The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 257

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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 257
257. Choice
In the 68th cycle when Ryu Min first reached the 16th round, he had fought against Combat Angels.
‘Fought isn’t the right word—I slaughtered them.’
Ten Combat Angels had appeared at that time.
Their purpose was simple.
‘They sided with the monsters to obstruct the players.’
It was the first time the Angels had intervened in a Quest after all this time.
‘It was frustrating. Absurd, even.’
The sudden intervention was vexing, and they proved far weaker than expected.
Of course, if they had possessed Instant Death, Ryu Min wouldn’t have stood a chance—his head would have exploded.
‘But those Angels couldn’t use Instant Death.’
According to the information I’d gathered, Instant Death couldn’t be used in the 16th round.
The reason remained unknown.
‘The system must have imposed restrictions to maintain balance. With Instant Death alone, anyone could kill in a single blow.’
Why the Angels were obstructing remained a mystery.
What mattered was that they couldn’t use Instant Death.
For Ryu Min, who lacked the “Supreme Being” title—the countermeasure to Instant Death at that time—it was fortunate.
‘It was far too easy. No Instant Death, and they were merely Grade 6 Combat Angels.’
Grade 6 equated to a maxed-out player with standard equipment.
At my current level of 70, five of them could probably handle one.
‘But I faced all ten alone.’
The Ryu Min of the 68th cycle was formidable.
Powerful enough to slaughter ten Grade 6 Angels single-handedly.
‘After I killed all the Angels, an Archangel appeared.’
That Archangel, presumed to be ranked first, neither threatened nor attacked Ryu Min.
Ryu Min, overwhelmed by its absolute power, didn’t dare engage it.
‘It simply spoke incomprehensible words before leaving. I don’t remember much of it.’
Likely, Grade 6 Angels would appear this time as well.
They would only emerge in the final sixth wave, so there was still plenty of time.
“Stupid Angel bitch, we didn’t expect you to gather on the island like this.”
“Black Scythe got the strategy right again.”
“If we hadn’t entered the island beforehand, what would have happened to our families by now….”
“This is all thanks to Black Scythe. Thank you!”
The Saesin Religion followers around him expressed their gratitude toward Ryu Min.
Even Alex, whose eyes had reflected doubt in my strategy, now gleamed with newfound trust.
‘Good. It seems I’ve earned the faith of the newcomers.’
These newly arrived followers would henceforth devote themselves sincerely to me because of this incident.
The same applied to Alex standing before me.
Behind the mask, Ryu Min’s lips curved upward in satisfaction, but….
‘Huh?’
Seeing Min Ju-ri conversing with Alex, I couldn’t help but grow serious.
Because I knew she was searching for The Seer.

* * *
“Here, receive these buffs.”
As Min Ju-ri’s hand extended toward the followers, a triple-buff set took hold.
“Oh, thank you so much!”
Nodding in acknowledgment, Min Ju-ri immediately turned her attention to the next player.
With 576 people here, there was no time to rest.
That’s when Min Ju-ri noticed a player standing apart from the others.
Since he was foreign, she approached him in somewhat halting English.
“Hello? Are you new here?”
“Yes. I’m Alex.”
“I’m Democracy. May I take a moment of your time?”
Alex looked puzzled, but only for a moment.
The instant he received the triple-buff set—Bless, Swiftness, and Safety Barrier—his eyes widened dramatically.
“This… this is…”
“Buffs. They’ll be useful for you. Now, I’m busy, so if you’ll excuse me…”
Min Ju-ri turned away from his astonished gaze and moved toward the next person.
All the while, her eyes darted about, searching for someone.
‘Where could he be?’
Every player in the world had been unified under the Saesin Religion.
Among them should be Ryu Min, who possessed The Seer class.
‘But I don’t see any sign of him.’
She was buffing everyone she met, but none of them was the Ryu Min she knew.
Even using tracking proved the same.
[Target ‘Ryu Min’ cannot be found.]
[Face and name do not match.]
‘Why does it keep saying they don’t match?’
I clearly knew his face in reality and knew his name.
