The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 192

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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 192
192. The Bait
“Ugh, how boring.”
Go Nam-chul, the Busan native, let out a continuous stream of yawns.
Ever since Ryu Min and Ma Gyeong-rok had purged the existing Player Cafe members, player-related crimes had dropped dramatically.
With only upstanding players of sound character remaining, it was fair to say there were virtually no criminal players left.
That was precisely why Go Nam-chul found himself so listless.
“They say no news is good news, but this is just too dull.”
An incident might occur once every two weeks, if that.
It was nothing but an endless stretch of idle days.
With so little work to do, coming in every day felt like collecting unearned income.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing the squad leader’s face again.”
Go Nam-chul suddenly found himself reminiscing about his first encounter with Black Scythe.
After losing to him in a duel with an overwhelming gap in power, he’d corrected his dialect and learned much as a squad member.
‘Thinking back, how pathetic I was, charging in recklessly like a foolish pup.’
It was the kind of thing that would make him kick his blankets in embarrassment now, but it had been a valuable experience nonetheless.
When else would he ever get to duel Black Scythe?
“He’s truly remarkable. How did he earn twenty million points in the 11th Round alone?”
Perhaps because they were in the same squad, he felt genuinely proud of him.
He’d been busy lately, so they hadn’t had a chance to meet, but seeing his face even once would be wonderful.
“Three hours left to kill.”
Just as Go Nam-chul was about to close his eyes and stretch out in another yawn, it happened.
Wee-wee-wee-wee-
An unmistakable alarm sound.
Go Nam-chul’s eyes snapped open as he snatched up the radio.
-Incident reported, incident reported, Code Zero-One, Code Zero-One, emergency bell activated at GS24 Convenience Store in Gwangjin District, respond immediately. Over.-
“Finally.”
Having received the call, Go Nam-chul rushed out of the Seoul Gwangjin Police Station where he’d been temporarily stationed.
Since the location was nearby, running would be faster than driving.
It was the first incident in nearly two weeks, so he felt somewhat on edge.
‘What kind of lunatic is committing robbery? If that’s the case, they’re truly an idiot.’
The CPF Unit had been established for two months now.
Korea’s public safety was virtually assured.
Every time you turned on the TV, you’d see CPF public service announcements featuring Seo A-rin, so every South Korean citizen knew it.
Commit a crime in Korea, and you wouldn’t escape death.
‘Yet someone commits a crime anyway.’
He figured it must be a foreign player or someone ignorant of the CPF’s existence.
‘Is this the place?’
Arriving at the reported location, Go Nam-chul immediately pushed open the convenience store door.
Ding-
The sight before my eyes was gruesome.
A man in his forties, apparently the Store Owner, lay dead with his head severed.
The image evoked a déjà vu of my first real combat, and Go Nam-chul’s eyes twitched beneath their lids.
‘That insane convenience store robber—when I catch him, he’s dead meat!’
Following protocol, I activated a reconnaissance skill to scan for any movement in the vicinity.
Several red dots appeared, but upon closer inspection, they were merely civilians.
‘Could it be him?’
There was one dot moving distinctly faster than the rest—almost running.
After identifying the suspect, I immediately gave chase.
Tap, tap, tap—
The distance closed rapidly.
Anticipating moments like this, I had purchased speed-enhancing shoes from the Special Shop.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
I shouted at the suspect to halt, but he kept running.
My suspicion hardened into certainty.
“I said stop, you bastard!”
Seeing him dart into a dead-end alley, I smiled with grim satisfaction.
‘Got him—wait?’
I stopped in my tracks as I entered the alley.
I had chased one person, but two stood waiting in the alley.
The way they stood, as if they’d been expecting me, sent a chill down my spine.
In the next instant, I heard movement behind me—two more appeared.
I found myself surrounded by four people.
‘What the hell? Are these foreign players?’
Their faces and clothing made it clear they were international players.
Surrounded on all sides, I swallowed hard.
“Who are you bastards?”
They didn’t answer—perhaps because I’d spoken in Korean.
They simply smirked, clearly amused by the situation.
“Heh heh, look at this guy—he’s scared shitless.”
“Chased one person and suddenly there’s four of us, huh?”
“Stop wasting time talking—let’s just subdue him already.”
“Agreed. First, we restrain him. We’ll need him as bait.”
The moment all four drew their weapons, I grasped the gravity of the situation.
