The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 346

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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 346
346. The Full Story of Events (1)
The players reached toward the Wish Stone as if entranced, each moving of their own accord.
Chaos cried out something in that moment, but that was all he could do.
There was no way to stop ninety-seven hands from reaching forward.
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ is entering the Wish Room.]
The moment the radiant gem touched their hands, Black Scythe and ninety-seven other players stepped into their own personal times.

* * *
A white space devoid of all else.
Yet a space I was visiting for the second time.
In this space, I savored the moment of triumph alone.
‘I did it. I saved my comrades from Chaos.’
Min Ju-ri, Seo A-rin, Christine, Victor, Sophia, Jeffrey, Russell, An Sang-chul, Ma Gyeong-rok, Um Jun-seok, Heo Tae-sik, Jo Yong-ho, Yamtti, Ju Sung-tak, John Delgado, Alex, Dorothy, and others.
I had watched ninety-six of them touch the Wish Stone.
They would each enter the Wish Room, receive their rewards for merit, and then speak their wishes.
‘May they each achieve what they desire.’
I too had achieved what I desired.
My wish through the 101st return was to save my comrades.
‘Despite Chaos’s interference, everyone touched the Wish Stone.’
My wish had been fulfilled.
But it was only half a wish, after all.
My true wish was to annihilate Chaos, the one who could be called the organizer of this damned Game.
‘Until I kill Chaos, it’s not truly over.’
He might gamble with human lives again.
This was no time to stretch out and rest easy after overcoming the immediate crisis.
If I knew Chaos at all, he wouldn’t let this pass.
[Welcome to the Wish Room.]
[Please ask if there is anything you wish to know.]
I responded to the system’s voice immediately.
“I want to know my contribution score.”
[Your contribution score to victory is 264,452,952 points.]
Last time it was 380 million, but this time it’s only 260 million.
While I was buying time against Chaos, it seemed other players had divided up the contribution points.
‘The 102nd return is out of reach.’
Though there was no reason to return again now that I’d achieved my purpose.
‘There’s no helping it. I’ll make that wish as promised.’
Before making my wish, I asked about things I’d been curious about.
“What happens to me when I leave the Wish Room?”
[You will lose all player functions, levels, stats, skills, and abilities.]
“So that means I’m reverting from a Divine Being back to an ordinary person?”
[No. Once you’ve become a Divine Being, reverting is impossible. Only the items, levels, skills, abilities, runes, and stats obtained through your avatar will be reset. Titles bound to your soul and Eternal Items will remain intact.]
“Titles are bound to the soul?”
[That is correct.]
This was information I hadn’t known before.
‘So I’m only losing levels, stats, runes, items, and skills?’
What remains are titles and Eternal Items alone.
But even that alone would allow me to be classified as a transcendent ordinary person.
“How much Contribution do I need to avoid losing my levels, stats, runes, and items?”
[The Contribution required to maintain all of Black Scythe’s abilities is 2,139,201,921.]
‘Two billion? Maintaining this state is virtually impossible.’
In the end, would I have no choice but to make the wish I’d promised Rubahi?
I made my wish.
The one I’d already considered while choosing the second-best option.
“Let me meet Gaia.”
[Meeting Gaia will consume all your Contribution. Is that acceptable?]
I nodded and answered.
“Yes.”
It was regrettable, but unavoidable.
To kill Chaos, I had no choice but to seek Gaia’s aid.
[I will arrange your meeting with Gaia as you wish.]
Brilliant light engulfed my vision.

