The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 265

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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 265
265. Explain in Detail.
Commander.
A useful temporary skill for Round 17.
‘Most people would be tempted by option 2’s 5 million gold, but I have no reason to be.’
I had just defeated first-class Angels and surpassed 7 billion gold.
I should be worried about when I’ll ever spend all this gold.
‘That’s why my choice is option 1, Commander.’
After selecting the temporary skill, an end message appeared shortly after.
◀ ROUND 16 ENDED ▶
[Integrated Zone CA-EA001]
└Survivors: 288
[Round 17 will begin at midnight on May 1st, 2023. We’ll see you in the next round then. Congratulations on your survival.]

* * *
Michael walked through the temple with an extraordinarily grave expression.
The reason being none other than a summons from Nemesis, the goddess of retribution.
‘Damn it. Gabriel and Raphael are dead too.’
Normally, the fact that Black Scythe hadn’t died should have made their deaths welcome, but…
‘If things continue like this, only I remain.’
The reality that no other Archangel could step forward left Michael in an awkward predicament.
Creak, squeeeeeak—
As I pushed open the temple doors and entered, the purple-skinned goddess Nemesis cast a glance my way.
[You called for me, Nemesis?]
[Michael. Have you heard the news?]
[Yes. Even Gabriel and Raphael fell so pathetically, I’m told.]
[All this struggle over a single human. How unexpected.]
No anger could be seen on Nemesis’s face as she spoke.
Only a look of contempt as she gazed down.
[…My apologies.]
[The honor of the Heavenly Realm is gone now. Time and opportunity grow scarce.]
Nemesis sighed, her sharp gaze cutting through as she spoke.
[Archangel Michael. Now it is your turn. You are all that remains.]
[…]
[When Round 17 begins, descend to the Human World and subdue Black Scythe. That will be your only chance. To hand Black Scythe over to Phlunikthos before Round 18 begins.]
I wanted to refuse, making excuses and backing away.
[Understood. I shall do as you command.]
But Michael could only answer that he would comply.
There was no longer any excuse left to make.

* * *
When Min Ju-ri returned Home, her emotions felt peculiar.
Normally, when returning from the Other World, she would find herself staring at the ceiling of her bed—but not this round.
All she had to do was board a plane heading Home.
“I’m back.”
“My daughter! You’ve survived again!”
Perhaps it was because she had been abroad.
Her father welcomed her more warmly than usual, yet Min Ju-ri could not bring herself to smile freely.
“Why do you look like that? Is something troubling you?”
“It’s just… I feel a bit off.”
“Why? What’s wrong? Tell your father.”
Min Ju-ri hesitated before carefully opening up.
“I’m glad I survived, but watching my teammates vanish before my eyes as we fought together… it wasn’t entirely joyful.”
Just hours ago, the players who had formed a single team fighting monsters alongside her had vanished at a single word from Black Scythe.
‘It wasn’t Black Scythe’s fault. It was unavoidable.’
I understood that, yet witnessing their dissolution right before me was profoundly bitter.
“I’ve watched countless dissolutions before and felt only a touch of sympathy—but this time, it felt different.”
“How was it different?”
“It felt like a sin to have survived… I felt sorry toward those who died.”
There was no way around it.
Unlike usual, my survival was not determined by my own efforts, but by being chosen by Black Scythe.
Faced with his melancholy daughter, Min Do-hun did not know what to say.
“Go rest in your room. You’ll feel better then.”
“Yes…”
Click—
After closing the door, Min Ju-ri changed clothes and lay down on her bed.
After gazing at the ceiling for a while, she touched the area around her chest.
The wound where her heart had been pierced had healed completely.
There was no pain whatsoever.
Dying and returning to life felt like a dream.
‘If it weren’t for Black Scythe…’
No matter how I thought about it, meeting Black Scythe was fortune.
In that moment, the memory of myself held in Black Scythe’s embrace surfaced.
Embarrassment flooded through me, and I pulled the blanket over my face.
‘I’m insane. What am I thinking right now…’
Black Scythe was a noble benefactor and my savior—nothing more.
Certainly not someone toward whom I should harbor personal feelings.
‘Black Scythe is a god. A god of the Saesin Religion. I must think of it that way.’
Pulling the blanket away and cooling my flushed cheeks, I quickly redirected my thoughts elsewhere.
‘But what happened to Ryu Min?’
As Black Scythe ranked up to 288th place, Min Ju-ri focused all her attention on listening.
This time, she was prepared to hear Ryu Min’s nickname.
‘But I never heard the nickname Lost Yak.’
What was going on?
Had Black Scythe not called out The Seer’s name?
Worried, as soon as the round ended, she searched for Ryu Min’s name on the Island.
But the result was a mismatch.
Only an absurd message appeared saying that the name and face didn’t match.
‘So what about now?’
Min Ju-ri searched for Ryu Min again, just in case.
Then.
‘Huh?’
[Face and name match. Tracking the target’s location.]
[Located the position of target ‘Ryu Min’.]
[Currently 16,488 meters away.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow displayed ahead.]
The tracking function was working normally.
‘What’s going on?’
It showed a mismatch on the Island, but now it shows a match?
‘Then that means he survived Round 16…?’
Yet his nickname was never called out by Black Scythe.
She had listened carefully, so she was certain.
‘No matter how I look at it, something’s off.’
I’d have to ask Ryu Min directly about the details.
With that thought, I sent him a text asking to meet, and a reply came back shortly after.
[Ryu Min: It’s a bit difficult right now. Let’s meet later.]
[Min Ju-ri: Why? Is something wrong?]
[Ryu Min: My home got destroyed, so I’m busy dealing with things.]
[Min Ju-ri: What? How did that happen?]
[Ryu Min: I don’t know the details ㅠㅠ]
His home suddenly got destroyed? Worried, I called him.
“Min. Can you talk for a moment?”
-Yeah.
“What happened? Your home was destroyed?”
-I don’t know. There’s nothing on the CCTV either….
“Is your Younger Brother okay?”
-He’s fine. It was fortunate he was sleeping at a friend’s place.
“That’s really fortunate.”
-Anyway, you said you had something to talk about, right? Is it urgent?
“Huh? No, it’s fine. We can talk about it later. But it’s something we should discuss in person.”
-Alright then. Let’s meet once things settle down here.
“Got it. By the way, your home’s in that condition—what will you do? Do you have somewhere to stay right now?”
-I’m already looking into decent hotels. I’ll stay at one while the house repairs are being handled.
“I see. Once you’ve settled on a place and gotten things organized, send me the address. I’ll come visit.”
-Will do.
“See you next time then.”
After ending the call, Min Ju-ri’s expression remained troubled.
‘What’s going on?’
I couldn’t quite tell, but there was no way to satisfy my curiosity right now.
Min Ju-ri had no choice but to keep her questions buried in her heart.

