The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 340

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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 340
340. The 101st Return (4)
Four days later, 2:40 AM.
Ryu Min rose from the bed where he’d been lying, passing the hours.
It was a time when everyone slept, but he had work to do.
‘I’m going to kill Nyx.’
Since he’d already told his Younger Brother, there was no need for farewells.
The moment Ryu Min arrived in the Demon Realm, he waited like a hunter who had set his trap, anticipating Nyx’s appearance.
‘She said she’d show up between 3 and 6 AM, right?’
As he waited, Nyx would come looking, puzzled by Phlunikthos’s absence.
‘According to Rubahi, she’s a Divine Being ranked just below Chaos, isn’t she?’
Technically on the level of Artaros, but Rubahi had said there was nothing to worry about.
After all, Chaos’s weapon was designed to defeat every Divine Being except Chaos himself.
‘The more I think about it, the worse it feels. Being treated like nothing but a weapon.’
Whether it was Gaia’s messenger or a plaything, he hated hearing it all, but to kill Chaos, he had to cooperate with Gaia.
There was no choice, even if he despised it.
‘I’ll end this quickly, taking advantage of the surprise attack.’
Prepared to use Moonlight Island if necessary, Ryu Min concealed himself in the darkness.
By around 4 AM.
Tap—tap—
Nyx, the Goddess of Night, appeared at the Demon King’s Castle.
[Hmm, the gatekeeper is here, so he should be in the castle, but why is he avoiding my contact?]
Nyx, muttering with a snort, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
[A human in the Demon King’s Castle… Ha! Is this how you treat your guests?]
In an instant, the whites of Nyx’s eyes turned black, and the darkness around her began to move.
‘Damn! I’ve been discovered!’
Ryu Min tried to flee, but it was already too late to escape the darkness.
Screeeech—!
As the darkness constricted around his entire body, he couldn’t move an inch.
Hiding in the darkness had become his poison instead.
Whoosh—
With a flick of Nyx’s finger, Ryu Min, caught in the darkness, was dragged forward like a criminal.
[What a foolish human. I am the Goddess of Night. Did you really think I wouldn’t find you hiding in the darkness?]
Nyx glared at Ryu Min with a deliberately menacing gaze.
[Speak. Why were you trying to ambush me? Did Phlunikthos order you to?]
“….”
[You won’t answer?]
Screeeech—
The darkness burrowed into Ryu Min’s body, squeezing with crushing force.
[Will twisting your limbs bring you to your senses? Who sent you? Who are you working for?]
“….”
[Still keeping your mouth shut? Ha! I see your life means nothing to you!]
Crack-crack-crack-!
My arms and legs twisted in grotesque directions.
Yet I didn’t scream once.
Nyx couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
[Ho, impressive for a mere human. To endure the agony of limbs contorting.]
“I didn’t endure it.”
The answer came not from ahead, but from behind.
At the same moment, the human she’d been holding vanished like a mirage.
‘A, a clone?’
Nyx’s head snapped around in alarm, but—
Shing—
The cold touch of steel against her neck froze her in place.
“Move and you die.”
[A mere human threatening me….]
Nyx flinched mid-shout.
A sharp sting accompanied crimson blood trickling down below her neck.
‘H, how can a mere human wound me?’
Ryu Min answered Nyx’s unspoken question.
“Surprised a lowly human can hurt you? But despite appearances, I’m no longer human.”
[Y, you don’t mean you’ve become a Divine Being?]
“Probably. Blood of the same color flows through us both, after all.”
Nyx had no choice but to believe it.
The pain at her neck was proof enough.
[C, could that be why Phlunikthos stopped responding….]
“Yes. I killed him. Killed him and took the Throne of Flames.”
[….]
I’d killed other Divine Beings since then, but the fact that I’d slain Phlunikthos alone was shock enough for Nyx.
Her body trembled like a frightened dog.