‘Damn it, I’m screwed. No wonder I’ve been yawning all day…’
I had no confidence facing four opponents, but I wasn’t some pushover from Busan for nothing.
“Damn it, bring it on. If I’m going down, I’m taking at least two of you with me.”
I channeled the Blade Master’s buff skills—Sword Mastery and Swift Blade—into my weapon.
Blue light rippled across the long blade, amplifying both my attack power and attack speed.
As I raised the long sword with murderous intent in my eyes, the approaching figures hesitated and their expressions shifted to alarm.
“This bastard—just looking at his eyes, he seems like the type who thinks he’s something special.”
“There’s nothing to fear. We have four of us.”
“Fear? Me, the number one ranker in Brazil, scared of some trash like this? That’ll never happen.”
“Then why don’t you come at him first?”
“Watch closely. I’ll knock him flat in one minute.”
Bricks, Brazil’s top ranker, closed the distance in an instant.
Go Nam-chul, startled by the unexpected speed, swung his blade—but.
Clang!
His steel fist, the skill of a Monk class, blocked it instead.
From that point on.
Clang—bang—clang!
Multiple exchanges followed, but every sword strike was blocked by Bricks’s fist.
“You think you can beat me with that little blade? Hehehehe.”
Steel Fist, the Monk’s skill that turned his hand into iron when he clenched it, was essentially a counter to every close-range class.
‘Damn it, what kind of fist makes a metallic sound like that?’
Panicked, Go Nam-chul decided he needed to use the reach of his long blade and first tried to create distance.
But the foreigner clung to him like gum, and the gap refused to widen.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Bricks placed his palm against Go Nam-chul’s abdomen and shouted.
“Burst!”
Boom!
“Gahhk!”
With a tremendous explosion, Go Nam-chul was sent flying.
After soaring ten meters, he crashed into the wall and crumpled to the ground.
“Ughhhh….”
Despite wearing armor, the impact to his internal organs didn’t fade.
“What? Not even close, huh? Didn’t even take a minute.”
Bricks laughed arrogantly.
“Everyone else, don’t strain yourselves. Just watch. I’ll handle this bastard.”
“You shouldn’t hog all the fun. I’d like to enjoy some too.”
“Cut it out. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Yeah. Let’s just leave it to Bricks.”
The three of them crossed their arms with smirks.
It was a complete dismissal, and Go Nam-chul saw it clearly.
‘These bastards….’
Rage flared at being disrespected, but the reality was he couldn’t even overcome that steel fist.
‘Why… why am I up against these bastards….’
Though calling them “bastards” was unfair—they were all the 12 Apostles, the number one rankers in their respective countries—but Go Nam-chul had no way of knowing that.
“I’ll… kill you.”
“What are you saying? You psycho.”
In an instant, Go Nam-chul vanished from sight.
Bricks was startled, but he hadn’t truly disappeared.
He’d simply closed the distance with blinding speed.
Though caught off guard by the unexpected velocity, Bricks smirked.
Blocking with his steel fist posed no problem whatsoever.
He traced the blade’s trajectory and positioned his fist with precision.
A metallic clang should have rung out, but instead came an unexpected sound.
A sickening scrape—!
‘What?’
The blade suddenly shifted its arc and sliced through Bricks’ wrist.
His steel fist could block any blade when his hand was clenched, but ultimately it was just a fist.
The wrist was soft and vulnerable.
“Ugh, ahhhhh!”
Seeing his wrist severed from his moment of carelessness, snickers erupted from behind him.
“Bricks, I knew he’d do that.”
“Yeah, why’d you have to charge in alone anyway?”
Brazil’s number two ranked player’s gonna cry about the injustice.”
He’d allowed it once, but not twice.
Clang—clang—
Bricks, who’d blocked the blade strikes with his fist alone, opened his palm once more.
“Wind!”
A deafening boom—!
“Gack!”
Go Nam-chul, struck by the wind cannon, crashed into the wall again.
“Bricks, should we lend you a hand?”
“Shut up! I’m killing this bastard myself.”
“Hey, we can’t kill him. You forgot? We need to use him as bait to lure Black Scythe.”
“There’s more than one bait! The other teams will find their own!”
“That’s exactly why we need to at least try talking to him—to see if he’s even usable as bait!”
Bricks calmed his excitement at the reasonable argument.
“Fine. Let’s try some conversation then.”
Bricks applied emergency treatment to his wrist to stop the bleeding, then approached Go Nam-chul.