* * *
【Title: People are saying the Saesin Religion handled things well this time—what’s that about?】
└Content: I think I saw a news article about it but can’t find it. Can someone answer in the comments?
[12 total comments]
└I don’t know either. Someone else answer please.
└http://news.nover.com//20220426<—Here's the article link. To summarize, Round 16 monsters spawn at the location where players are, but Black Scythe moved players to the Island beforehand to minimize civilian casualties.
└Strictly speaking, there were zero casualties. No civilians were harmed.
└So you're saying if it had been the City instead of the Island, the monsters would have appeared in the City?
└Yeah, you got it right.
└Wow, if monsters had appeared in the City, it would've been a total disaster?
└My son, who's in the Saesin Religion, said Angels appeared too, and he said they were incomparably stronger than any monster we've faced before.
└OMG, if even one of those things had crawled into the City, we'd have been wiped out.
└Moving to the Island beforehand was a masterstroke.
└But how did Black Scythe know monsters would appear and go to the Island in advance?
└Black Scythe saw the future of the next round as a 1st place reward. They say that's how we survive each round—Black Scythe tells us the strategy.
└For believers, joining the Saesin Religion was pure luck.
'Yeah, pure luck indeed.'
The corners of Heo Tae-sik's mouth naturally lifted as he read the community post.
It was praise for the Saesin Religion, after all.
'Every time I see posts like this, I feel proud as the cult leader.'
As word spread about why they'd evacuated to the Island, the Saesin Religion's reputation rose even higher.
Black Scythe's standing was beyond question, and the Players' status was equally remarkable.
But Heo Tae-sik's expression quickly turned gloomy again.
'I didn't make the top three again this time.'
Once again, he hadn't been called out by Black Scythe.
Well, to be precise, he had been called out.
Just not in the top three.
'The problem is my ranking dropped even further than before.'
He'd been 10th place before, but this time he was called as 13th place.
Black Scythe had called out the name carelessly, without any particular thought, but Heo Tae-sik didn't take it so lightly.
'He must think I've been underperforming.'
Heo Tae-sik, interpreting Black Scythe's unconscious utterance as a ranking of their relationship, fell into genuine melancholy.
Even though it was a trivial matter that required no such interpretation.
'I need to be useful to Black Scythe. I have to prove to him—and to all our followers—that I'm not just a figurehead as the leader.'
It was a sense of responsibility.
Shouldn't someone in the position of leader be superior to the other followers?
'What could I do to earn Black Scythe's praise…?'
I pondered what might benefit the Saesin Religion, but nothing concrete came to mind.
The best I could do was manage the followers so they didn't stray and maintain the current state of affairs.
"What if Black Scythe forgets about me like this…."
Just as worry gnawed at me, a knock sounded, and Um Jun-seok entered the room.
"Leader."
"What is it, Cardinal Um?"
"One of our followers wishes to see you, Leader. They say they have information to report…."
"Information?"
Heo Tae-sik's eyes widened as he nodded his assent.
"Show them in."
Shortly after, a foreigner entered the room.
"Greetings, Leader."
Um Jun-seok, standing between them, translated their words.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Philip Robertson, a Scottish national. My nickname is Cobalt Blue."
"Ah, I see. So you have information to report to me?"
"Yes."
Cobalt Blue paused, his lips moving slightly before he spoke.
"The atmosphere among our followers has become unusual."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Someone appears to be forming a faction."
"A faction?"
Heo Tae-sik's eyes narrowed sharply with alarm.
"Explain in detail."

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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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