The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 297

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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 297
297. Untraceable
The environment shifted in an instant.
I warped from the Monochrome Space to a dark forest of unknown origin.
Ryu Min displayed the Quest progress window without a hint of panic.
【Nickname / Face / Distance from Me】
[QuickTortoise / Face / 602m]
[RoseStone / Face / 828m]
[Meteos / Face / 1,029m]
[LiveWithoutRegret / Face / 1,182m]
…
…
…
[Remaining Players: 143]
[Time Until Round End: 71:59:55]
The progress window displayed nicknames, faces, and distances exactly as Angel had described.
It was convenient that they were sorted by proximity.
‘Everyone’s scattered to the winds.’
Even using my surrounding detection skill, which could see within a 500-meter radius, no players appeared.
The Fantasy World was as vast as South Korea, and with only 143 people, it made sense that I couldn’t see anyone.
‘First, I should change my appearance.’
Someone might attempt to track me.
It could be Artaros or another human player.
‘I’m not sure if changing my face will help me evade Artaros’s tracking, but there’s no harm in trying.’
My face rippled and transformed as I donned the Assassin’s Mask.
The new face I took on was none other than Hwang Yong-min’s.
For good measure, I equipped the Doppelgänger’s Ring and changed my nickname to [Hwang Yong-min].
‘Now Black Scythe on the list should show as [Untraceable].’
Changing my appearance doesn’t remove me from the list.
It only displays the status “Untraceable.”
Since the system tracks by registered nickname and face, changing either one prevents tracking.
I changed both just in case Artaros attempted a surprise attack.
‘Even if someone uses a separate tracking skill, it won’t matter.’
Now no one could track me.
I was completely free.
‘It’s awkward walking around with Hwang Yong-min’s face, but it doesn’t matter. As long as I can avoid being tracked by others.’
Of course, no sane person would try to track Black Scythe.
But there was no guarantee that all 143 players were sane.
‘Who knows? There might be a madman trying to ambush me during the hunt.’
Killing me would reduce the player count and grant dominion, so someone might be tempted to try.
Hadn’t Ma Gyeong-rok and Ju Sung-tak tried to kill him just in the previous round?
‘The situation is different now, though.’
Back then, only three had survived, and there was only one spot for a survivor.
So their best option had been to cooperate and eliminate the strongest among them—him.
From Ryu Min’s perspective, it was a rational decision.
‘But in the end, those two were the ones who died.’
No matter how much Ma Gyeong-rok and Ju Sung-tak ranked second and third, they couldn’t have matched him alone.
So now, thousands of times stronger than in the previous round, did Ryu Min even have a worthy opponent?
‘It’s almost like a fly charging at an elephant.’
Still, when a fly buzzes around its face, even an elephant finds it annoying.
Changing his appearance and hunting felt more comfortable to him psychologically.
‘First, I should focus on hunting.’
Ryu Min kicked off into the empty air and shot skyward, then came to an impossible halt.
It was thanks to his Eternal Equipment—the ability to walk on air itself, granted by the Divine Step.
‘So this is between the Albitz Kingdom and the Decan Kingdom.’
Surveying the landscape around him, Ryu Min assessed his location and shifted his gaze.
From this position, stronger monsters lay in that direction.
After deciding on a course, he ran across the sky as if it were solid ground.
Boom—!
A sonic boom collapsed the distance in an instant.

