable.”
[Good. Then shall we proceed? When the caravan reaches its destination, all of you will need to challenge the other caravans in a weakened state, so please keep that in mind.]
They weren’t just a party—they were a community of shared fate bound by the same Quest.
“Wait? Other caravans?”
“Weren’t we supposed to retry the same caravan?”
[Ah, I didn’t mention that. You’ll be challenging the Dwarf Merchant Caravan, then the Elf Merchant Caravan, then the Human Merchant Caravan. The difficulty increases in that order as well.]
“What? Then if we fail the Quest at the Dwarf Merchant Caravan?”
Angel smiled wickedly.
[Your stats will drop by 20%, and you’ll face the more difficult intermediate difficulty level.]
“Ah.”
In other words, the more Quests they failed, the exponentially harder the next difficulty would become.
Hearing this, only one thought filled the minds of the Traitor Group.
‘We have to succeed at the Dwarf Merchant Caravan no matter what!’
‘There won’t be another chance!’
The Traitor Group burned with determination, but they didn’t know.
As long as Ryu Min was here, the chances of Quest success were slim.
‘It would be cleaner if I just hunted down and killed the Traitor Group members from the start. I’ve already memorized their faces anyway.’
As Ryu Min smiled, Ariel spread her wings.
[Now then, it’s time for you to go. Traitor Group!]
‘I do hope you succeed in your betrayal and bring joy to those above!’
Ariel swallowed her true words and gestured.
With a burst of brilliant light, Ryu Min and twenty-nine members of the Traitor Group vanished.
The escort of the Dwarf Merchant Caravan had begun.

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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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