The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 344

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 344
344. The 101st Cycle (8)
‘Is that him? The one called Black Scythe?’
Archangel Artaros had received orders from Chaos.
A simple mission: take the field as the Round 20 Boss and block Black Scythe and his allies.
‘I thought he had no interest in the Divine Beings’ Game….’
The unusual command raised questions, though ultimately it mattered little.
Once this task was complete, Chaos had promised to grant his deepest wish—to end his existence.
‘Black Scythe, was it? I don’t know what kind of creature he is, but to catch the eye of Chaos himself. What wretched luck.’
Luck aside, curiosity stirred within him.
For such a contemptible species as humans to draw the attention of the Primordial God….
Artaros’ gaze swept across the humans.
A human wielding a scythe appeared before him, true to the name Black Scythe.
‘Is that the one? The creature who has slain Divine Beings?’
He had already received information about Black Scythe from Chaos.
A human who deserved death, one who roamed about slaughtering dozens of Divine Beings.
When he asked how such a thing was possible for a mere human, Chaos had simply called him Gaia’s plaything.
‘It matters not. I need only follow orders.’
A hunting dog need only hunt well.
Whoever Black Scythe was, I would kill him without fail.
That is why Chaos sent me here.
[Insignificant creature. You cannot proceed any further….]
Artaros began to speak, then conjured a rainbow-hued blade.
It was to counter Black Scythe’s sudden preemptive strike.
‘Hm?’
His vision split in two?
‘What is happening….’
Artaros realized too late.
He had been torn asunder without even a chance to react.
Thud—
“Don’t let your guard down just because he’s dead. This bastard’s immortal.”
Before Ryu Min’s words had finished, Artaros’ severed body knitted itself back together as if brand new.
[Remarkable, human. I couldn’t even react. The rumors of your slaughter of Divine Beings were no exaggeration.]
“Nothing to be surprised about. This is just the beginning.”
[Your confidence alone deserves praise….]
Artaros never finished his words before losing his life once more.
The penalty applied and he revived, but it was futile.
“I said this is just the beginning.”
True to his word, Ryu Min toyed with Artaros completely.
Having already slain dozens of Divine Beings, Ryu Min displayed overwhelming growth in his stats.
Artaros had become nothing more than a minor threat at this point.
Twice, thrice… ten times over.
Without the slightest resistance, he crumbled to dust each time, and even the stoic Artaros’s expression began to shift.
[I concede. You are stronger than I. But what of my companions?]
During the time his body reconstituted itself, Artaros prepared an area-wide spell.
In those moments, he was invincible—no one could interrupt his incantation.
Yet Ryu Min, having experienced this before, could not possibly be unaware of this fact.
‘I cannot afford to give him the chance to cast that spell.’
Ryu Min activated the temporary skill he’d obtained from Moros: Ruin’s Hour.
A skill capable of dominating the mind of those harboring malice—if it took hold, it would prevent them from casting any skill.
But.
[The target possesses superior rank.]
[Skill is negated.]
It had no effect on Artaros.
‘So it only works on those of lower rank, then?’
Accepting the limitation, Ryu Min resorted to the method that had worked before.
Crack—
Artaros’s brow furrowed as he suddenly felt Ryu Min move behind him, seizing his head.
[What are you—]
Artaros attempted to resist, but he could not move an inch.
The disparity in strength was far too absolute.
Like a newborn grasped in an adult’s hands.
‘A human surpasses my power by such an abyss?’
Perhaps that was why.
Ryu Min forced open Artaros’s mouth and made him drink the potion without much effort.
A memory-erasing potion that reduced one to an idiot in an instant.
[What are you making me—!]
Artaros tried to spit it out, but Ryu Min clamped his jaw shut and forced him to swallow.
Then the change took hold.
Artaros’s eyes grew heavy and closed, and Ryu Min could flip through his memories like pages in a film.
‘I’ll erase all of it—every last scrap. Even his memories of Chaos.’
In the previous cycle, I had only erased his abilities to use him, but this time there was no need for restraint.
I reduced him to complete idiocy, stripping away even language itself, then withdrew from his mind.
[Uh… buh….]
Artaros stared into empty space with unfocused eyes.
Not a trace of divine dignity remained in him.
‘Now I need to end this round.’
With my Eyes of Insight, I could perceive Artaros’s weakness.
└Weakness: Soul annihilation upon being struck 10,000 times with the Decaying Branch.
‘Exactly as Rubahi had told me.’
A method to kill Artaros, who was cursed with immortality.
It was to use the Burning Branch, which could incinerate souls.
‘Rubahi said that if I slash him while wearing the Burning Branch, his soul would be scraped away.’
However, slashing him once or twice wouldn’t suffice—I needed to slash him ten thousand times.
Only then could I completely erase Artaros, despite his immortal body.
‘The answer lay in Phlunikthos’s weapon, but it seems Artaros didn’t even know about it.’
He was a being who could die without even needing to follow Chaos.
‘Regardless, if I kill him, I can clear Round 20. The only annoyance is having to swing ten thousand times.’
Since I was already wearing the Burning Branch, my scythe moved like a crimson whip.
Whoosh—whoosh—!
With each pass of the scythe, flesh tore away, yet Artaros didn’t even scream.
As if he’d forgotten pain itself, he simply stood there like a wax figure.
‘If I erase Artaros this way, I can clear the round, but….’
