The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 99

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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 99
99. Round 7 Results Tallied
The main Quest of Round 7 wasn’t about escaping the illusion.
‘The real Quest was escaping temptation.’
The first was a sub-Quest: commit suicide.
The second was the main Quest: escape temptation.
Round 7 was structured as a double illusion.
Most would have completed the first stage and felt relieved, thinking they’d escaped the illusion. But they hadn’t.
‘It’s not over until it’s truly over.’
In other words, even Seo A-rin’s confession to me and the message announcing the illusion’s end were lies.
This was why Ryu Min had prophesied that I shouldn’t be seduced by temptation.
‘If I’d remembered his words and rejected the temptation, I would have passed the main Quest easily.’
Of course, I said nothing about the sub-Quest reward, since I needed to claim it myself.
The ‘Rune’—a reward only one person could receive—was absolutely necessary when facing Yamtti.
Crackle—crackle—
Seo A-rin’s form vanished, and I stared at the message that appeared.
[You have completed the main Quest ‘Escape Temptation Within 2 Hours’!]
[Now you truly escape the illusion.]
The illusion lifts.
Seo A-rin, the Grassland, everything disappears.
The background that emerges is a pure white Monochrome Space.
This is the space where I’ve truly escaped the illusion.
[Huh? What? Someone woke up at this hour?]
Priscilla flew over from far away, having noticed me moving.
[I wonder who cleared it first… Gasp!]
Her eyes widen as she approaches.
[Black Scythe?]
‘Why the shock?’
I tilted my head in confusion.
The distance is too great for me to read her thoughts.
A smile gradually spreads across Priscilla’s surprised face.
[Hehehehe, hehehehehehe.]
‘What? How irritating.’
Priscilla continued laughing while I frowned.
Unable to bear it any longer, I asked.
“Excuse me, Angel? What’s the situation here?”
[Ah, ahem. This isn’t the time for that. Hehehehe. Black Scythe. You’ve cleared the illusion of temptation in first place. Congratulations.]
“Illusion? Ah, I see.”
I deliberately played ignorant so the Angel wouldn’t grow suspicious.
[Please wait until the time limit ends. Rewards will be distributed when the results are tallied.]
A pillar of light descended and bound me in place.
Thump.
I settled onto the floor and looked around while waiting comfortably.
Countless people stood in the Monochrome Space with their eyes closed.
They were experiencing illusions.
‘They probably moved locations after casting the illusion.’
The Grassland I saw at the start couldn’t have been an illusion.
If people realized it was an illusion, the round would dissolve before even beginning.
‘The system casts illusions only after the time limit has elapsed.’
Before that, even knowing it’s an illusion, it won’t disappear.
That’s why I was able to use dominion on myself back then.
‘By now, most are probably experiencing the second illusion.’
The first illusion—committing suicide—is for the sub-quest.
Even if you don’t commit suicide without hesitation, you won’t be eliminated from the survival list.
You simply lose the opportunity to gain rewards.
‘What matters is the main quest. Escaping temptation.’
The second illusion follows immediately—temptation.
Just like the first illusion, the system bases the temptation on the player’s internal data.
The methods of temptation vary widely.
Material temptation, romantic temptation, the desire to escape pain, and so on.
Each person experiences different temptations.
‘In my case, Seo A-rin confessed and asked me to date her.’
If you can’t escape the temptation and exhaust the time limit?
You’re naturally eliminated.
On the other hand, if you escape the temptation?
Your ranking depends on how quickly you escape.
‘The faster you escape, the better. Like I did.’
Though if I’d killed Seo A-rin the moment I saw her, it wouldn’t have counted.
The timer only starts after you receive the temptation and reject it.
That’s why I waited for Seo A-rin’s confession.
‘To kill her the moment the temptation began.’
I probably cleared it in about a second.
I did the same in my previous life.
I rested my chin on my hand and waited out the time in boredom.
[Time remaining until round end: 01:30:51]
‘Still an hour and thirty minutes left.’
If only I could watch their illusions too, this wouldn’t be so tedious.
While waiting with that thought, several people awakened from their illusions.
“Gasp! W-what!?”
“W-where is this!?”
“What’s going on?”
“Don’t come near me! Got it?”
“Your seduction won’t work! I have someone I love… huh?”
Angel explained the simple truth.
Those who grasped reality awkwardly scratched the back of their heads.
As time passed, more people found themselves surrounded by pillars of light.
Eventually the time limit expired, and everyone awoke from the illusion.
Clap, clap!
Priscilla applauded with a smile.
[Now then, get your heads straight, humans? You all know this, but everything you’ve seen so far has been an illusion. I know the Quest details, but I’ll reveal them once more.]
A message window appeared, and the Quest details were revealed.
【Main Quest】
└Escape the seduction within 2 hours
【Sub Quest】
└Commit suicide without hesitation
└Upon success ▶ ?? ??? ? awarded
[As you can see, escaping the illusory seduction was the Main Quest. The hidden Sub Quest was committing suicide without hesitation.]
“What? Suicide was the Sub Quest?”
“Ah, you mean that situation at the beginning?”
“Damn it, how were we supposed to kill ourselves in that hellish situation?”
“Insane Quest. Who the hell commits suicide without hesitation?”
The players all voiced their complaints, clearly suffering mental damage.
[Ha, I can see several humans here whose heads are about to explode.]
“….”
When Priscilla turned serious, the crowd fell silent as if doused with cold water.
[But don’t worry. I won’t kill you. I’m in quite a good mood right now.]
Priscilla fluttered her wings with a smirk.
A results window appeared before everyone’s eyes.
