The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 19

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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 19
19. The Shop Window
[Confirmed: You are the first player to undergo a class advancement.]
[As a first advancement reward, you have obtained a ‘Random Gold Pouch’.]
[As a first advancement reward, you have learned the universal skill ‘Tracking’!]
The first advancement reward brought me a gold pouch and a new skill.
The universal skill, in particular, made me smile.
‘It’s impossible to obtain this skill early on.’
There are two types of skills.
Class-exclusive skills and universal skills.
Class-exclusive skills are, as the name suggests, skills that can only be used if you possess that specific class.
The Reaper-exclusive skill ‘Seal of Death’ that I had just learned fell into that category.
Universal skills, on the other hand, are skills anyone can learn.
They can be purchased anytime through the shop function that unlocks at level 10.
‘Though they do cost quite a bit of gold.’
I seized the moment to test out the newly available function.
‘Shop window.’
Soon, a translucent window materialized, displaying countless items in neat rows.
Weapons, helmets, armor, gloves, boots, necklaces, rings, skills—you name it.
Everything was organized by category without exception.
‘Though they’re all Normal grade, at best.’
With enough gold, I could purchase any item from the shop as I pleased.
It made acquiring items convenient, but the problem was that the shop only sold Normal-grade items.
‘Of course, Rare and Epic items are sold too.’
But they weren’t available through regular stock.
Instead, a section called ‘Today’s Item’ featured a randomized item for sale each day.
My gaze shifted to the upper right corner of the shop window.
★Today’s Item★
[Seasoned Hunter’s Leather Armor]
-Classification: Armor
-Grade: Rare
-Defense: 22
-Effect: Agility +2
-Durability: 225/225
-Usage Restriction: Apprentice Grade or higher
-Description: Armor favored by a seasoned hunter.
【Purchase Price: 2,000 Gold】
【Time Remaining: 23:18:21】
The sales window lasted 24 hours, with midnight as the reset point.
By calculating backward, I could even determine the current time.
‘Tomorrow, the items will change again.’
Since the shop’s inventory rotated randomly each day, it was difficult to purchase desired items.
‘Still, being able to buy Normal-grade items and above from the shop is something.’
Currently, a Normal-grade armor that Ryu Min could equip cost 1,000 Gold.
For 2,000 Gold, I could purchase a Rare armor with 50% higher performance—a reasonably fair price.
‘It’s not just Rare items. I can even buy Epic ones.’
Usually Rare items appeared, but occasionally Epic items were sold.
They appeared roughly once a week, so finding what you wanted wouldn’t be easy—but that didn’t apply to Ryu Min.
From past experience, I already knew when the Epic items I needed would appear.
‘Two weeks after this round ends, the Epic item I need will show up. I’ll use the 50% discount coupon then.’
Of course, as the round progressed, the item corner would stock increasingly expensive goods.
‘So it would be more profitable to wait as long as possible and use the coupon on a more expensive item, but….’
Unfortunately, the 50% discount coupon expired when the next round began.
I had no choice but to use it within a month.
‘The Random Gold Pouch is the same. It has a time limit and must be used before the next round starts.’
The Gold Pouch I received as a reward was a consumable item that granted a random amount of Gold upon use.
Since it required luck, I decided to raise my Luck stat before Round 3 and use it then.
My gaze shifted to the skill list at the top.
Erase Traces, Detect Surroundings, Sense Presence, Emergency Treatment, and more.
The shop was selling various common skills.
I examined the skill I’d obtained as a reward.
[Common Skill – Tracking]
-Effect: You can track the location of a desired target.
【Purchase Price: 20,000 Gold】
It was a skill worth a full 20,000 Gold.
An ordinary player wouldn’t even dare attempt it.
Other common skills had similar prices.
There was a reason they said it was impossible to obtain in the early stages.
‘Most players will learn them by mid-game, though.’
They were called common skills because anyone could buy them from the shop.
After browsing the shop window, I closed it.
‘There’s nothing worth buying right now.’
I had 3,000 Gold, but there was nothing I needed to purchase immediately.
I needed to save money to buy the Epic item in two weeks.
