The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 299

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 299
299. Three Men
“Ah. Ah.”
A player with a level exceeding 90 could handle an Ogre alone without much difficulty.
Especially if that player possessed a freshly acquired Divine-grade item.
But Christine was a non-combat class—one without a single common attack skill to her name.
Among players, she was essentially an ordinary person, so panic was inevitable.
‘What, what do I do? What do I do?’
She was so terrified that she’d gone rigid as a statue, unable even to think of escape.
Christine’s feet finally moved when the Ogre let out a bone-chilling roar.
Kwaaaaaaagh!
Christine bolted through the Forest without a backward glance.
The Ogre’s roar, meant to intimidate, only succeeded in sending its prey fleeing in terror.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Christine ran forward, eyes fixed ahead.
She had no time to look back, nor any reason to.
Boom—boom—boom!
The thundering footsteps of the approaching Ogre sent ice down her spine.
‘What do I do? It, it’s getting closer.’
Despite running with all her might, it was nearly impossible to outpace an Ogre standing over three meters tall.
Boom—boom—boom
As the sound drew near and its shadow fell across her, threatening to engulf her entirely—
Kwaaaagh!
The Ogre stretched out its arm to snatch her head.
But then.
Thwang!
The Ogre’s arm bounced back violently, repelled by a protective barrier.
Its massive body was hurled backward by an invisible force, flying more than fifteen meters through the air.
It was thanks to the Divine-grade armor Christine wore—[Wings of Eros].
[You have blocked a fatal blow.]
[Uses remaining: 1/2]
[Each use recharges with a 12-hour cooldown.]
The message appeared, but Christine barely noticed it as she continued running desperately.
Yet she wasn’t running mindlessly.
She used trees as cover and moved only through paths too narrow for the Ogre to easily traverse.
But such tactics proved useless as the Ogre smashed through the trees in pursuit.
Crack—crack!
Kwaaaaaaagh!
Genuinely terrified, Christine quickly opened her Quest progress window.
‘I, I need to call for help from nearby players.’
To survive, I had no choice but to rely on others.
Fortunately, there was a player at the 150-meter mark, right at the top of the list.
After confirming the player’s nickname and face, I immediately activated tracking.
[Face and nickname match. Tracking the target’s location.]
[I’ve located player Seonbi’s position.]
[Currently 148 meters away.]
[Follow the arrow visible ahead to track the target.]
While it was reassuring to have someone nearby to call for help, Christine’s expression remained consistently dark.
In the meantime, I’d closed the distance and allowed the Ogre one more fatal strike.
[Blocked the death blow.]
[Uses remaining: 2/2]
[All remaining uses have been exhausted.]
[24 hours required for cooldown to recharge.]
Now, if caught in its grasp, I would die.
That reality pushed Christine to summon every ounce of strength she possessed.
Yet with such pathetic stats, it was nearly impossible to create distance.
“Hah, hah, hah….”
Thud— thud— thud—
Even though the armor’s power sent the Ogre flying back 15 meters, the distance closed again.
Is this the end?
When the Ogre’s shadow fell across my vision once more, that thought crossed my mind.
I’d heard that your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but nothing like that happened.
Only one person came to mind.
‘Black Scythe….’
Screeeech!
Just as the Ogre’s hand reached to tear off Christine’s head.
Gaaaack?!
The Ogre’s cry sounded strange.
It was as if a voice of confusion mixed with the sound of choking.
Without stopping, I continued running, and the distance widened considerably.
‘What’s happening? Why isn’t it chasing me?’
Unable to contain my curiosity, I glanced back and saw the Ogre standing motionless.
‘Why did it suddenly stop chasing….’
Confused, I stared, and something glimmering caught my eye at the Ogre’s neck.
It was a blade.
A small sword pierced through its neck and protruded from the other side.
Thud—!
As the Ogre collapsed forward, the person who had stabbed the blade from behind its neck was revealed.
“Jeffrey?”
Jeffrey drew a short sword the size of a forearm and looked toward Christine.
“Phew… That was close. Anyway, it’s good to see you, Christine.”
“Butler, how did you find this place…?”
Jeffrey wasn’t a player who had been nearby.
So when had he closed the distance and appeared?
“You weren’t on my tracking list, so how did you…?”
“It must be because he used invisibility. When you use invisibility, it shows as untrackable and you can escape from tracking.”
“Ah.”
That was something I hadn’t known.
Could that be why Black Scythe hadn’t been tracked either?
Christine let out a relieved sigh as she escaped the crisis.
“Phew, thank you for saving me. I really almost died back there.”
“It’s fortunate I arrived in time.”
“It really is. How did you have such perfect timing… Wait, don’t tell me you were following me in invisibility the whole time?”
Jeffrey didn’t deny it.
“That’s correct. Right when the round started, I tracked Christine while in invisibility. I didn’t expect you’d be facing such a crisis though.”
“Why were you tracking me?”
“Black Scythe ordered me to protect you, Christine.”
“Black Scythe?”
Though startled by those words, Christine’s expression brightened.
She hadn’t known that Black Scythe cared about her.
Jeffrey, who had killed the Ogre effortlessly, dusted himself off and suddenly his eyes sharpened.
“Christine.”
“Yes, I felt it too.”
Someone was approaching within the range of my presence detection.
At first I thought it was the Ogre, but judging by the way they were approaching in a group, I realized it wasn’t.
‘They’re people.’
In fact, when I opened my tracking list, I could see the distance closing.
Rustle—
What emerged from the dense Forest was indeed a player.
