The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 49

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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 49
49. Fourth Round Results Tallied
“Haah, haah.”
Seo A-rin breathed heavily.
“A-rin, are you alright?”
“Haa, yes, I’m fine. It’s not so much that my body is exhausted as it is mentally….”
An Sang-chul nodded in understanding.
The sight of them clashing blades with blood spraying everywhere was more than difficult to witness—it was ghastly.
If hell existed, I imagined it would look like this.
The White Space made it all the more visceral and striking.
It wasn’t a scene from a B-grade gore film.
It was reality unfolding before us.
Well, I could endure it to some degree, but the problem was Seo A-rin.
‘There’s still an hour left before this ends. I wonder if she can hold on.’
An Sang-chul worried about Seo A-rin’s mental state.
She was Ma Gyeong-rok’s business asset and property.
If her mind fractured and it hindered the business, I’d have no face to show the director.
“Die!”
“Not a chance.”
An Sang-chul swung his blade at the assailant targeting Seo A-rin.
Clang!
After deflecting the attacker’s weapon, he slashed across the shoulder.
The upper body was completely exposed.
“A-rin!”
At my urgent call, Seo A-rin bit her lip hard and thrust her blade forward.
Thud!
The sword pierced straight through the heart.
The assailant, trembling moments before, went limp.
An Sang-chul watched with satisfaction.
‘She still does what she’s told well enough.’
Whenever I neutralized an opponent, I had Seo A-rin deliver the finishing blow herself.
‘Without combat ability, Seo A-rin has no way to survive unless we do it this way.’
It was like spoon-feeding her.
Still, with her summoned creature providing a protective barrier, I wasn’t helping her for free.
“Ugh.”
As Seo A-rin pulled her blade out with a horrified expression.
“Hyaaaa!”
Another assailant appeared from the side.
Clang clang!
An Sang-chul exchanged several blows before withdrawing his blade and slashing across the wrist.
“Aaahhh!”
Seizing the moment, I slashed at his forearm before striking his neck.
‘I can’t just keep giving. If I want to survive, I need to build my own record.’
Movements as fluid and natural as flowing water.
The swordsmanship rune I received upon advancing to Knight had transformed me into a skilled swordsman.
Seo A-rin, who had struggled to draw her blade, asked with a haggard expression.
“Bodyguard… how much longer do we have to fight like this…?”
“We’ll need to continue for at least another hour.”
“I’m exhausted just watching… I don’t understand why everyone keeps killing each other like this.”
Though Seo A-rin’s exhaustion was evident, I felt no sympathy whatsoever.
‘Weak. So weak. Is she a hothouse flower?’
She merely seemed pathetic to me.
An Sang-chul concealed his true feelings as he spoke.
“Rest now if you’re tired. Haven’t you already killed fifty people?”
“Probably…”
“That should be enough to place in the rankings. Leave the rest to me.”
“Thank you… truly.”
‘Thank you, my foot.’
If anything, I was the grateful one.
This was my chance to build the record I’d missed while feeding her kills.
An Sang-chul kept his sword raised, maintaining vigilance on all sides.
Even standing still, the madness-drunk players would come at him of their own accord.
“Come.”
An Sang-chul’s blade traced an elegant arc.
* * *
[Time Remaining Until Round End: 00:10:21]
‘It’s almost time to wrap this up.’
Ryu Min, watching the progress window, swung his scythe in a wide arc.
Shwing—!
The player approaching from behind was cleaved cleanly in half.
‘Only ten minutes left, but it’s not over until it’s over.’
I needed to accumulate as many kills as possible to claim first place across all zones.
But I couldn’t just kill anyone indiscriminately.
‘The ranking isn’t determined solely by kill count.’
No, I did need to kill many.
But I had to kill as many different people as possible.
Killing the same person repeatedly would only count as one.
That was the hidden ranking system for this round.
‘That’s why I can’t kill like that fool.’
My gaze turned toward none other than Hwang Yong-min.
“Die! Die, you bastards!”
I was beating my former friends from the Delinquent Gang to death with my bare fists.
Right after I’d resurrected, no less.
‘The round is nearly over, yet he’s still at it in that same spot. I’ve lost count of how many times he’s killed the same person.’
