The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 317

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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 317
317. Test
Min Ju-ri pretended to understand, but Ryu Min offered no response.
“So the person I met back then turned out to be Black Scythe… the world really is small, isn’t it?”
“….”
“But why did you do that? You lied to me and said you were an ordinary person.”
I wondered why she seemed so distracted, but it appeared she’d been curious all along.
About why I had hidden my identity.
“It’s nothing special. I just played a prank since you didn’t know who I was.”
“Then why did you come to the Cafe where I work…?”
“Is there some reason I shouldn’t visit the Cafe?”
“….”
“It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other, so don’t worry about it.”
“I, I see.”
“Now explain yourself to everyone.”
“Yes….”
Though something felt off about the explanation, Min Ju-ri accepted it and turned her attention forward.
“Hello everyone, I’m Buffer Democracy. Since you’re already familiar with my other skills, let me reveal my maxed-out skill first. My maxed-out skill is called [Dual Buff], and it allows buff effects that were previously applied to be applied once more….”
As expected, Min Ju-ri’s maxed-out skill proved to be quite useful.
‘Being able to receive buffs multiple times… that’s broken.’
I wasn’t sure if buffs from other classes would apply, but it was worth testing.
‘The downside is that it can only be used on a single target, but that alone is incredible.’
The same held true for the other classes as well.
From what I heard, there wasn’t a single skill that fell short of expectations.
‘These are skills I’ve never heard of before, but with proper strategy, they could prove invaluable.’
In truth, I didn’t know a single maxed-out skill.
After all, I was the only player who had reached max level and survived through the twentieth round.
That’s why I had asked them for explanations.
To identify the maxed-out skills of other classes and determine if any could be utilized effectively.
‘I’m beginning to see how to construct a strategy.’
Once I finished pondering and everyone had finished their explanations, I spoke.
“Let’s take a break for now. In the meantime, I need to organize these skills and formulate a strategy.”
At my command, everyone dispersed to rest.
But I alone continued to mentally combine the skills I had just heard, formulating strategies.
There were so many skills it was overwhelming to memorize, but my memory was unparalleled, so there was no problem.
Then someone leaned their face toward me from the side.
“Black Scythe.”
It was Seo A-rin.
“Or should I call you The Seer? Or perhaps Ryu Min?”
“Call me whatever feels comfortable. Actress Seo.”
“Just call me Ryu Min. Why the sudden formality?”
“You’re younger than me, after all.”
“You were speaking casually when you were on the podium just now….”
“That was because I was Black Scythe then. Wouldn’t it be strange if Black Scythe suddenly spoke formally?”
“True enough. Hehe.”
Seo A-rin’s eyes crinkled with amusement, but it was fleeting.
Her smile faded as she prepared to broach something serious.
“By the way, Ryu Min. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did something happen between you and Min Ju-ri? She’s been saying strange things.”
“…What kind of things?”
Seo A-rin’s expression was bewildered as she continued.
“She keeps asking who you are, you know?”
“….”
“Even when I told her to stop joking, she genuinely acted like she didn’t know. What’s going on? Did something happen between you two?”
“Ah, well….”
Ryu Min hesitated, looking embarrassed, before speaking quietly.
“We had a bit of a falling out.”
“So she’s pretending not to know because of that?”
“Yes. So please, just go along with it and don’t ask further.”
“Ah… I understand.”
As Seo A-rin nodded and turned away, a dejected voice echoed in her mind.
-Is it a lovers’ quarrel? It feels so bitter.
Though Seo A-rin sighed, the bitterness was far more acute for Ryu Min.
‘If we’d fought, we could reconcile. But now there’s no opportunity for that, is there?’
With Min Ju-ri, reconciliation was impossible—we had truly become strangers.
‘There’s no help for it. For each other’s sake, we can only move forward.’
After shaking my head once, I spotted Victor.
“Ah! Black Scythe.”
“Black Scythe?”
Victor and Sophia’s expressions brightened noticeably upon seeing me.
Having saved them from a Demon previously, I had earned their complete goodwill.
“I wanted to check on the potion’s progress.”
“Ah, you mean the Elixir of Life?”
“Yes.”
“We currently have fifty-one Elixirs of Life in stock. Thanks to you gathering the materials, we’ve been able to produce this many.”
“Thank you. Would it be alright to distribute them among the Players’ Group? There might come a situation where we need to save each other.”
“Of course. Should we give you some as well?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
As Victor nodded and began to retrieve several vials, I waved my hand dismissively.
“Just one, please. I don’t need any more than that.”
Life potions carried the same one-hour cooldown as resurrection.
Having multiple potions didn’t mean I could revive everyone indiscriminately.
Distributing them one per person, as we were doing now, was the optimal approach.
“You also have healing potions and stat-boosting potions, correct? I’d like those distributed to everyone as well.”
“I’ve already prepared plenty with that in mind. Ha!”
Ryu Min smiled in response to Victor and gathered the players together.
Victor then approached and distributed the potions by type, one of each to everyone.
After finalizing the strategy, Ryu Min explained the operation to the group.
“Round 20 will likely be the boss round. Regardless of what boss appears, I’ll engage it first. It’s better to minimize unnecessary casualties that way.”
The players nodded in agreement.
It made sense—having the strongest among them, Black Scythe, probe the boss first would allow them to gauge its power.
“If the boss is weak, it’ll die easily by my hand. But if it’s not? Even if you engage, the chances of you taking significant damage are slim. So it’s best to hold back and focus on defense.”
In other words, stepping forward would only be a burden—stay back.
Bitter smiles crossed the players’ faces.
“Those with ranged capabilities may provide supporting fire from the rear. However, melee classes should refrain from engaging and instead focus on protecting ranged attackers. I’ll explain the tactics I’ve devised one by one from here on….”
The players hung on Ryu Min’s every word, unwilling to miss a single detail.
With the final round ahead, their determination to clear it was fierce.
After explaining for quite some time, the briefing concluded.
“…That covers my explanation. Everyone, memorize the operation thoroughly. If you have any questions, consult Um Jun-seok. Now, let’s disperse before nightfall.”
As I descended from the platform, I spotted two people among the dispersing crowd.
“Yamtti. John Delgado. You two stay behind for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Only after the others had left did I speak.
“Yamtti. Your maxed-out skill was boss-tier taming, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Explain it in detail. What does the description say?”
“It says I can tame boss-tier monsters. But it also states that anything beyond a certain level is impossible.”
“And you don’t know what that certain level is?”
“No.”
If she could truly tame boss-tier creatures, that would be invaluable.
It would be equivalent to gaining an additional player.
‘The question is how strong a boss she can actually tame.’
We needed to test this.
“You two are coming with me somewhere.”
“Huh? Where are we going?”
A slight smile tugged at my lips.
“The Demon Realm.”

