The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 251

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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 251
251. Authority
Ten seconds had elapsed.
Ryu Min’s hazy eyes snapped open.
‘Is it over?’
Somehow, I had managed to stay conscious.
Thanks to the elixir of super regeneration, I had been able to protect over a thousand people.
Ryu Min turned his head suddenly.
Hundreds of eyes gazed upon him with reverent admiration.
These were all people who would have died if Ryu Min had not stepped forward.
“Black Scythe….”
“Oh, divine being….”
Some of the believers, including Heo Tae-sik, looked upon him as if gazing at a god itself.
Some even clasped their hands together in prayer.
Reverence filled Christine’s eyes as well.
As if witnessing the return of a god who had sacrificed himself for humanity.
[The time limit has ended.]
[You have succeeded in the third mission.]
[Survivors: 1,048. Casualties: 104.]
[Congratulations! You have completed the Main Quest!]
[The location will shift shortly for final settlement.]
It was a joyful notification, yet no one could smile.
Blood stains covered the area around Ryu Min extensively.
Knowing it was the price of sacrifice, people hesitated to celebrate.
Finding the solemn atmosphere displeasing, Ryu Min spoke matter-of-factly.
“Why is everyone so quiet? Don’t worry about being considerate—you’re allowed to be happy.”
“But Black Scythe, your condition….”
“Don’t worry about me. Despite appearances, I’m perfectly fine. Even if I were injured, it wouldn’t matter. I’m satisfied simply knowing I’ve saved so many lives.”
“Ah….”
“Black Scythe….”
The people, moved by such magnanimity, gazed upon him with admiring eyes.
With just a few words, I had instantly crafted the image of a savior.
‘A good image never hurts.’
Just as I was smiling benevolently and savoring the joy, a cheerful notification appeared before my eyes.
[A hidden sub-quest exists!]
【Sub-Quest】
└Take the most damage during the third mission
└Upon success ▶ Rune of Sacrifice granted
[You have completed the sub-quest!]
[As a sub-quest reward, ‘Rune of Sacrifice’ has been granted!]
[The acquired rune is automatically inscribed into the player’s body!]
‘As expected, it came through. The Sub Quest reward.’
While I had stepped forward partly to protect others, what I truly anticipated was this Sub Quest reward.
[Rune of Sacrifice]
-Effect: Designate one target within a 100m radius and receive damage in their stead.
The damage received is reduced according to the caster’s defense stat.
The caster can deactivate it at will. However, it automatically deactivates if the target moves outside the range.
‘The Rune of Sacrifice—not a bad rune at all.’
No, it’s actually excellent.
Excellent enough to be included in the list of eighteen essential runes.
‘There’s no better rune for protecting someone.’
It’s a rune that lets you receive damage in place of your chosen target.
Literally, a rune of sacrifice.
‘If I cast it on someone like Christine who plays a crucial role in the party, I can protect her perfectly.’
Of course, I’d have to receive the damage Christine takes instead, but I’m not worried.
The damage is adjusted to my defense level.
‘As long as I can endure it, Christine essentially becomes invincible.’
It’s a good rune, but I didn’t clear the Sub Quest just to obtain this one.
‘In this round, Sub Quests are more important than ever before.’
The reason would soon be revealed by Angel.
Moments later, the scenery wavered, and the players returned one by one to the Monochrome Space.
[Hehe, how was the mission? It was harder than expected… wasn’t it?]
Angel, who had been smiling, grew serious upon seeing over a thousand survivors.
[You’ve survived in greater numbers than anticipated? I thought at most around a hundred would make it….]
‘Even a hundred is a generous estimate. Originally, fewer than fifty would have survived.’
I looked around, silently amused by Angel’s miscalculation.
In a hundred returns, this was the first time I’d witnessed such a sight.
After completing Round 15, so many people standing alive.
[Let me see… A total of 1,048 people have survived? How could so many possibly survive? This is beyond my expectations!]
Angel’s astonishment mirrored what the people had felt minutes ago.
They never imagined Black Scythe would immolate himself and shield them like a wall.
‘Black Scythe….’
‘Black Scythe is truly our savior.’
The people gazed at me with such reverent eyes.
With two thousand pupils fixed upon me, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of their attention.
Especially when I thought of what I’d have to do soon.
‘Those eyes will probably turn to hatred before long.’
Just as I was sighing quietly to myself, Angel made a statement that would shock everyone.
[You may not know this, but there was a hidden Sub Quest in this round. It was a Quest where the person who receives the most damage in the third mission wins. Nothing particularly surprising, right?]
As she said, there was nothing particularly surprising about it so far.
Sub Quests have appeared in every round except Round 1 and Round 6.
The truly shocking revelation came next.
[However, this Sub Quest is somewhat different. Unlike other rounds, this time the person who completes the Sub Quest receives special authority. What kind of authority, you ask?]
Angel flashed a devilish smile.
[The authority to determine the rankings of all players.]
“The rankings of all players…?”
“What does that mean?”
Angel smiled and explained for those who didn’t immediately understand.
[Until now, we’ve measured records to determine rankings and filled in the achievers accordingly. But this round is different. The person who completes the Sub Quest can directly designate the achievers from 2nd place to 576th place.]
“W-what did you say?”
“Directly assign the rankings?”
[In other words, the human who made the greatest sacrifice now holds the power of life and death over other humans. Quite ironic, isn’t it? Hehehehe.]
It was indeed a paradoxical situation, just as Angel described.
The person who had sacrificed the most could now control the fate of others.
The crowd felt their minds reeling from the shock.
