The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 55

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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 55
55. Pul-Se-Ba
Players change the world.
At the cafe known as Pul-Se-Ba, regular meetings were held every Sunday.
-Welcome, Yamtti.
-Hey there, Chairman.
-Popo Ring, welcome to you as well.
Eight faces appeared one after another on the video chat screen.
Eight executives comprised of the cafe’s founding members and high-level members with proven credibility.
-Everyone’s here?
A man wearing glasses offered a genteel smile from within the screen.
-Then let’s begin the regular meeting for the third week of April. Lost Yak.
-Yes, Chairman.
-How many new members joined the cafe this week?
The bronze-skinned man directed his gaze toward the data he’d compiled.
-Approximately two thousand.
-That’s higher than last week.
-Indeed. Players naturally decrease with each round, yet ironically, membership numbers continue to rise weekly. It seems the article about a coalition cafe for players has been drawing in new recruits.
-Who was it that hired that journalist?
At the Chairman’s words, a woman with an alluring presence raised her hand with a knowing smile.
-That was me, Chairman.
-Yamtti? I didn’t know you had journalist connections.
-I made one this time around. Hehe.
-As expected, you’re remarkable. Truly befitting an early member. Hehe.
-Thank you so much!
The Chairman, who had been smiling, shifted his gaze.
-Then Lost Yak, if we filter out the riffraff from those two thousand, how many remain?
-After removing players without occupations, those below level 10, and those who didn’t submit proper applications, approximately 1,200 remain.
-Among them, how many are actually useful talent?
-I’ll address that.
-Please go ahead, Popo Ring.
-First, a notable player is Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand from Region ESKS45-5. He’s a level 10 ordinary warrior, but according to his application, he’s even ranked third in that region.
-Third in that region… He must have excellent runes for his level. Or he’s lying.
-Still, I believe he’s talent worthy of being considered for an executive position.
-I see. What about other candidates?
-Another candidate is Kkokkomaggokmark. He’s from ESKS122-7 Zone and has fluctuated between ranks 4 and 10, it seems.
-Interesting, there’s more talent than expected.
-Beyond that, there are 50 players who rank within the top 100 in that region.
-We won’t have enough time with all these interviews. My Age is Thirty?
-Yes?
At the Chairman’s call, a man who appeared to be in his forties startled visibly.
“Were you sleeping?”
“Ah, I’m—I’m terribly sorry.”
“What were you doing last night that you’re dozing off this morning?”
“I have no excuse….”
“How can the head of interviews have no excuse? If this continues, My Age is Thirty’s executive position might become precarious, you know?”
“That is….”
“I won’t hear excuses. Process fifty interview candidates by next week’s meeting. If you can’t manage it, another high-level candidate might take your place instead.”
“Ah, understood! Leave it to me!”
He answered with vigor, but shadows crossed My Age is Thirty’s face.
Worry already gnawed at him—how would he fill fifty slots in time?
“By the way, Lost Yak.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Have there been any signs of contact from Black Scythe?”
Lost Yak shook his head weakly.
“If there had been, I would have reported it immediately, setting aside all other matters.”
“True. You would have done exactly that.”
Black Scythe, who never relinquished the top rank across all regions, was already a super-elite named player among the player community.
The Chairman’s desire to recruit them was understandable.
“If Black Scythe were to join, I’d be prepared to offer an executive position immediately… It’s a shame.”
“Chairman, I believe that might be a hasty judgment.”
The player with the nickname Simple Mukbang raised his hand, offering a contrary opinion.
“No matter how renowned Black Scythe is, their nationality hasn’t been confirmed. Hiring a foreigner as an executive seems inefficient, in my assessment….”
“There is evidence they’re Korean.”
The player nicknamed Soboro is Sleepy Delicious raised his hand and interjected.
“An acquaintance of mine is in Region ESKS45-5, and they say Black Scythe operates in the same region.”
“If they’re in the same region, they must be Korean, right? There are no foreigners mixed in within a region.”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm.”
Simple Mukbang, who had offered the contrary opinion, fell silent with an awkward expression.
“So Black Scythe is Korean… If such a legendary player joined our cafe, it would be ideal….”
The Chairman spoke with a tone of regret.
