The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 90
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 90
90. An Unexpected Encounter
Russell had heard the full story from Ryu Min.
“Wow, you really made that much from the lottery?”
“Yes, I earned enough to rival Powerball winnings.”
“And then what? How did you multiply that money?”
It sounded like boasting, but Russell kept asking, so I had no choice but to continue.
I explained everything—how I multiplied it through cryptocurrency and then acquired a 31% stake to gain management control of the company.
“Ah, so that’s why you said you’re the de facto owner of the company?”
“Yes. It’s a company with nothing but growth ahead. We’re changing the company name and completely overhauling the business model, preparing ambitiously for what’s to come.”
“Coming from a prophet who multiplied hundreds of billions in such a short time, I’m sure it’ll be spectacular. I’m really glad I invested, haha… Oh right, when you think about it, that money is yours anyway?”
Ryu Min smiled benevolently as he watched Russell scratch his head awkwardly.
“Don’t feel burdened. Use it freely.”
‘No, I’d prefer he keeps feeling that burden. That way he’ll become a reliable ally down the road.’
I murmured my true thoughts, which contradicted my words, and led him toward the office.
“Let me explain what kind of business this is.”
“There’s no need for an explanation. If a prophet like you is going all-in, it’s bound to be a massive success.”
“Still, you’ve invested a considerable sum. You should at least know what kind of company it is. Once you hear about it, I’m sure you’ll be tempted. It’s the kind of business any player would be interested in.”
I grinned and opened the office door.
Ordinary employees in their thirties and beyond were scattered throughout the space.
They were all people who had worked at Cheonma Consulting.
“This way.”
I ignored the employees’ gazes and headed toward the CEO’s Office.
An Sang-chul was standing in front of the office door like a wooden statue.
‘Why is he blocking the door like that? Did a visitor arrive?’
As I wondered, An Sang-chul spoke with a startled expression.
“Major shareholder Ryu Min? What brings you here…?”
“I apologize for the unannounced visit. I wanted to introduce the company to a foreign investor.”
“Ah.”
An Sang-chul’s gaze briefly shifted to Russell.
He immediately thought the young-looking man might be a player.
“Is the CEO inside?”
“Yes, he is, but there’s a visitor with him right now…”
“A visitor?”
Even though I deliberately craned my neck to look, An Sang-chul simply stood there without budging.
It seemed Ma Gyeong-rok had instructed him not to let anyone in.
‘Even so, I’m a prophet, and he’s just staring off into space without taking the hint.’
It was absurd, but understanding An Sang-chul’s character, it made sense.
‘After all, he’s the type who’d pretend to die if the CEO told him to.’
Perhaps it wouldn’t even be pretense—he might actually do it.
‘But who could have come to visit?’
Curious, I delved into An Sang-chul’s thoughts.
As I read them, I couldn’t help but feel a jolt of surprise.
‘What? Who did you say?’
An unexpected guest had arrived.
‘Christine… is here?’
I had to suppress the corners of my mouth and carefully manage my expression.
The Priest I needed to bring to Round 20—the very reason I’d approached Ma Gyeong-rok—had just walked through that door.
‘Since things have come to this, I need to meet Christine. But how do I get her to come out?’
On second thought, there was no need to ask her to come out.
‘I’ll just wait here until she does.’
I turned as if to leave, then positioned myself to the side and waited.
At my action, An Sang-chul’s eyebrows twitched.
“Um… are you planning to wait here?”
“I have something to discuss with the CEO.”
“….”
Unable to tell me to leave, An Sang-chul turned his gaze back to empty space and stood firm like a wooden statue.
“Mr. Ryu, what did you tell him?”
“I came to see the CEO, but it seems there’s a guest inside.”
I explained the situation to Russell in English and continued waiting.
I planned to stay like this until Ma Gyeong-rok emerged.
‘It’s a bit early, but there’s no harm in making an impression on Christine.’
A moment later, the conversation seemed to end—the door clicked open and two people stepped out.
One was Ma Gyeong-rok, and the other was the Priest I needed to bring all the way to Round 20.
“Huh? Major shareholder Ryu Min?”
At my sudden visit, Ma Gyeong-rok’s eyes widened.
“How did you get here without even calling ahead?”
“I’m not the kind of person who can only enter if I call first, am I?”
At my retort, Ma Gyeong-rok forced an awkward laugh.
“Ha ha, I suppose I misspoke and caused a misunderstanding. My apologies.”
‘A misunderstanding? I know exactly what’s going on. You treat me with respect on the surface, calling me a Prophet, but deep down you look down on me.’
