The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 184

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 184
184. The Savior
The Necromancer couldn’t answer the question of whether I wanted to die.
He stood frozen, completely crushed by the weight of killing intent.
‘Is he in shock because his surprise attack failed?’
It was understandable—he’d just watched thirty spectral Undead Servants vanish in an instant.
Though I now had justification to kill him, I had no intention of doing so immediately.
‘The Necromancer still has value. It would be wasteful to kill him now.’
After Round 11 ended, I would propose something to him.
The formation of a national alliance organization called ‘Messiah’.
‘To forge a connection with those people, I need to keep the Necromancer alive.’
Besides, Round 12 would come when I needed his summoning magic.
Using him then would make clearing it far more convenient.
Unaware that I had no intention whatsoever of killing him, the Necromancer’s face was tense with extreme anxiety.
-I have to kill him. If I stay still, I’ll die.
I could read his thoughts, but I pretended not to notice and threatened him instead.
“Why aren’t you answering? Do you really want to die….”
That’s when the Necromancer pointed his staff toward my back.
Instead of answering, he used the ‘Corpse Resurrection’ skill.
“Guuuuuh….”
I turned around to see Douglas, who had been lying there like a corpse, now standing as if he’d never died.
Crack-crack-crack-
As the zombie-like creature straightened his own broken neck back into place, Christine gasped in shock.
These weren’t spectral Undead Servants.
They were real, corporeal Undead.
Physical Undead, unlike spectral ones, possessed immunity to magical damage.
‘Did he summon this thinking I’m a mage?’
I laughed mockingly.
He seemed to think one creature would somehow make a difference, but it was futile.
“Dawn’s Wa….”
Splat-!
Douglas was about to cast a skill, but his head exploded before he could.
Whoosh-whoosh- Thud!
My extended scythe returned to its place.
“….”
The Necromancer’s expression was filled with shock—he clearly hadn’t expected the scythe to extend.
“Did you really think you could face me with just that one? Even if you summoned dozens, the result would be the same.”
“What exactly are you…—Aaaahhh!”
The Necromancer screamed mid-sentence.
I had mercilessly severed one of his arms.
“The balance is off. Let me even out the other side.”
Before he could say anything, the other arm fell away with a swift sensation passing through.
“Guh, guaaahhh!”
Next came the left leg.
Thud—!
“Lost your balance? In that case….”
I cleanly severed the right leg as well.
“Guhaaaahhh!”
After amputating all four limbs, Ryu Min stroked his chin in contemplation.
“What should I cut next? Is there anything left besides the head?”
Looking at the trembling Necromancer, he seemed ready to die at any moment.
Just as I moved the scythe menacingly once more.
“Wait, please! I beg you not to kill him!”
At Christine’s words, Ryu Min stopped the scythe.
Not that I had any intention of killing him in the first place.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“His subordinates are fighting our allies nearby. If we keep him alive and take him with us, they’ll definitely stop fighting.”
“So you want to use this bastard as a hostage to end the fight?”
“It’s shameless of me to ask, but please. I’m worried about my allies.”
Her plea was so earnest that Ryu Min had no choice but to lower the scythe.
‘The fight’s already over though.’
With my clairvoyance, I had already grasped the situation over there.
The Saint’s Followers had been defeated.
All of them were killed, and what remained were only about 170 of the Necromancer’s followers.
Unaware of this fact, Christine still believed it wasn’t too late and that they could be saved.
‘I shouldn’t kill him anyway.’
Though I had no intention of killing him from the start, Ryu Min nodded as if doing her a favor.
“If you ask so earnestly.”
A warm light emanated from my hand, enveloping the severed edges of the Necromancer’s body.
The blood that had been leaking like a faucet stopped, and the complexion of the creature who had approached death’s threshold became peaceful.
Emergency treatment had saved the Necromancer.
“I shall show mercy and not kill you.”
“….”
“Next time, be careful with your words and actions when meeting people. You might encounter a psychopath like me.”
Even as consciousness returned, the Necromancer had no intention of responding.
He only thought of reattaching his limbs if the opportunity arose.