Hwang Yong-min had cunningly lured his Delinquent Gang friends to a single location and killed them there.
He’d exploited the fact that the dead resurrect where they fell, essentially designating a grave site for himself.
‘He’s methodically slaughtering five Delinquent Gang friends in that one spot, cycling through them.’
There was no doubt those gang members would struggle to survive this round.
If they died the moment they resurrected, they’d have no opportunity to build a record.
‘Though Hwang Yong-min, having only killed the same people, might end up eliminated due to a low record himself…’
But I wasn’t concerned about that.
His nickname color was darker than expected.
It meant he’d killed not just his friends, but many others as well.
‘He must have killed other players while waiting to resurrect.’
For someone without a class change and burdened with penalties, that level of power was impressive.
‘He did survive until round five in the previous cycle, after all.’
By the looks of it, he’d killed around thirty people, so this round shouldn’t be difficult to clear.
‘As for me, there’s nothing to say.’
I walked forward, scythe in hand.
I scanned the players with eyes like a predator seeking prey.
Every nickname was red.
I couldn’t find a single fluorescent one anywhere.
A thousand players had all committed murder without exception.
‘Is it even murder? Everyone will resurrect without fail in ten minutes.’
People could kill so freely because of that resurrection mechanic.
‘The atmosphere of madness certainly played its part too.’
I joined the frenzy and began cutting down people.
They were strangers, but that’s precisely why I could kill them.
‘If I stay idle, I’ll be the one who dies.’
If I don’t build a record, I’ll be erased.
And I have no intention of missing the first-place reward either.
I need to grow stronger by any means and reach round twenty.
‘I don’t know how strong the final boss is. So I must become as powerful as possible.’
My reason for killing wasn’t simply the resurrection mechanic.
Survival.
People were fighting for survival.
It was familiar to modern people living in a competitive society.
‘From this round onward, players will lose all hesitation about murder.’
These players had already experienced dozens of murders, even if virtual.
Would they really hesitate to commit real murder in reality?
‘From now on, I’ll act without hesitation. The lawless zone is accelerating.’
Players point blades at one another and slaughter civilians to prove their superiority.
That is the future of players.
‘Though not all of them fall into that category.’
A player who hasn’t lost their humanity would feel guilt and remorse over killing.
Ryu Min wasn’t entirely free of such emotions either.
‘That’s precisely why I’m killing them as painlessly as possible right now.’
But those who attacked first—I showed them no mercy, no consideration whatsoever.
‘There’s no compassion for those who strike first.’
And once I killed a player, I never killed them again.
Killing them twice or more wouldn’t even count toward the tally.
‘In other words, I’ve memorized the nicknames of every player I’ve killed individually.’
Memorizing the nicknames of hundreds of players?
It was difficult, but far from impossible.
‘I can memorize them by remembering just the core keywords of each nickname concisely.’
It was possible precisely because my Intelligence stat was so high.
‘That one I’ve killed, and that one too.’
I scanned past the players with hurried eyes.
My target was a player I’d never killed before.
But most of them were ones I’d already slain.
‘That one… I don’t recall them. This is a first.’
The moment I spotted a player I hadn’t encountered before, I immediately swung my scythe.
I split their head in two and moved on without a second glance, searching for the next target.
‘Time is running out. I need to accumulate as many kills as possible.’
Hunting with fierce determination to claim first place across all zones, I was slaughtering prey when—
A pillar of light descended from the sky, and my movement was sealed.
Time was up.
[Kehehehe! Did you all enjoy your murders?]
Each player trapped within their pillar cast a cold gaze toward Angel.
How could it be enjoyable when they’d all killed the same people?
Some even looked upon Angel with resentment for imposing such a nauseating Quest.
Though Angel was merely a guide, after all.
[Ugh, look at all that filthy blood. This pristine space has become a complete mess.]
“….”
[Anyway, thank you for going through the trouble of killing each other. Before we check the tallies, let me revive the dead.]
Even before Angel finished speaking, the system was already reviving the fallen.
‘Speaking as if they’re the one doing it. As if they even had that power.’
As I scoffed at Angel, the players were resurrected and without exception trapped within pillars once more.
