The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 179

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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 179
179. The Doppelgänger’s Reward
‘Black… Scythe?’
Xi Zikang studied the man who claimed to be Black Scythe with keen interest.
‘He’s carrying a scythe just like his nickname suggests, and he’s a Korean player.’
But since I’d never seen him in person before, I couldn’t help but doubt him.
“You’re Black Scythe?”
“Yeah. You followed me all the way here looking for me, didn’t you? Or not?”
“How did you even….”
Xi Zikang trailed off and whipped his head around.
“Master Xi Zikang! Ahhhhh!”
His subordinates were dying in a desperate situation right behind him.
“Hey, you bastard Ppang-jeu! Why won’t you get out of the way?”
“Stop talking and actually come at me. Why are you just standing there? Scared?”
The opponent taunted him, but Xi Zikang couldn’t rashly engage.
‘If that bastard really is Black Scythe….’
Could I fight him one-on-one?
Against Black Scythe at level 90?
That possibility alone kept me from rushing in recklessly.
Crunch—
With the sound of a neck snapping, the surroundings fell silent.
When Xi Zikang turned around, all his subordinates were dead, and a dark figure was smiling like a human.
‘Damn it. I wasted time for nothing…!’
It was because of that bastard.
Xi Zikang’s gaze turned to the man blocking his path.
Now there was no choice.
There was nowhere to retreat.
With enemies on both sides, I had to break through one of them.
I had to gamble on a confrontation.
‘If I have to choose one, I’ll target that bastard claiming to be Black Scythe.’
He might not actually be Black Scythe.
He might be weaker than expected.
Xi Zikang’s eyes gleamed as he fixed his target.
I had to kill whoever this Black Scythe was and break through this crisis immediately.
‘Crimson Grip!’
As I extended my hand, a blood-stained giant’s fist seized Black Scythe.
‘Got him! It’s over!’
I thought he’d dodge, but he was caught.
‘Now I just need to pull him in and crush his head….’
Xi Zikang’s thoughts suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
The crimson grip held its target motionless.
‘What is this? Why isn’t it moving….’
Looking closer, I realized it wasn’t motionless at all.
The grip trembled violently, straining with all its might to drag the opponent closer.
A far cry from what the skill’s description promised.
‘What’s happening? Why isn’t the skill working… Ah!’
Now that I thought about it, there had been cases before where I couldn’t pull the enemy in.
Opponents with high Strength stats would resist mid-pull, breaking free through sheer force.
‘Could that bastard be withstanding my skill through raw strength?’
Xi Zikang stared in amazement at Black Scythe, who hadn’t budged an inch despite being caught in the giant’s grip.
“Just how high is your Strength stat….”
As the grip naturally dissipated from the time limit, Black Scythe let out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t be so surprised by that. This body hasn’t even received a Blessing.”
“A Blessing? What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Never mind.”
Black Scythe, still smirking, stowed the scythe into his inventory.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you some hope.”
“What?”
“I won’t use weapons or skills. Come at me with everything you’ve got.”
‘That bastard….’
Not only was he blocking any escape, but he was mocking me as well.
Any man’s pride would be wounded in this situation.
“Fine then. I’ll kill you just as you wish.”
The blade gleamed crimson.
Blood Aura—a level 40 Berserker skill.
The more blood scattered in the surroundings, the deeper its color and the greater its power, granting it a cutting force capable of slicing steel like tofu.
A formidable buff skill that ignores the enemy’s defense—the Berserker’s trump card.
But.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
The skill was only useful if I could actually land a hit on my opponent.
‘Damn it, why won’t it connect? Why at all!’
I swung the blade like a madman, yet Black Scythe evaded every single strike.
His movements flowed like water, as if he were reading my blade path in advance.
“Blood Aura is impressive, I’ll admit. It’s an inferior version of the Dark Knight’s aura, but it has its uses. The problem is, what good is it if you can’t land a hit?”
“Stop your damn chattering and shut up, you bastard!”
“You’re the one who should shut up.”
