The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 152

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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 152
152. Victor’s Dilemma
Victor wanted to tell his family everything.
How he’d been captured by IS for an entire year, enduring brutal humiliation and witnessing countless atrocities.
He wanted to lay bare everything he’d experienced without reservation.
But he couldn’t do that now.
“So Sophia ranked first in her district again this time, I hear?”
“How proud we are. And she has such a rare profession—Guardian, they say.”
His younger sister, whom he’d worried might be eliminated from The Game, was thriving far better than expected.
‘No, it’s not just thriving—she’s completely flourished.’
According to Sophia, she was achieving district rank one as casually as eating rice, something he’d never managed.
‘It can’t be a lie. Sophia hates dishonesty, after all.’
Seeing her doing well contrary to his fears brought both a hollow emptiness and relief simultaneously.
He lifted his head to look at his parents, noticing their faces had brightened considerably.
How could they not be delighted that their daughter was thriving in the Other World?
‘How can I tell them anything when they’re so happy? That I was captured by IS and suffered terribly?’
It felt like pouring ashes over a completed meal, so the words wouldn’t come.
But his parents happened to ask about this very thing.
“Victor. What’s been going on? Why haven’t you contacted us for a year?”
“Ah… well, you see…”
Victor, torn between whether to share something depressing, finally made his decision.
Better not to ruin the mood with this.
“I… I went on a little overseas trip.”
“What? A trip?”
His parents cried out in disbelief at this unexpected answer.
“Is that really true? I thought you’d been kidnapped by IS or something and died!”
“Ha ha… IS? What kind of times are we living in…”
“So you really just went gallivanting around on a trip?”
“And why didn’t you contact us? At all?”
“I lost my phone…”
“Even so, how could you not reach out? We were worried sick!”
Victor hung his head low.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if I should continue as a doctor, and I had so many concerns on my mind—my head was such a mess that I just wanted to run away suddenly. You know how it is sometimes. That sudden urge to drop everything and leave.”
Reading the mood, his parents’ expressions quickly filled with concern.
“…Depression, or something like that?”
“Yes… my mind was quite troubled. It’s foolish to be like this in my late twenties, not even during adolescence.”
“So that’s why you traveled around?”
“Yes. I just wandered wherever my feet took me. When my money ran out, I’d find work and start a job. Once I’d saved enough, I’d travel again…”
Once he’d started lying, the falsehoods flowed effortlessly.
His parents, initially skeptical, seemed to find his lengthening explanation increasingly convincing and began to understand.
‘Yes. It’s better to say I traveled because of depression than to admit I was kidnapped by IS.’
It was a well-intentioned lie, hoping my family would worry a little less.
“Yes. I’m glad you came back, at least. Have you found some peace of mind now?”
“Yes. Now I’ll never leave this place again. No matter what, our home is the best.”
“It’s good you understand that now.”
“Sophia is doing well as a Player too, so you need to focus and work hard as well.”
“Yes, I will.”
Victor found himself answering with a bittersweet feeling.
“By the way, where did Sophia go?”
“She said she got a commercial offer and went to film it.”
“Ah… I, I see?”
“You can just imagine how happy she’ll be when she finds out her brother is back. Hehe.”
Seeing my parents beaming with smiles, I felt anew that my decision had been the right one.
“I’ll take a look around my room for the first time in a while.”
“Go ahead.”
Returning to my room for the first time in a year, I closed the door and sighed.
‘It was the right choice. My younger sister and family weren’t suffering as much as I worried they were.’
I had wanted to meet my family just once before dying, and now that wish had come true.
There was no lingering regret left in my heart anymore.
In fact, it was even better this way.
I could leave without any attachments.
‘I’m sick of survival games and all that nonsense. I just want to rest now.’
Rather than struggling desperately to survive, spending time with my family like this and ending my life seemed far better.
To that extent, Victor’s mind—despite appearances—had been greatly weakened and damaged from a year of captivity.
“Son! You must be hungry. I’ve prepared dinner. Eat up.”
“Yes!”
I ate a proper meal for the first time in ages while sharing stories with my family that we hadn’t had time to tell before.
And as evening fell.
Victor was able to reunite with his younger sister, who came home late.
“Oh, oh brother!”
“Sophia!”
The two embraced, their eyes glistening with tears.