I opened my inventory and examined the weapon I’d received as a class advancement reward.
[Reaper’s Scythe]
-Classification: Weapon
-Grade: Rare
-Attack Power: 25
-Effect: Each time you swing it against an enemy, additional attack power +1 (maximum 5 stacks)
-Durability: 225/225
-Usage Restriction: Apprentice Grade or Higher
-Description: A colossal scythe said to have been wielded by the Reaper. Beginners will find it difficult to handle.
Ryu Min retrieved the scythe from his inventory.
The massive scythe, towering well above his own height, settled firmly in his grasp.
Whoosh—whoosh—!
Ryu Min smiled as he swung it several times, recalling the sensation.
‘Not bad at all.’
It was a Rare-grade weapon, and the options were excellent for early-game use.
‘I won’t need to change weapons until level 20.’
Ryu Min examined the Rune he’d obtained upon advancing his class.
[Reaper’s Rune]
-Effect: When using the scythe, weapon attack power increases by 2x, and at night, attack speed additionally increases by 50%. When remaining still at night, the probability of enemies detecting you decreases significantly.
When remaining still at night, the probability of enemies detecting you decreases significantly.
‘Fundamentally, attack power doubles, and at night attack speed multiplies by 1.5x. Plus the detection probability reduction.’
It was a Rune designed purely for scythe wielding.
‘This is why the Reaper grows stronger at night.’
Though it was daytime now, doubling the attack power was more than sufficient.
Opening the skill window one last time, I found there was another skill besides Tracking.
[Exclusive Skill – Mark of Death]
-Effect: Place a mark on the target visible only to the caster.
The marked target’s remaining health becomes visible, and when the caster attacks, an additional 100% damage is dealt.
Can only be applied to one target at a time.
It was a debuff-type skill that could double damage output.
‘An enemy marked is as good as dead.’
Since mana isn’t consumed like in a game, it’s always best to mark before fighting.
The only drawback is that it can only be used on a single target.
‘The rewards came through exactly as expected.’
Two hours and twenty minutes remained until the vote.
All that was left was to hunt and level up during that time.
‘Before that, should I check Hwang Yong-min’s location? I’ll test the 20,000 Gold skill too.’
Whenever Ryu Min obtained the Tracking skill, he always checked Hwang Yong-min’s whereabouts.
‘Tracking.’
[Please recall the target’s face and state their nickname.]
Following the message, I visualized the target.
‘Hwang Yong-min.’
[Face and nickname match. Tracking target location.]
Knowing only a nickname isn’t enough to track someone’s location.
I must also know their customized appearance.
‘Which means no one who doesn’t know my face can track me with just my nickname.’
A moment later, the results came through.
[We have located Player Hwang Yong-min’s position.]
[He is currently 190 meters away.]
[Follow the arrow displayed ahead to track the target.]
‘So he entered the Forest too? He’s much closer than I expected.’
In the previous cycle, Hwang Yong-min had been 2,000 meters away.
But now he was quite near.
‘Should I go take a look?’
Ryu Min, sickle in hand, swiftly cut through the Forest.
* * *
“Huff, huff, huff.”
“Gasp, gasp.”
Ragged breathing echoed between a man and a woman.
But only for a moment.
“Gasp, gasp, I can’t run anymore. My legs hurt too much.”
Seo A-rin, her breath ragged and desperate, collapsed onto the ground.
An Sang-chul beside her was equally breathless, but there was no time to rest.
“A-rin, we have to keep moving. If we don’t….”
An Sang-chul couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
If they rested like this, he had no idea what those who had ambushed them would do.
“Get up, no matter how hard it is.”
“My feet hurt so much….”
Seo A-rin had taken an arrow to her calf.
His own thigh had been slashed by a blade.
Still, they had to move now.
It was better than being caught and killed by their pursuers.
“This is just my guess, but even if we’re injured in the Other World, our real bodies should remain intact. As long as we survive, we can return Home.”
“Y-yes, that should be true, right? Okay. I’ll endure the pain.”
Seo A-rin gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet.
That was when it happened.
“Where do you think you’re going in that condition?”