* * *
The Round 19 Quest seemed simple at first glance.
It was a straightforward task: survive for seventy-two hours.
‘But you don’t know until you try it yourself. How difficult it truly is to endure three days.’
There exists what’s called the Rule of Threes.
You can survive three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food.
So what if you had to survive three days here without water or food?
‘It’s not an easy mission. Harder than it seems.’
Of course, there wasn’t actually an absence of water or food nearby.
Though this world was created to cultivate players, it was nonetheless a real, existing world.
Even if NPCs appeared as such, the people were no different from reality, and their living conditions were similar.
‘The avatar is the same. It was created identical to an actual human body.’
So even though the avatar was artificially made, it experienced hunger and basic biological needs.
It wasn’t like a game where you felt nothing.
‘But that doesn’t mean I can eat just anything.’
In the past, Ryu Min had once picked and eaten berries from a tree to satisfy his hunger.
‘Or rather, something that looked like berries.’
Hours later, it had turned his insides inside out.
He’d also drunk water from a stream once, but his skin had peeled off as if he’d ingested poison, and his vision had gone black.
‘The worst part was the monster meat.’
I’d been so desperately hungry once that I scraped flesh from a dead monster, roasted it, and ate it—only to spend the rest of that round with my stomach twisted in agony.
Thanks to that experience, I could state with absolute certainty:
Never eat anything in the Other World.
‘There might be water and food fit for human consumption in the Village, but….’
The problem was that a barrier prevented access to the Village.
Apart from that restriction, I could wander anywhere—but finding something edible would be nearly impossible.
This Quest was designed to test endurance without such crutches, after all.
‘I just have to persevere for 72 hours. I’ll minimize my movements and conserve energy as much as possible.’
But if it were that simple, would it be a Round 19 Quest?
If I sat idle, another player could ambush me at any moment.
I had no choice but to move while avoiding others.
But most areas outside the Village spawned monsters.
While their strength varied by location, monsters posed a danger equal to any player.
‘No matter how far past level 90 I’ve climbed, numbers always win.’
If monsters swarmed me with numerical superiority, I’d either die or exhaust myself.
Of course, that didn’t apply to me.
Thud—thud!
Before the massive monster could even approach with its oppressive presence, my scythe cleaved through both it and the tree behind it.
[Twin Head Ogre defeated!]
[Experience increased by 1.5x due to title effect.]
[Experience and gold increased by 2x due to Rune of Gluttony effect.]
[Obtained 12 stacks and 2 stat points from Rune of Gluttony.]
[Accumulated Gluttony stacks: 286]
[This player can no longer gain experience levels.]
[Acquired experience is displayed according to Rune of Growth.]
[Experience +75,000]
[Gold +50,000]
[Bonus Gold +25,000]
[Acquired experience exceeded 100,000.]
[Experience converted to 1 stat point.]
[Current kill count: 3/100]
[All stats increased by 3% due to Rune of Slaughter effect.]
Since I was already max level, my level wouldn’t increase, but I could convert incoming experience into stat points.
This was thanks to the Rune of Growth, the reward for being the first to reach max level.
‘With the Forerunner title multiplying experience by 1.5x and the Rune of Gluttony doubling it….’
I could accumulate massive stat points just by hunting a handful of monsters.
‘This is essentially my last round to gather stats. I need to scrape together as much as I can while I’m able.’
Even if I’m about to kill an Archangel, I can’t predict how strong the Round 20 boss will be.
I had to gather stats with Artaros in mind.
Scrape—! Scrape—!
I moved through the area, slaughtering monsters indiscriminately.
Even a glancing blow was enough to kill them, so dispatching them posed no difficulty.
I didn’t need to worry about my stamina depleting either.
Since my Strength stat was directly tied to my vitality.
‘With tens of millions in Strength stat, I could hunt for days without any problem whatsoever.’
That said, other players didn’t need to waste their strength hunting monsters the way I did.
For me, it was effortless since I had strength to spare, but other players would grow exhausted after killing just a handful of monsters.
Besides, they wouldn’t need to accumulate experience separately—once this round ended, everyone would reach max level through the completion reward.
So they only needed to deal with monsters that came their way.
‘That would be difficult for non-combat players, though.’
Especially the supporters with relatively lower stats.
‘With already low stats, if they have to flee day and night to avoid other players, they’ll inevitably grow exhausted. And monsters will keep appearing without respite.’
I was concerned about the relatively weaker supporters, but I was especially worried about Christine, who had virtually no combat ability.
She would struggle to kill monsters on her own, and she’d be an easy target.
‘Still, it shouldn’t be a major problem. I’ve assigned slaves to protect them.’
I’d sent slaves to several members who needed protection.
To join them and keep them safe.
‘Though I can’t be completely at ease.’
For now, I should clear out all the monsters here and then go find my acquaintances.
I need to verify that the slaves are carrying out their duties as well.

* * *
Players encountering the 19th Round Quest without prior information were all taken aback.
Min Ju-ri was no exception.
‘Survive for 72 hours? And alone at that?’
Worry flooded through her, but there was no choice but to proceed.
As she pondered what to do next, she gazed at the Quest progress window.
Just as Angel had said, nicknames, faces, and distances were displayed clearly at a glance.
‘Should I try to find Black Scythe?’
The thought occurred to her instinctively, but at some point, she entered an untraceable state.
‘That’s strange. Why can’t I be tracked?’
As she pondered this oddity.
‘Huh?’
She noticed the distance to a player on the list decreasing.
‘What? Could they be heading toward me?’
In a round where they had to kill each other, someone was approaching her first without hesitation?
She had no choice but to be cautious.
‘I need to create distance first.’
Min Ju-ri moved without deliberation.
However, her current location was a Forest.
She had no idea which direction to go.
What if she encountered a monster?
When she activated her surroundings detection, numerous red dots appeared.
‘They’re at a distance from the other players. So that means….’
The red dots were all monsters.
It seemed she’d landed in a dangerous area.
Rustle—
Thinking she needed to escape the Forest, she quickened her pace.
As Min Ju-ri moved, fortunately, the distance between her and the pursuing player increased.
‘Where should I go? I can’t even find Black Scythe….’
The Forest was so vast that she didn’t know which way would lead her out.
‘For now, I’ll evade.’
She kept her surroundings detection active and moved toward areas with fewer monsters.
Whenever the distance seemed to close, she quickly hid behind a tree and waited for the monster to pass.
‘What kind of monster is that? I’ve never seen one before.’
A monster with an elongated, tree-like appearance walked slowly through the area.
It was a Dark Ancient Tree, a monster ranked among the stronger varieties, though Min Ju-ri had no way of knowing that.
She had no confidence in defeating it either.
‘It’s passed. I need to escape quickly….’
At that moment, Min Ju-ri felt a chill run down her spine.
Through her presence detection, she sensed someone approaching from behind her.

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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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