“You won’t be needing this anymore, will you?”
Crackle—!
I incinerated the remaining limbs so he couldn’t entertain any useless thoughts.
As the opportunity vanished, the Necromancer’s face turned ashen.
Now that he could no longer earn points, all he could do was desperately hope his team would emerge victorious.
Well, once he survived this round, his body would be restored to perfect condition anyway.
“That’s it? I didn’t kill him?”
As Ryu Min turned back and spoke, Christine gave a slight bow of her head.
“Thank you.”
Then she shot the Necromancer a hostile glare.
“I’m going to take you to where your followers were. Once we get there, tell them to stop fighting immediately.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
“Hmph….”
He let out a scoff, but the Necromancer couldn’t dismiss Christine’s words lightly.
Without his limbs, he had no means to defend himself against even a child’s attack.
Moreover, looking into Christine’s eyes, this didn’t seem like a joke.
She had clearly made up her mind.
“What will you do? Die by my hand now, or go stop the fighting?”
“…I’ll go stop it.”
Just as Christine was about to lift the Necromancer up after obtaining his agreement.
“Wait.”
Ryu Min pulled Christine toward himself.
With his doubled presence detection, he sensed movement approaching.
Using his far-sight, he confirmed a group of thirty heading this way.
They were followers of the Despair Cult.
“Get behind me.”
“Huh? What’s suddenly….”
Christine quickly saw the approaching group in the distance and silently hid behind Ryu Min.
“Cult Master! Cult Master… Ah!”
The arrivals gasped upon seeing the Necromancer with his limbs severed.
And they all glared with fierce eyes at Ryu Min and Christine.
“Did you two do this to our Cult Master?”
“You bastards!”
Two of them immediately drew their blades and rushed forward.
Ryu Min showed no mercy to opponents charging recklessly without thought.
Schwick—
With a single swing of his scythe, he severed both their heads.
The footsteps of the twenty-eight following behind faltered and came to an abrupt halt.
“Why did you stop? Come on. If death is your wish.”
“….”
Only then realizing they faced an opponent beyond their capacity, they hesitantly retreated backward.
“You idiots! Stop! Do you know who you’re rushing at? That person is Black Scythe.”
“B-Black Scythe?”
At the cult leader’s words, the followers turned their wide eyes back to Ryu Min once more.
True to his nickname, he was indeed wielding a scythe.
The atmosphere itself matched his level 90 status—utterly menacing.
The followers, belatedly realizing they had poked a hornet’s nest, broke into cold sweat.
“You there, come here and hold me.”
“Yes.”
One of the followers picked up the Necromancer, who now consisted of only a torso.
“What brings all of you here?”
“We came to inform you that the matter has concluded.”
“The matter has concluded? What do you mean by that?”
When Christine interjected, the Necromancer answered in her stead.
“Your comrades are all dead.”
“Ah…”
Christine’s mouth fell open in shock.
Over a hundred of her followers had been slaughtered by the Despair Cult’s forces?
“What were our casualties?”
“Forty-five wounded and approximately thirty dead.”
For having faced a hundred enemies, the losses were surprisingly light.
It was something worthy of praise, but the Necromancer held his tongue.
If Black Scythe suddenly took a foul mood, there was no telling when he might change his mind.
‘One slip of the tongue and I could end up dead with another excuse pinned on me.’
Gulp—
The Necromancer swallowed hard, gauging Ryu Min’s expression before speaking cautiously.
“As you can see, the matter is settled. There is nothing more I can do. So now, let me…”
“Fine, get out of here.”
Glancing to the side, I could see the Saint, despondent from the loss of her comrades.
‘Though I failed to kill the Saint, I succeeded in dismantling her faction.’
Having achieved my objective, this was a satisfactory result.
“…Let’s go.”
At the Necromancer’s command, the followers turned without hesitation.
There was no fool among them foolish enough to demand revenge.
Their leader, who commanded dozens of summoned creatures, had been reduced to this state—what chance did revenge stand?
Everyone present knew that even if all of them rushed forward together, they could not defeat Black Scythe.