With those words, Black Scythe launched just a single attack.
Thwack—!
It was nothing more than a simple jab.
But it was a blow that transcended human limits—faster than a bullet, impossible to evade.
“Kugh-hack!”
Xi Zikang tumbled across the floor ungracefully, spraying corn and blood from his mouth.
His jaw had been dislocated, and his mind reeled as if he’d taken dozens of hits.
‘W-what kind of jab…’
The force behind a single jab was unbelievable—far too much for such a simple strike.
“Kh-huh, you… you bastard…”
“Still got enough strength to curse even with all your teeth gone?”
“I’ll… destroy you…”
He recognized the gap in power, but his pride refused to bend.
He was an executive of the Triad, their face.
To surrender his pride would be to disgrace the entire organization.
“This isn’t the time to be so stubborn about pride.”
“Wh-what?”
[Itadakimasu. Kehehehe.]
The moment Xi Zikang turned around, the Doppelgänger seeped into his body.
He realized his mistake, but it was already too late.
“Gack, gack!”
Against his own will, Xi Zikang strangled himself, and with a sickening crunch, he was dead in less than ten seconds.
【Sub Quest – Feeding the Doppelgänger】
└Condition ▶ Watch the Doppelgänger kill other prey
└Current prey eliminated by Doppelgänger (10/10)
[Sub Quest completed!]
[Points +10,000]
Ryu Min’s lips curved upward as he confirmed the reward.
A substantial amount of points had come in.
Twice as many as when I’d killed the Chinese directly.
‘Ju Sung-tak probably received a reward too.’
Now all that remained was to eliminate the Doppelgänger.
[Kehehehe! So delicious, human memories are so delicious!]
The Doppelgänger, now manifesting as a dark silhouette, turned its gaze toward Ryu Min.
[You. You deliberately threw prey to me, didn’t you?]
“…”
[Why did you do that? Did you think I’d be in such a good mood I’d spare you?]
“You seem to be under a misunderstanding.”
Crackle, crackle—
Ryu Min grinned wickedly, gathering electricity at his fingertips.
“The one who should be begging for mercy isn’t me. It’s you.”
[Hmph, still spouting such bluster…]
“Charging.”
Crackle—!
The unleashed current struck the Doppelgänger’s body with devastating force.
[Kyaaaaaaagh!]
Wracked with excruciating agony, the Doppelgänger tumbled across the ground like a scrap of paper, skidding dozens of meters.
“Did you think I didn’t know? That magical damage is like poison to spectral monsters like you?”
[Kyeeeeeek….]
“Or did you underestimate me, thinking I had no magic? Well, it doesn’t matter now. You’ll be dead soon enough.”
[Kyeeeee….]
‘At this rate, it looks like it’ll die any moment now.’
I’d deliberately aimed to miss, yet the damage was still this severe.
‘I thought the damage would be lower without Min Ju-ri’s buffs, but it’s surprisingly potent.’
Regardless, I couldn’t let the creature die by my own hand like this.
But Ju Sung-tak’s hand was a different matter.
“Begin.”
“Yes, Master.”
At my command, Ju Sung-tak activated Corpse Explosion.
It was a skill that required corpses to use, but there was no problem.
There were ten bodies scattered around where the Doppelgänger had been thrown.
* * *
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—!
The sudden deafening explosions startled Ma Gyeong-rok and An Sang-chul.
“What was that sound?”
“It sounds like something exploding….”
Based on the magnitude of the blast, it had enough firepower to incinerate the entire forest.
“Shouldn’t we be able to see flames at this scale?”
“Exactly. It’s just dark—we can’t see anything at all.”
No matter how I thought about it, this forest was utterly bizarre.
Tracking and searching were impossible, and the more we walked, the more it felt like we were circling the same path.
Like a Möbius strip.
“Director An, where do you think that sound came from?”
“It sounded so vivid, as if it came from right beside us.”
“Exactly. That’s what I heard too.”
But then why could we see nothing except the trees?
