The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 282
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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 282
282. The Transaction
“Wow, it’s been cleaned up beautifully!”
Ryu Won surveyed his home with admiration upon returning.
The wreckage that had once been his living space now gleamed as if it were brand new.
One would never guess that an Archangel had fought here.
“Hotel living is nice and all, but nothing beats the comfort of your own home!”
Watching his younger brother sink into the sofa, Ryu Min smiled softly.
Even after living here for over a year, he still called it his home.
“You say that, but wasn’t the hotel actually more comfortable?”
“Ha… well, yeah. They brought meals every morning without fail.”
“So you didn’t have to eat delivery food?”
“The food there was really delicious. Hey, we’re not going to fight here, right? Angel’s not coming back, is she?”
“Don’t even joke about that. Words have a way of becoming reality.”
“Hehe… sorry.”
Watching his younger brother scratch his head in apology, Ryu Min’s expression softened.
“Let’s eat. You hungry? Should I order delivery?”
“Nah. Let’s eat at home. I found this YouTuber recently, and I tried making one of their recipes—it turned out really good. I’ll make it for you in a jiffy, so just relax.”
Ryu Min chuckled as his younger brother rushed toward the kitchen.
Though his brother seemed carefree on the surface, he was family who cared for him more than anyone.
‘Don’t worry, little brother. Even if Angel shows up, I’ll protect you like last time.’
With the Hero’s Protection active, there was no need to fear a surprise attack like before.
Though whether she would appear again remained uncertain.
‘No, she won’t show up this time. Expending 90% of her power just to target my brother wouldn’t be worth it. And there’s no guarantee of success anyway.’
The last appearance had been because Round 16 was set in reality.
Michael wouldn’t target his brother while accepting such penalties.
‘If she does target him, it would be during Round 18.’
She would likely try to approach him and deceive him with honeyed words.
After all, she couldn’t overpower him through force.
‘If she tries to trap me, that day will be her memorial service.’
Just in the previous round, only seven players besides himself had participated in Round 18.
Min Ju-ri, Yamtti, Victor, Alex, Dorothy, Ma Gyeong-rok, and Ju Sung-tak.
‘Five of them died, and only Ma Gyeong-rok and Ju Sung-tak survived.’
He didn’t know exactly how they had died.
At the time, he hadn’t cared about saving others.
There had been no time to worry about anything in the chaos of war.
‘I can only assume they died fighting the Demon.’
But now things were different.
A full 286 players had survived, and all of them were looking toward Round 20 with their own wishes in mind.
‘I can’t save everyone. But I can bring at least 70 or more with me.’
Taking 70 people all the way to the final round?
Compared to my previous runs when I was alone, this felt reassuringly solid.
‘By then, I won’t lose anyone. Min Ju-ri and everyone around me….’
Of course, I couldn’t save everyone.
If I could just guide the final 70 members through, that alone would be more than enough.
Suddenly, what Alex had been trying to do came to mind.
‘He was trying to gather talented people in advance and form an elite team to prepare for the final round.’
Now that I thought about it, I should probably do the same.
At least taking special care of the key members wouldn’t be a bad investment for the future, would it?
‘Since it just occurred to me, I should execute it right away.’
I called my acquaintances and scheduled meetings so they wouldn’t overlap.
Since I had things to give them directly, I decided to meet them separately.
The first person I scheduled with was Seo A-rin, who lived nearby.
“Got it. Let’s meet at the Cafe in 30 minutes.”
I hung up after speaking in Lost Yak’s distorted voice.
I could have met right away, but I deliberately scheduled it for 30 minutes later.
The person Seo A-rin was supposed to meet wasn’t The Seer—it was Black Scythe.
I had no intention of advertising that I lived nearby.
‘I need to schedule meetings with others the same way.’
While the food finished cooking, I made several more calls.
I called from Lost Yak’s phone and distorted my voice, so everyone thought it was Black Scythe.
“Hyung! Dinner’s all ready!”
At my Younger Brother’s call, I sat down at the table.
It was quite an elaborate spread with eight side dishes.
“I made it following YouTuber Yoon Teacher’s recipe. Try it, hyung.”
I took a spoonful of soup first with my spoon.
Slurp—
“Wow.”
An exclamation escaped me, and I couldn’t help but take several more spoonfuls.
“How is it? Tasty?”
“It’s the best.”
The tangy radish soup, crisp cucumber kimchi, and savory-sweet seasoned vegetables.
It was a flawless spread that naturally drew a thumbs up.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“You eat too, quickly.”
“Okay, hyung. But who were you talking to earlier?”
“You heard?”
“Yeah. You were calling in Black Scythe’s voice.”
“I’m meeting with some colleagues to pass along some things.”
“So you’re thinking of going overseas too?”
“No. Since I told you to come here, there’s no need for you to go. Instead, I’ll be busy for a few days.”
“Seo A-rin is among your colleagues, right?”
“That’s right. I was already planning to meet her later anyway.”
“Later? When?”
“About ten minutes from now.”
Plenty of time to eat and leave.
Ryu Min thanked his younger brother for the meal by patting his shoulder, then changed into his outdoor clothes.
“A-rin noona will be shocked, won’t she? Your height has grown tremendously.”
As my younger brother said, my height was now 181 centimeters.
A ten percent increase from my previous 165 centimeters.
It was all thanks to the hidden effect of the Predation Rune.
“I was startled when I saw how much you’d grown the moment you returned from Round 17, but I wonder how shocked A-rin noona will be.”
“She won’t be surprised. Because I’m meeting her not as The Seer, but as Black Scythe.”
With that said, I quickly put on my shoes and prepared to leave.