“Yamtti? Could you perhaps have that journalist write more articles? It seems we need a major promotional campaign so that Black Scythe becomes aware of the cafe’s existence.”
“Of course it’s possible. As long as the payment is right….”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure to give you a generous incentive for your hard work.”
“Hehe, thanks, Chairman!”
As Yamtti flirted and sent a wink, the other executives actually seemed more pleased.
“Then let’s conclude the new member matter here and move on to the next agenda….”
“Wait, just a moment, Chairman!”
Lost Yak’s voice carried an uncharacteristic note of alarm.
-What’s the matter?
-Well, a Named player just submitted an application to join the cafe.
-Which Named player?
-It’s… Black Scythe.
Whoosh—!
The Chairman jumped up from his seat in shock.
As a result, only the Chairman’s trouser cuffs were visible on the screen.
-My apologies. I got a bit excited there.
The Chairman settled back into his seat.
-Black Scythe is really applying to join our cafe? I can hardly believe it.
-Yes. The application just came through.
There are Named players like Cheonma and those idiotic fools, sure.
But neither of them can hold a candle to Black Scythe’s fame.
-That Black Scythe would join our cafe… This is unbelievable.
-What should we do?
The Chairman’s brow furrowed involuntarily at the foolish question.
-Of course we proceed with the admission process. Verify the information is accurate, then conduct interviews with the applicants we discussed earlier. Right now!
-Ah, understood!
-What are you doing? My Age is Thirty! Get out there for the interview immediately!
-Yes? Yes! I-I’m going!
My Age is Thirty, spurred on by urgency, logged out of the chat room.
* * *
“Is this the place?”
Shim Hyung-taek pulled out his phone to check the message.
[Interview Coordinator: Please come to Eoyeowa Cafe in Namyangju City, Wabu-eup by noon. Dress code is casual.]
He looked up and spotted the coffee shop mentioned in the message.
‘Having to do an interview just to join a cafe…’
Shim Hyung-taek’s brow creased naturally.
Being summoned to a place an hour away from Seoul was irritating.
Moreover, it was a location inaccessible without a personal vehicle.
He’d had to get off the bus halfway and walk.
For thirty minutes at that.
A sigh escaped Shim Hyung-taek’s lips.
Yet he wasn’t discouraged.
He was a Named player in his own right, after all.
‘Damn it, if they act even slightly out of line, I’ll just kill them on the spot.’
If things went wrong, he’d kill the interview coordinator—player or not.
With that thought, he opened the cafe door.
Ding—
The signage was unremarkable, but the interior was a surprisingly refined cafe.
The problem was that despite the spacious interior, there were only two customers.
‘No wonder there are no customers in such a remote location.’
While I was inwardly criticizing this, one of the customers stood up and approached.
“Are you perhaps an applicant to join Pul-Se-Ba?”
He was clearly a man in his forties.
‘Is he not a Player?’
Shim Hyung-taek answered reluctantly.
“…Yes.”
“What is your nickname?”
“Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand.”
“Oh! Pleased to meet you. I’m the interviewer, My Age is Thirty.”
“Excuse me? Are you a Player?”
“Haha… Yes. I may not look it, but I’m a Player who just turned twenty-nine this year.”
“….”
“Please come this way first.”
The interviewer gave a perfunctory handshake and guided me to a seat.
Then he introduced the young man who had been sitting there.
“This is Kkokkomaggokmark, who came for an interview earlier. Kkokkomaggokmark? This is Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand. You may both become members of the same cafe, so please exchange greetings.”
‘This scrawny kid is also a Player? He’s not even worth a punch.’
Shim Hyung-taek, inwardly disparaging, merely nodded his head.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
“Now that you’ve greeted each other, please sit here. Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand.”
Shim Hyung-taek sat down while glancing around the surroundings.
It was a conscious habit, just in case he needed to commit murder.
“Business doesn’t seem to be doing well here? There are no customers and I don’t see any typical part-time workers.”
“Well, it’s a remote location, so that’s inevitable. It’s also why we rented this place as an interview venue.”
“Ah, so you rented it. Still, the owner should be here. I don’t see them.”
“The owner is in the kitchen preparing meals. This is a cafe, but it also serves food.”
