The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 291

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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 291
291. The Curse of Immortality
‘Damn!’
In that fleeting instant, Artaros sensed death approaching.
Of course, death was merely a distant concept for one cursed with immortality.
Yet even as he faced oblivion, Artaros’s expression twisted with dismay.
Because resurrection came with its own penalty.
Thwack—!
The blade meant for Black Scythe pierced through Artaros’s neck instead.
His own decisive strike had been turned against him.
And so Artaros died.
Yet Ryu Min couldn’t help but remain vigilant.
‘He didn’t die.’
Despite the blade piercing his neck, Artaros continued to move.
A truly grotesque sight.
Squelch—
The moment he withdrew the blade of light from his neck, the wound sealed itself as if nothing had happened.
[So that’s it. He has a reflection ability.]
Artaros shook his head, reproaching himself for underestimating his opponent.
[Because of that, I’ve lost my life twice now. And I’ve taken a 10% stat penalty.]
The curse of immortality he possessed allowed him to resurrect without penalty on his first death.
However, if he lost his life again within an hour, he would suffer a penalty.
Specifically, a 10% reduction to all his stats.
Each successive death would continue to erode his stats further.
Of course, since it was a temporary debuff, his stats would recover with time—but that wasn’t the real problem.
Each resurrection gnawed away at his very soul.
So infinite resurrection wasn’t a blessing at all.
Even if his stats recovered, the fragments of soul he lost could never be reclaimed.
That’s why it was a curse.
‘I can’t kill him, but I can make him suffer penalties. Is that it?’
Having gleaned all this information by reading his opponent’s mind, Ryu Min saw a glimmer of hope in this battle.
Yet he didn’t grow overconfident.
Even with his stats reduced to 90%, Artaros remained formidable.
He seemed to know this too—his expression betrayed no tension.
[If you thought killing me once would be enough, you’re sorely mistaken.]
“I know. This isn’t something that can be solved with a single death.”
‘To wear down his stats, I’ll need to kill him several more times right now.’
If he died in succession, the stat penalties would accumulate, making him progressively easier to kill.
With that in mind, Ryu Min raised his scythe once more.
[So you’re coming at me again?]
“Why waste words? Now that he’s weakened, how could I possibly let this opportunity slip away?”
[Foolish. You have just thrown away your chance to die peacefully.]
“My, my. So the exalted Divine Being now deigns to look after me?”
Artaros raised his blade instead of answering.
He intended to use the skill he’d employed before—[Light of Annihilation].
[So be it. I cannot retreat now. I shall kill you with all my might.]
Artaros truly channeled every ounce of his power.
Rainbow-hued radiance erupted from his sword.
The intensity of the light radiating outward was staggering—his words about using all his strength were no exaggeration.
It was almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
To unleash such a wide-range technique in this situation, with no way to evade it.
It was truly a hopeless predicament.
‘But what if I charge forward right now?’
The Combat Rune calculated the distance to my opponent and my own speed, but it was just slightly too far.
My judgment was clear: the light would incinerate my body before my scythe could reach him.
That left me no choice but to unleash my own finishing technique.
[Atone through death, foolish mortal.]
The Light of Annihilation consumed my vision.
Regardless, I charged forward.
Closing the distance to kill Artaros.
But the light reached my flesh first.
My hair burned away, skin tissue peeled off, bone laid bare.
The closer I drew to the light, the more my body melted like ice cream.
Even with 80% damage reduction, the pain was unbearable.
I could feel with every fiber of my being that this damage was on an entirely different scale from before.
But I hadn’t charged in thoughtlessly, like a moth drawn to flame.
[1,000,000 Points used to purchase Experience Pack.]
[Experience +15.87%]
[Level increased!]
[Rank elevated from ‘Master’ to ‘Grand Master’.]
[The ‘Command’ function is now available.]
[All functions have been unlocked.]
[In celebration of rank advancement, the Death Seal skill is enhanced!]
[Death Seal additional damage increased from 160% to 200%.]
[In celebration of rank advancement, the Night of Death skill is enhanced!]
[Night of Death skill range increased from 1,500m to 3,000m.]
[In celebration of rank advancement, the Moonlight Island skill is enhanced!]
