The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 298

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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 298
298. Temporary Alliance
Without time to think deeply, Min Ju-ri spun around to check.
A Dark Ancient Tree was staring directly at her.
‘Ah…!’
She’d been caught.
She’d charged forward looking only ahead, forgetting to watch her back.
Grrrraaaaahhh—
The creature let out an eerie cry as it extended a wooden tendril toward her.
Whoosh—!
“Gasp.”
Min Ju-ri’s eyes widened as the wooden tendril grazed her ribs.
If she’d dodged even a moment later, her heart would have been pierced.
‘I… I thought it was slow, but it’s incredibly fast?’
Its movement was sluggish, but its attacks were lightning-quick.
Min Ju-ri didn’t hesitate—she bolted forward with all her might.
Whoosh— Whoosh—!
Thud—! Thud!
She sprinted frantically, using trees as cover.
She had no confidence in fighting something that moved at such speed.
She could only trust her legs, enhanced by the movement speed buff.
Once she’d put some distance between them, Min Ju-ri glanced back.
‘It’s only fast at attacking—it’s not chasing me.’
She felt relieved, but there was something Min Ju-ri had overlooked.
She hadn’t been paying attention to what lay ahead while fleeing.
Grrrraaaaahhh?
Grrrraaaaahhh.
“Ah….”
Three monsters stared at her in unison, and Min Ju-ri froze solid.
‘Wow, I need to go back the way I came….’
As she turned around, her eyes widened in shock.
‘Seo A-rin… ?’
The player who had been chasing her moments ago, Seo A-rin, was close enough to see with the naked eye.
‘How did this happen? There was at least 500 meters between us a moment ago?’
The distance must have closed while she was focused on the monsters.
Seo A-rin, who had just spotted Min Ju-ri, came to a halt.
Their eyes met, but there was no time for pleasantries.
“Run! The monsters are chasing me!”
Min Ju-ri gave a brief warning and rushed past Seo A-rin in a panic.
Yet there was no urgency on Seo A-rin’s face—she showed no sign of wanting to flee.
Instead, I moved toward where the monster was.
Min Ju-ri stopped running with a bewildered expression and shouted.
“What are you doing! That direction is dangerous….”
Thud— thud— thud—
While three golems that had charged forward drew the monster’s aggro, two spirit knights appeared from the side and severed the wooden trunk.
Crunch— crunch!
Kyeeeek!
The moment the monster shrieked, four fairies unleashed beams of light in unison.
Sizzzzzzle—!
As the trees burned in agony, they were reduced to kindling by the spirit knights’ merciless blades.
Min Ju-ri watched the scene unfold in a daze, feeling an unexpected awkwardness wash over her.
My warning to be careful had become meaningless—the monsters were already dealt with.
“What did you say earlier? That it was dangerous?”
“…I, I thought it was dangerous.”
Seo A-rin, who had answered that way, suddenly shifted her attitude and glared with a venomous gaze.
“But why did you follow me?”
“Follow you?”
“Don’t play dumb. You don’t think I noticed Seo A-rin approaching me?”
“Approach? Me?”
“I saw the distance between us getting closer.”
At those words, Seo A-rin made an exasperated expression and let out a sigh.
“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but I was simply looking for a good hunting spot. I just happened to come this way.”
“So, you’re saying you didn’t follow me?”
“Why would I follow you?”
“There’s, there’s plenty of reason.”
At Min Ju-ri’s words, Seo A-rin paused in thought before exhaling another sigh.
“Are you saying I chased after you trying to kill you?”
“That’s the only way I can see it.”
“How could you think of me that way? Even if we’re competitors, I have no intention of committing murder to claim Black Scythe.”
“Black Scythe? What are you talking about? You said you liked Ryu Min.”
“Ah!”
Seo A-rin, flustered, suddenly clamped her mouth shut like a clam.
I had conflated Ryu Min and Black Scythe, causing me to misspeak.
“R, right. I do like Ryu Min.”
“But you just said something about claiming Black Scythe.”
“I, I was mistaken.”