Of course, my unassuming appearance had contributed to this, but fundamentally, Ma Gyeong-rok perceived me as a weak existence.
The Prophet class wasn’t a particularly strong profession, and aside from seeing the future, I seemed rather unremarkable.
‘That’s probably why he always worries whether I’ve survived whenever a round ends.’
He harbored the subtle belief that I could die at any moment.
Ma Gyeong-rok continued speaking to dispel the awkwardness.
“Of course, as the major shareholder, you’re naturally our company’s top executive, so you’re free to visit anytime. It’s just that you usually make an appointment, so I was taken aback by your unannounced visit today.”
“Is that so?”
I smiled wryly.
‘Nice excuse. But no matter what you say, you’re still in the palm of my hand.’
My gaze shifted to the side.
A blonde foreign woman stood with an air of grace and refinement.
‘Finally, I’ve met her. The one and only Priest in the entire world.’
Christine Craig.
The sole Priest class user and a woman with a record of surviving up to Round 15.
She was also the woman I had specifically in mind to bring along for Round 20.
‘Just like Buffer, Priest is considered an essential support class.’
Every single Priest skill provided considerable assistance.
Especially the level 60 skill [Resurrection]—an undeniably broken ability that brings the dead back to life.
‘Of course, there are limitations. It can only revive players who died within the last ten minutes.’
Even so, gaining an extra life was an enormous advantage.
‘I never expected to meet her at this point in time.’
I had originally planned to make contact carefully through Ma Gyeong-rok, but I was meeting her ahead of schedule.
‘Then again, I’d never visited the company at this point before.’
If Russell hadn’t come looking for me, I wouldn’t have planned to stop by the company at all.
Ma Gyeong-rok would handle the business preparations just fine on his own.
The future had changed, but this was actually better.
She was someone I had to meet anyway.
The plan had simply moved up a bit.
‘No matter what happens, I must bring Christine to my side.’
I looked at Christine and asked Ma Gyeong-rok.
“And who is this?”
“Ah… this is my friend Christine Craig.”
‘A friend? That’s laughable.’
I knew the truth.
Christine was far more than just Ma Gyeong-rok’s foreign friend.
‘She’s a foreign fiancée for a marriage alliance.’
Corporate tycoons used to seek strategic marriage partners domestically, but those days were long gone.
‘These days, they look abroad for marriage alliances too.’
In this global age, even the wealthy have begun turning their eyes overseas.
Of course, they would never look at someone from an ordinary family.
‘Naturally, Christine’s family is quite wealthy.’
Christine is the daughter of a clergyman who leads one of America’s largest congregations, boasting a hundred thousand followers.
She was certainly qualified as a fiancée.
‘He said he’d hide nothing from me, yet he’s hiding his fiancée? Really?’
I shot Ma Gyeong-rok a sharp look before addressing Christine in fluent English.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Christine. I’m Ryu Min, a business partner of CEO Ma Gyeong-rok.”
Ma Gyeong-rok’s eyes widened in surprise at my introduction.
While a self-introduction in English was simple enough, my pronunciation and accent were far from ordinary.
If one closed their eyes while listening, they might mistake me for a native speaker.
Christine opened her eyes in surprise, then bowed her head respectfully in the Korean manner.
“It’s good to see you, Ryu Min. I had no idea the Chairman had a business partner.”
“Is that so? I myself could never have imagined that Ma had such a beautiful fiancée.”
“Ah, so you told him about our relationship?”
Ma Gyeong-rok was flustered by the look in Christine’s eyes.
After all, he had never mentioned his fiancée.
‘Could it be that he already knew about my fiancée’s existence?’
Ma Gyeong-rok, realizing anew that one should never deceive a prophet, turned to look at Ryu Min.
His gaze was as if asking why he hadn’t introduced his fiancée to him.
Ma Gyeong-rok had no choice but to confess his mistake.
“I apologize, Prophet. I wasn’t trying to deceive you, it’s just that….”
“It’s fine. It must have felt burdensome to introduce your fiancée. I understand.”
“Thank you for understanding….”
“But I wish you had trusted me a bit more….”
As he trailed off with a disappointed expression, Ma Gyeong-rok could only feel awkward.
‘Damn it, there’s nothing good about falling out of favor with a prophet….’
While Ma Gyeong-rok regretted introducing him as a friend, Christine asked a question.
“What were you two talking about?”
She seemed curious as they exchanged what appeared to be a serious conversation in Korean.
“It’s nothing. We were just discussing business for a moment.”
