The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 6

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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 6
6. Weapon Selection
[You have received a ‘Lowest-Tier Rare Weapon Selection Voucher’ as a reward for ranking 1st in this zone!]
[You have received a ‘Special Reward Selection Box’ as a reward for ranking 1st across all zones!]
Upon reading the message, Ryu Min opened his inventory.
Two unfamiliar items were inside.
A weapon selection voucher and a reward selection box.
Ryu Min picked up the weapon selection voucher.
‘Use it.’
A translucent window materialized before him.
[You may select one of the following rare weapons.]
[Please touch the reward you desire.]
└ 1. Keen Longsword
└ 2. Stiletto
└ 3. Javelin
A sword, a dagger, a spear.
There were normally more weapon types available, but early on, these were the only options.
‘I should be grateful for even this much. It’s a rare item, after all.’
Items were divided into six tiers.
Normal, Rare, Epic, Unique, Legendary, and Divine.
Rare was merely the second tier, but considering how difficult it was to obtain through conventional means, it was quite a generous reward.
‘A beginner would choose a sword or a spear with longer reach, but….’
Ryu Min moved his hand without hesitation.
[You have selected ‘Stiletto’.]
The reward entered his inventory, and an information window automatically appeared.
[Stiletto]
-Classification: Weapon
-Tier: Rare
-Attack Power: 15
-Effect: Agility +1
-Durability: 150/150
-Usage Restriction: Beginner Tier or higher
-Description: The finest dagger available to beginners.
After reviewing the information, I discarded the goblin’s dagger I had been holding.
With an attack power of 3 and no stat bonuses, it was worthless.
‘There’s no point keeping it since I can’t even sell it.’
Storing it in my inventory would only waste space.
My gaze turned toward the other reward.
The special reward selection box—obtainable only by achieving 1st place across all zones.
Naturally, it was far superior to the lowest-tier rare weapon selection voucher I had just used, but….
‘I’ll hold off on using it for now.’
I closed the inventory window without touching anything.
I simply opened my status window, tapped agility, and turned my attention elsewhere.
As if I had no interest in items.
‘I wonder if Hwang Yong-min is fighting well?’
Amid the chaos filled with screams from humans and goblins, Ryu Min craned his neck to look around.
Round passers couldn’t move beyond the pillars, so their movement was restricted.
‘There he is.’
I could see Hwang Yong-min’s massive frame in the distance.
Watching him fight desperately while hiding behind others actually put my mind at ease.
‘He’ll survive this round too.’
I already knew he’d survive not just Round 1 but through Round 5, yet I couldn’t help feeling anxious about unforeseen variables.
‘You can’t die too early. I’ll use you for all you’re worth, and only kill you when you’re no longer needed.’
Though I’d long since avenged myself and held no remaining grudges, the honest truth was I didn’t want him alive either.
‘Is there still a long way to go?’
Completing the Quest early doesn’t send you home first.
You have to wait until half of the participants have cleared it.
‘Surprisingly fair game, isn’t it?’
If those who finish early return first, the remaining participants are left completely exposed to danger.
They probably haven’t even woken up yet.
‘There’s nothing more dangerous than being targeted while your soul is in transit.’
If my body on Earth dies while my soul is in the Other World?
Of course my soul dies too.
At that point, no matter how strong a player is, it’s useless.
You simply take the hit defenseless.
‘It’s like being targeted for your life during a virtual reality game.’
Perhaps to avoid such danger, the system only returns all passers en masse after the round ends.
That was why Ryu Min was standing here waiting idly.
‘When it comes to this time, waiting really is tedious.’
Coming in first place creates this problem.
“P-please! Save me! Aaahhh!”
“S-stop! Please stop!”
Even amid the desperate screams of people, Ryu Min felt bored.
I’d seen it all before.
The weak are culled, and only the strong survive.
‘There’s no helping it. To escape this death game, survival in competition is the only way.’
It’s a reality I, as merely human, cannot change.
Ryu Min, who had been shaking his head, spoke an activation command to pass the time.
‘Progress window.’
