The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 363

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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 – Side Story, Episode 8
8. Min Ju-ri’s 101st Cycle (Part 2)
‘W-where am I?’
As I surveyed my surroundings, panic seized me.
A Dark Space devoid of even a single glimmer of light.
My mind remained sharp, yet darkness engulfed my vision—a terror crept through me in that instant.
‘Could I be… dead?’
Death frightens all who live.
Yet my concern lay elsewhere, beyond my own fate.
‘Father. What about my Father…!’
If I perished, who would care for Father left alone?
He was already so tender-hearted.
‘If he learns I’ve collapsed, he’ll surely weep without end…’
Then a question surfaced.
‘I have no chronic illness. Why did I suddenly collapse?’
The answer came swiftly.
-Humans are amusing. They celebrate the new year without even understanding their own predicament.
Suddenly, an image materialized like a television broadcast.
My gaze was drawn to it inevitably.
‘What is that? A… Angel?’
An undeniably beautiful Angel appeared on the screen.
Below her, countless people gathered at a bell-ringing ceremony were visible.
‘Isn’t that the place I was watching on TV just moments ago?’
As I watched intently, something shocking unfolded.
-Splurt!
-Aaaahhhhh!
-Kyaaahhh!
A human head burst like a firecracker, and those nearby screamed and fled in panic.
-Pathetic humans. How dare you speak casually to one of my superior station? You have no right to question me. Don’t presume to match me. Unless you wish to die like that human with your head exploding.
‘W-what is happening? Is this CGI? A movie? Or perhaps a dream?’
Had I ever experienced a dream so vivid?
Never once.
-Confused about the current situation, are you? What would inferior humans possibly understand? I’ll explain everything simply, so listen carefully.
The Angel explained The Game.
On the first of each month, humans are dragged into the Other World—an absurd claim.
Only half survive each Round—an impossible assertion.
Yet as I heard these words, I could not deny them.
I myself had become like a spirit, able to perceive everything—a situation that defied all logic.
‘I wish this were a dream. If only it were…’
But my wish went unfulfilled, and I was dragged into a customization space alongside the others.
[Please state your nickname to register with the system within 30 seconds.]
[If you fail to decide within the time limit, your real name will be registered automatically.]
Dream or reality, it didn’t matter.
Min Ju-ri wanted to go back.
I couldn’t leave Father alone.
‘They said I could return if I clear the Round.’
I had to return alive.
No matter what situation I faced.
[Time Remaining: 3 seconds]
[Time Remaining: 2 seconds]
“I’ll set my nickname as [Democracy].”

* * *
I changed my hairstyle and my nickname as well.
In the meantime, an Angel appeared in the Grassland.
This Angel was different from the one I’d seen on TV earlier.
[Hehehehe, how delightful. You filthy humans. Dragged here like dogs in the dead of night—quite unsettling, isn’t it? Don’t worry. Round 1 isn’t such a difficult Quest. Before we begin, try saying “Inventory” in your mind, will you?]
When I opened my Inventory, there was an item inside.
[It’s a Random Rune Fragment. You can only use it at Level 1, so use it right now.]
Following the Angel’s instructions, everyone used their items.
Whether the abilities truly appeared at random, sighs and cheers mixed together.
‘I need to use mine quickly. Use.’
[You have used the Random Rune Fragment.]
[Congratulations! You obtained the ‘Rune of Protection’!]
[The acquired Rune is automatically inscribed onto the player’s body!]
[Rune of Protection]
-Effect: Protective barriers are layered equal to the number of Players within a 10m radius (maximum 10 stacks). Each Player can only obtain one protective barrier.
Reading the description, it seemed ambiguous.
‘I can’t tell if this is good or bad.’
I understood it, but I had no idea how strong the barriers would be.
I’d have to experience it directly to confirm its performance.
‘Either way, it’s better to stay near people, right?’
I decided to stick as close to as many people as possible.
Everyone else had the same thought—that survival rates would increase if we moved in groups.
But then.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Ahhhhh!”
When 50,000 goblins spawned and rushed at us in hordes.
“Nooooo!”
“Run awaaaaay!”
Everyone was scrambling to flee.
Only a small minority attempted to band together and mount any kind of resistance.
‘Ah! If they all just run away like that…!’
Min Ju-ri was tempted to panic and flee as well, but she held back.
According to her rune’s properties, she would have an advantage if she positioned herself where people gathered.
‘I should join a group instead!’
Fortunately, she spotted a cluster of people huddled together to confront the goblins, and she quickly joined their ranks.
It was then that the surging goblins collided with the front line.
Squelch, squelch!
Squelch!
“Ahhh!”
“It hurts, it hurts!”
“P-please…save me.”
The majority of those in the front ranks were pierced through by daggers and fell dead.
Being stabbed once would have been a mercy.
Most people were punctured dozens of times over.
With armed goblins swarming in like a tide, it was an inevitable outcome.
‘W-weapons! Without weapons, this isn’t a fight I can win.’
No matter how childlike their frames appeared, I had no confidence in subduing them bare-handed.
In truth, they resembled ravenous beasts far more than children.
The goblins swarmed like animals, utterly consumed with the desire to kill.
‘Ah! There it is.’
Fortunately, a dagger dropped by a goblin lay visible just a few meters ahead.
I rushed to grab it, but another person beat me to it.
“Ah.”
I quickly averted my gaze and scanned the ground for any other fallen weapons.
A wooden club lay nearby, so I grabbed that instead.
In truth, I had no other choice.
“Die! Die, you bastard!”
A man beside me was stabbing at a goblin.
It was the same man who had just snatched the dagger from me.
Min Ju-ri raised the wooden club toward the charging goblin, refusing to be outdone.
Whoosh!
I missed.
I had never wielded anything before, never practiced striking anything, so my movements were clumsy.
“Kee-hee!”
The goblin sneered mockingly and seized the opening, lunging forward.
The sharp dagger pierced through my body.
Squelch!
I expected excruciating pain, but there was none.
The wet sound came from the person beside me.
“Ugh… ahhh…”
The man who had been diligently slaughtering goblins with his dagger moments ago was now pierced by a blade.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
The man had gone limp, now being butchered by the goblins surrounding him.
In that moment, Min Ju-ri’s attention snapped to the message floating before her eyes.
[Current Stacked Barrier: 9/10]
[Current Stacked Barrier: 8/10]
[Current Stacked Barrier: 7/10]
…
…
…
The barrier was depleting.
Not because the person beside me had just died.
It was because the goblin in front of me was stabbing at me.
Clang! Clang!
“Shriek! Shriek!”
The creature was hammering against the translucent wall that materialized before me.
With each strike of its blade against the barrier, the shield’s count diminished further.
‘No, this won’t do.’
Crack!
I snapped back to my senses and belatedly smashed the goblin’s skull.
Thud! Thud! Crunch!
Once, twice, three times.
Only after blood pooled across the ground did the message appear.
[Goblin defeated!]
[Experience +4%]
[Gold +10]
‘Phew, got one down.’
In the meantime, people stirred and rushed forward.
Then another cascade of messages scrolled up.
[Current Stacked Barrier: 10/10]
The barrier that had dwindled to three was now completely replenished to ten.
That was when I understood.
‘Ah, this… this was incredibly powerful.’
A broken rune that guaranteed survival itself.