The pursuers who had ambushed them from behind appeared.
Less than thirty seconds of rest had closed the distance.
‘Damn it. That wretched woman…!’
An Sang-chul cursed Seo A-rin under his breath and immediately drew his sword.
At this point, fighting was the only option.
Injured as they were, he had no confidence in victory.
“Ooh, An Sang-chul. You’re going to fight us?”
A large pursuer grinned wickedly as he approached.
Whether it was his real name or not, the nickname “Hwang Yong-min” floated above his head.
“If you have eyes, take a good look. How many of us are there?”
Hwang Yong-min and three others stood grinning wickedly, weapons in hand.
One of them even held a bow, giving them a decisive advantage.
‘Could I win if we fought?’
They outnumbered us, and I was already wounded and exhausted from running.
It seemed best to avoid direct confrontation altogether.
“What exactly are you doing? What have we done wrong?”
“Huh? You haven’t done anything wrong, obviously.”
“Then why are you attacking us out of nowhere—”
“Hand her over.”
“Pardon? Hand over what—”
Hwang Yong-min smirked.
“The woman next to you.”
“….”
“We’re not interested in a punk like you. It’s Seo A-rin standing beside you we want.”
“Ah….”
Seo A-rin let out a quiet gasp.
She had just realized that this entire mess was because of her.
“But is this really Seo A-rin? The actress Seo A-rin, right?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking? Her username and face are both Seo A-rin.”
“Someone could be imitating her because they want to look like Seo A-rin.”
“So what? As long as she tastes good, that’s all that matters.”
“Ha, I see? Khehehehe.”
“Hey, An Sang-chul. If you leave Seo A-rin with us, I’ll let you go. How about it?”
At Hwang Yong-min’s proposal, An Sang-chul’s teeth ground together.
I could see their intentions crystal clear.
‘So Seo A-rin was the target all along? If that was the case, they should have said so from the start.’
Now I’d gotten caught up in their mess and suffered for it.
If they’d told me to leave Seo A-rin behind from the beginning, I wouldn’t have hesitated.
‘I have no desire to die for her.’
I was assigned as her manager and bodyguard under Ma Gyeong-rok’s orders, but in truth, I was merely placed here as a watchdog.
I had not the slightest inclination to die in Seo A-rin’s place.
But there was one thing that troubled me….
‘If I fail to protect Seo A-rin, I’ll be betraying Ma Gyeong-rok’s expectations.’
An Sang-chul tightened his grip on his sword.
Right now, I had to survive alongside Seo A-rin no matter what.
“Oh, you’ve got fire in your eyes, old man?”
“Looks like you’re thinking of fighting.”
“You people. Do you realize this is a crime?”
“A crime? Hehehehe, this old guy’s hilarious!”
Hwang Yong-min’s shoulders shook as he laughed.
“This is the Other World, isn’t it? Where’s the law? Where are the police?”
“Even so, this isn’t a game. It’s undeniably reality. You’ve committed a crime—you assaulted the same person.”
“Oh, is that so? Then what are you going to do about it? Report us when you return to reality? Say that Hwang Yong-min attacked Seo A-rin and An Sang-chul?”
“Yes.”
“Khehehe.”
Hwang Yong-min and his friends wore sneering smiles.
“You have evidence? There’s no CCTV here.”
“….”
“And how would you even know this is my real face? How would you prove whether I used my actual name as my nickname or not?”
“….”
Every word he said was true.
There was no evidence. None whatsoever.
I couldn’t take photographs to bring back, couldn’t gather testimony.
After all, the forms here were avatars—different from our real appearances.
An Sang-chul knew this too.
He’d simply clung to a slim possibility.
‘Damn it, persuasion isn’t working at all.’
Looking at their bloodshot eyes, words wouldn’t get through to them.
Come to think of it, if words had worked, they wouldn’t have fired arrows in the first place.
A sharp sting—
Pain radiated from my torn thigh, but there was no choice.
I had to fight, injured body or not.
‘For Director Ma’s sake…!’
An Sang-chul was about to move when—
A rustling sound—
Someone emerged from behind a tree.
A player wielding a long scythe.

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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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