[All Sectors]
└Participants: 1,801,029,290
└Achievers: 3/900,514,645
[ESKS45-5 Zone]
└Participants: 10,286
└Achievers: 1/5,143
Looking at the Quest progress window, I saw that three people had cleared the entire zone.
Including myself, that meant three people had passed through.
‘Since I’m first, the others must be second and third.’
Meanwhile, in this zone, there was only one achiever.
Just me.
‘It seems the second and third placers cleared different zones.’
Either way, whether it was the entire zone or this specific zone, there was no point in not placing in the top three.
There were no separate rewards given below that threshold.
‘I do get gold from completing the Quest, but everyone gets that….’
Just then, the number for this zone changed from one to two.
Looking around, I spotted a man trapped inside a translucent pillar in the distance.
He had just defeated one hundred goblins and completed the Quest.
‘People should start clearing it steadily now.’
As expected, Quest achievers began appearing here and there.
‘The top three in this zone are now filled.’
The slow pace accelerated, and the goblin population dwindled accordingly.
‘Well, what does ranking matter anyway? The important thing is getting into the top half somehow.’
I turned my head and saw a massive man trapped in a pillar.
It was Hwang Yong-min.
‘That guy cleared it too.’
He was gasping heavily inside the pillar, clearly having struggled quite a bit.
While the other clearers caught their breath, fierce combat raged around them.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Uuuaaah!”
All manner of screams mixed together, but there was none of the chaos from before.
People had gained some experience of their own.
‘They might have adapted to this environment where you must kill to survive.’
As time passed, the goblin population noticeably decreased.
Though the goblins had numerical superiority, humans possessed superior individual specs—a natural outcome.
Besides, players could allocate stat points after defeating goblins, so humans definitely had the advantage.
‘The numbers of humans and goblins are becoming similar. It’s about time Angel stepped in.’
When Quest achievers exceeded four hundred and the fifty thousand goblins had dwindled to ten thousand.
Angel, who had only been watching, intervened.
With a wicked smile.
[The numbers of humans and goblins have become quite similar, haven’t they? Shall we replenish the goblins?]
Flap—!
The spread of my wings seemed to be the signal; in an instant, every corpse scattered across the Grassland vanished without a trace.
The people’s confusion was an inevitable reaction.
“What, what is this?”
“The goblin corpses disappeared?”
“Not just the goblins. The bodies of other people vanished too!”
Though the people were bewildered, it was only momentary.
When goblins began pouring out from all directions, they all wore expressions of utter despair.
[Kyohohoho, I’ve restocked 50,000 for you. That should be plenty to hunt. Kekekek!]
“….”
I had no doubt the people were now hurling curses at Angel.
“Kill them!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The people had to wield their weapons again with desperate ferocity.
They were far too young to meet such a gruesome end in this place.
└Achievers : 1,021/5,143
…
└Achievers : 2,129/5,143
…
└Achievers : 3,533/5,143
As the number of Quest achievers increased, the goblins diminished exponentially.
Each time, Angel cleared away the corpses and added more goblins.
About five hours had passed like this.
Ryu Min, who had been sitting on the ground watching the progress window, rose to his feet as if sensing the moment had come.
‘Soon the achiever count will be full.’
It was time to settle the rewards and head home.
Though there was one thing I had to do before that.
└Achievers : 5,143/5,143
The moment the Quest achiever count reached its limit.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Every goblin that had filled the Grassland vanished without exception.
As if it had all been a dream.
[Half of the passers have made it through.]
Angel spoke with a note of regret.
[Unfortunately, the rest must be eliminated. Such are the rules of this game.]
“What? Eliminated?”
“Wait, please! Angel! Just one more goblin and I’ll make it! Please…!”
That was when it happened.
Those who had failed to achieve the Quest scattered like dust.
Roughly three thousand people remained.
The other two thousand had been slaughtered by goblins.
Whoosh—
Death arrived without warning, and the survivors couldn’t even scream.
The Quest Achievers watching from the pillars swallowed hard at the sight.
