The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 328

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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 328
328. The End of Round 20
Ryu Min’s reason for reviving Sophia was straightforward.
Among the dead, her body was the most intact.
Everyone else had been slaughtered so brutally that resurrection would be impossible.
‘I have to save whoever I can. There’s no other choice.’
Chaos had declared he would attack the moment my invincibility ended, but I didn’t know that.
If luck favored me, the round might end before then, wouldn’t it?
‘If that happens, Chaos will be expelled by the system, and the people I’ve revived can survive.’
That’s why Ryu Min had to use his last life potion immediately.
If the round ended even a moment later, he’d lose the chance to save one more person.
‘I have to revive them before it’s too late.’
Ryu Min rushed to the first person that came to mind and used the life potion without even checking the corpse’s condition.
Fortunately, since the body wasn’t damaged more than 30%, the potion took effect.
“Ugh…”
“Min Ju-ri! Are you awake?”
“Ryu…Min?”
Ryu Min’s body trembled at the familiar tone of voice.
‘Her memories… they’ve returned?’
Min Ju-ri, whose memories had been erased, would never refer to him by a single syllable.
She would call him Ryu Min or Black Scythe.
“Min, sob, sob… I’m sorry.”
“…”
The first thing she says upon recovering her memories is an apology.
While Ryu Min stood there unsure what to say, Christine used the resurrection skill she’d been saving to bring Sophia back to life.
Shaaaa—
Sophia’s pierced heart mended, and her eyelids fluttered open as if waking from sleep.
“Mm. Krishi?”
“Huh?”
Once Christine completed the command and her control was released, she regained her senses belatedly.
Then the two of them looked at Ryu Min as if they’d made a promise.
As if asking him to explain what was happening.
But there was no time for that now.
His invincibility was about to wear off.
‘Please, just end already…!’
Ryu Min hoped the round would end before Chaos could attack, but his hopes crumbled without mercy.
The moment the golden invincibility effect protecting Ryu Min’s body vanished, Chaos opened four rifts in space.
[It seems your luck ends here.]
Crimson spears materialized from the four rifts.
Spears aimed at Ryu Min, Min Ju-ri, Christine, and Sophia.
At that moment, Chaos’s eye began to grow hazy.
The System’s rules were pushing him out.
[It’s a shame I won’t see you die, but I have no regrets. My purpose is fulfilled…]
His voice, fading like an echo, vanished completely along with Chaos’s eye.
He had been forcibly ejected by the Round’s termination system.
But the four spears targeting the players did not disappear.
‘This is bad. I can’t think of any way to stop them.’
In moments, the spears of instant death left behind by Chaos would claim the lives of Ryu Min and three others in a single stroke.
If even one of the four had possessed a potion of life, there might have been a way, but they had all been used.
“Sophia!”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t used your Sacrifice skill yet, have you?”
Ryu Min shouted before Sophia could even nod, having read her thoughts.
“Use it to protect Krishi or Democracy! I’m sorry, but this is the only way to save even one more person!”
“What about you, Black Scythe?”
“Don’t worry about me!”
There was truly no need to worry.
I possessed a title that served as my ultimate refuge.
‘I can be reborn through my title—the Last Hour Reverser.’
My judgment was swift, but fate could not be evaded.
Screeeeeech!
The spears plunged down, and almost simultaneously.
Thud—thud—thud!
A sickening sound echoed through the air.
The sound of three people being pierced by spears.
“Ah…”
Ryu Min stared at Sophia with an expression of incomprehension.
“Why… why did you…”
Sophia, who had taken the full damage meant for Ryu Min with her Sacrifice skill, offered a faint smile before her head drooped.
-I’ve repaid my debt.
I heard her thoughts just before death, so I understood what was in her heart.
She had chosen to sacrifice herself in repayment for when I had saved her before.
But Ryu Min felt no gratitude.
“I told you I was fine, so save someone else…”
Even if left alone, I could have lived through my title.
If she had saved Christine or Min Ju-ri, at least one more person could have lived.
“Black Scythe…”
“Min…”
Turning at the faint voices, I saw Christine and Min Ju-ri dying.
I tried to move toward them, thinking perhaps I could save them, but in that moment, my breath stopped.
Both of them were dead.
‘If I hadn’t used the Potion of Life….’
I regretted it.
I hadn’t brought people all the way to Round 20 for an ending like this….
How had it come to this?
‘The tower I’d painstakingly built crumbled in an instant. Everyone who stood with me died the moment Chaos appeared.’
Drip—
I’d bitten my lip so hard that blood trickled down.
Everyone except me was dead.
As if to etch this horrific scene into memory, Ryu Min swept his gaze across the surroundings.
With each face of his cherished companions, his fists trembled with rage.
Then, a belated irritating message appeared.
[Round 20 has ended.]
[Tallying results.]
“You bastard! Are you messing with me? Who ends a round this late!”
Ryu Min vented his frustration at the empty air.
If the round had ended sooner, these people wouldn’t have died like this.
Regardless, the message simply displayed the system results on his retina according to procedure.
★ Round 20 Results Tally ★
[Integrated Zone CA-EA001]
└1st Place. Black Scythe (Lv111 Reaper) Contribution: 291,001,920 points
└2nd Place. None
└3rd Place. None
[Round 20 rankings are determined by contribution to Boss elimination.]
[Congratulations! You have achieved the Quest as 1st place in this zone!]
[Your current ranking in this zone is 1st place.]
[As a reward for 1st place ranking in this zone, ‘Refined Ether’ has been awarded!]
[As a reward for 1st place ranking in this zone, ‘Special Reward Selection Box’ has been awarded!]
“Damn it, I don’t need this anymore!”
Ryu Min shouted, but the system relentlessly continued its proclamation.
[Only 1 person, ‘Black Scythe’, has completed Round 20.]
[Congratulations. You have been granted the right to challenge the Final Round.]
[Only by completing the Final Round’s mission can you reach the ‘Wish Stone’ that grants your desires.]
‘Final Round?’
I already knew Round 20 wasn’t the end.
I’d heard from Michael that the 7th Heavenly Demon War would take place at the end, and I would participate as a Mercenary.
‘Am I supposed to participate alone? What about my comrades?’
My hope of standing together with my comrades had already shattered into pieces.
Just as my spirit was about to break.
A sudden gleam flashed across Ryu Min’s eyes.
‘At this point, I must claim the Wish Stone. I absolutely must!’
◀ ROUND 20 ENDED ▶
[Integrated Zone CA-EA001]
└Survivors: 1
[Your soul will soon transfer to your original body in your home dimension.]
[The Final Round will commence at midnight on September 1st, 2023. We shall meet again in the next round. Congratulations on your survival.]