* * *
Hunting down 100 goblins proved far less difficult than I’d anticipated.
The Rune of Protection made it possible.
‘I survived. I made it through, but….’
Thousands had to die or vanish at the goblins’ hands.
Weighed down by an inexplicable sense of guilt, I returned to reality.
“Ah….”
“J-Ju-ri! Are you awake?”
“Ah… Dad?”
Father stood over the bed, tears streaming down his face like raindrops, gazing at me lying there.
“Where… am I?”
“Home. You collapsed suddenly at the Convenience Store, so I brought you here.”
“Oh! I was at the Convenience Store, wasn’t I?”
I remembered everything.
Even if it was a dream.
“Dad, I had the strangest dream….”
It felt far too vivid to be a dream, yet I had no choice but to treat it as one.
Otherwise, I’d lose my grip on sanity entirely.
I’d barely cleared Round 1—how was I supposed to survive Round 20?
Father, who had been listening in silence, let out a heavy sigh.
“It doesn’t seem to be a dream.”
The news broadcast confirmed it wasn’t a dream.
1.8 billion people had collapsed from sudden narcolepsy.
Only half of them survived, and I was among the living.
‘Not a dream…?’
The status window that activated proved it wasn’t a dream.
Father was grateful his daughter had returned alive, but with our lives now forfeit, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.
The new year had arrived, but there was no joy in it.
A national catastrophe had descended, forcing me to abandon all dreams—becoming a doctor, everything.
After that day, I searched frantically for information to survive.
I scoured community forums, but found nothing about the next round—only endless speculation.
As the time to be dragged into Round 2 drew closer, my anxiety only intensified.
‘It’s fine. I have the Rune of Protection.’
The Rune of Protection applied even in reality.
Whenever I went to places crowded with Players, the message would automatically appear.
Stacking 10 layers wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘What happened to Ryu Min… Did he clear Round 1 like me?’
I’d survived thanks to having a good rune, but what about him?
‘I’m curious, but I have no way to contact him… It’s winter break, so I can’t see him at High School.’
I even visited the Meat Restaurant where he worked, but he was nowhere to be found.
The absence of his usual working hours bred an anxiety that hadn’t existed before.
‘Surely not… surely…’
Ryu Min is strong.
With the determination and resilience to work part-time despite the Delinquent Gang’s abuse, he would survive anything.
Even rationalizing that he wouldn’t have died so easily, dark thoughts kept creeping in.
‘He’s dead… like everyone else.’
What use was mental fortitude against a goblin wielding a blade?
‘No, don’t jump to conclusions. I’ll meet him someday. If he’s alive.’
Another reason to survive had emerged.
I had to live for Father, but I would also survive to meet Ryu Min again.
Definitely within this Game.

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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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