Rare as it was, the siblings had such a good relationship that they could count their quarrels on one hand.
“Where did you go, brother! I searched for you so much!”
“Aha, well, that is…”
Victor, sweating profusely, told another well-intentioned lie.
Naturally, his sister’s nagging came in response.
“How could you just leave like that on a trip without warning! You could have at least sent a message!”
“Ugh. You and Mom and Dad all say the same thing.”
“Because we were worried! We thought you were dead! Especially with the Cataclysm happening!”
“I had no idea what happened to you. I never thought you’d survive all the way to Round 9…”
“Brother, didn’t you hear me? I’ve been ranking first since Round 1. Well, of course, that’s first in my district. Black Scythe holds first across All Districts. You’d know about Black Scythe if you’re a player, right?”
“Huh? Y-yes…”
Know about him? That was putting it mildly.
I’d conversed with Black Scythe, been saved by him, and witnessed his terrifying power with my own eyes.
We were far closer than mere acquaintances who only knew each other’s names.
“That player called Black Scythe seems really impressive, doesn’t he? I heard his level is incredibly high.”
“Y-yes, he is impressive. Very much so.”
“I heard he’s a player from Korea. Have you traveled there? Was it too far to visit?”
“K-Korea? Black Scythe is a player from Korea?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you know? It’s already been revealed in articles. He’s working as a squad captain for the Counter Player Force in Korea, the unit that catches criminal players.”
“I-I see.”
I didn’t know.
I’d spent an entire year in an environment where I couldn’t even see a phone.
‘So he’s eliminating criminals in his own country too?’
Fresh admiration washed over me as I contemplated Black Scythe’s efforts to eradicate crime in his homeland.
“But how did you survive all this time, brother? What’s your class?”
“Me? I’m an Alchemist.”
“An Alchemist? There’s a class like that?”
“That’s what I want to ask you. What does a Guardian do?”
As we asked each other about the things we didn’t know, time slipped away.
With the shared identity of being players, the already close siblings grew even closer.
As the happy hours passed, midnight arrived.
Victor lay in bed, lost in deep thought.
About the path forward.
‘From our conversation, Sophia doesn’t need my worry. She’s doing well on her own.’
My younger sister was thriving both in reality and in the Other World.
While I had been struggling desperately, barely clinging to life under IS’s grasp.
‘Ricky’s parents will be found by Marcus, and the other children are safe. Black Scythe eliminated all those IS monsters that tormented me.’
Everything had fallen into place smoothly.
To the point where I had nothing left to worry about.
‘Then why does my heart feel so hollow?’
Was it from the harsh suffering I’d endured under IS?
Or had my soul worn thin from witnessing the atrocities of those beasts day after day?
I stared blankly at the ceiling, my mind adrift in contemplation.
So lost that I didn’t even hear the tapping on the window by my pillow.
Tap, tap, tap—
“Huh?”
Only then did I notice the sound and look toward the window, startled.
‘W-Black Scythe?’
At his beckoning gesture, I stumbled out of the house—and there stood Black Scythe, unmistakably real.
“Ah, hello there. What brings you to our home? Oh! If you’re here for potions, I can—”
I reached for my inventory, but Black Scythe shook his head beneath his mask.
“No. I came to tell you something.”
“Tell me something? Could it be about IS—”
“Don’t worry about IS. It’s already been taken care of. You’ll hear good news through the media tomorrow.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. So what you wanted to tell me is—”
“Victor Zafarile.”
Black Scythe’s voice grew grave, commanding the atmosphere.
“Don’t give up.”
“Pardon? I didn’t quite catch that.”
“Don’t give up on life.”
“…”
“I know what you endured in IS. No doubt you suffered terribly. But.”
Ryu Min paused, his gaze drifting toward the interior of the house before continuing.
“Don’t you have family you need to protect?”
“I don’t understand why you’re suddenly saying this, but my family is fine. My younger brother is doing well without me. I’ve achieved my goal, and now I have no regrets—”
“How arrogant.”
“What?”
“Goal achieved? Do you truly believe life is some simple game that ends once you clear a mission?”
“…”
“Life continues until death. The game of life doesn’t end until you die. The survival game we’re playing now is no different.”
“…”
“You must keep moving until you either clear Round 20 or die trying. Yet you’ve achieved this small goal of reuniting with family and claim you’re finished? That you have no more regrets? How little must you value life to speak such words? How is that anything but arrogance?”
