The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 387

—————
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 – Side Story, Episode 11
11. Seeds
“The Host has… disappeared again.”
“Disappeared? Are you certain?”
“Yes. Focus your senses on the nation called the United States.”
The Unknown Man closed his eyes and concentrated intently.
“It’s true. The signal from the Host dispatched to the United States has vanished.”
“What does this mean?”
“It means the Host was killed by someone.”
The Host refers to a grotesque creature dispatched into the Human World.
When they absorb the bioenergy of humans used as sacrifices, we—the superior species known as Seeds, the harbingers of destruction—harvest that energy.
We Seeds, the superior beings.
By absorbing enough bioenergy from the Hosts, we Seeds can grow and gain the power to collapse worldlines.
In other words, the Host was indispensable fertilizer for our growth.
“That such a Host could fall… it’s simply unbelievable.”
“Arkizar. Do the other Seeds know of this?”
“Likely not.”
“The Host’s combat prowess transcends humanity. Even the armies humanity boasts cannot stand against a Host—surely you know this?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then how?”
“The Host could not have died of natural causes, so it must have been killed by external force.”
“You believe humans killed the Host?”
Arkizar nodded.
His gaze was unwavering with conviction.
“I recently visited a nation called Korea. That’s where the Host’s signal first went silent.”
“This wasn’t the first time?”
“Correct. It was a Host parasitizing the Cult Leader’s body—its head severed, its entire form burned, sent to a place called the National Forensic Service.”
What Arkizar did afterward was simple.
Infiltrating the National Forensic Service to recover the Host.
“I was able to enter the National Forensic Service by parasitizing a Detective’s body. Securing and absorbing the Host’s corpse was not difficult.”
“The bioenergy? Was any remaining?”
“Fortunately, its defensive mechanism activated before death, so there was accumulated energy. It’s only regrettable we couldn’t harvest it when more had been gathered.”
“A Host boasting durability that even modern weapons cannot overcome—how did it die? Could there have been conflict among the Hosts themselves…?”
Arkizar shook his head.
“That’s impossible, is it not? Hosts possess no self. They are merely programmed to obsessively absorb human bioenergy. They are absolutely not beings with consciousness and reason like us Seeds.”
“Then, how exactly…?”
“Upon investigation, it was the work of an entity called Black Scythe.”
“Black Scythe?”
Arkizar shared the intelligence he had gathered with his colleague.
Information about this new adversary called Black Scythe.
“That creature is a Player. You already know this world once conducted a Survival Game as part of a program to recruit mercenaries for the Heavenly Demon War, right?”
“I know. But the Survival Game ended long ago, and all Players should have lost their powers.”
“I thought so too. Yet somehow, Black Scythe alone seems to have retained his strength.”
“Even if he retained his power, suppressing the Host would be impossible. Isn’t the Host a being that even the Archangel of the Celestial Tribe cannot stop?”
“That’s what puzzles me as well. I haven’t met Black Scythe myself, so I don’t know how strong he truly is. But what matters now isn’t how powerful he is.”
“Then what does matter?”
Arkizar spoke with an unusually grave expression.
“A threat to the Host has emerged, and that threat will continue hunting.”
“Hunting? Absurd. Hunting the Host?”
“Think about it. First Korea’s Host died, now the United States’ Host. Once is coincidence, but twice is inevitability, isn’t it?”
“Is Black Scythe really hunting Hosts?”
“Then how else do you explain the death in the United States?”
My colleague, a Seed, had no answer.
Unless one had witnessed the Host’s death firsthand, there was no way to explain it.
“We need to investigate. I should retrieve the Host’s corpse.”
“No, I disagree.”
“What? Why?”
“Going to the scene where the Host just died is far too dangerous. If we happen to encounter Black Scythe, what then?”
“Then we simply kill him. What’s the problem?”
My colleague spoke with absolute confidence.
Compared to the Host, a Seed was a superior existence.
Naturally, we were far more powerful and superior in both strength and intellect.
I couldn’t imagine losing to a mere Player.
That was the common thinking.
But Arkizar was no ordinary Seed.
I had been appointed by Deorant, the god of dimensions, with the title of Commander overseeing all Seeds.
“There’s no harm in being cautious. We haven’t fully grasped Black Scythe’s power yet, have we? And I have a bad feeling about this.”
“A bad feeling?”
“It feels like a trap somehow. Going there is dangerous.”
“But leaving the dead Host unattended seems…”
“We won’t leave it unattended. We’ll simply assign this risky task to another Seed.”
“Who?”
“There happens to be a Seed suitable for bait. A rather dim-witted one.”
Arkizar smiled wickedly and contacted another Seed.