★ Round 7 Results Tally ★
[All Districts]
└1st Place. Black Scythe (Lv54 Reaper) 00:00:01
└2nd Place. Krishi (Lv27 Priest) 00:00:05
└3rd Place. Cheon Ma (Lv29 Dark Knight) 00:00:06
[District C2-ESKA003]
└1st Place. Black Scythe (Lv54 Reaper) 00:00:01
└2nd Place. An Sang-chul (Lv34 Knight) 00:00:18
└3rd Place. Seo A-rin (Lv34 Summoner) 00:00:24
Everyone who saw the results grimaced.
“Black Scythe is first?”
“Again?”
“This was supposed to be a Quest to escape the illusion…”
“And her mental fortitude is flawless too?”
“Look at that—she rejected the temptation in a single second.”
“She’s not human.”
“Hehehehe.”
While the other players shook their heads in disgust, Priscilla stared at the results window with an expression of pure elation.
[Kihihihi.]
Her grin stretched so wide it threatened to split her face.
‘I won! I actually won the bet because of Black Scythe!’
Perhaps it was the intoxicating joy of claiming the throne.
In her excitement, Priscilla had completely forgotten to distribute the rewards.
“Priscilla? I’m not receiving my first-place reward.”
[Oh! That’s right, my apologies, Black Scythe.]
The angel—rarely one to apologize to humans—fluttered her wings, and the reward notification materialized.
[Congratulations! You have achieved the Quest as the top-ranked player in this district!]
[Congratulations! You have achieved the Quest as the top-ranked player across all districts!]
[Your current ranking: 1st place across all districts, 1st place in this district.]
[As the top-ranked player in this district, you receive: ‘Random Draw Selection Voucher’!]
[As the top-ranked player across all districts, you receive: ‘Special Reward Selection Box’!]
The messages scrolled past in succession, but the rewards were far from over.
[Sub-Quest Reward: ‘Rune of Mental Barrier’ has been granted!]
[The acquired rune is automatically inscribed upon your body!]
‘Finally, I have it.’
As I obtained the rune I desired, an information window appeared.
[Rune of Mental Barrier]
-Effect: Immunity to all mental-type attacks.
‘At last, I have the means to stand against Yamtti.’
Now, if I so desired, I could seize control of Player Cafe.
‘With this, I won’t fall for such pathetic illusions.’
This was why the system had granted the rune reward last.
Had it been given earlier, I would never have attempted the second illusion—the temptation test.
I examined the rewards that had arrived before.
Previously, first-place rewards in this district had always been equipment items, but this time I received a draw selection voucher instead.
[You may select one of the following random draws.]
[Please touch the reward you desire.]
└ 1. Random Gold Pouch
└ 2. Intermediate Mana Stone Draw Ticket
└ 3. Surprise Potion Box
‘There’s really no compelling choice here.’
My mana stones are already optimized to the highest tier, and I have more gold than I could ever spend.
There was only one choice to make.
‘Option 3. I’ll select the surprise potion box.’
It’s scheduled to appear in Round 8, but potions are consumable items.
Like in The Game, drinking them can heal wounds or grant various buff effects.
The varieties are extensive.
‘If there’s such diversity that they have a gacha box for it, that says everything.’
There are three ways to obtain these potions.
Acquire the Alchemist job, which is a unique class, defeat boss-tier monsters that appear after Round 8, or.
And finally.
‘NPCs. Or should I say, inhabitants of the Other World?’
You can purchase or obtain them from inhabitants of the Other World.
Round 8 is precisely when these inhabitants begin to appear.
‘Players will probably be bewildered. After only seeing monsters that can’t communicate, they’ll encounter inhabitants of the Other World who can actually talk.’
Ryu Min himself had a vivid memory of being quite startled when he first learned of the inhabitants’ existence.
What was especially confusing was that I couldn’t distinguish whether they were truly people or NPCs.
‘That’s something I still can’t determine to this day.’
In any case, since inhabitants of the Other World appear from Round 8 onward, I can utilize my title.
I also need to obtain the two runes I’ve been targeting.
‘The Rune of Foresight and the Rune of Durability.’
Moreover, Round 8 is excellent for leveling up.
There will probably be people who reach level 40.
‘But I’ll reach level 60.’
Ryu Min’s gaze turned toward the final special reward selection box.
[You may select one of the following special rewards.]
[Please touch the reward you desire.]
└ 1. 3x Experience Buff (Round 8 only)
└ 2. 20,000 Gold
└ 3. Information about Round 8
Without hesitation, I selected option 1.
The next round was ideal for raising experience.
[Well, everyone’s confirmed their rewards? Then let’s proceed with the time of dissolution. Those who didn’t rank high enough and those who couldn’t resist temptation within the time limit. Farewell to you all.]
“Wait, hold on!”
“No!”
*Whoosh—*
Without even a moment to make excuses, half the players turned to dust and vanished.
[And as I mentioned before, we decided to appoint the player who cleared it fastest as the zone representative, yes? As everyone knows, the Integrated Zone representative is this person.]
[Player ‘Black Scythe’ has become the new zone representative of C2-ESKA003.]
People nodded at the announcement of the new representative.
It was an indisputably fair result.
[As promised, I will grant Black Scythe, who has become the Integrated Zone representative, a reward.]
Moments later, the message Ryu Min had been waiting for finally appeared before his eyes.
[The authority of the temporary skill ‘Dominion’ has been modified.]
[From now on, you may use Dominion once in reality, limited to a single use.]
[If the District Representative is taken from you, the authority will immediately cease to exist.]

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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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