Had they failed to complete their Quest earlier, they too might have been erased like that.
‘If you don’t make it past the halfway mark, there’s no mercy—only erasure.’
The ten thousand who had entered had dwindled to five thousand.
Unfortunately, I had no way to save them.
It was the core rule of this damned game, just as Angel had said.
[Why do you all look so gloomy? Shouldn’t you be happy that you’ve survived?]
Angel tilted her head curiously, then shrugged.
[It doesn’t matter. You’ve all survived, after all. Congratulations. You can return home now.]
At the word “return,” the tension drained from their faces.
Relief washed over them, and smiles returned.
But Angel’s lips twisted into a grin.
It was too soon to celebrate.
[Congratulations on passing Round 1. I hope you’ll do better in Round 2 next time. Hehehehe.]
“….”
I had only just cleared Round 1.
When the first day of next month arrived, I would be summoned to Round 2 without exception.
I had only bought myself a single month.
As the realization dawned on them, the color drained from their faces.
[Before you return, shall we settle accounts first?]
As Angel spread her wings, a message window materialized before my eyes.
★ Round 1 Results Summary ★
[All Zones]
└1st Place. Black Reaper (Lv5 No Class) 00:10:21
└2nd Place. Poop Idiots (Lv5 No Class) 00:16:15
└3rd Place. Heavenly Demon (Lv5 No Class) 00:17:07
[Zone ESKS45-5]
└1st Place. Black Reaper (Lv5 No Class) 00:10:21
└2nd Place. Life is a Documentary (Lv5 No Class) 00:23:55
└3rd Place. Black Flame Dragon in Right Hand (Lv5 No Class) 00:24:43
[Your current ranking is 1st place in all zones and 1st place in your zone.]
[Rank Reward – Choice of Lowest-Grade Rare Weapon (Distributed), Special Reward Selection Box (Distributed)]
[Clear Reward – 1,000 Gold (Pending Distribution)]
[Your clear reward will be distributed shortly.]
[You have obtained 1,000 Gold as a clear reward! Congratulations!]
[You can purchase items from the shop using the gold you’ve obtained.]
[The shop function will unlock when you reach level 10.]
Not just Ryu Min, but everyone was staring into the void.
We were all viewing the compilation results together.
‘Everyone else must have received only 1,000 gold.’
Ryu Min, who had recorded first place, received a ranking bonus, but the others only received gold.
‘Now there’s no one who doesn’t know I’m in first place, right?’
As expected, people glanced sideways at Ryu Min.
Some of their gazes held envy, while others carried resentment.
But most of them sent looks of admiration and awe.
The gap between first and second place in completion time had been overwhelming, after all.
The surprise wasn’t limited to humans alone.
[A first-place finisher across all zones in the sector I oversee… That’s remarkable.]
Angel’s attention focused entirely on Ryu Min.
[Black Reaper? Answer me.]
“Yes.”
[How can you be so strong? Did you obtain some special rune or…]
Angel trailed off and closed her mouth.
‘What a foolish question…’
Angel’s question was clearly a mistake.
It was essentially advertising that she couldn’t see a player’s status window.
Of course, through my repeated lives, I already knew this fact.
I also knew that Angel was inwardly flustered.
So I decided to tease her a little.
“Wouldn’t you know my runes if you looked at my status window?”
It was an innocent-sounding question, but Angel didn’t seem flustered.
[Of course I know. Do you think I, an angel, wouldn’t know your information? I was just asking even though I already knew.]
‘She’s lying.’
I knew the truth.
Angel had no authority to view a player’s status window.
‘She only has the permissions necessary to guide and conduct the game, but she can’t access players’ personal information.’
Through my regressions, I’ve learned surprisingly much about Angel.
Perhaps that’s why.
“Angel.”
[What is it, human?]
“May I make a request?”
[A request?]
I could afford to make a bold statement.
“The first-place ranking reward seems too stingy.”
[What did you say?]
“I’d like a better reward, if possible.”
How dare he attempt to negotiate with Angel.
The onlookers who had been watching gasped at his audacious words.

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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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