“There’s nothing to mistake. The two of them have completely different styles….”
“….”
Min Ju-ri muttered, but that was all.
She didn’t press further.
Seo A-rin exhaled a breath of relief in her heart.
‘Black Scythe asked me to keep the secret, so I can’t tell anyone.’
It was obvious that even if she did tell, no one would believe her.
Hadn’t Min Ju-ri herself refused to believe even after hearing it directly from the person involved?
‘She should be suspicious about this, but why doesn’t she see it? Is it because they’re high school classmates?’
Perhaps it was precisely because they were high school classmates that she didn’t suspect anything.
The fragile image of Ryu Min from back then was etched into her memory.
‘Even so, how can she be so oblivious…’
As I shook my head slightly with a look of exasperation, Min Ju-ri glared at me.
“What’s with that unpleasant look?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Saying it like that makes me feel worse.”
“Wouldn’t I feel worse hearing that from someone younger than me?”
“What’s a two-year difference? That’s hardly worth mentioning.”
“So a two-year gap means nothing to you? You must have been friends with seniors at school too?”
“What did you just say?”
An unexpected quarrel broke out in the forest.
With monsters surrounding the area, it wasn’t the ideal place for conversation, but they didn’t seem to care as they bickered with each other.
“Why did you even enter this forest when you’re so weak?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. You think I wanted to come here? This was the starting point.”
“If I hadn’t shown up, you’d be dead by now.”
“Don’t underestimate Buffer. I can handle myself just fine on my own.”
“Who was running away in fear just a moment ago?”
“I avoid filth because it’s disgusting, not out of fear. There’s no need to fight, so I avoided it.”
“So you could escape this forest on your own without me?”
“Obviously.”
“Fine, I’ll go first. I’ll leave some monsters for you to hunt, so don’t worry.”
“Yeah, yeah. How thoughtful of you.”
The two of them, who had been bickering, snorted simultaneously and turned their heads away.
As if they couldn’t stand the sight of each other.
‘If I go back the way Seo A-rin came, I should find the exit.’
Min Ju-ri moved forward with that thought, while Seo A-rin turned her steps toward where Min Ju-ri had been.
As they walked in opposite directions and the distance between them grew.
Both of them stopped simultaneously, as if they had made a promise.
A message had appeared.
[The first casualty has occurred.]
[The deceased player’s nickname is ‘Very Good’.]
[Since 10 minutes have passed since death, the player will be eliminated.]
[Remaining players: 142]
[Eliminated players: 1]
[Time Remaining Until Round End: 71:31:38]
Neither of them knew that a death notification had appeared.
They didn’t know who the player with that nickname was.
All they knew was that this wasn’t the time to be bickering.
“We’ve lost a player…”
“And it’s only been thirty minutes since the start…”
Seo A-rin and Min Ju-ri exchanged glances as if they’d made a silent agreement, both suddenly alert.
This was no time to waste energy on pointless conflict.
If they weren’t careful, another player might target them.
Though they couldn’t be certain the death was caused by a player.
“Um… Seo A-rin?”
“What is it?”
Min Ju-ri hesitated, her lips trembling slightly.
Then, gathering her courage, she bit her lower lip firmly.
“W-would it be alright if we traveled together for a while?”
“…”
“I mean, you saw the message just now. Someone died. We don’t know if it was a monster or another player yet… but isn’t that proof that traveling alone is dangerous?”
“I’m not in danger. As you can see, my summons are quite powerful.”
Seo A-rin deflected, but Min Ju-ri pressed on with renewed courage.
“But you’re not at the level where you can handle everything alone like Black Scythe. You never know what threats might emerge.”
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
“So even if it’s not ideal, what if we formed a temporary alliance? If I cast buffs on you, you and your summons would become twice as strong.”
“Hmm…”
Min Ju-ri’s words weren’t wrong.
Only a fool would pass up the chance to double their strength.
‘Besides, Min Ju-ri doesn’t seem like she’d ambush me.’
How dangerous could a Buffer without combat skills really be if she tried to ambush me?
