The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 18

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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 18
18. Class Change
A flicker of recognition crossed Ryu Min’s eyes as he spotted the person following him.
He knew that face.
‘That person… is that Seo A-rin?’
Seo A-rin was a rising actress who had captured the hearts of younger audiences.
She was beautiful enough to excite my younger brother whenever he spoke of her.
I’d heard from him that she had a pure appearance, a good personality, and an image of sincerity.
‘A woman like that was following me?’
I wasn’t mistaking her for someone else.
‘She’s definitely the woman living in the penthouse above.’
Her appearance matched, and even her nickname was [Seo A-rin].
“I-I’m sorry for following you.”
As Seo A-rin lowered her head, Ryu Min regarded her with a cold gaze.
Just as I was about to ask why, another man emerged from behind a tree.
It seemed Seo A-rin wasn’t the only one following me.
“My apologies for this situation. We didn’t follow you with any ill intent, so please don’t be upset with us.”
The man with the nickname [An Sang-chul] spoke with a smile, as if hoping to make peace.
But Ryu Min’s lips didn’t budge.
The nickname and face were unmistakably familiar.
‘An Sang-chul? He’s Ma Gyeong-rok’s right-hand man?’
Ma Gyeong-rok.
The eldest son of one of the nation’s top-tier conglomerates.
One of the targets I’d been hunting under the nickname [Heavenly Demon].
‘If I can bring Ma Gyeong-rok to my side, growth will come much more easily.’
Particularly, among those connected to Ma Gyeong-rok, there was a top-tier Priest.
To bring her to Round 20, I needed to catch Ma Gyeong-rok’s attention.
‘To think I’d already meet Ma Gyeong-rok’s right-hand man like this.’
Ryu Min was internally startled, yet maintained his cold expression.
Ma Gyeong-rok was someone I needed to get close to, but that didn’t make him a good person.
‘If anything, he could be considered a villain.’
On the surface, he played the gentleman, but behind closed doors, he harbored psychopathic tendencies.
There was no reason to view his right-hand man favorably.
‘But why is An Sang-chul here with Seo A-rin?’
Ryu Min suddenly recalled the man he’d seen when he visited the penthouse above.
The man who’d embarrassed my younger brother by saying he didn’t need something as crude as rice cakes while standing beside Seo A-rin.
‘Could the man who was with Seo A-rin actually be An Sang-chul?’
If he’d customized his appearance, his real-world face would look different.
So I couldn’t be certain they were the same person, but…
‘There were rumors that Ma Gyeong-rok sponsors celebrities as part of his business.’
Deep down, I was convinced the man I’d seen yesterday was An Sang-chul.
“You two. From where did you start following me?”
“From the very beginning. We saw you enter the Forest and followed you… If we upset you, we sincerely apologize.”
Despite my repeated apologies, Ryu Min’s expression showed no sign of softening.
It couldn’t be helped—in the previous cycle, I’d never been tailed.
Naturally, Seo A-rin wouldn’t be pleased about this either.
‘The future has changed. That means I acted differently than before… Could it be?’
I had indeed taken different actions compared to the last cycle.
‘Was it because I distributed rice cakes to my brother and the neighbor?’
I’d merely shared rice cakes and happened to encounter Seo A-rin, but that chance meeting must have shifted her feelings, leading to this surveillance.
“What’s your reason for tailing me?”
At Ryu Min’s icy question, Seo A-rin tensed and answered.
“I didn’t follow you with any ill intent… I wanted to make you a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“You ranked first in Round 1, didn’t you? So I thought, what if we cooperated together…”
“Cooperate?”
Ryu Min’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“Cooperation is a word used when both parties need each other’s help, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t need you. I’m doing fine fighting alone. Didn’t you see everything while you were tailing me?”
Seo A-rin could only nod in agreement.
During thirty minutes of surveillance, she’d witnessed the corpses of monsters I’d slain.
It was an overwhelmingly dominant display—one that made alliances seem unnecessary.
“Stop wasting my time with pointless matters and leave. I have no interest in forming a team whatsoever.”
Ryu Min turned his back as if there was nothing more to discuss.
As he disappeared into the Forest, An Sang-chul vented his frustration.