* * *
‘Where am I?’
Just moments ago, I had been in the White Space, but now I found myself in the Black Space.
It felt as though I were drifting weightlessly through the cosmos.
‘The Akashic Record had a similar environment to this.’
As I surveyed my surroundings, a familiar consciousness materialized before me.
[Welcome, Black Scythe.]
“Rubahi.”
It was Rubahi, greeting me with a familiar smile despite our few encounters.
[You’ve come far. You’ve executed the plan flawlessly.]
“It would have been better if Chaos hadn’t shown up.”
[That was unavoidable. Still, it’s fortunate we had a contingency plan.]
“True enough.”
My original plan with Rubahi had been to grow stronger without Chaos’s knowledge.
To kill Chaos, I needed to complete the Second Deification and accumulate ten billion Tera. If I were interrupted midway, the chances of failure would be far too high.
‘I tried my best to avoid Chaos’s gaze while completing the Second Deification, but….’
Even the most skilled assassin would find it difficult to secretly eliminate seven Archangels and four Divine Beings.
It was only a matter of time before Chaos discovered me.
‘That’s why I needed a contingency plan for when my existence was exposed.’
That contingency was reaching the Wish Room and meeting Gaia.
Gaia had told me there was another way to annihilate Chaos.
‘Of course, I could have met Gaia even before returning.’
But after my conversation with Rubahi, I had decided to make the 101st Return.
I couldn’t abandon my comrades who had died because of Chaos.
[You’ve saved your comrades as you wished and completed the Second Deification to meet Lady Gaia. Truly remarkable.]
“Spare me the flattery and get to the point. Where is Gaia?”
[She’s been waiting for you.]
For a moment, I thought I saw Rubahi’s eyebrows twitch, but I had no time to dwell on it.
Whoooosh—
A radiance swept through the darkness, and a middle-aged woman materialized before me.
‘So this is Gaia, Chaos’s wife and the Creator God?’
Unlike Chaos, whose very eyes contained immensity, this woman’s form was not particularly large.
She was roughly human-sized with a gentle expression, appearing almost ordinary at first glance.
Yet the creative power she possessed within seemed so vast that even I couldn’t fathom its magnitude.
“Are you Gaia?”
[Yes. I am Gaia, the Player known as Black Scythe, called the Mother of the Earth.]
“Is that your true form?”
[No. I’ve merely manifested a form that’s comfortable for humans to perceive. My true form doesn’t actually exist. The same applies to Chaos.]
“So you’ve simply taken a comprehensible shape?”
[Yes. But we are not illusions—Chaos and I are the substantive primordial essence that truly exists.]
I simply stared at Gaia for a long moment.
As if trying to read the depths of her heart.
But neither Chaos nor Gaia could have their inner thoughts read.
‘That’s right—I don’t have the Rune of Inner Sight anymore, do I?’
All the stats, runes, and even God-grade items I’d accumulated over time had vanished.
At least my titles and Eternal items remained, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.
‘Even so, I can’t access information the way I used to.’
The Eye of Insight offered no special details about Gaia either.
[From your gaze, I can see you’re wary of me.]
“….”
[Didn’t we sign a contract to speak only the truth? Why are you so cautious?]
“You know why.”
[You dislike me.]
“….”
I didn’t bother responding.
Gaia smiled softly and nodded as if she understood completely.
[I understand. Countless humans died because of the system I created.]
“Not just on our Earth. Humans from other dimensions were ground to dust in that accursed war too. All to serve as mercenaries in a bet between gods.”
[I regret that deeply. But I can assure you it was not my intention. Everything was Chaos’s plan.]
“The idea to use humans as mercenaries came from Chaos? You merely created the system?”
[Precisely.]
I watched Gaia, who continued smiling calmly.
Since the contract didn’t dissolve her, she must be telling the truth.
“Even so, the fact remains that you collaborated with Chaos.”
[I regret that deeply. I never wanted to harm humans. What parent in the world wishes to kill their own children? All living creatures are my creations, my offspring.]
“….”
[Besides, I possess only the power of creation. I have no authority to take life. That power of destruction belongs to Chaos.]
Gaia wielded the power of creation, and Chaos wielded the power of destruction?
And they were husband and wife?
‘The ultimate power couple.’
Gaia smiled again.
[You just thought we were the ultimate power couple, didn’t you?]
“….”
[Your expression gives it away. Unfortunately, our relationship is far from good. How could it be pleasant when my husband is a being who tears down everything I create?]
As Gaia said, they were fundamentally opposed to each other.
‘Is it only Gaia who’s stressed? Chaos probably just destroys without a care.’
I was beginning to understand why Gaia despised Chaos.
“So you tried to use me to kill your husband? Simply because you find him repulsive?”
[That’s not entirely without merit. But the true reason lies elsewhere.]
“The true reason?”
“It will take quite a long time to explain everything. Would that be alright with you?”
Ryu Min nodded.
Time was the one thing he had in abundance.
Besides, he needed to understand the reason before deciding whether to trust Gaia or not.
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

* * *
Chaos and Gaia had a son together.
Chronos, the God of Time.
Possessed of tremendous power to manipulate time itself, he had grown so formidable that even his parents feared him.
Was it because Chaos dreaded the threat to his own position?
Realizing just how dangerous the power over time could be, Chaos ultimately resolved to kill Chronos.
But Gaia, having sensed his intentions, would not stand idle.
She sent her son to a distant dimension to save his life.
“Where the hell is that damned brat Chronos!”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep playing dumb? That creature is a threat to existence itself. He must be killed immediately!”
“What parent in this world would try to kill their own child?”
“So you refuse to speak? Fine. We’ll see about this. I will find him and kill him, no matter what it takes.”
Gaia fought desperately to protect Chronos, while Chaos hunted for his son with murderous intent.
It was from this moment that the rift between husband and wife began in earnest.

* * *
Alone, Chronos fled through the cracks between dimensions.
At times, he reversed time itself to escape peril.
“Phew, that was close.”
Nyx and the other subordinates of Chaos were desperate to capture him.
Hiding cunningly in the gaps between dimensions and time, living as a fugitive, Chronos could not help but burn with rage.
“I cannot hide forever like this. To gain my freedom, I must kill Chaos—that wretched excuse for a father.”
But he possessed only the power to manipulate time; he could not stand against Chaos, who wielded the power of destruction.
“Someday I will kill him. Someday…”
Sharpening the blade of vengeance he would one day wield, Chronos continued his flight once more.

* * *
Long ages passed.
Time transformed everything.
Flowers withered, trees decayed, living creatures perished—all faded into oblivion.
Each time, Gaia wielded her creative power to birth new life.
She repeated the cycle of creation and cultivation, while Chaos, conversely, devoted himself to destruction.
In one sense, it was merely a difference in nature; in another, it meant only Gaia bore the burden of stress.
Yet Chaos was not without his own torment.
‘Chronos. That damned bastard—I must find and kill him soon.’
I unleashed my subordinates to search, but to this day, they have found nothing.
Not even a trace of where he hides.
‘Cursed time itself. My power grows weaker with each passing moment.’
As time advanced, my strength diminished.
Conversely, with each new life born, Gaia’s power flourished.
This was why I desperately destroyed life—to stem the tide.
I, a Primordial God, could not allow myself to be surpassed by Chronos and then by Gaia.
‘This cannot continue. I must recover my strength.’
Though I am the God of Destruction, my true essence is that of Chaos.
The more confusion my creations experience, the stronger I become.
‘How can I do this? How can I plunge my creations into chaos and confusion?’
As I pondered the means to restore my power, my eyes narrowed into crescents.
‘Hehehehe, yes—that will do perfectly.’
The method I conceived was elegantly simple.
I would coerce the Celestial Tribe and Demon Tribe into periodic warfare.
‘Then chaos will surely reign between the two races.’
Thus was born the Heavenly Demon War.

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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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