The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 78

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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 78
78. It’s Me.
Players who wield a scythe are rare.
Especially one as massive and crude as that.
If there were a Player carrying such a scythe, there could only be one.
‘C-could it be… Black Scythe?’
As if bound by an unspoken agreement, both men conjured the same figure in their minds.
The immovable Rank 1 Player that no one in the community could fail to recognize—the legendary high-level ranker.
‘Is he actually claiming to be Black Scythe?’
Lost Yak erased his shocked expression and narrowed his eyes to slits.
There was a jarring disconnect between the figure before him and what he’d imagined Black Scythe to be.
‘First of all, he’s short.’
A height that barely reached 170 centimeters.
A massive scythe that would seem difficult to swing.
A voice that sounded somewhat youthful, a slight frame—
All of it diverged sharply from the image he’d constructed of Black Scythe.
‘Of course, comparing someone to their avatar would be foolish in itself….’
But the fact remained that this person looked unassuming. What was he supposed to do about that?
Yet Hwang Yong-min, who had actually faced Black Scythe before, knew the truth.
‘It… it really is Black Scythe!’
Despite the difference in physique, the manner of speech and the aura were identical.
Above all, those eyes visible through the mask—he could never forget them.
‘It’s real…. The real one has appeared.’
His hair stood on end, and his limbs trembled intermittently.
It was the reaction of prey recognizing a predator.
‘Black Scythe appearing in reality….’
His old vow to split him in half if they ever met in person had long since faded.
That had been a joke, honestly.
With a level difference of more than double, how could he possibly accomplish such a thing?
‘But why is Black Scythe here…?’
More pressingly, why had he stolen his name?
They should have no further business with each other.
In any case, the fact that he’d appeared armed suggested his intentions were far from benign.
Whether from sweating palms or an attempt to ease his tension, Hwang Yong-min repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
At this peculiar behavior, Lost Yak turned his gaze back to Black Scythe.
‘Is he really Black Scythe? This guy?’
Even he, who had dismissed the figure as harmless, now wore an expression of tension.
‘I’ve never actually seen him in person, but if this really is Black Scythe….’
Someone at Level 20 like himself would be no match whatsoever.
An ambush would probably be the only option.
“You.”
Lost Yak flinched at the sudden accusation.
“Why, why me?”
“You didn’t come here alone, did you?”
“….”
“Tell the others to come out. I already know.”
Lost Yak was genuinely shocked.
So much so that I wanted to applaud him.
‘He’s already figured out that there are other executives….’
Until just moments ago, I had only suspected whether this was Black Scythe.
But this incident confirmed it.
Regardless of whether he was Black Scythe or not, he was no pushover.
That’s when it happened.
Thud, thud—
Perhaps in response to his command to come out?
Two men who had been hiding in the corridor staircase revealed themselves.
It was Soboro is Sleepy Delicious and Popo Ring.
“Ah, we’ve been caught.”
“How did you know we were here?”
Unaware that he could detect their presence, the two approached Ryu Min.
“Don’t come any closer. Unless you want to die.”
“Tch, what a bluff.”
As Soborru scoffed, Popo Ring stopped him.
“Excuse me, are you the Black Scythe?”
At Popo Ring’s question, Ryu Min swung his scythe to show it.
“Doesn’t this tell you?”
“We’ve heard that you use a scythe as your main weapon, but we’ve never seen the Black Scythe directly. Just seeing a scythe doesn’t tell us much.”
“Then why ask if you won’t believe it anyway?”
“Still, I wanted to hear it directly from you.”
“Fine. I’m Black Scythe. Satisfied?”
The moment I acknowledged being Black Scythe, Popo Ring’s eyes changed.
[The target you are currently observing is speaking the ‘truth’.]
It was because of the Rune of Truth he possessed.
Soborru beside him turned to Popo Ring and asked.
“What does it say?”
“Truth… that’s what it shows.”
At those words, the executives stared at Black Scythe with astonished eyes.
‘This person is that famous Black Scythe…?’
‘I had my doubts, but it’s really true….’
Despite the somewhat jarring disconnect between expectation and reality, they all looked surprised.
‘Damn it, damn it all.’
Soborru wore an expression as if he’d just eaten shit.
I’d been cocky just moments before, thinking there was no way it could be Black Scythe.
‘Curse this mouth of mine. It’s a goddamn curse, a curse!’
I’d managed to irritate someone who might very well become a Cafe executive.
Once we became family, it was obvious I’d be marked.
‘What do I do? Should I apologize and say I was wrong? No, wait. Maybe he didn’t hear it. He’s just sitting there quietly, right?’
Soborru, who’d been reading the room, greeted him first, his feet already itching to flee.
“Black Scythe. It’s nice to meet you….”
“Skip the pleasantries.”
Ryu Min pointed his scythe at Soborru.
“You said you wanted to confirm whether I’m Black Scythe, right? Then let’s confirm it through combat.”
“C-combat?”
Soborru panicked.
A level 40 challenging a level 20 to a duel was essentially what this was.
The intent was unmistakable.
‘Damn it, he really was holding a grudge, wasn’t he?’
He clearly intended to humiliate me in front of everyone.
‘This, this is hopeless. I have to apologize unconditionally.’
I had no confidence in winning, of course.
I could tell without even fighting.
“I, I’m truly sorry for my rudeness just now, Black Scythe.”
“Sorry, my ass. Don’t I need to confirm whether I’m actually Black Scythe?”
“There’s no need to demonstrate your strength. The confirmation is already complete.”
Popo Ring interjected, but Black Scythe’s anger didn’t subside.
“I only said my name and the confirmation is already done?”
“Well… you see, I have a rune related to that….”