[Let’s see, shall we? The human who took the most damage in the third mission is….]
Angel’s eyes widened dramatically.
It was a rare reaction.
[Black Scythe, is it? My, the damage taken exceeds 2 quadrillion….]
Angel, unable to hide her admiration, nodded slowly.
[Now I understand. How you managed to keep so many people alive. Did you really absorb all those attacks by yourself?]
“….”
There was no obligation to answer.
The question was clearly meant to mock.
[But what’s this? Unfortunately, it looks like half of them will have to be eliminated.]
It was unavoidable since only 576 could survive.
[Now then, Black Scythe. I grant you the power of life and death over the other players.]
Before Angel could finish speaking, a message appeared.
[The player who completed Round 15’s Sub Quest is ‘Black Scythe’.]
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ is granted the authority to adjust Round 15 rankings.]
[1st place cannot be changed to Black Scythe yourself.]
[Please determine the order from 2nd to 576th place.]
[2nd and 3rd place will receive special rewards, while the rest will receive identical rewards regardless of ranking.]
[Please call out the nickname of the player you wish to designate as 2nd place in a loud voice.]
Ryu Min stared at the message quietly.
The fate of others now rested in his hands.
When he turned his head, countless eyes were fixed upon him.
Though it should have been overwhelming, Ryu Min designated without hesitation.
He had known this would happen all along.
“Krishi.”
[Second place is ‘Krishi’.]
[Please designate third place.]
“Democracy.”
Those ranked up to third place receive special rewards as before.
‘Christine and Min Ju-ri, who had the greatest impact, should receive the second and third place rewards.’
The rest remain unchanged.
Therefore, from fourth to five hundred seventy-sixth place, the ranking holds no significance.
The real question was whether one made it within the top 576.
That difference determined whether you ascended to heaven or descended to hell.
[Fourth place is ‘Seo A-rin’.]
[Please designate fifth place.]
…
[Tenth place is ‘No Poe-in No-ge-i’.]
[Please designate eleventh place.]
…
[Thirteenth place is ‘Damn Idiots’.]
[Please designate fourteenth place.]
…
Ryu Min called out the usernames without hesitation.
Russell, Jo Yong-ho, Victor, Sophia, Yamtti, and so on.
He placed his key forces first on the survivor list.
After that, he filled the remaining slots with the usernames of the Death God Cult followers.
‘It’s only natural that I save the Death God Cult followers who trusted and followed me.’
With that, he was able to fill up to four hundredth place quickly.
The problem was the remaining one hundred seventy-six people.
‘Who should I save?’
Ryu Min, who had been calling out usernames without pause, fell silent for the first time.
Lost in thought.
[Please designate four hundred first place.]
The players who saw the blinking message appear before everyone’s eyes seized the moment and cried out.
“Black Scythe! Me! Please save me!”
“Me too! Please put me on the survivor list! I’m begging you!”
“Damn it! Who pushed me?”
“I can’t see! Move out of the way!”
People swarmed toward Ryu Min like clouds.
Those who rushed forward to beg for their lives could not draw near because of the piercing coldness in Ryu Min’s gaze.
They could only appeal to him from ten meters away.
“Please save me. I have a widowed mother at home. She’ll be truly devastated if I die.”
“You think you’re the only one with family? I have a child who’s not even a hundred days old!”
“I’m a father of twins! If I die, my whole family will starve!”
“I’m your twin!”
“This is insane!”
They grabbed each other by the collar, and nearly six hundred people thrashed about, desperate to survive.
There was not a shred of composure—hardly befitting players who had overcome such adversity.
‘I suppose it’s natural when your life is on the line?’
Yet among them, there were those who remained motionless—whether from pride or their true nature, I couldn’t say.
‘That person… is that the Grand Sorcerer Alex?’
Only two people besides me had survived up to Round 19.
They were Ma Gyeong-rok and Ju Sung-tak, who had competed for 2nd and 3rd place across All Districts.
‘And those who survived to Round 18, excluding myself, numbered seven.’
Two of them were Ma Gyeong-rok and Ju Sung-tak mentioned above, and the remaining five were Min Ju-ri, Yamtti, Victor, and…
‘Alex standing over there and Dorothy, who was revered as the Divine Archer.’
In other words, these two were the cream of the crop among those who survived to Round 18.
Looking back now, I could spot Dorothy as well.
‘Perhaps because they were foreigners, I never had the chance to grow close to them.’
All I knew of Alex was that he held German nationality and had made a name for himself with the unique class of Grand Sorcerer.
Dorothy, too—I only knew she was called the Divine Archer and held Dutch nationality.
‘I had always hoped we’d meet someday. Well, here we are.’
My voice cut through the noise of Dotteogi Market.
“Alex.”
[400th place is ‘Alex’.]
[Please designate 401st place.]
Alex flinched, apparently not expecting to be called.
“Dorothy.”
Dorothy reacted the same way.
I continued calling out nicknames.
Since I had already selected everyone I needed, it didn’t matter who I chose next.
I simply read their inner thoughts briefly, and if they seemed to have no serious character flaws, I added them to the survivors.
After filling the list up to 575th place, only one spot remained.
Nearly five hundred players still waiting clung to me desperately.
“Please, I beg you, Black Scythe.”
“Save me. I don’t want to die. Please.”
“I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll live as your servant for the rest of my life. So please…”
Some fell to their knees, and others even shed tears as they pleaded.
But I had already decided on the final survivor.
‘The last one is…’
My gaze, which had been drawn out deliberately, turned toward one person.

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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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