[Moonlight Island skill area damage increased from 1,800% to 3,000%.]
[In celebration of rank advancement, the Red Moon skill is enhanced!]
[Red Moon skill duration increased from 10 seconds to 20 seconds.]
[You have additionally learned the Reaper-exclusive skill ‘Death Sentence’!]
[Exclusive Skill – Death Sentence]
-Effect: Instantly kills the target. Can only be used when the enemy’s health is 30% or below. This skill has no cooldown.
[Confirmed as the first player to achieve maximum level. Congratulations!]
[You have obtained the title ‘Max Level’.]
[As a reward for being the first to achieve max level, ‘Rune of Growth’ has been awarded.]
[The acquired rune automatically inscribes itself onto the player’s body!]
[In celebration of reaching max level, all health is restored and you enter a 1-minute invincible state.]
One minute of invincibility.
A temporary buff effect that cannot be easily obtained.
It would be a shame to reach max level and simply move past such a buff.
This was the reason I had deliberately postponed reaching max level until now.
One minute was, after all, quite a long duration.
For my opponent, at least.
[…!?]
Watching my scorched skin regenerate cleanly and my body enveloped in the radiant light of invincibility, Artaros’s expression shifted to one of shock.
[The max level effect…?]
He recognized the effect, but with no experience points to gain now, he had never imagined reaching max level was possible.
Screech—!
The scythe, swung through the light of annihilation, cleaved Artaros’s body in two.
Yet his form reassembled as if nothing had happened, returning to its pristine state without sustaining any damage.
But both I and Artaros himself knew something had changed.
“Your stats dropped another 10%, didn’t they?”
[….]
“By multiplicative calculation, that means your stats are now at 81% of their original value.”
[What are you trying to say?]
“For the next minute, all you’ll do is take hits, you bastard.”
As I spoke, I swung my scythe, and Artaros reflexively moved to block.
Or rather, he tried to.
Screech—!
One arm severed, Artaros now one-armed, received another attack.
Clang—Clang—!
He was defending, but with difficulty.
His movements were distinctly different from before.
Artaros, slightly flustered but hiding it, attempted a counterattack.
Whether he did or not, I had no intention of defending.
Why would I need to block while invincible?
Ting—!
As his blade bounced off my invincibility, Artaros’s expression twisted in shock.
Regardless of his confusion, I drove my scythe directly into Artaros’s heart.
Thud—!
Artaros, who had lost his life in an instant, regained consciousness once more.
He had resurrected again, and would continue to do so in the future, yet his expression now bore a troubling unease unlike before.
‘This isn’t good.’
My overall stats had diminished once again.
Now it was becoming difficult to even block Black Scythe’s attacks.
Especially against those relentless, purely offensive strikes.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
My neck was severed, my head pierced, my heart run through.
In just fifty seconds, Artaros died five times.
My stats had plummeted to less than half.
‘They’ve dropped significantly, but I can still manage. Just ten more seconds of endurance.’
Then the opponent’s invincibility would end.
Merely ten seconds of holding on, and the opportunity for counterattack would come.
‘My stats have fallen seven times, but it’s manageable. If I use [Blazing Radiance] once more to boost my stats by fifty percent….’
I believed I could still contend with him.
When ten seconds had passed and the golden light enveloping Ryu Min’s body faded like a washed-away stain.
Artaros activated Blazing Radiance for his counterattack.
All of his stats increased by fifty percent, and vitality surged through him.
[You must have grown arrogant, thinking you killed me while invincible. But even that ends here….]
Artaros stopped mid-sentence.
Something had changed in his opponent’s body.
The dark energy rippling across him felt distinctly different from before.
“Ah, this? The cooldown on my Reaper Transformation just came back up.”
[….]
“What? Did you think only you had buffs? I have them too.”
Before the words even finished, Ryu Min’s scythe flashed like lightning.
Before Artaros could even respond, his neck was severed once more.
As his head reattached, Ryu Min muttered under his breath.
“A curse that won’t let you die? Constantly resurrecting? Then I’ll keep killing you. Forever, until I’m bored.”
Ryu Min was desperate to end this opponent.
He was strong, yet he had shown an opening.
There would be no other chance.
So I seized this moment and pressed forward with all my might.