* * *
‘The more I observe, the more fascinating this world becomes. A realm teeming with such enormous insects.’
Voluark, a Seed.
He had been dispatched to Earth with a singular purpose: to consume the Hosts as they grew and collapse the planet itself.
This was the objective of every Seed.
‘Or perhaps it is also the desire of Lord Deorant.’
Thus, he concealed himself within a human body, observing the situation unfold, yet the restlessness gnawed at him—patience had become nearly unbearable.
‘I long to absorb the Hosts and grow stronger. I wish to sweep away every insect-like human in existence.’
Yet the time for the Seeds to act had not yet arrived.
There was nothing to do but wait until the Hosts accumulated sufficient bioenergy.
‘How much longer must I endure….’
Then, a signal penetrated Voluark’s consciousness.
Telepathy transmitted between Seeds on a specific frequency.
-Voluark. Can you hear me?
-Who are you?
-I am Arkizar, tasked with commanding all Seeds.
-Ah.
I have heard of you from Lord Deorant.
That there exists a separate entity to manage the Seeds.
That I must obey his commands well.
-A pleasure to meet you, Arkizar.
-Indeed.
-But what is this about? If you’ve stolen my precious time merely for pleasantries, I am sorely disappointed.
Though he had not taken much time at all, Voluark picked a needless quarrel.
In truth, he resented the very existence of this commander.
‘I am an immortal being created by Lord Deorant himself. Only he has the authority to command me.’
Whether Arkizar sensed Voluark’s displeasure or not, he continued speaking.
-If I have stolen your time, I apologize. But there is something you must know.
-What is it?
-Are you aware that the signal from a Host in Montana has gone silent?
He was not.
Countless Hosts existed across Earth, and pinpointing their locations proved difficult without focused concentration.
-I was not aware, but?
-This is merely speculation, but there exists a hunter who eliminates Hosts.
-A hunter?
-His name is Black Scythe. A player in male form who carries a scythe. He is slaughtering Hosts. A Host in Korea has already fallen to him.
Voluark let out a derisive laugh.
‘What? A Host defeated? Is this fool spinning fiction?’
The death of a Host was so absurd that it seemed like a narrative conjured by human imagination.
-Therefore, you must also exercise caution. There is no guarantee that a hunter targeting Hosts will not target us as well.
-Why be cautious? We exist on a higher plane than the Host. Aren’t you being overly fearful over a mere human hunter?
-Still, there’s no harm in being careful. We haven’t fully assessed our opponent yet, and if we act recklessly and bungle this, how could we face Deorant?
It wasn’t wrong.
Yet Voluark’s expression remained discontented.
‘Coward. Trembling before mere humans.’
The excessive caution itself was what bothered him.
Above all, he despised taking orders from anyone.
But what truly grated on Voluark’s nerves was something else entirely.
-Leave the Host in the United States alone for now.
-What?
The command not to harvest the already-dead Host struck a nerve.
-A dead Host should naturally be harvested to serve as a stepping stone for growth. Why would you forbid it?
-There’s no guarantee that Black Scythe won’t be at the scene where the Host died. If you show up carelessly, you risk encountering Black Scythe.
-Just for that reason?
Though he couldn’t comprehend it, Arkizar, their commander, emphasized it repeatedly.
-Do not touch the Host in the United States.
-….
The communication ended there, but Voluark still couldn’t understand.
‘If this Black Scythe caught the Host, he can’t possibly be stronger than us, can he?’
Yet they were telling him not to harvest the Host’s corpse because he might encounter that creature?
‘That makes no sense.’
For a Seed that prided itself as a superior lifeform, being wary of something as inferior as humans was an affront to dignity.
Unable to comprehend, Voluark’s mind conjured a different suspicion.
‘Could it be… he’s trying to absorb it first and using this as a pretext?’
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t stay still.
Flap!
Voluark fashioned wings from black liquid and flew rapidly through the sky.
He had to consume the Host in the United States before anyone else could claim it.
‘Hmph! Did you think I wouldn’t see through your bluff to keep the others from eating it? Nice try with the strategy, Arkizar, but I’m eating that Host first!’
Voluark arrived at such tremendous speed.
To a village in Montana in the United States.
Closing his eyes and sensing the Host’s presence, he could pinpoint its location immediately.
‘There it is. Where the Host’s corpse lies.’
Sure enough.
In the center of the village lay the charred corpse of the Host.
How it had died was unclear, but that hardly mattered.
‘Perfect! No one’s touched it!’
He had arrived first and could absorb it first—a smile spread across his face.
But Voluark didn’t know.
That this was a trap.
“I waited just in case, and it seems my suspicions were correct.”
“…!!”
Startled by the sudden voice, I turned my head to see a man gazing at me.
A massive scythe of crimson-black hung across his shoulders.

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