* * *
Three figures materialized within the silent Demon King’s Castle.
“Ah!”
“….”
Yamtti and John Delgado had been whisked away to a different dimension in an instant, but their shock stemmed from an entirely different cause.
[You have abandoned your position during an active round.]
[If you do not return to the round’s location within one hour, your player status will be revoked.]
[Time remaining before status revocation: 00:59:59]
It was the ominous warning message that seized their attention.
‘So the message appears not only when I’m in the Other World, but also when I leave reality itself.’
It seemed that such messages displayed whenever a player crossed dimensional boundaries.
‘This is absurd—I’m like a prisoner on parole….’
Fresh indignation surged through me at being shackled no matter where I went, but the other two had no mental space for such grievances.
“M-master, a strange message appeared.”
“It says if we don’t return within an hour, our status will be revoked….”
“I know. I’m seeing the same message.”
“What happens if our status is revoked?”
“Your player abilities disappear, and you can escape the Survival Game.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“In exchange, you’d have to live in the Demon Realm. Could you manage that?”
At those words, both of them fell silent as if by mutual agreement.
Then a thought flickered through Yamtti’s mind.
“Wait! I just realized—there’s a way! If you take me back to reality after my status is revoked, master, then we could save so many people from the Survival Game….”
“You think I haven’t considered that? I’d like to, but ordinary people can’t warp alongside me. Their bodies would shatter the moment they attempted it.”
“Ah….”
Watching Yamtti’s disappointment, I didn’t voice it, but she clearly harbored a desperate desire to escape the Survival Game.
“By the way, why did you bring us to the Demon Realm….”
“I have something to test.”
With that, Ryu Min stood motionless, eyes closed.
He was contacting the high-ranking nobility, though the two others could only stare in bewilderment, unaware of his actions.
“They’ll arrive soon.”
“Pardon? Who’s coming….”
In that instant, the Demon Nobility began materializing one by one through portals.
From Sitri in first rank to Bifrons in tenth, a total of ten high-ranking demons had arrived.
“Let me introduce them. These are my subordinates.”
[You have summoned us, Your Majesty!]
As the demons knelt in unison, bowing their heads, Yamtti and John Delgado’s jaws dropped open.
They had heard that their master had become the ruler of the Demon Realm, but witnessing the actual deference shown to him made it feel real.
“That’s enough. Raise your heads.”
Ryu Min waved his hand dismissively, as if burdened by the attention, and commanded the demons who lifted their gazes.
“Everyone line up to the side. No, not that way—over here.”
I gestured toward the demons arranged in a single file and spoke to Yamtti.
“Now, try taming one of these creatures.”
“Pardon? Taming?”
“You said you could tame boss-tier monsters.”
“But the skill description says it only works on monsters….”
“You never know. It might work on these too.”
In my eyes, there was little difference between monsters and demons.
The only distinction was whether they possessed intelligence or not.
“Taming demons… Are you planning to use them as summons?”
“Yeah.”
“But you’re the Demon King anyway. Couldn’t you just warp them over?”
“That’s the problem—it doesn’t work.”
I had already attempted to warp with demons in tow.
If it were possible, I would have used them as full combat strength against the Round 20 boss.
But the only demon I could bring with me was Sitri, ranked first in the Demon Realm’s hierarchy.
“You saw Sitri in Round 19, right? He’s the only one I could bring to the Other World. The others wouldn’t work.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s a rule of the Demon Realm—only the top-ranked demon can transcend dimensional travel restrictions.”
“But the other demons crossed over just fine before.”
Yamtti was referring to when Phlunikthos and the other demons invaded during Round 19.
‘That was only possible because Artaros opened an unauthorized route for them. Now that it’s sealed, crossing over is impossible.’
There was no need to explain that fact outright.
“It was possible then, but not anymore. Just accept it as is.”
“I see….”
“So I’d like you to try—see if you can tame the demons besides Sitri.”
If it worked, I could deploy the Demon Tribe as full combat strength.

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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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