The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 28

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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 28
28. Blessing
Sizzle—
Min Ju-ri, who had ended up having lunch at the Steakhouse, felt as though the current situation was nothing but a dream.
‘Having a meal and conversing with someone I care about. So a day like this could come for me too….’
Because it was a moment she had only imagined, it didn’t feel real.
Just like when she was first dragged into the Other World.
“You like steak, right?”
“Y-yes, I do like it.”
“Eat plenty.”
“Okay….”
Min Ju-ri picked up her knife shyly.
For a while, only the sound of cutting meat filled the space between them.
‘I should say something….’
Though it was merely a meal, it felt like a date, and the words wouldn’t come.
‘This won’t do. If the person who invited me just sits quietly, what then! The atmosphere will only become awkward. I need to be brave!’
Breaking the awkwardness, Min Ju-ri took the initiative to start the conversation.
“How did you win the lottery jackpot? You said you won five times in a row?”
“Oh, that? I learned the numbers in a dream. I was just lucky.”
“Wow… then you must have earned a huge amount of money?”
“Enough that I won’t need to worry about money for the rest of my life? Though now I suppose I should be worried about my life itself.”
“Right! I was curious about that. How was Round 1 for you? Wasn’t it hard hunting goblins? I had quite a rough time.”
It had been difficult to bring up the subject, but once I gathered my courage, the conversation flowed without obstruction.
Moreover, because we shared the common ground of being players, we talked on without noticing time passing.
“Which zone are you in?”
“ESKS45-5.”
“Ah, I’m in ESKS122-7… what a shame. We won’t be able to meet in the Other World.”
Watching Min Ju-ri’s disappointed expression, Ryu Min laughed inwardly.
‘Don’t be discouraged, friend. We’re destined to meet anyway.’
As survivors dwindled, zones would naturally merge.
Being in different zones didn’t mean we would remain apart forever.
“What’s your level?”
At Min Ju-ri’s question, Ryu Min paused briefly.
‘Eventually I’ll have to reveal that I’m Black Scythe….’
But I couldn’t tell the truth yet.
Min Ju-ri hadn’t been confirmed as an ally either.
“Me? Level 10.”
“Really? I’m level 10 too. Do you have a class?”
“Not yet. Do you?”
“I was lucky enough to get a class advancement item, so I could obtain one. It’s called a Blesser….”
Ryu Min felt relieved at the mention of a Buffer.
Fortunately, events were unfolding exactly as he’d foreseen.
“A Buffer? Sounds like a job that just hands out buffs, doesn’t it? Do you cast buffs like in games?”
I was already familiar with the Buffer’s skills, but I pretended ignorance.
That way, I could receive buffs from Min Ju-ri.
“Oh, want to try one? It’s a buff called Bless—it increases your stats.”
“Oh, really? I’d like to try it.”
As expected, Min Ju-ri volunteered to cast the buff.
This was exactly what I wanted.
Whoooosh—
A cluster of light emanated from Min Ju-ri’s hand and flowed into Ryu Min’s mind.
Then a message appeared.
[All stats increase by 50% due to the Bless skill effect.]
[Duration: 02:59:59]
Bless—the signature skill of a Buffer.
A ridiculously overpowered buff that raises stats by 50% for three hours.
‘As befits a unique class, the skill effect is absolutely broken.’
Ryu Min marveled while checking his status window.
All his stats had increased across the board.
‘This is good now, but it’ll be even better later.’
When a player’s rank increases, the effectiveness of previously learned skills also rises by one tier.
The same applies to my skill, Death’s Seal.
‘When I reach max level, the skill’s effectiveness will double.’
In other words, the 50% stat increase would rise to 100%.
Which also meant that Min Ju-ri’s growth would benefit me as well.
Since I could receive her buffs.
‘Though that’s only when Min Ju-ri reaches max level.’
Nothing was difficult about it.
I simply needed to keep Min Ju-ri alive, receive her buffs, and grow together—naturally reaching max level in time.
‘For now, since we’re in different zones, it’ll be hard to receive buffs.’
Buffs received just before entering the Other World don’t persist.
It’s the same principle as wounds from the Other World not carrying over to the real body.
In other words, the trick of receiving buffs in advance doesn’t work.
‘Still, I’m fortunate to have received the buff as planned.’
The real reason I approached Min Ju-ri was to receive Bless in reality.
‘That way, I can increase the odds of the Random Gold Pouch.’
The Random Gold Pouch I obtained as a first-class advancement reward is literally an item that gives gold.
Since it gives gold at random rates, it’s affected by the Luck stat.
The higher the luck, the more gold it will produce.
‘If I maximize my luck using the Massacre Rune’s effect and then use the pouch…?’
I might be able to obtain more gold than I initially expected.
“This is pretty good, huh? Thanks for the buff, Ju-ri.”
“Hehe, just ask anytime you want a buff. It’s nothing for me to cast it.”
“Got it. But there’s one thing I’m curious about….”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“Why did you want to meet up? Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”
“Ah….”
So caught up in conversation, I’d forgotten to bring up the important matter.
Min Ju-ri’s face flushed with embarrassment.
* * *
“Thanks for lunch. Let’s meet again next time.”
“Yeah, good luck in the next round!”
“Haha, right. Let’s meet alive.”
Ryu Min waved goodbye to Min Ju-ri and turned away with a smile.
The sole survivor of the final round, eliminated in just the third round?
It was unimaginable.
The one I should really be worried about was Min Ju-ri, not myself.
‘Well, if things proceed as they did in the future, she’ll manage to survive through the fourth round on her own.’
I wouldn’t meet Min Ju-ri until the fifth round.