“Is that so? Well, you did mention opening a business soon….”
Christine spoke as if she understood, but her eyes were utterly indifferent.
Though she was his fiancée, it was a political marriage, so there was no sweetness between them.
“Please tell the Chairman that I have a service to attend, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“Of course. Father is busy anyway, so don’t worry about that part. He’ll understand.”
“Thank you. Then I hope to see you alive in the next round.”
“I’ll pray that Christine has good fortune as well.”
After exchanging farewells with Ma Gyeong-rok, Christine glanced at Ryu Min once before leaving as if disinterested.
Or rather, she tried to leave.
“One moment, Christine.”
Ryu Min stopped her in her tracks.
Ma Gyeong-rok and An Sang-chul looked at him with puzzlement.
Christine did the same.
“What is it?”
“About the next round. It would be wise to be careful.”
“….”
Instead of answering, Christine looked at Ma Gyeong-rok.
‘Who is this person?’
Ma Gyeong-rok, having read her gaze, spoke while concealing his bewilderment.
“Major shareholder. Let’s discuss that part later with me.”
“Ma Representative. There’s no need for me to hide my identity. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for your fiancée to know about the next round’s information as well? It would be the right path for her sake too.”
I deliberately spoke in Korean.
To give Ma Gyeong-rok a chance to choose.
But Ma Gyeong-rok had no choice.
The initiative had already shifted to me due to his earlier mistake.
If he refused now, he’d not only offend me but also become a heartless man who didn’t care about his fiancée’s life or death.
“The Prophet’s words are correct. If it’s for my fiancée’s sake, I shouldn’t hide it.”
Ma Gyeong-rok spoke while looking at Christine Craig.
“Shall we step inside for a moment? There’s more we need to discuss.”
Christine Craig looked bewildered at first, then nodded.
She was perceptive enough to sense that something important was about to be said.
“Russell, please wait here for a moment.”
“Understood, Mr. Ryu.”
After leaving Russell to wait, I followed Ma Gyeong-rok into the CEO’s Office.
Creak— click—
As the door closed, all outside noise was completely shut out.
Christine Craig watched Ma Gyeong-rok as if to say, go ahead and speak.
“Christine. I apologize for not introducing him properly earlier, but this person is my business partner and the manager of our company. And….”
Before answering, Ma Gyeong-rok glanced at me as if seeking permission.
When I nodded, he continued.
“He’s also a Prophet class—someone who can see the future.”
“What are you talking about? A Prophet?”
Christine Craig didn’t believe it outright either.
Who would believe such a claim about seeing the future?
Seeing the doubt in Christine Craig’s eyes, I took over the explanation.
“What the Representative said is true. I’m a Unique class Prophet who can see the future. For example, I can tell you the strategy for Round 7.”
“Really?”
Ma Gyeong-rok nodded.
“The Prophet’s words contain not a shred of falsehood. His predictions have never been wrong.”
“That means you’ve been receiving his help all this time?”
“Yes. Thanks to the Prophet, we were able to know and conquer the next round in advance.”
“….”
It was hard to believe, but both men’s expressions were deadly serious.
“So, why are you suddenly revealing this to me?”
“Christine. I’m going to give you information about Round 7.”
“Without any cost?”
The way she immediately brought up compensation told me much about the life she’d lived.
“Don’t worry. I’ll give it to you without any cost whatsoever.”
The Priest needed to survive for my own benefit as well.
‘Even without my help, she’ll survive until Round 15, but….’
Regardless of the outcome, what matters is the appearance of providing help, doesn’t it?
“….”
Christine Craig cast a suspicious glance, but soon nodded.
“If you’re offering information, I’ll at least hear you out.”
She was remarkably confident even when I offered future information.
‘She still doesn’t believe me, then.’
I shared information about Round 7 with Ma Gyeong-rok as well.
“Do not be swayed by temptation. That alone is all you need to remember for Round 7.”
“Hmm… Is that all? Prophet?”
“I cannot say more. If I do, everyone will suffer harm. Do not be swayed by temptation. You must commit this to memory as if reciting an incantation. That is all I can tell you.”
“….”
Both Christine Craig and Ma Gyeong-rok fell silent.
The vague prophecy seemed absurd to them.
“That’s all?”
“Yes. But Christine, there is something else I must tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I arranged this meeting precisely to convey this message….”
I paused, my expression growing grave.
“Christine. When Round 11 arrives, you will fall into danger. Your life may be at risk.”
“…Me?”
“But do not worry. A lifeline will be lowered to save you.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————