The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 287

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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 287
287. Michael’s Death
[You have defeated ‘Michael’, one of the Seven Archangels!]
[Stat Points +9,161,948]
[Additional Stat Points +4,580,974]
[Gold +91,619,482,000]
[As a reward for slaying Archangel Michael, ‘Refined Ether’ has been obtained.]
[As a reward for slaying Archangel Michael, ‘Refined Ether’ has been obtained.]
[As a reward for slaying Archangel Michael, ‘Rune of Combat’ has been obtained.]
[The acquired rune is automatically inscribed into the player’s body!]
[It has been confirmed that you are the first player to slay all seven Archangels.]
[You have acquired the title ‘Ruler of Heaven’.]
[As a reward for being the first to slay all seven Archangels, ‘Akashic Record Entry Ticket’ has been obtained.]
It took merely a single swing.
Yet Michael could not deflect that blow.
He never even saw its speed, never perceived it coming.
Only in those few seconds as his head fell, consciousness still clinging, could he comprehend his own demise.
‘So this is the number one Archangel? I’ve faced him before, but he’s truly pathetic.’
Perhaps because I harbored no grand expectations?
Watching Michael fall without so much as a counterattack, I felt no disappointment.
I couldn’t feel disappointed.
The extraordinary rewards that exceeded my expectations delighted my eyes far too much.
[Rune of Combat]
-Effect: When engaged in combat, you can exert 100% of your capabilities and potential.
You maintain peak condition at all times during battle.
Additionally, all attack power increases twofold, and combat-related intelligence rises dramatically.
My eyes widened as I read the description.
‘What kind of rune is this? It maintains peak condition during combat at all times?’
This essentially meant I could push my output to maximum whenever battle erupted.
Doubling my attack power alone would be tremendous, yet this rune offered such an option on top of that.
Honestly, it’s astounding.
‘Perhaps because I defeated Michael, who calls himself the God of Combat, they granted such a rune.’
But the surprises didn’t end there.
[Akashic Record Entry Ticket]
-Classification: Consumable
-Grade: Eternal
-Effect: Grants entry to the Akashic Record
-Usage Restriction: Black Scythe (Soul Bound)
-Description: Upon use, grants authority to enter the Akashic Record, a trans-dimensional archive of information accessible only to the qualified. Being of Eternal grade, it can be used even in soul form.
‘An Eternal-grade consumable dropped?’
Even if it had been a God-tier reward, I would have been amazed—but an Eternal-tier reward emerged instead.
Of course, if I had only killed Michael alone, I wouldn’t have received it.
This was a reward that came from slaying all seven of the Seven Archangels.
Perhaps because of that, a title also arrived.
[Title – Ruler of Heaven]
-Acquisition Condition: Obtained upon being the first to eliminate all Seven Archangels.
-Effect: You possess a status equal to that of an Archangel.
‘Whether this title is good or bad, I cannot say.’
It only stated that I would gain a status equal to an Archangel.
Since nothing was written about the advantages that would result from it, it wasn’t exactly a title to celebrate blindly.
‘I’m pleased that refined ether came in, at least.’
It was something I had anticipated since killing Gabriel and Raphael.
That refined ether would arrive once I killed Michael.
‘But I never expected two of them to come in.’
It was proof of how formidable an opponent he was, yet I didn’t feel it viscerally.
In terms of dying from a single swing, Michael and the sixth-rank Angels were no different.
‘But that reward—did it not arrive?’
I scanned the message window, searching for the reward I had been anticipating all this time.
None other than the reward obtained from the Soul Bond Quest.
‘Since I killed the last remaining Archangel, the Quest should be complete….’
The moment I spotted the completion message, my eyes widened as I examined the reward.
‘This, what exactly is….’
Astonished, my mouth fell half-open as I suddenly turned my head.
There was nothing in that direction, but whoever was hiding there couldn’t help but flinch.
Because I was staring directly at them.

* * *
Hidden in a state of invisibility, Baal broke out in a cold sweat.
‘I knew he was stronger than expected, but to this degree….’