Until then, we’d be in different zones, so there was no way for me to intervene.
‘She’ll probably survive. Her rune is that good.’
Since it was a rune related to survival, there was no need to worry.
‘Still, I never expected Min Ju-ri to have that.’
I recalled my conversation with Min Ju-ri during the meal.
-Thanks for supporting me with ten million won. Dad says thanks too.
-Was that what you wanted to tell me?
-And… I’ll pay back the ten million won no matter what.
-I told you that you don’t have to. It’s just a gift.
-No. It’s fine for you, but not for me. I’ll pay it back somehow. If you don’t want money, then something else… Oh! Take this instead.
-What is this?
-I got it while hunting in the Other World. If you don’t want money, I’ll give you this instead. I don’t know what it is, but it’s an item so it must be useful for something. Oh! Since it’s my sincerity, don’t even think about refusing!
It was something I’d anticipated.
I’d expected Min Ju-ri, who hated being in debt, would try to repay me somehow.
‘But I never imagined she’d give me this.’
I pulled out the item Min Ju-ri had given me from my inventory.
[Lowest-Grade Purple Mana Stone]
-Classification: Possession
-Description: A beautiful purple stone. A faint magical energy can be felt from it.
When monsters are defeated, mana stones drop at a low probability.
They come in different colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—but purple is the rarest to obtain among them.
‘Without a complete explanation, I can’t yet determine what effect it has, but once I reach level 20, I’ll understand just how precious Magic Stones truly are.’
At level 20, the [Combination] function unlocks.
When that happens, people will experiment by uploading various items, searching for combination recipes.
‘That’s when they’ll discover it—that you can grant additional options to equipment by combining Magic Stones with them.’
Red increases damage, orange increases strength, yellow increases luck.
‘Green raises agility, and blue raises intelligence.’
Ryu Min had obtained one Magic Stone from hunting.
It was a low-grade indigo Magic Stone that reduced incoming damage.
‘Everything’s good, but among them, purple Magic Stones are the rarest. The drop rate is low, and they increase all stats.’
For someone like me who wanted to raise stats evenly, it was the most necessary Magic Stone.
‘To receive something like that without any cost. I’m lucky.’
My luck stat was actually quite high.
My stats had increased by 50% from the Blessing.
‘I’ll save the Magic Stone for level 20… and since I’ve received the buffs as planned, should I open the Gold Pouch now?’
Of course, before that I needed to inflate my stats with the Rune of Slaughter first.
How would I raise stats in reality where there were no monsters?
‘There’s always a way.’
Ryu Min pulled a sealed plastic bag from his pocket.
The bag contained one hundred mealworms, each about 1 centimeter in size.
‘The Rune of Slaughter increases stats by 1% each time I kill a target. That applies to insects too.’
There was no rule saying I could only raise stats by hunting monsters.
Anything counted as long as it was a living target.
This was already verified through testing in previous cycles.
‘The Other World has no insects, so I had no choice but to kill monsters, but reality is different.’
In fact, reality teeming with insects made stacking easier.
Mealworms were something you could order thousands of if you had the money.
Ryu Min set the bag down on the floor.
He stomped on it with his foot, crushing the mealworms to death.
Splat—! Splat—!
[Current Kill Count: 67/100]
[All stats increased by 67% from the Rune of Slaughter effect.]
[Current Kill Count: 100/100]
[All stats increased by 100% from the Rune of Slaughter effect.]
With just two stomps, I’d filled it to 100% in an instant.
‘Status window.’
-Name: Ryu Min
-Nickname: Black Scythe
-Rank: Apprentice
-Title: Final Hour Reverser (Hidden), First Angel Slayer (Hidden)
-Level: 16
-Occupation: Grim Reaper
-Strength: 9, Intelligence: 9
-Agility: 63, Luck: 45
-Common Skill: Tracking
-Exclusive Skill: Mark of Death
-Runes: Rune of Slaughter, Rune of the Reaper
-Gold Held: 6,250
-Remaining Stat Points: 0
【Additional Features】
[Shop: You can purchase items.]
[???: Unlocked upon reaching Lv20]
[???: Unlocked upon reaching Lv40]
[???: Unlocked upon reaching Lv60]
[???: Unlocked upon reaching Lv99]
My luck, which had been 15, now stood at 45.
The Rune of Slaughter and the Bless buff had tripled it.
‘This should be enough to expect decent results.’
It wasn’t exceptionally high, but at this point after the second round ended, it was the best I could manage.
[Random Gold Pouch]
-Category: Consumable
-Grade: Rare
-Effect: Obtain a random amount of gold between 1 and 9,999.
-Usage Restriction: Until the next round, Beginner rank or higher
-Description: A limited-time item given to first-time class changers. The item automatically disappears when you advance to the next round. Affected by Luck stat.
Ryu Min stared intently at the gold pouch he’d pulled from his inventory.
‘Now, with the buff active, my luck is at its peak.’
Since it was a limited-time item, I couldn’t wait until the next round.
Having made my decision, I spoke the activation word.
‘Use.’
As light burst from the pouch, I wondered.
‘How much will come out? Even with the same stats, the amount varies each time.’
From before until now, I had never missed a first-time class change.
Naturally, before advancing to the third round, I always received and used the gold pouch as a reward.
‘The lowest I’ve gotten was 3,000 gold, and the highest was 6,000 gold.’
But my Luck stat back then was only 30.
That was before Min Ju-ri’s buff existed.
So I couldn’t help but anticipate the result.
This was my attempt with a Luck stat higher than ever before.
Then, a message displaying the result appeared.
At the same time.
‘Huh?’
Ryu Min’s face flushed with bewilderment.

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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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