Victor listened in silence to the torrent of words.
There was nothing false about them.
“Don’t give up on life. If you abandon the survival game, what becomes of your remaining family?”
“I suppose they’ll continue living without problems, just as they have—”
“Do you truly believe your family lived without hardship while you were gone? A son whose fate was unknown—didn’t they wait anxiously at the entrance, wondering when you’d return?”
“…”
“Your family endured because they had hope—the hope that you would return. If you die in the next round, that hope dies with you. Then what of your family? Can they live normally?”
“…”
Ryu Min drove home his final point, sensing it was time to conclude.
“Victor. You simply want to rest. After a year of suffering, you want the peace of death.”
The words struck Victor like a hammer blow to the skull, resonating through his very being.
“I understand. But that’s not the way to honor your family. It’s the opposite, in fact. It’s a selfish decision made only for yourself.”
“…”
“I want you to endure to the very end. Through Round 20. I know your younger brother, Sophia, is a renowned ranker in Nigeria. But can you truly say she’ll survive to Round 20 without you?”
I could see Victor’s resolve wavering like wind-blown leaves.
Ryu Min sensed the persuasion had nearly succeeded and delivered his closing words.
“Please protect Sophia. Isn’t the Alchemist the only class in this world specialized in support? If you stay by her side, my Younger Brother won’t be eliminated before round twenty. Of course, if the opportunity arises, I’ll help you clear it too. After all, if this is fate, then it’s fate. So survive.”
“Th-thank you for saying so, but I’m not sure someone like me can protect her….”
“You’re more than capable. I’ll show you the proof.”
Ryu Min retrieved an item from his inventory.
Victor’s eyes widened in shock as he read the item’s information.
It was a legendary item that could resurrect people—a Potion of Life.
“I obtained this item by chance. With this, you can even bring dead players back to life. That means you can protect Sophia by her side.”
“Y-you mean an Alchemist can create potions like this?”
“Presumably. If it’s a potion, shouldn’t they be able to make anything? However, as you can see from the usage restrictions, only Master-tier and above can use potions. That means you need to reach at least level sixty before you’re qualified to craft them.”
“Ah….”
Black Scythe was right.
Once he reached level sixty, he might be able to create a Potion of Life.
Then, even if Sophia died in an emergency, he could protect her.
“If you want to protect Sophia from death, reach level sixty. If you have no goal, find a new one. Don’t give up like an old man who’s abandoned life.”
Victor’s eyes gleamed with a vitality they hadn’t possessed before.
Seeing the potion, a new purpose had been born within him.
“Thank you so much. My heart was confused and turbulent, but now it feels settled. You’re the only one who’s ever spoken to me like this, Black Scythe. I’m truly grateful.”
“I’m glad it helped.”
“But how do you understand my heart so well?”
“I have a good eye for people. You could say I have insight.”
Insight?
It was far more than such a simple word could describe.
It felt like finding light in the darkness.
It felt like being pulled from the mire where he’d been floundering.
‘Black Scythe truly is an extraordinary person. I wonder if he’s Allah descended into this world.’
“That’s all I came to say. I stopped by because I couldn’t bear to see someone I’d saved disappear without motivation.”
“I apologize… for showing you such a pathetic side of myself. Don’t worry anymore. I have a new purpose now. I won’t entertain such foolish thoughts.”
“Good to hear. I believe in you.”
Confirming that Victor’s heart had completely turned around, Ryu Min smiled faintly beneath his mask.
“One last piece of advice before I go—be completely honest with your family without hiding anything. That will resolve your difficult situation.”
Victor’s eyes widened to their fullest extent.
“You even saw through what I hadn’t told my family… How on earth…?”
That was when it happened.
“Brother!”
Sophia suddenly appeared, sword and shield in hand.
“Who are you talking to at this early hour?”
“Ah, this person is… huh?”
Victor turned his head, but Black Scythe had already vanished.
“Brother, who was that? You were just talking to someone suspicious wearing a mask.”
To Sophia’s question, Victor spoke quietly after a moment of thought.
“…Black Scythe.”
“Huh?”
“…It’s Black Scythe.”
“What?”
Watching Sophia’s astonishment, Victor made his decision.
He would accept Black Scythe’s counsel.

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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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