“What’s with that bastard? His arrogance is absolutely sky-high.”
Meanwhile, Seo A-rin seemed to relax, collapsing onto the ground with a thud.
“Sigh… So he really is the Round 1 first-place winner. The pressure he exudes is no joke.”
“Pressure? Well, if someone points a blade at you menacingly, anyone would feel tense, wouldn’t they?”
“Still, because he’s first place, there was something about him that felt untouchable. His gaze was terrifying too…”
“That’s probably just good customization. We shouldn’t assume that’s his real face.”
“True. You customized your appearance differently too, didn’t you…”
Seo A-rin, who’d been staring in the direction the black scythe had vanished, let out a heavy sigh.
“I was hoping to join hands with the top-ranked player, but things didn’t go as planned.”
“See? Didn’t I tell you? People like that have too much pride to form partnerships.”
“You’re right… But I thought if we stuck together, our survival rate would be higher, so I figured he’d agree…”
From the Clearing, Seo A-rin had been watching the wielder of the black scythe intently, and ultimately decided to tail him.
She wanted to propose cooperation.
But things hadn’t gone according to plan.
“What do we do now?”
“What else? We’ll have to manage on our own.”
“Should we ask if we should find someone else and cooperate with them?”
“That sounds good. It’s definitely better for survival when we stick together.”
“It would’ve been even better if we could’ve brought Black Scythe into the fold…”
“Forget it. Let that kind of person fend for themselves. If we put them on the team, they’ll only be a hindrance.”
“Still, it’s a shame.”
“A shame? We just wasted time following them around for nothing.”
We wanted to combine our strength to survive in this harsh world, but it wasn’t easy.
“I didn’t expect there to be monsters in the forest, though.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Black Scythe doesn’t seem interested in the voting. Everyone else must be discussing who to elect as representative at the starting point…”
“Probably gave up early thinking they’d have a hard time being selected.”
Seo A-rin nodded at An Sang-chul’s words.
With one person being chosen from five thousand, the competition would be fierce.
“Let’s head back. We might get a lot of votes since we’re celebrities, right?”
An Sang-chul said this and turned his head, but Seo A-rin didn’t move.
“Seo A-rin?”
“Should we just hunt during the remaining time?”
“Huh? Hunt?”
“Yes. Black Scythe gave up on voting too, so what makes you think we’d succeed?”
An Sang-chul nodded at her reasonable point.
“Well, that’s not a bad idea either.”
“Then let’s go, bodyguard.”
The two of them entered the forest with weapons in hand.
I had already given up on tailing Black Scythe.
I had no confidence in persuading them, and I worried that if I followed them again, I might get slashed.
But they didn’t know.
Rustle—
That someone was actually tailing them.
* * *
Thud—!
I rejected Seo A-rin’s proposal and hunted down a hobgoblin instead.
‘I’m busy enough as it is. No need to overthink cooperation.’
These were monsters I could handle alone anyway.
There was no reason to join forces.
‘Still, Ma Gyeong-rok’s right-hand man is living in the unit above me. That’s not a bad situation.’
The future had changed, but not in any way that mattered.
Minor branches of the future could shift endlessly.
As long as the main trunk of the future remained unchanged, that was all that mattered.
‘Once I return to reality, I need to verify whether that man beside Seo A-rin is truly Ma Gyeong-rok’s right hand.’
The verification method isn’t difficult.
I just need to find out if the man—whether he’s a manager or whatever—is named An Sang-chul.
‘If An Sang-chul is correct, I could approach Ma Gyeong-rok much more easily.’
That said, I won’t do anything rash right now.
It’s not yet time to make contact with Ma Gyeong-rok.
That’s why I rejected the proposal.
‘What matters now is raising my level through hunting.’
I pushed deeper into the Forest once more.
“Kiiaaak-!”
“Kyiieek-!”
The hobgoblins lunged, but they couldn’t even touch my body.
With my nimble movements, they simply became corpses.
It couldn’t be any other way.
[Current Kill Count: 60/100]
[All stats increase by 60% due to the Rune of Slaughter effect.]
My stats had been amplified by 1.6 times, after all.