And besides, my summons would guard me like bodyguards twenty-four hours a day.
‘But doesn’t she worry that I might ambush her instead? What part of me does she trust to make such a proposal?’
It seemed Min Ju-ri didn’t believe Seo A-rin would attack her.
That’s why she could afford to make such a proposal despite the risk.
“Fine. Let’s cooperate for a while. But we can’t betray each other.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Whoever betrays the other has to give up Black Scythe… no, Ryu Min. How’s that?”
Min Ju-ri nodded as if she approved.
“Then I can’t betray you. Neither can you, Seo A-rin.”
“I absolutely won’t betray you. I can’t give up Ryu Min.”
The moment Ryu Min’s name came up, Min Ju-ri’s eyes grew more intense.
Seo A-rin’s expression also became solemn, as if she too couldn’t bear to lose him.
“Cast the buffs on me then. I’ll tell my summons to protect you.”
“Understood.”
Min Ju-ri’s three-piece buff set flowed into Seo A-rin.
With that, not only Seo A-rin but her summoned creatures grew stronger as well.
After all, the summoned creatures grew stronger in proportion to Seo A-rin’s stats.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“This place is dangerous, so let’s escape the Forest first.”
“Right.”
As Seo A-rin took the lead with her summoned creatures, Min Ju-ri followed behind.
Crunch— crunch—!
The Dark Ancient Trees were formidable monsters, but numbers always prevailed.
“Stay closer. If you fall behind like that, it’s dangerous.”
“Ah, understood.”
Min Ju-ri, who had been walking at a distance, drew nearer.
Whoosh!
A wooden branch suddenly shot out from the side.
But.
Shriek!
The scream erupted not from Min Ju-ri, but from the monster.
Seo A-rin’s spirit knight had appeared at the perfect moment and severed the wooden branch.
“Don’t worry. My spirit knight will protect you.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The two, now working in cooperation, decided to leave the Forest first.
Though they wished to seek out Black Scythe, tracking was impossible.

* * *
Most players who saw the mission were taken aback.
Not so much by the 72-hour survival requirement, but by the fact that they had to kill others and reduce their numbers to 72 or fewer.
Christine was equally bewildered.
‘I have to kill others like in Round 4? I can’t do that….’
In Round 4, she’d been able to stain her hands with blood precisely because she knew everyone would be revived.
But this time, she truly had to kill others.
And apparently, once they died, they would vanish after 10 minutes with no hope of resurrection.
‘Could I really kill someone?’
She possessed a profession dedicated to saving lives, yet she was being asked to participate in murder.
Despair flickered across Christine’s face, but only for a moment.
She realized there was no need to kill anyone herself.
The message about the first death had made that clear.
‘If I don’t kill them, someone else will, won’t they?’
In that case, there was no need to stain her own hands with blood.
She simply had to wait until the player count dropped to 72 or fewer.
Then she could survive without spilling a single drop of blood.
Unlike Round 4, where mutual killing was the objective, this Quest’s ultimate goal was survival.
‘If it’s about survival, I’m confident. I have healing after all.’
Healing was a skill that restored not just wounds, but stamina as well.
Though Christine lacked any combat ability, she was confident in her endurance.
‘I need to find a place without monsters if possible.’
But Christine’s starting location was none other than the Forest.
When she activated her area detection skill, it confirmed what she feared—the place was teeming with monsters.
‘I have to escape this Forest. No matter what.’
That was when it happened.
[A second death has occurred.]
[The deceased player’s nickname is ‘abcdef’.]
[Ten minutes have passed since death, so the player will now be eliminated.]
[Current remaining players: 141]
[Eliminated players: 2]
[Time remaining until round end: 71:23:52]
‘Another death? Less than 10 minutes after the first one?’
Would people really kill their comrades, no matter the circumstances?
Hadn’t they been on the same team in the previous round, fighting against Demons together?
‘I don’t know…. For now, I need to focus on my own survival….’
As she turned her body with that thought in mind.
Grrrrrrr—
Christine’s body froze solid.
A notorious ferocious monster, an Ogre, was looming over 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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