The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 247

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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 247
247. Dark Illusion
“D-did you just hear that sound?”
“Ugh, my skin’s crawling.”
“Uuuugh….”
Dark Illusion’s cry was far from ordinary.
A voice that touched upon primal terror, systematically triggering the status ailment ‘fear’.
This was why some players were trembling.
‘Though it doesn’t land with 100% certainty.’
Thanks to the Saint’s blessing Christine had granted before the battle began, many could resist the fear.
Ryu Min, needless to say, was unaffected.
‘With the blessing active, my fear resistance is 2.45%. Even if it lands, it only lasts 0.07 seconds.’
With already high resistance and a blessing that halved the probability of status ailments, I was virtually immune.
‘Dark Illusion’s cry has no effect on me whatsoever.’
But the creature’s true terror lay elsewhere.
“W-where is it?”
“I heard the sound, but I can’t see it.”
For Dark Illusion, darkness was like water to a fish.
Not only was it incredibly fast, but its form was nearly invisible—a troublesome monster indeed.
‘It doesn’t register on presence detection, and it’s nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.’
Of course, there was a simple countermeasure.
Emit light and you could drag it from the darkness, making it easy to kill.
But that wouldn’t work here.
The environment had been deliberately designed to favor Dark Illusion.
As expected.
“Huh? No light is getting through.”
“Something’s wrong here, everyone.”
“Someone use a skill to light this up!”
“It’s not working! Not at all!”
When they tried to brighten the darkness, the light extinguished like a candle before the wind.
In the impenetrable darkness, everyone tensed, watching their surroundings carefully. Then—
“Aaaahhhhh! M-my arm!”
A scream pierced the air.
In the direction of the sound, a player was barely visible, trembling with his arm severed.
Squelch—squelch—!
Moments later, a blade erupted from his chest, and he fell dead.
The first casualty had fallen.
Yet no one could discern where the monster was.
Only that horrifying cry echoed through the darkness.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“It’s here! The monster is here!”
The second scream had barely escaped when—
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
Cries of agony erupted from every direction.
I lifted my head and saw multiple entities clad in tattered rags, slicing through the darkness with abandon.
Those were Dark Illusions.
“Where did so many suddenly come from?”
“Everyone, be careful!”
“Damn it, that bastard slashed my arm!”
“Kill it! Fight back!”
“Didn’t you see the message? It said invincible!”
“We have no choice but to run!”
There were over a hundred Dark Illusions by my count.
They moved through the darkness with the fluidity of fish swimming through water.
Though people had now become aware of the Dark Illusions’ existence, their sheer numbers and swift movements made evasion nearly impossible.
“Arghhhh!”
“It hurts! It hurts!”
“Ugh!”
As they swept past, their elongated claws raked across flesh, sending sharp pain coursing through bodies.
“How are we supposed to evade this many creatures?”
“More importantly, aren’t these monsters? Why don’t they register on detection?”
“Shut up and just run!”
People scattered in panic, each desperate to flee.
Among the chaos, only those using invisibility maintained any composure.
And the Saesin Religion followers who had learned the strategy.
Finally, there was Ryu Min, who intended to dismantle the strategy entirely.
‘They’re all panicking quite a bit.’
They were fleeing as if they’d disturbed a hornet’s nest, but truthfully, there was no need.
‘This is all fake. Well, except for one.’
Though over a hundred appeared, all but the true body were illusions.
The Dark Illusion’s clones merely implanted false pain; they inflicted no actual damage.
‘They’re panicking and falling for it. All because of clones created by a single creature.’
Thus, I moved calmly through the darkness, searching for the real Dark Illusion.
If I dealt with only the true body, the first mission would be simple to complete.
‘Where is it? Where’s the creature hiding?’
I bounded through the darkness, using it as my stage while hunting for the genuine Dark Illusion.
The fakes attempted to rake their claws at me, but they couldn’t keep pace with my movements.
‘Even if they’re fake, there’s no reason to take hits.’
Finding the true body among them was simple.
I cast the Mark of Death on every Dark Illusion I could see.
‘When I mark the real body, its health bar becomes visible. The clones don’t show one, though.’
With this, I could easily distinguish the genuine from the fake.
A skill that seemed unremarkable proved invaluable in moments like these.
It didn’t take long.
‘Found it.’
I located the Dark Illusion whose health bar was visible.
It lurked among countless clones of itself, stalking its prey.
Uuuuuuuu—
The use of Scream of Terror suggested it had found its desired target.
While people succumbed to fear, Dark Illusion moved with predatory speed.
It flew directly toward the defenseless Female Player trembling in terror.
‘I’m invincible, so I can’t kill it or push it back, but….’
Ryu Min surged forward with overwhelming speed, cutting off Dark Illusion’s path.
‘I can at least prevent it from hunting.’
I intercepted the creature before its claws could pierce the Female Player.
“Kyaaah!”
Startled at being suddenly scooped up, the woman cried out.
