The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 321

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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 321
321. A Predetermined Defeat
Craaaaaack—!
Karmyugas’s head was cleaved clean in two from the skull down.
“Huh?”
Even Ryu Min, who had unleashed the attack, was shocked by how anticlimactic the death was.
Thud—Boom!
The moment Ryu Min landed, the dragon’s massive body toppled sideways.
‘Did it really die that easily?’
Even for a boss, I never imagined it would fall to a single basic attack.
Perhaps because of this, messages appeared before my eyes, yet my expression remained utterly vacant.
[Experience +10,000,000]
[Accumulated experience has exceeded 100,000.]
[Experience converts to 100 Stat Points.]
[Level Up!]
I defeated one boss and reached level 111.
Or rather, I defeated one dragon—hardly worthy of being called a boss.
‘I knew my damage output was formidable, but I never expected a single basic attack to be fatal.’
I stared at Karmyugas’s disappearing corpse with an incredulous expression.
The other players shared the same bewildered look.
“Is it really dead? In just one hit?”
“Haha… so the boss wasn’t as impressive as we thought?”
“All the tension just evaporated.”
After preparing various strategies to face the boss, the result was disappointingly anticlimactic.
“Black Scythe, thank you for your hard work! Though it was so easy I’m almost embarrassed to call it hard work, haha…”
“We finally cleared Round 20! Everyone, get ready to make your wishes!”
“Oh man, I haven’t thought about what to wish for… what should I ask for?”
“Ask to become rich like me. To become a billionaire surpassing Bill Gates.”
“I’m going to wish for eternal life for me and my entire family. So we can live forever without illness and in happiness.”
“Oh? That overlaps with mine. I was thinking of the same wish.”
“What happens if wishes overlap?”
“Maybe it grants both?”
“Then what if we all wish for eternal life together?”
“Hahaha! That sounds wonderful!”
The others were engaged in cheerful deliberation, but my expression remained grim.
‘No. This can’t be the end.’
The experience I received confirmed that I had indeed defeated Karmyugas.
Yet something felt off—hollow, even.
As I maintained my vigilance, Min Ju-ri approached me.
“Thank you for your hard work, Black Scythe.”
“….”
“Black Scythe?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Is something wrong? You don’t look well….”
“It’s not over yet.”
“What? It’s not over?”
“The completion message hasn’t appeared.”
Upon hearing my words, the players’ voices began to fade.
“Huh? Now that you mention it, why hasn’t the round completion message appeared?”
“We defeated the boss, so shouldn’t Round 20 be over?”
“Doesn’t the round end immediately after defeating the boss?”
“Something feels off.”
“Angel! Come out quickly! We’ve cleared Round 20!”
Despite the players’ calls, Angel did not appear.
Only then did they sense something amiss, and the players grew tense as they glanced around nervously.
“Black Scythe. What is this….”
“Wait.”
I raised my hand, sensing a change.
In that moment.
Whoosh—
Every torch that had been burning was extinguished all at once.
As darkness descended in an instant, the players panicked.
But there was something even more unsettling than that.
Light.
A pure white radiance emanating from the darkness.
With that light came the appearance of a being.
Flutter—
The being that emerged, spreading vast wings, was none other than an angel.
An angel with the most beautiful and enormous wings I had ever seen.
Artaros.
He had revealed himself.
“We called for an angel and one actually appeared?”
“But this isn’t the angel we saw before—it’s a different one.”
“Is this the angel who grants rewards?”
The murmuring players couldn’t tear their eyes away from the angel’s wondrous form, which radiated light of its own.
Some even wore expressions of rapture.
While some believed this was the reward-granting angel and brimmed with anticipation, only I, who knew who this being truly was, could regard him with cold eyes.
‘So he’s finally appeared. Artaros.’
I had anticipated he would emerge before Round 20 ended.
Therefore, this was hardly a surprise.
‘I thought we might meet in the Boss Room, but here you are.’
This opponent was the only one who had ever pushed me to my limits, with stats exceeding hundreds of millions.
Though I should have been tense, I felt oddly reassured instead.
It was like finally encountering a problem I’d obsessively studied.
‘I would’ve been disappointed if you hadn’t shown up.’
All the strategies my teammates and I had devised in reality were preparations for a final confrontation with Artaros.
Since he was someone who had once targeted me, I’d anticipated we would inevitably meet.
‘This works out perfectly. If I can’t avoid this opponent anyway, I should finish things decisively this time.’
Despite struggling somewhat in our last fight, I was confident I wouldn’t lose.
I’d grown incomparably stronger than before, and I was receiving buffs from my allies simultaneously.
Particularly thanks to Min Ju-ri’s maxed-out skill, ‘Double Buff,’ which was active on me, allowing the Blessing’s effects to stack.
‘In other words, my stats have increased fourfold from just one Blessing.’
If his power remained unchanged, he wouldn’t be able to touch even a hair on my head.
[So we meet again, mortal Black Scythe.]