* * *
It had been one year and seven months since the Survival Game began.
By now, everyone knew that players fell into a catatonic state on the first of every month—the term had become commonplace.
Perhaps that was why.
The anonymous community dedicated to discussing players, the Player Gallery, remained quiet most days but erupted into activity on the first of each month.
It was the day when players’ fates were decided.
└We’ve finally entered the last round.
└That’s right. Hang in there, players.
└I don’t know what Round 20’s mission was, but I hope everyone made it back safely.
└All 72 players, fighting!
Just before midnight, the forum overflowed with messages of encouragement from ordinary citizens.
Yet within thirty minutes, anxious posts began appearing.
└Is my younger brother doing okay in the final round?
└Check if he’s breathing.
└Thank goodness, he’s still breathing.
└Then he hasn’t vanished yet, so don’t worry.
└How long will this round take?
└Who knows. The last round was 72 hours, so maybe a week this time?
└That long?
└Then does my brother have to lie in bed for a week without being able to eat? ㅠㅠ
└It probably won’t be that bad.
└I’m a 52-year-old father running a Convenience Store. I just hope our daughter comes back soon….
└She’ll come back. I pray every night for everyone’s safety.
└Don’t worry and get some rest, sir.
With no information about the round and no way to know what was happening, families and friends could only feel anxious.
All they could do was stay awake through the night, desperately hoping the players would return alive.
Ryu Won felt the same way.
“Hyung… come back soon.”
As always, he waited by the bedside, hoping his older brother would open his eyes.
But about an hour and ten minutes later, the community erupted in panic.
└For those with player family members, please check right now. My younger brother isn’t breathing—is this normal? Is this supposed to happen?
└Wait, not breathing? Doesn’t that mean they’ve vanished….
└That means they’re dead….;;;
└Ah… this is bad.
└My condolences to the deceased….
└Ah… … What should I do? I checked my brother too, but he isn’t breathing. ㅠㅠ
└Did everyone die?
└My daughter is still breathing though?
└Everyone check right now!!!
“D-death casualties already?”
Ryu Won panicked upon seeing the posts flooding in, hastily placing his hand near his brother’s nose.
Fortunately, he was still breathing.
Just to be safe, he pressed his ear against his brother’s chest and heard his heartbeat clearly.
“Phew, thank goodness….”
Ryu Won exhaled deeply, his face aged by a decade, before turning his attention back to his phone.
Chaos had erupted at the crack of dawn.
The community was ablaze with the sudden emergence of casualties.
└So many players have died….
└What on earth is happening?
└The round hasn’t ended already, has it?
└No. My daughter is still breathing, but she hasn’t woken up from sleep yet.
└It’s not over, right? Even if they die, they can come back to life, right?
└That should be possible. There are resurrection skills and they said they brought potions, so please don’t worry too much.
└Please let my brother breathe again….
The more worried posts he read, the greater Ryu Won’s anxiety became.
Never before had casualties increased this rapidly in a round, and this wasn’t even the final round, was it?
No matter how strong his brother was, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t face an opponent he couldn’t defeat.
‘Please… please, brother. Come back alive.’
Ryu Won’s prayer, offered with closed eyes, was finally answered.
An hour and twenty minutes had passed.
When Ryu Min’s eyelids slowly opened.
“B-brother!”
Ryu Min, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, finally turned his gaze.
“You weren’t sleeping?”
“Brooooother!”
Ryu Won threw himself into his brother’s arms and wept like a three-year-old child.
“I thought you really died! Waaaahhh!”
“Who said I died?”
Ryu Min spoke casually, patting his brother’s back before sitting up.
Had he noticed something odd in his brother’s voice and expression?
Ryu Won wiped his tears and asked with a serious face.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“….”
“What about the others? How many survived?”
Though I didn’t answer, Ryu Won could read the truth from my expression.
Countless people had failed to pass the final round.
“No… surely not…”
“Yes.”
Ryu Min spoke with a tone of lament.
“I’m the only one who made it out alive.”
“…What? Is that… really true?”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
As I let out a sigh, Ryu Won finally realized this was no joke.
“So… Arin, Ju-ri, Yamtti… they all…?”
“All dead. Every single one of them.”
Ryu Won’s mouth slowly fell open.
The fact that his brother was the sole survivor of Round 20.

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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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