The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 313

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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 313
313. Donation
‘As expected, she’s shocked.’
I had anticipated Min Ju-ri’s reaction to this revelation.
After all, the rune of foresight had shown me her response seven seconds from now.
‘Still, I had no choice but to tell her. The evidence was far too clear. Besides, if I want to obtain the rune in reality, I have to reveal myself anyway.’
There are five runes I can obtain in reality.
I’ve already secured four of them.
The final rune on my list of eighteen essential runes—I had planned to obtain it in reality once the nineteenth round concludes.
‘To get that rune, I have no choice but to reveal my identity.’
That’s why I disclosed it despite knowing Min Ju-ri would be shocked.
The problem was that her shock ran deeper than I had anticipated.
“Black Scythe? You’re… my friend is Black Scythe…?”
After muttering to herself for a long moment, Min Ju-ri lifted her gaze and met my eyes.
Her look was filled with betrayal and contempt.
I didn’t avoid her stare.
I had no right to.
“You must have had fun. Pretending to be someone else.”
“…”
“Does deceiving people feel good? Does playing with someone’s heart amuse you?”
“I’m sorry. I had to do it to protect those around me. Please understand.”
“Protect? From whom?”
“From people targeting Black Scythe. Though they’re all dealt with now.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re only telling me now? Because you’ve deceived me as much as you could, and you’re afraid I’ll find out anyway?”
“…”
Because I could read Min Ju-ri’s true feelings, I knew the truth.
Beneath her words, she was suffering deeply.
Her accusations were nothing more than the complaints of a wounded child.
She understood this herself.
Yet she couldn’t stop blaming me.
Otherwise, she couldn’t protect herself from the emotional shock she’d received.
“You could have revealed your identity to me earlier.”
“I haven’t even told my younger brother. And as I said, keeping my identity hidden was the safest option for everyone involved.”
“I understand that, but… why do I feel so betrayed?”
“…”
“I never dreamed you were Black Scythe. I thought you were a completely different person…”
Min Ju-ri let out a long sigh and rose from her seat without even touching her coffee.
“I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home. I need time to sort through my thoughts. So…”
Min Ju-ri glanced at me coldly before turning away with deliberate finality.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t contact me first.”
With only those words, Min Ju-ri vanished.
The silent Cafe held nothing but my sigh.
‘Sigh… I knew it would come to this, but experiencing it firsthand leaves a bitter taste.’
I understand Min Ju-ri’s feelings.
Two people she’d believed were different had been revealed as one.
Her trust and convictions had shattered into fragments.
‘The greater the trust, the deeper the betrayal cuts.’
Seo A-rin, Christine, and Ryu Won had learned my true identity, but none of them were shocked to this degree.
‘Perhaps it’s inevitable? Min Ju-ri has harbored unrequited feelings for me for three or four years.’
Her image of the real Ryu Min had solidified as firmly as her affection for him.
But today, that image shattered completely.
Min Ju-ri valued trust between people above all else, so the emotional blow would cut deeper still.
‘Should I have told her sooner? Or when she joked about it before, should I have pressed forward seriously with evidence instead?’
Perhaps that would have softened the shock.
‘Or should I have come clean earlier, as Min Ju-ri suggested?’
I don’t know which choice would have been better, but it doesn’t matter now.
The milk has already spilled.
It’s too late to gather it back up.
‘At least denying it outright would have been worse. The longer I drag this out, the more excuses pile up and the situation deteriorates.’
I could hide it no longer.
The truth had to surface if I was to obtain the final Rune.
‘Organizing my thoughts might help.’
As she said, Min Ju-ri needs time.
If enough time passes for her to accept the truth, perhaps we can return to laughing together as before.
‘For now, let me focus on planning how to obtain the Rune.’
I sat alone, sipping my coffee, and gazed across the table.
She’d left without taking a single sip.
‘It feels wasteful to throw it away…’
Someone really ought to drink this caramel macchiato.