With the Reaper Transformation active, it was as easy as fighting a child.
Crunch— Crunch— Crunch—!
After severing his limbs, I finished with a newly learned skill.
‘Death Sentence.’
Splurt!
The moment I cast it, crimson blood erupted like a fountain, and he perished instantly.
Yet despite such a gruesome death, he revived with tedious regularity.
Of course, during those scant three seconds of resurrection, Ryu Min couldn’t interfere either.
Before Artaros’s body fully materialized, even wielding the scythe felt like striking a different dimension—the attacks simply wouldn’t land.
But such obstacles meant nothing to Ryu Min.
He simply waited three seconds and killed him again.
“How many times have you died now? At least thirty?”
[….]
“How does it feel to die the moment you revive? How much have your stats dropped? I’m curious. Oh, sorry—I didn’t give you time to answer.”
Ryu Min lowered the scythe he’d been about to swing.
“Go ahead. Say what you need to say.”
[…Divine Beings have no stat system. The system exists merely for players’ convenience.]
“Regardless, how much have you lost? By my calculations, you’re down to roughly four percent of your original power?”
Ninety-six percent of his strength gone, with only four percent remaining?
For Ryu Min, this was like eating cold rice—trivially easy.
Well, even at that level, other players would find him simple to toy with.
[If it brings you comfort to mock me, then mock away.]
“What? Have you given up now? Lost the will to live?”
[If you’re hoping I’ll beg, you’re wasting your effort. I have no intention of groveling for my life.]
“Is that so?”
Ryu Min tried to read his opponent’s thoughts.
A being sent here under orders from above to kill him wouldn’t surrender so easily.
There was definitely something scheming beneath the surface.
‘Hm?’
As Ryu Min delved deeper into those thoughts, he couldn’t help but be startled.
Artaros’s gambit was a method he’d never anticipated.
[Fool.]
In that instant, Artaros’s eyes blazed violet.
[Giving me time to converse was your fatal mistake. All I needed was a single moment.]
Ryu Min’s body froze as though his soul had departed.
Within a flow of time that seemed suspended, only Artaros’s lips continued to move.
[Driving me to this extent—I commend you, Black Scythe. But you are an inconvenience to the Divine Beings. You cannot be allowed to spoil the gods’ only source of amusement.]
Artaros placed a hand upon Ryu Min’s head.
He would have preferred to crush it outright, but with time slowed as it was, his options were severely limited.
[Killing you would be ideal, but in my current state, it’s impossible. So instead, I’ll erase your memories. Every ability, every connection, every power you’ve ever possessed—I’ll make you forget it all. Then you’ll naturally be eliminated from The Game and cease to exist.]
Unable to kill him, Artaros had no choice but to resort to this.
[Then I shall await your soul’s arrival in the Underworld. Sigh… I have no idea what to tell Nyx.]
Muttering to himself, Artaros dragged his exhausted form and vanished beyond the space.

* * *
Darkness had settled over the Demon King’s Castle.
There, sprawled on the ground, lay only a single figure.
“Ugh… where… where am I…?”
Ryu Min regained consciousness and pushed himself up on his elbows, glancing around in confusion.
He couldn’t see anything, but more pressing than that was the throbbing ache in his head.
“Damn it… what the hell happened?”
He surveyed his surroundings, but found no one.
Both Phlunikthos and Artaros had vanished somewhere.
‘That bastard Artaros tried to erase my memories.’
I remembered everything that had transpired moments before.
Every word he had spoken to me after freezing time.
It was all thanks to the Memory Rune I had obtained from capturing the dragon.
‘With my lowered stats, he couldn’t kill me directly, so he froze time and tried to wipe my memories? And then he released the Space of Nothingness?’
The strategy was sound, but he hadn’t known one thing.
The Memory Rune had preserved every recollection intact.
Moreover, I even remembered what he had muttered while time was frozen.
‘Or was it that he slowed time to an extreme degree?’
Even within that decelerated time, my ears remained open.
That’s why I could hear every word Artaros had mumbled.
‘He definitely mentioned a Divine Being named Nyx at the end.’
That one was likely the mastermind who had ordered my death.
‘One more Divine Being to kill.’
A cold smile played across my lips.

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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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