Shim Hyung-taek nodded while checking the location of the CCTV cameras.
But there weren’t even any CCTV cameras.
‘I could kill these two people right now and leave without anyone knowing?’
But he didn’t act on it.
He knew how inefficient that would be.
‘I can’t flip the table just to kill two people.’
By joining the cafe and building connections with other members, he could periodically lure them out and kill them.
There was no reason to overturn the board.
‘So the first one I should target is this scrawny kid?’
Shim Hyung-taek’s eyes studied Kkokkomaggokmark intently.
He was at most in his early twenties.
When the boy—who seemed roughly his own age—made eye contact, he quietly averted his gaze.
‘This guy’s awfully shy for a man. What a pathetic bastard.’
A sneer escaped me, but only briefly.
As silence stretched between the three of them, Shim Hyung-taek finally broke it.
“Aren’t you conducting the interview?”
“Ah, we’re still waiting for one more candidate. We’ll begin once they arrive.”
‘There’s another candidate besides us?’
I asked to make sure there wasn’t anyone else.
“So three people are interviewing total?”
“Yes. The appointment time just passed, so let’s wait a bit longer… Ah, they’re here.”
The door chimed open, and all eyes turned to the man entering.
The staff member approached cautiously.
“Excuse me… are you the applicant for Pul-Se-Ba membership?”
“That’s right.”
“If I may ask, what is your nickname?”
“Black Scythe.”
“…!”
“…!”
Everyone gasped in unison.
“Wait… Black Scythe?”
“No way…!”
The only person who didn’t react was the staff member, who’d known beforehand.
“As expected! So you are Black Scythe! It’s an honor to meet you!”
The staff member shook hands and bowed respectfully.
“Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“A little.”
The staff member was flustered by his blunt casual speech, but given who he was, they didn’t show it.
“Haha, sorry for calling you to such a remote location. There’s no better place for discreet contact.”
Black Scythe didn’t even acknowledge the comment.
His stiff posture was arrogance incarnate.
Yet the staff member smiled without any sign of displeasure.
“By the way, you’re quite handsome in person. You must be popular with the ladies?”
“….”
“Please, have a seat here.”
Four people sat at the table.
“These two are your fellow candidates today. Please introduce yourselves.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Kkokkomaggokmark….”
“….”
“Black Flame Dragon, would you introduce yourself as well?”
The staff member spoke, but Shim Hyung-taek heard nothing.
My back was drenched with sweat from the tension alone.
‘This… this person is the Black Scythe who killed me five times…?’
Because of that bastard in Round 4, I nearly failed to place in the rankings.
I could have raised my stats by killing more people, but I wasted fifty minutes.
‘If I met him in reality, I wanted to ask. What grudge did he have to kill me like that?’
And now I was actually meeting him in reality.
“Black Flame Dragon? What are you doing? Aren’t you going to greet us?”
“Ah, hello. I’m Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand…”
Black Scythe nodded with his arms crossed.
“Black Scythe.”
No one objected to his arrogant introduction.
It made sense for the top-ranked player across all regions.
Only Shim Hyung-taek found it strange.
‘What? He’s not even acknowledging me?’
I thought he’d recognize me immediately once I revealed my nickname.
After all, he was the Black Scythe who killed me five times in Round 4.
I glanced at him again, but Black Scythe still showed no interest.
‘Could he really not remember my nickname? After killing me five times? Seriously.’
Shim Hyung-taek wasn’t the only one bewildered.
‘This guy’s hilarious.’
Kkokkomaggokmark was also hiding his astonishment as he watched Black Scythe.
‘Did I really act that arrogantly?’
Kkokkomaggokmark knew the truth.
The man before him was not Black Scythe.
Because the real Black Scythe was here—Ryu Min, myself.
‘He must have practiced hard to imitate me.’
Ryu Min, disguised as Kkokkomaggokmark, suppressed a sneer as he watched Black Scythe.
Actually, calling him Black Scythe felt wrong.
He was merely an impostor with a history of fraud.
And this impostor was precisely—
‘The key to obtaining the Clone Rune.’
That was why I was currently disguised under the nickname Kkokkomaggokmark.

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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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