* * *
“Big brother?”
Ryu Won pushed open the cafe door and stepped inside.
“Why did you ask me to come here? Couldn’t you have just talked at home?”
“There’s something important I need to discuss.”
“Something important?”
“Just sit down for now.”
Ryu Won took a seat and glanced at the coffee waiting in front of him.
“You already ordered for me?”
“Yeah. You like caramel macchiatos, right?”
“I do.”
“Good.”
Speaking matter-of-factly, I dropped a bombshell on my younger brother as he sipped his coffee.
“I’m going to reveal my identity.”
“Cough! W-what did you just say?”
He nearly spat out his coffee.
“I’m going to reveal myself publicly. That I’m Black Scythe.”
“W-what are you talking about? You mean you’re taking off the mask?”
“I’m taking off the mask, and I’m going to reveal everything—that my name is Ryu Min.”
“Why? Why would you do that?”
My younger brother’s eyes conveyed the question of why I would deliberately invite trouble by exposing myself.
‘I know. I understand, but…’
To claim the final rune available in reality, I had to let go of everything.
“I want to reveal my identity and make some donations under my own name.”
“Donations? Out of nowhere?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to donate everything except for what I need to live on.”
I currently had over a trillion won in cash after selling my stocks.
“A hundred billion should be enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
“You’re donating everything except a hundred billion?”
“Yeah.”
Ryu Won’s expression grew increasingly shocked.
It made sense—he was hearing that I planned to donate 99% of my wealth.
“A-are you serious, big brother?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“Why suddenly donate…?”
“Who knows what will happen next? I don’t even know if I’ll make it back alive from the twentieth round.”
Ryu Won had to be shocked all over again.
The legendary Black Scythe, speaking with such a lack of confidence.
Of course, he didn’t know it was all just an excuse to obtain the rune.
“Why are you making me anxious with talk like that? You’re a returner, so you should already know information about the twentieth round.”
“I don’t know much about the 20th Round. I’ve only been there once myself.”
“So that means I could fail…?”
“Probably.”
Perhaps because my words lacked conviction,
Ryu Won felt an unfamiliar sense of unease for the first time.
“If anything happens to me, I’ll make arrangements for my assets to go to you. So don’t worry about money….”
“How can you say that?”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about money? Do I look like I’m worried about money right now?”
Ryu Won’s eyes were filled with concern.
But it was never concern about money.
It was concern for his brother—his only blood relative, his family, his patriarch, his father figure.
“My brother might die, and you’re talking about money?!”
“Hey, don’t exaggerate. Who said anything about dying? Do I look like someone who’s going to die?”
Ryu Won shook his head.
Black Scythe, whom even the Angels trembled before, couldn’t possibly die in the 20th Round.
“If I was going to give up, I wouldn’t have returned a hundred times. I’ll survive. I have to survive….”
Ryu Min smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry too much. Understood?”
“Then stop talking about passing your assets to me.”
“Even so, I need to do it. It’s a kind of insurance, you could say? You never know what might happen in life.”
Even I don’t know how it will turn out.
Because I don’t know how strong the 20th Round boss is.
Reading the minds of Phlunikthos and Artaros yielded the same result.
‘It’s as if something is blocking me. I couldn’t obtain any information about the Round at all.’
That’s why I can’t guarantee I’ll clear the 20th Round.
After all, I’ve only experienced it once.
And I even dissipated before the boss room.
‘So I need to do my best. To obtain even one more Rune.’
Donating 99% of my assets was preparation for that.
“Let’s go once you’re done eating.”
“Yeah….”
Only Ryu Won, unaware of this fact, could only struggle to suppress his lingering unease.

* * *
Click, click, click—
As Ryu Min ascended the podium, camera flashes erupted in a blinding cascade.
Black Scythe, basking in the global spotlight, had arrived at the press conference.
Wearing his customary white mask, as always.
“Good day. I am Black Scythe.”
Click, click, click, click, click—
Despite offering merely a simple greeting, the flashes detonated relentlessly.
It was hardly surprising—the world’s most influential figure, hailed as a living legend, stood before them in the flesh.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
“I’m certain you’ve all heard why I’ve called this press conference.”
I would reveal my identity.
Having announced this beforehand, the press conference hall was more crowded than ever.
The chance to finally glimpse Black Scythe’s face, shrouded in mystery all this time.
How could anyone possibly miss such an exclusive?
“I know you’re all eager. Allow me to show you immediately.”
Ryu Min removed the white mask without hesitation.
Beneath it lay the bronzed visage of Lost Yak.
-Whoa, so that’s Black Scythe’s face.
-Looks pretty masculine.
-Annoyingly handsome, isn’t he?
Amid the barrage of flashes, I could hear the unspoken thoughts of the crowd.
Several female journalists flushed crimson.
Yet what Ryu Min intended to reveal extended far beyond Lost Yak’s face.
“You may recognize this as my face, but I have another—my true one.”
“Your true face?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Rather than answer, Ryu Min transformed.
His physique remained unchanged, but his bronzed skin paled to ivory, and his hairstyle became neat and refined.
His facial features shifted dramatically from a bold, masculine aesthetic to something far more delicate and refined.
“Gasp!”
“What, what is this!”
The press conference hall erupted into murmurs.
It was only natural to be astonished—he’d transformed before their very eyes.
“My name is Ryu Min. I’m twenty years old, and this is my true form. As you’ve witnessed, I possess the ability to alter my appearance.”
Some journalists sat stunned, unable to process the unexpected ability, while others typed frantically into their notebooks like possessed beings.
This was an exclusive worthy of dominating every major portal site’s headlines.
“I’m sure you’re all quite shocked. Not only have I revealed my identity unexpectedly, but I’ve also demonstrated an ability to transform my appearance.”
The journalists nodded in agreement.
Even a celebrity’s coming-out wouldn’t generate this magnitude of impact.
“And I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve hidden my identity until now, only to reveal it today.”
I was curious too.
With that sentiment, everyone’s attention fixed on Black Scythe’s words.
Ryu Min, who had been building suspense while surveying the crowd, finally spoke.
“Because I cannot guarantee whether I will return alive from the next round. So I’ve made a decision—to reveal my identity and make a donation.”
“A donation?”
The murmuring swelled once more.
When Ryu Min raised his hand, the noise subsided.
Yet his gesture to silence them proved futile.
“I, Ryu Min, have decided to return 990 billion won of my accumulated wealth to society.”
The murmuring erupted alongside a barrage of camera flashes.

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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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