‘It boosts all stats. The Rune of Slaughter is definitely a treasure once I stack it up.’
I was smiling at the noticeably increased stats when it happened.
“Kyaaowl!”
“Krrrugh!”
Five Nolls appeared—creatures that supposedly showed up rarely.
Regardless, they were nothing but good experience points for me.
[You have defeated a Noll!]
[3x Experience Buff is active.]
[Experience +7.2%]
[Gold +20]
[Current Kill Count: 65/100]
[All stats increase by 65% due to the Rune of Slaughter effect.]
[Level up!]
[You are now Level 10.]
[You can now use the Shop.]
[Class advancement conditions have been met.]
[A hidden Sub Quest is available!]
Reaching Level 10 meant I’d achieved the class advancement requirements.
I immediately checked the Sub Quest that came to mind.
【Sub Quest】
└Advance your class before voting time
└Obtain a class advancement item and gain a profession!
└Success rewards: ▶ 50% discount voucher for today’s items!
Most people reading this message would think the same thing.
Obtain a class advancement item?
How am I supposed to get one?
What’s the benefit of obtaining a class?
Since there’s a class section in the status window, everyone knows classes exist.
‘Though the slow-witted ones are probably learning about classes for the first time.’
Regardless, anyone with a functioning brain would know that obtaining a class is worthwhile.
‘Ages 15 to 29 are prime years for being accustomed to gaming.’
The real problem is that most people don’t know how to obtain class advancement items.
‘I was lost at first too. I thought they just dropped randomly from monsters.’
Of course, class advancement items do drop from ordinary monsters, but the odds are astronomically low.
The truth is, class advancement items are fundamentally obtained by meeting specific conditions.
‘For example, a Warrior needs to raise their Strength stat to at least 10 and defeat 30 monsters within an hour to obtain the advancement item.’
A Berserker must hunt while bleeding for a set duration, while an Assassin must successfully backstab monsters multiple times.
In other words, you obtain class advancement items by performing actions related to that class.
‘That’s why a person’s class often reflects their tendencies to some degree.’
I initially obtained the Hunter class.
It was a class I earned by repeatedly tracking monsters in the forest or fleeing from them.
‘But now I have no need to advance into the Hunter class.’
I don’t even need to search for a class advancement item.
I already obtained it in the previous round.
I pulled Angel’s Blood from my inventory and spoke the activation command.
‘Use.’
Light burst forth from Angel’s Blood, and a message appeared before me.
[You have used a class advancement item.]
[Please decide carefully, as your class cannot be changed once selected.]
[Will you advance to the class ‘Grim Reaper’? Y/N]
There was no need to deliberate on this question, and I answered immediately.
‘Yes.’
In that instant, my body erupted in golden radiance.
A light so intense it threatened to blind me burst forth, but only for a moment.
As if nothing had happened, it subsided, and a message came into view.
[You have advanced to the class ‘Grim Reaper’. Congratulations!]
[As a class advancement reward, you have obtained ‘Reaper’s Scythe’.]
[As a class advancement reward, ‘Reaper’s Rune’ has been acquired.]
[The acquired rune will be automatically inscribed onto your body!]
[You have learned the exclusive Grim Reaper skill ‘Mark of Death’!]
[The next skill will be automatically learned when you reach level 20.]
Along with the class advancement, I received a weapon, a rune, and skills.
But the good news didn’t end there.
[Your rank has been promoted from ‘Novice’ to ‘Apprentice’.]
[You have completed the Sub Quest!]
[Today’s Item 50% Discount Voucher has been awarded!]
The ranks are Novice (Lv1), Apprentice (Lv10), Regular (Lv20), Expert (Lv40), Master (Lv60), and Grand Master (Lv99).
By advancing his class, Ryu Min’s rank rose from Novice to Apprentice.
There are many benefits to ranking up.
New class skills emerge, and previously learned skills are enhanced.
Locked features become unlocked, and you can equip higher-tier items than before.
‘But if I don’t advance my class, I’ll remain stuck at Novice rank for life.’
Because of this, class advancement was an indispensable element of growth.
Multiple rewards had arrived, but the messages were not yet finished.
The first-class advancement reward still remained.

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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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