“Enough. If you can block my attack, I’ll consider your earlier rudeness forgotten. Shall we begin?”
“W-wait, Black Scythe. If you could just give me a moment….”
Before Soborru could even finish his apology, it happened.
Skreeeek—!
With a chilling sound, Soborru’s head fell downward.
Thunk— roll—
As their comrade’s head rolled toward their feet, the two men gasped in horror.
‘What the hell!!! What is that bastard!?’
Lost Yak wanted to scream.
But if he did, he’d end up like Soborru, so he only swallowed his spit.
Popo Ring’s feelings weren’t much different.
‘I, I didn’t even see the scythe swing.’
A stark gap in power.
Even with the common skill Dynamic Vision Enhancement learned, it was a speed difficult to follow.
“W-wait, Black Scythe! What are you doing?”
“What do you mean? I just proved who Black Scythe is through skill.”
“We told you there was no need for that….”
“Sigh….”
The two men clutched their heads as if struck by a migraine.
A real person had died.
Moreover, an executive had died.
Unlike in the Other World, there was no resurrection here.
The only saving grace was that it wasn’t an early founding member, but an executive hired through interviews.
They could replace him easily enough.
‘Replace him with who, exactly?’
In that moment, the madman in the white mask entered their field of vision.
Black Scythe would have been the optimal talent for an executive position.
They had come here precisely to recruit him, after all.
But….
‘Accept a madman who slaughters his own comrades as an executive?’
‘The Chairman surely wouldn’t agree either. He’s someone who cares deeply about his subordinates’ lives.’
The risk of bringing Black Scythe into their fold was far too great.
As evident, he was a cold-blooded killer who murdered people for trivial reasons.
Therefore, the two men’s deliberation was brief.
‘Accepting Black Scythe as an ally is dangerous. If we cannot embrace him, we must kill him here.’
No matter what, they couldn’t simply overlook the murder of a comrade.
If he could not become an ally, he would simply die.
From a competitive elimination standpoint, it was the right move.
The Chairman would likely agree.
‘It won’t be easy. The opponent is level 40, after all.’
‘First, we feign surrender to lower his guard, then ambush him. There’s no other way.’
As the two men exchanged glances and tacitly agreed to murder.
“That’s amusing.”
A chuckle escaped from beneath Ryu Min’s mask.
“If you bare your killing intent so openly, you think I won’t suspect you?”
“Eh? W-what do you mean….”
“You were trying to kill me just moments ago. You thought I wouldn’t notice?”
“Haha, surely not. How could we possibly….”
“You were planning to bow your heads in false surrender and then ambush me. Isn’t that right?”
“….”
Struck at their core, they had nothing to say.
He seemed to read their very thoughts.
“Do you know why I used Hwang Yong-min’s name and address to submit my application?”
I don’t know.
“I wanted to meet your executives.”
“Us?”
The executives exchanged glances with one another.
“Well, what do you want?”
“Simple. Die for me.”
“….”
If it had been anyone else, they would have dismissed it as a joke, but the opponent was Black Scythe.
Hardly the type to make jokes.
He’d already made an example of one executive by killing him.
Above all, his eyes gleamed with a palpable, viscous murderous intent.
‘W-what do I do? T-think. If I stay like this, I’ll just die a dog’s death.’
Popo Ring, who prided himself on having some wit, struggled to assess the situation calmly.
But in a state of panic, the mind couldn’t possibly function properly.
Especially not in a dire situation like this.
‘I-let me try to appease him. If I can buy time through appeasement, that’s the only answer.’
He’d killed someone outright, but perhaps conversation might still be possible.
Just as Popo Ring was about to open his mouth with that thought.
“Huh?”
An idiotic sound escaped his lips without his knowing.
Because Lost Yak had also become a headless corpse.
Thud—
Two bodies appeared in an instant.
A pool of blood quickly formed on the floor, and only three people remained in the corridor.
Hwang Yong-min and Popo Ring, trembling violently, and the Reaper.
‘Ah… so he lured us here to kill us all from the start.’
Terror flooded Popo Ring’s eyes as he faced reality.
“W-why? What grudge do you have against us…?”
“And what about you?”
Swish—
Ryu Min’s scythe touched Popo Ring’s neck.
“What grudge did you have to frame innocent people as criminals and kill them?”
“H-how did you….”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? That you kill people as interview tests?”
“….”
“Especially the executive interviews. You have to personally eliminate innocent civilians one-on-one.”
“…They weren’t innocent civilians.”
Popo Ring spoke as if aggrieved.
“They were inferior ordinary people who disrespected Players. Secretly envying those with abilities while speaking down to them. Such hypocrites deserve death.”
“And what about you?”
“….”
“You’re strict with others, yet lenient with yourself. Isn’t that a double standard?”
“That’s offensive. You don’t even know me.”
‘Why wouldn’t I know? I’ve seen straight through you with the rune of inner truth.’
I swallowed the thought and raised my scythe.
“There’s one thing I know for certain.”
Schwick—!
A head tumbled to the floor like a grape falling from a bunch.
“That you’re garbage who murdered ordinary people.”
I glanced sideways and saw Hwang Yong-min trembling with fear.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll send you to join your friends soon enough.”
Did the mention of friends provoke him?
Hwang Yong-min, who had been shaking moments before, now stared at me with a hardened expression.
“How do you know about my friends?”
“Why wouldn’t I? We used to hang around together. Strictly speaking, I was just dragged along with your group.”
“What?”
I smiled at Hwang Yong-min’s bewildered stare.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“You’re Black Scythe….”
He trailed off abruptly.
As I removed my mask, the face of Black Scythe that was revealed was one he knew all too well.
“It’s me. Ryu Min, the one you used to bully.”

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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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