The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 67

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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 67
67. Grit
The moment Round 5 began, Min Ju-ri recalled Ryu Min’s parting words.
-Hunting 300 Orcs is no trivial task. These monsters have impressive durability and tend to swarm in groups. You absolutely cannot attempt it alone.
-So that’s why you want me to seek Black Scythe’s assistance?
-Yes. Once the Integrated Zone is established, find Black Scythe first. Don’t even think about engaging the Orcs. Even if you fail to make contact with Black Scythe, wait for at least an hour before making any moves.
-Understood. Thank you for telling me, Min!
Following Ryu Min’s advice, Min Ju-ri waited for the Integrated Zone to be established.
True to her Seer class nature, she found Black Scythe the moment the zone integration was complete.
‘How will I even find him?’
That thought crossed her mind for a moment, but there was no need to search.
Black Scythe was among the ten zone representatives gathered for the bonus game.
‘Ah, found him. I can approach him after this ends.’
At the same time, curiosity stirred within her.
Would Black Scythe truly claim the position of Integrated Zone representative?
The result unfolded as expected—Black Scythe’s victory.
Moreover, he demonstrated an overwhelmingly dominant skill gap.
‘At level 30, that’s only natural.’
I nodded in understanding and attempted to approach Black Scythe.
Yet as I drew closer, my feet refused to move.
Though I could see Black Scythe descending from the deathmatch, I could not bring myself near.
I lacked the courage.
‘Why… why am I like this?’
The reason was simple.
Primal fear.
The instinctive dread all humans harbor toward the strong held my feet in place.
Especially after witnessing him mercilessly sever his opponent’s head.
‘M-Min said it himself. I need to cooperate with Black Scythe. He’ll surely need my help.’
I steeled myself, reassuring my trembling heart that he wouldn’t harm me, that he wasn’t so unstable as to draw a blade on first meeting.
But by the time I gathered my resolve, Black Scythe had already vanished.
‘Ah… I missed my chance.’
He must have departed to undertake the main quest.
Other players were scattering one by one to hunt Orcs.
All except Min Ju-ri.
‘What do I do now? He said hunting Orcs alone is impossible, so I can’t act recklessly…’
With nothing else to occupy her time, Min Ju-ri decided to wait the full hour as Ryu Min had instructed.
Given how earnestly he had emphasized it, she didn’t even consider approaching the Orcs.
And so an hour passed.
[Time Remaining Until Round End: 08:55:15]
[Main Quest Progress: Orcs 0/300]
Min Ju-ri watched the progress window and let out a sigh.
Anxiety suddenly washed over her.
‘This is bad. What if I can’t reach 300 kills and just disappear?’
It was a natural worry—an hour had passed with nothing accomplished.
‘I came relying only on Black Scythe, but now I can’t even find him….’
It was my own fault.
I’d gotten frightened and lost sight of Black Scythe.
‘I can’t just stay here like this. There’s no guarantee Black Scythe will return to the starting point, is there?’
I had to go find him.
If things continued like this, I might not encounter Black Scythe until the round ended.
Thump, thump—I took my first steps.
My eyes darted about frantically, searching for Black Scythe.
I didn’t neglect to watch my surroundings either.
‘From what I could see, it looked like he went this way….’
I walked aimlessly in the direction Black Scythe had disappeared.
Had I walked for ten minutes?
In the distance, a palisade came into view.
It was a village, but judging by its crude construction, it seemed to be where Orcs lived.
‘Could he be in there? No. It might be dangerous, so I should avoid it for now.’
I chose to turn back without getting closer.
But absurdly, at that very moment, I encountered the one thing I didn’t want to meet.
An Orc.
It looked identical to the Orcs I’d seen in The Game, so I recognized it instantly.
“Screech, screeeech!”
The Orc that spotted Min Ju-ri charged forward with its axe raised.
‘Damn it, I didn’t want to fight an Orc…!’
Combat became unavoidable.
Min Ju-ri immediately cast a buff on herself.
‘Bless!’
[With the effect of Bless, all stats increase by 50%.]
My primary stat, Agility, rose from 24 to 36.
My Strength, which I’d invested a little into as support, rose from 12 to 18.
I drew the Rapier, the weapon I’d received as a class advancement gift.