At Artaros’s words, everyone turned to look at me.
“Do you two know each other? Black Scythe?”
“Yeah. I’ve fought this bastard before.”
I kept my gaze fixed on Artaros as I spoke.
“What brings you here?”
[What brings me? I’ve come to annihilate every last one of you humans.]
The players’ expressions hardened at the word annihilate.
Some realized they were facing an enemy and their killing intent flared.
[How amusing. Insects raising their blades without even knowing who they face.]
“And which insect got thoroughly crushed by these insects?”
Artaros showed no reaction to my mockery.
He simply stared with emotionless eyes.
[I acknowledge your strength, Black Scythe. Your skill is impressive, but I was genuinely surprised to see you walking around intact after I thought I’d erased those memories. It seems you possess far more abilities than I initially assessed.]
“So you studied harder this time? Come back for revenge?”
[Revenge is a luxury I cannot afford. Harboring such petty emotions toward an opponent is as meaningless as it gets.]
“Then why interfere with us? Weren’t you supposed to hire human mercenaries to win the Heavenly Demon War? If we don’t pass Round 20, we can’t help you, and the gods who bet on the Celestial Tribe will lose their wagers.”
[The war no longer concerns me. A higher power wishes to annihilate you and every human here, overturning the entire game.]
“….”
[I move only for that reason. I harbor no personal feelings or grievances toward you. Honestly, whether you humans live or die is irrelevant to me. However….]
“You’re simply following orders from this higher power?”
[Correct.]
“And the one giving those orders is that bastard, the Primordial God?”
Artaros’s eyebrows twitched slightly, his expression finally showing a crack.
[Your tone is grating. You are not one to speak so carelessly of that being.]
“Speak carelessly? The Primordial God is nothing but garbage, a worthless divine bastard.”
Insulting his superior was certainly effective.
Artaros, who had claimed to be emotionless, displayed an anger I had never seen from him before.
[You provoke me and expect no consequences?]
“That’s not something a creature who’s died thirty times should be saying, is it?”
[I acknowledge that I was overpowered in strength. But don’t delude yourself into thinking I fear you. I retreated back then because I judged that your memories had been erased. I didn’t flee in terror.]
“I know. You’re an undying being. But you can’t force me to my knees through strength either, can you?”
We were equals—neither able to kill the other.
That was the relationship between Black Scythe and Artaros.
But Artaros smiled.
He hadn’t appeared without a plan.
[Still, I can bind the feet of you and these humans here.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Why do you think Round 20 hasn’t ended?]
Ryu Min read Artaros’s thoughts and furrowed his brow.
“Don’t tell me….”
[With the aid of the Primordial God, the Round 20 boss has been changed to me. Not some pathetic Red Dragon that died in a single hit moments ago.]
“That means….”
Artaros wore a triumphant smile.
[Exactly. You must kill me to clear the round. But can you? Can you kill me when I resurrect infinitely, no matter how many times you slay me?]
“….”
I had to kill Artaros, cursed with immortality, to clear the round?
It was impossible.
Just as he said, it was the perfect way to shackle my feet.
[You can’t clear by killing me, and even if I do nothing, when the time limit expires, the rules will dissolve you all. Your defeat is already assured.]
Ryu Min nodded and accepted it without resistance.
“You’re right. But.”
*Click—*
As I leveled my scythe, Artaros’s eyes shifted subtly.
“I have to try everything I can.”
[How foolish. Mortal, you charge forward despite knowing the path is a dead end.]
“Isn’t that exactly why I have to try everything? Because there’s no way out?”
[That’s precisely why you’re foolish, human. No matter how much you struggle, the result won’t chang….]
Before he could finish, Artaros’s head fell.
*Thud—*
The players who had been tense at the boss’s death widened their eyes in shock.
“D-did you kill him?”
“W-we won! Black Scythe won!”
“Not yet!”
At my shout, the cheering crowd turned with confused expressions.
“Don’t celebrate yet. Look over there.”
“Huh?”
Everyone who turned their gaze fell silent, holding their breath.
Grotesquely, Artaros’s severed neck was reattaching itself to his body.
“That creature is immortal. No matter how many times you kill it, it just keeps coming back.”
“What? Im, immortal?”
“Then, then how do we kill it?”
“You idiot! It’s immortal, so we can’t kill it!”
“This is insane. They said defeat was inevitable, but this is what they meant?”
Ryu Min shouted once more toward the panicking crowd.
“Don’t panic! Calm yourselves and maintain your focus! If you keep your wits about you, a path will emerge.”
[What path are you talking about?]
Fully revived, Artaros let out a faint, mocking chuckle.
[If you can’t kill me, you can’t pass the round—so what exactly do you think you’ll accomplish?]
“That doesn’t mean we can simply stand idle.”
[You’d suffer far less if you did. But I have no intention of staying still either.]
“Is that so?”
Ryu Min pulled the corners of his mouth upward in a smile.
“Then let’s see what you’ve got.”

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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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