“Hey. You close with your squad leader?”
“What?”
“Your commander. Boss, Black Scythe.”
Even Go Nam-chul, ignorant of English, understood the words “boss” and “Black Scythe.”
“You’re talking about our squad leader?”
“What’s he saying? This bastard understands us?”
“Seems like it?”
“Hey, phone number. You know your boss’s phone number? Call here. Call him for us.”
Go Nam-chul’s expression completely transformed as he understood Bricks’ words.
“Fuck off.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said fuck you, asshole.”
“Fuck me? Are you serious right now? Hey guys, what should we do with this bastard?”
That was when Bricks turned to his companions.
“Watch out!”
Go Nam-chul’s blade thrust toward his throat.
But Bricks, who had deliberately left an opening, had already twisted his torso and slipped to the side.
“Do I look like a pushover to you?”
A steel fist hammered into his ribs.
Crack—
“Kugh!”
As his ribs shattered, Go Nam-chul cried out in agony and collapsed.
Crunch—!
“Ahhhhh!”
When Bricks stomped on his wrist, the blade fell from his grip.
“See? The way this bastard’s thrashing around—he’s clearly not planning to give up the number.”
“Looks like it.”
“So I can play with him now, right?”
“Yeah, do whatever. Just don’t drag it out. We’re short on time.”
“Okay.”
A demonic smile spread across Bricks’ face as he looked down at Go Nam-chul.
“You picked the wrong fight. You dare damage my hand like this? I’ll crush every bone in your body like kneading dough and make sure you die screaming.”
“Ugh…”
Just as Bricks raised his fist, seething with rage.
“Well, well. Four corpses just lying around?”
A man in a robe walked into the alley.
It was Ju Sung-tak, sent by Black Scythe’s orders.
“Who the hell is that?”
Bricks glared at him with sharp eyes, but it was a mistake.
He’d given Ju Sung-tak the perfect opportunity to cast his curse of terror.
“Ahhh…”
While his companions stared strangely at Bricks, who suddenly trembled as if he’d seen a ghost.
Ju Sung-tak swiftly approached and drove a dagger into his throat.
Thunk—!
He killed Bricks with brutal simplicity, then hurled the corpse toward the group of apostles.
“Corpse explosion.”
Boom-boom-boom-bang—!
The three apostles, caught off guard, were sent flying like springs.
It was an enhanced corpse explosion utilizing the soul storage skill, so its destructive power was formidable.
“Gahhhhh….”
“Kughhhh….”
“Khhhhh….”
The 12 Apostles, their lower bodies blown away in an instant, let out anguished groans before dying.
“Tsk, creatures that can’t even defeat me dare aim for someone else.”
Ju Sung-tak spat on the corpses, stored only the souls of those he’d killed, then returned to Go Nam-chul.
“Are you alright?”
Though his abdomen was thoroughly shaken and his wrist shattered along with his ribs, Go Nam-chul managed to stand up quickly.
“Th-thank you for helping me. But how did you….”
“I just happened to be passing by and heard the commotion.”
Following the master’s instructions, I didn’t mention anything about Black Scythe.
In truth, I was able to appear at just the right moment thanks to the order to surveil the squad members.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“W-wait, just a moment!”
Leaving Go Nam-chul behind, Ju Sung-tak exited the alley and immediately called someone.
“Master. As you predicted, there were individuals approaching the squad members.”
-Is that so? How many were there?
“There were four, but the Necromancer you mentioned wasn’t among them.”
-So they’re operating in three teams. What about them?
“I killed them all.”
-Good work. Keep tailing the other squad members too. If you spot the Necromancer, don’t kill him.
“I’ll follow your orders.”
* * *
After finishing the call with Ju Sung-tak, Ryu Min put on his coat.
‘They’re moving faster than I expected.’
It was a good call to have the squad members tailed in advance.
‘Now I need to move as well.’
The 12 Apostles would likely target the squad members simultaneously.
Using me, the squad commander, as bait to draw them out.
‘Ju Sung-tak’s intervention prevented one casualty, but who knows about the others.’
Someone might already be dead.
Someone might have betrayed us.
And sure enough.
Ring ring- Ring ring-
A call came in from one of the squad members.
“Hello?”
-C-commander? I, I have something I’d like to discuss. Could you come over here?
“Where is it?”
After hearing the location and hanging up, Ryu Min let out a quiet chuckle.
‘There’s a traitor in this round too.’
My suspicion had hit the mark.

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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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