Yet Ryu Min wasn’t coming up in the search.
‘Did he change his name without telling me? Or get plastic surgery?’
It was an absurd thought, but there was no other explanation.
‘When I asked him to come to the Island, he should have come with me no matter what…”
When she’d called him to the Island, she’d asked him to come along, but he’d refused, saying he had something to attend to and told her to go first.
Yet now that she’d arrived on the Island, there was no sign of Ryu Min.
Just to be sure, she was counting the numbers as she applied buffs, but…
“Thank you for the buffs, Democracy!”
“Yes…”
In the end, Min Ju-ri never found Ryu Min.
The last person she’d buffed was the closest she’d come.
‘What’s going on? All 576 people entered the Island?’
Yet Min Ju-ri had never laid eyes on Ryu Min’s face.
She’d verified everyone’s identity while casting buffs.
Everyone except one person.
‘Ah…!’
Min Ju-ri’s gaze shifted to the man wearing the white mask.
‘Could Black Scythe possibly be…?’
But Min Ju-ri quickly let out a soft laugh and shook her head.
Even she had to admit the assumption was absurd.
‘Black Scythe can’t be Ryu Min. Their heights are completely different.’
Black Scythe was tall and unmistakably muscular.
His skin had a bronzed complexion.
There was no way they could be the same person.
‘So where is he then? Why can’t I even track him?’
Min Ju-ri exhaled a long breath.
No matter how much she thought about it, nothing made sense.
“Black Scythe.”
Min Ju-ri sought out Black Scythe to make her report.
“I’ve cast buffs on everyone here as you instructed.”
“Good work.”
Min Ju-ri watched Black Scythe nod, studying him carefully.
‘It’s ridiculous. Black Scythe as Ryu Min? Ha…’
Everything was different—his build, his voice, his manner of speech.
There was no room for doubt, yet Black Scythe might know something.
“Black Scythe? Have you seen The Seer by any chance?”
“The Seer?”
“Yes… The headcount matches, but I can’t find him anywhere.”
Ryu Min’s eyebrow twitched, but only for a fleeting moment.
“Why not use Tracking then?”
“That’s the thing… it says the target doesn’t match.”
At that answer, Ryu Min laughed inwardly.
‘It had to be. My appearance is warped by the Assassin’s Mask.’
When appearance was warped, Tracking wouldn’t detect it.
Not unless one recalled the transformed appearance and name.
“I’m not sure either. Strange situation.”
“Sigh…”
Disappointed but unwilling to give up, Min Ju-ri continued scanning the area intently.
A message appeared as if telling her to stop, but—
[The first summoning will begin shortly.]
[Prepare for the monster assault.]
“Stop searching for The Seer and focus on preparing for the attack.”
“But….”
“Don’t get careless and end up taking a blade to the gut.”
“Understood… I’m sorry.”
Watching Min Ju-ri’s dejected expression, I felt even more apologetic.
“Black Scythe.”
I turned at the call and saw Russell and Victor approaching.
“We’ve distributed weapon enhancements and equipment buffs to all the players as you instructed.”
“I’ve also finished distributing the healing potions.”
“Well done. Both of you.”
“Black Scythe?”
This time it was Christine who approached.
“I’ve just finished blessing all 576 people with the Saint’s blessing.”
“Good work.”
“Thank you.”
Min Ju-ri, who had been watching Christine smile brightly, spoke up.
“Hey, Krishi?”
“Yes, Democracy.”
“You said you just buffed 576 people—did you count them carefully?”
“Yes. It was 576 including me, but why?”
“Well, the thing is….”
Min Ju-ri glanced around before whispering.
“Did you happen to see The Seer? I’m looking for him but can’t find him anywhere.”
“Ah….”
Christine paused in thought, then shook her head.
“I didn’t see him either. I didn’t check every face while casting the buffs… I’m sorry. I wish I could be more helpful.”
“Oh, no. There’s no need to apologize… I understand.”
Satisfied with the answer, Min Ju-ri disappeared into the crowd, still intent on searching.
Unaware that I was watching her from behind my mask.