As her senses cleared, she realized the now-legendary Black Scythe was setting her down.
“That was close. Are you alright?”
“M-me?”
The woman belatedly noticed Dark Illusion still targeting her.
“Th-thank you, Black Scythe.”
I nodded, then suddenly shouted toward the crowd.
“Listen up! I’m going to tell you how to clear this round!”
The promise of strategy drew everyone’s attention.
“It looks like dozens, but Dark Illusion is actually just one creature. That one right there.”
My scythe pointed directly at the real Dark Illusion.
Robbed of its prey and exposed, the creature must have felt cornered.
“The rest are clones, so just focus on the one I’m pointing at!”
“The rest are clones?”
“That’s impossible. It can’t be.”
“What nonsense is he spouting?”
The players couldn’t believe Black Scythe’s words.
The pain felt so vivid—how could these be clones?
Was all this suffering nothing but illusion and deception?
Reading their doubt, I shouted again.
“It’s all false. Every pain you feel is nothing but hallucination. Don’t be deceived!”
“Hallucination….”
“I can’t believe it….”
As people stared at Black Scythe in denial of reality, the clones came flying in once more.
“Aaahhh!”
“Ugh, ah, this hurts!”
“How can you call this fake when it hurts this much?”
“I can see flesh tearing and blood seeping out!”
“At least be reasonable with your nonsense…”
But I had anticipated this.
I never expected them to believe me so easily.
“Believe me! Look at the death count as proof! How many players have actually died so far?”
At my words, people reluctantly peered into their Quest progress windows.
[Current Survivors: 2,303]
[Time Remaining Until Next Mission: 00:27:12]
“Huh?”
“Weren’t we 2,304 people?”
“Why has only one person died?”
Despite being attacked and injured this much, only one person had perished?
It made no sense.
“I told you, didn’t I? They’re clones. All the pain you’re feeling right now is false, and there’s only one true body. If you understand that, you can escape the suffering.”
People who had dismissed my claims as nonsense now began to listen.
Seeds of doubt sprouted in their minds—could this really be an illusion?
And remarkably, just as Black Scythe said, the pain vanished as if washed away.
“Wait, was that really an illusion?”
“Was all this pain I felt completely fake?”
With that thought, the Dark Illusions flying around now felt like clones themselves.
Even when struck, they felt only a slight sting, and believing it was false, the pain quickly disappeared.
Watching this, my lips curved upward in satisfaction.
‘Breaking through illusions is simple. Once you realize it, that’s all there is to it.’
Once I made them believe it was an illusion through enlightenment, it no longer worked.
Though that didn’t mean they could distinguish the clones from the real one.
“Ignore the other clones! There’s only one real one!”
“Which one is the real one, you said?”
“Tell us again, Black Scythe!”
Death’s Seal was a skill only the caster could see.
That’s why only my eyes could see the health bar.
“That one.”
My scythe pointed toward the Dark Illusion with the health bar.
Screeeech!
The one I’d singled out bristled and charged forward with fierce momentum.
Whoosh—
I dodged easily and continued informing the players around me.
If I just avoid this one, I can survive.
I can pass the mission.
“This one’s the real deal, so ignore all the others!”
Thanks to Ryu Min’s designation, the players were able to steer clear of the main body early on.
It was like splashing water at fish to tell them to run away—if this were fishing.
From Dark Illusion’s perspective as the fisherman, it was absolutely infuriating.
‘Good. At this rate, I can easily hold out for thirty minutes.’
Was it because they already knew who to avoid?
The players could flee easily and drag out the time.
As a result, even after twenty minutes had passed, Dark Illusion hadn’t killed a single player besides that first sacrifice.
It was enough to drive the creature mad.
No matter how many clones it summoned and unleashed, they all ignored them and only fled from itself. What a joke.
It was like playing tag alone against two thousand people.
Uuuuuugh!
The creature let out a roar of fury and inflicted a fear status ailment.
It lunged at the defenseless prey trembling before it, but—
Swoosh!
A single human snatched the prey away each time, disrupting the hunt.
It was Ryu Min.
Uuuuuugh! Uuuuuugh!
The creature roared in frustration several times, but to no avail.
‘I won’t let another sacrifice fall.’
After thirty minutes of obstruction like this—
Fsssshhh—
Dark Illusion dissipated like smoke.
Hundreds of its clones vanished as well.
[The time limit has expired.]
[You have successfully completed the first mission.]
[Survivors: 2,303. Casualties: 1.]
[Congratulations! The second mission will begin shortly.]
“Phew! Finally it’s over.”
“Nice! Only one person died!”
“We have Black Scythe to thank for this!”
The players cheered.
Some bowed their heads in gratitude to Ryu Min.
‘I certainly saved a lot of them.’
Considering that hundreds had died in previous attempts, this was a result worth celebrating.
But I couldn’t simply rejoice.
The second mission would be drenched in blood.

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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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