‘There are two things fortunate for me.’
First, there’s only one opponent.
Second, I’d learned the Orc’s weakness from Ryu Min.
‘The muscles are tough everywhere else, so I should target the neck,’ he’d said.
I was someone who’d endured the living hell of the fourth round.
In a one-on-one fight, I was confident.
Whoosh—!
The Orc’s axe blade came down toward my shoulder.
After dodging lightly, I realized they were slower than I’d anticipated.
‘Evading is easy. The problem is accuracy.’
Targeting a moving opponent’s neck was never going to be simple.
This wasn’t The Game—there was no accuracy correction here.
‘If I mess up and hit somewhere else, I’ll be wide open for a counterattack.’
Ryu Min had warned that most people panic when their weapon gets stuck and end up dead.
‘He said the muscle density makes it hard to pull free, so I need to be fast and decisive.’
While evading the axe and waiting for an opening, my rapier thrust toward the Orc’s neck.
But the Orc shifted, and the blade sank into its chest instead.
The rapier that had plunged in with a wet sound came free quickly.
‘Thank goodness. It didn’t get caught in the muscle like I feared.’
Because I’d made the thrust short and forceful, extracting it was much easier.
“Shrieeeek!”
The Orc, crying out in pain from its wounded chest, swung its axe in a frenzy.
But I wasn’t about to let such slow, unskilled axe swings connect.
Thrust—thrust—thrust!
I pressed my assault, aiming repeatedly at its neck.
On the sixth attempt, I finally pierced a hole through the Orc’s throat.
“Gack! Cough, shrieeeek!”
Green blood gushed from the Orc’s hands as it clutched its neck.
As its movements grew sluggish, I pressed the advantage, thrusting twice, three times more.
It collapsed with a thud.
“Haa, haa.”
Breathing heavily, I wiped the sweat from my brow.
‘It was hard, but I did it. I defeated an Orc one-on-one.’
My joy was short-lived.
I suddenly found myself rubbing my eyes and blinking repeatedly.
‘What? Am I seeing things?’
The man I’d been searching for was walking straight toward me.
‘Is that really Black Scythe in front of me? Really?’
After the initial shock, I let out a relieved breath.
The man I’d been looking for had walked right to me.
Or rather, he’d just passed by.
“…Ah! Wait!”
At my sudden cry, Black Scythe turned around with an aloof expression.
“What?”
“Ah, um, well… that is….”
My throat felt tight as I tried to speak.
Hesitating, I forced the words out.
“Black Scythe! Come hunt with me!”
“What?”
“Huh? I… I mean, a party.”
Black Scythe tilted his head in confusion.
There was no way he wouldn’t understand the Game term “party.”
“Why would I party with you?”
“That’s… well…”
Min Ju-ri decided it would be faster to demonstrate through action than to explain in complicated terms, so she suddenly extended her hand.
As a stream of light poured from her palm and entered his mind, Ryu Min feigned surprise.
“What is this…?”
“It’s a Bless. My buff skill. It lasts for 3 hours. All your stats should have increased by 50%.”
Ryu Min pretended to check his status window despite already knowing.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Does that answer your question? My buff will be a huge help for hunting.”
“So you want to party together so you can keep receiving the buff?”
“Yes. More specifically, please help me with my hunting.”
“Hmm.”
Ryu Min touched his chin as if pondering.
Then he deliberately shot her a cold glare to match his character.
“I have dominion rights. I could put you to work as my assistant right now.”
“Ah…”
Min Ju-ri was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected him to say something like that.
Of course, Ryu Min had no intention of wasting his dominion rights.
“Can you promise not to stab me in the back?”
“O-of course!”
“Good. I’ll trust you for now.”
Ryu Min suddenly extended his hand.
Min Ju-ri, coming to her senses with an “ah,” carefully grasped it.
“Since we’re partying, let’s at least introduce ourselves. I’m Black Scythe, level 32, and my class is Reaper.”
“I’m Democracy. I’m level 13, and my class is Buffer.”
“You said you needed help? I saw you handling Orcs pretty well earlier.”
“It was my first time hunting them, and honestly, it was tough.”
“You’re saying it was your first time when an hour and thirty minutes have already passed?”