When I first heard from my lord that there was a human who killed an incarnate body in one breath, I had laughed it off as mere luck.
I thought—how strong could a human possibly be?
But the actual prowess of Black Scythe that I witnessed with my own eyes was almost unbelievable.
‘He truly slaughtered the Angels. I thought he’d break his promise and flee.’
I hadn’t counted precisely, but the number he’d killed so far had already exceeded eight hundred.
At this rate, he’d surpass a thousand.
‘A thousand? He’s on pace to annihilate them all.’
For the Demon Tribe, victory or defeat in round 18 held no true significance.
It was a friendly match, and the real war would come after round 20.
Still, winning was better than losing.
If we could reduce the Celestial Tribe’s numbers even slightly, victory in the Cheon Ma War would become all the more certain.
Therefore, Black Scythe’s performance like this was nothing but favorable for the Demon Tribe.
Especially if he eliminated Michael so decisively.
‘Hah… killed in a single strike.’
It wasn’t Michael weakened to one-hundredth of his power that he’d killed.
The Michael I just witnessed had removed his restrictions and charged forward with his true strength.
‘Speed that even Michael couldn’t react to….’
Baal swallowed hard, tension gripping him.
If it had been me, could I have reacted to that attack?
I probably would have met the same fate.
Michael was a master of roughly equal skill to myself.
‘Though I do hold a slight edge.’
Regardless, I couldn’t help but feel tense.
Because I remembered the task I had to accomplish.
‘Can I really stab him in the back?’
My lord probably didn’t know Black Scythe possessed this level of power.
If he had, he wouldn’t have sent me alone.
‘He would have stepped forward to deal with him personally.’
Black Scythe’s prowess exceeded imagination to that degree.
‘What do I do? Should I contact His Excellency right now? Tell him I’m not an opponent I can handle?’
That would be too embarrassing.
It would damage the pride of the first-ranked Demon noble.
‘Once Black Scythe annihilates the Celestial Tribe, I must seize the opportunity and kill him. By any means necessary….’
Just as I steeled my resolve, a voice echoed in my mind.
[Baal. Listen in silence. I’m watching Black Scythe through your eyes right now.]
It was my lord’s message.
I couldn’t respond, but I felt relieved.
If he had seen what I saw, he would surely be reconsidering that order.
[The opponent is far too powerful. I never expected Michael to fall in a single strike. So when the opportunity arises, execute it immediately. If we wait until the Celestial Tribe is completely annihilated, we’ll lose our chance.]
‘What? What did you just say?’
Baal momentarily suspected he was hearing things.
‘You’re telling me to kill that monster?’
[A monster that killed Michael in one blow. If he survives until round 20 and becomes a mercenary of the Celestial Tribe, victory in the Cheon Ma War cannot be guaranteed. So he must be killed when the opportunity presents itself. Execute the plan as intended.]
‘No, wait. How am I supposed to kill that thing? What?’
Baal tried to shout, but there was no way the god using oracle speech would hear him.
Once that one-sided conversation ended, Baal tensed.
‘If it comes to this, I must kill him. Even at the cost of my own life.’
The future of the Demon Tribe depended on it.
With that thought, his heart felt considerably lighter.
What could be more noble than sacrificing oneself for a greater cause?
But that resolve lasted only a moment.
Flinch—
The moment I met the predator’s gaze directly, Baal trembled with fear.
‘H-he’s looking this way… it must be my imagination, right?’
We were clearly more than thirty meters apart.
There was no way he could detect my presence.
So how was he looking directly at me?
‘I-it must be a coincidence. Just a coincidence.’
While holding my breath in tension, Black Scythe flew toward me.
“I know you’re there, so drop the invisibility, Baal.”
[….]
“Before I get annoyed.”
Whether the threat worked or not, Baal slowly dispelled his invisibility.
[Y-you found me?]
“Come closer.”
I beckoned with my fingers like a punk shaking down his victim, and Baal approached slowly with his wrinkled face.
[W-what is it, human?]
“You were planning to kill me once the job was done, weren’t you?”
At those words that struck the mark, Baal’s heart seemed to stop.