“Oh, found you.”
“So you were here?”
“Hello, Krishi.”
The three people who suddenly appeared greeted her as if they knew her, but Christine was seeing them for the first time.
Well, she did recognize the nickname and face of one of them.
It was someone she had been planning to find.
“Seonbi?”
“Huh? How did you know? In the Fantasy World, my nickname shouldn’t be visible, right?”
“I recognized you from the face on my tracking list.”
“Ah, I see. Then there’s no need for introductions, is there?”
The player who spoke with a smile had the nickname [Seonbi].
The player splitting wood with a chuckle next to him was Balondor.
Christine could tell that the player staring with an oddly cold gaze was someone called Scary World.
Because of that, she didn’t bother asking for introductions.
She simply asked directly about their purpose for coming.
“It seems you’ve come looking for me. What brings you here?”
“Don’t be so guarded. We didn’t come with any ill intentions.”
Seonbi, wearing a friendly smile in an attempt to reassure her, gradually revealed their purpose.
“We’re players who received help from Krishi in the last round.”
“My help?”
“You supported us with healing when things got critical. Thanks to you, we managed to get through several situations where we nearly lost our lives.”
At the mention that she had helped them, Christine tilted her head in confusion.
These were definitely unfamiliar faces she was seeing for the first time.
‘I helped them in the last round?’
Round 18 was a round themed around war.
She had supported thousands of people with her wide-area healing alone.
How could she possibly remember who she had helped individually in such circumstances?
“I’m afraid I don’t recall.”
“You don’t remember?”
“Perhaps I was too caught up in the chaos of war…?”
“That’s a bit disappointing.”
As the three of them chimed in agreement, Christine felt flustered.
She genuinely couldn’t remember—what was she supposed to do?
“So why did you come?”
“Why? We came to repay the favor you did for us back then.”
“Repay the favor?”
“Round 19 is too dangerous to navigate alone, isn’t it? With all these monsters around. We were worried Krishi might be in danger, so we rushed over here with our allies.”
Though their intentions were good, Christine had no intention of accepting help from strangers.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m fine.”
“You’re being awfully cold to people who came to help.”
“Really, that’s too much.”
As the atmosphere suddenly turned critical of her, Christine felt slightly taken aback.
“…As you can see, I already have someone helping me.”
“Who? That person next to you?”
“According to the tracking list, it says someone named Jeffrey?”
“Listen here, Jeffrey.”
Seonbi approached Jeffrey.
“Did you also receive help from Krishi?”
“…”
“What’s your relationship with Krishi?”
Jeffrey simply stared back coldly.
He acted as though he had no desire to exchange words with the likes of them.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Are you mute?”
Christine bristled at that remark.
“Excuse me. That’s uncalled for.”
“Guess you are mute. Getting all defensive like that.”
“Why is she getting upset when he’s staying quiet?”
“Could they be… together?”
“The Saint has a bed partner? That’s actually shocking.”
As they continued to provoke, Jeffrey could no longer remain silent.
*Shing—*
“Whoa, look at that. The mute guy’s drawing a dagger.”
“Damn, you want to fight us?”
“Put that down while I’m asking nicely.”
The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
Jeffrey’s killing intent was palpable, but they had been the ones to provoke first.
“Get out of here.”
“Huh? So you can talk?”
“We thought you couldn’t speak, staying silent like a mute.”
“But why should we leave? You get out.”
Even against the combined pressure of three people, Jeffrey remained unfazed.
“Your tongue’s quite sharp. Are you a snake?”
“What?”
“Being nice doesn’t seem to work with you.”
“This bastard’s insane. Drawing a blade on someone you just met.”
They weren’t entirely wrong.
Drawing steel simply because their approach displeased him was admittedly excessive.
But Jeffrey had a duty to protect Krishi.
“Your intentions toward Krishi are obvious without looking. Leave now. There won’t be another warning.”
“Oh, how terrifying.”
“A prince on a white horse has arrived.”
“So? You’re going to take on all three of us alone?”
“Hey, he’s not alone. Krishi’s here too.”
“Ah, right.”
Even with Krishi’s support, the three showed no concern.
A single healer added little value in combat.
Besides, they held the numerical advantage.
“Go ahead and try.”
“Make the first move.”
*Shing—*
The moment all three drew their swords, Christine panicked.
“P-please, don’t fight. Jeffrey, you need to stop this too.”
“Krishi, step back. These men didn’t approach us with good intentions. They were probably planning to use you and then kill you.”
“Us? What evidence do you have?”
“This is absolutely ridiculous. You’re treating people who came to help you like criminals.”
“Save your delusions for home, old man.”
Though their response was one of exasperation, Jeffrey believed his suspicions were justified.
That was when it happened.
“What’s going on here?”
Another player emerged from the rustling undergrowth.
Christine recognized her face too.
“Dorothy?”
The Archer Dorothy’s eyes darted about as she tried to assess the situation.
“What are you all doing? Why is the atmosphere so tense?”
“Dorothy, what brings you to this place…?”
“Last time, Krishi brought me back to life. I was so grateful that I came to help.”
At those words, the three players locked in confrontation exclaimed in unison.
“See! This woman came to help too.”
“So why are you only drawing swords on us and turning us away at the door?”
“Is this how you treat people who came all this way to help? Huh?”
Now that they mentioned it, their argument made sense.
It was all happening because Jeffrey had become suspicious and hostile out of mere irritation.
Christine was fumbling for words when—
Someone unexpected appeared.
“What’s everyone doing here?”
It was none other than Black Scythe.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————