“….”
“….”
As the cult leader and his followers departed, silence fell between Ryu Min and Christine.
Christine, who had never imagined her comrades would all perish, still hadn’t recovered from the shock.
‘Because of me… because of me, they all died.’
Though they were her followers, she had never treated them as subordinates.
She had always regarded them as equals—as comrades.
As Douglas had said, it was a relationship for mutual benefit, but it was undeniable that we had weathered countless death-defying situations together as comrades.
‘Yet… all of this because of me alone…’
I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come.
“Listen. What’s your nickname?”
“It’s… Krishi.”
“Right, Krishi. I can roughly understand your situation. The grief of losing comrades who followed you must be immense. It probably feels like it’s all your fault.”
“It’s not just that it feels like my fault—it is my fault. If I hadn’t existed, none of this would have happened.”
“If you keep thinking like that, there’s no end to it. What if that cult leader had never existed in the first place? What if this survival game had never happened at all?”
I listened carefully to Ryu Min’s calm voice.
“Are you saying it’s not my fault…?”
“That’s right. Did you deliberately approach them and gather them to follow you?”
I shook my head.
“Exactly. It was your followers who approached you first. When you think about it, you bear no fault.”
“But…”
“The path your followers chose was their own decision. So don’t drown yourself in emotion. Don’t blame yourself for something that isn’t your fault.”
“…”
“Worrying about the future beforehand is just as foolish as cornering yourself. So…”
Ryu Min paused for a moment before continuing.
“Stop blaming yourself and cast off the burden from your shoulders now. You have no obligation to carry the weight of others alone.”
“…”
Christine was not an emotional person by nature.
Even watching romantic films or touching movies, I felt no emotional response.
Except when yawning, not a single tear had ever fallen.
And yet.
“Huh…?”
Drip, drip—
Without my realizing it, thick droplets fell from beneath my eyes.
Startled by this realization, I was grateful that Ryu Min was looking away, pretending not to notice.
‘Was I… just comforted?’
Until now, I had led so many people alone, with no one to lean on.
I had nowhere to unburden myself of that weight, yet this man somehow sensed it and offered me comfort.
It was surprising, but at the same time, reassuring.
The fact that I had met someone who understood my heart.
“Was I meddling unnecessarily?”
“No, no. I should be apologizing. I’m sorry for showing you such an unsightly side of myself…”
I wiped away my tears and forced a smile.
“I’m late with introductions. I’m Krishi. You’re Black Scythe, aren’t you?”
Ryu Min didn’t deny it.
“That’s right. Do you believe I’m Black Scythe?”
“Of course. How could I not believe it after witnessing such skill?”
A man who had dispatched thirty Undead Servants—each comparable to a player—with a single spell.
Who would believe such a formidable being was merely level 40 like herself?
Only Black Scythe at level 90 could accomplish such a feat.
‘But his class is supposed to be a Reaper, yet he’s using magic?’
She didn’t know what skills a Reaper possessed, but one thing was certain: he was her savior, the benefactor who had preserved her life.
He could even be called the only mentor worth relying on in the Other World.
“Thank you so much for saving me, Black Scythe. I don’t know how I could ever repay such a debt of life….”
“When did I save your life?”
“Pardon?”
“I merely corrected the manners of a disrespectful human, that’s all.”
“Ah. Haha.”
Though she pretended otherwise, Christine could sense the truth.
Black Scythe had deliberately made an excuse to save her.
Beneath his harsh words lay a warm heart.
And this man was surely—
‘I’m certain now. Black Scythe… is the savior I must follow.’
The lifeline of destiny I must continue to hold, as the prophecy foretold.
“Um, Black Scythe.”
“What is it?”
Christine lowered her head shyly under Ryu Min’s gaze, then gathered her courage to speak.
“Could I… travel with you for the remaining time?”
“Why?”
“You saved my life. I want to repay you however I can.”
“I refuse.”
“I… what?”
His curt rejection left Christine momentarily stunned.
‘This… this can’t be happening?’
She never expected to be rejected so swiftly.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————