[T-that’s, w-what nonsense are you—]
“For someone who looks the way you do, you’re surprisingly bad at lying.”
[I-it’s not a lie….]
“I’m not asking for excuses. I want to have an honest conversation.”
Ryu Min spoke with a serious expression, staring intently.
“The Demon Archduke ordered you to, didn’t he? To stab me in the back once the job was finished.”
[….]
“Why won’t you speak? Is it because the Demon Archduke is sharing your vision and you’re uncomfortable being honest?”
[H-how did you…?]
“It seems conversation is impossible. Then I’ll have to send a message instead.”
Ryu Min lifted his scythe for all to see.
“Demon Archduke, take note. See what happens when you try to stab me in the back.”
[W-wait…!]
Baal raised his hand urgently, but it was already too late.
Ryu Min’s scythe cleaved through him entirely.
Like Michael, Baal died without any resistance, but there was one difference.
‘No reward at all.’
I had expected some message to appear, but unlike the Celestial Tribe, the Demon Tribe gave nothing.
‘That said, there’s still reason enough to kill him.’
Currently, the Demon Tribe numbered around four thousand, while the Celestial Tribe had only two thousand left.
At this rate, the Demon Tribe’s victory in the war was inevitable.
I had no intention of allowing that, so I had to act.
Using a temporary skill.
[Temporary Skill: Faction Change Authority has been activated.]
[Player ‘Black Scythe’s faction has been changed from ‘Demon Tribe’ to ‘Celestial Tribe’.]
[From now on, the Demon Tribe will recognize you as an enemy.]
[Due to the faction change, the Quest victory conditions have been altered.]

* * *
‘M-Michael is dead?’
Agaros, second in the hierarchy, stared at the sky with his mouth agape.
The blackened human had severed Michael’s neck in a single stroke.
‘Kehehehe! At this rate, the Demon Tribe will claim victory this round!’
Agaros had been cackling, but his laughter was short-lived.
The black human had now sliced Baal’s entire body in two—was he dead?
‘B-Baal too?’
I don’t know why Baal, who guards the Demon Archduke’s side, had come to the battlefield.
I never expected him to die so pathetically.
‘Well, Michael fell to him, so there’s no guarantee Baal would fare better.’
Though his ally had fallen, Agaros twisted his lips into a smile.
Kuk kuk—the laughter that escaped was hard to suppress.
‘Kihihihi, now, now I’m first in the hierarchy!’
With Baal dead, surely he could stand at the Demon Archduke’s side!
Agaros’s face was brimming with joy at such thoughts, but then—
“Hey.”
The moment the black human appeared before his eyes, his smile sealed shut like a zipper.
“Are you the commander?”
[Y-yes, that is….]
Agaros took in the human’s appearance with a tense expression.
As the duration expired, the dark form vanished, revealing his face.
“You just saw it, right? Me killing Baal.”
[Y-yes, yes.]
Agaros answered as respectfully as possible.
He wasn’t foolish enough to provoke the mood of a human who could kill Baal in a single stroke.
“If you want to die, just say so now. I’ll send you to join your friend.”
[N-no, no! How could that be? And that bastard isn’t my friend. He’s not even my superior, hahahaha…]
“So you don’t want to die? Then can you do me one favor?”
[Of course, of course. P-please, speak freely about anything.]
“Gather your subordinates. As many as you can.”
[Ah, understood.]
Even as Agaros answered, he tilted his head in confusion, but there was no time to think.
The terrifying human was glaring at him as if ready to kill.
[All troops! Assemble before me!]
The Demon Tribe soldiers rushed together under their legion commander’s orders.
The total number gathered was two thousand.
There wasn’t enough space to call more.
[I’ve called as many as I could… Should I summon more?]
“No. This is enough. Well done.”
Ryu Min, having answered thus, drew his scythe back and took his stance.
Kiiiiing—
An ominous sound rang out, and when he looked, the human’s scythe was vibrating as if trembling.
Flash—
In the instant light swept past.
Agaros, opening his eyes after closing them, wore an expression of utter bewilderment.
The two thousand troops he had gathered had vanished in a single moment.

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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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