[W, why are you doing this? Do you covet the Demon King’s throne?]
“Covet it? I didn’t even know I’d become the Demon King.”
[Then why? Why do you seek to kill me as well?]
‘Why kill you?’
There were several reasons.
In the past, Nyx had given Artaros an order.
To kill Ryu Min.
Chaos was behind it all, but the mere fact that she followed Chaos’s commands was reason enough to end her.
The fact that Nyx was the only Divine Being I knew of now also played a role.
‘I need to kill her to complete the Soul Bond Quest.’
But there was no need to state such facts plainly.
“The reason is simple. You serve under Chaos.”
[C-Chaos?]
Nyx’s mind raced quickly.
With her life hanging in the balance, she would naturally seek a way to survive.
[So you’re a human who holds a grudge against Chaos…]
“And if I am?”
[Then you absolutely cannot kill me. Chaos would surely notice my disappearance! He would definitely seek revenge on you….]
“I don’t care. In fact, it might be better—I can put Chaos on edge.”
[What?]
Ryu Min whispered coldly.
“Do you think I fear Chaos?”
[You don’t understand his strength.]
‘I don’t know? I’ve already experienced it enough.’
I knew well that I couldn’t face Chaos yet.
The disastrous results so far were proof of that.
But if I killed Nyx, things would change.
Completing the Soul Bond Quest alone would let me grow one step further and stand against Chaos.
That’s why I had to kill Nyx here.
“I’m not afraid. Come if you must. Though I doubt Chaos will even find out I did it.”
[….]
“Am I wrong? Even if I kill you here, how would Chaos identify the culprit? Would he really think a human killed a Divine Being?”
That was true.
Even if Nyx died here, pinpointing the perpetrator would be difficult.
In other words, the odds of her dying without anyone knowing were high.
Realizing this fact, Nyx, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
[I… I want to propose a deal.]
“A deal?”
[Your goal is to eliminate Chaos’s subordinates, isn’t it?]
“That’s correct.”
[If you spare me, I’ll take you to where Chaos’s servants are.]
“You’d betray your own allies?”
[If I can survive, I don’t care whether those fools live or die.]
A subtle smile crept across my face from behind.
If I could kill another Divine Being, that would be even better.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
[B-before that, let’s write a soul contract. On the condition that you absolutely spare me… Aaaah!]
I tightened my grip on the scythe, and blood trickled down Nyx’s neck.
“I said lead the way. Once I determine your information isn’t false, then I’ll decide whether to spare you or not.”
[B-but….]
Nyx, who was about to protest that this was too much, had no choice but to reluctantly accept under the renewed pressure of the scythe.
[Ah, fine. I’ll do it that way.]
Verbal promises were worthless, but Nyx had no other options.
With a blade already at her throat, what room was there for negotiation?
[N-no, I’ll warp us to where those beings are.]
“Good.”
Moments later, as darkness engulfed them, the two figures vanished without a trace from the Demon King’s Castle.

* * *
Ryu Min, still gripping Nyx’s hand after the warp, immediately furrowed his brow.
The acrid stench of sulfur mixed with the reek of rotting corpses assaulted his nostrils simultaneously.
“Where is this?”
[The Underground Prison at the deepest reaches of the Underworld—Tartarus.]
“A prison? You brought me to a prison?”
As Ryu Min’s razor-sharp scythe brushed against her neck, Nyx panicked.
[Y-yes, I only came because you said you wanted Chaos’s subordinates, not with any ill intent. I swear it.]
“Who’s here?”
[Erebus, the God of Darkness. He guards this place below.]
“Why is he in a prison? Did he commit some crime?”
[No. He merely manages Tartarus. The beings imprisoned here are insignificant creations.]
“Being captured by such insignificant creations must be quite humiliating for you, wouldn’t it?”
[….]
Nyx fell silent under Ryu Min’s barbed words.
She could only swallow her curses internally.