‘Persistent, isn’t she. Still trying to find him.’
By reading her thoughts, I could understand why she was searching.
-If we hunt monsters together, we could become so much closer….
It came from her desire to deepen our relationship beyond what it was now.
To something more than just friends.
‘Even in the Other World, you’re still thinking of me. That’s all you think about.’
There was no room for Black Scythe to wedge himself between Ryu Min and Min Ju-ri.
To her, Black Scythe was merely an admirable existence, an idol to revere—nothing more.
Just then, my eyes happened to meet Christine’s.
I catch a glimpse of him sending a playful wink.
“I did well, didn’t I, Seer?”
Reading his inner thoughts, he clearly hoped for praise, but I turned away as if I hadn’t noticed.
Monsters would be summoned soon anyway.
[First Summoning]
[576 Players VS 5,760 Blood Orcs]
[Second summoning will begin in 30 minutes.]
[Time remaining until round ends: 02:59:59]
Thousands of orcs appeared wielding crude weapons.
Normally, they would have appeared near the City and slaughtered countless civilians, but….
“Squeeee!”
“Squee?”
The orcs, summoned in a space surrounded by sea on all sides, looked bewildered at the players.
They hadn’t expected to be summoned in such an isolated location.
“Filthy orc bastards!”
“No need for words—let’s kill them!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Squik! Squeeee!”
On the Remote Island, orcs and players clashed.
Though the orcs outnumbered them tenfold, the Saesin Religion held firm.
Numbers weren’t what mattered.
Thud—thud—!
Slash—! Slash!
“Squeeee!”
“Squeak!”
Only the screams of orcs echoed across the isolated Island.
[Blood Orc defeated!]
[Title effect: Experience increased by 1.5x.]
[Predation Rune effect: Experience and Gold increased by 2x.]
[Experience +0.0006%]
[Gold +3]
[Bonus Gold +1]
[With too many party members, Stat Points and Predation Stacks do not accumulate.]
[Current Kill Count: 36/100]
[Massacre Rune effect: All Stats increased by 36%.]
[2,491 enemies within 100m radius.]
[One Against Hundred Rune effect: All Stats increased by 100%.]
I swung Black Scythe at the approaching orcs.
Boom—crash—!
“Squeeeak!”
“Kuaaack!”
With a single swing, approximately fifty Blood Orcs fell dead.
Sweeping them away like cleaning a courtyard, the orc numbers visibly dwindled.
‘This is convenient because we’re in a party. I don’t need to worry about my allies getting hurt.’
Ryu Min slaughtered the orcs without restraint.
Unlike the 14th Round where rankings were determined by contribution, there was no need to hold back his power.
‘It’s unfortunate that the Rune of Consumption isn’t stacking stats and stacks.’
The Rune of Consumption granted stat points based on the level of defeated monsters.
However, with hundreds of people forming the party, I couldn’t obtain them.
Stacks weren’t accumulating either.
‘Well, it’s fine. I’ll have opportunities in the next round.’
I just needed to slaughter the monsters without any worries like this.
Straight through until the 4th Summoning ended.
‘During the 5th Summoning, I plan to leave the Island.’
The reason was none other than the Sub Quest.
‘This round’s Sub Quest is saving ordinary people’s lives for the first time. The one person who saves a threatened civilian can receive the reward.’
The reward that comes out is the [Yin-Yang Rune], which I must obtain.
For that very reason, Ryu Min planned to leave his post briefly during the 5th Summoning.
‘During the 5th Summoning, Little Drakes appear as aerial monsters. If I lure just one Little Drake outside the Island and head toward the City to kill it…’
I would be recognized as having saved a civilian and could claim the Sub Quest reward.
‘Until then, I’ll sweep through without hesitation.’
Just as the 3rd Wave was ending with that thought.
A message suddenly appeared before Ryu Min’s eyes.
[The target under Hero’s Protection is being attacked!]
[You can use Hero’s Touch for 10 seconds.]
[Please select one of the following.]
└ 1. Move to the target
└ 2. Summon the target
[Time remaining until selection: 00:00:10]

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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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