Hwang Yong-min’s friends, who had been dying for three straight hours, could finally breathe again in this moment.
“Hwang Yong-min, you bastard!”
“You bastard! I’ll beat you to death!”
“You’re worse than Jo Jung-sik, you pathetic insect!”
They were too busy hurling insults at Hwang Yong-min from within the pillar of light.
[Quiet! Anyone who makes a sound from now on will have their head blown off.]
“….”
[Good, much quieter now. Well, everyone’s been revived, so shall we look at the results? Oh, but first we should check what the Sub Quest was for this round!]
“A Sub Quest?”
“There was one this time too?”
[Of course there was. Did you think there wasn’t? Are you idiots? Hehehehe.]
“….”
The Angel who had mocked them proudly displayed the Quest window.
【Sub Quest】
└Eliminate the Zone Representative within the time limit
└Upon success ▶ Lowest-grade Demon Stone Draw Ticket awarded
“E-eliminate the Zone Representative?”
“That was the Sub Quest?”
[That’s right, you foolish humans. For your information, only one person in our zone completed the Sub Quest. That would be Black Scythe.]
“B-Black Scythe?”
“Now that you mention it….”
“He killed Hwang Yong-min right after the start and took the Zone Representative position.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
The people who had criticized Black Scythe for killing Hwang Yong-min clicked their tongues in regret.
‘If only I’d known, I would’ve killed Hwang Yong-min myself….’
‘Damn it. Becoming the Zone Representative would’ve actually been beneficial this round.’
But Hwang Yong-min, who had actually died, was hearing this for the first time.
‘I… I was killed? By Black Scythe?’
Could that be why his memory had blanked out at the beginning?
Realizing he had died and been revived, Hwang Yong-min urgently checked his skill window.
‘It’s gone. The Command Authority skill I had as a temporary skill is gone.’
Although he’d already used up all his chances, the Command Authority skill had definitely remained in his skill window.
But now it had vanished without a trace.
‘Did the Zone Representative authority really transfer to Black Scythe?’
Was this what Ryu Min meant by helping him avoid becoming a target?
By taking the representative title for himself?
Hwang Yong-min stared at Ryu Min in bewilderment.
Ryu Min didn’t even glance his way, seemingly uninterested.
[Now then, shall we look at the tally results? Oh, but first you’re curious about the criteria for ranking, aren’t you?]
The Angel revealed the rules she’d kept hidden until now.
[The ranking method is based on the order of killing different humans. Even if you kill the same human multiple times, it only counts as 1.]
“Different humans, you say?”
“Couldn’t I just kill as many as possible?”
[It couldn’t possibly be that simple, could it? Kihihi, let me show you the results right away.]
Angel’s wings fluttered, and a results window materialized.
★ Round 4 Results Tally ★
[All Zones]
└1st Place. Black Scythe (Lv30 Reaper) 722 Eliminated
└2nd Place. Dumb Shits (Lv13 Shaman) 521 Eliminated
└3rd Place. Heavenly Demon (Lv13 Dark Knight) 433 Eliminated
[Zone ESKS45-5]
└1st Place. Black Scythe (Lv30 Reaper) 722 Eliminated
└2nd Place. Cute Little Chick (Lv11 Warrior) 211 Eliminated
└3rd Place. An Sang-chul (Lv11 Knight) 209 Eliminated
[So Black Scythe took first place again, huh?]
‘Thank goodness.’
I exhaled in relief at the relatively comfortable first-place position.
The other players, meanwhile, were staring at me with expressions of considerable distaste.
“Over 700 kills…”
“How is that even possible?”
“Didn’t we have around a thousand total?”
“So he killed 70% of them alone?”
“That’s insane, absolutely insane.”
Like the others shaking their heads in disbelief, Angel couldn’t help but marvel.
[Wow! You killed 722 people all by yourself? That’s incredible! By the way, our zone’s 521st place record is only 30 kills. Anything below that means elimination.]
“Ah…”
“Ah…!”
Sighs of despair escaped from nearly half the players.
They were the ones who hadn’t managed to kill even 30.
“No, I don’t want to be eliminated!”
“So we’re really dying this time?”
“Damn… I should have killed more.”
While half the players lamented their regrets,
I was reading the reward message.

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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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