“Ahaha… well, it just kind of happened that way…”
Min Ju-ri scratched her cheek, unable to admit she’d wasted time waiting for Black Scythe.
“You’re running out of time then.”
“Yes… I’ve only just caught one, so I need to quickly fill 300 of them.”
“Then I’ll help you catch them faster.”
“How will you do that?”
“I’ll weaken the Orcs so they don’t die. You finish them off. Land the killing blow, and the credit goes to you.”
In The Game, this was what they called a carry.
“You think you can manage that?”
“Of course. You saw me take down that Orc. I’m not so weak I can’t handle spoon-fed prey.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be going.”
“Wait.”
At Min Ju-ri’s call, Ryu Min turned his head with indifference.
“What is it?”
“I’m grateful for your help, but… am I getting in the way of your Quest, Black Scythe?”
“Don’t worry about that. I already finished the Main Quest.”
“Pardon?”
He’d already hunted all 300 Orcs?
There were still over eight hours left before the round ended.
While Min Ju-ri wore a dumbfounded expression, Ryu Min spoke.
“My real goal isn’t the Main Quest. It’s the Sub Quest. I’ve already obtained one Stone of Balance.”
“Already? You got one?”
“A boss called the Orc Warrior dropped it when I defeated it. I suspect the rest will only appear from defeating other bosses.”
“Ah… so there were bosses…”
Being familiar with The Game, Min Ju-ri had always expected bosses to appear eventually.
But she never imagined it would be this round.
“If you’re interested in the Sub Quest, just say so. I’ll give you the chance to face a boss alone.”
“No, no. I can barely handle regular Orcs. A boss is out of the question…”
Min Ju-ri waved her hand dismissively, then glanced at Ryu Min.
‘So that’s why I was worried earlier? That he might betray me for the Stone of Balance?’
In truth, she hadn’t been worried because she trusted him, but Min Ju-ri couldn’t help thinking that way.
“Don’t worry, Black Scythe. I have no ambitions regarding the Sub Quest. I’m satisfied with just the Main Quest. So I’ll never betray you. Besides, I don’t have the strength for it anyway…”
“Understood. I’ll trust you then.”
With those words, Ryu Min moved forward first.
Min Ju-ri hurried after him in quick steps.
“Don’t stay behind. Come to my side. I can’t protect you if you’re out of my sight.”
“Ah, understood.”
Min Ju-ri was no longer afraid of Black Scythe.
‘Talking with him, he doesn’t seem like the cold-blooded person his image suggests.’
He was helping with the hunt, telling her to come to his side for safety, and subtly looking out for her.
‘Min was right to listen to him. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Black Scythe would even form a party with me, but now I’m getting help like this…’
She was curious how he’d handle the Orc carry, but she’d find out soon enough.
As the two walked side by side with such thoughts, a group of Orcs appeared.
“Screech—screech!”
As three Orcs approached with menacing eyes, Min Ju-ri raised her rapier in alertness.
Then.
“Just wait a moment.”
Ryu Min stepped forward with an indifferent tone, drawing his scythe downward in a swift arc.
The thick legs of the Orcs were severed like meat on a butcher’s block.
“Guh!”
“Krrgh!”
As the Orcs collapsed to the ground, the scythe flashed once more across their upper bodies.
This time, both arms were separated from their torsos.
The limbless Orcs, their bodies reduced to mere trunks, let out agonized cries.
“Now, finish them. All three.”
“….”
“Why are you standing there dazed?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
Min Ju-ri snapped back to attention and approached the Orcs.
Thud—thud—thud!
Taking their lives was not difficult.
Especially not against helpless opponents stripped of their limbs.
[Orc defeated!]
[Experience +2.35%]
[Gold +40]
As the messages appeared before her, Min Ju-ri’s mouth fell open.
‘This… this is way too easy, isn’t it?’
She knew from direct experience.
Orcs were formidable monsters.
So even with Black Scythe’s help, she had expected to bear some degree of risk, but….
‘There’s no danger at all?’
It was as effortless as eating tender meat already deboned—smooth, simple, and utterly painless.
‘Killing Orcs is this easy?’
She could only marvel anew at Black Scythe’s prowess.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, yes!”
She felt it once again.
How truly fortunate she was to be teamed with Black Scythe.

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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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