Normally I should change my appearance using the Assassin’s Mask, but since I might encounter neighbors on the way, I decided to transform later.
“See you later, hyung!”
“Yeah.”
As I opened the door with a click and was about to step outside the entrance, I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
Someone I hadn’t expected was standing right in front of me, as if waiting.
“Actress Seo?”
“Ah… The Seer?”
Seo A-rin’s eyes moved up and down, startled by my suddenly increased height.
Click—
I stepped outside and closed the door, then turned to face Seo A-rin.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, that is…”
Whether flustered by the sudden question or startled by my increased height, she struggled to continue speaking.
‘It’s because of the height.’
Reading her thoughts, I smiled reassuringly.
“You’re surprised by my height, aren’t you? I was surprised too. I never expected a rune I obtained by chance to have a hidden function that increases height…”
“That’s quite a remarkable function.”
“It’s nothing compared to resurrecting people. Anyway, were you waiting for me?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“Why?”
Seo A-rin and The Seer had no scheduled appointment.
Yet she was standing in front of my door waiting without a word?
Unable to understand, I immediately read her thoughts.
And I was able to discern her true intention for waiting.
‘She suspects I might be Black Scythe.’
Her suspicion was transforming into certainty the moment I stepped outside my home.
“Forgive me, but may I ask you a question first?”
“Go ahead.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m going to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“It’s unsettling to be interrogated so suddenly.”
“Yet your face shows no sign of distress.”
“I’m merely pretending otherwise.”
“I’ll ask you directly then.”
Seo A-rin gathered her courage and spoke.
“Are you The Seer? Are you Black Scythe?”
“….”
“Don’t bother denying it. Democracy told me everything. Though he seemed skeptical, my intuition never lies….”
“I have no intention of denying it.”
Ryu Min admitted it readily.
“That’s right. I am Black Scythe.”
“Ah….”
She had expected him to deny it outright, but now that he’d admitted it, Seo A-rin found herself at a loss for words.
“It’s awkward to talk here in the corridor. Shall we go somewhere more private?”
“Y-yes, of course. Let’s go to my home. No one’s there right now….”
Seo A-rin said this and led the way.
In truth, Ryu Min had been about to suggest going to his own place.
But sensing that his Younger Brother was there, Seo A-rin guided him to her home instead.
‘It would be fine to talk in front of my Younger Brother.’
To avoid unnecessary confusion, he followed Seo A-rin up the stairs.
Beep beep beep beep— Beeeep!
“P-please come in. Black Scythe… or rather, The Seer.”
Seo A-rin opened the door wide and guided Ryu Min into the Living Room.
As it was a Penthouse spanning two levels, it certainly boasted higher ceilings and a greater sense of openness than his own home.
“P-please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“So… The Seer is Black Scythe, then?”
Ryu Min nodded silently.
Seo A-rin’s expression grew somewhat bewildered as her suspicions became reality.
“You called me thirty minutes ago asking to meet at the Cafe?”
“Yes.”
“But your voice on the phone sounded quite different from now. How do you explain that….”
Judging by her continued questioning, she found it difficult to fully believe.
“Do you need proof? If so, I’ll show you.”
Ryu Min transformed his appearance using the Assassin’s Mask.
A wave of nausea swept through me—
Our heights were similar, so there was no difference there, but my skin had taken on a bronzed hue and my face had transformed completely.
As I placed the white mask I had prepared last onto my face, Seo A-rin’s hand flew to her mouth.
“This is the appearance people know Black Scythe by. You saw it yesterday at the Saesin Religion, didn’t you? If you’d like, I can even show you the scythe.”
“Ah, no. I believe you. That’s more than enough….”
Seo A-rin still couldn’t close her mouth.
The transformation happening right before her eyes must have been quite the shock.
After taking a deep breath and regaining some composure, Seo A-rin finally managed to speak.
“Then the time you saved me from my fellow actors at the Club before….”
“That was me.”
“Black Scythe, may I ask why you revealed your identity to me?”
“There’s no reason to hide it anymore. Not that there’s any particular reason to reveal it either… but since you were suspicious, I had no choice.”
“So you plan to continue this double life going forward?”
“I have to. There’s nothing to gain from my identity being known.”
“Is there anyone else who knows who you really are? Besides me?”
I hesitated for a moment about whether to tell her, but it was only a moment.
At this point, if I lied again, the situation would only become more complicated.
And Seo A-rin didn’t seem like the type to break a secret anyway.
“Christine and my Younger Brother found out relatively recently. Yamtti and those two idiots, Jeffrey, and John Delgado are my slaves, so they’ve known for a while.”
“Sl, slaves?”
“You don’t need to know the details. Just know that much.”
“Ah… yes.”
As Seo A-rin answered, she swept away all the lingering doubts from deep within her heart.
The tone and atmosphere—it was definitely the Black Scythe she knew.
“So The Seer really was Black Scythe… I never could have imagined it.”
“You won’t go telling people about this, right?”
“Of course not. I’ll keep the secret. Since you don’t want your identity revealed….”
I smiled gently.
“Thank you.”
“By the way, the reason you asked to meet with me…?”
“Ah yes, I wanted to give you a gift.”
“Pardon?”
I activated the trade function toward Seo A-rin.
Seo A-rin’s eyes widened as she saw the trade window.
【Trader: Black Scythe】
└Items to Trade: None
└Gold to Trade: 0 G
└Points to Trade: 1,000,000P
☞Complete Trade☜
【Trader: Seo A-rin】
└Items to Trade: None
└Gold to Trade: 0 G
└Points to Trade: 0 P
☞Complete Trade☜
[Please place items and press the ‘Complete Trade’ button.]
[The trade will only be finalized once both parties have agreed.]
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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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