-Damn it! That bastard deserves to be torn apart! Ugh, just a little longer. Just endure a bit more and I’ll be free.
Nyx turned her head and spoke with an awkward expression.
[F-follow me. I’ll guide you to Erebus.]
Ryu Min followed her silently.
Though this was his first time in this place, he felt no unease.
He had already read her true intentions and seen through her scheme.
‘She’s planning to lock me away in the Underground Prison, but that won’t work.’
Nyx knew well that she would not survive.
She was certain that once she led the human to the agreed location, he would kill her.
After all, wasn’t she the one who had suggested a soul contract because she didn’t trust humans in the first place?
She had devised this desperate measure, but with her true thoughts laid bare, she was completely in Ryu Min’s palm.
[W-we’ve arrived. It’s here.]
Before the massive iron gates, Nyx gestured for him to follow.
But Ryu Min did not take another step.
He simply swung his scythe toward Nyx’s heart.
Squelch—!
[Cough! Wh-why….]
“Did you think I wouldn’t realize you planned to lock me in iron bars and escape alone?”
[Grrrrgh….]
Nyx, who had been trembling violently, finally bowed her head.
Then a message I’d been waiting for appeared.
[Experience +6,000,000,000]
[Accumulated experience has exceeded 100,000.]
[Experience is being converted to 60,000 Stat Points.]
[Level increased!]
[Level increased!]
[Level increased!]
…
…
[Level 400 achieved!]
[From now on, Stat gain per level up increases to 33!]
With 6 billion experience points, my level surged dramatically.
‘I’ve become level 403.’
I’d also gained nearly 63,000 Stat Points all at once.
The good news didn’t end there.
[The Gauntlet of Souls absorbs the soul of the Divine Being it has slain.]
[Soul ‘Nyx’ has been stored in the gauntlet.]
[Extracting the abilities of soul ‘Nyx’.]
[…Extraction successful!]
[You have learned a new temporary skill ‘Lord of Darkness’!]
[Temporary Skill – Lord of Darkness]
-Effect: A passive skill that grants complete dominion over darkness. You can exert various physical forces through darkness.
I’d also obtained a skill that allowed me to manipulate darkness like telekinesis.
However, all of this was merely supplementary reward.
The reward I truly desired was something else entirely.
【Soul Bond Quest】
└Slay Gods
└Divine Beings Slain (4/4)
└Upon Success ▶ Second Deification Proceeds
I smiled upon seeing the reward.
From what Rubahi had told me, deification wasn’t a one-time affair.
By slaying four Divine Beings and demonstrating both the strength and resolve to stand against gods, Gaia had designed the system so that the second deification would proceed.
In a sense, I had been only half a god until now.
‘They said I’d need the second deification to become a perfect god.’
This was also why I couldn’t sense the Terra Energy that any true god should be able to feel.
[Soul Bond Quest has been completed.]
[As a reward for the Soul Bond Quest, ‘Second Deification’ will proceed.]
[Analyzing the user’s soul….]
[This is a soul that has already undergone deification once.]
[The Second Deification will transform the soul’s essence into complete divinity.]
[Synchronization calibration in progress….]
[Transforming the soul’s essence into divinity….]
[Progress 5%….]
[Progress 26%….]
[Progress 47%….]
[Progress 68%….]
[Progress 89%….]
[Progress 100%….]
[Second Deification conversion has been completed.]
[Infinite divine power now dwells within the user’s soul.]
[From now on, you can utilize ‘Terra’, the foundation of divinity.]
The process of Second Deification was unremarkable.
Like the first time, it proceeded silently and without fanfare.
Yet there was one unmistakable difference.
‘I can feel it. The Terra energy.’
The energy that amplified divine power filled Ryu Min’s soul completely.
‘How much Terra do I have?’
Ryu Min focused his mind with anticipation.
Then the quantity of energy filling his body was converted into numerical form.

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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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