“Sigh. There’s no choice. We’ll have to keep walking. Stay close and don’t lose your way.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two men could only sigh and trudge aimlessly through the labyrinth.
* * *
The effect of Corpse Explosion was tremendous.
By detonating ten corpses simultaneously, the Doppelgänger vanished without leaving a trace.
Normally, a cascade of reward messages should have appeared at this point, but….
‘Unfortunately, I wasn’t the one who caught it.’
Since Ju Sung-tak had secured the final blow on the Doppelgänger, I received no message.
I only obtained 12,000 points as a reward for the Identity Reveal and Feeding Quest.
‘Ju Sung-tak must have earned 20,000 points as a reward for defeating the Doppelgänger.’
It was an odd situation where the servant had more points than the master, but it didn’t matter.
‘What matters now isn’t points—it’s the Doppelgänger’s items.’
Besides, I knew far more ways to earn points, and I was confident I could secure first place.
Even if Ju Sung-tak was ahead, it was only a temporary lead.
‘After all, I still have 23 hours remaining. There’s plenty of time.’
The 11th round was no sprint—it was a marathon, so there was nothing to worry about.
‘Though there will be a dramatic reversal at the very end.’
I glanced at Ju Sung-tak, whose attention was fixed on empty air.
It seemed he was checking his messages.
A brief glimpse into his thoughts revealed that the item I wanted had appeared.
‘Good. The ring came out as planned.’
Though Ju Sung-tak had taken the boss’s experience and points, it was fine.
Now that he was my subordinate, his growth was as good as my own.
‘In a way, it’s like raising an alternate character.’
Since I needed to bring as many allies as possible to the 20th round, growing together was nothing but beneficial.
‘I’ve already eliminated those Chinese players who were following me… Now I should check on the rest.’
Using Clairvoyance, I turned my gaze toward Ma Gyeong-rok’s group.
They appeared startled by the sudden explosion.
‘The sound of the corpse explosion must have reached them.’
Though our locations differed, the Labyrinth Forest was interconnected.
As if separated by a single wall.
An explosion of that magnitude would naturally carry beyond the barrier.
‘I should check the items first, then go meet them.’
While I planned to trap them in the Labyrinth, if I left them alone, they might escape within a few hours.
‘And as expected, they’ll try to kill people and accumulate points.’
They must be desperate after wasting time in the Labyrinth.
It was obvious they’d go hunting foreign players.
That’s what Ma Gyeong-rok always did in the 11th round.
So I had to stop them.
Only I, who knew the future, could prevent it.
‘I won’t kill them—I’ll just immobilize them for a while.’
As a devilish smile crossed my face, Ju Sung-tak approached.
“Master. Here are the items obtained from the Doppelgänger.”
Without being asked, Ju Sung-tak willingly produced the items and offered them to me.
[Doppelgänger’s Ring]
-Classification: Ring
-Rank: Legendary
-Effect: Nickname Change (usable only in the Other World)
-Durability: 6,000/6,000
-Usage Restriction: Expert Rank or higher
-Description: An item that allows you to freely change your nickname in the Other World. Removing the ring returns your nickname to its original state.
‘This is exactly what I needed.’
Just as the description stated, it was an item for changing one’s nickname.
With this, I no longer had to worry about being tracked by others.
‘I can now masquerade as someone other than Black Scythe.’
It was essentially granting me complete freedom to alter my nickname at will.
‘Now I can change not just my face, but my nickname as well.’
Perfect disguise had become possible.
‘And that’s not all. I also received God-rank materials as a bonus.’
Ryu Min smiled with satisfaction as he secured the materials.
It was definitely the right call to keep Ju Sung-tak alive.
Thanks to his [Rune of Drops], I obtained the item I desired.
But that contentment was short-lived.
Ryu Min’s smile faded, replaced by a puzzled expression.
Was Ju Sung-tak pulling out yet another item from his inventory?
“What is that?”
“This is also an item that dropped from the Doppelgänger.”
There was another item besides the ring and the God-rank materials?
As Ryu Min took the item, his eyes widened in surprise.

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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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