Chaos wouldn’t stand idle watching this.
I was certain he was observing every detail of this situation.
Sure enough, space tore open and Chaos appeared.
[Impressive for a human. Toying with Artaros so thoroughly.]
The creature who appeared in admiration swept his massive eyes across the surroundings.
[But now that I’ve arrived, none of you will leave alive.]
Chaos’s eyes flashed with violet light.
Then my allies who met his gaze began pointing weapons at each other.
It was a mental attack from Chaos.
[Now kill each other.]
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Ryu Min, who already had a countermeasure, activated his Command ability.
“Everyone, snap out of it! Everyone here is on the same side. Don’t attack! That’s an order!”
This ability to dominate players of lower level than myself had no limit on the number of people affected.
Perhaps that’s why.
Ninety-six players broke free from the illusion and lowered their weapons.
‘Better than dominion with usage restrictions.’
As I easily blocked the mental domination, Chaos’s eyes widened in surprise.
[Then perhaps you yourself….]
He immediately turned his gaze toward Ryu Min, but as long as the rune of mental barrier existed, mental attacks would never work.
“You think that’ll work on me?”
[This insolence…!]
Gnashing his teeth, Chaos tore open space to draw out the Spear of Mortality.
He planned to personally kill this arrogant Black Scythe and the insects here.
But as if I’d already anticipated this, I leaped and slashed at Chaos’s eye.
It felt like cutting through empty air.
Indeed, Phase Shift detected the attack and altered space 0.1 seconds before impact to evade it.
[Fool. Your attacks cannot reach me….]
Yet Chaos found himself unable to close his mouth in astonishment.
The attack he thought he’d evaded was tracking him down?
[What?]
Panicked, he twisted space itself to dodge the assault.
But Ryu Min’s damage followed relentlessly, as if guided by some homing function.
He twisted his trajectory twice more to obscure his path, yet it made no difference.
Ryu Min’s attack, infused with Terra Energy, pursued Chaos to the end and finally struck his true form.
[Krraaaaaagh!]
At the sudden cry, Ryu Min’s lips curled upward.
‘It works.’
Having forged the Eternal scythe that cuts through darkness, I imbued my attack with Terra Energy and slashed at Chaos.
Though he evaded, I exhausted the energy in relentless pursuit.
The result was Chaos’s scream.
Seeing him writhe in agony, the effect was undeniable.
‘Secondary Deification was worth it.’
I attacked Chaos with the resolve to kill him this time.
As I swung the scythe at his eyes, he escaped through phase shifting, but it was futile.
The power infused with Terra would inevitably track his location and deal damage.
[Kugh, you worthless insect of a human!]
Chaos, experiencing humiliation at the hands of his creation for the first time, shrieked in fury, but that was all.
All he could do was fold space and flee, evading my pursuit.
‘If I keep this up, he won’t have a chance to attack.’
The problem was that Chaos’s constant evasion prolonged the pursuit.
The longer the pursuit stretched, the more my accumulated Terra drained away exponentially.
‘I’ve already burned through 30 million Terra without realizing it.’
I hadn’t even landed a proper attack yet, and simply pursuing Chaos as he fled by rearranging space consumed this much Terra.
‘Still, at least the attacks are connecting.’
I learned that with enough Terra, I could eventually damage Chaos, but the problem was I didn’t have much left.
Moreover, Chaos seemed to understand that mere evasion wouldn’t suffice, for even while fleeing, he conjured space and created something.
A spear red as blood emerged.
The Spear of Instant Death—capable of tracking its target and killing in a single strike.
[Vermin-like humans. I shall exterminate you all here.]
As Chaos thrust the spear, I could no longer afford to attack alone.
‘I’ve been waiting for this. Rune of Light Speed.’
As if on cue, I activated the Rune of Light Speed and moved within the slowed time.
Then, as before, I gathered my allies in one place and positioned Artaros as a shield before them.
‘I should abandon Chaos for now and finish this Round first.’
As time resumed, 97 spears pierced into Artaros.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
[Cough!]
Only then did the creature, spewing crimson blood as if feeling pain for the first time, collapse forward.
[Round 20 Boss has been defeated.]
[Congratulations on clearing Round 20!]
[The round will end shortly.]
Chaos’s eyes widened in shock, apparently not expecting me to use Artaros as a shield and end the round.
[You, damn human! Resorting to such petty tricks!]
Though the system’s forced termination would send the players away, Chaos refused to yield.
[Damn it. To think I would fall victim to my own system. But don’t celebrate too soon, you wretched humans. I have enough time to kill every last one of you in this instant.]
Chaos spat out the same words I’d heard in the previous cycle, conjuring instant-death spears once more.
Ninety-seven spears hurtled toward their respective targets among the players.
But for this very moment, I—Ryu Min—who had not reached max level, shouted to my allies.
“Everyone, use your points to reach max level!”
Since my command carried the authority function, no player dared refuse.
All ninety-six of them spent the points I had distributed to raise their experience.
With a brilliant max-level effect, ninety-six players became invincible for one minute.
Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting—!
The instant-death spears, unable to pierce the golden-gleaming skin, bounced off harmlessly.
Though I was already at max level and thus had no invincibility effect, I didn’t need to block the spears anyway.
[You have received a fatal attack.]
[The Rune of Resurrection activates.]
[The attack is reflected back at the source.]
The instant-death spears returned to Chaos.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————